Chapter Text
Sam was bitten by a werewolf.
“Sam, we’ll find a way to fix this!”
“Yeah, a bullet to my heart, Dean, that’s how we’re fixing this!”
“Fuck that, Sam! We don’t even know if you were actually infected! For all we know, nothing happens!”
“Yeah, and for all we know, i can end up ripping your throat out!”
You could feel the heat coming from their eyes, neither one of them willing to back down.
“Sam, we don’t know anything for sure. Maybe you’ll turn, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll turn into a fucking chihuaha. But if you try to run or hurt yourself, I’m not above tying your ass down if needed.”
Sam huffed.
“We both know how it ends.”
“Uh, no we don’t. Most of the werewolves we encountered were normal human beings. Hell, some haven’t even killed anything apart from fucking rabbits! If they can do it, so can you.”
“So, what, Dean, you’re gonna feed me rabbit hearts and hope i won’t turn into a human killing monster, is that it? Because i might, and you’re gonna have to put me down like-”
“Shut your fucking face, Sam, or i swear to God I-”
“What? Shoot me?” Sam mocked, knowing fully how this might end. “I’m not delusional, Dean. And this is our job.”
“No, our job is saving people. So, that’s what I'm gonna do. Save you. Even if it means from your own damn self”
The boys stared at each other for a good measure, neither one of them willing to back down.
“Come on, let’s go eat something, sleep. The next full moon is three weeks from now and hell, if you turn, even if this dude was off cycle, I’m pretty sure that you’ll need a full moon for that. We’ve got time.”
Sam reluctantly agreed.
There’s no winning when Dean sets his mind on something.
Dean wasn’t stupid, he knew the risks.
In the past few weeks he read all the lore on werewolves he could find, and still, nothing.
No cure.
The only thing that gave any hope was that Sam will recognize him or that he won’t lose his human mind as a wolf. The problem was, there was no way to ensure that.
Some sources suggested that if the connection between the individuals is strong enough, it might work. There was one suggesting to give a werewolf human’s blood, so, when turned, the werewolf would recognize that person.
Or eat him, Dean thought.
Some suggested that there is no reaching human part of the person at all.
Basically, there was no guarantee for anything.
And if he had any doubts that by some miracle Sam hadn’t been infected, it was gone. It was clear as day his brother changed.
For one, he started craving meat. Dude used to eat salads for breakfast, lunch and dinner, now he ordered rare steaks or bloody red meat hamburgers.
His instincts were better than ever, reflexes faster, which helped on hunts. He kept sniffing the air.
“It smells funny” Sam shrugged, looking at the world slightly differently.
He’s been sniffing air a lot lately, sometimes just smiling to himself or looking like he might puke.
Another thing he noticed, was Sam seemed to have forgotten the concept of personal space.
There were a few times he’d come and stand behind Dean, pressing his body to his, reaching for something, even though there was plenty of space around. He’d just put a hand on Dean’s hip, take whatever he was looking for and act like nothing happened.
His body was like a fucking furnice too.
There was also a lot more touching, accidental bumps, Sam just staring at him from the other side of the room.
It was weird, but also familiar.
So Dean said nothing.
Oh, and there might have been a few instances where Sam growled when he really didn’t like something, but Dean was happy to pretend it never happened.
Eventually, less than a week before the full moon they decided to go off away from civilization, stay in a cabin in the woods, somewhere in Montana, in case Sam got loose and decided he wanted to chew on human hearts.
Dean brought chains, a silver chain, which, he was sure, won’t hold Sam, silver cuffs and silver bullets.
They somewhat barricaded the windows and enforced the door, but that was all they could do.
Dean was nervous, hell, terrified of what he might need to do.
The thing was, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull the trigger, even if Sam attacked him. It was his brother, after all.
Sam became snappy.
He tried to keep himself busy and do things around the house, read, do research, but he was clearly on edge and kept snapping at Dean for the smallest of things.
“Jesus, Sam, moody much? Or should i say, moony?”
“Sorry, Dean, you’re not the one who’s gonna turn into a fucking monster, so, sorry I’m a little on edge” he snarked. “Maybe find something to do, instead of lying around, maybe clean the Impala, it’s not like you’re doing much of anything right now but just bit-”
“Could you just stop bitching at me for one goddamn moment, Sam, cause i swear, I’m gonna put a bullet in my own damn brain!” Dean shouted, finally snapping. And he had a right, Sam was doing this shit since he woke up yesterday. And he felt like shit, his head hurt and Dean was pretty sure he had fever, one way or another, he was done.
All of a sudden, the younger Winchester went very still.
“You will do no such thing” his voice could cut steel.
“I might as well, before you drive me fucking insane!” Dean met his brother’s sharp gaze. “Listen, we still have a day and a half. I know the situation is shitty, but... I don’t know, let’s try and relax, maybe watch a movie, before we bite each other’s heads off? Please?”
Sam must have taken how tired and hopeful, and most likely pathetic he looked and sounded, because his gaze softened and he nodded.
“Let’s get the fire started, huh? I’m freezing.”
Somehow, Dean ended up falling asleep with Sam right next to him, which felt nice and made him warm, but embarrassing as hell.
He woke up a few hours later, another movie on, Sam pressed tightly against him.
“Wha-” Dean turned around, finally noticing the position he was in. “Shit, ‘m sorry” he muttered, jumping back.
Sam just smirked, chuckling.
“Go back to sleep, man.”
“Fuck off” Dean muttered, but made no attempt to move. He was cold and Sam was a walking furnace.
The last thing Dean heard before drifting off again, was Sam snickering.
Hours.
They had literally two hours until sunset and maybe one more until full moon.
Neither of them could sit still.
“You should chain me up.” Sam announced.
Dean just nodded, his arms shaking a little.
He strapped Sam’s ankle, one with silver chain, one with regular.
“Do you- should i-”
“Put the cuffs on, Dean”
Dean nodded and pulled out his bandana, wrapping it around Sam’s wrist.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s silver, I don’t wanna hurt you, Sam. And I’m locking it to the bedpost. No arguments, we only need to prevent you from killing humans, not injure you.”
Sam just nodded, more for Dean’s sanity than his own.
“And silver bullets?”
Dean shot him a look. “I have them, but there’s no way in hell I’m killing you, Sammy, and you better remember that.”
“You might not have a choice.”
“Then I’ll shoot you in the leg and strap you down again. I don’t care. You’re not dying today. Not on my watch.”
Dean’s hands were shaking, Sam noticed. His heart was beating erratically, breaths coming in quick.
“Alright. I trust you, Dean.” he said, for the sake of his brother. He needed Dean here, fully, and not in another room having a breakdown or a panic attack. Not that he had advanced senses he could feel these things coming. “Come on, relax. It’ll be fine. I trust you.” and he meant it. Sam trusted Dean, he didn’t trust himself.
It was time.
Sam kicked Dean out of the room when he felt the change coming. His brother didn’t need to see this.
A few minutes later Dean heard a growling and rattling of a chain from the other room and went back in.
In front of him there was a giant black wolf, staring at him with dark yellow eyes.
“Sam?” he came closer, only to receive a growl, his teeth glistering in the light dangerously..
“Whoa, whoa, calm down, big boy. It’s me. It’s Dean. Remember? Your brother? Come on, Sammy. Focus. You can do this.”
The wolf stared at him intently, not moving an inch.
Dean sighed and sat down on the floor crossed leg, way out of the wolf’s reach.
“Sammy, i know you're in there somewhere. You just gotta focus. Think.”
The black wolf kept staring at him, tracing his every move. He growled at his gun.
“Don’t worry, Sammy, i won’t hurt you. Remember what we talked about? You stay away from killing humans, and we’re good. You can do this.” All of a sudden, Dean sneezed. “Sorry, I guess I’m not feeling that great. Altho, you already know that, since you threw a kleenex box right at my head earlier. What else is new?” he glanced at the animal. “Ah, don’t look at me like that, what, afraid of a snot monster all of a sudden? Huh?”
The wolf laid down, his eyes never leaving Dean.
“You’re gonna behave?” Dean moved to stand up, after his legs went numb. He really needed to take something for his headache.
The wolf instantly growled when he moved to leave.
“What? Possessive much? Alright, alright, I’ll stay” Dean shut the door and the growling instantly stopped. He glanced at the wolf and stepped closer, slowly reaching out.
“It’s Dean, Sammy. Come on. You know me.”
The air was sparkling with tension, while the older Winchester reached to touch the wolf.
Sam’s fur was soft between his fingers, long. Slowly, began petting him, slowly scratching behind the ear.
“You like that, boy?” he stepped closer. “Gonna behave?” he smiled, when Sam leaned into him and sniffed all over.
“Whoa, step down, you do not need to sniff there” Dean jumped back when the wolf sniffed his ass. Otherwise, Sam seemed to like petting.
“So what, you’re just an overgrown doggy, huh? Just like you’re an overgrown human, ha. Good boy, Sam.”
Dean sneezed again, starling the animal.
A second later he found himself lying on the ground, wolf’s paws pressing him down on the chest, nails digging painfully into his skin, jaws merely inches from his face, growling.
Dean’s heart skipped a beat.
This might be it.
“Sam. Sammy, come on, it’s me. It’s Dean.” he pleaded and the wolf just pressed closer.
Dean turned his head, exposing his neck.
There’s no way in hell he’ll be able to push a 200 pound wolf off of his chest.
“Sammy” Dean whined, when he felt teeth brush against his neck.
That’s it. He’s gonna die.
Sam sniffed again, and the wolf started lapping at his throat.
“Wha-? Sam! Jesus, are you licking me? Stop!” He tried to move, but there was nowhere to go. “Stop likcing me you freak! I ain’t your friggin’ pet!”
Sam licked his face and whined, then jumped, staring at the door.
“Sam, what-”
The wolf started growling, yanking his chain furiously, still looking at the door.
Dean prayed that there was no other human outside of the cabin, otherwise, he’s dead meat and Sam would never forgive himself.
“Calm down, Sam, come on.”
Sam yanked at the chains harder, and Dean heard one of them break.
Shit.
He tried to sit up, but Sam pushed him down and then stepped in front of him.
The hell?
The only thing holding Sam were the cuffs, and they weren’t meant to hold down a giant pissed off werewolf.
The inevitable happened and Sam broke free, crashing through the door and running outside.
“Sam!” Dean shouted and ran after him, his legs wobbly.
Shit, shit, shit, this was not suppose to happen.
“Sam!” Dean crashed through the door and almost face-planted, when the cold air hit him.
Sam was standing between the trees, mowling something. Or someone.
Fuck.
The older man walked closer, and now he could see that it was a fox, not a human.
Thank god.
Wolf’s gotta eat too, better a fox than a human.
Dean let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, feeling tension draining out of him.
The world tilted sideways and Dean found himself lying on the ground.
Alright, maybe he was a bit more sick than he cared to admit.
Out of nowhere, his face was being licked again.
Yuck.
“Mhmm” Dean whined, trying to open his eyes. Why was he so tired anyway?
He was met with a high pitched whine, directed at him, a wet cold nose nudging him.
“S’mmy, i told you not to lick me” he muttered and opened his eyes.
He’s supposed to be looking after Sam, not passing out like a fucking girl after one too many martinis.
Dean must have spaced out, because next he felt Sam nudging him up.
This was pathetic.
He really hoped Sam wouldn’t remember any of this later, cause otherwise he’ll never hear the end of it.
“I’m up, I’m up.” he muttered, but once he was on his feet, the world swayed again, but the wolf was immediately there to hold him up.
“Sorry, Sammy, I’m the one who’s supposed to be looking after you, not the other way around.”
The wolf led him back inside the cabin, pushing him down onto the bed, whining slightly. Then jumped right after and curled next to him, putting his big hairy head on Dean’s chest.
Dean huffed.
“You’re just a big goofy doggy, aren’t ya, Sammy? Like being petted and all that. Got a soft fur, gotta tell you that. And so warm. Like to cuddle, huh? Ah, you’re gonna laugh at this when you turn back. Werewolf, my ass.”
The wolf whined against him, licking his neck.
“Stop that.”
The morning came and Sam was human again.
He woke up in a bed with Dean.
There was no blood around and nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, except somewhat broken doors. His chains were missing too. Dean was asleep.
“What the hell happened?” he shook his brother awake, needing answers, now.
“M- wh- what?” Dean struggled to open his eyes.
“What happened? Why am i- Dean?”
Dean dropped back down on the pillow, feeling like crap.
“Uhm. You wolfed out. Some kinda werewolf you are, Sammy, all cuddly and love being petted. Altho, you did break out of the chains and killed a fox down in the woods. Nothing more than that, Sammy.”
“Then why do you look like crap? And why do I remember holding you down? Did i do something? Dean, you should have-”
“For fucks sake, Sam, settle down! You didn’t do anything. You let me fucking pet you. Then I sneezed and i guess it freaked you out or something, cause you jumped on me. And don’t look at me with that puppy dog eyes look, all you did was lick my neck, which is gross, by the way. Then, you heard something outside, broke out, killed that thing. And-”
“And what?” Sam was looking frightened.
“I kinda… ugh, I might have passed out for a minute and-”
“You fucking what?” Sam was out of the bed in a second. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Dude, can you calm down and maybe keep your volume down? Nothing happened, you whined like a freaking baby, licked me like a fucking burger and helped me get inside. Then cuddled me. Haha, you’re a really sweet wolfy, man. And you were afraid of doing something bad. The worst thing you did yesterday was licking and sniffing.”
Sam looked somewhat petrified, yet relieved.
“Are you sick?” the younger Winchester came closer, sniffing the air and laying his hand against Dean’s forehead. “Fuck, you are.”
“I’ll be fine, and you’re nothing but a giant puppy with no boundaries. Now lemme sleep.” Dean grunted and turned around.
“I’m gonna get you some food and medicine, then you can sleep.”
“Bossy” Dean muttered from under the covers.
The second night Dean didn’t chain Sam up.
“What the fuck for?” he argued. “You’re gonna break out anyway, and it’s not like you’re actively trying to kill me. You’re just gonna whine like a baby and then fucking lick me again. But please, for fucks sake, control yourself and try not to.”
Sam snickered.
He didn’t expect this. And he hoped he’ll be able to control his wolf and not to hurt anyone.
His wolf seemed to understand that Dean was a no no. Hell, his wolf was protective over Dean, he remembered that, but what if he met another human? Who knows how that’d end.
The only problem was, he felt hungry.
And that’s gonna be a problem soon.
His wolf needed to hunt.
Dean figured that out when Sam started scratching at the door, wanting to be let out.
“You wanna hunt, huh? If i let you out, how will you come back? Well, I guess I’m coming with.” Dean turned to put on his jacket, but Sam growled at him, pushing him back towards the room.
“Listen buddy, this is your second night out as a wolf. I should come with, I’m staying with you. Moral support and what not”
Sam growled again.
“Either I’m coming with, or you’re not going.” Dean stood his ground, crossing his arms.
Sam whined and growled at him, but eventually seemed to agree.
Funny, Dean never, not in a million years thought he’d be arguing with a frigging werewolf whether he was going to hunt alone or not.
What a time to be alive.
Or sick.
It was cold as hell outside, and then it started snowing.
Just great.
Sam seemed to be in a full hunting mode. His gaze sharp, looking around. Walking a few feet in front of Dean, but constantly turning back to look.
That made Dean smile.
Giant dangerous puppy.
Well, in this case,it was better than uncontrollable raging werewolf.
Hell, this could be a great advantage while hunting. It is.
Sam stilled for a moment and then burst out into running.
Then Dean saw it. A coyote.
Then he watched how Sam attacked it and wrestled it to the ground.
It was graceful.
Well, until the wolf ripped it’s throat out.
Coyote didn’t stand a chance.
Something growled behind him and Dean turned around just to see another coyote growling at him. The older man slowly stepped back, reaching for his silver knife, but it was too slow. Coyote jumped and wrestled him to the ground, aiming for his throat.
It's the second time in two days he’s in this position.
Dean felt teeth sinking into his forearm, and a second later coyote was yanked away from him.
Dean looked just to see Sam literally ripping the animal to pieces, viciously, growling.
“Sammy”
The wolf paid him no mind, ripping the coyote to shreds.
It was obvious.
He should not have touched Dean, it was personal to Sam now.
Dean snickered.
“Alright, Sammy, it’s enough” he stood up and made his way towards the wolf. “Come on, enough. It’s dead.”
Sam turned and growled at him, teeth bloody.
“Ookay, okay. Mowl that bitch.”
Dean sat back down on the floor when adrenaline left him, feeling so tired.
After all, he was still sick and his headache was returning, whatever pills Sam forced on him earlier waning.
He just had to wait Sam out and then he can get back to his warm bed and stay there for a week.
Yeah, that's a good plan.
The older hunter leaned down against the tree, wearily staring at his brother.
Their lives were weird.
He was woken up by a cold nose poking his cheek.
“Fuck off” he muttered, but opened his eyes.
Ah, shit.
He dozed off, dozed off in the woods, jesus christ, now, this, Sam will probably never let him forget.
That explains why his ass was freezing off.
Dean glanced at the side and saw what seemed to be the remains of a coyote.
“Oh, wow, you really worked that thing over, huh? Okay, okay, I’m standing up, sorry.”
Once again, Sam was there to support him. The animal he saw earlier, the one brutally ripping coyote to pieces was gone, and a whining puppy was back.
“Let’s go home, okay? Or do you need more coyotes? No? Okay, okay. ‘M going.”
What happened after was a blur.
He was sick as a dog - what an irony.
Sam never left his side, not really.
Once human, kept showing pills down his throat, food as well. And once he turned into a wolf, curled up beside him and never left his side.
It might be a golden black material for Sam later, but right now Dean had a personal heater lying next to him, he was not going to complain.
“Shut up, man, you’re the one who’s trying to cuddle me every chance you get. Some werewolf you are. “
“Would you prefer me trying to eat your heart?” Sam growled, not feeling particularly playful with Dean's mocking.
“You know what I mean. Besides, how much do you remember?”
“Uh, it’s mostly feelings. I mean, i remember most of it, but some parts just seem to… blur together. It’s kinda weird.”
“Do you remember coyotes?”
“Yeah” Sam’s voice got an octave lower and his eyes darkened. He looked like a predator, Dean’d say.
“And?”
“And you shouldn’t be so careless. You didn’t even bring a gun? Hell, you should have stayed at home. You’re sick.”
“Oh, shut up, you took it out like it was nothing. And i didn’t exactly expect a fucking coyote to choose me as a diner snack. And then you tore it to pieces.”
“It got what it deserved. It shouldn’t have touched you” Sam’s gaze was starting to make Dean uncomfortable.
“Okay… calm your wolfy ass, Sammy. I’m fine, you’re fine, how about we go out and grab some lunch, huh? Or get out of this place and go somewhere warm, for a change.”
Sam kept staring at him.
“Sam?”
“Fine. we’ll leave tomorrow. You still have fever. And if you wanna go for lunch, I’m driving.”
“Bossy much?”
Sam crossed his arms.
“So, how’s it gonna be?”
Dean stared back at his sibling, but eventually relented.
Damn, Sam was stubborn with this new controlling streak of his.
“Alright, fine. Fine.”
Sam smirked.
Dean wasn’t hard to control.