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THE room was silent, only the sound of snuffling as Joyce sat on the floor of her bedroom with her knees held tightly to her chest.
The room was dark, but the dim lighting from within the hallway painted across Joyce's freshly bruised cheek, along with her swollen nose and her face wet from tears.
The door opened and Joyce stiffened immediately. She staggered to her feet as she tried to make a run for the door, but Brandon— her boyfriend, grabbed her easily by the back of her head; fisting her hair. Joyce cried as he yanked her back and shoved her against the ground.
"You don't wanna listen, and then you wanna try and run?" Brandon asked as he dragged her across the floor. She wept silently at the pain, too weak to fight back.
When Brandon released her hair, he pushed her towards the bed. "Get up!"
Joyce stood to her feet, and without hesitation, she whipped around and backhanded him across the face. She watched as the man stumbled back, allowing her to slip towards the door.
Brandon rushed forward and yanked the door shut, managing to get her hand in the door. Joyce cried as she fell to her knees, cradling her throbbing hand to her chest. As the woman looked up, she watched as Brandon lifted his hand.
"You're not ever gonna get away from me."
He drew his hand back, smacking her harsh across the face again.
"Joyce!"
Joyce gasped as someone shook her arm roughly, causing her to stir awake. Only then, did she realize that she had fallen asleep in the back of the Impala.
Blinking a few times, she focused her eyes on Sam, who was leaning towards her from the front seat. He looked at her with concern.
"Hey, it's okay. You were having a nightmare."
The woman sat up as she adjusted her jacket. When she looked down at her watch, she signed:
"How long has it been?"
"Almost an hour."
Joyce watched as Dean opened the driver's side door and climbed in.
"Did you guys find anything out?"
"Yeah, dude said he was passing Sturges Farm when he saw a girl covered in blood— says it was a ghost."
"So, what, a dead woman came back as a ghost? Doesn't sound too off from normal."
"Well, we're gonna find out."
When they reached the Sturges Farm, Joyce followed the two out of the car, looking up at Sam.
"Well, ghosts don't shred people like that."
"Yeah, well this flea bag, looks like she ain't done. Chowing down on Sons of Anarch just yet."
Joyce loaded her clip with silver bullets.
"I guess she likes bad boys."
"Wait'll she gets a load of us." Dean smirked. Sam turned to Joyce, who signaled for them to split around the house. She tossed a flashlight to Sam, who caught it with his uninjured arm.
"You're flashlight duty."
Sam scoffed as he walked behind her.
Joyce walked around the side of the house and peeked in through the thick, coated windows as he shined the light. Joyce noticed the door that had claw marks engraved in the wood, and she whistled quietly.
The two opened the door, and Joyce was practically bombarded. A blonde ran directly into her, causing her to accidentally stumble into Sam. The man grunted as he crossed paths and grabbed ahold of the blonde, and Joyce pointed her gun at her.
Sam clenched his jaw, and Joyce looked up at him confusedly.
"What?" Dean asked.
Sam grabbed her shoulder and turned her around towards Dean.
"Kate?"
Joyce tugged on Sam's sleeve. "Who is she?"
"A case, about a year ago. It's a long story."
Dean stowed his gun away. "Tie her up."
Sam looked around and eventually found a line of rope. Joyce stood still, her eyes locked with Kate's as she pointed the gun to her chest.
Dean came from behind and quickly tied her hands before hanging them above her head. Joyce stepped back and watched her.
"I know who you are." Kate said to him.
"Congratulations."
"After what happened at school, I thought you'd let me go."
"Yeah, well, that was before you started dropping bodies." Sam said to her.
"What?"
"Guy at the var saw you before you went all wolverine on his buddy. So. . . Surprise. Here we are."
Kate looked away and Joyce only grew more and more confused. "You let a werewolf go? Seriously?"
"Kate, you said you were gonna go straight. What happened?"
"I guess things change. Being this. . . I tried to be strong, but the hunger was too much. Too hard. It's not like anyone gave me a handbook on how to be a werewolf."
"No, but I could give you a silver bullet." Luckily, none of them saw her sign.
"Looks like you're doing a pretty good job so far. Break some hearts, then you eat 'em."
Joyce grimaced at the thought.
"I was on my own. I. . . Evolved."
"So that's what you call killing innocent people?"
Kate glared back at them. "Whatever you're gonna do, just do it."
Without hesitation, Joyce lifted her gun and turned the safety off as she curled her finger around the trigger. She stared at Kate, ready to fire.
The brunette stopped when Sam placed his hand on her, causing her to stop.
"Give us a second, just watch her." Sam instructed. Joyce nodded, crossing her arms over her chest as she placed her gun on the old wooden table beside her.
Kate stared at her. "What, you too good enough to talk to a little wolf like me?"
Joyce walked forward and pulled her jacket back, revealing the scarring on her neck and throat. Kate stared at them, clenching her jaw.
"Hey."
Joyce turned around.
"There was another animal attack on the other side of town." He announced. Joyce's eyebrows furrowed.
"How could there be if she's here? Is she not the one killing?"
Before they could answer the question, the sound of snapping caused her to turn around. Kate had broke free from her restraints.
Joyce grunted as Kate scratched her arm and shoved her down to the ground. By the time she looked up, she was gone.
"Damn it!"
Sam rushed forward and lifted Joyce onto her feet. She cradled her arm to her chest, paying no attention to the wound as she placed her gun into her waistband.
"Hey, you're bleeding pretty good." Sam said.
"We gotta find her." Joyce told him.
The three hurried outside while Sam attempted to aid Joyce. "If she's not icing people, then why play the Big Bad Wolf?"
"Maybe she's running with a pack? You know, trying to protect them?" Sam said as Joyce pulled away. Blood was soaking through her sleeve.
"Well, a hell of a price to pay. She was about two seconds away from taking a dirt nap."
Dean pulled an unfamiliar phone from his jacket.
"What is that?"
"It's her phone. Let's see who she was booty calling when we pulled up."
As Dean called, Sam turned back to Joyce. "Come on, there's a first aid kit in the trunk."
They stopped when a woman answered.
"Thank you for calling the Lincoln Motel, can I help you?"
They immediately climbed into the Impala and drove off.