~*~
Dean and Ashleigh pulled up to a small home, parking the impala when Sam called as he walked out of the Sheriff's Department in town.
"You there?"
"Yeah, we just pulled up." Dean and Ashleigh climbed out of baby, closing their doors and looking around "Nothing too sketchy yet."
"That's a good thing, right?"
Dean opened up the trunk, mooning Ashleigh over "Not betting on it." He tossed her a silver necklace, grabbing one for himself as well.
"Or are we just that jaded? I mean maybe Garth's right."
Dean shut the trunk to the impala calmly "Well, ain't you a glass half full? Any luck with the cops?" Dean asked as he and Ashleigh began to walk up to the house.
"Uh, sheriff should be rolling up any second. Be careful and don't lose sight of Ash." Sam said sincerely, knowing how reckless she'd been lately. He didn't want her to get hurt.
"Yeah." Dean spoke in a gruff voice before hanging up the phone as him and Ashleigh walked up the stairs to the porch. Ash looked up at the hunter, clearing her throat slightly "Don't you think we should have waited on Sam for this?" Dean scoffed slightly "We can handle it" the sound of a choir singing could be heard from inside, making bith hunters stop and listen in before knocking on the door.
A blonde, older woman answers the door with a friendly smile "You must be Dean and Ashleigh. I'm Joy, Garth's mother-in-law. Uh, step-mother-in-law which I always thought sounded too silly." She owned up the screen door with a giggle "please come in, we're just finishing up." Ashleigh started to step forward before Dean gently reached his hand out to stop her.
"Why don't you just tell Garth we're here."
"Dean, you have my word.. You're both safe under my roof. I only ask the same in return. After all... I'm not the one carrying silver." She smiles lightly before stepping aside as Dean and Ashleigh exchange quick looks before they hesitantly step through the front door.
As they enter, the singing and music before louder and the two are lead towards the choir group. They stabs in the doorway, watching and listening, Dean keeping Ashleigh closely against him the entire time. Dean's eyes scan the room, seeing Garth playing the piano as the group sings. Ashleigh gulped slightly as her eyes glanced between everyone. Were they really all werewolves? She hated being outnumbered.
The song soon comes to an end and the white-haired man up front speaks "Uh... Thank you, brother Garth. Wonderful accompaniment as usual. And I'll see the rest of you in the pews.. 9:00am sharp. No stragglers, sister Amelia." Faint laughter can be heard from the group as Dean glances around nervously, pulling Ashleigh closer, his hand gripping her side lightly. The two stepped aside to allow the group to exit.
"Oh, hi." Garth smiles and heads over to the hunters "So, what'd I tell you? Its all good, right?" Two children walk by, glancing up at the hunters curiously before exiting the home.
"Everyone here's a wolf?" Dean asks, knowing the answer.
"Yeah." Garth nods calmly.
"Yeah, not all good." Dean's voice was gruff, his grip beginning to loosen on Ashleigh, making her sigh in relief.
"Oh come on Dean. You just got to meet them. Thats Russ and Joba," he says, pointing towards two young men near the corner "Bess' first cousins on sister Joy's side. That's reverend Jim, Bess' dad" he says, pointing to the white-haired man from before. "Leader of the pack and a good man." Jim steps over, eyeing the hunters "Ashleigh and Dean, isn't it? Welcome" he reaches his hand out to shake Dean's "Jim Meyers. Fokks usually call me.."
"Reverend Jim. Yeah, I got it." Dean interrupts, earning a hard nudge front the hunter beside him. An awkward silence fills the room before the sound of a door closing is heard. Garth chuckles "oh, uh.. My bad. Dean's got this crazy fear of germs. And Ashleigh is just REALLY shy."
"I understand the apprehension you two. Hunters and our kind don't have the best history together."
"But I think you'll find we're not much different from you." Joy interjects.
"Oh, sister, I highly doubt it." Dean smarts off as Ashleigh and Joy lock eyes on one another.
"Why don't we break bread and see?" Reverend Jim asks.
"Why would I do that?" Dean asks as Ashleigh sighs "Come on Dean, what's the worst that can happen. Besides, in starving."
"Then we'll stop somewhere on the way to the motel."
Jim and Joy nod knowingly before exiting the room as Garth furrows his eyebrows "Dean."
"What?" He turns towards Garth with a confused look. Ashleigh rolls her eyes and sighs, shaking her head.
"You didn't have to be such an ass. We're eating with them." Dean opened his mouth to argue, but with her, he knew it was no use.
~*~
"Now, everybody eat up." Sister Joy said softly as she set out raw meat on everyone's plates. "But make sure you leave room for pie."
"Sister Boy's pies are famous throughout the badger state." Reverend Jim states proudly as everyone begins to dig in.
"Dean ans Ashleigh love pie." Garth smiles as he cuts into his slab of meat.
Ashleigh, who was sitting beside Dean, stared around the table, a disgusted look on her face but she tried her best to hide it. Dean's eyes scanned the room, watching the family dig into the bloody meat, his eyes wide. He leaned down and whispered into Ashleigh's ear "Still think this was a good idea?" He grumbled before she glanced up at him with an annoyed look, whispering back "Don't mess with me when I'm hungry Winchester.."
Dean then cleared his throat "Don't you guys say some sort of grace or something?"
"We're more spiritual tab we are religious." Reverend Jim turns his direction towards the hunters whip have yet to eat their well done steaks. "We believe, much like the American Indians did, that nature ans man are one."
"Yeah, really workes out well for them." Dean grumbled, earning yet another nudge from the brunette woman. Silence fell on the table as Dean watched the family use their hands to tear the meat apart. He then saw something that caught his attention, everyone had silver bullets hanging around their necks.
"So why are a bunch of werewolves wearing silver bullets around their necks?" Garth coughed in response "Sorry Dean, but we don't use the 'W' word aeound here. We prefer the term Lycanthrope."
"We?"
"He's entitled to his opinion Garth. They both are." Reverend Jim says firmly.
"Many of our kind see themselves as indestructible." Bess begins "this is a constant reminder of how precious our lives truly are" she motions towards her necklace.
"Yeah, but its silver.." Dean states
"Doesn't it burn?" Ashleigh asks curiously.
"Yeah, it does a bit, but that's kind of the point." Garth answers "it reminds us of our fragility."
"My daughter, Bess, was born a Lycanthrope." Reverend Jim starts "it was one of the proudest days of my life. Which soon turned tragic... When a hunter killed my wife." He looks between both Dean and Ashleigh "Believe me when I tell you, I wanted to make someone pay. Then I looked at Bess, and I realized" he to hooks of his daughters had with a small smile "the road to revenge is a dark and lonely one, which you never get off. And that hole in the pit of your stomach, you never fill it....ever."
Ashleighs eyes soften as she stares at the older wolf before Dean nods "Hey, no, I get it."
"So I chose to look forward, not backwards." Jim continues "and the minute I did that, the powers that be brought this beautiful, compassionate, amazing woman into my life" he said, looking up towards Joy with a smile. "And she helped me raise a little baby girl as if Bess were her own." Bess turned towards Joy with happy tears in her eyes.
"I can't take all the credit." Joy said, pacing her hands over her heart. "Daddy had a hand in it too. He saw your potential."
"Daddy?" Dean asked as Ashleigh warily took a bite of her steak.
"My father.. Bless his soul... Was the previous reverend of our church, the third generation in our family to serve."
"Wait, so you're fourth-generation werewolf?" Dean asked loudly as Ashleigh nearly choked on her food from the shock. "Holy shit.." She mumbled under her breath.
"Yes." Joy nodded proudly.
Dean glanced towards Garth for a mlment before turning his attention to the brunette beside him. She looked up at him, an unreadable expression on her face. What had they gotten themselves into?