Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a long drive. Driving from Ashville to Northkill was 11 hours, but anytime spent with his beautiful girlfriend was worth it.

Max bobbed his head mindlessly to the music on the radio, weaving his fingers through the air outside his window as he drove, watching the forest around them move past just fast enough to blur in his peripherals. It wasn't a bad sight; the woods and rain were a great combo in making a great relaxing atmosphere. It was perfect; going out in the woods for two months to care for some kids and spend time with each other. All he had to do was find the way to the camp. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Laura lean forward and turn off the radio. He looked over at her just long enough to make eye contact.

"Why'd you cut the music?"

She looked at him with a face he knew all too well. "I think you know why."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I don't think I do."

Max could feel his girlfriend's stare bore into the side of his head as she spoke. "It begins with an "L." Like the "L" word."

Max looked over at Laura again with a serious face. "Lesbians?"

Laura smiled and shook her head with a slight chuckle, her blonde ponytail bobbing with the movement. He may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he knew better than anyone how to make her laugh, and that was what mattered to him.

"Lost, Max! We're lost," she said with a small smile.

"We're in a geographic flux."

"Right... So, lost."

"That's debatable." Max smiled right as he went over a small pothole, and the bump that followed caused his phone to fall from where it was perched on top of the radio. Before the words "Heads up!" were out of his mouth, Laura had caught it and returned it to its original spot. Amazing, like always.

"Nice catch there, hon."

Laura looked over at him with raised brows. "I'm not the one hitting potholes."

"Maybe the pothole hit us; ever think about that?"

"Wow, that is like Olympic-level goalpost moving. Very impressive."

Max grinned widely."Thank you."

"Yeah, still totally lost," Laura said, giving him her best deadpan stare. Max stayed quiet. He knew they were lost.

"You know, Max, it doesn't make you any less of a man-"

"You know if Colombus hadn't gotten lost and landed on these golden shores, there would be no United States of America?" The redhead glanced over at his girlfriend before continuing. "Goodbye, hotdogs; see you later, apple pie."

"Colombus actually never landed in North America," Laura said matter-of-factly. Max glanced at her again.

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn't even know he wasn't in Asia."

"Are you serious?" Max said incredulously. He needed to brush up on his history.

Laura shook her head slightly. "Just another guy who didn't want to admit he was lost."

"Well, just another guy who's got a whole day named after him...so put that in your pipe and smoke it."

Laura smiled and rolled her eyes. " Oh my god! Okay, just get us to camp before I roll my eyes out of my head, please."

"I'm working on it; I'm working on it."

Laura sighed and shook her head, then leaned into the backseat momentarily before reappearing with a paper map in her hands. "Voila."

Max looked at the map in his girlfriend's hands incredulously. "What is that?"

Laura rolled her eyes as she opened the lap up on her lap. "Yeah, yeah.

"No, but seriously, what happened to the normal map?"

"This is the normal map!"

Max pointed to the phone perched above the radio. "The one on the phone?"

Max watched as Laura leaned forward and pointed to the no-service symbol on the phone. " No bars."

Max sighed and leaned back in the driver's seat. " Of course not."

Laura returned to the map in her lap and began looking it over, murmuring slightly under her breath before frowning. Max leaned over slightly to look at the mass of green scribbled with blue and red. He didn't have a clue what any of it meant.

"Well, I guess they don't put summer camps on maps. Have you seen any signs of it?"

Max didn't respond, too busy peering at the map in his girlfriend's lap. After a second of silence, Laura looked up, and her eyes widened.

"Hey! Eyes on the road!"

Max quickly pulled his eyes off the map just in time to see...something hunched over in the middle of the road. It was too dark to tell what it was, but it was big. The redhead jerked the wheel, managing not to hit whatever was in the road while simultaneously running off the road. The next few seconds were a blur for Max; the jolting of the car as it broke the road barrier and ran over various sticks and rocks, Laura yelling on his right before yanking the wheel to avoid a stump, and finally, his foot stepping on the brake, stopping the car in its tracks. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears as he gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, listening to Laura catching her breath. A few seconds passed before Max could move, letting the adrenaline in his system wear off before looking at Laura. He gently grabbed her hand and gave it a small, comforting squeeze as he scanned his pale green eyes over her, looking for injuries.

"Are you okay?"

Laura nodded slowly, squeezing back. "Yeah, yeah. I mean, still in one piece."

"Jesus Christ," Max said, turning to face his girlfriend. "What do you think that was? A bear?"

Laura shook her head. "What?! No, no, Max, that wasn't a bear-"

"What was it?" Max watched quietly as a look of horror dawned on her face.

"I think it was a person."

Max leaned in to look into Laura's dark green eyes. "Laura, are you serious? Do you think we hit a person?" he asked worriedly. Laura shook her head and withdrew her hand, stammering as she replied.

"I don't know...I mean, it was really close, like, really close, but maybe we didn't..." She paused for breath as Max shook his head and returned his gaze to the view beyond the windshield before quietly opening the door and stepping out into the rain. It misted over his hair, dampening it slightly as he walked to the front of the car and bent over to inspect the damage. From what it looked like, the road barrier he'd hit left hundreds of little scratches and a few dents, but nothing huge. Still, it wasn't pretty.

"What is it?" Laura asked, her voice muffled by the car. He frowned slightly.

" I f'd this car up," Max replied, straightening to meet Laura's eyes.

"Maybe it looks worse than it is?.."

"Uh...I should probably check out the damage before we try to start it up again," he said as he opened the hood. As someone who worked on cars since before he was old enough to drive, he knew it was better to be safe than sorry. "Hon, can you grab my uh.. toolbox from the trunk?"

He heard Laura open her car door and walk to the trunk as he inspected the engine. She leaned over to take a peek and shone the flashlight over the car's insides.

"It's not so bad," she said, trying to be optimistic. Max groaned a little.

"My mom's gonna kill me."

Laura looked at him sympathetically before leaving. He heard the trunk open, and a moment later, his girlfriend returned with the toolbox in hand.

"Thanks, hon."

"Yeah," she replied, setting the toolbox by his feet. "D'you need a hand?"

"Yeah, actually," he said, moving over slightly to make room for her to stand beside him. "If you could shine a light right here..."

As requested, Laura held up her phone and directed the flashlight where he needed it. "Perfect, thank you."

Laura looked around anxiously, still holding the phone steady. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

Max reached his hand into the car, fiddling with the cap on the oil, then the antifreeze. "Just picture yourself curling up right in front of a big ol' firepit singing campfire singalongs," he said, hoping to distract her from her unease. He could tell it was working when she let out a small smile.

"I don't think people curl up right in front of big ol' fire pits."

"Why not?" He could see the smile on her pretty face grow, warming up her dark green eyes.

"Uhh, they don't wanna catch on fire?"

"Then...picture yourself curling up right before a big ol' space heater."

He could hear the unease return when she replied," Well, anywhere is better than here."

They fell into silence as Max focused on the car, checking this and that and whatnot. After a minute, he heard Laura wander off a little, taking the phone with her.

"Where are you going?" he asked, watching her walk away toward the woods that surrounded them. Laura was a badass, a powerful woman he respected, but he did not want her wandering off into the woods in the middle of the night, at least not alone.

"Just over here," she replied, peering into the woods.

"Just...stay there for a second, okay? I'm almost done."

Laura continued to search the woods, and Max could feel the anxiety in her words. "My God, Max! Hurry up!"

Max snaked his arms out of the engine and hurried over to Laura, who was peering through the forest with worried eyes. "What's going on?"

She looked at him increasingly worriedly and gestured into the trees. "I worried that there's somebody down there."

Max felt anxiety flare up in his chest. Had they hit someone? The damage to the car didn't look like it. And why would whoever it was, be this far out in the woods?

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah- they could be hurt. I don't know..."

"I didn't think we hit actually hit anyone..."

"Well, I don't know... I just heard something, okay. Like, a woman..."

"...Do you think we hit her?..."

Laura shook her head and started walking farther into the trees. "I just wanna check it out."

Max followed closely behind Laura, uneasy about her going alone. She should be okay, but the redhead was still worried. She was his girlfriend, after all.

"Okay, alright... Just don't go too far, okay? Be careful."

Laura nodded and continued to a slight slope, where Max offered her his hand. She took it, and he helped her slowly climb down it. Again, he might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but his mother and sister made sure he was a tried and true gentleman.

"Okay... good luck with the car," Laura said as she let go of his hand. She gave him one last nod before wandering off, and he watched her go reluctantly before returning to the car, spending the next few minutes working on the vehicle. The damages were almost all fixed, but they would have to go to an autobody shop before returning to Asheville to repair the scratches.

He had just finished the repairs and closed the hood when he heard Laura call his name. He barely had time to turn before Laura ran to him, out of breath and shaking, a few blonde hairs pulled out of her ponytail. He quickly wrapped his arms around her to calm his scared girlfriend.

"Hey! Hey, Hey, Hey. What's wrong? Is everything alright?"

He watched her carefully as she pulled away slightly, panting and grabbing his forearms. "...Holy shit..."

Max squeezed her arms reassuringly as he looked his girlfriend up and down, looking for cuts or bruises. "Talk to me; what's going on? What's going on?"

Laura pulled out of his grasp and waved her hands as she stammered, "There was something out there; there were noises all around me-"

"Honey, honey, Honey, take a breath... it's okay. It's the woods; there's a lot of stuff out there, there's animals...it's easy to freak yourself out."

Laura shook her head." No. Can we leave, please?"

Max nodded and ushered her to her side of the car. "Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go."

He quickly hopped into the driver's seat as Laura got in and stuck the keys in the ignition to start the car. He looked over at Laura as he turned the keys. "You alright?" The vehicle sparked to life as she shook her head, and Max grinned.

"Yes! There we go! Purring like a kitten." His mechanic skills never let him down.

"Max, come on!"

The redhead immediately stopped grinning and nodded thoughtfully. "Here we go, here we go. We're getting out of here." He put the car in reverse and stepped on the gas, and frowned when he felt the wheels spin in place. Mud was not easy to get out of, and they were stuck in it.

"You got to be fucking kidding me!" Laura nearly shrieked. Whatever she heard out there had freaked her out, and Max didn't quite know how to fix that. He'd never seen her like this before. "Max!"

"I just... Okay, give me a minute, give me a minute..."

"We've got to go, Max!"

Max could usually put up with Laura yelling; it came with her strong independence. But right now, her nerves were shot, and he was almost right there with her. "Laura, you're not helping," he said as gently as he could as he tried the wheels again, to no avail.

"Come on! Can you just- I am trying to get us out of here! Which is-"

"Alright! Enough!" Max yelled, and he immediately regretted it. Laura fell quiet, and he looked at her remorsefully. He was better than that.

"Shit, I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry."

Laura nodded and took a deep breath. "It's okay; it's okay."

Max tried to reverse again, and the wheels spun uselessly in the mud. He looked over at Laura with what he hoped was a comforting look,

"We're okay. We're safe in the car. We're gonna be okay."

Laura turned to look at him, and her eyes widened in fear. "JESUS FUCK!"

Max whipped his head around and almost screamed. Right there, outside his window, was the creepiest man he had ever seen. Pale, with a face so stern, Max's back stiffened. The police uniform he was wearing didn't help, "Oh fuck! Oh my God, my heart just exploded."

The man glared at him impatiently. "Roll it down," he said in a muffled voice. Max quickly complied and quickly rolled down his window.

"Hi, Officer! How are you doing this evening?" Max asked, as though they weren't almost 20 yards away from a broken road barrier and the road itself. The cop ignored his question and instead looked over both of them, scrutinizing them.

"Are either of you injured?"

"Really, we're fine. Just a little shaken up."

"Mmhhmm." The cop narrowed his eyes and stepped toward the front of the car, inspecting the damage before returning to the window. "Well, you folks wanna tell me what happened here?"

Max opened his mouth to say something, but Laura beat him.

"We um... Something jumped out right in front of our car, and we didn't want to hit it, so we swerved and...Now here we are."

The cop focused his gaze on Laura sharply. "Something jumped out?"

"Ugh- I'm sorry, it was just...it was so dark, and it happened so fast, and they were gone...I don't..."

"They?" the cop questioned, his brow furrowing. "Ma'am, did you hit someone?"

Max followed them through their back and forth, looking from the cop to his girlfriend.

"No! No, God, no! Of course not. But, you know...I mean, I don't think so. I don't...I don't know." Laura trailed off. The cop sighed and turned his gaze to Max.

"Sir, keep the car running," he said before walking away. Max turned to watch him through the back window and saw him grab the tow cable at the front of his cruiser.

"Is this guy, like the all-time scariest cop?" Max asked, watching said cop connect the cable to the hitch of his car. Laura turned to look at him incredulously.

"I dunno, this is my first cop."

"What, like, ever?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm not a criminal!"

The cop had gotten in his car and began towing their vehicle back to the road. After a few minutes, they were straightened out, and the cop parked behind them before getting out and walking back to Max's window with an irritated look on his face.

"Now you folks wanna tell me, just what in the hell you are doing all the way out here this late at night?"

Laura once again responded before Max could open his mouth. "We're headed up to Hackett's Quarry Summer Camp. We're new counselors."

The cop raised an eyebrow at her. "You're one night early."

"No, no, we know... We figured we'd get in early and scope it out. They know we're coming; we called ahead."

Max raised his hand, finally ready to say his piece. "And to be honest, sir, one of us kind of oversold their navigation and got us completely lost."

The cop sighed and briefly looked down at his shoes before looking back up at them.

"You're not gonna make it to Hackett's Quarry," he said ominously. "Not tonight."

The cop turned his head to point up the road, and Max shot Laura a concerned look, who returned it in kind. She had seen the suspicious red marks on his neck too. "Harbinger motel. It's the nearest place. You can bunk up there for the night, okay?"

"Uh...I think we're just gonna stick to the plan, sir. I mean...Mr. Hackett knows we're coming, and we called ahead-"The creepy cop abruptly cut off Laura.

"No, Ma'am. You're going to head to the Harbinger Motel. Do you understand?" The cop looked at them sternly, and Laura backed down a little.

"Okay. Fine. Yeah. We'll head to the motel. Understood. Uh, there's just one small problem."

Max turned to look at the cop sheepishly. "I forgot to spring for the 'middle of nowhere' coverage plan on my phone." Laura nodded.

"What he means is that we're lost. Completely."

The cop sighed and shook his head. "Alright, ma'am, step out of the vehicle."

Max blinked in confusion. "Uhh.."

Laura looked at the cop incredulously. "Wait, what?"

The cop looked at them in what he probably thought was a reassuring manner. "I just wanna show you how to get to the motel on your map there, 'kay?"

Laura shrugged and murmured, "For sure."

Max began to follow Laura out of the car, but the cop's sharp gaze turned to him. "Son, remain in the vehicle."

What the hell was this cop's deal? Max had some experience with cops, but none of them had ever been this rude and creepy. Usually, all Max had to do was smile, be polite, kiss a little ass, and then he would be on his merry way with a ticket, but this cop was almost hostile and for no reason at all. Max looked over at Laura worriedly, his eyes silently asking if she would be okay.

"It's okay, it's okay, I got it," she said, giving him a soft smile before climbing out of the car. Max watched them through the windshield and gagged internally when the cop licked his pencil. What kind of psychopath did that? Laura looked just as creeped out by that and quickly returned to the car after the directions were given. The cop walked back to Max's window, his face as stern as ever.

"Harbinger Motel," he said before looking specifically at Max. "Stay on the road."

"Wait, but-but what if there's someone out there?" Laura was such a caring person. Scared, harassed by a cop, and completely lost, she still thought about others' wellbeing. Just another wonderful thing he loved about Laura.

The cop couldn't care less. "Yeah, I'll have a look," he said before tapping the hood. "Good night."

The cop walked back to his cruiser, and Max watched him every step of the way, only letting out a sigh of relief when the cop got back in his car.

"Why is this guy just sitting there?"

Laura shuddered. "That guy was giving me major weirdo vibes."

Max turned back around in his seat. "Dude needed, like, at least a dozen showers."

"Oh my god, I know!"

"What was up with the thing? Did you see that?"

"I think it was- was it blood?"

Max turned again to look back at the police cruiser sitting there ominously and gave a half-hearted wave."Nice to...meet you..."

Laura giggled as he turned back around and started the car.

"Ah, man," Max sighed, checking his mirrors. Laura let out a breath and pulled out the map.

"Alright, let's get back on the road," she said as she traced her finger over the paper.

"Yes."

"I've had enough woodland encounters for one night, thank you very much."

"Agreed," Max said, leaning over to look at the map. "So, where's this motel?"

"Okay, so we're here," Laura said, pointing to one penciled-in dot.

"Mhmm."

"And the motel is here."

"Okay."

"But we are going here," she said loftily, pointing to a spot near a patch of blue.

"What's there?" Max asked, peering at the map.

"Hackett's Quarry," his girlfriend replied matter of factly. Max blinked at her. She found out how to get to the camp?

"How'd you do that?"

Laura smiled. "I dunno, kinda tricked him into showing me."

Max grinned and let out a chuckle. Kind, beautiful, and clever, that was Laura for you. "Very slick!"

Then the smile on his face dropped slightly. "Are you sure we shouldn't just get to the motel? Just listen to this guy's advice?" Max was all for getting to the camp, but going against a cop's advice usually wasn't a good idea, even if they were one of the creepiest ones around.

Laura looked at him with raised brows. "Honey, you really want to listen to the advice of some creep-ass cop who told us in the middle of the creep-ass woods to go to some creep-ass hotel?"

When she put it that way, yeah. It was a terrible idea. "No. That sounds terrible. Let's hit the road, shall we?

"That's what I thought."

Max started the car and began driving before giving her a sidelong glance and a mischievous grin. "Ma'am."

"Oh, my God! If he called me ma'am one more time, I was gonna shove that badge up his dickhole!"

Max laughed as he watched Laura have her little rant. It was always so funny when she ranted like this. "Seriously, do I look like a "ma'am" to you?! I've got like 20 years before I'm a "ma'am"!"

Max bit his tongue and nodded. "Mhmm." He definitely didn't have something to say about that. Not at all. Laura looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"What?"

Max tilted his head slightly. "I... twenty's...debatable."

"Easy," Laura said warningly, giving him a stink eye.

"I mean, I'm kinda into ma'ams." Max could practically feel Laura's eye roll from her seat.

"Okay, we're done here."

Max let out one last chuckle before letting the quiet of the car ride take over, broken occasionally by Laura's directions.

Chapter Text

"You've got to be kidding. There's nobody here. We drive all the way the fuck out here!"

Max paced momentarily, gesturing at the empty lodge in front of them. It had taken them another two hours to get here, but no soul was there. He was hungry, tired, and had the beginnings of a headache from focusing on the road. He wouldn't tell Laura that last bit, though. She wouldn't let him drive if she knew that.

"Max, can we just look around before we jump to conclusions?" Laura said, putting her hands placatingly. Max turned around to face her.

"Did you actually even talk to Mr. Hackett, or did you just leave a message?"

Laura looked at him guiltily. "Well, what's the difference?"

"This!" Max pointed to the empty lodge." This is the difference!"

Max put his hands on his hips and watched as Laura knocked on the door and called out to no avail.

"Guess he doesn't check his voicemail."

Laura rounded on him, frowning. "How was I supposed to know that?!" She pointed to a car parked not far from the lodge's steps. "I mean, clearly, there's somebody here!"

"Yeah, or it's just an abandoned car, and this was a complete waste of time."

"Why would there be an abandoned-"

Max shook his head, which already had ghost aches of the headache about to come on. "I'll be at the car," he said, walking past Laura and down the lodge steps. She called out after him.

"Max, come on. Max, don't be a dick!"

The redhead turned around momentarily and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry."

He turned back and continued into the car, sitting in the driver's seat and fishing a bottle of ibuprofen from the bag behind him. He took two and swallowed them dry before resting his aching head on the steering wheel, leaving his door open so he could hear if Laura needed him. Right now, he only wanted to eat something and go to bed.

It took fifteen minutes for his head to stop hurting and twenty minutes for Laura to find something.

"Max! Max! Get over here!"

He looked out the windshield to find Laura gesturing him over frantically. "What's going on?"

"There's somebody in the bunker! I think they might be stuck!"

Max stood up out of the car, hand resting on the door. That could be why it looked like no one was there. "Stuck? Is it Mr. Hackett?"

"I-I don't know! Just bring some tools so we can break the lock!"

Max closed the car door and circled to the trunk, opening it to grab his toolbox...that wasn't there. He frowned; he had forgotten to pick it up when Laura came running scared. All he had in the back of the car was a hammer and two wrenches. He grabbed them all and jogged over to Laura, bent over a set of bright yellow bunker doors.

"Hey," he said. Laura turned to look at him and then at what he had in his hands.

"Wait, what-what are these?"

Max shrugged. " I don't know; you just said tools."

Laura looked annoyed." Why didn't you just bring the..." Laura took a deep breath and pointed at the doors. "Look! There's someone in there."

Max bent over and peered through the tiny crack between the doors, scanning the dark interior. "Uhm...I'm not seeing anyone..."

"Well, look!"

"I am looking, I am."

"Let me see."

Max moved over so Laura could peer into the shelter again. "There was definitely someone there," she said as she backed up. Max nodded.

"...Okay, okay...so," he held the tools in his hands out to Laura, who scanned over them before grabbing the wrenches. "You sure?"

Laura nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, saw it online."

She positioned the wrenches together before pulling them apart, snapping the lock, and letting it fall to the ground.

"Damn," he said, impressed. There were no limits to what Laura could do if she put her mind to it. She smiled at him and went to lift the doors to the shelter.

"You want a hand?"

"Yeah," Laura said, and he quickly grabbed the other handle to open the shelter. It had a long set of steps that led down into the darkest, dustiest place he'd ever seen. They pulled out their phones and turned on their flashlights before slowly heading down the stairs. This place gave Max the chills, and every bone in his body screamed at him to get out.

"You've seen Evil Dead, right?" Max whispered. Laura silenced him, and they continued down into the shelter.

When they reached the final step, Laura called out. "Hello? Are you hurt?"

"Do you exist?" Laura gave him a scathing look before walking deeper into the shelter, her flashlight sweeping over dust-covered furniture and trinkets.

"Hey, be careful." Max watched her walk away before sitting on the steps, content to let Laura investigate and satiate her curiosity. More likely than not, it had been a possum or a cat that she saw. Max figured he should let her explore; then, they could go to the hotel and get some much-needed rest. He watched his girlfriend's flashlight sweep around the area for the next few minutes. When the flashlight went still, he stood up and called out.

"Hon, maybe it was a possum or something?"

He could hear the worry in her voice when she replied," No, there was...there was someone here, I swear."

"Hey... it's been kind of a night, you know? Let's just get back to the motel, we can come back here first thing in the morning, we can check everything out, but..." Max watched as his girlfriend appear from behind a pile of clutter and continued. "You must be exhausted; I know I am. I know our imagination-"

There was a loud snarl, and then something large knocked him flat. The next thing he knew, the wind was knocked out of him as the creature bit into his shoulder, ripping through skin and muscle like a knife through butter. It happened so fast he couldn't even scream. There was a sickening squelch in his left ear as whatever had bit him pulled away, splattering his face with a warm liquid. He heard Laura call out his name, and whatever was on him got off, vanishing without a sound. He slowly sat up, the pain in his shoulder aching into his very bones and making his head spin. He could feel warmth oozing from his shoulder and gingerly touched it. When he pulled his hand away, it was coated in blood.

His blood.

"Max!"

Laura ran up to him, and he saw his beautiful girlfriend's face morph into horror as she looked at him. She slowly knelt beside him as he tried to find the words to speak.

"It's blood...help..."

He reached for her with his bad arm, and she took it gently, trying to help him to his feet, but he couldn't find his footing. His head began to fog up, and his vision blurred.

"I think I'm bleeding a lot..." Max croaked. He saw the look of determination flash on Laura's face before she stepped over him and gently grabbed him under both arms, starting to drag him up the stairs. Max put his hand back on his left shoulder, trying in vain to get the pain to stop. It ached and burned at the same time, like the time a dog had bitten him as a kid. Only this hurt worse. Way worse.

Laura was struggling to pull him up the stairs. He was a heavy guy, and the blood on his body probably made him hard to grab, so he focused on pushing himself up each step with his feet, trying his best to help Laura out. The pain in his shoulder began to sting even more, and Max could feel his skin heating up. Was the wound able to get infected that fast? They were almost out of the storm shelter when Laura slipped, sitting with him almost on her. He could hear her straining to pull him up, but something grabbed him by the leg and jerked him out of Laura's grasp. Whatever it was was strong; the grip on his ankle alone was enough to bruise. He cried out in agony as another sharp pain shot through his shoulder. It hurt so bad... He vaguely heard Laura scream, the sound ringing in his ears. He looked up the stairs to see a figure stick a syringe in her neck as she reached for him, and seconds later, she collapsed in a heap.

"No!" Max tried to reach for her, but whatever grabbed him had a firm hold on him, and it bit him again in his already torn-up shoulder, growling and ripping through muscle and bone.

Bang

Bang

Bang

Three shots rang out, and the monster leaped off him, snarling as it retreated into the darkness. Max whimpered as he tried to inch his way back to the steps, back to Laura.

"Does this look like the goddamned Harbinger Motel to you?!"

Max looked up the stairs and saw none other than the creepy cop from before. In one hand, he had his gun pointed at Max. In the other, he had a syringe. He glared angrily at Max as he holstered his gun and dropped the needle, stepping into the shelter. Max tried his best to crawl away from him, but the cop reached him quickly and grabbed him by the bloody shirt he was wearing. He pulled aside the jacket to reveal a large set of jagged bite marks surrounding the massacre that was Max's shoulder.

"God damn it," the cop muttered under his breath. Max's head swam as the cop forced him to stand, slinging his bad arm over his shoulder. The officer waited only a moment for the redhead to find his feet before dragging him up the stairs, constantly looking behind them. Max shook his head, hoping to get the blood out of his eyes, the pain in his shoulder slowly fading from a sharp sensation to a dull ache. When they reached the top of the stairs, the cop dropped him, letting Max collapse next to the unconscious form of his girlfriend. Max swallowed heavily and crawled towards her, gently touching her face.

"L-Laura...Laura, wake up..." he croaked before he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and dragged away from her. His blood was left where his hand had been and all over her clothes from when she carried him. It was not a pretty sight.

"She's fine; she's asleep. Move!" Said the cop, shoving him towards the police cruiser parked nearby. Max staggered, barely finding his footing. The cop glared at him.

"Get in the back! Don't think about running off if you want her to live long enough to see tomorrow!"

Max panted, standing up all the way. His head was still swimming, but he knew he should obey for Laura's sake. He nodded and obediently crawled into the back of the cruiser, huddling up into a ball. Why was he so hot all of a sudden? The numb ache in his shoulder had spread throughout the rest of his body, and he was slowly getting hotter by the minute. Not long after he had entered the police cruiser, the cop opened the front passenger seat with Laura in his arms. After putting her into the seat, he hurried over to the driver's seat and started the car before turning to look in on Max.

"Son! The second you feel like you're going to explode, you tell me. Do you understand?"

Max nodded silently, withering under the cop's hard glare. Satisfied, the cop returned to the steering wheel and began driving to who knows where. Max couldn't bring himself to care. He was hot, achy, and just not feeling great. The ride was quiet, aside from his occasional moan of pain.

After an undetermined amount of time, Max began to smell something...amazing. It made his mouth water, and his pain almost evaporated as he sniffed around, sitting up. The cop noticed and parked momentarily, turning around and looking at him.

"Let me see your face."

Max had half a mind to flip him the bird when a blinding bright light flashed in his eyes, making him growl in pain. The cop swore under his breath and stepped on the gas, hurrying to get to his destination. Every second that passed, the smell got stronger. It smelled so good... Max began to growl with every breath; the scent of food drove him crazy. He was so hungry, and that cop...the cop looked like he would taste good.

The car stopped abruptly, and the cop got out, only to appear on Laura's side. When he reached for her, Max threw himself against the bars separating him from the front seats, a growl reverberating in his chest as he snarled.

"Don't you fucking touch her!"

The cop gave him a hard look and picked up Laura, firmly grasping her. "Shut up."

The car door slammed as Max growled, grabbing the bars in his hands. How dare that creepy man touch her?... Max snarled as his stomach ached, thinking about all the ways he could rip that cop apart. He was so deep in his violent thoughts that when the car door opened, he couldn't dodge the taser that was jabbed in his ribs. He let out a loud snarl before the cop tased him again, forcing him to lie down on the seat. The cop quickly grabbed him by his ankles and forcefully dragged him out of the car, making him land on solid concrete with a painful thud. Another growl earned him another volt with the taser, and the cop began dragging him into what Max vaguely recognized as a police station. Through the door, down a set of stairs, and through another door, Max was dragged, growling low in his chest all the while, occasionally swiping his arm at his captor.

"...Max!..."

Max looked over to see Laura on the floor of a cell, covered in blood. His growl quickly turned to a snarl as he swung at the cop dragging him. How dare he?! How dare he touch Laura and put her in a cage!? Max snarled, all but ripping apart the man in front of him. The cop couldn't care less, forcing him to his feet. Max tried to swing, but the cop forced him into another cell.

"Get in there! Fucking do it!"

With one last shove, Max was locked in the cage. He attempted to lunge at the cop, but his body couldn't do it, and he fell against the bars. It was too fucking hot, and his skin...his skin was too tight. He snarled and growled as the need to shed his skin became stronger and more painful. The cop stood there, watching him suffer. Max glared into his eyes, growls ripping from his throat as his skin became tighter. He got on his knees and slowly moved away from the cop who watched him. He couldn't hold it off anymore; his skin needed to move. With a bellowing roar, Max felt his skin explode, and it was the most excruciating pain and ecstatic bliss he had ever felt. That was his last conscious thought before his mind went blank.

Chapter Text

Oh god, he was sore. He was so, so sore.

Max opened his pale green eyes and slowly sat up, wincing as every muscle in his body ached in response to his every movement. It took him a moment to fully wake up, and when he did, he almost screamed.

"What the fuck!"

All around him was blood. Lots of it. It coated every surface of the cell he was in, and even the wall across from the bars that caged him in was covered in the gore. He quickly stood up and hissed when his bare feet felt the cold of the concrete floor. Where were his shoes?! Max looked down and saw that his shoes weren't the only thing he was missing. His clothes were gone, save for his boxers, which were more or less intact. He frantically felt his chest, looking for the chain that held his most prized possession; Laura's ring. She had jokingly gifted it to him when they started dating, and he never took it off. It was also gone. He frantically searched the cell, looking for it. He found the necklace under the sad excuse of a mattress that hung from the wall and quickly put it on. He was okay with being naked as long as he had the necklace.

Once the necklace was back in its rightful place, Max looked around his cell, trying to piece to gather what happened. His memory was foggy at best, only remembering that he and Laura had entered the storm shelter. She hadn't found anything, so he was trying to get her to leave...and then...

Max frowned and walked over to the small mirror on the wall. His left shoulder was completely fine. No blood, no injury, nothing. Had he hallucinated that part? Getting attacked? It had felt so real...

Max frowned as he remembered Laura. He remembered that she had been attacked. By the cop, the creepy one from the road. He had stuck her with a syringe...Where was she? Where was Laura? Where was he even?

"Laura? Are you here? Laura?"

When there was no response, Max slowly walked over to the shitty bed and sat, trying to think. If he was in a cell, no doubt it was a police station. And the only police officer they had seen was the creep who drugged Laura. And from what little he could remember, he and Laura hadn't done anything wrong... They had been kidnapped by a fucking police officer!

The sound of a door opening caught his attention, and he ran to the bars of his cell.

"Hey! You! Asshole!"

As he peered down the hall through the bars of his cell, he caught a glimpse of the creepy cop shoving someone into a cell. Laura. She briefly met his eyes before she was forced into her cell. "Max!"

"I know you hear me!" Max shouted, glaring as best he could at the cop he could barely see. The cop barely looked at him and walked away. "Fuck," Max murmured under his breath.

"Max...Are you okay?" he could hear her in the cell next to his but couldn't see her. He hoped she was okay. He, on the other hand, was barely okay.

"Yeah...I mean, I'm...I'm kind of all mixed up, but...more or less intact, I think." He paused for a minute before continuing. Maybe she knew something?

"Laura?"

"Yeah?"

"Why am I naked?"

There was a second of silence, and Max swore he could hear the confused look on Laura's face.

"...What?"

"I mean, after we got...attacked...the next thing I know, I'm waking up in a jail cell, and you're gone, and now you're back again, and I-I'm super naked, and there's blood and...stuff everywhere. I mean, what the fuck happened?"

"I was kind of hoping you could tell me what happened..." Laura replied with just a tiny hint of disappointment in her words.

"I feel like I remember bits and pieces, but...none of it makes any sense."

"Yeah, same. I-I feel like...were we drugged? I feel like maybe we were drugged."

"By the cop," Max said, grabbing the bars. "Who does this guy think he is? I remember watching him stick you with a needle."

"Sherriff of NorthKill, apparently."

"North Kill?" Max had no clue what that meant. A cult, maybe?

"Yeah. Did you even look at the map? Hackett's Quarry is in North Kill!"Laura said, obviously annoyed.

"Oh..."

"And it gets even better. I got a look at his name badge-"

The sound of the door opening again caused Laura to be quiet, and Max stepped away from the bars a little. He did not like this creepy Sherriff.

The cop approached Max's cell and knelt to pass something through the bars; clothes. When he stood up, he looked at Max with a stern glare. "Get dressed."

"What's he given you?" Laura asked suspiciously. Max sighed and grabbed the clothes offered to him.

"I'm not gonna be the guest of honor at Fashion Week, I'll tell you that much."

"Hey!" The cop looked between them, looking incredibly annoyed. "Did I say you could talk to each other?"

"I wasn't aware we needed your permission, Detective Dick Whippet."

Max couldn't hold back his chuckle when he heard that. Laura had her moments where her sass was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. He stepped into the grey sweats he was handed.

"Ha! Yeah, it's a free country, Officer Oat...for Brains." Max cringed as he started hopping, trying to pull up his new pants. It was painfully obvious that sometimes, he just didn't have the same sass. "Shit!"

The Sherrif completely ignored their creative names for him as he waited for Max to finish getting dressed. It only took a minute, and as Max was pulling on the shirt, the cop approached the bars.

"Alright, buddy, hands through the bars..."

Max hesitantly stepped forward.

"Come on!"

Max gingerly held out his hands, and the cop wasted no time in cuffing them. Then he open the door to his cell and gestured for Max to walk out. "Your turn."

When Max didn't move, the Sherriff stepped into the cell." Let's go!"

Max stepped away from him."I'm not going anywhere. We can talk right here."

The cop didn't stop his advance. "Come on!" The Sherriff grabbed his forearm and shoved him to the ground.

"Hey! Hey!" Max yelled, struggling against the cop's grip. The next thing he knew, the Sherriff had one hand on the back of his neck in a steel grip and his other on Max's arm."Let's go! Come on!"

"Get the fuck off me!"

As soon as he was on his feet, the cop walked him through the cell door.

"Good boy."

Max tried to shoulder-check the Sheriff to slip out of his grip.

"Hey! Stop struggling!"

"Max!" The redhead looked to see his girlfriend staring at him with a worried expression. "Calm down, you're only making it worse!"

"Laura?..." Max couldn't find the words to speak. In the brief time, he hadn't seen her, her clothes had gotten bloody and wet, and there were dark circles under her eyes. One side of her face was stained with dried blood, and her hair was streaked with dirt. What had happened to them? Where did that blood come from? Why was she wet? Before he got the chance to ask, the Sherriff whisked him away. When Laura was out of earshot, he sent a scathing look at the man forcing him to walk.

"What did you do to her?!"

"Shut up!"

After a few turns, Max was shoved into what looked like a small office. The sheriff quickly guided him to a chair, then attached his cuffed hands to the table in front of him before sitting across the desk from him. Max quickly scanned his eyes around the room and noticed water on the floor. Was that how Laura got wet? The thought made his heart ache. She didn't deserve that.

"Alright. Are you going to cooperate now?" The sheriff held up a pen and clicked it a few times, staring dead into Max's eyes.

"I want to speak to my attorney."

The cop sighed and shook his head. "No attorney is going to get you out of this. I ask you questions, and you answer. Understood?"

"Fuck you."

Ignoring Max, he brought out a piece of paper and set it on the table before fixing the redhead with a stern glare.

"Name."

"None ya."

The sheriff glared at him before clicking his head a few times. "If I were you, I'd start answering questions, son."

Max bristled. "Why should I?"

The cop leaned forward menacingly. "Because this will directly affect Ms. Laura Kearney."

Max froze, and the cop leaned back, satisfied. "Let's try this again; name?"

Max swallowed and looked at his feet. He would do anything for Laura. "Max Brinley."

The cop nodded. "Who are you traveling with, and what is your relationship?"

"Laura Kearney...She is my girlfriend."

The cop nodded and continued. "Where were you headed last night?"

Max frowned and leaned back into the chair, wincing as the cuffs bit into his wrists. "We were headed to Hackket's Quarry Summer Camp. To be camp counselors. We told you this on the road last night."

The cop sighed and looked at him. "How did you feel when you woke up this morning?"

Max blinked at him. "How is that even relevant?"

The cop pointed the pen at him. "I ask the questions. You answer."

Max glared at him." I felt as happy as could be, frolicking in a field of flowers."

The pen clicked, and the glare the cop gave him almost made Max straighten up in his seat.

"I felt...sore. I ached all over, but I'm fine now."

"Do you remember anything at all from last night?

"Kind of. I definitely remember you drugged my girlfriend."

The cop sighed and stood up. "That's it. We're done here."

Max glared at the cop as he was released from the table and forced to stand back up. "Careful, I bruise easily!"

The sheriff ignored him and instead forced him to go back the way they came, back to the cells. Max's mind raced. If he was put back in that cell, there was no telling how long he and Laura would be in there. They could get stuck there forever. If he was going to do something, he had to do it now.

Right as they were walking in front of Laura's cell, Max took a deep breath and put as much force as he could into slamming the back of his head into the cop's face, who let go of Max with a mumbled curse. The redhead then rushed the Sherriff and slammed him into the bars of Laura's cell.

"Fucking hell!" The sheriff roared, reaching for the taser at his hip. Max saw it and tried to kick it away, but the cop's hands were too fast, and instead, he got tased in the leg.

"Get on the ground!" The cop yelled, tasing Max again. he let out a small stream of curses as the taser made contact with his chest, making him fall to the ground. A second later, there was a loud bang, and the cop cursed under his breath.

"Get the fuck off of him, asshole!" Laura screamed. Max looked over to see his girlfriend holding the gun that had previously been in the cop's holster. She must have swiped it from the cop's holster when he fell against the bars. Said cop was down on one knee holding his bleeding shin. Upon seeing where his injury had come from, the cop slowly raised his hands over his head.

"Don't do something you'll regret later, ma'am."

Laura looked at him coldly."Uncuff Max. Now."

The cop sighed heavily and reached for his keys, tossing them to Max. The redhead quickly grabbed them and unlocked the cuffs before hurrying to let Laura out of the cell. She stepped out quickly, gun still pointed at the wounded cop.

"Get in the cell. Now," she commanded, For the first time since they met him, a look of desperation dawned on the Sherriff's face.

"Listen to me; you don't know what you're doing. If you leave, you will be putting lives at risk."

Laura gestured to the cell with a nod of her head. " I'll take my chances. Get in. I won't ask again, Dick Whippet."

The cop slowly inched into the cell, and Max quickly locked it behind him before stepping back beside Laura, who lowered the gun slightly.

"Rot in hell, motherfucker." Laura said, glaring at the cop one more time before leaving. Max was about to follow when the cop called out to him.

"Max, if you love that girl, you can't leave. If you do, you will be putting her life at risk!"

Max turned to look at the cop, who had the most serious expression Max had ever seen.

"You know, if you had been a little less creepy and a lot less of a dick, we might have listened," he said nonchalantly. "Rot in hell, Detective Dick Whippet."

With that last statement, Max followed his girlfriend out of the jail.

Chapter Text

Max ran a hand through his messy red hair and looked over at Laura. She was exhausted, and he hated how her dark circles had deepened. The couple had spent the last two days driving, almost breaking speed limits in their haste to get out of the Hackket woods, and the state of New York in general.

When they had first escaped from the jail, they found that their car was parked right out in front, with the keys hanging by the front door. Max had wasted no time in starting the car and peeling out if the parking lot. In their haste to get out of that god-forsaken place, both of them had left their phones behind, but that had been the least of their worries at the time. Now that they were almost back to Asheville, they both collectively relaxed a little more.

"So...when are we going to talk about what happened?" Max opened up, looking up from the road for a brief second. Next to him, he heard Laura sigh.

"I guess we can start now. That whole situation was horrible." His girlfriend adjusted slightly in her seat and crossed her arms. "I can say for sure we are never going back there."

"Agreed. But I don't like that my memory has a blank spot."

"I don't like it either," Laura murmured, brushing the bangs out of her face." I remember getting to the camp and going down into the storm shelter..."

Max nodded." I remember that too... You were looking for someone."

"Yeah, but we never found them. Instead..." Laura went quiet for a moment before continuing. " I remember you getting hurt," she said softly.

Max frowned and rubbed his left shoulder. "I thought I remembered that too, but my shoulder is fine. No cuts, no bruises, and no scars. Nothing."

Laura looked over at him, confused. "Not a scratch?"

"All in one piece."

Laura frowned. "Then...what happened? It all happened so fast...none of it makes sense!"

Max looked over at her with a serious look. "Do you think we were drugged? I do remember Detective Dick Whippet stuck a needle in your neck, so I don't doubt that we were slipped some kind of drug." Max looked over at his girlfriend with a grin. "Not how I wanted to have my first trip. I wanted to try mushrooms."

He could practically feel the eye-roll from Laura. "Well, too bad..." Laura sighed and pinched her brows. "I would love to believe that was all hallucinated, but it was all so..real."

Max gave her a reassuring smile, hoping to pull her out of her thoughts. He didn't want to think about it at all. "What a hell of a night that was."

"Yeah, no kidding. I just wanna go home." Laura said tiredly. It was obvious that she didn't fully buy the theory about them hallucinating that night, and was still trying to think her way through it.

Without taking his eyes off the road, Max reached over and gently grabbed Laura's hand and brought it to his lips. "I know, honey. I'll get us there."

He could feel Laura relax slightly at his touch, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze before returning it to her lap.

"Hon, you should try to sleep a little. We have a few more hours before we get home."

Laura immediately sat up and shook her head. "No, Max, I-"

"Laura, please? I know you're exhausted. Please take a nap."

Max looked over at Laura, and she sighed. "Okay...be careful."

Max chuckled. " I won't run us off the road again if that's what you mean."

Laura shot him a half-hearted glare with a soft smile. "Do it, and I'll never let you drive again."

Max grinned and used one hand to cross his heart. " I won't. Get some sleep, hon."

Laura yawned and curled up in her seat, leaning heavily against the car door. Max looked at her one more time, then continued to drive with his eyes on the road. He still had another four hours to drive. Since they were in no hurry to make a deadline, Max and Laura had decided to stay at a few hotels to get their mind off of the events that happened barely even three days ago, leading to a longer trip back to Asheville. That was fine by Max, though; the longer he was away from home, the longer he didn't have to tell Laura about his rejection letter. That was not going to be a good day.

It took a few minutes for Laura's breath to even out as she fell asleep, and when it did, the car became almost silent. Almost. There was a small, almost imperceptible sound in the redhead's ears. It sounded like a drum, and Max checked to make sure the radio was off several times to see if that was the source of the sound. When it wasn't that, he made sure all the windows were rolled up. It wasn't that either. He even pulled over at the nearest pull off to make sure the noise wasn't from the car. It wasn't. Perplexed, Max continued to drive, listening to the rhythmic thumping of whatever was making the noise. Whatever it was, it was kind of calming, so he didn't worry about it too much. If nothing was immediately wrong, then all was well in his book.

It was a little after midnight when Max pulled into the driveway of his mom's cabin. His mom preferred to live out in the city of Raleigh, where she had more resources for his little sister Ruby. She had generously lent Max and "his future wife" the cabin for the time being.

Leaving Laura fast asleep in the passenger seat with the car on, Max focused on bringing in their bags and getting the bed ready. He would rather have all the work done now than to have Laura stress about it in the morning. Then came the difficult part; whether he should wake Laura or not.

He gingerly opened her car door, and she recoiled slightly from the night air flowing over her, but didn't wake up. Max smiled; Laura was beautiful, even while she slept. He gently reached out for her and paused.

Should he wake her, or carry her in?

The decision didn't take long. Max gently slid his arms behind her knees and shoulder, and slowly lifted Laura out of the car, quickly fixing his positioning, having expected Laura to be much heavier in his arms. Had she lost weight? He definitely wasn't the strongest person around, but Laura wasn't usually as light as a feather.

"I'm some superman, huh?" Max said to no one in particular as he shut the car door with his foot before carrying his girlfriend inside. He quietly navigated his way to the master bedroom, laying Laura down on the bed before gently pulling off her shoes and pulling the covers over her. She quickly snuggled into the blankets, and Max couldn't help but chuckle.

"Goodnight, honey," he whispered before gently kissing her blonde hair. Then he walked around to his side of the bed and kicked off his own shoes, frowning when he realized he was still wearing the clothes the cop had given him. He made a mental note to throw them out when he woke up.

Max opened the covers and scooted in next to Laura, fully planning on drifting off to sleep beside her. However, his body wasn't having it; the drumbeat returned, there was a lovely scent in his nose, and he was entirely too hot. Max sat up and quickly stripped off the shirt to see if it would help with his body temperature, and layed back down. It didn't. He was still hot.

Sighing, he got up and went to the bathroom and started the shower, kicking off his pants and boxers. Nothing like a cold shower to cool off, right?

"Ooh, that's cold! Cold cold cold..."

Max stepped in and immediately felt like he was being pelted by hail, the cold water stinging his skin. He turned up the temperature slightly, settling for a lukewarm temperature to cool his skin. It worked somewhat, and he stood in there for a good fifteen minutes, letting the water cool off his hot skin. After stepping out, drying off, and slipping back I to his boxers, Max rifled through the medicine cabinet to find a thermometer. He stuck it in his mouth and turned it on while he wandered to the kitchen to adjust the thermostat.

It was set at 68.

The thermometer in his mouth beeped, and he took it out.

97.8, the perfect temperature.

"Why am I so hot?..."

Max sighed and went to go put the thermometer back when the lovely smell from earlier filled his nose again. Standing still, he took a cautious sniff. It smelled...warm and soft. And a little floral, like daisies.

"Did I light a candle?..."

Max followed the scent back to the bedroom and put the thermometer down. No candle in sight. Was it...Laura? He bent over and quickly took a whiff of her hair, trying not to feel like a creep.

The smell was Laura. Now that he was closer, the scent became more floral and sweet. Max stood back up. Laura didn't often wear perfume and used mildly scented products, so this was unusual.

"What the hell?..."

Shaking his head, Max slid in beneath the covers next to his unusually scented girlfriend. Laura immediately rolled over in her sleep, resting her head on his shoulder. Max looked at her and softly kissed the top of her head.

"Goodnight, stinky."

Chapter Text

Max woke up to the smell of bacon and Laura's faint new scent that clung to the sheets. He sat up slowly, glad to feel a breath of cool air flow over his skin as the blankets dropped to his waist. He stretched for a moment, then swung his feet out of bed and padded over to the bags he set down last night, pulling out a pair of jeans and a dark-colored shirt. He hastily put them on and pulled his necklace out of his shirt before wandering into the kitchen, following the smell of Laura and bacon.

She was standing by the stove in a pair of shorts and a tank top, hair still wet from a shower. When she heard his footsteps, she turned and smiled at him.

"Morning, sleepy head."

"Morning yourself, honey," Max said as he wrapped his arms around her, placing a soft kiss in the crook of her neck. The shower hadn't washed the smell off of her, but Max didn't really care. It was a nice smell anyway, and he decided he liked it. "What are you making?"

Laura looked at him loftily and pointed the spatula she was using to cook at him. "Well, I was making myself some bacon and eggs, but since I'm a nice person, I'll share."

"I'm so thankful."

Laura rolled her eyes at him again before opening a few cupboards. "Where does your mom keep plates again?"

Max walked over to the coffee maker and plugged it in. "In the cupboard by the sink, left-hand side."

While he brewed coffee, Laura dished up their breakfast and handed one to him. He took it with a smile.

"Thanks, hon. Smells great."

Laura gently elbowed him to move him out of her way, grabbing the cup of coffee he set aside for her.

"So, what are we doing today?" Laura asked, taking a sip of coffee. Max had memorized the way she liked her coffee; more milk than coffee and a little sugar. He could tell he got the right amount of each when she sighed happily.

Max thoughtfully chewed on his bacon. "We should probably start by telling Mr. Hackett why we aren't coming to camp."

Laura frowned over her coffee. "Screw that guy. We don't owe him an explanation."

Max raised a brow at her. "We don't?"

Laura shook her head. "No. Remeber the wierdo cop? I got a look at his nametag."

"...So his name wasn't Detective Dick Whippet?"

"No, Max, it wasn't. It was Hackett. Like Mr. Hackett, the camp leader."

Max lowered the bacon he was going to bite into. "...Were we set up?"

Laura frowned and put her coffee down, leaning against the counter.

"I've been thinking about it all morning. The cop, the drugs, the hallucinations...none of it makes sense," Laura said, crossing her arms. " I remember we ran off the road, the cop pulled us back on the road, then we went to the camp, we went down in the cellar, and you got attacked-"

Max set down his plate as he swallowed the last of his bacon. "I remember being attacked too, but I'm convinced that was a hallucination. I'm completely fine."

"But can two people hallucinate the same thing? Max, I remember dragging you up the stairs, you were covered in blood-"

Max quickly crossed the space between them and grasped Laura's hands, squeezing them reassuringly. Honestly, the more he thought about it, the less he believed those memories were hallucinations. But then, what could explain his perfectly fine shoulder? Hallucinations were the only logical answer.

"Hey, hey! Hon, it's okay. Weird stuff happened, but we're here now, safe and sound. Fuck the Hacketts."

Laura took a deep breath. "Right. Fuck those guys."

Max nodded and squeezed her hands again. "How about we go shopping? Get new phones? Pretty sure my Mom will kill me if we don't call her soon."

Laura chuckled and swatted his chest. "Of course, she would. She's gotta check up on the "future wife"."

Max groaned. "That was the most humiliating moment of my life."

Laura laughed and walked around Max." I'll get dressed, then we can go, okay?"

Max watched her go with a grin. "What's wrong with what you're wearing?"

"Shut up, Max!"

.............................................................................................

Max set his new phone down with a sigh. He had just gotten off the phone with his mother and boy, she had not been happy. Apparently, Lardis had sent her a copy of his rejection letter. Was she upset about the rejection? No, she had been livid that he hadn't told Laura. She had practically chewed him out for about 10 minutes before ending the call to pick up his little sister.

"Mom give you trouble?" Laura asked as she sat next to him on the couch. Max nodded.

"Yeah. She was pretty mad."

Laura leaned toward him and frowned, making her scent fill his nose even more than it already had. "About what?"

Max hesitated. He needed to tell Laura about the rejection; they had planned the next year around going to the same college, and now those plans had to change. Laura saw his hesitation and frowned.

"You have something to tell me, don't you?"

Max blinked at her, feeling his heart sink into his stomach. "...Yeah...You know?"

Laura sighed and nodded, turning on the couch to face Max with a serious face. "I saw the rejection letter in your bag."

Max frowned and looked at his feet. "You were poking around in my stuff?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me."

Max folded his hands on his lap. "...I was embarrassed."

Laura sighed and stood up, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Fuck, Max! We had plans!"

He held out his hands defensively."What do you want me to say?"

Laura turned to look at him with a sad look. "I don't know; you had good grades and a good essay!"

"Yeah, well, not good enough, apparently," he said bitterly. Laura sighed and sat back down next to him.

"I'm sorry, Max. This really sucks."

"It's not the worst thing that happened this summer," Max said with a sigh. He finally looked at Laura. "I'm sorry, hon. I shouldn't have kept it from you."

He tried to look away again, but Laura gently turned his face back to hers, her fingers pleasantly cool on his freckled cheeks. Her emerald eyes held concern, love, and sympathy, and Max could feel his heart flutter in his chest. Laura was nothing short of perfect in his eyes.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Max nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I do."

She smiled at him, and his heart flipped. He had just fallen in love all over again. "Good. Now, let's find something to do. I'm bored."

Max grinned mischievously. "Hi, bored, I'm-"

"Finish that sentence, and you will sleep on the couch."

Chapter Text

For the next few weeks, Max and Laura settled into a comfortable rhythm of eating, sleeping, and enjoying their time together. They would go for hikes, casual drives, nights out on the town, and movie nights. Max was quite glad he got to spend the summer with Laura instead of at camp; this was much better. Mostly, they tried not to think about "the incident" that happened that day in June. His mind was almost worry-free.

Almost.

Max could sense that something had changed inside him, and the evidence was overwhelming. It had taken him a minute to figure it out, but the continuous drumming he had been hearing was none other than a heartbeat. Laura's heartbeat. Some nights he would lay awake next to her and listen to its beat, the sound calming and worrying him. People couldn't typically hear heartbeats without a stethoscope, right? He could hear almost every minute sound the house made, every groan and creak, every footstep. Nothing could escape his sharp hearing.

His ability to smell things had also increased tenfold. Max could tell exactly where Laura was and what she had been doing at any given time just by scent alone. One time, he had passed by her working, and her usual floral scent had been tainted with a slight metal tang.

"Hey Laura," he had said, stopping behind her as she sat at the island in the kitchen. "Are you on your period?"

Laura had given him the most offended look ever." Excuse me? What?"

"Sorry, weird question..."

Laura blinked at him. "No shit, Max. Why would you even ask that?"

Max put his hands up defensively." Sorry, you just...smelled weird..."

Laura turned to face him, frowning. "You asked if I was on my period because I smelled weird?!"

Max quickly apologized, but only a few hours later, he heard his girlfriend curse up a storm as her period made itself known. She had thoroughly interrogated him afterward to try to understand how the hell he was able to smell her period before she even knew she had it.

His newfound strength was also weird. He had to quickly dispose of a pan he had bent when he squeezed it too hard and had almost lost his balance multiple times when he lifted something he expected to be much heavier than it felt. Max's only workout was occasional push-ups, so he had no idea where this monster strength had come from. The worst change of all was his body temperature. He was always so hot, and nothing seemed to bring any relief. The first week he had asked Laura to take his temperature, and she had assured him that he was normal and didn't feel warm when she touched him. It was mostly bearable, but Max sometimes wanted to dive into a pool of ice.

On the morning of July 24, Max woke up feeling...off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew something wasn't right. Something ached deep in his bones, and Max couldn't shake it off. But he had to because tonight he had plans. In his mom's cabin was a basement that had been converted into a den for watching movies. Max had fond memories of sleepovers here as a child, and he and Laura had even had their third date there. Tonight, Max planned to rearrange all the furniture to clear the floor, light some candles, and make a playlist full of their favorite songs to dance to. It was the perfect date; a few drinks, good music, and some dancing, all tied up in a romantic little bow. A few days prior, Max had ordered a small camera he could hide in the room, wanting to keep a little memento of what he hoped would be a fantastic night. But first, he needed Laura out of the house.

"Hey, honey?" he called out, discreetly moving a bottle of milk to the back of the fridge so it couldn't be seen.

"Yes, Mr. Sniffs-A-Lot?"

Max cringed at the nickname before replying. "We're out of milk."

"Did you smell that, or?..." Laura wasn't letting go of that period situation anytime soon. Max sighed.

"No, I'm looking with my eyeballs, hon."

He could smell her approaching, her sweet floral scent tickling his nose as he quickly shut the fridge, the sound of her footsteps getting closer. When she entered the kitchen, she looked at him with a raised brow.

"We're out of milk?"

"Yeah."

She shook her head. "I don't think we are, Max. We went shopping two days ago."

He shrugged. "I just looked; I'm pretty sure we are. Think you can run to the store and grab some?"

She blinked at him, once, twice, then walked to the fridge and opened it, pulling out the milk he had shoved to the back.

"So...what's this?" Laura asked teasingly. Max shrugged.

"...Not milk?..."

Laura rolled her eyes and put the milk back before putting her hands on her hips. "Are we out of anything else?"

Max grinned sheepishly and held out his arms. "Okay, so maybe I didn't drink an entire gallon of milk, but I really need you to vacate the house for about an hour for some very important renovations."

"So you were going to have me buy another gallon of milk for a renovation?" Laura rolled her eyes with a playful smile.

"I need more milk for my bones; another gallon wouldn't hurt."

Laura smiled coyly and walked away slowly, headed for the front door. "Alright, alright, I'll leave. But what is a girl to do for an hour at 7 o'clock at night?"

"You are very creative, Laura; I'm sure you can find something to poke at for an hour," Max said, catching a whiff of something that made his mouth water. He had eaten a few hours ago; why was he hungry again? "You want to grab some takeout while you're out there?"

He heard Laura pick up the car keys and open the door. "What do you want for takeout?"

"I'll eat anything you bring, honey."

"Alright, I'll be back in an hour," Laura called out. Max frowned.

"What? No kiss goodbye?"

The jingle of the keys rang in his ears as Laura returned to the kitchen with a small smile, stopping right in front of him to give a teasing peck on the cheek.

"There, a goodbye kiss for Max," she said as she returned to the front door. Max quickly grabbed her wrist and tugged her back towards him.

"I want a real kiss, Laura..." he said, hand moving from her wrist to her face, making her look him in the eye before he leaned in and kissed her.

Her lips were as soft as always and pleasantly cool on his own. He could feel her eyelashes flutter on his cheeks as she closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, and something activated in the back of his mind; a need to devour her. Almost without thinking, he picked Laura up, hands firmly grabbing her ass before setting her on the nearest counter, enjoying his girlfriend's small gasp when he deepened the kiss. Max trailed his hands from her thighs to the back of her neck, pulling out the ponytail Laura always put her beautiful blonde hair in. He let his fingers run through it, feeling the ends of her hair tickle his face as a new wave of her floral scent tickled his nose.

She was so fucking beautiful.

He ended the kiss only when his lungs screamed for air, pulling away softly as Laura gasped. Her cheeks had flushed a light red, and she shakily brushed some hair behind her ear.

"...Holy shit, Max..."

Max stared at her momentarily before resting his forehead on her shoulder.

"Sorry...that...I don't know what came over me...-

He felt Laura's fingers comb through his hair, and he almost melted right then and there.

"Don't apologize...for that. That was..."

"Intense?"

"That too, but mostly just...incredibly sexy. Any longer, and I thought you were gonna rip my clothes off."

Max chuckled nervously and lifted his head to look her in the eyes, giving her a much more chaste kiss on the top of her nose.

"I didn't even stop to think about that. I just wanted a kiss."

Laura giggled and kissed him on the nose before hopping off the counter, pulling her hair back into her signature ponytail with practiced ease.

"Well, you got your kiss, so I'm going to go cool off now. I'll be back in an hour with the takeout, okay honey?"

"Sounds great, hon; I'll see you when you get back."

Max watched her walk away from him, listening as the front door opened and closed, making Laura's scent fainter the farther she got. He heard the car start, and her scent faded even more. Max made his way to the basement with a sigh and quick stretch, ready to get to work.

"Showtime..."

The ache in his bones deepened as he worked.

Chapter Text

Max sat in the chair he had pushed against the wall a few minutes prior, taking deep breaths. He hurt, hurt down to his very bones. It felt like his muscles were pulling apart slowly, expanding and stretching against his skin. And he was hot, almost unbearably so. He had started the hour by moving around the furniture, moving around knick-knacks, and setting up the hidden camera to record what was supposed to be a romantic evening with Laura, but about an hour after Laura left, the pain had increased to the point where he couldn't do much more than sit. He even had to turn off some lights because they hurt his head too much.

"Fuck..." he murmured, shaking his head. He had sent Laura away to prepare for this whole event, but it wasn't going to happen tonight.

Almost as soon as he thought of her, Max picked up the faintest whiff of Laura; and God, did it smell good. He angled his head slightly as he shameless sniffed the air, his stomach twisting hungrily at the thought of how good she would taste...

Max snapped himself out of those thoughts immediately. How would she taste? Why would he even think about something like that?

He heard the door click open above him, and Laura's floral scent flooded over him entirely, making his stomach twist in hunger.

"Max! I'm back!" He heard her set plastic bags on the counter and briefly smelt the Chinese food waft through his nose. "Where are you?"

Max swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to respond.

"I'm...I'm in the basement, honey."

He heard Laura walk across the floor and down the concrete steps. His mom's basement had initially been a bomb shelter when she got it, and she had refurbished it, saying she hated how uncomfy it was. The only thing she hadn't changed was the metal door that opened into the basement turned-den; he had merely painted over it.

Laura walked into the basement and promptly flipped on a light. "How can you see in here? It's so dark..."

Max hissed in pain and covered his eyes. "Please turn that off..."

"Are you a vampire now?"

Max tried his best to chuckle. "Maybe..."

The light flicked back off, and he could hear Laura's heartbeat pick up slightly as she approached him, kneeling and placing her hands on his knees.

"Max? Are you okay?"

He dropped the arm away from his eyes and shook his head.

"I don't know...I don't feel too good..."

He felt Laura reach out and cup his face, gently lifting him so she could look at him. When their eyes met, she frowned.

"Max..."

"What?..." God, the pain was growing, and Laura smelled so good.

"Your eyes, Max....what the fuck?"

"Again, what?"

Laura tilted his face left and right, scrutinizing him with an almost fearful look. "Your eyes are fucking yellow! And...what the hell are all of these black veins?..."

He jerked his face out of her hands, panting. She was so close he could almost taste her, and her scent made his head spin.

"Max?" He could hear the hurt in her voice, and he swallowed thickly.

"Get away from me, Laura."

He turned to look at her, and she looked back at him defiantly. She didn't understand what she was doing to him, what he could do to her. His body felt wrong in the most painful way possible.

"What?!"

He gave her a slight push, and she stumbled away from him. He hoped he hadn't shoved her too hard.

"Laura, please...Just get back...You shouldn't be this close."

"Max?! What's going on?"

He shook his head, trying hard not to smell her. Her scent was everywhere, though, and his hunger began to gnaw at him viciously.

"Something's wrong, Laura..." he said, shutting his eyes as he tried to focus on breathing. That's when he heard it; a low growl that reverberated in his throat with every breath. It echoed behind his words as he spoke.

"Laura...."

The pain became excruciating, making him kneel on the floor as his hands grabbed the carpet. He heard Laura back away from him, hitting the wall with her back, her heart beating faster every second.

"Max!"

He tried to breathe as the skin on his body became tight; it needed to come off. But not right now. Not with Laura here. He clenched his fingers on the carpet as he struggled to compose himself.

"LAURA...MOVE!" The words came out as a harsh growl, and his vision reddened around the edges. The pain had reached its boiling point, and so had he.

"LAURA...FUCK!"

His skin split in a beautiful sensation of relief, and his consciousness faded to black.

....................................................

Laura took a deep breath and laid her head on the steering wheel, trying to calm her beating heart and hot cheeks. She was idling in the parking lot of the local Chinese restaurant, trying to compose herself before returning home to whatever her boyfriend had put together for her.

Max had never been so...assertive before. The moment he lifted her on that counter and kissed her like his last drink of water was forever ingrained in her brain. It was nice feeling his hands grab her, pull down her hair, and overall feeling him love her. It was amazing. Max was usually very gentle with her and very soft whenever they slept together. Laura had been the top in bed for the five years they had been dating, but this new side of Max...

It excited her.

Taking a deep breath, Laura put the car in drive and began the ride home, trying to push the thoughts of Max dominating her out of her mind. That would be explored another time; Max wanted to do something romantic tonight. Laura had no clue what he had meant by renovating, but the twinkle in his green eyes left no room for doubt. The desperate attempt to get her to buy milk also hadn't helped his case, but it was endearing. Since they officially started dating in their sophomore year of high school, Max had always done romantic things for her, buying her flowers, opening her door, and surprise dates with her favorite foods and places. He always knew what she liked and never failed to make her heart flutter.

Laura smiled as she drove, fondly remembering what Max had done for her. Some of the things she loved most were those he hadn't even known he had done; he just did them without a second thought. The necklace he constantly wore was one of them; when they first started dating, she had jokingly given him a ring that was too big for her to wear. He had taken it solemnly and put it in his pocket, and the following day, Laura saw it hanging by a chain around his neck. The thought that he had treasured that small gift from her made her heart melt.

Laura was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't realized she'd missed the turn leading to the cabin and had to quickly turn around, feeling the smooth road transition bumpy when she turned onto the gravel driveway. After a few minutes of gravel crunching under her tires, she parked the car in the carport and grabbed the Chinese food she had purchased for her and Max, carrying it in one hand as she opened the door.

"Max, I'm back!" she called out, making her way to the kitchen to set the food down. There was a moment of silence; it certainly didn't sound like he was still 'renovating.'

"Where are you?"

"I'm...I'm in the basement, honey." Max's reply was faint, and the first inkling of worry wormed its way into Laura's mind. She hastily made her way down the concrete steps to the basement, which was barely lit, and every bit of furniture down there had been pushed toward the outer corners of the basement. Against the far wall sat Max, who looked...tense. Even in the dark, she could see how he clenched the edge of his seat. With a disapproving frown, Laura flipped on the light switch, flooding the basement with light.

"How can you see in here? It's so dark..."

Her boyfriend hissed in pain and quickly threw an arm over his eyes. "Please turn that off..."

"Are you a vampire now?"

"Maybe." Max's half-hearted chuckle immediately rang alarm bells in her head. He would never miss an opportunity to reply with his unique sass and sense of humor. Laura blinked in confusion as she flicked off the light once more. Did Max have a migraine? He normally didn't get those, but that would explain the sensitivity to light. She quickly crossed the room and knelt in front of her boyfriend, gently placing her hands on his knees.

"Max? Are you okay?" she asked. Max slowly dropped the arm from his face, shaking his head and avoiding her gaze.

"I-I dunno...I don't feel too good..."

Frowning, Laura gently reached out and cup his face, making him look her in the eye. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat. Gone were the beautiful peridot green eyes she had grown up with and loved; in their place were eyes the color of gold that shone brightly in the dim light of the basement, and his normally rosy complexion had become sickly pale, streaked with black veins.

"Max..." she whispered in horror. Her boyfriend shook his head slightly as if to clear something out of his face.

"What?..." he croaked, voice laced with pain.

"Your eyes, Max...what the fuck?..."

"Again, what?"

Laura leaned in, gently turning his head left and right. The veins traveled down his neck into his shirt, and his eyes seemed to yellow even more as she inspected him. "Your eyes are fucking yellow! And... what the hell are all these black veins?..."

Laura flinched when Max violently ripped his face out of her hands, panting in what she could only imagine was excruciating pain. Still, the action alone stung a bit. "Max?..."

"Get away from me, Laura."

Never in all of their years together had Max ever said those five words in any context whatsoever. Laura felt her spine stiffen in irritation as she frowned at him.

"What!?"

He turned to look back at her, and the look of fear in his eyes made her stomach twist. The next thing she knew, he pushed her away, and she stumbled slightly, the force from his shove surprising her. He was strong, stronger than usual.

"Laura, please...Just stay back...You shouldn't be this close."

He was in so much pain. Laura could tell by the way he held his head, the way his shoulders squeezed together. He let out a stuttering breath, and Laura could swear she saw impossibly sharp teeth in his mouth.

"Max, what's going on?" She asked, backing away further. Max shook his head weakly as if to clear his thoughts.

"Something's wrong, Laura..." he whispered. She shuddered when she heard a growl begin in his throat, getting louder with each pained breath Max took. Laura watched as he slowly lowered himself to the floor, his hands curling into fists on the soft carpet. A low, rumbling growl escaped his lips, and Laura felt her legs begin to tremble.

What was happening to Max?

"Max!" Laura hoped that, somehow, she could ground him and bring back her green-eyed and happy boyfriend.

That never happened.

Laura watched in a daze as her boyfriend growled, straining against some unknown force. With one last bellowing roar, Max disappeared in an explosion of blood. Laura stood, frozen in place, as the blood of her boyfriend trickled down her face, looking at the horrific creature that stood where Max had been. It towered above her, a lithe mass of mottled grey with golden eyes and a lipless mouth full of teeth.

Its yellow eyes pierced into her soul with a hunger that terrified her and lunged.

Chapter Text

It all happened so fast. The monster lunged, clawed hand ready to rip her a new face, and Laura lifted her arm, taking the blow with her left hand and screaming in agony as it sliced through her skin like butter. Without a second to rest, the monster attacked again, and Laura ran for the heavy metal door to the basement, shoving it closed as best she could with her right shoulder. The creature had gotten a few fingers stuck and quickly retracted them with an angry roar that was mostly muffled by the door. Right now, that...thing could wait.

Gritting her teeth, Laura ran to the master bath and quickly opened the cabinets, looking for the first aid kit. Her arm was on fire, and she didn't dare to look at the damage until after she had found medical supplies, preferring to hold the damaged appendage against her clothes. She could feel the blood soaking into her clothes, and her stomach twisted uncomfortably.

Finding the kit, Laura ripped it out of the cabinet and opened it frantically, seeing all types of gauze, bandages, and even a tourniquet. She silently thanked Max's mother, who generally had a rule of thumb; if something could go wrong, it would, and it was better to be prepared for that.

Taking a deep breath, Laura finally lifted her left arm to inspect the damage and immediately felt her stomach drop. It was three horrific claw marks that traveled diagonally from her elbow to her wrist, and it was bleeding heavily. She immediately turned on the sink and stuck her bleeding arm under the hot water while she frantically felt under the sink for the hydrogen peroxide, feeling her fingers slip off the bottles due to the blood on her hands. And her arms. And her face.

She was covered head to toe in Max's blood.

Max...

Laura grabbed the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and quickly opened it, pouring it on her torn-up arm. She barely stopped a scream from escaping her lips as the liquid burned, bubbled, and foamed in her wound. Now was not the time to think about Max. Or whatever the thing was that was currently trapped in the basement. She needed to focus on her bloody, heavily injured arm. Laura looked at it as the blood was washed away by the warm water.

"Fuck!"

She was going to need stitches. Lots of them.

Laura took a deep breath and turned off the water, quickly wrapping her bad arm in a towel. She needed a tourniquet, a needle, a thread, and some scissors. She quickly navigated her way to the kitchen, frantically searching through the designated junk drawer for the sewing kit Max's mom always kept there. When she found it, she quickly stuffed it in her pocket and grabbed the kitchen scissors on her way out. Then she dug through Max's bag of clothes, trying not to cry as the smell of his cologne touched the part of her brain she was trying not to think about. Her sweet boyfriend had turned into a monster, and now she needed to use his belt as a tourniquet for a wound he created. Max's desperate face flashed in her mind as she returned to the bathroom; he had been in so much pain, and he still thought of her first.

Laura took a shaky breath as she sat on the cold bathroom floor and unwrapped her injured arm. The bleeding had slowed enough for her to see the damage, and she dipped her chosen needle in the bottle of rubbing alcohol she had nearby before putting the belt on her arm, tightening it as much as she could. The only thing left to do was to close the wounds. Laura knew how to suture a wound, having volunteered at a few vet clinics. However, those had been on animals, with proper equipment, and with an experienced vet on standby. Now, it was just her, with one arm and no painkillers. Her hands shook as she threaded the needle, and she placed her injured arm between her knees to hold the skin closed as much as possible.

All she had to do was start sewing.

Laura grabbed a nearby washcloth and rolled it, shakily putting it in her mouth and biting down on it. Then she picked up the needle and pushed it into her flesh, wincing as the cold, sharp pain shot through her arm.

One stitch. Laura bit down on the washcloth.

Two stitches. Laura's eyes welled up with tears.

Three, four, five stitches. She began to whimper quietly, the pain building each time the needle entered her skin.

Ten stitches. The tears rolled down her cheeks as her teeth threatened to grind right through the washcloth. It hurt so fucking bad, and from her calculations, she still needed eighty more stitches. Eighty. She needed five stitches per inch, and each gash was almost six inches long.

The next few hours ticked by slowly, and every moment was hell, but eventually, Laura finished stitching her wounds. It was messy, the stitches were jagged, and she would no doubt have to get the thread professionally removed. But it was done. Laura undid the belt around her arm and gently lifted her sewn-up arm, flexing it experimentally. It hurt, as did the rest of her body after sitting in the same position for almost four hours. With a quick wrap from some gauze, her arm was protected for the most part.

Laura stood up shakily and turned on the shower. Now that she was somewhat back in one piece, she needed to get this blood off of her. Most of it had dried onto her skin, and she desperately wanted to wash it off. She quickly stripped out of her bloody clothes before grabbing a pair of shorts and one of Max's shirts. Throwing them on the counter, she carefully stepped into the shower and relaxed as soon as the hot water hit her body, washing away the stiffness in her joints. Laura was careful to keep her bad arm out of the water as she washed with one hand, trying not to look down at the dried blood as it drained by her feet. She almost didn't want to leave the shower, but she needed to think and investigate.

Laura stepped out of the shower and quickly threw on the clothes she had prepared, and grabbed a jacket as she headed towards the steps leading to the basement, feeling her heart begin to race as she neared the door. She could hear quiet snarls from the opposite side and the occasional growl that chilled her to the bone. Laura thought back to the moment she had been attacked; the creature had been truly terrifying. She remembered that it had been lanky, tall, and very strong. If she had been a split second later with her movements, she would have died.

What Laura really wanted to know was how Max had turned into this monster.

She and Max had basically grown up together, and they knew each other inside and out. Laura could confidently say this had never happened before. He had never been aggressive, never pushed her, never had yellow eyes, and never, ever turned into a lanky, hunch-backed monster with no control whatsoever over his actions. She mentally went over his list of symptoms that he had before he had transformed; sensitivity to light, body pains, aggression. Was it rabies? Last time Laura checked, rabies didn't make people turn into monsters. And where would he have gotten it from anyway? He hadn't been bitten by anything-

The night in Hackket's Quarry flashed in her mind, the memory of dragging Max out of the storm shelter sending chills down her spine. She sat on the cold concrete stairs as she remembered how slippery the blood had made him, the way he had reached out for her with his bloody hand, the way he screamed when he was pulled out of her arms. That night had been real; they hadn't hallucinated anything that night. Max had gotten attacked and was bitten by...something. Something that made him what he was now.

A monster.

That thought haunted Laura as she fell asleep on the stairs.

Chapter Text

The carpet was pleasantly soft against his cheek, if a little sticky. It felt better than he did right now. Every muscle in his body ached right down to the bone.

Max rubbed his face on the carpet and opened his eyes slightly, squinting. What happened? Had he gotten drunk? Max couldn't remember. He couldn't hear anything other than the hum of the house's vents working, and his nose only detected a strong metallic smell. Max opened his eyes all the way, and his heart almost stopped.

Blood.

Blood was everywhere.

It coated almost everything in the basement. Max quickly scrambled to his knees, only to discover that he was also soaked in blood; it was in his hair, and small red rivulets ran down his chest.

Where did all this blood come from? Why was he naked? Where was Laura's ring? What-

Max froze. Where was Laura?!

Thoughts of Laura flashed in his mind, her blonde hair stained red as her emerald eyes stared lifelessly at him. He couldn't hear her. He couldn't smell her. Max began to panic.

"Laura?! Laura!"

He didn't know what to do; Laura was missing, blood was everywhere, and he couldn't remember anything.

"Fuck!..."

A slight knock sounded from the metal door of the basement, and Max froze.

"Max?..."Relief flooded all his senses as Laura hesitantly called through the door. He immediately called back.

"Laura? What happened? Why is there so much blood? Laura?"

His girlfriend went quiet, not opening the door. Max frowned and walked up to it, gently rapping his bloody knuckles on it.

"Laura?...You okay?"

"I'm sorry, Max- I just-I don't know what to do?"

Max frowned upon hearing the fear in Laura's voice. She was more scared now than she had been in Hackett's Quarry that night.

"What do you mean, Laura? What happened?"

"...You exploded."

Max blinked. "What?"

When she didn't reply, Max sighed. "Laura, will you open the door? I'm naked for some reason and covered in blood."

After a moment of silence, the door clicked open, and Max felt his heart twist. There stood Laura in a jacket, shorts, and eyes red from what he assumed was crying. Her cheek had an imprint that looked suspiciously like a section of the pockmarked concrete wall.

They stared at each other before Laura forced a small smile.

"It's you..."

Max reached out for her but thought better of it when he remembered he was soaked in blood. "Laura...of course it's me. Who else would it be?"

Laura frowned as she peered into the room behind him.

"That...is a lot of blood."

Max nodded and slowly inched around Laura, trying not to touch her with his bloody body.

"Yeah...I'm going to take a shower, get some clothes on, and then we need to talk about...whatever happened last night. I can't remember anything."

Laura turned to watch him climb the stairs but said nothing as he left. Max quickly found his way to the master bathroom and turned on the water, waiting for it to warm up. While he waited, he spied his mother's first aid kit next to the sewing kit she kept in the junk drawer. What was that doing in here?

He stepped into the hot shower and sighed with relief as the water eased the tension out of his muscles. Max needed to figure out what had happened last night. He had sent Laura out to do something while he rearranged the basement, but that was about all he knew. He had no idea what had caused all that blood or why he was soaked in it when he woke up. Laura had looked so afraid...

Deja vu hit him like a train. This had happened before, back at the jail with that creepy cop. When he woke up then, he had also been naked in a blood-covered cell. What the hell?...

When the water in the bottom of the shower was no longer red, Max stepped out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. He then quickly rifled through his bag for new clothes; the ones he had worn the night before were nowhere to be seen, and the boxers he had woken up in were shredded so severely they barely fit.

When he finished getting dressed, he followed the scent of Laura and coffee, finding her in the living room with one cup in hand and another on the coffee table. He quickly picked it up and took a sip.

"So...what happened last night?"

Laura sighed and drummed her fingers on her cup.

"You...exploded, or something like that."

"That's not a whole lot to go on, hon."

Laura put down the coffee and started pacing, and Max could hear her heartbeat pick up.

"I don't know, Max. You sent me out of the house to do something, and when I got back, you were in the basement and were sick, like really sick. Then you exploded and...and..."

Max watched her stop pacing and stare at her feet.

"And?..."

Laura looked like she was at a loss for words. "You...transformed into...into this huge thing!"

Max put down his coffee and stared at her.

"I transformed? What are you talking about?"

She threw her hands up and began pacing again.

"You transformed, or something like that. I got home from getting takeout, and when I saw you, you were in pain. So much pain. Your eyes had turned yellow, like almost a gold color, and it was like you were growling! And then...your skin fucking exploded, and all I see is this huge...thing... with..."

Laura stopped talking when Max gently grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes with dead seriousness.

"You weren't kidding about the transforming part?"

She shook her head, agitated.

"Fuck no! You became this huge fucking...creature! With, like, the sharpest fucking teeth I've ever seen. I thought you had rabies, but that thing...was...I can't even describe it."

Max frowned. "That blood...is all mine then, right?"

Laura blinked in confusion. "What?"

"...I didn't hurt you, right?"

He saw the hesitation in her eyes, and his heart sank. " Did I hurt you?"

Laura quickly shook her head.

"No, no....you didn't. All you did was push me."

"I pushed you?"

"You seemed to be pretty worried about me being there with you...you told me to get away from you. You pushed me when I got too close."

Max took a deep breath and placed a gentle kiss on her hair.

"I don't know what I would do if I hurt you."

Laura shrugged and averted her gaze. "You hurting me is the least of our problems right now. We need to figure out...what you...transformed into."

Max nodded and grabbed his coffee, taking a sip. "Yeah...you thought I had rabies?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah...you were sensitive to the lights, and it looked like your body aches were pretty bad..."

Max frowned and put down his coffee. Should he tell Laura about his weird super senses? He thought about it, then decided that Laura was a vet, or would be one anyway. It was better for her to know.

"I have...uh...had other symptoms too. Some weird ones."

Laura blinked at him.

"Like what?"

Max took a deep breath. "Remember your period a while ago?"

Laura's gaze was scathing. "Max! This is not the time to be joking around..."

"I'm not; I'm not! I'm being serious, honey!"

"Then why would you need to bring up my period?"

"Remember when I was like, 'Oh, you smell weird; you on your period?' I could actually smell it, Laura. I wasn't joking."

Laura blinked at him twice, very slowly. "...I beg your pardon?"

"I've been able to smell things, like really smell things. Like you."

"Max, stop, this really isn't funny-"

"You took a shower last night and used my mom's cheap bar soap. No shampoo or conditioner. You brought home Chinese food last night. You brought..." Max took a moment to sniff the air."...Chow mein, orange chicken...broccoli and beef...miso soup...and wontons."

Laura blinked."...Since when did you have super smell?..."

"I can also hear really well. I can hear your heartbeat from where I am right now. And crazy ridiculous strength. I broke one of the pans. I'm also, like, really hot most of the time. It's all so...weird."

Silence followed his confession as Laura stared at him like he'd grown two heads.

"...How long has this been going on, Max?

"Since Hackett's Quarry."

Laura plopped down in a chair while Max remained standing.

"So...what happened? Why can you suddenly...do all this?"

Max opened his mouth to say something, but Laura continued.

"That night had to have been real—the night at the Quarry. I knew I hadn't hallucinated all of that...There was too much blood for it not to be real."

Max crossed his arms and began a slow pace around Laura's chair. "So you're saying we were really attacked by something that night?"

Laura nodded. "That thing in the basement bit you. There's no doubt about it."

"But I didn't have a scratch on me that morning..."

"Yeah, but is it really too far-fetched to add a healing factor to your amazing talents, Superman?"

Max shook his head." I guess not."

Laura stood up abruptly.

"The cop; he tried to stop us from leaving that day. Said that we would put lives at risk...He fucking knew! He fucking knew about this!"

Max almost spit out his coffee. It made so much sense now.

"Detective Dick Whippit is in on it?... That's...wow. Okay. So we have to assume Chris Hackett is in on it, too, right?"

Laura put her hands on her head and spun to look at him.

"Fuck, Max! This is a whole thing now! A whole conspiracy!"

"About what?"

Laura looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean, 'about what?' About the Hacketts!"

Max put his hands up to soothe her. "Yeah, we know about the Hacketts', and they're somewhat still mysterious...things. But what I mean is me, Laura. What am I now?"

Laura paused and frowned."...I don't know..."

Max took a deep breath. He had a guess but wasn't sure how likely it was.

"Hey, so weird question: do you remember before we got lost-

"You got lost..."

"Well, yeah, but before that, I was all like, "Whoa, look at the moon, it's so big, so cool to see a full moon in the middle of the woods," Max said, emphasizing how large the moon was with his hands. "And you were like "Yeah, no shit Max, it happens once a month?"

Laura looked at him with a frown. "Yeah...So...?"

Max took a few steps back, holding out his hands defensively. "Right, so you know, thinking about all my new little quirks and full moon..."

"Yeah..." Laura said, not following. It sounded silly, even in Max's head.

"What if...uh...you know..."

He saw Laura's face break open in a smile of disbelief. "Okay, no, stop."

"I'm just saying, you know, maybe there's a slight chance-"

"Max, stop."

"-It was a werewolf that bit me."

Laura looked at him incredulously. "Are you out of your mind?"

Max sighed and put his hands on his hips. "It was a full moon the night I got bit, and the next day I woke up with my clothes gone and the room covered in blood. If you look it up right now, I bet last night was the full moon."

Laura scoffed and took out her phone, looking it up as she spoke. "Max, I love you, but this is so..."

Max watched as her face fell, and she looked back up at him, her emerald eyes concerned. "...It was a full moon last night," she said, biting her lip.

"See? Not so far-fetched now, is it, Laura?"

"We don't know that..."

"But, for now, it's our best explanation."

Max leaned on the back of the couch and frowned as the thoughts of the future piled in. This was going to throw a wrench into Laura's plans. What were they going to do about college? About his family?About living anywhere that wasn't in the woods or far away from people? He heard Laura sigh and knew she was thinking the same thing.

"We can fix this..." she said quietly." We can fix this; we have to...live in a place where there aren't many people...I can get a job in construction, or foresting, hell, even a waitress-"

Max turned to her with pain in his heart. Here she was, ready to throw away her dreams for him because he had become a monster. He shook his head and gently grasped her by the shoulders.

"No, no, no, no. Laura, no. You are not going to sacrifice your career for me. I can't let you do that."

Laura stared at him, chin jutted out in defiance." I can go to Appalachian State. It's in Boone, it's in the woods, easy to be away from people-"

"God, Laura! No! You have a scholarship to Lardis! The best college in the state! They have the best veterinarian courses you could ask for!"

"I can't go to Lardis! Not without you!"

Max let go of her and turned around, his hands on his hips and hanging his head. "I can't go with you to Lardis. Not like this."

Laura shook her head. "We don't even know if you are...a werewolf."

Max turned to look back at her, his heartbreak written on his face. "All the evidence points to it, Laura. If I went to Lardis, here's what would happen: You would go to class, I would work, and we move into a shitty apartment because we're broke. Then I turn into an ugly ass monster once a month, kill you, run off with bits of you stuck in my teeth, then kill a couple more people, maybe infect them. Then I get caught and either killed or shipped off to some science lab where they poke and prod me until I die." He threw his hands up in the air. "I have to live in the middle of bumfuck nowhere until this...stuff gets figured out."

He heard Laura take a shaky breath as her heart sped up. "Max, I'm not going to leave you. You are the most important thing in my life! I'm not going to let you suffer through this alone!"

Max turned to look at her and saw that she was close to tears. His heart ached, and he gently approached her and wrapped his arms around her, feeling her head rest against his shoulder. He could hear her breathing and heartbeat combining into a soothing melody as he spoke.

"Laura, I love you more than anything, and I know how much you want to be a vet," he said. He felt Laura take a deep breath and continued. "This whole thing sucks, but I don't want you to give up on your dream. I'm not worth that, and before you say that I am, I am the one who messed up the plan to go to Lardis together. So please, don't let me stop you from doing what you love; all those puppies need you."

"...What are we going to do?"

Max tucked his head into Laura's shoulder and began to rock them slightly, breathing in her sweet daisy scent.

"You're the planner, Laura. I'm better with my hands. We have a month before school starts; we'll figure something out by then." Max pulled away slightly to look her in the eye.

"Just promise me you will follow your dream."

Laura looked at him, her emerald green eyes shining brightly in the morning light. She put on a small, sad smile.

"I promise."

Chapter Text

Max stood in front of the sink, diligently washing the dishes he'd made during lunch. He was good with his hands in more ways than one, and he often put them to good use for Laura.

It had been two days since his transformation and his and Laura's very deep talk. Since then, they tried to return to normal by doing things outside the house. It was always enjoyable, but the inevitable monster always lurked in the back of his mind.

Laura had taken it upon herself to research his "condition," and none of it had proven to help. It was all trashy novels written by twelve-year-olds or people who needed to be in jail for writing about seventeen-year-olds. Occasionally she would find a promising web page, but most of it was about the origin of the tales that circled around. The only concrete thing they had found was his allergy to silver. She had also taken to wearing long sleeves and jackets, so he assumed she had turned down the A/C to help with his hot skin.

Max reached up and let his fingers graze against Laura's ring, fidgeting with the new chain. Laura had found his necklace in the bloody basement and switched out his favored stainless steel for a silver chain, saying it would burn if he were a werewolf.

Werewolf.

The word echoed in his mind as he dried his hands and pulled the plug. From what little Laura told him about the incident, he was ugly when transformed. She refused to go into detail about it, but he could gather that it had been horrifying watching him literally explode out of his skin. They had tried their best to clean the bloodstained basement, but those stains were never coming out. He needed to learn to install carpet so his mom would never see that gory mess.

"Max?..."

He turned and saw Laura staring at him with a curious expression. He smiled at her lovingly as he leaned back against the sink.

"Hi, honey."

He watched her chew her lip before she tilted her head at him.

"...What do I smell like?"

Max blinked and raised his brows at her. "What do you smell like?"

Laura shrugged and crossed her arms. "I remember you telling me you could smell me no matter where I went or what I was doing...so I got a little curious. What do I smell like to you?"

Max threw back his head and took a dramatic, long sniff. "Ugh, you smell like Eu de Pond No.69."

Laura rolled her eyes at him and approached him, swatting his nose slightly. "Shut up."

Max laughed and grabbed her hands, smiling at her softly.

"You really wanna know what you smell like?" Laura nodded with a smile.

"You...You smell warm. Like....daisies with a dash of vanilla."

Laura tilted her head at him. "Daisies?"

"Yeah. And Eu de Grandma No. 10."

Laura laughed and smacked his arm. "And you smell like an egg."

Max put a hand on his chest, pretending to be offended. "Now that's just rude!"

Laura tried to stifle a yawn with a giggle, but Max heard the slight change in her heartbeat and poked her forehead gently. "You stayed up researching again, didn't you?"

Laura averted her gaze with a pout. "No..."

Max grasped her by the shoulders and gently turned her around. "Get some sleep, honey."

"Max..." Laura whined, digging her heels in. Max chuckled.

"You asked for it."

"Asked for what-MAX? Put me down!" Laura squealed as he lifted and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her into the master bedroom. He took great pleasure in knowing he was capable of the feat.

"Okay!" With a cheeky grin, Max dropped her on the bed and laughed. Laura scowled at him before grabbing the nearest pillow and hitting him square in the face.

"Ow!" Max said indignantly as he and Laura combusted into giggles. "That was very hurtful, Laura."

"I'm sure it was," she replied, smiling at him. He leaned over so she was trapped between him and the bed, giving her a sweet kiss on the top of her hair.

"Get some sleep, honey. And stop staying up so late looking at werewolf stuff; all you'll find is bad erotica and cringy fated mate tropes."

Laura huffed and rolled her eyes. "Seriously. There's nothing but really bad erotica."

Max grinned and jokingly grabbed Laura's wrists to pin her to the bed. "Erotic enough for ya?"Laura winced, and he quickly let go, concern washing over his face. "You okay?"

Laura smiled up at him and nodded."I'm fine, and no, that wasn't erotic at all. You know what to do to make me 'erotic.'

With a laugh, Max stood back up again. "I do, but you need some sleep, Laura."

"What are you going to do?"

Max shrugged on his way out of the doorway. "I'll find something. See ya, honey."

Leaving Laura on the bed, Max went to finish cleaning the kitchen. It took him a good twenty minutes, but right after he finished, he walked by the bedroom door to listen to Laura's breathing. It was slow and steady; she was asleep. Turning around, Max planted his hands on his hips as he thought about what to do.

He didn't need to clean anything, didn't feel like watching anything, and wasn't tired enough to nap. The thought of lying next to Laura and holding her was appealing, but if he couldn't fall asleep, he would get jittery and wake her up, so that was a no-go. He ran through a couple more ideas before he remembered the camera.

He had completely forgotten about the camera he had set up to film what was supposed to be a romantic night with Laura. With the revelation that he may be a werewolf, and all the discussions he and Laura had around it, the camera had slipped his mind.

Max immediately went to the basement, trying not to look at the bloodstains. He still couldn't believe that his skin had exploded; that was what Laura had said, and now he would see for himself.

Max bent over by the bookshelf that housed the tiny camera; he had ordered one of the little box cameras with a USB and had put it at about chest high to get the best angle. Max grabbed the camera and swiftly removed the USB, stuffing it into his pocket. He then rushed out of the basement, taking the steps two at a time. All he needed now was Laura's laptop to watch the footage. Max silently crept into the bedroom where Laura was sleeping.

God, she was beautiful.

His girlfriend had let down her hair and was sleeping soundly with a pillow in her arms. Her floral scent made him heady, and he was two seconds away from kicking off his shoes and climbing in with her. But he didn't; he had something he needed to do. Max quickly grabbed Laura's laptop from the nightstand and exited the room, but not before gently kissing his sleeping girlfriend.

Sitting in the living room, he opened Laura's computer and smiled. Laura's wallpaper was a picture of them on his 19th birthday. In the picture, Laura was kissing his cheek, one hand on his chin. His sunglasses were askew, and his face was bright red from all their drinking that day. Max remembered that day fondly; the next morning, however, had been full of consequences. Max had learned that he couldn't hold his liquor, and both of them had learned how much Plan B cost.

Shaking his head at the memory, Max plugged the USB in and waited for it to download. It only took about a minute, and the notification to open the file popped up. Max clicked it and was brought to the video player, where an eight-hour-long video awaited him.

He clicked play and watched the scene unfold.

It started out simple enough; he started pushing furniture around, clearing out the middle of the basement. After a while, though, Max saw himself get tired quickly; he started leaning on various walls and chairs, and at one point, he got close enough to the camera that Max could see what Laura had been talking about; his eyes were yellow. Max paused and scrutinized his face, noting how his skin had become pale and the black veins that streaked through his face showing off the dark circles under his weird-colored eyes. It wasn't a good look on him.

Pressing play, Max watched as he paced in the video before sitting down, dipping his head. Max flew a chill in his bones when he saw himself lift his head and do what he hoped was sniffing; Laura must have gotten home then.

She had, and a few seconds later, she entered the basement. The camera had no audio, but Max could see the scene well enough he didn't need sound. Laura got close, and he pushed her; then Max watched himself writhing on the ground before his skin quite literally exploded, just as Laura said it had. His poor girlfriend stood there gaping as Max watched the most hideous monster he had ever seen stand up from where his human body had previously been. He was not going to lie, he had hoped he would look cool, but this thing was horrifying. No hair, lips, and almost seven full feet of lanky grey mass. He also noticed that Laura hadn't moved since the transformation; what was she doing?...

Mac felt his blood run cold as the next few seconds played out. His clawed hand lunged out, and Laura blocked with her arm. The quality of the camera wasn't perfect, but he could tell that her arm was left in bad shape. He shut the computer as his heart plummeted into his stomach.

He had hurt Laura. How badly injured she was, Max didn't know, but he had an inkling that it was pretty bad. He thought back to when he pinned her on the bed; he had hurt her then, too. This injury would explain why she had been wearing nothing but long sleeves. She was trying to hide what he had done to her.

Max leaned forward and put his head in his hands. His stomach churned as the self-loathing kicked in, mixing with his guilt, sadness, and anger. Laura would never be safe around him; he was a monster now.

He heard footsteps on the floor, and soon Laura's scent became stronger as she approached. She must have woken up a few minutes ago and was now looking for him. Her footsteps stopped a few feet in front of him, and the sound was replaced by her heartbeat.

"Max?"

He didn't remove his hands. "Hi, honey."

"You okay there?..." He could hear Laura reaching for him, and he pulled back slightly.

"No..."

"Max." The way she said his name was demanding, and he finally looked up at her. She was frowning at him, obviously upset that he had rejected her touch.

"I...I saw what happened. To your arm...What I did to your arm..."

Laura bit her lip. She had obviously planned to hide this from him. "Yeah..."

Max ran a hand through his red hair."Is it bad?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah...It's pretty bad."

Max hung his head. "I'm so sorry."

He felt her reach out, and this time he let her touch his shoulder.

"It wasn't you," she said softly. "I know it wasn't you."

"I know...but it was." He looked back up at her and gently reached for her arm, his fingers ghosting over her sleeve.

"Can I...see it?"

Laura sucked in a breath." I don't think you should, Max. It's not-"

Max didn't let her finish her sentence. Holding her arm like fragile glass, he gently rolled up her sleeve to reveal three long rows of stitches. They were jagged, almost like patchwork, and they ran the length of her forearm. So that's why the sewing kit had been in the bathroom. Max's heart clenched painfully in his chest; while he was rampaging in the basement, Laura had sewn herself back together with the bare minimum tools and no pain meds. He let go of her arm like it had burned him, guilt bubbling in his throat.

"I'm sorry, Laura," he said, pushing up off the couch. He had to get away from her; she was too close. What if he hurt her again? He could feel Laura reach for him as he walked away from her.

"Max..."

He quickly exited the room, heading upstairs to be alone. He'd hurt her badly, and he would never forgive himself for that.

Chapter Text

Max hadn't touched Laura in three days.

He couldn't bring himself to touch her, even though she had reassured him many times that it was okay, that he hadn't been in control, that it wasn't his fault. All he saw were the stitches in her arm.

He would quietly dodge Laura's affections, excusing himself to the other room when she tried to touch him. The first couple of times, Laura had just shrugged it off, but he could tell now that his refusal to touch her was starting to grind her gears. She was especially not happy when she found out he had moved himself to the couch after she fell asleep. He wanted to hold her, but the guilt in his stomach would increase tenfold if he even thought about it. How could he touch her after giving her such a nasty wound?

It was the afternoon of the third day of not touching Laura, and he hadn't seen her in a bit. He could smell her, so he knew she was still around, but where could she be? Max took a sip of

his drink and looked out the window, lost in thought.

Not even a second later, the sound of probably angry footsteps sounded in his ears, and Max stiffened as they got closer. Laura was mad about something, and it was probably about him. He turned just in time to meet her eyes that burned through his soul. Max swallowed anxiously.

"Max, come here. Now," she demanded, using the full force of her authoritative tone that she knew Max couldn't say no to.

"Why? Are you okay-"

"Max Brinly."

Laura would never use his full name unless he was in deep trouble. Max set down his drink and stood up straight. "Okay, okay. I'm here. What do you need me for?"

Laura sighed, the ire calming in her eyes. "Follow me, and don't even think about slipping out of this."

Max nodded silently as Laura led him to the living room, where the TV had a very messy set of cord spilling from around it. Next to it was a Wii that Max hadn't seen since he was a kid. Laura stopped beside the ancient game console and gestured to it.

"I can't figure out how to connect it to the TV. Help me out, please?"

Max chuckled. "Sure, honey. One sec..."

One minute later, the cords were neat, the Wii theme was playing through the TV, and the Wii itself was wheezing like it had smoked all its life. Max left the living room, waving to Laura over his shoulder.

"Okay, honey, it's working now. Knock yourself out with the Wii-"

"Max!"

He turned back just in time to catch the Wii remote thrown at his face. Laura was glaring daggers above her sweet smile.

"I challenge you to a dance-off!" Laura declared, pointing her own Wii remote at him. Max held his hands up defensively, Wii in hand.

"Honey, I don't think that's-"

Laura crossed the room in two strides and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him so hard he wondered for a second if she had super strength too.

"Max, please stop running away from me. It wasn't your fault!"

"Laura," he said, holding his hands above her," Laura, please, I can't-"

"You can! Max, I've already forgiven you! So stop fucking avoiding me..."

She pulled away slightly to look into his eyes, her face earnest as she peered into the depths of his heart.

"Honey...I get it. You feel horrible about my arm, but that wasn't your fault; you weren't in control. So please...play some fucking Just Dance with me."

Max looked into her emerald eyes and felt his heart squeeze. He couldn't say no. With a deep breath, he closed his arms around her, inhaling the scent of daisies as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Of course, honey." Pulling away from the hug, Max gave her a mischievous grin. "I have to remind you how good I am, after all. Speak no Americano is my calling."

Laura rolled her eyes at him as she stepped back, navigating to the Just Dance 2012 option on the Wii menu.

"I'm sorry, but I think me and Super Bass always had the top spot."

Max kicked off his shoes and put the Wii strap around his wrist. "If you say so...Ma'am."

Laura scoffed as the music started and swiftly picked Beauty And A Beat, a classic. This was the song they used to start all of their dance battles. As the intro began, he and Laura followed the bright man on the screen. Halfway through the song, Laura poked him in the ribs.

"Hey!"

Laura looked over at him with a cheeky grin. "Whoops."

Max raised a brow at her and slowly started moving towards her side of the room, still keeping pace with the dance instructor. In retaliation, Laura elbowed him away from her with a scowl.

"You're cheating!"

"You started it."

"I'm still going to win, though."

Max pointed to the screen with a smirk. "Are you sure about that, Laura?

He had danced to three stars; hers was a measly two and a half. She looked at him in disbelief.

"How?"

"Because I'm better."

Laura chuckled and chose the next song. "Beat this, Twinkle Toes."

Max groaned as Super Bass came on. "Really, Laura? I do not have enough ass for this song."

Laura grinned as she followed the instructor, perfectly hitting all her cues."Sucks for you, Max."

Max struggled to follow along with Nicki Minaj, and Laura won that round with a whopping four stars. Max held out his hand as she started to pick the next song.

"Hey, it's my turn to pick a song."

Laura raised a brow at him. "You want to Speak No Americano, don't you?"

Max proudly shook his head. "Not even close. Mr. Saxobeat."

Laura smirked as she put on the song. "You really think you can handle this?"

Max grinned as he followed along. "Of course."

Together, they played Just Dance for hours, with lots of giggles, cheating, and overall sassy trash talk. They were both panting, and Laura had changed out of her jacket into a long-sleeved crop top. Max's hair was sticking to his temples, and his grip on the controller had become sweaty as well. As the song On The Floor started, he smelled something...new. As he followed through the dance moves, he sniffed cautiously. It was...an earthy, almost musky scent and the way it mixed with Laura's natural daisy scent did things to his mind. He started watching as Laura put her whole body into the song, tossing her hair and swinging her hips passionately. It was mesmerizing.

Realizing Max was giving her more attention than the game, Laura grinned at him and started towards his side of the room, dancing less and less as she got closer. When she reached him, she splayed her hand on his chest and gave him a slight push. Max let her push him down onto a nearby couch, and Laura seductively climbed on top of him, her legs firmly planted on either side of him. She smiled at him as he felt her hands run through his hair.

"Max..." she whispered teasingly, trailing light fluttery kisses along his jaw to his lips. He felt goosebumps rise on the back of his neck as she gently tilted his chin, lifting his lips to hers while her fingers trailed down his neck to rest on his chest. Max took a stuttering breath and opened his mouth to reply, but she quickly silenced him with a passionate kiss. Her lips were soft and relaxed, and he could taste the coffee she drank earlier on them. Max melted into her, snaking his arms around her to pull her flush against him, listening as her heart picked up, and he swore that he could feel it beating against him.

After a moment, Laura pulled back, her emerald eyes hazy with lust as she gazed down at him. "Feeling a little less shy?"

"Maybe..." he whispered hoarsely, bringing his lips to her neck. She threw her head back with a satisfied sigh, allowing him to press gentle kisses all over her collarbone, trailing them along her jaw while she ran her hand through his hair. Max inhaled sharply as she rubbed small circles at the nape of his neck, the sensation making him shiver as the blood rushed to his waist. Laura chuckled slightly when she felt him shiver and removed her hands, wrapping them around the bottom of her crop top and slowly pulling it over her head. She dropped the top on the ground by Max's feet, leaving her in the simple black bra she wore. Max's eyes darted to the jagged stitches in her arm, and he felt guilt bubble up in the back of his throat. He started to push Laura away, but she didn't let him.

"Don't look at that," she said quietly, grabbing Max's face in both hands to make him look her in the eye. "Keep your eyes on me."

Max gulped and nodded, too aroused to do anything but listen to the woman in his lap. Satisfied that he wouldn't run away again, Laura smiled and kissed him hungrily. Max felt her hands graze over his dick as she slowly slid her soft hands up his shirt. They were cool against his hot skin, and he shivered as they roamed under his shirt. He lifted his hands to her bra and undid the hooks with shaking hands. Laura shrugged off the bra, slipping her arms out of the straps before grabbing the hem of Max's shirt, lifting it over his head effortlessly, and tossing it on the couch beside them. Max didn't waste a second and immediately grasped her boobs, feeling her nipples harden as he swirled circles around them with his thumbs. Laura let out a quiet, breathy moan and gently placed her hands on his shoulders, watching him work through hooded eyes. Without breaking eye contact, he gently circled one nipple with his tongue before closing his lips around it, flicking his tongue over the tit while kneading her other boob.

Laura gasped and gripped his shoulders, grinding on the tent in his pants and making him groan around the boob in his mouth. His dick strained against his pants as Laura continued to rub against it, and her frequent breathy moans told Max she was getting off to riding him. That wouldn't do, not at all. He released her boobs and trailed his hands down her body until the rough fabric of her denim jeans met his fingertips. He looped his thumbs into the belt loops and tugged them slightly. Laura stopped grinding long enough to stand up, hastily removing her shorts and fling them somewhere. Then she was right back on Max in nothing but her underwear, grinding on him as if her life depended on it.

Max whispered her name as she moved against him and let his hands travel down to her ass, gently squeezing it. Laura's hands fisted in his hair, and he gently wrapped his fingers around the band of her underwear, keeping his tongue busy with her nipples. Laura let go of his hair and placed her shaky hands on his shoulders, dipping her head to rest in the crook of his neck. She whimpered quietly in his ear, and Max felt his dick twitch at the sound. With practiced movements, he slid one hand from Laura's ass between her thighs, feeling his hand get soaked as he moved her underwear to the side. He felt Laura shiver against him and slowly circled her wet clit with one thumb, listening as her whimpers became breathy moans. They became his directions as he continued stimulating her, each swirl of his thumb making her legs jerk and her hands squeeze into his shoulders. When he slowly inserted one finger into her warm hole, Laura ground down on it, trying to make it go deeper. He gradually added a second digit and began to finger fuck her while stimulating her clit.

"Oh...Max..." Laura whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she rode his hand.

Max slowly thrust his fingers into her, curling his fingers into the "come hither" motion Laura loved so much. Her hands moved from his shoulders to curl themselves around the ends of his hair, and her head rolled back as a quiet moan left her lips. Max could feel her thighs begin to quake and started to circle her clit a bit faster, making Laura squirm around his fingers.

"Max...don't stop...fuck!"

Laura was getting close; Max could see it in the way her body tensed, her thighs squeezing his arm as his fingers continued thrusting into her and her hands tightened in his hair. He changed from circling her swollen clit and stroking it, his thumb picking up speed as Laura tightened around his fingers. It didn't take long for her to finish; one loud, lengthy moan later, Max watched as her entire body trembled in release. He felt a gush of warmth trickle down his wrist as Laura rested her forehead against his, breathing heavily and loosening the grip she had on his hair. He continued to pump his fingers in and out of her slowly as she rode out her orgasm.

As Laura's breathing evened out, she gently tapped Max on his chest, and he gently pulled his fingers out of her, sticking them in his mouth to suck her cum off them. Laura lifted her hand and trailed her fingers along his jaw, her eyes peering into his own.

"Your turn," she whispered, letting her fingers slide down his chest to his navel and wrapping her hands around his belt. She nimbly undid the buckle before pulling down his zipper and palming him through his boxers. Max's hands slid to her thighs while Laura pushed down his boxers and wrapped her hands around his shaft, pumping him up and down as she pulled it out. When she swiped her thumb over the tip of his dick, Max groaned and let his head roll back, fingers digging into the skin of her thighs as she continued to slowly jack him off. Laura's hands were so soft wrapped around his shaft, and his entire body shivered when he felt Laura rub her still-wet hole against the tip.

"Fuck, Laura..." he murmured, his hands wandering back to her boobs. Laura kissed his temple before rising up on her knees, holding him firmly in her hand. With excruciatingly slow movements, she lowered herself down on his shaft, moaning quietly as he entered her. Max let out a shameless moan and buried his face in her chest, hands wrapping around her ass to support her weight, feeling her cunt tighten around him. He felt her gentle hands run through his hair as she hummed in pleasure. Then she started moving, her hips moving in slow circles around him. Max couldn't keep quiet; he moaned and groaned as Laura rode him, his head switching between rolling back and buried in her chest. He kept his hands on her ass, squeezing them every time Laura completed a full circle around his dick. he could feel his orgasm building, and he knew Laura could feel it too; she gently grasped his face and forced him to look her in the eye while simultaneously picking up the pace with her hips. The sounds of wet slapping met his ears as Laura switched from circling to full-on fucking him, raising her hips high enough that he almost slipped out of her only to slam back down on him. It was too much, and he felt his dick twitch inside of her.

"Laura...Laura!"

Max wrapped his arms around her, keeping her still as he came inside her. He rested his head between her boobs, and she gently played with his hair as his body spasmed through orgasm.

They sat there like that for a moment, holding each other on the couch. Laura kissed the top of his head and pulled away, letting his dick slide out if her with a lewd pop as she stood up. She smiled at him softly as she grabbed his shirt and slipped it on.

"That was nice...I'm gonna go get in the shower." Her eyes scanned him up and down, taking in the sight of his hair all askew and his chest all sweaty as she held out her hand to him.

"Come join me?"

Max smiled and hastily got up to follow her, taking her hand as she led him to the master bath.

If Laura wanted him to touch her, then who was he to argue?

Chapter Text

"This one is nice! It's on the outskirts of town, so it will be a forty-minute drive to school every day, but it has a concrete basement for your time of the month!"

Laura excitedly pointed to the listing on her computer. She was sitting at the kitchen counter slash bar looking through Zillow to find an apartment. They had spent the last few days thinking about how to work around Max's "moon day" issue, trying to come up with a solution that allowed them to stay together and allowed Laura to go to college. So far, the plan was to find a house that could contain him when he was transformed that didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Max peered over her shoulder at the house listing and let out a low whistle. "We don't have that kind of money, hon."

Laura bit her lip and looked up at him. "I can use a little of my-"

"No, Laura, we are not using your college fund for anything but you going to Lardis."

Laura turned around in her chair to face him, frowning.

"Max, it's San Francisco. Everything there is really expensive."

Max kissed her hair as he nonchalantly scrolled through her computer, scanning over the ridiculously overpriced places for rent. "I get that, honey, but that college fund is something you slaved away for in high school, remember? I was surprised you weren't dead with how many energy drinks you drank."

Laura groaned, likely remembering the many long nights she had worked throughout high school. Whenever Laura put her mind to something, she got it done, no matter what—just another thing Max loved about his terrific girlfriend.

"Yeah, those were not fun times," she said, adjusting the position in her chair to let her leg dangle off the edge. "Most days were a foggy haze for me."

"Believe me, I know," Max said, resting his head on Laura's shoulder. They spent the next few minutes in comfortable silence, silently scrolling through Zillow. They originally had an apartment set up for them in San Francisco, but with Max's werewolf issue, they had been forced to change their entire plan.

"When is the full moon again?" Max asked quietly.

"August 22nd, honey."

Max nodded and straightened up with a stretch. "Cool, I have about two weeks to rip out all the carpet and paint the walls in the basement."

"Do you even know how to do carpets?" Laura asked dubiously.

"Not yet, but I have a knack for doing stuff with my hands. You should know this by now, Laura."

Laura nodded absent-mindedly as another listing caught her eye.

"What was our budget again for rent?" Laura may have been the smart one through high school, but math was never her strong suit.

Max sighed and put his hands on his hips. "The highest we can comfortably afford is sixteen hundred a month, Laura."

"Fuck...," she muttered under her breath. Max looked down at his feet again and took a deep breath. She was going to get mad at him for bringing up the topic again, but Laura needed to see reason.

"Laura, honey. Let's think about this-" He tried to ease into it gently, but Laura sent him a scathing look, pausing her search for werewolf-suitable homes.

"Max, I swear to God. Bring up staying here one more time..."

"It's the only choice that makes sense!" Max threw his arms out, gesturing to himself exasperatedly as he spoke.

"Realistically speaking, I'm a fucking monster, Laura. It's not safe for me to be around people. Just look at your arm!"

Laura swiftly took her still injured arm off the counter and snapped her laptop closed with an irritated sigh, glaring at him. "You didn't mean to! We can work around it; we just need-"

Max shook his head and cut her off. "Laura, me staying here is the best option. There is no guarantee that I wouldn't hurt someone. If I stay here, I'm in the woods and have the basement I can stay in."

"We can find you a place with a basement in San Francisco!" Laura argued, standing up from her chair as the anger in her voice increased. Max sighed and leaned back against the counter, looking up at the ceiling in exasperation.

"Again, we wouldn't know if that could hold me! Not every home has an old bomb shelter for a basement," Max said, trying his hardest to keep despair out of his voice. "If I break out, I'm probably gonna kill you, eat you, and run off with little bits of you stuck in my teeth before running off to munch on more people. I don't want that. At all. I've already hurt you once; I don't want it to happen again."

Max watched as Laura's face fell, and she crossed her arms across her chest. Seeing her sad made his heart squeeze, and he gently approached her, wrapping his arms around her. She reciprocated, and they momentarily stood there, just comforting each other in silence. Laura was the first to speak, clenching her hands in his shirt.

"Max...I just...I just want to help you. This isn't fair to you...Fuck. We should've just gone to that stupid motel..."

Max chuckled dryly. "Yeah...Hindsight is 20/20."

Laura pulled away slightly, her face serious as she stared into his eyes.

" I won't leave you, Max. We're in this together. We're going to fix you."

Max blinked at her, slightly confused. "How do you plan to fix me, honey?"

Max saw a glimmer of determination in her eyes as she let go of him and sat back down, opening her laptop. She quickly navigated to a new tab, and Max leaned over her shoulder, watching intently.

"I was researching a little, and I think I found something," Laura said, pulling up a separate tab full of notes.

Max raised a brow at her organized notes. "Find a good lesbian werewolf erotica?"

"No, Max. I wasn't looking into werewolf stuff," Laura said with a small chuckle before returning to a serious tone. "That was all a waste of time. Instead, I was looking at your symptoms."

"My symptoms?"

"Yeah, the symptoms. The body aches, the elevated internal temperature, the black veins... All the symptoms point to an infection."

Max stood up straight and looked at her, a grave look washing over his face. "An infection?..."

"Yeah. You were bit by something that night in Hackett's Quarry, right? And that cop knew about that thing in the storm shelter. So... I guess that it passed on this werewolf thing to you when it bit you."

Max blinked at her. "That makes sense, but that doesn't really help me right now."

"I know it doesn't," Laura said, tapping her finger on the counter. "But check it out; if it's an infection, there has to be a cure, right?"

"Holy shit," Max said, standing up straight and looking down at her. "A cure? What-how do I get cured?"

Laura frowned at him, a hint of sadness creeping into her eyes.

"I-I don't know yet, honey. I know there has to be one, but I have no idea of where even to look."

Max sighed and wrapped Laura in a hug. "We'll figure it out, hon. At some point."

He felt Laura take a deep breath before looking up at him.

"So....you find matching carpet?"

"Actually, yes; it's not an exact copy, but I'm hoping my mom doesn't look too closely at it." Max pulled out his phone to show Laura the off-white carpet he had purchased. "I already have the paint matched, I just have to go pick it up."

Laura nodded. "It looks the exact same to me."

Max grinned and shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Well, I have to go learn how to properly rip up the carpet. I'll learn today, do the ripping tomorrow, paint the day after that, then when the paint dries, I'll put in the new carpet."

Laura kissed him on the cheek before sitting back down in her chair. "You know what I'll be doing; looking for a place to live."

Max tossed her one last smile before heading for the basement. "Love you lots, Laura. See ya in a bit."

He descended into the bloody basement and immediately went to work. The faster he got this done, the better.

Chapter Text

Max let out a long sigh and looked at the still-wet paint in front of him, and, God, the smell was awful. His overly sensitive nose couldn't smell anything but the harsh, almost acidic scent of the paint, making his head hurt tremendously. However, he had finally finished painting over the blood that had previously spattered over the walls, and the plywood beneath him squeaked as he bent over to close up the paint can. Now, he could go upstairs and breathe in Laura's amazing scent instead of suffering from the suffocating fumes of paint.

He took the steps two at a time and followed the refreshing scent of vanilla and daisies to the master bedroom, where Laura had her laptop propped on her knees as she surfed through various apartments. She heard him enter and looked up at him with a smile.

"Done painting?"

"Yeah, yeah. Fucking stinks to high hell, though."

Laura chuckled. "I forget you have a sensitive nose now."

Max sighed and kicked off his boots before flopping onto the mattress beside her with an audible groan. "It was so strong, honey," he whined into the pillow, briefly turning to look at her out of one pale green eye. "My head hurts from the fumes."

Laura gently ran her fingers through his hair, twisting the coppery locks between her fingers as she returned to searching. "That sucks, honey. Do I smell good, at least?"

Max hummed happily as he scooted closer to her, nuzzling his nose into the crook of her hip. "You always smell good, honey."

Laura chuckled and tapped his cheek with one finger before going back to playing with his hair. They sat there like that for a while, her surfing through Zillow and Max just soaking in her presence. He enjoyed being next to her, listening to her heartbeat as she breathed, feeling how cool her skin felt against him. Laura was his everything, and he would forever be grateful that she stayed with him after he hurt her. At the thought of her injured arm, Max reached over and gently trailed his fingertips over her stitches, causing Laura to look down at him with a questioning look.

"...Does it hurt?" Max asked quietly, looking into her eyes earnestly.

Laura raised her arm to inspect it, frowning slightly. "If I move it too much, it does. But it doesn't hurt a lot; it just feels sore."

"I'm sorry," Max said. His mouth opened to say more, but Laura leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips, effectively silencing him.

"Max, honey, it's fine. We've been over this. Instead, take a look at this place." Laura handed him the laptop, and he quickly scanned his eyes over the listing. Fifteen hundred a month, with a basement and a twenty-minute drive out of town. He carefully inspected the pictures of the basement and saw that the walls were made entirely of concrete. The door wouldn't do much to hold back his strength, but that could be fixed. It was perfect.

"Good find, honey. This one should work...We have to get a better door," he said, returning the laptop to her. She took it with a knowing smile.

"I told you I would find something," she said smugly, laying back against the pillows and straightening her legs. "I'll message them and see if we can land the place."

Max gently adjusted himself so that his head was lying in her lap, and Laura's hand immediately started playing with his hair. It felt good, and before he knew it, Max had fallen asleep beside her, breathing in her scent as he drifted into slumber.

..................................................................................

Laura waited until her boyfriend had fallen asleep to pull up the tab she had hidden behind the Zillow page, pulling up to the front of the screen to read it over. It was a compilation of all her werewolf research, hundreds of notes on origins, stories, theories, and her own handmade list of symptoms where she had listed Max's new abilities. She read through them again, trying her hardest to make any new connections.

-Super Strength: He hadn't been lying about that one. When she asked him to demonstrate, Max had sheepishly taken a horseshoe from his mom's shed and bent it like a twig for her.

-Super Smell: When asked, Max briefly described what she smelled like and how far he could smell her. His range seemed limited to about the perimeter of the house, but an experiment proved that he could follow a scent trail easily enough.

-Super Hearing: He could hear everything. Max could hear her heartbeat within five feet of her and could hear a pin drop from two floors above him; another experiment to see how far his range was.

Laura frowned as she got to the next few items on her list. She would have to wait until the full moon to observe them thoroughly.

-Allergy to Silver?: Max seemed fine enough when he wore the chain as a human. Was the silver thing even real?

-Sensitivity to Light: From what she could remember, Max had shielded his eyes from the light in the basement when she had turned it on.

-Hot Flashes: Max always ran hot now, apparently. He always was a good temperature when she checked him with the thermometer and her hand, but he constantly complained about being hot. It seemed worse right before he was about to transform.

-Aggression: Max had gotten slightly aggressive before his transformation, but Laura wondered if any other emotion could also be amplified. Max had been scared and confused before his transformation, and just an hour before, he had manhandled her in the kitchen before she left. Not that she had minded.

-Yellow Eyes: Laura shuddered as she remembered how Max's eyes had taken on that golden hue. She had watched him carefully to see if the pale green of his eyes would disappear again, but so far, she had only seen it right before his transformation.

-Black Veins?: This small detail puzzled Laura a lot. The veins had come out of nowhere and ran like an infection through his face and body. Max had also gone very pale and had some of the darkest circles she'd ever seen on him.

-Super Healing??: Now, this was Laura's biggest if; Max's ability to heal himself. Thinking back to the night at the storm shelter, Max's shoulder had been torn to shreds, and he had lost a lot of blood. The next day though, he didn't have a scratch on him, let alone a massive gaping wound in his shoulder. Laura frowned at Max; this needed to be tested, but not to an extreme. A simple poke or paper cut would do.

Taking a deep breath, Laura navigated to the video player on her computer and clicked on the file Max had downloaded from his hidden camera. Pressing play, she carefully analyzed the footage of her boyfriend moving furniture around, watching his every move. Occasionally she would rewind and focus on specific points in the footage, scrutinizing his every movement. When he got close enough to the camera for Laura to see the yellow in his eyes, she paused, letting her eyes rove over his face. His brows were furrowed, and his mouth was pinched, telling Laura that Max had been in pain at that very moment. Flipping back to her notes tab, she quickly filed 'Body Pain' under her list of symptoms, then went back to the video, watching Max sit down. His head angled into the air, and he licked his lips as a look of hunger passed over his face before a look of disgust replaced it. Laura's stomach twisted as she watched herself enter the room. Did he...consider eating her? Shaking her head, Laura continued, watching as Max shoved her away from him. This was the part she needed to watch.

Max had put himself on the floor and was half crawling, half writhing in pain, his hands gripping the carpet beneath him. Then he exploded, blood and gore splattering the room they were in. It happened so fast that Laura didn't quite see it. She rewound it, played it, rewound, and played it again and again. It was horrifying to watch; one moment, her boyfriend was huddled on the floor in pain, and the next, he was on his knees, arms outstretched as the beast inside him burst out of his skin. The monster was terrifying; now that Laura was looking at it, the creature was completely hairless and covered in leathery, bloodstained grey skin. The eyes were still a bright yellow, and the thing had no lips to speak of, just two rows of very sharp teeth. The limbs were long and lean, and the hands had claws that looked sharp enough to cut through skin like butter.

Those claws had cut through her arm like butter.

"Holy shit...I am one ugly monster, huh honey?"

Laura squealed and almost threw her laptop, instead pushing it out of her lap before turning to her now awake boyfriend. His red hair was messy, but she could tell he had been awake for a while from how alert he was. She quickly swatted at his arms.

"Jesus Christ, Max! Don't scare me like that!"

Max raised his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry, you were just so absorbed in...," he pointed to the laptop, still paused on the image of his skin exploding,"...that. Why are you watching that, anyway?"

Laura sighed and flopped onto the pillows behind her, placing her hands on her forehead. "I wanted to see more... for research purposes. It all happened so fast that night...I wanted to learn what I could."

She felt Max lean forward and grab the laptop by her feet, and he was quiet for the next few moments. Peeking at him from the corner of her eye, she saw that he was reading over her notes.

"Honey...This is...Damn. How long have you been making this?" Max asked, sounding amazed and concerned at the same time. Laura shrugged and stared at the ceiling.

"The night after you transformed. The more information we have, the better."

Max was quiet, and when she turned to look at him, she was that his head was hung low and his hands were shaking slightly. Concerned, she sat up and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Max?..."

He took a shuddering breath and turned to look at her, his peridot-colored eyes staring at her sadly. "I-I know that...you know, this is what I am now..." He lifted a shaking hand and stared at it, almost looking through it as he spaced out. "But seeing all of that...makes it so much more real. Holy shit, Laura. I...I'm a fucking werewolf."

Laura scooted toward him and wrapped her arms around him, careful not to catch her stitches on his shirt. "We're going to be okay, Max. We're going to fix you, okay?"

Laura felt Max wrap his arms around her as he rested his head on top of hers, burning his nose in her hair.

"I fucking hope so, honey."

Chapter Text

Thwack, scoot

Thwack, scoot

Thwack, scoot

Thwack, scoot

Max winced as his knee made contact with the hard rubber of the knee kicker.

Thwack, scoot

Thwack, scoot

Thwack, scoot

Thwack, scoot

How the hell did people do this day in and day out? Max straightened out and rubbed his knee, inspecting his handy work. He had started the carpet install yesterday, laying it out and getting all the edges just right. He had bought the necessary tools at the local hardware store, including the stupid knee kicker that allowed him to knee the carpet into place. All the videos Max had watched had shown people who just slammed into it like it was nothing, but his knee would beg to differ at the moment. After about an hour, he was sure his kneecap was bruised.

While he sat there resting his poor knee, Max smelled Laura approaching with what also smelled like food. He cleared his throat when she entered the basement and gave her a playful look.

"Hello, ma'am, the carpet install is going great; you picked out a very nice carpet," he said teasingly as he stood up, eyeing the sandwich in her hands. She had made his favorite- meat and cheese with tomato. "I expect full payment when I finish the job."

Laura grinned at him and rolled her eyes. She had chosen to wear her hair down today, the blonde strands tickling her shoulders as she moved toward him coyly.

" Oh, I'm sorry, I happen to be broke at the moment...Will this sandwich do, sir?" She put extra emphasis on the word sir and gave him the sandwich. Max hastily took a bite out of it, chewing and swallowing before looking at her with a mischievous grin.

"I don't know, ma'am...I don't think this covers the full cost. Care to throw in a little sugar, sugar?" The reaction was instant, his girlfriend's face morphing into a look that screamed disgust.

"Ew! Ew, ew! Don't ever call me that again!" Laura shrieked as she swatted his arm. Max grinned widely, crossing his arms and tilting his head at her.

"Don't call you what? Ma'am or sugar?"

"Both! Ew!"

Max laughed as Laura's whole body cringed, taking another bite of the sandwich in his hands as she giggled. Hearing her laugh was always the highlight of his day.

"Okay, but in all seriousness, how is it going down here? You're shaking the entire house." Laura asked, putting her hands on her hips as she looked around. Max didn't reply for a moment, too occupied with chewing the bite in his mouth.

"It's going. I've still gotta do the far wall and cut off all the excess so it looks nice and neat. Should be done in like another hour."

Laura nodded thoughtfully as she scanned over the room. "Now that I see it in person, it does look a little different."

Max nodded. "Yeah, I'm just hoping my mom's eyesight has gotten a little worse. It was never perfect to begin with, but- Ow!"

Laura flicked him in between the eyes with a fake scowl. "Don't talk bad about your mom's eyes; they're your best feature!"

Max finished off the sandwich in his hands and put a hand on his chest, acting offended. "I thought you were dating me for my personality, not my looks. I'm so hurt, Laura."

She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him, staring into his eyes.

"Well, what can I say? You have pretty eyes, honey. In the light, sometimes they look blue."

Max kissed her forehead and played with the ends of her hair."Thanks for the sandwich, honey. It was delicious."

Laura smiled and let go, waving at him as she approached the stairs. "I thought you might be hungry after basically shaking the entire house. I'm going to get back to work."

Max raised a brow at her. "Work work, or more research into wolf stuff?"

Laura bit her lip and tilted her head slightly. "Wolf stuff."

Max sighed and waved at her. "Okay, honey. Just remember to take a break; you're probably not going to find a whole lot until the full moon."

He heard her start walking up the stairs as she replied."I will, Max. I promise." He heard her footsteps as they entered the bedroom above him and heard the bed creak slightly as she sat on it. Then he turned his head back to the job before him and sighed.

"Let's get back to it," he mumbled, getting back on his knees. Max positioned the tool's sharp edge along the wall and began to use his knee to force the carpet into the fold, grunting with exertion with each blow. After each blow, he would move over about an inch and do it again.

Thwack, scoot

Thwack, scoot

Thwack, scoot

This was going to take a while.

........................................................................................

Laura took a sip of her coffee and let her eyes scan over the page, rereading the werewolf Wikipedia for the tenth time. This time she looked specifically into wolfsbane, a plant that allegedly was bad for werewolves. Laura pored over the image of the deep blue, almost indigo flowers with interest. Did they grow in North Carolina? A few clicks later, Laura could confirm that they did. Laura paused momentarily, then put aside her laptop and rushed to grab her shoes, slipping into them as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Then she darted to the top of the stairs that led down to the basement, where Max was working hard installing the carpet.

"Max!" Laura called out, and the noise stopped momentarily.

"Yeah?"

"I'm headed out!"

There was a pause before Max replied. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Laura shook her head even though they couldn't see each other. "No, it's fine! Keep working! I'm just gonna go grab something real quick!"

"Okay, honey! Be careful!"

"I will, I won't be gone for long. I'll be right back!"

With that last statement, Laura headed for the front door and exited the house. The web page said that wolfsbane grew close to bodies of water in the shade, and Laura set off into the nearby woods, following the old trail that lead to a nearby creek. It had been a while since she had returned to the place she had first met Max. They had been around eight years old when they had first met at this creek. Her feet went on autopilot as her mind wandered, remembering that day vividly.

Laura had been wandering around aimlessly, visiting her grandparents for the summer, when she had stumbled upon the creek. In it stood a boy with some of the brightest, messiest red hair she had ever seen. The boy had been barefoot, with his pockets loaded with rocks, and bent over, pulling a rock out of the water and inspecting it carefully. When it had passed his inspection, he slipped it into his bulging pockets and stood up straight, and took notice of her for the first time. The two of them had locked eyes, and Laura couldn't help but remember how bright his eyes had been then. They were a beautiful blue-green color, and the heavy amounts of freckles on his cheeks had made them even brighter. They had stared at each other in silence before he had slowly raised and hand at her and shyly waved.

"I'm Max."

It was a simple introduction, and for her childhood self, that was all she needed. They had become fast friends, and she would visit her grandparents every summer afterward just to see him. She had come to see him for his sixteenth birthday, and he had done the same. On her sixteenth birthday, Max kissed her and told her that he loved her, and one month later, Laura told him she loved him too. That had been a little over five years ago, and loving Max was something Laura would never regret, ever. Max would forever be her other half, her soulmate, werewolf or not. Nothing could change how much she loved him.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Laura focused on her task; finding wolfsbane. While the creek babbled quietly in her ears, Laura crouched on the balls of her feet, checking around the roots of the trees that had grown into the water. It didn't take her long to find the flower; the indigo hue of the flower stuck out like a sore thumb among all the green, browns, and oranges of the surrounding forest. Kneeling down, she quickly dug the plant out by the roots, ignoring the dirt under her nails as she pulled the wolfsbane out of the earth. It was a pretty flower, and it smelled nice too, but the web page had warned her that the plant was also poisonous to humans, so she made sure to handle the plant carefully. She swiftly placed the flower in her pocket and set out to find more.

By the time she got home, she was filthy but had a pocket full of blue wolfsbane.

Chapter Text

Max huffed and inspected his handy work, feeling proud. He had outdone himself a little; the baseboards were cleaned and put back on, the paint was dry and immaculate, and the carpet was installed. It was a brand new basement, and he was grateful he no longer had to look at his blood staining the place. He bent over, collected all his tools, and set them out on the stairs before grabbing the final touch to finish the basement; a large plastic tarp. His transformation was only a week away, so it was better to lay the tarp in advance than to struggle with it while he transformed. He carefully spread the tarp over the new carpet, tucking it into the corners before pinning more clear plastic onto the freshly painted walls. Finally, he piled all the furniture into one corner and wrapped it firmly, with several layers of crinkly plastic covering every inch of the furniture.

"Okay..."Max said, hands on his hips as he surveyed the now plastic room. "Moon room is done."

He turned and gathered his tools, heading up the stairs. He sniffed the air slightly as he put the tools away in the toolshed; Laura was still out of the house but wasn't too far away either. Her floral scent was still in the air, lingering in the breeze. He decided against looking for Laura; she had said she would be back soon, and he wanted to take a shower to wash away the sweat he had accumulated. Max went to the master bedroom to grab clean clothes before entering the bathroom, where he quickly stripped out of his dirty clothes and tossed them in the hamper before stepping into the shower. Max kept the water at room temperature; not so hot he would want to peel his skin off, but not so cold that it hurt either. This werewolf thing was getting old pretty fast.

As he was rinsing the shampoo out of his hair, he heard the front door open and could faintly smell Laura as she entered the house, but her scent wasn't the only one. It was faint, barely detectable next to his girlfriend's warm daisy scent, but had a noticeable unpleasantness to it. It was almost spicy in his nose, burning his nostrils slightly. Max frowned, taking another cautious whiff and wiping his wet hair out of his face. What the hell was that new smell?

Laura's scent got stronger as she got closer, as did the unpleasant smell that seemed to follow her. He could hear her footsteps approach the bathroom door.

"Max?"

"In the shower, hon!"

The bathroom door opened, and he peeked out of the shower curtain to see his girlfriend covered in dirt and grass stains. The pungent odor grew, and he wrinkled his nose at her.

"Why do you stink?" Max asked, and Laura raised a brow at his question.

"I stink?"

"Yes, very strongly. I mean, you still smell like normal, but something reeks. It's kinda burning my nose."

A smile broke across Laura's face. "Oh, so you can smell that?"

Max raised a brow at her. "Smell what?"

Laura shook her head and started stripping off her dirty clothes, tossing her pants outside the bathroom door. "I'll tell you in a bit, but do you mind if I join you? I'm all grimy."

Max shrugged and held open the shower curtain. "Not at all. It does look like you wrestled in the dirt a bit."

Laura laughed as she slid out of her underwear and joined him in the shower. "I did...Why is the water cold?"

Laura looked at Max, questioning the temperature before he saw realization dawn on her face. "Oh, that's right, you run a little hot. Sorry, I can get out."

"Honey," Max chuckled as he gently grabbed her shoulders, enjoying how her wet blonde hair framed her face. "It's fine; you can turn it up a little. I still gotta condition, and that has to sit in my hair for a while, you know?"

Laura sighed and turned her back to him, turning up the water. Max could feel the steam slide along his warm skin. "If you say so. Just say the word, and I'll turn it down again."

"Of course," Max said, reaching for Laura's shampoo bottle. He quickly squirted some of the fruity-scented gloop into his hands and massaged it into his girlfriend's scalp. After a moment, she leaned into his hands, gently allowing his fingers to work through her hair with a happy sigh.

"That feels good," she murmured, and Max had to stop himself from kissing the top of her sudsy head, settling instead to press a kiss to her shoulder. Once satisfied with Laura's soapy hair, he tapped her shoulder and spun his finger, gesturing for her to turn around. She complied, turning carefully to face Max with her eyes shut tight, hands immediately resting on his chest as she tilted her head back. They had done this so many times that they no longer had to speak; it was just a serene compilation of gentle touches and movements memorized by years of practice. Max shielded her face from the spray of water with one hand while he combed through her hair with the other, rinsing out all of the shampoo he had massaged through it. With a quick peck on Laura's forehead to tell her he was done, she reopened her eyes and smiled at him, reaching for his conditioner. Max quietly turned around and felt her hands soon afterward, gently massaging the conditioner into his red hair with graceful movements. The sensation of her hands in his hair, gentle and thorough, was almost better than sex. All too soon, the conditioner had been sufficiently applied, and he almost whined when he felt Laura's hands leave his head before she tapped him on the shoulder, signaling for him to turn around.

Laura was jaw-droppingly gorgeous, with her emerald eyes, watery eyelashes, soaked blonde hair, and water running rivulets down her skin. Max had to remind himself to breathe as he reached for Laura's conditioner, squirting some in his hand. She smiled at him lovingly as he started to massage it into her hair, and Max felt himself fall in love again. This amazing, selfless, badass woman had him wrapped around her finger, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Laura reached up and booped him on the nose. "A picture would last longer, honey."

Max chuckled and kissed her on the tip of her nose. "You're so beautiful, Laura."

Laura hummed and rested her hands on his cheeks, pulling him close enough to her face that he could count the drops in her eyelashes if he wanted to. Their lips were a whisper apart, and he didn't hesitate to close the distance, kissing her gently and passionately, pouring every bit of his heart into her. His hands gripped her hips, and he felt the hot water from the shower trickle over his fingers as he pulled back to look at her again. Laura was perfect.

"Wash my back?" Laura asked, turning her back to him again. Max grabbed the bottle of unscented soap and dispensed a good bit into his palms.

"Of course, honey."

Max immediately got to work, gently washing her back as he massaged the stiff muscles he found. There were lots of knots, and he could feel Laura relax even more under his skillful hands. She had taken on a lot of stress thanks to his new werewolf agenda, and it had been accumulating in the muscles around her shoulders. Max's mind wandered to her arm, and he stopped momentarily to lift her left arm.

The stitches were gone; Laura had gone to get them removed last week, and Max was glad that the wound was healing well. Still, the three long claw marks on her arm glared at him, the bright pink standing out against her tanned skin—a reminder of what could happen every full moon.

"Max, it's okay. It doesn't hurt anymore." Laura said, gently pulling her arm out of his grasp as she turned to rinse off her back.

"I know, hon. I just... I feel bad. It shouldn't have happened in the first place." Max swapped spots with Laura to rinse the conditioner out of his hair. Laura swatted his chest as he stood under the shower, feeling the water pour down his back.

"What we should've done was go to the Harbinger Motel," Laura said, and Max sighed.

"Yeah. Should've just gone to the motel."

.........................................................

Soon afterward, the water went cold, and Max and Laura were forced to make a hasty exit, quickly wrapping themselves in towels to fend off the cold air that assaulted their wet bodies. Max swiftly threw his clothes on before Laura opened the bathroom door, and the pungent, burning smell from before returned. Max immediately gagged and covered his nose.

"What the fuck is that smell?"

Laura looked up from her bag of clothes with a smile.

"Research," she said as she quickly pulled on a shirt and a pair of sweatpants. "I was looking into something, and based on your reaction, I think I may have found something."

Max gagged and removed himself from the master bedroom.

"That's great and all, hon, but it reeks, whatever it is you found."

He went straight to the kitchen, and Laura followed him, the pungent smell coming with.

"Laura! Please, it stinks."

Laura smiled at him and pulled a weird blue flower out of her pocket. It was a little wilted and rumpled and was the source of the burning sensation in his nostrils.

"What is that?" Max asked, backing away from the offending flower.

"Wolfsbane," Laura said, taking a step toward him. He gagged again as the smell of the flower wafted through his nostrils. "I read that it was used against werewolves, but I wasn't sure how true that was...until now. It looks like you hate it."

"I do," Max groaned, plugging his nose. "It smells so bad, Laura. Please get rid of it."

Laura nonchalantly opened the kitchen window and threw the flower out of it. The scent lingered on her fingers, but it was much more bearable. Max sighed and ran a hand through his wet hair.

"So...wolfsbane?"

Laura nodded. "Werewolves hate wolfsbane. I'm going to do more research on that," she said, leaving the kitchen. She paused and looked over her shoulder at him. "Wanna come with?"

They spent the rest of that day surfing the internet, looking for anything about wolfsbane.

Max hoped never to smell the plant again.

Chapter Text

The dawn of August 22 came faster than Max would've liked it to. As the sun rose through the window, he blearily opened his eyes and groaned quietly, feeling an ache deep in his bones. He could hear Laura's heartbeat beside him, slow and steady, as she slept next to him, and he wished that he was asleep right now, too. Instead, Max quietly slid his legs out of bed, grabbing the nearest pair of pants he could find and slipping them on. He knew from experience that he couldn't just lay in one spot if he was awake; his body would need to move, and he would wiggle around enough to wake Laura. Tonight, she would need every bit of sleep she could get; it would be a long night for both of them.

Max went to the kitchen and started the coffee pot, pouring enough water to make two cups. He knew Laura would appreciate it when she woke up. She was one of the many people that needed coffee first thing in the morning before she could do anything. He fondly remembered taking her for coffee every morning before school, her eyes brightening when he handed her the coffee. When Laura had started working to save up for college, she would request both coffee and a juice, drinking the coffee in the morning and pouring scary amounts of Red Bull into the juice to keep her up during the day. Max sometimes wondered if she would have heart problems later in life.

After fixing his coffee Max wandered out to the porch, wrinkling his nose in disgust as the smell of the wolfsbane wafted into his nose. He could not even describe how much he hated the plant, the way the scent alone was enough to churn his stomach. Still, Laura had said this might be something worth looking into, so Max resisted the urge to throw the planter into the woods. Instead, he glared at it as he sipped his coffee; maybe it would wither and die if he directed enough hate at it. Then an idea popped into his head.

What would happen if he ate it?

Max almost rejected the thought as soon as it popped up; why would he eat something that made him gag just by smelling it? Still, it might help with his werewolf ordeal. Maybe it would cure it? Max took another sip of coffee, walking back inside the house. He shouldn't, wolfsbane was poisonous to humans; Laura was very careful when she touched the plant. Still, he was a werewolf now, so he was pretty much immune to stuff like that, right? Max pondered over the question for the next hour, wandering aimlessly through the house as he weighed the options. On the one hand, he didn't want to touch the plant with a ten-foot pole; on the other, he would do anything not to be a werewolf anymore. Ten minutes later, he crouched in front of the planter and grabbed one of the blue flowers by the stem, trying not to gag as he stood up.

"This better be worth it," Max muttered before putting the flower in his mouth.

Regret filled him instantly as the most putrid flavor filled his mouth, making it extremely hard to focus on chewing and swallowing the damn thing. Max gagged and fought the urge to spit it out, quickly swallowing the flower before chasing it down with milk he promptly snatched from the fridge. Laura would kill him if she found out he drank straight from the jug, but he did not care right now. His stomach was churning unpleasantly as the taste stung his mouth. Max leaned heavily on the sink and tried to breathe through the intense nausea.

"I fuckin' knew that was a bad idea..." Max felt his stomach lurch and dashed towards the master bathroom, not caring how much noise he had made. He barely made it to the toilet in time before his stomach began to purge its contents, making the putrid taste in his mouth even worse as the damn wolfsbane passed his tongue a second time. Max retched, gagged, and puked while his eyes welled up with tears. Never again would he dare to come near wolfsbane again, let alone put it in his mouth. God, that was such a bad idea.

"Max?! What the fuck?!" He had been so busy puking his guts out that he failed to hear Laura get up, and now his girlfriend was crouched beside him, one hand on his back and the other brushing his hair out of his eyes. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and saw the concerned look on her face but couldn't explain why he was puking his guts out at eight o'clock in the morning because he couldn't stop fucking gagging. So he continued to empty his stomach into the toilet, leaning into Laura's mercifully cool hand and trying not to focus on just how fucking horrible he felt. Laura's hand gently rubbed circles on his back as he huddled over the toilet.

After about twenty minutes, Max let go of the toilet bowl and leaned back against the shower wall, panting as his stomach settled again. Laura quickly handed him a glass of water that he gratefully accepted and flushed the toilet, getting rid of the slightly blue-tinged bile inside it. Then she grabbed a washcloth and wet it thoroughly before crouching in front of him, dabbing it on his forehead as he took tiny sips of the water.

"Max...What happened? I've never seen you puke like that or that much. Even the night after your birthday was less intense." Laura asked, angling herself so she could look him in the eye. He groaned and put the glass down beside him.

"I did something stupid, hon," he groaned. He saw Laura's face immediately clouded with worry and quickly corrected himself. He did not need his girlfriend worrying about him trying to kill himself. "I took a bite of that fucking blue flower stuff."

She blinked at him. "You ate the wolfsbane?!" Laura yelled incredulously. "What the fuck, Max?! Why would you do that?"

He winced as her voice rang in his ears slightly. "I wanted to see if it would cure me?..."

Laura flicked his forehead before putting the damp cloth back there. "And how did that work out for you?"

"Bad."

"I would say so. Do you feel better now?" Laura gently kissed the top of his head, and he rested his head on her shoulder with a sigh.

"Kinda," he mumbled into her shoulder. "My mouth burns."

"Burns? Like what?"

"Like wasabi burn, but with a minty tingle. It tasted so bad."

Laura let out an exasperated sigh and stood up. "You need to have some fluids so you don't get dehydrated; let me get some of that electrolyte stuff your mom keeps around. Hang tight, honey."

Laura left to grab the stuff, and Max closed his eyes, leaning back against the glass of the shower door.

"I'm never doing that again."

Chapter Text

Laura didn't take her eyes off him for the next twelve hours, watching Max like a hawk as they tried to go about their day as normally as possible. He couldn't tell if it was because she didn't trust him not to do something stupid or if she was observing him in preparation for the full moon tonight.

So there they were, at eight o'clock at night, pacing the kitchen. Or, Max was pacing the kitchen, and Laura was leaning up against the counter. He was too hot and antsy to stay still, and he could feel Laura's eyes boring into his back.

"Max, are you hungry again?"

He stopped and shook his head. "No. I mean, yeah, I'm hungry, but I don't wanna eat anything."

He started pacing again, and Laura pushed off the counter, approaching him with her arms outstretched. Max tried his best not to sniff her as Laura wrapped her arms around him, stopping his pacing. He had been fine until about five in the evening when the sun had begun to fall lower in the sky. Then he became hungry, almost ravenous. Nothing could satisfy his appetite; Laura had watched in awe as he wolfed down three bowls of cereal, a pizza, four sandwiched, and an entire pint of juice all in one sitting. Max had felt disgusted with himself, but that quickly turned into irritation as his skin became hotter than usual and his muscles shifted. It was subtle, just little kinks in his shoulders that he could feel moving under his skin. It sucked, but Max knew it was nothing compared to what was coming.

"Max? Let me see your eyes real quick," Laura said, gently grasping the side of his face. He stared into her emerald eyes intently, her skin cool against his own as she peered at him. Max tried hard not to breathe in her scent, but she was so close it was impossible. The smell of daisies wafted in his nose as Laura gently stroked his cheeks with her thumbs.

"They're yellow," she whispered, not breaking eye contact. Max hoped that he didn't look as sick as he did on the video. Laura dropped her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck with a sigh.

"I wish I knew how to make this better."

Max wrapped his arms around her, and his brain just went blank. Laura smelled so good...and she was so good to him. It was more than he deserved from her. Max dropped his head and nuzzled the crook of her neck, breathing deeply as the smell of Laura intensified. He needed her, and he needed her now. The hot blood in his veins flowed toward his nether regions as Max began pressing gentle, longing kisses on her neck, working his way up to her jaw. He heard her heartbeat speed up, and her hands shook slightly as she gently grasped his shoulders.

"Max?..." Laura whispered uncertainly, pulling away slightly to look at him. He trailed his hands down her body until he found her hips, pulling her closer to him without breaking eye contact. She was so beautiful, so amazing; Max would gladly let her do whatever she wanted to him. Right now, though, he wanted to give Laura what she wanted.

..................................................................................

This was....unexpected. Were werewolves usually horny on full moons? The intensity of Max's yellow, lust-filled gaze was doing things to her stomach, setting off butterflies Laura hadn't felt since the third year of their relationship. It was surreal, almost. Max was being dominant, initiating the sex, looking at her so hungrily that Laura felt a sudden gush of wetness in her underwear. Max must have smelled that, too, because his yellow eyes dilated, and his hands slid down her ass. With an ease that left Laura breathless, he lifted her off her feet and set her down on the counter, maneuvering himself to stand between her legs with his hands resting on her thighs, his fingers warm against her bare skin. Laura silently thanked herself for wearing shorts, and another bout of wetness seeped into her underwear.

Max admired her for a moment before leaning in, pressing soft kisses along her collarbone as his fingers made quick work of her button-up blouse, pushing it off her shoulders slightly. Laura placed her hands behind her, holding herself up as her golden-eyed boyfriend's soft kisses became gentle nips, his teeth hungrily scouring the tender skin of her neck, traveling across her collarbone, and finally traveling back up to her ear, where he leaned in so close she could feel his hot, fevered breaths on her neck.

"Laura," he whispered, his voice a pleasant rumble that sent shivers through her. "Laura, I want you."

Laura let out a shaky breath and gently grasped his face, trying to ignore just how hot those words sounded coming out of his mouth. "M-Max...honey, the moon is tonight; you're gonna change soo-"

Max silenced her with a hungry, passionate kiss, and Laura's last sane thought flew out of her brain, leaving only thoughts of how turned on she was. Laura wrapped her legs around his waist and let her hands roam up to his brilliant red hair, gently grabbing a fistful of it as she kissed him back with just as much passion. Max growled deep in his chest, and before Laura could even question the noise, he had pushed his hand under her bra and was palming her boob, skillfully rubbing her nipple with his thumb. She moaned into his mouth and felt Max's other hand slide to her back, where he fumbled the hooks of her bra. Laura quickly shrugged off the rest of her shirt and undid her bra, throwing the clothes onto the kitchen floor. Max broke off the kiss, panting slightly as he leaned in a bit her neck, dragging his teeth along her skin. It wasn't enough to break the skin, but enough for Laura to gasp in surprise as he bit her collarbone. Gone was the sweet Max who worshipped her skin with soft kisses and whispered words; this Max, the feral one, was tasting her as he pleased, leaving bite marks and hickeys wherever his lips landed, leaving her feeling hot and bruised. Every whimper and soft cry seemed to encourage him, and his hands began to move from holding her boobs to gripping her hips, and the strength from his grip was sure to leave bruises later. Laura didn't care; all she could think about was how fucking hot her boyfriend was.

Max hooked his fingers into the shorts she was wearing, and before Laura could protest, he ripped them, pulling the fabric out from underneath her. Laura shivered as the cold countertop came in contact with her bare skin.

"Fuck, Max..." Her boyfriend growled, placing one last hickey on her collarbone before looking her in the eye. His golden eyes were so dilated they were almost black, and goosebumps rose on her skin as his hands pushed her legs open, exposing her soaking underwear. Max didn't break eye contact as he trailed his callused hands down to her thighs, rubbing small circles in her skin while moving closer to her clit. Laura took a shaky breath and leaned back on her hands, feeling Max slowly rub circles around her clit. He knew he was good with his hands, having brought her to orgasm with those talented fingers more times than she could count. Laura almost whined when he pulled his hands away, only to gasp when he lowered himself enough to bite the inside of her thigh. She tried to clamp her legs shut, but Max put his hands under her thighs, pulling her to the counter's edge and forcing her to balance herself on her palms.

"Holy shit, Max! What are you-"

Laura's eyes widened, and she fell silent as she watched Max kiss her underwear right above where her clit was. Laura almost melted right there on the counter as Max continued to kiss her, leaving little bites and hickeys on the inside of her thighs. It was almost frustrating; he was purposefully avoiding her clit only to brush over it lightly with his lips, making her almost whine in desperation. He had never teased her like this before; any other time, he would have done his damnedest to deliver, never making her wait when she wanted to cum. This was excruciating, and she fisted her hands against the counter, wanting him to get on with it. Max paused momentarily, noticing the movement, his golden eyes flickering to her green ones with a hungry stare. Then, slowly, deliberately, he hooked two fingers around her underwear, pulling them away from her wet core. Without breaking eye contact, Max leaned in and slowly circled her clit with his tongue, using long gentle strokes. Laura threw her head back and moaned slightly, eyes squeezed shut as she relished the feeling of Max eating her out. He didn't do it often, but he knew every bit of her body like the back of his hand and put that knowledge to good use. Laura felt Max bury his nose in her wet folds and grabbed his hair with one hand as she felt his tongue slip inside her. Max swirled his tongue around the entrance to her wet hole a few times before moving back up to her clit, giving it his full attention as Laura squirmed above him.

"M-Max! Max...fuck," Laura moaned, feeling her orgasm beginning to build in her core. Max looked up at her briefly and clamped his hands around her thighs, holding them still as his tongue worked her clit into a frenzy. Her body shook as the intensity of her climax increased, and Laura couldn't control how hard her body was shaking. With the loudest moan she had ever let out, Laura came on Max's face, her hand almost ripping out his red hair as her entire body relaxed with ecstasy. This was the best and most intense orgasm she had ever had.

Laura glanced over at the clock on the oven and sucked in a breath. It was 8:42, and the sunset was 9:03 tonight. She moved to hop off the counter, but Max, suddenly shirtless, stopped her.

"Max, Max, it's almost time. You have to...get down to the basement," she panted, trying not to eye the noticeable bulge in his pants. Max growled deep in his chest and kissed her, one hand sliding down to cup her ass. Laura heard the sound of his belt unbuckling and shivered, listening to the sound of Max kicking off his pants. He ended the kiss and brought both hands to her ass, looking deep into her eyes. She could see the veins begin to spread out across his face, but the way the fading sunlight colored his lustful face made Max look incredibly sexy.

"Laura," he rumbled." I have just enough time to enjoy you." With that bold declaration, Max slipped inside her.

Laura tried to lay back on the counter to enjoy the sensation of Max inside her, but her boyfriend had other ideas. She squeaked when he picked her up and moaned when she wrapped her legs around him, shifting her hips on his shaft. Max carried her to the nearest wall and held Laura against it, his firm grip leaving bruises on her ass as he started to mercilessly fuck her. Max had buried his face in the crook of her neck, and his teeth had a fierce grip on her skin as growls leaked out of his throat, mixing with the sound of her moans and the wet slap of their bodies. Laura had never seen Max this aggressive, this feral, this desperate. Her nails raked down his back as he pumped in and out of her; the scratches brought a loud snarl out of his mouth, and his pace increased. Laura could feel the wetness leaking out of her dribble down her thighs and spread across Max's hips, and she let out a breathless moan, wrapping her hands up in his now sweaty red hair. His bruising grip on her ass got even tighter as his body went rigid and growled so loud that Laura thought it was a roar. Not even a moment later, Laura felt him cum inside her, feeling his dick twitch wildly as his orgasm washed over him.

They stayed like that for a moment, Max holding Laura as he came, both panting from the intensity of the sex they just had. Max pulled back from Laura slightly, looking her in the eye as he brushed a few loose hairs from her face.

"Shit, honey...I gotta go...I'm sorry..." he whispered hoarsely, gently putting her on her feet. She smiled at him as she leaned against the wall, trying not to lose balance. Her legs were trembling, and her knees had turned to jelly.

"I know, Max. Go." Laura said. When Max didn't move, she gave him a light push. "Go!"

Max leaned in a kissed her gently, and with one last look, he dashed off down the stairs to the basement. Laura heard the door slam and slowly slid to the floor, legs too shaky to hold her anymore. Now that the adrenaline in her blood had settled, she started feeling Max's bites and bruises all over her body. With a sigh, Laura grabbed onto the counter and slowly walked to the bathroom, one hand on the wall to keep her steady. Her legs shook the whole way there, but she made it to the bathroom and started the shower, removing her underwear and throwing it into the hamper.

Laura sighed in relief when she stepped into the stream of hot water, feeling it soothe her sore body. She stood there momentarily, standing under the water with her eyes closed. Her boyfriend had probably transformed by now, and he managed to fuck her brains out before he did it too. She chuckled, opening her eyes and reaching for the soap bottle.

"Holy Shit!"

Her chest was littered with bright red hickeys and purple bite marks. Looking down at her thighs, she saw patches more lovebites, and her hips sported bruises in the shape of Max's hands.

"Oh my god, Max!"

Chapter Text

Max woke up to the smell of blood in his nose and groaned; another moon down. He sat up slowly, taking note of how bloody his body was. Even his boxers were missing, leaving him stark naked.

Max shifted his weight, feeling his body ache in protest as he moved. He was sore again, every muscle in his body straining against his effort as he pushed himself up on his knees, trying not to slip on the bloody plastic he was sitting on. Max did a quick survey of his surroundings; blood was once again splattered everywhere, and there were a few tears in the material, but upon closer inspection, it looked like the plastic sheet had successfully stopped the blood from staining the carpet again. Good. Max stood up slowly, wiping the blood out of his eyes. All he could smell at the moment was blood.

"First things first; I need a shower," he mumbled, stretching out his arms and approaching the door that contained him.

Max unlocked the door, swung it open, and shut it behind him before climbing the stairs. He carefully sniffed the air smelling the familiar scent of daisies from the master bedroom and a faint, musky odor from the kitchen. Max took another whiff, focusing on the musky scent until it became sweet in his nose. Whatever it was would be okay for now; checking on Laura and getting cleaned up was more important now. He followed the scent and gently opened the door, trying to be quiet. Max quickly spotted Laura asleep under the covers, and he paused momentarily to listen to her heartbeat. It was slow, steady, and strong. Max was glad she could rest; yesterday was stressful for her.

Max swiftly grabbed some clothes from his bag, careful not to get blood on his belongings, and briefly wondered where his boxers had gone. He usually woke up in them, but they were currently missing. Shrugging off the thought, Max hurried to the shower, eager to wash off the blood. The hot water did wonders to his sore, recently transformed body, soothing the aches he felt in his joints. Cautiously, he stretched his thumb; they had found out that he was double-jointed when Max had bent his thumb enough to touch his wrist yesterday. Laura had almost spit out her coffee, saying she never wanted to see his joints bend like that again. Max was glad that the stunt was only performable during the full moon.

After three full body washes, Max finally felt clean enough to step out of the shower, swiftly donning his clothes and viciously rubbing a towel through his red hair. Now that he no longer felt gross or smelled like blood, fatigue had set in, and Max wanted nothing more than to curl up beside his girlfriend and sleep. Checking one last time to ensure his hair was dry enough that he wouldn't soak the pillow, Max turned off the light and exited the bathroom, carefully walking to his side of the bed. Gently lifting the covers, he slid beside Laura's sleeping form and breathed in her soothing scent, letting it lull him to sleep as he wrapped his arms around her. Right before sleep took him, Max gently kissed her shoulder.

"I love you, honey," he mumbled as his eyes fell shut.

..........................................................................

The first thing Max smelled when he awoke was pancakes and Laura. With a quiet groan, he reached out and confirmed that Laura was not beside him. She had gotten up and was making pancakes.

"I love her," Max mumbled as he rolled himself out of bed. He gave himself another moment to fully wake up before standing up and making his way to the kitchen. On his way there, he passed a pile of what looked like the clothes he had worn yesterday. Had he stripped before going to the basement? And why did he leave his clothes in the hallway, of all places? Shaking his head, Max entered the kitchen. Laura was standing over the stove, wearing one of his shirts with a spatula in hand, watching the pancakes she had in the pan. Next to her was a plate piled high with enough pancakes to feed a small army. Max's stomach rumbled viciously when he laid his eyes on them. When was the last time he'd eaten something? A while ago, probably.

Max approached Laura from behind, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek. "Good morning, hon."

She turned her head enough to look at him. "Good morning to you, mister."

Max reached over to the plate of pancakes and snagged one, quickly stuffing it in his mouth. "Mister?"

Laura gently shrugged him off to flip the pancakes. "Yes, mister."

Max raised a brow at her and frowned. Laura only called him that when she was teasing or upset with him. Not full-blown rage, but more miffed than anything. And he couldn't figure out which she was right now.

"Did I do something I should know about...?" Max asked carefully, watching his girlfriend to gauge her reaction. Laura looked at him over her shoulder with exasperation.

"You should know. You were feral last night."

Max's stomach dropped. Did he hurt her again? Guilt began to bubble up in the back of his throat. Laura must've seen the look on his face and quickly put down the spatula before gently grabbing his forearms.

"Max, nothing happened! I mean, nothing bad...Do you not remember last night? At all?" Laura inquired, looking at him with confusion. Max shook his head.

"No, Laura, I-I don't remember anything. Just being hungry is all I can think of."

Laura bit her lip and averted her eyes, and Max could see her neck begin to flush pink. "Well, shit. That sucks for you because I will not forget last night for a while."

Before Max could ask her what she meant, Laura pulled the neck of the shirt to her shoulder, and his eyes widened in horror.

"Holy shit Laura!" Max yelled, gently grabbing her arm and trailing a finger over the many, many purple hickeys he saw. His stomach twisted when he saw the even darker bruises that formed bite marks on her neck. "What the hell?! I did this to you?!"

Laura chuckled and lifted her shirt to show off even more bites and hickeys sprinkled around her boobs. "You did a lot more than just this. Look at this," she said, pulling down her sweatpants enough to show hand-shaped bruises on her hips."You should see what you did to my ass."

Max didn't know how to feel. He gently rubbed one of the bruising bites on her collarbone. "So... Did we wrestle or what?"

Laura looked at him and sighed. "We had sex, Max. Really rough, really aggressive, really hot sex. You picked me up and fucked me against that wall right there. After making me cum on your face." She pointed to a nearby wall, but Max just gawked at her.

"I made you cum on my face? Like I ate you out? I've never been able to do that with just my tongue."

Laura smiled and grabbed a pancake, shoving it into his mouth before hopping on the counter.

"Well, you did, so...yeah. You also owe me a new pair of shorts."

Max quickly finished the pancake in his mouth and approached her, gently resting his hands on her knees.

"Are you okay? I didn't...you know...Did you consent? Did I force you?" Max asked, hands shaking a little. Laura smiled and placed her hands on his cheeks.

"No, Max. I enjoyed it. Do you think I would have let you put those hickeys on me if I didn't?"

Max chuckled and placed his hands on top of hers, sinking into her touch.

"No, no. You would've set me straight," Max said before winking at her mischievously. "So, you like being...rough?"

Laura laughed and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "I don't mind the roughness, but what really got me going was just....how assertive you were. And oh my god, your eyes were just...intense."

"...So, do you prefer gold over green?"

Laura rolled her eyes. "No, Max. I love your green eyes; they're amazing. What I meant was that you had really, really good bedroom eyes. Like, one look and I soaked through my underwear."

Max chuckled and buried his face in his hair. "Wow. Never knew that my girlfriend had a werewolf kink."

Laura swatted at his arm. "Shut up."

Chapter Text

"Max! I'm going to the store to restock your mom's food!"

Max briefly paused, a half-folded shirt in his hands. "Okay, honey. I'll finish the laundry and start packing up!"

"Do you want anything?" Laura called out. Max could hear the keys jingle in her hand from the bedroom.

"No, hon, I'm fine. Let's just restock everything I ate," he answered, returning to folding the clothes. Max had them all dumped out on the bed and gradually worked his way through it, folding his and Laura's clothes. It had been a few days since his last transformation, and they planned to leave for San Francisco the following day. Laura had already secured the apartment, enrolled in all her classes, and even prepped food for the trip. Driving across the country would take about five days, give or take, and Max knew he was the designated driver.

"Alright, I'll be back in a few hours! Love you!" Laura called out, and Max heard the door open.

"Love you too, honey! See you soon!"

The door shut, and Max was alone with the laundry and bags. He sighed and put his shirt in his bag. "Better go switch the laundry," he mumbled to himself. He exited the bedroom to the washroom and diligently started a load of brights. His mother had always been hard on him about being clean and doing it properly. One of the earliest things his mom had taught him was to sort bright-colored clothes from the dark ones, and it stuck.

Max frowned. He would never be able to tell his mom that he was a werewolf. Now that he was thinking about it, he would inevitably miss a few holidays and celebrations thanks to the full moon. Was he going to be stuck like this forever? It didn't suck too bad; Max enjoyed being able to hear and smell Laura everywhere she went, but the few times he had gone into town with her had resulted in a migraine from all the sounds and smells flooding his senses. And how were they going to find a cure? Laura had been studying that wolfsbane flower for a bit but hadn't brought it near him since he decided to eat it. Not his brightest idea.

Max was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the front door opening and immediately felt his gut twist with unease. It was too soon for Laura to return; she had left only a few minutes ago. And whoever just entered his childhood home didn't smell like daisies... Max quietly leaned against the wall and sniffed the air. The stranger smelled like coffee, alcohol, oil, and dirt. His sensitive ears also picked up two sets of footsteps, one being very heavy-footed. They both stopped in the foyer of his home; then, a knock sounded on the walls.

"Anybody home?"

Max felt his blood run cold. Detective Dick Whippet. The fucking creepy Sherrif from Hackett's Quarry. What the hell was he doing in North Carolina?! There was no mistaking that voice; he remembered it clear as day. What was he doing in his house?!

"I know you're in here. We just watched Mrs. Kearney drive into town," the Sheriff drawled. "Let's make this easy for both of us; just come out quietly with us."

Max clenched his teeth. The creepy Sherriff had been watching them, waiting for the perfect time to surprise him. How had the Sherrif even found them?

After a beat of silence, the Sherrif spoke again. "Bobby, go find him. He's got red hair; you can't miss him."

"Got it," said Bobby. Heavy footsteps began to wander through the house, towards the kitchen. Max bit his lip, mind racing. He didn't have his phone, so that he couldn't call the cops. The guy wandering around his house sounded like a big guy, so Max didn't want to run into him. Where was the Sherriff? Max cocked his head slightly, listening intently. The heavy footsteps had gotten closer, just down the hall, while the normal ones paced around in his living room. That meant going through the front door was a no-go.

The heavy footsteps stopped just outside the washroom door, and Max barely had enough time to move behind the door before it opened. The man, Bobby, smelled so strongly of dirt and oil that it clogged Max's nose, and he held his breath. Bobby walked further into the washroom, and Max silently thanked his mom for making such a big washroom. He could sneak out of the room and run out the back door if he was quiet enough. It led straight into the woods, but Max knew a path that could take him to the main road. He could flag down help there. He just had to get out of there first.

Max bit his lip, quickly slipped out from behind the door, and carefully edged himself toward the door. Bobby had his back to him, and Max was glad he hadn't run into him yet. The man was enormous, wearing a pair of filthy overalls and a cap. He was heavily muscled, and Max knew this man could easily break bones. It was time to get out of here. Max quietly tiptoed to the door, almost getting all the way out before he smacked his elbow on the doorframe. He tried not to wince, but Bobby had heard him anyway. The huge man whipped around and grinned.

"Found ya! I found him, Travis!" Bobby shouted, advancing on Max. Max didn't waste a second; he ducked out the door and ran down the hall toward the backdoor. Bobby was hot on his heels, moving incredibly fast for such a big guy.

"Get him, Bobby! Don't let him get away!" Detective Dick Whippet shouted.

"Fuck!" Max changed course, running toward the kitchen, trying his best to dodge the counters. Where the hell could he go?! The big man was hot on his heels and could smell that the Sherriff was nearby. Max looked around frantically before running into the dining room. He could probably bait the men into chasing him around the house, making the Sherrif leave the front door open. Then he could run out to the road and get help.

"Hey! Stop running!"

Max turned around and saw that Bobby had caught up to him and was standing just on the opposite side of the table. Max tried running to the right, and Bobby moved to intercept him. Max tried the left, and Bobby followed. It was just like when he used to chase his sister around the table; she would try to move left and right, and Max would move to catch her. Only this wasn't a fun game; a steroid redneck and a crazy cop were hunting him. Max eyed Bobby warily.

"What do you want with me?" Max watched Bobby shrug.

"Just doing what I'm told. Travis said it was important."

"Fuck you and whoever this Travis asshole is," Max spat.

The huge man frowned and grabbed the edge of the table. "Don't call my brother names. That's mean." With that statement, Bobby flipped the table, and Max ducked to avoid it, his jaw dropping. This man had easily flipped a table and was built like a tank. This dude was not playing around. Max scrambled to his feet and turned to run, only to run right into a taser, sparking him in his ribs. He fell to the floor with a pained yelp and looked up to see the Sherriff looking down at him tiredly, taser in hand.

"Come on, kid. Let's go," the cop said tiredly. Max scrambled away from him, snarling at him.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Seargent LittleDick!"

A huge meaty hand clamped on the back of his neck and pulled him to his feet, and the smell of oil and dirt flowed into his nose like a fog.

"Hey! Don't call my brother that!" Bobby scolded. Max tried to shoulder-check him, but the big man just wrapped his arm around his throat. The Sherrif looked at him exasperated and pulled a needle out of his pocket.

"Hold him still, Bobby."

Max felt panic rise in his throat. He had never been a fan of needles, but this was insane. He was going to get stuck with some drug that did god knows what. An image of Laura lying unconscious on the ground flashed in his mind. Was this the same drug they had used on her? Oh, he was fucked. He was so fucked.

Max looked down at the arm holding him. Should he bite the guy or stomp on his instep? Max only debated briefly; if he bit the guy, Bobby would get infected, which wasn't cool. So Max lifted his foot and put as much force as possible, smashing it into the big man's instep. Bobby swore loudly and released him, and Max quickly dodged the needle the Sheriff tried to jab him with, running right past him to the living room. He had to get to the door; he had to run away. Max dashed for the foyer only to feel someone grab his ankle, tripping him. Pain exploded in his skull as his head connected with the edge of the coffee table, and he immediately felt blood trickle down his face. It hurt like hell, but Max managed to kick whoever gripped his ankle in the face, hearing a sick crack from what he could only assume was a broken nose. The hand immediately released its hold, and he tried to stand up. The blood rushed to his head, and Max saw stars.

A hand on his shoulder roughly spun him around, and the next thing he knew, Max was face to face with the Sheriff. Max felt a sharp pain in his neck and realized in horror that he'd been stuck, reaching his hand to the offending needle.

"You goddamn kids," the Sheriff said. Max's head felt fuzzy, and his legs began to numb. This couldn't be happening. He was being kidnapped. What was Laura going to think? Fuck, she was going to think he had up and left her. Max had to let her know somehow. Fighting against his sluggish body, Max reached for the chain around his neck and yanked it, breaking it. He weakly flung it away, landing on the rug underneath him. Then he felt his legs give out underneath him, and the Sherriff helped him fall to the floor.

............................................................................................................................

Travis carefully eased the woozy redhead to the floor, ignoring the blood on the carpet. The kid glared at him with pale green eyes, trying to fight off the tranquilizer Travis had stuck him with. With great effort, Max grabbed the collar of his uniform, balling his fist around it.

"Ashwole...fuck you," the kid mumbled, tugging at his collar. Travis gave him an unimpressed look and removed the hand from his collar, feeling something rip. Fucking werewolf strength. It was bad enough having Bobby built like a tank, but Chris being able to bend a frying pan effortlessly? That was fucking ridiculous. Travis watched as the redhead closed his eyes, the tranquilizer finally taking effect. As soon as his body went limp, Travis stood up and looked at Bobby just in time to see his brother crack his nose back in place.

"You alright, Bobby?"

Bobby scowled and poked Max's limp form with his boot. "Fucker kicked me in the face. That hurt."

Travis clapped his brother on the shoulder. "I'm sure it did, bud. Come on, let's get him to the car."

Bobby nodded and quickly picked up the redhead's limp form, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Travis nodded and opened the door for him, watching Bobby duck under the doorframe. Blood was trickling down the pants of his overalls as Max's head injury continued to bleed. He might need to look at that later.

Travis turned around and surveyed the scene he and Bobby had left behind; blood was on the rug and the coffee table, and the dining room had been trashed. So much for subtle; they needed to get out of here before the redhead's girlfriend returned. With one final frown, Travis exited the house, closing the front door behind him and walking to the beat-up Toyota they had borrowed from Caleb. Bobby had already shoved Max in the backseat T and patiently waited in the passenger seat. Travis opened the car door and started it, swiftly pulling out of the driveway. They had a fourteen-hour drive back to Hackett's Quarry and did not want any pursuit from anyone.

After a beat of silence, Bobby spoke up. "Hey, Travis?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are we nabbin this guy again?" Bobby jerked his thumb at their quarry sleeping in the backseat.

Travis sighed heavily. "He's been bit."

"Bit! But he wasn't at the camp on the full moon!"

Travis frowned, looking at Max in his rearview window. "He got bit a while ago, Bobby. Slipped out of my fingers before I could help."

Bobby looked at him confusedly. "We gonna kill him?"

"No, Bobby! We're going to keep him with the other counselors, the ones who got bit!"

Bobby nodded. "Oh, that makes sense."

Travis sighed and turned on the radio. He didn't want to think about anything. Especially not the fact that he was kidnapping a kid and bringing him across multiple state lines.

Fucking werewolves.

Chapter Text

"Pancake mix, frozen veggies, canned goods, peanut butter..." Laura scrolled through the list on her phone, double-checking every item. She hadn't realized just how much Max had eaten on the full moon; he had almost emptied the freezer and the pantry. And since they were leaving tomorrow, they needed to restock the nonperishables.

Laura nodded and stuffed her phone in her pocket; she had everything they needed. She quickly went to the self-checkout and started scanning her items, impatient to get home to Max. He had been very careful with touching her ever since she showed him his handy work. She had been a little disappointed that Max hadn't remembered the sex they had, but seeing his reaction to his love bites and handprints was worth it. The look of utter shock and worry had been hilarious, and his jaw dropped when he saw the mess he made between her legs. Werewolf kink jokes aside, Max had been surprised to learn that Laura actually enjoyed the aggressiveness. But right now, more than anything, she just wanted to go home, put on a movie, and have Max hold her in his arms until they fell asleep. This was their last night here, and Laura knew San Francisco would be a new chapter for them both, especially with Max being a werewolf.

With a sigh, Laura hauled the groceries she had purchased to Max's car. She piled them all into the backseat, then quickly hopped into the driver's seat to start the car. Max still had his personal CD in the stereo, and Laura turned it on, listening to the soothing tune of "Heart to Heart" as she pulled out of the parking lot. Her boyfriend had unique taste in music, and it was another thing Laura loved about him. He was simple, kind, and honest; everything Laura could ever ask for. Sure, he wasn't the smartest person she knew or the most ambitious, but Max would do anything for her. He'd even tried to stay here in Ashville to keep her safe when he wolfed out.

Laura continued her way home, letting her mind drift as she turned into the house's driveway. When she pulled into the house, she parked near the back door because it was closer to the kitchen and grabbed the bags of groceries out of the back. After a quick struggle with the door, she kicked it open and headed to the kitchen.

"Max! I'm home!" Laura called out, starting to put the groceries away. There was no response. Laura put away a jar of peanut butter and called out again.

"Honey?"

Silence.

Laura frowned a little as she stocked the freezer. Maybe he was taking a nap? Usually, that would be out of character for Max, but he was a werewolf now, so Laura wasn't sure anymore. She decided she would finish this task and switch the laundry. If Max needed to sleep, who was she to wake him?

Laura went to the washroom and stared at the open bottle of detergent sitting on the dryer. That was definitely unusual for Max; he never failed to put his things back where they belonged. But there it was, a bottle of detergent open and out of place. Laura screwed the cap back on and pushed it back on the shelf above her, then opened the washer to check and see if it was empty. It wasn't; inside were dry clothes, and Laura felt worry flood her nerves when she noticed soap in the washer sitting on top of the clothes.

Max never left a task unfinished.

"Max!?" Laura called out, stepping into the hall. Again, there was no response, and her stomach twisted. Something wasn't right. She could feel it in her bones. Laura quickly ran to the master bedroom only to see a mound of clean clothes on the bed, waiting to be folded and put into their travel bags. Max was nowhere to be seen. Laura sped out of the bedroom back to the kitchen, feeling her heart sink. Where was Max? She entered the dining room, and her eyes widened in horror.

The room was trashed; the table had been thrown across the room, all the chairs were knocked over, and a couple of Max's mother's knick-knacks were broken. What the hell happened?!

"Max! Where are you?"

No response. Laura's heart began to race, thumping against her ribcage so hard it almost hurt. When she entered the living room, her heart almost stopped entirely.

Blood.

Blood was on the coffee table's edge, and a small puddle on the rug nearby. Laura quickly knelt and brushed her fingers over it, feeling the sticky liquid. It was somewhat recent, but there wasn't much of it. Still, what happened? There wasn't enough blood for Max to transform, and it wasn't even the full moon. Maybe he tripped and called 911? Laura quickly dug out her phone and called Max, waiting as the dial tone rang.

Her heart sank when she heard the familiar ringtone playing "Me Gustas Tu" from the bedroom. That was the ringtone Max had put on her caller ID, so he knew without looking that it was Laura calling him.

Laura stuffed her phone back in her pocket, then thought better of it and stood up to take a picture of the blood. Then she felt something under her shoe and picked up her foot, her heart twisting even more.

It was Max's necklace. The ring was still there, but the silver chain Laura had given him was broken. She quickly picked it up and went to the bedroom, flipping through her things to find what she needed. She didn't wear necklaces as long as Max's was, but she had chains that would work until he got a new one.

If he got a new one.

Laura shook the thought from her head and called Max's phone again, quickly finding it on top of a stack of shirts. It lit up with a picture of her Max swore up and down that he had deleted, the one where she had curled up in one of his sweaters and fell asleep in his bed. They had been apart for a few weeks, and she had missed her redhead boyfriend so much he had driven the six hours to Raleigh to see him. He hadn't been at his house then, but his mom had ushered her upstairs to his room to wait, where she had stolen his sweater and fell asleep, exhausted from the drive.

Laura chuckled as she ended the call; when she found Max, she was going to make sure he deleted it. Because she knew Max wasn't dead, not by a long shot. He had werewolf super healing and strength to boot. She was going to find him, no matter what it took.

She quickly stashed Max's phone in her pocket and returned to the living room to investigate, putting the ring on a new chain as she went. As soon as she slipped the chain over her head, Laura pulled up the camera app and took pictures of the dining room and the bloody rug. As the flash went off over the bloody rug, something caught her eye; something metallic was embedded in the carpet. Laura quickly stooped to pick it up and felt the beginning of a rage begin to flare. In her hand was a small decal that said one word.

Sherriff.

Laura stood up, glaring at the name tag. There was only one Sherriff she knew of that didn't exactly abide by the law; the Sherriff of North Kill. Of Hackett's Quarry, North Kill. Where Max had originally been bitten.

Laura took a picture of the name tag and let it fall back to the floor, heading towards the bedroom. Detective Dick Whippet had kidnaped Max, and she would get him back. Laura grabbed her bag and rifled through its contents; Max had already packed a few of her shirts and pants, so she rifled through the mound of laundry to find socks, bras, and underwear, hastily shoving them into the bag. Laura also stuffed some of Max's clothes into the bag, along with one of his jackets. There was no telling how long it would take her to find Max, but it was better to be prepared for anything. There was only one last thing she needed to grab.

Laura knelt, reached under the bed for the small safe Max's mother kept, and entered the code. The safe opened to reveal a handgun, complete with ammo and an extra clip. Max's mother had only used a gun once to scare off a high schooler who wouldn't take no for an answer from Laura. However, Laura knew how to handle a gun many times before. Her father had made sure of that.

Laura checked to ensure safety was on before cramming it into the bag and zipping it shut. Then she hauled the bag to the car, stopping momentarily to lock the door to the house. Then she went and started the car, pulling up directions to Northkill.

"I'm coming, Max. Stay safe," Laura said as she pulled out of the driveway.

She was going to get Max back or die trying.

Chapter Text

His mouth was dry, and his head was fuzzy. Where was he? The smell of coffee and oil was suffocating, and the hum of an engine rumbled in his ears. What happened?

Max cracked his eyes open slightly, letting his eyes adjust to the dark. It took a second, but soon he could make out vague shapes and colors. Everything was fuzzy, and his head swam drunkenly, threatening an oncoming migraine.

"Man...." Max mumbled as he shifted to sit up. He frowned when he realized his hands couldn't move freely. Bringing his hands to his face, he squinted at the blurry outline of his wrists and struggled against his restraints. Were these handcuffs?

"Looks like you're awake," said a voice. Max jerked his head up, trying to see through the fuzzy in his eyes. He couldn't see much, but his ears and nose could sense what he couldn't see. He was in the backseat of a car, and his two kidnappers were in the front. From the smell of them, it was the Sheriff and his accomplice. Memories flooded through his mind; the needle, the chase, his head injury. Max brushed his fingers over his forehead to feel the gash, but it wasn't there.

"Bobby? Do you need to switch again?" The Sheriff was looking at the muscled man in the divers seat.

Bobby shook his head. "Nah. I got it. I can drive the rest of the way."

The Sheriff nodded and leaned forward, grabbing something by his feet.

"Here," said the Sherriff, shoving something in his face.

Max recoiled hastily and tried his best to glare at him."Fuck you," he croaked, his mouth parched. The Sheriff muttered under his breath, then held out the item again.

"Look, you want water or not?"

Max squinted at the object held out to him, the edges all blurry. It did look like a plastic water bottle, kind of. And he was really thirsty. But what if the Sherriff had drugged it? He suspiciously flicked his eyes between the Sherriff's shadowed face and the water bottle. The Sheriff's lips pressed into a hard line, and he sighed exasperatedly.

"It's not drugged. You already have enough tranquilizer in your system to stop you from doing anything stupid." He offered the water again, and Max reluctantly took it in his cuffed hands, struggling to make his fingers work. The cop was right; his motor skills were still sluggish, and he almost dropped the bottle on his face as he lifted it to his lips. It was worth it; the cool water tasted heavenly in his mouth and instantly soothed the dryness coating his throat. Before Max knew it, the bottle was empty. The Sheriff reached back and took the bottle from him, fixing him with a hard stare.

"Go back to sleep."

Max frowned at him. "Why should I listen to you?"

The Sheriff turned away from him, facing the windshield once more. "It's in your best interests to."

Max glared at the back of his head as best he could as he adjusted in his seat. His eyes were getting heavy again, and his vision blurred even more as he tried to stay awake. He fought against the need to sleep for a minute, but his head nodded for the last time, and he gave in, letting his consciousness fade into sleep.

That was one potent tranquilizer.

.................................................................................

"Where the fuck have you been, Travis!?"

Max jerked awake, sitting up in an instant. He quickly looked around at his surroundings, taking note of everything. He was alone in the backseat of a car, and all the windows except the windshield were tinted. Max jingled his hands and felt cuffs around his wrists.

"What the fuck?..." Max murmured before someone outside the car spoke.

"Chris, calm down-"

"No! I will not calm down! You left us here with three infected counselors for two days! With no warning, and you took Bobby with you!" Another man shouted, obviously very angry. Max heard a familiar sigh, then the crunch of gravel under shoes.

"Chris, I had something I needed to do, and I needed Bobby for it. It was important-" The Sheriff said, but Chris cut him off.

"Travis, what was so fucking important that you had to leave? Seriously, man, we have six kids freaking out and trying to run off!"

So they had kidnapped more people than him? Max grimaced and reached for the door handle opposite him. He had heard enough. He needed to get out of here. He quietly opened the door, still listening to the conversation,

"I get that, but this was just as important. I needed to contain our problem," Travis said. What a great name for a dirty sheriff. Max didn't stick around; the second his feet hit gravel, he took off running. He headed for the woods, barely hearing Travis call for Bobby. He had no clue where the big man was, but Max knew he had to get out of there now. He ran as fast as he could with his hands bound, dodging trees and jumping over rocks. He had no clue where he was going, but that didn't stop him from heading deeper into the woods. When he felt safe enough, Max paused, catching his breath and trying to think of a plan. That was always Laura's strong suit. What would she do?

Max threw his head back and caught the scent of oil and dirt; Bobby was close. Another cautious whiff alerted him that Travis was nearby, and he took off. He was not going to make catching him easy for them. Bobby was fast and would catch him if he ran in a straight line, so Max turned and ran in a random direction, hoping it would lead to a road. It didn't; instead, he ran through a small clearing surrounded by small log cabins. He briefly saw a small group of people clustered around one of the cabins but ignored them and continued running through the camp into the woods. Again, he smelled the air, and three scents pursued him; the cop, the hillbilly, and someone who smelled like smoke and pine.

"You can't run from me in my own backyard, fucker!" Max heard Bobby yell to his left and promptly changed his direction, whizzing past trees as fast as his feet could carry him. A gunshot rang out, and Max saw the bullet hit the tree beside him. Not ten yards away was Travis, gun in hand, with an irritated frown.

"Stop running! Right now!" Travis shouted, advancing on him. Max eyed the taser on his hip and backed up.

"Fuck you!" Max turned to run only to feel two meaty hands grab his shoulders and push him into the dirt, the fallen pine needles scratching at his face.

"Ow..." Max winced as he looked up at the brute holding him down. "Why are you so big?!"

Bobby shrugged. "Ma fed me good."

"Travis!" A man wearing khaki shorts and a camp shirt jogged onto the scene, his face twisted in confusion. As soon as his eyes landed on Max pinned on the ground, the confusion quickly turned into anger."Travis?! What the fuck is going on?"

Travis gritted his teeth and holstered his gun. "Chris, just let me explain-"

Chris glared at his brother. "You better start explaining real fast, or I swear to God-"

"Chris shut up!" Travis yelled, lip twitching in agitation."I brought him here because he knows!"

Chris's jaw dropped in disbelief. "When?! How?! And why didn't you take care of it right then and there?!"

Max flicked his eyes back and forth between the two, watching as they argued right there in front of him. They were paying absolutely no attention to him. If he could get out from underneath Bobby... Max squirmed slightly, trying to wiggle himself out of the big man's grip. Instead, Bobby's grip tightened to the point of pain, and he cried out.

"Hey, stop moving. You're caught," Bobby said, not letting up on his iron grip. Chris and Travis both looked over at them.

"Jesus Christ! Bobby, get off him!" Chris said, approaching them. Bobby immediately let go of him, and Max stood up, backing away from the trio, wincing as his shoulder began to bruise.

"You alright?" Chris asked him, looking him up and down. Max scoffed.

"Oh yeah, I'm wonderful. I was only just kidnapped across state lines by Detective Dick Whippet and his friend here! Do I look fine!?"

Chris rounded on Travis again, exasperated. "Across state lines?! What the fuck were you thinking!?"

Travis threw his hands up. "I was trying to contain our problem!"

"How!? If he was out of state, what could he possibly know!?" Chris argued. Travis shook his head and pointed at Max. "He was one of your counselors that didn't show up! They showed up a night early, and you fucking bit him, Chris!"

Max's jaw dropped. Chris had bitten him? Chris fucking Hackett had been the werewolf in the cellar that night? He held his chained hands out in front of him, catching their attention.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. So you are a werewolf, and you decided it was a good idea to host a two month long summer camp full of kids?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Chris grimaced and held his hands up placatingly. "Look, I know this is all new for you, but-

"But nothing. I'm a fucking werewolf! I've fucking exploded out of my skin twice! I almost killed my girlfriend! This is not new to me!" Max glared at the two of them, and Chris had the common sense to look regretful. Travis, however, sighed in annoyance.

"You don't have all of the information, kid. You know next to nothing about what's going on!"

Max opened his mouth to argue but was cut off by Chris. "Alright, alright, everyone cool your jets. Let's talk civilly and calmly." He turned to Max and extended a hand. "I'm Chris Hackett, but you already knew that. Are you... Maximus Brinly?"

Max cringed internally at his real name being used. He would never forgive his dad for naming him after the main character in Gladiator. "Just Max."

"Just Max. Got it." Chris nodded and quickly dropped his hand when Max didn't shake it. "I know you don't want to be here, but right now, you're kinda stuck with us." Max opened his mouth to speak, but Chris continued.

"You aren't the only person here that's been infected. We...We had an incident a few days ago. Four of my counselors were bit on the full moon, and we're trying to put a plan together that lets everyone go home."

Max looked up to the sky and closed his eyes. "So I'm stuck here?"

Travis nodded. "Yep. Look at your foot."

Max blinked at him and looked down as instructed. On his left ankle was an ankle monitor, the green light flashing lazily from time to time.

"That ankle monitor has a GPS, so if you even try running, we will find you. Tamper with it, and we will lock you in a cell. Got it?" Travis pointed at him, his tone firm. Max fought the urge to glare at him and instead stared at his cuffed hands. He was really trapped here. How was Laura holding up? Did she miss him? Fuck, would he even see her again? His heart clenched painfully at the thought, and any resistance he had left in him deflated.

"Got it."

Chapter Text

"Come on! Let's go."

Max glared at the cop dragging him along by the elbow. After their conversation, Chris had told Travis to bring him to "the others" and introduce him. From what Max had heard, they were the counselors he and Laura were supposed to work with over the summer, and they had a situation happen on the full moon. Maybe they could escape together?

Travis dragged him back to the clearing with the log cabins, and towards the group of people Max saw during his mad dash through the camp. He could smell all of them, their scents wafting through his nose at once. Some were fruity, others were herbal, and someone smelled like pencil shavings, weirdly enough. They watched his approach carefully. A few stood up slowly, obviously distrusting of the Hacketts that held them captive. A short girl that smelled like jasmine approached, arms spread wide with a sneer.

"Oh wow, look, guys! It's Agent Asshole!" She settled her eyes on Max and frowned. "Who is this?"

"This," Travis said, taking his hand off Max's elbow to uncuff him." is your new bunkmate. Show him the ropes."

"I think you mean show him the teeth!" Max raised a brow at the guy who spoke. He had brown hair and the dorkiest grin he'd ever seen. Everyone in the group either gave him a look or rolled their eyes and he, in turn, waved his hand at them casually. "You guys have no imagination."

Travis sighed and pitched his brow. "Just show him around and find him a bunk. He's infected, so take that into consideration." With that, the cop turned away from the group of young adults and walked away. Max flipped him off before turning back around to face the people gathered before him. There was an awkward silence before Max decided to bite the bullet and stepped forward.

"Okay, so...I'm Max, Max Brinley. I was just kidnapped from my home four states away by Detective Dick Whippet over there."

The short girl stuck out her hand for him to shake, and he did. "The name's Kaitlyn. Don't wear it out," she said.

Her introduction set things in motion, and soon everyone circled around him to introduce themselves. He got a fistbump from a guy named Jacob, a small nod from a quiet Ryan, another handshake from a girl named Emma, a small wave from the red-haired Abi, and a firm handshake from the Aussie Nick and Dylan, who looked at him curiously.

"You said your name was Max Brinly?"

Max nodded. "Yeah."

Dylan put his hands on his hips and looked at him curiously."Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are one of the counselors that didn't show up, right? You were supposed to be the activities assistant, and you were coming with...What's her name?"

Max frowned a little. "...Laura. She's my girlfriend."

Dylan nodded. "Right, right..."

"So...why didn't you guys show up back then?" Ryan asked, moving to stand beside Dylan. Max didn't miss the way their fingers grazed against each other but chose to focus on the topic at hand.

"Well, that's the thing...We showed up a night early to get settled in," Max began, moving to sit on one of the cabin's steps. His legs were tired from so much running. "Laura thought she saw someone who needed help in the storm shelter, so we went down there."

This was the first time in months that Max had actually thought about what happened that night, what really happened. He fell quiet as he remembered the excruciating pain of his shoulder being ripped to shreds, the sounds the werewolf made, and the way Laura had screamed his name when she saw him covered in his own blood. Without even thinking, he lifted his hand to where he had been bitten as he continued.

"Laura found...a dog collar with the name Ian on it...And I started telling her that we should go to the motel like the cop told us, that we could check it out in the morning. Then I got fucking mauled by a fucking werewolf and dragged to a police station by Seargent Little Dick, who was planning to keep my girlfriend and me locked behind bars, but we broke out."

Kaitlyn nodded with an impressed look. "So, I'm guessing after that, you both were like, 'Fuck the Hackett's Quarry, it sucks,' and hightailed it back home."

Max held his hands out like he was being handcuffed again. "Guilty as charged."

Abi raised her hand, and Emma gently lowered it. "Abi, sweetie, we aren't in a class. Just say your piece."

Abi nodded and tucked some hair behind her ear. "So...you're, like, a werewolf now, right?" Max just nodded, and Nick sighed heavily.

"That makes five. Me, Dylan, Jacob, and Kaitlyn are all infected," he said bitterly. Jacob tried to grin encouragingly and bumped his shoulder.

"It's not all bad guys! We can't get hurt, right?"

Everyone in the group gave him a side eye, but it was Emma who spoke. "Yeah, sure, that's great and all, but we are all now super traumatized and being held prisoner by a bunch of backwoods hillbilly psychopaths who just happen to be werewolves." Emma paused momentarily, making a show out of inspecting her nails. "You know, it's funny; if someone hadn't broken the van, we wouldn't be in this situation, Jacob." The blonde glared at the jock coldly, and Max watched the man wilt under her gaze.

"Right. I'm sorry. That was...a stupid thing for me to say, and the van...was a horrible idea," Jacob said before jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "I'm gonna go for a walk. Nice to meet ya, Max!"

Max waved at him as the jock turned and jogged away from the group, who watched him depart. Kaitlyn sighed heavily and gestured toward the retreating figure of Jacob.

"I'm going to go follow him, make sure he doesn't fall into another bear trap or something like that. See ya." With that, Kaitlyn left the group, following Jacob into the woods.

There was an awkward pause before Dylan clapped his hands together. "Okay, so, Max, let's find you a place to bunk up. Everyone basically has a cabin to themselves, so just pick one that isn't already occupied."

Max looked around and set his sights on the cabin closest to the pool house. It was out of the way, and being closer to the wood could work in his favor if he found a way to escape." Is that one open?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll take it."

"Cool," said Dylan, trying g to hide the fact that he had no idea what to say next. Abi bit her lip and raised her hand only to have it slowly lowered by Emma.

"I think the next step is to inform the new guy about all the stuff that happened on the full moon."

Ryan nodded. "It sucked big time. The last day of camp was that day, and Jacob decided to mess with the van." Emma scowled and crossed her arms but remained silent as Ryan continued. "Mr. H was pretty upset that the van didn't work, and he drove off after telling us to stay in the lodge."

"Yeah, and then I had the wonderful idea of having a bonfire to celebrate our last night," Dylan said sarcastically. "Then Emma did a little pot-stirring, Abi and Jacob ran off, then Nick and Emma went after them, Abi and Nick got attacked." Dylan was counting off his fingers as he recounted the events. "Nick's leg was made into basically hamburger; we took him to the lodge to patch him up, Ryan and I tried to call for help, but no, Mr. Meathead just had to cut the power!"

Ryan grimaces."Definitely not the weather."

"Definitely not a bear either. So we head to the radio hut to see if maybe I can send out an SOS message, but we meet a nasty werewolf instead," Dylan said, lifting his left hand and inspecting it with a frown. "I got bit there. Which, thanks, Ryan, for not chopping off my hand."

"Hand chopping? What?" Max asked, looking at Dylan like he'd grown a second head. Dylan shrugged.

"Well, it turns out I was right about this, but if you get bitten, you can amputate and stop the wolf juju from doing its fucked up thing."

"Kinda wish I'd been amputated," Nick said guiltily. Abi looked at him and touched his shoulder, and Nick flinched at the contact.

"You know that wasn't your fault, right? It wasn't you; the...change...thing messes with your head. You weren't in control."

"It doesn't change the fact that I still did it."

Emma sighed and stretched. "This is so depressing. Can we get this over with? And not mope on the details like Abi getting tossed like a ragdoll and Dylan almost losing a hand?"

Abi looked at Emma with horror."Emma!"

"What?! Nick blew up in the pool house with you, Ry Guy, Dylan, and Kaitlyn; I stayed on the island all night, Jacob got bit and locked in a creepy cellar, and Kaitlyn got bit at the scrapyard looking for parts. There, done." Emma took a slight bow before walking to a nearby cabin. "If you need me, I'm taking a nap."

They watched her disappear, and Abi sighed sadly. "I-I'm sorry, guys. The other night was rough, and we all are trying to make sense of it. I think Emma feels kinda bad because she was safe for most of the night, but...yeah. We still...are processing stuff. I'm sorry you got roped into this too, Max."

Max waved her off. "It's been a weird couple of months; I'll just say that. Finding out that werewolves exist, that I'm a werewolf, and that I was bit by fucking Mr. H, and-"

"Wait. wait- What did you just say?" Ryan asked, staring at him intently. Max raised his hands defensively.

"Mr. H was the one who infected me. Did...did you guys not know?"

Ryan looked like he was halfway between a laugh and a scoff. "It can't be Chris. He wouldn't-"

"He would," Dylan said, cutting off Ryan. " I think maybe you've forgotten the fact that we are being held captive here, and Mr. H definitely wouldn't stand for that unless he were in on it. I mean, we haven't even seen him since the full moon, right? He told us he would come back in the morning, but we got that cop instead."

"I think they're all brothers," Max said, thinking back to the conversations between the men. "Travis, Chris, and Bobby are all related." When he got a bunch of confused looks, he clarified. "The cop, Mr. H, and the big dude with the overalls."

"So..." Abi fiddled with the rings on her hands. "What-what does that even mean?"

Nick sighed and put his hands on his hips, looking at his feet. "Did we all get bitten by Mr. H?"

Ryan looked at all of them in disbelief. "Are we really believing what the new guy is saying? We haven't even known him for ten minutes!"

Max stood up slowly and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, that's just what I heard, okay? Fuck, I didn't even know who bit me until twenty minutes ago when Dick Whippet and Mr. H were screaming at each other."

Nick came to stand in between them, hands out like he was going to stop them from engaging in a fistfight. "Alright, look. We...we don't know what's going on, but we need to keep it kinda cool, alright? "

Abi stepped up as well, a sincere look on her face. "Nick's right, guys. Getting into a fight about what's right or wrong is not something we need right now. So please... let's not do this right now."

Ryan threw up his hands and sighed. "Fine. I'm going to go lay down. Dinner should be here soon anyway. Goodnight." With that, Ryan walked past Max into the cabin, closing the door quietly behind him. Dylan watched him go before following the disgruntled counselor.

" I'm gonna go talk to him. He's kinda close to Mr. Hackett and his kids, so...yeah. That is a little bit of a sensitive topic right now. See ya later, alligators."

Dylan disappeared into the cabin, and Max looked at Abi with a yawn.

"So...what time is it? I've kinda been in a drug-induced sleep with no way of checking the time."

"It's about eight," said Nick, looking up at the sky.

Max yawned, still feeling the effects of the tranquilizer in his system. "Great. Well, I think I'm going to lie down. I've...kinda had a rough day."

Nick nodded."That's for sure. If you, er, need anything, I'm in cabin seven. Abi and Emma share cabin four, Dylan and Ryan are in five right here, and Kaitlyn and Jacob are sharing six. So if you need anything...you know, you got options."

Max smiled at him gratefully. He was already a fan of Nick. He seemed like a pretty nice guy considering the shit they'd been through.

"Thanks, man. I appreciate you guys kinda just...helping me out," Max said, offering Nick his hand. The Aussie shook it firmly.

"Hey, some of us are monsters now. We gotta help each other out."

Max offered his hand to Abi, who shook it gently.

"Yeah, Nick's right; we gotta work together," Abi said. "It's how we got through that night; it's how we're going to get through this."

"Yeah. Thanks again, guys. I'll see you later," said Max. His eyes were heavy as he left what remained of the group and headed for his cabin.

It was definitely a camp cabin; when Max opened the door, he saw four bunk beds, a bookshelf, and posters about forest safety. It smelled like a cabin too. Max could smell the old woof, dust, and freshly washed linen that was supposed to wait until next summer to be used again.

Max slowly sat down on the edge of the closest bunk and kicked off his shoes, his head filled with sleep and worry. How was Laura doing? Did she figure out that he had been kidnapped? Or did she believe he left without a goodbye? Max laid down with a sigh, reaching for his necklace only to remember he'd sacrificed it in hopes of Laura finding it.

What was going to happen now? He could try running away from the camp, but the ankle monitor made that near impossible. Even if Max did get out of the camp, he would be stranded in New York with no money, no car, and no phone, and he doubted he knew anyone willing to drive fourteen hours for a friend. His mom would do it in a heartbeat, but then Max would have to explain how he wound up in New York when he was supposed to be in California.

He was trapped.

Max closed his eyes and sighed heavily. God, he missed Laura. They had only been apart for a day, but he missed her so much it almost hurt. He would probably never see her again. The thought brought tears to his eyes. Laura was his everything. She was such a strong, beautiful woman, and Max was thankful she loved him as much as he loved her.

Max closed his eyes, thinking back to his time with Laura. He hoped that maybe when he for out of this place, he could see her again. Would she ever forgive him?

He fell asleep to the memory of holding Laura in his arms.

Chapter Text

How the fuck did Max drive for fourteen hours straight?!

Laura took a sip of her Red Bull, not taking her eyes off the road. She had been on the road since almost seven in the morning and was finally in North Kill County. It was nearly eleven o'clock at night now, and Laura could feel the pressure building up behind her eyeballs. What was Max's secret? How did he drive such long distances without a single break? She would ask him as soon as he was driving them back to safety.

As soon as he found Max.

Laura flitted her eyes over to the handgun sitting in the passenger seat for the hundredth time. She really hoped she wouldn't have to use it, but if push came to shove, she would not hesitate to pull the trigger. That asshole had hurt and kidnapped her boyfriend, and Laura would not let that slide. That Sheriff will face prison for the rest of his life when Laura finishes with him.

The next hour ticked by slowly as she drove, the trees around her blurring in her peripherals. Laura reached over and snatched the map she had stowed away in the side of the passenger seat, expertly flicking it open to look at it. She roved her eyes around the map, quickly pinpointing the two dots that bastard cop had penciled on it almost two months ago. If she followed this road, she would eventually get to the Harbinger Motel and then on to the police station, where the Sheriff was probably imprisoning her boyfriend. The mental image of Max being dragged past her cell made her hands clench on the steering wheel in rage. Oh, when she found that cop, he was going to pay...

Another forty minutes go by before Laura pulls into the rundown police station, quickly killing the engine to not alert anyone inside. She grabbed her handgun and slowly opened the door, not closing it as she stepped out. If she needed to make a getaway, the door was open. It was quieter, too. Flicking off the safety on the gun, Laura approached the doors of the police station; her ears strained for any noise. When she heard none, she slowly opened one door and slipped inside.

The inside of the police station looked the same as when she and Max escaped two months ago: chairs up on desks, dimly lit and dusty as all hell. Laura scanned the room as she walked through the row of desks, gun at the ready. She needed to head for the cells; that would be the most logical place for Max to be held. The door to the jail swung open with the loudest creak Laura had ever heard, and she cringed, waiting to see if anyone heard. Nothing but silence met her ears, and a sense of foreboding began to rise in her chest. It was too quiet; if Max had been in the cell, he would have heard the door open. Laura stuffed the gun into her pants as she raced around the corner, hoping to see familiar red hair and green eyes.

All the cells were empty.

"Fuck!" Laura whispered, turning on her heel to exit the jail. Max wasn't here; no one was. Where the hell had that fucking Sheriff taken him? How was she going to find him? The only clue she had was the Sheriff's nametag Max had dropped for her. What else could she do? Laura paused in the middle of the desks and let her eyes rove around the station. If he was the Sheriff, wouldn't he have information around here?

Laura crept to the office on her right, passing by the coping machine that looked at least 30 years old. Pushing through the doors, Laura found herself in a bare, sparsely filled room with a singular desk and computer. Laura made her way to the computer and sat down, grabbing the mouse and clicking it. The screen flashed to life, asking for a password, and Laura grimaced.

"No one is even here to hack you..."

Pushing away from the computer, Laura began to search his drawers. Paperwork, newspaper clippings, maps...nothing of use. She was about to give up when something solid brushed against her fingertips. She slowly dug the item out of the pile of papers it was under and inspected it. It looked a lot like a phone, but it was heavier and thicker. She slid her fingers along the outside until she found a button and turned it on, watching the screen booted to life. It was another map with coordinates and green dots. A menu was in the corner of the screen, and Laura clicked on it to reveal a list of names. Ezrahler, Mountebank, Custos, Furcillo....Brinly.

Laura's breath caught in her throat as she double-checked the name, clicking on it to see what it would reveal. The map popped back up on the screen and zoomed in on a specific green dot surrounded by others. In the same breath, Laura felt both rage and relief pass through her. She was happy she knew how to find him, but the fact that he had a tracker on pissed her off more than anything. What had Max done to be stuck on a tracker like this?! Without his consent? Laura slammed the drawer shut and stood up, tracker in hand. At least she knew where to find Max. Zooming back out on the map, she peered at the device in her hands, trying to decipher where the map was depicting. When she figured it out, a deep frown passed over her face.

Max was in Hackett's Quarry.

Without wasting a beat, Laura dashed out of the police station and into her car, peeling out of the parking lot as fast as she could, hurtling towards the damned camp.

"I'm coming, Max."

.............................................................

"I can't see shit in the dark!"

Laura cursed as she carefully picked her way through the woods, the gun in one hand and the tracker in the other. She had been walking through the dark bundle of trees for almost fifteen minutes now and had gotten more than a few scrapes from rocks underfoot and branches catching at her face. She had driven Max's car off the road into the woods and used its headlights to break enough branches to camouflage it from view. Now, she regretted parking so far from the camp, but she wouldn't be able to get Max out of there if she was spotted.

Laura looked down at the tracker in her hands, checking how close she was to Max's location. He was close, about a mile away. Finally, within reach of her goal, Laura smiled. She was going to save her boyfriend, and then they would leave this place alone for good. They would never have to return to these god-forsaken woods and the Sheriff...

Laura felt her breath catch in her throat as she paused, reality crashing around her. The Sheriff had found Max once and had driven across four states to get him. What would stop him from driving across the country? With the tracker on him, the Sheriff could find Max anywhere he went with the tracker on him. And thanks to him being in the police force, the Sheriff could fabricate anything he wanted, from a warrant to a criminal record that would keep her boyfriend permanently stuck in New York.

"Fuck!" Laura raised her hands to her head and spun in a slow circle. What the fuck was she going to do?!

"Hey! Who's there?!"

Laura spun around and crouched, listening intently. The voice had come from somewhere on her right, and it was deep. A man, no doubt, and Laura wasn't keen on meeting anyone in the dark woods in the middle of nowhere.

"You're trespassing on private property!"

Laura carefully crept away from the voice, trying to remain quiet and undetected. Unfortunately, the twig underneath her foot had other plans and snapped in two with a painfully loud crack. Within seconds, the silhouette of a colossal man appeared not even ten feet away from her. She couldn't make out any features but could tell that her soon-to-be aggressor was fucking enormous.

"Hey! You!" The big man began to advance on her, his boots crunching loudly on the forest floor.

Laura didn't waste a second; in a flash, she sprinted as hard as she could away from the man. Thanks to some kind of luck she had, Laura managed not to trip on the roots under her feet and not get smacked in the face by low-hanging branches, but in her haste, she had dropped the tracker. The heavy thud of boots behind her kicked her adrenaline into overdrive, and Laura pushed her burning legs to run faster. Breathing hurt, and her side pinched in pain as she reached into her belt and grabbed the gun. The man chasing her might look like a wall of muscle, but she was pretty sure a bullet would still hurt him. Looking over her shoulder, Laura fired three shots into the trees behind her, hoping one would hit.

"Ow!" Laura heard the man yelp incredulously. "She shot me!..."

Laura continued to run through the woods, putting as much distance between her and her pursuit. It wasn't until she reached a clearing surrounded by small cabins that Laura realized she was utterly lost. Even if she found Max, she couldn't find her way out of the trees. Hell, she wouldn't even be able to find the car without finding the main road first, and she had gotten turned around so much that she had no idea where that was. Laura ran through the cabins, ignoring the figures that emerged from a few of them. She lept over a small creek and ran, ducking and dodging every obstacle she encountered. A strong sense of foreboding crept into her bones; where did the muscle man go? Laura couldn't hear him behind her anymore; maybe that bullet actually did the trick?

The answer came in the form of a thick arm shooting out in front of her, clotheslining her, and sending her flat on her back. Her gun fell from her hand and landed just out of her reach, and the muscle man hovered over her with a smile. "Gotcha, girlie!"

Laura growled at him and tried to scramble away, reaching for the gun, but he grabbed a handful of the back of her jacket and dragged her to her feet. She struggled and thrashed against him, but this goliath of a man merely wrapped a thick arm around her throat and pinned her to his chest. Then, a radio crackled to life, and a familiar voice scratched through.

"Bobby, what the hell were those shots? What's your position?" The Sheriff sounded just the way she remembered, like an asshole.

"I'm not too far from the fire pit," the muscle man said. "The shots were from a trespasser; I caught her-"

"Hey, asshole!" Laura shouted," Where is Max? I know you took him!"

An irritated sigh came through the radio. "Bobby, bring the girl to the lodge. We're going to need to put a monitor on her."

"Okay. Over," said Bobby. The radio cut off, and he began to carry her with the arm she was pinned with. Laura thrashed and tried her best to kick his legs, but the big man just shrugged off the blows.

"Ya know, getting shot really hurts..."

"Let go of me!"

"Can't; Travis said to bring you to the lodge."

Laura bit back a growl. "Fuck Travis!"

"Hey! Don't say stuff like that about my brother!"

"Make me!"

Bobby's hand clamped around her mouth, and all Laura could do was scream in vain against his sweaty palm.

Chapter Text

It did not take them long to reach the lodge; it loomed into view above them as her captor carried her out of the trees. Laura thrashed against his grip as best she could, but she could tell it was useless. This man was powerful, and she knew there was no way out of his hold. Even a bullet wound hadn't hurt him; Laura had gotten a brief glimpse of the injury in his shoulder, blood leaking through his shirt and staining his overalls. Still, Laura tried to kick the goliath as he lifted her up the stairs, aiming for his knees. She missed, and the man promptly ignored her attack as he carried her up the steps. When he reached the door, he raised one hand and knocked, the sound carrying around the lodge's interior, followed by the sound of hasty footsteps. Then, the familiar voice of the Sheriff leaked through the solid wood.

"Who's there?"

The big man holding her adjusted his grip slightly, covering her mouth again. "Hey, Travis! I got her! Open the door!"

A moment passed, and Laura could hear the handle being fumbled with. It opened a second later, and the haggard face of the Sheriff peered back at her. She glared back defiantly, mustering up every bit of venom in her body to direct at him. If her mouth weren't still covered, she would have spat on him.

"Jesus Christ...Bring her in, Bobby." Travis held open the door, and her captor easily carried her across the threshold. The lodge was dim; only one light turned on for Laura to check her surroundings. It certainly looked like a camp lodge, with several long tables and camp posters everywhere. At first glance, no one would know that a bunch of backwood psychos ran this place.

With a heavy sigh, Travis pointed toward a nearby table. "Might as well have a seat, Bobby. You're gonna have to hold her still so I can get the monitor on her." The Sheriff said as he quietly disappeared through a doorway.

The giant holding her sat heavily on the bench seat, adjusting his grip to pin her arms to her sides while still covering her mouth. Laura tried to stomp on his foot, but he quickly hooked his feet around her ankles, forcing them apart. She was stuck.

The Sheriff returned a moment later with what Laura instantly recognized as an ankle monitor. Of course, the asshole would have them; he was a fucking cop! And he was using them to make sure Max couldn't leave.

Laura glared at the Sheriff as he approached, and he returned the glare tiredly.

"Don't do anything stupid, ma'am. Just cooperate; it'll be easier on both of us."

He knelt in front of her and quickly attached the monitor, rolling up the hem of her pants to fasten it to her ankle. It was smooth and cold against her skin, and Laura let out a muffled scream of frustration, wriggling against her captor. Travis fucking Hackett was a dead man.

"What the actual fuck is happening here?"

All three pairs of eyes turned to see a middle-aged man standing in the closest stairwell, still half asleep and glaring. Travis hastily stood up and held his hands up defensively.

"Chris, I can explain-"

"What is it now? First, you take off for two days, then you kidnap someone across state lines, and now you have a girl restained here in the middle of the night. What the hell, Travis!"

Chris Hackett- the one who bit Max. Laura couldn't tell if she should be relieved that he seemed angry at his brother. Travis opened his mouth to reply, but Laura tried once again to scream and wriggle her way out of her captor's arms. Chris looked over at the scuffle and sighed exasperatedly.

"Jesus Christ- Bobby, let her go. And go ahead and head home. We got this from here."

Bobby nodded, releasing her from his grasp, and Laura practically jumped away from him, scrambling towards the door. Bobby gave her a quick shove back towards the table, and Travis quickly pulled out the taser at his hip, ready to use it on her. Chris swore and quickly came down the rest of the stairs, holding his hands out towards her as if she were a wild animal. He slowly stopped about ten feet away and gestured for Travis to back off before turning his attention back to her.

"Look, I know this is a very...unpleasant situation, but I would like to come to a civil solution. Can I have your name please?"

Laura mustered every bit of venom she had in her body and glared at both men around her. "We can be civil when you tell me where Max is."

Chris blinked, then slowly turned his head towards Travis, glaring. "You forget to tell me something?"

Travis sighed and jammed the taser back into his belt. "This is Laura Kearney, the other counselor. The two of them are dating. I didn't think she would look for him."

Chris sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Travis, you are both the smartest and stupidest person I know." He turned back to Laura with an apologetic expression.

"Look, I'm really sorry about-"

"Save your apologies, asshole," Laura hissed. It didn't matter that Chris was somewhat upset with his brother; he was still the monster that bit Max. "Let Max go, and we can forget this ever happened."

"Or what?" Travis snapped, sneering at her. "What will you do if we don't, huh? Tell the cops? Kill us?"

"Travis, shut up. Stop antagonizing her," Chris said through gritted teeth.

Laura opened her mouth to insult the cop, but the lodge doors bursting open caught her off guard. Whipping around, she saw several people standing in the doorway: a petite chick with the best RBF Laura had ever seen, a tall dude who put off chill vibes, and a familiar head of red hair.

"Max!"

Seeing her boyfriend alive and in one piece was almost enough to make Laura forget that she was in the middle of a confrontation with the Hackett brothers. She shouldered her way past the cop and beelined straight for Max, wrapping her arms around him tightly. He still smelled like his cologne, and his arms held her the same they had before; he was okay.

"Laura?! What are you doing here?" Laura pulled back slightly to look up at him; his green eyes were shining happily, but the pull of his brows betrayed just how worried he was. He had obviously not expected to see her this soon. He looked her up and down worriedly and picked a leaf out of her hair.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine, Max. Are you okay?" Laura scanned over her boyfriend, looking for injuries. There was blood on his clothes, but he looked unharmed for the most part.

"He's fine," Travis drawled, even more irritated by the interruption. "Just a little head bump he had no issue healing. You three should be in the cabins right now."

Laura heard someone scoff and looked over to see the girl roll her eyes at the Sheriff. "Well, excuse us for hearing gunshots and wanting to investigate asshole. It's not like we just survived being hunted by monsters, and we totally didn't see you chase the new guy here through camp."

"This is none of your business, Ms. Ka. You and Mr. Lenivy need to go back to the cabins-"

"Mr. H?"

The tall dude stepped forward, staring pointedly at Chris. "You've been here the whole time?"

Chris sighed and held out his hands. "Look, I'm sorry, Dylan-"

The petite chick stepped up beside Dylan, her face twisting into anger.

"Where have you been?! We've been stuck in those cabins for two days now with no explanation about what the fuck happened, and you think it's okay just to keep us here?!"

Chris frowned heavily and raised a hand to cover his eyes. "I can't- I can't do this right now."

Travis sighed and stepped forward, ushering them all out the door. "Alright, alright, get out. Go back to the cabins and stay there."

Laura kept a firm grip on Max's hand as she turned to glare at the Sheriff. "Are you serious? You're kicking us out with no explanation?"

"We'll talk in the morning. Get everyone together at nine tomorrow. We'll explain then. Good night."

With that, Travis slammed the door closed and left the four of them on the porch in silence. They stood there for a second, nothing but the sound of crickets filling the air.

"So...you the new girl?" Dylan spoke awkwardly, clearly trying to break the ice.

Laura shrugged her shoulders and frowned. "I guess I am..."

Max cleared his throat, and Laura almost let herself relax when she felt his hands land on her shoulders. "This is my wonderful girlfriend Laura, and I think she's had a long day."

Laura tipped her head back enough to rest it on her boyfriend's chest. "I love you and all, but if I ever have to drive fourteen hours for you again, you are going to need a taxi."

"Wow, you guys are so cute I might actually puke." The short girl was halfway down the steps and had stopped to give them a teasing smirk. "I don't think I could've handled having both of you here over the summer."

Dylan chuckled and started descending the steps." Well, Kaitlyn, would you prefer actual lovebirds or the whole Nick and Abi situation?"

Kaitlyn paused at the bottom of the steps. "I'd rather forget what Nick did," she said sternly.

Dylan instantly winced. "Right. Yep. Completly forgot about that."

Laura followed them down the steps, listening to their conversation intently. The short girl, Kaitlyn, had said something about monsters. She looked over at Max, who was hovering quietly at her elbow.

"What are they talking about?" Laura whispered. She felt Max shrug beside her.

"I dunno. I only got here a few hours ago. From what I was told, they got stuck here on the last day of camp, and a lot of stuff happened."

"No kidding. I've got enough trauma to ruin my reputation amongst all therapists," Dylan said, holding up his hand to inspect it. "The real kicker here is the werewolf bit."

Laura frowned. "You're one too?"

"Four of us are," Kaitlyn said, leading them to what Laura assumed were the cabins. "With your boyfriend, we have five. For the record, I'm one of them."

Laura scoffed. "So they just kept you guys here?"

"Yep. The cop put ankle monitors on all of us and basically told us to stay put. No explanation for what happened or what we're going to do."

Kaitlyn gestured to the approaching cabins. "We've been staying close to the poolhouse since the moon, and your boyfriend took the cabin closest to it. It's pretty late, so I'm gonna go to bed after letting the others know everything is okay."

Dylan turned to point at Laura. "Yeah, I'm going to assume the gunshots we heard were you? They woke everyone up, and we were going to go back to bed, but Max here caught a whiff of you and basically ran off. We followed because...well, we're kinda nosey."

"Nosey or not, it's time for bed," Kaitlyn said, walking off. "Goodnight, ladies."

Dylan waved, heading in the same direction. "Nice to meet you, Laura. Guess we'll talk more in the morning."

She watched the two of them walk away before she turned to her boyfriend. "So...What now?"

Max sighed and gently grabbed her hand, pulling her over to the nearby cabin. "Well, I'm still woozy from whatever Detective Dick Whippet stuck me with, and I'm gonna go ahead and assume you're exhausted from driving all the way up here."

Laura nodded and let Max pull her to the cabin, feeling the exhaustion ebb through her body. It had been a long day, and while she ended up being captured, she was grateful that Max was okay. He led her through the door and guided her to a bunk bed, taking off her shoes and pulling back the covers. Laura mumbled a quiet thanks and laid back, sinking into the lumpy mattress. A moment later, she felt the bed dip as Max sat down beside her.

"I really didn't expect you to find me," he said quietly.

Laura huffed slightly and smiled, reaching out to feel him. His skin was warm on her fingertips. "Well, I couldn't just leave without you."

Max's fingers found hers, and he squeezed them gently. " I was worried. I didn't want you to think I abandoned you."

Laura propped herself up on her elbow and reached up to caress his face. "I never thought that for a second. Especially after seeing the gigantic mess that was left behind."

Max relaxed into her touch, and Laura gently pulled him down, making room for him to lay down beside her.

" I'm glad I found you, Max."

They fell asleep in each other's arms, pushing aside all worries until the morning