The Beast And The Hunter

Chapter 1: Howling through the Darkness

Heavy breathing and running footsteps could be heard as Sam and Dean were now on the trail of a Hell Hound running on a murderous rampage in in the forest of Chicago Illinois. Sam and Dean had their guns in their hands following the blood droplets that the hell hound left behind from its recent kill.

Backing off to the left, Dean raised his pistol up and cornered the hell hound as his brother Sam came up behind it pointing his pistol at the hell hound's head. "You really didn't think we'd find you did you?" Dean said not taking his eyes off of the hell hound human looking being infront of him. "You've been on the run for 4 years now, slipping away each time Sam and I killed your demon friends"

Dean watched the hell hound take in a deep breath then blow it out as if they were calming their lungs and body. "You hunters are all the same, killing my kind because we simply struggle to survive, You think i got off on killing all those fucking people?! I never wanted this!" The hell hound snarled and bared it's fangs and revealed its claws that were covered in sticky blood. "I'm sick of it, living like a hunted animal with no hope or future, waiting for the blood to stop. You who have slaughtered all of my kind but the only real threat to your kind is the unknown" The hell hound barked "Shut the hell up, you're a monster and you've hurt innocent people." Dean said cocking his gun at the beast, "Dean- wait" Sam said lowering his gun "Sammy, what the HELL are you doing? this hell hound is extremely dangerous, and you know it" Dean glared at Sam.

"I know" Sam said slowly raising his eyes to his brother, "I just saw the hound's soul, it looked bruised and violated and I just felt really bad for it. I felt that much worse about the fact that its soul looks like it was completely... sucked dry" he shuddered "I- I just couldn't bring myself to just kill it right off the bat." Sam confessed, "Damn it Sam you always get carried away, you always choose the sake of humanity over your own selfishness" Dean said annoyed as he took a few steps back from the hell hound, "And I don't know about this new crap you've been spewing out but something tells me that this thing has made you soft." Dean said looking down at the creature, "What else are we supposed to do Dean!? wait around and let it kill more people!? No! Our best bet is to capture the hound and hold it back while we figure out what it really is and why it's here." Sam said as he picked up his pistol.

Dean looked back at the hell hound who was currently still taunting them, Dean sighed and put his gun down and grabbed a handkerchief tying it in the hound's mouth as a makeshift muzzle. Sam tied d a rope around the hound's wrists and ankles, putting it in the back of the impala and driving back to their motel in the suburbs. They reached the motel and brought the hound inside tying it down to a chair, The hound struggled but it was no use. They were tied down good. "Okay, now" Sam said looking at the hell hound taking the handkerchief out of the hound's mouth. "I think this is the first time I have ever seen a hell hound that was both... man and beast" he said, a glint of realization crossed his eyes and the way he talked made the hound cringe.

 Dean walked up to the hound and sat on the bed infront of it, "Do you have a name dog boy?" Dean asked glaring at the hound, The hound's red and black ears perk up as they opened their mouth to speak "Astral Blackmoon, my friends call me Astra." They said speaking like any normal human would. Dean remained silent for a few seconds then spoke again "Alright Astra, now that we know who you are, you gotta tell me why you're here and how we can get you back to hell." Dean said, Astra scoffed and shook their head, "You can't. They casted me out and forced me to live on this pathetic earth." Astra said as their pointed hound ears wiggle, this made Dean uncomfortable so he put on a face of complete stoic calm to deter the creature.

"How the HELL does that work??" Dean asked confused, "What do you mean casting you out?" He asked keeping a straight face on that showed nothing but rage.

"The same way they casted the first demons back in the day, they found me in the woods in some part of Kansas while I was all alone after my human friends attacked me and they forcibly had me thrown into a basement." Astra said angrily, "They held me there for six years, they did tests on me, and forced me to be this creature I never wanted to be." Astra snarled baring their fangs again. Dean was taken aback. Sam and he both stayed quiet for a moment while Astra glared at them. "I never asked to be turned into this hell hound, they tricked me into this. They said it was some experiment or something, I just wanted to go home. Now there's no home for me anymore." Astra said as they turned their head away, Dean didn't want to admit it but he swears he felt his heart break. 'An innocent human being forced to be a monster?' Dean thought to himself.

"Sammy? can I talk to you alone?" Dean asked getting up, Sam followed Dean into another room and Dean sighed. "Look, I can't be sure they are telling the truth... but I have a feeling that even under those ears and that bushy hound tail is a scared human being" Dean said in a low tone, Sam nodded in response "I have that feeling too, they said they never wanted to become this creature filled with hate and rage... So what do we do now? We can't just let them free." Sam whispered, Dean thought for a moment before motioning at Sam to follow him, they walked back out infront of the hell hound and Dean let out a sigh "Look, we can't tell if you're being truthful or not, either way we don't want to risk you hurting anyone else.
We're going to let you go on one condition" Dean said folding his arms as he towered over the hell hound. Astra's ears lay back as they looked up at Dean, "Which is?" Astra asked nonchalantly "You fight on our side and help us take down these bastards and possibly even find a way to free your soul and let you rest in peace" Dean said

Astra's red eyes look away from the two hunters as their mind raced with many thoughts 'Work with you?! are you nuts?!' Astra thought to themselves, The hound pondered with thought for a moment before sighing softly. "Alright, I'll fight with you boys" Astra said as their eyes looked at the two Winchester boys. Sam nodded and put his revolver away and proceeded to untie Astra, The hound stood up on their two legs and ended up being 6 foot 1, Astra rubbed their wrists and sighed before looking away. Dean and Sam nodded before laying down to get some sleep, Astra sat in the windowsill not realizing they were acting like some sort of guard dog. Their red eyes sparkled as they stared into the white light of the brightly shining moon, they wondered what they had just gotten themselves into and their mind raced with many possible outcomes.

Maybe one day Astra may find peace with their new form and their new allies, The Winchesters. But for now, Astra can only hold back their horrid truth. Astra can never be saved, the transformation is permanent. But they'd never let the Winchester boys know, but as of now one problem at a time.