I knew I had forgotten something, and then I realize it's a Thursday...

Big thanks to wonderful reviewers nanashitomboy, Helenezahl, pu3Aisyah, Celestialita, Phiafairy, sthokatrina, Dark Shining Light, Sailor Tiamat, KkMarie9005, Estella Hughes, and Flame DragonHime. I love ya'll so much! If you asked questions, I'll try my best to answer them below the story.

Thanks for sticking with me, and enjoy chapter 5!

I'm so sorry about the damn code. Hope it's fixed!

~BrennaCoris~

They ran down an invisible path that Natsu had ingrained into his mind, weaving between thick tree trunks and massive clumps of fern. He was in the lead only because Lucy knew she was a stranger to the area. She lifted her head every few paces to try and see over his large russet figure before letting it drop down to a comfortable position for their long run.

If he thought she hadn't noticed his silence since they had found the remains of her elk, he was sorely mistaken.

"What's your problem?" she barked, cutting off every word with a near-audible snap. His head shot up and he swung around to face her, eyes wide.

"What?"

"You've been a sulking shadow since we ate."

"Oh." He shook out his pelt. A drop of heat tickled her stomach and she tried to stomp on it before it dared to grow. "Sulking? Really?"

"Don't avoid the question." she growled.

"I trying to wrap my head around you taking down an elk that big on your own."

She stared at him with narrowed eyes, debating whether or not he was lying. He moved closer and nuzzled her neck, waiting for her to relax against him, which she did. Living alone had been so much easier.

"Are you saying it's a bad thing?" she asked.

"Hell, no. I think Erza could do the same, maybe Mira. A few more males-"

"Including you?"

"Naturally, but that's it. Luce, that elk was huge."

"He was also old and lame on the back foot."

"Still. Size counts."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. So, what? You were shocked into silence?"

"Something like that."

"Keep moving, first commander." She hoped he didn't notice the pride in her voice. Her body was reacting to the smallest things and she couldn't hope to stay on guard against herself forever.

Crossing the pack boundary was similar to falling into a cold river. For a brief second her senses were assaulted by a myriad of scents, but, of course, she couldn't help but notice his. To her, it stood out with striking clarity and she found herself pausing to try and pick up more of it. He slowed with her and she hoped he didn't assume anything.

"You ok?" Came the question, and not at all the one she imagined.

"Yeah. Just a bit overwhelming."

"If something stinks, it's probably the ice prick. He should've been here in the morning."

She resisted the urge to point out that the only scent she could really pick out was his. He didn't need the encouragement.

"Aren't you guys packmates?"

"So?"

She shook her head. "Never mind."

They kept going in a silence that was too comfortable for her liking. She knew it would be better to estrange herself if she wanted to maintain any distance, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her unexplained attraction softened her resolve to stay away, and, although she would never admit it, he was strangely nice and allowing for an unmated male wolf.

"I expected you to be more... dominating." she said slowly.

"I am." He kept to their steady pace. "But so are you. I doubt we'd have a winner in a dominance contest."

She had to agree. "But still, I'd expect you to be more demanding of my acceptance."

"Which would get us nowhere. We'd probably still be back at your den, tearing at each other's throats."

"Fine. Since you're playing it like that, give me time." She drew off to the side and twisted to look at her gash. Clean blood wove through her fur in a race to the ground.

"Sure. Are you going to shift?"

"Yeah. Is that okay?" She didn't want to ask, but she didn't have a pack she was partially responsible for. Not yet, anyways.

"Go ahead. I'll shift too so I won't be the only one staring." His eyes were teasing. She swiped at him, missing by a foot, and pulled back her wolf. Shifting had never come naturally to her. It always took longer and hurt more than it seemed to for normal shifters, but she supposed that was the problem with having a completely human father. She didn't ask for that little quirk in her family line. She couldn't really do much about it either.

By the time the wave of heat fell away and she regained feeling in her body, he was already done and shamelessly staring. She crossed her hands over her chest and eyed him with equal interest. To be honest, just looking at him made the heat start up all over again, but clustered in her lower stomach. To say he was handsome would be an understatement of criminal proportions. He was a perfect balance between lean and bulky, his chiseled muscles standing out without disfiguring him. His breathing was slightly heavy, making his clear-cut abdominal muscles all the more glaring. She was willing to bet the harsh breaths were because of her. Starting from the mop of messy pink hair, her eyes traced the features of his face, burning every line and curve into memory. He had some boyish charm, but not nearly enough to write him off as a boy. No, he wore his pack status even as a human, and she found herself drawn to him. Just as in his wolf, he projected an image of controlled power and steady authority. Her eyes continued down, tracing the curves of his muscles, pausing on the bold red pack mark on his shoulder and halting accusingly at the line of his baggy pants.

"Where did you get clothes?" she asked, struggling to find the need to be angry when he was simply so stunning.

"Oh." He blinked and she didn't bother hiding her smirk. "Here, sorry. I raided one of the pack stores."

She caught the ball of fabric tossed at her and turned around to change, choosing to ignore the fact that he would have a clear view of her ass. "You store extra clothes around your territory?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. For unplanned shifts." The stumble in his response told her everything.

"You are such a pervert."

"Am not!"
"Then quit staring at my ass. I know it looks nice, but it's mine." She pulled the shorts up and untangled the shirt. Both were simple, the shirt a plain white cotton and the shorts a weird but nice cross of dark pink and purple. Both were slightly loose on her frame. She figured it could've been worse - they could've been too tight. She turned around to face him.

"Well?"

"You look absolutely stunning. Even more so without the shirt, but whatever." He smirked openly, catching the fist she threw at his face in his much large - and much warmer - hand.

"Shut up."

"Why? It's the truth."

"Yeah, well, it's not fair that you see me naked but I don't. I'm not saying I want to," She gave him an evil eye when his hands moved towards the waistline of his pants, "so you keep your pants on, but still. Very unfair."

"It's not my fault you took forever." His voice became curious and his hand jumped up to rub the ear she'd torn. It was fine now, if a little red. "Why did it take so long, anyways?"

"My father is a human." she said. He raised an eyebrow but chose to say nothing. "He also thinks shifters are freaks, which is why I ran away after my mother died."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. He would never win parent of the year." Her fingers traced the non-existent lines of the gash from the elk under her shirt. Her shifting was slow, but it could heal more than a regular shift. The skin had closed over nicely and left no scars. She glanced at the thin stripes of pale skin on his side.

"Did I get you last night?" she asked, jerking her thumb at the scars. He looked down for a short moment and shot her a large grin.

"Yep. Should fade away though, maybe once we shift again."

"Can we walk in human form for a bit? I'd rather not shift twice so quickly."

"Sure." He didn't offer his arm and she didn't expect it. For her, it was too soon. "We'll shift when we near the camp, okay?"

She nodded in response. "That'd be nice."

"It's easier to deal with overwhelming situations as a wolf."

"Who said I would be overwhelmed?"

"Well... it'll be a lot of new scents, and you might get challenged on the spot. It's happened before, like when Levy chose Gajeel for her mate." His face contorted in a grimace when he said the second name. They meant nothing to her, so she focused on what she could understand.

"Was he a loner before he joined?"

"Actually, he was part of an attack on the pack. Our alpha took him in, him and another female. You'll probably meet her. She'd be the pregnant, teary one. Also, she's ice prick's mate."

"Who challenged him?" She chose to steer away from the topic of the 'ice prick' before he started to snarl.

"Two males."
"Two?"

"Yeah. Jet and Droy. They were going after Levy since they were pups. Gajeel wiped the floor with them. " A smile lit up his face at the memory and she found herself unable to look away.

"Tell me about the alpha and beta."

"Gramps is awesome. He's really small," He approximated with his hands and she stared at him incredulously, "but no one's been able to beat him for years. The beta..."

She laughed at the fear crossing his face. "Is he really that terrifying?"

"She. Erza Scarlet."

"I've heard of her, I think. Something about the monster of Fairy Tail?"

"That's her. I fell asleep on guard duty once and she skins me every time I blink when on post."

"Sounds harsh." She thought that his gorgeous russet pelt was still very much in place.

"You have no idea." He paused and stared at the woods in front of them, his eyes calculating. "We should shift now. It gets thicker from here on out and we'll have more problems in human form. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, but you'll have to wait." Not waiting for his response, she pulled back the human and clenched her teeth through the waves of heat. Her clothing tore, but after so many years of unplanned shifts she barely noticed the ripping fabric. He steadied her while she regained her sense of the world and she found the shift had gone smoother than usual. A couple deep breaths and she was all set.

"Let's go."

Reviewer's Corner!

1) FlameDragonHime: yep! ;)

2) sthokatrina: I'm still working out how the entire mating bond thing works. Since the shifters are more animal than human in their behavior, I don't think there'll be any elaborate rituals to complete the mating, but nothing's certain. What kind of rituals were you thinking of?

3) Phiafairy: yesssssssss

Love ya guys! Till next week!