Cas faced a long, sleepless night. He curled up into his nest but tossed and turned incessantly. There was a voice ringing in his head that repeated, "Time is running out, time is running out," and no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, it continued to nag.

Every position he took was uncomfortable. If he managed to settle into a decent crook of fabric, he would suddenly notice how itchy it was and would have to move again. This continued well into the night. Cas was exhausted and frustrated.

At some point when sleep was slipping so far from him that he probably wouldn't get any, he noticed a smell coming in through his small windows. Perking up, it was notably strong and herbal. Someone was smoking. His curiosity piqued, Cas rolled out of his nest and left his home wearing only his nightshirt.

A few houses down he saw Gadreel sitting out around his fire pit. There was a wooden pipe in his mouth and he stared up at the sky through the green canopy. Cas joined him.

"Where's Gabe?" asked Cas.

Gadreel sucked on the pipe and a puff of smoke came out. "Sleeping with the clutch," he replied smoothly. His eyes remained looking upwards.

"Can't you sleep?"

"I can, but I wish not to."

"Why is that?"

"I've been praying for you."

"What?"

Cas stared. Tight muscles in his back from tossing and turning relaxed.

"I've been praying for you," Gadreel repeated. He looked over to the other man now and gave a slight smile. "Now I'm watching the skies for an answer."

Cas glanced upwards. "What kind of answer? What did you pray for?"

"For you to find a mate and settle."

"Oh, but…"

"We'll wait for an answer."

They both stared at the great blackness overhead. The people of the Great Land believed that their God arranged the sky as a means of communication. If a person were to call up above, their God would give signals to show the message was received and how it would be solved. Countless years had been spent deciphering their God's celestial code but nobody ever agreed completely on what each sign meant or how long it took for it to show up.

"What do you supposed Chuck could even do?" Cas asked.

"I don't know, but a God's power is limitless, isn't it?"

Cas shrugged. He closed his eyes and realized how tired he was.

"You need sleep," said Gadreel.

"I'm aware. I've been trying all night."

"Don't worry yourself so much."

"I know…"

Gadreel nodded. "Any problem you have can wait until tomorrow to be thought about."

"That's true," Cas hummed. He suppressed a wide yawn and decided he would try again. Luckily this time it worked.

"Do you see that?"

"What is it?"

"It looks like caravans."

"No, no, it isn't! It's a pack of hunters!"

The following morning was filled with chaos. As the herd woke up, they noticed a small group of people heading through the forest and towards their development. It was obvious by their clothes, colors and supplies that they were not a herd. Castiel's people cowered in fear as an older man with shaggy greying hair and a large beard stepped in front of his pack.

"Hail," he said. "We have no intentions of hurting you. Relax."

While the herd remained silent, mostly hidden in their homes, Cas came forth and approached the man.

"Who are you?" Cas asked.

"I am Cain, and this is my pack. What's left of it, at least." He gestured to the three covered wagons. There were four other people visible and Cas wasn't sure how many were inside. "We come from the other side of the mountains and have travelled in search of shelter."

Cas cleared his throat. "What happened the rest of your pack?"

"We were torn by terrible weather. A wicked storm destroyed nearly everything."

"Storm? Is it headed this way?"

"No," Cain said, shaking his head. "The storm passed east of here. But we are concerned that more ill weather could strike. We have no intentions of staying here for very long, and would advise you all to leave."

Perhaps inspired by Cas' bravery, a beta female came out from her house and glared at the invading hunters.

"We aren't going to leave," she said angrily. Three eggs were nestled in her arms. "This is our home. You can't come here and tell us to move. We don't know you."

"I never said you have to leave," Cain continued with a frown, "It was merely a suggestion. Bad weather has crippled my pack so badly that I fear we will never recover."

The beta stood her ground but Cas tried to defuse it. "Must we discuss this now?" he asked. "I think you should stay and rest with us. Everything else can be decided later, right?"

Cain nodded. "Where is your leader?"

"Leader?"

"Yes, the grand alpha who makes all of your decisions."

Cas looked around. "We don't have one."

"What?"

"We don't have a leader. Everyone works together on those matters."

Cain gave a short sigh. "Very well, then I suppose we can move in without any debate or diplomacy."

"Yes."

The rest of the herd wasn't thrilled with Cas' decision. Many of them stayed cooped up in their homes, protecting their eggs in fear of the hunters taking them. Herds are vegetarian but packs are meat eaters, and their possible protein sources made the herd rather uncomfortable.

But Cain and his people stayed in their wagons on the first day. One of them came out and started a fire while another got water from the river. Cas sat in the threshold of his front door space and watched them working. It seemed to him that they weren't as different from herds as he was always told. They actually looked quite friendly.

As time went by, three other hunters appeared from the covered wagons. Two of them were females and had eggs of their own, and the third was a man. He was tall, well built and with short hair. Apparently hunters used tools to trim their hair, too, even if Cain clearly didn't practice that.

Feeling friendly, Cas got up and followed the tall hunter as he went downstream to bathe. The man stripped of his clothes and stepped into the water, all the while Cas watched with curious eyes. He had an incredible body. His muscles shifted like a work of art as he carried himself through the water. There was a strong scent attached to him and Cas couldn't resist.

"Hello," Cas said, stepping into view now. The man suddenly jumped and turned to glare at Cas.

"What're you doing?!" he hissed.

"I thought we would bathe together," Cas said as he began to undress. "I would like to welcome you to our—"

"Get away!"

"Huh?"

Cas froze with one leg out of his pants. He stared in great confusion as the man appeared to think Cas had three heads.

"I said get away!" he repeated, just as angrily. "I'm washing!"

"Um, yes, exactly. We could wash together-"

"What's wrong with you?!"

"I don't understand," Cas' voice was growing tiny now. "I'm being hospitable. I thought it would be welcoming to bathe together."

"Is that what you guys do? You bathe together?!"

"Um, yes."

"Well hunters don't," the man growled. He remained deep enough in the water so that only his head was showing. "Hunters wash alone. When someone's in the water, nobody else comes in."

"Oh, I see," Cas hummed. "But you aren't in hunter territory now. This is a herd's settlement. And, well, um, we were nice enough to let you stay. Don't you think you should abide by our rules?"

"Your rules?" The man scoffed. "You don't even have a leader. How do you have rules?"

"You could call them courtesies if you'd like."

Cas tried his best to smile but the hunter was standing his ground.

"Go away," he hissed. "Bathe with your mate. Don't bother me."

Despite the man's offensive demeanor, Cas stepped closer to the water. He put his pants back on but sat down at the river's edge. "I don't have a mate," he admitted in shame.

"You don't?" the man asked. Something softened in his face. "What happened to him? Or her?"

"He would be an alpha, but I have never had one."

"Seriously?"

"It's true…and yours?"

The man cleared his throat. He swam closer to Cas but still had most of his chest covered by the water. His glaring eyes had transformed into sadness.

"You heard what Cain said about our pack," he explained. "We had almost fifty people but they all died. My mate was one of them."

"I'm sorry."

Cas felt great pity for the man, but he was also overwhelmed by the musky scent that he carried. It was smooth and good and inviting.

"It's okay," said the hunter, clearly not feeling okay about it, "Nature's will and all of that. We had eggs, too."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. But hey, I gotta apologize for being rude. I admit I've been standoffish towards your people. You know, hunters think your kind is a bunch of sissies."

"I'm aware," Cas said with a slight chuckle. "We think your kind is a bunch of wild animals. But I've been watching you all and I think we're more similar than we've been told."

"Yeah, only…only you guys still have your eggs."

Hatred beamed in the man's face again. He was clearly holding resentment against the egg carriers.

"I don't," Cas spat out immediately. "I never have. And I'm probably not even fertile anymore."

"Then I guess we're even, huh?" the man asked. He swam closer and extended his hand. "Let's start over. I'm Dean. I'm the second most potent alpha in my pack."

That explained the pheromone smell. With Dean so close now, Cas met his hand to shake it but was overwhelmed by the musk. It was nearly a tangible object that wrapped around Cas' body. He felt his knees weaken. He examined the fine hair all over Dean's chest that faded down to a line near his crotch. The water's surface just barely hid his good bits.

"I-I'm Cas."