It didn't matter how frightened of Dean they were, for the unknown smell of cooked fish roused the herd's senses and they began to gather around Cas' fire. They hesitated to look at Dean or speak, but Cas, worried when they surrounded him, spotted Tessa staring him down.

"What's that smell?" she asked, stepping forward.

In a timid voice, Cas said, "Fish."

This made the herd gasp. Not loud and rudely, but a soft sound of ashamedness. Cas felt bad. He looked to Dean for reassurance and found it in a smile.

"Fish is delicious," Dean told them. This made the herd nervous, clearly. "I'm surprised you don't eat it."

Holding her bundle of eggs in her arm, she pointed the other finger at Dean. "We don't kill what nature creates!" she hissed. "The world isn't ours to destroy!"

"Eating some fish doesn't destroy anything," Dean argued calmly. Cas wasn't sure what to do. "Animals eat other animals, too."

Quiet chatter grew within the herd. Cas spotted Gabe looking at Gadreel with an uncertain face. He said something Cas was too far to hear and Gadreel put his hand out to stop him. Anna, however, made her voice clear.

"We cause enough destruction when we create a settlement," she said, looking at Dean with some startled fear in her eyes. "It would be foolish of us to make ever more."

"Destruction?" Dean asked. He looked surprised and stood up now. The herd visibly moved backwards. "By Chuck, you all need to relax. I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"He's A MONSTER!" Tessa suddenly shrieked. This was completely out of line and did nothing to ease the herd. Many of them went back to their houses, looking terrified. Cas felt his face grow red with anger.

"No he isn't!" Cas yelled. His loud voice quieted the herd that remained. This put him at the center of attention and he suddenly felt very, very tiny. Dean looked at him and nodded. "Dean is…Dean is nice. Fish is good, and…and we are really the same kind of animal. Why do you hold such strong biases against the hunters? If you gave them a chance, just like I have, you would see that they are—"

"Enough, Castiel," Tessa interrupted. She turned to address her people. "I think we've heard enough, right?"

They nodded and quickly disbanded, leaving Cas alone with Dean and the pot of fish stew. Hardly any was left. The fire was dying out and Cas was mentally exhausted.

"What do I do?" he sighed, looking to Dean pathetically.

"They'll understand in time, I bet," he said. "But hey, don't worry about them. Why don't you come by and meet my pack?"

Cas perked up. "Really?"

"Sure. You'll get along better with them than I do with your herd."

"Are you sure?"

Dean grinned. "Positive."

They made sure that the fire was extinguished and without delay headed over to the outskirts of the herd's settlement. There, the three wagons were set up in a feeble circle. The pack appeared to be quite busy.

"Hail, Dean," said Cain, the leader. He was clearly the eldest of them all, showing not only by his body but also his mannerisms. He was sitting around a large fire with a piece of wood in front of him and a thick knife in his hand. It appeared as though he was carving a stool. Judging by the rock he was sitting on, he needed it. Two redheads were on either side of him.

"Hail," Dean replied with a smile. He gestured to the beta. "This is my friend, Cas. He's friendly and very interested in us. Would you be okay with him spending time here?"

Cain looked to the ladies at his sides. One had a clutch of four soft-pink eggs in her arms while the other was clearly too old to be fertile. She was smaller, too, but very pretty and wore a loose dress. She eyed Cas.

"How friendly?" she asked in an oddly sing-songy voice. Cas was surprised by the unusual accent.

"I tried fish!" He sputtered. This made Cain, Dean and the redheads laugh.

"How cute!" the older lady said. She leaned to Cain and put her hand on his leg and squeezed. Cain nodded to her then looked back to Dean.

"I think we like him," he said. Dean seemed relieved.

"Let me introduce you to the last of my pack," he told Cas. Pointing to the redhead who had spoken already, he called her Rowena. The other was Abaddon. He then yelled out to the wagons and the rest of the hunters appeared.

First there was a beta male who had a stocky body, blonde hair and a sweet face. His name was Luci. He had two eggs but apparently had lost one as well as his mate.

"I'm sorry," Cas said to him.

"It happens," Luci sighed. He looked down at the remaining two. They were pale like his hair. "I'm just glad I still have these."

Then came another male, only he was also an alpha (presumably less virile than Dean). He was shorter but also very handsome. Upon seeing Cas, he smiled.

"Cole," he introduced himself. There was a bit of red in his cheeks.

"I'm Cas."

"You were the guy who let us stay here, huh?"

"Mm. That's me."

Dean watched them intently.

"Never thought I'd get the chance to meet any of you. Turns out herds are about as arrogant as we always thought."

"Arrogant?" Cas asked, blinking.

"No offense, Cas," Cole said with a wink. "I see nothing wrong with you. But hospitality sure isn't a strong point for the rest of you all."

"It usually is," the beta sighed. He looked to Dean now and saw that he was a little peeved. "They just don't think packs are safe. It's unjustified, I know."

"Sweet of you to think about it, though," Cole said.

"Anyway," Dean interrupting, stepping between the two, "There're still two left in my pack. That's Meg coming this way and Jo is still in that wagon. She has eggs."

Meg, a short woman with black hair and a very round face, smirked when she saw Cas and pushed Cole out of the way.

"So you're the one who Dean's been hanging out with?" She asked, still smiling. Her eyes seemed to eat Cas up.

"Yes," Cas said, shifting on his heels, "I suppose so. But, um, I am a beta, you know."

"I know, honey," said Meg. She bit her lower lip and appeared to be sniffing the air. Cas felt uncomfortable.

"Meg's an alpha female," Dean clarified.

"What?"

"An alpha female," Meg repeated. Cas wasn't sure how to respond so he just stared.

"Then," he stammered, "Then you have—"

"A little one, yeah," Meg laughed. Cas inhaled sharply.

"Do you have a mate?"

"Lost her."

"I'm sorry…"

"Easy come, easy go. We've all lost someone during the storm. Even Cain dropped a few betas."

Cas thought he was losing his mind. He blinked several times and turned to Dean, almost in desperation, for answers and clarification.

"A few? A few betas?"

Dean laughed at this but Cas was so confused he saw no humor.

"The leader can take as many betas as he want," he explained. "Cain had five but now all that remains…"

His voice faded as he glanced over to the leader. Cas followed with his eyes and suddenly realized why Abaddon and Rowena were sitting so close to him. Rowena went in for a kiss and then Cain gave one to Abaddon.

"Then those little pink eggs," Cas said softly.

"Abaddon and Cain's," Meg finished the sentence for him.

"But Rowena?"

"She's not fertile anymore. Came down to our pack after she was."

"Came from where?"

Meg chuckled. She took another step closer to Cas and touched his arm. He shuddered at her warmth.

"You all really don't know much, do you?" she asked.

"I thought I did, but apparently not. It seems that packs and herds are quite different."

Dean took Meg's hand and pushed it away from Cas. Meg frowned but her smile came back quickly when she watched Dean and Cas interacting.

"Oh," she said softly. Dean ignored it.

"You know what I think would be fun for you?" he asked Cas.

"Anything?" the beta laughed.

"Maybe, but I think you should come back here tomorrow evening. We're having our first day of Summer festival and you could learn even more."

Cas smiled warmly and agreed. After he said his goodbyes and headed home, it occurred to him that while they were with the pack, Dean's pheromone smell had diminished.