After Cas left the pack's area and walked back through his own, it was noticeably quiet. He saw a few gatherers preparing for the night, but when he approached of tried to greet them, they turned their backs. He couldn't be bothered by that right now, though—he had met people who didn't just him as harshly and was bound to be in for a good time the next day!

After a decent sleep, Cas woke up to find that it was a hot morning. His body felt sticky. Summer was certainly here.

"Pssst!"

A little voice came from one of Cas' windows.

"PSSSSSSST!"

Cas stood up on his toes and looked out of it, but nobody was there. They were too low to the ground or too close to the wall.

"Who is that?" he called out.

"SHHH! I'm coming around…"

Not a moment too soon, Gabe dashed through the front door. He was hunched over with his eggs in his arms.

"Is something wrong?" asked Cas. It was nice to see a herd member who wasn't afraid or angry to talk to him.

Still whispering, Gabe asked, "You have any more of that fish?"

"It doesn't last so we had to eat it," Cas told him. This came as a great surprise. "Do you…want to try it?"

"Yeah. But Dreel would never let me! I didn't tell him anything."

"Do you really think he would be that angry?"

Gabe plopped down on one of Cas' cushions and rocked his eggs gently in his arms. He frowned. Wisps of chestnut hair fell in his face.

"Dunno," said Gabe. "He's mad about you and all of this."

Cas cleared his throat. "And you? How do you feel about it?"

Gabe shrugged. He looked up from his eggs and smirked at Cas. "It's not my place to judge. If that hunter dude is nice to you, then he's probably a nice dude. I dunno."

"Thank you, Gabe. It's nice to have someone understand what I'm going through."

"You gonna breed with him?"

Suddenly, Cas froze. He stared at Gabe with wide eyes, but his guest continued to smile.

"Well?"

"I…"

"Yeaaah?"

"I don't know."

Cas folded his arms and diverted his eyes away. Gabe let out a laugh.

"You're probably past your fertile time, anyway!"

Cas didn't think that was very funny.

"But you'll be okay. You always are."

"I suppose," Cas spoke in a small voice. He pulled at a hair on his arm absentmindedly.

"He looks like a strong guy," Gabe continued. "He'd probably make great kids."

"Probably."

"He's handsome."

"He is…"

"He's tall!"

"Not as tall as Gadreel."

"No?"

"I don't think so."

Gabe shrugged. "Whatever. He's a strong looking guy."

"Mmh."

"Anyway, I'll go."

He got up with his eggs and headed out, leaving Cas relatively speechless. Here was a beta who finally understood that Dean wasn't evil, but…

"I can't breed with a hunter," Cas sighed. "Being friends is one thing, but mates is another."

Cas ate some seeds for quick energy before he grabbed up his dirty clothes to wash. He tossed everything into a basket and took it down to the river, passing by Dean's pack. Meg was outside and she waved him down.

"You're coming for the festival, hmm?"

"Yes, I think so. Dean invited me."

"How nice of him."

"When does it start?"

"Sundown."

Cas looked around. He saw that the pack was already setting things up. Rowena stirred a large cauldron while Cain kept carving stools. Cole, the other alpha, was skinning some kind of animal. Cas presumed that the folks with eggs were inside the wagons.

"Where's Dean?"

"Out on a hunt," Meg said with a smile. She looked Cas up and down. "Why?"

"I just thought I would see him. Is he getting meat for tonight?"

"Mmhmm."

"Do you know where he went? Maybe I can join him. I'd love to watch him hunting."

Meg's eyes suddenly widened. She pressed her small, round lips together and leaned close to Cas. "I don't think you want to do that," she warned politely.

"Why?"

"Because he's hunting."

"And? Do you think he would mistake me as prey?"

Meg hummed in slight amusement. "That's right, you don't know."

Cas thought that Meg was being difficult on purpose now. This was frustrating, but she was an alpha so he had to show some respect.

"I don't know what?" he asked, attempting to diffuse any frustration in his voice.

"When we go hunting, we have to go alone. The chase, the kill—it gets all of our nasties out. We sweat and sweat and our hormones work overtime. It's a volatile state for us and we are likely to pounce on an unclaimed beta."

Cas swallowed stiffly. "You…rape?"

"It's not really rape. Those sweat glands usually lower the betas inhibitions. Plus," Meg paused here to raise an eyebrow flirtatiously at Cas, "We always hunt alone unless a beta asks to come with."

"Why would they ask?"

Meg's smirk grew exponentially now. She took a deep breath and Cas suddenly noticed a scent coming from her. He inhaled a few times.

"If the beta feels horny," she continued.

"Like having horns? Do hunters grow horns?"

Meg laughed. "What? No! I mean if they want to mate. For pleasure."

"Why would you do that?"

"Oh, my. You don't—herds don't—" Meg was suddenly speechless. The smell was fading already. "Herds don't mate for fun?"

Cas shook his head. "I don't think so? I've never done the act but as far as I know, it's done only for breeding."

"What a shame!" Meg gasped. "You are really missing out. You know…"

She was about to continue, but Cole butted in. He must have been listening to them.

"He's not interested in you," the alpha male said. He had a raw animal fur in one hand and a blunt knife in the other. "Can't you tell?"

Meg scoffed. "I'm not trying to claim him!"

"Well it sure as hell looked like it!"

"I'm done. This is stupid."

Meg snorted at Cole and walked away. She returned to one of the wagons angrily.

"Sorry," Cole apologized.

"Um. That's fine. I don't really understand what happened, but, all right."

"Ahh, she's testy. Each and every one of us has been temperamental after losing our mates."

"I don't blame you."

Cole slung the animal hide over his shoulder and stuffed the blade into a little pocket on his pants. "Guess you're waiting for Dean, huh?"

"Actually I was going to wash down at the river." Cas gestured to the basket of clothes. "I just happened to notice Dean was gone."

"He'll be back. Surprised you didn't go with him."

"No, but I'll be here tonight for the festival."

"I'll see you then."

Cas said farewell and went down to start the chores he intended. Washing took most of the day. It was so hot out but the river was cool. He ended up taking a dip, too, hoping that he would be clean enough for their Summer festival.

He still didn't see Dean until the sun was going down and he went back to the pack for the event to begin.

There were three fires now—two with cauldrons over them and a grand one in the center that a large meat was roasting on. Cas contemplated what his herd thought when they smelled it.

"Hey, Cas!"

Dean's voice called out from one side of the bonfire. He was tending to the meat. Cas ran up to him and smiled.

"Hello, Dean. You seem to be very busy."

"Yep! Look at this deer I caught. Pretty great, huh? Do you wanna try some later?"

"I will."

Cain appeared and greeted Cas warmly. "I'm glad to see you here," he said. There was a cup in his hand. "I hope you stay and enjoy yourself. This is a great gesture of hospitality. You've been very nice to us."

"Oh, I suppose," Cas said, trying to be humble. He noticed a strong, fruit aroma coming from Cain's cup. "What is in there?"

"Just some wine we've heated and spiced."

Cas blinked. "Wine?"

Here, Dean joined back into the conversation. "Yeah, wine," he explained. "A dizzy-drink made from grapes."

Cas stared at Dean as if he had two heads. "A what from what?"

"Grapes likely can't grow in this area," Cain said. He took a sip of his wine. "What a pity."

"Damn! You all don't have dizzy-drinks?"

Cas shook his head. "I don't think so?"

"You gotta try it!"

Dean was clearly in his element as a playful and almost goofy side of him was showing. He ran to one of the cauldrons and signaled for Cas to follow, which he did. There, they got two more cups and filled them with a dark, warm liquid.

"Take a little sip," Dean instructed as he handed a cup to Cas.

The beta stared down into the wine with an uncertain frown. It smelled good but it was also very different. Trying to be polite, he closed his eyes and sampled some. It had a strong, fruity taste but also quite bitter. It wasn't as sweet as he expected. The taste lingered on his lips.

"It's good," he said.

"Yeah?"

Dean looked excited to hear Cas' response. He took a big sip from his own cup and smacked his lips. "We make this stuff at every festival night. Your herd really doesn't have anything like it?" Cas shook his head. "Do you smoke any herbs?"

"Tobacco."

"You don't have love herb?"

Cas tilted his head. He had another sip of wine. "What is that?"

"It's this plant we found that we smoke in Spring. Makes the nasties come out."

"There is that word again," Cas said, basically thinking aloud.

"What?"

"Nasties. Meg said it earlier."

Dean took Cas over to where Cain's stools were. They were in a circle around the large fire. "Sit," Dean said calmly, pointing to one. Cas squat down on it and Dean joined him. "What did Meg say?"

"She told me that you were out hunting," Cas began somewhat timidly, since the conversation was a questionable topic, "And that I shouldn't follow you. She explained that hunting makes your nasties come out and you want to mate."

"True," was all Dean said. Cas took a sip of his wine and looked at the alpha with concern.

"Isn't that a serious thing?"

"It is and it isn't. If you don't want to get fucked, don't follow a hunter on a hunt."

"Fucked?"

"Mated. Bred."

"Oh. Um, right…I have a few more questions, about that."

Dean smirked. He looked at Cas in the corner of his eye but kept his main sight on the roasting meat. It smelled amazing. Cain was tending to it now while Rowena spoke with him, clearly in a flirtatious manner.

"Meg says that you mate to bred but also for fun," Cas strained to say, "Is that true?"

"Well, yeah. You don't?"

"I've never mated and as far as I've been told, we only do that when we want to breed."

Dean suddenly appeared to be deep in thought. He nursed his wine and said nothing for a while, and Cas was respectful of that.

Before any other words were exchanged, Cain announced that the meat was ready. Everyone in the pack came around to the fire with plates and bowls while Cain cut the deer up and dished it out. Dean told Cas to join. He handed him a bowl.

"I'm interested to see what you think!" Cain bellowed as he dropped a hearty slab of meat into Cas' bowl. It was intimidating.

"Ah…"

Cas didn't know what to say. Dean got his meat and pulled him away to the third cauldron. It has some sort of thick soup bubbling in it. "This gets drizzled over the meat," he said, taking up a ladle. He poured it over his own and then offered some to Cas. Once their food was prepared, they went back to the stools at the fire. Abaddon was sitting there, too.

"Hey," she said, mostly to Cas. He saw the pink eggs in her arms.

"Hello…"

"So you're converting to hunter, huh?"

"Not exactly," Cas said. "I'm still part of my herd."

"Do they want you?"

This made him sigh. "I'm not sure," he said softly. Abaddon looked sympathetic.

"Hey, hey," Dean said. "Tonight is about fun. Don't spoil the mood."

"Right," Cas answered.

He observed Dean to learn how they eat the messy meat. The alpha would dip his fingers into the gravy-soup and lick it off, then he'd go back into it and tear bits of meat off. It was so messy. Cas was embarrassed to be so sloppy, but he looked around and saw that everyone else was doing the exact same thing. He tried a little bit of the gravy. It was salty, heavy and delicious. He wasn't going to ask how they made it.

"Try the meat," Dean said.

"Right."

He used both hands to separate a piece. Clear juices ran out and mixed with the gravy. Cas wasn't sure if it looked good or not, but he popped the little piece into his mouth and chewed. It was savory. The flavor was strong. Combined with the gravy, it was actually pretty good. Dean and Abaddon were both watching him in anticipation.

"So?" Dean asked.

Cas swallowed. "It's good."

"Ha!"

As they kept feasting, Cas noticed the people were shifting. Meals were being finished and the bowls were replaced with instruments. There were drums made from animal skins, rattles with pods from plants Cas had never seen and Cole had a large gourd that had been converted into a guitar-like object.

"What is going on?" Cas asked Dean.

"We're going to play music. We eat until we're full, drink until we're dizzy and then we dance and play music to celebrate the Summer. Herds don't do anything like that?"

"No, not at all," Cas said. He looked at the people with wide wonder. "We have drums that he bang sometimes on birthdays but that's all."

"What do you do when the new season comes?"

"Prepare for what we must."

"Boring!" Dean yelled. "Come here. Come and dance with me."

Cas suddenly felt embarrassed. Dean had jumped to his feet and offered both hands to him. He had never danced before.

"Come on, we're all gonna do it."

Even Abaddon had gotten up and wandered over to Cain, still holding her eggs but she swayed beside him. Rowena, free from childrearing, was undulating wildly, smiling at Cain. He stood his ground and watched the ladies around him.

"Come on," Dean said once more.

Cas swallowed his pride and joined Dean around the fire. There seemed to be many ways to dance, especially since the music was a bunch of clattery rhythms and nothing more, but Dean just wanted to sway. He put his arms around Cas' waist and rocked him.

"Oh!" Cas gasped when Dean touched him. They were face to face now. Cas' cheeks were growing quite hot, even on top of the fire's glow.

"What? This is how we do it."

Dean watched Cas with calm, peaceful eyes. They rocked back and forth for some time and Cas found himself swaying a good amount. That dizzy-drink really had an effect on him. He started to giggle.

"What's up?" Dean asked, also smiling.

"It feels good," said Cas.

"What?"

"Being free. Being happy. This is so much better than anything my herd has done. Look how joyous your people are!"

Dean laughed again. "Yeah, I think so."

The music eventually faded and a strong, sweet smell permeated the air. Cas sniffed.

"What is that?"

Dean looked over to Cain, who was smoking a small, rolled up leaf. Abaddon and Rowena were practically climbing on him now.

"Love herb," said Dean. He suddenly looked grumpy. They stopped dancing. "Time to clean up."

"It's over already?" Cas asked.

Dean began to hurry around and pick up the empty bowls, cups and plates. His demeanor had shifted drastically. Cain and his betas disappeared into a wagon. It looked like the others were cleaning up, too.

"Dean, wait."

"Huh?"

The alpha paused and looked up at Cas.

"Why are you angry?"

"I'm not angry. I'm just…well I guess I'm just bitter."

"Because you aren't mating tonight?"

Dean froze. Cas saw his upper lip twitch, but then he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm himself down. His voice attempted to steady itself.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry," Cas apologized. He went to reach out and touch Dean, but the alpha was back to cleaning up swiftly.

"It's okay. I'm being unreasonable but still."

"The rest of your herd lost their mates, too. So you're all in it together."

Dean nodded. He put the dishes into a basket. "You're right. But think about the rest of the packs and herds out there?"

"Don't worry about it. I thought tonight was about fun?"

"You're right," Dean repeated. He smiled at last. "And it was fun. I wanna thank you for coming, this was great. You made me feel good."

Cas blushed. "It's no problem. I like experiencing new things. Like you said, even if we only talk for two days, we'll remember it forever. But…mm…I'm tired, so I'll be going home now."

Dean nodded. "All right, take care. See you tomorrow?"

"Yes. Happy first day of Summer."

Dean waved as Cas walked away. "You, too."