They stretched out on the river bank and let the sun naturally dry their naked bodies. Cas hesitated, but he reached out and slipped his fingers through Dean's hand.

"You have strong hands," Dean said with a smile.

"I work hard. My house, my furniture, my tools…I've made everything."

"That's really impressive. I guess I picked well!"

"Hm?"

Cas turned on his side.

"My mate," Dean elaborated. "I picked a great one."

Cas already knew that being bred by Dean meant they were a mated pair now, but actually hearing him utter the words gave him butterflies.

"Ah," Cas hummed, closing his eyes, "We're mates."

"And I'm not letting anything happen to this one."

Once they were sufficiently dry, they put their clothes back on and headed into the herd's settlement. Cas invited Dean in for something to eat.

"What d'you have?" asked Dean.

"Right now, just nuts and seeds. But I can go around back and get some cucumbers, herbs, onions and peppers to make a better snack. You can wait here."

"Sounds good."

Cas got his basket and left Dean to rest on a pad at the table. He went back into the hot morning sun and around to the gardening lot behind his home. While he was picking ripe foods, he was approached by Gabe.

"Heya, Castiel?"

"Yes?"

"Heads up, they saw what you did."

Cas turned and looked at Gabe. He was standing there with his clutch held close to his chest and a sad frown. "What? Who?" Cas asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought.

"You mated with that hunter."

"Oh…"

Quickly, Cas snapped his head back around to the cucumber plant he was tending. He gently plucked off a firm one and dropped it into his basket.

"Cas?"

"Next, I suppose you'll tell me that the herd is kicking me out."

"Uh, no, actually. They're pretty mad, though. But I'm not."

Cas paused.

"You aren't?"

"Why would I? I think I misjudged this Dean guy. He's nice to you, yeah?"

"So far."

A thin smile grew on Cas' lips. He put down his basket and pressed both hands to his stomach. It was clear to Gabe what he was thinking about.

"Guess you're gonna have eggs with him, aren'cha?"

Cas said nothing, but he continued to smile and nod.

"I'll give you my best advice," said Gabe. "Sometimes it takes more than one try for it to happen. That was the big mistake that Dreel and I made and why it took us so danged long to have these little fellas." He bounced the eggs lightly. "We were breeding just once every spring with no success. Then we tried it a couple of times in a row and I finally got pregnant."

"Ah," Cas sighed. "That's good to know. I wonder if I'm even fertile."

Gabe shrugged. "You'll be fuckin' lucky if you are."

This made Cas frown on the inside, but he was so happy at the prospects of being mated that it couldn't shake his smile.

"How long does it take until you know?" Cas asked at last.

"Only a few days. Those eggs get put together really fast! It surprised me. Y'know, they do most of their growing once they're born. But then they're eggs for, what, three moons?"

"I think so."

"Welp, let me know if you feel eggs in you. But I think you should try to breed a few more times before you get too anxious. See ya."

"Wait."

Gabe froze before he started walking away.

"Tell me something," Cas began, "Is mating enjoyable?"

"Uhhh…"

Gabe stared at Cas rather dumbfounded. He clicked his tongue while he searched for an answer. "It's okay, I guess? I dunno? I never thought about it. Why?"

Cas shook his head. "I was only curious. It's fine. I'll talk to you later."

"Erm, okay, then. See ya…"

After he left, Cas finished gathering vegetables and returned to the house. Dean was resting on his back with his arms folded behind his head. He sat up when Cas came in.

"Took you a while," Dean said.

"I know. I was talking to Gabriel."

"Part of your herd, I guess?"

"Yes. Probably the only part who is still speaking to me."

Cas went to the stone slab and began to cut up the cucumbers and peppers. Dean was going to crawl over there but Cas stopped him.

"Please," he said, "It's my job as a beta to do these things. Wait at the eating table for me."

Dean grinned. "That's right," he said softly. "I've been sharing the burden since the storm. I sorta forgot how nice it is to have a mate."

Cas flashed a wide smile to Dean then went back to his cooking. He mixed everything into a wooden bowl and brought it to the table, where he joined Dean. They ate with their hands.

"This is our first meal together as mates," Cas said proudly.

"D'you want our second one to be meat?"

Cas nodded. "I'd like that."

"I'll catch something later that we can have. I'll teach you about preparing red meat so you can do it by yourself."

"That's thoughtful of you. Thank you, very much."

After they finished eating, Dean thought it would be proper to alert is pack that he had taken Cas as his mate. They went over to the wagons together.

"Cain, could I talk to you?" Dean asked the alpha leader. He was busy with more woodwork.

"Mm, certainly. I haven't seen you since early this morning. Where have you been?"

"Well, it's just that—I've been with Cas."

The beta smiled shyly from behind Dean's back. Cain raised an eyebrow.

"You two are getting along very well," he mused.

"Uh huh. That's why I'm here. I want to tell you about it."

Cain paused. His eyes fell back to the chunk of wood he was carving. "Go on."

Dean took a deep breath and looked to Cas. Before he had the chance to announce it, Cole came running up between them.

"Where the hell have you been?" the smaller alpha yelled.

"Hey, cool it," said Dean. Cain busied himself with his work and Cas remained behind Dean.

"You were supposed to bring back fish, but all I see is Cas. What have you been doing with Cas?"

Dean laughed softly. "Please don't try what you're trying."

Cas was confused. Dean made extra space between himself and Cole and showed both of his palms. Cole frowned. He sniffed.

"Who gave you the right?" Cole growled. He hunched over aggressively. Cas was still very, very confused.

"You know I'm second potent to Cain," Dean stated rather proudly. "It's pretty stupid to keep that up."

"Dean, keep what up?" Cas asked, tugging at the hem of Dean's shirt.

"Stand back," Dean whispered to Cas.

"What? I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"DON'T CARE!"

Cole suddenly yelled and lunged right towards Dean. They slammed down onto the ground and began wrestling wildly. Cas covered his mouth with his hands.

"Dean! Cole! S-stop that! Stop that right now!"

"SON OF A BITCH!" Dean chocked. He kicked Cole in the stomach and tossed him on to his back, but just as he tried to get up, Cole steadied himself and swung at Dean.

"Stop it!" Cas screamed. He looked at Cain urgently but saw that he was still calmly whittling away. "Stop! Help!"

Punches were thrown and both of the men were becoming gradually beat up. Cas had tears running down his face and he had no idea what to do. Why were they fighting? Why was Cole even angry? Why wasn't Cain reacting?!

"STOP IT!"

Cas cried out and threw himself between the two. He clung to Dean's side and tried to pull him away, but Cole was thrashing at him so violently that he missed and kicked Cas right in the stomach. The fighting immediately stopped.

"You asshole!" Dean shouted. He delivered his coup de grace right at Cole's face and sent the man down to the ground, bleeding from his nose. Perhaps vying for some attention, Luci came running out from behind one of the wagons with his eggs in a basket and aided Cole's injuries. Dean, however, went straight to help Cas.

"Ooh," Cas groaned, clutching his stomach. Dean was positively pale-faced.

"Cas? Are you—they—okay?"

Cas tried to dismiss what Dean said. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he coughed. "Just…why? Why did that happen?"

Dean put his arms around Cas and did his best to comfort him. "I told you to stand back," he said. "This what we do."

"I don't understand…"

Cain must have been listening, since he stood up at that moment and joined the conversation.

"Alphas have to earn their mates," he said rather matter of factly. "Whether it's convincing the beta that they're the best genetic match or kicking the shit out of any other alphas. Dean was merely protecting his title."

Cas' lower lip wiggled. He pushed out of Dean's embrace.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked.

"You—you are savages!" Cas yelled. "I should have known!"

"Wait, Cas…"

"Who does that? Who fights for a mate? I did this—all of this," he gestured to his stomach here, "Because I like you as a person, not as a, a, am asshole who beats up others!"

"It's not like that! You don't understand."

Cain was still there. He let out a long sigh. "Don't worry about it," he said. "We're leaving tomorrow anyway."

Both Cas and Dean stopped their fussing. They turned to Cain and both asked for clarity.

"This herd doesn't like us and the weather is poor. Dean, don't you remember how hot it was before that storm came? This heat is similar. We're going to head south."

Dean frowned.

"You'll have to pack up," Cain said. "We will leave in the morning."

"I'm staying."

Cain blinked. "What was that?"

"I'm staying," Dean repeated. "I don't care. Maybe we're savages and we're assholes, and maybe this herd hates us. But I don't care. I do love Cas and I'll tolerate anything to be with him."

"Very well," was all Cain answered with.

He turned away and went into one of the wagons. Luci was dabbing a wet cloth on Cole's face to sop up the blood, but for the most part they were silent.

"So?" Dean asked Cas, who still looked somewhat standoffish. "Does that earn me any points with you?"

Cas closed his eyes tightly. He threw himself into Dean's arms and hugged him tight. "It does. Thank you."