“Good morning!”

Nick groaned, reaching for his second cup of coffee. “Why are you always so darn cheerful in the mornings?”

Dan shrugged. “Can’t help it.”

“Try.”

Chuckling, Dan went to get himself his own cup of coffee. He’d been settling into his new routine with the Nick and Tom at the mechanics, but they hadn’t quite gotten used to him. They were always slow and grumpy in the mornings, whereas he was always cheerful and ready to start work almost immediately. At least Savannah didn’t seem to mind, although she was always quite quiet in the mornings. Jo, on the other hand, wouldn’t come inside until she absolutely had to. Something about enjoying the cool morning air and watching the sun begin to spread its long fingers across the forest trees. Sometimes Jo sounded more bear shifter than they did, despite being the only one who wasn’t.

“Good morning, Tom,” Dan grinned, as Tom came out of the back room, running a hand through his hair.

“Hmph,” Tom grunted, shaking himself all over like a bear would shake water from its fur. “Too chirpy, Dan, as usual.”

“So your brother said,” Dan replied, not in the least bit put off. He was getting to know Tom faster than he was Nick. That was probably because he was still sleeping on the sofa bed in the back room, right next to Tom and Savannah’s bedroom. All in all, it was quite cramped and could sometimes be a bit awkward, but there didn’t seem to be an easy solution. He’d offered to get his own place in town but, since they didn’t know for sure how or when Lucas was going to attack, Nick had decided it was best he stayed here.

“Tom,” Nick called, as soon as Tom had grabbed a cup of steaming coffee. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure.”

“Dan,” Nick continued. “You’d better hear this too.”

Wondering what it was Nick had to say, Dan followed Tom over to the office seating area and sat in one of the comfortable seats. He couldn’t sense any tension at least, which was a good thing. They weren’t about to chuck him out of the Alliance pack or anything.

When both Tom and Dan were seated, Nick began, “Listen, Tom, I’ve been thinking. Jo and I are living in the cabin, you and Savannah live here but so does Dan.”

“Yeah,” Tom grunted. “So?”

“So,” Nick continued, obviously a little frustrated with Tom’s interruption. “I’m getting the impression that it’s a bit small, this place, for the three of you.”

Dan let out a shout of laughter. “You can say that again,” he replied. “Savannah wasn’t exactly pleased to find my underwear hanging on the radiator to dry last week.” If he was honest, Dan would admit that it had been a bit of an awkward moment, but what was a guy to do? It had been raining outside and he needed clean clothes! Tom rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it is,” he muttered. “But part of that is because Savannah lives here too. I don’t want to push Dan out.”

Surprised at his consideration, Dan gave him a brief nod, seeing the acceptance in his eyes. He’d thought that Tom might want him out or to find a new place, but apparently not. This pack was the complete opposite to the Northern Wind pack. In fact, it was so different that it was taking him some time to get used to it all. Nick led the pack with respect and consideration, as opposed to Lucas’ way of fear and domination.

“Right,” Nick continued, his smile widening. “Well, Tom, in light of all that, I was wondering if you wanted to build a place of your own.”

Tom frowned, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “Really?”

"Sure, why not?" Nick replied, stretching out his feet and crossing them at the ankle. "There are a couple of acres around the back of the shop we've never used, and since it looks like Savannah's going to be here to stay, you may as well build somewhere new. You can't keep living in the back of the shop, can you?"

“No, I suppose not,” Tom murmured. “To be honest, Nick, this is the last thing I’d expected from you, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

Nick grinned. “I know it’ll take a lot of work, but it means you’d have your own place. It’s a good reason to put down some roots, especially now that we’re an official pack.” He leaned forward, fixing Tom with a sincere gaze. “I looked at the finances and we’ve got the money, Tom. I’d be happy to help you when I can.”

Tom's face began to clear, but suddenly, the frown reappeared. "What about the shop? There's work that needs to be done. You can't run this place on your own."

“And that’s where Dan comes in,” Nick replied, easily. “Dan’s proving himself to be a good apprentice. He can easily help me out and it means his training will just have to go up a notch - you’d be alright with that, wouldn’t you, Dan?”

Dan nodded, thinking to himself that he couldn’t imagine anything better. He had been quite surprised to discover he really enjoyed working with his hands, and that the smell of grease and oil wasn’t as bad as he’d first imagined. “Don’t let that stand in your way, Tom,” he said, in response. “I’m more than happy to help Nick out, in any way I can. After all, after what you both have done for me, it’s the least I could do.”

Tom's face slowly cleared of the worry and concern it held before a slow smile began to spread across his face. "I suppose I could," Tom murmured, thoughtfully. "Nothing fancy, of course. No offense, Nick, but that cabin's not quite my style."

“What’s your style, then?” Dan asked.

“Basic,” Tom replied immediately. “Real basic but homely. Like a den.”

Dan nodded, understanding exactly what Tom meant. The idea of having a cozy little place all of your own, without anything fancy, made sense to him.

“We could look at getting the foundations done this week,” Nick continued, glad his brother was thinking about it. “Dan and I can help you with that before you take on the rest.”

Tom nodded, sticking out his hand to his brother and then to Dan. “Sounds good. Thanks, Nick.”

Nick grinned. “Don’t worry about it. Dan and I can manage things around here, so you can just focus on building your house. I’ll take care of whatever jobs we have going on here.”

“I’ll go tell Savannah,” Tom grinned, throwing a grateful look at Dan before walking away.

“What do you think, Dan?”

Dan turned to face Nick. This didn’t exactly have much to do with him so he was surprised at Nick’s question. “I’ll be happy to help with whatever it is you need me to do, Nick,” he replied, slowly, wondering if that was what Nick meant. “I owe you guys a lot, so anything I can do…”

“Thanks,” Nick laughed. “But that’s not what I meant.” He scratched his head, screwing up his face for a moment, obviously thinking about how to explain himself. “What I mean is that Tom and Savannah will be moving out as soon as the house is finished - which means you’ll be here alone. I was hoping you’d be okay with living here long term. After all, we’ll need someone to be here to watch the place for as long as Lucas is a threat.” His lip curled back, as a slight growl escaped from his chest. “And that threat doesn’t look to be going away any time soon.”

Dan blinked a few times, trying to take in what Nick had said. He'd come from a pack where he'd barely been allowed a corner of a room to himself but now Nick was offering him an entire home? Sure, it was small, but it was more than Dan had been given in a long time. For once, he couldn't find anything funny to say. There were no wisecracks he could think of, so instead, he just stuck out his hand.

“I’d be more than happy to live here, Nick,” he replied, honestly. “Thanks.”

“Great,” Nick replied, shaking Dan’s hand. “Just don’t go getting yourself a girl or something, otherwise we’ll be really short on space.” He grinned, slapping Dan on the back as he walked past. “Or at least, just wait until Tom and Savannah have moved out. Then you can have as many people here as you want!”