Unfortunately for Dan, both Nick and Tom had completely forgotten that they’d made plans for the evening.

"I promised Savannah we'd go to the lake," Tom said, glancing away for a moment as a touch of color hit his cheeks.

Nick let out a breath. “And I said I’d cook tonight. Sorry, Tom. I didn’t mean to let you down.”

Ignoring the swift kick of disappointment, Dan shrugged. “That’s okay. I don’t mind drinking alone. Besides, it might get me some action! You know, the lone, dark stranger?”

Tom chuckled. “After some female company, are you?”

“You’ll find someone eventually,” Nick continued, slapping Dan’s arm. “Is that what’s been bothering you?”

“Nope, just got up on the wrong side of bed this morning,” Dan replied, not wanting to get into a discussion with Tom and Nick about his love life - or lack of it. “I’ll go for a run in the woods first, then head to the bar. Give you guys some space.”

Despite their protests, Dan left almost immediately. The last thing he wanted was to hang around while they all got ready to leave. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed that Nick and Tom had needed to cancel, but he had to just get over that. Life was too short.

Jogging towards the woods, Dan let his bear come out just as he took his first step into the trees. Normally he made sure to put his clothes somewhere first before he shifted, but right now, he didn’t care. They shredded as his body changed, falling in pieces onto the forest floor. The bear was feeling angry, given the way it tore itself out of him. Angry that he’d been forgotten about, again.

Instead of trying to calm the bear side of him down, Dan let the emotions roll over him. When he was a bear, there was no hiding his emotions with laughter or jokes. He felt everything. All the emotions he’d been hiding from the others - and from himself - came out in one go, bear style. Standing on his hind legs, he let out a loud roar, not caring if Nick or Tom heard him. It felt good to get it out. His body tensing, he stretched high, before falling forward onto his front paws and raced through the woods.

Branches cracked and splintered as he ran, headlong, through the trees. He didn’t know where he was going, he just knew he needed to run. The bear was enjoying every moment, and, slowly, the anger left his body.

Eventually slowing to a halt, Dan threw himself onto the ground, rolling over and over in the dirt. Sometimes his bear instincts felt really good. Just rolling around in a heap, forgetting all about his lack of a mate. Funny how his love of humor could come out even in his bear form. Snorting, Dan eventually got to his feet, shaking his fur hard. The others would be gone by now, he guessed. He'd give the lake a wide berth on the way back - since Tom and Savannah were going there and he didn't want to stumble across anything. Mentally wincing, he meandered slowly back towards the mechanics, sniffing the air as he approached. There was a lingering scent of the other members of the pack, but nothing fresh. They were gone all right.

It didn’t take him long to shower and dress. He’d wondered if the quietness of the shop might be nice, but instead, it just haunted him - almost mocking him. He was part of the pack, that was for sure, but he was the only single guy in the place. Why did that bother him so much? Why was his bear so desperate to find a mate?

Perhaps it was just a part of being a member of a real pack. Back in the Northern Wind pack, they never had time to even think about that kind of thing. Lucas wouldn’t allow it. There was fighting, and that was all there was. No relationships of any kind, not even friendships. It was completely forbidden.

Walking to the town bar, Dan shook his head. Lucas wasn’t going to be able to run the Northern Wind pack that way forever. Soon enough, he was either going to have everyone desert him in the same way he and Savannah had, or he was going to have someone try and stand up to him. Either way, it didn’t look good for Lucas. A slight twist of conscience burned into him. Lucas couldn’t have always been that cruel, could he? There must have been something to make him that way, not that he’d ever let anyone in on that secret. Lucas was as cold and as calculating as they come. He never let anyone in, never let anyone know what he was thinking, and certainly never spoke about his feelings. To do that would just be a sign of weakness.

One thing was for sure, Lucas wasn't done with them yet. Night after night, Dan, and the others had discussed tactics, but, without knowing what Lucas was planning, it was pretty hard to do. They didn't want anyone else to get hurt, but Nick had warned them that, unfortunately, it was more than likely to happen. There was a full blown war going on between them and the Northern Wind pack now, even though Dan knew that Nick and the others didn't want to be a part of it. The hairs on the back of his neck rippled as he tensed, wondering what Lucas would do next.

Pushing away his thoughts about what Lucas might be up to, Dan walked towards the bar, hoping it wouldn’t be too quiet. Perhaps someone might challenge him to a game of pool or darts - not that he was good at either of them. Otherwise, he’d just be stuck drinking alone and that wasn’t particularly fun. He’d come here for company of some kind, even if was just going to be some old drunk guy offering to play a game of darts.

Swinging open the front door, Dan walked in - only to walk headlong into the biggest guy he’d ever seen. It was like walking into a wall. He didn’t even bounce off. “Careful,” he exclaimed, staggering back. “Haven’t you got eyes in your head?”

The very moment he said it, Dan knew he’d made a mistake. The guy was a giant, with muscles bulging in places where Dan didn’t even think he had muscles. Tattoos were on every bit of exposed skin, and the shaved head just completed the look. This wasn’t a guy you messed with.

“Got something to say?” the guy sneered, his eyes narrowing.

“Uh…no,” Dan replied, trying to edge past him. “Never mind. My mistake.”

“Yeah,” the guy responded, prodding Dan in the chest with one large finger. “It was.”

Resisting the need to roll his eyes, Dan just nodded and walked past him. Probably pumped full of those muscle enhancing steroids, he thought to himself, glancing over his shoulder to see the guy still watching him. Gym rat, that kind of guy. You don’t get muscles like that just sitting at home watching TV.

Still distracted, he continued into the bar. Turning his head away from the guy behind him, Dan managed to bump into another person - except this time, he wasn’t the one who fell over.

Stumbling forward, he tried to stop himself from walking on whoever it was he’d knocked down. Tripping over his own feet, he somehow managed to keep himself upright, finally ending up hanging onto the edge of the bar for dear life.

Struggling to his feet, Dan felt heat rush into his face as he realized that everyone in the bar had gone deadly silent, watching him. Suddenly, laughter erupted around him, making him drop his head with embarrassment.

“Aren’t you going to help me up?” said a voice from the floor beneath. “I mean, you are the reason I’m down here.”

Turning to see who it was he'd knocked over, Dan's response died on his lips as he saw the most beautiful woman smiling up at him, reaching up for his hand.