Raphael, Duncan and Robert strolled through the trees quietly. All three men had similar characteristics, they could all be as loud and rowdy as a classroom full of drunk students or as silent as the tomb. Robert stopped just after the tree line finished. They were in a large grassy clearing with trees on all sides.

"This is where I was talking about, it's private but not too far from the village if you wish to join us for meals. You can fell any trees you need to build with and you've plenty of space for a cottage, stable and even a small garden if you wanted. We have plenty of seed back in the storehouse." The vampire looked at the older wolf then his friend.

"I don't know what to say. Your kindness is overwhelming." Duncan slapped him on the back.

"Do nay be daft. You've worked hard while you've been here, I've never seen anyone plough a field as quickly as you did." Robert smiled at him.

"Everyone deserves some peace in their life lad. The Gods know your family has been dealt a bad hand. If this bit of unused land can bring some peace to your soul then please, be our guest, build your home and live how you choose."

Raphael felt himself start to tear up and looked away. He'd never known such kindness since coming to this Isle, they lived such quiet lives, farming, trading with each other for the skills they lacked. There was something so peaceful about sitting around the cooking pit after a meal while the women sewed or told stories to the children and the men played games or worked on projects. Raphael loved carving wood and the wolves had fallen in love with his little figures. Many of the Mothers had already offered him trades for the cottage he would build in exchange for winter solstice gifts for their children.

"Thank you." Was all the vampire was able to say. Duncan cleared his throat.

"Why don't I go and get some tools and axes while you decide where to build your cabin?" With that, the two wolves left Raphael to gaze longingly at the isolated clearing.

***

Straightening from placing a twig on the ground he heard Duncan approaching and looked down at the brief plan he'd laid out with sticks off the ground in the centre of the clearing.

"I think I'll build it here with a lean too for Areion just there." He pointed to the left of him.

"It looks good. A cosy little cottage, perfect for two." At the female voice, Raphael spun around to find Bryn standing behind him.

"I thought you were Duncan." He said uncomfortably. The she-wolf had shown interest in him from day one, she was pretty with a strong firm body, tawny hair and bright amber eyes. Before meeting his witch Raphael would likely have found her very appealing, but now he couldn't feel anything but pity for the obviously lonely wolf. She grinned at him and placed a hand on his chest.

"Maybe your lonely little cabin will need a woman's touch?" Her seductive tone made him wish he could choose this attractive willing woman to settle down with until she found her fated mate. But since seeing Rouge May his body couldn't react to any woman no matter how much he might wish to take solace in their arms.

"Bryn... I...."

"Bryn? You harassing the poor lad again?" Duncan strolled up and dropped the sack he was carrying on the ground, fixing her with a look. His tone was friendly but his expression said for her to leave.

"I was just having a look." She answered sheepishly as she drew her hand back from the vampire's chest quickly and began to leave the clearing. They watched her disappear into the trees but didn't speak till they could no longer hear her moving in through the undergrowth.

"Duncan, I'm sorry. I've kept away from her as much as I can. Maybe I shouldn't stay."

"It is not your fault our Bryn is lonely and you're the only single man on the Isle she can try to pair with. I feel for her but she's not the only wolf in the pack without a Mate. You've been nothing but polite with her, it's not on you that she wants a mate." He looked down at the sticks on the ground.

"You don't want to build it bigger?" Raphael looked down at his floor plan.

"It's only for me and Areion. I'll have space for a bed, table and bookcase, he'll have a stable out of the elements. It's all we need."

"Well let's start cutting down some trees then shall we?" The wolf pulled a two-handled saw out of his sack, placed a bottle of whiskey on the ground and headed for the tree line followed by the vampire.

***

Sitting on top of the cabin's frame in nothing but a pair of brown cotton trousers and his boots Raphael was nailing wooden shingles to the roof beams as Areion grazed below him. He'd spent the past days chipping out the ends of the logs to make them fit together and building the walls of his new home. As he nailed on the shingles that he'd carved out by hand he hummed quietly to himself a song his mother had sung often when he was a child. It was a nymph lullaby with a soft peaceful melody.

"What song is that?" The Vampire looked up at the treeline in front of him, Bryn stood leaning back against a tree wearing a navy dress with the top few laces left undone so her ample cleavage was on full display.

"Just a song my mother liked." He eyed her warily, he didn't want to hurt the she-wolf. She was a lovely girl and well-liked within the pack, if he hadn't been left incapable of arousal for another woman he would have been proud to take her as his own. But he couldn't look at any woman that way anymore, only the beautiful witch who haunted his dreams and constantly pulled at his unconscious mind. How could such a brief meeting have changed his life so drastically? Bryn moved away from the tree and started to stroll towards him, her hips swaying as she walked across the grass.

"It's a beautiful melody. Have you nearly finished your cabin?" He glanced down at the half-finished roof.

"I need to finish the roof shingles, then line the inside the ceiling, build the chimney, and build Areion his stable before winter comes." She looked over at the large black horse and then back up to Raphael.

"Won't you get lonely this far out of the village with just a horse for company this winter?" She was eyeing his bare chest making him wish he'd put on a shirt.

"He kept me company for months on the road and we aren't that far out from the village. He's good company."

"It's a good five miles back to the village, when the snow comes it'll be a long walk. It's not like you can shift like we can."

"He's a Vampire, I'm sure he can manage five miles in the snow, if not that their horse will be more than capable. So what are you doing here Bryn? Fancied a bit of building work?" She turned at Duncan's voice as he entered the clearing, his eyes fixed on her.

"I just came to see how Raphael was getting on." As she spoke she pulled the lacing on her dress tight to cover herself.

"Well you've seen now and your mother was looking for you." The she-wolf narrowed her eyes at him then turned back to the vampire perched on the roof.

"I guess I should head back if my Ma is looking for me. I'll see you later maybe?" he nodded but didn't say anything. Both men watched as she walked quickly into the tree line and disappeared.

"I shouldn't stay here. It's not fair on her." Duncan shook his head and dropped the big bundle he was carrying.

"My father and mother both invited you to stay. Plus my father had words with her, she's been told to leave you alone. It's not like you've come here and tried to seduce her, you've been nothing but polite to her and given her no encouragement. You're not her fated mate and you owe her nothing. Bryn..." he trailed off a moment.

"She's a twin, her sister found her fated mate when she was just eighteen at her very first pack meeting. The irony is all Bryn ever wanted was to find her Mate and have a brood of children while Blair wanted to go exploring and never settle down. They are now about a hundred, I lose track, and she's had eight or so children since meeting her mate and hasn't left their packs village other than for pack meets in years. Bryn is just lonely and badly wants to have children, she tries with every single male who comes to the Isle which admittedly isn't many. She'll find someone eventually, just don't lead her on and it's nothing to do with you. She'll get over it. Plus if you left who'd help me polish off this stuff?" Leaning down to the bundle he'd been carrying he pulled a bottle of whiskey out of the centre of it and held it up. Raphael laughed out loud.

"Help me get the roof shingles on and we'll knock that back around the fire." he pointed to a pile of rocks a few feet away from the house.

"That looks mightily like a pile of stones, not a fire."

"Oh yeah, I forgot we need to build the fireplace and chimney too." He said laughing as he pointed to a section he hadn't roofed yet. The wolf rolled his eyes.

"Since you decided to move here all I seem to do is work. I might have changed my mind about being your friend." Both men laughed.

"So what's in the bundle."

"Nothing now, I took the whisky out." the Vampire frowned.

"It's a present from me Ma. She made you a mattress and stuffed it with feathers. Apparently, she knows you're a precious little girl and need something soft to sleep on." Duncan laughed.

"You going to help or just keep laughing at my expense?" The wolf shrugged.

"Come to visit your best friend and they expect you to work. Whatever is the world coming to?" Crossing to the pile of stones he started carrying them into the cabin. Raphael sat there for a moment, best friend? No one had ever called him a friend before, never mind a best one. He would never get over the kindness and acceptance this wolf pack had extended to him or how much his lonely life had changed.

"Oi, don't you think because I'm building your fireplace you can sit back and rest, I expect to hear hammering."

"Sure thing boss." Raphael saluted sarcastically then got back to attaching the shingles as the wolf began to mix some mortar.

***

Raphael and Duncan stood outside the cabin looking it over.

"I think it's finished."

"I think you might be right." Raphael felt strange as he looked at the cabin he'd built with his own hands. He'd always loved working with wood but never dreamed of doing something at such a scale. The walls had been built with logs with the bark still attached and shaped at the ends so they locked together perfectly. The windows had been covered by shutters and the doorway with a door, he'd made both from planks that he'd nailed together. The grey stone chimney had been built stone by stone by himself and Duncan. On the side, he'd built a lean too with double doors built the same as his front door for Areion. The vampire found himself wishing his mother could have seen his little cabin and that he'd finally found a degree of peace on this quiet Isle. It might only be a small cabin, the whole thing including the stable would fit inside his bedroom in his family home. But he already felt more at home in it than he ever had in the home he'd been born in and spent most of his life.

"Are you going to build yourself some furniture now? Or just keep sleeping on the mattress pad on the floor?"

"Furniture." Chuckled the vampire. He gestured towards a pile of small logs "already got the wood sorted."

"Fancy taking a day off to go hunting for a boar?"

"Can't think of a better idea as it goes." The two men turned and headed for the treeline.