He took a deep breath, the cold air filling his lungs as he sat on his porch in his bear form. The wood creaked under him, but he knew it would hold. He built the place himself and knew the place would have to be strong enough to hold the weight of a couple shifted bears.

Looking out at the land before him, he loved being secluded. The vast green land that surrounded his home, was becoming littered with leaves and he knew he would soon be cleaning it up. The green grass spread everywhere around his house and the grass glistening, from the light rain they had last night, as the sun shined.

Surrounding the grass was tall trees all around, since he lived in the forest. The birds were chirping away, singing their song as they usually did. He found this small clearing and claimed it as his own and he has loved it ever since.

But lately he had been growing lonely, which to him was odd. He loved the peace and quiet the mountains provided.

His clan lived a few miles away, but they were still close if needed. He liked being on his own, his home private from the others. He always felt calm when he was by himself. But now he didn't want to be alone.

Walking off the porch on all four paws, he heads towards the stream to catch dinner. Walking through the trees, he felt the same sense of calm washing over him as he always does when he walks in his bear form. His muscles stretching out as he lets his bear took over.

The green grass felt amazing under his paws, sometimes tickling in between them. The way the sun shined through the opening of the trees made the forest look magical. Small flowers we randomly around, and twigs and branches were on the ground, and they made a crunch noise whenever his paws landed on them. He wasn't trying to be quiet today, so he didn't care for the noise he made.

The leaves were now changing colors. Some were still green, but many were turning orange that would soon be also be red. He loved the change from summer to fall. The crisp clean fall air he breaths in, makes him and his bear feel more relaxed. The smell of the trees and grass was his home scent. He could never tire of mother nature smells.

His bear also loved it. The way the cool wind would brush through his coarse fur, making a small shiver run through him as his fur moved with the breeze.

He knew he wouldn't be able to stay out too late, he did have work to do in the morning and he needed a good night's sleep.

Along with being a bear shifter, he also built log cabins for his pack. Majority of them lived in their own homes, especially when they found their mate as they would want to start a family. And males didn't want their mate around other males at the beginning. They wanted their attention on them and theirs on their mate only.

But to the humans he was known as Sheriff Axel. The town that was an hour or so drive away, knew nothing of the shifters that lived around them. No humans knew of shifters unless they were mates.

Mate.

His bear let's out a huff, the air blowing out his nostrils. He hasn't met his mate yet. He wasn't overly crazy to find her at first when he turned the age of 18, but he did want her. But he was now getting older, he was 26 for fuck sakes and he has yet to have met his mate.

That is why he thought he was feeling lonely. Seeing members of his clan have their mates to cherish and love, he was wanting his. Even watching humans being in love made him a bit sad and envious.

He wanted someone to love, cherish and respect. He knew when he found her, he would never let her go. He wanted to show how good of a mate he could be. He wanted to love and be loved. Yet nothing has happened.

Reaching the stream, he looks down in the water, seeing his bear form. His eyes an amber color that had a good to it from the sunlight. Coarse brown fur covered his huge frame, but he had one spot on his right ear that was white. You could see a bit of sadness and longing in his bears eyes. He too wanted his mate. And it was taking a toll more on his bear.

Seeing a fish in the stream, the water crystal clear blue, you could see all the rocks at the bottom of it, his paw splashes in the water as his claws dig in the side of the fish he has caught. His paw wet, he shakes it out for a moment after dropping the fish on the ground as it flips around.

Dinner for one again, he thought, with a small sigh, a huff coming from his bears nostrils.

His head snapped to the right as he heard the snap of branches and twigs. It wasn't close though, maybe a mile or so out. Shaking his head, he figured it would be another kind of animal, hunting or being hunted as it was common. His bear didn't detect anything dangerous, so he had nothing to really worry about.

Turning back around, he heads back to his cabin to cook his dinner, alone, no mate in tow. Him and his bear sad with the thought it will be another night alone without their mate.

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