He didn't hear it at first, but when he pricked his wolf senses, he figured it out. "Music, sounds like," he said.
A look of excitement grew on Jennifer's face. "Could it be a festival of some kind?"
Mark tried to think of if there were any events at this time of year, but honestly it had been so long since he cared or bothered looking that he couldn't say for sure.
Midsummer seemed like a good time for all sorts of outdoor events, so he wouldn't be surprised.
It was Saturday, too, so that increased the odds.
"Want to check it out?" he said.
"None of the other options I came up with right away piqued my interest, so yeah, why not?"
He smiled. "Then we'll follow the music."
Even with his wolf senses, that was harder than expected.
It seemed like the music was coming from several different places, though it ultimately got louder as he drove closer.
When they came to Marhan's largest park, there were people everywhere.
Various tents dotted the edges of the park, and on the other side, there was a large stage where live music was currently being played.
"'Marhan Annual BeerFest', oh that's cool," Jennifer said. "Let's go take a look!"
When Mark found a place to park, he and Jennifer hopped out of his SUV and, hand in hand, wandered toward the growing crowd.
Electronic music blared through speakers everywhere, but the longer Mark was with Jennifer, the less the noise bothered him.
Seeing the look of pure joy on her face made venturing out from his isolation worth it.
"This is a lively city if this is what the place looks like at 11 a.m.," Jennifer said.
"We probably won't want to be out here when the real crowd kicks in," Mark said. "But it'll be fun to look around."
She grinned. "Good thing I'm not one for day drinking." She pointed off to the side. "Hey, look at that."
Mark followed her gaze to a tent where several men were lining up next to a sign labeled 'beer chugging contest.' His wolf seemed entertained by the idea, and without thinking, he said, "I bet I could out drink all of them."
Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Well why don't you give it a shot?"
Again his wolf grew excited, urging him to jump at the opportunity to impress Jennifer.
Well, more like show her that he was capable of having fun.
He wasn't particularly a drinker, though he did enjoy one or two here and there.
What made him especially good for a drinking contest, though, was the metabolism that shifters had to account for their quick healing abilities.
It also worked on alcohol, so it was hard for him to get tipsy, let alone drunk.
The contest was just to show how fast the contestants could chug a whole two-pint glass, though, not to see who could drink the most. The winner gained a gold medal shaped like a beer mug—it seemed pretty harmless and fun.
"You sure?" Mark said.
"I'm not the only one here to have fun," she said. "Watching you will be quite entertaining, I'm sure. Just so long as it won't leave you drunk for our wedding."
He laughed. "I'll barely notice two pints."
"Last call for contestants entering the drinking contest!" the woman organizing the event called from the tent.
Jennifer pushed him. "Then go on! Impress me."
He hugged her close, said, "Just you watch," and then slipped under the tent to sign up.
Two minutes later, he was registered and sitting at the table besides six other men, ranging from skinny, to a bit ragged, to muscular, like him. To his advantage, they all appeared to be human ... so this was going to be a piece of cake.
"The rules are simple," the woman organizing the event said as she placed a large but empty two-pint mug in front of each of the contestants.
"Hands on your lap until I say 'drink'. First to chug the whole glass and put it back flat down on the table is the winner.
Any excessive spillage will be counted against you, so be careful. "
Another assistant took a large pitcher of beer and carefully filled each glass right to the brim. The hoppy smell filled Mark's senses as his glass was filled up.
As instructed, he planted his hands firmly on his lap, waiting as the last glass on the table was filled.
"Are you ready?" the woman said, and the contestants and onlookers cheered.
Behind her, Mark caught Jennifer's eye, and he winked at her. For her, he was going to win.
"One ... two ... three ... drink!"
Mark's hands flew up to his glass. He gripped the drink and had it at his mouth before all of the others, tipping the rich, woody beer into his mouth. The guy next to him moved too fast and tipped part of the drink into his lap, and everyone laughed and cheered as he went on drinking anyway.
Meanwhile, Mark chugged, and chugged, and chugged . That bad boy filled his belly in two seconds flat, and he slammed the mug back onto the table while the others were still only halfway into their drinks.
The woman refereeing the contest looked at him with wide eyes. "We've got a winner!" she announced, grabbing his arm and waving it up in the air. "That has to be the fastest I've seen anyone down two pints since I started working here."
The crowd cheered, but it was Jennifer's excited cries that made the moment for Mark. She looked even more thrilled than he did, which was saying something, since he was bursting with energy, too.
Once the others finished their drinks, the woman looped the medal around Mark's neck and declared him the winner.
"Next contest is this evening, come back later, folks!" she said and waved amongst the cheers and excitement.
A moment later, Mark found Jennifer amongst the audience, wrapping her arms around him. "You were right, that was fun," he said. "Hope you found it entertaining, too."
"That was amazing. You can really drink, huh?" she said.
"Just got a big mouth. See?"
He planted his mouth on hers, and she laughed. "Mm, tastes like beer. Not bad stuff, too. Must be a local brewery."
Mark felt bubbly and alive for the first time in years. Not because of the alcohol, but from being with Jennifer. She was amazing, and every second by her side slowly brought him out of the cocoon he'd built around himself after being alone in the woods for so long.
And soon, she would be his wife.
They spent another hour playing around at the beer festival, mostly just watching other people play drinking games since Jennifer didn't want to drink anything herself.
After Mark's victory in the drinking contest, he wasn't too keen on drinking anything else, either.
But it was fun to watch, even more so because Jennifer seemed to be enjoying herself, and that was what mattered the most.
After they saw everything there was to see, they found a secluded area away from the growing festival crowd and danced to the music in the distance.
Jennifer leaned against Mark and they swayed to the loud tune, an electrical buzz that wasn't exactly meant for the kind of dance they performed, but this was how they wanted to hold each other.
Holding each other close, breathing each other in.
"I think it's time to go get the paperwork done," Mark murmured into Jennifer's hair.
"Mm, paperwork, how romantic," she laughed.
An idea sparked in Mark's head. Maybe it was the remnants of the alcohol, or maybe it was just wanting to hear her laugh one more time before they left ... but he lowered himself onto one knee, not caring if people were watching.
Jennifer looked at him with cautious amusement.
"Jennifer, I've never met a woman as amazing as you," he said, reaching around his neck to take the cord of his newly won medal. "I have no ring for you, and should you choose to scold me for such an oversight, that is well within your right. However ..."
He held up the medal to her, and she broke into laughter.
" However ," he continued, his grin matching hers, "I hope you will accept this honorably won medal on your behalf as a token of my affections. Will you marry me?"
Her smile softened, and she extended her hand to him. "Of course, Mark. This last day has meant more to me than I can put into words ... so yes. Just yes ."
He wrapped the medal around her wrist, and once it was secured in place, Jennifer knelt in the grass with him. He took her into his arms, vowing to himself never to let this woman go. She was the best thing to happen to him, and he wasn't going to waste a single second he had with her.
Within the hour, they would be officially married. And once they were, it would be his responsibility to make sure that she was cared for. In his eyes, that meant looking after her mother, too, whom she loved so dearly.
So even though Jennifer hadn't agreed to take him up on his offer of paying for her mom's treatment, he was going to make sure it happened.
A few minutes later, Jennifer rested her head on his chest. "I guess we should get going, huh?"
He kissed her right on the mouth, triggering a swarm of bubbles in the simmering heat of his desire for her. "It's time to make you my wife."