Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/4051906. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Supernatural Relationship: Gabriel/Sam_Winchester, Sam_Winchester/Other(s), Castiel/Dean_Winchester, Dean_Winchester/Other(s) Character: Sam_Winchester, Dean_Winchester, John_Winchester, Gabriel_(Supernatural), Castiel_(Supernatural), Bobby_Singer Additional Tags: Omega_Sam, Alpha_Gabriel, Beta_Dean, Beta_Castiel, Rape, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Assault, Angst_with_a_Happy_Ending, Self-Hatred, Mates, Sam- Centric, Eventual_Castiel/Dean_Winchester Series: Part 2 of Reunited_Series Stats: Published: 2015-06-01 Completed: 2015-08-15 Chapters: 18/18 Words: 40951 ****** Prequel to Reunited ****** by darkroses Summary This story is the Prequel to my other work Reunited. You don't have to read that story to follow this one. Story summary: John promised to kill Sam if he presented as an alpha or an omega. Dean always agreed with his dad on that or at least that was what Dean told Sam. When Sam presents he runs away from home to save his life. ***** Chapter 1 ***** Sam was laying on the cheap motel bed wondering about his life. Changing schools all the time was not helping his chances of getting into college. He wanted to stop moving and finish high school. He wanted to have that apple pie life everyone talks about. Sam didn’t know how he would ever get there though. He still hadn’t presented. Sam hoped he would be a beta. That was what his dad wanted. All day every day, he heard about how horrible alphas were. Alphas were aggressive, power hungry pigs, they were driven by their sex drive and did not care about consent. Sam did not want to be an alpha. Omegas were weak, submissive, and oftentimes the victims of an alpha’s aggression. On top of that, families tended to sell their omega children for breeding and mated omegas had no rights. Unmated omegas had rights, but a mated omega was the property of their alpha. Sam didn’t want to be an omega. He hadn’t been feeling good that day and he was grateful his dad and Dean were at the bar. He didn’t want to deal with his dad’s yelling or Dean’s defensiveness of their father. Sam was fighting sleep when he felt something wet between his legs. He sat up and realized he felt feverish. Sam thought he was going to be sick. He rushed into the bathroom and emptied the contents of his stomach in the toilet. Then he leaned back against the wall and cursed himself. He was an omega, a rare male omega. Sam knew that when his dad got home one of two things would happen. His dad and Dean would murder him like his dad always promised to do if he wasn’t a beta or his dad would sell him. Sam knew that a male omega could sell for a small fortune. He didn’t want to get sold to some stranger who did nothing but rape him every day and didn’t view him as a person. He knew the best option would be to run. All he had to do was get to a police station, fire station, or hospital. He knew if he could find one of those places, he would be okay. They would enter him into the Omega Protection Program and keep him safe during his heats. The only problem was he was already in heat. Sam made his way out to main room of their motel room. He pulled the phonebook out of the drawer and started looking for addresses of places he could go. The closest place he found was a hospital but it was two miles away. Sam sucked in a deep breath and decided if he was going to this, if he was going to survive, he had to get going. He quickly threw his stuff into his duffel bag and left without a note. Sam kept to the back alleys on his route to the hospital. He didn’t want to be seen or smelled. Sam only made it a quarter mile when some alphas smelled him. Sam tried to run away from them but they cornered him in the alley. He looked around saw that he was surrounded by three unmated alphas. They were scary and looked every bit as aggressive as his father rambled about for hours on end. Sam dropped his bag to prepare for the fight. When the first one stepped forward, Sam was able to get one punch in before the alpha grabbed his arm by the wrist and pinned it behind him. Sam let out a scream because he wasn’t above getting help. After all, he was running away from his family to get help. The scream didn’t save him though. Another alpha grabbed onto him and helped to hold him still while the third undid his pants. Sam tried to kick and struggle but it was no use. He knew he smelled like distress and fear. He smelled like weakness which was the very thing his father rambled about for hours on end. The alpha was able to get his pants down to his ankles. Then they pushed Sam to the ground. One of the alphas kept a hand covering Sam’s face as he forced Sam’s face harder and harder onto the gravel of the alley. The rocks cut Sam’s knees. Sam tried to use his arms to struggle but he felt a pop at his right shoulder and he couldn’t move his arm anymore. The pain was too much and Sam started to cry. He cradled his right arm under him with his left arm and stopped struggling. Sam still begged for them to stop and not do this, but they didn’t listen. He screamed out a broken cry when he felt one of the alphas enter him. The alpha was huge and Sam felt like he was being ripped into pieces. Sam felt the alpha’s knot start to catch inside of him. He was sobbing. He was beyond trying to be tough. It was then that he smelled something. It was the smell of a protective and angry alpha. Sam felt the alpha inside of him get pulled off of him before the knot locked inside of him. He felt the other alpha release his hold on his face and Sam whimpered. His attackers moved away to fight whoever this new alpha was. Sam crumpled on the ground as he cradled his arm. He cried and whimpered. He felt utterly pathetic but he knew without a doubt that he was everything his father said an omega was. ++ Gabriel fought off the knot head alphas easily enough. Once the alley was clear his sight fell to the injured and frightened omega. He didn’t realize it when he smelled the omega, but the omega was male and judging by the duffel bag nearby the kid was running away from his family. He walked over to the omega and noticed blood mixed in with the slick on the ground. The alphas that were attacking the boy didn’t even care if the tore him. The boy’s face was scratched up and his eyes were closed. Gabriel noticed the kid was protective of his right arm too. Gabriel closed the distance between himself and the boy. He gently pulled up the boy’s pants and he felt saddened by the way the boy stiffened his body when Gabriel touched him to put his pants back in place. Gabriel debated about taking the boy to the hospital. He did work there, after all, but Gabriel knew their care for omegas like this tended to be second rate. He decided to take the omega home and get him cleaned up. He would figure out what to do from there. Gabriel stepped back and opened his jacket pocket. He popped a suppressant into his mouth and swallowed it dry. Gabriel was unmated so it was necessary for him to take those with his job and right now it was necessary too. He didn’t want to pop a knot in front of an omega that was getting raped less than ten minutes ago. Gabriel picked up the omega’s bag and swung it over his shoulder. Then he picked up the injured omega and started walking back toward his car. He doubted he was the only one that was able to smell the fear radiating off of the omega. The omega didn’t seem as frightened now and Gabriel was a little surprised when the omega’s head shifted to his shoulder. He knew the omega was taking in his scent to calm himself. This close he could smell the omega better. Underneath the fear and distress, Gabriel could smell the omega and he smelled perfect. He smelled like a mix of fresh baked cake and the ocean. They were Gabriel’s two favorite things. He knew this meant the boy was a compatible mate for him. As Gabriel laid the boy down on his backseat he made a promise to himself to look after the omega, even if the omega didn’t want him as a mate. ++ Gabriel got the omega back to his one bedroom apartment. It wasn’t much but he had a mountain of student loan debt that he was trying to pay off. He was also single so he liked his bachelor’s pad. Gabriel knew he would have to get his act together if he wanted to take this omega as a mate. He frowned when he realized, the omega was just a kid and probably wanted to finish high school like other kids his age and not give up everything he ever dreamed of. He made a decision in that moment. He was going to do everything he could to make sure this omega never felt like a second class citizen. The omega, himself, had passed out on the ride to the apartment. Gabriel was secretly grateful for that. It would allow him time to get the omega cleaned up. Gabriel laid the omega on his bed and started checking for injuries. The boy’s shoulder was dislocated. He carefully popped the shoulder back into place. The omega didn’t wake up fully, but he did whimper. Gabriel opened up his medical bag and sat it down next to the bed. He used his scissors cut off the omega’s shirt because he didn’t want to jar the shoulder. After the shirt was removed, he took note of the cuts and bruises scattering the omega’s face, arms and chest. He carefully cleaned each of the wounds. He put some compression tape around the omega’s shoulder and made a mental note to get him a brace later. Next, he carefully pulled off the omega’s shoes and socks. Then he gentle removed the omega’s pants and boxers. There was finger shaped bruising on the omega’s hips. Gabriel frowned at that. He made quick work of the cleaning the cuts on the omega’s lower legs and knees. Then he rolled the omega on his left side. Gabriel cleaned away the slick and blood carefully. He looked at the omega’s hole and thankfully there was only minor tearing. Gabriel got up and went the omega’s bag to look for underwear and a t-shirt. He was a little disappointed when he realized the clothes were mostly dirty. He left the bag on the floor and went to his dresser. He dug around until he found one of his few pairs of underwear as he preferred boxers and one of his old t- shirts. Gabriel slipped the underwear on the omega with a pad inside so the omega wouldn’t have to rest in his own slick. He cut down the arm along the side of the shirt so he could easily maneuver the omega’s right arm without hurting the boy. Gabriel then covered the omega with a blanket. He picked up the omega’s duffel bag on his way out of his room, so he could begin the omega’s laundry. He also had a few calls to make. Gabriel wanted to ensure that when the omega left here, he was in good hands. ++ Sam woke up slowly. The first thing he noticed was that he hurt. It took Sam a minute to remember what happened. Then he remembered being attacked and everything that happened. He opened his eyes to look around and he didn’t know where he was. He panicked for a moment while he tried to think if he was with one of the alphas that attacked him. Sam didn’t think he was. This place smelled nice. It smelled like a good alpha to him but Sam was pretty sure that was just his heat talking. Sam looked down at his body and realized he wasn’t wearing his clothes and someone patched him up. He knew it was probably the mystery alpha. Sam sat up by bracing himself with his left arm. Once he was sitting. He felt the tape on his right shoulder. He got out of bed slowly and wished he had some pants to put on. Then he reminded himself that it didn’t really matter if he had pants or not. This alpha dressed him the way he wanted and Sam knew that until he found a way out he would have no say in anything. Sam opened the bedroom door and stepped out into a living room and kitchen area. There was a medium sized white and brown dog rolling around on his back on the carpet. Sam smiled at the dog and then he looked around and saw an alpha sitting on the sofa folding Sam’s clothes. The alpha looked up and smiled. His voice was kind and Sam couldn’t hear any aggression in it. “Hi, I.. ah.. I hope you don’t mind. I cleaned you up, but I didn’t do anything to you. I noticed that your clothes were dirty so I washed them for you.” Sam fidgeted with the hem of the shirt he was wearing and he asked nervously, “Is it okay if I put some pants on?” The alpha looked concerned and then he said firmly, “I don’t own you, omega. Your pants are in pile over there.” The alpha pointed toward the stack of neatly folded pants. Sam walked over and grabbed his pajama pants. He slipped them on carefully. Then he heard the alpha say, “My name is Gabriel, by the way, Gabriel Novak. I am a doctor at the hospital. I smelled your scent last night. I am afraid, I got there a little late. I wanted to make sure you were taken care of so I took you home. Sometimes, the hospital treats omegas poorly.” Sam ran a hand over his right shoulder it was starting to throb and on top of that he was horny and this alpha smelled good. He hated being an omega. Sam stammered out, “I was headed for the hospital… I.. My dad said he would kill me if I presented as an omega or an alpha.” Gabriel nodded and said calmly, “I figured you were running away because of how you presented. I made some calls to get you a new identity under the Omega Protection Program and once you feel up to it, I can have your foster parent come over or I can drop you off.” Gabriel paused and asked, “What is your name?” Sam sat down gingerly on the other side of the sofa. He wondered why this alpha wasn’t all over him. That was what he thought alphas did; they took without asking. Sam decided that it would be best avoid eye contact with this alpha. He didn’t want to anger the man. He said his name quietly because pain from his injuries was flaring inside of him. “Sam.. Samuel Winchester.” Gabriel smiled and said, “It is nice to officially meet you, Sam.”  ***** Chapter 2 ***** Dean arrived back at the motel with their dad after the bars closed. They were both mostly sober by this point. They had to be to hustle pool. They made a decent hall tonight. They walked away with just over six hundred dollars. It would keep everyone fed and happy for less than a week. The first thing they noticed when they got back to the motel was the windows to room were open. There was two things missing from the room, Sam and Sam’s stuff. Dean guessed that Sam presented and opened the windows to get rid of scent. He wondered briefly if Sam was an alpha. He hoped so because that meant Sam would be safe. Dean’s thoughts were interrupted by his father who was shoving a gun into his hand. It was loaded and Dean stared it for a moment. He asked his father with uncertainty, “What is this for? Shouldn’t we go look for Sammy? He could be hurt.” John shook his head no as he checked the clip in his own gun. He stared at Dean and firmly said, “No. Sam presented tonight. I don’t know if he is an alpha or an omega either way we have to end him. It’s the merciful thing to do. If Sam is an omega he will spend his whole life being treated like an object. He’ll get raped and beaten or worse by whoever claims him. If Sam is an alpha then he will be evil. He’ll hurt people. He could rape someone. I cannot let my son turn into a monster. This is the right thing to do, Dean. This is the kind thing to do.” Dean nodded but argued, “But sir, there are suppressants for unmated alphas to keep them calm around unmated omegas. We could get those for Sam and we could teach him how to control himself. He won’t be evil.” Dean paused and begged, “If Sam is an omega he needs our protection. We can protect him from the alphas and keep him safe. They have scent blockers and some omegas get fixed so they smell like betas. If we got him fixed he would just be like any other beta. We don’t have to kill him.” John wasted no time in backhanding Dean across the face. The hit left Dean more than a little stunned. It hurt but what hurt more was the knowledge that his dad wanted him to put a silver bullet through his little brother’s heart. John snapped at Dean, “Don’t talk back to me and do not question me. Understood?” Dean looked at the ground and muttered, “Yes sir,” while trying to think of how he could find Sam first and save him. Losing their dad would hard but Dean knew all the tricks. He could do it. All he had to do was find Sam first. The problem was Sam also knew how to disappear. John sounded pleased, “Good, we should split up and look for him. He couldn’t have gotten far on foot. His scent will be similar to ours so if you find something similar follow it. Because I think you might try something stupid, if you find him bring him back here. I want to watch you show your brother mercy by killing him.” ++ Dean wandered the streets looking for his brother. He found himself in a dark alley about half a mile from their motel room. The scent of fear still lingered in this alley but underneath that fear was a scent that reminded Dean of himself. He thought it might be Sam’s scent but the scent was to light to know if Sam was an alpha or an omega. Worst of all, the scent trail ended at the road. Someone had picked Sam up. Whatever happened to Sam made Sam afraid. Alphas do not scare easily. This meant Sam was an omega, but male omegas were rare. Dean decided to work on the assumption that Sam was an omega and let his dad work on the assumption that Sam was an alpha. Granted he didn’t discuss this with his dad. Dean wanted to find his brother alive and he didn’t want to shoot his brother. After he left the alley, he checked the hospital. He dressed as an orderly to gain access to the omega ward. Sam wasn’t there. No one saw Sam at the police station, the fire station, the gas station. Sam didn’t return to school but his textbooks were mysteriously returned. Two days later John and Dean had nothing. There was no trace of Sam anywhere. John decided to start traveling and getting back to work. There were still monsters to hunt and Dean knew Sam was one of the monsters on his father’s list. Dean knew he had stay near his dad in case the time ever came they found Sam so he could save his little brother. ++ Sam’s heat lasted two days. He knew a normal heat lasted five to seven days but Gabriel gave him a shot every eight hours to help shorten it and to make him more comfortable. Sam wasn’t sure why he trusted this alpha so much but he felt safe with Gabriel. He knew Gabriel could be shooting him up with anything but he trusted Gabriel even though he barely knew the man. During his heat, Gabriel never made a move on him. Sam could smell arousal on Gabriel sometimes but he never acted on it. Gabriel wasn’t aggressive or a rapist like his dad said all alphas were. Gabriel was kind and took care of him. Sam was kind of ashamed to admit that he did spend a fair amount of his heat alone in Gabriel’s bed jacking off. He wanted a knot but Gabriel told him that he was torn and shouldn’t put anything up there. Sam didn’t know why but he listened to Gabriel since he never listened to anyone. He was sad about leaving Gabriel but he understood that Gabriel was just helping him find his way. They drove for two hours and Sam wasn’t sure where they were going. The one stop they had a gas station was scary. An unmated alpha tried to grab Sam but Gabriel pushed him away. Gabriel kept him safe. Sam wasn’t sure what to make of Gabriel driving him to a salvage yard. There was a grizzly looking man standing on the front porch who waved at them. Sam got out of the car as Gabriel grabbed his bag. Sam was scared. Sam didn’t know if this man would hurt him or not. He looked big too. He hoped he wasn’t being taken to another alpha’s house. He nervously walked behind Gabriel up to the man. When he got closer Sam was able to smell that the man was a beta. The man grumbled, “Gabriel, why didn’t you give him any scent blockers? It’s dangerous for an omega.” Gabriel did give him scent blockers but they gave him a headache and a rash so he washed them off. Gabriel gave him some cream to put on his skin to help with the rash and apologized. Sam spoke up quietly, “I.. I am sorry, sir. I.. ah..” Gabriel cut him off in a gentle voice that didn’t speak of alpha control. “I did, Bobby. Sam had a minor allergic reaction to it. All scent blockers have the same compound and that is what I think Sam is allergic to. I scheduled an allergy test for him to be sure. The time of the appointment is in his packet.” Bobby scuffed and said to Sam, “Sorry kid, I know the past few days haven’t been great for ya. My name is Bobby. I am your foster dad, but as far as I am concerned you’re family. I have a room upstairs for you. I got the home school books on your desk. You will be home schooled for the next six months but you will still have activities with other omegas your age. After six months, you can go to public school if you want. The powers that be want to keep you out of the public system for a few months because your family might be looking for you.” They stepped inside the house and Sam thought it was a little dusty but homey. He liked it. Bobby showed him up to his room. It only had a twin size bed and a small desk but it would work. Outside of Sam’s window he had a view of a salvage yard. It wasn’t pretty but Sam knew this would be his home for a while. He was thinking about Bobby’s reaction to his scent. Sam was wondering if Bobby would let him leave this place. Sam heard a knock on the door and he turned to look as the door opened. Bobby stepped inside the room and fiddled with the ball cap on his head. The older man sat down in the chair by Sam’s desk and asked kindly, “How are you doing and don’t tell me fine? You look like Hell.” Sam picked on the knee of his jeans with his good arm for a moment. Then he muttered, “I am okay, sir. I am just a little sore.. from everything. Will my dad be able to find me here? I.. I don’t want him to find me.” Sam knew he sounded pathetic but he wasn’t sure if it was safe with Bobby yet. Bobby gave him a sad smile and said firmly, “You’re safe, Sam and stop with all the sir crap. Call me Bobby. Your dad won’t find you here. As far as anyone is concerned you are Samuel Wesson. Just so you know, your daddy never reported you missing.” Sam nodded but that really didn’t give him peace of mind. He knew his dad was going to kill him if he found him. On top of that Sam didn’t know what to do with the alphas that kept wanting to put their hands on him. Bobby said carefully, “Did Gabriel.. touch you or anything during your heat or afterwards?” Sam shook his head no and said sadly, “No, he patched me up but he never made a move on me. He’s been kind to me unlike every other alpha I’ve encountered.” Bobby breathed what sounded like a sigh of relief. Then he said calmly, “Okay, I just wanted to be sure. If you want to talk about what happened. I am always here to listen. Gabriel will be going soon and he offered to scent mark you. It should help keep the alphas away until we can get blockers figured out for you. It will only last for a month or two and then he will have to do it again assuming you don’t take hour long showers every day.  If you take long showers or scrub your skin raw, it will fade faster. It’s up to you on if you want to do that.” Sam thought for a moment then he shook his head no. He didn’t want to get more attached to this alpha that was walking out of his life. He knew he wasn’t leaving this house for six months anyways except to be around other omegas so Sam felt okay with that choice.  ***** Chapter 3 ***** Life with Bobby was different but a good different Sam thought. Bobby did treat him like he was made of glass for the first couple weeks and Sam learned to stay away from the salvage yard customers. If the customer was an unmated alpha they were not nice to him. Sam wondered why Gabriel treated him so well. Sam had his allergy test about a week after he got to Bobby’s house. Not surprisingly because life always had a way of screwing him over he was allergic to every type of scent blocker. Everyone was going to know he was an unmated omega. After two months of avoiding human contact except for Bobby and suffering through a heat alone. Sam was surprised to hear a knock on Bobby’s door. He opened it against his better judgement. Sam smiled when he saw Gabriel standing on the porch. Sam didn’t really think before he pulled Gabriel in for a hug and said quietly, “I’ve missed you.” Gabriel chuckled and pulled back after returning the hug. He sounded happy, “I’ve missed you too, kiddo. I wanted to make sure Bobby was treating you alright. He can be a cranky old man.” Sam smiled because Gabriel was kinder to him than anyone had ever been. He let Gabriel into the house and said, “Bobby has been treating me fine. His customers are a different story.” Gabriel frowned and said empathetically, “I am sorry to hear that. You look better then you did the last time I saw you. Are you feeling better?” Sam ran his left arm up to his shoulder and shrugged. “I am doing okay, I guess. I am just trying to figure out how to function in society without all the alphas attacking me. Why don’t you act like that?” Gabriel laughed and said playfully, “We can spar. I can show you how to knock out your favorite alpha out.” Sam rolled his eyes and said flatly, “I know how to fight. Alphas are stronger than me and I can’t use scent blockers because my body hates me.” He didn’t mean to pout but life just wasn’t fair, at all. Sam sighed and asked, “Are you going to come visit me again? I mean, I was thinking.. I.. ah.. I think scent marking me is the only way for me to function in society.” Gabriel hummed for a moment. “I can mark you whenever you want, just call. Seriously, I want you to be safe. I would be humbled if you let me mark you with my scent.” Sam nodded in agreement and they made their way up to his room. He closed the door behind him and watched Gabriel scan the room. He wasn’t really sure what Gabriel was looking for and he wasn’t sure why he didn’t feel afraid to be alone with Gabriel. Gabriel didn’t look at him when he said, “You’ll have to take off your shirt for me to do this. I promise I won’t touch you more than absolutely necessary.” Sam took off his shirt and tossed it to the side. He felt a little exposed as he walked past Gabriel and sat down on his bed. Gabriel stayed where he was for a few moments before he joined him on the bed. Sam was surprised with how gentle Gabriel was with his movements. He gently touched Sam’s arm before he pulled them together. Sam wanted to moan when he felt Gabriel’s body pressed against his but he didn’t. He let Gabriel touch him and he bared his neck to Gabriel. He could felt Gabriel’s breath on his neck and he felt safe. Sam wasn’t sure why but he wanted Gabriel to bite down, to claim him. He knew that was the most irrational thought he had ever had. Letting Gabriel bite him would bind him to Gabriel for the rest of his life and take away all of his rights. His brain stopped for a moment when he realized his was getting an erection. Sam was fairly certain that Gabriel could smell his arousal. It was confirmed a couple moments later when Gabriel started laughing and said, “If only I could have the drive of a teenager again.” Sam was absolutely mortified of his body’s reaction. He pulled away from Gabriel and grabbed a pillow to put over his lap. He muttered, “Sorry,” and did not make eye contact with Gabriel. Gabriel fell back on the bed laughing hysterically. Sam stared at him, but not his face. He couldn’t look Gabriel in the face just yet. Sam couldn’t begin the fathom what was so funny. This was embarrassing. Gabriel took a few deep breaths to calm his laughter and said happily, “You make me feel alive, kid. I won’t tell anyone about your boner and it is perfectly natural. I’ll leave so you can to take care of that.” Then Gabriel got up off the bed and walked out of the room. It was shocking for Sam. This alpha once again did not make a move on him. Sam wondered if he just didn’t smell right to Gabriel or maybe he smelled like little brother or something. Sam didn’t know. It was a little disappointing that Gabriel clearly didn’t want him in that way. ++ Gabriel walked into Bobby’s study and sat down. The older man eyed him for a couple moments and then Bobby asked, “Did Sam let you scent mark him?” Gabriel nodded and started laughing again. He knew it was juvenile of him but this was pretty funny to him. He calmed himself and said, “Yes, he did. Hopefully, he can go out in public without being attacked. Sam seemed like he was a little cooped up.” Bobby nodded and poured himself a drink. He eyed Gabriel for a few moments and said sadly, “I think Sam is going to be spending a lot of time at home until he finds a mate. He can’t wear scent blockers and the state won’t pay for him to go to an omega only school. The poor kid isn’t going to have a lot of social contact with kids his age.” Gabriel tapped his knee for a few moments. He liked Sam a lot and against his more rational judgment he said. “I’ll pay for it just don’t tell Sam. I don’t want him to feel like he owes me anything.” Bobby took a drink and shook his head. He bluntly stated, “Sam is your true mate. Isn’t he?” Gabriel looked away and said sheepishly, “Yeah, I think so.” Bobby got up and walked around the desk and crossed his arms. He was brutally honest, “Then why don’t you walk up there and claim him? His life would be better assuming you don’t start beating him. “ Gabriel sighed and got up. He looked out the window for a few moments before resting his head on the glass. He sounded a little lost. “I can’t. I want him to want to be claimed and he doesn’t want that right now. He just wants to be a normal teenager. How am I supposed to walk into his life and take away everything he ever dreamed of? How am I supposed to sleep at night knowing I took away all of his rights? He wouldn’t even have the right to tell me no or leave me. I can’t.. I can’t do that to him.” Bobby nodded and stated, “Okay, I understand. I’ll just wait for you two idjits to get your head out of your asses.” ++ Sam felt better being marked by Gabriel. He slept better which he thought was odd. He did find that he smelled more like Gabriel if he shaved off all of his body hair. He actually read about doing that in a book. It was something omegas did before the age of scent blockers. Sam never went far by himself because he didn’t care to get attacked again, but now at least he could wander the salvage yard by himself. He thought that this place would be a place that Dean would like. Dean always loved tinkering with old cars and Sam never really had an interest in it. He missed his brother but he knew that any love Dean once had for him was gone. Sam knew that if he ever saw his brother or father again it would be to kill him. He wondered if they would let him say anything before they did it. Probably not, because John wouldn’t stall and risk him escaping. He hoped they did let him say something. Sam knew the way he lived right now, he was weak. He was everything his dad said an omega was. Sam knew he had to change that. He knew he had to learn how to stand up for himself. He had to learn how to be strong like an alpha and even tempered like a beta. Sam wasn’t sure how but he was going to do it.  ***** Chapter 4 ***** Sam dressed in his new school uniform. It was tan from head to toe. He wasn’t sure if he felt like an inmate or a delivery driver. Either way, Sam knew things could be worse. He knew he wouldn’t make it a day in public school without being able to mask his scent. Gabriel did scent mark him but he wasn’t claimed and any alpha could tell that. Adult alphas had enough reserve to respect Gabriel’s mark, but teenage alphas would probably care less. As it was, a sponsor was paying for him to go to a private school for omegas. Sam had no idea who this sponsor was. He guessed it was probably another omega because most alphas didn’t care if an omega was educated or not. Sam wanted to get an education and he didn’t want to be like an omega. Sam walked up to the school after Bobby dropped him off. He was still working on getting his driver’s license. There was only one beta that did testing and she broke her ankle. Sam had to wait for her to get back because there was no way he was getting in a car with some strange alpha to take a driving test. It could wait a couple months. It wasn’t the end of the world. He wandered his way into the office where he was given his schedule. Sam looked at it. Most of the classes looked like what he was used to seeing. He had math, science, English, history, home economics, and health. However, he also had a class on omegas role in society. It was a required class, he learned for all newly presented omegas. He also found out that there were subsequent courses offered along the same lines that were not required. The beta at the front desk recommended he take the course on pleasing an alpha. Sam didn’t say it, but he was pretty sure he would not be taking that class. Sam’s day was mostly uneventful. The other students were friendly but they all kept their heads down and talked in soft voices. Lunch was interesting. They served a supplement that Sam was certain would be more correctly identified as gruel. It was to prepare them for mated life or so he was told. Sam did notice that some students brought lunch from home. He made a mental note to ask Bobby if he could do that. Sam managed to take one bite of the supplement but he nearly gagged. He drank his milk for lunch and hoped Bobby would let him have a snack when he got home. His last class of the day was on omegas in society. The teacher was Mr. Crowley, an alpha. Of course, they had to employ alphas. Sam could smell that this alpha was mated but Mr. Crowley’s nostrils did flare when he entered the room. Sam knew the alpha could smell him and that made him uncomfortable. He was the only guy in most of his classes. It was a little bothersome but there weren’t many male omegas in the school in general. In this class, he was the only guy. Sam took a seat in the back of the room. He purposely wanted to be as far away from the alpha as possible. Mr. Crowley paced the room after class started and Sam wanted to bolt. It was irrational. Surely, nothing would happen. This was a private school and supposedly the best for omegas. Mr. Crowley started to speak with that tone of alpha authority that would make most omegas roll over and do whatever he wanted. It made Sam want to roll his eyes and tell him where to shove it. “Omegas, welcome. This course is to teach you about your role in society. As omegas, each of you are among the lowest class of humans.” Great, Sam thought. He was glad this alpha managed to clear up what society thought of all of them. Sam knew he had a lot of work to do to prove that omegas were equal to everyone else. Mr. Crowley continued with his declarations, “All of you will end up mated and therefore giving away your rights. I know, you may deny that now but it will happen. Omegas are weak and omegas need an alpha to protect them. In the past omegas were prized within their packs and given to the highest bidding alpha. What sort of life do you think you would have if you were purchased by a wealthy alpha?” Sam started drawing on his paper. He was going to zone out as much of this class as he could. He had a few thoughts on what Mr. Crowley had to say but he was keeping his mouth shut. Mr. Crowley’s voice tore through his doodling and thoughts, “Mr. Wesson please share your thoughts on the matter?” Sam sat down his pencil and glared at Mr. Crowley. He bluntly said, “I think being purchased by a wealthy alpha isn’t an act someone does to something they prize. It is more accurately defined as slavery. I don’t think that wealth would mean an omega would be treated well, just like poverty does not mean the omega would be treated poorly. A mating bond formed out of a purchase would be one without love. I don’t know if I am going to mate or not. It’s not on the top of my priority list but if and when I do, I would want it to be with an alpha that loves and respects me. Not an alpha that expects me to kneel at this feet and call him Alpha all day.” Mr. Crowley raised an eyebrow and stated smugly, “You must have very progressive parents.” Sam shrugged because progressive was not exactly the word he would have picked. Dead would have been what he picked for his mother. Insane would have been what he picked for his father. He picked up his pencil to start doodling again and muttered, “Something like that.” He didn’t want to blurt out to the class that he was in foster care. ++ By the time Sam arrived home he was starving. He walked in the house and saw Bobby at his desk. He dropped his book bag and asked hesitantly, “Hey Bobby, is it okay if I have a snack? I am hungry.” Bobby raised an eyebrow from where he was working on his paperwork. He gruffly stated, “You don’t have to ask me for food, boy. You know where the kitchen is just don’t spoil your dinner.” Sam went to the kitchen and started eating carrots. It was helping with his hunger but it wasn’t enough. He made himself a sandwich and sat down at the table. It was blissful and part of Sam knew he was overreacting to skipping lunch. He had grown used to being taken care of over the past few months. His days of being hungry and alone in a shady motel were becoming distant memories for Sam.  Bobby walked into the kitchen to see Sam basically eating a full meal. He decided to tread carefully since Sam never acted like this. Bobby sat down and asked carefully, “Was the school lunch bad?” He knew school food was horrible so it was possible they just served something Sam didn’t like. Although, he never remembered the boy being picky in what he ate. Sam shrugged and continued to eat his sandwich then he stated once he finished chewing, “They serve gruel every day. It is some sort of omega supplement and is supposed to prepare us for life with an alpha. It was awful.” Bobby nodded and tried to ease the situation, “I can see if they can serve you a different lunch. Your donor is paying good money for you to go there and for your lunches.” Sam frowned and looked at his sandwich. There was a hesitation his in voice, “Can’t I just bring my lunch? I didn’t see them serve anything besides the gruel and I had one teacher inform me how omegas are the scum of the Earth. I really don’t want to make waves. I know they use spanking as punishment and I.. I really don’t want to get hit.” Bobby took a deep breath and tried to ease Sam’s mind. “You can pack your lunch. In fact we can go buy you a lunch box if you want or you can use paper bags. Whatever, you’re more comfortable with. Also I will go to the school and advise they are not allowed to hit you. I’ll ask that they call me and I can handle it.” Sam gave a shy smile and whispered out, “Thank you.” ++ Gabriel wasn’t expecting to see Sam so soon, but to get Sam into an omega only school and an alpha had to agree to it. It was usually the omega’s alpha parents but in this case it was him. Gabriel had no idea they were sexist and treating Sam like garbage. It made him angry but he was at the school while Sam was in class to set some things straight. He met with the principle, Mrs. Harvelle. She was a mated omega which honestly surprised Gabriel. He sat down across from her and stated without trying to sound like an alpha, “I have some concerns about a student I am sponsoring, Samuel Wesson.” Mrs. Harvelle nodded and asked swiftly, “And what concerns would those be?” Gabriel sighed and said, “First off, I don’t want anyone spanking him. He’s sixteen, not six. If he has any behavioral problems, I am sure his guardian can take care of them at home.” Mrs. Harvelle smiled and said calmly, “That is not a problem. He will just have to wear a bracelet indicating that he is not allowed to be struck. We use that as a standard form of punishment for omegas. It isn’t safe to give them detention as disrupting their daytime schedule could put them in danger and expose them to unsafe alphas. As omegas, they should learn to expect physical punishment. It is what all alphas do.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow and he did turn on the alpha authority in his voice, “I’ve never hit an omega, nor do I ever intend to. They are human, Mrs. Harvelle. Humans have disagreements and humans make mistakes. No one regardless of their gender should be hit for a disagreement or a mistake.” Mrs. Harvelle grinned and stated, “Fair enough, do you have any other concerns?” Gabriel nodded and said bluntly, “He is getting fed gruel at lunch? Really? I am a doctor. I know there are no omega supplements as they call them that gives a growing omega everything he or she needs. I want to make sure Sam won’t encounter any problems with bringing his lunch. It is important to me and his guardian that he has a balanced diet. He is clearly not able to get that with the lunches you provide.” Mrs. Harvelle sighed, “I understand your concern. We have had many complaints from parents about the supplement. It was voted on by the all alpha school board. I’ve been trying to get it over turned. Sam is welcome to bring his lunch.” Gabriel was going through everything and then he asked bluntly, “Sam also said something about a teacher promoting the sale of omegas. Do you know what the deal is with that?” Mrs. Harvelle frowned and crossed her arms on her desk. Her voice was deadly calm. “Mr. Novak, we have prepare these omegas for a life of hardship. All of them will eventually end up mated either by their choice or by force. We found it best for their long term happiness if they just accept their lot in life. Sam will be claimed by an alpha one day. If it is not you, he will probably be beaten and forced into submission. He is very strong willed and any other alpha would work to break him of that. We are only trying to prepare them for a world that will treat them poorly.” Gabriel glared at her and he growled out his intent without intending to, “No one is going to claim Sam besides me.” Mrs. Harvelle grinned, “I thought so. I’ve seen your kind before. They are the ones that end up treating an omega the best. I do hope things work out with you and Mr. Wesson.” Gabriel didn’t really know what to think about how finding Sam the way he did made him one of the good guys. He thought he was lucky to have found Sam. God, that kid smelled amazing. He decided that since he was in town, he would make time to see Sam after he got out of school. Maybe they could go bowling or watch a movie at the theater. He guessed that would be sort of like a date minus the hugging and kissing, but that was okay. He would wait for Sam.  ***** Chapter 5 ***** John kicked the side of the Impala as an ill Dean laid in the backseat. Dean had food poisoning which wasn’t the worst of his worries. He needed a part to fix the Impala. It wasn’t starting properly. He drove around Sioux Falls until he found a cheap motel room that would do for a couple days. John checked them in and helped Dean into the room. Dean’s first stop was the bathroom where he was retching over the toilet. John stood in the doorway and shook his head. Sam was never weak like this. Sam would just suck up whatever was bothering him and trudge on. Not Dean though, Dean let illness get to him. John had stopped looking for Sam. Truth be told, he didn’t really look for Sam in the first place. Sam was dead to him and if he ever did see the monster wearing his son’s face, he would put a bullet through his heart. He told Dean to go out and look for Sam to placate his oldest. He knew Dean loved Sam or more accurately Dean loved who Sam was. The boy Sam was no longer existed. John guessed by Sam’s nature before he presented that he was an alpha. John hated alphas. They killed his Mary, who was an omega. It wasn’t allowed or heard of for a beta to mate with an omega. Mary was supposed to be with an alpha but she didn’t want that. They fell in love but shortly after she became pregnant with Dean she wasn’t the same. Mary wasn’t the strong and independent person that John once knew. She wanted to stay home and take care of the house. She wanted to raise Dean and have more children together. John was fine with only having one son. He didn’t want another child. His condom broke during one of Mary’s heats which caused Sam to be conceived. He was angry and he took out his anger on her. It wasn’t one of his finer moments. John knew his violence toward Mary escalated. She insisted on babying Dean. She would tuck him and read him a story every night. She would get up to nurse Sam at odd hours of the night but she could never get the little shit to stop crying. After six months, John ordered Mary to go to the store and get formula for Sam. For all intents and purposes she was an unmated omega because she was mated with a beta, not an alpha. If he had been thinking clearly he would have never sent her out on her own. An alpha followed her home. He took her against her will and killed her in Sam’s nursery while Dean watched. Dean didn’t talk for two weeks after that and John blamed Sam for her death. For the most part, Dean raised Sam. He fed Sam, taught Sam how to walk, talk and use the bathroom. All he ever did was try to knock sense into the boy. John knew Dean didn’t like him hitting Sam and oftentimes Dean would lie to take responsibility for something Sam did. All that caused was for Sam to get it twice as bad when Dean wasn’t home.  John shook his head of his anger and laid down in the adjacent bed. It was too late to look for a salvage yard for parts. ++ Early the next morning, Sam was getting ready for his school day. His heat had just ended so he was taking extra care to wash himself. He hated smelling like that. Sam wished Gabriel could be there for his heats but he knew Gabriel didn’t like him like that. It didn’t stop Sam from day dreaming about Gabriel though and swiping one of Gabriel’s dirty shirts from his last visit. Sam handled his heat much better when he could smell Gabriel. Sam was just about to head downstairs to grab breakfast when he heard the roar of an engine. It sounded like an Impala. He peaked out the upstairs window and he thought he was going to have a heart attack. It was his dad’s car and his dad was driving. Dean wasn’t with him. Sam glanced around his room in paranoia looking for Dean. He took a moment to try to calm himself and it didn’t work. Sam sat down in the corner of his room and put his knees up to his chest and started to shake. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t do anything and he never hurt anyone. Sure some alphas hurt him but he was safe now. Bobby entered Sam’s room after he got done dealing with the customer with classic car. He told the beta to look around the yard to see if he could find what he needed. Bobby was surprised that Sam wasn’t eating breakfast, so he went upstairs to find Sam. When he entered Sam’s room, he saw Sam curled up in the corner of the room clutching Gabriel’s shirt. He knew was Gabriel’s because he could smell Gabriel on it. Sam had a glassy look in his eyes and Bobby knelt down in front of him. He kept his voice calm, “Sam, are you okay?” Sam whispered out, “Please don’t let him hurt me.” A couple tears slipped down the face of his normally tough omega. Bobby wasn’t sure who or what Sam was talking about. He asked carefully, “Who Sam? Who are you afraid is going to hurt you?” Sam clutched the shirt tighter and Bobby wished there was an alpha here to calm Sam down. As it was he knew he might have to call Gabriel and pray the man could get the day off. Sam whispered out a response, “Please don’t let him hurt me.” Bobby sighed and grabbed Sam’s phone off the nightstand. He stood as he dialed Gabriel’s number and stepped out of the room. There were a lot of things Bobby knew he could handle, but an omega acting like Sam was outside of his skillset and Sam’s smell of fear was making him sick. ++ Gabriel drove straight to Bobby’s house to check on Sam. There was a classic Impala in the driveway which under other circumstances Gabriel would have admired. He knew his little brother Castiel had a thing for classic cars. Gabriel saw the owner of the car nearby and he called the man, “You have a nice car.” The man looked a little rough around the edges. He walked over to Gabriel and he said with pride, “She’s my other baby. I try to take good care of her.” Gabriel was a little taken aback when he smelled this man. He was clearly a beta, but his scent was similar to Sam’s scent. Gabriel smiled kindly and said, “It looks like you do. Please excuse me.” The man rolled his eyes as he wiped his hands, “You’re mighty polite for an alpha.” Gabriel chuckled as he walked away and shouted, “Thanks for stereotyping me.” Gabriel wandered his way up to Bobby’s house and knocked on the door. Bobby greeted him and he looked tired. He stepped into the house and Bobby said simply, “I am sorry for bothering you. I hope you can calm him down. He just keeps repeating the same thing over and over again.” Gabriel nodded and made his way up the stairs to Sam’s room. He stopped at the door because he usually knocked and waited for permission before entering Sam’s room. Gabriel always wanted Sam to understand that he respected him and barging into Sam’s personal space did not show respect. Therefore, he always asked first. He decided to knock and then enter. Gabriel knew that Sam couldn’t tell him it was okay because of whatever it was going on with him. He stepped inside the room and looked around. Everything was fairly neat for a teenage boy. The room smelled like fear. It was the same smell that drew Gabriel to that alley. He noticed that Sam was crouched down in the corner holding his shirt. He had wondered what happened to that shirt. It was his favorite night shirt. Gabriel knew this wasn’t the time but it made him happy that Sam would steal his dirty clothes to smell his scent. He wanted Sam to be his, but he knew that he had to let Sam grow up. He had to let Sam be a teenager and find his own path in life. He had to hope that path led to him. Gabriel knelt down in front of Sam. He carefully pulled Sam forward so that Sam’s head rested on his shoulder and Sam could scent him. It calmed Sam down slightly but not a lot. Gabriel knew that his scent could calm Sam but the clothes were getting in the way. He was momentarily torn. Then he picked Sam up. He cradled the slightly overgrown omega in his arms as Sam smelled his neck. He closed Sam’s bedroom door with his foot before headed over to Sam’s bed. He carefully laid the omega down and gently took off Sam’s shirt. Sam didn’t resist him and Gabriel had a feeling that Sam would let him to anything right now which scared him. Gabriel slipped off his shirt and he laid down next to Sam. He tucked Sam’s head against his bare chest and rested his chin on the top of Sam’s head. Gabriel wrapped his arms around Sam and gently rubbed his back. It took about an hour for Sam to calm down. It was only then that Gabriel heard Sam make a coherent sentence, “My dad is here. I saw him. He is going to kill me. I don’t want to die.” Gabriel paused his petting on Sam’s back. He asked carefully, “Where did you see him?” Sam shuddered and said, “The black car out front, it is my dad’s car. I saw him get out. My brother wasn’t with him. He is probably watching me right now. They.. They are going to kill me. Please don’t let them hurt me.” Gabriel tightened his arms around Sam and he let a possessive growl slip through his throat. If Sam noticed, he didn’t comment. ++ Gabriel dressed Sam in a grey hoodie and wrapped him in the blanket from Bobby’s bed. He carried Sam out of the house after explaining the situation to Bobby. He wanted Sam wrapped in a blanket that smelled like someone else because it would make it harder for John Winchester to identify Sam’s scent. He loaded Sam into the car without much of a second look from the eldest Winchester. Now that Gabriel looked at John a little more critically, he could see where Sam got some of his looks from. He shook his mind of that and started the car. Once the salvage yard was in the distance and a few calls were made to keep an eye on the Winchesters, Sam started to relax and uncurl himself from Bobby’s blanket. Sam asked with some confusion, “Where are you taking me?” Gabriel shrugged and stated, “We are going to my apartment for a few days. I have to warn you though, my little brother just left so it reeks of beta.” Sam perked up a little bit and said, “You never told me you have a brother.” Gabriel laughed and said happily, “You’re right. His name is Castiel. He is a quirky fella. I think you would like him.” Sam nodded and asked, “What does he do?” Gabriel sighed, “I wish I knew.”  ***** Chapter 6 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Sam relaxed once they got to Gabe’s apartment until he realized he didn’t have his clothes with him. He was stuck in his uniform pants and grey hoodie. He felt like an escaped convict. He fidgeted on the sofa and Gabriel raised an eyebrow at him. Sam looked away and was unsure of what exactly to say. This whole situation was embarrassing.  The fact that he shut down and started acting like the stereotypical omega was horrifying. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Sam was pretty sure the worst thing was he needed an alpha to save him. Maybe Mr. Crowley was right. Maybe omegas were worthless. Gabriel plopped down next to him and handed him a drink that looked like a red juice. He wasn’t sure what kind of juice. Red coloring left it open for a number of possibilities. Sam took the glass and said sheepishly, “Thanks.” He took a sip and nearly spewed it across the room when it felt like his mouth got set on fire. Sam snapped his head over at Gabriel who was laughing hysterically. He didn’t know whether to be angry or relieved. Sam got up with the glass and wandered to Gabriel’s small kitchen. He sat the fire juice on the counter and opened the refrigerator. Sam took out the jug of milk and started drinking straight from it. If Gabriel was concerned about his spit he could buy a new jug. Sam drank about half the jug before his mouth stopped burning. He glared at Gabriel who was wiping away tears because he was laughing so hard. Sam asked crankily, “What the Hell, Gabriel?” Gabriel laughed again before he composed himself. “You should have seen your face. It was priceless.” Sam crossed his arms and couldn’t help but smile. He tried to be mad at Gabriel but he couldn’t. He sat back down next to Gabriel and said weakly, “I’m sorry about all of this. I don’t have my clothes so I don’t know what I am supposed to wear. You’re not going..” Gabriel cut him off with an adamant and firm, “No Sam, I am not going to treat you like that. I’ve never understood alphas that strip their omegas down to their underwear or less and never let them wear anything else. I’ve treated more cases of frost bite and hypothermia because of that.” Sam asked out of curiosity, “If you ever got an omega would you treat him like that.” Gabriel brushed his hand through Sam’s shaggy hair. He knew touching Sam like that was probably overstepping but he considered Sam his. He just neglected to tell Sam that but he had a feeling Sam knew. Gently he said, “I think if I had an omega his body would be mine to see. No one else’s.” Sam leaned into the touch and he had no idea why. Rationally, he knew he should be pulling away. Gabriel just said that he was going to keep him at home like a pet. He asked, “So you would make him stay home?” Gabriel chuckled as he continued to stroke Sam’s hair, “No, actually I was thinking that I would have an amazing omega. One that had a life outside the home and friends. An omega that didn’t have to take his clothes off to show his submission to me. An omega that is not afraid to tell me when I am wrong. I don’t want an omega to bend to the will of the almighty alpha. I am just a man and I know my omega would be just a man.” Sam glanced over at Gabriel and something inside of him told him that Gabriel was talking about him. It both excited and terrified him at the same time. The last time an alpha touched him sexually it was not okay and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to submit to an alpha because of the sex requirement. Sam didn’t want to get mated quite yet in his life. His self-doubt told him that Gabriel would never really want him. That Gabriel was just being kind. Sam knew that because of what those alphas in the alley did to him, most good alphas wouldn’t want him. Good alphas wanted 100% pure virgins which he was not. Gabriel deserved one of those pure virgins because he was the best alpha Sam had ever met. ++ John smelled Sam as soon as the beta walked out of the house at that salvage yard. He knew his son was either living there or was there recently. It took some time and a little research but John found what he was looking for. Sam was an omega living under the name Samuel Wesson. Bobby Singer, who owned the salvage yard, was Sam’s foster parent. Sam went to a private school for omegas, was on the soccer team and the school math club. He only had one C on his student record and that was from a course on Omegas in Society. Every other class, Sam got an A in. He dug up everything he could on Samuel Wesson. John just wanted to see how Sam was doing. He managed to dig up that Sam was raped when he left home but only had minor injuries. John used his connections to get the photos of Sam from that assault. It made him see red because these alphas hurt his son. John made his way back to where Sam presented. He got Sam’s clothes from that night from evidence. He was able to recognize the scent of the alpha that rescued Sam. He was the same alpha that took Sam from the salvage yard. John knew that his goal was to seek out these men who raped his son. He could recognize three other scents on the clothes. He would kill them. He killed monsters and these men were monsters. He knew he had to take his time with finding the monsters. The first thing he had to do was put down his son. John told himself it was the merciful thing to do. Sam was raped within hours of becoming an omega. His once strong son needed an alpha to carry him out of house. John knew the son that he raised would rather die than deal with that. John found Sam and Gabriel at a park. He took his place in the tree line to watch and wait. He watched his son play soccer with the alpha. They were laughing and playing. Sam was wearing new clothes which was something he could never afford for him. He looked healthier and his skin had a glow to it. John knew he must be eating well. Sam had gotten taller too. John studied Sam from a distance. Sam wasn’t claimed. He had no bite mark on his neck, no collar, and he didn’t smell mated. Yet, this alpha Sam was with didn’t appear to be a threat to him. Sam was acting like he did with Dean when they didn’t know he was around. Sam was happy and carefree. John watched Sam raise up his arms in victory as their soccer match ended. He wasn’t keeping score but they must have been and Sam won. John watched the alpha tackle Sam playfully. It was then John could see Sam’s years of training come out. Sam was easily able to flip them so he was on top of the alpha. His son had the alpha’s wrists pinned down. It made John smile. Still he knew what he had to do. John pulled his gun out of his waistband and checked the clip. He stared at the gun in his hand and then at his son who he never gave a chance. Sam looked legitimately happy and cared for. John raised his gun slowly as he watched his son step away from the alpha laughing. John never saw Sam laugh like that. Dean had probably seen that side of Sam. John looked away from Sam for a moment to see another alpha backhand their leashed naked omega. He looked and saw it caught Sam’s attention. John could tell even from this distance the alpha Sam was with did not approve. John heard Sam’s alpha shout at the other alpha, “She’s a person not a pet, asshole.” He watched Sam stand tall. His son wasn’t afraid. It was the stance Sam took when he was sent out on a hunt and now it was something Sam had to take in everyday life. John raised his gun a little higher and started to aim it toward Sam. Once he had Sam in his sight he heard Sam’s voice carry to tree line and heard his son’s words. “Someday, I will help people like her.” John lowered his gun slowly. He had heard that tone from Sam before. That was the tone Sam used when he would stop at nothing to achieve what he wanted. John couldn’t kill his son. Sam wasn’t hurting anyone and no one was hurting him. He had a good alpha to protect him and a kind beta to finish raising him. All John had to do now was make sure Dean never found Sam. He didn’t think Dean would kill Sam but he would try to pull Sam away from all of this. John knew it would leave Sam vulnerable. Where Sam was now, Sam was safe and he was probably loved. That was more than either him or Dean could give Sam.  Chapter End Notes So you got two chapters this weekend. That may or may not be because I was arguing with bigots all day on Facebook and writing this in between rebuttals instead of being a responsible adult and cleaning my house. I hope you guys enjoy. I will still get a chapter out next weekend for you even with the holiday and my house getting invaded by relatives. I should probably clean my house now, since my family is coming in a week. ***** Chapter 7 ***** Sam decided that he couldn’t stay under Bobby’s protective wing forever. He would have to face the world eventually. Gabriel scent marked him so he should be left alone in public. Of course, in a perfect world he would be left alone without scent marking. He decided that he was just going to go to the coffee shop and get a coffee. It was fairly harmless. The walk was nice and Sam let his mind wander to his upcoming high school graduation. He was going to go to college in Sioux Falls so he could continue to live with Bobby. Bobby was fine with it and Sam made a promise to get a job to help with bills. Bobby told him that was nonsense. Still Sam wanted to help out. As Sam walked he crossed by an omega bar. He noticed a help wanted sign in the window. Sam had just turned eighteen so he stopped inside to inquire. Sam walked in and looked around. There was an omega with a mullet sleeping on a pole table. A young blonde haired omega was wiping down a table and an older omega was behind the counter. The older omega woman looked to be about forty and she had brown hair. She smiled at Sam and asked, “How can I help you, son?” Sam ducked his head slightly and walked over to her. He spoke kindly, “I saw you were hiring and I am looking for a job.” The woman eyed him for a moment and she bluntly said, “It is a dish washing job. It isn’t pay much but it is something. Why aren’t you wearing your scent blockers? I can smell an alpha all over you but you’re not claimed.” Sam smiled and said with uncertainty, “The pay isn’t a problem. I just don’t want to rely on my dad so much while I am in college. Most of my classes are in the morning, when the bar is closed anyways. I don’t wear scent blockers because I am allergic. The alpha is just a family friend. He does it so I don’t get attacked.. again.” The woman nodded and held out a hand, “Fair enough, my name is Ellen. The blonde is my daughter Jo. The guy with the mullet is my nephew, Ash. We are all omegas here and only omegas, betas and mated alphas are allowed in here. You shouldn’t get attacked. What is your name?” Sam nodded and fidgeted as he shook her hand, “Um, I am Sam… Sam Wesson.” She eyed him for a moment and them she smiled, “Ok Sam, be here at 9.” Ellen paused and asked, “Sam, do you have any brothers or sisters?” Sam gave her an odd look and said simply, “No, I don’t. It is just me. Why do you ask?” Ellen chuckled, “No reason. My husband is one of those hunters, you know. One of the cranky hunters he ran around with had two sons, Sammy and Dean. You look a little like Sammy. Something about your eyes. Anyways, my husband had a falling out with this hunter because of his view on omegas and alphas.” That gave Sam pause because he didn’t remember meeting this woman before. He knew leaving would look suspicious. Therefore he asked, “Have you heard from John about his sons?” The woman smirked and leaned forward, “I never said his name was John. Don’t worry, I won’t tell that bastard where you are, Sammy. Last I heard, John planted Dean in a city about eight hours from here for research. John is still off hunting. He tells everyone that you died on a hunt. Does he know you’re an omega?” Sam sat down on the bar stool and shook his head no, “No, I took off as soon as I presented. I was in heat so I got attacked. The alpha you smell on me saved me. He’s kind. He’s never made a move on me so he is sort of like a brother to me. I hope that I can find an alpha that is kind like him.” Ellen smiled and said bluntly, “With as stubborn as you were, John probably thinks you’re an alpha which is fine that will send him in the wrong direction. So tell me more about this kind alpha, Jo and Ash need a mate.” Sam perked up a little and said happily, “He is moving here next month. He got a job at the omega clinic as a doctor. His name is Gabriel and he wants me to go house hunting with him once he gets settled.” Ellen quirked an eyebrow and asked, “Are you sure he doesn’t want you?” Sam laughed, “No, I think I am in his friend zone. I want more, but I don’t think he wants that from me. He is a very good alpha. Any omega would be honored to have him. I hope he can find someone.” ++ Gabriel wasn’t happy about Sam getting a job. He was even less happy about Sam getting a job with people that knew him when he was little. Gabriel doubted they would tell John or Dean about Sam since they were also omegas. But Gabriel was a little protective of his omega. He was laying on Sam’s bed with Sam curled up next to him. Gabriel was running a hand up and down Sam’s bare back while he tried not to let his possessiveness show. Sam was taller than him now and more muscular. It was an unexpected contrast. As the alpha, most people assumed that Gabriel would be the bigger one. That was not the case with him and Sam. Sam sighed and stated sadly, “You’re upset that I got a job.” Gabriel turned his head to look at Sam’s face. His hazel eyes were staring him down. Gabriel held eye contact when he said, “I am happy you have a job. I just worry about you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Sam snorted and said bluntly, “It’s an omega bar and I’ll be in back washing dishes. I am sure I will be fine.” Gabriel held onto Sam a little tighter and whispered, “What if you break a dish and cut your hand?” Sam grinned and teased, “Well, I happen to know this doctor who would stitch my hand up afterhours.” Gabriel gave a fake look of being appalled and asked, “Who might this alpha be?” Sam laughed and batted at Gabriel. “It’s you.” He sat up and laughed for a couple more minutes. Then he said, “I need to get ready for graduation. Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me.” Gabriel rested his hands behind his head as he stared at Sam. Sam really was beautiful. He was a very attractive omega. He knew some alphas would view him as to tall and most would want him to lose the muscle. Sam did not have a feminine appearance that many alphas wanted in an omega. Male omegas didn’t look like a girl but they generally were shorter and very lean. Sam wasn’t like that. In pictures, Sam could pass as an alpha. Gabriel was sure of it. That made Sam all that more appealing to Gabriel. Sam didn’t sell himself short because he was an omega. He embraced it without being something he wasn’t. Gabriel didn’t want Sam to be meek. ++ Gabriel stayed at Bobby’s place for two days. It was like being in Heaven. Once Gabriel convinced Bobby that he wouldn’t try to knot or otherwise molest Sam, he was allowed to sleep in the same bed as Sam. Those were the nights Gabriel slept the best. It felt like he was at peace with the world with his arm wrapped around his omega. He knew he would have to tell Sam about them being true mates eventually. Probably the sooner the better at this point, but Gabriel didn’t want to ruin what they had. He loved Sam. He loved how carefree Sam was. He even loved it when Sam pouted at his pranks. Sam had a graduation cake that bled green goo. It wasn’t really a prank but it startled Sam. It was funny. The bakery had wanted to do red goo to look like blood, but Gabriel told them green. He didn’t think Sam would like the reference to blood given his history. Gabriel was afraid that if he told Sam and they mated or started dating, Sam would change. He didn’t want Sam kneeling at his feet. He didn’t want to put a collar on Sam and drag him around by a leash. Sam wasn’t a dog. Sam was a person and he loved this person. Part of him wondered though, if maybe Sam wanted to be at his feet. He hoped Sam wanted all of him, not just his feet. When Gabriel made it back to his apartment he started packing. His drifter brother, Castiel, was there to help. Castiel was packing some picture frames when he asked, “So Gabriel, you reek of omega. Do you care to share with the class?” Gabriel stopped from where he was packing dishes and he snarled back, “Castiel, you reek of beta. Do you care to share with the class?” Castiel quirked his lips and shook his head, “You’re smelling me dumbass. I am saving myself for marriage.” Gabriel doubted that Castiel was saving himself for marriage but he didn't comment on that.  Gabriel rolled his eyes and stated, “Fine. His name is Sam. He is my true mate but he doesn’t know that or he might know he just hasn’t said anything to me. He is eighteen and just graduated. The reason I am moving is to be closer to him.” Castiel nodded and asked, “And this omega’s family?” Gabriel laughed, “His dad owns a salvage yard. He is an only child.” Castiel shrugged and stood up, “Only children are weird.” He looked around and asked, “Hey Gabe, do you have a map?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow and tossed him a map from the junk drawer. Castiel took it and spread out a map of the United States on the floor. He took a penny from his pocket and tossed it on the map. Castiel pointed at the penny on the map and said firmly. “There. I am going to settle down there and get a job.” Gabriel looked at the map and saw that Castiel would be about a day’s drive away once he moved. He asked Castiel, “Why are you settling down?” Castiel shrugged and said with uncertainty, “I just want a home. I am getting to old to sleep on sofas and in homeless shelters. I got to see the world and now it is time to grow up. I guess. I mean, you’ll be getting mated soon. I should probably be a responsible adult so I can spoil my nieces and nephews.” Gabriel smiled and said, “I am proud of you, Cassie.”   ***** Chapter 8 ***** Sam could feel Jo’s eyes on him as he washed dishes. He had been working there for two years at this point. Soaking his hands in the soap meant Gabriel had to scent him more often. It wasn’t a big deal to them and easier now that they lived in the same city. Jo cleared her throat and said calmly, “You need a date, Sam Wesson.” Sam frowned and glanced back her. The idea of going on a date with an alpha made him uneasy. He didn’t want to be forced into anything. Alpha Crowley from school always said that they would all either submit willingly or by force. He would much rather it be by choice. Jo was claimed last year by a hunter that was passing through. It was her choice technically but she was in heat at the time. The alpha took off as soon as he claimed her so her life hadn’t changed much. The hunter didn’t even take the time to register Jo as his. The Omega Protection Act protected omegas from their parents, but it didn’t protect them from unwanted claiming. Omega rape and subsequent claiming was still a problem in society. There was little the omega could do after being claimed since the omega lost all of his or her rights with a single bite. It was cruel in Sam’s opinion. Everyone should have a choice. He hoped to change that one day. Sam also knew that Gabriel would be angry if he went on a date. Gabriel had never told him not to date but somehow he just knew Gabriel wouldn’t like that. He didn’t want to disobey Gabriel or upset him which Sam didn’t understand. It wasn’t like Gabriel was his alpha. He wanted Gabriel to be his alpha but he wasn’t. Sam decided to rebel a little bit. He turned to Jo and said tiredly, “Fine. Find me an alpha that won’t bite me and I’ll go on a date.” ++ Two weeks later Sam found himself on a date with Gordon Walker. He looked a little rough around the edges and Sam couldn’t help but wonder where Jo found this guy. He got the bite vibe from him. It wasn’t pleasant and it took everything in his power to sit through dinner with the man and not run back home to his room like the frightened omega that he was. Gordon was everything wrong with alphas. He ate raw animal hearts. Hearts were considered a delicacy and in some circles believed to make an alpha stronger. As such, it was generally frowned upon for an omega to eat such a thing. For the record, Sam had never eaten a raw animal heart. He preferred his food cooked. He did share a turkey heart with Gabriel one Thanksgiving but it was cooked. It was also disgusting but he ate it anyways to please Gabriel. Gordon talked down to Sam like he was some sort of inferior being and while it was true omegas were inferior, he didn’t like being treated like that. Gabriel never treated him like he was inferior. Gabriel never talked down to him. Gordon didn’t let Sam make any choices during their date. He picked out what Sam ate. It was a supplement for omegas. Sam politely picked at it. Gabriel never once made him eat stuff like this and neither did Bobby. Sam choked down enough of it to look polite but made a note to eat something when he got home after he called Jo to chew her out for this horrible date. After eating the equivalent of dog food, Gordon was supposed to take Sam home. That wasn’t what happened. Sam found himself being taken in the opposite direction of the salvage yard. He squirmed in his seat and regretted not driving himself. He didn’t want to look to independent. Independence wasn’t a desirable trait in an omega. He asked Gordon nervously, “Where are you taking me? You were supposed to take me home after dinner. Bobby will be worried.” Sam was fairly certain Gordon to could smell his fear. He didn’t know if that was good or bad. Gordon reached over and hit Sam across the face. It startled him and he found himself moving further away from Gordon. Gordon looked angry but he didn’t smell angry. He smelled like he was happy. His voice sounded firm and resolute, “I am taking you home, omega. You are mine now. So shut up and be good.” Sam rubbed his face where it got hit. The blow cracked his lip and it certainly wasn’t the worst injury he had ever suffered. It was Gordon’s words that Sam was having trouble processing. Gordon was going to claim him against his will. Sam didn’t want that. In his heart, he knew it was true. He belonged to Gabriel. He shouldn’t have even gone on this stupid date. He should have just told Gabriel how he felt. Sam stayed quiet while he looked for his out. The opportunity came when Gordon stopped at stop light. Sam took that moment to bolt out of the car. He started running through the residential area. He didn’t know where he was going exactly but he saw a fire station a few miles back. He knew he would be safe there. He could smell that Gordon was following him and Gordon caught up with him. Sam felt Gordon tackle him and pin him to the ground. Sam stared at Gordon for a moment. He let his body relax so Gordon would think he surrendered. Then he flipped them over by kicking Gordon’s legs out. It was a move he learned from Dean a long time ago. He kicked Gordon hard on his crotch. Gordon snarled and scratched at Sam’s arms and chest. Sam punched Gordon a couple times until he was no longer a threat. It was about then a police officer came by. After Sam knew he was safe, he felt his head start to spin. He wasn’t feeling so well. ++ Gabriel was enjoying a quiet evening at home. He had a large empty house now. It was rather depressing. He dreamed of having Sam and pups running through the house. His dog died last year of old age and he hadn’t gotten a chance to get a new one yet. He wanted to create a home with Sam and have them pick out a dog together. It seemed like a little thing but it was something he wanted. Just as Gabriel was about to call it an early night and go to sleep his phone rang. An injured and possibly drugged omega was taken in. Gabriel dressed and went to the clinic to check it out. When he arrived he was give the run down. An omega went on a date with an alpha. The alpha gave the omega a supplement food that was laced with a sedative. That part was pretty standard. It was how a number of the forced claims were done. It was morally and ethically wrong in Gabriel’s opinion. However, this omega’s story didn’t end with being claimed against his will. He fought back and beat the alpha up. The medication didn’t knock him out completely. It just made him a little weak, but not weak enough to forgo taking on the alpha. Gabriel liked this unidentified omega. He told the nurse to start the omega on a bag of fluids to help get the drugs out of his system. Gabriel washed up while the nurse was doing that. When Gabriel walked into the room, he was greeted by a police officer who was intently staring at Sam’s neck. Gabriel could feel his heart pounding in his chest while he repeated to himself, “Please God, don’t let him have a bite mark.” The officer turned his head up to look at Gabriel. He said gruffly, “He doesn’t appear to have been claimed but he was scent marked. The alpha already laid some claim. The drugs just may have made him act up around the alpha. He laid that alpha out. I didn’t find any ID on the omega.” Gabriel breathed a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He composed himself quickly, “His name is Samuel Wesson. I scent marked him. He is mine. Can you make sure charges are pressed against this other alpha?” The officer looked shocked. “You haven’t claimed your omega? Someone could take him.” Gabriel told himself that the cop was right. He nearly lost Sam tonight. Everything he did to make Sam’s life better would have been for nothing. Gabriel shook his head and said calmly, “He is stubborn and that is one of the things I like about him. I want him to want to be claimed. We aren’t there yet.” The officer left and Gabriel set about cleaning up Sam’s wounds. It reminded him of how he did this for Sam once before a few years ago. Only this time the injuries weren’t as bad. Some deep scratches, scuff marks, and bruising was all Sam had to show for his struggle. After Sam was cleaned up, Gabriel laid down next to Sam on the hospital bed and he held Sam close. He drifted off with his omega safely in his arms and he made a promise to never let Sam get hurt again. Even, if that meant he had to protect Sam from himself. ++ Sam woke up with a weight around him. It smelled familiar and safe. He whimpered because he hurt and he had a feeling whoever was holding him could make him feel better. It was pathetic he knew, but right now he just wanted to rely on his instincts and let his rational mind float for a little while longer. He felt his face get nuzzled some place warm and Sam felt himself drift off to sleep again. When Sam woke up again, he had a pounding headache. He shifted his body slightly. He could feel someone holding him. Sam opened his eyes and saw that he was not at home. He was at the omega clinic and Gabriel was holding him. Sam did not remember Gabriel showing up or going to the omega clinic. He didn’t remember much of anything past dinner. It was all a little fuzzy. Sam felt weak when he whispered, “Gabriel?” Gabriel ran a hand through his hair and Sam could not express how good that felt. He leaned into the touch. Gabriel’s voice was calm and soothing. “I’m here, Sam. Would you mind telling me what happened last night?” Sam blinked his eyes up at Gabriel then he lowered them. He was ashamed when he spoke, “I went on a date and the guy was a creep. He was taking me somewhere. He wanted me to force me to.. you know. I ran and he chased me. It’s a little fuzzy after that.” Gabriel growled at Sam. It was an angry growl and Sam had never seen Gabriel mad before. “You went on a date? You’re mine.” Sam didn’t know why. It was probably his slightly fuzzy mind but he bared his neck for Gabriel in a sign of submission. Then he whispered out, “I’m sorry, Alpha.” Sam could smell Gabriel calming down almost immediately. He was apologetic. “I’m sorry, Sam. I shouldn’t have acted like that. I was just upset. I.. I hoped that we could have something together. I was wrong and I am sorry.” Sam snuggled into Gabriel. He didn’t smell terrifying anymore and mad Gabriel wasn’t even as bad as the average alpha. Sam whispered, “I didn’t think you wanted me. I’m not a good omega. I’m opinionated. I’m not pure. You deserve someone pure. You’re a good alpha. I’m just an omega running from his family and everyone really.” Gabriel lifted up Sam’s chin so they were making eye contact. He spoke gently, “Sam, I have something to tell you.” He paused for a moment. Then he said what he had been waiting four years to say, “You’re my true mate. There is no one else I would rather claim as mine. You’re the perfect omega for me.” Sam looked away from Gabriel and he asked, “What are you going to take from me if you claim me?” Gabriel hummed for a moment, “Going on dates with strange alphas that drug you will definitely be banned. As will dating anyone but me. I will want you to move in with me. Other than that, I can’t think of anything.” Sam nodded and bit down on his lip. He asked nervously, “Can I keep my job and continue to go to college?” Gabriel started gently carding his hand through Sam’s hair. It helped him to relax. He kept his voice gentle, “Yes, Sam.” Sam melted into the soft touches for a time then he said, “Okay, but I want take it slow. I want to live with you for a while before you claim me. I want to date like the betas do.” Gabriel chuckled, “Okay my omega, we can do that.” Sam groaned and complained, “And don’t call me omega. I have a name.” Gabriel laughed harder and teased, “Yes, omega.”   ***** Chapter 9 ***** Dean wandered into the local gas station to buy beer on his way home from work. He worked at a shop doing repair work. It was horrible pay but it left him free in the evening to do research. Dean also had his secret research project of looking for Sammy. He saved his money so if he did find Sammy, he could leave with him and take him some place safe. Some place where their dad wouldn’t find them. Honestly, Dean was surprised John hadn’t found Sam. His dad was one of the best trackers and it was kind of hard to believe that a teenager got the slip on him. Sometimes, Dean wondered if his dad did find Sam and put him down without telling him. Dean wouldn’t put it past his dad to do that. But Dean wanted closure. If Sam was dead, he wanted to know. Dean heard whimpering when he entered the gas station and he smelled a frightened omega. The clerk turned to look at him. He was a beta with messy black hair and the bluest eyes Dean had ever seen. The clerk was also pissed. He snarled at him, “I told you ass butts to get out of here.” Ass butts? That was new one in Dean’s book. He slowly put his hands up to show he met no harm then said carefully, “I am not here to hurt anyone. I just stopped in to buy some beer. Is.. Is there anything I can do to help whatever is going on here?” The clerk took a calming breath and stated, “You’re a beta. Sorry, some alphas were attacking this girl. They nearly bit her.” Dean took a step forward and he could tell she was in heat. The girl couldn’t have been more than fourteen. She was probably running away from her family like many omegas did when they presented. The fear of getting sold caused them to run, only to be raped and claimed if they didn’t make it to safe haven quickly enough. Dean tried to sound nonthreatening when he said, “Is there anything I can do? I can take her to a hospital or something.” The clerk looked at him critically for a moment. He nodded his head and said firmly, “Okay that would be good. I don’t have a car and I don’t want to leave you alone with her. I will go with you.” Dean cast a glance at the clerk’s name badge. He said with some uncertainty, “Umm, okay Steve.” Dean helped Steve load the girl into the backseat of his car. He hoped she didn’t get slick all over the place. He found the excessive body fluids from omegas unappealing and he found the general asshole attitude of alphas annoying so he stuck with betas. Betas were much better in bed, in Dean’s not so humble opinion. They didn’t talk on the drive to the hospital and Dean waited in the car while Steve took her in. He thought briefly about ditching the clerk, but he changed his mind. Dean knew the clerk was just doing the right thing and the gas station was near his house. He didn’t normally go to the gas station to buy beer but he did buy gas and an angry clerk would only make his life suck. He waited for over an hour before the clerk came back out. Steve slipped into the passenger seat and said, “I didn’t think you would wait.” Dean shrugged, “It seemed like the right thing to do. So do you want me to take you back to work or home?” The clerk smiled, “Work will be fine. Thank you for your kindness. May I ask your name?” Dean started driving and casually, “My name is Dean.” The clerk smiled, “I am Castiel.” Dean gave him a confused look and stated, “Dude, your name badge says Steve.” Castiel shrugged and said as if it was nothing, “That was the last clerk’s name. You don’t want to know what they do to those who don’t measure up.” Dean laughed. He liked this guy. They chatted about nothing in particular on the way back to the gas station. It was nice and he felt relaxed around Castiel. As Castiel got out of the car he asked, “Would you like to go out sometime? I am broke but walks are free and I found a beehive on one of the walking trails.” A date to look at a beehive. Dean had now heard it all. This was either going to be the mother of stories of all bad dates or the best thing that ever happened to him. He smiled and said, “Absolutely, when should I pick you up?” ++ Sam could hear Bobby and Gabriel arguing while he packed up his room. They were arguing about him and Sam couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Bobby’s anger was justified, Sam thought. “Is that hard to bite and knot him? You’ve been doing this dance with him for four years, just get it over with already.” Gabriel was equally as angry but it came out as sarcasm, “Oh, I didn’t realize it was easy to rape someone. Hold on while I go rape someone I care about. Oh wait, I can’t get it up.” Bobby yelled, “You are not protecting him by trying to be the nice guy. You know what could have happened last night. If you really love him you would do it.” Gabriel replied dryly, “I didn’t recall rape being act of love. It is an act of power and control.” Bobby didn’t back down. “You’re an alpha. You claim what is yours.” Gabriel sighed loudly and said carefully, “Bobby, I love Sam dearly. I can’t force myself on him but I will make sure he is safe and nothing else happens to him. I will claim him but I won’t force him. If I have to keep him locked up in my house so the other alphas keep their paws off I will. However, I would much rather let Sam be Sam.” Sam walked down the stairs and he cleared his throat. He was nervous when he said, “I can hear everything you guys are saying.” He paused, “Gabriel, can I talk to you upstairs, please?”  Gabriel looked a little embarrassed and Bobby just looked mad. Gabriel silently followed Sam upstairs and gently closed the door to Sam’s bedroom. Sam sat down on the bed and put his hands on his lap. He felt awkward and he really wasn’t sure what to say or do. Gabriel hung back by the doorway and he was apologetic when he said, “I am sorry you heard that.” Sam shrugged and bit down on his lip. He asked timidly, “If.. If you bite me then you will have claimed me. It will change my scent so others will know I have been claimed, right?” Gabriel moved closer to Sam and knelt down in front of him. He didn’t want Sam to feel powerless right now. Gabriel nodded slowly and said, “The bite will claim you was mine. However, for your scent to change I would have to knot you. It is best to do the claiming bite and first knotting at the same time. It will.. It will make you smell more like me.” Sam let out a slow breath and said steadily, “Okay. Lets.. umm.. do this.” Gabriel put his hand on Sam’s cheek. He could see that Sam was nervous. He didn’t smell scared but he did smell uncertain. Gabriel sighed and said calmly, “How about we get you settled in at home first? Can you call Ellen and ask for a few days off?” Sam nodded and felt rejected almost. He put a smile on his face anyways and said, “Okay.” Gabriel leaned up and kissed Sam lightly on the lips for the first time. It was better than he imagined. He pulled back and asked, “What can I do to help you pack?” ++ John Winchester walked into the county jail in Sioux Falls. He posed a U.S. Marshall that was transporting Gordon Walker to another facility. When John laid eyes on the alpha he was torn about how he was going to rip apart this man. Gordon Walker was a wanted man, not just for attacking Sam but for failing to register omegas he’d claimed. According to police reports, Gordon would mate with an omega and then leave them after a few days never to return. The omegas were generally placed in the care of another family member since according to society standards mated omegas were incapable of basic reasoning. John doubted that. More and more, he was beginning to think that omegas were just the unwitting victims of out of control alphas. This world has turned into one where the rapist was protected and the victim was left with nothing. John had done some reading since he found out his son was an omega. Omegas who were forced to mate had a seventy percent suicide rate. The high suicide rate was one of the reasons why in some states omegas were kept on leashes and in cages. It cut down on the opportunity to end it all. John didn’t want to think about seeing Sam on a leash but he knew chances were that Sam would get mated. That was unless he killed every alpha that came near him. That would prevent the problem. Still John had mixed feelings about killing the alpha Sam hung around with a lot. That alpha, Gabriel Novak, did not seem like a loose cannon. He seemed like a good man but John could be wrong. He decided to focus on his task at hand. He could worry about Gabriel later. Right now, he had to deal with Gordon Walker. John drove out to a deserted wooded area where he knew no one would come looking. John pulled Walker out of the car and threw him to the ground. Gordon chuckled and asked, “What are you going to do, Winchester? You’re a beta. What do you care what I do with omegas?” John rolled his eyes. He knew Gordon technically was a hunter but he was considered unstable. John checked the clip on his gun and said calmly. “Then you know my opinion on alphas and omegas. I think you’re pretty pathetic to get your ass kicked by a drugged omega. Are you sure you’re not the omega?” Gordon licked his lips and looked around at his surroundings. The smugly said, “That bitch will get what is coming to him. I was trying to save him from a lifetime of hardship. He would only have to deal with an alpha for a few days then he could go back to living his life. I don’t do it to hurt them, Winchester. I do it to help them.” John let go of a shaky breath and said flatly, “Do you even know the omega’s name you were trying to rape? Do you even know anything about him?” Gordon chuckled, “Yes, I got a call to take care of that one. One of the bitches I mated, Jo asked me to mate with him so he could be free. She told me he was a firecracker. I don’t usually drug them but I did with that one. His name is Sam Wesson.” John chuckled in return and raised his gun to Gordon’s head. He said coldly. “Close, that omega’s name is Sam Winchester. You tried to rape my son. Do you know what I do to people who hurt my sons?” Gordon opened his mouth to reply but John pulled the trigger on the gun before he could reply. The bullet hit Gordon in the center of the forehead. He watched Gordon’s body slump to the ground. Gordon Walker would never hurt anyone again.  ***** Chapter 10 ***** Sam unpacked most of his things into Gabriel’s spare closet. It was completely empty when Sam moved in with the exception of some supplies for omegas like pads and things. All the packages were unopened and it was pretty clear to Sam the items were for him, not a random fling. After Sam was unpacked he had a sense of dread and fear when it came to actually mating. He would be giving up everything and it all ridded on Gabriel not flipping a switch to be like the rest of them. He sat down on the bed nervously. He wasn’t sure what else to do. Sam lowered his head and stared at his hands. He knew his smell of fear was making the room stink. Gabriel came into the room a few minutes later. Sam glanced up to see Gabriel frowning at him. Gabriel sat down next to Sam and he spoke carefully. “I hate to do this to you, but Gordon Walker escaped from police custody. I am not going to allow you to leave this house until we are mated and you are registered as mine. I will give you anything you need or want until you feel comfortable with mating.” Sam let out a slow breath he didn’t expect Gabriel to start controlling him so soon. He understood but it scared him. He liked the protectiveness and part of him even liked Gabriel telling him what to do but he worried if that was taking away who he wanted to be. Sam fidgeted and asked timidly, “Is that really necessary? I mean.. I can take care of myself.” Gabriel gently patted Sam on the leg and calmly, “Probably not, but I can’t risk losing you again. I’m sorry. Your friends can come over when I am home, if that will make it easier on you. I can tell you’re afraid so I don’t think you want to mate right now.” The idea of getting to leave when he wanted, made Sam want to mate but rationally he knew he probably wasn’t ready for that yet. Gabriel’s home did not smell like him. He wanted to go around and scent everything especially their bed. Sometimes, it scared Sam when he realized how much of a typical omega he was. Part of him wanted to fully submit to Gabriel, his alpha. Sam remained silent while he thought about that. He wondered if Gabriel would be okay with him submitting to him like that or if Gabriel would reject him. Sam felt like this transition would be easier if he could just trust Gabriel with everything. He wondered if that was just his way of opting out of responsibility or if it was instinct telling him to please his alpha. He realized he must have been silent to long when he started to smell Gabriel’s worry. Sam quickly said, “It is okay, Gabriel. I understand. I won’t defy you. I was.. I was wanting to talk to you. I want to submit fully to you but I am afraid.” Gabriel let out a slow breath and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes he said carefully, “Okay, take off your clothes and put them in the closet. Then come back here and kneel in front of me.” Sam was nervous as he moved to comply. He knew Gabriel had seen him naked before but he was injured when that happened. However, this time was different. He was trying to impress Gabriel and hope that Gabriel liked his body. Sam also knew he was sexually inexperienced. He had never done anything sexually. He knew he was raped but he doubted that counted for any experience. He slipped off his clothes slowly while he kept his eyes trained on his closet. Sam wondered a lot of things right now. He wondered if Gabriel would want him naked all the time or if Gabriel was just trying to show him something. Regardless of the reason, Sam removed all of his clothes. He was getting hard and Sam put a hand over his dick to cover it as he walked back to Gabriel. He knelt down in front of his alpha and waited. Gabriel could tell Sam was embarrassed and nervous. He could smell that Sam wasn’t covering himself out of modesty. Sam was turned on by this and Gabriel wasn’t sure if his inner alpha was happy about that or terrified. He was leaning more toward terrified. He liked his stubborn overgrown omega. He didn’t want to change that without cause. He reached out a hand and petted Sam’s hair gently. He asked with some reservation. “Do you like being down here like this?” Sam thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure to be honest. He felt exposed but it strangely felt right. He realized that maybe he had just been hiding himself from Gabriel and now he was faced with letting Gabriel see him for what he was, an omega. Sam found himself leaning into Gabriel’s petting and he felt something inside of himself. His inner omega was content but it was in a war with the rational side of him that told him he had to be strong at all costs. That he could never bow down. Gabriel seemed to know what he was thinking without him having to say it. He whispered, “Sam, submitting to your alpha does make you strong and it doesn’t change who you are.” Sam nodded and relaxed slightly. He still couldn’t find his voice and he wasn’t really sure he wanted too. Then he heard Gabriel say, “Move your hands to your sides.” Sam hesitated. He looked up into Gabriel’s eyes and he saw love, trust, and hope. It gave him courage. Sam slowly moved his hands away from his dick. He looked away from Gabriel as he exposed one of the last pieces of himself. Then he turned his head back to look at Gabriel. Gabriel looked proud. He felt Gabriel lean down and kiss him on the forehead. He softly, “My good omega.” Gabriel petted Sam for a few minutes then he said, “You’re relaxing nicely. I wanted to get you used to being naked. When I register you as mine down at the courthouse they will require things of you. Nudity is unfortunately one of them. Do you want a collar or a bracelet to tag you as mine?” Sam thought for a moment. He was unsure when he said, “I know that isn’t up to me, but I would prefer a bracelet. I am not a dog.” Gabriel chuckled which caught Sam off guard. After Gabriel calmed his laughter he said, “You are much more valuable than any dog, Sam and you should never think about yourself like that. I will ask for a bracelet for you when you’re registered.” Sam let out a slow breath and said carefully, “I am feeling calmer, I guess. I want to do this. I want you to claim me and make me yours.” Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment and decided to make sure Sam knew exactly what he was saying. Carefully Gabriel said, “Sam, you will be my property. You will be my most valued property but still you would be listed as property. Are you okay with that?” Sam closed his own eyes and whispered out, “Yes, Alpha.” Gabriel found that arousing but he knew he had to focus right now. “You will have no rights aside from what I give you. You will spend your heats with me and you will have my children. Any major choices in your life must be approved by me.” Sam smiled slightly, “I wouldn’t want it any other way. Please claim me, Gabriel.” Gabriel decided that he had his consent which he was grateful for. He was pretty sure he was giving off a scent of arousal and happiness. He knew he was about to get a whole lot happier. However, he knew claiming Sam was a lot of responsibility. He would be responsible for Sam both legally and ethically. Gabriel didn’t really think the mating would change Sam. He hoped it wouldn’t. It wasn’t like he gotten many chances to talk to claimed omegas with their alphas. The only claimed omegas he’d talked to had either lost their alpha or their alpha had left them. They seemed like everyone else, so hopefully Sam could be the same. Sam had to be the same. Otherwise, Gabriel wasn’t sure he could live with himself. Gently, he pulled Sam up off the floor and onto the bed with him. He kissed Sam on the lips as he wrapped his hand in Sam’s hair. This felt right. He lost himself in the kissing until Sam pulled back and was a little demanding, “You’re wearing too much clothing.” Gabriel shook his head. Bossiness was one of the things he liked about Sam. He pulled back from Sam so he could undress. As he unbuttoned his shirt he teased, “Yes, Omega.” Sam laughed and Gabriel was glad he was able to lighten the mood. He quickly shed his clothes and threw them off to the corner of the room. He figured he could pick them up later. Gabriel turned his attention back to Sam, who was grinning. He raised an eyebrow at the omega. Sam started laughing. Gabriel looked at his body while he tried to figure out what was funny. Sure, he didn’t work out like Sam did but he didn’t think he was bad looking. Gabriel started to feel a little self- conscious as Sam started to quell his laughter. Then Sam had to say what he was thinking. “I’m sorry, I thought alphas were supposed to be bigger than omegas.” Gabriel looked down at his dick and then to Sam’s dick. He got it now. He wasn’t really sure if he should be offended or not. Gabriel shrugged and said, “Well, I am a grower and shower. Besides, most omegas are not overgrown and taller than most alphas.” He moved back over to the bed and heard Sam start laughing again. He kissed a spot on the side of Sam’s neck. Then he ran his hands over Sam’s chest. Sam wasn’t really touching him, yet. Sam was still giggling under him and he was fine with that. Lighthearted was good, Gabriel thought. Slowly Gabriel moved his hands down to Sam’s hips. He decided it would probably be poor form to go straight for the prize. So he went for the consolation prize.   Gabriel wrapped his hand around Sam’s cock which caused the younger man to jerk his hips. It gave Gabriel pause for a moment. He wanted to make sure Sam still wanted to do this. When he saw Sam relax slightly, he started stroking. He could feel Sam tense under him for a moment, but then Sam relaxed a little bit. He could see that Sam was trying to be quiet. It was cute. He felt Sam start to touch him and Gabriel was the first one to moan. He wasn’t ashamed of that either. Sam ran his fingers down Gabriel’s chest and then Sam wrapped his hand around Gabriel’s dick. He started stroking in sync with Gabriel’s strokes. Gabriel wouldn’t deny that it felt amazing, but jerking each other off wouldn’t get them toward their end goal. Gabriel let go of Sam’s dick which caused the omega to whine. It was Gabriel’s turn to chuckle with that. Gabriel rubbed Sam’s balls that will never fully drop like an alpha’s. He could feel that part of Sam was wet with slick. He carefully spread Sam’s legs a little further apart and found the prize he really wanted. Gabriel circled his finger around Sam’s rim. It was soft and Gabriel decided it was perfect. He gently pushed a finger in and that caused Sam to moan. Gabriel was pretty pleased with himself. He had two fingers worked inside of Sam when he felt his knot start to grow. Gabriel steadied his breath and said, “Sam, stop stroking me or I am going to pop my knot early.” Sam moved his hand away and put them on his shoulders. Sam started gently rubbing Gabriel’s shoulders, but occasionally when Gabriel brushed up against Sam’s prostate Sam would dig his nails in. Gabriel doubted it was intentional. Slowly he worked up to three fingers. He hoped that would be enough. All jokes aside, Gabriel knew he wasn’t as well-endowed as some alphas. It was okay though, his omega could tease him about that. Gabriel pulled his fingers out of Sam and asked, “You’ve been taking your birth control, right?” Sam chuckled again and said, “Yeah for acne, I swear.” Gabriel rolled his eyes. Sam had never had a problem with pimples but that was how he sold Sam on the idea on birth control. He just didn’t want Sam to have an unwanted pregnancy. He kissed Sam gently. Then he asked, “Are you ready?” Sam nodded and said firmly, “Yes, now claim me.” If nothing else, Sam was demanding. It made Gabriel wonder briefly who was really going to be in charge. Probably Sam, if Gabriel had to guess. Carefully so he wouldn’t hurt Sam, he lined up and pushed his cock inside of Sam. He wanted to make Sam feel good. He didn’t want to hurt Sam. It took Gabriel a moment before he found Sam’s prostate. As he thrust in and out, he made sure to hit Sam’s prostate. Sam was moaning under him and Sam’s gigantic omega cock was leaking all over Sam’s belly. He felt his knot start to grow and catch at Sam’s rim. Gabriel suddenly felt nervous and scared. He had never knotted someone before. He pulled out before that every time in the past. Once the knot caught inside of Sam and started to grow inside of Sam even more, Gabriel heard Sam cry out in pain. Gabriel reached a hand down to Sam’s dick and started stroking to distract Sam. Sam pulled him closer and Gabriel nuzzled Sam’s neck as he stroked Sam and rocked his hips. Sam’s hands were moving all over his back and Gabriel knew Sam was trying to find comfort. He hoped Sam was getting what he needed. He felt his body tense and he knew he was getting close. It was getting close to time. Gabriel was filled with a mix of excitement and dread. He felt his body tense and he could feel himself releasing inside of Sam. It felt amazing. Gabriel kissed the side of Sam’s neck then he pulled back just enough so he could bite down. Gabriel felt Sam’s blood enter his mouth and he could feel the skin breaking around his teeth. Sam cried out and dug his fingernails deeper into Gabriel’s shoulders. Gabriel was certain Sam wasn’t the only one bleeding. He started to lick the bite as he continued to stroke Sam. Gabriel really hoped Sam could get off. He didn’t want this be an experience where Sam only remembered everything being taken from him. It only took about a minute after Gabriel’s worry for him to feel Sam releasing on his hand. Gabriel worked Sam through his orgasm and Gabriel hoped it was good. Gabriel wiped his hand unceremoniously on the side of the bed. They could change the sheets later. He rolled them over so they were both laying on their sides. It was a little more comfortable while they waited for his knot to go down. Gabriel looked into Sam’s eyes and he saw tears in Sam’s eyes. He wrapped his arms around Sam. He knew that Sam would probably want space right now but that wasn’t an option. They were literally stuck together. Instead, he held Sam as Sam broke down in his arms. Sam’s tears made him want to cry too and Gabriel just hoped he didn’t hurt Sam. Part of Gabriel know that Sam’s tears was for what he lost and what he could still lose. Sam wasn’t even considered a real person anymore and to Gabriel that warranted a little mourning. Sometimes, Gabriel hated the world he lived in. He wished he could give Sam everything instead of taking everything. ***** Chapter 11 ***** Dean stared at the beehive above his head. He never imaged that he would be laying on a blanket in the woods with another beta. Castiel was intriguing, funny, and a little stuffy. He was perfect. Dean never thought for a moment that he would feel this way, especially with a guy but here he was. Castiel said absently, “Did you know there are over forty thousand bees living in that hive? On average, I mean. I didn’t count them. I don’t think they would like that much.” Dean did not like the sound of that. He wasn’t sure if he was allergic to bees and he wasn’t sure if getting sung multiple times would harm him even if he wasn’t allergic. Dean Winchester was by no means a coward, but staring at a little hive of death did not make him feel good. He though it was time to leave before he found out if his death was pending. He sat up slowly and said nervously, “Hey Cas, maybe we should go someplace less dangerous.” Castiel chuckled and did not move to get up. He had a glimmer in his eyes. He looked at peace with the world. “I thought you do not know fear. Or was I wrong to believe that about you?” Reluctantly, Dean flopped down and said tiredly, “I fear things. Death by bees is one of those fears. Does that make me unmanly?” Castiel returned his gaze to the bees and said absently, “Bees are simple creatures. They keep nature in balance. If I were to die, I would want to die at the hands of this creature. They are balance and without them we all die. It would be an honorable death. Do you fear death, Dean Winchester?” Dean didn’t know what to say to Castiel’s assessment of everything. He was odd but that was one of the things Dean liked about Castiel. He carefully said, “I don’t fear my own death but I fear the death of those I care about.” Castiel seemed to be looking past the beehive now. His voice was distant. “I know the feeling. I love my brothers dearly but I was something of a disappointment to my father. I would have been more of a disappointment if I was an omega. I think my brother, Gabriel, and I are in competition for black sheep.” Dean smiled and asked, “Why is that?” Castiel laughed and it nearly made the beehive shake. Dean may or may not have held his breath with that. Dean could hear both joy and sadness in Castiel’s voice. “When I presented as a beta, I broke the family line of alphas. All of my brothers are alphas. I lived a sheltered life and I set out to see the world. I never went to college or did any of the things I was expected to do. I saw the world from the bottom. I learned that the best people are those with nothing. They are the kindest and gentlest souls. Those who have things are bitter or so I have found.” Dean smirked and said happily, “Good thing, I don’t have much. You might think I was bitter. What did Gabriel do?” Castiel laughed again. “Gabriel was the perfect son. He was everything my parents wanted. He is a doctor. He graduated at the top of his class and he had a bright future ahead of him. He helped Michael and Luci with limiting omega rights until one day when someone walked into his life and changed him. Gabriel met a male omega named, Sam Wesson. Somehow, this omega changed his view on the world. He now works as a doctor at an omega clinic and he is active in trying to get all omegas equal rights. He wants to put an end to what he calls rape culture. As you might imagine, father and my brothers are quite upset about this.” Dean watched the clouds for a moment as he thought about Sammy. He wondered where Sammy was and if he was okay. If Sammy was still alive he would be twenty now. Dean hoped Sammy had everything he ever hoped for out of life. He hoped that Sammy wasn’t scared or afraid. He just wanted Sammy to be alright. Dean asked out of curiosity, “So have you met Gabriel’s omega?” Castiel joked, “No, I think he has him tied up somewhere to use him for information on how not to be an asshole.” Castiel laughed at his own joke for a moment while Dean worried about this unknown omega. It wasn’t uncommon for an alpha to actually do something like that. As Castiel calmed down, he stated, “Gabriel told me that he claimed him last night. He sounded drunk and upset about it. Gabriel is weird but I am sure the omega is fine.” Dean sighed and muttered, “Yeah, I guess so.” Castiel turned to look at Dean. He asked seriously, “So who are you the black sheep of your family?” Dean laughed lightly but not loud enough to risk disturbing the bees. He said calmly, “No, I am not the black sheep. That title would fall to Sammy. He’s my little brother. My dad thought that anyone who wasn’t a beta was either weak or crazy. He always told Sammy that if presented as an alpha or an omega that he would kill him.” Dean shook his head and laughed. It was a nervous laughter, “Sammy was a stubborn bastard. He would butt heads with my dad over everything. They would get into fights and my dad would hit him. Sammy would just look him in the eyes and challenge him to hit him harder.” Silence stretched between them for long moments. Dean knew Castiel wasn’t sure what to say to that. Dean couldn’t look at Castiel right now. He looked away and said, “Do you want to know what they would fight about? Sammy wanted a home. He didn’t want to live in a different smelly motel every week. He wanted my dad to stop drinking so we would have money for better food. He wasn’t asking for anything above what he should be getting from his father. But because he wanted to eat something besides macaroni and cheese he got beat.” Castiel finally spoke, “So what do you think he is, an alpha or an omega?” Dean thought for a moment. He said with certainty, “He’s probably an alpha. I’ve been looking for him for four years. When I find him, regardless of what he is I am going to protect him from our father. I’ll give him everything he ever wanted. I know alphas can take care of themselves but he was only fifteen when he took off… If he is an omega, I will keep all the dick alphas away from him. If he was claimed, I will kill the bastard.” Castiel was silent for a few moments. Then he said, “Not all alphas are bad. Gabriel isn’t bad.” ++ Sam wasn’t really sure what to think about getting registered. Gabriel had been nice to him about everything. After the claiming, mating or whatever word there was for it, Sam cried himself to sleep. It wasn’t that he regretted doing that with Gabriel. It was just what it met. He wanted a relationship with Gabriel but he could never understand why it had to cost him so much. Sam knew Gabriel said he wasn’t going to try to control him and so far he hasn’t. In fact, when Sam woke up he found Gabriel in the dining room writing a series of ‘alpha notes’ for him so he could go anywhere he wanted without getting in trouble. Bobby had signed his car over to Gabriel so Sam still had his car. Sam was actually happy about that. He still had all of his old things. However right now, Sam felt pretty far from okay. He was in the process of getting registered as Gabriel’s omega. It required standing in a line with other alphas and omegas. The majority of the omegas looked battered and were lacking clothing. They were crying out about how they were raped, but of course no one cared. No one ever cared about stuff like that. It was one of the things Sam hated about this world and about his life in general. However, Sam did feel a little grateful when he realized that he was not like them. He wasn’t forced. He was given a choice. When they finally got to the front of the line. They were greeted with a blonde haired alpha. She had a strong northern accent. She took one look at him and clicked her gum. Then she turned her attention to Gabriel. Her words were short and cold, “Have the bitch strip.” Sam looked at Gabriel briefly with horror. They wanted him to take his clothes off in the courthouse. That was objectifying and embarrassing. Gabriel reached up and ran a hand through his hair. Gabriel’s voice was gentle and Sam could smell that Gabriel was trying to reassure him. “It’s okay, Sam. I’ll be right here.” Sam quickly removed his clothes and Gabriel slipped them into a small bag he had with him. Gabriel had warned him about this humiliation. Then the woman said, “We’ll need to get it photographed but first I have a few questions about the bitch. What was its name and date of birth?” Gabriel pitched the bridge of his nose and took a calming breath. Telling this underpaid alpha not to call his omega a bitch wouldn’t get him anywhere. He also didn’t like her calling Sam an ‘it’ but he had to pick his battles. Right now, he just wanted to get through this so Sam could put his clothes back on and they could forget this ever happened. Carefully Gabriel said, “His name is Samuel Wesson and his date of birth is May 2nd, 1983.” The clerk nodded and asked, “Would you like its name to remain the same?” Gabriel was frozen for a moment. They hadn’t discussed this. Would Sam want his last name? He had no idea. He said slowly, “I would like it the same for now, but I can change it in the future. Correct?” The clerk nodded her head and sighed, “Yes, there are forms for changing a bitch’s name. Most opt for a gender neutral name for bitches. Does the bitch have any nicknames?” Gabriel perked up but he could see Sam looking at him uncomfortably. He hoped that going through his nicknames for Sam would relax him. “Ah yes. His nicknames are Sam, Sammy, Sammich, Samsquatch, Princess, Moose, Samoose, and Samantha.” Gabriel caught Sam rolling his eyes and he couldn’t help but grin. The alpha clerk just clicked away. Then she pointed toward a table with a pale blue backdrop. She said, “Go have the bitch stand over there. We will be taking photos of the bitch from all angles.” Gabriel nodded and watched Sam go over to the table. They took photos of Sam’s face, bite mark, and of his body. They weren’t shy either. They took photos of Sam’s cock and ass. The made Sam spread his cheeks so they could get a better photo of hole. They were pleased the see alpha come inside of Sam. They measured Sam’s penis along with all the other standard measurements. Gabriel could tell that Sam was not enjoying this but Sam kept his mouth shut. Sam hadn’t spoken at all and Gabriel knew if Sam did speak whatever he had to say wouldn’t be nice. He knew he would hear about it on the drive home. After Sam was thoroughly objectified, the clerk asked, “Bracelet or collar?” Gabriel said simply, “Bracelet please.” The clerk nodded and Sam was told to kneel. He watched as they took Sam’s wrist and secured a bracelet. It was welded on. Gabriel knew that Sam would probably wear that bracelet for the rest of his life. Sam came back over to him after that and Gabriel let Sam scent his neck while they went to the next stage of this process. Gabriel looked at Sam’s bracelet on the way. It read, “Property of Dr. Gabriel Novak. Omega name: Samuel Wesson.” The last part was the part Gabriel was looking forward to the least. It was the branding. This area was occupied by a beta with dark hair. She had sympathetic eyes. “Hey guys, so where do you want your omega branded?” Gabriel cringed for Sam. Then he said slowly, “On his right arm by his shoulder. Just my initials.” The beta smiled and said, “Sure thing, you can have him put his clothes back on except his shirt. He looks pretty uncomfortable. What did you name this one?” Gabriel handed Sam the bag of his clothes and watched Sam start to get dressed for a moment. Then he said, “Um, Samuel but he goes by Sam.” The beta smiled kindly again and said softly, “That is sweet. Now Sam, sit down over here and I will make it quick.” Sam nodded mutely and sat down on the chair. Gabriel walked over and knelt down in front of Sam. Sam rested his head on Gabriel’s shoulder as Gabriel started to caress his back. He whispered reassurances to Sam as he smelled Sam’s burning flesh. He held Sam firmly in place while he pleaded inside his mind for this not to be happening. As quickly as it started, it was over. The beta was putting some sort of ointment on the brand. Gabriel had something better for Sam in the car and he would numb the area once they got outside if Sam wanted. Then the beta said, “You’re all done. I am required to tell you that you should keep your omega leashed in public. Newly mated omegas may get confused and try to run off. It is also recommended that you keep them nude for the first few months so they learn their place. We do offer training for omegas, if needed. You are allowed to beat your omega but you are not allowed to kill your omega outside of a sanctioned kill facility. You can find a list of those at the reception desk or online.” Gabriel nodded stiffly and said, “Ah thanks.” He turned to Sam who looked like he blanked out and said, “Come on Sam. We should get home.” After they were in the car and Sam smacked Gabriel lightly on the arm. He said playfully, “I cannot believe you told her all those nicknames for me. Sammich? Really, Gabriel?” Gabriel shrugged and laughed, “Did you see the look on that asshole’s face? She was typing away like it was the most normal thing in the world?” Sam shook his head and laughed a little. He rested his head on Gabriel’s shoulder and said, “Yeah, you made it bearable. Thanks for that. Now as much as I would like to forget that ever happened, my arm hurts like a bastard and I think they burned my wrist when they put my bracelet on.” Gabriel pulled a cooler out of the backseat that had what he would need to help Sam. He opened it and said calmly, “I can get you squared away but after that we have to stop by the jewelry store. I ordered a bracelet for myself. I didn’t want you to feel alone in having to wear that. We are in this together.” Gabriel carefully started to clean Sam’s brand and the minor burn on Sam’s wrist. Sam winced a couple times then he asked, “Are you going to get branded too? I bet you’ll cry.” Gabriel paused for a moment. Then he nodded his head, “I will make an appointment so I can get branded like you. However, I can promise you I will not cry. I am the big bad alpha.” Sam laughed and shook his head, “You’re my little alpha.” ***** Chapter 12 ***** It turned out there weren’t many places that actually did branding. Gabriel found one body modification shop where he wasn’t worried about getting hepatitis. He was nervous and Sam, the overgrown omega, was smug. Sam thought he was going to cry and they had dish duty for a week riding on it. When they sat down and went over chores, Sam asked to take the majority of them. Even with Sam’s college and his part-time job at the bar, he worked less hours than Gabriel. They were counting Sam’s classroom and homework hours for college as work. Gabriel still had some responsibilities. For instance, he was responsible for lawn care. He didn’t care how busy he was. He would be mowing the lawn. Gabriel did not want to become the laughing stock of his neighborhood by having his omega mow.  Sam thought that was funny. They decided on rotating cooking dinner and dishes. Whoever didn’t cook dinner would do the dishes. It seemed like a simple arrangement. The rest unfortunately fell to Sam. It did mean that he didn’t need a housekeeper anymore. Gabriel was relieved that he didn’t have to put up with the little beta woman who complained about him leaving his socks in the bathroom. Sam left his socks in the bathroom too so he never complained about that. Gabriel was a buddle of nerves when he walked into the shop with Sam. Sam had a huge grin on his face. Gabriel was fairly certain he looked a little pale and like a frightened cat. He tentatively walked up to the counter and said carefully, “Hi, my name is Gabriel Novak and I have an appointment to get a brand.” The guy behind the counter made Gabriel cringe. He had gauges in his ears of different sizes and tattoos on his face. The guy was a beta and without a doubt living life on his own terms. Gabriel was glad Castiel didn’t do that to himself when he decided to go out on his own. He would have loved Castiel even if he had, but Gabriel knew that this guy’s body art would limit his job options. The guy smiled and that was when Gabriel noticed the guy’s golden teeth. It caused him to make a mental note to make a dentist appointment for Sam. He was pretty sure Bobby kept up with Sam’s eye exams and dental visits but Gabriel decided he was going to get everything checked to be on the safe side. He hoped Sam wouldn’t think he was being controlling by doing that. He decided to revise his plan and schedule appointments for both of them at the same time. That should avoid any uneasy thoughts. The guy said slowly, “You’re getting branded or your omega is getting branded?” Gabriel glanced at Sam then back to the guy. He shrugged and said calmly, “Umm, I am. He’s already branded.” The guy led Gabriel and Sam back to a room. Gabriel hopped up on the table as he wondered why he agreed to this. He wondered how much Sam would tease him if he chickened out. Then he stopped and realized Sam didn’t have the option to chicken out or runaway when he got branded. Gabriel could do this for Sam. The guy asked, “Where do you want it and what do you want?” Gabriel let out a slow breath and said, “On my right arm near the shoulder, I want the placement about the same as what Sam, my omega, has. Sam, can you show him your brand?” Gabriel watched the guy look at Sam’s brand and nod. Then Gabriel said, “I want the initials SW.” The guy nodded and said, “Okay, just roll your sleeve up and let me do my thing.” Gabriel did as he was told and he felt the cool antiseptic on his skin. He realized then that he didn’t think they cleaned Sam’s skin before they branded him. He didn’t worry about it too much because he checked Sam’s brand twice a day and it didn’t appear to be infected. Then he felt a warmth on his arm as Sam came over. He tightened his hold on Sam’s hand as the branding iron seared into his skin. Gabriel, the manly alpha that he was, whimpered. Sam brushed a hand through his hair to comfort him but did not tease him. As the branding iron was removed and Gabriel felt the slight pull of his skin against it, he felt a couple tears fall down his face. He decided immediately that he wasn’t crying. His eyes were just watering. + Gabriel was surprised with how much the brand actually hurt. Sam acted like it was nothing. Aside for asking for some ibuprofen. Gabriel was a little bit of a control freak with medications. He was pretty sure it was just the doctor side of him coming out, but he did like to keep track of what Sam took. He didn’t deny Sam anything so he didn’t think he was hurting Sam by doing that. Still Gabriel didn’t know how Sam managed this with ibuprofen. Gabriel wondered if he was a big baby as that was also a possibility. He was currently lying in bed trying to get his mind off of the throbbing in his arm. He could feel his arm pulsing with the throbbing. It was quite unpleasant. A few minutes into his self-pity. Sam came into the room and laid down next to him. His omega turned his head to look at him and said softly, “If you did something to take your mind off of it, it won’t hurt as bad.” Gabriel sighed. Sam was right. He was a doctor so he should know that distraction worked as a way of pain management. Gabriel smiled at Sam and asked, “Are you doing okay with it and everything?” Sam shrugged and didn’t look at him. His voice cracked when he spoke, “Getting registered… I never want to feel that way again. I.. I’ve never been treated like that. Now, I am literally marked and tagged as yours. I.. I don’t know why but I feel different. I’m scared that you’ll hurt me but at the same time I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me because I know other alphas can’t take me from you.” Gabriel shuffled closer to Sam and threw his arm over his omega. He kissed the side of Sam’s head and said honestly, “I didn’t like it when you got registered. For me, I didn’t like how they referred to you and I didn’t like the photos they took of you. They were dehumanizing and I feel that was wrong. The only reason I kept my mouth shut was because I just wanted to get it over with so you could put your clothes back on. I felt helpless and like I couldn’t protect you.” Sam was quiet for a few moments. Then he whispered, “You did protect me. I love you, Gabriel.” Gabriel closed his eyes and smiled, “I love you too even if you’re a pain in my arm.” Sam laughed lightly and said playfully, “I told you that you were going to cry.” Gabriel pulled Sam closer to him and pouted, “I did not cry. My eyes merely watered.” +++ Gabriel returned to work the next day. Sam decided to take another day to himself at the house before facing the world again. Gabriel was fine with this. He also knew that Sam was probably going around scenting everything. His omega had been doing that since he moved in. Gabriel didn’t even think Sam realized Sam was doing that. Things have been going well between the two of them. Of course, it had been less than a week. Sam had spent time at his house prior to this when Bobby had getaway weekends. Neither of him nor Bobby liked the idea of Sam staying at Bobby’s house alone. So Sam would stay with him. After Sam was eighteen, he would complain about it but there was no real heat behind his complaint. Sam knew how alphas were. Gabriel knew Sam was more upset about the way the world was. He wandered into his office at work and closed the door. He smelled a scent. It was close to Sam’s scent but different. It was the scent of a beta. Gabriel scanned the room. He wondered if he could get a call into Sam and tell him to go to Bobby’s place. Bobby had guns and would kill anyone that messed with Sam. He decided to play it cool. Gabriel pretended he didn’t notice the scent. He slipped his phone out of his pocket. He texted Bobby first. “I have either Sam’s brother or father in my office. I am sending Sam over to your place. Keep him safe.” Then he texted Sam, “Hey Sam, I was thinking maybe you should go see Bobby and let him know I didn’t hurt you.” He hoped that Sam would get the message to go now but they hadn’t exactly talked out a code language for when and if Sam’s biological family showed up. Gabriel knew that was his job as the alpha. He was supposed to protect his omega. He was pretty sure he was doing a bad job at protecting Sam. He deleted the text messages and slipped his phone back into his pocket. Then Gabriel took a deep breath and said firmly, “I can smell you. I know you’re here.” Gabriel watched as an older beta stepped out from behind the coats. He had seen this beta before at Bobby’s place. He took a steadying breath and stated, “John Winchester, how are you doing?” John had a gun in his hand and he was debating about whether or not to kill this alpha that mated with his son. He had been so distracted with killing Gordon and getting rid of the body, he let Sam slip through his fingers. He felt like everything he had been working for was for nothing. He had killed two of the three men that raped Sam that night. He had one left and Gordon got added onto the list. He didn’t know if the right thing to do was to kill Gabriel then kill Sam. John had seen the fates of countless omegas. Sam would be at peace in death. He would only suffer in life. John realized that he made a mistake all those years ago when he found Sam. He should have ended it then but he was a coward. He thought Sam could be different but he was wrong. John snarled at Gabriel, “You mated with my son. How dare you take away his rights and make him your pet.” John watched Gabriel put up his hands to show he meant no harm. That was when he saw the glimmer of metal. Gabriel was wearing a bracelet similar to the ones that omegas wore. He took a step toward Gabriel and he grabbed hold of the alpha’s wrist. He read the inscription on the bracelet. ‘Proud and humble alpha of Samuel ‘Sam’ Wesson. An alpha’s duty is to honor, protect, respect, and love his omega at every stage of life and death.” John dropped the alpha’s wrist. He was pretty sure the alpha wasn’t breathing at the current moment. He asked heatedly, “Why did you get that bracelet?” He wanted to know if he was just messing with Sam’s head or if it looked good at his job. Gabriel kept his hands up as he found his voice. His voice trembled with fear. He hated to admit it but Sam was much better with confrontation.  Of course, he knew if Sam was here he would be spurred into doing something to protect Sam. He didn’t know why he wouldn’t move to protect himself. Gabriel never viewed himself as worth much so maybe it was a self-worth issue. He wasn’t sure. Slowly Gabriel said, “I got one to match Sam’s because we are in this relationship together. I didn’t want him to feel different. I.. I got branded like him too. I have his initials on my arm. I cried like a girl and everything but I did it for him. I realize you’re probably going to kill me and Sam. I know I never knew Sam before he presented but he is a bright and capable young man. Please don’t do this.” John stepped back and cocked his gun. He shrugged and coldly, “Or I could just kill you and Sammy can have his life back.” Gabriel shook his head no and stammered out, “No, I haven’t filed the paperwork about what happens to him if I die. He would go to my oldest brother, Michael. Michael would harm him. Michael has three omegas. He doesn’t treat them well. I.. I don’t want Sam treated like that so please if you harm me, you are harming your son.” John eyed Gabriel for a moment and asked bluntly, “And you were thinking about doing what with Sam after your death?” Gabriel closed his eyes and thought. They hadn’t really talked about it. He took a slow breath and said, “His foster father, Bobby, is who I would want to care for him. If.. If Bobby can’t then my sibling, Cassie.” He made sure not to say Castiel’s real name. He thought John might do the world a favor if he took out Michael. He let out a slow breath and said, “He will be well cared for with them. I.. I promise.” John lowered the gun and said flatly, “Your scent changed when I talked about Sammy. You would die for him. I can smell that. In fact, you probably already told him I am here and told him to run. Didn’t you?” Gabriel took a calming breath and looked up at the ceiling. He was so screwed. He whispered out, “Sam is my true mate. I can’t hurt him.” John put the gun away and said coldly, “Okay, I will give you love birds a shot but I will put him down if he starts acting like the typical mated bitch.” John had watched Sam and he knew Sam wasn’t submissive. He knew that if Sam was suddenly okay with kneeling and being led around on a leash that he had to end Sam for his own sake. John hoped it wouldn’t come to that. ++ Gabriel somehow managed to get through the day. His rebellious overgrown omega did not go to Bobby’s house like he asked, implied, or whatever it was he did. Sam decided that he would go see Bobby the next day. Luckily, Gabriel was on the phone with Sam when he found that out. He was pretty sure he would have scared Sam if Sam could smell him or see his face. Gabriel didn’t know what to say to that. It did leave Gabriel knowing two things for certain. One, his omega wasn’t obedient. Two, he wasn’t filing with the courthouse who would care for Sam in the event of his death. Gabriel had a feeling if he did, John would kill him. Instead he filled out the paperwork and sent it to Michael. Gabriel knew his brother was dick but he felt confident Michael would honor his request. He decided to forgo putting Sam in Bobby’s care. He asked for Sam to be placed in Castiel’s care. Michael thought that would be a good idea and as Michael said, “It would teach Castiel some responsibility.” Gabriel wasn’t sure about that, but he had faith. When Gabriel got home that evening, he found Sam sitting in the sunroom reading one of his books for school. Gabriel sat down next to his omega and drew him in for hug. He held Sam tight until he felt Sam laughing. Gabriel pulled away as he heard Sam say, “Stressful day?” Gabriel kissed Sam’s bracelet and whispered, “Something like that, I missed you and I was worried about you. I want to make sure you’re happy.” Sam smiled kindly at him and said softly, “I’m getting there. I think I will do better once I get back into my routine of going to work and school. I was thinking that we could go out for dinner. I was.. I was nervous about leaving by myself.” Gabriel hummed for a moment in mock consideration. Then he said joyfully, “Of course, where do you want to go?” Gabriel decided in that moment he wasn’t going to tell Sam about his run in with his father. Sam didn’t need that kind of stress in his life. It was his job as Sam’s alpha to make sure he didn’t stress. Gabriel was determined to be a good alpha. He didn’t want to screw up again. ***** Chapter 13 ***** Chapter Summary Trigger warning: This chapter includes self-harm. It is in the second section of this chapter. Castiel was carefully shaving Dean. It was necessary for what he had planned. They were role playing. It had become one of their favorite games over the past couple months. Tonight, he was pretending to be an alpha and Dean was supposed to be the omega. The operative word was supposed to be the omega. Dean sucked at pretending to be the stereotypical omega. He heard Dean sigh and watched him test the binding on his wrists. Castiel knew Dean could get out of it rather easily. Sometimes, Castiel would tie Dean up just to see how long it would take him to get out of it. The longest it ever took was five minutes. Castiel thought that was impressive. He wasn’t nearly as impressive when tied up. Sometimes, Dean tied him up so well, he couldn’t get out. He was glad he trusted Dean. Once Castiel was done shaving Dean, he retrieved the peanut butter and jelly he sat next to the bed. He used a butter knife to spread the peanut butter and jelly around on Dean’s groin. It caused Dean to laugh. Castiel looked up from his forming artwork and asked critically, “What?” Okay, so he sucked at playing the role of alpha. Dean laughed a little and said through his laughter, “It looks like I shit on my dick. Cas, you should see your face. It is like this is the most important thing in the world.” Castiel frowned and looked down at his creation. He didn’t think it looked like poop. He also knew that Little Dean was at least enjoying what was happening. He smirked and leaned down. Castiel carefully licked from the base of Dean’s dick to the head. He sucked the head in his mouth for a few moments before pulling away and declaring. “It tastes like molecules.” Dean started laughing harder and Castiel would never admit how much he loved to hear Dean’s laughter. It lightened his heart. He moved back down to Dean’s groin and started licking up the peanut butter and jelly. As he licked Dean’s balls he carefully sucked each of them in his mouth. It earned him a moan from Dean. Once that area was clean, Castiel moved back up to Dean’s dick and licked all around it. Then he started to methodically suck while tickling the underside of it like Dean liked. It didn’t take long before he felt Dean’s semen in his mouth. Castiel held it in his mouth until Dean finished. Then he leaned up and spit it out on a tissue. Castiel tossed the tissue near the trash can and looked at Dean. Dean had a lazy smirk on his face and teased, “Oh my poor alpha, I didn’t get you off. Whatever will I do with myself?” Castiel rolled his eyes as he had completely forgot about the role playing. It looked like Dean was still on board with it though. He knew they had a long night ahead of them. Good thing neither of them had to work the next day. ++ Sam wasn’t scared. Okay, he was a little scared. His few days off work turned into three months and taking incompletes on his college courses. Sam wasn’t sure if it was what happened when Gordon drugged him or the registration process, but Sam was wary around people especially alphas. He knew he was skittish around alphas before but now it was worse. He would feel a tightness in his chest when anyone accidently touched him. He would flinch away from everyone. Sometimes he would even flinch away from Gabriel and Bobby if they caught him off guard. He tried not to leave the house without Gabriel at first. That worked for about two weeks until Gabriel realized what he was doing. Then Bobby started to stop by and drag him out of the house. Most days, he would just end up at the salvage yard with Bobby. Sometimes, he would putter around his old room. Other times, he would read in Bobby’s study. Bobby would make him go with him to talk to customers. Sam wasn’t stupid. He knew Bobby was trying to get help him along. Then Sam ended up going to work with Gabriel sometimes. He didn’t do much except take inventory and file. Some of the alphas praised Gabriel for having such a well behaved omega. Gabriel would just laugh it off but Sam could tell Gabriel didn’t take the praise as a compliment. Gabriel wanted him to be more independent. It was fear keeping Sam from doing that. Sam hadn’t really told his work what happened to him. He didn’t tell them Gabriel claimed him and Gordon didn’t. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of Gabriel claiming him. He just didn’t want to broadcast that he nearly got raped again. Ellen was understanding and told him to take as much time as he needed. It was like she knew he got claimed. Sam had talked to her briefly the day before and today he was going back to work. Stepping into the bar sent fear through his body, but Gabriel promised to stop by and check on him. Gabriel was actually allowed in here now because he was a mated alpha. He walked silently to the back and started washing dishes. Sam knew he should probably talk to everyone and fill them in on his life. However, Sam just wanted to get through this without someone having to call his alpha. Jo was the first person to approach him. She leaned back against the counter and stared at him for a moment. Then she asked, “You had to get registered?” Sam nodded mutely because there was no way he was going to talk about that. He didn’t even talk about that with Bobby and Bobby was the closest thing he had to a father. Sam did talk about it with Gabriel. He liked hearing Gabriel tell him that he wasn’t going to have to go through that again. Sam knew he would to some degree. Gabriel would have to send in updated photos of him every five years. However, it could be done in private. Sam knew Gabriel would still have to take updated photos of his private areas but it was better than a stranger. He trusted Gabriel. Jo shut up for a few minutes and Sam hoped she would just go away. She didn’t and asked, “Did.. Did Gordon claim you? I know you ended up in the hospital. Did they make you get registered as his?” Sam put down the dish he was washing and closed his eyes. He shook his head for a moment then he said quietly, “Gabriel claimed me after I was released from the hospital. He’s been supportive of me.” Jo nodded slowly and said, “Oh, I thought you said he didn’t want you like that.” Sam shrugged and said quietly, “He did. He just didn’t want to force himself on me. Gabriel has never forced himself on me. He’s a good alpha. He wears a bracelet like what I have saying that he is mine and he got branded with my initials. He said he didn’t want me to feel different.” Jo bit on her lip and whispered out, “I’m sorry.” Sam sighed and went back to washing dishes. He wasn’t mad at Gabriel. He was mad at society in general. It made him hate life and hate himself. He wasn’t worth anything to anyone but Gabriel and Gabriel acted like he hung the moon. He couldn’t do this. He had to get out. The last thing he wanted was pity from other omegas because he lost all of his rights. He wiped his hands and walked away. Sam wandered his way to the bathroom. He closed himself in one of the stalls. He rested his head in his hands for a few moments while he tried to figure out why he had to live this life. Sam wondered if maybe it would have been better if he didn’t run when he presented and let his dad put him down. It would have spared him from being this. It didn’t really matter to Sam how kind Gabriel was to him. At the end of the day, Sam was just a piece of property. Sam wanted to ease the pain that he felt inside. He had a box cutter in his pocket for work. Sam carefully slipped it out of his pocket. He fiddled with it in his hand for a few moments. Gabriel would know if he did anything. His alpha wouldn’t be happy. Sam wondered if Gabriel would beat him for it. So far, Gabriel hadn’t laid a hand on him. Sam wondered if this would provoke him or if it would just provoke Gabriel to have him killed. He wondered what it would take for Gabriel to think the same as his father. He clicked the blade out a notch from the holder. He ran a finger over the blade. It wasn’t enough to cut his skin but he still felt a tingle on his finger tip. Sam clicked the blade out another notch. He tested it on the palm of his hand. He pushed down a little more than he intended and he saw a thin red line appear on his skin. It felt good. He felt in control for a moment in his life. He felt alive. Sam clicked the blade out to the third and final notch. He couldn’t see any blood on the blade. He thought that was a good thing. Sam put the blade down on his wrist and dragged it along his skin. He could feel the skin breaking in little pops as he moved along his arm. Sam felt free. He cut a little deeper and he could see a small trail of blood flow down his arm. Sam stopped the trail with his finger and spread the blood around. He felt like all of the pain he felt inside was oozing out from his arm. Sam was relaxing against the wall in the bathroom stall. He felt better than he had since Gordon attacked him. Hell, he probably better than before he presented when he still had a family and wasn’t this subhuman thing. He felt the thoughts he was trying to escape creep into his mind again. Sam lifted up the blade. He was thinking about making another cut. Maybe one more cut would make it all go away. Maybe he could only hope. ++ Gabriel walked into the bar where Sam worked. It looked clean which honestly surprised him. He glanced around for Sam and he didn’t see his omega. Then he remembered that Sam was the dish boy. He saw an omega with a mullet approaching him. The omega looked him over assessing him. It made Gabriel uneasy. The omega asked, “Where is your omega?” Gabriel smiled and let out a slow a breath. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. He just felt like something was wrong. He said carefully, “I am Sam’s alpha. He was nervous about coming back to work and asked me to stop by. I was curious to see where he works.” The omega glanced around and shrugged, “I haven’t seen him since Jo upset him and he retreated to the omegas' room. I will lead the way.” The omega weaved through the bar with a practiced ease to the omegas' bathroom. The omega glanced over his shoulder and said, “You can follow me.” The omega swung the door open and Gabriel smelled blood. He carefully walked past the mullet wearing omega and saw only one closed stall door. Gabriel saw a groove in the front of the door which could be used to open the lock on the door. He used a coin to unlock the door. Gabriel opened up the stall door slowly and he saw Sam sitting on the toilet with one bloody arm and holding a box cutter in his hand. Gabriel looked at Sam and saw that he had been crying. Sam whispered out, “I’m sorry.” Gabriel knelt down in front of Sam and gently removed the box cutter from Sam’s grasp. He was about to reach for Sam when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was a different omega. This one was an older but pretty woman. She was handing him a towel. Gabriel took it from her and placed it on Sam’s arm. He applied a gentle pressure. He waited for a long time before he said anything. Gabriel knew the mullet omega and the female omega were behind him in the bathroom. Carefully Gabriel asked, “Sam, what triggered this? What were you trying to accomplish?” Gabriel had to determine if Sam was suicidal. He hoped not. Sam weakly said, “I wanted the pain to go away. I wanted to forget.” Gabriel nodded. He had heard this sort of thing before from countless other omegas that had passed through the clinic. He carefully asked, “Sam, what did you want to forget?” He knew he could command Sam to tell him but he didn’t want to do that. Sam looked away and said, “Becoming nothing and treated like.. like a thing. I don’t want to live in a world where I am treated like that. You saw what they did to me. You saw the other omegas. None of us matter. I doubt I’ve ever mattered.” Gabriel let out a slow breath and said quietly, “You matter to me. You’ve mattered to me since the day I met you. Why don’t we go home? I can run you a warm bath and we can talk.” Sam curled into himself and asked, “Are you going to punish me?” Gabriel shook his head and ran a hand through Sam’s hair. He gently said, “Nothing you can do would cause me to punish you. I was thinking that we could just talk about it like grownups. How does that sound?” ++ John arrived at Dean’s apartment early in the morning hours. The last thing he expected to walk in on was Dean in bed with another man. More specifically, Dean was in bed with another beta. It was one thing for his omega son to sleep with an alpha male. That was pretty much a given in Sam’s case. Dean was John’s only hope of continuing the Winchester line. He turned on the light to the room which caused both men to jump and cover themselves with the blanket. John rolled his eyes and barked at Dean, “What do you think you’re doing?” Dean hesitated for a moment. Then to John’s surprise Dean did not try to cover up what was going on. Dean apologized, “Sorry Dad, I didn’t know you were going to stop by this morning.” His son gestured toward the dark haired man and said awkwardly, “This is Castiel. He is my boyfriend.” John fumed, “Your boyfriend? Who is going to continue on the family line, Dean? In case you failed to notice your omega brother can’t carry on the line.” John stopped cold in his rant. He just revealed to Dean that Sam was an omega. He didn’t know if Dean caught that or not. Dean shrugged on his boxers from under the covers then he got up out of bed to face his dad. He yelled back at his dad, “Family line? You have got to be kidding me. You wanted to kill Sammy when he presented. He could be an alpha who can carry on your family line. Just because Sammy ran does not mean he is a breeding bitch.” John didn’t dare correct Dean on that. He remained silent while Dean finished his piece. Dean took a step toward him as he started talking again, “Castiel makes me happy and you make me miserable. You took the most important thing in my life once and I am not letting you do that to me again. If you can’t accept me with Cas then please just leave.” John reached forward and backhanded Dean across the face. He spat in Dean’s face and said, “You were never much of a son to me anyways. Neither of you were.” With that John stormed out of Dean’s apartment. Part of him was mad about losing Dean. The other part was happy. If Dean was settling down with someone that meant he would not make it to South Dakota and find Sammy. ***** Chapter 14 ***** Bill was upset with his omega daughter, Jo. Ellen had informed him, after the bar closed, what she did to Sam. He was beyond angry with her. They were at home now and Bill was pacing while he tried to figure out how to handle this situation. Bill knew he had to tell Sam’s alpha. It was the right thing to do. He also knew that the registration process traumatized Ellen. It took him a year to get her to go out on her own and she still wasn’t the same. The only reason she was able to work like she did was because he was there. He stayed in back in the office most of the time unless there was an aggressive alpha. He had sent Ellen and Ash to their respective rooms for this. He didn’t know what he was going to do but he did know, neither of them needed to see him punishing Jo. Bill rarely hit Ellen or his two omega children, but he had and he wasn’t ashamed of that. He knew this was a serious infraction. Jo deserved to be beat for this. She setup another omega to get raped and claimed. Luckily, that didn’t happen but her intent was still there. Bill knew if Gabriel wanted to he could make Jo’s life difficult. She was unregistered and Gordon, the alpha that claimed her, was missing from police custody. She could be taken into custody. Bill also knew Gordon had connections with people like John Winchester. Bill knew Sam was John’s son and he had no doubt John would kill Sam if he ever found him. John would probably kill Gabriel now that he was Sam’s alpha. If that happened, it would be Jo’s fault. Bill didn’t know much about Gabriel. He knew of the Novak name though. Michael and Luci Novak have been influential in the restriction of mated omega rights. The Omega Protection Act was the brainchild of Chuck Novak. Bill doubted that Chuck Novak was really trying to protect omegas. The act prevented omegas from being sold. Now, an alpha could just rape one on the street and claim them. The family of the omega wouldn’t even get to say goodbye to their child. Bill thought the act was to make it easier to claim omegas. Prior to the act, an alpha had to seek the approval and pay the head of household for an omega. An alpha couldn’t just come in and take an omega like they could now. However, Bill knew the act saved omegas like Sam. John would have ripped Sam to shreds. Bill didn’t know if Gabriel was like the other members of the Novak family. However, Bill had no doubt if he was Sam would have a short but difficult life ahead of him. Michael and Luci Novak had both gained national attention for the number of omegas they had put down in their care. He decided that he would have to make the right choice in regard to Jo. Bill carefully removed his belt from his pants and spoke sternly to his daughter. “Kneel on the floor and don’t move.” He watched as Jo did as she was told. He walked over to her and brushed her hair over her shoulder so it was out of the way. Bill took a deep breath and said firmly, “What you did is unspeakable. Alpha Gabriel will have the ultimate say on what happens to you. I hope for your sake he doesn’t decide to have you destroyed.” Jo whispered out with her hands on her lap, “I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean to hurt Sam.” Bill nodded as he folded his belt in half. He murmured, “So am I.” Then he lifted up his arm and started to strike his daughter. Bill wasn’t holding back. He hoped that somehow if he punished Jo enough Gabriel wouldn’t do anything. He rained down strikes on his daughter’s back until her shirt started to tear. He slowed the blows as he moved position. Bill did not expect Jo to move as his belt was coming down. This blow hit her across the face. Bill stopped and he could see where it broke her lip and her eye was swelling. He wondered if he broke her nose. In the end, Bill knew he couldn’t comfort Jo. She had to be punished. Bill tossed his belt down and said firmly. “Crawl to the cage in the basement. You will be locked in there until Alpha Gabriel decides what to do with you.” He was locking her up for two reasons. One reason was he punishing her. If she wanted Sam to get claimed and treated like garbage she could find out how that feels. The other reason was because he didn’t want her to run. ++ Gabriel bathed Sam and cleaned up the shallow cuts on his arm. Sam said it made him feel better and Gabriel had heard that before from other omegas. It was a way of dealing with stress. Granted, it was an unhealthy way but it was still a method. Gabriel knew he would have to work with Sam on that.  He rocked Sam to sleep and even though it sounded childish, it was what Sam needed. Gabriel knew he would give his omega anything to make him okay again. After Sam was asleep, he wandered into his study and he called Michael. His brother answered on the second ring, “Little brother, how are you?” Gabriel sighed and said tiredly, “ As you know, I claimed Sam and he isn’t doing well. I don’t know what to do. He cut himself tonight. He said he wanted to make the pain go away. Sam has never really accepted that he is an omega. I don’t know what to do.” Michael hummed for a few moments then he said thoughtfully, “When you claim an omega, it is a traumatic event. The omega’s mind is forever changed. The best thing you can do is put him on a leash and keep him at your feet. Restrict everything he does and slowly start to let up. However, make sure you still exercise enough control he doesn’t start to think about how unfair life is or think for himself. As for what Sam did tonight, if he was my omega I would lock him in the closet for a few days after I beat him. That would give him a much needed attitude adjustment.” Gabriel started pacing his office and he said tiredly, “Michael, Sam isn’t different. He likes the same things. He has the same drive. I think he got traumatized by the way alphas and society treats him. I doubt locking him in a closet is going to fix that trauma. It would just be adding to it.” Michael growled on the other end of the phone. “The day you realize that omegas are not like the rest of us the better your life will be. Gabriel, you are a medical doctor. You know they are different. I wouldn’t even classify them as human. Stop acting like Sam is something special. Breed him and use him for everything you can then take him to a kill facility.” Gabriel shook his head. He knew this was a mistake. He said softly, “I hope you’re wrong, Michael. I have to go. Good night.” ++ Sam woke up the next morning with Gabriel’s arm around him. Gabriel didn’t dress him anything last night and Sam didn’t think about putting his pajamas on. He felt a little self-conscious about it now. He shifted slightly in Gabriel’s hold but he felt Gabriel tighten his hold on him. Sam huffed out a breath and said, “Let me go so I can put some clothes on.” Gabriel groaned and released his hold on Sam. Sam got up and walked over to his closet. He slipped on a pair of boxers, pajama pants, and an old t-shirt. He wasn’t really sure what to say to Gabriel about last night. They had talked a lot. Well, Sam talked a lot and Gabriel listened. The bathwater went cold a couple times while Sam rambled. Sam wasn’t even sure if most of what he said made sense. Sam wandered into the bathroom and brushed his teeth before going back to bed next to Gabriel. He ran his hand through his alpha’s hair. He knew Gabriel was awake. Gabriel threw an arm around him and whispered, “What do I have to do to make you feel valued and safe?” Sam shrugged and said quietly, “I don’t really know. I’ll never matter to anyone but you and Bobby. I want to make a difference somehow. I.. I don’t want other omegas to go through what I went through. There is no justice for us.” Gabriel hummed for a moment. He gave Sam a light squeeze and said with certainty, “You can still make a difference, Sam. However, to do that you have to go back to college and finish your degree. You are capable of showing them that omegas are like any other person. You just have to believe in yourself. Maybe you can just work at the clinic with me for a while instead of at the bar.” Sam curled into Gabriel a little bit and he said quietly, “I like the bar because I get to talk to other omegas. Can I.. Can I keep working there?” Gabriel closed his eyes and whispered, “That is not my decision to make. I am merely making suggestions.” Sam was about to say something else when he heard a knock on the front door. Gabriel groaned and said, “Stay here and I’ll see who is trying to save our souls today.” ++ Gabriel threw on a robe and quickly walked down the stairs to open his front door. An alpha he didn’t recognize was standing there. Gabriel gave the alpha an odd look and said, “Can I help you with something?” The alpha nodded and held out his hand, “I am Bill Harvelle. My wife runs the bar your omega works at. My two omega children work there as well. I came by to check on Sam.” Gabriel shook his head and he said steadily, “He is doing okay. Please tell Ellen he may need to take a couple days off work if he still has a job that is. I know Sam’s behavior was unacceptable and I have taken care of it.” Gabriel wasn’t going to tell Bill that he just talked to Sam. Most alphas would have done exactly what Michael said. Bill smiled kindly, “He still has a job. I wanted to talk to you about my daughter, Jo. It seems she may be responsible for some your omega’s distress. Jo had asked Gordon to claim Sam so Sam would stop worrying about it. Gordon claimed Jo and didn’t register her. She’s the one that told Gordon to drug Sam because he can fight. Jo assured me that Gordon would not tell John Winchester where Sam is but I can’t be sure. I have my sources checking. That said, I punished Jo last night for her actions. However, what ultimately happens to her is up to you.” Gabriel knew this was custom. An omega from one house hurt an omega from another house and the omega who made the error was typically offered up as a peace offering. Gabriel thought the whole thing was stupid. However, what Jo did made Gabriel’s blood boil. He could think of one place for her that seemed fitting. Gabriel frowned and pretended to think about what he wanted, “I will send someone to have Jo taken to my brother, Michael. He is good at training difficult omegas. She will be a good addition to his home. I consider that fair compensation for what she nearly took from me.” Gabriel knew Michael would treat her poorly, but he didn’t care. Jo setup his omega to get drugged and raped. That was unforgivable. ++ Castiel hummed as he walked to work. He liked to walk because it made him feel one with nature. Castiel wasn’t really too concerned about John Winchester. He learned a long time ago not to worry about homophobic assholes or assholes in general. He was passing an alley on the way to work when he felt someone grab him and shove him up against the wall. Castiel looked and saw it was John Winchester. Dean’s father had a knife to his throat. John growled at him, “What is it with Novaks and my sons?” Castiel didn’t really know what to say to that. He stammered out, “I just work at a gas station. I make a dollar above minimum wage and I’ve been disowned by all but one of my brothers. I know my brothers are dicks but that doesn’t mean I am. I like Dean a lot. I am sorry I am not a girl or rich.” Castiel cringed at the end because he made himself sound like a loser. However, he was happy with his life which was more than he could say for his brothers. John pushed the knife against Castiel’s throat and asked, “Give me one good reason not to kill you.” Castiel let out a slow breath for a moment. Then he said, “I am innocent. I’ve never hurt anyone. I just want a simple life. I want to watch the bees until I fly away to Heaven.” John pulled the knife away from Castiel’s throat and said in disbelief, “You’re crazy.” Castiel wasn’t about to argue that. John stabbed the knife into Castiel’s arm and pulled it out quickly. He snarled at the beta, “Stay away from Dean or I will kill you.” Castiel thought for a moment. He wasn’t a coward by any means. He held his hand over the wound on his arm and said simply, “Then give me a slow death.” Castiel thought John was going to follow through, but Dean appeared out of nowhere and pushed John away from him. Castiel scooted down the wall the of building he was leaning against as he watched John and Dean fight. No one aside from Gabriel had ever fought for him before. It warmed Castiel’s heart. He thought he might be falling in love.  ***** Chapter 15 ***** Sam stood at the bottom of the stairs and listened to Gabriel’s words. He was pissed. Sam crossed his arms and glared at Gabriel as he closed the door. Gabriel smiled at Sam which somehow made Sam angrier. He yelled at his alpha, “What are you doing to my friend?” He couldn’t understand why Gabriel was so calm about this. Gabriel acted like he did nothing wrong when he said, “Jo set you up to get attacked by Gordon Walker. I am giving her to Michael. Given that Gordon never registered her and he is a wanted man, Michael should be able to get her ownership transferred to him.” Sam fumed and he had to take a couple deep breaths to calm himself before he said anything he would regret. He had heard about Michael. Michael was the worst and he treated omegas terribly. Sam understood that what Jo did was wrong, but he didn’t want that to happen to her. More importantly, Gabriel was making a decision for him. Gabriel made a decision on what to do to a person that hurt him. He knew that Gabriel had the right to make that decision for him and any other decision that popped into his head but that didn’t mean Sam liked it. He wanted a say. He sat down on the stairs and put his head in his hands while he tried to calm himself. Sam didn’t know what to do. He was well aware that he was already testing Gabriel’s patience. The fact that Gabriel didn’t do anything to him after his stunt last night speaks to that. Still he wanted a say. He wanted Gabriel to at least let him live in a bubble where he could believe he was equal to Gabriel. This sort of shattered that for Sam. Sam took a deep breath and looked up. He said carefully, “I don’t want that to happen to Jo. I know she hurt me but I don’t see how letting Michael torture her would make it better or right. Gordon could have been controlling her since he is her alpha. Gordon didn’t get to do what he set out to do and it made me accept you as my alpha. I don’t see how that is a bad thing.” Gabriel sighed and sat down next to Sam. He put his arm around his omega and whispered, “I’m sorry for not talking with you first. I was just angry. I haven’t set anything up yet with Michael. We can discuss this if you would like.” Sam nodded and said carefully, “I.. I would like that.” ++ Gabriel was well aware that he screwed up. He fixed Sam breakfast while he tried not to think about how mad Sam must be. He still had to figure out what to do with Jo and he had to figure that out soon. Gabriel did find out that Bill beat Jo last night and she was currently in a cage awaiting pickup. Sam wasn’t happy to hear about that. He sat down breakfast for both of them and they ate in silence. Once they were about done Sam finally said something, “What will happen if Jo reports that Gordon never registered her?” Gabriel pushed his plate away and looked at Sam. He spoke carefully, “She will still have to go through the same registration process as you. I heard about but I have never seen the brand they give omegas whose alphas do not get them registered. It is not pretty like your brand. After that, the state will try to find placement for her. She will likely be put in the care of her alpha father unless they charge him with something for failing to report her claim.” Sam fiddled with his fork for a few moments and then he clarified, “So she will have no rights like me? She’ll just be property.” Gabriel rolled his eyes and moved Sam’s hand away from his silverware. The scrapping on the plate was bothering him. He said firmly, “You are not just property. You’re precious and you have rights because I give you rights. However, you are correct. She will have no rights.” Sam took a deep breath and said quietly, “I think she just wanted me to stop worrying about an alpha claiming me. I know her method of helping was all wrong but I understand. I don’t know if Gordon raped her or not. She probably knows where he is now. I don’t want her to get mad at me and tell Gordon my birth name. John will kill me if he ever found me.” Gabriel opened his mouth and closed it a few times. He wasn’t sure if telling Sam that he had a chat with John Winchester would be wise or not. It probably wasn’t wise. Gabriel suspected that Sam had a higher chance of death at the hands of John Winchester by staying on the path he was on. If Sam didn’t get his life together then Gabriel could see John killing Sam. Gabriel suspected that someone like John Winchester would be impressed by Sam beating up another alpha. Gabriel finally found his voice and he said carefully, “You want to let her get away with what she did to you because you’re afraid of your father? That is insane, Sammy.” Sam was mad now. Gabriel could tell. Sam snapped at him, “Don’t call me that. That is worse than calling me Omega.” Gabriel glared at Sam for a moment and said slowly, “You don’t want me to call you Sammy? Why is that? It is cute like you.” Sam stood up from the table and he took a step toward him and Gabriel wondered briefly if Sam was going to hit him. That question was answered a moment later when Sam shoved him against the counter and held him there. Gabriel was pretty sure that he could get out of this or at least order Sam to stand down if it came to that. However, curiosity was one of Gabriel’s many faults. He wanted to see what Sam intended on doing. Sam shoved him against the counter for emphasis. When Sam spoke he wasn’t mad anymore. He was upset. “The only time people call me that is to degrade me and make me feel like a little kid who doesn’t know right from wrong.” Gabriel slowly moved his hands up to show that he meant no harm. He spoke clearly but he had an alpha edge to his voice. “I understand, Sam. I won’t call you that anymore.” Sam looked at him for a moment and then Gabriel was certain Sam realized what he was doing. Sam basically just attacked his alpha. He watched his omega pull away and say weakly, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” Then he watched Sam retreat up the stairs to their room. Gabriel sighed because this was going to be a long day. He decided to give Sam some time. He made a few calls for someone to pick up Jo. He decided to have her taken to the omega clinic until he figured out what Sam wanted to do with her. ++ Sam was sitting in the corner of their room when Gabriel finally came in. He watched as his alpha sat down in front of him. Gabriel looked upset and Sam could understand that. He knew he was out of line. Gabriel spoke with a kindness Sam was certain he didn’t deserve. “I asked for Jo to be taken to the omega clinic instead of to Michael. I’ll let you decide what to do with her. I do think that at the very least she should be registered to her alpha. I know that process was upsetting to you but it is necessary.” Sam nodded and said weakly, “No, you’re right. She should get registered and given to Michael. I’m sorry for talking to you like that and shoving you. I shouldn’t treat you like that. You don’t treat me like that. It was wrong for me to take my anger out on you.” Gabriel nodded and smiled, “You didn’t hurt me. I’m a tough little alpha.” Sam gave a half smile with that. Then Sam said what had been on his mind for a few weeks, “I know you said that I can do whatever I want. I don’t think that is working. I think I need some boundaries and control. I think I need consequences for my actions.” Gabriel reached forward and tucked Sam’s hair behind his ear. He asked softly, “What were you thinking?” Sam shrugged and he was uneasy talking about this. He said quietly, “I want you to correct me when I do something wrong. I don’t know how but I want you to exercise some control over me because clearly I am not doing a very good job of taking care of myself.” Gabriel hummed for a moment. Sam knew he was thinking. He sounded contemplative, “I like when you’re independent. I don’t like having to control you. However, I understand what you mean. We can talk about consequences for certain actions but I want to be clear on something, I will not hit you. I will never hit you.” ++ Gabriel really should have thought more about this consequences thing before he agreed to it. This was his fault because he wanted everything to be as equal as possible. If Sam wanted consequences for his actions then Gabriel figured he should have consequences for his actions. He was on his way to the Harvelle residence with Jo sitting next to him. He treated her and she would be fine. Her most serious injury was a broken nose. Gabriel didn’t give her anything for the pain and she hadn’t said anything to him. He was okay with that because he still wasn’t sure he had anything nice to say. He did get her registered as Gordon’s omega and instead of taking her in like he expected they said she could be returned to her alpha father. Gabriel knew that if Gordon ever turned up things would change things for her. However, he didn’t worry much about that. It wasn’t his battle. Sam was his omega to protect, not Jo. He got out of his car at the Harvelle residence and walked up to the door followed by Jo. Gabriel knocked a couple times. Bill answered the door and Gabriel gestured to Jo. He said tiredly, “I am returning your daughter. I got her registered and the powers that be said she can live with you until her alpha turns up. She does a have a broken nose but she should be fine.” Gabriel plastered a fake smile on his face and hoped that would be the end of it. Bill looked from Gabriel to his daughter for a few moments. Then asked, “What changed your mind?” Gabriel sighed and was embarrassed, “Sam.” ++ Castiel poked his arm where Dean stitched him up. He didn’t have medical insurance so he couldn’t go to the doctor, not to mention this whole thing would be a little hard to explain. His arm hurt and he wasn’t sure what to think about the events of the day. It was stressful. Castiel thought Dean’s father was insane and it was probably a good thing that Dean’s younger brother took off. He frowned and picked up his phone. He called Gabriel. His brother answered after a couple rings, “Little brother, are you okay? Do you need money?” Castiel frowned at his phone. Just because he was calling his brother didn’t mean he needed something. However, now that he thought about it he did need something. He sighed and asked, “Is it okay to use dental floss for stitches?” Gabriel yelled into the phone, “What? No, that is not okay. Why are you asking me that? I’ve had a really shitty day, Castiel, so don’t mess with me right now.”Castiel was fairly certain that if he was there in person Gabriel would be trying to go all alpha on him. Castiel rolled his eyes and said flatly, “I am fine. My boyfriend’s father is insane. He stabbed me in the arm because I don’t have a vagina but Dean saved me. Dean stitched me up. He said I would be fine and I just wanted to check with you to be sure.” Castiel could hear Gabriel breathing on the other end of the phone. Gabriel’s voice softened, “Everything is fine, sweetheart. Please go back upstairs and rest. My little brother is just being an idiot.”It was pretty clear to Castiel that Gabriel was talking to someone else. Then Gabriel said to Castiel, “Sorry, my omega has been having a rough time. Just make sure you clean the stitches and take them out after a few days. You really should get them redone by a professional but I know you can’t afford that.” Castiel rubbed his hand over his face and asked carefully, “Gabriel, the omegas that had their named changed under the protection act, is there any way you can find out what their name was before?” Gabriel sighed and said simply, “No, I can’t. I don’t even think the government knows most of the time. Why?” Castiel shook his head and said quietly, “No reason, I was just thinking. I’ll come see you soon.” Gabriel chuckled and said playfully, “We should put that off for a bit. I need to get everything evened out here. Sam has to get reenrolled in college and we are still working on a schedule that works. You’re disruptive.” Castiel balked, “I am not disruptive. I just like to get up early.” He smiled though because even though his boyfriend had a crazy family, Gabriel had a way of making him feel better.  ***** Chapter 16 ***** Sam stared blankly at his homework. He didn’t want to do this. He had started going back to class about two months ago. Gabriel was pleased and everyone at his work except Jo was excited for him. Jo was still a little cold toward him and Sam doesn’t know how to fix that. He wasn’t even sure wanted to fix it. Jo had yet to apologize directly to him but Sam understood things were difficult for her. Her dad beat her because of what she did and then she had to go through the registration process without anyone that cared. She had to go through that alone and Sam felt bad for her in that regard. He knew he was lucky because he had Gabriel there for him the whole time.  Sam wondered if he should talk to her about it or not. He decided to just stay clear of her. There wasn’t much Sam could really say. He knew things worked out better than if Gabriel had gotten his way. He didn’t think he had anything to apologize for and there wasn’t much to say to her besides sorry. She did lose all of her rights. Sam pushed his book away and thought about doing his homework later. However, he knew he had consequences, as Gabriel liked to call them, if he didn’t do his homework or if he did poorly on an assignment. Sometimes, Sam liked the consequences because he would get more attention from Gabriel. His alpha would sit with him and make sure the homework was done or he would sit with him and help him study. Gabriel helped Sam study a lot anyways but Sam thought he paid attention more when he was technically in trouble. Gabriel helping him was the okay part of a consequence. The not okay part was the negative fallout of his choice not to do his schoolwork. Sam knew that he would have to kneel in the corner and do absolutely nothing for an undermined amount of time. It was usually twice as long as however long it took him to actually do his homework or twice as long as he spent on assignment. The worst part was when Gabriel would make him explain why procrastinating was wrong and how he intended not to fall into the same cycle in the future. Sam rubbed his temples for a moment and he had to admit to himself that things have been going better. Granted, they changed a lot of things. When Sam wasn’t in class, he was at the clinic with Gabriel. Usually he was back in Gabriel’s office where he worked on his homework. He worked less at the bar because Gabriel was usually there in the background somewhere doing his own set of paperwork. It made him feel better to have his alpha near. Sam liked to think that Gabriel liked having him near too. Sam went back to doing his homework. He didn’t feel like facing a consequence from Gabriel today. About an hour later, Gabriel came into his office and plopped down in an empty chair. He sounded tired. “My asshole older brothers are hosting a dinner party for their mission of restricting omegas even more. They asked that we come. I don’t think we should go because I don’t want to treat you…” Sam cut Gabriel off, “You’re afraid to stand up to your brothers. You’re afraid to show them that you don’t treat me like a pet.” He grinned after he finished speaking because he knew he was right. Gabriel opened and closed his mouth a few times. Then he said carefully, “Sammich, the media is going to there. You want me, Gabriel Novak, to walk in with my omega holding my hand and unleashed? It would be a scandal. Mikey and Luci would kill me and Cassie would die laughing.” Sam pursed his lips and proposed, “I could put you on a leash. That would be even more scandalous. Seriously though, I’m not going if you’re going to put me on a leash or let people talk down to me all night. I don’t need that in my life. I also don’t want my face in a tabloid. My father and brother would know exactly where I am then and I would prefer not to die.” Sam watched Gabriel stare at the ceiling. Then he shrugged. He stood up and straightened his scrubs. Gabriel had a false bravo going on when he said, “We aren’t going. Michael and Luci can come over for dinner at our house without the eyes of the world on us. That should go over better.” Gabriel shook his head no and said weakly, “I feel like a whipped pup. They are going to rip me a new one for you but it is worth it… I hope.”  Sam felt ashamed by Gabriel’s reaction to his brothers’ visit. It was the first time, Sam ever felt like Gabriel was afraid to call him his. It made Sam wonder what Gabriel really wanted from him. He wondered if all this talk about equality was just that talk. Sam wasn’t sure what he wanted out of life but he wanted to feel like a person. He didn’t want to be treated poorly or fear getting beaten. Sam hoped Gabriel wouldn’t change because his big brothers said so. ++ Castiel was alone in the woods staring at the beehive. He didn’t know where Dean was. Well, he had a pretty good idea. Dean was probably getting drunk. Despite defending him, Dean had distanced himself from Castiel after the fight with John Winchester. Castiel wasn’t sure if Dean was ashamed or if maybe he thought his father was right. Castiel knew he couldn’t give Dean certain things. He couldn’t give Dean the thing that he wanted the most. Dean didn’t want children per se. Dean wanted his little brother. Castiel looked literally everywhere for Sam Winchester. He sifted through stacks of omega registrations and there was no one by the name Sam Winchester. There wasn’t an alpha or beta out there with the name either. It was like Sam just fell off the face of the earth. It left Castiel feeling a little disappointed. To make matters worse, the only photo Dean seemed to have of Sam was when Sam was twelve. Castiel knew that if Sam was still alive, he did not look like that twelve year old boy anymore. Castiel thought about asking Gabriel for help but he didn’t. He didn’t want to involve his brother on a search for what could very well be a search for a body. That was where Castiel was now. He was sifting through all the unidentified bodies within a three hundred mile radius of where Sam went missing. He was looking for someone who fit the description Dean gave him of Sam. It was tedious and it wasn’t going anywhere. Castiel just thought that even if all he found was a body or at this point ashes, it would give Dean closure. He thought that maybe it would allow Dean to move on. He wasn’t sure if doing any of this would make Dean care about him again. Somehow Castiel doubted it. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that the whole thing was pointless. However, Castiel knew that existing was pretty pointless in general. Castiel was about to drift off to sleep when he heard his cell phone ring. He answered it, “What? I don’t have a lot of minutes.” He heard the sharp voice of his oldest brother and Castiel immediately regretted answering the phone that way. “Castiel. That is no way to talk to your brother. Luci and I are in Sioux Falls for a benefit dinner for our work. Gabriel has declined to go because he decided to act against us. I was wondering if you would like to come to represent the family. Luci and I will pay for everything for you. It should help your social status.” Castiel sighed and shook his head. He knew Michael couldn’t see him but that was beside the point. He spoke flatly, “The only reason you want me to come is because everyone is expecting three brothers not two. You know, I don’t agree with your work. I think it is terrible what you’re doing. I would rather drown in the ocean than rub shoulders with sexist assholes.” Michael growled on the other end of the phone and Castiel rolled his eyes. Michael was pissed off when he replied, “If you were an alpha you wouldn’t think like that. However, nature knew you were weak and made you a beta. How has life as a beta been working out for you? Still on the path to nowhere or are you still on the path or peace, love, and happiness?” Castiel laughed and he watched some of the bees leave the hive. He calmed his laugher and tried to calm his brother. He was used to doing this. As a child, Castiel learned not to upset Luci and Michael. They would beat him if he did. Their parents were never around much so it gave them plenty of opportunity to take out their wrath on him. Gabriel didn’t really do much. Gabriel never intervened. Although, Gabriel did clean up his wounds and listen to him complain. Castiel knew Gabriel had a matching set of bruises so there wasn’t much Gabe could do. They were just partners in misery. Calmly Castiel said, “I’m sorry, Michael. I didn’t mean to come off as rude. I do believe I am firmly on the path to nowhere. I met a nice beta and we dated. Then his father stabbed me so that pretty much ended things.” The anger was immediately gone from Michael’s voice. Now Michael was being concerned and protective. It always made Castiel laugh how in Michael’s world the only people allowed to rough him up were family. “Are you okay? Who stabbed you?” Castiel sighed, “John Winchester. He is insane as far as I can tell. John is the father of Dean, the beta I was seeing. Dean has a little brother. I guess John said that he would kill Dean’s little brother, Sammy, if he presented as an alpha or an omega. I’ve been trying to find Sammy but if the kid is alive he is a ghost or in the Omega Protection Program. I think John killed Sammy and just didn’t tell Dean. I think I am lucky to be alive.” Michael let out a slow breath and said firmly, “Don’t worry baby brother. I will protect you.” Castiel seriously doubted that. Michael had been responsible for more injuries in his life than anyone else including getting stabbed by John Winchester. Still it felt nice to know his big brother was looking out for him. ++ Sam dressed up for dinner. They were having dinner at the house and Gabriel insisted that he dress up. Gabriel even went so far as to buy him new clothes for this. It wasn’t clothes Sam would normally wear. He didn’t have much use for dress clothes and the dress clothes he had were cheap or from the secondhand store. These clothes were new and they fit him perfectly. He wore simple grey slacks, a white shirt and a blue tie. Gabriel said blue ties made someone look powerful. Sam was pretty sure Gabriel just liked the color blue. He stared at himself in the mirror for a few more minutes before slipping on his shiny new shoes and walked downstairs. He didn’t have to wait long for Michael and Luci to arrive. Gabriel greeted them at the door and Sam noticed that they didn’t even knowledge his existence. Sam escaped to the kitchen so Gabriel could catch up with his brothers. He plated their meals and brought them into the dining room. Sam briefly tried to remember what the proper etiquette was. He didn’t know if he was supposed to give their guests their plates first or his alpha. This was stressful. Sam decided to serve their guests first. He sat down their plates in front of them gently. As Sam turned to leave so he could grab Gabriel’s plate and his plate, he heard Michael say, “Your omega needs training and he is grossly overdressed.” Sam didn’t stick around long enough to hear Gabriel’s response. He grabbed his plate and Gabriel’s plate and headed back to the dining room. He sat down Gabriel’s plate and then his own in the spot next to Gabriel. No one had touched their food by the time Sam sat down. Gabriel started eating first because Gabriel either didn’t notice the awkwardness or didn’t care. Then Sam heard Luci say in disgust, “You expect us to eat with your bitch?” Gabriel stopped eating and Sam knew immediately that Gabriel was angry. He recoiled a little bit from Gabriel even though he knew he could win a fight against Gabriel and more importantly Gabriel wasn’t mad at him. Gabriel was seething when he spoke, “Sam is not a bitch and it would be wise not to call him that. Sam is a very smart and kind person. I am honored to have him in my life. I don’t deserve him. He’s too good for me but he helps be to be a better person.” Michael rolled his eyes and asked, “Gabriel, how does he make you a better person?” Gabriel smiled and Sam felt Gabriel grab hold of his hand. He watched as Gabriel kissed his bracelet and said softly, “He taught me how not to be like you.” Michael let out a slow breath then he stated slowly, “If he is so great then I am surprised you are not showing him off. I would have expected you to be showing everyone how wrong I am. I mean, if your omega is as capable as you claim why do you hide him away? The benefit dinner would be the perfect opportunity to throw your new life in my face.” Gabriel took a drink of his water. Sam smiled because he knew Gabriel wanted something with alcohol but Gabriel didn’t want any alcohol served because of Luci.  Gabriel explained that Luci was a violent drunk. Sam thought there was more to Gabriel’s past that he wasn’t saying, but Sam didn’t pry. He wondered though if Gabriel’s brothers were abusive like his father was to him. Slowly Gabriel said, “Michael, I would love to show Sam off however it is best if we stay out of the limelight. Sam.. Sam’s family had a poor reaction to him being an omega. They might try to hurt him if they knew where he is.” Michael nodded and stated firmly, “His family has no claim to him anymore. You own him. I’ve never taken you as a coward, Gabriel.” Sam watched Gabriel wince. He was surprised when Gabriel opened up to his brother, “Perhaps I am a coward, brother. Sam’s father didn’t want property rights on Sam. He wanted to kill Sam for being an omega. He hated alphas and omega alike. I fear that if he came after Sam, he would also come after me. From what Sam has told me about his father, he is quite capable of killing us both.” Luci shared a glance with Michael and started eating. Sam almost breathed in relief when he saw that. Then after a few moments of silence Luci said, “So Sam is it? You’re in the Omega Protection Program. Our family laid the ground work for that. What is your real name?” Sam glanced at Gabriel who gave him an encouraging nod. Sam gave a weak smile and said quietly, “Samuel Wesson.” He would never admit it but he was a little scared of Luci and Michael. Luci sighed and said exasperatedly, “No, your name before you entered the program. I have nothing to gain by knowing your name.” Sam stared at him and was unsure if he should reveal his secret or not. Luci gave him a look that looked like the look Gabriel gave him when he wanted obedience. Sam wasn’t sure what came over him when he said, “Samuel Winchester but my brother and dad called me Sammy.” He cringed when he got done speaking. He hated being an omega sometimes. Sam missed the look of concern and shock from Michael.  ***** Chapter 17 ***** Michael paced inside the old warehouse. Azazel was supposed to deliver John Winchester to him. He wanted to have a chat with John. Just a chat, Michael reminded himself. He took the liberty of doing some checking and he got Gabriel to open up about what he knew. John had threatened to kill Gabriel and Castiel. It was unforgiveable and unspeakable to Michael. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt his brothers. Well, he could imagine why someone would want to hurt Castiel but not Gabriel. Castiel reminded Michael of a free loving hippy. He wondered if this Dean was the same way. Michael supposed that having an omega son and a beta son as odd as Castiel would send anyone over the edge. Michael hoped he didn’t ever bred an omega son. It would be a shame and he would get rid of it the first chance he got. Michael did like Sam. He found Gabriel’s methods of training unconventional but Sam was a very well-behaved and respectful omega. He didn’t speak unless spoken to. He was always polite in his responses. Although, Michael thought Sam could benefit from using proper titles. He decided to let that slide. It was clear to Michael that Sam did defer to Gabriel. It was hard to tell at first but Michael noticed the little glances they would give each other. He noticed the nervousness Sam had when he was separated from his alpha. It was all the markings of a well-behaved omega. Michael was confident Gabriel could train the omega well. He wasn’t pleased to hear about Sam going to college and working. An omega’s place was at home but Sam did appear to be doing a good job of keeping up the house. However, Michael knew it was Gabriel who cooked dinner. It should have been Sam because an omega’s place was in the kitchen. Michael didn’t like dining with Sam. He had never eaten dinner with an omega like that before. Sam should have been on his knees at Gabriel’s feet, not sitting next to him. Michael knew he would have to talk to Gabriel about that. No matter how progressive Gabriel was there was a right way and a wrong way to do things. Michael knew that not providing enough control in an omega’s life could cause them to start hurting themselves. He already knew Sam had a problem with that and Michael was certain Sam needed more direction in his life. Michael had to wait longer than expected for Azazel to finally arrive with John. He smiled at the man. He noted that John’s hands were restrained and Michael knew the beta couldn’t get out of this. Michael said slowly, “My name is Michael Novak and I understand that you hurt my little brother. Would you care to explain that?” John struggled in his restraints and Michael smiled wider. Somethings were just enjoyable to him, even if he knew it was considered wrong. Michael could see a little bit of Gabriel’s Sam in John. It made him wonder if Sam would look like this as he aged. Michael hoped that Gabriel would make Sam be a little cleaner and smoother around the edges. He knew he would have to talk to Gabriel about that. John snarled at Michael, “I only stabbed Castiel to defend what was mine. The little bitch took what was mine anyways.” Michael knew he just wanted to talk but comparing his baby brother to an omega just crossed a line for him. He backhanded John cross the face and watched silently for a moment as John spit out some blood. He wondered if he knocked out a tooth with that blow. Michael didn’t really care if he did. He calmly replied, “Castiel is a beta. I do believe the only bitch, we have to be concerned about is your son, Sam. I must say he does look beautiful on his knees in front of my brother, Gabriel.” Michael knew he never saw Sam on his knees but if he had to guess that image would set John off. He was completely right when John struggled more and tried to lunge at him only to be held back by Azazel’s men. John yelled, “No son of mine would kneel before anyone.” Michael smirked because that might actually be true. Gabriel was so lost sometimes. Michael reached forward and grabbed hold of John’s face. He seethed, “My brother has a properly behaved omega. As I recall, you wanted to kill your omega son. Now as much as I would love to chat about Sam, I want to talk about Castiel. Why did you stab my brother?” John steadied himself in an attempt to calm himself down. Michael thought John was like an out of control alpha. The ones that attacked omegas on the street. Michael preferred to stalk the omegas he wanted. He wanted to make sure he had the right match. He wasn’t one of the grab and take alphas. He listened carefully to John’s strained words, “Castiel is sleeping with my son, Dean. I don’t approve in Dean being in a relationship with a man. I need someone to carry on my family line.” Michael raised an eyebrow. He stated coldly, “I am sure Sam will be pregnant and barefoot in due time. Pregnancy is dangerous for male omegas but Gabriel is a doctor. I am sure Gabriel will make sure your grandchild is delivered safely and Sam is put down nicely afterwards.” He grinned as he finished speaking. Roughly, eight-five percent of all male omegas died during labor. Their bodies weren’t made to deliver children like women. They would typically bleed out during labor. Most alphas didn’t bother with taking the omega to the clinic for delivery which could have saved their life. Omegas were easily replaced. Michael didn’t think it was possible for John to get angrier but he was wrong. He watched John grunt and struggle for a several minutes. It was amusing. Michael wondered if there was something wrong with him. Finally John said something he could understand, “If Gabriel kills my son.. I will kill him.” That was everything Michael needed to hear and everything he didn’t want to hear. He calmly pulled a knife out of his pocket. He ran his fingertip over the blade for a moment. Michael was calm and distant when he spoke. “There is only one person who decides when Gabriel or Castiel dies and that person is me.” He moved the knife across John’s throat in one clean swipe. Michael watched Azazel’s men drop the man to the ground. He watched John twitch on the floor as he bled out. John looked up at him in his final moments. Even though the man was choking on his own blood, he managed to say, “Dean.. Look out for Sammy.” Each word was accompanied with him choking out some blood. John stared at him as passed. Michael was left wondering, as he stared at John’s body, if perhaps John really did love his sons. It didn’t matter though. Neither of his sons would ever know his last words. ++ Dean sipped on his beer at the local bar. He was eyeing a pretty omega chick that was waiting tables. She was hot and Dean hoped to be able to take her home for the night. He had been distancing himself from Castiel. He liked Castiel and he wanted to be with Castiel but it occurred to Dean that he was dangerous to be around. Dean never wanted to see Castiel get hurt because of him ever again. He was toward the end of his beer when an alpha sat down next to him. Dean glanced at the alpha and noticed that his eyes looked a lot like Castiel’s eyes but this alpha had blonde hair. The alpha smirked slightly. The alpha’s voice was smooth, “I understand your father stabbed my baby brother and then you dumped him. I don’t approve of people dicking with Castiel.” Dean sighed and said firmly, “I am just trying to keep him safe. I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.” The alpha hummed for a moment. Then he said vaguely, “I don’t understand betas and love. I understand alpha and omega love even less. My brother, Gabriel, believes himself to be in love with his omega. It is an odd thing. I would never treat that omega like he does. Do you believe we are all capable of love, Dean Winchester?” Dean felt uncomfortable being interrogated by Castiel’s older brother. He took the final drink of his beer and said flatly, “Yes, I suppose. I mean there is romantic love and family love. I think we are all capable of loving our family.” The alpha nodded slowly and asked, “Do you love your family?” Dean stared at the alpha for a moment. Then he said, “I love who my dad was before he went crazy. I love my late mother and I love my baby brother. My dad wanted to kill Sammy when he presented so Sammy ran. I don’t know what Sammy is but it made me realize that my dad changed. He’s not the father I had once.” The alpha hummed for a moment and clarified, “So Mommy is dead and Daddy probably killed little brother. You have a chance to build a family with Castiel but you don’t because you’re afraid of Daddy. That sounds weak to me. You see, whenever I want something I go out and take it. I suppose that is one of the privileges of being an alpha. I’m strong and I go after what I want. I know you’ve been whoring around but my brother is something of free spirit. I am sure he will forgive you.” Dean opened his mouth to protest that he wasn’t weak but he stopped himself. He sighed and said quietly, “I don’t want to hurt him more than I already have.” The alpha chuckled, “I never knew betas were so sensitive or maybe you just have the spirit of an omega. All I know is if you don’t try to work things out with my brother, you will have more to worry about than your dad. No one dicks with Castiel but me and if you break his heart, I will end you.” Dean could hear the threat in the alpha’s words and the alpha was right. He was being a coward by avoiding Castiel. Dean sighed and said, “Fine, I will talk to him. What is your name anyways?” The alpha smiled and said calmly, “I go by Luci.” ++ Sam had been seeming down the past couple days. Gabriel thought a nice prank might cheer him up and make him laugh. It usually worked and Gabriel enjoyed messing with Sam. Besides, he had a rough day himself. He had to listen to Michael ramble on the phone for close to thirty minutes about the proper way to train Sam. Gabriel just gave random sounds to show he was still listening even though he zoned out most of what Michael said. Sam didn’t need training. His omega was perfect just the way he was. He knew that an omega’s hair grew faster than an alpha or a beta. An alpha or a beta would grow on average about five inches per year. An omega’s hair would grow on average about ten inches per year. Gabriel was glad that Sam kept his hair a little long. It was easier to maintain that way and required less haircuts. If he kept it short, Sam would have to get a haircut every two weeks at least. Gabriel didn’t think this prank would upset Sam to bad. Gabriel carefully replaced Sam’s shampoo with hair remover. He had to add some fragrance to it so it would smell like Sam’s shampoo. It took some effort to find a perfume that smelled similar to Sam’s shampoo. Gabriel knew Sam could probably tell the difference but he was counting on Sam not playing that close of attention. He watched Sam strolled into the bathroom. Gabriel listened to the shower turn on and he could barely contain his chuckle. He laid back on the bed and waited for Sam to notice. When Sam did notice, everything went horribly wrong. Sam yelled, “Alpha, my scalp is burning.” Sam never called him alpha unless he was teasing him, being seductive, or around an aggressive alpha that made him uneasy. Sam didn’t sound like he was doing either of those things. He sounded like he was in distress. Gabriel rushed into the bathroom. Sam had turned off the water and he had a towel wrapped around his waist. He was pulling out clumps of his hair that seemed to have melted together. Underneath that Gabriel could see red and irritated skin. It was a minor chemical burn from the hair remover. Gabriel rushed over and took Sam’s hands away from his head so he could get a closer look. It was then he noticed that Sam was upset and on the verge of tears. Gabriel let out a slow breath and slowly ran a washcloth over Sam’s head. He kept on wiping Sam’s head until he was sure all of the hair remover was gone. Sam still had some hair left but it was sparse and he had large bald spots. Gabriel knew it would be better to cut the remaining hair off and start over. He just wasn’t sure if Sam would be willing to do that. Carefully Gabriel said, “I’m sorry, Sam. I was trying to play a joke on you and it seems to have backfired. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Let me get my scissors to cut the rest of this off and I will put some ointment on the burns.”  Sam sniffled a little and Gabriel felt like terrible. His omega’s voice cracked when he asked, “I don’t understand. Why would you do this to me? I.. I thought I was being good.” Gabriel cringed. He quickly reassured, “You are good. I was just being an asshole.” Sam nodded and said quietly, “I liked my hair. It always felt like something of mine they couldn’t take away.” Gabriel let out a slow breath. He was glad that omegas didn’t tend to go bald with age like some alphas and betas did. Omegas in general maintained their hair color longer too. Although, most omegas didn’t live past the age of forty. Old grey haired omegas were rare, even in Gabriel’s line of work because of the kill facilities. He carefully moved away from Sam and got the scissors. He returned and carefully started cutting away the stray strands of hair. Sam was crying now and Gabriel would have never expected this sort of reaction from him. It made him sad and he wished he would have found a different way to prank Sam. After the stray hairs were trimmed away, Gabriel applied ointment to Sam’s head. He spoke softly, “I will change your pillowcase. We’ll want to change it every night until this heals so you don’t get an infection. I’m sorry, Sam. How can I make this up to you?” Sam sighed and said nervously without looking at him, “You want a consequence for being a dick to me. I don’t want you to have burns on your head like me, but I would feel better if you cut your hair off too.” Gabriel nodded and clapped his hands on his thighs. He had never shaved his head before. The idea actually scared him. He suddenly understood what Sam was feeling. Gabriel felt like he was about to lose a part of himself that made him who he was. Gabriel knew it was just hair but still. He put on a fake confidence and said, “Do you want to do the honors or shall I?” Sam wiped his eyes and said quietly, “You can do it.” Gabriel was actually hoping Sam would offer to do it but he didn’t. He knew he had to look at himself in the mirror while he cut off all of his hair. Gabriel was nervous but he got up to get the electric razor. He would accept the consequences of hurting his omega. He knew he deserved more than this. Sam was very kind to him.  ***** Chapter 18 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Dean was saddened when he found out about the death of his father. He knew the man hated him but that didn’t mean he wanted him to die. He was still his father and Dean loved him. It hurt to burn his body. It hurt that he never got to say good bye or make amends. He never got to do those things. He wanted to. He wanted to be able to talk to his dad one last time. If for nothing else than to say he loved him and he understood that he was only doing the best he could. He had started talking to Castiel again, like Luci insisted. Dean was a little scared when he found out that Luci’s real name was Lucifer. Who names their kid Lucifer? Apparently, Castiel’s parents did and that explained a lot about Castiel’s family to Dean. Dean did find out that Castiel had been looking for Sam. So far Castiel had a whole lot of nothing. They were currently going through all the registrations for omegas by picture since they didn’t find anything by name. Dean knew that omegas tended to change their name after they mated. Of course, he knew that the omega didn’t have a choice in that. Their alpha picked their name. Castiel did tell him about Gabriel’s omega. Castiel had seen the registration photo but Dean hadn’t. His boyfriend told him that the omega was bigger than Gabriel which Castiel found to be hilarious. Dean didn’t ask to see the photo of Gabriel’s Sam because he tried not to look to closely at the registration photos. He never looked passed the face shot. There was just something about staring at nameless tearstained faces that made Dean hate the world he lived in a little more. He knew that eventually he was going to meet this Sam. Dean had met Castiel’s other brothers. The reason they haven’t met Gabriel was because according to Castiel, Sam was still adjusting and Gabriel didn’t want any house guests right now. Dean understood wanting to create a stable environment for an omega. It was one of the things they needed to thrive. However, it wasn’t something many of them were given. Alphas tended to be dicks to omegas and more and more that upset Dean. He knew that if his baby brother was an alpha and decided to treat an omega like garbage, he would personally beat Sammy into next week. If Sammy was an omega and getting treated like garbage, Dean would kill the alpha without a second thought. He loved Sam too much to see him hurt or to see him hurt someone else. Dean knew there were more good than bad alphas in the world. It was just he never heard about those alphas. Dean knew there was a chance Sam was dead like their father. If that was the case, Dean wanted to put Sam’s ashes with the rest of the family’s. They had a family plot in Kansas. He had gone there to spread his father’s ashes and he added his father’s name to the list. On the list was the names of all their ancestors and their mother. Dean knew that one day his ashes would be there and he hoped that if Sam was dead that his ashes could find their final resting place with the rest of the family. It seemed only right and it seemed like that was the only apology Dean could really offer Sam if he was dead. Dean was pulled from his thoughts by Castiel wrapping his arms around him and offering him a shot of whiskey. Dean took it and downed the drink. He asked Castiel, “Are you trying to get me drunk?” Castiel shrugged and said, “You’ve never seemed to mind besides we have wedding plans.” Dean groaned but he didn’t mean it. He didn’t want to have a wedding with family and friends. Mostly because, he didn’t have anyone. In fact now that Dean thought about it, he didn’t have anyone but Castiel. Castiel was his only family. He never pictured himself settling down and getting married. That was more Sam’s thing than his. He wished Sam was here. Sam always wanted a home. Castiel wandered away after a moment and came back. He sat down a next to Dean. He said carefully, “We can just get eloped. None of my brothers married their mates but they are alphas that took an omega. Alphas don’t normally marry their omega.” Dean grinned because Castiel was moving other toward what he wanted to do. He kissed Cas on the side of the head and said quietly, “At least us getting married won’t result in one of us losing all of our rights. Have you told your brothers yet?” Castiel tilted his head like he was confused and said bluntly, “No, they never told me about their mates until everything was said and done so I am not going to tell them. Well, I knew Gabriel had a thing for Sam but the claiming seemed rather… spur of the moment.” Dean sighed and said like he was put upon, “Okay Cas, we should we tie the knot.” Castiel gave Dean a confused look and stated, “Dean, neither of us have knots. We are betas.” Dean rolled his eyes because sometimes, Castiel was dense. ++ Sam had been doing better. Gabriel laid off on the pranks after the hair incident and treated him like he was made of glass for about a month and a half. It was worse than the time, he cut himself. Gabriel gave him any and everything he wanted. Honestly, Sam didn’t want for anything in the first place but he found it amusing to send his alpha on errands for certain things. Gabriel may not be pranking him but Sam was making up for all the pranks that got played on him. Gabriel’s dog passed away and Sam was lucky enough to get to pick out their new dog. It was one of the perks of Gabriel still giving Sam everything he wanted and more. Gabriel wanted a puppy but Sam fell in love with a golden lab that was about five years old. The dog barked at 4:30 in the morning every morning to get fed so they named the dog Riot and bought an automatic feeder so the dog would shut up. The dog helped Sam. He didn’t take Gabriel’s previous dog for walks because he was so old, but Sam took Riot for a walk every morning. He chatted with other omegas in their neighborhood and sometimes the occasional beta would say hello. Typically though, Sam knew the omegas were the only ones home during the day. Omegas normally didn’t work and they stayed home to do household things and raise the children. Gabriel hadn’t mentioned anything to him about children beyond stating that he wanted Sam to finish college first. Sam was okay with that because he didn’t want to send his kids to daycare. He knew it was probably the omega in him but he wanted to stay home and make sure they were nurtured. Sam knew that the only nurturing he got growing up was from Dean and while his brother did a great job, Sam wanted his children to have something more. He didn’t want his children to have to rely on an older sibling. Sam knew most of the time, Dean was guessing about course of action to take. He knew he didn’t notice at the time, but looking back he could see it.  Sam missed Dean and he appreciated everything his brother did for him. However, Sam knew Dean stopped loving him the moment he presented. Now he was just a rabid animal to be put down. Sam hoped Dean and their dad never found him. He was happy in his life with Gabriel. Sam felt Gabriel run a hand through his hair and state, “Your hair is almost back to where it was. I am glad to see you’re not wearing a hat all the time anymore.” Sam shrugged and stated clearly, “It wasn’t a hat. It was a beanie that a lot of male omegas wear. It is supposed to help them smell their alpha more or in my case protect my head because of the chemical burns.” Sam frowned and added, “Then I became a little attached to it.” Gabriel rolled his eyed and flopped down, “Yeah whatever, I am just glad you’re not wearing it much anymore. Your hair is to pretty to cover up.” Sam nodded and changed the subject. He didn’t like to talk about that. “I have an omega rights rally tomorrow downtown. The civil liberties group I am working with in college has proposed a bill to end the registration process and to give omegas a say in claiming. That way a random alpha can’t just bite them and take away their rights. They actually have to consent to it. I think we are along ways away from those alphas being charged with rape or assault but it is a start.” Gabriel fiddled with Sam’s hair for a moment and smiled. Sam was doing so much better. He found his inner strength or maybe he found who he was before. Gabriel wasn’t sure. However, this Sam reminded him of the boy he fell in love with. He was glad that Sam was moving past the trauma he suffered and trying to create something positive. Gabriel hoped he could. He replied, “I will write you a note stating that I approve for you to be there. They will probably be checking that sort of thing. I can go with you if you would like.” Sam smiled and leaned his head down on Gabriel’s shoulder. He laughed and said, “Nah, last time some crazy beta hit you with a sign because he thought you were one of those alphas when you told me I need to drink water in 100 degree heat.” Gabriel chuckled, “Hey, I got away.” Sam shook his, “No, you hid behind me and asked me to protect you. All the other omegas thought you lost your mind.” Gabriel kissed Sam on the top of the head and said quietly, “You did defend me.” ++ Gabriel was sleeping soundly with Sam’s arms wrapped around him. He knew it wasn’t alpha like to be held by his omega but he liked it. It felt warm and it was comfy, but he made sure to never tell Sam that. Sam would never let him live it down. He heard his phone ring and that stirred him from his sleep. Gabriel tiredly answered the phone thinking it was probably an after-hours emergency at the clinic. “This is Dr. Novak.” He heard what sounded like Castiel’s drunken laughter on the other end of the phone. Gabriel extracted himself from Sam’s grasp and sat up. He shook his head and asked, “Castiel, are you drunk dialing me? It is the middle of the night.” Gabriel glanced toward the window and realized it was morning, but it was still early and before Sam had to get up for his protest. It still counted as early in Gabriel’s book. Castiel slowed down his laughter and said, “Gabe, I got married.” It took Gabriel a couple moments to process that. Then he said sternly, “Castiel, you got married and you didn’t tell your brothers beforehand. What is his name?” Castiel laughed again. It was more drunken laughter and it caused Gabriel to pinch the bridge of this nose to keep from snapping at his brother or becoming angry. The last thing Sam needed was to wake up to an angry alpha. Castiel calmed down after a few moments and said, “Dean Novak.” The statement was followed by more laughter. Gabriel sighed and got up. He left the room and closed the door softly behind him. If he had to chew Castiel out at this hour, Sam didn’t need to hear it. As calmly as possible Gabriel said, “Okay, so he took your last name. What was his name before?” Castiel hummed for a moment and stated in what Gabriel liked to think of as his free loving hippy voice, “It doesn’t matter. He’s a Novak now.”   Gabriel knew he wasn’t going to win this argument at least not while Castiel was drunk. Instead he stated, “Okay, you and Dean need to arrange a trip to visit. I don’t feel comfortable with Sam traveling quite yet. I can pay for everything. I just.. I just want to meet this Dean.” Castiel sighed dramatically, “Okay Gabriel. How is your omega doing?” Gabriel was quiet for a moment while he thought about what he wanted to say. Cheerfully he said, “Perfect actually. He got accepted into law school and he is going to a rally today for omega rights. I think Sam is finding his place.” Gabriel waited for a reply but then he heard snoring on the other end of the phone. Castiel had either passed out drunk or fell asleep on him. He knew Castiel could fall asleep anywhere so either was a possibility. He sighed and hung up the phone. Now all Gabriel had to do was tell Sam that he was going to get to meet another one of his brothers. Hopefully, this went better than when Sam met Michael and Luci. All Gabriel knew for certain was that he was happy in his life with Sam and he didn’t want that to change. He was also hopeful that Castiel found happiness in his life.  Chapter End Notes If you want to read what happens when Dean and Sam meet that is in the one shot Reunited. Anyways, thank you to everyone for reading and I hope you enjoyed. This story certainly wasn't my most creative work. The host of negative personal attacks I've been having to delete lately because people don't like the endings to some of my works have been killing my muse. Enough complaining on my part, thank you all again for reading, giving me kudos and nice comments. :) Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!