Part 1: Winter Journeys
Chapter 1: Wounded
Dean couldn't remember a time before the war. His pack had been in a constant struggle for territory with the Celestial and Spellbound Packs since his grandfather's time, every member of the Wilderness Pack trained as consummate warriors in order to rebuff the invaders. He had once asked his father why they were fighting, what had started the war, but a cuff from John's heavy paw ended that line of questioning. As he sat on a high bluff looking up into the tall, snow-capped mountains that comprised the southern border of the Celestial Lands, the huge wolf couldn't help but wonder if he would be able to find a way to end the fighting when his father died and he took up the role of Head Alpha.
A low whine from behind him broke Dean out of his melancholy thoughts. "Sammy."
His younger brother, slightly taller in both human and wolf forms, sauntered up the bluff and sat down beside Dean, green-hazel eyes locked on those mountains. "What are you looking for?"
"I don't know. The Celestials have been pretty quiet for the past few months, and I can't help but be uneasy about that. After sixteen years of constant attacks, why let up now?"
Sam shrugged, his brown fur rippling in the morning light, the red undertones clearly visible. "I don't know why you're upset. This is the easiest patrol so far. Besides, it's been a lot of fun not having the old geezers ordering us around."
Dean chuckled, which sounded more like a strangled growl in his wolf form. "Bobby's happier staying home nowadays. He said that patrols are for young pups with no family at home. I think he just wanted all of us out of the way so he could court Ellen before mating season rolls around again. We cramp his style."
Ellen's daughter from her first mate, a young alpha named Jo, growled and snapped at Dean as she joined the brothers on the bluff. Dean was technically in charge of this expedition, but any group with so many alphas was bound to have some minor skirmishes. The big red male rose to his feet, the white ticking on his fur shimmering as the wind picked up from the north, bringing new scents and sounds with it. Jo, her red-ticked blonde fur raised along her back, snapped her jaws at the bigger male and narrowed her brown eyes. She didn't have to say anything; Dean knew she hated it when they talked about her mother's blossoming relationship with Bobby Singer, so he lowered his head in apology. Jo snorted and nodded her head, freezing as she caught a scent in the wind.
She was the best tracker in the pack, so Dean nodded toward Sam and the fourth member of their band, gesturing for them to join him and await Jo's analysis. "It smells like blood."
"Where?"
"North and east of here."
Benny, the big beta who rounded out their scouting band, was instantly on alert, turning toward the direction Jo had indicated and shaking his head. "That's the forbidden zone between all three pack lands. No one should be there."
"It must be a border skirmish between the Celestials and the Spellbounds. If they've been fighting each other lately, it would explain why they have left us alone."
Sam nudged Benny, waiting until the bulky red-striped black wolf turned to him before nodding at Dean. The mahogany male was staring into the wind, his raised tail slowly wagging. "You're probably right, Sammy. Let's go check it out."
"Dean, that's not our mission. If they aren't on our land, they aren't our concern."
"Your brother's right, cher. We should go back and report this so we can return with a full pack. The four of us may not be up to this fight."
"We won't know until we try! Come on." And with that, Dean was off, loping down the slope with his white-tipped tail held high. Benny didn't hesitate, following him a moment later, Sam and Jo locking eyes before they joined the other two. Neither of them were willing to challenge the mahogany male for leadership of their band, so they had to obey him. No matter how stupid his ideas were sometimes.
The four of them reached the edge of the forest that flanked the great mountains, the official border of Wilderness land, a few minutes later. Dean slowly led his band across the desolate plain between the lands, his eyes on the swamp that formed the border of the Spellbound Pack's land. This empty plain was technically forbidden to all three packs, though it had been used to negotiate short truces in the past. The four large wolves crept through the winter-dead grass, following the strange scents to the corner of the plain where the swamp butted up against the rocky mountain slope. Dean perked up at the yips and growls of battle, ears turned forward as he broke into a run, his three best friends at his heels.
They jumped over a small rise, finding themselves in the middle of a bloody battle between three Spellbound wolves that Dean had met before and four strangers that had to be Celestials. The silvery white Spellbound alpha, Lilith, was fighting off two Celestials, one white and one blue, while the other four were paired up against each other further away. Dean growled an order, heading for the red-and-black Spellbound female facing the pure black Celestial male as Jo and Benny headed for Lilith and her prey, leaving Sam to break up the golden Celestial male facing a larger white Spellbound male.
Dean had never seen any of the Celestials before, but he had fought all three of the Spellbounds in the past with his father. Lilith was second-in-command of a splinter pack that lived along the disputed western border of her lands, following Cain and running with his four children. Dagon, the red-and-black patterned female, was a wily beta who rarely went anywhere alone, though she and her white beta brother Asmodeus tended to run with Lilith more than their father and older alpha brothers. Dean reached Dagon just as the Celestial male crunched down on her leg and threw her away, using her strength and size against her. Dagon howled in fury, the noise changing to a grunt of surprise as Dean sunk his teeth into her tail and jerked her back.
The beta knew that she was no match for the huge alpha on her own, so she wisely tucked her bleeding tail under her belly and limped back to her own lands. Dean turned to watch as Benny and Jo nipped at Lilith, pushing her away from the smaller Celestial males and herding her back to her lands. She spotted Sam, her white eyes flashing as she leapt to block the tall brown alpha, growling as Benny ducked his head and slammed into her side. His fur on end, Sam turned away from Asmodeus and his opponent and snapped his jaws at the white female, keeping his head low to protect his belly. He still carried a set of long scars across his chest from a previous battle with the Spellbound alpha when he overestimated her speed, and he knew that she still hated him for surviving. Sam would not underestimate her again.
Lilith glanced at Dagon retreating and wisely decided to follow, lunging at Sam once before galloping away. Sam and Benny turned toward the final skirmish, all four Wilderness wolves dashing forward at a desperate scream of pain from the golden wolf. Asmodeus sunk his teeth into the smaller male's shoulder, shaking him twice before throwing him to the ground, the four long gashes that had prompted his scream visible on the wounded male's side. Dean pulled up short as the slender black Celestial leapt on Asmodeus's back, sinking his teeth into the larger male's neck and pulling back with all of his strength. The black's primal scream of rage echoed through the four Wilderness wolves' minds, Asmodeus falling to the ground and rolling to break the vicious hold. As soon as he was free, the white beta dashed off after his sister, a trail of blood following him into the swamp.
The Celestial male, bleeding from his own small collection of bites and cuts, leaned down to sniff his injured companion, whining at the blood soaking the golden fur. His blue and white companions slowly moved to stand behind him, watching the four newcomers warily as they licked at their own much less severe wounds. Dean's eyes widened as he realized that the four Celestial wolves had iridescent fur, a pattern he had never seen or heard of before.
The leader's black fur shone blue in the light, his bright blue eyes flicking to Dean as he tried to determine how much of a threat these four large wolves posed. His companion's golden fur shone brilliantly in the sunlight, his golden eyes opening once to observe the newcomers before closing against the pain from his wounds. The iridescent blue male with golden eyes laid down beside his injured friend, whining as the slender iridescent white male joined them. The white's fur alternated between blue and gold as the angle of the light changed, though he had the same bright blue eyes as the larger black male.
Dean wondered if the four were related. The black male looked as worried about the golden one's wounds as Dean would be if Sam was injured. The dark red wolf stepped forward to offer his assistance, jumping back as the black male whirled and snapped his teeth. Dean responded with an instinctive growl, hackles raised as he jumped in, looking for an opening. The black male jumped on his back and sunk his claws into Dean's shoulder, turning his jaws for a deadly bite. Dean twisted around and slammed his head into the black male's side, throwing him off but earning the mahogany male a set of claw marks on his left shoulder.
As the two wolves separated, the wind shifted again, blowing across the injured golden male and his two companions, safely hidden behind their snarling black guardian. Jo and Sam scented it at the same moment, the brown wolf jumping forward to slam into his brother and knock him away from his opponent. "Dean, they're omegas! You can't attack them!"
Dean froze at his brother's howled words, green eyes widening in horror at what he had almost done. There were few rules in a wolf pack, but the imperative to protect omegas at all cost was one of the most basic. Even ones from the other two packs were generally immune from the viscous fighting between the alphas and betas of their families. The black omega—now that the wind had changed, Dean could confirm his brother's identification—didn't seem too worried about that rule, however. His blue eyes were dark with bloodlust as he snapped his fangs and growled nonstop at the larger mahogany male, something that Dean had seen often in alphas and dominant betas but never in the gentlest subgender. Panting softly, Dean carefully lowered himself to the ground and dropped his tail, rolling onto his back in complete submission. He didn't know any other way to stop this strange male from attacking, but he would do anything to avoid injuring him further.
Shocked, Sam lowered himself to the ground, as well, Jo and Benny following their leader's example. Slowly, his eyes clearing, the black male closed his lips and quieted his growl, taking a few steps back toward his injured companion before letting his iridescent fur settle along his back. As the tension left his body, the black male started to tremble, his wounds stinging and his energy flagging. Dean wondered how long they had been fighting the three Spellbound wolves before he and his band arrived.
"We can help you."
The black male growled, but the sound was half-hearted and lacked its previous vigor. Omegas were not known for their stamina, so the fact that he had survived so long was a testament to his incredible willpower. The white wolf, patches of his iridescent fur missing along his side from his fight with Lilith, slowly crawled forward, blue eyes locked on the four wolves lying on their backs. "Can you heal our brother?"
"Balthazar!" The black wolf looked over his shoulder and snapped his teeth, though not nearly as aggressively as he had toward Dean. It was an alpha's warning to an errant pack mate.
"Look, we need help, okay? And they did chase off those Spellbound assholes, so maybe they can help Gabe. He can't run like this."
"Brother, be reasonable," the blue male purred, his mental voice deep and soothing. It was clear that he was the peacemaker among the four. "We don't have any medicine and we lost the last of our supplies in the mountains. It's them or Michael."
Dean's ears perked up at the name of the Celestial Head Alpha. Clearly they didn't want to have any more to do with him than the four Wilderness wolves did. He waited patiently as the tall black wolf slowly relaxed, snorting at the mahogany alpha before nodding. "Fine, we will let them try. But if they hurt Gabriel I will eat them."
Taking a chance, Sam rolled onto his belly and shifted into his human form, clad only in his wolf-fur shorts, combing his fingers through his shoulder-length brown hair. They couldn't take any foreign objects into their wolf forms, so the members of the Wilderness pack had long ago learned to make simple garments from their own shed fur to prevent rejection when they shifted forms. Even the rope that held the short pants up had to be made of fur. Sam, the tallest member of the Winchester family, slowly rose to his feet, hands held out to show that he was not a threat. He walked over to Jo and freed the medical bag attached to the rope around her waist, turning to the four brothers and bowing his head.
"Omega, do I have permission to approach your brother?"
The black male nodded his head sharply, moving to the side as the sturdy golden-eyed blue wolf shifted forms. The blue male, a brunet in human form, was taller than Dean had expected, his strong face gentle and open, dark gold eyes watching Sam trustingly as the alpha approached. He was a little on the lean side, the faintest shadow of his ribs visible along his sides, and there was a strange gauntness to his cheeks. Clearly, it had been some time since this omega had eaten properly, and Dean wondered if his pack mates suffered from similar deprivation.
"I am Gadreel, and this is my twin brother Gabriel. Can you heal him?" He seemed unfazed by the cold wind or his own nakedness, and Dean wondered if the Celestials knew how to make the wolf-fur clothes to wear when they shifted. Members of his pack were not modest, but Dean wouldn't want these four omegas to be self-conscious around alphas and betas of a rival pack.
Sam slowly knelt down beside the injured golden wolf, trying to shift the fur so he could see the wound, but there was too much blood and the omega was whining in pain. "Hey, Gabriel, it's going to be okay. Your wounds don't look that bad." The wolf snorted at Sam's soothing tone, looking up as the brunet rested a hand on his upper foreleg. "Look, I got one just like it from Lilith last year." He pointed at the four long scars across his right pectoral, smiling as the small wolf huffed at him. "But your fur is kinda getting in the way. I need you in human form, and we need a stream or something where I can clean you up."
"There is a stream just north of us," Gadreel offered. "If he shifts form, can you carry him that far, Alpha?"
Sam nodded, slinging his medical pack over his shoulder. "I should be able to."
Gabriel groaned and focused, pulling his wolf back and crying out as the pain from his wounds almost overwhelmed him. He was also completely naked, but quite a bit shorter than his twin with longer blonde hair and brighter golden eyes, though he carried the same marks of recent or frequent starvation. Without his fur, the four long gashes that ran from above his hip almost to his knee were clearly visible, and they looked a lot worse than Sam had let on. The bite on his shoulder was jagged and messy-looking, but not nearly as much concern as the claw marks. He watched as Sam slipped one arm under his shoulders and the other under his legs, his wounded side pointed away from the taller man's chest to avoid any extra damage. "What's your name?"
"I'm Sam," the alpha murmured, following Gadreel with the two Celestial wolves flanking him and his own pack-mates behind him. They reached the stream quickly, Sam kneeling beside the rushing water and testing the temperature. "It's pretty cold, Gabriel."
"Celestials don't mind the cold much," Gabriel replied, sighing as Sam lowered him carefully into the water. The icy cold numbed his wound, washing away the blood and soothing some of his bruises. Sam fished a small cloth out of his medicine pack, using it to sponge away the blood from the bite on Gabriel's shoulder before pulling him out of the water where he could dry in the early winter sun. Settling on a large rock at the edge of the water, Sam gestured for Gadreel to join him as he helped Gabriel stretch out on his side. Gadreel cradled his twin's head, watching in concern as Sam poked at the wounds.
"These are pretty deep. I have some salve here that will prevent infection, but I really think these need stitches. Your shoulder wound isn't as bad, but I'm still worried about it."
Gabriel twitched his left leg, groaning at the pain that lanced through his body. "I can handle a few stitches, big boy. As long as you don't leave any ugly scars."
Sam chuckled, already warming to the smaller omega. "I've been told that I sew some of the neatest stitches in the pack. If Jo would be so kind as to start a fire so I can sterilize a needle, that would be great. I also need some boiling water for the thread."
The female alpha nodded, shrugging out of the ropes holding the supplies to her waist before shifting back into her human form. She looked tiny compared to Sam, but she wasn't more than a few inches shorter than Dean in his human form, golden hair curling down her back. A strip of red wolf-fur cloth around her chest and shorts similar to Sam's were her only protection against the biting wind, and Wilderness wolves tended to crave warmth. "Ugh, I hate being cold."
"Build a fire if you plan to be anything else," Sam replied, smiling as his brother sat down behind him, offering him the protection of his body heat. He wouldn't complain about the frigid temperature, but the alpha couldn't stitch wounds with shaking hands. "Thanks, Dean."
Gabriel looked up at the mahogany wolf towering over him, golden eyes thoughtful. Dean's huge white paws rested near the blonde's head, white spots covering his legs before giving way fully to the rich mahogany fur that covered the rest of his body, just the hint of white ticking on the ends of each strand. He had a few white freckles on his muzzle and white on the tip of his long tail, and Gabriel had only ever heard of one freckled mahogany wolf in the Wilderness or Spellbound lands. "Aren't you John Winchester's pups?"
"Yeah. Dean's his heir, and I like to tag along for patrols." Jo, her fire crackling just beside the rock, reached into the medicine pouch for the pack of needles, finding the curved one that Sam would need and taking it to the fire. Thin metal needles were very expensive and hard to come by, but a couple of their pack-mates were consummate metal workers and had gifted this set to the band. Sam had carefully curved a few of them to use for gashes like Gabriel's, and all of them had benefited from his medical knowledge in the past. This was the first time he needed to use his skills on a member of another pack, however.
"I haven't seen much of these lands," Gabriel replied, looking behind Gadreel at a sharp growl from the black wolf. "Look, you have got to calm down, baby bro. These guys are helping us and you're going to rile them up. Alphas don't like to be growled at." He was right, of course, but as soon as the Wildernesses realized that these were omegas, all of their alpha instincts to fight were gone, replaced by a deep need to protect. No matter what the black wolf did, they wouldn't get angry.
"Hey, if growling makes him feel better, let him," Jo replied, voicing what the brothers had been thinking. Benny had wandered away from the group, taking up a tentative guard spot looking out across the plain they had just crossed. The bulky beta was okay with blood in a fight when he was spilling it, but he got queasy watching his pack mate treat any serious wounds. "Needle is ready, Sam."
Sam showed Gadreel how to help hold the edges of the gashes together to make it easier for him to close the wounds. Jo boiled enough thread for the operation, placing the sterile strands on a small sterilized metal plate that was still warm from the water. Grabbing the packs of herbs, she moved to one side and began to mix the poultice, using a tiny amount of the boiled water before dropping some tea leaves and flower buds into the remainder and pushing it back over the fire.
Gabriel gasped as the needle punctured his skin, Balthazar moving to block his black brother from interfering. Dean, sensing that the omega was too worried to adequately control his wolf, moved away from Sam and crawled over to the black Celestial, raising his nose to nuzzle him under the chin. It was a method he had seen other alphas use to calm their omega mates when they were caught up in an emotional situation, and he was glad that it seemed to work on this strange black male. Slowly, his brother rubbing against his side and Dean licking his chin, the Celestial male let himself be calmed, lowering himself to the ground and resting his head on his paws. He was still tense, his scent worried, but that frantic terror was gone, and his growl was silent. Dean and Balthazar stretched out beside him, offering this omega who acted like an alpha whatever support he needed.
It seemed to take an eternity for Sam to stitch Gabriel's wounds, the blonde silently sobbing against his brother's leg as he struggled not to move. Gadreel soothed his twin as best as he could, tears in his own eyes in response. Sam could sense that he had a healer's empathy for his pack mate, and he was grateful for the assistance in keeping the omega calm.
The bites on his shoulder only took a few stitches, Sam dabbing away the remaining blood as he took the poultice Jo offered. The green mixture would prevent infection and promote healing, often with the added side-effect of pain relief. He slathered a thin layer over each wound, taking a thick cotton pad and placing it over top of each, covering that with a long piece of heavier cloth to keep it from moving. He wrapped another long, narrow strip of cloth around Gabriel's leg just above his knee, continuing to cover every inch of skin to the inside of his upper thigh, using the last of the roll to wrap it a couple of times around his waist before securing it in place.
The wound on his shoulder required a much shorter piece of narrow cloth, Sam pulling an appropriately-sized roll free from the half-dozen in the bag. The bandage started at Gabriel's bicep, wrapping around the entire upper arm before winding across his chest a couple times for stability. Sam helped him sit up and fit him with a simple sling, determined that he would keep that arm still and not pull any of his stitches out. While Sam cleaned up from his operation, Jo helped Gabriel drink some of the tea she prepared, knowing that the herbs would calm him.
"There, how do you feel?"
"Better," Gabriel murmured. "Your bandage system is much more sophisticated than ours. Having the separate cotton pad means that you can reuse these long bandages, right?"
"Yeah. They're also made with a mix of cotton and a different plant fiber that makes them just a little bit stretchy, to avoid putting too much pressure on wounds. Let me know if you feel any tightness or discomfort."
"It feels alright for now. I don't know if I can walk, though." He looked over at the black wolf, but a quick snap of teeth silenced whatever he was going to say. "Look, I couldn't do that, either. I'm not even sure shifting forms is advisable. What are we going to do?"
Humans couldn't hear wolves in form, not unless they were very close like brothers or mates. Whatever the black male said in reply, only his own pack could hear, but Gadreel turned in shock and tilted his head. "Brother, we don't have a choice." The black snapped again, offering the start of a growl before Balthazar leaned into him. "They helped us. If we stay here, Michael will find us and Gabriel will be lost. And I will be, as well. You know I cannot leave him. Just as you could not leave Balthazar when the Spellbounds attacked."
The white wolf whined and leaned harder into his brother, Sam beginning to suspect that they might be twins, as well. Dean looked up as the black rose to his feet, his red ears pinned to his head. "You can't carry him back into those mountains, not with winter coming. We can help you, and we're strong enough to carry him." Sam couldn't hear the black male's reply, but his brother rose into a casual sitting position at the words. "I don't know, Sam is the healer." He looked over at the three men sitting on the flat rock by the river, ears twitching. "Sam, the Omega wants to know if his brother can be moved safely."
"It should be safe, as long as he isn't riding. If he uses the muscles in his legs to hold onto one of us, he'll pull the stitches or worse. Someone will have to carry him."
"While riding a wolf? Sam, that doesn't seem advisable." Gadreel's voice was still calm, but there was a deep worry in his golden eyes. "I've never heard of a wolf able to carry two riders, certainly not for any distance. None of us can carry even one."
There was something odd about how he said that, but Sam didn't waste any time contemplating it. The omegas were naturally smaller than alphas and betas, but these four Celestials were some of the tallest ones Sam had ever met. What could possibly prevent them from carrying a person, especially one as small as Gabriel? "You don't have to worry about that. In that skirmish with Lilith when I was injured, Cain broke Benny's leg before Bobby and Jo drove them off. Dean carried both of us fifty miles back to the fortress, leaving the others free to act as guards. He never faltered, and your brother weighs less than our beta. He can do it."
Dean turned toward the white wolf, shaking his head. "It's not uncommon in times of need, but we don't make a habit of it. Sam and I have practiced carrying each other dozens of times, at all speeds and in all environments. He would never fall off, and he certainly wouldn't drop your brother. We don't harm omegas in Wilderness Pack, even visitors." Sam nodded in approval at the word Dean had chosen, offering his protection to these four invading omegas. With that one word, he promised to treat them as members of his own band as long as they were in Wilderness territory.
The black male seemed to accept the offer, nudging Balthazar to his feet as he padded over to his human-form brothers. Sam nodded toward Jo's pack, silently asking her to pass it over so he could get ready for transport. "We carry some spare clothes, but I can't guarantee that they will fit you, half-pint."
"I won't need much," Gabriel returned, watching the tall brunet pull out a collection of clothes and pile them on the rock.
"Dude, you're butt-ass naked and it's going to drop to forty or so tonight. Trust me, you'll be grateful of something to protect your hide from that." He handed over a pair of dark wool pants, one of Dean's pairs, a cream-colored cotton shirt, and a brown woolen vest. Gadreel helped his brother dress, careful of his bandaged wounds, slipping his arm back into the rough sling before helping him to his feet. Sam dug out his own pair of long pants, shirt, and vest, finding a heavy pair of plain moccasins for his bare feet.
"I don't have any shoes in here that will fit you," Sam apologized, glancing at Gabriel's bare feet lost in the bottom of the too-long pants. He had to be almost five inches shorter than Dean, so that extra material might provide enough protection from the cold. "You'll probably be okay, though, especially since you won't be walking. We have an extra blanket, so if you get cold let me know. Jo, go ahead and shift so I can get the pack back on you."
"I will carry the pack," Gadreel offered. "You should keep your pack mates free while your leader is encumbered. My brothers and I will run in whatever positions you think best."
Sam didn't even have to ask Dean what he was thinking; they had been running together for so long that they could almost read each other's mind. "Jo will take point, Dean will be behind her with you on one side and Balthazar on the other. Your leader will take the guard position in the rear and Benny will run at the end to watch for anything untoward following us. It's not too different from our normal arrangement."
Gadreel nodded and shifted forms, Sam noting a number of small wounds on the blue omega as he fastened the packs around his waist. As soon as they were safely back in Wilderness lands and settled for the night, Sam would try to get the other omegas to let him check their wounds. Sam slipped his arms under Gabriel's shoulders and knees again, catching a whiff of his sweet scent now that it wasn't overpowered by blood anymore. His hazel eyes widened at that sharp, musky undertone and he turned away from the wolves to get a modicum of privacy.
"Gabriel, are you going into heat?" He kept his voice low enough that even his own brother couldn't hear, and thankfully the other three omegas were absorbed with formation instructions and didn't notice.
The blonde shook his head, having seen the instant that the alpha caught his scent. "Just coming out of it," he whispered back. "It's why we had to run. It's the biggest reason, anyway."
"It's a couple months too early for a heat, at least in our pack."
"We've always been a bit early. If it wasn't for the battle you might have scented it before. We're all on the same schedule."
Now the black male's aggression made a lot more sense. If he and his brothers were at the tail end of a heat coming out of the mountains, that could easily have been the impetus for Lilith and her betas to attack. Unmarked, unmated omegas in heat would have proven an irresistible lure for the Spellbound female. And the Celestial black would have had no way to know if Dean and his pack had come for the same reason.
Sam tightened his hold on the smaller blonde, leaning down to touch foreheads in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. It would be in his own pack, but the Celestials might have different customs. "We would never do that to you. No one in my pack would."
Gabriel nodded, smiling up at the tall healer. "I know that now. I trust you, Sam, even if my youngest brother does not."
Dean yipped at his brother, calling him back to the group as they prepared to depart at last. Sam carefully climbed on his brother's back, gripping tightly with his legs as the wolf stood up from his low crouch. Dean was one of the largest members in the Wilderness pack, almost as tall as a fully-grown horse and twice as bulky, which made him one of the only wolves that six-foot-four Sam could ride. Finding his balance, Sam tucked down slightly to protect his burden, nodding when he was ready to go. Without another sound, Dean loped off, following Jo back to their lands and whatever safety they could offer the four omegas.
They ran for hours, using as much of the fading light as they could, only stopping an hour after sunset when Jo couldn't see through the trees anymore. She found them a protected clearing near a stream to make camp, working out guard schedules with Benny and Dean as Sam settled Gabriel against a large tree and started making their fire. The three omegas collapsed in a heap near their brother, knowing better than to touch him and risk his wounds but unwilling to be far away. As soon as Sam had a fire going and water boiling for some medicinal tea, he returned to the blonde and settled the only blanket from their pack around his slender form.
"How are you feeling?"
"Stiff! And my leg hurts."
Sam smiled comfortingly, checking Gabriel's sling before taking a seat beside him. The black wolf, clearly accepting the alpha at last, didn't offer even a token growl. "It's going to do that. We have a pretty impressive healer back home who will look you over. Hopefully she can help with any pain that you are feeling, and we can keep you comfortable while you heal."
"We aren't going back to the fortress," Dean countered, the black Celestial looking up at his announcement. Sam repeated it to Gabriel, waiting for his brother to explain himself. "It's too far in this weather, and I don't think it's safe to try to move four wounded omegas all the way across our lands with the threat of snow growing greater every day. We don't have the clothes for you and Gabriel if that happens."
Gadreel raised his head and whined, Gabriel translating for Sam's benefit. "He wants to know where we would be safe. He's equally worried about you and me riding Dean hundreds of miles back to the center of your land."
"Our patrol was supposed to take us all the way down the Spellbound border to Bear Claw Lake, and then we would have followed the river home. It would be almost a month before we were expected back, just before hard winter sets in. In wolf form, it wouldn't have been any problem for us to stay out that long. However, now we need somewhere to rest until winter is over, or at least until Gabriel can shift again. There is a splinter pack that lives on the Spellbound border, not more than two days away from here."
"You sound hesitant."
Sam nodded at Gabriel, all four omegas watching the tall brunet and waiting for an explanation. "They are technically members of the Wilderness Pack, but they have a rather large number of dealings with Spellbound wolves." The black male growled and snapped his teeth at that, but Dean touched his neck with his nose and the omega calmed down. "Not with Lilith, or anyone else in Cain's pack. They stay to the north, where we left them. This pack has dealings with one or two of the most powerful witches of the main pack. The head omega of this splinter group used to be a Spellbound wolf before she switched fealty to us. We never made her stop seeing her friends, as long as she and her family kept the border secure."
"And that's where you want to take us?"
Sam shrugged. "The head alpha owes his life to our mother; he considers it at debt he can never repay, so he would not refuse us. And, like Dean said earlier, you four are under our protection. No harm will come to you, I swear it."
Dean repeated that promise, green eyes watching the black omega intently. He leaned forward and sniffed in the direction of the white and black wolves, his eyes narrowing as he looked over his shoulder at Jo and Benny. "Jo, head down to that stream and check for fish. I don't know if there will be any this time of year, but try to grab something. Benny and I will hunt for some larger game while Sam gets a fire going."
"Good plan. I'll also find the water skins for you to fill when you return." Sam stood and took the supplies from Jo, resting his hand briefly on Dean's shoulder in a question.
Dean's next words were for him alone, along the tight bond that they shared as brothers. Even Jo and Benny couldn't listen in. "Sam, how long do you think it's been since they've eaten? They don't smell right, especially the black one that won't give us his name."
"I don't know," Sam whispered, not even shocked at his brother's question. He had thought about that earlier, when he saw the state the twins were in. "Gabriel told me that they are all just coming out of a heat, and I have never known an omega to hunt while going through one. If they lost their supplies in the mountains, as Gadreel said, then it must have been days."
"They need to eat, especially after the fight they had. I don't know if we have any dried meat left in our supplies, but give them everything we have. It'll be hard to find any deer or wild pigs this time of year, but maybe we'll grab some rabbits or squirrels that haven't gone into hibernation yet. We'll survive a couple of days without food, but the omegas won't."
Sam nodded and returned to the Celestials, checking the supplies for any leftover food but coming up empty. Switching gears, he started on the fire, digging a shallow hole and finding some rocks to place around the edges to contain the flames. Gadreel shifted forms and moved to help him gather sticks and leaves, arranging them in the hole and smiling at Sam as he brought out his tinder box and lit the kindling. The brunet looked up as another man joined them, the white wolf taking his human form in order to join his older brothers by the fire. He wasn't as heavily built as Gadreel, but he was taller than Gabriel with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, sharing that same complete unconcern for modesty as his brother. Balthazar looked to be Dean's height, though he slouched a bit as he settled down by the fire. He didn't seem any better fed than his brothers, but the deprivations weren't as noticeable on his smaller form.
Alone with the four omegas, Sam turned to the tall black wolf and tilted his head, offering a hospitable smile. "You're welcome to join us out of form. Unfortunately, I can't talk to you in this form and I'd like to get to know you better."
The wolf crawled closer to the fire, Gadreel and Balthazar carefully lifting Gabriel and helping him lean against their brother's side near the fire. The Celestial wolf growled something that sounded like an apology, flicking his ears to the side before settling down again. Gabriel smiled sadly, twining his fingers in the iridescent black fur behind him. "He won't change forms. It's kind of a rule he has."
"Why?"
Balthazar sighed and leaned back on his arms, staring up through the tree canopy at the stars overhead. They seemed dimmer, further away than they did in his mountain home, and he wondered if he could learn to like that. "Our pack is pretty large, with three main splinter packs that all answer to our brother Michael. He's only been in command for five years since our father stepped down and went into retirement far north of our official border. Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Anna were born long before us, so when our mother went into heat two decades ago, the pack considered it a miracle. Gabriel and Gadreel were born first, and she went into heat again just a few months later, giving birth to me and our littlest bro on Gad and Gabe's birthday. For a family with four alpha and beta pups, four omegas was considered a sign."
"And not necessarily a good one," Gabriel continued darkly. "Mother protected us for a while, but Michael wanted to reunite the two more aggressive splinter packs with the main one, and he thought we were the best way to do it. Anna didn't exactly agree with his plans or the methods that he would use to implement them, so she had some alphas from the Southern Celestial Pack teach us how to fight."
"And how to survive in the wild," Gadreel added. "Not that we did very well our first time on our own, as you can see, but we knew enough to get through the mountains in one piece. Then we went into our first heat the day after Mother and Father left, and we knew that our time was limited. Michael told us that he had some suggestions for mates, and he strongly encouraged us to accept them." From the way Gadreel phrased it, Sam could tell that it wouldn't have been much of a choice. "He couldn't force us to mate against our will, but he limited our options to the point where he might as well have. Some of the alphas were not bad options, to be fair. The two unmated alphas from the Southern Pack were always kind to us while we were training there, and I could have tolerated the alpha from the Eastern Pack, but the alphas in the Western Pack were unacceptable."
"That pack is very unbalanced," Balthazar agreed, leaning forward and clenching his fists in his lap. "Lil' bro was meant to go there, and I couldn't stand to see him forced to mate either Uriel or Bartholomew. I convinced Michael that he had to wait a few years; it's dangerous for omegas to breed during their first heats, anyway. Over the next five years, we trained until we could beat alphas and betas in open battle, keeping our prowess a secret from our older brothers. Then we went into heat almost a week ago, and we had to run."
Sam straightened at the tone, at whatever the Celestial was not saying. The black wolf growled and stiffened, calming as Gadreel leaned over to rest a hand in his fur. "Calm, brother. We well remember your orders."
There was definitely something the brothers weren't saying, something that happened during their heat, but he knew better than to press on that subject. "You guys did a pretty good job getting through those mountains this time of year. Winter comes earlier in the high altitudes."
"Thank you, Sam. It wasn't easy, and those Spellbound wolves caught our scent as soon as we emerged onto the plains. Luckily your pack came to help."
Sam smiled and reached for Gabriel's free right hand, squeezing it gently. "I didn't mean to distract you. You were explaining to me why your brother won't change forms."
Gadreel nodded. "In order to leave our lands, we needed a leader, and that kind of dominance doesn't come naturally to omegas. Our youngest brother, however, has fought with all of our more dominant siblings in the past over their onerous rules and restrictions. He even defeated Raphael once or twice, though he still carries the scars from those interactions. When it was time to run, he took the lead and promised to keep us safe until we found a new home. He won't change forms until he feels like he has escorted us out of danger."
"And won't tell us his name, either?"
Gadreel chucked, grins on his brothers' faces. "You weren't meant to know ours, but with Gabe injured we may have let some extra information slip. And it seemed rude for me to appear to you in human form without offering my name. Especially since we're completely naked when we shift and your pack seems so modest."
Sam laughed, throwing his head back and clapping his hand on his knee. "Oh gods! I thought you just didn't know how to make wolf fur clothes. The four of us are the least modest members of our pack, but we always wear underclothes when we might interact with members of other packs or fight along the border. At home, no one really bothers."
Gabriel grinned at the taller man, the black wolf under him slowly wagging his tail. "Good, I was kind of worried that you're all embarrassed to be naked. I mean, you've seen all of us; it's only fair that I get to see you."
Sam straightened at the words and the possessive light in those golden eyes. Gadreel exchanged an amused glance with Balthazar as they watched their oldest brother reach out and run his free hand down Sam's leg. The alpha pulled back slightly in shock, having not expected the young omega to hit on him so blatantly, especially injured as he was. "Gabe, it's just the heat talking." He sounded incredibly disappointed as he reached for the blonde's hand and tried to peel it away from his leg.
Gabriel turned his hand over and laced his fingers with Sam's. "It's not the heat, Sam, and it's not just some overblown gratitude from you healing me. I have been courted by plenty of alphas and betas over the past few years, but I have never looked at any of them twice. Even Michael's intended mate for me never stirred any emotions. But I trusted you from the moment I scented you in the middle of that battle, and I truly want nothing more than to spend time together."
Sam smiled and raised Gabriel's hand to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. Balthazar reached forward and added a few more large sticks to the fire, blue eyes watching the interaction between his brother and the Wilderness wolf. "He's asking you to court him," the lanky man offered.
"Ask me again when you're healed," Sam whispered. "Otherwise it just feels like I'm taking advantage of you."
Gabriel nodded. "When I'm healed."
Sam looked up as a deep howl filled the trees, smiling as his wolf urged him to answer. Even in human form, he had an impressive howl, the black Celestial joining him, his cry oddly full-throated and deep for an omega. "Food will be here soon," Sam promised, scraping the bark off of a few sticks that they could use as skewers. "I'm not sure what they're bringing, but you can eat it however you want."
"Cooked would be nice," Balthazar replied. "I haven't eaten in wolf form often, and I'm not fond of raw meat. After that battle today, I'm not sure any of us are eager to see more blood."
"Fair enough. Help me make these skewers, then."
Dean and Benny returned with three rabbits, still fat from their fall gorging. Jo had managed a couple of fish, returning in human form so she could carry those and a handful of winter fruits she found near the river. She had already washed them, offering them to Sam so he could peel the thick skin off, taking a seat by the fire with her own sharp knife to clean the fish. Benny dropped his rabbits at Sam's side, shifting into human form and digging through the supplies for another knife he could use to skin his catch.
"How do you guys want your food?"
"Cooked, if you don't mind," Gadreel replied. "I can help you with that?"
Benny looked up from his task, pale blue eyes examining the omega for a long moment before passing him the rabbit and a knife. "You done this before, cher?"
"Generally I prepare my brothers' kills, yes."
Benny nodded, grabbing a few skewers and taking the cleaned kills that Gadreel passed him. Jo finished cleaning her fish and handed them to Balthazar to roast over the fire, silently parceling out the food in her mind. Her brown eyes met Sam's hazel, and he nodded. They didn't have nearly enough food for all eight of them, especially since alphas and betas tended to have huge appetites. She tilted her head toward the four peeled apple-sized wild fruits she had found, and Sam nodded in agreement. As Dean had said earlier, the four of them could easily survive a few days on little or no food, but the omegas were already starved enough and shouldn't have to suffer any longer.
Dean, who generally avoided having to clean his own kills, returned from his quick trip to the river with four full water skins hanging from a rope around his chest. The skins could be folded compactly into the travel sack when not in use, but they expanded quite a bit when needed. The black wolf raised his head as the alpha returned to camp, eyes examining every inch of visible skin as the very tip of his tail twitched involuntarily. Dean was well-built and imposing in both forms, a few pale scars marring his chest and arms, his vibrant green eyes watching the slender wolf as he sauntered up to the fire. His left shoulder still bore the evidence of his run-in with the young black omega, four faint gashes marring his bicep. Dean ran one hand through his dark, sandy blonde hair as he handed the water skins over, surreptitiously watching the black Celestial as the three human omegas turned to their youngest brother in shock.
Dean froze at the silent exchange, suddenly wishing that one of his pack members was still in wolf form to listen in. Gabriel chuckled and glanced over at the oldest Winchester brother, leaning forward so his brother could sit up and move closer to the fire. The omega growled at his brothers, clearly ending the conversation as he turned his attention to the food roasting over the fire. Dean exchanged a meaningful glance with his brother at that feral, half-starved light in the Celestial leader's bright blue eyes, reaching forward for one of the cooked rabbits and holding it out toward the wolf.
There was a long, tense silence as the black wolf stared at the meal he had been offered, his ears flattening against his head as he whined sadly and tried to look away. Dean looked at Gabriel for a translation, which the blonde readily provided. "He won't take that much food. It won't leave enough for the rest of us."
Dean shrugged, still holding the rabbit out. "My pack isn't hungry. We had a huge lunch before we met up with you. I figure, one rabbit each for three of you and the two fish for whoever's left over." The wolf raised his blue eyes to meet Dean's green, his expression shifting to confused sorrow. He wanted the food, but he knew what the Wildernesses were sacrificing. Dean nodded in gentle encouragement, refusing to relent until the black wolf reached out and gently sunk his teeth into the offering. His gums were pale pink from lack of iron, and the alpha wondered how long it had been since he had eaten properly.
Jo handed the fruit out to her pack mates as Sam passed out the meat, Gabriel and Gadreel taking rabbits while Balthazar accepted the fish. The four omegas tried to eat slowly, but after the first couple of bites, they began to tear into the food ravenously. Dean leaned forward and grabbed the black wolf's shoulder, forcing him to stop eating for a moment as Sam did the same with Gadreel and Gabriel, Balthazar looking up on his own. "You need to slow down, boys. You'll make yourselves sick if you keep up like that."
The omegas slowed down somewhat, and Sam decided that it was time to tell Dean what he had learned about them. He stripped down to his wolf fur shorts and piled his clothes neatly beside Gabriel, smiling at the blonde. "Jo, Benny; guard the omegas while Dean and I do a quick patrol. First watch starts when we return." The mahogany and brown wolves were gone a moment later, vanishing into the shadows of the trees.
The four omegas finished their food, helping Jo clean up while they waited for the brothers to return. The three human omegas drank eagerly from the water skins, their leader rising to his feet and shaking himself before heading down to the stream. "Brother?"
"Just thirsty, Gad. I'll be back in a few minutes." Jo moved to follow him, but he shook his head and nodded toward his brothers. Hesitating for only a moment, the alpha returned to the fire, deciding that the black omega was most able to take care of himself and it was more important that they guard his injured brother.
He headed down to the water and rinsed his muzzle, drinking as soon as the blood was gone. He raised his head as a whisper of wolf-speech reached him through the trees. Curious, the Celestial slipped into the shadows and followed the noise, finding the two brothers sitting near the water and conversing with each other. They weren't talking on a tight line since they didn't expect any other wolves to be nearby, so he could make out the whole conversation.
"Dude, I have seen starvation in my time, and I know what it looks like. The three older ones look okay—a bit thin, nothing bad—but their leader is skin and bones. Looking at how tall he is, he should be nearly as bulky as me. He should be the biggest omega we've ever seen. I know what they told you, but it's been almost two weeks since that black has had anything to eat. And I doubt he had much before that."
The brown wolf nodded, growling softly to himself. "Yeah, I know. I feel like they were leaving something out of their story. Omegas can't be forced to mate, and they have the ability to abort a pregnancy they don't accept, so Michael couldn't use them for his alliances without their acquiescence. Gadreel said that they were 'encouraged' to agree with their brother, and it's likely that food deprivation was one of the tactics that Michael used to coerce them. He also said that the three older ones weren't necessarily repulsed by their options, and it's possible they would have given in."
"But the youngest one?"
"Dean, he was going to mate Uriel or Bartholomew." Both of those Celestial alphas had bad reputations among the other packs for ruthlessness and cruelty, and those titles were well-earned. Their aging pack leader, Zachariah, was no better, and the young omega would have suffered greatly among them.
The larger wolf growled, his hackles rising in fury. The black Celestial watched in amazement as the alpha struggled to calm himself, genuinely angry on his behalf. Other than his omega brothers and sometimes Anna, no one had really cared about the black's happiness for most of the last decade. They just wanted to know how to use him. Suddenly, he felt like he could honestly, truly trust these brothers. Maybe he could even trust them with the huge secret and prophecy that had driven them from Celestial lands.
The black wolf crept forward through the underbrush, silent paws letting him reach the alphas without them noticing. Dean jumped back and snapped once, freezing as he recognized the intruder. "Hey, what are you doing out here?"
The black shrugged and raised his nose to the air, checking for other wolves. "I came down for some water. I couldn't exactly drink from the water skins. I heard you two talking over here and I thought you might deserve some answers."
Sam tilted his head at the Celestial, hazel eyes darting around wildly for a moment. "You're awfully talkative all of a sudden. What's going on?"
"It's pretty obvious that we're hiding something, Sam. I thought that we had to, that you would act just like the alphas in my pack did, or that you might try to kill us to prevent the prophecy from coming to pass."
Dean stepped forward, sniffing the omega in confusion. "We aren't going to hurt you. I already gave you my word that you are a guest here, in my lands, and we will all protect you and your brothers. Don't you trust us?"
"I do now. So, I wanted to elaborate on the history my brothers recounted earlier." The black wolf shook his head and sat down in the leaves, waiting for the Winchesters to do the same before he continued. "Michael didn't try to force us to mate on our first heat. The other alphas of the pack would not have allowed it. Generally, our omegas are protected from mating rituals until they are seventeen or eighteen, when they would be strong enough to carry a pup."
"Being an omega isn't just about making pups," Dean interjected. "Our omegas are in charge of all domestics issues and generally run the pack, while the alphas deal with fighting, patrols, and other inter-pack matters. Betas, of course, pick the duties that fit them best."
"It's like that in our packs, for the head omega. The rest of us tend to be a little less respected. As the youngest of eight pups, over two decades younger than the oldest, I was a commodity to be traded. I never really minded, as long as my brothers were safe. I would even have accepted Uriel as a mate to preserve the peace. Honestly, after ten years of bitter fighting with my older brothers, I was just tired."
Every instinct in Dean's body was urging him to lean forward and comfort the omega, but he didn't want to frighten him off. The Celestials might not appreciate casual contact the way Wildernesses did. "Then why did you leave?"
The black wolf rose to his feet, crouching down slightly and rolling his shoulders. From under two tight flaps of skin along his side, he produced a pair of huge, black-furred wings, stretching them toward the sky for the brothers to see. Wolves couldn't gasp, but the black wolf heard the mental equivalent in his head as he bent his legs and jumped, flapping his wings at the same time. He rose a few feet above the ground, green and hazel eyes focused on him as he returned to the ground. He carefully folded his wings back under the special flaps of skin on his back, tilting his head at the brothers. "We have wings," he answered rather unnecessarily.
"Holy fucking hell," Dean growled, shaking his head slowly. "Where did you get wings?!"
"Your reaction confirms that no one outside my pack has heard of the prophecy. Let me go back to our third heat and see if I can explain." He sat back down, turning to full face the brothers. "When our third heat approached, Michael cut our food back. He said that supplies needed to be rationed so we could make it through the winter, but he hinted that mated omegas would get better rations, especially if they were going to breed during their heat. Of course, our heat comes earlier than any other in the pack, so we didn't have much to eat for two long, cold weeks. We suffered through that winter, and our heat came again six months later, in the middle of the summer. When he tried the same rationing story again, we knew what he was up to."
"He starved you to force you to mate? Buddy, that's barbaric. I'd heard that Michael was cruel, but this is beyond evil."
The wolf hung his head. "He, uh, he starved me," he clarified, emphasizing the last word. "He said that since I was the youngest, I needed the least food, but I knew that he wanted to break my spirit. My brothers never really stood up to him the way I did, and it was unbecoming of an omega. I would usually give most of what I got to Gabriel or Balthazar when they were hungry, even Gadreel once. I kind of got used to the cycle."
"So if you went into heat approximately a week ago, then it's been two weeks since you ate? I thought one of your brothers said that you had supplies in the mountains."
The black wolf nodded. "Yes, we did. Anna stole some for us. And we were able to hunt a few snowshoe hares and ptarmigans in the mountains, but never enough."
"And you couldn't stand to see your brothers hungry."
"No," the black wolf whispered, sensing that Dean understood that protective urge. He was the youngest of the four omegas, but he had always watched out for them like an alpha would. "So as our tenth heat approached, Michael cut our food again and we made plans to run away to the Southern Pack and beg for sanctuary. The night before our heat began, our backs started to hurt and itch, so we slept in our wolf forms which made it was less uncomfortable. In the morning, we all sprouted these and went into heat."
"All of you have wings? All four of you? Then why didn't you fly away from the Spellbound pack when they attacked?"
The black wolf chuckled, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "How long did it take you to learn to walk, Dean? We can't fly, not really. I think that our wings are large enough to carry us, but we don't have the muscle strength. As soon as Anna saw our wings, she gave us a bag of supplies and told us to run far away from Celestial lands. We have a prophecy that four winged omegas will have the power to destroy all of the packs, and Michael would have killed us if we had stayed. We had to run, no matter how unprepared we were."
He watched Dean for a long moment, this alpha who would one day lead his pack, and he prayed that he had trusted the right wolf. Slowly, Dean rose to his feet and stepped forward, lowering his head and nuzzling the omega under his chin. "Well then I have to hope that you like my pack enough not to destroy us." Sam grinned, flashing his fangs as he moved forward to lean again the black wolf's side. "You and your brothers can run with our band as long as you want to."
"Thank you, Dean," the wolf whispered, tears in his crystal blue eyes. He stepped back from the brothers, lowering his head and pulling his wolf back, finally shifting into his human form. He no longer felt the need to stay in his stronger form.
Dean and Sam shifted back to human as soon as they realized what the Celestial was doing, the older Winchester's eyes widening at the sight before him. The omega was tall, nearly his height, with messy raven black hair and those same intense, soulful blue eyes that seemed to stare right through him. Dean could see dozens of scars, the omega nearly as marked up as a young alpha, but what concerned him most were the ribs clearly visible along his chest, the too-sharp hips and gaunt cheeks, much worse than what he had seen on the other three omegas. The man had been underfed or starved for years. Even so, Dean couldn't help but stare.
"You're beautiful," he breathed, keeping his eyes above the waist to preserve the omega's dignity, having no idea how modest the omega might be. He couldn't look away, however. This man was truly gorgeous.
The raven-haired man ducked his head and blushed. His voice, when he finally spoke, was deep and gravelly, much sexier than his wolf voice. Mind speech tended to dampen the full spectrum of a person's spoken tone. "Thank you, Dean."
"What's your name? I can't exactly keep calling you 'black wolf' now that you're willing to change forms."
The Celestial smiled and crossed his arms in front of his chest, offering an alpha's bow to the brothers. "My name is Castiel."
AN: This first scene was just an idea I had in my head that wouldn't go away, and now it's kinda evolved into a full-fledged fic. There may be some scenes that are written as tribute to the show, like the Gabriel vs Asmodeus thing (that isn't over, by the way), and the Sam healing Gabriel theme. Hopefully this will be a fun one.