When Alex wakes up, she's sluggish, and covered in sweat. Squinting, she slowly sat up from her place on…a floor? Blankets, or at least some kind of soft fabric was beneath her, protecting her from the hardness of the floor. What happened? It took a few moments for her to remember, and when she did…Immediately Alex did an inventory of herself, panicking. But her clothes were still on, everything was still on. The only thing she was concerned about was the bite-mark in her shoulder, which was a strange blue colour, but healed over in a strange, unfamiliar way.

"You are awake," came a tired voice. Alex's head whipped around to where the voice came from, bringing a handgun out from her thigh-holster, instantly realising that the person was an alpha, and that the room was soaked in her omega pheromones. "You have nothing to fear from me. I have not touched you since I laid you down there. I have protected you from all that would harm you, or take you."

Alex's mind was a mess, but even then, she wasn't so stupid to believe her. "You're an alpha. How do I know you didn't do something while I was out?" The figure moved, and she pinged off the safety of her gun, only for them to come into the light…and Alex was reminded that the woman who had saved her was Alura's carbon copy. "And who are you?"

"I am Astra – Astra In-Ze. I am an alpha, yes, but I have not touched you in the way you refer Alex, I swear to you that."

"Kara's aunt," Alex murmured, causing Astra's eyes to widen.

"You know Kara?"

"Yeah," Alex stated numbly, "She- she's my foster-sister." She could feel something pulsing – her shoulder, her stomach…She brought a hand to it, lowering her gun but not putting the safety back on, despite the fact that only Kryptonite bullets would work on her, and those had been in her bigger gun. Touching the bite-mark, she immediately hissed, tensing as Astra came over, taking her hand back as a heat rose in the pit of her stomach, causing her to groan.

"I don't understand-"

"It triggers heats. The species that gave it infuses it into their chosen omegas so they can trigger heats at will, whenever they wish to breed."

"I'm going to go into heat again?" Alex's heartbeat sped up, fear gripping her as she felt the tiny, familiar itch of the beginning of preheat – this was a disaster. "With all my pheromones in the air, I'll be in heat pretty damn quick." She tried to hold her breath as Astra nodded stiffly.

"It cannot be removed, Alex, only numbed – refrain from touching it. We must discuss this, before your word can once again no longer be trusted."

Alex stiffened, "Astra-"

"There is no stopping this, Alex, and I used all of the omega sedatives within this room during your previous heat to keep you asleep and sufficiently healthy."

"Omega sedative? How long was I out?"

Astra made a pained face, "Several days. Four and three fifths, to be precise." Alex sucked in a breath, squeezing her eyes shut at a sharp pang of burning heat in her stomach. Too fast. It had happened to her before, in the early days of her omega development. I'm going into heat too fast for my body to keep up. "Alex, please speak, tell me what you want me to do."

"There's really no stopping this." She couldn't get to the DEO – it was too far, and there was probably an entire Fortress' worth of alpha prisoners in the way. "Fuck- fuck. So, it's sex or dying, great, absolutely fucking great."

"If it makes you feel any better," Astra added, "I was known to be a kind lover before I joined Houses with my husband."

"You have a husband?" The heat was getting worse, painfully worse. "And before? What happened after?"

"He is a gamma," Astra replied, sounding rushed. "I believe the appropriate equivalent in English would be both aromatic and asexual. He is genetically designed to be disgusted by any and all scents. Gammas are historically protectors, soldiers, law-makers, etcetera, etcetera – I would prefer not to talk about him."

"That's fine-" Alex let out another pained groan, before she met Astra's grey eyes, "Your scent is familiar, like Kara's. You smell like family, but not, like, familial, obviously, or I wouldn't have wanted you to fuck me earlier." Astra pursed her lips, before Alex shifted in place, putting her gun away before taking off her gear, ignoring Astra as she moved back slightly – it was understandable. Layers of clothing – bad, harsh, off, off! – soaked up pheromones, and with her fresh heat, there was a new wave of extra-potent, alpha-attracting pheromones that, before she started removing her clothes, was slightly muted.

When she thought about it, Alex realised it might be a good idea to tell Astra what was going on.

"I'm going into heat, and I need an alpha. I'm giving you permission right now to give in, if you want to, or need to. But I don't want anything to get broken, or for my gun to go off, if we throw it off to the side – I'm human, and very vulnerable, so, uh, you're Kryptonian. How powered-up are you, without the last few days of sun?"

Astra, slightly wide-eyed, shook her head, "My powers are weakened greatly, but I am still producing small amounts of alpha adrenaline…now larger amounts." By now, Alex was down to her tank-top and trousers, which she stood up to remove, shimmying them off, ignoring the excruciating heat in her abdomen. "Do you wish to begin when your heat comes, or now?"

"Now would be best." Alex muttered, not looking forward in the least to willingly giving up control. I want to have at least something before it starts. At that, she took off her tank-top, dropping it on her pile of clothes and other paraphernalia before turning to Astra, who was pumping out some heavy alpha scent that had Alex almost swaying as she dropped back down onto the fabric on the floor, right in front of Astra, who was wearing a tight, black body-suit, a Kryptonian crest on her lapel. "I shared a bathroom with Kara for years, so I know that Kryptonians have different parts to humans. I just want you to know that omega humans have about eight hundred million more nerves down there, a few million more than Kryptonian alphas do, so don't be surprised if I don't take very long."

Astra nodded slowly, understanding before she brought her hand up to her neck, unzipping the jumpsuit, and Alex was physically unable to stop staring as the alpha revealed herself, pushing her clothes off to the side before pouncing, gripping Alex's waist and kissing her sharply. Alex kissed back, bringing her hands up to lace in Astra's soft hair, white streak getting caught in her thumb as Alex came closer, whimpering into Astra's mouth, already losing what precious control she held as the pain of the burning disappeared, slowly started to be replaced by thick, unadulterated lust.

Mewling – oh god I mewled, I fucking mewled – Alex climbed onto Astra's lap, trying to press their bodies further together, pheromones clashing in the air. Astra smelled like stardust, and dust after rain, and rays of sunlight at dawn in winter – crisp, fresh, stark, but also strange, and like she was the space-dust in a vacuum. Alex didn't just want an alpha, she wanted this alpha, and she wanted her yesterday.

Rubbing against her, Alex paused for breath, whining, unable to speak as she started exiting preheat. Soon, she'd be like any other omega, except she had a button in her shoulder that Astra could press at any time- And then fear entered the air, and Astra stopped, despite the smell of autumn because somehow a rut had been triggered, despite how Alex pressed up against her tightly. She stopped kissing her, weakening her grip on her hips substantially. Alex shook her head frantically, trying to kiss her again only for Astra to kiss her neck, beneath her jaw, on the other side of her face from her bitten shoulder. Alex whimpered, raising her chin, offering her neck for reasons she didn't know, which Astra took advantage of, growling softly in the back of her throat before speaking.

"Do not fear, Alex, shh," she continued to kiss her neck softly, a light pressure that comforted Alex in ways she didn't understand – not until Astra kissed exactly half an inch down, and two and a half inches back, near her ear. Alex let out blissful moan at the comforting motion, sensitive scent glands letting out a strong smell of satisfaction as the wetness in between her legs grew.

Please, she wanted to say, but her vocal chords wouldn't react, her mind overcome with the sensations. Astra moved her hands from her hips, one wrapping around her body, holding her steady as the other ripped off her boxer-shorts. Alex whined at the exposure, pressing down, unwittingly bringing them closer. Then she felt something soft, gasping as hundreds of tendrils all in a close bunch crept up, caressing her wet entrance before slowly slipping up, Astra's arms tightening around her as she pressed her nose to Alex's scent glands, keeping them there as Alex let out strangled noises.

The air abruptly filled with the distinct smell of an alpha rut, Astra's personalised scent, seemingly tailored specifically to Alex, with how well she reacted to them, and it only had Alex gripping Astra's hair tighter, arms pushing tightly against her, as if they were hugging. Below, Astra's tendrils jerked, latching onto Alex's g-spot, making a sharp, strangled cry escape her before they vibrated at a level that immediately had Alex coming, omega nature making sure her recovery time was nil. Astra whimpered as Alex rocked on her lap, only increasing the pleasure of the experience.

"Alex!" Astra quietly drew out, hands helping Alex rock into her as Alex's grip on her hair became painful. She came shortly with a shudder, before, like with Alex, her alpha nature took over – only helped with how Astra decided to move them, pressing Alex down against the fabric on the ground, kissing her neck before sucking on her scent glands, causing Alex to whine and kick, before instinct took over and she brought her hand to Alex's hair, tugging her head sideways, hair falling out of the way to reveal the pale expanse of the side of her neck.

Growling, Astra bit down, inner-alpha triumphant as Alex let out a long, drawn-out cry of pleasure, shuddering. She held on even as she fucked her, taking over the movements Alex had done when she topped. Astra could smell something wrong, and her alpha hated it, and almost gave Alex another mating bite when she finally located the source of the problem – the bite on her shoulder. Astra's hand came up to it, nails digging down into it sharply, Alex letting out a more pained than pleasured sound as she opened the soft skin with ease, blue liquid rushing out, what would have been a pungent scent only a faint tickle on her senses as it dripped down off her shoulder, fizzling as it hit the fabric, disappearing.

Once it was all gone, Astra still remained at Alex's neck, waiting a few more minutes before unclenching her jaw, licking at the wound softly, slowing their pace down as Alex let out a tiny amount of scent relaying her discomfort.

"Mine," Astra growled, before they continued. Alex whimpered, shuddering, before gripping Astra even tighter.

"Your home is…strange," Astra murmured as she looked around, not used to the human setting. Alex didn't reply, only limping towards the mirror, rubbing her wet hair with a towel. "Alex-"

"Yes alpha?" Alex snapped venomously. Astra flinched. "Well? Aren't you going to say something? How about an apology for fucking mating me?"

"I am truly sorry, brave one-" Alex waved her off.

"Don't. Just- just don't." Alex dropped her towel onto her sofa, turning to her, raising a finger. "Why are you here?" Astra made a confused face.

"I don't know, I was just…drawn here. I am sorry for coming – I can leave."

"No, don't," Alex looked to the floor, fiddling with her bare wrists. "The DEO – my job – put me on paid leave for the next two and a half months, minimum, told me to stay in my apartment…this isn't my apartment. It is, but it's not – it's my dad's. He left it to me. It's from his college days. This is all his stuff." Alex looked around, wondering when the pangs of pain at seeing her father's belongings had gone away. Posters and framed records from famous rock stars lined the walls, interspersed with hundreds of science journal cut-outs, and things about aliens. She hadn't taken them down when she got the furniture replaced, and got the carpet removed in favour of wood panels – she'd never put them back up again if she did.

"Why did you not stay in your own apartment?"

"Because the DEO are watching my apartment. I told them I was going on vacation, out of the country. In Malta. They don't have jurisdiction there, so…"

"Why would you hide?" Astra questioned, frowning lightly. "And what of Kara?"

Alex looked away awkwardly, "Kara and I haven't seen each other in months. We had a massive argument – she found a mate."

"Really?" Astra sucked in a breath, "What is so distressing about that?"

"Kara's an alpha. And her boss is also an alpha – and Kara marked her like she was some omega, and there was a media shitstorm, and basically, Cat's being verbally and legally attacked because now everyone thinks she was on illegal suppressants, which means a lot of stuff she's done over the years is being investigated because, well, business is cutthroat and alpha/omega laws are still shit. I predicted the entire thing, and Kara refuses to see me because I was right."

"That does not seem like something Kara should hate you for," Astra noted quietly, looking Alex up and down. She was in cargo shorts and a large, loose sleeveless shirt – her basic for days when she was doing nothing at all, with no plans to leave her apartment. "There's something different about your scent."

"Side-effects of being mated to an alien," Alex brushed her off, before going to her kitchen and getting a water bottle, gulping down half before offering the rest to the watching Astra. Astra eyed it as if it were a bomb about to blow.

"Why do you drink it? Is it not toxic to you humans?"

"Toxic?" Alex frowned, "It's just water. H2O. Filtered. Water in this area might taste crap, but it's still drinkable." Then Alex remembered that Astra In-Ze, according to the Fort Rozz archives that the DEO had salvaged, was an eco-terrorist. Krypton exploded because the core was unstable… "Krypton's water was toxic, wasn't it?" She said it like a statement, one to which Astra nodded silently. "Well the water on Earth isn't. It can be dirty, polluted, but not toxic – and if it's bottled like this, it's been officially recognised as consumable. Here. Try." Astra hesitantly took the water, sipping it, scrunching her nose up.

"It tastes like chemicals."

"As I said," Alex flashed a small smile, "the water in this area is crap, but we need water to survive – or at least humans do. Kryptonians don't, I know that. Kara gets her coffee with a heap of sugar and condiments to mask the taste of the water."

"Earth is eighty percent water," Astra said, as if reciting from a textbook, giving the water back. Alex took another sip, before sighing and shaking her head.

"Fuck it." Stepping forwards into Astra's space, Alex shut her eyes, dropping her head onto Astra's shoulder near her scent glands – thankfully in the same place as a humans – before loosely wrapping her arms around her waist. Astra slowly reciprocated, breathing in her scent. Alex herself could feel the difference, being close to her. It was like a weight was lifted off her mind, like she had someone right behind her to catch her if she fell. "Three weeks. It took you three weeks to find me."

"I'm here now," Astra said quietly, before increasing her grip slightly, so Alex felt like she was being actually held tight. "But I do not know what you wish me to do."

"Stay."

"You would wish me to?" Alex muttered her affirmative, moving her head fully into her neck, breathing from her scent glands directly. "Alex?"

"What?"

"I may have handed over several key members of my force within Fort Rozz to your DEO. They are imprisoned now, but I did not stay long enough for them to take me too."

Alex brought her head up, "You what?"

"I gave over-"

"I heard that. What do you mean you didn't stay though? Are you on the run?" She'd ignore the fact that she was some kind of leader at all, for now.

But Astra nodded. "That is the correct turn of phrase, I believe." Alex shut her eyes.

"Great. Perfect…wait, this is actually good," Alex opened her eyes, "You stay here with me, and when I'm called back to the DEO, I bring you in as a volunteer. They recognise you, and I give a report on your good behaviour."

"Who said I would be good?" Astra asked amusedly.

Alex glared, "Me. Now shut up and get back in the living room – I'm introducing you to Homeland."

"What is-"

"Don't ask. You're about to learn. Now turn around and get your ass into my living room, alpha."