Chapter One

Gabriel paced the living room, waiting for Balthazar to return. He was anxious to see what his mate had come up with in his search, and had become more than a little impatient. He pulled out his phone, about to call Balthazar when he appeared beside him. He waved his phone at Bal. "Really, what took so long? I was about to send out the search party." Balthazar sighed and wrapped his arms around his mate. "Patience love. These things take time and I am sure you will be more than pleased with what I have come up with." Gabriel sighed. "Fine. But you better make it worth my while, especially since you made me wait so long for you to get back." Balthazar brushed his lips against his mates. "Anything for my alpha."

~o~

Rachael sat down on her couch and forced herself to not check if she had locked her apartment, since she had already done it three times. Someone had been following her, and not to discretely, but when she had finally turned to confront him, he had just disappeared. She nervously chewed her lip and grabbed the remote, trying to distract herself with some television.

Maybe she was just being paranoid, it wasn't like she had anything in her small place worth stealing, and a mugger would be disappointed with the 27 dollars that she had in her pocket. She sighed and focused on the latest episode of Castle, maybe some quality time with Nathan Fillion would take her mind of everything.

~o~

Gabriel slid his hand in Balthazar's as they walked through the alley, Bal pointing to a run-down apartment complex across the road. "Don't fret Gabriel, I have saved the best for last." Gabriel squeezed his mates hand and forced a smile. "You know Bal, we don't have to do this. I'd never want you to think of this as a replacement for you, you know how much I love you." The beta huffed and looked indignant. "Really Gabriel, which of us are you trying to convince now?"

Balthazar gasped as he was suddenly pinned against the alley wall, Gabriel's face inches from his. Gabriel licked his lips before leaning in, grazing his teeth across his mate's throat. "Jealousy doesn't suit you Bal." He pressed himself fully into his beta and nipped harder at his neck, eliciting a low moan from Balthazar.

They pulled apart slowly, Balthazar fussing over his blazer and straightening his shirt. The alpha laughed and waggled his eyebrows. "You ready to go princess?" Balthazar huffed and grabbed his hand, heading across the street with Gabriel in tow, ignoring the muffled laughter from his alpha.

They walked quietly through the small apartment, Gabriel taking in the scent of the young omega who occupied it. The smell of fresh peaches and honey tickled his nose and he followed it to the tiny bedroom, where the young woman was sleeping. Her short raven colored hair had fallen across her face, the alpha gently brushed it away, taking in the ivory skin and her pouty pink lips. She was definitely pretty, but there was a lot more that she needed to be before Gabriel could make up his mind. He leaned in closer, taking a deeper breath of her scent. She sighed in her sleep and it echoed through him, a warmth spreading throughout his body.

"Didn't I tell you?" Balthazar asked in a hushed voice. Gabriel nodded, fighting down the urge to drag her out of bed by her hair and take her right there on the floor. He felt his beta's hand on his shoulder, and stood up shakily, drawing an unneeded breath. He slid his arms around Balthazar and nuzzled into his neck. "You definitely have good taste princess." Balthazar laughed quietly. "I'd like to think so. Now you need to go home and wait for us, I'd rather not have her frightened by you before I get a chance to convince her to be with us."

The alpha straightened up, a predatory look on his face. "Convince? If your explaining doesn't work I'll drag her home myself." Balthazar gently cupped his mates face. "Go home love, I will bring her back as soon as I can. No need to be such a caveman about it." Gabriel nodded, and disappeared. Balthazar let out the breath he was holding. He really hoped she could be swayed by him, because there was no doubt in his mind that Gabriel would take her forcefully. He loved his alpha, but worried for the small omega, it would be better if she could feel the way he felt towards Gabriel. He had seen to many omegas who cowered whenever their alphas were near them, defeated and broken. Balthazar shook his head and walked over towards the bed, he needed to work quickly, Gabriel was many things, and patient was not one of them.

~o~

Rachael awoke and he was there, standing by her bed, the one she had seen following her earlier. She fought back a scream, and scrambled backwards until her back was against the headboard. "Please don't hurt me."

"I would never hurt you Rachael. My name is Balthazar, and I have something important to talk to you about. Please don't be afraid." Balthazar gave a small nudge with his grace and the human girl calmed down considerably. "What do you need to talk about?" He sat on the edge of her bed, and took an unneeded breath. "Your future. This is all going to sound strange and unbelievable at first, so I need you to listen to everything I have to say before you ask any questions or interrupt, can you do that for me?"

Rachael nodded and leaned forward slightly, her hazel eyes wide with both fear and curiosity. "Yes, Balthazar, I can do that."

"There are a select group of humans who are considered special to someone like myself and my kind. You happen to fall into that group." He could see her biting her lip, but continued. "And by my kind I mean angels. I don't expect you to believe me at first but I can and will prove it to you. But as for why you are special to us, you are what my kind calls an omega. It is basically a human that is capable of bearing offspring to angels."

Her eyes got wider and she put her hand to her mouth, but managed to stay quiet. "Humans like you are extremely rare, and are quite coveted. I would also like to point out that it is also rare for omegas to be asked if they would like to join a mated pair of angels. So keep in mind that if you say no, there are alphas out there that will take you by force." He absentmindedly fussed with his blazer, watching her face as what he said was sinking in. She looked more afraid now than curious.

"Rachael, I'm a beta, and betas can't produce offspring, it has nothing to do with being male or female. So when I mated with my alpha, we discussed having an omega with us for quite some time before finally deciding to look for one. And after searching for months, we found you. You are exactly what my alpha and I are looking for, and considering who my alpha is, that is not to be taken lightly."

Rachael nodded, and started to open her mouth. Balthazar arched an eyebrow at her and she closed it. "As I was saying, you have very little time to decide if you would like to willingly join our family. There are alpha and beta angels out in force right now, and the only reason you haven't already been taken this morning is because we got here first. If I leave here without you I can guarantee that there will be an alpha here within five minutes to claim you as his." Balthazar didn't feel the need to mention it would be his alpha. He could already feel Gabriel's lack of patience wearing thin.

"Okay." She said, clutching at the blankets. "Okay I will go with you, I don't want to be taken." She sounded terrified, and Balthazar reached over and placed his hand over hers, sending reassurance flooding into her. "Get dressed then Rachael, and don't worry about packing your things, we can take care of that."

As she got dressed he sent a thought towards his mate, and could almost see Gabriel smiling wolfishly. The beta took her hand and pulled her in close. "Close your eyes Rachael, this might feel a bit strange." The omega squeezed her eyes shut and clung to him, wondering what the hell she was getting herself into this time.