Chapter 3: Family Support


Benny Lafitte was a big, burly beta, tall for his subgender but gentle to a fault. He had lived his whole life in Louisiana, working the shrimp boats before he moved on to cook in some of the finest restaurants in the bayou. He had been content there, especially once a young blonde omega drifted into town and took a seasonal job on one of the boats. The tall, broad-shouldered omega with too sharp a chin and brilliant ice blue eyes had captivated Benny, his soft voice and gentle way of speaking enchanting. Benny had fallen in love, asked Gadreel to stay, and three years later convinced the omega to become his mate.

Then, one day, a pack of vampires had rolled into his quiet town and torn everything apart.

Benny reached up and rubbed his neck, finding some comfort in the raised scar of his mating bite, even though he could feel Gadreel's anxiety through their bond. Benny glanced at his omega, letting the soothing scent of Gadreel's pregnancy wrap around him, praying deep in his soul that the scent wouldn't suddenly fade. The vampires . . . they had turned Benny, but what they did to Gadreel was worse. The situation had been torture for both of them, but the omega was recovering more slowly than his mate. He kept reaching up for the jagged, red skin on either side of his neck, some of which covered his mating mark and most of which was still bandaged, and his eyes would dull with remembered pain. The deep scratches on his face had begun to heal somewhat, but butterfly bandages still held the worst of the gashes together, and most of them would scar. There was something faded, wilted in the man, and Benny hoped he could find a way to bring him back.

"Gad?"

The omega nodded, slipping out of the car and following his beta to the door. After Jo and her pack had cured Benny and taken Gadreel to the hospital, the pair had been offered a new home in South Dakota, a thousand miles away, which they had gladly accepted. However, Benny still knocked on Bobby's door when he got home from work.

The big alpha opened the door and grinned, ushering the pair inside. "I told you boys you don't have to knock. Come on in; we have guests."

Gadreel followed Benny slowly, pulling his jacket up slightly in an effort to cover his neck, trying to hide behind his mate as much as he could. They entered the living room where three young, unmated alphas sat with Ellen, two of them nursing beers and one of them clearly upset that he wasn't old enough to be offered one. The oldest of the alphas—a man with dark blonde hair, vibrant green eyes, and the muscular physique of a trained hunter—rose to his feet, holding his free hand out in a warm welcome.

"Hi, I'm Dean Winchester. You must be Benny."

"Yeah, Chief, that's me," the beta replied, his Cajun drawl distinctive. "And this is my mate."

"Gadreel, right?" The second alpha, a few inches taller than his brother with longer, darker hair and hazel eyes, held out a hand to the omega, his scent soothing. "We heard what the vamps did down in Louisiana. I'm glad Jo and her pack were able to save you."

Gadreel, who had once been a vibrant, outgoing man, looked at the alpha's hand for a long moment before reaching out to take it. "Thank you."

"I'm Sam and this is my younger brother Adam. Bobby and Ellen kinda helped raise us when our parents were off hunting. They're good people."

Benny nodded and wrapped an arm around Gadreel's shoulders, pulling the omega over to an empty couch and helping him settle into it. "They are, and we're grateful for everything they've done. After what happened . . ." Benny trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence. Ellen leaned forward from her chair and squeezed his leg reassuringly, but he knew that she didn't understand his trauma, the nightmares he still suffered from, and the danger his unborn pup was in from Gadreel's fragile mental state.

"I was turned into a vampire three years ago."

Benny's head snapped up at Dean's voice, his sharp intake of breath the only indicator that he had heard the alpha's soft words. "What?"

Dean smiled and nodded, glancing down at his hands as he bit his lips. "I, uh . . . we were trying to track down the Alpha Vamp. You know, the original, the one that's full monster not just an infected human. I got caught by a vamp, he turned me, and I was brought into his nest. I found out where the Alpha lived, I saw him in my head, and then I slaughtered the entire nest. I went to see Sam and Adam, to say goodbye . . . and Jo was there with an experimental concoction that used the blood of the vamp who turned me to cure me of vampirism. It worked, and she has become our expert on vampires. She . . . Jo cured you the same way."

Benny nodded slowly, sensing Gadreel straighten beside him. "Yeah, she did."

Dean looked up, his intense emerald eyes pinning the beta. "We can't erase what happened to you, Benny, and we can't heal your physical or mental scars, Gadreel, but we can help you come to terms with the terror of the supernatural. We can teach you to fight monsters, to get back some of what you lost. Would you like that?"

Benny nodded again, his mangrove and ocean scent strengthening as his mate's lavender and freesia wrapped around him. "Yeah, I would. I don't . . . I've never killed anyone in my life. I don't get in fights or the alpha dustups that my brothers enjoyed, but something happened when I was turned. I . . . they caught us walking home from the restaurant. Gad . . . he ran. I told him to run. They caught him and I tried to fight, but . . . six of them, one of me. They said that I would be useful, and one of them hit me on the head with something. The last thing I saw was Gad . . . they were tearing into his neck, blood everywhere . . . I was sure he was dead."

Bobby appeared behind Benny's couch, silently offering the beta a beer and his mate a soda. In general, omegas tried to cut caffeine when they got pregnant, but Gadreel's doctor said it would be worse for him to suffer withdrawal after so traumatic an event. A small amount of caffeine wasn't going to harm the baby any more than Gadreel's own stress. "I know it's hard to talk about, Benny, but Dean and his brothers can help you both heal."

The beta nodded, starting at his beer for a long moment before taking a sip. "I woke up and I felt . . . different. I was in a dark shack somewhere, and everything was too bright, too loud, and every scent stabbed into me. Then I saw that Gadreel was there, hung from a rafter overhead by a chain between his wrists, still bleeding from his neck, his clothes torn and bruises covering his chest. One of his legs was bleeding, so he was struggling to put his weight on the other side to stay standing. I was overwhelmed by the scent of blood, a sharp hunger overtaking me."

"They left him there to be your first meal," Sam murmured. "Whenever they turn a new vamp, the nest leaves them food to lock them into their new life."

"It took me longer than it should have to push my hunger away. I pulled him down, broke the chains with my bare hands, and scooped him into my arms. Some part of me knew what had happened, that I had been turned into a monster, but I could still hear a faint whisper of Gad's thoughts across our bond and I had to save him. I ran into a pack of young women who didn't seem too concerned about all the blood, and I begged them for help. Apparently one of them, Alex, is a nurse, and she took Gad and called an ambulance. The leader, Jo, asked me if I had done it, and I said he was my mate and I didn't care about anything but saving him. I said I wanted to hunt down the monsters that attacked us."

"She offered to go with you?"

"Yeah, Dean, she and Claire and Kaia. Alex and Patience took care of Gad while we went to hunt down the vampires. I could feel them . . . sense their location and we found them pretty easily. Jo handed me a machete and we took them out. When we were done, I asked her to kill me, told her that I couldn't live as a monster, and she asked if I had fed at all. She seemed really adamant about that, and I told her no. Then she cured me and took me to the hospital to see Gad. I couldn't believe that she could save me so easily."

"It was easy for her," Dean murmured, not dropping Benny's gaze as the beta slowly nodded. "It was hard for you, hard for your mate. The bond doesn't break when someone is turned into a monster, so Gadreel felt your hunger and bloodlust. You're both still suffering nightmares from the event. Hell, I still suffer nightmares and I was turned three years ago."

"Does it get better?"

"Yeah, it does. Hunting vampires, preventing this from happening to someone else, has made it easier for me to sleep at night. You'll never forget it, but the memory won't stab at you as much anymore. Go hunting with us, Benny; I think it will help."

Benny gulped down the last of his beer, Gad still sipping at his soda as he watched his mate. There was something tingling along their bond, a kind of eagerness and hope, the omega silently urging his mate to accept this offer. "The Alpha Vamp you were tracking three years ago . . . did you ever find him? Did you kill him?"

"No, but I know what he looks like and we've seen some signs over the years. We've got a Faerie thing to worry about right now, but after that we're back on his trail. Wanna help us finish the job?"

"Yeah, Chief, I would."


"You ever been on an airplane, Gadreel?"

The omega shook his head, biting his lip as he struggled to put together his answer. It had become harder to speak since the incident, but Ellen had assured him that forcing himself to use words instead of non-verbal communication would help him heal. "No, I never had the chance. Have you . . . have you ever been to Scotland?"

Sam shook his head, grabbing his bag and Gadreel's as he followed the omega up the stairs onto the plane. Since Rowena's jet was private, they had been able to get dropped off directly on the field and board the plane outdoors instead of waiting inside at a terminal where Dean's metallic fear scent would agitate hundreds of other people instead of just his brothers, Rowena, Benny, and Gadreel. "Unlike Dean, I can honestly say I'm looking forward to this trip."

"You're not terrified of flying," the aforementioned alpha growled as he reluctantly climbed the stairs behind them, "and your Faerie isn't going to try to kill you."

"No," Rowena purred, already lounging on one of the opulent couches along the windows, "he will try to fuck you."

Sam stumbled, dropping his bag clumsily as Gadreel chuckled behind him. "He's gonna what?"

Rowena waved toward one of the stewards, a tall slender man with a shock of vibrant red hair and a tray in one hand. "Bring the pups a drink, would you, dear? It's going to be a long flight and the pretty one that smells like cinnamon is nervous."

Dean grumbled something uncomplimentary under his breath, stowing his bag and the bags of ingredients as Benny, Ellen, and Bobby climbed aboard. The Singers were only there to help carry supplies before they headed back to their cars and returned to town. Sam pointed Adam toward a seat near Dean, taking one on the other side as the Lafittes joined Rowena. "What do you mean about Gabriel, Rowena?"

The redhead grinned and sipped her champagne, tapping one perfectly-manicured nail against the glass. "You know, of all the noble Faeries, Gabriel is the one who has been summoned the most. I'm sure none of this is in your book, but he has run with gods from most of the pantheons over the past few thousand years. He has never killed his summoner, though he has been known to take out the deserving scumbags that populate our planet. Gabriel is, however, a hedonist. He likes food, sweets, drink, and sex. Lots and lots of sex. And trust me, he isn't picky about your gender or subgender when he asks for it."

Adam gasped, leaning forward excitedly. "You summoned him!"

The witch grinned. "Aye, about two hundred years ago. I had some issues I needed resolved in the highlands and he was very helpful. He's a beautiful man, and like most Faeries he refuses to let his gender and subgender define his role in the Fae realms or here on earth. I think you'll like him, Samuel."

"It's just Sam, ma'am," the tall alpha replied. "I'm not summoning him to sleep with him. Am I going to have to tell him that?"

"It won't do any good, dear. If he wants you, he will find a way to seduce you. However, I'm sure he will accept any recommendations of compatible partners you have for him."

Adam grinned and reached across Dean to punch Sam in the arm. "Looks like you got the fun one. All Dean and I get are warriors."

"Adam, this guy's sex drive is immaterial. We need him to help catch Lucifer and then we send him home. If he wants to sleep with anyone, I nominate you."

Adam blushed at Dean's words, ducking his head and settling back in his seat. Despite having presented as an alpha three years earlier, the youngest Winchester had not found much time for casual sex in the life of a hunter, despite Dean's almost weekly conquests in bars on the road. "I, uh . . . I've never been with an omega. Male or female. Is it different than betas?"

Ellen chuckled as she and Bobby disembarked, the ground crew rolling the stairs away as the steward pulled the door closed and locked it. Dean, watching the steward head to the cockpit to speak with the pilots, tightened his grip on the armrest of the couch and took a deep breath. Sam patted his older brother on the shoulder, offering whatever support he could.

"It is different," Benny answered from across the cabin. He helped Gadreel fasten his seatbelt before taking care of his own. "Female omegas are more receptive to a knot than betas, and of course they have a biological predisposition to submit to alphas. Betas don't really have that. Male omegas, however, are drastically different from betas, and not just the slick thing or the ability to get pregnant, which you learned about in school. Male omegas are rarer than females so they have an instinctive need to prove their worthiness as breeders. Because of that, they have a stronger and sweeter scent when aroused, one that calls to alphas and dominant betas alike."

"They are also built to take knots without much preparation at all, unlike male betas," Dean added. "And when they go into heat . . . it's damn near irresistible."

Adam nodded slowly, mentally filing the information away for later. "I'm not going to sleep with this Gabriel Faerie, but I think I want to find a male omega partner at some point."

Dean smiled and wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulder, sufficiently distracted from the plane taxying up the runway. "We'll find you someone."

The alpha stiffened as the plane finally lifted off, that sudden stomach drop catching him unawares. He whined softly, taking a deep breath before he began to hum under his breath, eyes fixed steadily on the floor in front of him. "Are you humming 'Smoke on the Water'?"

"It helps me stay calm."

"Well this ought to be an interesting flight," Rowena murmured, settling back in her seat as she waited for the plane to reach cruising altitude so the steward would bring her another drink.


Dean managed to calm down somewhat once they reached cruising altitude, though his brothers still caught a hint of his fear scent whenever they hit the slightest turbulence. Sam and Adam comforted him as best they could, but Rowena's constant offer of alcohol helped the best. Sam, who had taken a couple of shots with his brother before letting Benny take over comforting the oldest alpha, found himself in the back of the plane, waiting for his turn in the bathroom.

Gadreel, who of course was not drinking, opened the door, pale blue eyes meeting Sam's hazel in shock. The alpha caught the faintest whiff of blood in the bathroom, every instinct he had encouraging him to comfort the omega. "Gadreel?"

"It's nothing, just a little blood."

"I'm not completely oblivious to the biological functioning of pregnant omegas," Sam argued, his bladder forgotten. "Spotting isn't a good thing."

Gadreel shook his head, biting his lip as he turned away. "It just started after we took off. The doctor told me that the stress I'm under . . . that what happened to me and Benny . . ."

"A hunter doctor?" Gadreel nodded, reaching up to run his fingers over the bandages on the right side of his neck. "The doctor told you that you might lose the baby."

"She told me that in front of Benny, yes. But, later and in private, she said that it was almost certain. That pack that Jo was hunting, they were known to target mated pairs, usually pregnant betas and omegas. The ones who lived, whose mates didn't eat them, always lost the baby."

Sam stood there and stared at Gadreel for a long, long moment, slowly reaching out to pull the trembling omega into his arms. He hadn't realized until that moment how tall the man was, easily a match for the six-foot-plus Winchesters and taller than his beta. "So you're having a miscarriage. You're going to lose the baby."

"Yes," Gadreel whispered, struggling to keep his sobs as quiet as possible to avoid alerting his mate in the front cabin. "I just . . . it's harder for a beta than an alpha, you know? It was hard enough for Benny to get me pregnant the first time and this won't make it easier."

Sam sighed and pulled the omega closer, trying to exude calm and comfort in his scent. "You'll be alright, Gadreel. Both of you will. You'll have another heat, you'll have another chance."

"I know," Gadreel whispered, pulling out of Sam's arms and taking a deep breath in an effort to relax. He wiped the last of the tears from his eyes and straightened his shirt, trying to make himself as presentable as possible. "I just . . . I really wanted this one."

"You're so strong, Gadreel, and I'm proud of how you're handling this. I'm just hoping I get to be there when you and Benny do get to have your baby."

"Thank you, Sam," the omega murmured, reaching down to rub his belly sadly. "Please, call me Gad. It's what my friends call me."

"Alright, Gad." Sam watched the tall omega return to the main cabin, the faintest scent of blood still coming from him. Benny might not notice yet, not with all of the alphas on the plane and the alcohol being passed around so freely, but pretty soon he would smell the difference in his mate and he would know.


Benny glared at the scotch in his glass, quite a bit unfairly since it was very good scotch. "It took me four heats to get him pregnant, you know. It's harder for a beta. We don't go into rut and we don't have a very high fertility rate."

"Is he really going to lose the pup?"

The burly beta nodded and took another sip. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure. His scent is weakening, and I'm almost sure I smelled blood earlier. I've been kinda sensitive to it since . . . well since then. Jo told me that the vampires we killed . . . they had a specific type of target."

"Mated pairs," Dean murmured, swirling his own glass of scotch. "It's the only pack we know of who hunts like that. And they specifically liked pregnant betas and omegas. Changed the flavor of the blood, I think."

"We targeted them on purpose," Adam added, having already refused his own glass of scotch three times. Rowena was convinced that eighteen was old enough to drink, but the youngest Winchester knew better than to test his limits hours before a big spell. "Jo and Claire were tracking them for the better part of a year, and we helped them narrow down the nest's location to Louisiana. It wasn't easy; they'd hunted in five states and in the Gulf. I'm just sorry that you had to be victims before they were stopped. It's no comfort, I know, but without your help the nest might have escaped again."

Benny nodded slowly, running his fingers through his scruffy beard. "It, uh, it helps a little, cher. It helps to know that no one else will be a victim and that no one else . . ."

"That no one else will lose their pup," Dean finished, tossing back the last of his scotch. He reached over and patted the beta on his shoulder. "You've saved a lot of families, my friend."

Dean barely caught Benny's whispered response, but he had no answer for the soft, heartbroken words. "I just wanted to save mine."


Dean didn't have much knowledge of airports, but he could honestly say that Stornoway Airport was one of the smallest he had ever seen. He watched the approach, the beautiful green land of the Isle of Lewis northwest of Scotland breaking up and fading into the ocean, the airport located on a small spit of land between the main island and a tiny outlier. Rowena had pointed out each of the islands as they approached, commenting on the historical significance of each landmark they could see and describing in intimate detail certain rituals she had performed or orgies she had been involved in over the last three hundred years.

"You know, Rowena," Benny drawled, a slow smile spreading across his face, "there is such a thing as oversharing."

Gadreel grinned and leaned forward, catching the other omega's emerald eyes. "You haven't told us where in Scotland you were born."

"Odd that you should ask that, Gad. I was born in the place that is our final destination, a place where the veil between our world and the Fae Realm is thin and easily permeable. It is a lovely place, as you will see."

The plane landed smoothly, for which Dean was thankful, and the passengers gathered their multitude of bags and disembarked. Rowena led the procession to a long, black limo, her driver helping everyone load their luggage and get inside before pulling away from the small airport.

"How far away is this special place, Rowena?"

"About thirty minutes. It's on the other side of the island, but of course it's a very small island. You boys should study the Enochian part of the ritual while we drive."

Dean, Sam, and Adam read through their notes during the drive over, struggling with the flat, monotone syllabic pronunciation of Enochian that Crowley and Balthazar had helped them transliterate a few days earlier. The writing system wasn't complex, but the meanings were, and they tended to change based on the context, the subgender of the speaker, and the phase of the moon. The last criteria was insanely hard to predict, but this night would be a new moon so they had to tailor the ritual to that. By the time the limousine reached Callanish, all three alphas were confident that they could perform their rituals perfectly.