Country music filled the small bar located in the remote town with the complicated name thirty miles south of St. Louis, just east of Interstate 55. Dean Winchester, seated on a barstool, took a swig of his beer then reread a newspaper article detailing the conclusion of a police investigation focused on the latest death to occur on a rural Louisiana plantation turned B&B. The reporter mused at the unlikelihood that one place could host four accidental deaths in a three-year period, and the rather infinitesimal odds that each was the result of a snapped neck. The most recent death took place nearly six months ago and it took the local authorities that long to rule the latest death, no matter how unlikely, accidental. The last death was that of David Hellyer, a 22 year-old man who worked at the B&B. The story had all the earmarks of a hunt, and although he just cleared out an abandoned warehouse of a rawhead, Dean already felt the need to get back on the road again.

A hand suddenly covered his own, and another rested on his shoulder. The frame of a large man covered him and pressed him into the bar. A warm set of lips heavy with alcohol was at his ear lightly touching it as a stranger whispered to him, "I know what you are."

"Well, good for you." Dean said, as he shook the man off him and pushed him away with an elbow.

Years ago, a situation like this would have put a scare in him, now at 26, it was just a nuisance. It wasn't the first time he was on his own without Sammy or his dad. The first was that terrifying weekend their dad left him holed up in that hotel room in Oregon. He spent three days and nights washing himself repeatedly, frightened that at any moment someone from the hotel staff or a fellow guest might get a whiff of what he was and what he was suffering through. At the time, Dean thought he could never forgive his father for what he did. Then when Sammy left later that summer, everything changed.

"Come on," the drunken man persisted. "I live close by. Let me knot you. I'll fuck your Omega ass so good, you'll beg for more." The man leaned in closer then stopped suddenly as Dean swung around on the barstool shoving the barrel of a gun into the man's stomach.

The man was your typical Alpha, tall, square shouldered, and aggressive as hell. He moved back with wobbly steps giving Dean a conceding nod. Dean kept an eye on the man as he holstered his gun and took out the money to pay for his drinks. He tossed the bills onto the bar then walked past the man, and his friends seated at a booth near the bar entrance. He exited out of the small building and into the warm humid September night keenly aware that none of the Alpha's followed him out into the bar's parking lot.

The only thing waiting for him, standing out amongst the trucks and neutrally colored cars was the imposing black Impala. He slipped into the driver's side of his baby and revved up its powerful engine. As he headed back to his hotel room along the interstate, he remembered the summer his father gave him the cherished car. They spent weeks before fixing up the 1986 GMC Sierra Grande John Winchester bought out of the blue one day. They stayed at Uncle Bobby's that summer, remaking the old truck, giving it a coat of paint as black as the Impala's and adding a custom made weapons compartment conveniently placed in its bed. It was a monster of a truck any hunter would covet, and it gave Dean a great sense of pride to think that they were customizing it for him.

Sammy had been gone a year at that point, and in that year Dean and his father grew closer. Perhaps it was his father's realization that Dean was the one son who gave a damn about him, or perhaps it was the guilt of leaving him alone and vulnerable in that hotel room in Oregon. Whatever it was, things were better than they had been and Dean never expected it when his father turned the keys to the Impala over to him and took the truck for himself. It was the most sentimental and greatest gift his father could ever give him. He gladly took the keys and exchanged with his father the most tender hug they had shared in years.

John finally let go of him, trusted the Omega to be on his own. His father never said it with words, nor did he encourage Dean to go off and be on his own. Instead he turned it back onto himself, saying leaving on his own was something he had to do. He had gotten some sort of lead, after all these years on the yellow-eyed demon that killed Mary, and he felt the need to pursue it, alone.

Over the next three years, John and Dean hunted together for the most part. But whenever John got hold of a fresh lead, he'd go off on his own. They'd be separated for two, three weeks, sometimes a month. Dean didn't mind, it gave him the chance to experience the world on his own.

-x-

Back at the hotel Dean pulled out his laptop and searched news items on the Oak Grove plantation. He found a website dedicated to Louisiana plantations and found some history on the house and the Waterleigh family who owned it. Next, he came across videos posted on the website of the paranormal reality show, Ghost Seekers. At the time of the episode, the B&B had only been opened for a few months and only one death had occurred. The Seekers explored the circumstances of that first "accidental" death and it peculiarities. Next, the Seekers questioned former guests who claimed to have seen the ghost of a female slave and then examined a strange image of a shadowy figure lurking in the gardens photographed by one of them. The episode also featured interviews of two men who worked at the plantation. The first to be interviewed was a young man, the same who died some six months ago. The next interviewee was one of the owners, a strikingly handsome man with black hair who confirmed that over a hundred years ago, the property was a working plantation with slaves, but offered no further details. In their interviews, both men were extremely evasive and neither confirmed or denied ever seeing a ghost at the B&B, or anything else out of the ordinary happening there. Dean prepared himself for a ghost hunt and went to bed early that night.

-x-

After logging in over 600 miles heading south on the 55 and driving for over nine hours, Dean found himself in a small town approximately thirty miles north of Baton Rouge. The former plantation was located at the edge of town surrounded by a six-foot brick wall that seemed to get swallowed up by the surrounding swampy looking forest on one side and cotton fields on the other. Dean pulled up onto the long white-stoned driveway of the impressive house of Oak Grove. It was a large white two-story building that looked like something straight out of Gone with the Wind with a long extensive porch and a matching balcony above it held up by six squared columns. Three columns were placed on either side of the main entrance and the brick steps that led down the porch and onto the driveway.

Dean followed the driveway to park along its side where gray stones were placed within the white stones to mark off a series of parking stalls. He parked the Impala between an unmarked St. Francisville police car and a champagne colored Mercedes. Before getting out of the car, he grabbed the small notepad resting on the passengers seat and dropped it into his shirt pocket.

An attractive woman dressed in a sophisticated manner in her late twenties with blonde wavy hair stepped out onto the porch followed by a red headed man wearing a dark suit. They exchanged a look then made their way down the brick steps to the white stones of the driveway and waited for Dean.

The woman greeted him with a suspicious look on her face, "Hello. May I help you?"

"Yes," Dean reached out and to shake both their hands as he introduced himself to them. "John Rutsey, the St. Louis Sentinel."

"John Rutsey, as…" The woman began with a tilt of her head.

Dean looked at the man a little surprised to find he was a Beta, most officers either plain clothes or uniformed were usually Alphas. He quickly continued, "Would it be okay if I asked a few questions about the recent police report. The one that declared the last death to occur here accidental?"

The man stepped forward squinting his eyes at Dean and said, "That's been settled. Perhaps it would be in everyone's best interest if you let it drop."

"Just a few questions, Miss…" Dean prodded the woman.

"Dr. Waterleigh, Jane Waterleigh," she introduced herself then the man at her side, "And this is Detective Cooper Barrie."

Dean gave them both a nod then looked intently at the blonde woman, "Waterleigh? As in the Waterleigh family who owns the plantation?"

Before the woman could respond, the detective sternly offered, "Mr. Rutsey, let me walk you back to your car."

Dr. Waterleigh turned to the man placing a hand on his arm and said, "It's fine, Det. Barrie. If any thing, it might help."

The detective looked at her with concern and asked, "Are you sure, Jane?"

The woman nodded.

The man hesitated but finally he acquiesced before saying his good-byes and leaving the two of them at the base of the porch steps. They watched him get into his car and pull out of the parking stall.

As the unmarked car headed for the iron-gate of the property, Dean eagerly turned back to Jane and continued his investigation, "Thank you, Dr. Waterleigh. I've done a little research on your family's house. From what I understand, Oak Grove was a working plantation up through the Civil War. After the war some of its land was parceled and sold off, except for the main house here, and some of the surrounding grounds. After that, nothing really out of the ordinary was ever reported to have happened here at the house, that is until about three years ago, when it became a bed and breakfast?"

Dr. Waterleigh answered with a nod, "Yes, Mr. Rutsey, all of that is correct."

"Have you always lived here at Oak Grove?" Dean asked pulling out his notepad.

A voice came from the top of steps, "Dr. Waterleigh is a direct descendent of General Bradford Waterleigh, the man who built the plantation back in 1796. She inherited the manor and its property when her grandmother died ten years ago, but she's only lived here for the last three."

Both Dean and Dr. Waterleigh turned to see at a man wearing a pair of running shorts and a white wife-beater standing at the edge of the porch. The man was clean-shaven in his early thirties with hair so black it shimmered in the late summer sun and brought out the vibrant green of his eyes. As he made his way down the steps, Dean could see he was unmistakably Alpha and the same handsome man interviewed by the Ghost Seekers. Once in front of them, he stretched his arm to shake Dean's hand.

"Mr. Rutsey, this is… my business partner, Dr. Robert Perrigan," Dr. Waterleigh introduced Dean to the new comer with an awkward smile.

The dark haired man nodded at the woman amusedly then looked directly at Dean, "I didn't see a reservation registered for today. Are you a guest?"

Dr. Waterleigh answered, "He isn't a guest, Robert. He says he's a reporter doing a story on Oak Grove, a follow up in light of the new ruling."

Dean pointed to both of them with the pen in his hand and asked, "You're both medical doctors?"

Dr. Perrigan stepped closer to Dean with an inquisitive expression on his face, "We're co-owners of the B&B. But, I am a general practitioner here in town and work at the hospital in Jackson two days a week. Jane has a PhD in art history and taught at the community college in Baton Rouge. Who exactly are you, Mr. Rusty… was it?"

"Rutsey, John Rutsey, I'm a reporter out of St. Louis." He turned to Dr. Waterleigh, "My editor is very interested in the series of accidental deaths that have occurred here. However, you're right, Dr. Perrigan, I didn't make any reservations. I do hope to get a room for the next couple of nights. I think it would add a lot to my story. Do you have any vacancies?"

Dr. Perrigan turned to the woman at his side, "Any? All we have are vacancies. Stay as long as you need. I think it would be all right. Don't you, Jane? I think we can handle a single guest." He looked to Dean and asked with concern, "But then you're not actually traveling alone are you, Mr. Rutsey?"

Dean couldn't help but show his surprise and respond with hint of aggression, "I am. Does that matter?"

Again, the man moved in a little too close for Dean's comfort and said, "A single Omega traveling alone? Isn't that a bit reckless?"

Dean breathed in and moved away from the man. Dr. Waterleigh turned to Dean sharply with a slight scowl on her face.

"I'm a doctor, Mr. Rutsey." The Alpha looked Dean up and down with a smirk, "You have no scent. Everyone has a scent. Being able to pick up someone's scent, the subtleties of it, its ebbs and flows, the slightest shift in a person's mood and temperament can be ascertained in their pheromones; it's incredibly helpful to a physician. It's something we're trained to focus on when we're preparing to make a diagnosis. The only time I ever come across anyone without any detectable scent, it's an Omega, an Omega trying to hide his or her rank."

Dean scoffed, "Fascinating, Dr. Perrigan. But, there's no need for you to worry. I can take care of myself. You see in what I do, I also have developed a keen ability to pick up on the subtleties of another's scent. It's especially useful when I think someone's trying to bullshit me," he looked the man up and down and said, "or when I come across an arrogant Alpha who thinks just because I'm alone, he'll get an easy pass to pop his knot inside me."

Dr. Perrigan let out a hearty laugh looking from his business partner back to Dean, "Touché, Mr. Rutsey. I imagine that you are indeed quite capable of taking care of yourself. Well, if I don't see you again before the morning, have a good night's rest. I'll see you at breakfast. Jane makes a mean breakfast."

He gave Dr. Waterleigh a wink then slipped the loose ear bud dangling down his shoulder into place in his ear. He nodded at Dean and Dr. Waterleigh and headed off running into the gardens on the side of the house.

"Grab your bags and follow me, Mr. Rutsey," Dr. Waterleigh said as she made her way up the steps, across the porch, and back into the large white house in front of them.

Dean watched the woman for a moment then walked over to the Impala opening the door to reach behind the driver's seat of his car. He pulled out his duffle bag and followed Dr. Waterleigh up the steps and into the house. The foyer of the building was quite wide with a dual staircase leading down from the top floor on either side of the walls to frame the room. Directly between the steps was a tall counter for guest registration, behind that was a set of double doors. A hallway leading to both wings of the house were under each set of stairs. To Dean's right was another set of double doors at the base of the stairs, opened, leading to what looked like a sitting room. To his left, two more double doors at the base of those stairs leading to a dinning hall. Dr. Waterleigh stood behind the counter already writing in the registration book.

"How many nights?" She asked looking up from the book.

"Let's say three." Dean waited a moment then added with a smile, "There are some things I really need to know, for my article. If you don't mind, I could really use your cooperation, Dr. Waterleigh."

The woman closed the registry setting it under the counter. Dean handed her a credit card. With knitted brows, she studied the name on the card, asked for his ID then swiped his card through the machine on her counter. After it cleared, she handed it back, "Please, call me Jane."

Dean responded in kind, "Call me, John."

She smiled, "Well… John, we don't serve dinner, but every night we serve tea at 7pm. Even when there is no one else here, it's become a habit. It's a nice quiet way to end the day. Please join me, or do you prefer coffee?"

"Coffee would be great," he answered.

"Very nice, ten-fifteen minutes and everything will be ready," she said as she handed him back his card.

-x-

The room was bigger than Dean expected with a high ceiling and three tall windows filtering in an abundant amount of sunlight through its white lacey curtains. Definitely, way too girlie for his own liking, but typical for what he'd expect to see at a bed and breakfast. He walked over to a large armoire standing along the wall opposite the queen-sized bed.

Dean opened it and dropped his duffle bag into it and then walked over to the mirror hanging over the dresser as he pulled off his blue denim shirt. Rolling it into a ball, he held it against his nose and smelled it. There was just a hint of his Omega scent lingering on the shirt. He tossed onto the bed and considered bathing before meeting with Jane, but didn't see the point as it was only the three of them at the plantation and all were aware of his rank. His black undershirt was clean, but he decided to change into a fresh one to be safe. Before he could retrieve his duffle bag from the armoire, there was a knock on his door.

As soon as he opened it, he was met with a tremendous gush of rampant Alpha male pheromones that nearly knocked him back into the room. It overwhelmed him and caused him to falter in his step. Instinctively, he breathed it in, deeply inhaling it, releasing a slight gasp as he did. He straightened up as a wave of the enticing aroma settled around him.

Robert Perrigan stood in front of him with a prurient smile, his body and hair soaked with sweat. He smiled at Dean clearly delighted with the intended impact and said, "Jane asked me to let you know that tea is being served in the dinning room."

He leaned into the door jam waiting for Dean's response.

Dean shook his head and glared at the man, "You really like playing games don't you?"

"I do," he leaned in closer to Dean, "I really do, because I usually win."

Dean opened his palm and firmly placed it flat against the other man's chest pushing him off the door jam and into the hall. In a smooth sensual movement, Robert brushed his arm along the length of Dean's forearm smearing his sweat along Dean's skin. Taken aback, Dean tried to pull away, but Robert held him in place by putting his other hand over Dean's hand still on his chest. Robert then directed the arm he rubbed against Dean upward caressing the back of his hand against Dean's cheek and lips. Dean couldn't help but close his eyes and breath in the intoxicating scent of the Alpha's perspiration. Momentarily, he allowed himself to fall into the sensual miasma of Robert's taunt burning skin lightly dancing along his lips.

Robert reached behind Dean's head and pulled into him an embrace. The strength and warmth of the man's body was suddenly familiar and welcomed. It was the first time since Oregon that he was in the arms of an Alpha male, and once again the firm muscular body brought up a hidden yearning long suppressed. Robert brushed his lips against Dean's ear and whispered seductively, "When's your next heat? Are you on suppressants? I know of a very strong anti-suppressant that will…"

Dean opened his eyes widely and jerked his head away from the man, grabbing two fistfuls of his shirt at his chest and shoving him further down the hall towards the stairs. With a firm push, he released the Alpha and said with a snarl, "Tell Jane, I'll be right down."

Robert stepped away with a smile raising his hands in the air in acquiescence, "Alright, alright. You win." He winked at Dean, "This round."

Dean closed the door to his room and caught his breath, bothered at how intensely the Alpha affected him. "Fuck," he whispered out as he realized Robert's seduction caused him to release a flow of wet down the back of his legs. He was more surprised than angry, it had been years since he had been stimulated by an Alpha's touch. He released a steady stream of curses and scrambled about the room.

-x-

Taking longer than he wanted, Dean got himself cleaned up, changed into a fresh pair of jeans, and headed down the staircase that led into the large dinning room. The dinning room was decorated much like that of his bedroom. Clearly from another time, elegant and feminine with four round tables circled with four chairs each. A table near a large bay window was set for two with a wheeled serving cart next to it loaded with a pot of coffee and another of tea as well as a tray of scones.

"Ah, there you are," Jane said coming out of the kitchen through set of swinging double doors. "I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind."

She walked over to Dean taking one of the empty chairs, "Please have a seat, Mr. Rutsey. Shall I pour?"

Dean awkwardly nodded then sat across from the woman noticing that the table had only been set for two, "Dr. Perrigan won't be joining us?"

Jane stopped mid-pour to shoot him a look then continued to fill his cup. As she set down the coffee pot and began to pour herself a cup of tea she answered, "No, he won't. Just the two of us."

"You and Dr. Perrigan were a couple before you started dating Detective Barrie?" Dean asked as innocently as he could sure of his assessment of the relationship that existed between the three of them.

Jane sat back in her chair and said, "My, aren't you observant?"

Dean couldn't help but smile with a shrug, "Well, I am a reporter."

"So you say," Jane said looking him directly in the eye.

With a laugh, Dean picked up his cup of coffee and slowly took a drink of the hot black liquid. He took a scone off the tray and said, "I really do appreciate your cooperation. I don't mean to upset you."

"No, no, go ahead. I've been having tea alone for some time now, I like the company," she assured him.

Dean took out his notes and cautiously asked his first question, "Three years ago you opened up Oak Grove B&B and within a month the first death occurred?"

"Yes, it was all so strange." She took a sip of her tea and continued, "The first person to die was a man named Max Wilding. The circumstances of his death were very unusual. According the police, he had been leaning out the window taking in the view of the creek that runs along the gardens when he fell over the windowsill. As implausible as it seems, they said his tie got caught in the window as the window closed down onto it. He struggled to climb back into the room, but… he lost his grip and snapped his neck."

Dean looked at the woman dubiously.

"I know, I know." Jane continued, "No one believed it, especially not his wife. But there was no evidence to rule it anything but an accident. They, and another couple were the only guests at the time. On the night of the accident, Robert was working late at the hospital. The other couple and the man's wife were having tea here in the dinning room. I was in the kitchen preparing to make more tea while David continued his baking." She hesitantly picked up a scone and placed it on the plate in front of her, "David was an excellent baker. I use his recipes, but I just can't seem to get it right."

Dean took another bite of the orange-cranberry scone thinking it tasted perfectly fine.

She continued, "Anyway, Mr. Wilding's death and its strange circumstances brought the B&B a great amount of notoriety. We were even featured in one of those silly ghost investigation reality shows. At first, all the speculation regarding Mr. Wilding's death was tolerated. You have to remember Mr. Rutsey, I decided to quit teaching altogether and we put so much money into the renovations. It was a windfall. All five rooms were booked in advance for a year solid. The house was always full. By the end of the second year, we recouped the expenses of the renovations and were making a profit." Jane paused a moment, "Then came the second and third 'accidental' deaths."

"And then the fourth?" Dean asked sitting up and leaning in closer to the table.

"Yes," she looked around the room, "David's death was the worst. I mean the most horrific. The investigation is finally over, but not its effect."

Dean looked back at his notes, "In each case, the victim… I mean the person who died, each of them died of a broken neck. Their neck somehow snapped by a tie, a rope, or …"

"Yes," Jane took another sip of her tea then said, "Wilding, the first, his tie snapped his neck; second was a young woman named Daisy Mytyr. Her neck snapped when her scarf got caught in the chain of the bicycle she was riding. We keep a few here for guests to ride around the grounds; third was another woman, Hazel Mater. She was a single woman traveling alone. She slept with one of those masks to block out any light. It… uh… some how got looped around the bedpost and snapped her in her sleep."

"Really?" Dean couldn't hide his disbelief, "None of these deaths were even questioned as possible homicides?"

"I know it's really hard to believe, but remember Max Wilding was alone when he fell out the window of his room, as was Daisy, the woman on the bike. The woman who died in her bed, it happened late in the morning. We thought she slept in. We had to break down the door to get into her room. The door and both windows were still locked."

"And the most recent? What was different about it, that made the police think his death a homicide? Did he have a lot of enemies?"

"David? Oh, no, he was a local like me, a wonderful young man. He was barely 22. We took him in the year we opened. He was an Omega, like you." Jane looked up to meet Dean's stare and again, Dean sensed something in her tone that hinted at a hidden or suppressed feeling concerning the young man's Omega ranking.

She set down her tea and continued, "His family was struggling at the time and were considering sending him to one of those catamite centers. I'm sure you know how they work. The family would have gotten a percentage of the dowry received once he was consigned to an Alpha, but he was already too old to begin the training. The family was at a loss with what to do with him, so we took him in."

She stopped, lost in her own thoughts then continued, "On the day he died, we washed all the beddings for all the rooms. After we wash the linen, we hang them out in the back lawn clothesline to dry. It keeps the rooms fresher. He got caught up in the line and his neck snapped trying to free himself from it."

The woman looked uncomfortably at Dean, but continued, "Robert and I were in Baton stocking up on groceries. There were three couples scheduled to stay that weekend, of course we had to cancel after the... Whatever happened, it uh… looked as if David had struggled quite a bit and the police believed that he had been dragged along the lawn until his neck snapped."

"Dragged across the lawn?" Dean asked.

"Yes, but there was no one here. We came back later that evening, he'd been dead for hours. It looked as if someone killed him, but..."

"…there was no one here, and no physical evidence of anyone being here," Dean finished for her.

Jane gave a troubled nod.

"I have to be honest, Jane. Before coming down here, I did get some of my information on what happened here from watching the Ghost Seekers episode that featured Oak Grove. In that episode, some of your past guests mentioned seeing the ghost of a slave, a woman..."

Jane shook her head, "The ghost?"

Dean asked, "You've seen her?"

She hesitated then said, "Now I understand what you're doing. Tell me, what kind of a story are you actually writing? I know you're not a reporter, so who are you really?"

"Excuse me?" Dean sat up suddenly.

"John Rutsey? John Rutsey was the original drummer for Rush. My brother listened to only three groups during our teen years Rush, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin. What are you really here for?"

"Ok, Dr. Waterleigh. Jane. I'll be completely honest with you. My real name is Dean Winchester. And you're right, I'm not a reporter; I'm a hunter. What you have here is a ghost, more likely a vengeful spirit. I'm here to help you, but before I can do anything, I'm going to need more details about this ghost, in particular how she died and..."

"Mr. Winchester." Jane interrupted him then breathed in deeply. "Dean, you'll notice I didn't appear in that episode of that TV program. Slavery and the wicked things that went along with it are part of my family's history. It's not a game or a joke to me. I take it all very personally and very seriously. I really have nothing more to say on the subject."

Dean said as honestly and straightforwardly as he could, "Jane, you and Dr. Perrigan may be danger. You know, any future guests will be in danger, if the ghost isn't..."

"It's been a long week, and you must be tired from your drive from St. Louis." Jane stood up and picked up both their empty cups and saucers, "Surely you'll want to get some rest."

Dean stood up moving closer to her, touching her arm at the elbow, "Jane, you don't have to be afraid. I promise I can help, if you let me."

Jane narrowed his eyes at him, "I'm a Beta, Dean. I'll admit, we find an Omega's scent extremely appealing, but we can resist your charms."

Dean let go of her and stepped back, "That wasn't my intention."

Her mood suddenly shifted as she stood a little straighter and said, "You'll have better luck with Robert. He has a low threshold for resisting your kind. You'll find him back behind the gardens. He's usually there at this time. He likes to end his day with something stronger than my tea."

-x-

Dean stood on the terrace behind the manor looking out beyond the gardens. Surrounding the manor were tall trees, an actual oak grove. Nearly all of them covered with Spanish moss gently blowing in the late summer afternoon. The low hanging sun created beautiful shades of orange and yellow hues in the horizon. It all looked like a scene from a movie. At the end of the sprawling lawn, he saw a gazebo and the silhouette of a man sitting within it. He knew it had to be Dr. Perrigan and quickly walked over to the man who stood up when he noticed Dean coming towards him.

The handsome Alpha smiled at him, "Hello, again, Mr. Rutsey."

Dean walked into the gazebo, but kept his distance from the man, "Yeah, about that. My name is actually Winchester. Dean Winchester. I'm not really a reporter."

Dr. Perrigan let out a small laugh, "We already knew that. Jane grew up a diehard headbanger. Rush was always her favorite. You need to come up with a better alias."

"I'll keep that in mind. I asked her about the ghost some of your guests claim to have seen. She's not willing to talk about it. Are you?" Dean continued looking at the man with uneasy scowl, "I'm here to help, and I can help, but first there are things I need to know, Dr. Perrigan."

"Call me Robert," the Alpha instructed.

He then sat down on the wooden bench circling the inner circumference of the round gazebo. Next to him was a bottle of an expensive black label whiskey and a small glass. He looked back at Dean and asked, "Care for a drink?"

Dean nodded then took the drink offered by the man. The rich brown liquid smoothly ran down his throat with a slight burn, a testament to its high quality. He took another drink from the glass then moved to sit near the Alpha atop the railing with his feet resting on the bench.

"Thanks," Dean continued to sip the whiskey. "Have you seen the ghost haunting the manor? I'm under the impression Jane has, but won't admit to it."

"You're right," the other man conceded. "We've both seen it… her. A black woman, wearing the clothing of a slave, we've seen her standing on the stairs, crossing through the gardens in the dead of night, in the corner of an empty room. It's crazy and we know how crazy it sounds, but we suspect she's responsible for the deaths. We'd never say as much to the police or even anyone from that ridiculous TV program, but there's nothing else that it could be. "

Dean passed the glass back to Robert, "What can you tell me about her?"

"Her name was Orchis. The story has always been a popular legend in Jane's family, but of course they really don't know how much of it is fact or fiction. But according to the legend, Orchis was an indoor slave, past her prime, deathly afraid that she was losing her purpose with the Waterleigh family. Her primary duty was to take care of their children who referred to her as, 'Mother Orchis.' She was getting older, couldn't do as much as she used to, and the children were still young. There was talk about replacing her with a younger slave." He filled the small glass, took a drink then continued, "Now, what really frightened Mother Orchis was the very real prospect, that if she were replaced, she would be forced to leave the comfort of the manor house and sent to work in the cotton fields. So, to show the family that she was still needed, still valuable to have in the house, she worked out a little plan that completely backfired."

Robert paused long enough to finish his drink then asked, "What do you know about oleander, Dean?"

"It's some kind of flower, isn't it?" Dean answered as Robert poured another glass of the whiskey and handed it to him. With a slight smile, he took the glass from the Alpha and sipped the alcohol.

"Yes." Robert adjusted his body to face Dean, "Despite being rather innocent looking, it's one of the most poisonous plants you're likely to find in any garden. Knowing this, and not much else, Mother Orchis boiled oleander leaves into a broth and then baked some of it into a desert cake for the family. It was her intention to make the family sick, only sick, but sick enough for her to nurse them back to health. Unfortunately, she had no real idea what she was doing or the virulent nature of oleander. Two of the three Waterleigh children died as well as their mother. The family doctor was called for, but there was nothing he could do. Of course, he realized quite naturally that the family had been poisoned. Mother Orchis ran into the slave quarters to hide from the anger of the master. However, the slaves, just as angry and disgusted with what she did, and afraid the master would accuse them of helping her to hide..."

"Let me guess," Dean hopped off the railing and finished his drink. "They strung her up from the nearest tree by her neck until it snapped and she was dead."

Robert raised a brow with nod taking the glass back from Dean, "Very good. That's exactly what is supposed to have happened." The Alpha set the glass down onto the bench next to the bottle and asked, "And you say you're here to help? What is it you think you can do?"

"I can stop her." Dean said stepping back to sit on the circular bench across from Robert, "All I need to know is where she's buried."

"That, you will have to ask Jane." Robert stood up and pointed out past the garden, across the creek, "See the little red bridge that crosses over the creek?" Dean got up from the bench and stood next to the Alpha. He peered across the darkening garden and gave an unspoken affirmation. Robert continued, "Just beyond the trees is the family plot. Most of Jane's relatives are buried there, including her grandparents." He turned back to Dean, "The slaves? I don't know. I do know they're buried somewhere on the grounds, somewhere I haven't been."

He narrowed his eyes at Dean as he breathed in with surprise, "You didn't bathe."

Dean reddened a bit then turned to face the man, standing closer to him than he realized, close enough to get a good whiff of him. He responded, "You did."

"Perhaps I shouldn't have," Robert said. The Alpha put a hand on Dean's shoulder and slowly moved around him, inhaling as he did, drawing in more of his Omega smells.

Dean couldn't believe he was letting the Alpha get this close to him, letting him take in the "subtleties" of his scent. It had been so long since he let an Alpha get this close, but there was something different about this man. He wasn't one of those mindless aggressive Alphas he occasionally ran into and fought off at a crowded bar, or a random Alpha stranger that managed to sniff out his Omega identity. This man was well spoken, intelligent, and he was attracted to Dean. And above even that, he liked to play the game of seduction and that enticed Dean to no end. Feeling the man's hot breath linger on the back of his neck, Dean closed his eyes and anxiously took in the pleasure of the man's lips lightly touching his skin. Robert brought up one hand around Dean's chest and pulled him closer to his own body. Dean fit nicely into the other man's frame. With one hand on his chest, he held Dean in place. He slid his other hand over Dean's stomach, threatened to go even further but nestled itself just under the top button of his jeans. Robert breathed in deeply moving his face from the back of Dean's neck up along the back of his ear to settle his cheek next to Dean's.

He brushed the scruff of his beard against Dean's and whispered, "You're afraid. Why? What is it that you fear?"

Dean tightened his eyes but didn't answer. Instead, he slowly pushed away from the Alpha stepping out of the man's arms and moved to the entrance of the gazebo. The sun had now set and the area around them darkened considerably. Fireflies dotted the darkness here and there throughout the gardens. He tried his best not to appear awkward or thrown off by the man's touch. Thankfully, the Alpha had bathed, or he might have found himself uncontrollably releasing another flow of aroused wet.

Robert knitted his brows in confusion at the other's sudden withdrawal. Dean regretted doing it, but he pulled himself together regaining his stoic front and faintly said, "I should go in and shower, get some rest. I… uh… Thanks for the drink."

Robert suddenly realized the cause of Dean's fear and said with understanding, "You've never been tied."

Dean couldn't help but turn away slightly embarrassed, but enormously pleased that Robert used the far less used, and far less vulgar word. He responded with an uneasy laugh, "Never." He smiled at the Alpha, "And let me tell you, better men than you have tried."

"I would think so. You're an incredibly handsome man, and you're an Omega. You must get a lot of unwanted attention. As a doctor, I see a lot of Omegas that mask their identity. I do understand why you do it. It must have been hard." Robert stepped closer to him, "You haven't always been alone?"

Dean rested against the wood beam of the gazebo entrance, "No, I was never on my own, not until recently. I used to work with my brother and father. But, my brother's been away at college and my dad, well, for the past few years, every now and then he goes off on his own. Just for a while and he always stays in contact."

Robert stepped closer and asked, "And 'work' is killing ghosts?"

"Ghosts, witches, werewolves, and things you've never heard of that would send you screaming for cover," Dean affirmed. "We're hunters. It's what we do."

Unexpectedly, the Alpha didn't scoff at his statement, just quietly listened and then said, "I believe you. I am a man of science and four or five years ago I would have called you crazy. Not now, especially not after seeing the things I've seen here at the plantation. Things that I can't explain and the deaths..."

He stopped for a moment looking down at nothing then leaned over to the bench and picked up the whiskey bottle and glass. With a seductive smile he asked Dean, "Why don't we finish our party back at the guesthouse?"

Dean could see off onto the opposite side of the gardens, past the lawn with its stone walkways, to a small house that reflected the style and construction of the manor house.

He turned back to Robert, "She kicked you out after she caught you with David?"

The Alpha stepped back with a frown, "Told you about that, did she?"

Dean shook his head, "No. But it's pretty obvious she has issues with Omegas. And then of course it doesn't take a genius to figure out why." He indicated with his head toward the small house, "Especially, if you're spending your nights solo in the guesthouse."

Robert conceded with a nod and said, "You like playing games too, don't you, Dean?"

Dean couldn't help but grin at the man, "I do, because I usually win."

Robert slowly moved in close to Dean, their faces only inches apart. His eyes moved from Dean's lips then up and back to meet his stare. He gestured with the whiskey bottle in his hand, "Come on."

Dean remained leaning against the gazebo as Robert walked along the path through the garden. He was surprised at the apprehension and ambivalence he experienced at the prospect of having sex with the Alpha, surprised he was even considering it. Robert paused, but before he could turn around, Dean was at his side taking the whiskey bottle out of the other man's hand. He took a long swig and passed it back to Robert. The Alpha laughed grabbing the bottle as the two walked through the garden and into the small white house.

The inside of the small house was nothing like that of the manor. Its colors were darker, its furniture more masculine with a kitchen near the door opening out into a living space with a fireplace set between two tall windows. Robert set the bottle and glass on the granite counter and moved into the center of the room.

"Very nice," Dean said looking around the room, "How long have you been living here?"

"A little more than a year. This is where David lived, until Jane caught us. After that she threw me out of the big house and I took it over. Poor David, we turned one of the rooms in the basement into a bedroom for him. It had everything thing he needed, but it's still the basement."

Dean asked, "He didn't he live here with you?"

Robert shook his head, "We weren't seeing each other or anything like that. I mean, I wasn't cheating on Jane behind her back with him. It was just a thing that happened. One night, he called the house and said he was sick and couldn't do any baking. I came by later that evening to check on him. He wasn't sick; he was in heat. He ran out of suppressants and thought he could wait a couple of days to get more, but… no."

"You just jumped his bones? With your girlfriend across the yard?" Dean bluntly asked.

"Basically," the Alpha responded truthfully to Dean's surprise. "He was an Omega in full heat. I'd never come across that, not even as a doctor. I've had male patients who were Omega, but I've never examined or treated one in full heat."

"You don't strike me as a weak man," Dean said as Robert approached him.

"Normally, I'm not." Again, he was only inches away from Dean, "You have no idea what an Omega, especially a male does to an Alpha. It's physiological Dean, instinctual. Reason, judgment are trumped by an innate carnal compulsion, and I gave in. It's not something I'm proud of Dean. I loved Jane, I truly loved her and it ruined my relationship with her. And now, I'm here alone."

"Really, all alone? I find that hard to believe." Dean said with a smirk, "Jane has someone."

"That's recent. It took him five months to get a first date." Robert gestured toward himself, "I'm taking it slow too."

"You were on me, almost from the moment I got here. Was that instinct too?" Dean asked. The man was an Alpha after all, and skillfully seducing him, he wanted nothing more at that moment than to let himself experience the night with him. However, he had no desire to be just another notch on his headboard.

The man stood his ground in front of Dean. The heat and smell from the man's body were causing Dean's breath to quicken. The Alpha scanned his face then answered, "More intrigue, than instinct."

Dean could feel his arousal heighten as he asked, "Intrigue?"

"I'm intrigued by you Dean," Robert said kissing him lightly on his lips, slowly at first then quicker until he took Dean into his arms kissing him even more deeply. Dean held onto the man kissing him in return moving in even closer. Robert slowly pulled back to say, "You call yourself a hunter. Your work includes the killing of ghosts and witches. But, you're an Omega, unlike any Omega I've ever seen before. I find you completely fascinating."

"You and your whole life fascinate me," Dean said looking down and then back into Robert's eyes. "I've never known anyone like you, educated like you, or who lives like you. It's another world."

Robert grinned then lunged at Dean kissing him on the neck. Dean tried to get a hold of him, but the Alpha dodged away and took Dean by the hand leading him into a short hall and into a bedroom at its end. He closed the door behind them then quickly began stripping off his clothing. Dean smiled wickedly and followed his lead removing all his clothing. Robert gently pushed Dean at the chest until he hit the bed at the center of the room and fell back onto it.

Dean slid back on the bed, nervous and anxious all at once. Robert crawled over the bed slowly moving his naked body over Dean's. The hair on the man's firm body surprised and delighted Dean. The Alpha pushed his lips onto his repositioning them down to lie back onto the bed. Their erections rubbed against one another and Dean couldn't help but release a moan of pleasure. Robert's mouth was over his again devouring him, taking him in and Dean let him. He gladly let the Alpha explore him with his mouth and his hands. Robert's strong hands moved over his chest, his stomach and down to his penis. The Alpha firmly moved his hands up and down Dean's erection causing waves of pure delight to quake through his body. The heat of the man's body engulfed him, his pheromones were flush with arousal and were overwhelming. Dean pushed the man onto his back and kissed his way down the Alpha's neck, down to his muscular chest. He wanted to inspect every inch of the man's body, taste every bit of it. It was his first experience with an Alpha and his first ever with another man. He wanted to remember every part of it, every nuance of it.

As he kissed the man's chest and bit at his nipples, he took Robert's penis in his hand. It was the first time he held another man's erection and it surprised him how strange and rigid it felt. So accustomed and familiar with his own, he never took the time to feel all the parts of it as he did with Robert's. Then, timidly at first, he moved his mouth down the man's waist where kissed and brushed his stubble against the other's skin. Finally, he guided the man's penis into his mouth. He gagged at first, then remembered how the women he was with relaxed their mouths on him and let him slide down into them. Trying to do the same, he felt relief to hear the pleasured moans of the Alpha below him.

Robert brought Dean up with his hand until the two were kissing each other again. He moved his mouth onto Dean's neck and shoulder and released a low guttural growl of sexual want. Dean's body responded immediately, releasing a heavy flow of wet from between his buttocks. He pulled the Alpha in tighter, breathing in deeply the scent of him, desiring more of him, wanting the man to have every bit of him. Robert pulled away from Dean and settled between his legs. Dean breathed in and out heavily and wanton, nervous, knowing what the Alpha was to do next. Robert gently raised his backside and began exploring his aroused hole. He slipped a finger into Dean's tight body sending waves of delight through him. Dean closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto the pillow of the bed.

With every movement of the man's finger inside him and then a second finger, Dean could feel his body reacting to the enticing stimulation. For the first time, his body experienced that which it was designed to experience. It mystified him how his body could be stimulated to produce such a reaction from another's touch. Robert lifted one of Dean's legs and rested it along his shoulder. With a smoldering look in his eyes he asked, "Ready?"

Dean nodded in agitated yearning, "Yes."

Robert nestled himself over Dean's other leg, keeping the one on his shoulder. Dean could feel the man's erection making its way into him, slowly at first. There was far less pain than he expected, but realized that was due to Robert's patience in carefully working him open and the generous amount of wet seeping from him. He felt the Alpha enter him as no one had ever done before. Each push and pull sent wave after wave of pleasure throughout his core. Robert poked and prodded Dean with his erection taking delight in the Omega's tightness looking for the right spot. Suddenly Dean threw his head further back into the pillow with an unbridled gasp and with that Robert knew he found what he was looking for. Dean couldn't contain what he felt at the ecstasy of Robert's stimulation. He cried out and begged for more. There was nothing in that moment he wouldn't let the Alpha have. Dean's head was lost in a buzzing whirlwind of pure delight as Robert continued to use his penis to stimulate Dean's prostate. Dean couldn't control his breathing or focus his mind on any single thought except for the pleasure coursing through his body.

Suddenly, he was aware of Robert saying something, he focused on his words and heard him say, "Relax."

Dean did as he was told and felt himself expanding and opening further than he ever thought possible as Robert's knot slipped into him. Instinctively, his body tensed and the pain in his lower half increased. He cried out with a gasp and he heard Robert tell him again to relax. Again, he did as he was told, and felt his body sealing Robert's knot into his body. The Alpha panted heavier and quickened his pace until finally he cried out in his orgasm. That was followed by the peculiar sensation of Robert filling him with his semen. Robert reached down to stroke Dean's erection. It didn't take many for Dean to cry out intensely in an orgasm like no other he ever experienced before. Exhausted and spent, Dean reached up to bring Robert down to him to share another deep kiss. Robert kissed him in return tenderly then pulled back, letting Dean's leg fall off his shoulder as he slid behind Dean taking him into his arms.

He threw a blanket over them covering them both nuzzling his face in the crook of Dean's neck kissing and suckling him vigorously. Dean let himself get lost in the warmth on the Alpha's body. Dean was curious to know how long it would take for Robert's knot to subside within him, but dared not break the soothing silence of the room. In fact, he hoped it would take longer than the fifteen to twenty minutes he heard to be the norm. He breathed in the air of Robert, shared his bodily warmth. It felt as if they were one and Dean didn't want it to end. Slowly he dozed off in the comforting hold of the Alpha's arms.

-x-

The next morning Dean awoke still in bed next to the warm naked Alpha breathing in a soothing rhythm in his sleep. It was hard for him to fully understand his own feelings. It finally happened. He let an Alpha knot him. Secretly, it was everything he hoped it would be. He turned to lightly brush his fingers along the Alpha's broad muscular back, partly afraid of how the man would react to him still being in his bed. Robert stirred then rolled over grabbing and pulling Dean's body into his own. The heated embrace was intensified when followed by an all-consuming kiss. Dean let himself fall deep into the kiss ready for whatever the Alpha might want to do next.

Suddenly, Robert pulled back with a smile to say, "Good morning." He lightly caressed Dean's cheek, "Thank you for last night, Dean. I mean for trusting me, for giving yourself to me. I want you to know that I understand what it was that you gave me last night."

Dean couldn't help but try to turn away from the man embarrassed by his own vulnerability. Part of him wanted to cry and fall back into the man's arms thankful for his understanding respect, but another part of him wanted to kick himself in the ass for being a knot-hunger Omega.

Robert kissed Dean again then said, "Come on. Jane's probably got breakfast going."

He jumped out of the bed and rummaged around his dresser pulling out a pair of jeans, underwear, and socks then said to Dean, "I'm going to shower. I'll meet you in the dinning room."

Dean sat up in the bed and pulled on his own pair of jeans then stood up and looked around the bedroom for his shirt. As he reached down to pick it up, he heard the sound of water rushing out of the shower from the bathroom. He pulled the shirt over his head to see the bathroom door open and Robert pop his head out of it.

He said, "I know old habits die hard, but please don't mask your scent."

Dean nodded with a smile then finished getting dressed.

-x-

After showering, he stood in front of the armoire rummaging through his duffle bag for a fresh set of clothing. Before returning to the bathroom, he tossed a pair of jeans, a black T, and a green canvas shirt onto the bed. He picked up his birth control and swallowed that day's tablet, looking in the mirror he noticed a vibrant red circle right at the curve of his neck where it met his shoulder. He fucking hated hickeys, but at that moment he closed his eyes and thought back to the moment of when Robert suckled at his neck. He didn't mind that at all. With his eyes closed the phantom sense of Robert's presence, the man's very spirit pulsed through him.

This sense of another's body and their heat lingering on him was something he hadn't felt since his time with Cassie. Holding her in his arms through the night and cuddling after sex always left traces of her on him the next day. He couldn't believe it brought a smile to his face to have those same feelings after spending the night in Robert's arms, an Alpha he just met. Yet, the lingering of Robert was more intense. He could still feel the Alpha's breath on him, the alluring warmth of his body burning on him, as if a layer of Robert's essence clung over him over and coated him. He had never experienced such a resonating trace of being with someone and he reveled in it.

As much as Dean wanted to trust the Alpha, there was no way of knowing for sure if the Alpha played at a game or if he were genuinely interested in him. The one thing he did know for sure was that he wanted the man to have him again. It was unclear how long his stay at Oak Grove would be, but for the duration of his stay there would be no more masking his scent. As Robert requested, he wouldn't go through his daily routine, but thought it best to take his heat suppressants. He opened the small vial and popped one of the small powder blue pills into his mouth.

He stepped back into his room and quickly dressed then headed out into the hall. There was an eager bounce to his step as he made his way down the grand staircase and into the empty dining hall. There were voices coming from the kitchen. Dean went up to its double doors but stopped short of going through them as he caught the conversation going on between Robert and Jane.

Jane raised her voice in shock, "Why the hell does he need to know that? What does he intend to do to her?"

Robert hesitated then answered, "He calls himself a hunter…"

"Yes, I know. He told me that too. You don't believe him do you?" She paused then said, "You're always so critical of such things, I'm surprised you believe anything he's said. Why are you so willing to believe him?" After another pause her voice took on a tone of disbelief, "You didn't…"

Robert said nothing.

"What is it with these damned Omegas? They talk about having equal rights and equal opportunities, but the moment they get wind of a handsome Alpha, they can't help twitching their tail..."

"It wasn't like that," Robert defended Dean.

There was quiet for a moment then Jane said, "I suppose not. You sure did wait a long time. You must really..."

Dean hit the door with his knuckle then pushed his way into the kitchen hoping to help Robert out of the uncomfortable situation and divert them back to the real problem at hand. Robert looked at him with a faint smile as Jane stepped back from the oven where she stood with a white apron. They both said good morning to him.

"Good morning," he responded. Sugarcoating it would do no good. He knew he had to be honest and direct with Jane, "Listen. There's no easy way to say this, I need to know where Orchis is buried so I can dig her up then salt and burn her bones. It's the only way to release her spirit…"

"What!" Jane shook her head, "You must be joking. That is not happening. You are not going to desecrate that poor woman's remains. My god, she paid for what she did in life, and now you want to exhume her body to do such a terrible thing to her?"

Dean tried to reason with her, "She needs to be put to rest. Don't you see what she's doing? She likes the house empty like this, just your family. You're safe Jane, maybe Robert, but no one else. Nothing like this ever happened until you opened the house to strangers."

With a heavy sigh, Jane continued to shake her head remorsefully, "This can't be real. You can't be what you say you are. All of this is too insane."

Robert reached out and touched her shoulder, "We've seen her. We know she's real. Four people have died, including David. You loved him like a brother."

She shook her head, "Give me time to think about this. I just can't…"

Jane made no effort to finish her sentence, instead she looked to the two men in front of her and said, "Let's just try to get through the weekend. There's a couple arriving tomorrow, the Wyndhams. Let's just… we'll get through the weekend, and then we'll go from there."

Robert looked to Dean, waiting for him to say something, but Dean only silently shook his head. There was no way of knowing how much she'd seen or how much she knew about the ghost. But one thing was for certain, she'd never been approached by a hunter asking to burn the remains of someone buried on her property. And beyond that, it surely didn't help the situation that she already figured out that he and Robert had spent the night together.

Robert then grabbed a large bowl of what Dean took to be grits and a basket of biscuits and walked over to Dean near the swinging doors leading to the dinning room.

"See what I meant? Jane makes a hell of a breakfast." He indicated the rolling serving table with his head, "Grab the rest of it on the cart, Dean."

He looked back at Jane and said, "Come on, Jane. Let's enjoy your beautiful breakfast."

With that he walked into the dining room leaving Dean alone in the kitchen with Jane. He grabbed the handles of the cart pleased to see it loaded with the usual fixings of a country breakfast eggs, sausages, bacon, and boat of gravy as well as fresh fruit. He looked at Jane with a sincere nod to his head, but before he could wheel the cart to the kitchen doors Jane suddenly pushed him back and stared at the red bite on his neck.

She backed away with a look of disbelief and shook her head, "He marked you?"

Suddenly self conscious, Dean touched the collar of his shirt making sure it covered the hickey on his neck.

"He didn't did even do that David." Jane folded her arms at her chest, "I never wanted to believe the stories I always heard about Omegas, especially the males. Growing up here in the South, I've always wanted to be nonjudgmental and noncritical of any minority group. But damn, you work fast."

Dean shook his head, "I don't know what to say to you, what this must look like to you. I don't know you Jane, but I'm not here to hurt you or reopen old wounds. I apologize, if I have. I don't usually… I'm not some Omega whore."

"Really?" She grabbed a tray of butter and jams and moved to exit the kitchen pressing her back against the swinging door, "You've been here for less than a day and Robert has already marked you."

Dean hung his head and said to her, "If you knew me, you'd know how unlike me that is."

She stopped in place to look at him questioningly, clearly doubtful of what he claimed.

Perhaps it was the after effects of the knotting, perhaps it was because he still basked in the after glow of it that caused him a moment of vulnerability and a need to be honest with her as he admitted, "It was my first tie."

The look on Jane's face went from one of sarcastic accusation to one of genuine empathy. Its hardness faded and quickly softened as tears welled in her eyes. She set down the tray and stepped closer to him putting a hand gentle on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Dean. I never should have said those things."

Dean looked at her, but felt to embarrassed to say anything more. Jane inhaled, "I used to babysit David when we were younger. I always felt a need to protect him. I saw what he went through growing up, I never wanted to be one of those people who automatically judged Omegas, or disparaged them unfairly."

Dean breathed in, "No, no, you're fine. Believe me, I've heard worse."

"I bet you have," she gave his should a squeeze then ran her hand down his arm. "When I caught David and Robert, the betrayal was unbearable. I hated them both for so long. I was so cruel to David, even though I knew he couldn't help it. I watched over him and my younger siblings the night he went into his first heat. As if that wasn't bad enough, what some of the people in town did and said to him were appalling. Still, I turned my back on him after that incident, and I regret it. I never got the chance to make things right between us."

"And Robert?" Dean couldn't help but ask.

"Robert," she repeated with a sigh. "We still have Oak Grove, there was no turning my back on him. We're managing to move forward. We're beginning to make things right."

"Hey!" Robert shouted from the dinning room. "What's going on in there? What are you waiting for?"

Jane smiled at Dean and he couldn't help smiling back at her. He took hold of the cart once more and she picked up the tray before she stepped out through the double doors and he followed her into the dinning room with their breakfast.

-x-

After breakfast, much less awkward than he expected, Dean spent his time making salt rounds with a large canister salt he swiped from the kitchen. As he sat in the quiet room filling a fourth salt cartridge, he collected his thoughts. He found it strange that his thoughts kept straying from the task at hand of putting an end to the vengeful spirit's killing spree to that of the handsome Alpha male. The phantom essence of the man's touch still clung over him. It was such a satisfying feeling, he wanted to sleep with the man again just to retain that feeling for an even longer period of time. He suddenly stopped to look around the room. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Something was up, but it wasn't the ghost, nor was it unfriendly. It was something else entirely. He found himself smiling as he got up and nearly bolted to the door.

He opened it to see Robert standing in the door jam as he did the day before reeking of his Alpha pheromones. There was no overpowering scent lingering over him today, Dean couldn't understand how he knew Robert stood on the other side of the door. Dean stepped back letting the man into his room, but the Alpha sidled up next to him as if there were no room, making sure to rub his body against Dean as he did. With the Alpha's face only inches from his own, Dean only smiled as he pressed himself against the door. Robert stopped suddenly and sniffed heavily moving his nose from the crook of Dean's neck up to his temple then pulled back.

"You smell wonderful," he said. "I'm so glad you're no longer masking."

Dean pushed himself away from the door closing it behind him as he walked around the bed to sit at the desk's chair at its side, "I figured you were right. There's only the three of us. What's the point? Besides," he couldn't believe what he was about to say, but he looked up at Robert and continued, "I like seeing the effect I have on you."

Robert let out a laugh then noticed two iron pokers placed on top of the bed and the salt rounds behind Dean on the desk, "What's all this? Do you always travel with your own set of iron pokers?"

"I do when I'm hunting a ghost," Dean said.

Robert nodded, "Ah, that's right, the family business."

Dean laughed at the thought of that, "The 'family business.' I suppose it is."

He stood up handing one of the shells to Robert, "Solid iron pokers, and these salt rounds, will only slow the ghost down. We've got to get Jane to tell us where she's buried. Burning her bones is the only way to get rid of her."

"I'll try to talk to her, later. Maybe when she's having her tea. She's always more talkative then," he took the cartridge and tossed it onto the bed between the two pokers. "Now, what'll we do until tea time?"

Dean backed away with a smile, "I don't want to wait around until then. How about if you give me a tour of the grounds? You've probably walked right past the slave cemetery without even knowing it. I mean, you haven't actually gone out looking for it before, have you? Maybe you passed right by it and never noticed it before."

Robert smiled back, "Perhaps. You grab your rifle and I'll take a poker."

Unsure whether or not the man made a joke, Dean handed him one of the pokers on his bed and grabbed his rifle shoving the 4 additional rounds into the pocket of his jeans. Robert moved to open the door, but Dean quickly pulled him back.

"Before I opened the door, I knew you were standing there," Dean said it as fact, but with a hint of confusion.

"I marked you last night, Dean." He pulled back the collar of Dean's shirt to fully reveal the reddened bite on his neck.

Dean said, "You can't really see it." He thought about Jane and then added, "Not unless you're looking for it."

"I marked you, Dean," Robert repeated.

Dean slightly shook his head, not understanding what it was the Alpha tried to tell him. There was very little he understood about being marked, bonded, or mated. He only knew those were things that Alpha and Beta males did with their bite on their partners. As neither Alpha nor Beta, he was physically incapable of initiating a mark or a bond, and was damned sure no one ever did it to him. Until, apparently last night that is.

"How can you not know about these things?" Robert asked with sympathy, "Didn't you learn any of this during sex education in high school?"

Dean shook his head, "We moved around a lot, and we missed a lot. And some of the schools we went to required parents to come in and sign their permission for sex ed. Our dad never did."

"I didn't just give you a hickey." He put his hands on Dean's shoulders, "It's a mark, a physiological reaction between two people. Part of my scent, part of me is on you. Your body is responding to it and releasing a mimicked version of it. Others will smell it on you. They'll catch your Omega pheromones, but combined with my Alpha ones. I thought it would be nice if for the time you were here, you didn't have to go through the routine of hiding your rank. I thought it might be liberating for you." He paused for a moment, "I'm sorry, if it bothers you. I should have asked for your permission."

Dean could see the sincerity of Robert's words in his facial expression, and even hear it in his voice. The freedom he felt earlier that morning for not masking was only slightly lessened. He'd never been marked by anyone and wasn't sure how to feel about it.

He asked, "How long will it last?"

"3 or 4 days, maybe less," Robert assured him.

"And if you do it again?"

Robert smiled a bit, "If I do again, within the 3 or 4 days, a bond will form. It's more intense than a mark. You'll always sense my presence when I am near, or about to be near. You'll catch a shadow of my thoughts and feelings. I'll feel the same with you. Then of course if were to actually mate, there would exist…"

"Yeah, that one I know," Dean thought back to the many times after Mary's death and how his father would get drunk and wallow in the loss of his mate's presence in his life. Sometimes, even reveling moments he shared with her that were too touching for Dean to bear. He looked back to Robert unsure of how to feel, but glad to finally have experienced what others most likely took for granted.

Dean stood up straight and said with purpose, "Let's head out. We'll have better luck finding the graveyard in daylight."

Robert reluctantly slung the poker in his hand over his shoulder and said, "Lead the way."

They left the room and walked down the grand staircase where Dean stopped at the sound of voices coming from the sitting room. It was Jane talking to the detective he met the day before.

"We know he's not a reporter," said Jane.

"You do?" Det. Barrie asked. "Then what the hell is he still doing here?"

Jane hesitated then answered, "He calls himself a hunter. He said he can help."

"What? Do you believe him?"

"I don't know, Cooper. Robert seems to believe him. I don't' know what to believe anymore."

Robert nudged him, and Dean followed him down one of the hallways and out of the manor house through the library. They walked onto the patio and out into the gardens. As they made their way through the grounds, Dean couldn't help sneaking looks at Robert. The man was undoubtedly handsome and Dean found himself enjoying the idea of being marked by him, although he might not ever express such a thing to anyone, not even the Alpha at his side.

They spent the next hour or so walking along trails, poking through clusters of shrubs, Robert asking him questions about his childhood and his life as a hunter. To Dean's great surprise he opened up to him and answered all of his questions as truthfully as he dared to. He wondered if it was due to being marked by the man or just the fact that he liked being with him, and that the man showed a genuine interest in him.

Eventually, they found themselves standing at the entrance to the Waterleigh family plot after having circled the entire grounds of the former plantation. As they entered it, Robert finished his own story of his upbringing and how he entered his career as a physician.

"I'm impressed," Dean said taking in the names of Jane's ancestors. "A doctor in New Orleans and you gave it up to relocate to the sticks and open up a B&B. That's a gamble."

"Not really," Robert turned to Dean. "I'm a doctor. I went along with Jane and the idea of the B&B knowing that I could continue to practice medicine where ever I went and I have."

He paused and waited for Dean to face him, "It's you who impress me Dean. I was born with every advantage, grew up with an almost idyllic childhood, and breezed through life up to this point. You. Everything for you has been a struggle and you've come out of a strong, determined, and intelligent individual."

Dean cursed himself for blushing at the man's kind words and angrier still that even at that moment he questioned the man's sincerity, doubtful that he could have such feelings for him. It was hard for him to believe that anyone of the Alpha's status and accomplishments could feel anything but indifference toward him. He managed to keep those insecure thoughts to himself and weakly smiled at the Alpha.

Robert stepped in closer to him, but Dean backed away, breathed in and looked out into the trees and the undergrowth of the woods beyond them, "There has to be something we missed, an overgrown trail, a section of land hidden by bushes. I could see how the family would want to keep that part of their history hidden."

"Jane will tell us where their graveyard is," he said checking his watch. "She has to let herself get used to the idea of what you proposed."

Dean continued to wonder where the slaves were buried, and questioned if they were actually on the plantation or perhaps were part of the lands that were parceled off and sold.

"We've got a few hours before Jane serves tea. Join me for a drink in the guest house?" Robert offered.

Dean turned to the man suddenly acutely aware that the Alpha was sexual aroused. Robert said nothing more, only looked at him. There appeared nothing out of the ordinary about him. His buttoned shirt wasn't tucked into his jeans and hanged over his crotch. Yet even without being able to make a visual confirmation, he knew the other man was aroused. Dean could sense it and it stirred his own wanton desires of being possessed by the man once more. Robert's innocuous look turned into a leer and Dean knew that the man was aware of his own lustful thoughts.

With an awkward step, Dean moved closer to Robert and breathed in the man's arousal. It was unmistakable, strong, and resonated deeply within him. Dean buried his face in the crook of Robert's neck and let himself fall into his natural instinctual behavior, something he had never done before. He fell into Robert's arms willing to let the Alpha do whatever he wanted with him.

Robert put an arm around his shoulder and they quickly crossed over the red wooden bridge, past the gardens, and the lawn to the small white guesthouse. Once inside its doors, Dean found himself stripping off his clothing as Robert threw his own this way and that. Robert took his hand and Dean let himself be pulled once more down the short hall and into the Alpha's bedroom. They exchanged kisses as they fell onto the comfortable softness of the bed. Robert kissed his way down to his neck kissing and suckling at the mark.

Dean closed his eyes and said, "Do it."

With that Robert went at it more intensely, devouring him taking in and exchanging parts of himself with Dean. Now that Dean truly understood what was happening to him, he took even more pleasure in it. He was sure he could feel the physiological reaction of his body to Robert's bite. The bite coupled with the man's warm naked body on top of his, their erections grinding into one another Dean thought he might be consumed by the ecstasy of it all. Robert kissed his way back to Dean's lips and Dean couldn't help but laugh with happiness as he cupped the other man's face and brought him in for a slow sensual kiss.

-x-

Dean moved around the large kitchen wearing a white bellboy looking tunic over a white dress shirt and a black tie. He had only been at the plantation for a few days and he couldn't believe how happy he was, how happy he had become. Happier than he ever suspected he could be. The oven timer chirped and the red digital numbers on the face of its control panel flashed. Dean reached over pushing the "cancel" button then grabbed a pair of oven mitts. A wonderful smell of baked apples and cinnamon wafted out of the oven as he opened its door and pulled out an apple pie. He smiled and turned to the door waiting for Robert to appear. The bond was incredible, so much more than he expected. The flashes of the Alpha's thoughts and feelings were startling at the beginning, there and gone unpredictably and unexpectedly.

In that moment he leaned against the stainless steel table at the center of the kitchen, aware of Robert's delight as the Alpha made his way through the dinning room toward the kitchen. The Alpha opened the door with a knowing smile directed at Dean.

Robert moved next to Dean taking in the aroma of the freshly baked pie and said, "I find it completely endearing that you love to bake."

"I do," Dean responded with a smile as he turned his attention back to the teapot and coffee maker along the counter making sure all was in place for when the guests arrived. For a moment, he let himself get lost in his role of B&B staffer.

"It smells wonderful," Robert moved closer to Dean looking over his shoulder down onto the cooling pie on the kitchen counter. Dean smiled as Robert pulled him in closer by bringing his arms up and around Dean's chest. A flash of a memory of his father and mother in the kitchen in the exact same position came to him as Robert held him tightly causing Dean to panic. He slowly pushed Robert away with an awkward smile.

"It's okay, Dean." Robert said leaning against the table next to him, "No reason to be frightened."

Dean shrugged, "Yeah, yeah I know."

The double doors swung open as Jane entered the kitchen looking at Dean, "Don't you look adorable?"

"Totally," Dean smiled at her smoothing out his tunic with both hands.

She smiled at the two of them then lifted her hands, "The Wyndhams are pulling up the drive. Dean, come with me. Robert would you mind starting the coffee and tea?"

Robert agreed and Dean followed her out of the kitchen across the dinning hall and out into the foyer. Jane took her place behind the tall registration counter as Dean walked over to the wooden front doors. Out their large windows, Dean saw a pale green sedan park next to the porch steps. He moved away from the doors to stand next to Jane.

A tall woman with soft brown hair dressed in a skirt and blazer walked into the foyer with a smile and an obvious air of confidence, an Alpha. Dean tensed slightly, remembering it had been days since he last masked his scent. He never had a good experience with a female Alpha and that was especially true if she knew of his Omega ranking. The woman greeted them with a hello then set her purse on the counter

She caught Dean's scent then turned to him and said, "Aren't you handsome?"

Caught completely off-guard, Dean weakly smiled back at her.

"Barbara Wyndham?" Jane asked as she pulled out the registry book and placed it next to the woman's purse.

"Yes," the woman answered.

Jane said to Dean with broad smile, "Dean, please be a dear and collect the Wyndhams' luggage."

Dean smiled back at her playing his part to the hilt, offering the Boy Scout three-finger salute, "Right away, mam."

"Don't trouble yourself, dear." Barbara Wyndham said to him, "My husband can handle it."

Again, Dean was thrown off by her kindness until he realized that she was reacting to his bond with Robert. Single Omegas working and living out in the world on his or her own was always met with hostility and intolerance. He was beginning to learn that one bonded, was met with something else entirely. Something he couldn't quite define yet.

"No trouble at all, miss," Dean said and headed out the manor doors.

"How sweet, thank you," the woman said then turned to sign the registry.

Dean stood at the edge of the porch to see the green sedan still parked next to the steps now with a man standing at its trunk. Immediately, Dean got the sense that he too was an Alpha. He stood at least six feet tall, wide shouldered with a military looking haircut. The man already had one suitcase placed at his side and was reaching into the trunk to pull out the other. Anxious to test out his new discovery, he deliberately slid in between the man and the trunk moving the other's hand off the suitcase handle and taking it in his own. His body unavoidably rubbed against that of the man's notably his buttocks against the other's crotch.

"No need to worry yourself with that sir, I've got it," Dean said grabbing next the other suitcase beside the man then turning to face him.

The man faltered slightly in his step as he backed away from Dean, surprised that he came out of nowhere to grab the suitcases from his hand. As the Alpha steadied himself, Dean took notice of the man's facial expressions. The man caught his Omega scent entangled with that of Robert's within seconds, and just like his wife, a friendly smile spread over his face. No leer, no accusatory look or inappropriate questions or sexual advances, just a warm greeting to follow.

"Hello and thank you," he nodded to Dean as he pulled out a third suitcase.

"You're welcome, sir," continued to look the man directly in the eye. "I'll come back for that one."

"It's okay, I've got it," the Alpha responded as he set it down at the foot of the brick steps.

Dean pointed with an elbow off to the side of the driveway to the parking area off to the side where the Impala still rested. The Alpha thanked him again and Dean quickly went back up the porch steps and into the manor house intent on picking up the last suitcase before the man could park his car and get it.

As soon as he placed the two suitcases next to the registration desk, he dashed back out the front door. It took him a moment to realize what was happening down on the stone driveway. John Wyndham stood by his car grabbing at his throat struggling to breath. Dean rushed down to the man to find the man's dog tags caught in the rolled up window of the car. A chill spread over him as the temperature suddenly dropped to a point where his breath was visible. Dean gasped with disbelief, as in a flash across the roof of the car there appeared an African American woman. Just as Robert described her, she was dressed in the garb of woman out of the past, that of a slave. He quickly pulled the knife from behind him tucked in his belt under his tunic. Before he could get it under the chain of the man's dog tags, the window that held it in place shattered.

Dean pulled back from the car, shocked, as John Wyndham fell into his arms gasping for breath pulling the chain down and away from his neck. The two men slid down the side of the car to the stone driveway. John Wyndham breathed in and out wildly coughing and fighting for air. On the other side of him stood Robert with the iron poker Dean had given him the day before.

Robert bent over them and tenderly placed his hand on Dean's cheek with a worried look on his face. Dean looked up at him and nodded that he was okay.

Barbara Wyndham rushed out of the manor house followed by Jane. The two looked confused at the sight of John Wyndham struggling for breath. His wife fell down in front of her husband pulling his hands away from his throat to see the damage done by the chain. Shocked by what she saw she let out, "My God! What happened?"

Robert reached under the man's arm and pulled him up helping him to stand. The man wobbled on his feet as his breathing returned to normal. Robert looked at him closely and asked, "Are you alright?"

Dean couldn't help but keep looking to Robert and feeling… feeling what? Robert knew. He was there for Dean at the first sign of trouble to protect him. Again, it was the unfamiliar machinations of the bond at work. Dean was surprised at how much he like the idea of Robert's protection, liked the idea of the Alpha looking out for him.

The man in front of him suddenly lashed out at all those around him, pushing them all back including his wife, "What the fuck was that!"

"What?" His wife asked desperately looking at her husband, "What happened?"

John Wyndham took hold of his wife's hands, "You didn't see it?" He then looked around to the others standing around him, "None of you saw it?"

Dean looked from Robert to Jane, but said nothing.

"She was there, and then she wasn't! Right where you're standing, Barbara." He shook his head in confusion, "Then something pulled at my tags and its chain was caught in car window. But I know I didn't…"

There came a loud woot-woot of a siren interrupting the chaos around them. Detective Barrie pulled up in his car to park behind the Wyndhams. They all turned their attention to him as he stepped out of his car and walked over to them. Quickly he scanned the situation noticing the shattered car window and the blood trickling down John Wyndham's neck then pulled the handkerchief from his coat pocket and handed it to the man's wife. She used the handkerchief to dab and clean the blood along her husband's neck in the thin line left by the chain.

"Everything alright?" Det. Barrie asked them.

Dean answered first, "There was an accident."

Jane stepped forward and offered, "Mr. Wyndham, Robert's a physician. Please, come inside, he'll tend to your wounds."

The man regained his composure looking from his wife to Det. Barrie then to Jane, "That's not necessary. We're leaving."

Barbara nodded her head to her husband in agreement.

"Dean, please get the Wyndhams their luggage." Jane asked with a concerned look.

Robert followed closely behind Dean as they went up the porch and into the foyer of the manor, "Get your rifle, I'll get their luggage."

Dean acknowledged Robert with a wave of his hand as he ran up the stairs two at a time continuing down the hall and bursting through the door of his room. The four extra rounds of salt cartridges were on the desk by the window where he left them. After shoving them into his pocket, he opened the door of the armoire. Rummaging through his duffle bag, he quickly pulled out a flat tin of lighter fluid and the canister of salt shoving them into the pockets of his tunic. He tapped at the front pocket of his jeans making sure the small box of wooden matches was still there. With a stretch of his arm, he then reached down to grab the rifle on his bed. Quickly, he headed back down the stairs and onto the porch of the manor. With rifle in hand, he walked down the steps to stand between Jane and Robert in time to watch Wyndhams drive down the long, white stone driveway.

"Ready?" he asked them.

"What the hell is that for?" the detective asked.

Dean cocked the rifle, "We're going ghost hunting."

"Jane?" Detective Barrie asked with doubt.

Jane assured him, "It's okay, Cooper. He knows what he's doing, I think. We'll need shovels."

She led the way off to the side of the house down through the gardens to a rather large shed situated in a corner of the garden near the edge of the stream. Robert disappeared into the shed and returned with two shovels, handing one of them to Det. Barrie. He took it in hand somewhat confused, but continued following the others as Jane lead them down the sandy colored pebbled pathway winding through the garden.

All four stopped dead in their tracks. Standing in front of them, blocking their way was the ghost of Mother Orchis. She pleaded directly to Jane, "My dear, what is it you are doing?" In a flash, she was closer to them, "I would never hurt a Waterleigh child, I'm here to protect you."

"You're idea of protecting her, is murdering innocent people," Dean said to her. "You need to go!"

"You are not the child of a Waterleigh," she said turning her attention to Dean. "You are a distraction to the master. You are another whore to be dealt with, just as the other."

"Come on and try it!" Dean shouted and fired a shot between Robert and Jane. It landed square in the chest of Mother Orchis causing her to dissipate into a flurry of ectoplasmic dust.

Jane screamed as Robert flinched at the sound of the rifle shot.

"Holy shit!" Detective Barrie shouted. "My God, Jane. I believed you, but…"

Dean went up to Jane and said into her ear, "Where is she buried? Now."

"This way," Jane ran down to edge of the garden and to the path leading around the grounds. Dean ran up close behind her with Robert close at his side and the detective behind them. She ran over the red bridge and further down the path. Just as it appeared she would veer left toward the family cemetery, she veered right, off the path heading directly towards a towering weeping willow. Robert and Dean looked at each other as she disappeared into its low hanging billowing branches.

"Jane!" Robert shouted with worry, but the three men followed her past the leaves.

Inside the canopy of the willow Jane waited for them slightly out of breath, "My grandmother planted this tree with her mother when she was a little girl. It symbolized the sorrow of slavery and our family's regretful participation in it."

She pulled back a portion of the curtain-like branches to reveal the burial grounds of the Oak Grove slaves, "Ironically, the tree grew big enough to hide the family's shame. I wanted to take it down when we began renovations, but my father would haven't it."

Dean slowly walked past her taking the shovel from Robert's hands and replacing it with his rifle. The burial site was eerily sequestered in a clearing surrounded by large bushes and a cluster of trees their branches heavy with Spanish moss. Not even the path was visible where Dean knew it to be.

The headstones were made of simple planks of wood their lettering barely visible through years of weathering. He cautiously moved through the site reading the names on the markers then looked to Jane, "Who's been tending them?"

"I have," Jane answered as she walked along the edge of the burial site. "After I clean the family's, I come here and tend theirs the same." She stopped at a simple wooden cross without a name or date separated from the others, "This is her grave."

Dean immediately started digging with the shovel in his hand. Det. Barrie quickly stepped up and started digging at the other end. Robert moved to the side near Jane and kept watch. Just as Dean reached the wooden shell of her casket, Mother Orchis reappeared.

"No!" She shouted. "My darling, I'm trying to protect you! No one will ever hurt as long as I'm here!"

Robert fired off the second round, but Mother Orchis disappeared in a flash to reappear behind the Alpha tossing him and the rifle onto the ground. She turned next to Dean, but he had already soaked her bones with lighter fluid and dusted them heavily with salt.

He struck three wooden matches and dropped them onto her corpse. Jane covered her eyes and turned away as Mother Orchis burned up in a flashing brilliance of fire and light with a terrifying scream, "NOOO!"

After a few quiet moments Det. Barrie placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Are you alright?"

Jane nodded wiping the tears from her eyes and reaching out to help Robert to his feet. "It had to be done," was all she said.

At Jane's request they reburied her body as Jane said a prayer asking that Mother Orchis finally and truly be at rest. Silently the four of them walked back through the weeping willow, down the path, and over the red bridge back to the edge of the garden with shovels and shotgun in hand. At the edge of the garden, Jane hugged Robert and then Dean thanking him for their help. As she stepped back, Det. Barrie wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Jane and Robert then talked briefly agreeing to shut down the B&B for a few weeks while they decided how to proceed with it.

"Where will you go?" Robert asked Jane.

The detective answered for her, "We talked about that yesterday. I would like her to stay with me in Baton Rouge."

"Good," Robert gave a slight nod, "You shouldn't be alone."

"And you?" Jane asked him.

"I'll go back to New Orleans," he looked to Dean moving his hand across his back to rest on his shoulder with a firm squeeze.

Robert took the shovel from Det. Barrie then watched as he and Jane walked along the path to the manor house. He motioned for Dean to follow as he led them back to the shed at the edge of the garden. After returning the shovels, he walked out of the shed with a curious smile.

"It's over, right?" He asked Dean.

"Damn straight," Dean grinned back at him.

"So… how about you?" Robert asked Dean as dusk settled in around them.

"My dad checked in this morning, he's fine and wants to continue on his own." Dean looked beyond the garden and into the grove, "I suppose I'll drive out to my uncle's in South Dakota and wait around until I get wind of another hunt."

Robert urged him, "Come with me to New Orleans."

-x-

Three days later Dean stood in the bedroom he shared with Robert in his family's house in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Living in the house filled Dean with a mixture of emotions. He meant it when he told Robert that his world fascinated him. Part of him knew he didn't belong in it and another part of him longed to. The Perrigan house was something unbelievable, unknown to Dean. It was a three-story house well over a hundred years old nestled behind a tall wooden green fence that blocked off its cobblestone courtyard from the noise of the Quarter.

Earlier that day, Robert had gone to Ogden General negotiating his return to his old position with the hospital. Dean busied himself around the old house poking through bedrooms and exploring the attic. It was while looking through decades old black and white pictures in a dusty photo album that his heat initiated. He closed the book carefully breathing in with great anticipation. It was his first heat in five years, and he and Robert patiently and excitedly waited for it. He rushed down to their bedroom and rifling through his duffle bag pulling out his birth control. After taking the pill scheduled for that day, he remembered seeing white emergency candles in the kitchen pantry and ran down to the ground floor to retrieve them.

His body flushed and the familiar, sensual ache returned and Dean couldn't help to let out small laugh at the thought of Robert's return and of how he'd react. It was going to happen finally, a heat intensified need would be satiated. Sex with Robert was incredible as it was, to think of it heightened with his heat brought his penis to life and threatened rip through his jeans. He closed the shutters and the heavy curtains of the bedroom then lit the candles. His body burned and his skin prickly sensitive. Robert was on his way home, almost there in fact.

Dean breathed in and out, heaved his breath and paced the room. He wanted to fill it with his scent, have it hit Robert from the moment he would walk into it. From below he heard the kitchen door open and slam and the cry of Robert's familiar voice.

"DEAN!"

Dean opened the bedroom door, but stayed where he stood striping off his clothing and tossing them of the floor near the closet. Robert shouted his name again and Dean could hear him rushing toward him. Soon Robert stood at the doorway of their room smiling at Dean, already half naked. His coat and dress shirt were already gone, as were his socks and shoes. He pulled at his tie letting it fall to the ground then slipped out of his slacks and boxers.

Robert rushed Dean taking him into his arms crashing into a maddened flow of kisses. The sensitivity of his skin was quickly soothed by the Alpha's touch as he spread his hands over Dean's hot pulsing skin. Dean pulled away then walked over to the bed climbing onto it with his knees, he then let his head and arms rest on the blankets at he presented himself to Robert. A heavy flow of wet already made its way down his legs. He waited for Robert to work at his hole to get him ready, but instead Robert fell onto the bed next to him and pulled him down onto the bed on top of him. Dean gyrated his hips into Robert, their cocks rubbing against one another. He let his body fall on top of Robert loving the feeling of the irrefutably male Alpha's body under him. Still he was in heat. The ache was getting unbearable, and now, he no longer needed to wait. He rolled over pulling Robert on top of him then lifted his legs hungrily wrapping them around the Alpha's waist.

Robert took the hint and began to work at Dean with one hand as the two continued to kiss. Dean threw his head back as the sheer pleasure of Robert's fingers inside him sent shivers throughout his body. He moved his hips against the other man's hand begging for more. Robert moved his body off Dean and situated himself at the Omega's backside. He lifted Dean's legs slightly rubbing his taut penis between his buttocks. Dean's head rushed with the ebb and flow of his heat driven desires, the teasing of Robert's cock pressing against his opening was maddening. His blood boiled to be satisfied. He couldn't help but cry out with a wanton whimper.

Finally, Robert pressed the head of his penis into Dean, but quickly pulled it out again. Dean cried out again and to his delight, Robert let out his own lustful moan of desire. Slowly, Robert moved into him deeper and deeper until the full of length of his erection slid in and out of Dean. There was a swirl of heat and Alpha musk surrounding him pulling him deeper into his heat. At this point he expected his heated body to feel sated, satisfied that the tie had been initiated. But just the opposite happened. An intensity even more severe filled his loins, it wanted to be knotted and nothing less. He moved his hips instinctively meeting the rhythmic pumping of Robert's body against him. Robert's pace hastened more rapidly, his balls slapping against Dean with each forceful thrust.

Dean cried out with a gasp, shutting his eyes as Robert hit that sweet spot of his prostate and now with his heat in full swing, he thought he might pass out from the absolute pleasure of it all. His body craved more and more and he rammed himself deeper and deeper onto Robert until at last he could feel the Alpha's knot begging its way into him. This time there was no careful edging its way into to him, this time Dean forced his body onto it accepting it in one movement. He cried out in pain of its invasion and the pleasure of its fulfillment. Robert continued his frenzied pace of forceful pumps until he was growling deep from his throat as he released his orgasm into Dean.

Dean relaxed his hot tensed body to realize that at some point he had already had an orgasm, the proof of it splattered against his chest and belly. The heat dissipated and his body began to cool as Robert bent over and kissed him deeply. Dean placed his hands at the sides of Robert's face. In the candlelight of the room, the Alpha was more handsome than ever and Dean kissed him again. In that comforting moment Dean wanted to tell Robert that he loved him, but he dared not. He remained quiet as Robert smiled at him then gently kissed his lips. The Alpha then moved his body behind Dean taking him in his arms. It was then that Dean noticed that the emanating heat of his body had been transferred to Robert and his body too burned with an intense heat slowly dispelling like his own.

Over the next three days Dean fully enjoyed the duration of his heat, for the first and only time.

-x-

It had been two weeks of complete happiness. Dean found himself living a life that he never even dreamed of having. Robert opened an entire new world to him, shopping, dining, and visiting places he never even looked twice at, knowing they'd never be part of his world were now becoming common place. But better than all that, and unexpectedly the thing he loved the most was being a bonded Omega. Specifically, he loved the freedom it afforded him. He often walked along the streets of New Orleans on his own on a needless errand picking up an extra six-pack of beer, a tin of coffee, or a pack of chewing gum.

Every time he went out, it was completely unmasked, in the warm October days of the Crescent City. He stared down anyone who gave him a second look after he or she caught his scent, not because an altercation would follow, but in fact, the exact opposite. Kindness and respect would follow, something he wasn't used to and he was always eager to see how the stranger would express it. One older woman at their local grocery store even engaged him in a conversation asking when he and his mate were planning on having children then became completely delighted when she learned that he and Robert were her neighbors.

But his favorite incident occurred the day before. Again at their local grocery store, Dean came out of it carrying a baguette, prosciutto, pesto, and goat cheese in one bag and a bottle of wine and a small tub of potato salad in another. He found an interesting recipe for baguette sandwiches online and wanted to make an early dinner for him and Robert in the privacy of their courtyard. There, near the store's entrance was an unmistakably Alpha biker sitting on his motorcycle along the curb putting on his helmet. Dean pulled the receipt out of one of the bags and pretended to be absorbed with it, calculating the price in his head as he deliberately walked into the man revving up his bike. The man turned around on the offensive ready to strike a blow.

"What the fuck!" he shouted at Dean.

Dean innocently, struggled to keep the bags from slipping from his hands while flashing the receipt, "Oh, I'm so sorry. It was entirely my fault, I wasn't watching…"

Once again, Dean was amazed at the change in the demeanor and facial expression of the stranger in front of him. The Alpha became utterly gentle after catching his bonded scent.

The man looked around and past Dean then asked, "You're Alpha isn't with you?"

"No," Dean answered nonchalantly. "He's at work, besides I like to go to the market on my own. He's always in a rush."

Before Dean could say a word or protest, the biker took the groceries from his hands and placed them in the saddlebags on either side of his motorcycle insisting that Dean accept a ride home. Dean couldn't help but grin as he climbed on the back of the powerful machine. The man called out, "Hold on!"

They drove the short distance up Rue Royal, Dean holding onto the stranger shouting directions near his ear. The biker dropped him off in front of the French colonial house Dean called home for the past two weeks. Most of the ornate house wasn't visible from where he stood next to the biker as the tall green fence blocked the courtyard off from the street. As the biker pulled the groceries out of the saddlebags, Dean quickly took them afraid the man might catch a glimpse of Robert. The Alpha offered to take the groceries into the house for him, but Dean thanked him repeatedly then rushed through the wooden gate into the courtyard. He laughed out as he heard the man and his Harley drive away.

Dean recounted the incident to Robert for a second time, and for the first time to Jane and Cooper who had driven down from Baton Rouge to spend the weekend with them.

"He did not offer to take your grocery bags into the house for you," Jane protested with a laugh placing a hand on Cooper's hand as he too joined in her laughter. The four of them were seated around a table at Robert's favorite restaurant on Decatur Street in the French Quarter, walking distance from the Perrigan house.

Dean let out another laugh and assured her, "He did! I ran into the house. I was afraid he might see Robert and beat his ass for letting me get the groceries on my own."

"That would have been ugly," Robert smiled taking a drink from his wine glass. "Have you ever seen two Alphas in an all out brawl over an Omega?"

"Actually, I have!" Cooper laughed and said jokingly, "You're right, it wouldn't been ugly. It might've messed up that handsome face of yours."

Robert placed his hand over Dean's and added, "Dean would've been worth it."

Dean squeezed Robert's hand then pulled it back and rested it on top of his lap. With a weak smile he looked from Robert to Jane and Cooper. Jane smiled back at him then gave him a wink. He couldn't help but blush and change the topic of conversation.

"Robert said you're going back to teaching," he said to Jane.

Jane nodded, "Yes. Adjunct professor at Louisiana State, I start in the spring. I'm looking forward to getting back into the world of academia, the quiet world or academia."

"She thought it best to leave Oak Grove a family home and nothing more," Cooper added.

"It doesn't feel right maintaining the B&B after all those horrible deaths," Jane said. "We had the house blessed by the priest from our church. It's empty now, but I'm sure one day it'll be filled again. I might turn it over to one of my siblings and their family or if things continue to go well between Cooper and me…"

Cooper then chimed in, "Let's just say our options are open."

Everyone at the table laughed again.

Their dinners soon arrived and as they were placed in front of them, Robert placed his hand over Dean's still in his lap. Dean looked at him conscious that the Alpha was well aware of the apprehension building up within him. He allowed himself to reach over and caress the Alpha's face in a tender display of affection. The artificial world in which he allowed himself to fall into was about to come to an end. He wasn't your average Omega. He wasn't destined to become the mate of a rich handsome doctor and live a quiet life of respectability and privilege. The ugly cold world he was born into was knocking, waiting for him to answer.

After dinner, Robert and Dean walked hand in hand down Barracks Street followed by Cooper and Jane. They continued laughing and joking as they made their way back to Robert's house and it ate away at Dean's heart knowing that as much as he loved becoming a member of Robert and Jane's circle of friends, he would soon have to leave it.

Once within the gate of the Perrigan house, Jane turned to them and said, "It's a beautiful evening. How about coffee here in the courtyard?"

As Dean started for the kitchen, Robert held him back by the hand and said, "That would be wonderful. Would you mind Jane?"

Jane and Cooper went into the kitchen as Robert indicated for Dean to sit at the wrought iron patio set. Dean reluctantly sat, knowing he had to tell Robert what was eating away at him. Robert sat across from him and waited.

"It's been a week and my father hasn't made any contact," Dean said with a forlorn look. "I'm going to wait a few more days, just in case he does. But then after that, if I don't hear from him, I have to leave. I have to go look for him."

"What?" Robert shook his head, "Would you even know where to look? Where to start?"

Dean nodded, "I have a few clues. He told me he was headed to Jericho, California to investigate a string of disappearances dating back ten years."

"Alone? You're not going to go alone are you?" Robert asked with genuine concern.

"I…" Dean thought about it then said, "No. My brother is at Stanford, not far from Jericho. He just graduated. He was supposed to get in touch with us, but he hasn't. It's been a while since I've seen him. He'll help me."

"Are you so sure?" Robert reached out and took Dean's hand in his, "It sounds like your brother is ready to start another life, one that doesn't include living out of hotels on stolen credit cards. You already have a new life here with me Dean."

Dean shook his head and pulled his hands away sitting back in his chair, "My father needs me. I should never have let myself do all the things I've done here with you. I'm sorry, I really am. It wasn't fair to you. I should have released that ghost's spirit and been on my way. I had no right to worm my way into your life."

"You didn't," Robert argued. "I invited you in. Please, listen to me. Go. Find your father, but after you do, come back. There's no reason why you shouldn't."

Dean stood up from the chair and turned away from Robert, "If you don't mind, I'd like to stay a couple of more days. Then I need to make the drive to Palo Alto."

Robert said nothing. When he turned around to face him, Robert still said nothing, just nodded silently. Dean's heart quietly broke as the bond between them made it clear to him that Robert was indeed aware that Dean was about to leave for good and go back into the world he hated, but felt obligated to live in. Robert knew that more than likely they would never see one another again. He got up from the chair and went into the house leaving Dean alone in the courtyard.

Two days later he left at the break of dawn, after showering and scrubbing his body down masking as much of his bonded scent as he could. He wrote a heartfelt note to Robert thanking him for everything. He hated goodbyes and didn't want to suffer through any tearful emotional scenes. Although, he did allow himself to openly weep as he headed west on Interstate 10 en route to California. He rehearsed what he would say to Sammy to convince him to help. He knew Sammy loved him, and if he didn't help for their father's sake, he would do it for Dean. If Sammy asked about what he'd been up to, or why he had the remnants of an Alpha's scent on him, he simply wouldn't answer. He arrived two days later early on Halloween morning.