Chapter 11: Courted

Crowley stood from his desk as Linda entered with her guest, Mshindi wearing the same bright red clothing and intricate beaded jewelry from the day before. He carried a simple canvas bag over one shoulder and a carved mahogany box in the other. The omega offered an alpha's bow to Crowley, common for a visitor to a strange pack to use as a sign of respect toward the alpha. Crowley reached out his arms, palms down, and Mshindi stood close enough to the desk for the shorter alpha to scent-mark his wrists. "Mshindi of the Plains Walkers, I officially welcome you to Spellbound lands and offer my protection for as long as you are among us."

"Crowley, Head Alpha of Spellbound pack, I graciously accept your generosity and the kind protection of your scent. I have brought a gift to commemorate this meeting."

Crowley smiled and gestured for the omega to sit, Linda taking a cushion next to Mshindi. "I sent Linda on an expedition almost two decades ago to meet your father and open diplomatic relations and she returned with wonderful stories of your lands and packs. She mentioned that it was customary to exchange gifts before entering into any kind of serious conversation."

Mshindi nodded. "That is true. I know that she brought back a necklace for you that my mother made, so my gift is of a similar nature. The necklace you have is appropriate for a warrior, an alpha, to wear, and I brought a companion set that I made." He placed his box on the table and opened it, waving his hand toward the wide beaded choker, the matching set of glass and shell bead necklaces, and the slender matching headband. "These are for an omega to wear, and the pattern is similar to the necklace that Linda brought for you. The shamans told me that you have a chosen omega, Balthazar whom I met, and we offer these for you to adorn him with for your mating ceremony. It is a symbol that your bond is destined, fate."

"Wow," Crowley breathed, completely floored. He had not expected this in the least. He reached out and ran his fingers over the beaded diamond pattern on the headband, colored in red, black, yellow, green, orange, and sky blue. The choker was wider, but the pattern and colors were the same, and the longer necklaces included the same beads and incorporated small white shells. "These are beautiful. You made them?"

"Yes. My father's shaman told me what patterns and colors would look good on Balthazar, and now that I have met him, I agree with the assessment."

"We aren't even . . . we're not officially courting."

Mshindi smiled, his dark brown eyes catching Crowley's bright crimson across the table. "The shamans are not concerned with politics, only fate. He will be your mate; it has been Seen."

Crowley ducked his head and smiled, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to think of a suitable response. "You know, hearing that, it means more than the gift."

Linda smiled and reached out to place her hand on top of Crowley's. "It's nice to see you happy, Crowley. Balthazar is good for you. You deserve to be loved."

"Never thought I'd hear you say something like that, Linda. Thank you." Crowley reached for a small, engraved black box resting on the floor beside the table, placing it beside the one Mshindi had offered him. Linda reached out and closed the wide mahogany box, protecting the beaded jewelry that Balthazar would one day wear. "Mshindi, I wanted to give you something that I have been working on for a while, ever since Linda returned from visiting your lands. Mother told me that one day I would meet a Plains Walker and that I should be ready."

Mshindi opened the box and gasped, eyes widening as he lifted the item out of the cushioned box. It was a deer antler, shed from a young buck and carved into the shape of a wolf, two clear and incredibly rare dark green emeralds forming the eyes and runes carved over various parts of the small animal. He ran his long fingers over the smooth bone, fingernail tracing the rune on its chest, which was embedded with tiny amethyst chips. The rest of the runes were embedded with chips of different gems, enhancing the power of the markings. "This is beautiful."

"It is imbued with some of the small spells I can perform. If you touch the rune on the head, the eyes will glow with a brilliant light, similar to my witch light spell. One of the runes produces a spell that can temporarily cover your scent, make you completely untraceable. There are other spells, and I can show you how to use all of them."

"This is a magnificent gift. I believe that we can begin negotiations for a trading partnership now, if you are open to that."

"Of course."

Balthazar leaned back against the wall of the living room, comfortably settled on one of the largest seat cushions with Kevin curled against him on one side and Alfie stretched out on the other. He was rubbing their backs in the slow, soothing strokes he and his brothers traded when they were gripped in the waves of their heats. Alfie was much closer to needing a release than his brother, but neither of them wanted to leave until Mshindi returned from his meeting with Crowley. Kevin clenched his fists tightly in Balthazar's tunic, holding his breath as a shudder wracked his slender frame, but he refused to moan or in any way acknowledge his body's need.

Linda had warned the Celestial about her sons, about how they always insisted on ignoring the biological demands of their subgender until it became unbearable. His own twin hated the loss of control that heat brought on, so Balthazar was not unused to forcing an omega to take care of himself. He opened his mouth to send Alfie away as the brunette actually did moan, but Mshindi returned at that moment and caught his attention.

"Forgive me, but the meeting took longer than I anticipated." Mshindi removed his layers of jewelry as he joined the boys, clad only in his red garment now that he was alone with only omegas. "Alfie?"

"I'm fine," the omega growled, fingers digging into Balthazar's arm as the older man tried to get him to rise. "Gods, I hate this."

"You shouldn't hate who you are," Mshindi scolded gently, reaching into his ever-present bag and pulling out a small pouch. It was about ten or so inches long and seemed to hold multiple long, slender objects. "Being an omega is an honor in my tribe; we bring life to the land and support the tribe in all things. We are precious and untouchable, and only we can be trusted to be messengers between the lands."

Balthazar started at the word messengers, hoping that their new friend wouldn't notice. He knew that the heat scent was starting to get to him, and being on edge without the comfort of his own hormones might actually drive him insane. It was only day two. "I don't know, Mshindi; they may treat omegas like that in your land and, with few exceptions, here in Spellbound, but my brothers and I tended to be seen as mere commodities more often than not. Michael never broke the law, per se, but he made it hard for us to choose our own mates."

"And his brutality drove you here, into the arms of the man meant for you," the Nomad argued, his voice still perfectly steady with that undercurrent of silky surety that few could manage. "I know that Crowley makes you happy; would you trade him for security in your birth pack?"

"No," Balthazar answered instantly, shocking himself with the words. "I . . . I wouldn't. I never asked myself that before. I'm glad we ran."

"You sound amazed, Balthy, but you must remember that the Ancestors guide us in all things. Yours saw that your mate was the Head Alpha of Spellbound, so of course you had to leave."

"Thank you, Mshindi. I can't . . . it's been a long, hard three months and I never stopped to think about whether I missed my pack. I don't."

The Nomad chuckled and opened his small pouch. "I assured Crowley that he would mate you one day, and it made him as happy as this has made you. I am pleased to see you both smile." Inside the pouch were six smaller bags, Mshindi sorting through them and glancing at the letters embroidered on the sides. "This is for you, Alfie. And this is yours, Kevin."

The two younger omegas accepted the gifts, staring at the colorful and delicately decorated pouches. The each loosened the laces that held the pouches closed, Alfie gasping at what he found and Kevin staring in amazed silence. Both boys had seen dildos before, mostly made for women since unyielding wood and antler horn would be too damaging to a male omega. The ones made for males' channels were short, meant to mimic an alpha's knot but rarely long enough to satisfy any other needs. The dildos in their bags, in contrast, were as long as a real cock, fairly similar to the one beta Alfie had fooled around with the year before, even lacking the knot at the bottom. They were made out of a strange, off-white, flexible substance with a pleasing amount of give when the young omega squeezed his.

Thankfully, Mshindi realized that the boys were at a loss for words, so he broke the silence. "It is a strange gift, I know, but, in my land, your birth parent would have procured you one or more when you reached your first heat. It helps you in times when you prefer not to seek out a sexual partner or when you are in the middle of a heat and cannot mate. The substance they are made from is called kauchuk by the Jungle Shadows who farm it, though I believe your mother gave it a different name. Rubber was the word, I think. It is flexible and will not injure you like the sexual devices that your people create, and I think that you will enjoy the feeling."

"I, uh, thank you, Mshindi," Alfie breathed at last. "These are modeled after betas." There was a question in those words, but clearly one that the Nomad had been expecting.

"Yes, because the shamans told us that you both do not prefer alphas." He reached into his bag again and passed a pouch to Balthazar, smiling at the mix of shock and wonder in the Celestial's pale blue eyes. "This one is modeled after an alpha, since you are fated for Crowley."

Balthazar couldn't stop his hands from shaking as he untied the laces, having suffered through so many heats without some sort of outlet beyond his own fingers and now being offered one. His eyes fell on the thick, long, off-white toy, noting the heavy knot at the bottom and the detailed veins running down the sides. "How can you make something so beautifully detailed?"

"I do not make them, but it is certainly an art form in the Jungle Walker tribe. They are very proud of these toys, and they make them in many sizes and styles."

Balthazar raised his eyes to meet Mshindi's gentle brown, shaking his head slightly. "I don't have anything to give you in return. I left my home with nothing, and I still don't have any of my own possessions. How can I repay you?"

"I do have one request. I know from my peoples' stories that it is a very personal thing to ask for, but I have dreamt of it my entire life and I will never be blessed with the ability to do it on my own." He looked down at the bag in his lap, fiddling with one of the beads on his intricate belt. "I would like to fly, just once."

The silence was deafening, the Nomad refusing to raise his eyes as the risk of seeing rejection in his new friends' faces. He knew that he was asking a lot, but the path that the shamans had seen frightened him when he learned of it. He wanted some sort of reassurance that the future would fall together in the right way, that they would be alright and that peace would reign through the land. The shaman had told him that only the clouds could answer that.

The three messengers never questioned how Mshindi had known their secret, even though two of them had been wingless when the Nomad departed his lands. The shamans in the south seemed to be just as powerful as the psychics and seers in the north, so it made perfect sense that one of them had seen their wings.

"Something the shaman told you," Kevin whispered, wincing as the first stab of a headache washed his almost-vision away. "I can't see it, not clearly, but your request means a great deal to you, doesn't it?" Mshindi nodded, not trusting his voice.

"Well, I don't know if I'm strong enough, but I have been flying the longest," Balthazar mused. "I would be glad to try to fly with you, Mshindi. On one condition."

"Anything."

"Tell me everything you know about messengers."

"How are you doing this morning?"

"Terrible," Dean groused, not bothering to glance at his companion. He had spent part of the morning browsing the stores in the marketplace, but every time he saw some beautiful swath of cloth or an intricate piece of jewelry, he had turned to show it to Cas. The omega wasn't there, of course; he was still secluded with the omegas in Asa's house, and it was killing Dean to be apart from him. The alpha, frustrated with his increasingly irritated reactions to people, had left the city for whatever serenity he could find at the side of the lake.

Clearly, he hadn't found enough.

"I came out here to be alone."

"Clearly," Charlie replied dryly. "But you don't need to be alone. Sam and Benny have been surly all morning, so I guessed that you would be in worse shape and came to cheer you up."

"You're not the omega I want right now," Dean whispered, digging his fingers into the loamy soil at the edge of the water. Winter was truly fading now, with most of the snow melted and no clouds in the sky. Spring was only a week or so away.

"I know. And you're not the alpha I want right now," she snapped back, the hint of a growl under her words.

Dean turned to face the energetic redhead, one eyebrow raised. "I thought there was something between you and Jo. I'm surprised she let you come talk to me alone." As soon as he said it, Dean realized how bad his words sounded, but Charlie had been his friend long enough to know that he didn't mean any harm or insult.

"She suggested it, actually," the witch offered. "She thought that you might not be in the mood to speak with an alpha right now. Especially the one member of your pack who is currently not suffering from omega separation syndrome."

Dean couldn't resist the twitch of his lips at the words, feeling a tightness in his chest that he hadn't realized was there start to loosen. "You know that's not a real condition."

"Looking at you, I kinda think it is." Charlie reached out and took Dean's hand in hers, running her fingers soothingly across the back of his knuckles. "Dean, I know you want to have a sane and healthy mate when you get to your capital city. I know that you're miserable now, but this separation is going to save you from being miserable later." Something flashed in her emerald eyes, but Dean was staring at the lake and failed to notice.

"I know . . ."

"Do you? Think about this from Cas's point of view for a second, okay?"

Dean hung his head and ran his free hand through his dark blonde hair. "What do you mean?"

"He's never really had any control of his own life. He was raised by indifferent parents and an abusive older brother, the latter of whom consistently starved him during his heats in order to force him into a mating with a vile, abusive alpha. I can't imagine what it must have been like to have to fight the urges of heat while hungry and scared, over and over again. Those boys are so strong, but now they have found the chance to be loved and protected. It's what every omega wants, even more than we want to be bred when we are in heat."

Dean released Charlie's hand and reached out to clasp her shoulder, urging her to continue. He knew that she wanted to say more, but something made her hesitate. "I'm not going to get upset, no matter what you say."

Charlie bit her lip and furrowed her brow. "I know he loves you, Dean, and that you love him. I don't doubt that; no one who has seen you would. However, that's not why he wants to spend so much time with you. There's a subtle scent that omegas emit when they feel safe, protected, and wanted, and I smell it every time I'm around Cas. He wants that feeling, is desperate to keep it, and he is terrified that he will lose it."

Her words were pretty specific, and Dean rolled them around in his mind before answering. "He thinks he will lose that feeling? Not lose me?"

Charlie waved her hand. "Sure, he worries about losing you. That prophecy isn't too friendly toward Cas and his brothers. That isn't what he fears most, though, and he probably doesn't even realize it. Rowena has done exhaustive studies into omegas and their interactions with the other genders, and I have spoken to all of the other omega witches at length about this exact situation. I have met omegas who are content to be alone, and they are very happy, but it's always because they have found another way to get that safe and protected feeling in their lives. Cas has chosen you to provide that sensation, but he has to have some time away to appreciate it. He has never been free and alone, and he can't mate you until he understands himself a little better, something you learned to do over the past ten years leading your pack."

Dean took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling his irritability from that morning lessened somewhat. "Is there an alpha equivalent to this omega safe feeling?"

"You wouldn't ask me that if you didn't already know," Charlie gently scolded. "Alphas want to protect others, especially their mates. You have it stronger than most, as a pack leader, but Cas has triggered something deeper in you. You crave that feeling you have when you're with him, and that's what you're missing right now. If he was your mate, the separation wouldn't bother either of you so much, but your wolves are terrified that the parting is permanent and they are making you both suffer."

"Cas is suffering?" Dean leaned forward and moved to rise, determined to protect his omega, but Charlie's hand on his arm stilled that instinctive reaction.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. And yes, he's about as miserable as you are right now, but he's not stupid enough to try to deal with this on his own."

Dean settled back onto the ground, placing one hand over Charlie's where it still rested on his arm. "He has his brothers, Max, and the other omegas in that wing to help him," Dean realized, his voice soft and contemplative.

The witch nodded, glad that she was finally getting through to the obstinate pack leader. "Who do you have, Dean?"

"Sam, Benny, and Jo."

"Then why are you sitting out here?"

Dean pushed himself to his feet and pulled Charlie up beside him, leaning in for a brief hug before kissing her forehead. "Thank you, Charlie. I guess I needed that kick in the pants."

"Damn right you did! Now go find your pack so I can go spend some time with the omegas."

Balthazar smiled contentedly over the tea Mshindi had made for them, listening as the moans from Alfie's room finally faded to silence. "Man, he loves that thing."

The Nomad smirked and sipped his own drink before speaking. "Not ready to try yours?"

"I want to, trust me, but I don't need it like they do. And it seems rude to leave you alone while Linda is out organizing our supper."

"You aren't trapped here, Balthy." There was a sudden seriousness to the dark-skinned omega's words that froze the Celestial.

"Well, I know that. I mean, I'm not in heat—"

"No," Mshindi interrupted, though not unkindly. "I can see that your customs are different from ours, but none of you are trapped here. I can teach you how to walk freely during your heats. I can also teach your alphas how to let you."

Balthazar stared at his friend as the words sunk in slowly, pushing past his initial rejection of the words based on a lifetime of societal pressure to lock omegas away during their heat. To be fair, he and his brothers had only been locked away twice; the rest of the time they hid in the forests of their mountain home and avoided alphas and dominant betas on their own. Kevin and Alfie had done the same thing during their first heat, according to Linda, so Mshindi's words were not quite as terrifying as they would be for an omega who had been raised in the city.

His question, when it came, surprised even him. "How?"

The Nomad grinned and returned to his steaming tea. "I will show you after dark. We should sleep in Kevin's room tonight; the window is in a better position."

Balthazar shrugged and nodded as the door to the suite opened and Linda returned with a trio of servants behind her. And supper. All other conversations were forgotten as Balthazar moved to help set the table as Alfie and Kevin finally emerged from their rooms.

They didn't return to the conversation until many hours later when Balthazar led the omegas into Kevin's room and hugged Linda goodnight. "Are you still taking a patrol shift this evening?"

Linda nodded sharply. "It seems only fair, since Crowley has been more than generous to us. Meg and I are going to work with a few of his new recruits on tracking in the darkness, so we'll be patrolling the forest where you got yourself lost." Balthazar credited a great deal of love and cuddling for his lack of response to that reminder of Gerald's brutality. The memories would still catch him at times, mostly when he was alone, but they didn't tear at him the same way they did his first night.

"Enjoy yourself. Who will be in charge of the guards while Meg is gone?"

"Maggie, actually." Linda chuckled at the taller omega's shock, reaching up to pat his cheek. "She is quite an accomplished warrior; you don't get the title of Guardian to the Grand Coven High Priestess for nothing. Donald will be with us, so she graciously offered to take Meg's spot with the guard."

"Well, thank her for me. It's nice to know that people care about watching over us."

The petite beta ran her fingers through Balthazar's hair in a gesture that she had used many times to soothe her own sons. "I'm sorry that you didn't have anyone to take care of you when you were younger, but you are loved, Balthazar. And not just by Crowley."

"I know. Thank you." Linda nodded and pushed him toward Kevin's room, waiting until the door closed behind him before leaving the suite herself.

Balthazar joined Kevin and Alfie on the bed, all three of them facing Mshindi who had claimed the one chair in the room and was waiting patiently for the final omega to join them. The blonde glanced over at his companions, all of them clearly waiting for someone else to start, but their Nomad companion ended the argument with a simple chuckle. "Since none of you can decide who will speak, I will ask the question myself. How can you walk freely during your heats?"

Kevin and Alfie, who had heard the words second-hand from Balthazar, found that they were not as uncomfortable as they thought they would be at the concept. After all, they had been raised in the wild and had their first heats in the forest. What Mshindi was suggesting, however, sounded much more complicated.

"Yeah, pretty much," Balthazar replied.

"Well, in my tribe this would not seem so strange. Except for the very last day, when an omega almost completely loses control of his wolf, we can walk freely during heat. Sometimes an alpha will go into a particularly hard rut and will be sent into the grasslands for some alone time and self-reflection, but we generally do not have those kinds of problems."

Alfie tilted his head in disbelief. "So you just train your alphas to ignore omegas in heat?"

Mshindi shrugged. "They train themselves. All of our children are taught self-control and we all pride ourselves on being able to ignore our biological urges when required. Omegas also learn not to react to alphas' scent during their heats, which is something I think you two will excel at. Come, I will show you what I mean." The Nomad pushed himself to his feet, clad in a borrowed cream skirt and top, wearing gray woolen pants under the skirt to protect his legs from the late winter chill, a matching vest hanging loosely around his lean chest. The clothes were Alfie's, but they fit the slender Nomad relatively well, Mshindi having requested something to wear that would be more appropriate for winter than his red robe. He had also borrowed a pair of boots, which he found confining but much warmer than his hide sandals.

"Where are we going?"

Mshindi grinned mischievously and pointed at the window, which looked out over the gardens to the north of the city. They were empty at night, of course, but they stretched all the way to the wall of the city and a small, secret gate that Crowley had shown the omegas before. "We are going there. I believe that you know a way out of the gardens and into the forest to the north."

"We can't go out there," Kevin whispered, his white eyes wide as he slipped off the bed and backed away from the window. "Our scents will give us away."

Mshindi shook his head. "The tea that I brewed for you to drink with supper was made with herbs that naturally dampen the heat hormones. If an alpha gets close to you, he will still scent you, but the tea will be enough for now. When we help young alphas train themselves, we will expose them to omegas in heat with varying degrees of scent repression to see what level the teens can handle before they go into a full rut or lose control. You would be at level three right now, but I can drop you to level two if you are very worried."

"Level three? Out of what?"

"It is a five point scale. Level five is a measurement of the strength of an omega's scent on the last day of heat. Level four is what you are at for the first four days. Level three can be achieved with the tea that you drank, and level two includes a smell-dampening ointment applied to your scent glands, bringing you close to your scent the night before full heat. Level one would be an omega's scent when they are aroused but not in heat."

Kevin glanced out the window, noting the complete lack of movement in the gardens and the darkness of a moonless night. "What are the chances we run into someone?"

"Unlikely."

"Kev, you can't be serious," Alfie hissed, grabbing at his brother's arm. "We can't go out there. Mother will be furious."

Balthazar leaned past the two younger omegas, unlatching the window and pushing it open. "If you want to stay, then do so, but I'm going with Mshindi."

That decided the brothers. In heat or not, they weren't going to let Balthazar leave them behind. Sighing, Kevin headed for his dresser and pulled out a heavier jacket, grabbing a supply bag and throwing it over his shoulder as he tossed his boots into it. Alfie rolled his eyes and grabbed one of his brother's coats for himself, dropping a pair of his own boots into the supply bag as he turned to Balthazar and Mshindi. "Do you know how to scale walls?"

"Not in the slightest," Balthazar replied, glancing at the clawed gloves Kevin had produced from his dresser.

"I have never had the opportunity," Mshindi murmured. "I do not live near mountains and there are no tall stone structures in my home land."

Alfie narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he leaned out the window. "Kevin and I will not have any issues reaching the ground, but we can't carry two passengers."

Mshindi placed a hand on Balthazar's arm, his light grip somehow grounding the omega. "He can fly down there. No one will see him."

"Are you serious? I'm white. I'm going to glow like a damned beacon."

"You're iridescent white," Kevin argued, already seeing the merit in Mshindi's plan. "There's no moon tonight, and the stars are covered by low-lying clouds. It's almost pitch black out there and your coat needs some light to shine. Yeah, you'll be very light, but unless the guards are specifically looking for you, no one will notice."

"Okay, but how will we get Mshindi out? Kevin, do we have any rope? Maybe we can lower him down or something?"

"Or," Balthazar murmured thoughtfully, "I could carry him down."

The Nomad gasped at that, possibly the first time he had been surprised by something one of the northern omegas said. Guess that shaman of his didn't foresee everything, Balthazar thought smugly. "You would do that, Balthy?"

"I promised to take you for a flight," he reminded the other omega. "Granted, I didn't anticipate it being this soon, but you would also be my first passenger. It'll have to be a short flight this time, but I think I can make it to the edge of the gardens."

Mshindi heard the implied promise in those two words, this time, and he smiled gratefully. "I would be honored to accept your offer."

Balthazar smiled and headed for the window, glancing toward the wall at the edge of the city. "Do you guys know anything about the guard rotation? We need to make sure that no one is looking this direction when I jump out."

"They aren't looking," Alfie assured his friend, lacing the soft moccasins he used for scaling buildings, checking the soles to make sure that the special material was still intact. "I can guarantee you that Crowley or Mother had a long conversation with Meg and Ruby the day we went into heat about what would happen if any of the guards accidentally saw either of us in any compromising position. As often as we tend to masturbate at the end of our heats, the guards surely know that it's in their best interest to never look at our windows while we are here."

Balthazar nodded as Kevin moved to the window and glanced down the side of the building. Tightening the bag's straps across his chest, he turned around and slipped outside, toes finding a crevice as he began to lower himself toward the ground. As soon as he had room, Alfie glanced toward the distant wall and headed down, catching Balthazar's eye before he descended below the windowsill. "Fly to the door, don't try to go over the wall. The guards may not be watching in, but they are certainly watching out."

Balthazar slipped out of his dark pants, shirt, jacket, and shoes, tucking them into a small supply bag and handing it to Mshindi. Clad only in his white wolf fur shorts, Balthazar shifted forms, rolling his shoulders to release his wings. Crouching slightly, the Celestial nodded that he was ready and waited patiently for Mshindi to climb on his back and settle in front of his wings. He took a moment to wonder why he trusted this Nomad so much, why he already felt as close to him as he did the omega brothers. It had something to do with how much Mshindi seemed to know, whether he learned it from his shaman or just divined it from talking with the northern omegas, Balthazar was sure of that.

"We are meant to be friends, Balthy," Mshindi murmured, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around the white wolf's neck. "I'm not reading your mind, but I do know that this is a great gift you have given me, and it requires a great deal of trust. I am honored that you have accepted me like a brother as the shaman told me you would."

Balthazar offered a soft growl-bark that equated to an amused chuckle, realizing that Mshindi had anticipated the height of the window when he flattened himself on the wolf's back. Pushing the bedside table over to the window, Balthazar climbed up onto it and stuck his head outside, blue eyes searching the walls for any guards that might be looking his direction. There was no way for him to actually see, but his instincts demanded that he look.

As soon as he was sure that no one was watching, Balthazar folded his wings against his side, feeling Mshindi's legs wrapped snugly against him underneath the delicate appendages. Taking a deep, steadying breath, the wolf pushed off with his back legs, tucking his front ones under his chest as he snapped his wings out to their full length and caught a quick thermal before falling into a cooler column of air above the gardens. He tilted the leading finger of his wings down just enough to lose altitude, rating his descent carefully to avoid crashing into the ground. Balthazar had only practiced this glide descent once before, but he knew that flapping his wings would call the guards' attention no matter what threats Linda had offered them, so he had to be careful not to make any additional sound.

Mshindi's night vision was clearly much better than Balthazar's, a quick squeeze with his legs warning the wolf that he was close enough to pull up. Trusting the other omega, the white wolf twisted his leading fingers up, cupping enough air to slow him down as he pulled his front legs forward and reached for the ground. A moment later, he felt stone under his paws and pulled his wings back, running a few steps before slowing to a stop. He tucked himself under one of the dark trees near the path, waiting for Mshindi to slip off his back before shifting forms. There were no shouts from the wall, no thundering of feet along the path, so he was reasonably sure that they hadn't been spotted.

Balthazar took the bag from Mshindi and quickly dressed, looking up as Alfie and Kevin reached the pair with barely a whisper of their feet across the path. Kevin took the lead as they wound their way through the silent gardens until they reached the wall. Alfie, who had been the one to ask Crowley to show him the hidden door in the first place, ran his fingers over the plaster until he reached the faintest dip in the solid surface. Grinning, he pushed the door open and slipped out, the other omegas on his heels. They pushed the door until it was almost closed, placing a rock at the bottom to keep it from locking. The door could not be found or opened from the outside, so it was imperative that they prevent it from latching.

The four men slid along the wall for almost ten minutes until they reached the shadow of one of the hills that overlooked the city. They were able to move into the darkness easily, Linda's sons knowing the one blind spot along the city wall. The four waited until they reached the other side of the hill before shedding their clothes in preparation for the shift to wolf form, thankful for the unseasonably warm night.

"Aren't you going to shift?" Balthazar kept his voice low, eyes curious as their Nomad friend watched them patiently disrobe.

"Of course I am, but I do not need to remove my clothes." He didn't even wait for the shock to fade from his friends' faces before calling on his transformation, his clothes somehow fading into short, spiky golden blonde fur, his long legs coal black and his muzzle white. Shockingly, there were no clothes on the ground, so clearly he had been able to shift with them. The other three omegas finished stripping and changed forms, Balthazar shrugging the combined supply bags around his waist and watching as Alfie tightened the strap before all four started to journey toward the smudge of forest they could see at the edge of the hilly land before them.

"How did you do that?"

"My people learn how to. It is not easy, but as a nomadic people we must be ready to move at a moment's notice, regardless of our state of dress. I may be able to teach you some small part of this skill, if you are willing."

"Hell yeah we're willing," Kevin interjected, speaking before Balthazar could answer.

"Well, let's go to Balthazar's clearing and I'll see what you can do."

Balthazar chuckled and took the lead, loping towards the trees without any sense of hurry or concern with being followed. They wound through the shadows and whispers of the nighttime forest, their wolf instincts steering them clear of any other predators that might be out after dark. When they finally reached the secret clearing, Balthazar let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Wow, I really thought we were going to get caught."

Mshindi chuckled and rubbed his face on his leg. Now that they had a little more usable light, the northern omegas could see that the Nomad was more finely built, with long, slender legs that would give him an advantage in a grassland or desert environment, and he was much smaller than the other three omegas. "You should trust your own abilities more. Besides, guards are rarely watching for people leaving the city, only trying to enter."

Alfie twitched his back and freed his wings, stretching them to their full size for the first time since they sprouted, flapping a few times as he tried to jump into the air. Kevin snorted at his brother, opening his own wings and attempting to get into flight before the smaller omega. Balthazar and Mshindi shifted back, watching the brothers fighting the turgid night air to get some semblance of lift, tiring themselves out pretty quickly and shifting back to human form.

The three northern omegas turned to Mshindi, Balthazar taking the position of speaker while the younger men focused on cooling down. "How can you keep your clothes on when you shift?"

"You have to convince your wolf that these clothes, these beads, and these supplies are a part of your body. It is more efficient and you do not have to spend so much time folding clothes into packs to carry with you. I travel great distances in the south, and I rarely carry anything other than my belt pouch."

"How do we do that?"

Mshindi shrugged. "It's a state of mind. You should start small, with a necklace or bracelet that you can wear in either form. I have a few with me that should be long enough." He reached into the small belt pouch on his hip, pulling out a few strings of beads, though it was too dark for the three northern omegas to see the colors. Mshindi checked the patterns on each one and pulled three free to hand out. The omegas slipped the strings of beads over their heads, noting that they hung to mid-chest and would certainly be long enough to wear in wolf form if they couldn't pull them into the shift.

"Now what?"

"Run your fingers over the beads, feel their shape and texture. You have to know the object before you can convince your wolf to accept it. For now, just concentrate on the necklace until you think you know it, then slowly pull your wolf forward and see what happens."

Over the next hour, the three omegas tried multiple times to shift with the beaded necklace, failing each time but having a few near-successes. Kevin made it halfway through the shift, the beads vanishing into his white-accented black neck fur, but he lost it at the last moment.

Mshindi finally called an end to the practice session. "When you return to your rooms, examine the necklaces and memorize the bead patterns. Seeing the colors will help you imagine the beads becoming one with your wolf."

"Why didn't we wait until we could see them before trying this?"

"It would have been harder, Kevin. If you could see it, you wouldn't have relied on your sense of touch as much, and you need all of them to successfully complete the transformation. For clothes, your sense of smell will also help."

Balthazar nodded, glancing down at the dark and light beads hanging around his neck. This skill would have been incredibly useful when he and his brothers had been escaping through the mountains, and he was determined to learn it and hopefully teach his family when he returned to them. He reached over to the tattoo on his arm, his thoughts flying to his twin so many hundreds of miles away, and he couldn't wait to see him again. He was tempted to call Tasha, ask to speak with Cas again, but he knew that the witch was busy managing the male omegas in her own pack who were in heat.

The omega's head shot up at a sudden sound in the forest behind him, all of his recent warrior training pushing him to stand in front of the other three omegas. His blue eyes widened in shock as a very familiar but completely unexpected red-striped, coal black wolf slowly emerged from the shadows of the underbrush, his crimson eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Crowley," Balthazar breathed, taking an involuntarily step forward before catching himself. The big alpha's hot pepper and wood smoke scent washed over the four omegas as Crowley shifted forms, dropping a small supply bag on the ground at his feet.

"Zar, what are you doing here? What are they doing there?"

"We, uh, snuck out?"

Mshindi held one hand out to Crowley, palm out in a request for silence. The alpha turned to stare at the two youngest omegas, eyes widening as he realized that they were reacting to his scent. "I need to leave."

"No, Crowley," Mshindi murmured, his eyes thoughtful. "You need to stay. They need this test as much as you do."

Kevin and Alfie had reacted instantly to the scent of alpha in the air, clinging to each other as they fought back their initial urge to present and mate. Neither of them would ever desire an alpha on a normal day, but when they were in heat their preferences were overridden by their wolves' desires. "Mshindi . . ."

"Just breathe," the Nomad replied softly, his voice dropping into a register the boys had never heard from him before. There was a calming, supportive aspect to the tone, and Kevin found that the fire in his gut was slowly fading. He was still hard, but it was closer to something he could manage, though he would probably have to take care of it later.

Alfie was having a harder time, whining as he buried his face in Kevin's neck and breathed in his brother's scent. Kevin placed a palm over Alfie's heart, whispering in his brother's ear. "You can do this, Samandriel. Focus. You don't want an alpha, and you certainly don't want Balthy's alpha. You've resisted before, and you can resist again."

"I don't want Balthy's alpha," Alfie echoed, responding to his brother's use of his full name. "I don't want any alpha."

"I know," Kevin purred, finding that comforting his brother let him gain control over his own mating instincts. He glanced up at Mshindi, who nodded encouragement. "Alfie, Mshindi says that omegas in his land don't hide away during their heat. If he can do it, you can do it."

Crowley growled and turned away from the omegas, clenching his fists. "Mshindi, what are they talking about? Did you convince them to come out here?"

"He promised to teach us something if we snuck out," Balthazar answered, stepping closer to the alpha. "None of us have really been confined during heat before, so we were willing to come. He didn't have to do much to convince us."

"This is dangerous, Zar," Crowley whispered, his voice threaded with fear. "What if another alpha had come to this clearing?"

"No one would come here but you," Balthazar replied, reaching out to rub the back of his hand against Crowley's arm. The alpha flinched slightly, but he didn't move away. It was a sign of how much he trusted the omega that his finely honed warrior instincts didn't force a reaction that would have injured Balthazar. "They wanted to stretch their wings, and Mshindi knew that. Hell, he knew what we are before he even left his home. I know it's going to sound weird, but I kinda trust the guy, so if he says this is safe, then it's safe."

Crowley's fingers twitched, the alpha resisting the urge to reach for the hand brushing against his bare arm. It wasn't cold enough for the alpha to shiver, but it was still technically winter so he would need to put on some clothes soon or shift back into his wolf form. "How did you even get out of the castle?"

"Is that really what you care about right now?" Balthazar ran his fingers down Crowley's arm, knowing that he was breaking through the alpha's resolve. He bit his lower lip as the back of his hand touched the back of Crowley's, his pinky finger hooking around the alpha's. "I've really missed you, you know." His voice had dropped into the register he preferred to use around his almost-boyfriend, the one he knew could drive the older man crazy.

Crowley took another deep breath, freezing as he realized that the wind had shifted and the scent of the two in-heat omegas had reached him. A deep, pained shudder passed through his form as he turned his hand over and grabbed Balthazar's, clearly using the omega to gain control of his own mating instincts. "Zar . . . I'm not sure I want to be part of your experiment."

"It is a skill you have practiced before," Balthazar pointed out, squeezing Crowley's hand in comfort. "Mshindi has intimated that this is a skill the boys and I need, so I'd imagine that you need it, too, if you intend to become my mate."

Crowley smiled, turning to glance over his shoulder. "You know that I do intend that."

Balthazar raised Crowley's hand to his cheek, smiling as it curled around the back of his neck and the alpha half-turned to face him. "You don't seem to be going into rut at the scent of two young, unclaimed omegas in heat," he murmured.

Crowley finished his turn at the echo of the conversation they'd had less than three days earlier, finally pulling Balthazar into his arms and burying his nose in the omega's neck. "It's a little harder when they're actually in heat, but I keep reminding myself that it's not you. I've never gone into rut from an omega's heat. I can't wait to see if I do it for yours."

Mshindi joined the two younger omegas, taking their hands and leading them closer to Crowley and Balthazar, pausing less than three feet away. "Well?"

Kevin took a deep breath, still holding his brother close. "It's not that bad, I guess. I wouldn't mind if you gave Crowley some of that tea, though."

"In a normal situation, I would, but as Head Alpha he cannot have his scent diminished. It helps that neither of you are truly interested in him or alphas in general."

Balthazar chuckled, nuzzling Crowley and reveling at the scratch of the alpha's beard on his cheek. "This experiment will be a lot more interesting in three months." The omega pulled back and caught Crowley's eye, glancing around the clearing before pointing toward the bag at the alpha's feet. "Why are you even out here?"

"I couldn't sleep," the half-witch murmured. "After spending so many nights cuddled up with three very clingy omegas, I found that my bed was too empty. I came here last night and relaxed for a few hours so I could get some sleep. I had intended to do the same thing tonight."

Balthazar slipped out of Crowley's arms, one hand still twined with the alpha's as he nudged the bag at his feet. "Get dressed; I want to try something."

As soon as the alpha had slipped into his clothes, Balthazar slipped out of his and led Crowley a few feet away. Shifting into wolf form, the omega crouched down and freed his wings, nudging the Head Alpha and whining softly. "I wanted you to be the first, you know." Crowley smiled, knowing what the omega was referencing, and he placed a gentle hand on the wolf's shoulder. "Mshindi can't climb down stone walls, so I carried him down to the gardens. You should have seen it; I managed the whole glide without a single flap."

"Good. I know that you struggled with that when we were in training." The Head Alpha buried his fingers in the ruff of fur around Balthazar's neck, climbing onto his back and wrapping his legs around his chest behind his front legs. He weighed more than Mshindi, but his legs held on tighter and his position was better than the Nomad's had been.

"Have you done this before?"

"Ridden another wolf? Of course. I'm sure Mshindi hasn't, since Nomad wolves are smaller and only their alphas can carry anyone at all. Don't worry about me falling off, okay?"

"I'm worried that I won't be able to take off from the ground," Balthazar admitted, taking off in a long-legged lope across the clearing. He spread his wings, testing the air underneath them as he pushed off, a few strong flaps taking him above the trees.

He felt a sudden surge of amazement and joy, Crowley somehow pushing his emotions across the tattoo that linked them. Balthazar took a moment to examine and accept the response, his wing beats somewhat strained from the extra weight he was carrying. He was becoming a decent flyer, but he had never carried anything heavier than a supply bag until this night, and flying with Mshindi and then Crowley was straining his reserves.

"This is wonderful, Zar," Crowley murmured across their link, looking up at the cloudy skies before turning to stare at his distant city. "I could get used to a view like this."

"When we first sprouted our wings, my brothers and I thought of it as a curse. Now . . . now I understand what a wonderful gift this is, one that I am glad I can share with you." He felt the first twist of pain along the muscles of his wings, wincing as he banked left to return to the clearing. "If only briefly."

"Don't strain yourself," Crowley scolded, the fingers buried in Balthazar's fur offering a brief squeeze of support. "This was more than I ever hoped for."

"I'll get stronger, I know I will. Then we can fly all the way to the border and back if you want."

Crowley didn't answer, tightening his hold as Balthazar reached the clearing and tilted his wings to glide back to the ground. He landed within a dozen feet of his three omega friends, folding his wings away as Crowley dismounted. Balthazar shifted back and stumbled, suddenly too dizzy to keep his balance. Crowley caught him, arms wrapping around him protectively as he lowered the omega to the ground and pulled him into his lap. "I told you not to strain yourself."

"Is he okay?" Kevin and Alfie crouched down beside Crowley, concern for their shaking friend temporarily overriding their reactions to the alpha's scent. Mshindi brought the supply bag over, pulling out a half-full water skin and a wrapped chunk of bread from supper.

"He shouldn't have tried two flights with passengers so close together," Crowley replied, holding Balthazar while Kevin helped him take a drink and forced the bread into his hands. "He may be large for an omega, but this was a lot for his first try."

"I'll get stronger," Balthazar grumbled, leaning his head against Crowley's chest between bites of the spongy bread. It wasn't his favorite type, and he rarely ate plain bread without any kind of sliced meat or jam, but it was helping clear the darkness from his vision and calm the shaking in his legs. "I doubt any of my brothers have tried flying with passengers yet."

"Just had to be first?"

The omega shrugged, finishing his snack and returning the water skin to Mshindi. "Once in a while, yeah. You'd be surprised how rarely that happens." He sat up taller in Crowley's lap, resting his head on the alpha's shoulder and watching the omega brothers sit close to the alpha without any overt reaction to his scent. They were both still on edge, though, and they would probably need some time alone with their new toys when they returned to the room.

Something clicked in Balthazar's brain at the thought, his mind grabbing at an image that he had not consciously acknowledged earlier that day. "You had six pouches!"

Mshindi nodded, clearly expecting the observation at some point. "Yes. We commissioned one for each of you, and one for each of your brothers. They were created for each male messenger born this generation."

"Each male messenger? Are there female ones?"

Crowley glanced back and forth between the two omegas, clearly not understanding most of their conversation, but the part about messengers he could follow. "Mshindi, how do you know how many messengers there are?"

"My shaman knows. There are six males and one female, all omegas. My shaman had problems seeing the female, most likely because the images are distorted by the presence of a psychic or seer, but I am sure that I will meet her at some point."

"Seven messengers? The prophecy only mentions four."

Crowley sighed and pulled Balthazar closer, running his fingers down the omega's side. "I don't remember the prophecy saying there would only be four omegas, just that you four had a specific destiny. Alfie, Kevin, and this female that Mshindi mentioned must be the messengers who were meant to be born into this generation. As long as they stay away from your oldest brother and his draconian policies, they should be able to live up to their destinies." He let his other hand fall to Balthazar's hip, squeezing it gently and smiling as he felt the omega's heart race at the touch. "He has six what?"

"Six pouches. He gave one to each of us earlier today, and I had forgotten that there were three more in his bag."

Crowley's hand danced across Balthazar's ribs, the gentle touch just shy of tickling as the hand on the omega's hip dug in harder, flaming the desire that his first touch had awoken. "What's in the bags, Zar?"

"D-dildos," Balthazar gasped, his fingers fluttering against his alpha's chest as he struggled to control his reactions. "He brought dildos made from something called rubber that is soft and flexible enough for males to use."

"Really? Interesting. What are they modeled after?"

"There are two alpha models for Balthazar's oldest and youngest omega brothers, and the third is modeled after a beta," Mshindi answered. "Kevin and Alfie also have beta models, since the shaman knew that they have no interest in alphas."

"What's yours, darling?"

Balthazar grinned and nuzzled Crowley gently. "Mine is an alpha, knot and everything."

Crowley caught himself mid-growl, the thought of his omega masturbating with a toy meant to mimic an alpha's cock doing something dangerous to his wolf. "And how do you like that knot, little omega?"

Balthazar was taller than the Head Alpha, and large for an omega in both forms, but Crowley knew exactly what to say to make his partner feel safe and protected. Balthazar mouthed the words little omega against Crowley's neck, smiling contentedly as the first hint of omega space tugged at him. He knew that he couldn't give in, not in the middle of the woods with his two friends in heat, but he desperately wanted to. "I haven't tried it yet," he admitted. "Kevin and Alfie were locked in their rooms and I didn't want to leave Mshindi alone. I was going to pull it out tonight, though."

"Will you be thinking about me when you're playing with it?" The hand on Balthazar's hip slid around Balthazar's ass, pressing gently in the cleft between those cheeks as the scent of the oldest omega's arousal suddenly spiked.

"Gods, yes," Balthazar whined, trying to press against Crowley's fingers against his back as he pulled himself closer to the alpha's chest. He felt himself teetering on the edge of a cliff, just seconds from falling into omega space and begging the alpha to take him, but some small hint of a whisper in the back of his mind called him back. "Crowley, stop," Balthazar whispered, his entire body tense as he fought against every instinct thrumming through his lean form. "We can't, we can't! Damn it, what happened to your line?"

"I'm having trouble recognizing which side I should stay on," Crowley whispered.

Kevin chuckled. "I thought I was the one in heat."

Balthazar finally pulled free of Crowley's arms, letting Alfie help him to his feet as Mshindi offered an arm to the alpha. "This is one hell of a test you've set up, Mshindi."

"Thank you, Balthy," the Nomad purred, watching Crowley's pupils return to their normal size as he gained control of his instincts. "Can I assume that you are no longer concerned with the scent of the two omegas in heat?"

The Head Alpha chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, that problem has gone out the window, so to speak. If it was Zar, though, I couldn't guarantee my restraint."

"We'll work on that," Mshindi promised, turning to check on the two younger omegas. "We need to return soon if you intend that your excursion remain a secret from your mother."

Kevin nodded and started to strip out of his clothes, Alfie following suit as they packed their clothes into the larger supply bag, pulling the smaller one free and tossing it at Balthazar's feet. The Celestial, who still hadn't bothered to put any clothes on after taking his short flight, just glanced into the bag to ensure that all of his things had been packed away neatly.

"How are you four planning to get back into your room?"

"We, uh, left the door on the garden wall cracked open. Kevin and I will climb the side of the castle back into his room."

Crowley turned his piercing gaze toward Balthazar, one eyebrow raised. The omega turned away, biting his lip as he realized what the alpha was asking. "Mshindi and I can't get back in the way we left. I mean, the guards may not have noticed me flying out of the window to the garden, but they will see me if I fly back up. Cas or Gad could get away with it, but I'm white. I practically glow in the dark."

Crowley chuckled and shook his head. "You and Mshindi aren't locked in your room. Just walk back in the front door with me and I will escort you to your wing. I know you couldn't leave through the front door, especially since the guards would immediately report your departure to Linda, but no one would bother reporting your return."

"That's perfect," Alfie breathed. "Just give us time to get into the room first, just in case, and then you can simply return from a casual midnight stroll."

Balthazar grinned and handed his supply bag to Mshindi, fingers playing with the beads around his neck. "Crowley . . . you would walk us past your guards, help us flaunt your rules regarding omegas in heat?"

"What can I say? Being around you has severely confused my concept of right and wrong. It's exhilarating, helping you break the status quo, and it would be nice to see if my alphas can be trained to behave around omegas in heat. So, if this is the first step in that process, sign me up."

"Court me."

Crowley's eyes widened, even Kevin gasping in shock at Balthazar's sudden words. "What?"

"Court me," Balthazar repeated, his words stronger and more confident the second time. "I want you to court me, officially."

"I can't. You don't have an alpha . . . you don't have a pack!"

"I don't give a damn about that, Crowley. Dean's already adopted me into his pack, but if John Winchester won't accept me, then I'll fly all the way back here and petition to join your pack. I have a feeling that you will accept me. One way or another, I'm going to have a Head Alpha who will let me become your mate, so why are we wasting this time now? You don't technically need my alpha's permission to court me, only to mate me, and that's not what I'm asking for right now. Court me, please."

"Alright, you silly pup." Crowley held out his arms, palms up, in one of the rare gestures that put the alpha in a submissive position. "Balthazar, son of Chuck and Naomi, would you do me the honor of allowing me to court you?"

Balthazar took two steps forward, reaching out to place his forearms over Crowley's, hands gripping just below the alpha's elbows as they scent-marked each other. "Crowley, son of Hector and Rowena, I accept your suit and welcome your courtship."

Crowley grinned and leaned forward for a brief kiss, releasing the omega as the other three shifted forms. "Come on, sweetheart; let's get back to the city."

AN: Back to Asa's city next chapter, honest. I'm just really enjoying Mshindi and how he pushes the boys into new and uncomfortable situations. His true worth will become apparent in a few weeks (in-story time) and you'll see why I brought him in. Day 2 of Kevin & Alfie's heat is pretty much over. Also, the wood & antler horn dildos were really a thing, and you can see why the boys would never be able to use them. The technology level is somewhat middle ages, but Mesoamericans were making balls and other things from rubber since about 4 BCE (from what we can tell, but certainly by the 1500's) so it's appropriate for Mshindi's people to be using it. The Quechua people called it kauchuk, which is the word that Mshindi uses.