DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction using characters from the Supernatural universe. I do not claim any ownership. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered film or tv canon (not by a long shot).
"Castiel."
The minute Castiel's eyes open, he knows something is wrong. Gabriel's voice is flat. Gabriel's voice always glows with energy of some sort – joy, anger, concern. That he is holding back from letting any inflection color his speech causes a knot Castiel's gut. He sits up and looks at his older brother standing in the doorway. Gabriel's expression is … pained? The knot tightens. Castiel glances to the other side of the bed. Dean is not there.
"Where is Dean?" Castiel asks. His own voice cracks like dried wood and reveals his growing fear.
"He's gone, Castiel." Gabriel says in that ugly flat tone again.
Castiel swings his legs out from under the covers and sits on the edge of the bed trying to focus his thoughts. Gone? How can Dean be gone?
Gabriel is suddenly kneeling in front of Castiel. Gabriel knows that a Mated pair's Bond entwines itself into their very existence. If it is broken forcibly, it can have devastating consequences for both individuals. Balthazar suffered horribly when his Mate broke their Bond. Gabriel sees the beginnings of that anguish in his little brother. Which means that either Dean is dead or … God help him … the implant is working again.
"Cassy? Stay with me, little brother. Lucifer is already on this … Balthazar is on his way over now. We will find Dean." Gabriel says softly. He'd been holding back any emotion until he saw how Castiel would respond. It seems he is slipping into shock, but then Castiel meets his brother's gaze. He grabs Gabriel's shirt and pulls him forward.
"How the fuck did this happen, Gabriel? How the fuck did they take my Mate?!" Castiel growls.
Castiel is suffering the loss of his Mate, but Gabriel is still an Alpha and this is still his younger sibling. He snarls and grabs Castiel by the back of his neck, holding him in place with an iron grip.
"You want to rethink that tone, little brother," Gabriel says, his amber eyes flashing with an Alpha fury that doesn't present often in the easy-going man. "Now take a deep breath and get dressed. Balthazar will debrief us when he gets here."
Castiel jerks out of Gabriel's grip. He'll have bruises there soon, but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters as long as his Mate is in danger. Gabriel leaves the room and Castiel gets dressed. Like Gabriel, he pulls on his black fatigues and military boots. He is going to make the ones that took Dean wish very fervently that they had not.
Balthazar enters the apartment dressed like his brothers. Sam is impressed despite his growing fear about his brother's fate. The Novaks seem to be preparing for the storming of a compound. Balthazar sets up on the dining room table and begins telling them what they know.
"Dean got a call early this morning that lasted 4 minutes. If it was a simple wrong number, the duration would have been much shorter." Balthazar sighs. "Best guess? They were able to disable the disrupt chip … after that all they needed to do was use the trigger Word and Dean would walk out of here without a second thought."
Castiel is listening, but he doesn't really care how they took his Mate … he just wants to know where Dean is and he wants him back. Sam has reached the same conclusion.
"Ok, so we know how they did it … how do we find Dean? They could be anywhere by now." Sam asks.
"The disrupt chip had a tracker as you know … we were able to follow it to the airport but the range is limited. Inias got the flight plan and it looks like they are headed home. We leave within the hour." Balthazar says. "Inias' surveillance shots show that Dean isn't being harmed, but that implant is working again."
Balthazar pulls up the photos on his iPad and Sam sucks in a shocked breath at the sight of Dean kneeling naked beside Crowley at the private jet hangar. His hands are behind his back and his head is bowed. The next shot is Dean being led into the jet on a … Sam chokes … leash. Balthazar looks up at the younger Winchester in sympathy.
"You only saw the aftermath of the stables here, Sam. And this? This is just the barest glimpse of what they do to Omegas," Balthazar sighs. "Lucifer is already on his way back. Once the plane is ready, our pilot, Anna will fly us out. We will bring him out of there again, I swear to you."
Castiel snarls and it isn't a pleasant sound. It isn't even a sound of just anger. It's the sound of an Alpha about to lose it. Balthazar turns just in time to get his hands up as Castiel slams into him and they go sprawling on the floor. Castiel rage has overwhelmed the rational centers of his brain because he cannot fathom why his brother did not order Inias to rescue Dean immediately. Why did he have him taking pictures when his Mate was in danger?
"Aww damnit, Cassy …" Gabriel says. He throws out an arm to stop Sam from interfering. "Easy, goliath … Castiel needs to get this out now so he can focus later."
Balthazar is fending off his brother as best he can, but he's an Omega and in a brute force fight, Castiel will always win. Still, Balthazar is not without skills – chief among these is that he's an expert in hand to hand combat. Ironically, it was Castiel that suggested he start the training in the first place and now he's faster and better than his Alpha brother. He demonstrates this by extricating himself from Castiel's hold. Castiel is still seething as they face off.
"Easy little brother … you know as well as I do that Inias could not have gotten Dean out of there safely."
"You let them take my Mate," Castiel grinds out. His voice is jagged and barely understandable.
"Think about it, Castiel. You know the risk to Dean was too great. Right now, he's a recovered asset that they can still use to generate revenue," Balthazar explains reasonably. "Make him more trouble than he's worth and they could end him and take the tech out of his head. Dean's just an Omega … dime a dozen. As long as they have the implant they can test it on as many Omegas as they need until they find another compatible subject."
Sam swallows hard hearing his brother described like a car that's been repo'd. His preconceived notions of what exactly his brother endured before Crowley's have been turned on their head. Sam suddenly wants to scream at every Alpha and Beta he sees and ask why? Why is this in-plain-sight degradation of an entire segment of society allowed to continue unchecked? Biology aside, these are human beings … human beings being denied even the minimum of respect accorded to every other individual on the planet.
Sam always knew Dean had it harder than most because he was basically an uneducated Omega from the wrong side of the tracks. He is sickened to realize he simply assumed his brother was just marking time until he found a decent Alpha to take care of him. Sam feels his stomach twist at those words and draws in a shaking breath as the emotional impact of everything suddenly strikes the younger Winchester.
The sound pulls Castiel out of his rage. Gabriel has his arm around Sam's shoulders as the young man sinks to his knees with hiccupping sobs.
"Easy, kid," Gabriel says softly.
Sam shakes his head fiercely. "When I left for school … I told him … I told him to find a nice Alpha and settle down. I told him he was just being stubborn about the whole Omega thing … I didn't … I didn't know …"
Balthazar crouches in front of Sam. "Samuel, listen to me. Dean knows that … my brothers didn't understand either until I was taken. But you know now and that's what matters … show Dean that you accept him even with that knowledge. That he's more than just an Omega to you."
"He is!" Sam says, tears streaming down his face. "He's my brother … and those bastards are treating him like he's some sort of animal!"
Balthazar nods. "Yes they are, Sam and we're going to rectify that … however that needs to happen."
Sam meets Balthazar's gaze and sees something very dark there. He looks up at Gabriel and then over at Castiel and sees that same shadow behind their eyes. "You mean …?"
Gabriel helps Sam stand. "It might not come to that, Sam. But you need to know that we are prepared to do what we have to … we'd do it for any Omega but Dean is Cassy's Mate … he's family now and so are you. It's sorta personal now."
Sam blinks and nods as he wipes his eyes. "Th-thanks ..."
Castiel has fallen heavily into a chair by the table and is looking sadly at his brother Balthazar who cracks a grin. "Oh don't look at me like that, Castiel. You think I don't know who rearranged his facial features when he left me?" Balthazar never speaks his ex-Mate's name because even after all these years it hurts. It will always hurt. But the love and support of his brothers makes it easier to bear. "He's your Mate, Castiel … you have to know I understand how much this is killing you … I want him back too."
"I know, brother. And … thank you," Castiel says tiredly. His rage and grief have given way to a calm, deadly determination. He is going to get his Mate and he is going to kill anyone who tries to stop him.