Chapter 33

Marco wasn't a careful driver. He usually would be, but right now his blood was burning, his head pounding, and his teeth aching to tear into something. Or more like someone. His finger nails ached, and he barely stopped them from sinking into the steering wheel, lest he make Thatch cry.

He barely allowed the gates to open, this time without the password. Marco had called ahead and told them to keep an eye out for Thatch's car. That Thatch was injured. All the Commanders (minus Ace, a part of him whispered) stood before them as Marco slowed down, parking in front of them.

Pops was instantly by their side, rubbing Thatch's back. "How are you feeling, son?"

"Sore." Thatch grimaced. "And pissed."

Sam was immediately there, ushering them aside.

"How bad is it?" Sam asked, already searching with gentle hands.

"They got my arm..." Thatch groaned, clutching his shoulder. "Assholes."

Sam frowned. "You're holding your shoulder."

Thatch huffed. "It's apart of my arm."

"It's your shoulder," Sam insisted.

"You doctors and your knowledge about bodies." Thatch rolled his eyes. "Fine, beloved sister, just fix my arm shoulder then."

Sam stared at Thatch. That blank look upon her face, which normally would have made Marco chuckle, but did little to amuse him now. No, he walked past everyone instead, ignoring their questions.

He heard Sam ask after Ace, if he had been injured-

Marco gritted his teeth. Ace struggling against Teach's goons, screaming his name until they slammed the door on his face, cutting him from Marco's sight. He'd kill them.

He'd kill every single one of Teach's men until they gave him Ace back. And if they dared caused him any harm-

Marco felt his fangs sharpen. But he snatched his car keys from his room. He rearmed himself, changing the gun and getting more. He grabbed his daggers and his grenades and marched back out.

He headed for the front door and passed his family once more.

Pops frowned. "Marco, what are you doing?"

Marco climbed in his car and reversed out of his parking spot. He lowered the window, glancing up at Pops. "I think you know exactly what I'm doing yoi."

"The gate's already locked." Pops glanced towards it, his frown deepening.

"So unlock it."

"No. You can't go after them. Not like this."

Marco tilted his head, and his voice grew icy. "I will break the gate down, Pops. I will ram my fucking car into it."

"What do you think you can do against Teach's entire gang by yourself?" Pops snarled. "You can't win!"

"I don't have to win yoi," Marco hissed. "All I have to do is get Ace back!"

Haruta stirred, looking up from her mobile. "I just got confirmation," she said sadly. "Ace is back in Teach's club. He's unharmed thankfully. Dacquoise said he was asleep."

Marco frowned. Asleep? Ace had taken his narcolepsy medication, and he had gotten plenty of sleep. Marco growled lowly. The fat bastard had drugged his mate.

Pops scowled. "Marco-"

Marco bared his teeth. "Don't you dare ask me to obey you in this. I will listen to every other command, as I have done for years, but I can't keep losing Ace-"

"We'll get him back-"

"In what condition?" Marco snapped. "We're mated, Pops! Who knows what that fucker's gonna think when he realises Ace is no longer available for him to mate. He could force himself on Ace anyway and if you think I will stay here and wait for that to happen-"

Haruta's phone rang. The sound of upbeat pop music cut them off, and Haruta answered it with a tense 'hello'. After a moment she approached them, holding out her phone.

"It's for you," she said.

Marco raised a brow, but answered it. "What?" he snapped.

"Nice to hear from you too." Sabo's voice cut off his thoughts entirely.

A pack member of Ace's original pack. They could save Ace together. Bite and tear into their enemies and make them bleed-

"I need you to calm down and talk to me," Sabo said firmly. "Think you can do that?"

Marco leaned back against his car seat. "Maybe yoi."

"Good enough for me. I need you to hold back for now-"

"Excuse me?" Marco growled.

"Excuse yourself. You going off now for blood will only put Ace in danger, and get you killed. Teach is going to be out for your blood now that you two have mated. We have to keep you safe so he can't kill you then mate with Ace-"

"He can still hurt Ace-"

Sabo sighed. "No, he won't. Marshall D. Teach believes heavily in being mated. I don't know why or how the idea got caught up so firmly in his head, but he won't force himself on Ace. I can promise you that-"

Marco scowled. "And why should I listen to you? What even happened between you and Teach? Why did he have your mobile."

Sabo grunted. "He attacked our base. We got cocky in thinking our emergency code would break all the electronics, but Teach obviously managed to save some. Or at least my mobile. I hadn't realised until I saw money being taken out of my account that pays for that mobile."

Sabo's voice hardened. "Now, I have a question of my own. Why the fuck did you guys let Ace go back to East Blue? I don't care if it was to see me. I wouldn't care if it was to see Luffy or bloody Santa Claus. Seriously, what the hell were you guys thinking?"

Pops grimaced. "We couldn't force Ace to stay. That would be exactly Teach has done to him over the years-"

"Idiots! You would have been protecting him and that reckless dumbass needs protecting from himself. Marco, you're a smart guy, you are too, Whitebeard. But you two have seriously fucked up this time. I know Blackbeard won't harm Ace. But if Ace is upset and scared again because of this I will make you all pay."

The anger receded and Marco slumped against his car seat.

"Finally calm?" Sabo asked dryly.

"Not really," Marco sighed.

His fangs had softened, and his claws didn't ache so much, but he was still shaky and angry. He wanted to hunt.

"We know he won't kill Ace," Pops said. "Haruta said that Teach had given orders for Ace to be captured, alive and well. You will end up being Teach's new target, Marco."

"I know that, but still! I can't just abandon Ace like this yoi."

"We won't abandon Ace, but we have to be careful. Teach isn't stupid, he will know despite the scent masking cream, that Ace mated with you." Whitebeard frowned. "We have to make sure you stay as safe as possible so that Teach cannot hurt you both by killing you."

"We'll get Ace out of there," Sabo said. "It just might take some time. Teach believes passionately in being bonded before sex if what I heard was right. So Teach won't do anything to Ace. We have time now to plan properly."

Marco ran a hand through his hair, gritting his teeth. "Dammit, I don't want to leave Ace in there."

"We won't," Pops soothed. "But we have to be careful. Ace wouldn't want us to go in guns blazing, and risk turning East Blue a war zone."

"I'll get into contact with everyone, see if we can all come up with an idea together," Sabo said. "Who knows, we might be able to get Ace out sooner rather than later."

Sooner wasn't enough in Marco's opinion, and it was taking everything he had to listen to his father and not go rushing off to Teach's club.

.::.

Sanji approached the doctors. It was early in the morning, and he had left Zoro back at the apartment asleep in bed. He had told Zoro that the appointment was today, but he wanted to go alone for now. Zoro had been concerned, and his Alpha almost a touch insistent on coming with him, but thankfully Zoro gave him the space he needed.

His heat still hadn't arrived in the past two weeks, and finally his appointment had come. It was irritating, how slow these appointments were at times, but understandable Sanji supposed. He walked up to the door, and went to the desk.

"Good morning, I'm here for an appointment at half eight? It's for Sanji Black," Sanji greeted pleasantly.

The young lady threw him a nervous smile. "Just in time. Please take a seat in the waiting room and listen out for your name being called."

"Thanks." Sanji nodded, heading inside.

It looked like a quiet morning, which was strange. Sanji had assumed it would be busy, but apparently not right now. He sat down, and scrolled through some new recipe ideas he had been playing around with on his phone until his name was called.

He headed for room three and was invited in by an older looking doctor. The Beta began asking him questions, and then said he'd take a blood test. Sanji didn't bother watching, he glanced around the room instead, ignoring the sharp pinch. He frowned.

There was a photo of a young couple, one dressed in a doctor's coat. The young man was smiling, embracing a woman.

That was when he remembered his doctor today was supposed to be an Omega who specialised in their own biology. The lady on the phone had told him that when he booked the appointment, saying the Omega specialist was always so busy. That he was the only Omega doctor left in their medical practise.

Sanji yanked away his arm, throwing himself out his seat, but a wave of dizziness hit him. Sanji stumbled, bracing himself against the desk, while the doctor sighed.

"How in the world did you even manage to notice?" the Beta mumbled, shaking his head. "I suppose it doesn't matter. I've got you already."

Sanji measured the distance between him and the door, but the doctor got in the way, hands up. Sanji aimed a kick, but a hand snatched his leg just as everything blurred. Sanji's other leg gave way, and he fell. A hand caught him, and he saw a flash of pink. He swore he had seen that fluffy scarf before, on one of his customers, but Sanji's head grew even fuzzier and he black out.

.::.

Ace woke up, bleary and confused. It was dark and he couldn't see. Ace shifted, groaning as he reached down to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

The rattle of metal baffled him, especially when he found that his hand wouldn't move downwards. No, it was cushioned by his head, pinned in place. That startled him awake, and he remembered exactly what happened. He found himself lying flat on a very familiar bed, and tugging at his limbs made him realise he was chained down.

He still couldn't see. Ace scowled, because now that he thought about it, he could feel the cloth wrapped round his eyes, blindfolding him.

Teach was punishing him, keeping him blind and helpless, and that really pissed him off.

"Teach!" Ace snarled. "You bastard. What did you do to Sabo? And what happened to Thatch and Marco?"

"Good morning, Ace," Teach mocked him. "It's a lovely morning isn't it? So peaceful-"

"Cut the crap and tell me what you did!"

"Burgess found their base, and we attacked. The Revolutionaries are some lucky bastards though. They managed to get away," Teach explained. "As for Marco and Thatch? They killed my men and got out of East Blue. But I promise you, love. I'll kill them for it."

Ace could hear a chair shift, and footsteps hit the carpet, making their way over to his side. The bed creaked, and there was pressure towards his left. A hand stroked his arm gently.

"The Revolutionaries had this computer virus destroying all their electronics' software, but we managed to save some smaller equipment from the virus. Mostly some mobile phones, and one of those phones belonged to your brother."

A hand cupped his chin, and a large thumb traced over his lips.

"Which was lucky for me. It brought you back to me." Teach growled lowly. "You ran away from me again. Well, your brothers helped you runaway. And from the looks of it, they sent you to the Whitebeards. Don't bother lying to me. I saw Thatch's car. I'm only sorry that I couldn't stab him in the back again."

"Bastard!" Ace kicked out, but his feet were secured to the bottom of the bed.

"I'll leave you tied down for now," Teach said coldly. "While I wait for the scent suppressant to wear off. I guess then we'll finally be able to tell if that bastard Marco managed to mate you or not."

Ace smirked. "Pops will never let you near Marco. You won't be able to get rid of the bond mark if you can't touch him-"

Teach snarled. "You were supposed to be mine, Ace. I waited for you, and I will have you. One way or another, I'll mate you, and fill you up with my pups."

A hand landed on his stomach, and Ace flinched. His Omega half screeched, horrified and outraged, and Ace tried to jerk away. He heard Teach startle, sounding just as confused, and a wave of relief hit Ace once the hand removed itself from his stomach.

"That was..." He heard Teach mumble. "Maybe..."

Ace had no idea why his Omega had panicked and gotten so angry. It left Ace baffled on the bed, even as Teach's hand stroked his hair instead.

"What was that?" Ace asked hesitantly.

Because he had never had that kind of reaction before. It could have been his Omega was offended, because someone who wasn't their mate wanted to bed him. Now that he was actually properly mated to Marco, it was probably angry somebody else had them.

"Nothing to concern yourself about yet," Teach said. "All you're going to do now is lie here, like a good boy. Got it?"

"Bite me."

"Trust me. I would happily do so," Teach snorted. "But your Omega is worked up enough for one day, and I'd rather wait until you calmed back down."

Teach's hand left his hair, and the mattress shifted. Padded footsteps made their way from his side, and Ace slumped against the bed, frowning.

He was thankful that at least Sabo was okay, but he hated the idea of being back here again. Restrained to a nest that wasn't his own, that some Alpha, Teach, wanted to force on to him. Ace didn't want to be here. He wanted to be home with his actual family, and yet he was being held prisoner once more.

Teach hand fed him that day, kept him blindfolded the entire time. Ace cooperated. He hadn't wanted to, but every time he began to get worked up and angry his Omega soothed him. His Omega had never had him so relaxed before, and it was surprisingly nice.

Now if only his other half had done that when he was with Marco instead of Teach. That would be perfect.

.::.

Koala slipped quietly into their bedroom. Sabo was at the desk, glaring at the wall, nursing a cup of coffee.

"I can't believe Whitebeard let Ace go back to East Blue," Sabo sighed, meeting her eyes. "I just... What were they thinking? Ace had only just escaped! They shouldn't have done that. Not even if it was to let Ace go see me."

"Ace would have wanted to make sure you were okay," Koala said. "He was bound to be worried after not hearing from you for a while."

"They should have stopped him from coming."

Koala softened. "They wouldn't have wanted to take away his freedom again. They would have had to restrain him, and that's already what Teach has done to Ace. Fisher Tiger allowed me to make my own decisions, so that I could heal and be myself again after what the Celestial Dragons did to me. I like to think the Whitebeards wanted the same for Ace."

Sabo's shoulders slumped, and he sighed. She walked over, pressing a kiss to his head, while he reached up for her hand, squeezing it.

"I know," Sabo huffed. "But for now I need to be angry at someone, and they are an easy target. Well, apart from Teach of course, but I'm already planning to crush his damn neck when I get a hold of him."

"I'm more annoyed at myself," Sabo continued, with a frown. "I should have prioritised Ace. I should have made sure he couldn't be tricked."

"We were already dealing with moving all our people, and the Omegas we rescued when Blackbeard attacked us." Koala reminded him. "You also already thought Ace was safe. You had no reason to tell him so urgently."

"I did though," Sabo said. "Because I know what Teach is like. He'll never let Ace go willingly. He'll keep trying to tighten his grip on Ace until he caves in."

"You're putting too much blame on your shoulders, Sabo." Koala frowned. "We'll get Ace out of there. I know it's frustrating that he was taken by Blackbeard again, but Ace is also mated now. Blackbeard can't mate him."

"Yeah..." Sabo sighed, hunching over, cradling his head. "It's just... It's happening again. Ace is stuck with that bastard and I doubt he's going to leave Ace's side anytime soon and let us try to rescue him again."

"Well, Ace actually rescued himself last time..." Koala offered tentatively.

Sabo chuckled, but it was dry. "Yeah, but that opportunity took years to arrive. I doubt Teach will give him another chance to escape."

"He might, if he believes you and Luffy kidnapped him," Koala said. "You told Burgess that you took Ace after all, right?"

Sabo frowned. "True."

"We'll come up with a plan, and when we do, hopefully you'll get the chance to crush Teach's throat." Koala smiled.

Sabo grinned, it was a dark, nasty one, but a grin nevertheless. "Hopefully I do."