"Absolutely not!"

"Why not?" King John's voice sounded so innocent and genuinely confused, though there was a strange spark of amusement dancing in his eyes.

"I refuse to take part in such political games. I refuse to take on a mate solely to seal a political deal, and Dean should not be forced to do so either. He is a beautiful omega who deserves a choice in the matter, who deserves to be with someone he loves, not forced into a marriage with… with… This is unacceptable. This is everything I am working to correct in this country, that sort of behaviour, and those beliefs that… No. I would rather agree to give a piece of land to the Winchester Kingdom, or a certain amount in gold, but I won't accept this!" Castiel glared at king John, daring him to speak against his words.

Up to that point, he was cool and collected, simply pleased to have a chance to see Dean again, but this awful offer had him shaking and stuttering his words. Perhaps he should have agreed? If his father was really the type of a person to give Dean away for political purposes, then he should have agreed and kept Dean safe. Castiel's eyes went wide at the idea that the omega might be given to someone else for this same reason, utter fear enveloping him at that notion. His big eyes looked up at the omega, the possibility of someone hurting Dean becoming very real once again and he berated himself for being so melodramatic, for immediately refusing this.

And as for Dean… He was smiling, his lips curled up and some simple warmth emanating from his gorgeous eyes. He was pleased by Castiel's reaction, with a hint of pride in his soft gaze and Castiel wished time would stand still for a few minutes so that he may have a chance to just observe this beautiful human being before him, but movement caught his eyes, breaking the moment.

King John's smile was very similar to Dean's, if not even a little smug too as he leaned back in his chair and looked to his left, to his younger son. There was still some anger lingering in prince Samuel's face, but his eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief as if he thought Castiel would react in a different manner, or not react to the offer at all. Next, king John turned to glance at his older son, and gave him a small smile with a nod, then turned back to Castiel.

"Would you mind if I spoke freely?" King John asked, glancing at the musketeers, since they were the only ones left in the room with them. Sure, the guards were there, Gartholomew and Gadreel positioned by the exit door, Elias by the kitchen door, but they were too far away to overhear anything. The dinner was served and the room was free of servants, who were only to come if one of the guards were to call upon them. Considering they never had such a royal visit, the whole court was very well organized.

Castiel too glanced at his trusting musketeers, giving them each a kind smile, then looked at prince Samuel and then prince Dean, before finally settling back on king John. "As freely as you wish. Nothing leaves this room."

"We heard about the attacks on Your life, and how they have incited a change, made You… More mature. But we also heard that… Perhaps… The attacks had nothing to do with the change." the king's brow cocked up, he was curious if Castiel would deny it. The musketeers all shuffled in their seats, clearly uncomfortable by revealing such information, but ultimately it was not their decision.

"Whatever Dean told you is true. My only regret is that I didn't come to the position sooner." He said, glancing at Dean with a somewhat sad expression. Prince Samuel seemed reserved, but a little more relaxed and still somewhat confused, as if he still couldn't believe it to be true, while king John just nodded, accepting it. Castiel relaxed as well, feeling as if a major burden was lifted off his chest, but nevertheless, the guilt resided. Of course Dean told them the truth, and he knew his father wouldn't take advantage of it, otherwise Dean wouldn't have done it, Castiel knew this deep inside his heart. And if Dean trusted them with this highly important secret, then Castiel will too.

"I am pleased either way." King John said with a serious tone in his voice. "Not only will Your country thrive from this, but peace will reign between our countries simply because You are not too egotistic or too proud to stop this mindless war. You are a good king to this country. And a good man, Castiel."

"Thank You, Your highness."

"No. You call me John." The eldest alpha replied with a kind smile, to which Castiel nodded, then motioned at the table, as their food started getting cold. They each settled down to eat, but it was only after a few bites that king John spoke up again.

"Now, I know this may seem like the Land of Winchester wanting to reinforce this peace, but I do wish You would reconsider taking Dean's hand in marriage. Especially since he expressed his desire to become your mate..." The whole table froze when Castiel sprayed water all over king John, choking upon a glass of said beverage he was consuming. Dean was first to crack, trying hard to contain his laughter and failing miserably. Prince Samuel was next, the two brothers' laughter roaring through the dining hall. Even Gabriel grinned, keeping his lips pressed together so as not to laugh, while Castiel simply had a mortified expression.

Yet, king John just seemed serious, with the barest hint of amusement as he lifted his napkin to wipe his face. "Well. Now You have to marry him." He said, cracking a grin, while everyone else simply dissolved in laughter. The rest of the dinner was spent in light conversation and Castiel allowed his eyes to drift towards Dean a few times, always catching the omega with a smile on his face and a spark in his eyes.

After dinner and desserts, Castiel would usually retire to his chambers and allow any guests to do the same, but this was one night he didn't want to end. King John's desire to see their gardens, which were supposedly the most beautiful ones in all the world, especially under the light of a full moon, played straight into Castiel's need to be around Dean a little while longer, so, much to everyone's surprise, he agreed.

Castiel noticed, as they were exiting the dining hall, that prince Samuel approached Gartholomew, and although he couldn't overhear them, he could see by the guard's expression that the prince apologized for knocking him unconscious the previous time they met. It would seem that Castiel's initial assumption was correct, Samuel was a good person. He had simply thought Castiel was not. Perhaps, he still was not convinced.

Once outside, the two kings walked side by side while everyone else fell in line behind them. The gardens really were amazing, the fragrance of flowers filling the light air of the perfect spring night. The stars were ever so beautiful and the moonlight illuminated their path making everything that much more magical. His omega wanted him, but Castiel dared not give voice to any of it, too frightful that it could all be just a dream. Certainly, his mind wasn't that cruel?

Little by little, the distance between the two kings and their entourage grew, so when John leaned in to tell him something, he made sure they could not be heard. "When Dean first returned to us, he refused to talk, refused to say a word about what happened. It was my youngest Sam that eventually shared the rumors he heard on your court about what went on, prompting Dean to finally speak."

"I cannot begin to explain how enraged I was. I knew Dean fought them, I personally taught him to fight, but I suppose there was so much fight he could put out. He wouldn't go into details, and he said that it didn't matter anyways, because he found his truemate." This time, Castiel choked on thin air, a loud rumble of laughter rolling from king John's mouth at the reaction. The king struck him on the back a few times, and Castiel coughed, while holding his hand out to stop the others from the unnecessary approach.

Catching his breath, Castiel finally found his voice. "He did? Did he… Did…" He stumbled over his words, wanting to know if perhaps, by any chance, it could be him. John huffed a laugh, looking highly amused by Castiel's behaviour.

"Yes, I do believe he meant you. As you know, only people of omega designation can know for sure until a proper claim is complete, but even so, an alpha could sense it. One might not know what that nagging feeling in the back of his head was, until the fog clears, but an omega always knows. Just ask my Mary." For the first time in his life, Castiel felt overwhelmed with joy, letting it show in both his expression and his scent before he reeled it in, composing himself. This evening proved to be quite eventful, and finally, Castiel felt alive. Not simply living, surviving, but alive as if a single breath could fill his lungs and make his sore up into the starry sky.

"Oh, my Lord!" King John suddenly exclaimed, startling poor Castiel who had more emotions coursing through his body today then he had his whole life. "Look, Sammy, aren't those lilies? And they have all the colours, white, pink, red, orange and yellow. Oh, your mother would be so…" King John's voice drifted off as the alpha snagged his very confused younger son and dragged him towards a section of a garden that cultivated flowers, leaving Castiel behind. For a moment he thought he could hear prince Samuel mutter something about the use of his nickname, expressing his dislike for it, but Castiel couldn't be certain. And in the light of those vivid forest green eyes, it did not matter anyway.

"Hi, Cas." Dean said as he approached, sounding slightly shy, though his open expression and his deep gaze spoke of the contrary. Unlike any other omega Castiel had ever met, Dean was anything but shy, and the alpha quite appreciated it.

"Dean." He greeted with a warm, wide smile. His fingers twitched with the need to reach out and touch Dean, yet he refrained, wanting to not only be proper, but fair towards Dean. The omega deserved it, and much more.

Castiel gestured for the nearby bench and they took a seat, enough space between them to be socially acceptable, yet too much to soothe Castiel's longing.

"I hope you don't mind that I told my family about you. I know how it must look, but please believe me, I only did it to…" Dean leaned forth, his eyes wide and pleading, fear of not being understood flooding those gorgeous eyes. It felt painful and Castiel needed to put a stop to it. So he raised his hand to halt any further words and smiled upon his omega.

"You do not need to explain. I trust you and I trust your judgement. Besides, I think you knew your father and I would see eye to eye regarding the positions of our countries." His words calmed Dean, but only by little.

"Still. Wasn't my secret to tell." The omega said looking away, and oh!, how Castiel wanted to reach and touch his jaw, tilt his head so that those emerald gems wouldn't hide from him anymore.

"You, Dean of Winchester, have every right to hate me and wish me harm, yet you chose me, me, for your life mate. I am… Beyond honoured by your decision and I humbly offer all my secrets; they are yours as much as I am." He had never been a poet, however, when the inspiration struck, he could not contain his thoughts.

"Wow, Alpha. I didn't know you had such way with words." Dean replied with a teasing smile, though the slight blush of his cheeks gave him away.

"Neither did I." Castiel answered honestly and they both dissolved into giggles, after which Dean's laughter only grew in volume, because - what alpha ever giggled?

It took a few, but eventually, they both calmed their laughter into kind smiles, simply staring into each other's eyes as the world around them seem to disappear. It was Dean who finally reached out, setting his hand over Castiel that currently resided on the bench.

The alpha silently gasped, his entire body instantly getting covered in some form of a pleasurable warmth, tingles exploding in his stomach and rushing through his extremities. Dean's fingers curled around the top of his hand, the tips reaching between his thumb and forefinger and finger, towards his palm. The feeling of just those few inches of Dean's skin, a measly touch of the hand had Castiel wishing for the time to stop so that they could remain like that and never part, despite the promises of tomorrow bringing in more, so much more then this.

"Dean!" Prince Samuel hissed as he stomped in their direction, and Castiel's chest instantly feel an ache over such coldness and fury in the young alpha's eyes, yet when he tried to subtly withdraw his hand, he found that Dean held on, not permitting this action.

"Oh, lighten up Sammy." Dean threw back and his father agreed with a hum as he stepped closer too.

"Stop calling me Sammy!" The young alpha shouted, and remained ignored.

"Yes. Lighten up, Sammy. Afterall, they are future mates to be, and they aren't doing anything beyond holding hands. Even I did more then that with your mother." John announced, and both of his son's yelled a very appalled "Daaaaaad!", but the king just smiled and waved it off.

"It is however getting late and we should retire to the tavern we chose to…"

"Absolutely not!" Castiel shouted, perfectly aware he was repeating himself. "You will be given your own quarters in the guest wing, the East wing. As much as I have confidence our greatest taverns have what it takes to house some of your status, I cannot allow you to stay in one when we have perfectly suitable rooms here at the castle. Please… Accept my invitation. "

"Very well." King John replied with a small smile. "I do wish to deepen our discussions of our treaty and come to a conclusion, do you feel we could do so tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course."

"Excellent. Once that is complete, I should retire to our home and make the necessary preparations for the upcoming wedding. " Castiel was struck stupid. Not only hadn't it yet settle in that he would be marrying and mating Dean at omega's own desire, so it still remained a shock, but also there was the fact that once they agree upon a treaty, the king and his sons would be leaving to prepare for the wedding and Castiel didn't think he could handle Dean being away from him again. Yet in light of all the happiness king John had bestowed upon him, Castiel could not find words to counter him again.

"Of course." He replied, his voice smaller, with a hint of sadness.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you were stalling, Castiel." King John commented. It was fairly easy to come to an understanding with him, the alpha was just and in the end it was more about prosperity of their country and well-being of their people. Taking the ego out of the equation made everything that much simpler. Except for that ache inside Castiel's chest, there was nothing simple about that.

"I… I am not. I merely suggested you take more time to appreciate our vast palace and perhaps stay for dinner." Castiel responded. He spent the entire morning and afternoon in negotiations and didn't even get a chance to see Dean all day.

"Now, now, I know it isn't me you're looking to spend the day with." John replied with a cocky smirk, if the alpha wasn't such a good man, Castiel would have hated him. Well, not hate, per se, more like be extremely annoyed by him and his intuition. As it was, King John had brought Castiel more happiness then he could have ever hoped for, and he didn't deserve to be deceived. With a deep sigh, Castiel let his head fall down on his hand that was currently resting on the table.

"I do not wish for Dean to leave." He decided that honesty was best, but that didn't help his inability to speak the truth loud and clear, his voice coming out as a soft whisper.

"And why would Dean leave?" King John asked curiously, lowering not only his voice, but also his head, as if the two alphas were sharing a secret. Castiel lifted his head to look at the older alpha, frowning in confusion.

"You said after we came to an agreement and worked out all the details of the peace between our countries, that you would leave to go back to the Land of Winchester to make the necessary preparations for the wedding." Castiel replied. The wedding would actually be held in France, in Castiel's court, and he already talked to his favourite henchwoman, Lady Charlotte regarding the wedding arrangements, as she assured him she would take care of everything. He didn't understand why they would have to go back to the Land of Winchester only to return in less then two weeks for the wedding, but Castiel didn't dare challenge the dark-haired alpha on the matter, feeling more than grateful for all the man gave him.

"Yes, I said I would be going… I don't recall saying anything about Dean." Oh, for the love of everything that was holy, this man will be the death of him someday.

"Wh...what?"

"For seven months we had to listen to Dean talk about you and smell his sour cherry scent because of his separation anxiety. I am not inclined to go through that again."

"But you…"

"Now that I have met you and saw what a truly remarkable alpha you are, I have no problem with allowing Dean to stay. However, we all know the ways of the proper, so I have decided that Sammy could remain as well; as his alpha companion. We don't want to incite any gossip. In the meantime I would go and bring their mother, as I am certain she had everything already prepared. She is a highly intuitive omega. Stubborn one too. But I guess you'll learn all about it - Dean certainly caught that trait of hers." King John said with a kind smile, but truthfully, Castiel was only half listening to everything said after "allowing Dean to stay."

Thankfully, his right hand musketeer Michael, his trusting advisor, came to his aid picking up the conversation as he assured king John that both princes would be perfectly safe and well cared for. It was odd that the king requested to speak to Michael in private, but Castiel knew that neither man's intentions were foul, so he left them to it. He excused himself and tried to give a valid reason for his departure, but John simply waved him off with a knowing smile.

He found his omega sitting in the gardens. With him, he had Lady Charlotte and prince Samuel who immediately stood up and drew a few hasty steps towards Castiel, preventing him from reaching Dean. "Play nice, Sammy!" Dean shouted, smiling brightly at Castiel, while the younger alpha scoffed. Gritting his teeth, he hissed back "Don't call me that!"

"Prince Samuel. How are you this fine evening?" Castiel tried for polite.

"I still don't trust you." It would seem that blunt honesty was prince Samuel's preferred method of dealing with things now that the truth had been revealed. Well, two can play that game.

"And my trust in you lies solely in the fact that you are Dean's brother and king John's son. Considering your deception last time you were present at our court, I believe we have been more than accommodating." He said with a bite to his tone, pausing for a minute to allow it to sink in before he continued.

"However, since you only had Dean's best interests at heart, I am completely willing to let it all go, and for us to start fresh. Afterall, we will soon be brothers in the eyes of the law."

"That could have been your plan all along, to snake your way into our kingdom." Prince Samuel nearly spat the words out, making it clear that Castiel would hardly gain his trust. Drastic measures it is then.

"Lady Charlotte. Please be so kind as to keep Dean company for the rest of the afternoon. Prince Samuel and I have some business to discuss. " Castiel called out to his friend who immediately nodded with a wide smile.

"Sure thing, my king." She shouted back. Castiel found that he enjoyed it when people were more casual when conversing with him.

"Everything alright, Cas?" Dean was already on his feet, striding towards them, in his eyes there was a hint of anger directed at his brother.

"Everything is quite alright, Dean. I simply wish to show Samuel something." Castiel replied with the kindest of smiles. He did not want to put a wedge between the brothers, he simply wished Dean to be happy. The omega nodded, returning to Lady Charlotte and their discussion over the wedding venue. Castiel still found it hard to believe he would be marrying Dean within two weeks.

The young alpha was tense and alert as he followed Castiel through the castle all the way to the former king's chamber doors. There in the hallway, Castiel stepped in the archway just before the grand doors and opened what can only be described as a secret door. Prince Samuel only raised a brow, but followed the alpha inside and down the steps.

For almost half an hour they walked a long damp concrete corridor, occasionally taking a few turns until they finally emerged about a mile out of the palace through yet another secret door in a corner of a wide, abandoned courtyard. A gloomy looking building towered over them, a place Castiel was all too familiar with. His steps were firm as he strode towards it, Samuel in tow. He bypassed one guard after another, neither saying one word, until he reached the lowest level.

Prince Samuel frowned as Castiel stopped by a lonely cell, isolated albeit for a single guard standing to the side. Castiel nodded at him and the guard entered the cell, dragging the man inside to the bars. There was a heavy iron mask on his head, an adjustable metal strap going over his ears and to the collar that was cutting into his skin slightly. The headset had a front mask with a clasp and a small lock. Castiel pulled a key from an inner pocket of his suit, unlocked it and let the mask sway open like it was a door.

The man within glared at them with all the hatred in his eyes, yet he sported an amused smirk. The prisoner remained silent.

"Why show me this?" Prince Samuel asked, his eyes remaining wide. "Why me and not D… my brother or my dad?" At least he stopped himself from oversharing.

"They both could tell the difference. You needed assurance."

"You trust me with this secret? You trust me not to say where he is?" Samuel said as he stepped away. Castiel locked the mask back up and nodded at the guard before stepping back himself.

"I trusted you with Dean. This? This is a secret that won't matter if it gets revealed, especially after the proclamation of the treaty tomorrow. You, on the other hand, are Dean's brother and to me, that matters more." Castiel said as they walked out the same way they came.

"So yes, prince Samuel, I trust you. And I do not wish to fight you. I wish to consider you a brother I should have had." He said and paused to look into the younger alpha's eyes, to show the honesty in his.

The prince let out a deep sigh and shook his head for a moment before looking back at Castiel.

"Please. Call me Sam."