Hi everyone!First, let me start by saying this story should be mostly sweet and fluffy with just a bit of angst to spice it up, but nothing too much, as things do sort themselves out in the best way. My focus is still on my main WIP calledThe Evil that Men do, but since it is a slightly dark story, I needed something to lighten the mood. Chapters should be short, posted weekly, but no promises.Secondly, this work was inspired by Dizzybunny and her amazing story on AO3 called heart Story, which you should go read. Still, the two stories have no actual correlation.Lastly, I left the above mentioned story on a cliffhanger on Christmas Eve, and I couldn't bear to leave it like that, so here is my Christmas present to you all.Merry Christmas everyone.

Castiel took a deep breath, angling his face towards the sky, then released it with a pleased hum and a smile, happy to once again be here, in nature, free from his mother's reign. He used to feel a little bit guilty about lying to her, but knew he had to, there was no other way. If it weren't for these monthly trips to the family cabin in the woods, Castiel would have gone out of his mind by now.

He was considered to be extremely lucky, as most boys who present as omegas rarely survive their first heat. It had something to do with the male body not being able to physically adapt to the change, though there were rumours that some of those deaths weren't exactly natural - afterall, what benefit would a family have if their future heir presented as an inferior subgender? If that was the case, Castiel indeed was lucky, he already had an older brother, an alpha, who would inherit the family business. Michael.

Not that there was much to inherit, anyway. The company their grandfather Charles built was slowly crumbling down, the technology outdated, along with his mother's views of the world. Naomi, the current Alpha of the Novak family was too headstrong and held onto too much of the old world values. To her, it didn't matter what kind of a person someone was, as long as their family had a lineage and wealth, much like the Novak's did. Well, the lineage. The wealth, not so much anymore.

But Castiel didn't mind it, he enjoyed the simple things in life and he loved working with his hands, here, in his gardens and his bee farm. Not that mother Novak ever knew about any of this. No, she was under the impression that Castiel was currently going through his heat, so he was excused from the high society parties and other whatnots and allowed to spend a week in the cabin out of town.

But the truth was, Castiel didn't have heats. Not since that very first one, the one that almost killed him. If it hadn't been for Doctor Jones, he would probably be dead right now. The good doctor took a liking to Castiel, he always said that the omega reminded him of his baby brother, who, unfortunately, wasn't so lucky to survive his first heat. Since they met, the doctor became one of the rare friends Castiel would have in life, one that would help him as much as he could.

A few months after his first heat, Castiel fell ill with fever, and with his higher body temperature, his natural sweet scent spiked. His mother assumed it was the heat again, and she sent Castiel to the family cabin in the woods. The fever broke and Castiel returned a few days later, good as new. From that day on, once a month, he would come up to the cabin under the pretense of his heat and spend a few magical days attending to the garden and building a bee farm, hoping that one day, he would escape his mother and the high society and live on this patch of land, live of the things he himself grew and nurtured.

But that was just a dream.

Castiel really shouldn't have complained, his life had been a good one. He was a kept omega, shielded from foul alphas and posed around like a trophy, another one of his family's accomplishments - a male omega who survived his heat. And once a month, he had some time to himself, away from all the dinner parties and hollow pleasantries. But it was a lonely life and he wanted more. He should have been more careful about what he wished for.

Their family business, the company his grandfather Charles built, was slowly falling apart. His mother refused to implement some changes to help the business grow and now, because of it, they were slowly going bankrupt. Castiel hadn't worried too much about it, not really needing all that money and glamour his mother and brother thrived on, until Naomi came up with a brilliant idea to attract a new investor. Well, brilliant according to her and Michael.

She was going to find Castiel a wealthy husband to marry. She would charm him into investing in the company, probably hinting that he would some day inherit it while Michael played dumb. He didn't have to bother much, being too vain and narcissistic, too interested in social gatherings then running a business. Every night, mother would organize dinner parties and bring potential suitors and prospectors and proprietors, basically all those foul alphas he had been shielded from.

Castiel cried himself to sleep almost every night ever since.

But today was the first day of his supposed heat, away from all that turmoil, away from his mother and that town. Away from all the alphas. He was in his little part of the woods, and for the next few days, he could pretend that it wasn't real, that he was living there, alone, but happy. For the next few days, he could feel free and content and just enjoy himself. Enjoy the little time he had left.

Because, when his mother managed to find someone rich and gullible enough, she would sell him off and… God only knew what would happen to him then.

No, Castiel couldn't think those dark thoughts, not right now, not here. Here , he was free and he was safe and he was happy, away from it all. Away from any alpha that wanted a trophy that was the male omega Castiel Novak. Away from all alphas, his mother included.

Castiel inhaled and exhaled once again, allowing his lungs, his body to fill with the clean forest air. His bags were inside the cabin, his things ready to be put away, but he just couldn't bring himself to stay inside. It was such a wonderful sunny day outside, the air filled with the smell of early summer and the sounds of small animals living free in nature. It was so beautiful. So instead of settling in, Castiel decided to go deeper into the woods to check out his beehives and garden that were concealed in case any of his family decided to come to the cabin. As he neared his secret spot, he couldn't help but take bigger, deeper breaths, revelling in the scents of nature. There was a very strong mixture of chestnut and birch in the air, which was odd, there weren't many of those trees here. The scent was cut with something deeper, earthly and warm, Castiel just wanted to take it, wrap himself in it as if it were a blanket. As if it were a blanket that belonged in his nest. Odd. He never felt the need to nest before.

Too dazed, too lost in his thoughts and the delightful scent, Castiel hadn't noticed that he had wandered off his path, much further into the woods than he ever went before. The sound of the branch snapping made him flinch and he snapped his head in the direction it came from. There, just a few dozen feet away from him, stood a man. He was shirtless, back broad and muscles taut, he held an axe over his shoulder and slowly turned in Castiel's direction. Soft brown hair and kind green eyes were a complete contradiction to his entire appearance and a part of Castiel felt so mesmerized by the sight. Another, more rational part was trembling, because that was an alpha right there, a pure, real alpha and Castiel didn't know what was worse.

That he may be in potential danger, all alone in the woods with an alpha, or that his scent was so intoxicating that Castiel didn't really care.

Either way, he was in trouble.