Chapter 5: The Showdown
Dean rushed back to his tent after descending the pole and showing the other recruits his method so they could spend the rest of the morning practicing. He knew that his eye drops had worn off, but no one seemed to have noticed the change and they hadn't done an omega gold flash or anything. His scent was starting to return, though, so he excused himself in a search of fresh clothes, which Castiel thankfully believed.
"Dean, you did it! Castiel totally believes you're a real alpha now."
Dean chuckled as he stripped naked and used a wet cloth to quickly clean off the dirt and sweat from the last day before applying scent-blocking oil to his groin, underarms, and neck. "I almost believe it myself. Maybe Cri-Kee was right and I just need to be myself more often."
"But not too much yourself," Kevin added, using what tiny amount of fire breath he could summon to heat up some tea for his charge, adding the scent blocking herbs. "You're lucky no one saw your eyes this morning."
"I wasn't expecting to be there all night. I'll be more careful next time."
Kevin handed over the tea and nodded, rifling through Dean's supplies for a cleaner training outfit. There was a faint scent of omega on the ones he had worn while climbing the pole, nothing that could be detected unless someone was touching the boy, but enough that his dragon guardian was worried. "I'll wash these today in case any of your real scent stuck. Now, you need to get out there and grab some breakfast before training starts. I don't expect Castiel to be any easier on you just because you climbed a pole."
Dean nodded and gulped back his tea, making a face at the bitter flavor as the heat nearly scaled his tongue. Finally dressed, he used a few drops of the alpha scent lotion on his neck and wrists, grabbing his belt and cinching it as he dashed out of the tent.
Dean reached the central training ground as Balthazar slid to the ground, his black eye darkening up nicely. Castiel watched like a proud father as each recruit was able to reach the top of the pole, the first time all of his soldiers had completed a training session. He looked up as Dean joined the group, narrowing his eyes in confusion for a moment before shaking his head. "Steve, Balthazar, and everyone else who has already climbed the pole, go start on staff practice. You'll have breakfast when everyone has finished the climb."
Dean nodded and turned toward the bin that held the staves, pausing as Benny reached it first and pulled out a handful of poles. He tossed one to Balthazar and a couple other hovering soldiers, turning toward Dean with the last staff as the omega watched him warily. Smiling, Benny held out the staff, nodding sharply when Dean hesitated, unsure if this was a trap or not. "Here you go, brother," Benny explained, smiling as the omega finally took the staff. "You're gonna need that for practice. I'll spar against Charlie and you take Balth."
"Ok," Dean replied uncertainly, turning to face the lean blond with his staff held in a defensive position. Balthazar bowed his head, unconcerned with his injuries from the night before, and swung his staff forward. Dean easily countered the move, grunting as the bamboo snapped back from the force of the impact and moving into the next form they had practiced. Slowly, without the alphas harassing him, tripping him, or ganging up on him, Dean managed to get through the entire exercise, grinning back at Balthazar as the alpha struggled to break through his defenses.
"Steve, he got in a bit of a brawl last night and he can't see well out of his left eye. Aim for his blind spot." Benny stood just behind Dean and pointed toward his friend, Balthazar growling something uncomplimentary about traitors to the crown. Having never had any kindness from the burly alpha, Dean nonetheless felt like the man was actually trying to help him, so he ducked low and swiped at Balthazar's left leg, grinning as his opponent hit the ground with a grunt.
"Damn, Benny, don't help the boy out! It's bad enough that I can't see without you actively sabotaging me."
"You should put some ginger cream on that," Dean offered, not sure if his suggestion would be welcomed after causing the injury in question.
Balthazar tilted his head and focused his one good eye on the tall omega. "I think I have some in my medical pack. You think it will help?"
"Ginger reduces swelling. If you make a cold compress with some snow from the mountain we ran up yesterday, that would help, too."
"Well, most of us ran up it," Anna teased as she joined the small group. "You kinda died out there at the end. Not used to running long distances?"
Dean shook his head. "I guess I neglected that facet of my training when I was younger. I've never liked running that much."
"Well, Cassie's gonna make us do it again, so you might want to get better at it. I can show you some stretches and warmups that will make it easier."
"That would be great, thanks," Dean replied. Castiel called breakfast a moment later, and the other alphas bolted, eager for a meal before the long day of training ahead of them, leaving Dean alone in the staff practice area. "I don't understand," he whispered.
"You kicked their asses last night," Claire piped up, appearing out of nowhere to help him gather up the abandoned staves. "Alphas respect a good ass kicking, and they see you as one of them now. I can't believe your dad never taught you that."
"I don't have any alpha siblings," Dean replied, shrugging. "I was just so angry at everything, and they were spoiling for a fight . . ."
"Sure, ever since that rice incident. I didn't see it, but I've been hearing about it for weeks. Alphas hold grudges, and they have been waiting for a chance to fight that out with you. You won, so they'll accept you now. Welcome to the army."
Dean snorted as he walked with Claire to the food tent. "It can't be that easy. I mean, yeah, they were cheering this morning, but they'll go back to harassing me or avoiding me pretty soon."
Claire grinned and shook her head as they reached the food line, alphas and betas alike moving out of their way and directing them toward the front of the line. Bart, who was manning the food tent on account of his wrapped ribs and sprained wrist, pushed a bowl of rice toward Dean, a few slices of fish on top with wilted but still edible vegetables on the side. "Go on, you'll need your strength for training today."
Dean glanced over his shoulder at the soldiers waiting patiently for him to take his breakfast, even Ishim, with bandages covering bites and bloody claw marks from the fight, smiling warmly at him. "Uh, thanks. Are you . . . I hope you aren't in too much pain."
Bart snorted, clutching at his side as the movement aggravated his ribs. "I am, but I'll heal. I'd like you to show me that move, the rib cracker one, that you used, and that throw. I don't remember using that in training, or seeing you use it."
"Or that thing where you used Ishim as a springboard to jump Inias and Isaac," Anna added. "Cas frequently talks about using your opponent's strength against them, but I don't think I really understood it before last night."
"Today we are working on marksmanship," Castiel interjected, walking up to the food table and accepting a bowl from Bart. "Tomorrow is martial arts again, and Steve is welcome to show off any tricks he learned while kicking your asses last night."
A rumble of laughter followed the words, the soldiers moving forward to grab their breakfast as Dean followed Claire off to the side of the training area to eat. Charlie joined them, taking a seat on a log as she tore into her meal, nodding as Balth and Benny joined them. Dean watched them warily for a moment, but they didn't do anything other than eat so he dug into his meal, too.
The marksmanship classes went a lot better than they had the week before. Dean wasn't sure why or how, but everyone's aim had improved, and most of them could hit an apple in the air by the end of the day. He was dead tired, though, having missed sleeping the night before, so he completely crashed when he reached his tent that night, barely noticing when Kevin pulled his blanket up and tucked him in.
Somewhat fresher the next day, Dean was pleased to find that the other soldiers' acceptance was going to be a permanent thing, as Claire had promised. He sparred against a dozen of his fellow recruits, only getting thrown into a tree once and winning more matches than expected. Finally, after a hellish week of living at the bottom of the totem pole, Dean remembered that he wasn't actually terrible at fighting, and some of the things he had learned from his father came back to him. John hadn't minded teaching his omega son how to fight, reasoning that everyone should be able to protect themselves to some extent, but Dean had picked up more than he thought. He could sense when someone was watching him, certainly an omega trait, and he was becoming adept at anticipating his opponent's moves. He took time to teach Claire some of what he could do, and the young alpha improved with each suggestion.
Day two post-pole they returned to the fishing exercise, which most people still couldn't manage to do well, but Castiel complimented their form and the attempt, which is more than they got the first time. They practiced slamming their heads into things that afternoon, and Balthazar was learning that his skull was very, very thick. He was slowly developing the focus that would be required to target his energy at a piece of wood in order to snap it, and the other recruits were determined to learn it, as well. The entire day they improved, infuriatingly slow at some things, but terrifyingly fast at others. Two days into the third week, Dean found himself sitting next to Castiel at supper, completely worn out from training but somehow energized by the memory of his wins. Benny had even congratulated him, patting the young omega on the shoulder after being laid out flat on the ground by his bo staff.
Castiel looked up as Dean joined him, not having much room on the crowded benches and hoping that his captain wouldn't mind. Claire was nowhere to be seen, choosing to sit with her aunt and uncle near the food tent that evening, and the captain had looked somewhat lonely. "Uh, I hope you don't mind, sir."
"Everyone has to eat," was the prince's reply, and that seemed to be acquiescence so Dean settled down. He tore into his lightly sauced noodles with gusto, wishing for more varied meals but understanding that this was just the way of things in the army. He was kinda glad that Sam was back home, eating healthier meals and sleeping in a comfortable bed. How would the kid have survived in the army, Dean wondered.
"You did good today," Castiel murmured around his food, not looking at Dean even though it was clear who he was talking to. "I thought you were hopeless with the staff at first."
"I, uh, kinda was," Dean admitted. "It's not really one of the weapons my dad trained me on, so it took me time to get a grasp of the forms." He poked at some unidentifiable vegetable hidden among the lo mein, biting at his lower lip nervously. "Uh, th-thank you, sir. F-for letting me stay. I don't know if I really deserved to."
"You didn't," Cas replied gruffly, his voice, as usual, deeper and rougher after a day of yelling at recruits. "I'm not entirely certain you do now, but you climbed the pole. It takes more than just brute strength to manage that, and your accomplishment spurred on the rest of the troops. You have all managed to improve somewhat in your practices, so that success of yours, though small, was enough to earn you the three weeks. You're still not very good, any of you."
Dean, well used to Castiel's critical and blunt manner, chuckled into his supper. "Well, I guess I'll just have to keep improving, won't I?"
"Why?" Castiel scoffed, finally looking up from his meal. "To impress me? I warn you, pup, I don't impress easily."
"I don't give a shit about impressing you, sir," Dean snapped back, knowing better than to offer an outright disrespect but learning how to challenge without offending from his time among so many alphas and dominant betas. "I will beat you, though."
Castiel's blue eyes brightened at that, the faintest tinge of red teasing the edges. "Will you, boy? I'd like to see that."
"So would most of the rest of the camp," Dean retorted, growing bolder the longer he spoke with the captain. When he snapped at alphas in his village, his mother or one of the other myriad adults in his life would pull him back, order him to behave, remind him that he was a gentle, sweet omega who shouldn't speak like that or show anger at any time. Here, in the army, the other soldiers welcomed his anger and pushed right the fuck back, and that was expected. This was his new normal, and Dean was loving every second of it.
Castiel chuckled, flashing his fangs in a feral way that set Dean's heart thudding in his chest. Whoa, he whispered in the privacy of his own mind, let's not get too caught up in this alpha. He can never be a potential mate, or my entire plan is ruined. He's hot, but nothing to get bothered about, okay heart? Hormones? Everyone good in there? He felt his heartrate return to normal as he raised his chin dismissively, showing Castiel that he didn't see him as a threat. "The pup has teeth," the captain teased, knowing that a small crowd was watching their verbal sparring match. "Let's see if you can beat me, Steve the alpha son of John Winchester. Let's see." He picked up his empty bowl and stalked away at that, his challenge clear to the camp. They were just recruits, and Castiel was a captain with fifteen or so years of experience in the Imperial Army; there was no way Steve was ever going to beat him in anything. They weren't averse to seeing him try, however.
Grinning, Dean returned to his limp, sad lo mein with gusto.
The next day, Dean threw himself into archery training with a new enthusiasm. He didn't miss a single arrow, and neither did anyone on his team. Benny, Balthazar, Charlie, Anna, and Claire were his constant companions now, urging him to greater feats of strength or accuracy while showing him tricks that they used to get there. He taught them, too, able to focus more easily than the others, able to move more silently, and able to outperform them in pretty much any agility exercise. If Castiel noticed that Dean's group of companions improved faster than the other soldiers, he never said, but he did grin at Metatron smugly when it became apparent that all of the recruits were beginning to pass his tests.
Dean learned how to run, realizing that his mistake before had been to assume that he couldn't do it. Anna showed him some stretches, and he even practiced at night when no one was watching, so when Castiel pointed at the pile of grain bags on bamboo poles four days into the last week, Dean was ready. He grabbed his and lined up with his fellow recruits, keeping speed with them all the way up the mountain, Castiel running somewhere near the middle of the pack. When it became clear that none of his recruits were going to fall behind, the captain pushed forward and ran at the front, watching Dean curiously as the omega matched his pace. They reached the bridge crossing between the mountains, the marker that the rest of the path would be downhill, and Dean just beamed, running ahead toward the camp and the end of this race. His fellow recruits, none of whom were nearly as slow as they had been the week before, called after him, some struggling to catch up while most recognized that the Winchester boy had something to prove and he didn't need their help with it. Castiel sped up, too, staying at the front of the pack of soldiers as he watched Dean jog ahead of him.
He could catch up, of course; he had run this course, or one like it, multiple times a year over the past decade. Still, it wasn't too bad of a view, watching that boy run away. Castiel almost fell as his thoughts zeroed in on Steve's backside, his traitorous subconscious commenting that any omega would be proud to have an ass that nice. The hell, Castiel grumbled to himself; there is no way I find one of my alpha recruits attractive. I mean, the freckles are kinda cute, and he really does have a nice ass . . . but he's an alpha. His scent is so muddy, I can't imagine anyone would find that appealing . . . and his eyes are dull. The alpha's mind helpfully supplied the memory of Steve sitting on that pole, his eyes the bright, vibrant green of Imperial Jade, and he couldn't help but feel that sense of déjà vu again. The inability to place the color distracted his inner voice for a moment, but Castiel knew that it would return, eventually. There was no way he found that boy attractive, he insisted to himself.
"Last day of recruit training!" Kevin crowed, hopping around the tent and infecting Cri-Kee with his excitement. "After today, you'll be a real soldier, and your unit can march to the front."
"How do you know?" Dean replied grumpily, wiping sleep out of his eyes as he gulped down his tea. Kevin helpfully placed the eye drop bottle in his hands, waiting until the omega had applied the stinging liquid before answering.
"I overheard Metatron talking to the captain. The recruit training program lasts three weeks, and then you can go join the army and do drills with them until your unit is needed at the front."
"Awesome," Dean replied, tying his shirt closed before slipping into his shoes and heading for the training ground. "I am so ready to leave this place."
As this was the last day of training, apparently Castiel wanted his recruits to show how well they could do in each of the training exercises. They jumped across the river on the tops of narrow poles, Charlie leading the way with a grin on her face. She had learned balance, and she had fallen off enough times to know that she could swim back to shore without an issue and try again. They lined up for archery drills, and every single recruit hit every single flying target, arrows covered in apples buried in dozens of trees on the edge of camp. Anna had become particularly adept at it, shooting apples off of her friends' heads or out of their hands while they were moving, to the point that Castiel declared that they had all passed in order to save their dwindling fruit supply. Apples pierced by arrows tasted just fine, by the way.
Before lunch, they broke blocks with their foreheads, Balthazar leading the group with a mighty yell, grinning at his brother as the once impossible task now came effortlessly to him. Metatron watched the group without speaking, but his irritation was clear in his scent, so much so that Castiel politely reminded him that they were doing canon practice after lunch, and the scribe might not want to get soot on his nice robes. Huffing, Metatron left.
Claire led the group to the river not an hour before their normal lunchtime, walking out into the water with an odd look of concentration on her face. A moment later, her friends watching in silence, she jabbed her hand into the water and pulled out a fish, her claws buried in its slippery skin to prevent escape. There was a basket on the edge of the river, which Castiel had used to hold his catch when he was trying to teach the skill, and now his daughter tossed her fish inside. "What are you lazy asses waiting for? I'm not catching lunch all by myself!"
The army surged into the river, buoyed by the success of their youngest member and determined that they could master this skill, too. Some had already come close, but today was the first time that every member of the army—even Anna who was still working on her fear of water and Dean who was, by no means, the best grab-fisher—adding their catches to the basket. Some of the recruits had carried the first basket back to camp, and then the four that followed it, Bart lighting a string of fires and resting the fish on grates above them, running from one cluster to the other to turn them before they blackened too far. The army had fish for lunch, a lot of fish and not all of them the tastiest types, but they didn't care because Castiel was smiling. Well, his lips tilted up slightly at the edges, but it was the most happiness they had seen from the captain in three weeks, and his scent carried definite proud undertones, so they were content.
After lunch, they jumped into cannon practice, every single recruit destroying a target dummy, even Dean, whose aim had improved considerably without sabotage from Balthazar or one of his other teammates. When it was time to don their armor and run through flaming arrows, Benny proved to be the best of the lot, having learned how to anticipate where they would fly and avoid even the hint of being burned. Castiel actually clapped him on the back at that, proud that the alpha could overcome his embarrassing performance from the first attempt at this task.
They moved to martial arts practice after that, random pairs forming up around abandoned piles of armor as each soldier tried to deck their opponent. Dean took Benny down, moving on to Ishim and Inias before finding himself facing off against Castiel himself. Kevin and Cri-Kee, watching from the tree on the edge of the sparring field as usual, cheered him on as the omega faced down the strongest alpha there, dodging blows with an agility that his fellow recruits envied, not landing many punches but keeping his opponent on his toes long enough for Dean to find an opening. When he found one, a minor overextension when Castiel kicked, the omega went for the kill, lading three quick jabs and one roundhouse kick to the jaw that knocked the blue-eyed alpha to the ground.
Castiel rubbed his jaw and stared up at his opponent for a long, silent moment as the gathered recruits formed a loose circle around the pair. "Lucky hit."
"Prove it, old man," Dean taunted, his entire body vibrating with energy. He wanted to run, he wanted to fight, he wanted to fuck. He wasn't sure what was going on, exactly, but knocking his captain down, his captain with gorgeous eyes and a voice that could send any omega to their knees, had enervated him and his omega was howling with need. Dean could give it nothing but another fight, though he had learned since his presentation that often a fight was all he needed to gain control of himself.
The gathered soldiers began to yip and growl, calling a challenge to their captain that Castiel could not ignore. He pushed himself to his feet, holding out his hand as Claire brought him a heavy sword, Anna carrying Dean's to him. Neither one of them wore armor, but they both accepted the risk as they raised their blades to the sky and bowed, moving into defensive stances as they began to circle.
Dean was somewhat taller that Castiel, but the alpha was broader, with more strength through his shoulders and thighs from a lifetime of being allowed to be an alpha. Dean, with his omega constraints, was lean and lithe, but he certainly didn't have any strength to bring to bear against the other man. Still, it was a very fair fight, as Dean dodged the thrust of Castiel's sword and parried a few careful, probing attacks. This was the one event that the young recruit might excel at, as John had been teaching Sam sword drills for years and Dean would watch and do them, in secret, over and over again until he had them perfect. John didn't know that his omega son had carried this same sword to their garden and danced through the lessons that Sam ignored, hoping against hope that one day he would be allowed to fight like an alpha. Well, here was his chance.
When Dean finally did attack, Castiel predictably blocked his first thrust, backing up in shock as his opponent used the momentum to move closer instead of pushing back against the other sword as alphas were wont to do. Dean didn't attack with strength, he used cunning, and he did know how to turn his opponent's greater strength into a weakness. As they clashed across the yard, the crowd of recruits shuffling out of the way but otherwise silent, it became clear that the threat Dean had made at supper a few days ago had not been idle.
Castiel was still shocked when Dean slipped under his defenses and shifted his grip on the pommel of his sword, slamming the heavy metal into the side of the alpha's wrist. Cursing, Castiel felt his temporarily nerveless fingers drop his sword, and he knew the contest was over. He glared, eyes red, at Dean down the length of the boy's sword as dark green eyes flashed at him. "Yield," Dean whispered, smirking.
It took Castiel a long, quiet moment to accept his defeat, bowing his head fractionally as Dean pulled his sword away. Leaning down to collect his dropped weapon, the captain let his eyes, now back to their normal calm blue, meet Dean's turbulent green. "Not bad," he praised, turning to walk back to the main training field in front of the tents. "Staff practice before supper."
The other recruits filtered over to Dean in small clusters, patting him on the back or offering him a quick hug before dashing off to the main training field, collecting their armor as they went. Dean, his heart lighter than it had been in weeks, gathered his armor and began walking back to his tent, knowing that he had enough time to put it away before meeting the others on the field. Kevin and Cri-Kee jumped onto his shoulder as he walked past the tree, hiding in the back of his shirt in case he passed any other soldiers. "He said 'not bad'," Dean murmured. "That's the most praise I've ever gotten from him."
Kevin sniffed the air and shook his head, tiny claws digging into his charge's neck. "Don't be getting too excited, Dean. Anyone smells how much you liked that, your days as an alpha are over." Suitable chastised, Dean nodded, making sure to rub on more scent blocking lotion before heading out to the field. Still, something warm and glowing wriggled inside his chest, huddling against his heart when he remembered the captain's words.
Staff practice was a breeze after what he'd just been through, and the entire unit managed every single form perfectly, yelling "hya!" in unison, thrusting their staves in unison, even jumping and landing in unison. Castiel had never been prouder, and Dean knew, deep down, that he had been responsible for a good portion of that. A week ago, the captain had been ready to throw him out of the army, and now he was one of the best students, even beating Castiel in a couple of exercises. Dean had never been happier.
Dean sighed in anticipation as he shed his training clothes, this set at least somewhat clean. He had spent the morning washing pretty much everything else he owned, all of it hanging on a line near his tent to dry in the afternoon sun. He had spent the afternoon relaxing, reading strategy scrolls near the training field with his new friends, finally leaving them and heading for a much-needed bath in the calm lake.
Crystal Lake was named for the mountains reflected in its brilliant blue surface, the water chilled from glacial runoff but generally pleasant until winter hit. Dean hung his clothes on a nearby tree, along with a long towel and his basket of cleaning supplies. He ducked into the water quickly, getting himself just wet enough that his soap would lather, quickly using a rough cloth to scrub away three weeks of grime and carefully cleaning his many small wounds. He wet his hair and used some of his lather to clean the dirt and oil away, rinsing quickly before tucking everything back in his basket. Now that he was clean, the omega slipped into the water for a relaxing soak, something that he had not known he would miss so much after leaving home.
Kevin, who had been guarding his charge while he quickly cleaned himself, heard the splash as Dean entered the water, clearly not ready to leave anytime soon. "Hey, oh, ah, no, this is not a good idea! What if somebody sees you?"
Dean rolled his eyes and ducked further under the water, glad for the dusk that hid him from any prying eyes. Kevin wasn't wrong, there was a danger to being naked near dozens of alphas and betas, but the omega wasn't worried. His fellow soldiers didn't seem to be fond of bathing. "Just because I look like an alpha doesn't mean I have to smell like one."
Kevin, who had covered his eyes with his long ears in an effort to offer his charge some privacy (and really, had he never seen an omega dick before?), snorted. "So a couple of guys don't rinse out their socks; picky, picky, picky. Well myself I kinda like that corn ship smell."
Dean found a rock not too far from shore, climbing up on it and jumping into the water with a vigorous "ahhhhhhhhhhhh!", splashing Kevin where he stood on shore. Cri-Kee barely missed being drowned, chirping something that was probably very unkind.
"Okay, all right, that's enough," Kevin growled, shaking himself to get rid of most of the water before drying himself with the corner of Dean's hanging towel. "Now, c'mon, get out before you get all pruny and stuff."
Dean, completely unconcerned as he floated serenely on his back not far from shore, turned his head slightly so he could see the little red dragon fuming at him from the lakeshore. "Kevin, if you're so worried, go stand watch."
Kevin threw his head and turned away, mimicking Dean's voice as he walked toward the edge of the reeds. "Yeah, yeah, 'stand watch, Kevin, while I blow our secret with my stupid omega habits'. Hmph, hygiene."
Cri-Kee chirped frantically and grabbed at Kevin's hanging whisker, his warning too late as a pack of screaming soldiers rushed past them, shedding clothes as they went. Benny tossed his pants in the direction of the reeds, the edge of it landing on Kevin and forcing the dragon to the ground. He gasped as he freed himself from the heavy fabric, grabbing Cri-Kee as he headed back to the lake, frantic. "Ah, we're doomed! There's a couple of things I know they're bound to notice!"
Benny, Balthazar, and Anna jumped straight into the cool water, completely unconcerned with their nudity, Charlie pausing a moment to test the temperature with her toe before leaping into the lake. She surfaced and pushed her long red hair out of her face, eyes brightening as she spotted Dean hiding behind a cluster of lily pads further out into the lake.
Benny spotted Dean at about the same time, treading water near the big rock outcropping as he wondered why the younger alpha was hiding. "Hey, Steve," he greeted, keeping his voice and scent (what could be smelled over the water, anyway), welcoming.
Dean cleared his throat and smoothed his hands over the lily pad that was currently shielding him from the other soldiers. Male omegas generally looked just like male alphas, except they tended to be leaner as they didn't put on muscle the same way, and they rarely had any body hair. The alphas of the Imperial family didn't, either, though Benny had enough to make up for the lack in his friends. Dean wasn't necessarily concerned that his upper body would give him away, or even his slightly narrower waist and hips that could one day bear children, but his dick would be a dead giveaway. Alphas and betas were larger, much larger, than omegas in most cases, though Dean was reasonably certain that he was pretty well endowed for his subgender. He'd seen both of his brothers naked, and he certainly wouldn't be losing any size competitions. Alphas had that darker, elastic skin at the base of their dick that would expand into a knot, but Dean didn't and it would be clear really quickly that he was lying about his subgender. Not to mention, he had much smaller, technically useless testicles and his scent would be much easier to detect once he was out of the water as he had already washed away all of his scent-blocking lotion.
Determined to avoid detection, Dean cleared his throat and carefully dropped his voice to the lower register he had been using since he arrived at the camp. "Oh hi guys, I didn't know you were here." The other four soldiers exchanged a glance that translate to, roughly, "this boy is some kinda crazy," but they waited for him to continue. "I was just washing, so now I'm clean and I'm gonna go. Bye, bye." He spat the words out as quickly as he could, inching toward shore on his tiptoes until he could reach shallower water. He wasn't sure how he was going to get away without being seen, but the reeds were pretty thick and he could probably avoid any uncomfortable or potentially dangerous situations.
Balthazar, who had managed to slip behind Dean, held out his hand, forestalling any further retreat. Swallowing hard, the omega paused, standing still in the chest-deep water as he tried to plan his escape. "Come back here. I know we were jerks to you before, so let's start over." Balthazar held out his unnaturally long right arm and smiled his face generally welcoming. "Hi, I'm Balthazar."
Dean, his left arm held protectively across his chest in some instinctive attempt to protect himself from his fellow soldiers, shook Balthazar's hand. "Heh, heh." He slowly backed away from the lean alpha, almost bumping into Charlie who had wandered into the lily pad cluster and now was wearing one of them on her head. Weird. "And I'm Charlie."
"Hello, Charlie."
"Anna," the other redhead offered casually from where she floated near shore.
"Anna, nice to meet you," Dean offered politely.
Benny, who had climbed to the top of the outcropping of rock just offshore, crossed his arms over his hairy chest and grunting proudly from his new position, catching his fellow recruits' attention. Dean felt the faintest blush warm his cheeks and he looked down, ordering his body not to react to the sight of a reasonably attractive, big male alpha with a not unimpressive . . . he mentally slapped himself at the thought, knowing that alphas and dominant betas frequently bathed together and they certainly never reacted to the sight of their fellows naked. Omegas were kept apart, protected from the raunchy activities of the more aggressive subgenders, and Dean was struggling to keep himself under control. He wasn't even sure if he was actually attracted to Benny, but his omega had become somewhat confused after three weeks of muted scents and being suppressed to allow for Dean's more aggressive side to come forward.
"And I am Benny, King of the Rock. And there's nothing you omegas can do about it."
Balthazar took a fighting stance, hands held forward in one of the many attack forms they had learned over the past few weeks. "Oh yeah?" He nudged Dean in the side, almost pushing him off balance, and the omega looked up at the alpha with wide greenish eyes. "Well I think Steve and I could take you."
Dean shook his head and backed away slowly. "I really don't want to take him anywhere."
Balthazar turned to face his new friend uncertainly, slowly lowering his hands. "Steve, we have to fight!"
"No, we don't," Dean replied, his voice wavering uncertainly. "We could just close our eyes and swim around."
Balthazar grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him forward, frowning at the boy's intransigence. "C'mon, don't be such an ome—ouch! Something bit me."
Kevin popped out of the water between Dean and Balthazar, spitting and shaking his head. "What a nasty flavor."
Balthazar, who had faced flaming arrows without an ounce of fear, screamed and jumped back. "Snake!"
Charlie took up the cry as she, Anna, and Balthazar climbed onto the rock beside Benny, eyes scanning the water for a glimpse of the creature that had taken a nibble of Balthazar's rear end. Dean, grateful for the distraction, swam to the reeds and stumbled onto shore, grabbing the towel he had left hanging by his clothes and wrapping himself up. He grabbed his clothes and bathing supplies before heading away from the water, searching for a small copse of trees out of the eyesight of the lake where he could dress in peace. Kevin, shaking the water off his scales, followed, Cri-Kee hopping along beside the dragon.
Balthazar, his arms crossed over his knees, glared into the still water below them. "Some King of the Rock," he growled, squealing when Benny shoved him into the water.
Dean, who had dried as quickly as possible, slipped into his pants and shirt, drying his hair and sighing in relief. "Boy, that was close."
"No, that was vile!" Kevin had grabbed a handful of cattails from the edge of the water and was running them over his tongue, desperate to clear the flavor of dirty alpha from his mouth. That lean blonde might smell like rosemary and mint, but he tasted like grave dirt and blood. "You how me big!"
Dean nodded as he packed his supplies away and turned back toward camp. "I never want to see a naked alpha again." He jumped back as dozens of alphas and betas thundered past them, their clothes flying in every direction as they jumped into the water and the promise of a peaceful bath after three long, harrowing weeks of training. Alphas and betas didn't seem to be as meticulous as omegas when it came to storing their clothes, he mused.
Kevin tossed his cattail toward the lake, glaring at his charge. "Hey, don't look at me. I ain't biting no more butts."
