Chapter 7: You Shook Me All Night Long

Dean was uncharacteristically quiet as he and Cas got ready for bed, staring at the ground and refusing to make eye contact with the alpha, trying his best not to make any noise at all. Cas was used to him not speaking for hours at a time, but this was something new and strange. "Dean, is everything alright?" The omega nodded and crawled into bed, curling into a ball with his face buried in the pillows. Cas briefly considered calling Gabe into the room to see what was wrong with the green-eyed omega, but he was sure that the boy would be better in the morning.

Unfortunately, whatever was bothering Dean was not something that could be banished by a few good hours of sleep. Sometime after midnight, when the entire hotel had finally gone to bed and the only people still awake were the four guards watching Cas's suite, Dean awoke with a start and a strangled cry, leaping out of bed and jerking the alpha into consciousness. The omega dove into the corner of the room, burying himself in the heavy curtains and whining in that high-pitched, broken tone that indicated extreme distress.

"Dean?!" The omega didn't answer, his whining getting worse as Cas's scent gained bitter tones of distress to match Dean's. As soon as he realized that his presence was upsetting his charge, Cas backed away to the door, opening it a crack and leaning into the main room. "Gabe!"

"Ugh, what now?" Gabriel emerged from his room, dressed in his traditional sleeping attire of a pair of bright purple shorts, Alfie in his designer silks just behind him. They slipped past Cas and caught Dean's bitter scent fouling the air, Gabe glancing down at his brother and sighing. "Go sleep in our room tonight, Cas. You can't be in here right now."

"What? But Dean's upset—"

"And you can't help him," Alfie replied softly. "This is an omega thing, okay?"

Reluctantly, constantly looking back at the dark lump hidden under the curtains in the corner, Cas slunk out of the room, closing the door behind him and heading for Gabe's room. He wasn't happy about it, but he would do whatever was best for Dean and he knew that his brothers cared about the boy.

Gabe walked over to the window and sat down a couple of feet from Dean, glancing at the curtains he had wrapped himself in. Alfie grabbed a blanket from the bed and sat beside his brother, draping the warm material over both of their shoulders. They sat there for fifteen or so minutes, both of them purring softly and letting calm, peaceful scents fill the air. Both of them had worked with abused omegas before, and they recognized Dean's symptoms even if they couldn't yet identify the cause.

Finally, after almost half an hour of bathing in the Novak omegas' calm scent, Dean's whining subsided and he shifted slightly behind his concealing curtains. Taking that as an indicator that the young omega was ready to listen, Gabe yawned and stretched widely, exaggerating the motion to make sure it could be seen through the curtains. "Man, Alfie, I'm so stressed out after today. I was hoping for a good lay to calm me down, but Benny scuttled that plan."

"You know, I learned this exercise that helps calm me down," Alfie replied, already knowing what his brother was planning.

"Oh yeah? Can you show me?" Gabe ignored the face peeking around the edge of the curtain as he dropped his blanket, scooting away from the window so he had some space.

"Yeah. I just kneel like this and flatten myself against my legs, kinda like this." Alfie bent over in what could best be described as an exaggerated bowing position, stretching his arms in front of him as he rested his forehead on the floor. "It stretches out my back, lets my organs move around, and releases endorphins. It feels great, actually."

"Hmm, looks complicated. Let me give it a try." Gabe moved to sit with his legs folded under his butt, leaning down to press his forehead against the floor as he stretched out his arms and wiggled his fingers. "Damn, this is one of those hippie yoga things you do, isn't it?" He could see Dean peeking around the curtains out of the corner of his eye, but he knew that it was too soon to acknowledge him.

"Yoga is good for the body and mind," Alfie replied easily, clearly an argument that he and Gabe had been through before. "I can't help you with your overactive sex drive or your unhealthy addition to sweets, but I can at least give your body some relief from the pressures your mind is putting on it."

Still pressed up against the wall, Dean moved to fold his legs under his body, leaning forward and placing his head on the floor. He didn't have quite as much room to stretch out his arms as the other omegas did, so he bent his elbows slightly and stretched as far as he could. As soon as the last bitter notes of anxiety faded from his apple pie scent, Gabe turned his head slightly to make eye contact with the boy. "You know, Dean, you sounded pretty stressed out earlier. Is this helping you as much as it helped me?"

Dean nodded, a jerky motion with his face pressed to the floor, but his eyes were clear as he met Gabe's gaze. "I think so," he whispered.

"You can't have been upset for the same reason as Gabe here," Alfie commented casually, moving into another one of his yoga poses, one with his ass in the air and all four limbs straight, holding his body above the floor. Groaning in resignation, Gabe moved to copy him, watching as Dean followed suit. "I mean, if you want sex, Cassie is probably willing and I know you're attracted to him."

Dean blushed and shook his head, struggling to hold the new pose as blood rushed to his face. "Not that. It was . . . something else."

"Oh yeah? You must have dreamed about something big, I'll bet, to scare you awake like that." Alfie dropped his butt to the floor and raised his head toward the ceiling, legs stretched out behind him, doing one of those dog poses if Gabe remembered correctly. His impromptu students echoed his stance, though Dean had to bend his knees against the wall to have room.

"It was . . . yeah. My dad."

Alfie dropped his last pose and moved into a sitting position, scooting back against the big bed in the center of the room as Gabe leaned against the windows. "He didn't treat you very well after your scent started to come in, huh?"

"No," Dean admitted, rubbing his wrists absently. "Mom died . . . I watched after my baby brother." Sometimes he found it easier to talk when Cas wasn't around; he knew that he could trust the alpha, but years flinching from his master's scent was still affecting him. He tried, but even Charlie evoked that reaction. With just Gabe and Alfie in the room, Dean could manage longer sentences and didn't tire as quickly. "I failed . . . I turned into an omega. Should have been an alpha. He punished me for that. I wasn't good for anything anymore, just . . . he could sell me, pay for things for my brother. I was glad . . . leaving helped take care of him. I didn't do a good job; I should have been an alpha."

"It's not a failing to be an omega," Alfie argued. "My parents weren't disappointed when Gabe presented, or when I did. Your dad didn't have to sell you off, and he should have supported both of his sons after his mate died. Tasking you to watch a baby . . . I bet you were just a tiny pup yourself. I don't think Azazel was the only source of trauma in your life. I'm sorry your dad was so cruel to you, but why were you thinking about him today?"

"That alpha in the park," Dean whispered. "Something about him . . . I guess . . . I just . . . it reminded me of my dad."

"Your dad is dead, Dean," Gabe replied, shrugging when Dean's head shot up at that. "I'm guessing you didn't know, but Cas had us look into it after you came to live with us, mostly for legal reasons. He died years ago, kiddo, and he can't come after you anymore. We found out today that he got into a dumb fight with some alpha bikers and lost. I know that it won't stop your nightmares, but you don't have to worry."

Something seemed to shift in the young omega, some part of his soul relaxing and releasing an old, painful wound that it had carried for the last decade. "H-he's gone?"

"Yeah."

Dean yawned and glanced up at the bed, his body finally catching onto the fact that there was nothing to worry about and he was safe. Gabe and Alfie stood, helping Dean to his feet and settling him into bed, tucking the covers around him. "Is Cas coming back?"

"Actually, I thought Alfie and I would stay with you. Cas looked pretty beat when I sent him to the other room, and I'm sure he's already out cold. Do you mind?"

Dean shook his head and scooted into the middle of the bed, waiting for the two omegas to join him before closing his eyes. He was asleep almost instantly, his companions following him shortly thereafter. Gabe hoped he would remember to tell Cas in the morning that Dean had finally mentioned his brother.

Alfie, who had been minorly uncomfortable all night with the big omega curled against his back, woke before dawn, slipping out of bed and stretching his sore muscles. He didn't mind sleeping with Gabe, and last night he knew that it was the right decision to stay with Dean, but the young omega yearned for a bedmate of his own that he wasn't related to by blood. Gabe liked to tease him; at eighteen, he was hardly the normal omega age for courting, but Alfie knew that he was ready to start looking around for a partner of his own. Hopefully a big male alpha.

Slipping back into his normal room quietly enough not to wake his peacefully sleeping brother, Alfie stripped out of his pajamas and used the faint light bleeding in from the hallway to dress in something more appropriate: a pale blue patterned kilt, tall socks tied at the top in the traditional Scottish fashion, and tall white cowboy boots embroidered in silver and discretely set with light blue rhinestones. He dug through his shirts in the semi-darkness, finally settling on a backless blue halter top with white flowers and more rhinestones, one of his favorite embellishments. Cas had bought him that top in San Francisco at one of his favorite male omega boutiques, along with the matching lacy arm warmers with tiny clear beads decorating the top that he carefully pulled up his arms. He loved the way they enhanced his full sleeve tattoos without hiding anything. Running fingers roughly though his brown hair, Alfie tucked his key card and cell phone into the lightly tooled leather sporran hanging in front of his kilt, having chosen an ivory color for the accessory to match the pastels he preferred. Deciding that he was ready for breakfast, the omega headed out the door.

The guards that morning, Hannah and Ezekiel, looked up from their video game as Alfie entered the living room, nodding at the colorful omega as he left for breakfast. Ephraim and Tamiel, a mated pair, waited on the bench in the hallway, the female beta reading the morning paper while the alpha watched something on his phone. The guards each worked four-hour shifts, though Cas only asked them to protect the room when they were traveling and staying in hotels. At his own home, he wouldn't require anything like that from them. "Hungry, Alf?"

"Alfie, please, Tamiel, or just Samandriel." He was somewhat related to the woman, though neither of them could ever remember how, and she loved to tease him.

"I'll walk you down to breakfast, Samandriel," Ephraim offered, tucking his phone in his pocket as he stood. "Tam, I doubt anyone else will wake and want to eat before we're done, so I can bring you something back if you want." If anyone else did emerge from the boss's room, Tamiel would escort them to the first floor for a meal.

"Just some coffee, if you don't mind."

"Black like her soul," Alfie chimed in, grinning as the beta smacked him with her folded paper.

Ephraim rolled his eyes. "Coffee it is. Come on, troublemaker."

Breakfast at the hotel started at six o'clock every day of the week, which was unusual in most small towns the Novak brothers had visited. Alfie appreciated the chance to get an early start, always showing up the minute that the food was laid out. He grabbed a few mini muffins, made a couple slices of rye toast with jelly, and headed for the omelet bar, ordering his with broccoli, bell peppers, jalapeños, ham, bacon, and three kinds of cheese. When the cook handed it over, Alfie was surprised to hear a throat clear beside him, turning to meet the pale blue eyes of his companion. He was used to having the breakfast buffet to himself, not counting Ephraim who was munching on a donut and pouring himself some coffee halfway across the room.

This early-rising alpha was tall, easily over six feet, but incredibly young for his size. Alfie guessed that he was only sixteen or so with a few years of growing left to fill in that big frame, his blue spruce scent carrying an almost citrus undertone. Maybe bergamot. The alpha ordered an omelet that was exclusively filled with meat, Alfie tilting his head curiously at the teen. "I am unused to meeting other guests here at this abnormally early hour of the day."

The alpha snorted and ran a hand over his face. "I had to share a bed with my brother last night. Don't get me wrong, he's family and all, but I could really use my own space. I'm planning to ask him for my own room, or at least my own bed, for the duration of our stay. Then I can sleep in like other civilized people. I think the front desk said they would have a two-room suite open up by the end of the week, so we might be able to take that one."

Alfie nodded. "I understand your frustration. I have spent the last few days sharing a bed with one brother and a suite with the other, and I'm just about ready to sleep in a tree to get some space of my own."

"Sometimes being the baby has its problems," Alfie's new companion replied, taking his omelet and turning toward the tables, waving a hand for the omega to follow him. They took a seat near the windows, both of them grabbing some orange juice before settling into their meals. "I'm Adam, by the way. I guess it's rude not to introduce myself."

"I'm Samandriel, but I often go by Alfie," the omega replied.

"I like your shirt, and your kilt. Where I come from, hours north of here, it's generally not warm enough to wear something like that."

"I try not to let the weather dictate my state of dress, but I'm recently from Chicago myself. I'm really enjoying this weather."

"Ha, no kidding? Chicago, huh? What's a big city boy with an absolutely amazing wing tattoo doing in the middle of nowhere, Kansas?"

Alfie reached over his shoulder and touched the edge of his peregrine falcon wings at the brief mention of them. He had forgotten that his halter-top showed it off so well; he just hadn't been in the mood for heavy clothing that morning. "My brother took in a young omega, one who can't be more than four or five years older than you, and he felt that he could use some help with the boy. My older omega brother spends most of his time acting like an alpha, though he still reacts to most situations as an omega should. I think it's good for the boy to see an omega who likes to dress and be seen as one in public, so he can choose his own path going forward."

"What's the omega like?"

Alfie shrugged. "He's just tall, broad, and looks as much like an alpha as you. If you didn't catch his scent, you would probably mistake him for one."

"So you want him to see that an omega can dress in silks and bright colors and still have a solid, safe place in society? That's very noble."

Alfie smiled and poked at his breakfast. He kinda liked this alpha; he tended to prefer males that were tall enough to dwarf his 5'8" frame, though he had never thought about letting a younger man have a chance at courting him. This Adam was kinda cute, especially with those blue eyes. "I don't think of myself as noble. I care about him, and I want him to have a better life than he's lived since his presentation."

"That's still kind, even if you won't take noble."

Alfie and Adam turned to lighter topics, mostly exchanging stories about their childhoods as the youngest pups in their families, until the clamor of other guests interrupted them. Ephraim had joined them at some point, though he ate his meager breakfast in silence and read the news on his phone. He tended to always be an unobtrusive presence, perfect for a guard in a busy hotel. A loud crash caught their attention, both of them turning to see an unnaturally tall brunet alpha struggling to pick up a cup of metal forks he had knocked over, apologizing profusely to the hotel staff member who rushed to help him. The hazel-eyed alpha, though clumsy, had an air of authority about him, and his smoky sandalwood scent carried the most dominant notes of the alphas who had entered with him. There was also a hint of familiarity, and Alfie sniffed again to see if he could place the aroma.

"You probably recognize the family thread in our scents," Adam offered. "That's my older half-brother from our alpha sire's side." Multiple alpha pups who shared an alpha sire tended to be easy to identify by scent, but Alfie's overly sensitive nose could detect something else.

Adam's brother grabbed some fruit from the buffet, sighing at the limited selection as he placed a blueberry muffin on his plate. He was clearly a healthier eater than Adam, even at a hotel with the usual lineup of gluten-heavy breakfast items. He nodded at Ephraim and settled into the seat beside Adam, smiling cautiously at Alfie. "Hi, I'm Sam."

Alfie nodded, reaching out his hand to the alpha in a traditional greeting before the name sunk in. "Sam? As in, 'Leader of the Demon Hunters' Sam?"

"Uh, yeah, that's me."

"You're that alpha that Gabe's been raving about all night. You're Dean's brother."

Adam put the pieces together faster than Alfie thought he would, scent sharpening with the icy scent of shock as he leaned back from the table. "Dean is the omega. That's the family scent you recognized. You're Castiel's youngest brother."

Alfie sighed and dropped his head, hyper aware of Ephraim's sudden alertness. "Alphas don't live and die by scent like omegas do. For us, family is everything, so we are preternaturally aware of the connections between those around us. Gabe doesn't care as much, since he refuses to let his omega status dictate his life, but he would have noticed the scent that you two share with Dean if he hadn't been so distracted by the prospect of a big alpha male with a big knot for him to ride." Sam blushed at that, breaking the tension at the table with his honest response to the memory of Gabe's incessant flirting. "My nose is more sensitive, and I can tell, now that I am focused on it, that he is your brother. Does Cas know?"

Sam nodded jerkily. "Yeah, he let us see Dean, and I knew right away. He looks a bit like the pictures of Mom that I still have."

"Why didn't Cas let you speak to him? He had a . . . well, I think he misses you." Alfie pulled back from going into detail about Dean's breakdown the night before, realizing that seeing Sam, even for a moment, had been enough to remind him of his abusive father.

Sam nibbled on his muffin as he considered his response. "Cas is worried about his mental state. He didn't say, specifically, but I gather that Dean's life with Azazel was difficult."

"It was, in more ways than one."

"He seemed . . . frightened of us. Of me. Ketch and Benny shooed us off quickly after we made eye contact. After that . . . I think Cas is right. Dean isn't ready to meet me right now."

Alfie nodded in agreement. "He isn't, Sam, I'm sorry. He will be; we'll make sure of that, and I think that he could see you casually, from time to time, at a distance until then. I think he could become accustomed to your face, to your scent, to your existence, and that will make it easier when he is finally ready to know your name."

Sam's silence was Alfie's answer; he did not have a better plan. Ephraim cleared his throat as the silence lengthened, placing his empty coffee cup on the table. "If you were escorted away by Ketch, he certainly recommended a hotel for you." The implied and not this one hung in the air.

"He did, yes, but they didn't have enough rooms open for all of my people. There's some sort of convention starting next week and they're booked up. I didn't know how long we would stay, so I asked Gadreel to find a hotel that didn't have those kind of obligations. He recommended this one, so here we are. We didn't know you were here, I swear."

Ephraim nodded and moved to stand, knowing that Alfie was done eating and that it was nearly time for the rest of the gang to start shuffling downstairs. "I would recommend that you not let Gabriel know that you are here. He'd tear down the doors with his teeth to get to an alpha he fancies. I know him."

Sam shook his head. "I'm not going to hunt him down. I'm not interested in starting a fight with another head alpha over an omega. I think Castiel should be told, however."

"I will take care of it. Good day, Sam Winchester." Ephraim touched Alfie's arm and nudged the omega toward the elevators, having a vested interest in getting the youngest Novak back to his brothers, even without Tamiel's coffee. Alfie glanced over his shoulder as they reached the doorway, his eyes meeting Adam's as the alpha raised his hands and made a pantomime of wings, smiling sweetly at the departing omega. Alfie was very much looking forward to seeing the youngest Winchester brother again as soon as possible.

"They're here? In this hotel? Ugh, like I needed another complication in my life." Castiel ran his hand across his face and leaned back against the headboard of his bed, one that had been oddly cold and lonely without his young omega charge. He hadn't even had a chance to speak with Gabriel to see how Dean was doing before Ephraim barged into his borrowed room.

"Hannah is going to speak with Sam when she goes down for breakfast and try to arrange a schedule. He already wakes before dawn like Samandriel, so it shouldn't be too much trouble for them to be cleared out before Gabe and Dean would wander down for a meal. She'll be our liaison with them, in conjunction with Rachel who has had a good rapport with Gadreel. We will know their schedule and they will know ours, to prevent a chance meeting between your brother and the object of his lust."

Cas snorted. "If Gabe catches a whiff of his scent, four guards at the door will hardly be enough to keep him contained." He glanced at the overly bright alarm clock on the bedside table. "You managed a lot before eight in the morning."

"It's my job, sir."

"You do it well, my friend. I'm going to get Gabe and Dean out of bed, so check and see if the buffet is free." Ephraim nodded and left, an excited omega bounding into the room before the door had time to close. Dean, his jade eyes clear of whatever pain had terrified him the night before, jumped into Cas's bed, hugging the alpha around the covers and purring in his broken, stuttering way. Eventually he would fully regain the ability to express his contentment in that uniquely omega way, but for now he sounded a bit like a struggling engine.

"Good morning, Dean," Cas greeted, wrapping one arm around the boy. "Are you feeling better this morning? You scared me last night, maybe as much as you scared yourself."

"Alfie and Gabe helped. Missed you."

"I missed you, too," Cas whispered. He ran his hand down Dean's back, hoping that the action could convey how much he cared for the omega. Sam's arrival had created an uncertain future; Cas had planned to get Dean on his feet, give him the ability to be independent, but he hadn't planned to give him back to his birth family. When he had the choice, when he was healed enough to make it, would Dean choose Sam over Cas? The alpha found that he wasn't ready to contemplate that future. "Are you ready for breakfast? I just sent Ephraim to gather everyone so we can go downstairs to eat."

"I am. Gabe is asleep still."

Cas snorted. "Of course he is. Let's go wake him, shall we?" Cas pushed his blankets to the side and slid out of bed, freezing at the omega's gasp and soft, needy growl. He had forgotten that he had returned to his normal sleeping attire of birthday suit without Dean by his side the night before, so he was still naked now, with the omega staring at his crotch. He was a healthy, virile alpha male, so the attention and the growing thread of arousal in Dean's sweet scent caused an inevitable excitement, his knot starting to darken as his dick swelled.

Not willing to let his instincts overwhelm his good sense, Cas reached out and cupped Dean's chin in his hand, forcing the omega to meet his eyes. Omega gold sparkled back at him, but the longer he held the alpha's gaze, the more green shone through. As soon as Dean had himself under control and Cas's alpha realized that nothing of a sexual nature was likely to happen, the raven-haired man smiled gently. "I forgot, Dean, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think that I was pressuring you in any way."

"Want it."

"I know you do. And if you still want it after you're healed, I won't deny you. But, for now, I think it's best we both remain celibate."

Dean swallowed and nodded, standing from the bed and waiting patiently while Cas slipped into his pajama pants. They left the room together, headed for the other bedroom and a lazy, sleeping blond omega. Cas rested a hand on Dean's lower back as he pushed the door open, steering the boy toward the bed as he jerked the covers off of his brother's prone form.

Gabe groaned and turned his head, waving angrily at his brother. "Cassie, what the hell? Give a man a few minutes of rest."

"It's after eight, Gabriel. Time for breakfast."

The omega considered that for a long moment before pushing himself up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Yeah, alright. Alfie's already eaten, I suppose."

"Of course he has."

"Fine. Let me go to my room and get dressed." He pointed at Cas's sleep pants and Dean's pajamas, grumbling somewhat under his breath. "You two need to do the same. Dean-o here had a rough night of it, could use a quick shower to perk him up."

Dean grinned at that; he had been feeling a bit stretched out and a shower was probably exactly what he needed. Without another word, he dashed for the bathroom, completely forgetting to grab a change of clothes on the way. Cas watched him go and sighed, shaking his head as he walked over to his dresser. "Do remember that the boy is spontaneous, would you? He can't remember to wait and think before forging ahead, so he needs us to remind him to pause."

"And breathe," Gabe added, straightening the blankets before heading to his room. "I'll be done in ten and we'll head down together."

When Dean finished his quick shower and everyone was dressed, Ephraim and Tamiel led the three of them down to breakfast. Castiel noted that Sam and his gang were gone from the room, and any hint of their scents were covered by the smell of food and coffee. He caught Ephraim's eye and nodded, approving of the alpha's plan to keep the Demon Hunters out of his brother's eyesight. Content that there wouldn't be any issues that day, the biker settled into breakfast.

Morning dawned slowly in the opulent townhome halfway across town, heavy curtains blocking most of it from reaching the king-sized bed and the two men twisted in the red satin sheets on top of it. The blanket itself had been thrown off at some point, leaving them covered only in a thin sheet, but the lean alpha produced enough body heat to keep both of them comfortable. The omega, who had not had a bedmate in years and certainly never at his own home, ran his fingers through Balthazar's blond hair in a slow, soothing motion, knowing that he had let the man move too fast but not finding it in himself to care. "What have you done to me?"

"Nothing you didn't like," Balthazar mumbled back, nuzzling against Crowley's chest. "But if you want an eighth round, you'll have to give me a little time. I think you wore my knot out."

Crowley chuckled and stretched under the blanket, wincing as his own abused ass screamed a protest. "Same, love. I haven't fucked like that since my last heat . . . maybe not even then. If you're still around this fall when it comes again, I wouldn't mind your assistance."

Balthazar raised his head, blue eyes bright in the morning sunlight. "I intend to be around, for your heat and anything else you'll allow me. You intrigue me, Crowley, and I want to earn the opportunity to unravel all of your mysteries."

"I must say, my athletic young paramour, that I have never known anyone I was willing to let have such a chance. I've always hated the idea of alphas . . . my sire was one and he abandoned my mother just days after I presented. He didn't want . . . 'some sissy omega son' as he put it. I resolved to prove myself strong, independent, and a better man than he could ever be. He died some years ago, a raging alcoholic, and I won agent of the year three years straight. I have done what I wanted, I was one of the first independently wealthy omegas in Kansas, and I earned a right to live without an alpha before the laws technically allowed it. I have used my name and position to fight for omega rights, and I have largely been successful locally, but I have never truly been happy."

"Have you dated much, Crowley, or have you sacrificed the desires of your heart to tend to the needs of abused boys like Dean?"

"The latter, I am afraid," Crowley admitted, running his fingers down Balthazar's back, tracing the sunlight as it played against the rainbow wings tattooed there. "I've had a few trysts, but I have kept my heart out of my affairs. Until now."

The biker smiled and spread his hand against Crowley's chest, feeling the strength hidden there and the heart beating steadily beneath his palm. "Why do you like me? I'm rough, I've been in thousands of fights, I've killed those who threatened me and my family, and I rarely get along with anyone other than Cas. Even Gabe rubs me wrong most of the time, and I've grown up with them. What can you see in me?"

"You have a charm about you, Balthazar. Your men follow you without question, and Castiel trusts you implicitly. You have shown that you have a gentleness in your soul through your caring about that broken young omega your cousin saved from his hell of a life. You speak about your sister and her coming pup with sarcastic disdain, but I can tell that you will love the mite no matter its gender or designation. You aren't my father, you aren't what I feared all alpha males must be, and you are one hell of a good fuck."

Balthazar chuckled at that, his soft dick attempting without luck to perk up at the insinuation in the words and his partner's chamomile and lemon scent. "God, Crowley, I do so wish I could answer your challenge right now. I grew up not knowing many omegas; there are none in my family and I rarely saw my cousin Cas until we were teens. My dad rode with the gang, said that is what alphas do, and that we have to find a good omega to endure the roads with us, to make the nights bearable. My mother was a beta, and she hated that he saw omegas that way, so I hated it, too. Anna won't talk about him, but he died in an accident just a month before Cas took over the gang. I joined up with him; we barely knew each other at the time but I thought it was what an alpha should do. I had some knowledge at the time of ancient weapons and artifacts, and we started up a small antiquities firm in Chicago. That was where I met Gabe."

Crowley smiled at the thought of the blonde Novak putting his taller cousin in his place. "That must have been something."

"He was nothing like the omegas my dad described. Our mothers are siblings, and it was clear why my dad's archaic views always distressed her. Gabe was strong, vibrant, and very much as independent as any alpha I had known. He spoke and dressed like an alpha, never allowing anyone to make an issue about his designation. It would be years before I spent any time with their youngest brother, my youngest cousin, Samandriel, and he was the exact opposite. He is colorful, a brilliant flower who wants everyone to know he's an omega, and he doesn't care what they think about him. Since then, I've wanted to find an omega partner who was somehow a mix of both of them. Don't be upset if I say that you remind me of the best of both of my cousins, with an added pleasant countenance and an ass I very much enjoy riding."

Crowley chuckled. "Yes, I well remember your fondness. When do you have to leave today? I doubt we have time to recover enough for another round."

"I have to attend Cas at noon, at the pizza place that Dean liked so much. He's thinking about arranging another casual meeting with the Demon Hunters, and he won't do it without me there. I was shooting blanks by the end and my knot was barely swelling enough to catch, so I know that I can't recover in time to mount you again by then."

"Pity."

"But . . . you don't have that problem. And my ass isn't sore."

Crowley's scent sharpened instantly, his cock perking under the thin sheet restraining it. The alpha grinned and helpfully pushed the sheet down. "Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting? I've never had an alpha offer his ass to me."

Balthazar pushed himself into a sitting position and reached out to wrap gentle fingers around his partner's growing erection, more slender than his though longer than he would have expected from an omega, and lacking the elastic dark skin around the base that would swell into a knot in an aroused alpha. "I can't produce my own slick, but I bet a creative omega like you has some lube lying around."

Crowley wrapped an arm around Balthazar's waist and surged forward, growling as his eyes flashed gold and he caught the alpha in a violent kiss. "Bend over."