AN: Was I planning to write this story? Yes and no. I previously had a vehement dislike of A/B/O dynamics. With most things I hate, I try to put words on a page to see what I can make of it and I've made this monstrosity. I was hoping to have it finished in time for Cherik week, but that was not the case. I have finished most of this fic, and am still trying to figure out a posting schedule. It may be every Friday. I hope you all enjoy my humble offering to the fandom.

Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Past Mpreg

Erik stared out the window of the cottage he now resided in. It was a modest accommodation, not at all what the alpha prince was used to but needs must. It had only been a week ago that he was forced to flee Krakoa, the capital city of Genosha, following an attack by Lord Shaw. That had also been the last time he had seen his father alive.

The sounds of whistling rocks had filled the air. Flames had shot up from various parts of the besieged castle as he stumbled his way through the corridors. He felt the floor shake under his feet once more as the catapults and trebuchets from the invading forces reigned down fiery hell. The battle was lost before it ever started. Krakoa hadn't seen Shaw's forces coming until they were already at the city walls. The two armies had traded long-distance blows until somehow the soldiers were flooding the streets, killing commonfolk and guardsmen alike. It was no great surprise that Shaw's militia, a great many of whom were mercenaries, was as callous and uncaring as he was.

Erik had not wanted to leave, but he knew a losing battle when he saw one. If he stayed, he would die, his family would die, so though it infuriated him, he had to run. His men had been given instructions to surrender to stop any more bloodshed, his council had been made abreast of the situation, and his children were already waiting for him so they could leave the city. Now, he had to find his father in this mess.

Figures he would be missing at a time like this, he had thought with annoyance as another assault on the castle sent him careening into a wall. He turned a corner and nearly ran into a pair of frightened maids. They relaxed minutely when they recognized him.

"Ms. Salvadore, Ms. Pryde. You should be hiding."

"M— My Prince, the enemy they— breached, th—they breached the castle," Angel stuttered as she held up Kitty, who was shaking like a leaf.

Erik did not let on how frustrating the news was.

"Have you seen King Jakob?"

"The soldiers attacked us in the council chambers. They tried to… His Majesty saved us. They were talking about avenging Lord Sebastian's son and killing any royal they found. The king told us to run."

Erik's heart jumped into his throat. His father was an alpha and a trained fighter, just like every man and woman who sat the Genoshan throne before him, but he was not Gifted and many of the soldiers in Shaw's army were.

"How many of Shaw's soldiers did you see?"

"Six."

Erik could take on six half-asleep. He glanced back at the two girls. Angel was a beta and Kitty an omega. Both were Gifted, but Erik was aware of the beast that battle unleashed inside the hearts of men and women. Many people would be hurt tonight if they were caught unawares.

"Get yourselves to the servants' tunnels, get out of the castle and find a safe place. You must stay inside tonight. These soldiers will not be kind to anybody they find. Make sure to counsel any women or omegas you see to make themselves scarce. Perhaps the betas as well as the non-Gifted ought to stay underground too."

Angel and Kitty shared a nervous look between themselves.

"They are going to win, aren't they? After what they did to Princess Ruth, now..." Kitty asked in a small voice.

"They might win the battle, but certainly not the war," Erik promised, thunder in his voice.

That answer appeared to satisfy them.

He nodded the girls off and made his way to the council chambers. The closer he got, the more the sound of clashing swords became apparent. He started to run, ignoring the whistling rocks outside and the dust and debris falling from the ceiling. He skidded to a stop outside the room.

Two men were already slumped on the floor while his father, Non-Gifted and with an old war injury that caused him to limp, stood tall with a bloodied sword facing off against four assailants, one of whom clutched her bleeding side. The bleeding woman held a sword and so did the man beside her. Another woman had a hand consumed by fire while the person beside her was covered in spikes. The four made to rush the old king. It took barely a thought for Erik to grab hold of their armor, stopping them in their tracks.

His father looked up as he stepped into the room. Erik could make this easy, kill them in an instant and be done with it, but he was livid, affronted by the audacity of Shaw to come to his home and try to take it from him under the guise of revenge, offended that these soldiers thought they could try to kill his father under his roof and get away with it, incensed that they plotted to kill his children in retaliation against Erik for the death of a man who was a murderer. He could smell the fear seeping from the betas as he moved to stand in front of them. He glanced into each of their eyes, held up his fist and squeezed slowly. Their armors crunched as it pressed in on them, suffocating them. They gasped and begged, but he ignored it. He only relented when they stopped moving, dropping his fist and letting them fall to the ground like puppets with the strings cut.

He turned to his father, who had thus far remained silent, and found him slumping against the wall. His eyes widened as he saw blood pooling on the floor beneath him.

"What—"

His father drew back his overcoat and revealed several spikes embedded in his abdomen and chest. Erik felt more anger rise in him. He should've made their deaths much worse.

"This is the last stand for me it seems, my son."

Erik shook his head, unsure what to say.

"My actions have wrought this. You were right when you said I should not trust Sebastian. You were right about everything regarding that… mess. I did not listen. Now the future of Genosha is in your hands. You have to leave this place, leave me here, take the children and get to safety."

"I cannot leave you, Father."

"I am already dead."

Erik could not accept this. They had their differences. After his mother, Ruth and Magda, sometimes Erik thought he hated this man, but he never wanted this.

"Listen to me, Erik. I have done many things that I regret in this life. I have trusted the wrong people, and your sister… I should have done much more for her than I did. I was not the best father to either of you, but I have always known you would be the leader Genosha needs and deserves. Leave me here, let me buy you time to get out of the city. Regroup and plan. Do not let your anger override your sense. There is no place for that rage you have inside of you right now. You must be smart about this. I am counting on you, the children are counting on you, the entire country is counting on you. Return with a cooler head to retake the capital."

Erik, annoyingly enough, felt tears well up in his eyes. He stepped forward and hugged the older man.

"I love you, son. I should have told you that much more over the years. Never doubt the truth of it."

"And I, you."

Jakob squeezed him one last time before pushing him towards the door.

"Go."

Erik had taken one more look at him before turning. The alpha spirit inside of him bashed at the walls of his soul, told him he was a coward for turning his belly and submitting, that he had to fight for what was his now and not later. He had pushed that urge down. His children would be the only family he had left. They needed him to protect them. The capital city of Krakoa and the rest of the kingdom of Genosha would be looking for him in the coming weeks to save them, so he could not give in to anger.

He had resolved then to do this right. He had expected to have it done faster though. A sennight found him in this cottage in the outlying villages of the kingdom, miles from Krakoa and Lord Shaw. The distance meant safety, but it also meant a lengthier process for aggregating support, resources, and manpower. It was a sacrifice he made for his children. Were it just him, he would've returned the day after the siege and rained fire down on his traitorous lord's head. He had far more responsibility than to act out of anger and vengeance. As much as he hated to admit it, that behavior had helped put him in this unenviable position.

For safety's sake, he could not be known to the masses as Erik Lehnsherr, the crown prince and unofficial king of Genosha. Shaw had men far and wide searching for the royal family. If they found him, they would kill Anya, Wanda, and Pietro. He would not allow anyone to get their hands on his children, so Erik Lehnsherr disappeared in favor of Max Eisenhardt, a widowed blacksmith visiting the defunct inn of Logan Howlett, an old battle acquaintance.

Logan had been a little reluctant when Erik showed up at his door with ten knights and three children but allowed Erik and the kids to stay since he felt he owed Erik. Erik had been the one to help Logan escape Krakoa when the nobles at court were calling for him to be punished for lewd and indecent acts for engaging in relationships with other alphas. The law in Genosha banning the fraternization of alphas was hardly sacrosanct. It was barely remembered and barely enforced, but Logan got on many people's bad side with his disregard for propriety. Ultimately, no punishment would hurt him long term, his invulnerability saw to that, but being locked away for an indeterminate time was hardly ideal. Erik had always liked Logan's brashness and held him in fond regard, so he helped him to safety. Now Logan returned the favor.

Erik's knights found lodging in the village while he remained sequestered in this inn in the woods, only going into town to strategize since ten men and women going to visit Logan Howlett, a disgraced alpha known to be living a lifestyle that was denounced by many and seen as illegal in some places, would cause too much suspicion.

Erik appreciated the privacy that Logan's unique situation afforded him, but it also left too much time to ponder. All he could think of was his father and what became of him. Not much word reached here apart from the king's absence from public life. If he were dead, Shaw had not seen fit to announce it. He occupied Krakoa but made no moves to begin conquering any of the surrounding cities or settlements yet. Erik needed this resolved sooner rather than later. If his father was dead, he wanted to bury him at least. If he wasn't, he could well imagine the torture Shaw was putting him through.

"The moon is full," he heard a voice say, breaking him from his musings.

He turned to see Anya approaching him, her red hair reflecting the lights of the lantern.

"I thought you were in bed," he commented as the eight-year-old moved to sit on the windowsill across from him.

"I was not tired."

The blue eyes she inherited from her mother captured the moonlight in such a way that he could not help but think of Magda on a midsummer's night smiling brightly at him under a full moon, convincing him it was the perfect time for them to go hunting for frogs, or that they must go out and dance else the moon will think them rude and stop shining, or other silly things she convinced him to do when they were children and only knew love as an innocent thing, not the nuanced and passionate emotion that grew between them.

"Papa, did you hear me?"

"Hmm," Erik uttered, snapping out of his reveries.

Anya gave him a knowing look as he came back to himself.

"You were thinking of Mama, were you not?"

Erik opened his mouth to protest but she lifted a challenging eyebrow at him, the knowing glint in her eye never leaving. She was too young to have settled into a distinction, but nevertheless, he believed she would be an alpha. She was always quick to contest him or argue, but she was also shrewd and too smart for her own good. He would think her perceptiveness was down to a Gift if he didn't know better.

"I was thinking of many things, but yes, your mother was one of them."

Anya nodded to herself. She was five when Magda died. She remembered some things, but not a lot. She recalled much more about her Aunt Ruth, but she didn't like talking about her.

"Grandfather used to say that on full moons like this, the spirits of our loved ones can see us clearest. The light from the moon gives them enough light to see. Do you think that is true?"

Erik glanced at his daughter. He remembered his mother telling him such fanciful tales as a child as well. Erik had believed her as he usually did. It was a lovely fantasy to tell children, just like telling them throwing coins in a fountain or well would grant wishes or that a true bond, tantamount to a preordained soulmate, was a phenomenon that actually existed.

"I think our loved ones are always looking out for us, even on the other side."

Anya nodded sagely. She gave him a cautious look before speaking once more.

"Is Grandfather one of them now?"

Erik clenched his jaw, suppressing the jolt of anger.

"I do not know."

Anya's lips twisted unhappily. She saw more than Erik ever wanted her to see, knew too much about the conflict between their family and the Shaws.

"When do you think we will go home?"

"We are still pulling together allies, ground support. It should not be much longer."

"There is going to be a battle," she inferred.

"There must be, you understand that, right?"

Anya didn't answer him. Sometimes Erik was certain she placed blame on him for this situation just as much as he placed blame on his own father, but she had never said so. He gave her a worried look as she suddenly tensed up.

"Someone is coming."

Erik looked outside, and sure enough, there was a shrouded figure making its way through the shadows cast by the trees towards the inn.

"Go to your room now."

Anya didn't fight him, simply scurried to the room designated hers. Erik got up and made his way out to the foyer where Logan was sitting by the hearth.

"Howlett, company outside," Erik informed him curtly.

Logan looked up at him and scrunched his eyebrow before sniffing the air. He tensed and gestured Erik behind him. His claws extended, the boney appendages gleaming with a hint of blood as he approached the front door. Erik sought out every bit of metal in the room and quickly assessed what could be weaponized to neutralize this threat. The two alphas stayed on high alert until the silence was suddenly broken by a knock on the door. Logan glanced back at him. He indicated for Logan to speak.

"Who is it," he asked gruffly.

"Charles," an accented voice on the other side of the door said.

Logan got a puzzled look on his face as he moved to open the door and revealed the stranger.

It was a man, brunette, an omega if his smell was anything to go by. He was probably one of the more attractive people he'd ever seen. He was short, not unusual for omegas, with the bluest eyes and the reddest lips. The newcomer carried himself with an air of exhaustion and weariness. He had bags at his feet and was concealing something beneath his cloak and shawl.

"Chuck? Holy hell, I never thought to see you here," Logan commented, his voice betraying his surprise.

The man smiled a grin so astoundingly beautiful, it made Erik's stomach lurch. He stepped forward and pulled Logan into a side hug that made the alpha in Erik bristle. He reminded himself that Logan's preference leaned more risqué than omegas and calmed himself down.

"You have no idea the ordeal it took to get here, but I am so glad I managed, Godfather."

Erik rose an interested eyebrow at the mention of their connection.

"I have not heard from you in some time," the curt man pointed out, leaving the unspoken question hanging as the two pulled away from the hug.

"Not by my choice, I assure you," he said, leaving his answer vague.

Logan nodded before the stranger's gaze switched over to Erik. He realized he'd been standing silently the whole time, staring. This was hardly the first time Erik met an omega, but something about this man stopped him in his tracks and immediately captured his attention. There was a tugging in his belly to be closer to him. He didn't understand the feeling, but he pushed it away in favor of introducing himself.

"Charles, is it? Max Eisenhardt. I am lodging here with my children for the time being."

Charles suddenly bit his lip. Erik tried not to let his gaze be drawn to it.

"I do hope you have some more space at the inn. I know it is short notice, we have arrived out of the blue. You do not have too many patrons today, do you? Only I did not notice the stables were full. We will not even object to the heathouse if it is available."

"I closed the inn ages ago, kid— just me living here nowadays. And now the Eisenhardts. Some of the rooms are not in the best conditions, but I can find some space for you."

"And David. If you have a nursery on the premises, I would not say no, but he can stay with me if it is more convenient."

"You brought the kid?"

Charles moved aside the folds of fabric around himself to reveal a child in a harness strapped to his chest. He looked to be no older than two and was fast asleep. Logan stepped closer and inspected the boy. There was a small smile on his usually gruff face along with an air of melancholy that Erik couldn't guess at the origin of.

"Good looking kid. He looks like Brian," Logan commented.

The man smiled proudly. Erik wondered who this Brian was, whether he was Charles' mate, but he dismissed the thought. He would've smelt that. In fact, his smell was all wrong now that he thought of it. The omega had the kind of scent to calm children almost instantly, but over that was an almost… chemical odor, the smell of formaldehyde and nitrogen. This was not the first time he'd smelt this, but as biological divorces were rare in Genosha, he had not much cause to encounter the scent often. If this man was biologically divorced, something drastic must've happened to drive him to it. It was a dangerous process, and likely to kill a beta or omega in extreme circumstances. It was outlawed in some places due to high death rates. Some omegas never experienced a heat afterward, which didn't make pregnancy impossible, but it did make the risk of infertility, stillbirths, or death in childbirth higher. Here this man stood, alive, tired, and obviously running from something.

Trouble was the last thing Erik needed.

Logan caught his eye as Charles cooed over his son. Erik gave a small shake of the head, hoping Logan would get the message to send the two travelers on their way. Logan rose a challenging eyebrow at him. Erik shot him another look, but Logan glanced away.

"Come on, Chuck. I will show you to a room. Two of Eisenhardt's little ones are in the nursery but we have another crib for David to settle down in."

Erik gave Logan a glare as he led the duo towards the back of the cottage. Charles glanced at him as he passed and smiled. Weariness tinged the tug of lips, but it was still beautiful. Erik felt a sharper tug in his belly as the man passed. He looked away from him, his lip curled with distaste. The omega was attractive, despite all the things that made him seem to be of ill-repute. Erik shoved down the alpha in him that wished to pursue and capture, to take and mark. He was more than his base urges, he reminded himself. Besides which, there was a reason he was in this inn. It was not to socialize or unravel mysteries, he was here to work and that was all. He didn't need any distractions.

A wave of rage and darkness overtook the lustful urges. He latched on to it, let it fuel his determination to return to Krakoa as soon as he could and with as much power behind him as possible. Sebastian Shaw and his son had taken his sister from him, took his father, took his kingdom. Erik had taken from Shaw too in retaliation, but it was not enough. He needed to pay once and for all. Erik would not rest until the man was dead in front of him, by any means necessary.