Chapter 3

Dean woke to the smell of coffee. It was one of the better wakings he'd had in a while, no monsters, a nice warm bed, coffee, and – from the smells he was now picking up – breakfast as well. It was actually the nicest combination of things he'd woken up to in a while and the thought kicked his brain into gear trying to figure out what was happening. When he remembered the good mood he'd been developing when down the drain fast. He was mated to an alpha he barely knew, and today was the day they were supposed to talk, presumably about all the things Sam expected from his newly acquired omega. Fun. Dean wondered what Sam would do when he figured out Dean had no intention of being a good omega and pleasing his alpha. He hadn't seemed angry or upset at all when Dean had served himself soup the night before, but what with Sam's complete lack of discernible emotion around Dean in general he wasn't so sure that really meant anything.

Still, there was no use in barricading himself in his room without having any food, so Dean moved away the chair he had propped under the doorknob to keep the door closed – Dean was coming out now of his own free will but there was no use being stupid and allowing an alpha access to his room while he was asleep – and walked out into the hall and to the kitchen.

Sam was almost done cooking by the time Dean showed up in the kitchen. He'd been fairly sure that the smell of food and coffee would be the most diplomatic way to wake Dean, and it seemed he'd been right. Dean made no fuss as he sat down at the small table where they had eaten their dinner, patiently, and silently, watching as Sam finished making breakfast. It was rather nerve-racking if Sam was honest; it made tension creep up into his shoulders and made him want to ask Dean to stop. But that would require interacting with Dean, which Sam was steadfastly putting off as much as possible. So he stayed silent as he finished and as Dean continued to watch him all through breakfast.

But finally he could put off their talk no longer.

"I know you're a hunter."

Probably not the most subtle or well chosen of starting points but he'd been surrounded by angels for the most part for the last who knows how long and his ability to interact with normal people was rather severely damaged. No, scratch that, he was fairly sure he could still interview witnesses quite well and all of the other interactions needed for a hunter. But his people skills for those he actually wanted to talk to? Those were pretty much completely shot. Damn.

"I know you're a hunter."

Dean wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. No, actually, given how closed off Sam had been around him he was going to go with that not being a good thing.

"I'm a trickster."

Yeah, definitely not a good thing.

"I rather admire your work as a hunter."

Ok, not what Dean was expecting to hear. When Sam had said he was a trickster Dean had assumed that the forced bonding was part of some trick Sam was playing. That somehow Sam thought it was just desserts for an omega who'd been hiding for more than twenty years as an alpha to be forcibly bonded to one of the things that he hunted. But from what Sam had said that didn't seem to be the case. Which still left open the question of how the hell admiring his work as a hunter and wanting to claim him against his will were connected.

"Our bonding is part of a trick I'm playing on a few other powerful beings."

Great. So Dean was some sick sort of collateral damage? Just. Freaking. Awesome.

"I will attempt to keep my interference in your life to a minimum but as your mate it is my responsibility to look after you. You can stay under my protection here, or you can return to hunting and I can follow you as you travel."

That... was actually more than Dean had ever thought he'd be allowed. Sam was either lying, hiding something, or by far the most laid back and rational of alphas Dean had ever even heard of. The third of those options would be great, but Dean was far too much of a realist to ever think he'd just end up with that kind of luck. So Sam was either lying or hiding something. Neither one was a great option for Dean but he supposed there was nothing more for him to do other than to make the most of the time Sam had to be accommodating to keep up the facade, and surreptitiously research getting away from tricksters in any time he could get away from Sam. Cause yeah, Sam being a trickster put a serious damper on his escape plans, such as they were. Getting away and hiding from an alpha was doable. Running away and hiding from an alpha trickster? That sounded frankly a bit suicidal to Dean, more than he was comfortable with being – some was necessary for the job, but not that much.

Sam continued to stare at him. It was only as the silence began to transition from creepy – as normal – to maybe he's actually a crazy, axe wielding, stalker, that Dean remembered Sam had ended with a question, to which he was probably just waiting for an answer.

"I'm going to continue hunting."

Sam nodded, face still just as blank. Weren't tricksters supposed to gain amusement from their tricks? If they were than it appeared to Dean that Sam was doing this whole "being a trickster" thing wrong. Well, whatever, it was no real business of Dean's whether or not Sam was enjoying the tricks he played. As long as he kept them far away from Dean and Dean had no ability to hunt him Dean was just as happy to not have to hear about the tricks at all. He'd take his monsters supernatural thank you very much, human monsters made no sense to him.

"When are we heading out?"

Dean's gaze snapped back to Sam when he spoke. Sam was letting him choose their departure time? Yeah, way to laid back to be believable in an alpha. Still, whatever game Sam was playing Dean would take advantage of it all he could while it lasted.

"Noon."

That would give Dean enough time to pack... What the hell was he supposed to pack?

"Wait... Are you giving me back my car?"

"Yeah."

Ok, weird alpha tricksters and their weird alpha tricksteryness could just stay the hell away from him for a while. Sam was just too weird. Trying to figure him out was starting to hurt Dean's brain, and for once Dean and his inner omega were in agreement: this was not how an alpha was supposed to act.

Published: March 18, 2013