Oliver first thoughts when he caught the familiar scent, as he was leaning against the counter was not wolf, nor Alpha or even male. It was that mix of dominate, naturel born wolf, stale gun power, leather and wild flowers. Every fibre of his being just screamed that it was his alpha. He very nearly choked on the water he was drinking, almost cracking his teeth on the glass.
He followed the smell, sensing it move to one of the back doors, passed the living room.
There, on the other side of the glass siding doors, was his Alpha, a huge grin across his lips.
Oliver ran over, throwing his arms around the man, breathing in his scent, feeling the man's warm bulky arms wrap around his slender frame... but something was not right.
Oliver pulled back, looking into those borderline black eyes. The smell was close but weakened, like he was still on the other side of the glass door. Speaking of which, when did he open the door?
Oliver's shining blue eyes shot up. He was still in his wolf form, still in bed. With a start, he realised the scent was still near. Very near.
He ran up to the window, where the smell was coming from. He felt well rested, yet light was not very bright from under the curtains but it was early November. He nudged the curtain to the side, sticking his head through.
There, sitting on the stone window ledge with his legs dangling carelessly over the edge and staring off into the sunrise, was Slade.
Slade turned to the blonde wolf and smiled. "Hello," he mimed.
Oliver pulled away. The last of his wolf features were disappearing as he opened the curtains and one of the windows, so that he did not bat Slade off. Although he still could have if Slade was any normal person but alas, he was Slade, he did not fear falling and as a wolf, he would survive.
"Why didn't you tell me you were back? Where are the kids?"
"I wanted to surprise you," Slade said, jumping inside without a sound. "The kids are at a hotel with Sara." The man was wearing a leather jacket, along with a long sleeve black shirt, dark blue jeans, lace up boots and his signature eye patch.
Oliver blinked. "Sara's here?"
Slade nodded. "She wanted to see her family and to track down Sin. Help her decide whether or not to return," he said, removing his jacket and placing it on Oliver's bare shoulders.
"Thank you," Oliver wrapped his arms around Slade's waist, resting his cheek on the man's shoulder. "Go home and give up her life or keep her life and give up her home," he pondered. "I'd like to say she could do the same as us but I don't think Nyssa would cope well in the city."
Slade hummed in agreement.
Slade was raised a wild wolf. He was Māori but raised along side Aborigines in some of the most inhabitable areas, further inland of Australia. Like many of the communities who followed traditions that were hundreds of years old, the wolves did the same. Wolves that were raised wild consisted of many groups of wolves that came together to raise families, from the outback of Australia to the forests of Burma. Staying away from people, mostly in wolf form. Hunting, breeding and simply living as their ancestors had done many years before.
Due to nearly always being in wolf form, the pack he had been raised by wore no clothing. Which is why nakedness did not bother him. They also ate their food raw and only went out at night as the Australian sun was just too much for cope with, although it made hunting much more difficult. The Island had been colder than he was used to but apart from that, no real worry. He had spend years staying away from people coming on to his land, so aside from Fyers' men catching him after his head was still spinning from the plane crash, Slade could easily get away.
Nyssa had grown up in the same sort of set up, with families of hunters, traveling around the middle East and learning from those she passed along the way.
Nyssa had left to meet with her father, where years before he had started an origination for hunters from the ruins of what their ancestors once created. Whereas Slade had left completely. Staring a new life with the navy, followed by ASIS. He left because he did not agree with his family's teachings but unluckily he wound up with a female American Alpha, who, although also left, kept the teachings of old.
"So, today, after I see the kids again, I can introduce you as my employee."
"What job did you think of?" Slade asked, rubbing his hand along Oliver's side.
"Head of security. I trust you can keep a building completely secure."
Slade smirked.
"Plus you translate on the side. We have a lot of links with Russia."
"Not bad, kid."
Oliver lifted his head, kissing Slade. Laughing softy into the man's mouth as he lifted him up and dropped him onto the bed.
Lian Yu 2007
"So then the Omega is the partner of the leading Alpha? If you follow an Alpha would I no long be your Omega?" Oliver questioned, still lying on Slade's chest, on the forest floor.
"Technicality yes but I can't really say. When an Alpha leads, they lead till they die. Some Alphas follow, like my son Grant, and they will live in packs whereas I have to lead. It's hard to explain but I was raised to find an Alpha or Omega, start my family and lead them, living in a community but not following anyone. So no one wolf would lead everyone."
"I thought your partner was a Omega regardless?" Oliver asked, feeling a twist in his belly when he remembered Slade had been married, even if he had been unhappy.
Slade reached up a hand, running it through Oliver's hair. "Just like an Alpha can follow or must lead, an Alpha female can start a family with an Alpha male and follow as a secondary Alpha or they will naturally clash with their partner as they both have a need to lead which is why they often have large amounts of children. By being a secondary Alpha, they are in fact an Omega. They are a family but two Alphas, staying as Alphas causes nothing but trouble. Plus for her to be an Omega we would have had to care for each other and we never really did."
Oliver looked up. "You didn't?"
"We were together because Grant was born. Another thing you should know about two Alphas, is because they are not really together, they can cheat. Without doing so, we would clashed. As dysfunctional as it is." Slade said, "Grant was my first born and therefor an Alpha, Joe was deemed useless by her because he was a beta but worst was before him, with Rose."
Oliver nodded.
"I slept with another woman, a human. Rose had a fifty-fifty present chance of being a human or a wolf. When she started coming into her wolf features in that first year, this woman freaked out. Thankfully a hunter that worked down in the hospital spotted what was going on and managed to get in contact with me," Slade said, "I met her again, told her what Rose was and she gave her to me. Didn't want anything to do with her."
Oliver ran a comforting hand down Slade's arm.
"She didn't take well to me having another kid," Slade said, remembering the way her red eyes burned with anger. "Children from other relationships are seen as threats to a wolf's children but Grant loved her. She let Rose stay but never wanted to be near her which I can understand both from an emotional," Slade snorted. She did not have those. "And pack point of view."
"Will Rose and Joe be safe with her," Oliver asked. He felt worried for them, more so as they were Slade's children.
"My cousin Wade is watching over them. He's their God father and I have no doubt that he can keep them safe."
"Good." Oliver sighed in relief. He did not smile however, as he realised who else had also been their God father, a fact that really must have hurt Slade.
Slade smiled. "The reason the two of us could never get on emotionally was because we are both Alphas and both had the need to stay that way, plus we both had very different ways of thinking. In order for one of us to be an Omega, we had to give up the right to lead. Not only that but we had to emotionally care for each other and unlike humans, we could not even give that a go because..."
"Hm?" Oliver sat up in Slade's lap. "What is it?"
Slade pushed himself up on his elbows. "You might feel a lot different about relationships now that you're a wolf. Oliver, wolves mate for life. Alpha and Omega, beginning and end," he explained.
"Oh," It was a lot to take it.
"Not to say we are bound by a bite like Alpha and beta are, not remotely. If we break up or one of us dies, it is possible for you to move on but it won't be a simple case of the first love is always the strongest. You can move on and may have something to the same effect but I won't."
Oliver took a breath, trying to wrap his head around everything. "So if I become you're Omega, you will never move on? That's it?"
Slade nodded. "That's it."
"Why me?" Oliver asked, "Because Slade I really care for you but I can't take that away from you. I can't hurt you like that."
Slade sat up, cupping Oliver cheeks. "It's alright," He said, practically smelling Oliver's anxiety and fear. "You're not a bad person. I trust you."
"I don't think you should," Oliver said. He did not move away. He did not know what to do. He wanted to be a part of Slade's life, part of his kids' life but knowing his track record, he should not be the person Slade fell for.
"Oliver. You would not be displacing signs of being an Omega if I did not already let you in," Slade said, "If you don't want to hurt me, then don't," He kissed the blonde.
Oliver wrapped his arms around Slade's neck, pulling him close. He felt his gut tie in knots, around chunks of ice which burned almost unbearably cold.
"How does it happen?" Oliver asked as they broke apart.
"It's love in it's purest form," Slade said, rubbing Oliver's bottom lip with his thump. "It's not bound by marriage or children, nor experiences. It simply exists."
Oliver looked down to Slade's bare chest.
Love. They had never spoke about it before but Oliver knew he had been falling for Slade, it was really only at this moment that he realised that he had hit the bottom.
Oliver met Slade's dark pools of abyss. "Okay." And that was all he said. All he needed to say.