Time jump: 2 months

New white rays shine through the window and curtain just the same, showing the beauty of the many tan hues that weave together to make the fabric Adhara loves so much. The browns are as varied as sand dunes at dawn, as pretty as the lightest of wood carried ashore upon windswept waves. Amid the light she sees the beams as if they wave with the undulating pleats, yet in truth they are strong and true, giving structure and form. As the moments pass the intensity rises and softens, bold and gentle, telling of the day that passes in the world beyond.

'Good morning Adhara.' Friday greeted.

"Morning Friday." Sitting up she stretched with a loud groan. "What are today's plans?"

'You have the morning free. At 1 pm you have training with the avengers. At 5 pm you have training with Captain Rogers. And right after that, you have shopping with Mr. Parker and Ms. Romanoff.'

"Shopping?" She groaned. "Tony's party. Right."

'Would you like to start your morning routine?'

"Yes please."

Friday started playing her morning playlist and turned the water on for her shower. She busied herself with picking out her clothes for the day.

For the past two months, she has been living in the avengers compound. When she first arrived Tony and the others took her right in. The alphas, except for Tony and Nat kept their distance to help her adjust. No one expected anything from her. In fact, they all lavished her with affection and praises. Little by little she began to accept Rogers. She no longer jumped when he entered the same room. His smell became a welcome scent to her senses. And the man gave the best hugs ever.

She had noticed her presence had a certain effect on the alphas as well. Every outing they took, one of them had to go with her. They had become overprotective of her to the point of scaring off anyone looking her way. Although it was annoying, they couldn't help it. Banner had explained to her that an omega was like a pup to the alphas. They had the need and desire to protect and care for the omega. So no matter what she did or say, they wouldn't stop.

Walking into the kitchen she found Nat making some coffee. "Morning."

"Morning." Opening her arms Adhara walked right into them. "How did you sleep?"

Nuzzling into the woman, she released a content sigh. "Good, nightmares at nearly gone."

"That's great." Refusing to let the omega go, she held on to her as she grabbed her coffee. "You ready for the party tonight?"

"I don't know, I haven't been around anyone but you guys." She suddenly found the button on Nat's jacket fascinating. "Who will be there?"

"Only a few extra friends." Tony walked into the room catching her words.

"Extra friends?"

Picking up on the stress in her scent, he quickly pulled her into his arms. Much to the annoyance of Nat. "Well, there will be us of course. Peter will be bringing his girlfriend and his friend Ned. Thor will be joining up with his brother Loki. Still not sure how Loki got the invite. Rhodey is a very good friend of mine. Oh, and the wizard will be joking us as well."

Looking up at him she bit her lip. "The wizard? You mean Dr. Strange?"

"That's the one." Tony nodded. "Apart from those that you know are alphas, Strange and MJ will be the only other alphas. I will make sure they keep their distance if that's what you want."

"No, I'm not scared." She took in a shaky breath. "The rest of you will be close by. Besides I have been wanting to know what animal Dr. Strange has."

Nat chuckled. "Good luck prying that out of him. We've been trying to figure it out for the past two months. The man will not give in."

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Adhara stood by the bar where Nat busied herself making a few drinks. She had found herself enjoying the party more than she thought she would. Peter had managed to drag her onto the dance floor for the duration of two songs. Thankfully with the help of his girlfriend, she managed to escape the energetic pup.

Before she could make a clean getaway, Thor dragged her to his side. The god of thunder simply held onto her as he continued to tell his war story. This had become a regular thing for her and the pack. She quickly learned after a few weeks, that her presence calmed them. It gave them a warm feeling that drew them to her. Thor offered her a drink from his beer, but one whiff of the liquid and she nearly gagged.

"Hey, she's 17!" Tony appeared out of nowhere, prying Adhara from the arms of Thor. "Some role model you are." Wrapping his arm around her waist, he led them towards the bar. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm good." She truly was. "It's easier than I had thought."

"Great!" Nuzzling her neck in a reassuring gesture he turned to Nat. "Bartender! I need a refill!"

"Get it yourself asshole!" Nat yelled from the other end of the bar where she was speaking with Pepper and Maria Hill.

"Geez have a drink will you." Reaching under the bar he pulled out a bottle. "This will do for now."

Adhara shrieked at a loud whack. Looking over Tony's shoulder, she noticed a tall man. His hair was midnight colored and just going past his shoulders. He was handsome. She flinched at being caught looking at him.

Loki smirked leaning against the bar and turning to the girl. Taking in a deep breath he frowned at not being able to pinpoint her scent. "What's your name?"

"None of ya business reindeer games." Tony stood between the two, growling high enough for Loki to hear. "Grab your drink and move it along."

Loki rolled his eyes but made no fuss. "See you around doll."

Adhara quickly grabbed Tony's arm before he could chase the beta down. "Tony, it's fine. No harm was done."

"Damn clown." Taking a swing of his drink, he groaned at the music stopping abruptly. "I will be back. Seemed there is an issue with the sound."

"Ms. Romanoff."

Adhara jumped at the deep voice beside her. Taking a whiff of the air around her, she froze. When she first met Rogers his presence was overwhelming. It took over the entire room. But this one was overpowering every other alpha in the room. She could no longer sense Tony, Nat, or Rogers. It was all him. And his scent... 'Oh god it was divine.'

"Mr. Strange, what can I get for you?" Nat held up three bottles for him.

"It's Doctor." He grumbled. "If you have any red wine, that will do."

"Red wine coming up." Pouring the glass she slid it over to him. "Need anything else just let me know."

Strange thanked her for the drink and turned to face the crowd. His back leaned against the bar, with his elbow resting over it. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the young woman shift uncomfortably beside him. He had seen her the moment he walked in, how could he not. Tony had warned him of his new ward and made it specifically clear they were to stay clear of her. But Stephen was never one to follow the rules. Hence the whole saving the world thing and giving the time stone. There was something about her that intrigued him. For one he couldn't pick up on her scent, at the moment she was a mixture of Nat, Rogers, Tony, and Peter. And if he was being honest with himself he hated their scents all over her.

"Hi, I-uh-I'm Adhara."

Turning to face her, he gave her a slight head bow. "Doctor Stephen Strange." Holding his hand out to her, he frowned at her hesitation before shaking it.

"Pleasure." Adhara growled as they went back to the awkward silence. "May I ask what is your animal?"

The Doctor chuckled. "What's yours?" Why was everyone suddenly interested in finding out what he turned into?

"I asked first." She muttered.

"True, but I'm asking now."

"It's a fox."

"Hmm." He tilted his head to the side, looking her up and down. "Mines close to a fox. Just a tad bit bigger."

That made no sense. "So what a maned wolf?"

"That's a wolf." He pointed out. "I said a fox."

"Bat-eared Fox?"

"No."

"Tibetan fox?"

"No."

"Crab-eating fox?"

"Crab..." Stephen looked at her with an inquisitive look. "You're making those up."

Adhara shook her head. "Nope, they are real foxes. I may have gone a little overboard in my research of foxes."

"Huh, can't say I didn't." Taking a sip of his wine, he noticed she wasn't drinking anything. Offering her his glass, he waited for her to make a move.

Looking from the glass to him, she reached out for it. She remembered drinking a few times with her father, you know before he went apeshit. But his choice was always hard liquor. Taking a sip of the red drink that oddly reminded her of blood, she was surprised at her liking towards it. The consistency of the wine was light, and it flowed down her throat smoothly.

She handed the glass back to him. "It's good."

"He-"

"Strange." Tony's slid in between the two of them, his tone was tensed but he wasn't angry. Not yet at least. "Did we forget to read the small print on the invitation?"

Strange rolled his eyes, turning around to face the bar. "Just talking Stark."

Tony peeked over his shoulder. "He do anything?"

"No, we were just talking." She placed a hand on his shoulder to assure him. "He's nicer than the other Beta. I am fine with him."

With a defeated grunt, he turned to scowl at Strange. "Hands off."

"Wasn't planning on putting my hands anywhere." He raised said hands.

But it appeared Adhara didn't get the memo. The moment Tony walked away, well more like the moment Banner dragged him away, Adhara took hold of Stephen's hand. The Doctor was startled for a moment, staring down at her. Her fingers ran over the scars on his hand. They were gentle almost as if trying to heal them in a way. Looking around he found almost all eyes on them. It was a known fact the doctor disliked any unwanted touch.

"Do they hurt?" She asked.

Clearing his throat Stephen spoke through his dry mouth. "Not as much as they did before."

"How did it happen?"

"Car accident many years ago." Why the hell was he answering her so openly. "They are healed, but..."

"They tremble." She had noticed the slight trembling of his hand in hers. Closing her hand over his, she grinned to see his body relax for a moment and his hand stopped. "Just needs some warmth."

"Uh, yeah." Scratching the back of his neck, he looked over at Nat.

The ex-spy was leaning over the bar watching them with cat-like eyes. It made sense her animal would be of the cat world. But there was also what he would describe as shock? No. Surprise maybe. Moving his gaze over to Stark he snorted at the glare he was getting. But what the hell was he supposed to do? Be rude and snatch his hand away? He couldn't even if he wanted to.

The warmth waving off her was sweeping into his body. It was something he had never felt before, not even with Christine. It was near burning.

"Adhara!" Tony was making his way over to them when both Maria and Pepper intercepted him. "What are you two doing? I need to speak with Adhara."

"It can wait until after she's done talking to Stephen." Nat yelled from the bar. "Don't you see the connection happening?!"

That seemed to snap Adhara out of whatever trance she was in. "Oh, I'm sorry." She dropped his hand taking a step back. "I didn't mean to invade your space."

"It's-uh-it's fine." He clenched and unclenched his hand a few times. "My hand feels much better now." Why did he suddenly feel the urge to wipe the look of embarrassment off her? To see her smile once more. Grabbing his glass of wine he sighed at finding it empty. With a swift of his hand, it refilled.

"How did you do that?" The young omega stared in awe at the cup. Picking it up and examining the contents.

It dawn on him that she didn't know what it was he did. Or who he was for that matter. "It's one of the many perks to my abilities."

"What else can you do?" She asked.

"It's difficult to number all of them, but quite a few things." Taking a sip of his drink, he once more offered her some. "It's magic. Sorcery in plain words."

"Sorcery." She mauled over the word, taking a sip of the wine. She held the liquid in her mouth for a bit enjoying the feel and taste. "Like Wanda?"

"Mm, not quite. Wanda does witchcraft. It's the same concept, but different methods and powers."

She'd have to ask Wanda to be a bit more specific. Looking up she was startled by Strange getting closer to her. Before she could comment on it, he turned his back to her. "Uh-"

"Loki." Stephen spoke the name with a low growl. "Shouldn't you be with your brother? Or perhaps locked in some universe?"

"Wouldn't you like that magician." He chuckled. "I didn't come here to chat with you, but with her."

Adhara glanced around Strange's side, eyes widening at catching Loki's gaze. "I-Tony actually needed me for something."

"This will only take a moment." He lowered his tone as if speaking to cornered animal and in a way she was. "Would you join me for a drink?"

"Actually we weren't done talking." Strange stepped in once more.

"Well, it looked like you were boring the poor girl from where I was standing. So I decided a rescue was in order." Loki reached for the glass of wine, twirling the drink around. "Now, how about you and me cha-"

"Unless you want to spend the rest of eternity in a constant state of falling, I'd suggest you walk away." Stephen felt a small hand grip the back of his suit, fueling the need to protect her.

Loki flinched at the alpha's scent surrounding the room. It was trying to force him to his knees. Loki may be a beta, but he didn't kneel to anyone. "Stop that!"

"Doctor." Nat slid up next to him. "You're affecting everyone. Including Adhara."

Pulling his scent back, he glanced back at the neck-baring girl. "Shit."

Loki gasped at finally being able to breathe freely, glaring daggers at the man's back. Pulling a small knife, he made a run at him. Raising his hand he was stopped by a piece of flying cloth. "What the hell?"

"Brother." Thor sighed.

Looking to his brother, then strange, and back to the cloth, he gulped. Hearing the familiar sparks under his feet, he looked up with pleading eyes before he fell through a portal.

The omega was amazed and thrilled to see the so-called god disappear. "Where he go?" Not getting a response, she glanced up to find him staring at her intently. "Dr. Strange, you okay?"

Unbeknownst to her, the man was having an inner battle. Seeing her bare neck had snapped his constant hold against his alpha side. That primal side that wanted to claim a mate. The need to bury himself inside someone and never let them go. Shaking those trains of thoughts, he stepped away from her. "Forgive me, but I must get going. It was a pleasure knowing you." Opening the portal back to his home, he left without a second glance.

She was confused, to say the least. "Was it something I said?"