He got off the toilet bowl, which he sat on with his legs under him to avoid scrutiny when the bell rang. Fortunately, few people bothered to really look in the stalls to see if anyone was hiding, and mostly they just bent down to check if anyone's shoes were visible. As if any five-year-old wouldn't think of climbing into a toilet bowl.
He stepped out, leaned against the sink and looked at himself in the mirror.
He didn't look bad, in fact better than ever, and he thought he'd put on some weight too. Probably with all the food Alpha was indirectly feeding him. He felt tired though, because the weekend had been exhausting. Not because anything had happened, no, but he felt trapped. Much like those early days when he hadn't known Castiel.
The fact that Alpha's men were on his heels was definitely to blame, and not in the subtle way they had been before. Their car was back in the parking lot and even though he couldn't see it directly from their room, of course he noticed it. That in itself would have sucked, because Sammy could hardly have missed them. Worse, though, was that when he'd gone shopping on Saturday afternoon, Alpha's men had literally blocked his path, declaring that the boss had forbidden Dean to go anywhere. That was complete bullshit. Surely he couldn't forbid him to go shopping and just keep him in their hotel room. He just couldn't do that... except of course he could, and the two armed Betas - Rat Face, civilian name Yuri, and the Driver, whose name was Boris, he later learned - who were in his way were a good reminder of that.
He'd argued with them for a while, telling them to fuck off and growling at them a few times, but they'd been persistent. The only thing Boris had accomplished was to get in touch with someone - Pyotr, he assumed, because from their first meeting he seemed to be in Bratva somewhere above the Betas who were guarding Dean - who then sent them back orders from Castiel himself; he was graciously allowed to go shopping. Under the careful and very close escort of the two Betas.
They drove him far away, to a very fine supermarket in the business district, where he felt like a complete moron among all the people dressed in fancy jackets and designer clothes. And where, of course, they immediately attracted attention.
Beta, in his security guard uniform, noticed them immediately. And not only had he been watching them for some time, he'd even gone so far as to ask who they were and was extremely suspicious, even though Dean was putting on his best harmless Omega smile, just shopping. This was resolved by Boris, who sovereignly identified Dean as an Omega belonging to a wealthy Mannhatten financier and himself and Yuri as his private security. Either the security guard was used to this sort of thing or he was so surprised that he apologized and preferred to leave them alone for the rest of the shopping trip.
The purchase was fucking expensive, but since they had just taken him here, he had no choice but to use his credit card. Before he could actually use it, though, Ratboy pulled out his own card and Boris in turn threw some Omega girl only a few years older than Dean out of his seat at the end of the strip and took over loading the items into the bags himself. And even though a sign shone behind the cash register, explicitly forbidding customers to take the tagged items off the belt, no one had the slightest objection. People just measured all three of them with looks that were incredulous, contemptuous, angry and, frankly, a little fearful.
Yeah, Boris and Yuri were definitely able to give such an impression that nobody wanted to get in their way.
Eventually, the Betas carried all the bags to the car, drove him back, and then carried the bags again almost to the motel door, like he was some damn weak Omega who needed to be taken care of. And at the same time, he wasn't even worth more than a few words to them, purely informative and very polite, especially by Ratty's standards. Dean didn't have to be a genius to figure out that they were afraid to be friendly to him for fear of what the Alpha might do to them. The word must have gotten out that he'd had the Alpha beaten and shot from the game room.
Sighing, he slung the bag over his shoulder and then turned on the tap to scoop up some cold water and rinse his face.
He felt like he was locked in a prison again, with no escape. Sure, it was a nice enough prison with lots of good food and a supply of Netflix shows, but still a prison. A small space of a motel room whose walls fell in on him. It wasn't the first time Alpha... their dad at the time... had ordered him to stay in the room and not come out until he got back, but it was different then. He could see in his father that he was doing it out of fear for their safety. Castiel on the other hand... he had him locked up in a motel for punishment and serving time was always frustrating.
I wish something had happened. Maybe... maybe their Alpha could come back. No, no that wasn't a good idea. Wherever his dad was, he was safe there, even if it was a prison, and if maybe he never planned on going back... for whatever reason... so be it. Hell of a lot better than meeting Alpha Castiel. He could very well imagine their meeting would go horribly and his dad probably wouldn't win.
He turned off the water, grabbed some towels, and headed for the door while he wiped his face and hands. He wanted at least an hour of peace for today, and the abandoned classroom under renovation was a great place to hide and feel in control for a while. That he was doing the stupid shenanigans again, breaking school rules and just being himself, not some fucking Omega literally owned by a mafia boss.
He threw the towels in the trash in a big arc and a small smile crossed his face as he scored right into the trash, but the moment he stepped out into the hallway, he was gone again. He slowly made his way down the silent, empty hallway past the open girls' bathroom.
"...Yes, I know I'm supposed to be in class, Mom," came a familiar voice, "but I needed to talk to you. We need to talk about this some more."
He paused and hesitated.
It was Lisa.
Yeah, none other than her. Her voice was muffled by the fact that she was outside the door, and she was whispering on top of it, but it still sounded urgent to the point of desperation. And as he instinctively sucked in air, he caught a whiff of the smell of distress under all the layers of disinfectant and old urine. Lisa had to be literally desperate, to smell so intensely like Beta, to be picked up at such a distance and over all the other smells.
His Omega didn't like it. She didn't even like the fact that he hadn't seen Lisa in days, and now she was growling quietly to protect, protect, protect on top of that. It was hard to disobey, so he slowly approached the door, opening it ever so slightly to see inside.
Lisa was sitting on the floor against the wall, her phone to her ear, a handful of paper towels in her hand, her cheeks wet from crying. Her eyes were puffy and red, so it was clear she had been crying for a long time and probably not for the first time.
"No, it wasn't. You just decided... yes, I know what happened. I was there... I'm not saying to forgive him, but you can't take us away right now!"
Take who away? Lisa and her brother? Take them where? And why?
"I've got my swim team, my classmates, my friends... I've known Sarah since kindergarten... if we go to Oregon, you'll ruin my whole life!... I'm not being melodramatic! It's true! This isn't about grandma at all. I love spending holidays with her, but that doesn't mean I want to live with her... Why won't you talk to me? ... Oh, yeah, you're busy again... no, whatever. Bye," she said goodbye to her mother brusquely, sending the phone across the floor in anger.
Oregon? That was on the complete opposite side of the States. The only place they could move from there is to a lighthouse in the ocean. Why did Lisa's mom want to take Lisa so far away?
He definitely opened the door.
The beta girl raised tearful eyes to him and immediately smiled bitterly.
"Great. You..." she said in a tone uncharacteristically aggressive for her, frowning. "What do you want, Winchester?"
"I could hear you in the hallway... and smell you. What happened?" He asked, approaching slowly, his head tilted, exposing his neck, though it didn't really matter in Lisa's case. He did it instinctively, and when he realized he was doing it, he stopped and straightened up.
Lisa only gave him a look of contempt before grabbing the sink and, with his help, lifting herself off the floor and turning her back to Dean.
"None of your business. And I don't understand why you care. It's clear I'm not even worth sending you to hell anymore. Unless you want to laugh at me more in the end," she added, looking into his eyes through the reflection in the mirror.
He took a breath to answer, but quickly realized that he couldn't really explain to Lisa why he did what he did. He could hardly tell her 'hey, I'm kind of dating a fucking jealous Alpha who just so happens to be a Russian mafia boss and would kill you if I continued to hang out with you'. That sounded like a load of bullshit pulled out of a cheesy spy movie, except it was true and sort of a reality of Dean's life.
"Look, I... I didn't want to do this, okay? But for both our sakes... especially yours... it was better that way. You know?" he tried to at least make some sort of apology.
Beta snorted.
"Right. You're a bad boy," she parodied the gruff male voice dripping with sarcasm. "You're skipping school, wearing a leather jacket, and getting into fights with Alphas just to prove a point. And you know what?" she turned to him. 'I really thought you were something special for a while, but you're just a loser. You try so hard not to be an Omega, but I bet you'll still end up with some Alpha and five puppies like everyone else like you!"
That hurt. Not just because Lisa had said it, but because he knew she was right. The events of the last few days had made it painfully clear to him that Castiel wasn't going to let him just walk away. And as all the movies had shown him; being handsome, cooking and giving birth to the continuation of a famous Mafia family was the job of all the wives and Omegas of the big crime bosses. He knew it all along... sort of. But hearing someone else say it, and pretty loudly, just wasn't pleasant.
He clenched his hands into fists.
"You don't know how right you are," he said, turning to leave.
It wasn't his problem why Lisa was leaving New York anyway. He could be rather glad that it was going to happen, because it meant he'd be far away from Alpha. Maybe he really did rule this town, as he claimed to, but surely his connections didn't extend to the other side of States. Lisa would be safe.
"Dean! Wait!" Beta called after him; he stopped but didn't turn to face her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I don't really know much about you and... I didn't mean to be so mean. I'm sorry. I just..."
He released his hands and turned back to Lisa with a long exhale. She sounded so unhappy, she reeked of sadness, and being an Omega, he couldn't just brush over someone's misfortune. Especially when he knew the person. Fucking Omega instincts that he would have to fight if he decided to leave now after all.
He didn't. Instead, he crossed the distance that made him from Lisa and put his hand on her cheek. Beta looked up at him in surprise. He didn't say anything in response, just pulled her to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders. He felt her stiffen in his arms for a moment, but then, with a gasp and a gust of happiness, she relaxed, resting her head on his shoulder and finally putting her arms around his back.
Slowly he began to stroke her hair and her back.
"I'm sorry, Lisa. I'm so sorry," he breathed guiltily, his eyes closed, burying his face in her hair and the scent of freshly cut grass mixed with chamomile shampoo.
"What are you apologizing for, Dean?" Beta asked, completely uncomprehending of course, pulling away just enough so they could look into each other's eyes.
He didn't know what he was apologizing for himself. He was probably just taking advantage of the situation to show his regret for putting Lisa in such a dangerous situation. Sure, Beta didn't know anything about the fact that she had literally narrowly escaped a possibly very nasty death, but still... she was entitled to Dean's apology.
"It's not your fault that my dad cheated on my mom," she continued, whereupon she paused, then put her tiny hands away from Dean's back so she could free herself from his grasp and step back. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm even telling you this. I don't want to burden you with my problems if you don't even want to talk to me..."
Oh, so that's what this was about? Lisa's parents had a falling out, were probably getting a divorce, and her mom had just decided to move as far away from her husband as possible. That made a lot of sense.
"I don't mind," he blurted out quickly. "I mean... you can tell me about it if you want. I'll listen," he clarified, trying not to look too eager. He really wouldn't mind if Lisa told him about whatever was bothering her, and it certainly seemed like a good way to make up a little for the danger he'd put her in.
Lisa measured him with a long look before nodding with a sigh and slumping back along the wall to where she had been sitting. He sat down next to her, legs stretched out in front of him as she pulled her knees to her chest and leaned her hip against him a little. He took that as a graceless permission to put his arm around her shoulders.
"It happened last night. Someone rang our doorbell, but when Mom answered, there was no one at the door. Just an envelope addressed to Mom lying on the floor. She opened it and..." Lisa wrinkled her nose. "There were pictures of Dad with one of his work colleagues. Copies of bills from the hotel they'd been going to for the last two years. Whole stacks of printed emails and conversations from chats. They even went on vacation together for a week over the summer, though Dad claimed it was a study seminar." She laughed bitterly, pulled out her cell phone that she'd left lying on the floor earlier and began turning it over absently in her hand. "Mom was out of her mind. She and Dad were yelling at each other and arguing all night. Will just kept crying... Eventually Mom threw Dad out into the hallway. She literally pushed him out, threw a couple of clothes and one of our old suitcases at him and slammed the door in his face. I don't even know where he is now. Maybe I should call or text him..." she looked down at the cell phone in her hands, "except I've seen all the pictures and bills and everything. He cheated on my mom for years. How could I forgive him for something like that?" She asked herself, closing her eyes and resting her forehead on her knees with a sigh. "'And on top of that, my mom wants to go to Oregon to visit my grandmother and take us with her, so I'm mad at her too. I have friends at school, a swim team, I wanted to go to college here in New York..."
Dean frowned.
This sounded too familiar to be a coincidence. But the Alpha had promised to leave Lisa alone and he always kept his word and never lied. He really hadn't. So it couldn't be him. It had to be just a coincidence or... No, wait. Alpha didn't say he'd leave Lisa alone, he just promised not to kill her because it would draw too much attention. That meant he could totally fuck up her life and still keep his word to Dean.
Oh, shit! Son of a bitch! Lisa didn't deserve to die or suffer for Dean's stupidity and indiscretion. It wasn't right that he destroyed her family like that. And Dean was willing to believe that was just the tip of what the Alpha was capable of. He had a shitload of money and acted and pretended like he had the police and everything around him on the hook. Sure, it could have been an act, but somehow Dean knew it wasn't. He imagined he could put Lisa's mom and dad out of work, maybe he could make trouble for her older sister... maybe even Lisa herself. Maybe plant drugs in her locker or put them in one of her parents' cars.
Images of what Alpha could do began to surface in his mind on their own, and with each new one he felt more and more anger. And all that anger had one goal; Castiel. The Alpha hadn't promised him, literally, that he wouldn't do anything to hurt Lisa and her family, but he had to know that that was exactly what Dean had meant when he had asked him for mercy. Alpha was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't. He'd done it on purpose. He'd tricked Dean and still hurt someone he loved to punish him for that supposed betrayal.
He was going to give him a good count, but first...
"You should go to Oregon," he suggested, because it seemed like the only way to get Lisa away from Alpha's vengeance before he could do anything worse to her than what he'd already done.
Lisa turned a surprised look toward him.
"Oregon is on the other side of the States. If we go there, we'll probably never come back..."
"Or maybe you will," he countered to Lisa's incredulous look. "Maybe your mom just needs time to calm down and get everything... you know, straightened out in her head."
"But I understand that Dad hurt her. They were a couple in high school, got married just a few weeks after graduation, and have been together for twenty-five years. It's clear to me that Mom lost everything because of what he did, but so did we. We lost my dad, and I don't want to lose any more of my friends and the life I have here in New York."
"When you meet someone you're drawn to by smell, it's like you can't think," he said; Lisa gave him a confused look. "You're full of him, you know? You have to be somewhere far away from him to really think and make decisions."
"My parents are both Betas, Dean. They're not related by scent or mating."
"Yeah, I know. I meant... your mom needs to be as far away from your dad as possible so she can think. She needs to come home. In Oregon, she might see things more clearly..."
The beta girl frowned thoughtfully, her gaze fixed somewhere behind Dean, then nodded slowly.
"I guess you'd be right..." she let it trail off with a small sigh at the end. "I should stand behind Mom and help her get through this, and if that means going to Grandma's, then we'll go. Thanks for listening and giving me advice. You really are a friend," she added, throwing Dean a grateful smile before leaning over and hugging him again.
He put his hands on her back and pulled her closer, savoring her soft and pleasant scent one last time. It was a little selfish as was the pleasant feeling of satisfaction accompanied by the growl his Omega felt when Lisa called him her mate. A real friend wouldn't ruin her life. The only point in his favor was that he had hopefully at least managed to save her from further revenge on Alpha's part, but that did nothing to assuage his guilt, much less his anger towards Alpha.
"We should get back to class," Lisa pointed out, but by then she was pulling away and starting to wipe her still wet eyes with the back of her hand.
He reached above him for a paper towel and handed it to the Beta girl.
"I'll pass."
"Okay," he nodded. "I'll see you after class then."
"Sure. After class," he agreed with a small smile, even though he hadn't actually intended to see her. Staying as far away from Lisa as possible until she left , was the only right thing to do.
She gave him another small smile, then stood up, grabbed her cell phone, and pressed one quick kiss to his cheek before leaving the bathroom.
The door closed behind Lisa. Dean waited just long enough to not only stop hearing her retreating footsteps, but to be sure she was in class, and then finally picked himself up off the floor. He had a clear target, and that was Castiel, and he honestly didn't give a shit if she was still asleep at this time or if she was going to invade his lair. Granted, he didn't even know exactly where the Alpha lived, but he definitely knew where to find out, plus he had someone to take him there.
He wasn't going to just go over what he'd done to Lisa.
°°0°°
He frowned at the Doll's signboard. Then he slid his gaze to Jacob, who was already standing at the door, obviously ready to open it for him. Oddly enough, getting out of the school was harder than convincing Jacob and Vadim to transport him to Castiel. He had to break into the professors' bathroom downstairs, squeeze through an open window, jump onto the containers that stood below, and finally climb over a tall fence to get off the school grounds.
Next to find an old, scratched Volvo, from which terrible Russian rap screams were coming out and smoke smelling of marjana was coming through the open window, and to demand a ride to Alpha. In the end it took only one call for Vadim to very obligingly, all friendly smiles, open the back door and without much ado he was driven here.
He took a deep breath, clenched his hand into a fist and gritted his teeth, and started for the door.
Jacob opened it for him.
When Dean walked in, he looked around quickly. It was around three o'clock, so he hadn't expected it to be crowded, but it actually looked like no one was in the pub. Or at least no guests, because there were several people in the place. Pyotr, sitting on a bar stool with a beer. Then behind the bar itself was a guy he didn't know yet. He wasn't even as tall as Dean, fair-haired, with massive but rather fat arms and a large belly, over which he had a white apron tied. Pretty sure he was Beta, since he only picked up two Alpha scents. Hot iron and dried dirt trailing from Igor sitting over a bowl of soup at the table just outside the door, who raised his utterly impassive face to him.
And then, of course, Castiel's heavy cherry scent, which grew even thicker and filled with sweet happiness as warm blue eyes fixed on Dean.
"Dean..." the Alpha uttered with a hint of a growl, putting the burning cigarette in the ashtray to his right and stepping away from the bar he'd been leaning against, looking over some papers with the unknown Beta. "What a pleasant surprise," he grunted a second time, making his way over to him, arms outstretched as he prepared to hug and probably kiss him.
He looked so fucking calm, like nothing had happened at all. Like he hadn't ruined Lisa's whole life for absolutely no reason. And yeah, it was a damn good thing too, because he wasn't wearing a jacket and the top few buttons on his shirt were undone so you could see his skin and the black ink decorating his chest.
He wasn't going to, and couldn't, be taken in by Alpha's scent, or his friendly smile, or the fucking intense blue of his eyes, under whose gaze he'd always thought he was special. That he was worthy of some special consideration from an Alpha as strong and perfect as Castiel was.
He took a few brisk steps towards the Alpha and growled angrily, his finger held out to his chest:
"It's your fault, isn't it? Did you arrange this?"
Castiel paused, his eyebrows furrowing and tilting his head in apparent confusion, yet he must have known what Dean was talking about.
"I'm not sure what you mean, Omega, but I don't like your tone," he replied, calmly for now, but without a growl and with a hint of sharpness that surely should have been a warning even more emphatic than the displeasure he was showing at Dean's tone.
His Omega was silently warning him that he had better duck his head and stop treating the Alpha like this. He should submit to him, but he had no intention of doing so.
"Lisa's father. The envelope outside the door. Does that tell you anything yet?!"
"Oh it..." the Alpha replied casually, more like it was some little thing he'd practically forgotten.
He bared his teeth at Alpha in another snarl.
"Is that all you have to say about that? You ruined her parents' lives and why? For absolutely nothing!" He threw up his hands angrily.
"I'm warning you, Dean. Calm down."
"You knew exactly what I meant when I begged you not to hurt her, but you played dumb on purpose. You tricked me and you're a liar!" He accused him with utter ruthlessness, and once again wagged his finger angrily in front of his nose.
What happened next was only a matter of moments.
He barely had time to realise that strong tattooed fingers had wrapped themselves around his wrists and were pulling him towards Alpha. Pain shot up the back of his neck, biting into both of her scent glands, the way Alpha's fingers dug deep into his flesh through his jacket and shirt. More pain exploded in his stomach and flared on his left cheek as he was pinned to the bar with brutal force, his face pressed into the scratched, old wood. The impact against the hard edge took practically all the air from his lungs. Panting, he tried to scoop it up, only to have the heavy weight of Alpha's body press him against the bar with such force that he could barely move, and the bitter smell of anger filled his nose and mouth until his stomach heaved. Or maybe it was the blow he'd taken.
He wasn't damn sure. All he knew was that he couldn't move, his face pressed against the damp wood, his right arm twisted behind his back, and Castiel breathing his rage into the back of his neck. And that every ounce of instinct in him was screaming at him to stop struggling and bare his throat, even though that wasn't really possible because the big hand holding his neck was strong and unrelenting.
"I really don't appreciate being called a cheat and a liar. Especially in front of my men, Omega," Castiel growled in his ear. "I allow you a lot. I like your rebelliousness and passion. But you should learn to know your boundaries and start treating me with the proper respect I deserve for all I do for you." His right shoulder snapped and a hot pain slid up his arm to his wrist as the Alpha bent his arm to an unnatural angle while leaning over him even more to press his lips to his ear. He sucked in air deeply in that sickening way that made the hairs on the back of Dean's neck stand on end, and growled in displeasure as if he found his Omega's scent disgusting. Then he continued darkly, "As for your little Beta friend... I think we've established that what I did to her is nothing compared to what I could do to her. She might as well be on her way to China tonight. Squeezed in the garbage. Do we understand each other?" he hissed, and when Dean didn't respond quickly enough, he tangled his fingers in his hair and lifted his head behind the desk at an unnatural and painful angle. "Answer me!"
"Yes, Alpha," he whimpered, giving in to his Omega and softening in Alpha's grasp as much as the pain and unnaturally tight muscles would allow.
He felt another growl vibrate Alpha's chest and then he was flying to the cold tiles. He landed hard, his right arm numb even for such a short moment. More pain gushed from his side, which he used to hit the ground, and just like that, he managed not to hit his head as well.
He remained lying down. His whole body shook with half-contained rage and the urge to jump to his feet and defend himself as his father had taught him to do, or at least run. Partly because his inner Omega, whimpering and submissively exposing his neck, was literally pushing him to the ground, forcing him to crawl humbly to Alpha's shiny black boots and silently beg for forgiveness. But he would never do something like that. Never! Not even Castiel could make him do that. He'd rather be beaten like a dog, gutted like a pig and rot in a dump somewhere than humiliate himself like this.
But the truth was, he didn't dare resist, or even look up from the floor where he'd stabbed him. What chance would he have either, with Castiel himself towering over him, while being surrounded by four more of his men, one of whom was also an Alpha. And at least three of them were carrying guns. He probably wouldn't even make it to the door if he decided to run.
"You've been trying my patience lately. It's large, but not unlimited. Start paying attention," Alpha's threatening voice, full of coldness, came from above him. "Now get out of my sight and come back when you learn to behave."
The black boots disappeared and Dean allowed himself only a quick glance up at that moment to check where he was going. He saw him grab a pack of cigarettes from the table and then quickly head for the back room.
"Neblagodarnaya Omega suchka," was the last thing he heard before the Alpha completely disappeared from his sight.
There was a silence that actually reminded him that he wasn't alone in the room and also brought a growing sense of humiliation. They could all see that the Alpha had literally brushed him off like a rag doll and that he hadn't even made an effort to resist. He had simply given in, like a proper obedient Omega, and now he was just lying there on the floor like... like a beaten dog. And the Alpha walked away from him like he was something that wasn't even worth his attention. That was the worst part of it all. That and the anger he had at himself for not only being unable to defend himself, even for the second time - god, their Alpha would be so ashamed of him - but also for how desperate he was for the Alpha's forgiveness and attention.
He could feel the burning in his eyes.
No! He certainly wasn't going to cry here and humiliate himself even more.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and picked himself up off the ground with all the dignity he could still muster. He looked around him. The unknown Beta behind the bar lowered his eyes the moment their gazes met, his expression betraying a deep discomfort, as if he didn't even want to look at Dean. Pyotr wore a calm, composed expression, as if he witnessed similar performances on a regular basis, which he probably did. As for the Golem - he only dared to cast a quick glance in his direction, because he didn't fucking need to attract the attention of Alpha monster - he must have gotten up somewhere during his argument with Castiel, because he'd just sat back down at his cabbage-smelling bowl and didn't seem to care about anything around him.
The only one who showed any interest was Jacob. He stepped closer to Dean and actually looked concerned when he asked:
"You okay, boy?"
He bared his teeth and growled.
"I don't need your help," he snapped, because why the hell was he even getting involved. It wasn't his problem, so he could go fuck himself with ease.
Focusing on his anger to quell the whimpering inside him, he started for the door, not caring heartily that he'd taken Jacob down with his shoulder and actually made him stagger. He didn't look back, just opened the door, picked a direction, and quickly continued down the street and away. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know the place and he didn't care. He just needed to get away. As far away from the pub as possible. As far away from all this shit as possible. Away from this neighborhood. Away from this fucking town. Away from Alpha... no, he couldn't get away from Castiel. He didn't want to get away from Castiel, and he wanted to.
The cold, strong wind stung his eyes. He could feel the dampness chill his eyelashes.
Just cry, Winchester. Just show that you're a pathetic little scared Omega shit and nothing else, he taunted himself, but it didn't help. He felt one fucking tear start to roll down his cheek. He wiped it away furiously. God... he was so fucking pathetic. Some fucking knot had gotten angry at him and he had the urge to curl up in a ball under a warm blanket, in a fucking nest he didn't even have, and cry like some little Omega girl. How low he could go.
"Boy! Where do you think you're going?!" He heard Jacob's voice behind him.
"That's not your problem! Then go fuck yourself!"
"It's my problem. We're supposed to be watching you. I won't end up with a shot knee because you're acting like an Omega hysteric. Do you hear me?!" He said angrily, grabbing Dean's shoulder to stop him.
"Don't touch me!" He snarled, along with the way he did, turning around and bravely getting rid of the hand that was gripping his shoulder. "Do that again and I'll tell Alpha you touched my cock. Then you won't just get both knees shot through, you'll end up at the bottom of the Hudson, okay? So stay away."
"Okay..." Beta put his hands palms up and tilted his head to the side exposing his neck in that ridiculous Beta imitation of submission. "Let's just get you home."
"I'm not interested," he snapped, turning and continuing on down the street.
Surely there had to be a bus or subway stop somewhere, and if he didn't stumble upon one within a few minutes, he had google maps. Or take a fucking cab or uber. If nothing else Alpha did for him, he had enough money from him to get a ride.
"You can't wander the streets alone. You have to come with me. You hear me?! I'm not gonna chase you around!"
Heedless of Beto's words, he kept walking, faster and faster, only glancing over his shoulder now and then to find that yeah, the fucker was still following him. He looked across the road, then in one direction, then the other. He saw the perfect opportunity. There were cars coming from both directions. With himself he was sure he was fast enough to avoid them, with Jacob on the other hand he knew that at his age and weight he wouldn't be as nimble.
He timed it nicely, swerving into the road just enough to slip in front of the hood of the first car and darted into the other lane in a flash, avoiding another car. Then he was running, only dimly aware of the braking, horns and Russian swearing that accompanied his successful escape.
But he knew he hadn't won yet, so he kept running, glancing over his shoulder now and then to see if by any chance...
The impact with something soft sent him crashing to the ground. He landed hard on his butt and warm water splashed over his legs.
"Chto ty delayesh', glupyy mal'chik? Razve ty ne mozhesh' smotret' na dorogu?! Ty pochti pobedil menya..."
He looked up at the guy he bumped into. He was old, with skinny arms and legs, but a round belly, and dressed oddly enough only in canvas pants, sandals, and a shirt, even though it was already cold. His wrinkled face was contorted with anger and his lips were slightly parted revealing only three Alpha fangs. His bottom one was missing along with the next tooth. He had a bucket full of water in one hand and a window squeegee in the other.
" Sorry. I don't understand you," Dean blurted out.
"Can't you speak our language?" The old man growled in well-understood English with only a slight accent.
"I'm not Russian..."
The old Alpha made an unintelligible sound that was probably a word and then sucked in air. Once and then again. At that moment he must have caught Dean's scent with certainty because his expression changed. He stopped frowning so much, shoved the squeegee into the bucket, and held out his hand to help him up.
He looked at the offered palm in confusion for a moment before taking it and swinging himself to his feet without actually using Alpha's help. He couldn't burden such an old man, but he couldn't refuse him either. Dad had raised him better.
"Sorry, Alpha. I didn't mean to bump into you."
Old Alpha gave him a strange look. Dean involuntarily remembered at that moment the first time he'd met Castiel, where the Alpha had told him about how they didn't use secondary sexes in his country.
"Thank you for your help, sir," he added quickly and politely, which the old man acknowledged with a slight smile.
"Did you hurt yourself, child?" He asked as he peeled the non-existent trash off Dean's
"No, I'm all right. Thank you, sir."
"You seem like a well-mannered young man. Why are you rushing around on the sidewalk like that?"
For a moment he shuddered, because he really thought that this guy might be one of Alpha's men, but of course that was stupid. Not everyone in this neighborhood was a member of the Bratva who was supposed to be watching him, for example, this old Alpha - he glanced quickly at the store they were standing by - was a bookseller who had simply taken advantage of a moment without customers to go wash the window. Even though he was an Alpha, he was just a harmless old man. But he could be useful. If he could hide in his shop for a while, the Alpha's men might give up and not look for him, and they were looking for him, he was sure of it.
"Kind of..." he admitted, lowering his gaze in mock embarrassment and showing his neck.
The hoarse grunt was exactly the response he expected, just as he expected the hand that landed on his shoulder. Old or not, he was still an Alpha bookseller, and he knew how to act like one.
"Come on. I'll make some hot tea and you can warm up in my shop for a while," he said, cupping a hand to the back of Dean's head with a gentleness that contrasted with how roughly his Alpha had treated him earlier, and with just the slightest pressure he steered him towards the door to the shop. "Let's give your Alpha some time to calm down. Young Alphas can be explosive... oh yes, I still remember what I was like..."
"Ya pozabochus' o nem, starik,," came from behind Dean's back.
He didn't understand the words, but he recognized Jacob and immediately tensed. The old Alpha must have sensed this, of course, and in fact he straightened up determinedly as he prepared to protect Dean, and turned to Jacob with a true Alpha expression. It was clear that he would at least growl at Beta now, and if nothing else it would be amusing, only the Alpha's face suddenly paled and all dominance and determination disappeared with the quick removal of his hand from Dean's throat.
Dean frowned in confusion.
"Sorry. I don't understand English. I can't help," Alpha blurted out in a frankly terrified voice, even his scent, mint and blueberry, filled with sour undertones.
"Wait... what... we were just talking..." he addressed him in a pointless attempt to hold him back, even taking a small half step in his direction.
It only made the old Alpha step back quickly, a look of literal horror on his face. He didn't even bother trying to answer Dean, just quickly ran up the two small steps to the door of his bookstore, ran inside, and not only closed the door behind him. He secured them with a lock, and after one long, apologetic look directly into Dean's eyes, he reached for the blinds and pulled them down as quickly as he was left staring rather puzzled at the front of the bookstore and the window that had just gone dark.
"You're in our neighborhood. No one can stand up to a batyushka and his men here," Jacob uttered, standing at his side.
He glanced over at him, expecting a little to see a drawn gun hanging loosely in his hand, or at least a knife, but in reality, Beta just had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his jacket unbuttoned so that a large chunk of his tattooed neck was visible. Nothing more. He just showed his tattoos. That was enough to make the old Alpha... Alpha! He tucked his tail between his legs and hid in fear.
"Will you come with me in peace now?"
"Do I have a choice?" he asked bitterly.
It was obvious that Beta was right. As long as he was in this neighborhood, he wasn't safe, and in fact, he was pretty sure he could get the people here in trouble just by not being seen and not being able to tell where he ran or hid. Regardless... what was the point of running away? Nothing. Just bullshit. Just Omega hysteria. He had to go back for Sam anyway before he tried to leave town, and Alpha's men could wait for him there in peace. The only thing his escape would accomplish was wandering around this fucking huge city for hours, probably getting lost a few times, and eventually ending up right back where he started. He'd have to face his Alpha again sooner or later anyway. He had no choice.
"Look, boy," Beta addressed him, walking up to him and putting both hands on his shoulders. Oddly enough, politely on his shoulder joints, not his scent glands. "It's gonna be all right, okay? The boss is pissed right now, but you can fix it. We'll go back to him, you'll apologize, he'll forgive you, and everything will be fine. What do you say?"
"I don't want to talk to him. Not now."
Though he knew he had no choice, he couldn't and wouldn't look Castiel in the eye at the moment. It didn't matter how much his Omega whined and wanted to follow his Alpha, he was angry with him. For what he'd done to Lisa and for the way he'd acted moments ago. He was angry and... hell yeah, he was scared. A small, cold knot of fear sat in the pit of his stomach only reinforced by the uncertainty of what Castiel might still do if he was still angry.
"Alright," Jacob agreed with a sigh, and took his hands off Dean's shoulders. "I can see why you don't want to see him now. I get it."
"You don't understand anything. You're one of them, and you're a Beta. You don't understand shit."
"Yeah, I guess I don't understand the Alpha/Omega stuff, but I know what it's like to get into a world with rules you don't understand. I understand how you feel."
Dean grinned.
"I don't know what you're trying to do, man, but it won't work. You don't give a shit how I feel, and besides, you don't even like me, so what's your point?"
"I never said I didn't like you," Jacob argued. "Yeah, we got off to a bad start," he held up his left hand to show his fingers, which, though no longer braced, were obviously still stiff, then pointed to his nose, which was still a subtle shade of greenish-yellow. "But... you're a bit like me," he said, to which Dean commented with a smirk; it was hard enough to imagine Jacob starting his career in the Russian mafia as the object of some Alpha's morbid obsession. "I'm not Russian, not the real thing. My parents are Russian immigrants, but I'm already an American. And I've never cared about being who I am and where I am, but when I was just a few years older than you, I did something stupid. I just wanted to go for a ride in a nice car that wasn't mine. Things went a little more fucked up than expected and instead of a year and a half for stealing a car, I got twelve years. It's tough for a young boy in prison. Joining the Bratva literally saved my life."
"Why are you telling me this?" He asked defensively. He didn't care about the pitiful fate of one of Alpha's men. Why did he need to know either? He didn't want to get close to them, because the moment he did, it would mean accepting his fate as a mafia wife, and he didn't want that. Not yet.
"Because I want you to trust me, take this and use it sometime," Jacob replied, reaching into his pocket and handing Dean a business card. "I wrote my private number on it."
He hesitated only briefly before taking the card and turning it over in his hand several times. It belonged to a cleaning agency that promised quick carpet and upholstery cleaning. The business card was completely plain, unremarkable, but since Jacob had just handed it to him, he could expect it to provide other services besides carpet cleaning or be a money launderer or something. On the reverse, underneath the simple sofa printed in brown, was a phone number written in pen and a big 'J' in front of it.
"Why should I trust you?" He looked up from the card.
"And why not? You have to trust someone."
"But not you. You're a criminal of the first category. Hardly someone I should trust."
"You're wrong, kid." Beta shakes her head. "We're not a bunch of thieves, murderers and violent thugs who just happen to go to the same pub. We're so much more than that. We're each other's brother."
"Right!" He snorted. "Thieves' honor..."
"Yeah, something like that. Loyalty, respect and reverence is the only thing that holds together guys who are otherwise capable of anything. That's why your Alpha can't afford to have you question his authority in public, in front of his men. It could cost him his life, and it could cost you yours. That's one of the lessons of living in our world, and I'm giving it to you for free."
"So what? You mean I'm supposed to be a little, obedient Omega, just smile and nod at everything and look pretty? If that's your advice, then thanks." He rolled his eyes in disdain. "I figured that out a long time ago, but I'm just not the type to listen to every knot that asks for something. I'm not going to sit at home and cook and have babies. I'd rather die. If that's what Alpha Novak wants, he's found the wrong Omega."
"I'm not saying you have to be an obedient little Omega, just don't question anything he says or does in public. At home, on the other hand... well, what it looks like beyond the threshold of your household is another matter..." the Beta added, giving a slight smile for the first time since Dean had known him, and his smile even looked sort of... mischievous.
He frowned in incomprehension.
"Our boss may be an Alpha, but he's still Russian and... boy... everyone knows who really wears the pants in a Russian household. And it's definitely not men and Alphas. You can trust me on that."
He blinked in surprise at first as he figured out what Beta was implying, and then figured out the little quip, which Jacob emphasized with a grin and a cock of his eyebrow. And he chuckled a little in amusement and resignation. Then he looked at the card again.
Sure, he didn't trust Beta, but having a contact for someone else in the Brotherhood other than the Alpha couldn't hurt. And some other Russian who could explain all sorts of Russian weirdness to him if he couldn't or wouldn't ask Castiel. After all, actually - he shot a quick glance at Jacob - an ally in the enemy's ranks always came in handy anyway.
"I need to get back to school and pick up my brother," he said, shoving his business card into his pocket as ostentatiously as he could to make sure Beta didn't miss it. However, he also commented on it with a satisfied smile.
"Right. Not a problem. We'll throw you in."
They headed back to the car together.
...
Neblagodarnaya Omega suchka - Ungrateful Omega bitch Chto ty delayesh', glupyy mal'chik? Razve ty ne mozhesh' smotret' na dorogu?! Ty pochti pobedil menya… - What are you doing, stupid boy?! Can't you see the road?! You almost beat me... Ya pozabochus' o nem, starik - I'll take care of him, old man