Chapter 1: Guards

The guards were restless.

Gabriel was used to them being restless when he was near heat, but he was in the late stages of pregnancy at the moment so only his mates should be alert like this. "What's wrong with your guards, Michael?" As one of his alpha brothers, Michael had chosen to stay in the hive when Gabriel ascended to Queenship, though one day he might choose to leave to seek his own mate in a different hive. At the moment, he and his four alpha clutch-mates were content to remain where they had been born.

"Anna thinks she found an intruder in the south fields. The betas are nervous, so I increased patrols there. I don't want to have an incident like they had in Kevin's nest before he ascended." Kevin was the queen of a nearby hive, sharing a border along their northern fields. He had been groomed to become queen when his dam wanted to retire, and that minor uncertainty in the hive had allowed a breach in security from their wilderness border. Five teenagers had been stolen, including one omega who had been promised to the Campbell Hive as a replacement for their dying queen. Clearly the pack of exiled alphas were interested in starting their own hive, though no one could found them after the incident, and Kevin had ruled peacefully since. All of the nearby hives had improved their security protocols after the incident.

"She thinks it's an alpha?" Gabe leaned forward from his low couch, groaning as the weight of his pregnancy affected his ability to find his balance. Benny, one of his mates who had attended his last heat and helped sire his current clutch, stepped forward to help the queen to his feet.

"The scent is weak. If it's an alpha, it's a young one. Jody found some tracks near the lake and she thinks it's probably two or possibly three intruders, maybe hungry youngsters. They don't technically have a queen scent."

"Technically?" Balthazar, another of Gabe's mates though generally more hedonistic than the others, was rarely moved to action, but he would certainly fight as fiercely as any alpha to defend his hive and his queen. "What does she mean by that?"

"She said there's a faint residue of a queen scent, but either they have been separated from their queen for a long time, the scent is from a very young queen, or the scent is intentionally hidden. All of those indicate a low threat level."

"Put together a larger team and investigate. Move the beta harvesting teams to the east fields until we are sure we are safe. Perhaps we should reconsider improving the fences around the fields, if only to keep this from happening again."

"I'll ask Ketch to find room in the budget. He'll be upset if it interferes with the plans for expanding the herds."

"What plans? I bought him thirty more hens last year and an entire herd of milk goats. I even secured breeding rights with Kevin's hive."

"He thinks we could get a good trade deal with Rebecca's hive if we started breeding beef cattle. Her current supplier of calves had a disease outbreak earlier this year and most of the herd was lost. That supplier reorganized her breeding operation and will now only be able to feed her own hive for at least the next few years," Ishim drawled from his seat against the wall. Gabe's private council room was relatively small, but it was cozy and his mates and guards had free reign to enter as they wished. He had few attendants today since his mates knew that he didn't need much company this late in a pregnancy. "Balthazar's birth queen is downsizing her own herd of breeding Angus and Herefords but she's not on good terms with Rebecca so Ketch thinks we have a chance to acquire them. If we wait too long, however, Rebecca may improve relations with Zar's dam."

Balthazar snorted and took a sip of his wine. "Unlikely, but not impossible. I'll grab Crowley and let him work with Ketch to find a way to finance both. We have to clear a new field for cows, anyway, and he's in charge of the work details."

"Anything for an excuse to visit your boyfriend?"

Zar chuckled as he pushed himself to his feet. Mated alphas frequently had lovers on the side chosen from the betas in the hive; as long as they were available when their queen needed them the queens never minded. After all, Gabe barely had time for one or two alphas at a time, so he was just as happy that they could find emotional and sexual fulfillment elsewhere. Benny, Ishim, Ketch, and Ruby also had partners among the betas, though Kali had not found a compatible partner yet. Gabe promised to arrange a trade for any beta she found appealing in any hive, but for the moment she was content with the time she had by his side.

Michael stood to leave with Zar; guard alphas rarely spent a lot of time in Gabe's private rooms. "I'll grab Lucifer and Akobel for another patrol and see if we can find Anna's phantom."

"Good. I'll be heading to the birthing chambers in two or three days, so if you find anyone while I'm gone just lock them up until I've recovered."

"Very good, Majesty."

Dean furiously rubbed ointment into his major scent glands, wincing at the burn but not really seeing an option. Sam, having finally grown into his alpha frame, chewed on the last of their jerky in an attempt to silence his growling stomach. They had been moving quickly for the past few weeks, and food was hard to come by. Sam and Dean were good hunters, but they couldn't risk leaving a half-eaten carcass in a rival hive's territory. Dean had stolen some dried meat a couple of days earlier, and there were still berries in the forest, but they couldn't survive a winter alone in the wild. The fields nearby, owned by a hive Dean had never heard of, were a tempting target, and their lake offered fresh water and lots of fish.

"How long are we going to stay?"

"I don't know. I think I smelled chicken coops on the other side of the fields, so I can probably steal us some breakfast in the morning."

"They'll have dogs, Dean. Your scent blockers won't fool them."

"They fooled that guard this morning. She couldn't find us."

Sam sighed and leaned against his tree, scratching at his chin. He was just old enough to start growing facial hair, though nothing serious enough to be called a beard, and his scent was getting stronger, too. Soon he would be old enough to attract a mate, join a hive with a queen, and sire a new generation far from the deprivations and terrors of his childhood. Dean felt that he owed his little brother that much. "We should try fishing before we lose the light. This dried meat is nutritionally useless."

"It's keeping us alive, isn't it?" Dean glanced out at the field he could barely make out through the trees. Corn, enough to feed this large hive and their livestock through the winter. This hive was clearly wealthy, with many fields and more livestock than they needed, allowing them to trade with nearby hives for other vital supplies. He had seen the clothes that the female alpha was wearing; they were inlaid with precious gems and she wore golden chains around her neck. Despite his bravado, Dean wasn't entirely sure he could evade such a wealthy hive for very long. "Yeah, we can fish tonight in that bay shielded by the forest. We'll have to find a safe place for a fire where we won't attract their guards."

"I saw a cave just up the hill; it faces south so they shouldn't see it."

"Fine."

Lucifer sniffed the air and ran gentle fingers over the mud at the edge of the pond. This section was secluded, a private cove often used by cavorting couples, but these marks were unusual. He found fish scales in the mud, shining in the light of the midday sun. "Someone was fishing here. Unusual. We use the northern bank."

"There were eggs missing from the coop this morning," Anna grumbled. "The betas say some of their most reliable hens didn't have anything in their roost boxes, enough that they found the need to report it. Maybe twenty eggs were stolen."

"And we noticed ears of corn missing on the southern edge of the field," Jody added, the gold piping on her navy jacket shining in the sunlight. The guards preferred that uniform, the navy coat and pants with gold worked into the fabric, a cream undershirt, and whatever jewelry they could wear without interfering with their job. "Carrots taken from the western fields and two goats this morning that wouldn't give milk."

"As if they had already been milked before the goatherds woke," Lucifer mused. "We have intruders for sure, maybe just one."

"At least two," Anna argued. "They took too much food for one person, and someone had to distract the dogs while the other stole eggs."

"Yes, but the dogs are only silent in our presence. The know our hive scent and ignore us."

"Stolen clothes, perhaps?"

"That doesn't make sense. Our clothes would carry the scent, but an alpha's natural aroma would override it in seconds. Even betas . . . they must be covering their own scents."

"I don't think they're a threat, then," Bobby chimed in. He was an elder guard, an alpha who had been offered a place in Gabe's harem but he declined. He hadn't been young when he joined this hive, and it was well known that he had been mated before to another queen far away, but she had died and her hive collapsed. It was known to happen, though it was very rare. His age gave his words greater weight than a guard's would normally have, and even Lucifer offered him the honor of silence and attention. "These are exiles from another hive, starving and trying to find anything to eat before winter sets in. These are likely youngsters. Their queen died or there was famine in their hive and they were weak and cast out. I'm guessing it's a beta and an alpha, not much use to their queen, and they have probably tried to join other hives before."

"No one wants a young alpha and a half-starved beta this near winter," Lucifer murmured.

"We aren't like other hives," Bobby pointed out. "Gabe breeds whenever he feels like it, winter or not, and we are perfectly capable of handling his clutch. We could take in these exiles, help them find a new home."

"Gabriel has a soft heart," Jody murmured. "He may allow it."

"We have to catch them first," Lucifer pointed out. "Anna, find me a handful of betas who have tracking experience and give them some blockers. We can't hide very well, but they can."

"I'll take care of it. We should have them in custody by morning."

Dean slipped through the trees silently, heading for the edge of the corn field. Sam ate a lot of food now, way more than during his first growth spurt, which was common with adult alphas. Dean hoped they could move past this hive soon and find some unclaimed land where they could hunt again; it was hard to keep his brother full on plants, eggs, and milk alone. He had caught the scent of the hive's alphas near their fishing spot that afternoon, so he planned to avoid it for a few days until they gave up the search. He had a very powerful sense of smell, so he would be able to detect an alpha's scent for days after they left an area.

He froze at the edge of the field, staring at the gap in the fence as a sense of foreboding shivered along his spine. He felt like he was being watched. If he was alone out here, he would have turned around and headed back to camp, but Sam was hungry and he was too big and clumsy still to sneak through the fence and grab a few ears of corn. Determined to complete his mission, Dean slipped through the gap in the chain links and headed for the field.

He never heard them approach, howling in fury as two betas grabbed him just inside the fence, their natural scents and their queen scent covered by blockers. He cursed and snapped his teeth at the two big males, both of them together too strong for him to overcome. One of the males was tall and fair, with a strong chin and a sorrowful light in his eyes, while his companion was darker, bald, and looked as angry as his grip felt. "Let me go," Dean hissed, fighting as they tried to force him to his knees. A third beta appeared out of the shadows, a smaller man with dark eyes and the careful movements of an assassin, and helped the first two clap handcuffs around Dean's wrists as he landed on his knees. He paused in his struggles for a moment, trying to think through his options to escape, growling as a second set of handcuffs was locked above his elbows, which he wouldn't be able to remove. The third beta also locked shackles around his ankles linked by a short chain to prevent him from running.

"Good job Gadreel, Uriel. I thought it would take longer to apprehend our first thief."

"Always appreciate your help," Gadreel purred somewhat dryly and certainly sarcastically, tightening his grip on Dean's shoulder as he nodded toward the woods. "Now, do your part."

"Of course, my dear brothers." Dean glanced between the three betas, reasonably certain that none of them were clutch mates, but similarly-ranked betas from the same hive often used familial terms of endearments. "I don't suppose you'll tell us your name or the location of your hungry companion, will you, little beta?"

Well, at least that still worked. Dean narrowed his eyes and turned away, refusing through his scent or actions to betray his brother. He was certain that Sam was smart enough to stay hidden, even from this nosy beta assassin. Uriel, the only one of the three beta males who exuded anger, jerked Dean to his feet and walked him toward the fence, shoving him against the chain links and locking a collar around his neck. Dean tried to jerk away as Uriel attached a short chain to the collar, but he wasn't strong enough to prevent the beta from hooking the chain around a metal post a foot above his head. He pulled back against it as the betas walked away, but the clip was too high for him to reach with his mouth. He tried to raise one foot to see if he could remove the shackle around his ankle, but the chain between his legs was too short and the handcuffs above his elbows prevented him from getting any movement.

He finally gave up struggling a few minutes later, choosing to hoard his strength for an escape later. He jerked in shock at a soft chuckle behind him, sure that the three betas had all headed into the woods. Dean pressed his body closer to the fence so he could turn his head far enough to see his new companion, growling instinctively at the blue-eyed, raven-haired alpha standing behind him. The man was tall and objectively quite lovely, but his long wrinkled trench coat worn over a dark navy suit hid what might be a very toned body. Dean caught himself staring into the alpha's vibrant blue eyes so he dropped his gaze to the equally blue tie to avoid any inappropriate thoughts that might lead his body to betraying his disguise. "What do you want?"

The alpha raised one eyebrow, which Dean could barely see out of the corner of his eye. "You are the invader here; I believe I should be asking the questions. Why are you in my hive?"

Dean lifted his head enough to catch the alpha's scent. "You're not mated to the queen here. Are you a guard, then?"

The alpha tilted his head, a thread of curiosity entering his scent. "Good nose. He's my younger brother; my alpha clutch-mates and I chose to stay when he became queen."

"What's your queen's name?"

The alpha snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, definitely not stretching his trench coat in a fairly appealing way over his shoulders and upper arms. "You invaded a hive without knowing the queen's name? I don't know if I should be insulted or not."

"I'm from far away; I don't know any of the hives in this area."

"Our queen is Gabriel Novak, heir of Chuck Novak. I'm Castiel, sired by Naomi as were a few of the other guards in the hive. Who are you?" Dean bit his lip and turned his head, freezing as Castiel walked closer and reached out to clap a hand on his shoulder, offering a calm scent. "It's only fair, stranger; I gave you my name."

Well, it wasn't like Castiel would be able to find his home hive with just his name. "I'm Dean."

"What queen? What hive? What sire?"

"None of that matters," Dean murmured. "They're all gone now."

Castiel frowned and narrowed his eyes, though he didn't invade Dean's privacy to examine his scent. At least the alphas here had morals. "It's unusual for an entire hive to collapse."

Well, if he was vague enough, he could tell his history without revealing anything that would get him in trouble. "My hive was small with alphas from more powerful neighbors, and we had very good land. A rival queen wanted our land for herself, so she sent her mates in to assassinate my queen and burn our home to the ground, frightening away all of our betas. Most of our alphas died in the ensuing fight, and only two of the queen's mates survived. They managed to save two hatchlings, sons of one of the alphas, and they ran. They tried to hunt down the alphas who caused the carnage, but they moved to another hive and the trail ran cold. One of the alphas left, but the sire of the hatchlings raised them on the road, never joining a new hive and never settling down. He died earlier this spring, we don't know how, but we think he may have tracked down the alpha who killed our queen."

"Do you still want to find that alpha, kill him?"

Dean shrugged and shook his head, though he knew that the uncertainty in his scent would give him away. "He killed both my parents, took our home, and destroyed our childhood. I want him dead, but I don't know if I want to spend my entire life trying to find him."

"He also broke the law," Cas pointed out. "Alphas are expendable, and a certain number of losses are to be expected in any major territorial skirmish, but queens are inviolate. To kill a queen is to risk war with all of the neighboring hives. If your sire had just gone to one of his allies and told the story, they would have crushed this unstable hive."

"I know that now," Dean whispered, "but I was four. What could a toddler hatchling do but obey his sire?"

Castiel frowned and tried to decide how to comfort this stranger, but a cry in the woods caught their attention. He turned to peer through the fence as Dean redoubled his effort to escape, growling and jerking against his restraints, listening as the three betas apparently found Dean's brother. He listened as the other rogue roared, determining that he must be an alpha, but he was certainly not strong enough to escape Crowley, Gadreel, and Uriel. "It sounds like they've found your brother."

"Castiel, please just let us go! We'll move on, I swear; you don't want to keep us here."

Castiel stared at the boy, sensing the truth in his words, but he just shrugged. "The Queen has ordered that we capture you and bring you before his throne. We can't disobey our queen, you know that, Dean."

Dean whined sadly in the back of his throat and pulled against his chain one more time before dropping his forehead on the fence. "I know," he whispered. "Is he going to execute us?"

"What? No! Gabe doesn't execute people. He just wants to meet you."

Cas watched as Gadreel dragged Dean's chained brother through the fence, Crowley carrying a tattered bag that presumably carried the alpha's supplies. The rogue alpha struggled against his captors, but despite his height and broad frame, he was still young and hadn't grown into his full musculature. He also looked a little underfed, though he wasn't as gaunt as Dean, and his hunger was probably why his brother had braved the hive's guards to get more food. Castiel wondered if they had been struggling since their sire died. The alpha's long hair looked like it hadn't been cut in some time, and he was just starting to grow some reasonable amount of facial hair. Dean was a bit scruffier and both were dirty, so maybe they would appreciate a bath and a meal when they got into the hive.

As an alpha, Castiel outranked all of the betas in the hive, so Gadreel looked to him instantly for orders. Uriel, though he often disliked most of the alphas in the hive, glanced at Castiel and nodded toward Dean, asking a silent question. Castiel nodded and watched as Uriel unhooked Dean's chain and jerked the boy forward, heading back to the hive. Gadreel pulled his captive after the older beta, walking slowly in consideration for his leg chains. "Dean?"

"Hush," his brother growled, glancing over his shoulder. Uriel jerked the chain attached to his collar to silence him, causing the boy to stumble and start to fall.

Castiel reached out and grabbed Dean's shoulder, helping him regain his balance. His blue eyes sparked with red as he snatched the chain out of Uriel's hand and dared the man to argue with him. "Let's not injure our captives, Uriel."

"He's an invader, a rogue. He's violated our lands and stolen our food."

"He's starving, and barely an adult. He just wanted food, and he didn't kill any of our animals. We can live without a few ears of corn and some eggs, but I don't think we can live with the ostracization of the other hives if we murder these boys for no reason."

"Castiel—"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Uriel," Castiel snapped back, sensing Gadreel and Crowley cowering away from him as his anger leaked into his scent. Generally, no one in the hive would intentionally anger the Queen's five alpha clutch-mates, but Uriel wasn't known for being calm and intelligent. "Go back to the hive and prepare a two bedroom suite for these boys, one in the center of the hive without windows and with a bathroom and small kitchen included. Remove anything they could use for escape or self-harm and prepare a mixed detail of alphas and betas to guard them until we can get them an audience with Gabe."

Uriel sneered and started to argue back, knowing that Castiel was assigning him a menial task that his rank in the hive would normally preclude, but the red in the alpha's eyes stilled his tongue. Nodding, he turned back to the hive and jogged off. Silently the small group headed back toward the hive buildings, Castiel trying to be as gentle as possible as he led his captive. "It's going to take time to see your queen?"

Castiel nodded. "Yes, Dean."

Dean dropped his head and clenched his fists behind his back, Crowley spotting it and making a mental note to tell Castiel about that later. "Why can't we see him tonight?"

"Gabe is in the birthing chamber and he will be in recovery for a few days after he is done. He won't be able to see you until afterwards. Don't worry, we will take care of you until then." Castiel glanced over his shoulder at the tall alpha, turning back to place a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder. "Are you going to tell us what to call your brother for the next few days, or should we just guess?"

"I'm voting for Moose," Crowley called out from the back of the group. The alpha managed a chuckle at that despite the harrowing situation.

"He prefers to go by Sam," Dean answered, clearly deciding that there was no reason to keep his brother's name a secret.

"Well, Dean and Sam, welcome to Novak Hive."