
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/962414.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Supernatural_RPF
  Relationship:
      Jensen_Ackles/Jared_Padalecki
  Character:
      Jared_Padalecki, Jensen_Ackles
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe, Alpha/Beta/Omega_Dynamics, Alternate_Universe_-
      Dystopia, Mpreg, Underage_Sex, Age_Difference, Abuse, Angst, Knotting,
      Self-Lubrication, Institutionalized_slavery, alpha!Jensen, omega!Jared,
      not_a_really_happy_ending
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-09-07 Chapters: 14/14 Words: 80007
****** Like a Bee on a Window ******
by ashtraythief
Summary
     Prompt: Omegas are kept by Alpha/Beta couples to keep house and bear
     children. Jared was raised in a liberal family with only his alpha
     father and an omega mother, who were equals in their relationship,
     but they died when Jared was sixteen. Jared is placed with an alpha/
     beta couple but when he gets pregnant it’s the last straw to help him
     gather the courage to escape from his abusive alpha. He escapes only
     to run straight into alpha Jensen’s arms.
Notes
     Written for this_prompt on the
     [http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=556?v=108.3]
spnkink_meme
So this is not a happy fic. It’s dark. Very dark. There is an extreme amount of
hurt!Jared, both physically and psychologically and Jensen is not, I repeat not
his knight in shining armor!
I know that my stories usually have some sort of schmoop in them somewhere, but
this is not one of them! There will be no fluffy happy ending here. If that’s
not for you, turn around now. If you still want to read it, I have an empty
seat next to me on the express train to special hell.
There are additional warnings for non-sexual, possibly triggery, content,
because they're spoilery in nature they're at the beginning at each chapter and
purposefully vague, if you're unsure if you want to read, feel free to ask.
See the end of the work for more notes
***** Chapter 1 *****
 
 
Prologue
 
There was a bee on the window.
“Jared?”
It was crawling around hectically, going this way, then that way.
“Jared? Are you with us?”
It started flying every few seconds, bumping into the window again and again,
not understanding that the glass was a solid barrier against the outside world.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s probably still in shock.”
“Shock?”
“I just told him about his parents a couple of hours ago.”
“He’s an omega, he needs to get it together. He’s supposed to serve, not cry.
And he’s an ugly crier.”
“Have a heart, Hal, he’s only sixteen.”
Jared wondered why the bee wanted to get out in the first place. It was early
winter and the temperatures had dropped over night, making the roads icy and
slippery. Even if the bee would escape, it would freeze to death in no time.
“Jared, honey, you need to listen to me.”
The bee took up its frenzied crawling again.
“I have found you a nice couple who wants to take you in.”
The bee reached the window frame, clearly confused by its different texture,
and turned around again.
“They are very respected members of the community and they live on White Hill.
Do you know what that means, Jared?”
“Everybody knows what White Hill means, Jodie. You have found him a filthy rich
couple, awesome job, shoulder pat for you. Now, he’s clearly not snapping out
of it anytime soon, so I say we move this along. Send him over to Doctor
Shriver, have him checked out, see if he needs any shots and have him collared.
I want him picked up and out of here by lunch time.”
The bee was still buzzing around frantically and Jared wondered where it got
all the energy from. It was such a tiny little thing, so insignificant when it
came to the grand scheme of the world.
“Jared? You need to listen to me now. We’ll go to the doctor now and he will
give you a check up, okay? Then we’ll finally get a nice collar for you, get
something to cover up that bare neck of yours and then you’ll meet your new
family. How does that sound?”
The bee had finally given up, crawling around on the bottom of the window frame
sluggishly.
Jared thought that if it wouldn’t try to escape, it might survive the winter in
the Social Services Center. After all, there were tons of plants in here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter One
Ten months later
 
The wind was cutting sharply through the small alleyway and Jared pulled the
baggy sweater tighter around him. He was so tired, he needed to rest somewhere,
but he heard footsteps. He didn’t know who it was, it could be anybody and he
couldn’t risk it. So once again he turned the other way and ran.
He didn’t know how long he moved through the back streets, changing direction
each time he heard or saw someone coming, but when it started to rain, he knew
he needed to find shelter.
The wind was picking up and the rain drops were shooting almost horizontally
through the air, each drop an icy needle prick against his skin, soaking his
clothes and making him shiver with the cold.
He found a doorway in a deserted alley that was deep enough to provide at least
partial cover and when he curled in tight enough, he didn’t get wet at all.
Jared had lots of experience with making himself small. Alpha really hadn’t
liked it when Jared had hit his last growth spurt and started towering over
him.
It came in handy now and Jared thought he would just stay here until the rain
let up and then finally get out of the city.
He felt the fatigue tug at him and he vowed to stay awake. He closed his eyes,
just for a moment-
 
“What the fuck?”
Jared woke with a start, lying flat on his back and looking up into worried
green eyes.
With the next breath he inhaled, panic settled deep into his bones.
Alpha. He was smelling Alpha.
“Whoa, hey, don’t be afraid. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
The alpha’s voice was soothing, but the words did nothing to calm Jared down.
He wasn’t afraid of getting hurt, he was afraid of having to go back.
“What the hell are you doing here anyway, sleeping in a doorway? Are you here
to see Chris?”
Jared had no idea who Chris was, but an alpha had asked him a question.
“No, alpha,” he managed to get out, his voice not much more than a whisper.
“Alright. Whatever is going on with you, we’re not gonna talk about it out
here. Jeez, you’re drenched! Come on, lets get you inside.”
The alpha took his hand, dragging him up and Jared couldn’t do anything but go
with it. He couldn’t defy an alpha.
 
Inside it was warm and dry and Jared only now noticed how hard his teeth were
chattering.
The alpha led him through a dimly lit corridor into some kind of big office.
Another alpha was sitting behind a big desk cluttered with papers and didn’t
react when they entered.
“Did you forget something?” he asked without looking up.
“No,” the alpha holding Jared’s arms replied. “But I found something on your
doorstep.”
The alpha behind the desk looked up. He didn’t seem as tall and bulky as other
alphas, but his features were hard and his blue eyes looked cold.
“What the fuck?” His voice was deep and gravelly and he looked at Jared in
complete surprise. “Who are you?”
Jared bit his lip. Without his collar they had no way to find out who he was,
unless they involved the police and his alpha had filed a missing omega report.
Because his adoption had gone through social services when he was still a minor
they hadn’t taken his prints and his alpha had never bothered to have him
chipped. Omegas weren’t cataloged in the national omega registry until they
came of age, so technically there was no record of Jared.
It made sense, considering he wasn’t even a person by definition of the law.
The alpha who had found him at the door dragged him forwards and sat him down
in one of the chairs in front of the desk.
“He isn’t wearing a collar,” he said and he didn’t sound happy about it.
“Ah shit,” the other guy breathed out. “An abandoned omega.”
Jared looked down to the ground. Now they would involve the authorities. Even
if his alpha hadn’t filed a missing omega report and they wouldn’t find out
that he was a runaway and not abandoned he would still go back into the system.
Jared started trembling in his chair. He couldn’t go back.
“Chris, you should call the authorities,” the first alpha suggested and Jared
tensed his muscles, ready to bolt. He probably wouldn’t make it, but he refused
to give up now.
The alpha called Chris pursed his lips unhappily. “I don’t like the omega
ministry. Those guys give me the creeps.”
Hope started to bloom in Jared’s chest.
The other alpha just shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t like them either, but he
needs to go back to his alpha or they need to find him a new one.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” Chris sighed and reached for the phone.
Jared jumped up and ran for the door. He didn’t make it more than three steps
before he was yanked back by the collar of his sweater.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
Jared started to struggle and to twist until there was a ripping sound, the
flimsy material of the sweater gave way, and suddenly he was free. The momentum
sent him stumbling down to the floor.
It took him a few seconds to orientate himself, the cool air hitting his
exposed upper body was a big help with that, and when he looked up both alphas
were standing above him, looking at him with twin expressions of surprise and
disgust.
Of course, he was ugly, Alpha had told him often enough and Jared didn’t
understand why it still hurt so much.
“Shit,” the green-eyed alpha breathed out and slowly knelt down in front of
Jared.
He reached his hand out and Jared couldn’t help but flinch back from the hit.
It never came though, instead the alpha started making cooing noises. “Hey,
shh, it’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you okay, you’re safe here. C'mere sweety,
I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Jared was floundering, he didn’t know how to react to the alpha suddenly
talking to him like he was a frightened animal, but he held still and the alpha
carefully reached out again and rubbed a thumb across his cheek.
“There we go, that’s it. See, not gonna hurt you. Now, how about you get up,
okay? Chris here is gonna get you something dry to wear, get you out of your
wet clothes and then we can get you something warm to eat. How does that
sound?”
Jared just nodded. What the hell was happening here?
The alpha carefully pulled him to his feet and led him over to the couch on the
other side of the room. He wrapped Jared into a blanket, instructed him to take
of the rest of his wet clothes, and then went over to Chris who had just come
back with a pile of dry clothes.
They were talking so quietly, Jared only understood snatches of their
conversation.
“What’s with alphas behaving like assholes?... a dog this badly either!” Chris
said.
The other alpha’s reply was too quiet to make much sense of it. “... know, man,
it’s fucked up... need an alpha...”
Jared knew where this conversation was headed and he didn’t need to hear it.
He had taken his shot at freedom and he had screwed up. He would go back to
Alpha and Beta and his life would continue in the same old despair and agony.
It would probably be even worse now and Alpha would never give him another
chance to escape. Maybe he would even have him chipped.
He put a hand on his still flat stomach and a tear rolled down his face. His
only hope now was that his child wouldn’t be an omega. He didn’t think he could
bear the thought of his baby being cursed with the same fate he was.
 
 
 
“What’s with alphas behaving like assholes? You don’t treat a dog this badly
either!” Chris muttered angrily.
“I don’t know, man, it’s fucked up. But he’s an omega, he’s gonna need an
alpha,” Jensen reminded his friend. “He needs someone to guide him with a firm
hand and take care of him, you know how omegas are when they are unclaimed.
Flighty and lazy, only waiting for their next fuck. The principle of the system
is right, there are just too many screwed up individuals in it.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just when I see a kid like that, beaten green and blue just
because he doesn’t follow orders good enough.” Chris shook his head
disapprovingly. “I mean it’s not like they do it on purpose, they’re not
malicious or anything, it’s just in their nature to be a little slow
sometimes.”
Chris shot a concerned look at the omega.
“Exactly,” Jensen replied. “But there are too many assholes out there who don’t
know how to treat an omega correctly. And their childbearing abilities are what
keeps our society alive. You can’t just go and abuse them like that. A little
bit of discipline is fine, but this....”
Chris nodded grimly. “Somebody used this kid as a punching bag. And no matter
what he did, he didn’t deserve that.”
Jensen sighed. “So he’s not abandoned, he’s a runaway.”
It was rare, but not unheard of. Sometimes omegas developed an extremely
stubborn streak, refusing to yield to their alpha and trying to run away. These
individuals were usually captured and taken to the breeding farms. Jensen
didn’t like it anymore than most sensible people, but the government was right
in not letting a fertile womb go to waste. And it was the omegas own fault,
they knew what happened if they didn’t learn to behave.
And sometimes, which was even rarer, the omegas ran because they were abused.
“Yeah. Which means we can’t call the authorities,” Chris said.
“Why not?” Jensen asked.
“You know why. They’ll just give him back to his alpha and the abuse will
continue. By the looks of him he might not survive for long.”
“So what do you propose?”
Chris eyed him calculatingly. “I’m very happy with my bachelor status, but
you... You could take him. I know you want an omega.”
“Not before I find a beta,” Jensen argued. “I want a real family.”
Chris shrugged. “Dude, this is the twenty-first century. You don’t need a beta
to have kids. If you find one later, great. The kids will get used to her. If
not, which looks very likely considering what a grumpy, antisocial bastard you
are, you at least won’t be an old father.”
Jensen shot Chris a withering stare. “Thanks man, very nice.”
Chris just grinned in answer.
Jensen looked back to the omega curled up on the couch. He was young, probably
around sixteen or seventeen and pretty.
He hadn’t noticed at first, because he was sopping wet and very skinny, but now
the color was slowly returning to his cheeks and his hair had started to dry,
the long strands curling up adorably around his ears and at the nape of his
neck. His eyes were slanted and their color was an indeterminable mix of brown,
green and gold, giving his face an exotic air. His wide lips were pink and
full, perfect for giving pleasure and even though he was skinny, probably
underfed, he had a strong frame and big hands, perfect for household work and
bearing children.
Jensen didn’t exactly know what he thought about the running away, he was happy
that the omega had escaped his abusive alpha, but there might be some obedience
issues.
But still.... the longer he looked at the kid, the more appealing the idea of
keeping him sounded.
“He’s pretty,” Chris said and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pockets.
“They won’t let you adopt without a beta and I know you’re too much of a
cheapskate to pay a family for their omega. This is perfect for you.”
Jensen nodded. Chris was right. This was his chance to get an omega without any
hassle. As long as the former alpha hadn’t chipped him, there was no way anyone
could dispute his claim. He would just collar the pretty omega, chip him – with
his history of trying to run away Jensen didn’t want to take the risk – and
then he could take him home.
If anyone asked where he got him from, he could ask Chris to back him up.
He turned to his friend who was back in his chair, legs thrown on the desk, and
staring at the omega pensively. “You gonna back my story if anyone asks
questions?”
“Sure,” Chris answered and took another deep drag from his cigarette. “Seller-
client-privilege, all my transactions are confidential, but yeah, you bought
him here.”
At that, the omega perked up. Wide, terrified brown eyes were jumping back and
forth between Chris and Jensen and the thin hands holding the blanket were
shaking. The poor thing.
Jensen slowly walked over to the omega, careful not to startle him. He sat down
on the couch and the omega leaned as much away from him as possible without
moving away from his spot.
Jensen’s heart clenched. The omega was clearly terrified and Jensen couldn’t
blame him. The scars and marks on his body told a story of intense abuse.
Jensen wondered if he would ever get the omega to trust him, sometimes they
were just too broken. Maybe it wasn’t worth it, taking in this damaged
creature, but when he slowly stretched out his hand the omega closed his eyes
and let him stroke his cheek without fuss.
Jensen hummed approvingly. “There’s a good boy. And you’re real pretty, aren’t
you?”
Brown eyes opened and looked at Jensen with confusion. He couldn’t help but
chuckle. The omega was just too adorable.
“Oh yeah, has nobody ever told you what a pretty boy you are?”
The omega shook his head once and Jensen thought that with the way he was
abused, it was really no surprise.
“But you are,” he told the omega. “Now, why don’t you open that pretty mouth
for me and let me see your teeth?”
The omega didn’t react, but his eyes grew as big as saucers. Jensen decided to
give him some leeway because he was probably still in shock and this was all
happening very fast.
He took the omega’s chin in his hand and pressed his thumb and index finger
into his cheeks.
“Open you mouth,” he ordered more sternly and the omega obeyed.
His teeth were white and even, obviously well cared for. He couldn’t find any
holes or discoloration or any signs of serious malnutrition.
He let go and the omega snapped his mouth shut.
“Very nice. Let me see the rest of you.”
The omega hesitantly lowered the blanket and looked submissively to the ground.
So he knew how to behave properly. That just made the abuse all the worse and
when Jensen saw the bruises again, anger welled up inside him. That alpha
deserved a serious beating.
He stroked the omega’s skin and was pleasantly surprised by the soft texture.
The muscles under his skin were a little weak and he was too skinny for
Jensen’s taste, but that was nothing a few good meals wouldn’t fix.
Upon closer inspection he saw that most of the scars were still red and fresh,
the older ones had nearly faded to nothing. With the right skin care and
lotions they might become almost invisible. Jensen could live with that.
He let his fingers trail over the omega’s nipples to judge their sensibility.
They hardened almost immediately, a good sign for high fertility.
He reached lower and opened the blanket further. The omega stiffened slightly,
but didn’t protest. Considering the circumstances he was very well behaved.
Jensen knew he had made his decision even before he had tested the most
important thing, but he needed to have this omega.
His cock and balls were big for an omega, but not ungainly.
“Turn around for me, sweety,” he told the omega and stroked soothingly over his
shaking flanks as the boy positioned himself on the couch. Who knew what horror
scenarios he was thinking about.
“Relax,” Jensen murmured, trying to keep his voice soft, “I told you, I’m not
gonna hurt you. Just need to take a look, okay?”
The trembling lessened a bit and Jensen patted the omega’s back. “Good boy.”
His back and his ass were as pretty as the rest of him, even though they had
clearly born the brunt of the abuse. Jensen looked closer, confused by the
regular pattern until it hit him.
“Holy shit!”
The omega flinched and Chris looked equally startled. “What?”
Jensen fought to keep his voice even. It wouldn’t do to scare the omega now.
“That bastard whipped him.”
The omega started to shake again and Jensen let his hands glide soothingly over
his back. “It’s okay, sweety, it’s not your fault. No matter what you did, he
shouldn’t have done this to you. You poor thing. But don’t worry, I’m gonna
take care of you. Just need to check one more thing, then we’re all done.
You’re doing so good, such a good boy.”
Jensen continued to murmur sweet nothings as he brought his fingers to the
omega’s hole to test his slick and his elasticity. The muscles gave way easily
enough and his opening was beautiful, pink and fluttering around his fingers
and with a few strokes of his fingers he could feel the slick start to build
up.
His dick started to harden in his pants and he willed it back down. There would
be time for that later.
He could feel a couple of uneven bumps on the boy’s rim and he didn’t need to
look closer to know what they were.
Anal tearing in omegas was rare since their bodies were built to take a knot,
but it could still happen, if a fully inflated knot was ripped out for example.
It was actually the most common form of omega abuse, since a lot of alphas
didn’t want that much intimate time with their omegas.
“Tearing?” Chris asked and Jensen looked over to his friend.
He didn’t need to answer, Chris understood from the look on his face.
He leaned back in his chair and flicked his cigarette out of the open window.
“I hate this fucking town.”
Jensen couldn’t blame him. Chris came from a small town in the countryside and
it was common knowledge that omegas were generally treated better there. The
abuse mostly happened in the cities, where entitled assholes lived lives full
of decadence and opulence.
Jensen gave the omega a pat on his backside to signal the end of the inspection
and got up to get the new clothes.
“Alright, get dressed. I’m not letting you go back to the asshole who abused
you and I don’t have an omega of my own, so I’m gonna take you in.”
The omega slowly dressed in the clothes he gave him, eyes trained on the ground
the whole time. His movements were slow and stiff, but a lot of the bruises
were still fresh, so it was probably painful for him to move.
Omegas weren’t as sensible to pain as people, but it still had to hurt. Jensen
wasn’t a fan of coddling omegas, he knew there were people who treated them
like babies or pets, but that only made them give in to their laziness. They
needed a caring, but firm hand.
When the omega was dressed, he slowly stood up. He was still ducking his head
and hunching his shoulders, but Jensen could see that he was tall, probably
around six feet, almost as tall as he was. Huh. Well, he would have preferred a
shorter omega, but if he was this tall then he had good genes that would
provide for strong children.
The omega suddenly said something, but it was too quiet to hear.
“What did you say?”
The omega looked up and for a short moment he saw something flash in those
slanted eyes, before he looked back to the ground.
“I was wondering why you would take me in. You can just let me go, I won’t be
any trouble.”
God, some omegas really were simple.
“I don’t have an omega of my own and you need an alpha, kid,” Jensen explained
slowly. “Your heat’s gonna come sooner or later and you need someone to guide
you through your life. You don’t want to end up on a farm, do you?”
He could see the fear on the omega’s face and he rigorously shook his head.
“Not the farm, please alpha, not the farm. I’ll be good, I swear!”
“Don’t fret, I’m not going to give you to a farm. You’ll have it good with me,
you see. There’s even a nice room in the basement you can call your own, if you
want.”
There was another emotion in the omega’s eyes, dread maybe, but Jensen didn’t
think any further instructions in Chris’s office would be helpful. He needed to
get his omega to a doctor and then home.
“Chris, do you have a transport collar?”
“Sure. I’ll go get one. But no getting frisky in my office!”
The omega stiffened at that and Jensen was angry; angry at the omega for not
believing him already and angry at the other alpha for damaging this beautiful
creature so much.
“I told you, I’m not gonna hurt you, sweety. And your body needs a knot, you’ll
like our coupling.”
The omega looked at him, but his face was a blank mask and Jensen sighed.
“Look, I can see that your last alpha treated you harshly, but I won’t do that.
You’ll be perfectly safe with me. Do you understand me?”
The omega looked at him for another moment, then he nodded.
“Good. Before I forget, what’s your name? If it’s not too bad you can keep it
if you want.”
The omega’s pretty mouth opened, but no sound came out. He cleared his throat
and tried again. “Jared,” he said, his voice hoarse but not too deep.
“Jared. I like it actually. It starts with a J, just like my name.”
He could see the question in Jared’s eyes and he chuckled at himself. He hadn’t
even told the omega his name.
“My name is Jensen Ackles. You will call me alpha of course, but when we are in
the privacy of my bedroom, you can call me by my given name.”
Jared was clearly surprised by that, but at that moment Chris came back with a
simple black collar. It had a classic d-ring on it with a plastic tag.
Chris handed him a piece of paper and Jensen filled out his information, before
inserting the paper into the plastic tag. Chris had signed the other side of
the paper and with that, the transport collar was legal and Jared belonged to
him.
It filled him with an unexpected satisfaction, fitting the collar around
Jared’s neck and the omega trembled, clearly in relief at finally wearing a
collar again. Omegas craved collars, just like they craved knots.
It would even be impossible now for the former alpha to get him back. If an
omega managed to escape, it was because of the keeper’s negligence and he
forfeited his right to the omega, unless the omega was chipped so he could
always be tracked.
During his inspection Jensen had seen that Jared was never fitted with a chip,
an oversight he would correct right now.
“Chris, I’ll call you later.”
“Sure, man. Take your time.”
Chris’s dirty chuckle followed him as he lead Jared out the back door, where he
had parked his car.
“Come on. Let’s see if Doctor Beaver can fit you in today.”
Jared looked down the alley with sad eyes before he climbed in the backseat.
Jensen slipped in behind the wheel and activated the omega lock.
He looked at Jared in the rear-view mirror. “I’m sure you’re looking forward to
a hot bath and a good meal. I think I have enough stuff at home, we won’t even
have to go shopping before you can cook something.”
Jared smiled at him for the first time then, it looked a little strained, but
Jensen took it as a good sign.
He started the car and drove towards Jim’s practice.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter_2
 
***** Chapter 2 *****
Jared looked around the room that would be his for the rest of his life.

He raised his right hand and touched the small band-aid between his shoulder
blades, where the doctor had inserted the chip. It would be impossible to run
away now, his new alpha would be able to track his every move.

Jared looked around the room in resignation. He supposed it could be much
worse. Alpha and Beta had kept him in a cage in the basement, with no furniture
or lights and only a flimsy blanket.

His new room was simply furnished, but it had a bed with a pillow and a
comforter, a dresser and a bedside table. There was even a small bathroom
attached to it with a toilet and a shower.

Considering his last lodging it was pure luxury. Considering the life he had
lived with his parents- Jared cut himself off. It wouldn’t do to think of them,
that only made it worse.

His parents had dreamed of a better life for him and Jared had believed them.
It would never happen now, there was no happy ending for him and just the
thought of his new alpha finding out that he was already pregnant....

But he wouldn’t think about that now. He had at least a month before he started
showing, maybe even longer if his new alpha allowed him to eat more.

Jared wasn’t sure what to think of him, this Jensen Ackles.

He seemed to believe every prejudice and every lie the government told about
omegas, but he had also recoiled at the thought of omegas being abused.

And the way he had talked to Jared, like he was a dog or another animal – Jared
had to suppress the hysterical laughter bubbling up inside of him. If his new
alpha would treat him only half as well as Beta had treated her Chihuahua, he
would live like a prince.

Oh, who was he kidding? He would never lead another life than that of a slave.
And just because his alpha didn’t condone abuse didn’t mean he wouldn’t punish
him.

Brown and feathery or yellow and rubbery, a duck was still a duck.

Jared sighed and went to take a shower. At least he would get warm water here.
Anything was better than the garden hose.


When Jared stood under the shower and waited for the water to get warm, he once
again realized he had gotten his hopes up too early. When would he finally
learn that there was no hope left?

He took the block of soap and ignored the goosebumps as he cleaned himself
under the cold spray.

His whole body was still aching from the last beating – Beta hadn’t liked the
way he had prepared the spinach cream – and the spot where the chip had been
inserted itched.

Doctor Beaver had been surprisingly kind for an alpha, but he was old and
mellow.

He had still ignored Jared, talking to his new alpha as if he wasn’t even
there. He probably thought Jared didn’t understand what they were talking about
anyway.

Doctor Beaver had asked his alpha if he really wanted to chip Jared, it was
such a huge responsibility, there was a reason after all a lot of alphas didn’t
have their omegas chipped.

Abandoning an omega was punishable with a hefty fine. Chipped omegas could also
be tracked by the government and a certain amount of offspring output was
expected. The government wanted to keep up the population after all.

The government also respected alpha supremacy though, so they had left this
loophole in the laws. No chip, no obligation.

Jared knew that the laws surrounding the chips were only in place to soothe the
liberals and those alpha-beta couples whose omegas bore them more omegas. The
government didn’t want the hassle of raising them, so with the promise of the
chipping there were a lot of families who kept their omegas within their
family.

Granted, they were sent to special schools, but they lived with their families
and their parents decided who they would be given to. It was a very
accommodating arrangement for everyone.

The consciousness of the ruling class was eased, there was no whisper of
slavery, but alphas and betas still had the opportunity to do whatever they
pleased.

When Jared had learned about those laws he had marveled at the evil genius of
the human race. But then again he had also believed that his parents would
whisk him away to Europe.

Doctor Beaver had continued to give him a superficial exam and had proclaimed
him healthy. Jared had been so relieved his knees almost collapsed when he got
off the table. He’d been so sure they would discover the pregnancy, but
apparently it hadn’t even crossed their minds to check.


After his shower he went up into the living-room. It was time to face the
music.

His new alpha was reading a book in a big armchair, but when Jared entered the
room hesitantly, not quite knowing what to expect or how to behave, the alpha
put his book down.

“Good, you’re done. In future I expect you to shower faster. I want you to be
thorough, but there is no reason to linger, you understand?”

Jared nodded, although he didn’t understand how his alpha could think that he
would want to linger in the ice cold shower.

“If I give you an order or ask you a question, I expect you to answer!” the
alpha said sharply.

“Yes, Alpha,” Jared said, his voice trembling. Shit, shit, shit. He couldn’t
screw up this early. He wasn’t sure if the baby would survive another beating.

His alpha took a deep breath. “I understand that the first few days will be
difficult for you. I might demand different things than your former alpha or
expect you to do things in another way. I will explain everything, but I expect
you to listen carefully, I don’t want to have to repeat myself. I am your alpha
now and you will do everything the way I want it, understood?”

Jared bowed his head. “Yes, Alpha.”

“Good. Then let me show you around.”

Jared followed Alpha through his house. It was big and spacious, but there
wasn’t much in the way of decorations. The walls were lined with bookcases and
every available surface and sometimes the floor itself were covered in books.
That would be a bitch to clean.

Upstairs was Alpha’s bedroom, his bathroom and a big study. Alpha didn’t
explain what he did here, only that he was not to be disturbed, but of course,
it was not important for an omega to know what his alpha did for a living.

The garden was a mess, weeds were growing everywhere and the vegetation lining
the lawn was just that – vegetation.

“How much do you know about gardening?” Alpha asked.

“Not much,” Jared answered honestly. There was no point in lying. “My former
alpha didn’t have a garden.”

Alpha hummed. “Well, maybe I can get yo some instructional videos on gardening.
As long as you’re not pregnant you have a lot of time on your hands, that would
be a good way to fill it.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Jared answered demurely. And who knew, maybe gardening might be
fun. It would give him at least a chance to spend some time outside.

The Alpha opened a door to another room. “This is the laundry room. I expect
you to iron all my shirts and dress pants, for the other clothes it won’t be
necessary. As for the cleaning, I hope I don’t need to explain how to keep this
house in order.”

“No, Alpha. I know how to clean.”

Alpha smiled and nodded. “Good. Let’s go to the kitchen. There’s not much in
there right now, I mostly live on take-out, but I’ll take you shopping with me
next week and then you can stock up on spices and whatnot. I’ll give you a list
of things I don’t like and the things I like best and you can cook based on
that.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Jared answered once again. There weren’t really a lot of other
words he needed.

“Alright,” Alpha said, “then go ahead and cook dinner. I’ll be in the living
room if you have any questions.”

He left and Jared was alone in the big kitchen.

Jared knew the part about him having questions was a test. Omegas weren’t
supposed to bother their alphas with questions, Jared had learned that the hard
way, so he would have to figure everything out for himself.

The kitchen appliances were nice and new but the contents of the cupboards were
horrifying. Alpha had salt, pepper and three more spices, there was pasta and
some canned food and the fridge was stocked with ingredients for sandwiches,
containers with left-over Chinese food and beer. How was he supposed to cook a
nice meal with that?

In the end he settled on making a simple salad and pasta with tomato sauce,
there was really nothing else to it.

When he brought the food out into the living room Alpha was very pleased though
and even praised him, because it smelled so good.

“Now, unless I want your company you’ll kneel by my side until I’m done and
then you eat in the kitchen, but I think we have a lot to talk about, so get
yourself a plate and eat with me.”

Jared tried to keep the surprise of his face and headed back into the kitchen
to fix himself a plate. His former alpha would never have allowed him to eat at
the table, Jared wasn’t even allowed under the table unless he was warming his
cock, usually he had knelt in the corner of the room, waiting to clear the
plates so he could eat the scraps.

Jared wasn’t sure how much food to put on his plate, so he filled it with about
half the amount he had given Alpha. After all, he had said that Jared was too
skinny.

Alpha still frowned at his plate and Jared’s stomach dropped. Stupid, stupid,
why was he always so stupid?

“Jared, why is there only so little food on your plate?”

“I’m sorry, Al- what?” Had Alpha said so little?

Alpha sighed. “Jared, I told you you’re too skinny. Now go and fill up your
plate. Doctor Beaver said you have to gain at least ten pounds, even though
fifteen might be better when the time for a pregnancy comes around. Now, I
don’t care if you’re hungry or not, you have to eat.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Jared said and went back into the kitchen. He filled up his plate
until it was completely full and then he just stood there, unable to move. The
last time he had eaten this much food in one meal, even in one day, had been
back with his parents.

He felt his eyes burning and rigorously blinked away the tears. He had stopped
crying after the first horrible month, he wouldn’t start now. At least he
wouldn’t have to fear that his baby could be malnourished now.

Back at the table Alpha nodded approvingly and Jared supposed he should be
grateful, so he smiled at Alpha and told him thank you. Alpha was clearly
pleased with that and smiled when he continued to eat.

After he had cleared his plate Alpha leaned back in his chair and fixed his
green eyes on Jared. They were really pretty, big with long lashes, very un-
alpha like in fact. His alpha was attractive, Jared suddenly realized and it
made him uneasy that he would notice something like that. He didn’t want to
have positive emotions for his alpha.

“I was wondering,” Alpha said and his voice was softer now, content after
eating a good meal. Jared liked it.

“For how long did your original family send you to an omega school?”

Jared knew that the average were three years, but the basics could be covered
in one year. Omegas didn’t need to learn how to read and write, and basic
housekeeping didn’t take that much time to learn, even if one operated under
the assumption that omegas were less intelligent than alphas and betas.

“They didn’t send me to a school,” Jared answered his alpha’s question. “I was
home-schooled.”

Jared thought of his parents and what they had thought about omega schools.
There was a reason he had been home-schooled. He didn’t tell his alpha that.

Alpha’s forehead creased in displeasure but all he said was, “then I’ll get you
some educational videos and you can brush up on etiquette and child care.”

When Alpha didn’t say anything else, Jared took it as his cue to clear the
table. Alpha was pleased with his initiative and told him to start with the
laundry. Apparently the cleaning could wait until the next morning.

There were heaps of dirty clothes in the laundry room and it took him fifteen
minutes alone to sort them into darks, colors, whites and the towels and
cleaning rags that needed to be washed on the hot wash cycle.

While the machine spun, he cleaned and reorganized the laundry room. It was
really dirty and it took him a while to scrub all the grime away.

Alpha poked his head in when he was emptying the dryer.

“Follow me,” he said and led Jared up to his bedroom to show him where to put
the stuff in his closet.

When Jared wanted to go back down to put the next load in – it was only eleven
clock and according to popular belief omegas didn’t need more than five hours
of sleep every night – Alpha took his hand.

“You can just get undressed and hop in the bed, I’ll be with you in a couple of
minutes,” Alpha told him and Jared felt his stomach drop. Not that he had
thought he would get a grace period, but still. He could have done with one
night without getting fucked.



When Jensen came out of his bathroom he was pleased to see that his omega had
executed his orders perfectly.

He was kneeling on the bed, completely naked, ass pushed up in the air, legs
slightly spread and his head lowered down on the comforter, resting on his
forearms. It was the perfect picture and Jensen was instantly hard. He thought
he had behaved very understandingly the whole day, letting the omega get
acquainted, but he knew that the omega needed a good knotting sooner or later,
despite former abuse.

He had still planned to start out with just a blow job to give Jared some more
time to adjust, but seeing him like this – there was no way he could reject
this offering.

Jensen would be gentle this time, show him he had nothing to fear and then in
the future he would be able to take Jared whenever and however he wanted
without having to be extra careful.

He quickly shed his shirt and his boxer briefs and climbed on the bed behind
his omega.

Jared trembled, probably as much in anticipation as in fear and Jensen ran a
soothing hand over his back, once again reveling in the smoothness of his skin,
only disrupted by the occasional deep scar.

“It’s alright sweety,” he calmed Jared, “you be a good boy for me and I’ll give
you what you need.”

He heard Jared exhale a shuddering breath and he moved in between his legs,
soothing the omega with his physical presence.

“Relax, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Jared’s breathing slowly evened out and Jensen ran his hands over his exquisite
ass. Jared had really been a lucky find.

Jensen started to slowly stroke over his tightly furled whole, coaxing the
muscles open. As soon as Jared lost his fear he would be much more receptive,
at least Jensen hoped that that would happen. Otherwise he would need to get a
plug to stretch him.

He reached around Jared and stroked his soft dick and his balls. They weren’t
the main source of pleasure for male omegas, but Jensen thought it might help
now.

Jared flinched when he touched him and Jensen stilled.

“Jared,” he said, “I told you I’m not going to hurt you.” He gave his sack a
warning squeeze and Jared shuddered.

“I’m sorry Alpha,” he stuttered out. “I was just surprised, no one has ever
touched me there. Please forgive me.”

Jensen nodded to himself, he should have thought of that. A lot of alphas
ignored male omegas' genitals.

“It’s alright,” he told Jared and when he continued to stroke his dick and rub
his opening, he could feel the member hardening under his hands and the first
drops of slick leak out of his hole. Jensen inhaled deeply and shit, Jared
smelled good. It was the typical sweet omega scent but it was so much richer
than anything he had ever smelled before. He wanted to taste it.

He bent forwards and licked across Jared’s hole and the omega flinched again
and squeaked.

“Jared, this is getting really tiring,” Jensen scolded him and pressed his
fingers harder into the meaty swell of Jared’s ass. His omega needed to learn
to keep still.

“Sorry,” Jared panted out and his voice was breathy and slightly ragged. He was
definitely aroused. “Just never felt anything like this, sorry, so sorry
Alpha!”

Jensen stopped short. “How could your former alpha resist this?” he asked and
licked over Jared’s hole again.

His omega let out a low moan. “I- I don’t know, but he never did.”

Jensen shook his head. “Well it’s his loss, because you taste delicious.”

Jared moaned again and what a pretty sound it was. Jensen always reveled at the
emotions he could make his partners feel, loved the power he had over their
bodies, but with Jared and his history of abuse it was all the much sweeter.

Arousal was starting to fog up his mind and he brought his dick to Jared’s
waiting whole and pushed in. He felt Jared tense around him, gripping him so
tight it almost hurt and he gave the omega’s ass a squeeze.

“Jared, relax!”

He did and Jensen was finally free to thrust into him. Jared felt incredible
around him and it had been a while since he actually had sex, so it wasn’t
really surprising he wasn’t able to draw this out.

His strokes became faster and harder, he pushed into Jared as deep as he could,
eyes trained on the delicious curve of Jared’s ass and the point where Jensen’s
dick entered his omega’s body.

“Feel so good, such a good little omega for me.”

Jared shuddered at the praise and his hips pushed back a tiny bit. Suddenly
Jensen didn’t just want to fuck his omega anymore, he wanted him to move with
him.

He started praising Jared, telling him what a good boy he was, how prettily he
was taking his cock and Jared’s moans got louder.

“So close, sweety, you wanna take my knot?” Jensen breathed out, but Jared was
too breathless to answer.

No matter, Jensen’s knot was already growing and he pushed deep into Jared,
grinding his hips until his knot was fully inflated. Jared made a choked off
sound and then Jensen felt his own release pulsing through him, making his toes
curl and his heart almost beat out of his chest.

He fell down on Jared who clearly struggled with his weight and Jensen hurried
to get off the omega. He rolled them to their sides and arranged Jared until he
was lying comfortably in his arms. Jensen wasn’t that much of a fan of the
knotting, but it was a biological safety measure, so he usually sucked it up
and used the time to nap.

He closed his eyes and was slowly drifting off when his hand grazed Jared’s
dick. Jared’s still hard dick.

Jensen was wide awake again.

“Jared, why didn’t you come?” God, he really hoped it wasn’t something medical.

Jared tensed in his arms, milking his knot in the process and Jensen had to
concentrate through the wave of lust that hit him to hear what Jared was
mumbling.

“My former alpha didn’t care for it. He said he didn’t want to deal with the
mess and I- he said I didn’t deserve it anyway.” Jared whispered the last words
so quietly Jensen almost didn’t hear them.

“Unbelievable,” he exclaimed. “Your last alpha really was a piece of work. How
could he be so insensitive and stupid?” Jensen was scandalized. Everybody knew
that omegas conceived so much better when they had regular orgasms themselves.

He stroked over Jared’s dick. “For the future, I want you to come, okay?”

Jared nodded hesitantly and Jensen nodded. “Good. I’ll teach you to come on
just my cock, but for now you can get yourself off.”

Jensen closed his eyes, fully prepared to glide into sleep to the last ounces
of come getting milked out of his dick by Jared’s fluttering whole, but his
omega didn’t move.

Jensen sighed. If he wasn’t so tired and still high on the orgasmic bliss he
would seriously think about disciplining him.

“Now, Jared,” was all he said though and Jared immediately moved his hand and
then Jensen could hear the telltale slide of flesh on flesh.

He pushed his hips forward a little bit, heard Jared’s breathing speed up and
he fell asleep to the sweetest moans he had ever heard.


When Jensen woke up the next morning he was alone in his bed. It took him a few
moments to remember why that wasn’t a good thing.

Jared. He had taken in the omega yesterday, had taken him to bed and now he was
gone. Without his permission.

Jensen grumbled and got out of bed. He hoped he wouldn’t regret taking Jared
in.

When he got downstairs, he stopped short. It was only nine o’clock, but Jared
had clearly cleaned up the entire living room, he could hear the muted rumbling
of the washing machine and there was breakfast on the table. Well at least some
cut fruit, toast and a glass of orange juice.

Just then Jared came out of the kitchen and looked at him with wide eyes.

“Good morning Alpha,” he said, voice wavering slightly. “Would you like
breakfast now or later? I didn’t know when you had to get up, but I prepared
everything I just need to heat it up and-”

“Jared, stop!” Jensen ordered and the omega immediately stopped talking. “What
I want to know right now is why you aren’t in bed anymore?”

Jared’s face scrunched up in confusion. “In bed?”

“Yes,” Jensen answered impatiently. He really didn’t want to say everything
twice. “In bed. With me.”

“I’m so sorry alpha, I didn’t know when you would get up and I didn’t want to
wake you up by coming in too early.”

Jared looked at him with so much fear in his eyes, Jensen sighed. He had really
underestimated how much the abuse would impact Jared’s daily life.

He sat down on the couch and waved Jared over. “C'mere.”

Jared came immediately, watching him like a hawk. Jensen drew him into his lap
and even though Jared was clearly surprised he relaxed a bit when Jensen
started stroking his hair.

Jensen had seen a documentary once about omegas. The narrator had been a new-
agey hippie kind of guy who had sprouted all kinds of bullshit, how omegas were
all delicate creatures and shouldn’t need to work so much and should be cuddled
and loved instead.

Jensen had changed the channel after ten minutes because it was just
ridiculous, but he remembered the sequence about how omegas thrived on bodily
contact and should always be petted and cuddled. He’d never thought he’d go
along with it but seeing the fear in Jared’s eyes... Maybe it would help while
he put down some ground rules.

Even though Jared was almost as tall as Jensen he had somehow managed to curl
himself up in a ball in Jensen’s lap and he couldn’t help but smile. His omega
really was adorable.

“So, I realize I should maybe have told you all of this yesterday, but I
thought it could wait. Looks like we need to do this now though.”

Jared immediately tensed and peeked up at him from under his lashes. Jensen
felt the anger again, but this time it was solely directed at the other alpha.
He finally understood why some alphas and betas got so riled up when the topic
of omega abuse came up. To hurt such a gentle creature, Jensen really couldn’t
understand how people could do it.

“Don’t worry, I’m not mad at you. You couldn’t have known,” he said and Jared
looked at him, clearly surprised.

Jensen stroked a thumb along the exquisite line of his cheekbone – god, he
really was beautiful – and gave him a reassuring smile. “Jared, I told you
before, I’m not gonna hurt you. You need to remember that, okay?”

Jared gave him a jerky nod.

“Good. As for how things are gonna go around here, if we go to sleep I my bed I
expect you to stay there until I tell you otherwise.”

Once again Jared looked at him like he was telling him that pigs could fly and
Jensen started to get impatient.

“What?” he bit out, more harshly than he intended and he could feel Jared
flinch slightly. Shit.

“Nothing, Alpha.” When Jensen just raised his eyebrows Jared stuttered, “I was
never allowed to sleep in their bed.”

Of course he wasn’t. Jeez, Jensen really needed start using his brain here.

“Well, we already established that your former alpha was a dick, so don’t worry
about it.”

Jared nodded and even gave him a small smile and Jensen felt himself relax.

“Like I said, you’ll sleep in my bed unless I say otherwise and as long as I
don’t tell you anything else you’ll stay in bed until I wake up. It’s always
good to start the day out with a little fun, don’t you think?” Jensen grinned
at Jared, because morning sex was definitely the way to go and Jared had to
lower his eyes to hide his arousal. It was adorable. And sad, because Jared’s
former alpha probably hadn’t allowed him any pleasure.

“Hey,” he said and gripped Jared’s chin, pulling his face up, “I want you to
enjoy our time together, okay? There is no reason to be ashamed for being
aroused.”

For a moment Jared looked confused then something clicked and he nodded. “Of
course Alpha, sorry.”

Jensen ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry about it.”

They sat on the couch in comfortable silence, Jared curled up in him but Jensen
noticed him still being tense.

“Jared?”

His omega drew in a deep breath. “You said you wanted to tell me how things
were going to go around here...” he trailed off, clearly to afraid to ask any
more questions. Jensen wanted to hit himself in the face.

“Yes, you’re right. Like I said, you stay in bed with me until I let you go,
then you can make breakfast and coffee. Coffee is very important.” He looked at
Jared to drive this point home.

“Coffee is the most important thing in the morning,” he said slowly, so Jared
would understand.

Jared nodded, a little bit nonplussed and Jensen wondered what wasn’t to
understand. “The first thing you do,” he explained, “is make coffee. Every
morning. Strong, black coffee.”

Jared nodded again and Jensen hoped he got it.

“I work from home and you can use the day to clean and do other stuff.” Jensen
realized he had no idea how Jared would occupy himself the whole day.

He had an old, barren omega cleaning lady that was dropped of by a housekeeping
company twice a week and a service that picked up dirty laundry once a week and
that was enough. He should really get Jared those gardening videos. And he
needed to cancel the cleaning service.

“Anyway, I’ll tell you when I’m hungry, sandwiches are enough for lunch and you
can cook dinner in the evening. I’ll get you those gardening videos and I
expect you to tidy it up. Can you do that without me telling you what you
should do every step of the way?” God, Jensen did not want to have to make
creative decisions about his garden.

Jared swallowed nervously. “I can try. If you don’t want it to look a certain
way?”

“God no! I really don’t care if there’s a rose garden out there or a bonsai
plantation, just make it look tidy. And not too extravagant.”

Jared nodded slowly and Jensen hoped he wasn’t expecting too much of his omega.

“Everything clear now?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Good. Then I think we should go shopping. We need food and you need clothes.”

He eyed Jared’s pants and the shirt he was wearing – standard omega-wear,
probably from a dresser in the basement – and he didn’t like it. It was way too
ungainly and Jensen remembered from the documentary that omega-wear was always
low quality material and could lead to skin rashes. The documentary might have
been a lot of hippie crap, but looking at the clothes and feeling them under
his hands, he had to agree with them. These clothes were unacceptable.

Jared was looking at him surprised, probably because of the new clothes and
Jensen wondered if he would get a real smile out of Jared when he got him new
clothes. Suddenly he wanted to see that very much.

“C'mon, let’s go.”
***** Chapter 3 *****
Fucking plaid.

It was blue and white, a completely ordinary checkered shirt. It had a collar
and a row of tiny white buttons down the front, long sleeves and it wasn’t even
particularly soft to the touch.

It was a perfectly normal piece of clothing, but after almost a year of going
through the most horrendous things he never thought he could survive, this
simple piece of stitched together cotton was what brought him to his knees.

Jared sat in front of his new bed, surrounded by the bags from the shopping
trip with Alpha containing the first normal clothes he was allowed to wear
since his parents had died; blue plaid clutched to his chest and he was bawling
like a baby. And if that thought didn’t make it worse.

He decided to blame the hormones.

He was still sobbing when he managed to get off the floor to put his new
clothes away. Alpha had told him to put his stuff away and then make lunch and
Jared fully intended to do just that. As soon as he could stop crying.

His face was still slightly reddened and his eyes were puffy when he knocked on
the door to Alpha’s study, plate in hand.

“Come in.” Alpha’s voice was muted through the heavy door and Jared took a deep
breath and hunched his shoulders in that way that would make him look at least
an inch smaller.

Alpha hadn’t said outright that he didn’t like his size, but when the
saleswoman in the shop for more upper-class omega clothes had commented on his
height, Alpha had given a long suffering sigh and told her that he probably
wasn’t done growing either. The saleswoman had clucked her tongue and asked if
his alpha had looked into hormone treatment for growth-stopping. Alpha hadn’t
replied verbally and since Jared was standing in the fitting room, trying on
clothes (the closed curtain was for the comfort of the alphas and betas of
course, not everybody appreciated the sight of an ugly omega body) he couldn’t
see how his alpha reacted to the comment. To be honest, he didn’t really want
to.

He knew enough about how some alphas and betas altered the physical appearance
of their omegas, everything ranging from piercings and tattoos to actual
hobbling was possible.

His parents might have raised him sheltered from the real world and in the
beginning he had been confused by a lot of what his new owners had alluded to,
but then he had met Mike at the backdoor.

The omega who worked for the meal service that delivered food to his former
alpha’s house had been Jared’s only real contact with the outside world, and
thankfully he had been a chatty one. Mike had been a constant source of
knowledge about how society really worked. Due to overbreeding he was barren
now and worked as a labor slave. He said he was lucky he was bald and not so
pretty, because otherwise they might have sold him to a brothel.

He was actually one of the few who had lucked out, getting a job where he was
only supervised by his tracking chip most of the time, and as long as he
delivered everything in a satisfying manner he wasn’t punished. He shared a
small room at the omega plantation with another omega and even though she was
already in her sixties, they got along fine. Mike was as happy as possible for
an omega. Apart of course from the ones he called pet-omegas, but Jared still
had a hard time believing that alphas or betas would coddle their omegas.

Either they bought the crap the government fed them and they treated omegas
like animals or they were like his father and realized it was all bullshit. As
far as Jared was concerned there was no in between.

So he had just snorted at Mike every time he brought it up, standing huddled
together at the backdoor and stealing a few moments of forbidden conversation.

Sometimes these short encounters once a week where all that had kept him sane,
had reminded him that he was still human and not the unworthy scum his old
alpha wanted him to believe he was.

“Jared?” Alpha’s voice startled him and he looked up, not realizing that he had
already opened the door. It was one of his biggest handicaps, how he would just
get lost in his thoughts sometimes.

“Sorry, Alpha,” he said and hurried over to Alpha and put his plate on his
desk.

Alpha was sitting behind his huge desk, going over several half-drawn plans. So
he was an architect or something like that. Not that that was any of his
business of course.

Alpha’s eyes were sliding up and down his body in a way that Jared easily
recognized. Shit.

Last night might not have been so bad, actually it had felt really good even
though Jared didn’t want it too – another thing he would blame on the
pregnancy, supposedly it made omegas really horny – but Alpha could just as
easily do something that Jared wouldn’t like.

“You look good in your new clothes.”

Jared lowered his eyes, he didn’t know how to react to that. He was still
confused every time Alpha complimented him.

Alpha chuckled. “God, you’re adorable. Come here.”

Jared saw Alpha’s outstretched hand enter his field of vision and he looked up
carefully and took it. Alpha had swiveled around in his office chair and pulled
Jared between his spread legs. His dick was already starting to strain against
his pants and he tugged on Jared’s hand again.

“C'mon, get down on your knees for me, sweety.”

Jared knelt immediately. It could be worse. Serving with his mouth was by far
not his favorite thing in the world, but at least it didn’t really hurt and it
left no lasting damage.

Jared waited for Alpha to stand up and start fucking his mouth, but he just sat
there.

“Is there something you’re waiting for, Jared?” Alpha asked and Jared looked up
at him. Of course his new alpha would want to do things differently and of
course he had no idea how to do that.

“I’m s-sorry Alpha,” Jared stuttered out. “I don’t know how you would like me
to do this.”

Alpha sighed. “Of course you don’t. How about we start easy. Just do it like
you were taught.”

Jared dared another look up at his alpha. “I wasn’t taught anything, my former
alpha just used my mouth.”

“Yes, but before that,” Alpha said impatiently. “I know that they cover oral
service in the required basic lessons. Just do what you learned there. Or did
you already forget?”

Jared had to bite his tongue so he wouldn’t tell Alpha that he didn’t have a
brain the size of a peanut, because that would probably be a bad idea. With the
way Alpha was always insinuating exactly how stupid omegas were in general and
Jared in particular, he was having an increasingly hard time keeping his mouth
shut. He feared that he would just explode one day.

“I’m sorry Alpha. I never got those instructions,” was all he said though.

“But you told me you were home-schooled,” Alpha accused him.

“I was,” Jared hurried to assure him. Lying to an alpha or a beta was the
worst. “I just never learned that.”

Alpha sighed. “Alright. Then I’ll have to teach you. Start by opening my
pants.”

Jared brought his hands up to Alpha’s pants and tried to undo the button with
shaking hands.

He couldn’t do this. In all the time with his former alpha and beta, he had
never been forced to actively do something. The alpha had just used his body
like a ragdoll, fucking his mouth or his ass. Sometimes the beta had forced him
to pleasure her orally, but she hadn’t wanted technique, she had just wanted a
warm mouth over her clit while she fucked herself with a knotdildo and that had
only happened when the alpha had been away on business.

Contrary to popular belief omegas were not natural-born pleasure slaves. Like
everything else it was a skill to be learned. One that Jared never had.

He swallowed nervously and lowered the zipper. Alpha was already half hard and
his dick sprang free from his pants, wobbling sightly.

“Use your hands,” he said and his tone was very much business-like. “You won’t
have to use them later, but for now it might be better. Just wrap a hand around
the base.”

Jared did just that and he was surprised by the smooth and soft texture.

“Good. Now move your hand up and down.”

It wasn’t easy, there was no lube and Jared’s movements were choppy. He tried
to find a smooth rhythm, but the angle was off.

“Now suck me,” Alpha ordered and Jared bent forward to obey. It put more
pressure on his knees and despite the carpet Jared knew they would hurt soon.
But that was good, pain was something familiar he could cling to now.

He took Alpha’s cock into his mouth, all the way down and for a moment he was
grateful that his former alpha had beaten his gag-reflex out of him.

“Wow,” Alpha breathed out, “easy there, you don’t have to go all out right
away.”

Shit. Jared tried to pull off, but he pulled back to early and somehow the head
of Alpha’s dick caught below his teeth. Jared panicked tried to pull off
faster, but Alpha was already cursing above him and shoved him off. Jared fell
back on his ass and looked up at Alpha, fear rising up in him when he saw the
older man cradling his soft dick in his hand, face distorted in a grimace of
pain.

”Dammit, Jared!”

Jared bowed his head to the ground. “I’m so sorry Alpha, please forgive me, I’m
so sorry.” Begging had never worked with his old Alpha, but it was worth a try.

A hard hand gripped his chin and pulled his head up. Jared looked into furious
green eyes and he knew this was it. His new alpha would finally punish him.

The thought scared him, sure, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t expected it to
happen. Jared could deal with it.



Jensen’s dick was still hurting, but when he looked into Jared’s big brown
eyes, filled with fear and resignation, all his anger dissipated.

It wasn’t the omegas fault that he was never taught the important things. It
wasn’t his fault that his former alpha was a stupid asshole. Jared was a
victim.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Jensen tried to sooth Jared. He brought his hand to Jared’s
face and the young omega did a good job of hiding his flinch, but Jensen was
looking for it and he saw it.

“Shh, it’s ok sweety. I’m not mad. This was only your first try, you’re bound
to make a few mistakes. We’ll just try again.”

Jared nodded at him with wide eyes and scrambled back between Jensen’s legs. He
was very pleased with Jared’s enthusiasm and when Jared once again took him
into his mouth, more slowly and carefully Jensen petted his hair approvingly.

“That’s it, nice and slow. There’s no rush.”

Jared’s hot mouth felt good around him and Jensen felt himself harden once
again under the tentative suction. He decided to guide Jared for the time being
and brought both hands to the omega’s jaw. He started to guide Jared’s
movement, bobbing his head increasingly faster.

“Good, that’s good. Now a little bit more suction, sweety.”

Jared obeyed beautifully and Jensen couldn’t suppress a moan. “Good boy, you’re
a natural.”

Jared seemed to take courage from the praise and sucked harder, his movements
more certain. It still lacked finesse, but that was nothing that couldn’t be
learned.

“Now use your tongue,” Jensen said, his breathing already labored.

Jared floundered a bit, clearly not sure how to do this, but Jensen gave him a
few more seconds and then- “Holy shit, that’s it!”

It took Jared a couple of more bobs to figure out how he had done it, but then
he started to massage the edge of Jensen’s cockhead on every slide up, digging
his tongue into the beginning of the slit and Jensen couldn’t stop moaning. It
just felt so damn good.

“Fuck sweety, right there. Good boy, such a good boy for your alpha, that’s it,
make me come.”

Without the pressure on the base of his dick his knot wouldn’t inflate and his
orgasm wouldn’t be as intense but right now Jensen just wanted to get off.

It didn’t take long, Jared’s mouth now so hot and tight around him and he felt
his orgasm rush through his body and he shot into Jared’s mouth.

The omega swallowed it beautifully and fuck if that wasn’t hot.

“Clean me off,” Jensen managed to croak out and Jared did. Jensen bent forwards
and stroked his omega’s cheek. “See that wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

Jared shook his head, but stayed kneeling on the ground. He was squirming a bit
and a faint blush was coloring his cheeks. Jensen wondered what was up with
that.

“Jared, are you okay?”

“Yes, Alpha,” the omega said, but his voice trembled slightly.

“Jared, don’t lie to me,” Jensen said using his stern voice. Lying was a habit
that needed to be crushed from the beginning. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Jared hung his head and mumbled something so low, Jensen only heard the sorry.

“What?”

“I’m sorry Alpha, but I – I got wet.”

Jensen drew in a deep breath and sure enough, Jared’s honey sweet omega scent
was filling the air, laced with something darker now, like an exotic flower of
the night. It made his spent dick twitch.

“And?”

Jared looked up at him with wide eyes. “And what?” he repeated, voice shaking
with fear.

Jensen sighed. “Jared, I don’t see the problem, of course you get wet when you
pleasure your alpha.”

Jared looked at him as if he was speaking Chinese. “But I never did before.”

If Jensen had still needed proof of the magnitude of the abuse that Jared had
been subjected to, this would have been it. Omegas were notoriously easy to
please, they got especially aroused when they gave pleasure. If Jared had never
gotten slick while serving his alpha....

Jensen balled his hands to fists to keep himself from smashing something and
Jared winced. He would need to show his omega once and for all that his arousal
was a good thing.

“Jared, take your clothes off and get on the couch, ass in the air.”

Jared immediately scrambled to get up and was naked and on the couch in record
time. Jensen hadn’t planned on fucking him, but seeing Jared kneeling on the
couch all ready and exposed, he felt his dick stirring in his pants. Well, the
deadline for his newest project was still far off, he could indulge himself.

When he reached Jared, his body was coiled tight and no fresh slick was leaking
from his hole. Jensen wanted to smack himself when he realized that Jared
thought he would get punished.

“Don’t be afraid sweety, I’m not going to discipline you, you did nothing
wrong, I just wanted to show you that your arousal is a good thing,” Jensen
said and then licked a stripe over Jared’s hole.

The omega yelped, just like he had the first time, but he settled in for
moaning quietly when Jensen continued to lick all that delicious slick from his
ass and the back of his thighs. It was pure ambrosia.

Jensen couldn’t hold back for long and he pulled his dick out of his pants,
already aching hard again and pushed into Jared’s tight opening.

“God, you feel so good, such a good boy for me.”

Jensen started to fuck Jared, short and hard thrusts and the omega made the
sweetest little noises. He moaned the loudest when Jensen praised him, so he
let out a steady stream of encouragements, telling Jared how well he was doing
and how good he was feeling.

“Come on sweety, want you to come around my cock, want you to squeeze me
tight!”

Jensen angled his thrusts to find Jared’s prostate and when he did, the omega
keened and clenched around him, his orgasm making his walls clutch him so
tight, his knot swelled to its full size and he came deep inside of Jared,
pleasure spreading through his whole body.

After, he leaned back on the couch, Jared in his lap and played with his
omega’s fucked-out and leaking hole, keeping him on edge until Jared’s moans
turned into mindless pleas. He continued to whisper dirty praise in his ear
until Jared came again, milking a second orgasm from Jensen’s still
occasionally pulsing cock.

Jared was clearly exhausted but tried valiantly to stay awake. Jensen decided
to reward him for it.

“You did so good, sweety, I’m proud of you,” he told Jared and started stroking
over his hair. “You can nap now.”

Jared fell asleep almost instantly, a warm and comforting weight on Jensen’s
chest and he thought that he hadn’t been this relaxed in a long time. He drew a
blanket from the couch over them and decided to get a little shut-eye himself.

This was an excellent way to spend his afternoon.



The rest of the day Jensen worked a little bit more and then he had a delicious
dinner. Jared really knew how to cook a mean steak and Jensen went to bed a
happy man. He let Jared suck him off again and while it still wasn’t the best
he’d ever had, it was better than the one in the afternoon and Jensen didn’t
really expect a steep learning curve from his omega anyway.

He fell asleep with Jared’s enticing scent wrapped around him, his last thought
being surprised at how much he liked a warm body sharing his bed, even if it
was only that of an omega.


“What the fuck is wrong with you, you stupid piece of shit?”

Jared cowers down lower to the ground, not that that will help.

“I know that you’re stupid, you all are, but how can you be this stupid?”
Beta’s voice is shrilling through the room and she is brandishing the object of
offense in her hands.

The bouquet of flowers does look pathetic, but they had been delivered over
three weeks ago. Even with the most diligent care, you can’t really extend the
life of cut flowers past a couple of weeks. Jared thinks he has worked a small
miracle with them, but of course it isn’t enough, it is never enough for them.

Alpha’s heavy footsteps sound on the stairs and Jared dreads his appearance.
They always think of the most elaborate punishments when they are together.

“Lydia,” Alpha bellows. “What did the little shit do now?”

“He ruined the flowers send by the mayor!” Beta exclaims and Alpha shoots Jared
a dark look.

“Alright, you little pest, you asked for it. On the bench!”

Jared starts crawling into the living room. He knows better than to walk in a
situation like this.

“God, I hope he gets pregnant soon, so we can finally get rid of this vermin,”
Beta says behind him and Alpha agrees. “Just five or six children and then we
either sell him to another couple or to a plantation, depending on his
condition.”

Beta hums. “You know, with his age, we might actually get the best price at one
of the brothels.”

At that point Jared reaches the bench and he actually hurries to get into
position now, just to make them stop talking about him like he is a piece of
meat.

They are still standing behind him, so Jared can’t see which instruments they
are getting out when the clattering starts. It is almost the worst part of the
punishment.

“This one?”

“But Lydia, we used that one last week! I think this one.”

“No, that’s way too easy on him. I want this one, Dan!”

“Alright, the cane it is.”

The hit comes without warning and Jared can’t suppress a scream. He hears them
laughing behind him, feels blow after blow hit the naked soles of his feet and
even though one part of his brain is already whispering about the pain to come
from walking on ripped up feet, the bigger part can process nothing but the
burning pain. Jared screams and screams and -


“Jared, wake up! Come on, wake up, baby!”

Jared opened his eyes, confused by the sudden absence of pain until he realized
it had just been a dream. Alpha, his new alpha, was leaning over him, looking
at him with worried eyes and rubbing a thumb across his cheek.

“You okay?”

Jared tried to talk, but his throat was raw, so he just nodded. Of course, he
would have nightmares, they were nothing new but usually Jared had woken up
alone in his cage at some point, the pain of his hoarse throat pulling him from
his dreams.

Alpha let himself fall back on the bed and exhaled heavily. “You scared the
shit out of me, I thought somebody was about to murder you.”

“I’m sorry Alpha, it was just a dream,” Jared managed to get out.

Now Alpha would send him back to his own room and even though Jared had been
happy with his room at first, sleeping in Alpha’s bed was so much better than
he had thought. He hadn’t realized how touch-deprived he was until Alpha had
let him nap on his chest this afternoon.

It had been so nice, just to have someone touch him without pain and when Alpha
had fucked him, he had liked it, feeling pleasure he’d never imagined to
experience. Getting to share Alpha’s bed had made him ridiculously happy, even
though he didn’t even like him. He wasn’t cruel or mean like his former
keepers, but his self-righteousness was almost worst. Still, Jared couldn’t
deny that his body craved his touch. That, he would also blame on the
pregnancy.

He was ripped out of his thoughts, when Alpha pulled him against his chest and
slowly ran his fingers over Jared’s back.

“It’s okay sweety, you’re safe with me, they can’t hurt you again. It’s over
now.”

Something in Jared broke. It wasn’t over, never would be, he had just stumbled
from the fire into the frying pan. He was still an omega, still a slave and as
soon as the pregnancy would come to light-

For the second time that day, Jared couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

Instead of pushing him away, Alpha tightened his hold on him, rocking him
gently against his chest. For the first time in almost a year, someone actually
comforted him. Jared couldn’t help it, he just sank into Alpha’s touch. It was
firm, but not too hard and Alpha was warm and smelled good and he murmured
sweet nothings into his ear.

For the first time since his parents had died, Jared felt that someone else
cared for him.

He knew this was stupid, knew that Alpha thought he was nothing more than an
animal that happened to speak and could be bred, knew that even if Alpha cared
for his well-being, he would still never treat Jared as a person with his own
mind and his own choices. But right now he didn’t care. Right now he let the
tears fall into Alpha’s shirt and pressed closer against his strong body. Right
now he was safe.



The following week was a little bit like a dream.

Jared was surprised by how easy his new life was. Alpha never gave ridiculous
orders, like polishing the car’s rims with a toothbrush or picking the stray
hairs out of the rug with tweezers.

He was patient in his instructions when it came to sex – Jared didn’t only have
to learn how to perfect a blowjob, a couple of days later Alpha had wanted
Jared to ride his cock and it had taken him a while to get a smooth rhythm
going – and he always gave Jared pleasure as well.

He even asked him to call him Jensen when they fucked. It was hard getting
Alpha’s name over his lips at first, but it got easier every night.

As long as everything was clean and the food was good, he didn’t complain and
he also didn’t punish Jared.

He didn’t even complain about the nightmares, he just held Jared afterwards and
soothed him back to sleep.

He was – in a word – nice.

If it wasn’t for the continuous insults to omegas, thrown into the
conversations so casually, Jared could really like him. But somehow this was
worse.

On the one hand he was nice to Jared, cared for him and talked to him like he
was a real person and on the other he still spouted all that government
indoctrinated bullshit. Jared couldn’t really decide what to think.

Either way, he had a lot of extra time on his hands and he spent it watching
videos about gardening and trying to apply it to the area behind Alpha’s house
that would hopefully be a garden next summer. It wasn’t like he could do a lot
now, it was already late fall, but Jared could learn, could make plans and get
Alpha to approve them so he could start as soon as it warmed up.

He was surprised that he was actually looking forward to it.

Right now he filled his free time with cleaning the attic and reading some of
his alpha’s books. In the beginning he’d been too scared, but he soon realized
that Alpha never came out of his study while he was working.

On some deeper level Jared knew that he was letting his guard down and he
didn’t know what it was that was making him do it – if it was that Alpha was so
nice, that he finally enjoyed sex or that his body was actually unmarred by
bruises right now – but he felt safe.

All this time he had to himself, filled with normal things like reading and
cooking without the fear of the hot fat burning his naked skin, it made him
feel like himself again. It was like he was getting back a part of his old
life. A tiny part, sure, but it still was infinitely better than anything that
had happened to him since his parents had died.

He knew that this bubble was a ticking time-bomb, sooner or later he would
start showing and he had no idea how Alpha would react to him already being
pregnant, but Jared chose to go with denial on this one.

The option of running away was finally off the table, the chip had taken care
of that and he couldn’t do anything about it now anyways. He didn’t suffer from
any real pregnancy side-effects apart from the horniness, so he figured he had
a least one more good month ahead of him. And Jared would take what he could
get.

He put his hand on his still flat belly. This pregnancy had been a blessing and
a curse. It was what had given him the courage to run away, but Jared didn’t
want a child to be born into this world.

He guessed it would be okay if it would turn out an alpha, it would even be
alright to have a beta, but an omega.... Jared couldn’t imagine anything worse.

And even if the child would be an alpha or a beta, it wasn’t like it would be
his child. In the traditional household alphas and betas were the parents, the
so called omega-parent was nothing more than a nanny, really, with no claim to
the child.

Alpha might not have a beta yet, but as soon as he would, Jared’s only
interaction with his children would be to clean up after them and serve them.
It wasn’t even thought of as incest, since omegas weren’t considered real
parents and supposedly only the alpha’s genes were passed on, but most omegas
escaped that fate simply by being too old when most of their children were old
enough for sex.

Jared swallowed the bile threatening to rise in his throat.

There was no reason to want this child, only varying levels of pain could come
from it, but still. He wasn’t sure why he was already so attached to a living
being not bigger than his thumb, but it was his. His family.

He needed to find a way to protect it.




The bubble burst a couple of days later.

Jared was standing in the kitchen, preparing ravioli for dinner. It was only
noon, but he was making them from scratch and it was a messy, time-consuming
affair, the spinach-parmesan filling landing everywhere, but it wasn’t like
Alpha came in the kitchen while he worked. Except now he did.

“Jesus fuck, it looks like a bomb went off in here!”

Jared couldn’t help but flinch. “Sorry, I promise to clean up, it’s just the
filling and-”

“Jared, relax,” Alpha told him in that exasperated voice of his, the one that
so clearly said, why do you have to be so slow in the head? “I’m not mad, just
stating the obvious.”

And really, how was Jared supposed to know that? Alpha claimed he wouldn’t hurt
him, but he still talked about disciplining him if something didn’t work out.
Jared didn’t see how he could do one thing without doing the other.

“Is there something you need?” he just asked and Jared realized that his voice
was dangerously close to being snappy, but his alpha didn’t seem to notice.

“Actually there is. I need you to run an errand for me.”

Cold sweat broke out on Jared’s back. He really didn’t want to go outside. It
wasn’t a very safe thing to do for an omega.

“I have some documents that have to be sent by certified mail. The post office
closes in half an hour for midday break, but if you leave now you can still
make it.”

Jared gave a jerky nod. “Yes, Alpha.”

“Now, when you go up to the register, you’ll need to show them a letter of
authorization from me. I’ll get an official card later, for now it’ll have to
do.”

Jared nodded again. “I know, Alpha, I’ve been to the post office before.”

His former beta had ordered clothes online like she was addicted to it and
Jared had ended up sending almost all of them back.

Alpha just gave a disregarding shake of his head. “But this will be
complicated. You need to state exactly how this needs to be send.”

“By certified mail,” Jared interjected and Alpha gave him a hard look and
continued. “And it’s very important that you get the receipt. That means that
the person behind the counter has to give you a piece of paper stating they
took the mail into custody.”

“Yes, I understand,” Jared answered and under his breath he added, “I’m not
stupid.”

“What did you say?”

Jared looked up in panic. He’d forgotten that Alphas had sharper senses.

Jensen was looking at him, eyebrows knitted together in righteous indignation
and something in Jared just snapped.

“I said I’m not stupid, you don’t have to explain things like I’m a five-year
old,” he bit out and he saw Jensen’s face darken.

“Jared, don’t you take that tone with me!”

He had to bite his tongue not to say anything else but Jensen continued to look
at him like that, like he was an insolent child, and the anger and the
indignation continued to burn in him.

With his former keepers it had been easier, they had treated him like a stupid
animal the whole time, but half the time Alpha actually treated him like a real
person, why couldn’t he do that now?

“I’m sorry, Alpha,” he forced himself to say. “But I am smart enough to
understand when you explain something for the first time.”

Alpha snorted. “Yeah, I will decide how much I need to explain something. Now,
be a good little omega and hurry along.”

“Just because I’m an omega doesn’t mean I’m stupid,” Jared muttered and of
course Alpha heard that as well.

Instead of being angry Alpha just smiled at him patronizingly. “I’m sure you’re
very smart for an omega,” he said and patted Jared’s cheek.

And just like that, Jared exploded. A year of repressed anger and fear,
frustration at his own powerlessness, it all came out.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he yelled and he could see the surprise and the
anger on Alpha’s face, but he just couldn’t stop.

“How can you even say that with everything I do? I cook you the most
sophisticated meals even you say are delicious, I keep your house in order and
make plans for your garden, which you trust me to design and you still think I
have the mental capacity of a five-year-old. And how many five-year-olds can
even say that, mental capacity?”

“Jared,” Jensen warned, but Jared just continued, pacing up and down the living
room.

“You know, you’re such a self-righteous asshole! You tell me everything will be
better now, that you saved me, but I’m still your slave! You try to pretty it
up and put a bow on it, but you don’t know the first thing about omegas!”

“Jared, that’s enough!” Alpha shouted. “I don’t know who put this nonsense in
your head, but it stops right now! This is why you omegas need an alpha to
guide you! You’re rash and impulsive, ruled by your instincts like animals. If
it wasn’t for us, you’d run around society, contributing nothing and wreaking
havoc the whole day! There is a reason you’re substandard humans and this is
why!”

This was all so wrong and Jared didn’t even know why, but somehow he was
disappointed in his alpha.

“How can you say that? If we’re all so bad, how come we can give birth to real
humans, huh? The government feeds you this crap, so they can justify keeping us
as breeding machines, but it’s all bullshit! We’re just as worthy as you!”

Alpha suddenly moved, faster than Jared could have anticipated and then he was
right in Jared’s face, finger curling through the d-ring in his collar.

“You are an omega, Jared, and you will remember your place!” With that Alpha
dragged him to the stairs and Jared had to struggle to keep up.

Slowly he realized what he had done and a cold fist of fear took his body in an
icy grip. Jared couldn’t believe he was this stupid, that he’d let his emotions
get the better of him. Even in the beginning with his adoptive alpha and beta,
when every new humiliation had been a surprise, he had never lost it like that.

Jensen dragged him up to the attic and when Jared saw the discipline bench in
the corner his stomach dropped. After all this time he had been cuddled and
petted, the punishment would be a thousand times worse.
***** Chapter 4 *****
Jensen dropped down on Chris’s couch and gratefully accepted the beer. “Thanks,
man.”

“Sure,” Chris nodded. “So, how’s it going with the omega?”

Jensen snorted. “If you’d have asked me this morning I would have said great,
all things considered, but today we had a – well setback isn’t really the right
word, more like an outburst.”

Chris raised his eyebrows. “That sounds ominous. What happened?”

“He got mouthy,” Jensen replied. “I think I know where he got the courage to
run away from, some kind of bullshit about omegas being just as worthy as
alphas and some crap about him being smarter than I give him credit for.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I think he wasn’t properly educated and that might have given him ideas.
I don’t even know, man.” Jensen took a deep gulp from his bottle.

“What did you do?” Chris asked.

“Well, I thought about giving him a good beating, but considering what his old
alpha did to him that’s probably not gonna work. So I just tied him to the
bench and he can stay there for a few hours and ponder his place in society and
in my house.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Chris agreed and Jensen was glad for the
reassurance. For some reason he couldn’t quite pinpoint, it had made him
uneasy, leaving Jared like that. And it really shouldn’t.

A discipline bench was the normal place for an omega to be after an infraction
and there were several government recommended ways to deal with them. Jensen
didn’t own a disciplinary set because he’d never had an omega before, but there
were several household items that were good substitutes for a paddle and the
belt was still a classic. But the thought of doing that to Jared – it didn’t
sit well with him. Probably because he was abused, Jensen told himself.

“When did you put him in there?” Chris question dragged him out of his rather
uncomfortable thoughts.

“I think around noon, why? You think it’s too long?” Because it was already
eight pm and maybe that had been enough now.

“What? Nah. As long as you put a bucket under him, you’re golden.”

“A bucket?” Now Jensen was confused. “Why does he need a bucket?”

“Dude, it’s been eight hours and he’s an omega. He probably pissed all over the
place.”

“Aw, shit.” In his anger he hadn’t even thought of that. He’d just been so mad
when Jared, his perfect, sweet little omega had yelled at him, repeating all
that bullshit that he had picked up somewhere without properly understanding
it.

“Maybe he’ll hold it,” he mumbled, because even if Jared would obviously clean
up his own mess, Jensen still didn’t want to come home to it.

Chris shook his head. “It’s been way too long, man. And he’s an omega. They’re
like animals, they don’t hold back if it gets too hard.”

Jensen sighed and emptied his beer. “I better get home then.”


Jared tried to remember when he’d gone to the bathroom last, definitely after
breakfast and that had been around nine maybe? He wasn’t sure, but it didn’t
really mattered. All that mattered was that he really needed to pee and he had
no idea when Alpha would be back.

After Alpha had strapped him fully clothed to the bench, told him to think
about what he’d said and where his true place in society was, he had just left.
Jared had waited several minutes for him to come back and start whatever
special form of punishment he had come up with, but nothing. Alpha had
apparently decided that this was enough.

First, Jared had been relieved. He’d been tied up before for hours, it was
nothing he couldn’t handle.

He even spent the first half hour thinking about what he’d done – how he could
have been so incredible stupid to yell at Alpha like that.

Sure, Alpha was nice and even kind to him, but he was still an alpha. A ruling
member of society, at the top of the food-chain, government doctrines about his
own superiority pounded into his head since birth. If he would ever be able to
convince him that omegas were more than just breeding stock, yelling at him
definitely wasn’t the way to go.

And with dawning horror Jared realized that he wanted that. He wanted to show
Jensen that he was so much more than he thought, wanted to show him what the
world was really like, so they could have real conversations, could share a
meal together, sit out in the garden together, raise their children – Jared
shook his head.

He was not his mother and Jensen was definitely not his father. It would never
work. If anything, Alpha’s declaration from earlier pointed to the opposite. He
would never see Jared as anything else than his slave, without even realizing
that that was what he was seeing him as.

Jared pushed the hurt away. He finally needed to stop hoping. There was none
left for someone like him and his hormones making him all gooey on the inside
were not an excuse.


After a while, it started getting uncomfortable on the bench.

Jared tried to flex his muscles, shift around as much as he could, but that
didn’t change the fact that the edges of the bench were cutting painfully into
his pelvis and his ribs. The hard floor started to hurt his knees and
alternating between putting pressure on them and lying down on the bench was
equally painful. The buttons of his clothes dug into his skin and his arms were
stretched forward so much, he couldn’t use them to push himself up. No matter
how he positioned himself, it hurt.

Not to mention that he really needed to relieve himself. But his bladder was
well-trained, after the first few incidents at his former alpha’s house, where
he’d been only allowed to use the toilet during bathroom times, he had learned
to control himself quite well. A few hours on the bench was nothing he couldn’t
handle.

Then his left leg twitched. Since Jared had nothing else to do besides trying
to get lost in memories from happier times, he noticed immediately.

Twitch.

It was small, nothing more than a soft flutter, but it came back.

Twitch-twitch.

Jared scooted forward on the bench to stretch his leg as much as he could. The
twitching stopped. Relieved he relaxed again.

The next time it wasn’t a soft twitch anymore, it was an outright contraction.
Jared leaned forwards again, straightened his leg and the muscle in his lower
leg twitched again, but softer.

He stayed in that position, the bench’s edge digging painfully into his
hipbones, but he didn’t dare bend his leg.

It didn’t matter though, the twitching didn’t stop. Panic welled up in Jared,
this could become so very painful and there was nothing he could do about it.
He was helpless to wait for his body to betray him.

He carefully tried to tense his muscles and relax them, but the twitches became
fully blown cramps and their duration lengthened. The cuffs bit into his ankles
when he stretched even more, but it helped a bit.

Hours passed and his awareness narrowed down to his full bladder and his left
calf.

He could feel the pressure in his lower abdomen, but he refused to give in. He
would not piss himself like some animal.

The twitches in his calf were more worrisome, getting more frequent and it took
longer until they went away. Just when he thought he couldn’t hold it anymore,
his bladder was about to burst, pain flared through his lower leg.

Jared tried to stretch his leg again, but this time it didn’t subside. This
time the muscles didn’t relax. This time the pain continued.

The muscles cramped up even more, pulling together and sending a constant burn
up his leg. Everything else faded, the only thing registering was the pain. His
leg became a burning brick of agony.

Jared’s mouth opened in a silent scream and tears were running down his face,
but the cramp didn’t let up. There was nothing he could do to stop it and it
just went on and on and on.

He didn’t know if time passed or if it stopped. He thought he might have lost
conscious at some point because when he was able to think clearly again there
was only a faint throbbing in his leg. Jared held it completely still, not
wanting to trigger another cramp, but the movement made him aware of his other
problem. His bladder was still full and now it hurt.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had held out for so long, he
wouldn’t give up now.



When Jensen came home, he didn’t find what he had expected.

Sure, Jared was still tied up on the bench, but the attic still smelled like
the attic, old and moldy, with a hint of omega sweat permeating the air and
nothing else.

He slowly walked over to the bench and took in Jared’s lumped form, arms
stretched forwards, legs half bent and his head hanging down. His hair had
fallen in his face and his whole posture screamed exhaustion.

Jensen swallowed hard. Maybe he shouldn’t have left Jared on the bench for this
long.

“Jared?”

The omega didn’t move. Jensen walked around to his head and knelt down.

“Jared! You’re not supposed to sleep on the bench!” Jensen hadn’t even thought
it was possible, the bench was supposed to be too uncomfortable for that and
omegas didn’t need that much sleep.

Jared slowly raised his head and stared at Jensen out of hollow eyes. There
were deep circle under them and while he was paler than usual, his cheeks were
flushed.

“Jared, are you okay?” Being on the bench wasn’t that bad, was it?

Jared opened his mouth, but no sound came out, he just started to cough dryly.
Jensen hurried to release him from the straps. He pulled the omega up, who let
out a pained hiss when he was standing.

Worry was spreading through Jensen, he hadn’t wanted to hurt Jared. “Hey, where
does it hurt? C'mon, tell me sweety.”

“Leg. Cramp,” Jared bit out.

Shit. Jensen remembered the cramps he’d gotten in his teenage years, sometimes
he’d even woken up during the night, they had been so bad. Having a cramp and
not being able to stretch one’s leg...

“Alright, lean on me, sweety. I’m gonna get you downstairs, okay?”

Jared leaned on him and they slowly hobbled down the stairs. When they reached
the landing, Jared pulled away from him.

“Hey, what-”

“Bathroom,” Jared spit out and made a dash for Jensen’s bathroom. He was still
limping and he was bent over, but he moved surprisingly fast, before he slammed
the bathroom door shut behind him. It took a while before Jensen could hear him
relieve himself and Jensen felt even worse.

Jared had obviously been in pain, but he had still held it in.

He waited until Jared was done and then joined him in the bathroom. It wasn’t
appropriate for an omega to use their alpha’s bathroom without explicit
permission, but Jensen would ignore that.

Jared was standing at the sink, leaning heavily on it and his arms were
shaking. His face was wet and he looked guiltily at Jensen.

“Did you think about what you did today?” Jensen asked, because no matter what
had happened, he couldn’t just gloss over that.

Jared gave a curt nod. “I did and I’m sorry. I was out of line.” It sounded
wooden and stilted, but then Jared looked down and fiddled with his hands.
“You’re so good to me and I was ungrateful and I’m really sorry for yelling at
you.” Now that sounded more honest.

Jensen nodded and smiled at Jared. “I’m proud of you for holding it in and not
making a mess on the bench.”

Jared gave a perfectly soft and demure nod. “Thank you, Alpha.”

“Why did you though? It must have been painful.”

The omega was still looking at his feet when he mumbled something too quiet to
hear.

Jensen sighed. “Look at me, Jared. I can’t understand you when you talk to your
toes like that.”

“I’m not an animal. I don’t just pee all over the place,” Jared said, but his
voice was void of emotions and there was no heat behind the words.

He didn’t want to be contradictory, he just told Jensen what he was thinking.
When Jensen realized that Jared was right, it was sort of like having an
epiphany. He wasn’t an animal. Despite everything Jensen had expected, Jared
had held out.

All things considered, Jared hadn’t displayed any of the bad, animalistic omega
habits. He wasn’t lazy or slow, he was smarter than Jensen had thought it was
possible and he could actually think up solutions to problems on his own.

Just the other day Jensen had taken a peek at a drawing Jared had done for the
garden and even though it had been only a preliminary sketch, it showed
ingenuity and a great eye for spacial concepts. At first he had thought it was
a design suggested in one of the videos, but after a quick glance on the
contents he noticed Jared had used elements that weren’t even covered.

Yes, Jared was clearly smarter than most omegas and it explained his little
outburst yesterday.

So Jared had a bit of a temper, so what? His apology had obviously been sincere
and Jensen was still incredibly lucky that his find had turned out so smart and
able.

He softly stroked over Jared’s cheekbone. “I think you might be a very special
omega.”

Jared looked at him, surprised and confused and Jensen couldn’t help but
chuckle. “God, you’re adorable when you look at me like that. Now, how’s your
leg? Does it still hurt?”

The omega nodded and Jensen decided to give him a treat. After all, he had been
a good boy during his punishment and Jensen might have been a little harsh in
his judgment. He would still need to make it clear to Jared that despite being
smart, he was still an omega, but not tonight. Tonight, he wanted to coddle his
omega.

“Alright, then go ahead and draw a warm bath. There’s some kind of bubble bath
that’s supposed to be relaxing, you can add that to the water.”

Instead of thanking him for his generosity, Jared just nodded with empty eyes
and went to draw the bath. For a second Jensen was angry at the ingratitude,
before he realized that Jared hadn’t understood the bath was for him.

He shook his head in annoyance that Jared didn’t even know that he could get a
reward if he did something good. Maybe he should really hunt down that old
alpha of his, teach that bastard a lesson.

Jensen went down to the kitchen to get himself a beer – he really needed one –
and decided to get a soda for Jared. Sugar wasn’t good for omegas, it impaired
their health in a way that could be bad for a baby, but Jared showed no signs
of going into heat soon and Jensen felt that he deserved it.

When he came back upstairs, he put the bottles on the broad edge of the bathtub
where it connected to the wall, took off his clothes and slid into water.

It wasn’t enough yet, but it had the perfect temperature and the bubble bath
smelled nice. Jared was still clothed and standing in the corner, trying to be
still, but Jensen could see how his fingers twisted nervously.

“Jared. Get in here.”

The omega looked up at him with wide eyes and Jensen was torn between amusement
and annoyance. “Get in the tub. It’s going to be good for your leg.”

Jared hesitated for a moment longer, then he shed his clothes in stiff
movements, his whole body obviously tense after a day on the bench and there
was a feeling tugging at Jensen, something uncomfortable that he couldn’t quiet
name, but he didn’t really want to either. He had a hunch he might not like it.
It felt too much like guilt.

Jared slowly walked over and Jensen noted appreciatively how much weight his
omega had gained. He was still a little too skinny, but the outlines of his
ribs had lost their unhealthy protrusion and his knees and elbows weren’t as
knobbly.

Jensen helped him in the tub and there was a short shuffle when Jared didn’t
know how to position himself and had trouble coordinating his long limbs in the
water.

“Alright, c'mere, sweety.” He drew Jared onto his lap, back to chest and spread
his legs.

Before he had gotten home he had planned to make Jared clean up his mess and
send him to bed alone, without getting knotted. Now though, he wanted to knot
Jared. Not only because he was aroused by his omega’s naked body, but also
because he wanted to treat Jared, reward him for his good behavior and a good
knotting was always something that made an omega happy.

His omega stayed still when Jensen trailed his hand down his body, over his
flaccid dick and his balls to his opening. Even in the water Jensen could feel
that there was no slick and he gently massaged Jared’s opening.

“Don’t pout, sweety. I told you, you did good. Now open up for me.”

For a second Jared tensed, then he exhaled heavily.

“That’s it, baby.” Jensen slipped a finger inside and Jared let his head fall
back completely. It exposed the long column of his throat right next to
Jensen’s mouth and suddenly he couldn’t help but lean forward and nibble on it.

Jared tasted like sweat and sweet omega and when Jensen’s lips touched him, his
body arched up so beautifully Jensen’s heart clenched.

Jared’s mouth fell open, a surprised moan tumbled from his parted lips and it
occurred to Jensen that he had probably never been kissed. It made him angry,
that this soft beauty should have gone uncherished and he vowed to change that
right now.

“You like that, sweety?”

Jared gave a choppy nod and Jensen continued to kiss and lick his throat, while
his fingers prepped Jared’s hole for his knot.

It didn’t take long, Jared was getting wet faster than ever before and finally
Jensen could slide his aching dick right into that tight, slick heat.

His head fell back at the sensation of that hot wetness gripping him firmly and
he only gave a couple of thrusts before he gave into the pleasure and started
grinding his hips.

It didn’t take long for his knot to inflate, Jared lying so pliantly on his
body, those breathless, little moans falling from his lips while Jensen stroked
his dick. He needed to feel Jared come around him, needed to feel him clench
and shudder on his dick.

He went back to sucking on Jared’s neck, probably leaving marks and when he
pushed his hips upward again and stroked his omega’s dick faster, Jared came
hard. His whole body tensed, his hands gripping the tub tight and Jensen could
do nothing else but follow right behind, his cock pulsing deep inside his
omega.


They lay in the water until it went cold, Jensen drinking his beer and Jared
nipping on the soda, cradling the bottle in his hands like it was the most
precious treasure in the world.

When Jensen’s knot deflated they got out of the tub and Jensen toweled his
omega dry, ignoring how his surprised look cut deep into his heart. Had no one
ever shown him any kindness?

He took Jared to bed with him and drew the omega in his arms, enjoying the soft
smell he was giving off combined with the scent of the bubble bath.

There was something nagging at the back of his head, some kind of observation
about their post-knotting routine, but Jensen couldn’t put an finger on it, so
he just buried his nose in Jared’s hair and went to sleep.


The day was like any other.

When Jensen woke up he had Jared take care of his morning erection before
taking a long shower. Then he had breakfast – Jared had really mastered the
blueberry pancakes – and continued to work.

He was feeling weird the whole day, something bugging him the whole time, but
every time he wanted to examined it closer, it was like it just evaporated.

It wasn’t until late in the evening, when he had Jared ride him on the couch
and the omega slumped down exhausted after his orgasm. Jensen was still coming
deep inside him, lazily working his fingers through Jared’s hair and suddenly
it hit him.

Jared was distant.

His sweet omega, so trustworthy after a few days, snuggling into his chest
after a nightmare and turning his head into his hands whenever he stroked his
hair – he wasn’t doing that anymore. Hadn’t for a while now.

He avoided his eyes any chance he got and even during their knotting he didn’t
fully relax, didn’t lean into him. He always seemed to be somewhere else with
his thoughts, like he couldn’t stand Jensen’s presence.

Jared didn’t trust him anymore.

It hurt. Jensen didn’t know why, but it really fucking hurt. He had worked so
hard to earn Jared’s trust, see that rare smile light up his face and now it
was all gone and he was almost as skittish as he had been in the beginning.

One didn’t need to be a genius to figure out why Jared had changed. Last week
Jensen had punished him and now the omega probably thought he was as bad as his
last alpha.

Jensen wanted to grip him by the shoulders, shake him and tell him that he
would never be so cruel to him.

The picture of Jared hobbling to the bathroom, face twisted in pain, appeared
in his mind and Jensen buried his head in Jared’s neck. His omega didn’t react,
didn’t give any indication of being affected by their closeness and Jensen
couldn’t stand it anymore.

He pulled back. “Get off.”

Jared didn’t look at him when he pulled free, showed nothing on his face even
though Jensen’s knot was still so big it must be uncomfortable.

“Go downstairs and clean up. I won’t need you tonight anymore.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Jared replied, no emotion on his face.

Jensen waited until his omega had left to wipe himself off and get dressed
again. It was late, but he was too agitated to go to bed.

He poured himself a glass of whiskey and started to pace the living room.

So Jared had lost his trust in him. Well, he guessed it was comprehensible,
considering his past. And in retrospective, the punishment had been long. But
Jared had acted out badly. Maybe he should just have given him a whipping.

The thought of hitting Jared with a belt made Jensen want to throw up. He just
couldn’t imagine doing it.

Hearing about punishing an omega and doing it himself, seeing what it did to
him, that was apparently a completely different pair of shoes.

Jensen tried to remember his own omega-parent. He had stayed with them until
Jensen was thirteen and Jensen couldn’t remember ever seeing him get punished.
Either his parents had done it out of sight or their omega had been very well
behaved.

He shook his head. It didn’t matter. He didn’t want to hurt Jared. He knew an
omega needed discipline, but hurting Jared – he just couldn’t imagine doing it.
The sight of Jared after he’d freed him from the bench had been bad enough. He
hadn’t thought it would affect him, but he still couldn’t ban the memories of
Jared’s pained face.

“Dammit!”

Suddenly Jensen was furious. He was angry at Jared’s former keepers, angry at
Jared, at himself – how had his life become such an emotional mess, just
because he had taken in an omega?

“Dammit!” Jensen shouted again. He needed an outlet for all the anger, pent up
inside of him since he had seen the scars on his omega’s back.

“Dammit, dammit, fuck!”

He hit the back of the couch, his fist sinking into the soft material and it
made him even more furious. He swirled around angrily, a sharp pain shot
through his hand and then there was a loud crash.

Jensen looked to the small, high table standing next to the couch and the
orchid that used to stand on top if it, now lying on the floor, the flowerpot
still whole but the earth spilled all over the carpet.

Shit. He couldn’t deal with this right now.

“Jared!”

He would just go to bed and tomorrow he would sit Jared down for a long talk
and explain why he didn’t need to fear him. It was a long shot to talk to an
omega rationally about emotions, but he had to try.

Jared still hadn’t come upstairs and Jensen called for him again, louder and
more impatient.

Moments later there were fast steps on the stairs and the young omega skidded
into the kitchen, wearing only a pair of sleep pants and wet hair dripping on
his shoulders.

For a moment Jensen forgot what he wanted to say, because Jared was just so
goddamn beautiful like that, half naked and hair wild, a rosy blush covering
his face and his upper body.

His omega was looking at him with wide eyes, but when Jensen didn’t say
anything his eyes scanned the room, landed on the orchid on the floor and
resignation spread over his face.

“I’ll clean that up right away, Alpha.”

Jensen nodded mutely, but when Jared walked past him, he couldn’t help himself
but touch him. Jared’s skin was cool and still so incredibly smooth and Jensen
drew his lean body tight against his own.

“It should be forbidden to look that tempting,” he murmured, unable to stop
himself. He started nosing at Jared’s neck, his omega shuddering in his arms.
When his skin came in contact with Jared’s hair, he drew back. It was icecold.

“Did you take a cold shower?”

Jared looked at him, forehead scrunched up in incomprehension. “What do you
mean?”

Jensen sighed. Just when he thought Jared was smarter than average he went and
asked a stupid question.

“Your skin is cool and your hair is icecold. Why would you take such a cold
shower?” he asked more slowly.

Jared still looked completely puzzled. “What else am I supposed to do? There’s
only one temperature.”

“What? Don’t be silly,” Jensen said. Did he have to explain everything to
Jared? “There are two switches for the water control, a blue one for cold and a
red one for hot. You use both of them and get warm water.”

“I know,” Jared said and for a moment Jensen thought he heard a rebellious
undertone, but Jared’s face was neutral. “But the warm water control doesn’t
work.”

Jensen let out an exasperated breath. “Follow me.”

He went down to his omega’s bathroom, fully intent on showing him how it
worked. He ignored this creeping feeling – guilt a small voice whispered – that
threatened to overcome him at the sight of the small, windowless room Jared was
supposed to live in.

In the bathroom he turned on the control for hot water, but it came out cold.
He waited over a minute for it to warm up, but it never did.

Annoyed he turned to Jared. “Why didn’t you say it’s broken?”

This time his omega definitely gave him a defiant look. “Because it’s not
broken,” Jared said. “Omegas never get hot water.”

“What?”

Now Jared looked at him like Jensen was stupid. “Omegas don’t get warm water
because apparently it’s a waste of energy. I was just happy to have an actual
shower, so it didn’t really occur to me to say something.”

Jensen tried to process the information of omegas not being worthy of warm
water when he caught onto the last thing Jared had said.

“If you didn’t have a shower before, how did you get clean?”

“Alpha cleaned me off with a garden hose.”

Jensen felt his mouth drop open and snapped it shut again. He balled his fists
so Jared wouldn’t get scared by his anger.

“That – unbelievable! For the time being you’ll use my shower until I get this
fixed. I won’t have you taking cold showers in the middle of winter!”

Now Jared looked at him with an open mouth.

Jensen took the discarded towel from the sink and stepped over to Jared. He
slowly started to rub the omega’s hair with it. “I told you I’d be good to you.
You just have to start believing me. I never want to see you suffer, okay?”

Jared looked at him through his lashes, in that way that made it unable for
Jensen to read his emotions.

“C'mon,” he said and dragged Jared upstairs with him, all the way to his
bedroom.

He wasted no time getting the sleep pants off his omega’s slim hips and then
Jensen shed his own clothes, joining Jared on the bed.

For the first time he was kneeling over Jared, face to face and when he saw his
wide plush lips slightly parted, he didn’t know why he hadn’t done that before.
Sure, it wasn’t 'proper', but he didn’t care. He knew that some people did it
and right in that moment he wanted nothing more.

He leaned down to claim his omega’s mouth, to taste those soft looking lips.

Jared made a small surprised noise and Jensen stroked soothingly over his jaw,
before he forced his lips apart with his tongue, pushing inside of his omega’s
mouth, tasting him, claiming him.

He felt the need to possess Jared, inside and out, and never let him go.

He aligned their bodies and Jared was already wet, so Jensen pushed inside
without preamble, his mouth never leaving Jared’s.

He nibbled on his plush bottom lip, swept his tongue against the seam when he
closed his mouth, licked into it when he opened it. He tangled their tongues
together, committing Jared’s sweet taste to his memory.

He let his hands trail over his body, rubbing his arms and circling his
nipples, coaxing all those sweet noises from his beautiful mouth.

The soft gasps, the bitten off moans, the sharp intakes of breath, Jensen
soaked them all up, let them wash away the guilt and the shame.

When Jared’s hands touched his back, it was acquittance. When his fingers dug
in deep, it was absolution. When he arched his back, hips pushing up into
Jensen, it was forgiveness.

Long legs came up around Jensen’s waist, drawing him tight and he had never
been so close to another person.

He buried his head in the crook of Jared’s neck, the spot that had somehow
become his favorite place in the world and he kissed it and worried the skin
above and below Jared’s collar, wanting to leave a mark of his own.

His orgasm was fast approaching when he finally heard it. Jared was mumbling
his name, over and over again.

The pleasure shot through him, taking clear thought with it and leaving only
pure ecstasy behind. He fell down on his omega’s chest, the only sounds he
could hear their ragged breathing and Jared’s heartbeat.

After a while he held Jared tight and then rolled them around and Jared shifted
around until he was comfortable, Jensen’s knot still connecting them.

He snuffled adorably, before burrowing into Jensen’s chest and the alpha
couldn’t help but smile. Jared had reverted back to his puppyish cuddling ways.

He slowly rubbed Jared’s back and his omega started humming contentedly, noises
getting quieter with every minute.

After, when Jared was sleeping in his arms, face so relaxed and young it looked
almost angelic and that soft warm smell wafting off of him, Jensen could
finally understand why some alphas and betas coddled and pampered their omegas.
They were truly precious creatures.
***** Chapter 5 *****
Like always, Alpha was still asleep when Jared woke.

Jared vaguely remembered falling asleep lying on his alpha’s chest, hearing his
heart beat steadily while his fingers softly played with his hair.

Now Jared was lying half on his side, half on his stomach and Alpha was lying
pressed up against his back, his breath puffing against his neck and his dick
already hard pressing against his ass.

It felt good. Comfortable. Safe even.

His alpha’s arm was draped around his waist and his body was supplying Jared
with warmth. Jared felt like he was wrapped in a cocoon of love and safety.

So after a week of fighting it, trying to stay distant and reminding himself
every fucking day that Jensen was the enemy, Jared gave up. He was too
exhausted to fight it any longer. He didn’t want to be lonely anymore.

Jared let out a deep breath and snuggled closer to his alpha. He responded
immediately, making an small snuffling noise and tightening his arm around
Jared.

Jared pushed back the tiny voice yelling at him that he was stupid, that this
would never end well. He knew this was an enormously dumb thing to do, as soon
as Jensen found out he was pregnant, this would all be over, but Jared wanted
to enjoy the affection as long as it lasted.

He deserved to be cuddled and kissed and touched. He deserved someone telling
him that he was beautiful and adorable and an excellent cook.

Rationally he knew he deserved so much more than that, but Jared had to be
realistic here. The moment the chip had entered his skin, all dreams of
escaping this hell of a life had been over. This was the best he could hope
for.

So Jared put a hand on Alpha’s and intertwined their fingers. It felt
unfamiliar, he hadn’t ever held hands with anyone like that. Just as unfamiliar
as being kissed had been last night.

Jared found he liked both.

Alpha shifted around a bit, pushing one leg between Jared’s and his head turned
slightly, making his breath gush across Jared’s shoulder every time he exhaled.

It felt nice. Like this, it felt real. Like a real relationship. Just two
people, equals, indulging in some cuddling before they started their day.

If Jared wouldn’t be afraid to wake his alpha he would hit himself in the head.
Last night had seriously screwed with his head. Just because Alpha had kissed
him, he was dreaming of a relationship.

Of course, everything considered, it was surprising that Alpha had kissed him
at all. Since most people regarded omegas as animals, kissing them was frowned
upon. He knew that some people did it, at least that’s what Mike had told him,
but Jared had never thought his new alpha would be one of them. It had been a
big – and very pleasant – surprise.

Like always, Jared had melted under his alpha’s demanding but gentle hands, but
when he had kissed him, it had been instant paradise.

Their amazing sex had become even more incredible, Jared had thought he would
burst with all the pleasure. He had been unable to hold back, even if he wanted
to, but after Alpha had declared earlier Jared should have warm water to
shower, that had been a moot point anyway. Jared had never been so grateful in
his life. He would have warm showers!

So yeah, maybe he was being stupid. He just didn’t have the energy to fight
this anymore.

So screw being careful. Screw being distant and not indulging in the little
pleasures. As long as his alpha kept him despite the pregnancy, he would spend
the next twenty to thirty years with this man. He had to make the best of it
and thankfully, Jensen was making it relatively easy for him.



The first thing on Jensen’s agenda was to call someone to fix the shower
downstairs.

He still couldn’t believe that omegas weren’t supposed to have warm water.
Sure, then they might be more prone to indulge into taking longer showers, but
really, it was just cruel.

He was in luck, the second company he called was able to send someone over
later in the day.

The plumber showed up around two o’clock with an apprentice and an omega in
tow. When Jensen explained the problem to him, the older alpha gave a grim nod.

“Yeah, it’s an outrage. Those poor omegas!” The alpha shook his head. “I’ll see
what I can do. If the pipe with the warm water is just disconnected from the
valve it’s no problem, but if they didn’t even lay a warm water pipe down
there, it’s gonna be a lot more work and it’s gonna cost you. Would that be a
problem?”

The plumber fixed Jensen with a hard stare, his dark eyes glinting under thick,
intimidating eyebrows.

“Uhm, no,” Jensen replied, not sure what was going on here. “I just want Jared
to have warm water. The price doesn’t matter.”

At that the other alpha gave him a wide smile and clapped him hard on the
shoulder. “Good to see that not everybody has completely lost their marbles!”

“What?”

But the plumber had already turned around to order his apprentice and his omega
downstairs. Jensen was left standing confused in the living-room.

After ten minutes the apprentice came upstairs to tell him that there was a
warm water pipe and they would be done in an hour.

Jensen just nodded, grateful that he wouldn’t need to accommodate tradespeople
in his house for the next few days.

The encounter with the other alpha left him slightly unsettled. He had clearly
been pleased with Jensen’s reaction, he just wasn’t sure if that meant that all
other alphas out there were especially cruel to their omegas or if he was going
soft.

When he showed Jared the warm water and his omega gave him his biggest smile
yet, Jensen was pretty sure it was the latter. But what else was he supposed to
do, when Jared smiled at him like that, with dimples showing on his cheeks and
pure happiness shining from his eyes?

Jensen had known that his omega was beautiful, but when he smiled it was a
completely different game. It was like looking straight into the sun. He
couldn’t help himself but draw the omega in close and press a kiss on that
dimpled cheek.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Jared said softly and for the first time in a week it
sounded really genuine.

“You’re welcome.”

Jared drew back and looked at him with big eyes. “Is there something I can do?
For you, I mean? Like a thank you. Like, like cook something special or bake
you a cake or something like that?”

Jensen laughed, his omega was just too cute. “Well, it’s been a while since I
had my omega-parent’s special bacon roulade, but I have no idea how to cook
that and I doubt there'll be cooking videos about that, it’s too specific. Just
cook whatever, although I wouldn’t say no to some apple pie for dessert.”

Jared nodded earnestly and hurried upstairs. Halfway up the stairs he turned to
look around, eyes wide with a hint of fear. “Am I excused, Alpha?”

“Sure,” Jensen chuckled.

Sometimes living with Jared was like living with an overgrown puppy. He’d never
thought he’d like that, but apparently he did. Especially when Jared tried so
hard to please him.

Apple pie for dinner. Jensen was a lucky guy.



The fridge was full. Like bursting-from-the-seams, you-open-the-door-and-
everything-falls-in-your-face full. It shouldn’t be so hard to get a meal
together.

The apple pie wasn’t a problem, Jared could make that one in his sleep and
while he prepared the dough and mixed the filling together he pondered what to
cook for dinner.

He really wanted to do something special for his alpha and this was the only
way he could think of to express his gratitude.

Jared snorted. It was pathetic really, that he was thanking someone for giving
him access to warm water. But this was the harshness of his reality; he was an
omega and only very few people would ever see him as anything more than an
animal. Which wasn’t even really true, considering most alphas and betas
treated their pets better than their omegas. Omegas had more the standing of a
cow.

So he would thank his alpha for treating him better than societal norms
dictated, without forgetting the injustice that was still being done to him.

It was right there, in Alpha’s kitchen, when Jared was looking through all his
cookbooks for inspiration, that he swore to himself he would never forget. He
would never get complacent in this life, would never forget what his parents
had taught him.

They had used all their energy to save up money for the move to Europe, so that
Jared and his mother could finally have a better life. His parents had raised
him as a full-value member of society and Jared would never let them down by
forgetting that.

He also had to adapt to his new circumstances, though.

The last cookbook on the shelf was an old leather-bound volume. When Jared
opened it he saw that all the recipes in it where hand-written. The pages were
yellowed and thin and Jared had problems to read the slightly different font,
but he managed to decipher it.

The book didn’t seem to have any order and it didn’t have a table of content
Jared could find, but there was a dedication on the bottom of the first page.

“To my dear child. May cooking this make them happy, so that they may treat you
well.”

Jared flipped through the pages. The recipes were all pretty ingenious,
extravagant and unlike anything he had ever seen before. And there, on page
forty-eight, it was: The bacon-pickle roulade.

He made a little happy dance before he went through the fridge and all the
cupboards to make sure he had everything he needed. He did.

The dish was more of a challenge that he had thought. Preparing the filling of
onions, pickles, bacon and carrots and the special mustard sauce for the
roulade went okay, but it took him a while to make the strange eggnoodles. He
couldn’t even figure out how to pronounce their name and since there was no
description on how to form them, he rolled them into thick spaghetti. That, of
course, took forever.

Alpha poked his head in twice to ask when dinner would be ready and Jared told
him that it would take longer, because he was cooking something special, but
tried to console him with the promise of pie while making the most pleading and
contrite expression he managed. Surprisingly, it worked.

It was after eight when the food was finally ready. The roulades were done and
simmering in their sauce, the vegetables were cooked and even the eggnoodles at
least tasted good, even if they looked like slightly overgrown, beige
earthworms.

Alpha didn’t show any kind of recognition when Jared put the roulades on the
table. He watched nervously as his alpha put one on his plate, while Jared
served him the weird eggnoodles and the vegetables.

Alpha eyed them critically. God, Jared had missed his mark by a mile. Damn.

“Sit,” Alpha ordered and waved at the empty chair next to him. He had wanted
Jared to eat with him more and more, especially for dinner. Jared didn’t quite
know what to think about that.

“Oh my god!”

Jared looked at his alpha with alarm. The man had a completely astonished
expression on his face. He was still chewing his first bite, but he was staring
at his plate like it contained a miracle.

“This is my omega-parent’s bacon beef roulade!” Alpha still looked completely
shocked, but now he was looking at Jared.

He nodded. Alpha was still staring and Jared wondered what he had done wrong.

“How did you know how to do this?” Alpha asked.

“I, uhm, I found this old handwritten recipe book. Is it not good?”

Jensen blinked at him. “It’s excellent. But that’s not the question here. The
question is how do you know how to read?”

Jared shifted around on his chair. Once again the stupidity had taken hold off
him. He had managed to hide his education from his former alpha, but Jensen had
lulled him into this false sense of security with his niceties. Stupid.

“I was home-schooled,” Jared explained, but didn’t know how to continue. He had
no idea how Alpha would react to his unusual family.

“And you were taught to read?” Alpha’s voice was filled with disbelief. This
couldn’t end well.

Jared nodded anyway. “Yes. My omega-parent taught me.”

“An omega teaching another omega how to read! What are you gonna tell me next?
You can also calculate in your head and recite all fifty states with their
capitals?”

Jared thought it was good that Alpha phrased this as a rhetorical question. He
probably wouldn’t like the answer.

Alabama – Montgomery, Alaska – Juneau, Arizona – Phoenix, Arkansas -

“I don’t believe this,” Alpha said and either Jared was already suffering from
fear-induced hallucinations or he sounded happy.

“I pick up a beaten and half-starved omega in Chris’s back alley and he turns
out to be an exceptional specimen. This actually solves so many problems!”
Jensen’s brow suddenly creased as if something just occurred to him.

“You should have told me earlier, you can learn so much better from books than
from the videos.”

Jared looked down on his plate, not quite sure how to react. He had never
thought Alpha would see his education as a good thing. Most omegas never
learned to read, only a select few were taught this skill and then they were
only taught how to read, never how to write. Jared could do both.

“How well can you read anyway?” Alpha suddenly asked.

Jared was still completely stunned that Jensen liked that he could read, so he
blurted out the first thing that popped into his mind, “I’ve read Shakespeare.”

Jensen’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. “Did you understand it?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember anything of it?”

Jared drew in a deep breath. The words came easily, after all the time he still
remembered every single one of them, couldn’t forget even if he wanted to, how
his parents had recited them to each other when they thought Jared was already
asleep in his bed.

“Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.”





Jensen couldn’t help but stare. What Jared had just recited was beautiful.

Of course, he was surprised that he had memorized it so well, but not only
that, his omega had actually recited it, with intonation, meter, the whole
shebang. If he were an alpha Jensen would have said he should consider being an
actor.

Jensen didn’t even recognize the play this was supposed to be from. He had
gotten a good education, but the characters Romeo or Juliet didn’t ring a bell.
Maybe Jared had confused something.

“I don’t recognize this play. Are you sure it’s Shakespeare?”

Jared nodded. “Yes. It’s called Romeo and Juliet.”

“What is it about?”

“Uhm, well it’s about Romeo and Juliet,” Jared said and started to fidget.

“Really?” Jensen asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “I never would have
guessed.”

Jared looked up at him then, eyes glinting. Jensen had challenged him and yep,
his omega’s temper was still there. Instead of being annoyed by it, Jensen
suddenly realized he found it endearing. He had always admired if people had a
strong backbone and didn’t shrink back when faced with obstacles, so it was no
surprise he came to like it in his omega as well. As long as Jared wouldn’t
forget his place, Jensen wouldn’t mind a little fire.

Besides, Jared looked good with a spark in his eyes.

“Well, it’s a love story,” Jared said and there was a decidedly large amount of
snark in his voice. “Only their families hate each other, so they can’t be
together. They meet at a Masquerade and fall in love. They know they can never
really be together but they get married anyway. Then Romeo gets involved in a
fight and is exiled from the city. Julia fakes her death so she can escape and
be with him, but Romeo doesn’t know it’s fake and kills himself. When she wakes
up and sees him dead, she kills herself as well. The end.”

Huh. The story had all the elements of a great tragedy, Jensen wondered why he
had never heard of it.

“It’s not a well-known play, though.”

Jared shook his head. “No, it’s not.”

“Do you know why?” Jensen asked him and again Jared shook his head, but the
omega shifted his eyes away and avoided looking at Jensen.

Did he know more? The thought alone should be ridiculous, what could an omega
know that he didn’t, but Jared was a constant surprise, so Jensen decided to
drop it and do some research later. After he had finished eating this delicious
dinner.

When Jared was busy cleaning up in the kitchen Jensen went into the living-
room. His Shakespeare anthology was sitting high up on a shelf, but even after
going through the table of contents twice he couldn’t find a play called Romeo
and Juliet.

He went upstairs in his study and turned on his laptop.

Finding out about this play was harder than he had thought, other than the
occasional obscure reference that the play existed he found nothing.

It wasn’t until he stumbled across an article about a literature professor
being banned from Harvard that he got more details. Apparently the professor
had worked on examining old plays from the Elizabethan era and wanted to
publish an article about them, even though several of them were thought to be
lost. Romeo and Juliet had been among them.

The article was mostly about the professor and his scandalous affair with a
young alpha student that had led to his sacking, but then Jensen stumbled about
an old blog entry concerning the professor.


“As everybody else, we were shocked about the news of Professor Roché and his
lewd behavior towards students.

We all know and respect bright and ambitious running back Tyson Brady, a
familiar face for everyone on campus. Brady is well known for his friendliness,
especially to freshmen betas and his sociability. Never one to turn down an
invitation, he was the guest of many an event. To hear that the fit 6' 4"
running back was the victim of molestation by our fair literature professor
came as a shock indeed.

Professor Roché not only apparently sexually harassed numerous students who
just now have gathered the courage to come forward and accuse him of all
manners of harassment, he had already attracted his colleagues’ ire earlier
this semester with a new research project that many called pointless and
eccentric. Originally funded with a one million dollar grant Professor Roché
intended to examine numerous plays from the Elizabethan era, many of whom are
believed to be lost, but were actually just housed in an obscure room in the
Library of Congress without a signature to find them. How such old and
paramount plays could be lost is currently the subject of another government
investigation.

Professor Roché had taken an elevated interested in one of the lost Shakespeare
tragedies. This play-writer is inarguable one of the most gifted poets who ever
lived and yet it does seem like several of his works were lost in the late
eighteenth century. A rediscovery should be grounds for celebration, but
according to government officials the only copy in existence is so severely
damaged that it can’t be examined without risking its preservation. This means
that Professor Roché will not only be charged with sexual harassment, but also
with endangering a rare national treasure. Never mind that Master Shakespeare
was British.

Professor Roché was also critiqued by his colleagues for clearly having lost
his touch with reality and his ability to actually interpret old literature.
Those who examined his notes proclaimed them to be entirely ridiculous. Upon
our further inquiry nobody wanted to go into details about what was so
ludicrous about Professor Roché’s theories, it was only when we meet Professor
Henriksen perchance in the local sports bar after a Patriot’s game that we
received more information.

Professor Henriksen confided in us that Professor Roché had become increasingly
delusional about the characters' true nature. Apparently he had proclaimed that
in the most famous love story of its time the protagonists were not a classic
alpha-beta couple kept apart by their families' hatred, but rather a star-
crossed alpha-omega couple, forced to hide their love due to society’s rule.
That, of course, is ridiculous.

Obviously there has never been a time when people considered our societal
structures unjust and wanted to fight it. There has also never been a time when
omegas had more rights than they do now, because why would they need them?
Clearly the current European movement must be fueled by libertarian ideas and
weirdos like Professor Roché.

Upon our inquiry what would happen with Professor Roché we were told that he
was not going to be charged with anything, because he had voluntarily pulled
out of the scientific circles. When we asked what was going to happen with the
harassment charges we were told that they had only been misunderstandings, but
that Professor Roché had still agreed to never teach again.

Phew. Thank god a dangerous man like Sebastian Roché, who did not harass
anybody sexually and who only did what every other researcher does, research,
has been banished from all educational institutions of the United States.

Finally we can breathe easy again.


Jensen stared at the screen for a long time, not quite knowing what to think
about this.

The article not only described the professor’s affair in such ironic tones that
one couldn’t possibly take it serious, it also implied the professor was sacked
because of his theories about omegas.

Shakespeare, a secret advocate for omega rights? Really?

And how could Jared quote a play that had been supposedly lost for over two
hundred years?

Usually Jensen would brush the article off as another hippy libertarian view on
omegas, but something with how the whole thing presented itself and in
combination with all that he had learned about Jared.... Shit, it made his head
hurt.

Jensen went over to the sideboard, poured himself a whiskey and downed the
whole thing in one go. He refilled it immediately.

He didn’t even know where to start, nothing made sense really. Jared could
read. And recite poetry. Allegedly lost poetry. And he couldn’t even argue that
maybe it was fake, because that little part had sounded exactly like something
written by Shakespeare would. And how would an omega be able to grasp something
so complex anyway?

Jensen downed the next glass.

Obviously Jared was special. He was especially pretty, why not be especially
smart?

It still didn’t explain the poetry though. No matter how long he thought about
it, the only one who would be able to shed some light on this mystery was Jared
himself.

Jared. It all came back to the omega.

When Jensen had seen him for the first time, he had seen a beautiful and broken
creature that would warm his bed and give him children.

Now he was Jared. He shared his bed and his life. Sure, he cleaned and cooked
and did all the other things that omegas were supposed to do, but he was so
much more.

All those things omegas were notorious for – their stupidity, their laziness
and their indolence – Jared displayed none of those traits.

Jensen found himself wanting his company more and more, be it for dinner or
Jared sleeping in his bed. He wanted to kiss and cuddle him. He wanted to keep
him safe, so he would never have those horrible nightmares again, and he felt
never more happy and satisfied when Jared just melted into his arms during
their knottings or after waking up screaming in the middle in the night because
of a bad dream.

These feelings were so confusing, Jared was an omega for fuck’s sake! An omega
who could read. It was ridiculous, but Jensen could just not get over that. He
needed to figure out what the hell was going on with his omega.

So Jensen poured himself another glass and went to his bedroom.

Jared was already there, lying under the covers, watching Jensen warily.

Jensen sat down at the edge of the bed and took another sip from his glass.
“So, I think it’s time you told me how exactly you grew up.”

Jared’s eyes widened in surprise, maybe even fear, but he didn’t flinch. He
nodded.



“I grew up on a farm. It was only my parents and me. They taught me everything
they knew,” Jared started, unsure of what exactly Alpha wanted to know.

“Your parents?”

“My omega-parent and my alpha-sire,” Jared explained, using the accurate terms
for omegas.

Jensen cocked an eyebrow. “No beta?”

Jared shook his head. “My father loved my mother, he didn’t want anyone else.”

“He loved her?” Alpha asked incredulously.

“His family had always been liberal with how they treated omegas. For my dad,
gender didn’t matter.”

Alpha shook his head. “Jared, I’m sure he cared deeply for her, but he didn’t
love her. That’s something that can only exist in an equal partnership between
an alpha and a beta.”

“You’re right,” Jared said, and he was proud that his voice wasn’t shaking with
all his anger. “Love can only exist in an equal partnership.”

“What about that play? Romeo and Juliet is supposedly one of the lost works.”

Shit. Of course Jared had to go and recite the one play that had been banned
centuries ago. There was no way Jared would tell him exactly how liberal his
father’s family had been with their omegas, after all, a few of his cousins
were still alive, scattered all over the country and Jared would not endanger
them by telling his alpha about their potentially revolutionary ideas.

“I don’t know, Alpha,” Jared said, looking at his alpha with open eyes, trying
to convey his cluelessness. His alpha was usually so fast to think he was too
stupid to understand things anyway, maybe he could make that work in his favor.

“It was my parent’s favorite part.” That was true. “I didn’t know that it was
allegedly lost.” That was a lie. “Dad always read it from this really old
book.” Also a lie. Somebody in the family had reprinted it themselves.

Alpha harrumphed, but didn’t inquire further about Romeo and Juliet.

“I realize that life must have been hard for you, being better educated than
the average omega and maybe having ideas.” Alpha looked at him expectantly and
Jared fought to keep his expression neutral. He did indeed have ideas.

“And from now on,” his alpha continued, “I will treat you accordingly.”

Wait, what? “What?”

“I underestimated you,” Alpha said. He emptied his glass and scooted closer to
Jared, putting a hand on his cheek.

“I should have seen how special you are from the start. I didn’t, but now I do.
You’re so much smarter, so much stronger than any omega I’ve ever seen before.
I’m so lucky that I found you. You’re a truly precious creature, sweety.”

Jared opened his mouth, but no sound came out. One of his favorite stories of
growing up had been Alice in Wonderland. Right now he felt like he was falling
down the rabbit hole.

“You have to believe me, okay? I will never hurt you, I will always take care
of you.”

Yep, he had totally just eaten the mushroom and joined the Mad Hatter for tea.
Well, it was his un-birthday after all.

Jared suppressed a mad giggle while his alpha continued to stroke his face
reverently.

“You’ll be happy here, you see. As soon as you go into heat, you’ll finally
able to get pregnant and give me children. With your genes they will be
extraordinary.”

It was like getting sprayed off with a garden hose. The slight hysteria was
replaced by cold, instant fear.

“I never really wanted a beta anyway,” Alpha continued in a hushed voice, like
he was telling him a secret. “We’ll be just like your parents.”

Hope started growing in his chest. Could it be? Was it actually possibly-

Alpha leaned forwards and pressed a kiss on Jared’s neck, directly above the
collar. Then he placed another one right below it and traced the collar’s edge
with his index finger.

“You’re mine, Jared. My omega.”

Jared’s hope crumbled. Like a fragile house of cards it collapsed, one story
with every word his alpha spoke.

The collar around his neck had never felt so tight as it did right now, a heavy
weight tying him down in this ugly reality that would never change.

“You’re special, Jared, but you’re still an omega. You still need an alpha.
Now, I don’t know what your parents told you exactly and tried to make you
believe, but you can’t ignore your true nature. You can’t pretend to be
something you’re not. You wanted too much and I gave you too little, so from
now on we’ll meet in the middle.”

Jensen smiled at him and somehow Jared managed to form his lips into a curve.
His muscles were protesting, screaming at him that this was not the emotion
they wanted to express.

When the alpha leaned down to kiss him, Jared had to close his eyes.

So close. Alpha had seen the truth, but instead of realizing what it meant, he
re-shaped it to fit into his own reality. Jared knew that a person’s mind
couldn’t be changed like that in just a few weeks, but his time was running
out. Jensen might be affectionate and caring now, but who knew how fast that
would change once he discovered the pregnancy.

When his alpha climbed into bed with him, Jared stopped thinking. There was no
room for any other thoughts anyway.

Jensen was all-encompassing, stealing Jared’s air and his ability to think
straight, turning him into a puddle of goo in no time. Under Jensen’s capable
hands he forgot the anger and the despair, the crushed hope and the
powerlessness.

There was just Jensen, holding him tight, bringing him more pleasure than he
had ever imagined he could feel, his hands roaming so gently over his body, his
lips trailing hotly over his skin, and his dick filling him up so good until he
pushed his knot inside and Jared couldn’t even think how good it was anymore,
he just let himself fall.

When they lay knotted, Jensen presses a kiss into Jared’s hair. “I’d like you
to call me Jensen all the time. I like how my name sounds when you say it.”

“Yes, Jensen,” Jared managed to get out while he swallowed back the tears.

He slept fitful that night while Al- Jensen slept like a stone. Jared finally
got up around six o’clock, not being able to stay in bed one second longer.

He went into the bathroom to relieve himself and afterwards he stopped in front
of the mirror.

He was stark naked, Alp- Jensen didn’t want him to wear clothes in the bed. His
physique had definitely changed since he came here. He had more flesh on his
bones and his muscles were still strong, but not looking quite so stringy
anymore.

He looked healthier. He looked-

Jared felt his heart stop in his chest, before it started beating like crazy.
Slowly, he brought his hand up to his belly. He pressed it against his lower
abdomen.

It wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t an illusion or the lights playing a trick on
him. He had a bump. A tiny, almost invisible bump. But it was there, he could
see it and he could feel it.

Suddenly Jared felt the bile rise in his throat and he hurried to the toilet.
He threw up and hoped like hell that Alpha wouldn’t wake up.

He got up on shaking legs and stalked over to the sink. He was on autopilot
when he rinsed his mouth and splashed water onto his cheeks.

He had known he was pregnant, but being able to feel the proof of a life
growing inside of him, a small, innocent, helpless life – Jared balled his
hands to fist, his nails digging into his palms, the pain staving off the
tears.

He had no idea what Jensen would do with the child, but the possibilities were
all terrible. How could he bring a child, no matter its gender, into this
terrible world?

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Alpha did make him have an abortion. Jared felt
horrible for even thinking that, but if the child was an omega...

The possibility was actually quite likely, almost a third of all children
birthed by an omega were omegas. There were still more alphas and betas,
because the few fertile betas only gave birth to alphas and betas. If it wasn’t
for omegas giving birth to omegas, humanity would have dwindled down to almost
nothing by now.

Unfortunately that didn’t help omegas in the slightest.

Jared put his hand on the little bump of his stomach. He wouldn’t be able to
hide it much longer and he was pretty sure Jensen wouldn’t believe that he
hadn't noticed his pregnancy earlier.

Jared drew in a deep breath. Today he would make lasagna, alpha’s favorite dish
and then he would tell him. And hope for the best, even though he wasn’t quite
sure what that was supposed to be.



***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Notes
     Additional warnings for this chapter: Possibly triggery content due
     to the discussion and the outcome as to how Jensen will deal with
     Jared's pregnancy. If you're not sure what to expect and want to know
     beforehand, feel free to ask.
 
 
 
 
The lasagna looked delicious. The cheese on top had melted and turned golden
brown in several spots, the olive oil was slowly sloshing around on top of it,
moved by the still bubbling cheese and the smell had just the right mixture of
meat, tomatoes, garlic and cheese.

Jared doubted it would help. He brought it out into the living-room anyway.

Jensen ambled over from the couch, a dopey grin on his face. “You made
lasagna!”

Jared nodded. “You said you liked it.”

If possible, Jensen smiled even wider. It made him look younger and even more
handsome than usual.

“I love it. Thanks, sweety.”

Jared pushed the anger down. Apparently Jensen had decided to treat him like a
human being now, saying please and thank you. But it didn’t change anything.
Not when Jared wasn’t allowed to say no.

They sat down and ate. It was a mostly quiet affair.

Jensen was happy eating the lasagna, while Jared was pushing the food around on
his plate. Jensen didn’t notice, not until he had cleared his own place.

“Jared, what’s wrong?” he asked, concern heavy in his voice. “You need to eat,
sweety, you still need to gain a few pounds.”

Jared nodded. “I know. It’s just, I need to tell you something.”

Jensen’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “What?”

Jared slowly put his fork down. He drew in a deep breath and looked up at his
Alpha.

He tried to keep his voice steady when he said, “I’m pregnant.”

Jensen blinked. “What do you mean, you’re pregnant?”

Jared stared incredulously at the alpha. “Well, that I’m pregnant. What else
could it mean?”

“Jeez, I don’t know Jared,” Jensen griped, “but since you haven’t been in heat
yet, you can’t be pregnant.”

“I can,” he retorted and now his voice quivered. “I was in heat two months
ago.”

“Two months ago you were still with your old alpha.” It was a statement,
slightly wooden and clinical, and Jared just nodded.

“You’re pregnant from your old alpha?” Jensen asked, even though Jared didn’t
know which other possibility there could be.

“That-” Jensen paused and exhaled heavily before he continued, “that is
unfortunate.”

Jared nodded slightly. His alpha looked pissed, but not murderous, so maybe-

“You’re two months along?” Jensen asked, his voice all business now, falling
back in the alpha-talking-to-his-omega register.

“Yes.”

“I see. This makes things slightly more difficult, but it’s nothing we can’t
handle. And I didn’t plan on having children this year anyway, so it doesn’t
matter all that much.”

Jared balled his hands into fists and looked down in his lap. He didn’t want to
know what Jensen meant by handling this.

“You can still do all your chores, and of course Jim has to give you a thorough
check up, but since you’re so young giving birth shouldn’t be a problem.”

Jared’s head snapped up. He tried to push the hope expanding in his chest down,
he couldn’t get too excited now, but-

“You’re not forcing me to have an abortion?”

Jensen’s forehead wrinkled in disgust. “Of course not! Do you know how much
that could impair your fertility? Besides, every life is sacred and since I had
you chipped the government expects a certain output.”

Jared’s heart was hammering in his chest. “So I get to keep the baby?”

“Jared, don’t be ridiculous,” Jensen snapped, clearly impatient now. “I’m not
going to raise another alpha’s child.”

Jared felt his throat close up. He had tried to prepare himself, but this... He
swallowed and pushed it down. All the despair and the agony, the sadness and
the anger – he pushed it all down. Later, when Jensen was asleep, he could let
it out. But not now.

He hadn’t realized that Alpha had moved, but suddenly he was standing in front
of Jared and wiped a trail of wetness from his face.

Jared hadn't even realized he had started to cry.

“Don’t be sad, sweety,” Jensen said in a tone so gentle that even through the
haze, Jared wanted to rip his lungs out.

“I’ll give the baby up for adoption and I will make sure it goes to a good and
loving couple.”

“If it’s an alpha or a beta, you mean,” Jared said, his voice distant in his
own ears.

Jensen nodded.

“What if it’s an omega?”

“Then I’ll sell it of course.” Of course.

Some involuntary reaction must have shown on his face because Alpha drew him
out of his chair and into his lap and started stroking his hair. “Don’t worry,
sweety, I’ll make sure it goes to a good family. It won’t suffer like you did.”

“But they want omegas ready for breeding,” he mumbled into Alpha’s shirt
collar. “They don’t want to have to raise them.”

Jensen shrugged. “I might get less money, but on the upside, people who raise
their own omega are much less likely to abuse them.”

They also tended to start fucking them earlier, not waiting for the recommended
age of sixteen, and sometimes they even fucked them before their first heat.
But Jared didn’t say that. He just sat there, still as Lot’s omega and let
Jensen think he was comforting him.

There was nothing else he could do.


Things didn’t really change after Jared told Jensen about the pregnancy, not at
first anyway.

The next day, Jensen took him to see Doctor Beaver, and an extensive series of
tests and ultrasounds revealed that Jared was in fact two months pregnant with
a single fetus, and that he and the baby were healthy. The gender of the fetus
was still indeterminable and Jensen declined Beaver’s offer to do an
amniocentesis.

Of course Jensen didn’t care about the baby’s gender, Jared thought bitterly,
he didn’t want to keep it anyway. And in a society were children were the most
valuable commodity, he would have no problem finding someone to take the baby,
no matter its gender.

When they got home, Jensen went back to work and Jared went back to his chores.

He tried to tell himself that it could have been worse, way worse. And it
wasn't even that Jared wanted children, for fuck's sake. Ever since his parents
had died and he had realized that he'd been doomed to a lifetime of slavery, he
had given up all dreams on having a family.

And maybe the child would indeed turn out to be an alpha or a beta and
everything would be fine.

So Jared did the laundry. And cleaned the house. Cooked dinner. Spread his legs
for Jensen.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Days blended into weeks and Jared's stomach grew. He was still unaffected by
the pregnancy otherwise, and Jensen made the occasional comment about his
excellent physical condition, and how that would enable him to have many
children. He meant it to be comforting, Jared was just horrified.

He mentally distanced himself from the child growing inside of him, trying not
to see it as a part of him, but as the legacy that his last alpha had left him
with, one last act of cruelty.

In the beginning he'd had to stop himself forcibly from touching his belly, but
he managed to ignore the impulse after a while.

It was coming up to the sixth month mark, when Jensen developed a belly kink.
He still ignored it during the day, but whenever they fucked, he would touch it
and run his hands over the swell.

Jared had no problem figuring out that Jensen was dreaming of the day Jared
would be pregnant with his child.

The pregnancy continued to progress normally, and during their sixth month
check-up Dr. Beaver could finally make out the gender of the baby.

“Well, it's no alpha,” he said in a gruff voice. “But I can't tell yet if it's
a beta or an omega. That's too hard to see when the fetus is still in the womb.
You'll have to wait until it's born or do an amniocentesis.”

Jensen shook his head. “The risks are too big. We can wait.”

Jared just wanted to go to bed and sleep and forget that he had to wait another
three month to wait until he knew the fate of the child.

The not knowing, the possibility of the child being an omega, Jared didn't
think he could bear it. So that night over dinner he told Jensen that he didn't
want to know the gender of the child.

“Even after it is born?” Jensen asked confused.

Jared nodded. “I couldn't stand it if it were an omega. So just don't tell me,
and then I can pretend it's a beta and everything will be alright.”

“I can just tell you if it's a beta.”

“No! Because then I'll know it's an omega if you say nothing and... I just
can't okay?”

Jensen sighed. “Jared, I spoke with the adoption agency yesterday. There are
hundreds of nice couples who would buy an omega baby. You can even help me
choose them.”

Jared looked at Jensen, unable to keep the angry disbelieve out of his voice.
“It doesn't matter how nice the couple is, they'll still buy the child as a
slave and treat it as such! You have no idea, what it's like out there, and you
sit here-” Jared broke off and took a deep breath. “I just don't want to know.
This is not my child anyway, so I shouldn't concern myself with it, right?”

Jensen looked uncertain, but he agreed anyway.

Jared abruptly got up. “I'm not hungry anymore, I'm gonna start cleaning up the
kitchen.”

Jensen didn't say anything, so Jared just left.



Jensen couldn't sleep. Jared was lying next to him, curled up around his belly
and snoring softly. Today had been hard. Jared was very concerned with the
child's future and he was clearly afraid that it would suffer just as he had.

Jared had been burned badly, and he had a hard time believing that most omegas
were in fact very happy. Maybe Jensen should take Jared out with him more, so
he'd realize the world wasn't as bad as he made it out to be.

He sighed. For the other problem, he had no solution. Omegas usually didn't
become attached to the children they birthed. It was believed that because the
part of the omega's DNA that was passed on was so minimal, they were lacking
the ability to recognize the child as their own.

But of course, Jared was different.

So Jensen was reconsidering giving the baby up. But then he thought about the
time it would take Jared to care for the baby, how having a child that wasn't
his in the house was not something he could ever imagine to accept.

He hadn't really wanted children before, but seeing Jared with his belly
swollen, things had changed. Suddenly Jensen wanted. He wanted to have children
with Jared, and he didn't want a beta to join him. He had always told himself
the desire for a relationship would come when he was ready to settle down with
a family, but he had to admit that that wasn't the case.

The thought of a beta still did nothing for him, just like the thought of a
relationship wasn't all that tempting. He liked his life the way it was, he
didn't need to rearrange it around someone else, or find himself pressured to
fulfill expectations and make compromises.

And Chris was right. In their day and age, it was perfectly acceptable to be a
single parent. Besides, he would have Jared.

He knew he was getting attached to the young omega, but how could he not? Jared
was beautiful, smart and obedient – most of the time – and he was there
whenever Jensen wanted him, which had turned out to be more often that not.

And on the rare occasion Jared smiled, it lit up the whole room and warmed
Jensen’s heart.

He was the perfect companion in bed, so pliant and pretty, loving everything
Jensen gave him and so eager too please. At the thought of the last time they
had sex, Jensen felt his dick harden and he thought about waking Jared up. Just
sliding up behind him, inside him and knotting him until they both fell asleep.

Jared muttered and scrunched his eyes adorably when Jensen drew him into his
arms, but he spread his legs easily enough when Jensen nudged him with his leg.

His omega was still wet and loose from earlier and Jensen just pushed inside.

“Jensen? Wha-?”

“Shhh.” Jensen put a hand on that rounded belly and imagined their child
growing inside of Jared. “Just wanna knot you, sweety.”

“Okay,” Jared mumbled and went lax again.

Jensen moved in slow circling motions, inflating his knot without even really
fucking Jared. When he came, it was soft and slow, but they were tied together
and the worry he had felt before was gone.



The first time Jared experienced discomfort during the pregnancy was after a
particularly long day in the garden. He was about eight month along now, belly
swollen and skin stretched taut.

It had been the first good day after a week of rain, so Jared had spent most of
the day outside, plucking weeds and cutting back the hedge.

In the evening, his feet were swollen and his back hurt. He didn't say anything
to Jensen and his alpha didn't seem to notice.

Over the next week, the back pains became more frequent and Jared felt the
fatigue creep into his bones earlier every day. It was nothing compared to the
things he'd had to endure before, so it wasn't until a Sunday afternoon and
Jensen told him to clean the windows that Jared protested.

“Can't that wait?” he asked, harsher than he'd meant to, but Jensen's ignorance
to his well-being was nagging at him, especially since his alpha told him every
day how special he was to him. And if that wasn't the joke of the century.

“Why should it wait?” Jensen asked, clearly confused.

Jared gestured to his belly. “I'm not really in my best form here and my center
of gravity is kinda off so I'd like to avoid climbing on ladders.”

“Oh. I didn't think it would matter. Omegas are usually unaffected by a
pregnancy.” Jensen actually looked disapproving.

“Well,” Jared said, and this time he didn't even try to keep his voice neutral.
“I've gained about fifteen pounds and most of them are here,” he put a hand on
his belly for emphasize. “How about you try walking around with that all day,
before you judge me for not wanting to climb a freaking ladder!”

Jensen's mouth fell open and before he could say something, Jared turned around
and went into the kitchen.

He went to the fridge, took out the ingredients for their dinner, and only
after he had put the pasta in a pot full of water, did he relax his tense body.
His hands started shaking and he put the knife down three times before he could
start chopping the onions.

He had no idea how Jensen would react to his outburst.

As it turned out, Jensen didn't react to it at all. He ate his dinner in
silence, before disappearing into his office again. The last weeks Jared hadn't
seen a lot of him, apparently some kind of deadline was approaching, but since
Jensen didn't really share things about his work, Jared had little information.

The next two weeks, Jared saw even less of Jensen. Their interactions were
limited to meal times and at night, when Jensen came to bed and fucked Jared to
sleep.

Jared still craved his alpha's knot, his averse feelings towards him apparently
not registering with his body's basic desires.

So every night when Jensen touched him, Jared pressed back, opened up to him,
let Jensen push and position him until his alpha came deep within him, his
release triggering Jared's own.

It ate at him, slowly but constantly, that Jensen managed to worm himself into
Jared somehow, with all his tender touches and loving words.

Jared craved the affection, couldn't get enough of it and it made it all the
worse when Jensen said or did something typical alpha-like, treating Jared like
he was something less again.

Jared had never in his life wanted someone to see the world for what it really
was as he did now.


In the last month of his pregnancy, Jared started suffering from side effects.
Jensen knew that omegas usually had a much easier pregnancy than betas, but he
had read that even omegas could be affected. And Jared was right, he had gained
a substantial amount of weight, if nothing else it was harder to move and
balance now.

So Jensen told him to stay out of the garden and when Jared came to bed at
night, his mouth pulled down in discomfort when he tried to surreptitiously rub
his back, Jensen drew him into his arms and rubbed his hard muscles. He also
rubbed his feet and Jared just melted into the pillows, pleased little moans
falling from his lips, and Jensen would massage him until he was lose and
relaxed and then push into his welcoming heat.

Being pregnant, Jared was even more enticing than usual and Jensen couldn't
wait for Jared to go into heat again and make his belly swell with Jensen's
child.


It was a normal Wednesday night when Jensen woke up because the bed next to him
was empty. Light was spilling in from the hallway and from downstairs and when
Jensen descended the stairs he found Jared pacing the living room.

“Sweety, what's up?”

Jared looked up at him. “I think it started.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” Jared worried his lower lip. “It isn't bad yet, contractions are
fifteen minutes apart, so I didn't want to wake you.”

Jensen nodded and rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Fifteen minutes? What does
that mean?”

Jared shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know for sure. But I don't think I need
to go to the clinic before breakfast.”

“Okay.” Jensen nodded and went back to bed. He was in the last stages of his
current project and he needed all the sleep he could get.

When Jensen woke up the next time, the house smelled like coffee and pancakes.

He ambled down into the kitchen and grabbed himself a cup before he realized
that Jared wasn't there. He found him curled up in an armchair, face scrunched
up in pain.

“I think we should go now.”

“Okay.” Jensen eyed Jared worriedly on their way to the car. Giving birth was
child's play for omegas, why was Jared in pain?

“Is everything alright?”

Jared nodded and pushed his bangs out of his face, revealing little pearls of
sweat glistening on his forehead.

“Yeah, sure.”

Jensen pressed down on the gas pedal harder anyway.

In the clinic, a nurse guided him into the waiting area, while another nurse
led Jared away to the delivery room.

“Your omega seems to be along quite far, it shouldn't take longer than a few
hours. We'll call you when he delivers the baby. Have you decided what you want
to do with it yet?”

“It depends on the baby's gender,” Jensen told the nurse and she nodded.

“We'll call right away. Now we usually keep omegas overnight for observation,
so you can pick him up tomorrow. Depending on his condition we'll give you a
suggested work schedule.”

“So he'll be fine?” Jensen asked, even though he didn't know where the worry
was coming from.

“Oh, of course,” the nurse said. “He's an omega. They have the constitution of
a cow.”

Jensen still felt reluctant to leave and the nurse gave him a sympathetic
smile. “Are you a first-time omega owner?”

“Yes.”

The nurse nodded. “I can understand your concern, but he'll be perfectly fine
and his inability to work shouldn't last longer than a few days. Don't worry
about a thing, Mr. Ackles, we'll call you.”

Jensen drove home and tried to get some more work down, but he was distracted.

When the nurse called him in the afternoon and told him that it had been a
textbook birth and asked what he wanted to do with the child, Jensen told her,
he'd come over, even though she assured him it could be handled over the phone.

In the clinic's lobby, he was met by the same nurse from that morning and an
elderly beta in a pencil suit.

“Mr. Ackles,” she greeted him. “I'm Susan Turner, I'm with the adoption agency.
Doctor Beaver just showed me the child and she's a perfect little beta. You
have a very good breeder there it seems.”

Jensen smiled. “I know.”

“May I ask why you want to give her up for adoption?”

“The baby isn't mine,” Jensen explained and ignored Mrs. Turner's raised
eyebrows. It was none of her business. “Jared was already pregnant when I got
him.”

“I see.” Mrs. Turner's mouth pursed. “Since you chipped your omega, the
government expects-”

“I know what the government expects,” Jensen cut her off. “There's no need to
worry, I plan on having plenty of kids on my own as soon as Jared goes into
heat again.”

Mrs. Turner smiled satisfied. “Since he already gave birth once, three should
be sufficient, but there are premiums for every other child of course.”

Jensen gave her a tight smile. He didn't want kids because of the money and tax
reliefs he would get.

“Alright, then let's get those papers signed!”


After Mrs. Turner had left with the baby – Jensen had taken a peak at it, a
tiny, red, shriveled up something that hadn't resembled Jared at all – Jensen
went into Jared's room. He had a quick chat with Jim, who assured him that
Jared had done great and nothing stood in the way of more pregnancies.

Jared was lying in the white bed and he was sleeping. He was wearing a hospital
gown and the dark leather collar was a stark contrast to his pale throat.

Jensen carefully stroked over the leather and thought for the hundredth time
that he should get Jared a better collar. Maybe he'd buy one today, to reward
Jared for doing so good during the birth.

He contemplated waking Jared up, but he had dark circles under his eyes and he
looked exhausted, so he just stroked his hair out of his face and pressed a
kiss to his forehead.

“See you tomorrow, sweetheart,” he mumbled before he went home.

On the drive home, Jensen contemplated buying the new collar now, but the
deadline was moving closer and he really needed to work. It was very
inconvenient that his client had told him he'd have half a year for the plans
and then suddenly told him he needed it a month earlier.

So Jensen went home and worked.

He picked Jared up the next day, and his omega was still a bit tired, so they
didn't talk much.

The next weeks were rather hectic for Jensen. Last minutes adjustments needed
to be made, people needed to be called, permissions to be obtained and red tape
maneuvered. Jensen was good at his job and he liked the thrill of the power
play that came with it, but he could do without the time pressure.

He realized that his schedule took a strain on Jared as well. The few moments
he spent time with Jared, apart from eating with him, his omega was quieter
than usual and he smiled less.

And Jensen was really sorry, he knew he had promised Jared to treat him better,
treat him like he deserved, but right now he just didn't have the time.

He vowed to at least knot him every night, in hopes that that would tide his
little omega over until the damn project was finished.



Jared was living in a haze. He was only distantly aware of his surroundings,
Jensen's words fuzzy, meaningless sounds in his ears.

He went through his routine on autopilot; getting up at the crack of dawn,
preparing breakfast, making plans for lunch and dinner, cleaning, cooking
lunch, more cleaning, cooking dinner, spending time with Jensen on the couch,
going to bed.

His alpha had yet to touch him, but he was probably repulsed by his sagging
belly. On the day of his discharge, the nurse had explained to Jensen that his
body would take a few weeks to go back to normal, but that sex wouldn't be a
problem, the closing of the birth canal wouldn't be disturbed by anal sex.

Oddly enough, the thought that Jensen found his body unappealing was nothing
that really bothered him. It might have before, back when he thought he cared
about Jensen caring, but not anymore.

He tried to examine why he was feeling this way; he hadn't wanted the child,
still didn't want it and he hadn't been attached at all. So why was he grieving
anyway?

It didn't come to him until a few weeks later when Jensen touched him for the
first time.

It was just the ghosting of his fingers of Jared's hip, a glance from under
long eyelashes and telling Jared with a deeper voice that it was time to go to
bed.

Jared wasn't grieving for the child that had been taken away. Jared was
grieving for the possibility of the child, the possibility of a family, a
relationship, of a life, that Jensen had so casually destroyed after giving
Jared hope for the first time since his parents had died.

Jared shuddered and from the way Jensen's eyes lit up, he knew the alpha
interpreted it as arousal, when all it really was was desperation.

But Jared didn't protest when Jensen lead him up to the bedroom. Didn't protest
when Jensen slowly, carefully, almost reverently undressed him. Didn't say a
word when Jensen pushed him down into the soft mattress and he didn't make a
single sound when he pushed inside.

The frenzy from before, the pregnancy induced horniness, it was gone. Jared's
body still reacted to his alpha's knot but his mind stayed detached.

He felt no need to run his fingers over Jensen's back, no need to raise his
hips and push up against him. His heart wasn't beating quicker and his
breathing wasn't speeding up.

He just felt empty.


Days stretched into weeks and Jared went through the motions. Jensen was
oblivious.

There were moments when Jared wanted to wave his arms in front of the alpha's
face and scream, shove him and ask him how he could not see the difference, but
he never did.

Sometimes Jensen would look at him, hard and scrutinizing, but he never said
anything.

So Jared cooked and cleaned and bared his ass for Jensen. It didn't really
matter, it was all the same to him.

He talked when required, but it wasn't much. But then again, Jensen had never
been big on the whole talking thing, for him it seemed enough that Jared was
just always there.

Things changed when Jensen's project was over.

For a week, Jared saw almost nothing of his alpha and when he did, it was for a
quick and hard fuck and a bite to eat.

And then suddenly Jensen was there. He didn't disappear into his study for the
whole day anymore, didn't have frantic phone conversations, and didn't snarf
his food down at high speed because he needed to go back to doing whatever it
was he did.

Jensen was there and he finally noticed that Jared was different. Only as
usual, his conclusion was quite far from the truth.

It was after dinner, when Jensen told Jared to get a beer from the fridge and
come join him on the couch.

Jensen leaned back and arranged Jared in his lap how he wanted.

“Shit, you're getting big,” he huffed. “Think you grew another inch.”

Jared made a noncommittal sound.

Jensen switched the station to the Discovery Channel. It was shark week.

Jared remembered a time when he’d first come to live with Jensen, when he'd
enjoyed this new luxury of being able to watch TV. Now, it didn't really do
anything for him.

Jensen occasionally commented on the show, and he didn't seem to mind Jared's
silence. He felt himself slowly drifting off, sinking deeper into Jensen's
embrace, but it brought him no relief. The haze remained.

He woke up to Jensen carrying him up the stairs. His alpha gave him a smile –
the soft, loving one, Jared realized distantly – and gently put him down on the
bed.

“I know I didn't have a lot of time for you recently, and I'm sorry about that,
sweety. Now that the damn project is over, things are gonna return to normal
around here.”

Normal. What was that even supposed to mean? Jensen's every day life? Jared's
hell? He had absolutely no fucking idea, and even that elicited only a distant
feeling of discomfort.

“C'mon sweety, take your clothes off for me.”

His motions were mechanical when he stripped his shirt and his pants but Jensen
was eying him hungrily none the less.

He barely had his clothes off before the alpha's hands were running up and down
his body.

“So freaking gorgeous. I can’t see any trace you were pregnant, you're still
just as beautiful as before.”

Jared felt something clench inside of him, but it was only a flutter.

He closed his eyes when Jensen started kissing him all over, letting his body
take the wheel and drive. He just went to this different place, this dark place
in the corner of his mind and his body reacted to Jensen’s touches on its own.

It was weak and subdued, but it was enough. Or had been up til now.

“Sweety, you okay?” Jensen looked at him with concern and Jared forced himself
into the present.

“Yeah, I'm fine.”

“You sure?” Jensen’s eyes searched his face. “You're not getting sick are you?”

“No, why would I?” Why couldn't Jensen just fuck him and get it over with?

“Well, you're so quiet. And usually by this point you're begging me to fuck
you.”

Jared had wondered, if he'd ever get mad at Jensen again or if that had died,
alongside with all other emotions.

It hadn't.

“Yeah, well, maybe I'm not in the mood.” Saying that sentence Jared felt more
alive since-

Jensen reared his head back. “What?”

“I said, I'm not in the mood.”

“What the fuck? Jared, you're an omega, you are always-”

“I swear to fucking everything, if you tell me that I should be constantly
begging for knot I'm gonna use the bedside lamp to bash your head in.”

His words rang heavy in the silence, and Jared didn't know who was more
surprised, Jensen or him. Because, for the first time since – he actually felt
something. Sure, it was burning red hot anger, but he felt something.

Jensen sat back on his haunches, eying Jared like he'd just turned into an
alien in front of him.

“Jared-”

“Don't!” Jared interrupted him. He got out of the bed and started to pace. He
felt alive again.

“Really just don't. I mean, how fucking blind are you? I've been a zombie for
the past weeks and you only notice now because I'm not begging for your knot.
You’re such a freaking hypocrite. You go on and on and on about how much you
care for me, about how I'm special, how you're gonna treat me like a person,
but you don't even notice the mood I'm in.”

“Jared, watch your mouth. Just because I acknowledge your superior status for
an omega, doesn't mean you get a wild card here. Of course I noticed you were
quieter, but I thought that was because I worked so much.”

Jared's harsh laugh was loud in the bedroom. “Really? And why would I crave
your company? Because you’re the only human I get to see, talk to or touch? Or
because you actually treat me almost like a person, despite my 'omega-status'?”

“Jared,” Jensen said, his voice a low warning. “I don't know what the fuck your
problem is, but this stops now.”

Jared stared at Jensen for the longest time before it dawned on him that Jensen
really had no fucking clue.

“You took my child away.”

Jensen looked at him with exasperation and dragged a hand through his hair.
“Really? That’s what this is about? Look, Jared, we went over this, I'm not
gonna raise another alpha's child. I don't even know how you could expect me to
do something like that.”

“Yeah, don't know where I got that idea from.”

Jensen sighed. “I get that you're angry, with the way I indulge you it's really
no wonder you get so demanding, but Jared, it's enough now. I'm going to let
this one slide, because I know I've been absent the last weeks and I promised
you different, but that's no reason to act out. So get your hot ass on the bed
and then I'm gonna pet and cuddle you all you want, okay?”

Jared's anger had subsided at some point during Jensen’s speech, but the haze
didn't come back.

All he felt was a bone deep disappointment, and a longing for something that
could never be. He would have preferred the return to oblivion.


The next morning, Jared woke up because he felt hot and itchy all over.

Jensen was pressed up against him, his hard cock riding the crack of Jared' s
ass.

“Mmmm, morning sweety. Shit, you smell good.”

Jared shifted slightly, felt the slick already leaking from his hole, the smell
of alpha pheromones filled his nose and made his mouth water.

He'd gone into heat. Shit.
***** Chapter 7 *****

Jensen was lured from sleep by the most delicious scent he had ever smelled.

He drew Jared closer into his arms – he just had to be the source of the smell
– and inhaled deeply. He could feel his dick hardening immediately. Jared's
scent was pure ambrosia.

Originally, Jensen wanted to have another talk with Jared about his outburst
last night, Jensen knew that he had promised Jared better, that Jared deserved
better, but his omega had still crossed the line – but now all those thoughts
were pushed back in his mind in favor of the want taking over.

“Morning sweety,” he muttered into Jared’s soft hair. “Shit, you smell good.”

Jared pushed back against him, against his hard knot before he stilled.

“No, no, no, no...” Jared kept on mumbling, shaking his head, but his hips had
started to move again, little twitches, muscles tensing and relaxing, rubbing
against Jensen's dick the whole time.

Jensen flipped Jared around and looked into his pained face.

“Sweety, what’s wrong?”

Brown eyes flew open and his omega stared incredulously at him. “What’s wrong?
Are you fucking kidding me? I'm in heat!”

“I know, sweety,” Jensen said and stroked Jared's already sweaty hair out if
his face. “Don't worry, I'm gonna make it better.”

“Better-” Jared started, but broke off when Jensen reached between his legs.

Jared was already damp and when Jensen pushed his legs apart, a new wave of
that sweet scent hit him.

Thank fuck they were both already naked, Jensen suddenly couldn't wait for a
second longer, the need too take Jared too overpowering.

Jared's eyes had closed and he was breathing hard, his chest raising with every
choppy breath he sucked in and when Jensen lined his dick up and pushed inside
– no resistance, just a smooth easy glide – he moaned low in his throat.

Jensen barely had time for a few thrusts before he felt his knot swell, Jared's
pheromones calling to Jensen's body to breed him immediately.

As soon as his knot was in, Jared came, spurting hot between them and the sight
sent Jensen over the edge, his release pumping into Jared in long, steady
spurts.

He tried to keep his weight off Jared, but they'd be here for a while, so
Jensen rolled them around until he was lying on his back, shoulders against the
headboard and Jared slumping in his lap.

Jensen was still a bit tired, and with the way his eyes were staying shut
apparently so was Jared, so he softly stroked over the omega's head and told
him to go back to sleep. They could take a little nap before fucking again.


Jensen woke up before Jared did, but his omega was still resting peacefully, so
Jensen let him sleep and headed down to the kitchen to find suitable breakfast
food.

He'd never slept with an omega in heat, but he knew all about it.

It usually lasted four to five days and it was the only time an omega was not
expected to work, because they were so hopped up on pheromones, they were
unable to concentrate on anything but getting fucked.

And while fucking an omega in heat was the best thing that could happen to an
alpha, it took a lot of stamina, more than one alpha could provide. Which was
why most alphas gave their omegas toys to get through the time they weren't
with them.

Shit. Jensen didn't have anything in the house. He knew he wouldn't be able to
fuck Jared for five days straight, but he couldn't leave him without help, that
was just cruel.

That was probably exactly what his old alpha had done, Jensen thought grimly as
he took the stairs two at a time up to the attic.

It was where the discipline bench was, maybe he'd find a few old toys there
too. The house had belonged to his uncle and he knew he'd had at least one
omega during his life so maybe-

Jensen went through all the cupboards until he finally found a little chest
with a few paddles, an intricate looking little construction with straps and
stuff – and a knotting dildo.

He left the rest of the stuff up there, and only took the dildo with him. He
would never use anything like that to punish Jared and it made him uneasy that
his uncle had done that.

When he got to the second floor, he forgot what he'd just been thinking about.
Jared's scent had intensified, permeating the whole corridor and Jensen hurried
into the bathroom to clean the old toy.

He would give it to Jared, make some breakfast and order dinner for later.

His plan went to hell when he heard Jared moan through the closed bedroom door.
His omega was sounding like a wounded animal.

Then the bedroom door opened and Jared came stumbling out.

He had wrapped the sheet loosely around him, but it was hanging off his
shoulder. His hair was disheveled and his eyes had a feverish glint in them.

They zeroed in on Jensen immediately, burning into him and for a moment Jensen
felt like he was the prey and Jared would devour him alive. Then his omega took
a staggering step forward and Jensen hurried to catch him before he fell.

Up close, Jared's scent was even more intoxicating and Jensen found himself
biting and licking at his neck before he even realized he’d moved.

Jared was mindlessly rubbing against him, his hands scrabbling for purchase on
Jensen's back and clinging to him like his life depended on it.

“Please, Jensen.” Jared's voice was raw and low and it went straight to
Jensen’s already aching dick.

“Hurt. Hurts so fucking much, need you, please, Jensen, it hurts!”

“Shh, it's okay sweety, I'm gonna make it better.”

Jensen tried to sooth Jared with words and touch, but his omega was already too
far gone, so Jensen picked him up and carried him back into the bedroom. The
room reeked of sex and pheromones and Jensen dumped Jared on the bed before
following him down.

Jared had already twisted around, baring his ass for Jensen, and he wasted no
time pushing inside.

If Jensen had thought he'd last longer, now that is was their second time, he
couldn't have been more wrong.

Jared was trashing and writhing under him, constantly begging him to fuck him
harder, give him more, and the words sent Jensen into a frenzy, gripping Jared
too hard, taking him too rough, but he couldn't stop, couldn't control himself.
All he could do was let his instincts run the show and fuck Jared as hard as he
possibly could.

He kept his growing knot outside of Jared for as long as he could before
pushing it inside, almost fully inflated. Jared's little hole, now red and
swollen, just opened up and took him and the sight sent Jensen over the edge so
fast, his head started to spin when the pleasure rushed through him.

Jared screamed under him, clenching around his dick and shuddering, before
collapsing into the pillows.

Jensen followed him down, but it took him a while to get his breathing under
control, so he could talk again.

“You okay, sweety?”

“Yeah, I – sorry. About attacking you like that, I mean. I forgot that it hurts
so much.”

“Hey, it's okay.” Jensen pulled Jared against his chest and his omega was
beautifully pliant in his arms.

“You don't have to apologize for what your body wants. It's not your fault.”

“I still hate it,” Jared mumbled, that petulant little boy edge in his voice he
always got when it was about omegas and their weaknesses.

“I know, sweety. But I'm gonna help you through it.”

Jared snorted. “Your dick will fall off before my heat is even half-way over,
if we keep this up.”

Jensen couldn't help but chuckle. “Don't worry, I have a toy. Even if I'm too
exhausted I still have something to fill you up.”

Jared twisted around in his arms and looked at him with big eyes. “You do? I
mean, what kind of toy do you mean?”

Jensen hadn't really needed the confirmation, but it still made him furious. “A
knotting dildo, Jared. Something every omega should have during their heats,
but I'm guessing the asshole who had you before didn't give you one.”

Jared lay back down and shook his head. “No. He fucked me like once a day and
the rest of the time...”

If Jensen could, he'd go find the bastard and shove said knotting dildo up his
unprepped ass.

“Don't worry, sweety, I'm gonna take good care of you.”

“Now?” Jared asked and wiggled his ass.

Jensen dick was still half-hard and when he moved his hip, he could feel it
filling once more.

Jared just smelled too good, felt too good around him.

“Yeah, now,” he said, before circling his hips and fucking into Jared slow and
steady. They would be here a while.



Jared had forgotten how much it hurt. How out of control he was. How single-
mindedly his body focused on one thing, and one thing only: his aching and
empty hole.

It was the evening of the second day and Jensen was in the shower. So far, his
alpha had practically been a saint, basically fucking Jared the whole day,
staying knotted to him forever and sometimes not even pulling out before he
fucked him again.

When night fell, and they had both been exhausted, but Jared's body was still
thrumming with arousal. Jensen had put the dildo inside of him, and while it
didn't feel as good as Jensen's dick, didn't even come close in fact, it did
make it possible for him to sleep peacefully for most of the night.

But the worst was still to come. It was like the first two days his body was
preparing, revving itself up for the peak that was the third day. The day he
wouldn't be able to think straight at all. He could already feel it, the
crawling feeling under his skin, like a colony of ants moving in his body.

Only they were fire ants, leaving a painful fiery trail wherever they went,
until Jared's whole body was burning, the fire eating him up, until there was
only the terrible feeling of nothingness and emptiness left – and then another
flame would lick down his body and the cycle would start all over again.

Jensen's scent when he came out of the shower was like the promise of rain on a
sweltering summer day, but Jared was too caught up in the haze to move.

He felt Jensen come closer, felt his soothing presence, but then his instincts
kicked in and his hole started leaking slick like never before, and the pain in
his abdomen became almost unbearable.

“Shh, it's okay, sweety, I'm here.”

Jensen's voice was soothing in his ear, but it wasn't until his alpha pushed
inside, so deep inside, that the pain intensified. It curled in deeper in his
belly, a tearing sensation and Jared knew he needed more, just – more.

He clawed at Jensen, needing the alpha to come closer, and when Jensen's mouth
pressed on his, he bit and sucked on his alpha's lip, closer, closer, closer
like a mantra spinning in his head.

Finally he felt more pressure, and then his alpha shoved his knot inside and
the tight ball of agony in his belly expanded, exploded and washed his body in
soothing warmth, just when Jensen came inside of him.

Coolness finally seeped through Jared, basking his body in calm while the last
tremors of his release ran through his body.

He was distantly aware of Jensen jostling them around until he was lying half
atop his alpha, his nose buried in his hair and breathing in his soothing
scent.

Jared enjoyed this moment of reprieve, where for one short moment his body
worked on absorbing his alpha's come until the whole process would start again.

He'd only been in heat once before his first alpha had impregnated him, but his
mom had told him all about it. And she'd told him how she would get him herbs
to suppress the extreme reactions, the unnatural reactions - if it would ever
come to that or maybe she'd protected him enough. Jared wasn't sure what that
meant, but he'd had hope back then.

He knew it was stupid, there was no hope left. He was almost certainly already
pregnant, if not, he'd be by the end of the day and then he'd bring another
life into this ugly world.

Only this time the child would stay with him.

Jared felt his alpha's heart beat under him, felt his chest rise with every
breath and wondered if there was at least hope for their children.

But then the ants started again and he stopped thinking. He tried to flee into
the safety of Jensen’s scent and touch, but he knew it'd be in vain. The third
day of the heat was only agony.



Jared was right of course. As soon as his heat abated, Jensen had him take a
pregnancy test. When the stick turned blue – and wasn't it great how far
technology had come, being able to determine pregnancy just after a few days of
conception – Jensen was overjoyed.

Jared wasn't. But since his alpha was his usual oblivious self, Jared managed
to hide his lack of enthusiasm pretty well.

Jensen immediately made an appointment with Dr. Beaver, but this early on there
wasn't much he could do except draw some blood and prescribe Jared some
vitamins for the baby.

The baby.

That evening Jared put his hand consciously on his stomach for the first time
in a long time.

He was still flat, he wouldn't show for another two or three months, but he
knew there was something there, and this time – this time he would be there for
it. He would feed it and clothe it and wash it and maybe even help raise it.

Maybe he would get to cuddle it and sing it to sleep – not that Jared could
sing, but he didn't care about that. He would be able to be there for this
child, comfort it when it was sick or sad or hurt, celebrate birthdays and
successes.

He would be a part of the child's life. Maybe he'd even be an influence and he
could try to open its eyes to the world they were living in.

Unless, of course, the child turned out omega. Then it wouldn't need an eye-
opener, but a miracle.

Jared hadn't heard Jensen come in, but his alpha stepped behind him and drew
him against his chest.

Jared was taller than Jensen now, only by an inch or so, but it didn't look
like he was done growing yet. Jensen didn't seem to care though.

“You don't have to be scared, sweety. You'll raise this child with me.”

Jared leaned back into his alpha's arms, even though there was no comfort to be
had.

“What if it's an omega?”

Jensen kissed his naked shoulder. “Then we'll still raise it and when it's old
enough I'll sell it to a nice and caring family. Maybe we'll even find one of
those hippy, omega-loving couples.”

Jared closed his eyes, but he didn't know if it was because of his anger or the
sadness.

There was no change, no end, no hope. Things would always stay exactly the
same.


Jared didn't know where the quiet acceptance came from. But he stopped talking
back to Jensen so much.

It wasn’t that he was still living in a fog, the heat and the pregnancy had
pulled him out of it with a jolt, but it was still different.

He was floating along, doing things that meant nothing to him, sharing his bed
and his life with a man that claimed to care for him, but didn't even know who
Jared really was.

It didn't get easier with Jensen being in a good mood all the time. His alpha's
smile was contagious, and the more the pregnancy progressed, the looser he got
around Jared, disregarding the few rules still standing in their house and
seeking out conversations with Jared more and more.

Slowly, but surely, Jensen was wearing him down.

Jared was almost glad for the moments Jensen said or did something in true
alpha fashion, and Jared was reminded of his situation and his standing once
again.

No matter how nice Jensen was, he was still an alpha treating Jared like an
omega.


The pregnancy went much like his first. He didn't experience morning sickness,
or any other side-effects.

The mark for the three month check-up came faster than expected. Jared was
showing just a little bit, but at that doctor's exam they would be able to tell
if it was a male or a female baby. Which meant Dr. Beaver would be able to tell
if it was an alpha or a male omega, or not. And this time Jared couldn't look
away and not know.

He wasn't aware how hard he was clutching Jensen's hand during the ultrasound
until it started to hurt.

Dr. Beaver moved the ultrasound stick through the cold jelly on his stomach,
pressing this way, then that way.

“Everything okay, Jim?” Jensen asked and the other alpha nodded.

“Oh, yeah, sure. This one is just a bit shy. Probably a cute little beta girl,
and – no wait. It's an alpha!”

Jared stared at the screen, trying to make sense of the grainy ultrasound
picture.

“An alpha? Really?”

Dr. Beaver chuckled and clapped Jensen on the shoulder. “Congrats. Looks like
you have a really good breeder here.”

Jared ignored the comment and focused on the fact that his baby was an alpha.
He wouldn't have to give it away, it wouldn't become a slave. It would be born
into a terrible world, but at the top of the food chain, it would have a shot
at a happy, self-determined life.

He felt Jensen stroke over his hair, whisper praises into his ear, but it
didn't really matter.

When they were at home, Jared faced the mirror again and put his hand on his
tiny bump.

“Hello baby.”


Jared was in much better spirits during his second pregnancy, probably because
he knew he would be able to keep the child. Jensen still felt a pang of guilt
whenever he thought about Jared's first child.

His omega's difference, his superiority to all the other members of his gender,
all those things were usually good things, but not this emotional involvement.

But maybe it would also be good for the child if Jared became emotionally
attached. Jensen knew that being a single parent was okay, but it was still
hard and he wanted his kids to have the best possible life. And he had no doubt
that Jared would help with that, especially now that he was older.

Jared had turned eighteen a couple of weeks ago, and he was finally maturing in
a way that omegas did when they reached adulthood. There was a reason the
government strongly discouraged breeding omegas before they were sixteen and
the recommended age for breeding was actually eighteen.

Of course, Jared's ass of an alpha hadn't given a shit about that, but Jensen
did and he was happy to see Jared settle into his role, getting calmer and more
responsible.

There were times he missed his omega's playfulness, how he would curl himself
into Jensen and into his touch, how expressive he was during sex.

Although that actually had come back. For a while after Jared had delivered his
first child, he'd been rather quiet and passive during sex, but now he was his
old self.

He was vocal again, downright pushy about what he wanted and Jensen loved every
second of it.

Really, Jensen thought when Jared served him a delicious stake for dinner, only
to watch him hungrily during the whole meal and then drag him over to the couch
as soon as he had cleared his plate, only to pull their pants down and ride him
on the couch, Jensen's life was great.


The pregnancy progressed perfectly; the baby was developing beautifully and
Jared experienced no discomforts.

He got a bit grumpy around month eight, when his belly was big and his feet
swelled up during the evenings, so Jensen went back to foot rubs and massages.
But really, when Jared became putty under his hands, a purring horny mess of
long limbs and a beautiful belly swollen with Jensen’s child – his life was
really fucking perfect.


Jensen did panic a bit when he suddenly realized he hadn't done any of the baby
shopping and when he went into the store for the first time, he was so
overwhelmed he went straight back home.

“You were educated in childcare, right?” he asked Jared as soon as he entered
the kitchen.

Jared looked up from the dinner he was cooking and nodded. “Yeah, why?”

Jensen just dragged him off to the couch, and took the laptop with him. “We
need things for the baby and you have to help me figure out which ones, because
I have no fucking clue.”

Jared did roll his eyes, but there was also a smile tugging at his lips, and
with a heavy sigh he sat down next to Jensen.

“Do your feet hurt again?”

Jared bit his lips but nodded. “Yeah, today's bad.”

So Jensen grabbed Jared's feet and massaged them while Jared navigated the
minefield of baby care items and ordered everything they would need.

Dinner burned, but Jensen didn't care. There was a reason pizza delivery
existed.


Jared went into labor on a warm morning in May. Jensen was still lying in bed –
last night he'd been out with Chris, and it had gotten late – when Jared shook
his shoulder.

“Go away, Jared, 'm still tired.”

There was a snort and then Jared pulled his covers off. “Get your lazy ass out
of bed, my contractions are eight minutes apart.”

“What?” Jensen shot up, not minding his slightly pounding head.

Jared was standing there, already dressed and glaring at him. “Contractions.
Eight minutes. Unless you want me to have the baby here, we need to go now.”

Jensen had never gotten dressed so fast in his life. Jared was in labor. With
his baby. Only a few hours and he would hold his son in his arms.

He tried to drive carefully and slowly, but when Jared groaned with a strong
contraction, he sped up.

At Jim's clinic, they promised to keep him updated, but Jensen wanted to go
inside with Jared. He wanted to see his son being born.

It was different than he expected. The miracle of life was a slow,
unspectacular, painful process.

Jared walked around for a while, before he lay down and had to push. He was
clearly in pain, muscles straining and his teeth digging into his lip until it
was bleeding.

Jensen bent forward and took Jared's hand. “It's okay sweety, just take my
hand.”

Jim exchanged a weird look with his nurse, but Jensen couldn't concentrate on
them, because Jared was crushing his hand in his.

The metallic smell of blood filled the room when the Jim cut the skin covering
the birth canal and then Jared really started to scream.

Jensen couldn't take it.

“Can’t you give him something for the pain?”

“I gave him a light anesthetic when I made the incision. All additional pain
killers aren’t covered by your insurance, but if you want...”

“Yes, I want. I won't have him screaming himself hoarse.”

Jim raised his hands placatingly. “Sure. But Jensen, I have seen a lot of
omegas giving birth and they yell, even though their pain level isn't high.
They just can't deal with the stress too well.”

“I'll give you stress,” Jared ground out between clenched teeth before he let
out another shout with the next contraction.

“Jim, I don't give a fuck. Give him something now!”

“Alright,” Jim said and gave the nurse a sign, but she took a closer look at
Jared.

“I don't think that's a good idea,” she said. “It's too late for an epidural
and if we numb the area around the incision further, the birth could take
longer, which isn't good for the baby. He'll just have to tough it out.”

Jim gave Jensen a look that said, sorry, nothing I can do. “Don't worry though,
it won't take much longer, your pet will be fine.”

“He's not-” Jensen started to say, but he was interrupted by Jared crying out
once more and then the nurse exclaimed: “I can see the head!”

For a few moments, things were hectic, instructions for Jared to push harder
and then suddenly, Jensen's son was there, a tiny red bundle, screaming angrily
at the world.

Jim picked him up and carried him over to a small examining table. He did a lot
of doctory things Jensen didn't understand, but he only had eyes for the baby.

He was a bit disappointed that it looked just as ugly and wrinkled as every
other newborn did, but when it opened its big eyes and looked around, little
arms moving slightly, he stepped forward and took the little guy's hand.

“Hey baby.”

Jim smiled up at him. “He's completely healthy, a perfect little baby alpha.
Here.”

He wrapped the baby in a soft blanket and held him out to Jensen.

When Jensen stretched out his hands, he'd never been so scared in all his life.
What if he hurt him or dropped him or-

“Jensen, relax,” Jim said. “You'll be fine. Nurse Linda will get the bottle
ready and then your omega can start feeding him, the little guy will must be
hungry.”

Jared. Jensen looked over to his omega. Jared was pale and motionless, his eyes
closed, still lying on the delivery bed.

The nurse gave him a soft nudge. “Up and at 'em boy, you have a baby to feed.”

Jared blinked his eyes open and looked around a bit dazed. The nurse must have
cleaned him up while Jensen was admiring his son, because Jared was dressed in
a new gown and already covered by a blanket.

“Everything is fine,” the nurse addressed Jensen. “Just like last time, you can
take him home tomorrow. The baby will stay here for observation tonight as
well, just a precaution, and then you can take both of them home tomorrow. Your
omega will feed the baby while they're here, so he gets used to the duty. I'll
show him how to properly hold and feed your son.”

Jensen just nodded, still a bit dazed and he looked down again at the bundle in
his arms. His son, his child. Jared's child.

He didn't know where that thought came from, children never belonged to their
omega parents, but Jared had been different, so maybe it would be different
with this child too. Jensen thought he might like that. To share the huge
responsibility that was this tiny life in his hands.

He followed the nurse when she pushed Jared's bed out of the delivery room into
one of the normal rooms and when they were alone, he showed Jared the baby.

“Our son.”

Jared looked at him and his eyes were huge and dark in his pale face.

“Your son,” he said, and his voice was still rough from all the screaming.

Jensen shook his head. He carefully shifted the little bundle so he could hold
it with one arm and took Jared’s hand.

“I want it to be ours. Just like your family.”

Jared looked at him and then down at the baby. “Ours. Like, really ours? Like,
I'll be his dad and not only the 'omega-parent'?”

“Well, I thought you might be more of the mommy, but yeah, I want him to be
ours.”

“I'm not a girl,” Jared mumbled, but he stretched his hand out carefully and
stroked the baby's chubby cheeks.

If Jensen did ever have any doubt that Jared wouldn't be able to connect with
the baby, they were washed away now. There was so much tenderness and so much
wonder in that small gesture, Jensen knew Jared would love their child
unconditionally.

So he said, “No, you're not, but you're an omega. So you can totally be the
mommy. Besides a child needs a father and a mother, so that's what you'll be.”

Jared glared at him then, and it had been a while since Jensen had seen Jared
with so much defiance in his eyes. He was surprised that he'd missed it.

“You're such a traditionalist,” Jared said. “Can I hold him?”

“Yeah, sure.” Slowly, carefully, Jensen transferred their son into Jared's
arms. He looked right there.

The baby instinctively searched Jared’s chest for a nipple.

“I'm sorry, buddy,” Jared whispered, “I can't feed you. But we'll get you a
bottle soon.”

Nurse Linda entered right on cue and with her help, Jared was feeding the baby
in no time.

“Jim wants to know what name to put on the birth certificate,” she asked
Jensen.

Jensen hadn't needed long to think about a name when he'd learned it would be
an alpha.

“James,” he said. “After my dad,” he told Jared as soon as the nurse had left.
“My parents died a couple of years ago, so...”

Jared nodded. “Makes sense. James. Hey little Jamie. Or maybe Jem? Jemjem?”

“His name is James,” Jensen said, upholding a disapproving facade and trying
not let on that he thought what an adorable picture Jared made with the baby.

“Bah, James. That name is way too big for such a tiny baby like you, isn't it.
Daddy clearly has no idea what he's talking about.”

Jensen just smiled. Two years ago he didn't think he'd be ready for this so
fast, but now that he had a family, he was incredibly happy.


It wasn't until Jensen was lying in bed that he remembered Jim's comment about
Jared being his pet. Was it really that bad? Had Jensen turned into one of the
people who coddled and pampered their omegas?

But no, Jared still did all his work, it was just, he was so much smarter than
other omegas, so of course, Jensen would treat him differently.

He liked Jared. He adored his little omega as a matter of fact, especially now
that he had given him such a perfect baby. And if that was treating him like a
pet – well Jared deserved to be treated like that.



***** Chapter 8 *****
 
His bed was so warm and comfy, he didn't want to wake up. There was something
tugging him to consciousness though, some noise trying to penetrate sleep's
heavy fog. He tried to ignore it, but there was this knowledge at the back of
his mind, pushing him towards wakefulness, telling him he needed to get up.

Jem.

Jared sat up straight in bed and finally his baby's cries registered with him.

“'Bout damn time,” Jensen grumbled next to him. “He's been crying for ages.”

Jared suppressed a sigh and got up.

“It's your child too,” he mumbled on the way out of the bedroom, but his anger
dissipated when he entered the nursery and saw little Jem lying in his bed,
crying and looking utterly miserable.

“Hey baby.” Jared carefully picked his son up and rocked him in his arms. “You
must be hungry, right? Don't worry, we’re gonna get you something to eat right
now, okay? Sorry that I didn't wake up earlier.”

Jared pressed a kiss to the soft fuzz on Jem's head and made his way to the
kitchen to prepare a bottle.


Being a parent was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. There was this tiny
life that was utterly dependent on him. Oh, sure, Jensen was around as well,
but Jared never had any illusions that he would be their baby's main caretaker.

Their baby. Jensen had made good on their promise of raising the baby together.

Jared still slept in Jensen's bed and when Jem cried, both of them woke up. Of
course, it was always Jared who got up and fed him and then calmed him back to
sleep, but still. Jensen woke up almost every time Jared did and it gave him a
certain level of understanding when Jared took a nap sometime during the day
when Jem happened to be sleeping too.

When Jem got sick for the first time – just thrush, nothing really bad, but
Jared was still utterly terrified – he didn't get any sleep at all. Jem refused
to drink more than two sips from his bottle at a time, so he was constantly
hungry and crying, but because sucking hurt, he was also crying during feeding.
Jared stayed up pretty much the whole night, alternately trying to soothe him
back to sleep or get him to drink something.

That in turn made him useless during the day and his exhaustion grew. Two days
in, Jared woke up to an empty bed. A disoriented look at the clock told him it
was already ten AM. He scrambled out of bed as fast as he could, but one look
into Jem's nursery revealed it was empty. He took the stairs two at a time, but
downstairs it was quiet. He ran back up to Jensen's study, which was empty as
well.

Jared could feel himself starting to panic. Where was his baby? Where was
Jensen? Oh god, what if something had happened and Jensen had taken Jem to the
doctor, or worse, the hospital?

Jared was a terrible parent, his baby was sick and he just slept, and-

Downstairs again, he was ripped out of his growing panic by the open veranda
door. He practically sprinted across the living-room, almost falling over his
feet when he ran outside.

When he saw Jensen lying on a lounge chair in the garden, he slightly relaxed.
Jensen loved their son, surely he wouldn't be this relaxed if something had
happened to Jem. But where was he?

Jensen was reading the newspaper on his tablet and when he shifted his arms,
Jared finally got a look of his son. He was sleeping peacefully on Jensen’s
belly.

Relief flooded Jared and he almost wanted to break out in hysterical laughter.
Jem was fine. Jensen had just taken care of him and let Jared sleep.

Jensen had let Jared sleep. Jared had neglected his duties, had neglected their
baby. Worry slowly spread through his stomach. It had been a while now that
he'd been afraid Jensen would punish him, hadn't thought he would do it ever
again, not unless he did something truly outrageous, but this was a new
situation, entirely without precedent.

He walked over to them carefully, and despite the worry he couldn't help but
smile. They made such a cute picture, Jensen in his boxers, a ratty tee under
his old striped bathrobe, and little Jem lying sprawled out on his father's
chest, drooling slightly on his shirt.

“Hey.”

Jensen looked over to him and gave him a soft smile. Not mad then.

“Morning sweety. You sleep well?”

“Yeah, I did. Why didn't you wake me, though? I should have-” Jared
gesticulated in Jem's direction, but Jensen just shook his head.

“First of all, you were dead to the world, didn't even hear the alarm.
Secondly, you're exhausted, you need to sleep. Besides, it's a slow day, I can
spend some quality time with my son.”

Jared walked over to them and looked down at Jem, finally sleeping peacefully.
“I cant believe you got him to sleep like that.”

Jensen shrugged his shoulders. “Wasn't easy, we had to do the whole walking-
through-the-house-thing twice and I had to sing the entire time. He didn't
really like it until I got to the Stones.”

“The Stones?”

Jensen smiled indulgently at him. “The Rolling Stones. They're a band.”

Jared swallowed down his acid reply and decided not to ask which song Jensen
had sung. Since omegas were on the same level as animals, no one considered
them to have any appreciation for music or any kind of art form really. Since
Jensen had taken care of their son and let him sleep, Jared decided not to
shock him today with his extensive knowledge of rock music. Instead he just
asked what Jensen wanted for lunch.

Jem's thrush only got marginally better, and two days later Jared reached the
end of his rope. He hadn’t been sleeping more than three hours a night, and
Jem's naptime during the day was too short to catch up. Jensen was not really
any help at all, he blatantly refused to get up during the night and only
occasionally got up before Jared did to take care of Jem.

Fatigue made Jared slow and he got behind on all his chores. The laundry was
piling up, he hadn't vacuumed in days and the nursery looked as if a bomb had
gone off in there. The fridge was full, but nothing was prepared. Whatever
Jared was going to cook, he would have to prepare it from scratch. Jem was in
one of his crying moods, only to be calmed down when he was being carried
around.

On his second round with Jem through the living room, Jared caught sight of the
empty tumbler Jensen had used two days ago, when he'd had a glass of whiskey
with his late night shows.

It was such a small thing, but it made Jared see red. Jensen knew how exhausted
he was, and he couldn't even be bothered to carry his fucking glass into the
kitchen.

Jared turned towards the stairs, walking with quick steps, not wanting to lose
his steam. He knocked on the door of Jensen’s study, but didn't bother to wait
for permission to enter.

Jensen looked up from his desk with a surprised expression, eying Jared and
their crying son with worry.

“Everything okay? Has it gotten worse? Should we-”

Jared cut Jensen off by putting Jem carefully but firmly into his arms.

“He won't stop crying when I put him down and I have to cook. Actually I also
have to clean and do the laundry and a million other things I don't get around
to doing with a constantly crying baby. You're the baby whisperer who can sing
him to sleep? Well then get to it. You wanted to be a father, so act like one.”

Jared allowed himself one glorious second of watching Jensen’s stunned face
before he turned around and walked out of the study. He closed the door behind
him and then leaned against it, holding his breath.

He was pretty sure Jensen wouldn't hurt him, but still.

It was quiet for a moment, both his alpha and his son apparently shocked into
silence and then Jem started to cry again. For a heartbeat it was all Jared
could here, and then Jensen’s voice filtered soft and sure through the door.

“I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she would meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you find
You get what you need”

For a moment Jared couldn't move. He knew Jensen had a beautiful voice, but
he'd had no idea, he could sing. He considered staying, but he was still so
angry at Jensen, he had no desire to be pulled in by the sound of his voice. So
he went downstairs to deal with the laundry.


His life continued. He couldn't remember how he'd dealt with the isolation
before Jem. The baby filled his life in such a way, he couldn't imagine a world
without him anymore. He became the only constant presence next to Jensen in
Jared's otherwise solitary life, and he was the only one untainted. Despite the
circumstances of Jem's conception, Jared loved his son unconditionally, without
that bitter taste that always accompanied Jensen’s presence.

Apart from Jensen his only contact with other humans continued was the omega
who delivered their food once a week.

She wasn’t like Mike, the delivery guy he'd known at his last alpha's. It took
Jared several weeks to even find out her name, because when it came to
deliveries she was all business. She finally told him it was Amanda and over
the course of several weeks, Jared managed to form a tentative friendship with
her.

It turned out that Amanda had given birth to eleven children during her fertile
years, and her owners had been kind enough to sell her to a delivery company
instead of a brothel after she couldn’t get pregnant anymore. She wasn’t bitter
or angry, she was resigned to this life and it didn't bother her. There was a
natural order to things and she accepted her part in it.

So Jared kept the conversation light and about childcare. Amanda was a great
source of information and provided him with some invaluable tips that were
nowhere to be found in any of the educational videos. Her idea to prepare Jem's
bottle in a thermos so he didn't have to make it at three o'clock in the night
actually saved him a lot of hassle. Jensen had been skeptical in the beginning,
but when Jared had told him that he wasn't the one to heat up a bottle in the
middle of the night, he had conceded and just gone out to buy the best thermos
available.

The only times Jared left the house since coming to live with Jensen had been
to go to Doctor Beaver. And he was glad for it, going out alone for an omega
was dangerous, even if he wore a collar.

It changed when Jem was old enough to be taken for walks, because with Jem, he
would be safe. It was the greatest possible crime to hurt a child, and under
that law also fell the hurting of his omega-guardian.

It didn't mean Jared wasn’t sweating bullets and warily looking around the
whole time he finally went outside, pushing Jem around in a stroller. He
carefully crossed the few streets it took him to get to a nearby park, where he
spent two hours just walking around.

He couldn’t remember the last time he'd done this, been outside, alone, and he
soaked it up. Jem was asleep for most of the time and Jared just walked along
the paths, under trees and around a little pond. He avoided getting close to
other people, still wasn't sure how he could handle them outside of the safety
of Jensen's house.

When someone tapped him on the shoulder, he almost had a heart attack.

He swirled around and came face to face with two omegas. They were a little bit
older than he was, but still in their fertile phase. They were both pregnant,
the tiny blond girl with a huge belly, and the slightly taller blond girl with
only a small bump. Two strollers were parked next to them, and they were
smiling brightly at Jared.

“Hey,” the shorter one said. “I'm Alona and this is Katie. Welcome to the
park!”

“Can you talk to us?” the other one, Katie, asked. “It's okay if you're not
allowed, we thought we'd introduce ourselves just in case.”

Alona nodded and both girls looked at him expectantly.

Jared had no idea what Jensen would say about what he was allowed to do in the
park or not, and frankly Jared didn't give a damn. These two omegas wanted to
talk to him, maybe even become friends, and Jared couldn't even remember ever
really having friends.

So he smiled back at them. “No, that's okay. I'm Jared.”


Talking to Alona and Katie opened up a whole new world. Jared went to the park
almost every day – Jensen approved, he had to work a lot and fresh air was good
for the baby – and Katie and Alona were there every time.

They had relatively nice families it turned out, so they were generally happy
with their life. Jared didn’t ask them what would happen in a couple of years
when their kids were grown up and they would be nothing more than servants.

So they talked about baby formula, sleeping habits and the consistency of poop.
They swapped recipes for food and discussed the most efficient cleaning
methods.

Intellectually, Jared had to throw up internally every time, but emotionally he
couldn't help but enjoy their time together, just talking to a human being that
wasn't looking down on him.

There were other people at the park as well, alphas and betas who came to play
with their kids, but apart from occasionally cooing at their children, they
ignored the omegas.

The other omegas who came irregularly to the park, the girls avoided. When
Jared asked why, they shared a heavy look.

“They're not good omegas,” Katie finally said.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Alona started slowly. “They get punished a lot. Because they're bad.
Alpha and Beta don't want me to talk to them.”

Katie nodded. “It could rub off on us, and we’re such good omegas, our alphas
and betas are so proud of us.”

“But what if they're not bad, what if they only have cruel masters?” Jared
thought back to his old alpha and couldn’t suppress a shudder. He couldn't be
the only one like that out there.

Alona and Katie shared a look again, this time one of pity.

“I know it's hard, Jared,” Katie said, “but there are some of us who are just
not good omegas. Alphas and betas are never cruel, they're always just in their
punishments. I mean, no one's perfect, I'm sure you have been punished at some
time by your alpha.”

Jared thought back to when Jensen had tied him up in the attic and nodded
grimly. He still hadn't forgiven the bastard for that one.

Alona patted his arm sympathetically. “I'm sorry Jared. But it happens to the
best of us.”

“What?”

She nodded solemnly. “Just last week I burned dinner. The baby was throwing up
and I forgot to take the pot off the oven. I'm such a scatterbrain sometime.
But alpha and beta were so kind when they punished me. They only gave me twenty
strokes and afterwards told me that usually I do so well, I shouldn't take it
too hard, and if I would focus more, I could do so much better.”

Jared was stunned into silence. They actually believed they deserved to be
punished.

“I'm sorry, I forgot I need to get back.” He scrambled to his feet without
looking them in the eyes.

“Oh, of course Jared, hurry!” Katie called after him when he was already
moving, pushing Jem's stroller along the path as fast as he could without
breaking out in a run.

When he got home he was still shaking. Jensen was nowhere to be seen. Jem
started crying, he apparently didn't like being home again, and Jared picked
him up and carried him out into the garden. He continued to walk up and down,
slowly rocking Jem in his arms.

His crying slowly died down, but Jared's thoughts were still with Alona and
Katie. No wonder the system worked so perfectly if they managed to brainwash
omegas like that. For a brief moment Jared considered talking to them about it,
but then he thought about what might happen if they would tell their alphas and
betas, and they in turn would contact Jensen about his unruly omega.

Yeah, not a good idea.

And even though he couldn't look at them without fury coiling in his belly,
angry at them and the whole system, he still went back to the park. After he'd
gotten used to the company, it was hard to go back to being on his own with
Jensen.


Jared's body went back to its pre-pregnancy form in no time. All the work in
the house and in the garden, and his long walks in the park kept him pretty fit
and he seemed to have a disposition for not putting on weight no matter how
much he ate.

Jensen's eyes started to follow him around again and pretty soon the alpha went
back to demanding sex regularly. It wasn’t that Jared didn’t like it, it was
just to the contrary. No matter how much Jared wanted to hate Jensen, he was
still so considerate in their bedroom, always taking care of Jared and trying
to make him feel good.

So for that short time, Jared decided not to care. He would let Jensen touch
him, fuck him and knot him, worship him really, and he would enjoy it. It was
the only time Jared ever thought they were seeing eye to eye, because when
Jared touched Jensen back, made him fall apart with his hands and his mouth, he
felt like an equal.

And it was stupid, he knew it was, but he needed to take his victories where he
could, otherwise he'd go crazy.

But the traces of pregnancy disappearing from his body also meant something
else: Jared would go into heat again, it could in fact be as soon as three
months after giving birth.

Jared had no desire to have another child so soon after Jem, but when he tried
to talk to Jensen about it, he was met with refusal and no understanding.

“Jared, you know that the government expects a certain ratio,” his alpha said.
As if that was the only reason.

Jared wasn't stupid though, he knew the laws. “The government can’t force an
alpha to father more children than he wants to and they have no grounds to take
the omega away if he has given birth to more than three children in the first
eight years. I already have – had two, which means we need only one more, and
we have five years for that. I don't understand why I can't have a break.”

Jared didn’t want to have more children at all, because with every baby, the
chances of it being an omega were rising, and he could just not deal with that.

Jensen just shook his head though. “Jared, you don't really want to go through
heat without sex, do you? Besides, I don’t think I'll be able to stay away from
you, and even if I could, I don’t want to. Sweety, you love Jem, you'll love
the other babies as well. So end of discussion.”

“No. There are ways to dampen a heat, make it bearable.”

When Jensen's eyes narrowed in anger, Jared knew he had made a mistake. Shit.

“I can't believe you're even suggesting this! First off, everybody knows that's
impossible and it's also highly dangerous if you try! I will not let you hurt
yourself just because you think you need a couple of months more. Jared, you're
young and healthy, you'll have no trouble handling another pregnancy!”

Jem chose that exact moment to wake up from his nap and started to cry. Jared
went over to his son and after sniffing at his diapers, he made his way through
the living room and out into the hallway.

“It's not about me being able to handle it, it's about me not wanting to handle
it. How about that?” he called out to Jensen before climbing the stairs.

Jensen followed him after a short break, but Jared ignored him when he came
into the nursery in favor of concentrating on changing Jem's diapers. Not that
he needed to concentrate, by now he could change diapers in his sleep, but he
had no desire to look at Jensen.

“I see no reason why you wouldn't want another baby. Besides, this is not
really your choice to make.”

Jared clenched his fists before relaxing them and reaching for the powder. “You
have three seconds to get out of here before I throw this diaper at you.”

“Jared-” Jensen started in his lecture voice, but Jared cut him off.

“No. You said you would treat me different, you'd treat me better, but you
still decide what happens to my body. So you know what? Screw you and your
promises. We're raising Jem together?”

Jared closed the new diaper and wrestled a squirming Jem into his onesie.
“You're doing nothing to raise your son. You just cuddle him for a bit, and as
soon as you actually have to do something, you hand him off to me. You don't
feed him, you don’t change his diapers, nothing. And those aren't 'chores',
they're actually part of raising a child. Our child.”

He turned around to glare at Jensen who was once again stunned into
speechlessness. Jared had almost forgotten how good it felt to blow of some
steam. He hadn't been aware how much Jensen not helping out had really bugged
him.

“If you'll excuse me, our son is hungry now, so I will go and feed him.”

Jensen looked like he wanted to say something, but Jared just walked past him.
Jensen didn't follow them and Jared went into the kitchen.

He didn't know what to think when he was preparing Jem's bottle. Yelling at
Jensen had felt so good, but he feared it would once again not change a thing.
He knew he was right, but Jensen was so stubborn, so unable to see past
anything he'd been taught – but really how would he ever believe Jared, a lowly
omega, over anything he had known to be true for his whole life.

For a moment his eyes burned, but he furiously blinked any possible tears away.
He would not cry. His life was what it was and he finally had to stop hoping
that it could ever change. No matter what Jensen said, it would never change
how he truly thought about Jared.

As if he could sense his mood, Jem started crying again and Jared cuddled him
in close, trying to find comfort in his sweet baby smell.

Dinner that night was a tense affair. Jensen just shot him a terse look saying,
“I expect you never to speak to me like that again, understood?” and Jared
nodded and mumbled an apology.

That night, for the first time in weeks, Jensen didn't touch him. Jared was
torn between being glad and being unhappy, and he hated himself for it. He
hadn't been aware how much he enjoyed Jensen’s loving embrace and how much it
would affect him when Jensen turned his back on him, lying next to him in icy
silence.

Jared was unable to fall asleep, and he was actually relieved when Jem started
crying and he had an excuse to leave the bed. He took his time and sat in his
son's nursery long after he’d fallen asleep. When he went back to bed, Jensen
was asleep and Jared carefully climbed into bed, pressing up against his side.
Jensen shuffled in his sleep and flung an arm around his waist before stilling
again.

Jared would hate himself even more except he fell asleep almost immediately.


The next morning was still tense and the whole atmosphere in the house was
thick enough to cut it with a knife. Jem was aggravated the whole time, not
wanting to lie down to nap. Jared tried everything to get him to go to sleep,
until Jensen came in, took Jem out of his arms and started singing again.

It still took Jem a long time to calm down, but when he did, Jensen changed
from singing to softly talking to his son.

“You're in a bad mood, aren't you buddy? You're sensing that mommy is angry? Is
that's what's making you mad?”

Jared crossed his arms over his chest. Of course it would be his fault that Jem
was crying.

“I was too, you know,” Jensen continued. “Angry at mommy, I mean. He can be
really stubborn sometimes. But sometimes he's also right.”

Jared couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“I haven't been a good daddy to you and I'm sorry.”

Jem blinked up at his father and smacked his lips.

“I should spend more time with you and take care of you, the whole you, even
your stinky diapers. So from now on, I will do that. And maybe then mommy will
stop being pissed at me, and we can all be happy again.”

Jared was frozen in place. He didn't know what was more astounding, Jensen
wanting to change dirty diapers or Jensen kind of apologizing to him. It even
sounded as if Jensen's happiness was dependent on Jared's mood and that just
was not possible at all.

“Speaking of stinky diapers...” Jared could hear the disdain in Jensen's tone,
but instead of handing the baby over like he'd done it a thousand times before,
his alpha just sighed and left the kitchen.

“Just no peeing on me, okay buddy?” was the last thing Jared heard before
Jensen disappeared up the stairs.


Afterward it was sort of like a truce. It was only a small victory, but if
Jared thought back, his entire time with Jensen had been a series of small
victories.

The first one had been getting hot water – that he didn’t even need anymore,
because nowadays he used Jensen's bathroom without him even batting an eye.

Then eating at the table with Jensen every day. Jensen acknowledging his
intellect and education, letting him watch TV and even read books.

And now Jensen taking care of his son in a way that Jared didn’t think any
other alpha ever did (at least if he were to believe Alona and Katie, who had
just stared open-mouthed when Jared told them that Jensen changed diapers and
fed Jem, not even batting an eye whenever the baby spat up all over him).

Now, sometimes, for small moments, they even felt like a real family. When
Jensen got up in the middle of the night to look after Jem, pressing a kiss to
Jared's head and telling him to keep on sleeping. When Jared was cooking in the
kitchen and Jensen came in to ask what smelled so good, and lingered until
Jared had finished and helped him carry out the food. When they were lying on
the couch together, Jem in bed, and Jensen just drew him in tight and stroked
his head while they watched the late night shows.

But then there were those moments that would slap Jared randomly in the face.

When Jem's little hand touched his collar. When Jensen bit down possessively
into his neck and said 'my omega'. When Jared went outside.

The big punch though, the one directly to the gut that knocked him out, was
when his heat came four months after Jem's birth.

Jared's third heat was much worse than his second. Physically it was the same,
but he was unable to take care of his baby for two full days and the first and
last day of his heat, he barely even managed to feed Jem, his hands were
shaking so hard with the want and the need.

Jem was also the reason Jensen had less time to fuck him, so Jared had much
less reprieve from the constant agony rushing through his system.

When he woke up on the fifth day, heat gone and completely exhausted, he
realized that it didn't matter, not really. All the little victories, the
little conveniences, it didn't change a damn thing.

He was still an omega, still not a person. His life would never be his own.


Five days later the stick turned blue and when Jensen kissed him full of
happiness, Jared kissed him back. For his children. Because no matter how
Jensen treated him, how the world treated him, there were others depending on
him now. Jem and the unborn baby in his belly, he loved them, unconditionally,
and he would do whatever necessary to be the best possible parent.

So Jared went down to the laundry room and started sorting whites from darks,
and tried not to think of his first child, the baby they had taken away before
he'd even had a chance to see it. He wondered, not for the first time, what had
become of it. Sometimes he was so close to just asking Jensen, but then he
couldn't. It was something of his past, something connected to his first alpha,
and just like the memories of him, he tried to lock them away during the hours
of the day.

He couldn't do anything about them at night, and even though his nightmares had
become more infrequent – most nights it seemed he was just too exhausted to
dream – they were still there. Sometimes Jensen would do something, say
something, that would just throw Jared back in a situation that had happened
with his old alpha, and for a moment Jared would be terrified. The first few
times it had happened, Jensen had been oblivious, but he'd started to catch on
to Jared's flashbacks whenever they occurred, and he'd just gather Jared into
his arms, whispering soothing nothings into his ear and petting him until the
memory disappeared again.

It was just two days ago when Jared brought Jensen his lunch and his alpha took
a bite of the sandwich and said off-handedly, “That could be warmer.”

Jared had flinched, because in his old household that had been the moment when
the dish had come flying at his head. Jensen must have seen, because he'd been
up in a flash, drawing Jared into his arms.

“Tell me. What are you thinking about?”

Jared had shrugged, tried to play it down. “They threw the dishes at me
whenever something wasn’t to their satisfaction. It wasn't really a big deal.”

And it wasn't. The strokes that would be added to his daily punishment, those
were the big deal.

Jensen's eyes still hardened, and his hand was impossibly gentle when he
stroked over Jared's cheek.

“I'm so sorry, sweety.”

Jared had nodded and for a short moment, he'd leaned in.

Despite everything that had happened between them, Jensen had turned into
Jared's safe haven, taking the darkness and the fears away, providing the
comfort of a warm body and soothing hands whenever he needed it. And Jared
could see his pain reflected in Jensen's eyes, could see the hatred Jensen had
for his old alpha – because Jensen cared. He really, truly cared for Jared. He
might still think him inferior, a creature ruled by biology and instinct, only
accepting the truth about Jared when he hit him in the face with it, but he
nevertheless cared.

Like he would care about a beloved pet.

Jared snorted and turned on the washer. He really needed to stop thinking about
these things. They were things that would never change. And Jensen caring about
Jared was nice, because it meant he treated Jared better. And that was it,
there was nothing more to it. Jensen caring for him mattered because it meant
Jared wasn't getting punished, it meant he was getting warm water and books to
read, it meant he got comfort, and cuddles, and orgasms. It meant he could go
outside on his own and it meant his son would be allowed to call him a parent –
even though Jensen still insisted on him being the mommy. If that was the
concession he had to make, then so be it.

He left the slightly humid and suddenly stifling air of the laundry room behind
and fully planned to go to the kitchen to plan lunch, when a wave of nausea hit
him. He managed to reach the downstairs guest bathroom just in time to throw up
the contents of his breakfast into the sink.

When he was done rinsing his mouth and looked up, Jensen was standing in the
doorway, looking at him with his concerned creases around the eyes.

“Sweety, are you getting sick?”

Jared shook his head. “I don't think so. My luck with easy pregnancies probably
just ran out. No big deal.”

Jensen nodded. “Okay. Are you starting lunch? Because then I'll go take Jem up
with me.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Jared went into the kitchen and ignored his still fluttering stomach. He also
ignored that it was way too early for normal pregnancy nausea right now. No
sense in worrying about something he couldn't change anyway.

He put a hand on his lower belly. “As long as you're okay, I'll be okay. Just
try not to be an omega. I don’t know if your daddy has come far enough for
that.”
 
***** Chapter 9 *****
Chapter Notes
     Additional warnings for this chapter: Possibly triggery content due
     to complications that can occur during a pregnancy and their
     potential consequences. If you're not sure what to expect and want to
     know beforehand, feel free to ask.

Jensen woke up to the sounds of Jared puking his guts out. Again. Jared was
only four weeks along and yet he was throwing up every morning. When they'd
gone to the doctor last week to confirm Jared's pregnancy and he had mentioned
it, Dr. Beaver had just shrugged.

“Sooner or later, every omega experiences pregnancy troubles. Don’t let your
omega have breakfast, the nausea usually subsides after a couple of hours of
being awake and a few cups of soothing tea, maybe green tea or camomile.”

So Jensen had bought camomile and green tea, and Jared drank it with limited
results. They helped calm Jared's stomach in the course of the morning, but it
didn't change the fact that the first thing his omega did in the morning was
run for the toilet.

On cue, Jem started crying in the nursery and with a sigh Jensen got out of
bed. It wasn't even seven AM yet.

He picked his son up from his cot, but he only pressed a short kiss to his
head, because Jem was smelling like a dump truck. Really, how such a small baby
could produce such disgusting smelling poop, Jensen would never understand. He
was still half-asleep when he changed Jem's diaper, but in the last weeks he
had learned to function at least partially pre coffee. Not that he wouldn't
make a beeline for his coffee machine as soon as Jem was dressed.

On his way to the stairs he passed the bathroom, and saw Jared leaning against
the sink, dark circles under his eyes and tiny droplets of water clinging to
the tips of his hair.

“You okay, sweety?”

Jared flinched a bit at his words, but got himself under control quickly.
Nightmare night then. They had gotten rare, Jared's nightmares, and they
weren't as intense as before. But sometimes Jensen would still wake up and
Jared would toss and turn in bed, distraught mutterings falling from his lips.
Jensen didn't wake him up anymore, there was no sense in it. It was actually
much easier to just gather Jared in tight and help him calm down through
physical contact.

Last night Jensen hadn't gone to bed before four AM though. He'd stayed up
later than Jared and then fallen asleep on the couch, not making it to bed
until he woke up in the middle of the night, giant crank in his head and some
weird infomercial on TV.

Jared had been restless in his sleep, but he had calmed down as soon as Jensen
had put an arm around his waist. There was no way of knowing how long Jared had
been plagued by whatever bad memories still invaded his dreams, but the dark
circles around his eyes told their own tales.

Without waiting for what Jared had to say, Jensen stepped into the bathroom and
drew Jared against his chest. He didn’t care that his omega was taller than
him, over three inches now, and that his shoulders were as broad as Jensen's.

In moments like these, Jared reminded him so much of the shivering and
underweight kid he had picked up at Chris's door, and he just needed to tuck
him in, hold him close and make better whatever was bothering him.

Jared leaned in, careful not to squish Jem and pressed a kiss to their baby's
head. Jensen was hoping for a bit of affection himself, but Jared just pulled
back with a tired smile.

“I need a shower,” he said, and his voice was still rough.

“Of course. I'll go feed Jem and put on a pot of tea for you.”

Jared nodded, smile already gone from his face and turned around. He pulled his
clothes off perfunctory and climbed into the shower. Despite everything, Jensen
felt his dick twitch at the sight on his omega's naked ass. It was a very
beautiful ass and with the nausea and a recent spike of nightmares, they hadn't
had sex in over a week. They'd come close a couple of times, but Jem chose the
most inopportune moments to demand food or new diapers, or just plain
attention, and Jensen couldn't help but glare lovingly at his son.

“I know you love mommy and want him for yourself,” he told his son on the way
downstairs, “but daddy needs some quality time as well. So tonight, we're gonna
make a deal. I'm gonna sing extra long for you and you will sleep while mommy
and daddy have some fun, okay?”

Jem just gurgled and waved his little arms around. Jensen sighed. He wasn't
very hopeful.


There was no sex that night. Jensen had taken a late night phone call and by
the time he was done, it was after midnight, and Jared was out cold. Jensen
debated waking him up, but the dark circles were still there, so he just
slipped into bed next to Jared and contended himself with burying his nose in
Jared's hair.

There also wasn’t any morning sex because of the puking thing and no sex during
the day because of work. The evening was another bust, and Jensen was getting
really frustrated. He hadn't thought sex would be so important to him, but
after getting used to Jared always being there, it was quite frustrating to
have to forgo taking what was in front of him.

Two days later, when Jensen went down to the kitchen to get himself something
to drink, he passed a sleeping Jem in his babyrocker in the living room. Jared
was in the kitchen, rummaging around in some of the cupboards and when Jensen
saw him down there on his knees, ass pushed out, he really had to seize the
opportunity.

He just bend down to grab Jared around his waist, and Jared gave an adorable
squeak.

“Relax, sweety,” he whispered into Jared's ear and his omega was already
shivering. “Jem's asleep, we finally have an hour to ourselves.”

“Shit, Jensen,” Jared breathed out and pleasure tingled down Jensen’s spine. It
had really been too long.

“C'mon,” he said quietly and dragged Jared off to the living room. He twisted
his hand into his omega's hair and brought his mouth down to kiss him. Jared's
breath puffed hotly across his face and then their lips finally connected.

It was so good, being connected that way, sharing air, Jensen couldn't suppress
a low moan. Jared's breathing was fast and harsh and his heart was beating like
crazy against Jensen’s chest.

Jensen impatiently tugged at Jared's shirt, needing to feel warm skin under his
hands. Jared made a strangled noise in the back of his throat that made
Jensen's half hard dick twitch and fill rapidly, pushing against the zipper of
his jeans uncomfortably.

“Off, take these fucking clothes off!”

Jared complied immediately and when Jensen drew back to give him some room, he
looked into wide dark eyes, and flushed cheeks in an otherwise pale face.

“Sweety?”

Jared continued to tug on his shirt, getting it tangled around his neck, his
fingers were shaking so badly.

Jensen reached forwards to still his hands. “Jared. Hey, sweety look at me!”

Finally, Jared's eyes focused on him, really looking at him.

“What just happened?”

Jared shook his head, trying to get out of a dream or a memory – oh shit.

He took Jared’s hand, ignoring his still hard dick and dragged him down on the
couch. “Was it something I did, what happened?”

Jared was still shaking his head, not in denial though. “I don't – I don't
really know. I was just surprised, and for a moment, and then I was there and I
couldn't get out, I don't, maybe because it’s been so long since you touched
me, and I just, I-”

“Shhh, it's okay, sweety. It's okay.” Jensen drew Jared against his chest, and
just like he'd done in the beginning, Jared curled himself into a small ball
into Jensen’s lap.

“Why is this happening again? I haven't thought about the cage in ages.”

“Cage?” Jensen wasn’t really sure if he wanted to know if Jared was just
speaking figuratively or not, but he had to ask.

Jared peaked up at him from under his lashes, looking so much younger again. “I
didn't really have a room.”

Jensen had to close his eyes for a moment, the picture of Jared curled up on a
cold concrete floor behind iron bars invading his mind.

“You sure you don't wanna tell me the asshole's name? I know people. Well,
Chris knows people. I'm sure we could arrange something.”

Jared let out a sound that could have been a sob or a laugh. “I appreciate
that.”

Before Jensen could say anything else, Jem woke up from his nap and made his
signature I'm-awake-and-hungry-now crowing. Jared jumped up from the couch and
wrestled his shirt back on.

“Hey baby, you hungry? Oh yeah, I know you are. Let's go get you something to
eat then, alright.”

It wasn't that Jensen didn't love watching Jared with their son, because he
did. It made a whole different kind of warmth spread through his chest. But
still – he'd really love to spend some time with Jared alone.

So that night he didn't care that Jared was tired and already half-asleep. His
omega loved to be knotted, so he wouldn’t object.

“C'mon sweety, open up for me,” Jensen said when he slid behind Jared, pushing
his knee between his legs, spreading them open.

Jared hummed. “Jensen?”

“Yeah. Just need to be inside you.”

“Okay.” Jared's voice was still thick and throaty, but he pushed his ass out
nevertheless.

Jensen stroked over the perfect round swell of his ass, reveled in the
smoothness of the skin there. The scars had almost completely disappeared, and
even though he'd love to worship his omegas ass like the miracle it was, Jensen
really couldn’t wait. When he felt slick coating his hand, he lined himself up
and pushed inside.

“Oh god, finally.” He pressed a kiss to Jared's shoulder blade. “Missed this so
much, missed you so much.”

Jared gave a pleased sigh and waggled his ass a bit. Jensen took it as the
invitation it was and languidly started to move his hips. His eyes closed on
their own accord, but he couldn’t be bothered, just being inside Jared again
felt so fantastic, his hot, wet channel pressing tightly around his dick, and
it was good, so good, he could feel his knot already expanding, knew they would
be tied together soon, so close together and-

“No!” Jared almost shouted, breathless voice loud in their quiet bedroom.

He pushed himself away from Jensen, more precisely he pulled his ass away from
him, and Jensen was rudely pulled out of his pre-orgasmic bliss.

“What? What's wrong?”

“We can’t knot,” Jared said and Jensen didn't even know in which universe that
would make sense.

“Of course we can, why shouldn't we?” He tried to pull Jared back again, get
his dick completely into his omega's ass again, but Jared struggled against his
hold. Jensen had no idea what was going on, Jared might have yelled at him
before or stormed off but he had never resisted Jensen in bed, had always been
beautifully pliant.

“Jensen,” Jared pressed out, voice strained and annoyed, “we can't knot,
because what if Jem wakes up while we are? I'm not gonna lie here tied to you
for ten minutes while our son is screaming.”

Shit. Jensen hadn't even thought of that. But he was so close...

“C'mon sweety, he won't wake up, I'm sure he won't.”

Jared just snorted. “Forget it. We can fuck, but no knotting. And don't you
dare try!”

“Ugh.” Jensen let his head fall down between Jared's shoulder blades. In his
frustration he bit down a bit harsher than intended and got a whack on top of
his head for that, but when he pulled Jared back on his dick, he came
willingly.

“Just no knotting,” he said, and Jensen grumbled out a yes.

Fucking Jared without knotting him was better than not fucking at all of
course, but it still felt weird keeping his knot outside, even though Jared
reached around to squeeze the base of his dick. When he came his orgasm was
only half as satisfying as usual.


Since Jared refused to let Jensen knot him until Jem slept through the night
and Jem apparently delighted in cockblocking his father by waking up at least
two times every the night, Jensen had to content himself with blowjobs and no-
knotting sex. Not that it wasn't great, it just wasn't the same. Jared showed
no compassion, just rolled his eyes whenever Jensen brought it up. And really,
Jensen would start getting really pissed with his omega's attitude if Jared
wasn't still so miserable.

He continued his early morning bathroom rushes and about eight weeks into the
pregnancy they discovered that Jared's stomach now also revolted against the
scent of coffee. Since Jensen was nearing the deadline of another project and
practically lived off caffeine, Jared spent more time with the toilet bowl than
ever. And Jensen tried to contain the smell, he even put the fucking coffee
machine into his study, but there were days Jared's nose was so sensitive that
he had to throw up just from talking to Jensen after having a cup.

Jared also ate less, complaining about a constant taste of iron in his mouth
that made everything taste like shit. Then chicken and garlic joined the lists
of things that made Jared throw up, then meat in general and Jensen was really
getting pissed at his dietary restrictions. He spent more and more time going
out to dinner with Chris to get his meat fix, and he had the sneaking suspicion
that Jared was actually happy to have him out of the house for a few hours.

When he asked him about it, Jared looked at him unrepentantly. “I don't have to
cook elaborate meals when you're not around. It's one less thing I have to do.”

Jensen couldn't help but roll his eyes a bit himself then. “You know, I get
that the throwing up is annoying, but don’t start complaining about cooking,
that's not gonna kill you.”

For a moment Jared narrowed his eyes, then his nose twitched. “Did you have to
eat something drenched in garlic?” he managed to press out before he rushed off
to the bathroom.

Guilt hit Jensen like a punch to the gut and he went to brush his teeth. That
night Jared still opted to sleep on the couch. Jensen promised himself to be
more insistent at their next doctor's appointment, there had to be something
that could be done against the nausea. Their twelve week appointment was coming
up anyway.


Jim raised an eyebrow, but when they weighed Jared and he was about seven
pounds below what he should weigh, Jim prescribed vitamin pills, anti-nausea
medication and protein shakes that would help him put on weight.

Everything else, he assured Jensen, was completely fine, that was until he got
to the ultrasound.

“Holy shit!” Jim stared with wide eyes at the ultrasound. The nurse joined him
and there was an identical look of shock on her face.

“Oh wow,” she breathed out. “I haven't seen that in over five years.”

“What? What's wrong?” Jensen asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice
for Jared's sake, who was clutching his hand tightly.

“Wrong?” Jim asked, looking at him with a smile. “Oh, there's nothing wrong!”

Jim spun the monitor around, but Jensen had no idea what he was looking at.

“I don't know what I'm supposed to be seeing here.”

Jim fiddled with the controls and then suddenly their baby's heartbeat filled
the room. “Why is it so fast?” Because that quick thump-thump thump-thump
couldn't be normal, right?

“Oh my god,” Jared said, voice hoarse and breaking. “It's two.”

Jim and the nurse shot Jared a surprised look, but Jim nodded. “It's twins,
Jensen. Congratulations! Do you know how rare that is? This is wonderful!”

“Twins,” Jared repeated and he let his head fall back on the cot.

The nurse shot Jared a disapproving look, lips pursed and then turned to
Jensen. “Twins are such a blessing, especially in our world today. I'm so happy
for you, Mr. Ackles.”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm – wow, this is just a lot, I mean two kids! I never expected
that!”

Jensen was still spinning, because two kids! Jem had been challenging enough in
the past weeks, but two at once? Something else occurred to him then.

“Is this the reason why Jared is having such a hard time all of a sudden?”

“Possibly,” Jim said, hesitating a bit. “The thing is, there's not a lot of
data on twin pregnancies, because they're so rare. If the omega is having a
harder time carrying, it’s usually a sign that one of the babies is an omega
and the other one isn't. The chemical imbalance sometimes makes it more
difficult in the first six months until they're fully developed. But still,
it's nothing that's gonna kill him, your omega will be fine. Just give him the
medication I prescribed.”

Jensen was still in a slight daze when he drove them home. Twins. Two children.
Two tiny babies, coming at the same time. Crying at the same time. Needing food
and diaper changes at the same time.

He barely managed to work and look after Jem, how was he supposed to deal with
twins? He just had to hope Jared would feel better after giving birth, and then
it might be a really good idea not to have any more kids for a while.

Jensen was so caught up in his thoughts, he only realized after dinner how
quiet Jared had been. He went into the kitchen and watched how Jared did the
dishes, motion mechanical and eyes somewhere far away.

And then it occurred to him what Jim had said. How likely it was that one baby
would be an omega. Jared would be devastated.

“Sweety...”

Jared's head snapped around and he looked at Jensen with dead eyes. “Don't.
Whatever you're going to say, just don't.”

Jensen stood there helplessly for a moment longer before he left. Because
really, he had no idea what he could say. It wasn't like he was looking forward
to that himself.


For the next few weeks, Jensen was sucked back into work. Jared's nausea didn't
really get better, but the protein shakes helped him put on weight. And then
finally he developed a bump. It almost appeared over night, one morning it was
there, a tiny rounded perfect swell. Jensen could not stop touching it. Twins
would be a challenge, but he loved them already, and he knew despite everything
they would bring him so much joy, just like Jem did. And until anything was
confirmed, he would not think of one of them as an omega.


So when he met Chris for drinks and told him the good news, he left that out.
Chris was ecstatic, clapping Jensen on the shoulder.

“You’re such a stud, Jensen, who would've thought?” Chris chuckled into his
beer.

Jensen wanted to be offended, but really, he was too proud for that.

They ordered their food and when the waitress had left, Chris shot him a
strange look. “Since when do you not eat garlic bread with your burger?”

“Jared's still throwing up and garlic is the worst. If I come home smelling
like that, he'll sleep on the couch.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, so?” Jensen asked irritated.

“I mean: so? Fuck Jensen, I didn't say anything, because that kid has been
through a lot before he came to you, and it seems to work out so far, but dude,
are you even listening to yourself? You're not ordering your favorite appetizer
because your omega might have to sleep on the couch. I mean, he should be
sleeping in his own bed anyway, not in yours.” Chris was shaking his head at
him disapprovingly.

“I thought you didn't like omega abuse?” Jensen tried to hide how pissed he was
behind his beer glass.

“What has that to do with anything? Of course you shouldn't abuse them. But
you're coddling Jared. He'll be useless in your household and with three kids,
there are a lot of things that need to be done. You let him slack off now,
there'll be chaos as soon as the twins arrive. And then he'll start giving you
lip, stop wanting to work and you'll really have trouble, because then you'll
have to go back to disciplining him.” Chris leaned forward. “What you’re doing
Jensen, it's not good for him.”

Jensen stared miserably into his glass. Chris was right of course. Jared was
already talking back and he was doing less work in the house, admitting openly
he was relieved every time Jensen left.

“It's difficult,” he tried to defend himself. “Jared has been really sick, I
couldn't knot him properly-”

“You what?” Chris voice was sharp.

Jensen felt himself starting to fidget. “Because of the baby. You can't exactly
stay tied for a while, when your baby is crying.”

Chris snorted. “Dude, it's already happening. He's totally manipulating you. Of
course you can knot him. No offense, but little Jem won't die from crying for
five minutes if you unluckily pick that time to fuck. You're going soft,
Jensen, and it'll bite you in the ass.”

Jensen watched a waitress carry a plate of garlic bread to another table. It
already had.

“Excuse me sweetheart,” he stopped her on her way back. “I'd like to order
something else.”


Jared gave him a pissed look when he got home, but Jensen just raised an
eyebrow, and his omega got the message. Jared quietly went to bed with him and
Jensen felt stupidly validated when Jared kept lying in his arms, not making a
run for the bathroom.

“You're stomach is getting better,” he said into Jared's hair.

His omega stiffened in his arms. “Doesn't mean you don't stink.”

Slapping Jared on the ass was sort of a kneejerk reaction. It wasn't a hard
slap, probably didn't even sting, but Jared still tensed.

“Behave,” Jensen said and he gave his voice a teasing tone, reaching up and
tugging playfully at Jared’s ear. He didn't want him to think he'd ever hurt
him, but he'd given Jared so much leeway, and the talking back had just become
too much.

Jared stayed tense, and since his head was turned downwards, Jensen couldn't
see his expression.

“Sweety?” he asked.

There was a moment of silence and then he could feel Jared’s chest expand with
the deep breath he took. “Is there – I mean did something happen? Did I-?”

Jared broke off and Jensen soothingly petted his head. “I know most of it is
because of the pregnancy, I know that it's giving you a hard time, and I know
you're worried. So I've been giving you a lot of room, but I'm not going to
stop eating what I want just because you don't like it and I'm tired of you
being snappish all the time.”

And Jensen really was. Jared was supposed to be his safe haven, he was supposed
to make his life easier, taking the stress away and bringing him nothing but
pleasure and joy, and recently it had been anything but.

Jared didn't say anything for a while and Jensen was getting antsy. He needed
Jared to understand this, needed to tell him that he was right, and that it was
okay.

“Jared?”

“Yes,” Jared said with a croaky voice. “Yes, I understand. I'm so sorry you had
to put up with all of this alpha, I apologize.”

“It's okay, sweety,” Jensen told him and pressed a kiss to his head. “It's
okay.”

Jensen should have fallen asleep after that, should have felt relaxed and
satisfied, but somehow it still felt off. He couldn't pinpoint it until the
next morning, but it suddenly occurred to him that Jared had called him
'alpha', something he hadn't done in a long time. He wasn't quite sure how he
should feel about that.




If Jensen was aware of the tension in their relationship, he didn't show it. He
was probably just oblivious though. When Jensen had slapped him that night,
essentially scolding him like a dog, it had been like a bucket of cold water
all over again.

Jared didn't even know why he was still surprised, he knew Jensen didn't think
of him as a full human being, but all those small improvements in his alpha's
behavior had made him forget for a while.

Stupid, Jared had once again been so stupid.

He tried to lose himself in his work and taking care of Jem, spending as much
time as he could playing with his son. It was the only time that choking
pressure around his neck ever seemed to really lift.

When the halftime of his pregnancy came around he felt slightly better. The
nausea slowly subsided and the metallic taste disappeared from his mouth. He
had about a week where he felt okay, then he encountered his new enemies.

First came the cramps. Muscles contracting to the point of painfulness in the
middle of the night, pulling him out of sleep with silent screams on his lips.
Usually he managed not to wake up Jensen and just stretch his leg, gripping his
feet and putting pressure on the muscles, but sometimes he needed to get up,
lean himself against the wall and push out the cramps.

He wasn't aware of the other enemy until the day he forgot to cook lunch. He
was puttering around the house, wondering about laundry, because the machine
was filled with a mix of whites and colors and Jared would never put those
together, but Jensen wouldn't even touch the washing machine. He doubted Jensen
had ever even been inside that tiny room.

He was pulled out of his musings when Jensen opened the door and looked at him
questioningly.

“Jared, where's lunch?”

“Lunch?”

“Yes, lunch. The meal you eat at the middle of the day, that you should have
made almost an hour ago?”

Jared searched his memories of the day, what he'd done and wanted to do, but
there was nothing. He'd had just forgotten about lunch.

Jensen huffed out a breath and told him to make a sandwich. Jared wondered what
the hell had happened and went into the kitchen.

He made Jensen's sandwich, but when he brought it up to the study, Jensen
looked at him in disbelief.

“Really Jared? First you forget lunch and now you forget the tomatoes on my
sandwich? And is that mustard? You know I hate mustard on my sandwich.”

Jared did know that. “I have no idea how that happened, I swear.”

Jensen just rolled his eyes.

When Jared realized he messed up diner by forgetting the salt and again when he
took out the laundry, Jensen went to his computer and came back five minutes
later, a sour expression on his face.

“Apparently, it's common in pregnancies to be forgetful.”

“Shit.” The universe seemed really intent on making this pregnancy a time from
hell for him.

It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, he'd been worse, but the cramps were
really painful and the forgetfulness was just plain annoying. Jared kept
messing up recipes and sometimes he'd find himself standing in the house, no
idea what he was about to do. It got really scary when one day he was in the
park, he wanted to go home, and ended up at the wrong exit.

Thankfully Jem didn't mind the detour but still, being pregnant sucked.

It sucked even more when the months went on and his stomach grew. It grew
faster and bigger than before. For the first time he got stretchmarks, and the
back pain sat in way earlier than the last times.

He had to pee every half hour because one of his babies was always lying on his
bladder and he didn't know if it was because there were two of them in there,
but there was much more kicking than before. Jared was surprised his stomach
wasn't black and blue.

It had occurred to him on a stormy day in winter that it wasn't only going to
get cramped inside his belly, but also in their house. Currently, only the
guest room was unoccupied, but with two more children they'd be one short.
Sure, the twins would be able to share for the first few years, but sooner or
later, they'd have to move.

Jared didn't particularly mind, maybe they'd move into a house without an omega
room in the basement then, so that his children could grow up without being
aware of that every day.

He'd mentioned it to Jensen, and his alpha had looked at him in surprise.
“You're right. How could I forget about that?”

Jared didn't comment, just shrugged his shoulders and said, “It's not a big
deal, we have a lot of time to find something new.”

Jensen didn't agree. Not that he told Jared that, because why would he? No,
what Jensen did was to inform him over dinner one night several weeks later
that he'd found them a new house and they could move in right away, before the
babies were born.

“Jensen, I'm six months pregnant now. How am I supposed to do that?”

Jensen was completely unconcerned. “Don't be dramatic Jared. You're completely
fine, the nausea has stopped, and the other pregnancies didn't impair you at
all, not until the very end. It's not like you'll have to do the heavy lifting,
we'll have movers for that.”

Jared couldn't believe it. “But I'll still be the one to do the whole packing
and unpacking of our entire household, while looking after Jem, who's started
crawling around by the way, and is not that easy to keep an eye on anymore.”

“Jared, that's enough,” Jensen glared angrily at him. “We haven't even started
and you're already complaining.”

Jared forced his mouth shut and concentrated on giving Jem his carrot mush.
There was no sense in arguing with Jensen when he got into full alpha mode.



He started packing the next day. Jensen brought him a giant stack of folded
moving boxes and Jared folded, labeled and filled boxes. He hadn't been aware
that Jensen owned that much stuff, but his alpha had taken on another project
as a pinchhitter – Jared had still no idea what Jensen did exactly, but he
didn’t really care at this point either – and he was no help at all, declaring
he had no time to sort through the stuff and figure out what to take with them
and what to throw away, Jared should just pack everything.

It wasn't easy keeping an eye on Jem while packing, especially because his
growing belly made Jared slower than usual. Jem had been crawling around for a
few weeks now, but he'd been careful and rather slow at first. Now all of a
sudden, he was a real energy bundle, almost shooting through the apartment,
touching everything his little hands could reach.

Jared had wanted to buy a baby walker but Jensen had categorically refused.
Only bad parents left their children to fend for themselves like that. So Jared
had gritted his teeth and tried to always keep an eye on Jem. But then he'd
toppled over one of the plants at the veranda door, and Jared had almost had a
heart attack when Jem had been buried under the plant. He hadn't been hurt
thankfully, but he'd still cried for a good five minutes and there had been
dirt everywhere.

It didn't stop Jem's explorer drive and Jared had despaired until Amanda had
given him another lifesaving tip. He had carried Jem up to Jensen’s study and
deposited him in his father's arms.

“Jared, you know I can't watch him now, I have to work!”

Jared had ignore his alpha, instead he'd carried the big couch cushions up into
Jensen’s study and had built a little coral with them. Jem could crawl around
and play in it, but the cushions were too big for him to climb. For now at
least.

It worked for a couple of days and then Jem's teething troubles started. Up to
that point he had been surprisingly calm when he'd gotten his first two teeth,
but there were two coming at once now, and he was constantly chewing on
anything he could reach and he was crying a lot. Jensen of course couldn't
concentrate, so Jared had to deal with it, because for some reason Jensen
thought Jared would have an easier time handling it. He really didn't, but of
course Jensen didn't notice that.


His babies were really growing now. Until now Dr. Beaver had been unable to
determine the babies's gender, both fetuses always turning away or being so
wrapped up in each other, but now it would be inevitable.

Jared didn’t want to know. Just the idea of raising two children, and then
giving one of them away if it grew up – he wouldn't be able to do it. The car
ride to Dr. Beaver's office was tense. Jensen obviously remembered that Jared
didn't really want to know and he seemed to be at a loss for words.

Jared's movements were mechanical when he got dressed into the white gown and
lay down on the bed. Dr. Beaver was chatting with Jensen while he squeezed the
cold gel on Jared's belly. The words didn't really register with Jared though,
there was just this dread inside of him, this dark certainty that he would lose
one of the lives growing inside of him.

“Will you look at that? Congrats, Jensen, it's an alpha.”

“Two alphas in two pregnancies,” the nurse chimed in, “that's an excellent
rate.”

Jared couldn't see it because he was staring at the ceiling, but he heard the
smile in Jensen’s voice when he asked his question. “What about the other one?”

“Well, it’s a girl,” Dr. Beaver said, “so I can't tell you if it's a beta or an
omega, but since your omega hasn't given birth to an omega yet, I'm pretty sure
this is going to be one.”

He hadn't given birth to an omega yet. Jensen had never told him the gender of
his first baby, Jared hadn't wanted to know in case it was an omega, but it
seemed it hadn't been. Jensen caught his eyes, and smiled at him.

“Your first baby was a beta.”

It was a consolation, a weight off his chest, but a new one was pressing down.
He tried to pay attention to the rest of the appointment, listen to Dr. Beaver
talk about the babies, how well they were developing, but really, it was all
just a little too much.

“It's going to be okay,” Jensen said to him when they got home. “I won't give
the omega away.”

Jared looked over at him, and he didn't know what he looked like, but Jensen
was visibly taken aback.

“So, the child will stay with us forever? Always?”

“Of course not,” Jensen sighed. “But I will personally overlook the sale and
I'll pick the best, kindest couple.”

“You still don’t get it,” Jared said, and his voice was flat. Jensen looked
like he wanted to say more, so Jared fled to Jem, picking him up and carrying
him out of the room.

“Diapertime,” he said to Jensen as a way of explanation and hoped his alpha
would drop the topic now. It didn’t get better by being talked about, and Jared
just couldn't bear it. Thankfully Jensen didn't raise the topic again.


The next few weeks were even harder than what Jared now thought of as the
'puking weeks'. His back hurt almost constantly, and so did his ribs, as if the
babies were too big for his belly. They were restless in his stomach, and Jared
couldn’t sleep. Either the babies were keeping him awake or his back. Jensen
seemed insistent on playing hardass alpha and all the niceties he had bestowed
on Jared during his former pregnancies dwindled down to nothing. He still took
care of Jem, but as soon as Jem started crying for longer periods of time
during Jensen’s work time, Jared had to take their son again.

He was struggling with packing everything in the house and the sleep
deprivation was killing him. Jared couldn't wait for the pregnancy to be over.

At least Jensen was too stressed to want a lot of sex, because the heightened
sexdrive that had plagued Jared during his first two pregnancies was gone.

Of course, after a particularly grueling day and after an even more grueling
night, Jensen demanded a blowjob, but then decided it wasn't enough, he wanted
to knot Jared.

His protests about Jem went unheard, Jensen just told him he was being silly
and then fucked him through the mattress. It was good, really good, once Jared
managed to get into it, but it left him with a sore ass and a harsh reminder of
their earliest weeks together.

Jared woke up in the middle of the night, because his back was killing him and
he needed to pee. With a groan he managed to get out of bed. A sharp pain shot
through his back when he stood up, and he slowly walked to the bathroom.

He noticed the sound of dripping before the wetness between his legs
registered. For a moment he wondered if he'd become incontinent now as well,
but when he turned on the bathroom light and looked down, he saw a line of
bright red spots marking his way from the bedroom like a trail of breadcrumbs.
A dark puddle was growing between his legs on the tiled floor.

“Jensen.” His voice sounded far away and he was getting light-headed. “Jensen.
Something – s'not right, Jen.”

His vision started swimming and he saw a blurry shape appear in the doorway
before everything went dark.
***** Chapter 10 *****
 
 
The lights in Jim's waiting room were way too bright. Jensen wondered how he’d
never realized before how cold and unwelcoming it was.

“Jensen?” Jim's voice startled him out of his trance. “You can go home now.”

“I thought he was going to die. I thought our babies...”

A reassuring hand patted his shoulder. “I know it must have been scary, Jensen,
but the babies are fine. Jared is healthy enough that nothing happened to them.
We'll keep a close eye on their vitals and we've given Jared a transfusion.”

It wasn't convincing. He knew Jim was a great doctor, but seeing Jared lying on
his bathroom floor, skin almost as white as the tiles beneath him, a dark red
pool of blood surrounding his body... this image was seared into his brain.
Jared lying still so pale in a hospital bed, hooked up to tubes and monitors
wasn't really all that reassuring.

Jim sighed. “Jensen, really. Your babies will be fine. Twin pregnancies can be
harder to handle, especially with an alpha and an omega sharing the womb, just
like we thought. But we’re doing everything to make sure they'll be healthy.
Jared might have to cut back on his work a bit though, it seems the pregnancy
is harder than they usually are.”

“What?” Jensen looked up at Jim in confusion. He hadn't even thought about
Jared working, how could he when he was laying sedated in a hospital room?

“It can happen to the best breeders if it's twins. We'll monitor him for the
next days, but you might consider getting some household help, we might have to
put Jared on bedrest.”

“Bedrest?” Now Jensen got up. “I thought you said it wasn't that bad?”

Jim raised his hands placatingly. “Relax, it isn't. But Jared had some minor
contractions and at this stage in the pregnancy, they could flare up again.
Bedrest is just a precaution for your babies, so they won't be born
prematurely. And who knows, maybe in a couple of days he'll be able to get up
again. But no work and absolutely no lifting.”

Jensen nodded. He would get some help for the house and Jem, and until the
babies were born, Jared would stay in bed. Jensen wasn't going to take any
risks, not when they’d come so close to losing them.

“I'm just gonna say goodbye,” he told Jim, and ignored the alpha's raised
eyebrows when he walked past him to Jared’s room. His omega was still asleep,
still hooked up to all the monitors and tubes, but the EKG was showing a
soothingly steady pattern, and the color had returned to his face.

Jensen slowly stroked a wayward strand of Jared's hair out of his face. It had
grown long, Jared's hair, and he liked it. He knew it was one of Jared's little
rebellions, having his hair grow down to his ears past the standard omega
fashion, and recently Jensen had actually considered making him cut it. Now it
seemed so silly. Jared had almost died. When Jensen had thought he was dying
and the cold fist of fear had squeezed his heart so tight, he hadn't been able
to breath for a moment before he'd been able to frantically call 911. Usually
the emergency services didn't come for omegas though, and the operator had only
agreed to send an ambulance when Jensen had yelled at her about Jared being
pregnant. The pregnancy that had almost killed Jared had saved him as well.

“You're still here?” Jim's gruff voice brought him out of his memories.

“Yeah,” Jensen said, swallowing around the lump in his throat. There was
something that had been gnawing at him the whole time and now he thought about
what happened before...

“Jim, I – I mean right before it happened, I knotted him. It was kind of rough,
and I just-”

“Don't,” Jim cut him off. “You can’t blame yourself for this. These things just
happen. Some omegas deal worse with twin pregnancies and Jared seems to be one
of them. You might wanna go easy on the knotting for a while, but if you get an
omega for the house, that shouldn't be a problem, you’ll have someone else to
knot. I have to go home now, but I'll call you tomorrow with an update. Get
some sleep, Jensen.”

Jensen collected Jem from one of the nurses that had looked after him while he
dealt with Jared. He went home and put Jem to sleep before going to bed.
Rationally, he knew his bed wasn’t bigger than usual, but it felt too empty
without Jared in it.


The next morning, he called Jim's praxis for an update and only after being
reassured that not only the twins, but also Jared were doing well, he called
Kripke Services, the small but efficient local contractor who hired out omegas.
His former cleaning omega had come from there and they wouldn't have any
trouble finding him an omega who'd be able to take care of his kids, the house
and Jared. When the beta on the phone asked about physical appearance, Jensen
needed a moment to figure out what she wanted.

“That's not important,” he told her, trying to keep the annoyance out of his
voice. Jared would come back to his bed, Jensen wouldn’t need anyone else.

“Oh good,” the beta said, “then I'll send over someone older and the rate will
be substantially lower. I might have to assign a temp for a few days, but
starting next week, you’ll have someone with a lower rate.”

Jensen shook his head, but thanked her anyway. The next day, Jim's nurse Linda
called to let him know he could take Jared home. He'd have to stay on bedrest
for at least one more week to make sure the babies would be okay, but there was
no reason for him to remain in the praxis any longer. That the insurance
wouldn't pay for it, because he was an omega, went unsaid, but Jensen had
anticipated something like that. He didn't like it, not one bit, but he knew it
was how insurances worked.

The drive back home was quiet. When they arrived at their old house, Jared
moved carefully and a bit slower than usual, a hand pressed to his belly, but
he didn't seem to be in any pain.

“Alright, on the couch you go. Jim said bedrest, which means you'll either stay
in bed or on the couch the whole day, and you'll only get up to go to the
bathroom, okay?”

Jared snorted. “I know what bedrest means. But I'm not sure how you'll be able
to manage for a week without me, especially with the move coming up. No
offense,” he tacked on at the end, and it felt like he was saying exactly the
opposite, “but you're not exactly Mr. Clean or Mr. Cook.”

Jensen couldn’t help but smile. It was so good to see Jared lively enough to
make sarcastic remarks, even if they were slightly crossing the line from
obedient omega to rebellious insubordination. Jensen leaned over and ruffled
Jared’s hair, enjoying his omega's surprised expression.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” he told Jared. “I hired another
omega, she’ll take care of everything.”

Jared’s eyebrows scrunched up. “How do you mean?” he asked.

“Well,” Jensen said and sat down in his armchair, rocking Jem in his arms.
“She’s gonna come here and do all your chores and look after Jem.”

“No!” Jared’s voice was sharp and Jensen looked up to see his omega slowly
sitting up on the couch, determined expression on his face. “I don’t give a
fuck about bedrest, I won’t give my baby to a stranger. Jem is my child!”

Jensen shot up and reached Jared just in time to put him back on the couch. Jem
didn’t like the maneuver much and started crying, and Jensen transferred his
son into Jared’s arms, immobilizing him at the same time.

“Jared, stay on the couch. I’m not giving Jem away, but you can’t carry him
around anymore, you’re not allowed to lift anything, and you can’t run after
him either.”

“But,” Jared started with big eyes, and Jensen cut him off. “No. The omega will
come here, do your chores, and take care of Jem. You’ll still get to hold him
and feed him if you want, but you’re not leaving this couch until Dr. Beaver
says you can get up safely.”

“For the babies,” Jared added.

“Yes,” Jensen said. “For the babies. And for you.”

Jared raised his eyebrows and Jensen shook his head. “Just relax. Or are you
telling me, you want to clean?”

“Well no,” Jared said sullenly and Jensen laughed at his cute pout. He leaned
down to kiss Jared on the crown of his head, before he headed up to the study.
He needed to rearrange the dates with the movers, they couldn’t move while
Jared was still on bedrest.




Jared was dozing on the couch when the doorbell rang. Jensen came down from the
study, Jem in his arms and went to open the door. Jared could hear the low
murmur of voices, but it was too quiet for him to make out the words. Then the
front door closed and Jensen came back into the living room, a pretty red-
headed woman in her thirties following behind him.

“This is Jared,” Jensen explained to her. “He’ll tell you everything you need
to know.” He walked over to Jared and leaned down to press a kiss to his
forehead. “I’ll be upstairs working. Have Julie bring up my lunch and later
we’ll have dinner here on the couch, okay?”

Jared just nodded, eyeing the omega standing behind Jensen curiously. She was
looking demurely to the ground, not moving an inch while Jensen disappeared up
the stairs with Jem in his arms.

“Hi Julie,” he said when Jensen had disappeared up the stairs.

She looked up at him then. “Hello Jared. What should I do first?”

“Erm, lunch I guess? Just some sandwiches, no mustard on them and a lot of
cheese. You can pretty much use all the stuff in the fridge. I usually mix it
up, Jensen doesn’t like to eat the same everyday. But you can sit down first if
you want, and we can talk?”

For a moment, Julie’s eyes widened in disbelief and fear. “I’ll start with
lunch. Omegas shouldn’t idle,” she said, and then her eyes widened even more.
“Not that you’re idling of course, you have to rest. For the babies. But I have
to work!” And with that she went into the kitchen before Jared could say
anything else.

Great. Apparently Julie was not only abused and either very scared or very
brainwashed - quite possibly both - she also seemed to be afraid of Jared. Or
that Jared would tell on her. He sighed and hoped he’d be able to make her
understand that he was not the enemy.


Julie brought Jensen his lunch and afterwards asked for instructions on which
chores to do. Jared tried to get her to sit down and chat a bit with him, but
it was hopeless. She was tense and fidgety, her eyes darting up the stairs
every two seconds.

“Look Julie, I know that you’re scared, but you don’t have to be,” Jared tried
for what felt like the hundredth time. “Jensen won’t hurt you. He’s a good guy
- for an alpha - and he doesn’t believe in hurting omegas, okay?”

Julie nodded, but she was still tense. So Jared told her where she could find
the dirty laundry and leaned back on the couch again. The twins had been quiet
today, only an occasional roll let him know they were still there. Gently, he
pressed his hands onto his belly.

“You know, I might not like the kicking much,” he told his babies softly, “but
at the moment I would really appreciate it if you let me know that you’re
okay.”

The babies didn’t seem to hear though, and stayed motionless. Jared sighed and
told himself that all would be well, Jensen and Dr. Beaver would never risk the
babies’ safety.

The rest of the afternoon, he spent reading on the couch. Every time he felt a
flutter in his belly, it relieved him a bit more, even though he had the
impression the babies were moving less than before. He tried to tell himself
that he was just panicking, that everything would be alright.

Julie puttered around the house, obviously still afraid of idling, even though
Jared tried to assure her that Jensen was very relaxed about household work.
Julie nodded, but the fear in her eyes remained and she never slowed down.
Jared sighed, thinking back to his first weeks with Jensen and he understood
that for Julie, it would probably be even harder to get rid of the fear.

Jensen came down for dinner, and Julie served them on the couch before hurrying
back into the kitchen. Jensen didn’t even seem to notice it, but Jared was too
drained to start an argument with his alpha. After dinner, Jensen turned on the
TV and they started watching his favorite crime show. Jared dozed off during
the opening credits, Jensen’s hand resting on his belly, rubbing soothing
circles.


“Alright, time for bed sweetie.”

Jensen’s soft voice jostled Jared out of his trance. Another generic crime show
was playing on TV, a bunch of people staring intently at a whiteboard with
pictures of dead people, but it wasn’t the one Jensen usually watched. Huh.
Jared must’ve been out longer than he thought.

He pushed himself up from the couch, his growing belly making it more difficult
every time, and Jensen was there immediately, taking his hands.

“Careful there, sweetie,” he said and pulled Jared up slowly. “I should
probably carry you up the stairs.

Jared snorted. “Do you know how much I weigh? Besides, I can climb one flight
of stairs.”

Jensen shook his head, mumbled something about mule-headed omegas under his
breath, but he let Jared walk, even though he never let go of his elbow,
guiding him at snail’s pace through the house and then up the stairs.

“Can I get ready on my own, or do you want to brush my teeth for me?” Jared
asked when they reached the bathroom. He was a bit out of breath, but nothing
that wasn’t related to, and perfectly normal while, carrying two babies in his
belly.

Jensen glared at him for a moment, but then his eyes flickered down to the
floor. He was standing where Jared had collapsed, even though someone had
cleaned up the blood - probably Jensen, it occurred to Jared - and his alpha’s
eyes softened.

“Just be careful, okay?” he said and Jared nodded, surprised by the emotion in
Jensen’s eyes.

When Jared was done getting ready for the night and he walked into the bedroom,
Jensen was there, puttering around, but clearly just waiting for Jared. Jensen
tucked him in like he would a child, gave him a kiss to the head and then left
with a whispered “Gonna go do a bit more work, good night, sweetie”.

Jared snuggled deeper into the pillows and tried to go to sleep, trying to
ignore how warm and fuzzy Jensen’s obvious concern made him feel.


He woke up again when he had to pee. He tried to be quiet while rolling out of
bed, but when he looked over to check if Jensen was still asleep, he found the
other half of the bed empty. The clock on the nightstand read 2:43. Jensen must
really have a lot of work to do, but maybe he had things to catch up on after
Jared’s unplanned stay at the hospital.

But when Jared walked to the bathroom, there was no light coming out from under
the door to Jensen's study. He relieved himself and then peered down the
stairs, but the living room was dark and quiet. Jared was confused for a
moment, before he remembered Nurse Linda talking to Doctor Beaver in the
Clinic.

“He’ll need to get another omega,” she’d said. “Jared can’t do any hard work,
that would put the babies at risk, and that includes intercourse.”

Doctor Beaver had nodded as if it was the most natural thing in the world to
get a temporary bed warmer when your own omega was out for the count. Jared had
still been tired, so he’d forgotten, but now, standing on the landing in their
quiet house, he realized where Jensen was spending the night. With Julie.

On shaky legs Jared went back to bed. Jensen was with Julie. He was sleeping
with the other omega. It took him a while to figure out that the strange
feelings that were closing up his throat and making his eyes sting were sadness
and fear. There was also anger coiling in his belly. Jensen was with Julie, but
he was supposed to be with Jared.

Jared had given birth to his son, was carrying two more children for him. Jared
was his omega and Jensen had sworn to be good to him and treat him right and
now he was fucking another omega. And no, Jared wasn’t jealous. Sure, he liked
sex with Jensen, most times, but now with the way he was feeling, tired and
bloated, he definitely did not want to have sex. But Jensen should not sleep
with Julie. He just…

Jared tried to come up with a different reason, because really, this felt too
much like jealousy and disappointment and hurt. Which he was not. No, Jared was
just scared for himself and his children. Because if Jensen slept with Julie;
pretty, demure, non-pregnant-fat-and-ugly Julie, he could lose interest in
Jared? What if he realized that Jared wasn’t special, that he could have a
pliant omega in his bed without the hassle? If Jared were to lose Jensen's
favor, who knew what would happen then. Maybe he’d go back to treating Jared
like a slave. Jared’s life would be terrible again. And he didn't want to give
up his warm place in Jensen's bed with eight pillows and foot rubs and stuff.
And love. Yes, love. Because getting loved was nice and soothing and
comforting, even though he was being loved-like-a-precious-pet by an ignorant
condescending alpha.

Jared couldn’t keep his mind from reeling, imagining Jensen with Julie,
imagining him forgetting about Jared, about not caring about him anymore.

It was a long time until he fell asleep.




Jensen was getting old. His father had told him, he’d start noticing his age
the day his body stopped being okay with everything he did to it, instead
developing small aches and pains everywhere. Going by the pain in his back and
the kink in his neck, he had aged at least ten years over night.

He got up from the couch, stretching out his aching limbs. Yeah, he would
definitely not spend another night on the couch in his office. It might be
suitable for a short afternoon nap but not the whole night.

It wasn’t that he’d planned on sleeping on the couch, but when he’d wanted to
go to bed late at night, Jared had been fast asleep on his back, sprawled out
across their entire bed. Jensen had wanted to scoot in next to him, but Jared
still looked so exhausted, he couldn’t bear to wake him. His omega needed his
rest and it wouldn’t help if Jensen woke him up in the middle of the night.
Besides, Jensen never dealt well with the temptation of having Jared in his
arms and not being able to fuck him, especially now that his beautiful belly
was so heavy with their children. He’d thought it’d be easier to sleep on the
couch.

Jensen grimaced and headed to the shower. Definitely not. He just hoped the hot
water would help.

After his shower, he had a quick breakfast with Jem, told Julie to tidy up the
garden and then went back to the work that he’d neglected while Jared had been
in the hospital. His morning was filled with phone calls and project re-
arrangements, but all in all it went pretty smoothly, so after lunch he took a
few hours off work and just lazed around the living room carpet with Jem.

Jem was almost a year old, crawling around like a pro and grabbing everything
his little hands could reach. Jensen chased him over the carpet and when he
caught him, he whirled him around in the air. Jem loved it, laughing and
giggling the whole time. He wasn’t talking yet, but he was babbling constantly
and Jensen was sure, he’d said mommy a few times. Or something like it.

Jared came downstairs when Jensen was just about to go back to work, handing
Jem to Julie.

“Sweetie, why don’t you stay in bed, the stairs aren’t good for you,” Jensen
said. Jared still looked a bit pale and he was moving haltingly.

Of course, instead of obeying, his omega just snorted. “I’m not gonna stay in
bed the whole day. I want to spend time with my son. Right, Jem? You wanna
spend time with me?”

At his mommy’s sight, Jem had started to shift in Julie’s arms and now he began
to cry, stretching his pudgy arms out for Jared who reached to take him.

Jensen quickly stepped between them. “No way,” he said as sternly as he could
manage. “You go lie on the couch and then you can hold Jem. But no lifting or
carrying, he’s way too heavy.”

Jared rolled his eyes, but thankfully sat down without further protest. Jensen
put Jem in Jared’s arms.

“I threw him around a bit, he should be exhausted and ready for a nap soon,” he
told Jared, before turning to Julie. “Make sure he does not move. And don’t
forget to come up to the study later.”

After Julie was done looking after Jared and Jem, there were some contract
papers he needed her to mail today. Jensen didn’t wait for Julie’s affirmation,
he already knew that she was obedient to a fault and he kissed his son and his
omega on their heads before he walked up to his study. There was something off
about Jared’s expression, but that would have to wait, right now there were
still work related things he had to catch up on.


It was a long afternoon, and Jensen was really looking forward to a relaxing
dinner with Jared on the couch. He’d had trouble with one of his sketched
designs, then a contractor of one of his current projects had called because
someone had messed up the execution, and now Jensen needed to fix their mess.
To make things even worse, when Julie had come up to gather the envelopes ready
for the mail, she’d knocked over several stacks of books. Jensen knew that his
habit of piling books up instead of buying bookshelves for them was rather
impractical, Jared had told him often enough and he vowed to buy more
bookshelves when they’d move into the new house.

When he came down, Julie was done with cooking - her food was not as good as
Jared’s, but then Jensen had always known that his omega excelled at all his
tasks - and Jensen gratefully plopped down on the couch.

Jem was sitting in Jared’s lap, squirming unhappily, his eyes squinting in that
tell tale sign of tiredness.

“It’s bedtime for you, buddy, isn’t it?” Jensen asked and Jared nodded.

“Yeah, I should-”

Jared stopped him before he could do anything stupid, like stand up. “No, you
shouldn’t. Julie will bring Jem to bed.”

Before his omega could protest - Jensen saw the stubborn lines appear around
his mouth, he was in for one hell of a bitchfit - he took Jem, gave him a kiss
and handed him to Julie. She carried Jem up the stairs, rocking him gently.

Next to him, Jared was silent in that pissed, judging way.

“Don’t pout sweetie,” Jensen said and reached for his plate. Julie had made
some kind of pasta. “She’s great with Jem and as soon as you can get up again,
you can take care of him yourself.”

Jared mumbled something into his own plate, that Jensen couldn’t understand.
After the day he had, he really couldn’t let it go.

“Jesus fuck Jared, I try to be understanding here, but I had a long day and I
don’t need your bitchy attitude. You have something to say, say it, or shut up
and let me eat my dinner in peace.”

For a moment Jared’s brown eyes went big and Jensen already felt guilty over
the harsh tone he’d taken, but then Jared’s face closed off.

“I have nothing to say,” Jared said stiffly, staring at the screen and
mechanically rolling spaghetti on his fork.

Jensen rolled his eyes. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Jared.”

Jared laughed bitterly. “I’m the liar? Oh, that’s rich. You’re the one who does
nothing but lie and twist the truth however you like it. You promised, you
fucking promised to be good to me, but you’re not!”

Guilt hit Jensen like a punch to the gut. He looked down at his hands that had
automatically balled into fists. Jim might have told him that it hadn’t been
his fault, but Jensen still didn’t fully believe him and now Jared blamed him
as well. And rightly so. He should’ve been more careful with Jared, treated him
better. He was so precious, and the image of Jared in a sea of red on the white
tiles still haunted him.

“I know, sweetie, and I’m so sorry. I promise to be more careful in the future,
okay? I never wanted anything bad to happen to you.”

Jared looked at him, face angry and confused. “Careful? So what, you slipped
and you fell on her, dick first?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jensen asked, because that didn’t make
sense at all.

Jared’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“You blame me for what happened,” Jensen said, dragging a hand through his
hair. “And you’re right. I worked you too hard, I didn’t pay attention and that
night… I’m so sorry sweetie, but you have to know that I would never want to
see you hurt, right?”

Jared was flabbergasted. “Jensen, I don’t blame you for that. These things just
happen.”

Jared’s admission didn’t make the guilt go away, but it made him wonder what
else his omega was angry about.

“Then why are you so angry?”

There was so much hurt and pain in Jared’s eyes like Jensen had never seen
before.

“You promised we’d be a family,” Jared spit out. “You promised me and then you
fucked her.”

Jensen was too stumped to be angry. “What?”

“You fucked Julie. You said we’d be a real family but as soon as I’m
unavailable, you go and fuck the next convenient omega?”

Jared had talked himself into a rage, face flushed and eyes blazing. Jensen had
no idea how Jared had come to this conclusion, he felt like he’d fallen into an
episode of the Twilight Zone and all he could do was shake his head.

“No. Jared, what-”

“Just because I’m fat and ugly, you go and-”

Jensen reached out and pressed a finger to Jared’s lips. He needed to make this
stop right now. He needed the hate and the hurt to stop.

“Jared, you’re not ugly, you’re not fat, you’re fucking beautiful and whatever
would made you think I was fucking Julie anyway?”

Jared drew back. “Last night. You didn’t come to bed last night, and when I got
up-”

“You got up? Jared-”

“There was no light in the office, so you weren’t working anymore-”

“Jared, you can’t just get up, what if something-”

“So I knew you were spending the night with her!”

“-happened to you?”

They glared at each other in silence. Jensen couldn’t believe that Jared just
wandered around in the middle of the night.

“Well, you would’ve noticed me getting up and you could’ve said something about
it, if you hadn’t fucked her last night,” Jared said, venom dripping from his
voice.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Jared, I wasn’t fucking Julie! When I wanted to go to bed
last night, you were sprawled out octopus-style and I didn’t want to disturb
you. You need your rest, so I slept on my couch in the office. Which, by the
way, made my neck stiff and I feel like I spent the night on a pile of wood.”

Jared stared at him with his mouth slightly open. “You did that?”

“Of course I did,” Jensen exclaimed indignantly. “Your health is the most
important thing right now, we can’t take any risks. Not with the babies’ life
or with yours. So don’t look at me like I’m some kind of cheating monster. Yes,
I made mistakes, I should’ve treated you better, but I wouldn’t cheat on you.
You’re the only one for me baby, the most beautiful creature I have ever seen,
and nothing will ever change that.”

Jared was still looking at him in utter disbelief, and again Jensen felt like
he was being punched in the stomach. He didn’t know what was worse, Jared
believing he would cheat on him or Jared not knowing his feelings for him.

Jensen took Jared’s face into his hands and kissed him. Slow but thorough,
worshipping his lips and exploring his mouth, reconnecting them. It had been
too long since they’d done this, and so for the longest time he just let his
mouth move against Jared’s, sharing air and enjoying their closeness.

Jared was hesitant, but Jensen could feel how his anger melted and in the end
he leaned into the kiss, responded to it and his hand tentatively lay on
Jensen’s leg.

He had to pull back when it got too much, when his body reacted in a way he
couldn’t act upon now.

“We good?” he asked and stroked Jared’s cheek.

Jared nodded and smiled hesitantly. “Yes, we’re good.”

Relieved, Jensen stood up.

“Alright. I have to work a little bit more, it’s a fucking mess, but I’ll come
back to bed later. Just don’t hog the pillows.”





Jared kept on sitting on the couch, watching Jensen walk up the stairs. He sat
still as a statue, breathing shallowly, until he heard the soft click of the
door closing and he knew Jensen was in his study. Then he carefully got up and
walked to the patio door. He left it ajar when he stepped outside and sat down
on a big chair. He looked out over their garden in the dimming light of the
setting sun.

Jared took a few deep breaths, trying to dispel the tightness in his chest, but
he couldn’t help it anymore. Heaving sobs wrecked his body and he couldn’t stop
the tears from falling, couldn’t stop shaking. Just when he thought he was done
with Jensen, was done with his casual condescendingness and his passing
discriminations. Just when he thought he didn’t care about him anymore,
something like this happened.

You’re the only one for me.

Not omega, not pet, just the only one. Jensen hadn’t even mentioned his right
to fuck as many omegas as he pleased, just accepted that they were in a
monogamous relationship. He’d said he’d never cheat, as if Jared was really his
equal partner in a real relationship. As if he really loved him, like Jared’s
father had loved his mother. Except Jensen didn’t. Even if he saw themselves in
a real relationship, Jared was still his omega.

This was all he’d ever get, this twisted patronizing love, and Jared hated
himself for wanting it, for being weak and still craving Jensen’s poisonous
affection. Jared hated it, but he still wanted this life Jensen offered him in
a dimmed and broken version of what he’d dreamed of when his parents had still
been alive.

He had tried to tell himself that this was for the kids, but the truth was, he
wanted it for himself just as much. He’d suffered so much, he’d fallen so low,
what Jensen was offering was the only way out and he wanted to take it. He was
so tired of it all, he just wanted Jensen to worry about him, to kiss him on
the head and rub his belly. He wanted Jensen to hold him at night and sooth his
nightmares away.

You’re the only one for me.

Jared would be safe in his cage, and he continued to cry soundlessly as he
accepted that he’d stop fighting this life with Jensen.


Jensen came to bed late, but Jared was still awake. He just couldn’t fall
asleep, too much concern keeping his mind busy.

“Are you sure about this, that I’ll be enough?” Jared asked when Jensen slid in
bed next to him, drawing him into his arms. He didn’t want to fight with his
alpha, but it just wouldn't let him go.

“What? Yes, sweetie, I am. You’re so special, okay?” Jensen's voice was playful
and he slid in behind Jared. “Besides, you’re beautiful. Always.”

“But we can’t, you can’t knot me.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jensen said, pressing closer against Jared, “but there are
other things we can do.”

Jensen nuzzled the back of Jared’s neck, kissing and nibbling the spot behind
his ear and the hollow of his throat. He hadn’t been gentle like that in a long
time and Jared’s body responded like a plant to the rain after a long drought.

Goosebumps broke out on his skin wherever Jensen touched him, fingers stroking
softly down his arms and belly, nails gently scratching. Jared leaned back, and
when Jensen reached down to his ass, he spread his legs immediately. Jensen’s
fingers were agonizingly slow when they entered Jared’s body, rubbing against
his sensitive insides and getting him wet. Then Jensen pressed closer against
him, dick first riding the crack of his ass, gathering the wetness there and
then sliding between his legs.

Jensen fucked him between the legs, slow and careful, smooth glide feeling
great and when Jensen reached around and jacked him with a firm grip, Jared
came all over the sheets.

“Fuck, so hot!”

Jensen breath was hot against his neck and his breathing sped up and shuddered
when he came as well.

For a while, they lay in blissful silence, then Jensen disentangled himself and
stood up. He left the room only to return a short while later with a wet cloth
from the bathroom and cleaned Jared up. He crawled back into bed with him, but
he looked at Jared with a worrying expression on his face.

After what they’d just shared, Jared was confused.

Finally Jensen cleared his throat. “How could you ever think this?”

“Think what?” Jared asked.

“That I’d cheat on you,” Jensen said.

Jared closed his eyes for a moment, but then he’d decided to be honest.

“You were so closed off to me recently, so… harsh,” he explained. “You were
treating me like an omega again, like I was an unruly pet you needed to
discipline.”

Jensen looked like Jared had just slapped him in the face. A small part of
Jared wanted to roll his eyes - really, how could Jensen not have realized
this? - but mostly he was happy about Jensen’s dismay.

Jensen reached out and softly stroked along Jared’s cheek. “I’m so sorry
sweetie, I never meant to treat you like that. I just wanted to do what was
best for you. You’re so precious to me, okay? Always will be.”

Jared couldn’t believe Jensen had actually believed he’d been doing him a
favor, but then again, omegas weren’t the only ones getting brainwashed, their
whole society was walking around with blinders on. If only he could make Jensen
see.

“Come here,” Jensen said softly and drew Jared into his arms. “I’ll never
replace you, baby, or sell you. We’ll always be together, we and the kids, our
little family, okay? And there’s never going to be an omega who’s gonna take
your place in bed. Even if you do take up a lot of space.”

Jared swallowed down everything he wanted to say, all the emotions clogging up
his throat. Instead he whacked Jensen over the head and snorted. “Are you
calling me fat?”

Jensen laughed and leaned down to press a kiss to Jared’s belly. “In the best
possible way, baby.”

Then he straightened up again and looked at Jared with a smirk. “Jared, were
you jealous?”

“What? No!” Because that was so not what this had been about. Not at all.

Jensen just laughed again and kissed Jared on the nose. “You’re such a silly
little thing sometimes. But you don’t have to worry your pretty little head
about it, Julie is just a temp anyway until the agency can send us a better
fit. I don’t want someone to replace you, I want someone who’ll be able to help
you.”

Jared decided to ignore the resentment rising up at Jensen’s condescending
words. He didn’t know how, but he was determined to be happy.
 
 
***** Chapter 11 *****
Chapter Notes
     I'm really sorry, but I somehow forgot to post this from livejournal.
     *facepalm* Apologies. On the upside, you won't have to wait too long
     for the next part. I think.
      
     At this point I’m not sure what I can warn for that I haven’t
     already, but this chapter contains more triggery content concerning
     pregnancies, abortion and childbirth.
 
 
 
“Jared, you have to eat.”

“I can’t. My stomach hurts.”

Jensen stopped at the living room door, watching Jared lying on the couch, Kim
standing before him with a bowl of soup.

“I know,” she said soothingly. “But you need to eat. It’s just a bit of soup.”

Reluctantly, Jared reached for the bowl and slowly started to eat. Kim smiled
at him and walked back to the kitchen. She was a good omega, much better
equipped to help Jared than the previous omega had been. Thankfully, Julie had
only been a temp and after a few days, the agency had sent them Kim. She was
older, lines etched around her eyes, although there was no grey in her dark
hairs yet. After giving birth to eight children, she’d become infertile and was
sold by her family into the labor force. She was efficient and respectful, and
with her experience with pregnancies she was a great help to Jared. She was
excellent with children as well, Jem loved her.

Jensen thought she was good for Jared, keeping him company while Jensen worked.
Kim seemed more intelligent than the average omega, and he knew that Jared
enjoyed her company. Not that it showed, most of these days.

Jared had problems with nausea again, his feet and back hurt constantly, and
when he said that he was growing two soccer players in his stomach, the smile
and the teasing were gone from his voice. He didn’t sleep well and it was
showing in the dark circles under his eyes.

Jensen was worried, another thing that made Jared unhappy, and the last few
days had been tense, despite Kim’s support. When the phone rang, Jensen was
glad for the distraction.



Jared was already lying in bed by the time Jensen wrapped up work for the day.
He was curled up on his side, eyes squeezing shut in pain.

“Sweetie, you okay? The babies moving again?”

Jared shook his head. “Yes. I mean no. I mean - fuck. I’m just having some
light contractions I think, nothing big-”

“You have what?” Jensen was around the bed, hand on Jared’s stomach in seconds.
He had no idea what he wanted to accomplish with that, but he needed to touch
Jared right now.

“Just a few, nothing bad and over ten minutes apart,” Jared mumbled.

“I don’t care,” Jensen said, “we’re going to the practice right now. Kim!”

Jared tried to bat his hands away, tried to tell him he was fine, but Jensen
wasn’t having any of it. He would not watch Jared bleed again.

Together with Kim he manouvered Jared down the stairs, out of the house and
into the car. Kim’s eyes were worried when she closed the door behind them,
going to check on Jem. Jensen called ahead, letting Jim know he was coming, and
the old doctor met them at the clinic’s doors.

“I was already asleep,” Jim grumbled, but together with nurse Linda he
transferred Jared into a wheelchair.

“He said he was having contractions again,” Jensen explained.

Jim sighed. “Alright. Let’s see what we can see.”


It felt like hours later when Jim finally came out again to talk to Jensen,
even if it was only forty-five minutes.

“So?” Jensen asked impatiently.

“Well, for now the babies are fine, and so is your omega. However the pregnancy
will continue this way, I expect. It’s a typical alpha-omega twin pregnancy,
the risks of miscarriage are very high.”

“Miscarriage?” No. No, that couldn’t happen. It just couldn’t.

Jim nodded, face sympathetic. “I know this isn’t the easiest thing to hear, but
Jensen, there are things we can do.”

“Yes. Whatever it takes, do it.”

“We’ll do a cesarean and get the omega baby out,” Jim explained. “It’ll give
the alpha baby the space and the calm it needs to grow to full term.”

Jensen stared at Jim, not understanding what he was saying. “But… why only one
baby, why not get both of them?”

“It’s still early and the chances of a baby surviving now are only about forty
percent. We can’t risk the alpha baby like that. By getting the omega out we
give the alpha baby the best chance, and the omega, well it could still pull
through.”

Jim didn’t look particularly worried by the fact that one of Jensen's babies
might die.

“You want to risk one of my babies’ life?”

“The omega baby, Jensen. I know that having an omega baby can be a huge
financial asset, but you don’t really need the money.”

Jensen didn’t know what to say. It were his kids. All the times he’d had his
hand pressed to Jared’s stomach, feeling the two babies underneath it, hearing
both their heartbeats at medical checkups - there hadn’t been a difference
between them.

Jim put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I know it’s a very abstract feeling
when they’re still in the womb, but it’s just an omega, Jensen. It’ll never
really be your child, not like Jem is, or the other alpha baby. And Jared… well
carrying both babies to term could be dangerous for him as well. He’s an
excellent breeder, Jensen, and smart for an omega. I would not recommend
putting his life at risk.”

“But you think the omega baby could die?” Jensen asked, his voice sounding
hollow to his own ears.

“Well, at this stage it’s going to be a toss-up I think,” Jim said, obviously
aiming for a reassuring tone. “Chances of survival are okay and the most common
risk for premies is mental setback which shouldn’t impair the ability to birth
children. Don't worry Jensen, if it survives, we'll give it to a facility that
will take good care of it."

Jensen didn't like it, not at all, but he needed Jared to be alive. That made
the decision. Jensen would not risk Jared’s safety. He would not do it, he
wouldn’t let Jared die. He couldn’t.

“Let me just talk to him, he won’t like it.”

Jim shook his head and left him alone.

Inside the patient room, Jensen was greeted with the familiar picture of Jared
in a hospital gown, IV in his arm, and monitor hooked up to his belly. His eyes
were closed, but Jensen didn’t think he was asleep.

“So what’s the verdict?” Jared asked without opening his eyes.

Jensen carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and took Jared’s hand. “I’m
sorry sweetie, but it doesn’t look good. Now, you don’t have to be worried, we
will do everything to make sure you and the alpha baby are fine, but they have
to get the omega baby out now, so you’ll be able to survive the pregnancy.”

Jared’s eyes shot open, staring at Jensen. “Omega baby? The second baby is an
omega?”

Shit. In all the stress Jensen had forgotten he hadn’t told Jared yet. “Yeah,
Dr. Beaver told me last time, he could confirm it was a nice little omega
girl.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Jared hissed, face angry.

“Take it easy,” Jensen tried to sooth him. “I didn’t want to upset you any
more.”

Jared closed his eyes, breathing in deeply and Jensen petted his hair. He’d
known this would be hard for his omega, hell it was hard on him too.

“Look, I don’t like the idea either, but if it’s the only option to make sure
you’re safe, we’re doing it, and the omega baby has a forty percent chance of
survival, so it’s not-”

“Forty percent?” Jared sat up in bed and his hand curled protectively around
his belly. “No. Forget it. You’re not ripping one of my babies out of my belly
to die.”

“Jared, you don’t know that it will die.”

Jared shook his head wildly, hair flying. “No. You can’t do that. Please,
Jensen don’t.”

“Jared, I know you won't be able to understand me, but trust me, this is for
the best.” Jensen took Jared’s hand and squeezed it gently, trying to comfort
him. “You’ll still have one baby and the other one, I’m sorry Jared, but it’s
an omega, it won’t be like having Jem,” Jensen said repeating Jim’s words.

Jared’s face hardened. “The baby will be an omega. Just like me.”

“But you’re special, sweetie,” Jensen tried to explain.

“So my baby will be. Our baby. Just like Jem, we made her together, how can you
not see that?” Jared looked at him pleadingly, and Jensen got it, he really
did, but it didn’t matter.

“You are what fucking matters, Jared! Don’t you see that? I can’t let you die!
I won’t.”

Jared watched him for a moment, eyes going cold and calculating. “If you do
this,” he said, voice hard, “you will kill me and everything that is between
us. If you do this, I am done with you. I will never forgive you."

Jensen let his head fall into his hands. He’d been afraid something like this
would happen, but he hadn’t expected how deep the words cut.

“Can’t you understand baby, how important you are to me?” Jensen said, trying
to reason with Jared, make him see. “You have to live. And think about Jem, do
you want to leave him?”

Jared paled and his hands clenched the sheets. “Don’t you dare. Of course I
don’t want to leave him, he is my child. Just like the two babies in my belly.”

“Jared…”

“No.” Jared looked straight ahead, at the white wall. “You are not going to
risk my baby’s life like this.”

“Sweetie,” Jensen tried again but Jared wouldn’t look at him.

“There has to be another option. I’ll go on bedrest again, I won’t move, I’ll
drink that disgusting pregnancy tea Kim ordered, anything. But you are not
going to chose one of my children’s lives over the other.”

Jared stared straight ahead. Jensen reached out to take his hand again. Jared
didn’t pull away, but he didn’t acknowledge him either.

“I can’t leave you,” Jared said, voice flat. “But I’ll never be with you
again.”

There was nothing Jensen could say to change Jared’s mind and he knew it. Jared
would hate him, and if he’d never forgive him… Like a movie, they started
running through his mind; the moments filled with happiness they’d shared. The
first smile Jared had given him. The first time he’d leaned into him, back when
he only started to trust him after all the abuse. The meals they’d enjoyed
together, the realization when Jared was pregnant, heatsex, Jared holding Jem
in his arms, Jared with his belly rounded letting Jensen massage his feet,
Jared falling asleep on the couch, head in Jensen’s lap, Jared bringing him
breakfast, Jared, Jared, Jared. He couldn’t imagine his life without him
anymore, his smile, his presence, his laugh, even his eyeroll when he was
annoyed with Jensen. He couldn’t give it up.

“Okay.”

Jared’s head whipped around and he stared at Jensen with wide eyes. “What?”

Jensen took a deep breath. “I must be losing my mind, but okay. Absolute
bedrest, you drink the tea, you take all the meds, and at the slightest signs
of contractions we’re back here, you understand?”

Jared nodded, but his eyes were still full of distrust. With a sigh, Jensen
stood up. “I better tell Jim.”

Actions would speak louder than words now, and getting him home would probably
be the only thing that would make Jared believe him.



When they got home, Kim immediately picked up on the tension. She’d only been
with them for a week, but she’d quickly realized that things between Jared and
Jensen worked differently than in most households. She hadn’t been too
surprised, telling Jared that she knew of a few omegas that were adored by
their masters and well taken care of.

When Jared had asked her if she’d been one of those, she’d shaken her head.

“But I still had it better than most,” she’d explained. “My masters were never
cruel to me and I never wanted for anything.”

“Except your freedom.” Jared had said bitterly.

Kim had laughed. “That’s not something you can want without going insane.”

Now she eyed him intensely. “What happened?”

Jared sighed. He was already back on the couch - and he’d really come to hate
this innocent piece of furniture - after Jensen had deposited him there with
strict instructions to Kim that Jared was on absolute bedrest. So Jared told
her what had happened at the hospital.

When he was done, Kim whistled. “That was quite the gamble you took there.”

Jared shook his head. “It wasn’t a gamble. Last week, when I told Jensen I
wanted some books to pass the time, otherwise I’d go crazy, that was a gamble.
When I told him that as soon as the twins are born and I’m back on my feet, I
want to go on a vacation, somewhere in the countryside, away from this house
and this fucking city or he could go get his morning blowjob somewhere else,
that was a gamble. This though… I just don’t know how I could ever have
pretended to smile at him again.”

Kim shook her head in disbelief. “You really know how to play him, do you?
Aren’t you afraid it will backfire some day?”

“It’s not like I have anything to lose.”

“Oh Jared, you have everything to lose,” Kim said and she gestured around the
house. “I’ve been working as a house omega for ten years now. Do you know how
many omegas I’ve seen that have the comfort you do? That get their way like you
do? None! Even the ones kept like pets by their masters, they might be spoiled,
but they still don’t get to decide anything. You can make decisions Jared! Do
you know how rare that is? How precious?”

Jared slumped back into the cushions and rubbed his belly. One of the babies
was doing somersaults in there.

“I know. Trust me, I didn’t always live with Jensen.”

“Yeah,” Kim said quietly. “I’ve seen the scars. I didn’t think that Jensen did
that.”

Jared didn’t think about his first alpha often. The dreams still haunted him,
from time to time, although nowadays his nightmares mostly revolved around
losing his children. But every once in a while he would still wake up shivering
and screaming, the ghost of a cane on his feet or a whip on his back.

“He might never have hurt me physically, but this is just as bad. He pretends
to love me, to treat me equally, but he still thinks of me as nothing more as a
pet. I just… I can’t make him see. I tried so hard, but he just - I’m tired
Kim, and I can’t do it anymore.”

Kims sat down next to him and even though she was so much smaller, she still
managed to draw him into her arms. “You got him so much further than most of
them. And this pregnancy, maybe it’s the push he needs. He really does care for
you, you know.”

“I know. And trust me, there was a time when I wanted that, for him to love me
so I could love him back and we’d be a real family. Just like my parents.”

He could feel Kim’s curious gaze, but she didn’t push and Jared didn’t feel
like taking a painful trip down memory lane.

“But now, it doesn’t matter what he does. I have nothing left to give him. He
burned it all out.”

Kim gently patted his hair and they sat in silence for a long time.



The next month was calm with an underlying tension that never really
dissipated. Jensen clearly hadn’t forgotten Jared’s threat and he tried to be
more accommodating than ever. It ended up with him hovering a lot of the times
and if it weren’t for Kim, Jared would go crazy. Jensen worked more than ever,
splitting his time between his contracts and their new home. He had decided to
organize everything by himself, although he insisted on showing Jared the
exemplaries for the tiles and the wallpaper, asking for his input every step of
the way. Since he had nothing else to do, Jared jumped into it.

It was weird, spending so much time with Jensen again and the alpha seemed to
think that Jared getting passionate about curtains and carpets meant their
relationship was improving. There were a lot of little kisses and cuddling from
Jensen and if weren’t for the private, almost smug smiles in between, Jared
might even be able to enjoy it. He did enjoy the foot rubs though and Jensen
massaging his neck and head until he fell asleep. By now Jared was so used to
his bipolar feelings for Jensen it didn’t even exhaust him anymore. It was just
how it was.



The twins were born on a rainy night in spring, just two days after Jem’s first
birthday. It was long and painful, but this time Jensen insisted on pain
medication and Jared got a fentanyl patch, which actually brought the pain down
to bearable. Jared’s whole body still hurt with the exertion, but when the sun
rose he had a perfectly healthy alpha and omega. They were both a bit
underweight, but the doctor assured Jensen that after a few days in the
incubator, they would be fine.

Jared was too exhausted to walk, but Jensen heaved him into a wheelchair and
together they watched their babies sleep under the plastic cover.

Carefully Jensen reached through the hole inside and patted the omega’s hand.
“They’re so tiny.”

“They’ll be fine,” Jared found himself saying.

Jensen turned to him and looked at him fiercely. “Thank you,” he said and
kissed him, harder than he’d done in weeks. “Thank you so much. If you had let
me, we would never… You made the right call, and you were so brave, sweetie.”

Jared just nodded and let Jensen kiss him over and over again.


The hospital stay went on longer than usual because Jared contracted an
infection. He had to take strong antibiotics that made him throw up for over a
week, before he was deemed healthy enough to be discharged with the warning
that they shouldn’t attempt another pregnancy during his next heat. Jared
should pause for at least one, if not two heat cycles. Jensen nodded and as
soon as they were in the car, the babies safely tucked away in the car seats,
he laughed disbelievingly.

“We just had twins and Jim thinks we want to have kids again soon. Clearly he’s
become crazy with old age.”

Jared only managed a tired smile. He really hoped Jensen would want to wait
longer than just six months.



Jensen named the alpha David, after his grandfather. Then he looked at the
omega baby, currently sucking on a bottle in Jared’s arms.

“Do you want to name her?”

Jared almost dropped the bottle. “What?”

Jensen shrugged. “I just thought, you should get to pick out a name as well.”

Jared looked at the little bundle in his arms. So small, so fragile, and born
into a world that would never be kind to her.

“Margaret,” he said.

At Jensen’s questioning look, he explained. “It was my mom’s name. I know it’s
silly, but maybe it’ll protect her. Maybe she’ll manage to have a good life,
just like her.”

Jensen looked like the words had physically gutted him, but he didn’t say
anything.



The movers came on the twin’s two months birthday. Jensen had insisted Jared do
nothing, rest and just look after the children. Jared had tried to reassure his
alpha that he was completely fine, he was getting stronger everyday and except
for being really tired in the evenings, doing his chores had no bigger impact.
Sure, the twins needed to be fed several times every night, but Kim was here
and so was Jensen.

The first time Jensen had picked up his crying daughter and given her the
bottle, Kim’s eyes had grown as big as saucers.

“Did he mix up the babies?” she asked Jared in a whisper.

Jared laughed, couldn’t help it, but that stubborn part of his heart that still
insisted on caring for Jensen, swelled with happiness.

Little Maggie obviously adored her daddy, smiling at him when she was done
drinking. Jensen hugged her close and pressed a kiss to the short blond hairs
on her head. Then he walked around, singing Stones songs quietly to her until
she fell asleep. Jared was sure Maggie would like other music as well, but ever
since Jem had only calmed down to the Stones during his first difficult phase,
they had become Jensen’s go-to baby songs.

It wasn’t that Jared hadn’t seen that before, with Jem, Jensen had always been
a doting father after the initial hiccups, but Maggie was an omega. Jared had
thought that with the way Jensen still viewed the world, he must treat her
differently, but he didn’t. Jared had no idea how the alpha was able to
compartmentalize so strictly, but there it was.

Chris, the alpha that had been there when Jared met Jensen, was one of the few
who came over once they’d moved into their new home. Jared never thought about
how bare Jensen’s social life was - it wasn’t like he had a lot of points of
references except what he picked up on TV - and they rarely had visitors.

The two alphas had dinner alone while Kim was busy in the kitchen and Jared
brought the kids to bed. Jensen had proudly showed them off before dinner and
uncle Chris, as he’d been introduced to Jem, had dutifully doted on the kids,
even though Jared could tell he had to force it with the Meggie. But then she’d
gurgled at Chris, showing him her special smile, the one Jensen said she
clearly inherited from Jared, all cute and dimpled, and Chris had been lost to
her charm immediately. Chris had cood at her, taken her little hand and told
her she was the prettiest baby girl he’d ever seen. Jensen had almost burst
with pride.

Jared thought he’d fallen into a rabbit hole, but when all the kids were
finally sleeping - the twins had fallen asleep almost immediately, while Jem
had cried for three more songs - and Jared went down into the kitchen to help
Kim clean up, he overheard Chris telling Jensen that he’d hired himself an
omega to keep house but was so pretty he’d taken her into his bed as well.

“Of course,” Jared muttered to himself, “every pretty omega has to be knotted
otherwise the world would explode.”

Kim shot him a worried look, like always when he talked about omega standing
and alpha laws, but she didn’t comment.

They cleaned up in silence and then moved upstairs, unpacking the last of the
boxes. Later that night, when Chris had gone home, Jensen had fallen asleep,
snoring after one too many whiskeys, Jared got up and wandered through the dark
house. He checked first on Jem, then on the twins, but all was well.

He actually liked the new house, bigger than the old one, giving them four
potential rooms for children and two additional bedrooms. There was no omega
room in the basement, instead Kim slept up on the third floor next to the still
empty guest rooms. The children were on the first floor with Jared and Jensen,
although Jensen had already joked that when they’d grow older they’d
voluntarily move up to put as much space between them and their parents.

Jared went downstairs and looked out the glass doors and into their garden. It
was bare, he’d have to start from scratch again, but he didn’t mind. He needed
the gardening to keep him sane and busy. Maybe he could even persuade Jensen to
get them a dog, now that they had such a large property. It was only a fifteen
minute walk from their old house, but it was in a very quiet neighborhood, with
large houses surrounded by big gardens. Jensen had clearly done well for
himself in the last years, not that Jared would know. Work was still something
Jensen didn’t really talk about unless he complained about nagging clients and
incompetent contractors. Jared though Jensen was doing some kind of
construction design, but then he’d stopped caring about that a long time ago.

When the twins started crying, he welcomed the distraction. Thinking wasn’t
something that made him happy or changed anything about his situation. He
hurried up the stairs and picked a crying David out of his cot. Maggie was
awake, but only blinking sluggishly, clearly not woken by hunger but by her
brother. Jared went to get a bottle and hoped the kids would get on a
synchronized schedule soon.

He’d only been back to bed for about five minutes when Maggie started to cry.

“Don’t worry sweetie, I’ve got it,” Jensen said, voice still heavy with sleep
and rolled himself out of bed.

Jared hugged his pillow tighter and didn’t complain.




Things were going weirdly well.

The twins were healthy and good sleepers. Maggie was more lively while Davie
was calmer. At their first check up at two months, Doctor Beaver proclaimed
them healthy and growing well, gave them their first round of vaccinations and
sent everybody home happy.

Jensen plopped down on the couch immediately, eyes closing. He’d worked a lot
to make up for the time he’d lost while they moved. New lines were were visible
in the corners of his eyes and this morning Jared thought he’d seen a gray
hair.

“C’mere,” Jensen said quietly.

Kim had appeared in the living room, taking the babies out of their carries, so
Jared sat down next to his alpha. Jensen leaned back into the corner of the
couch and took Jared with him.

“We did good, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, we did,” Jared said. He was surprised he meant it. Jensen had his
faults, but he was a good father.

Jensen hummed contentedly. “Maybe we should get a dog, now that we have the
kids and the white picket fence.”

“Can we also get a new couch?” Jared asked, closing his eyes and letting
himself enjoy Jensen’s hand rubbing his neck.

“Why do you want a new couch?”

“I spent so much time on it while I was on bedrest. Not the greatest time.”

Jensen laughed. “Alright, new couch. But you’re gonna help me pick one out, I
don’t wanna deal with all those color schemes again.”

“Deal.”



When the twins were three months old, Jensen finally allowed Jared to go
outside again. Jared thought he could've gone weeks earlier, but after the
difficult birth and Jared's long recovery, Jensen had become quite paranoid.
And eaten up by guilt, but that wasn't something Jared would bring up. He liked
their current status quo too much.


When he went with Kim to the park, predictably he ran into Alona and Katie
again. They were accompanied by a short boy they introduced as Andy. He
couldn't be older than seventeen. He was already heavily pregnant and so was
Alona. Katie's pregnancy wasn't visible yet, but she told him proudly she was
three months along. All had their kids with them.

They asked where he'd been and when Jared told them he'd had a difficult time
with the twins, there was a lot of awed cooing. The girls couldn’t get enough
of Maggie and Davie sleeping in their stroller, while Andy shyly hung back.

“Twins!” Katie exclaimed. “Oh my gosh, Jared, that is amazing! Your alpha must
be so proud of you.”

Alona nodded enthusiastically. Maggie chose that moment to start screaming and
Kim took her out of the stroller and walked off, rocking her gently. So no help
there.

“Yeah, Jensen, I mean Alpha was very happy.”

Alona and Katie nodded, Andy looked on with apprehensiveness. Then the girls
exchanged a look.

“Did he, I mean, did he give you a reward?” Alona eventually asked.

“A reward?” Jared asked confused and wondered if there was an official
rewarding system for good birthing omega. But then, the government would never
reward omegas.

“Well,” Katie explained, “when I gave birth to their second alpha in a row,
Beta gave me a whole tub of icecream.” Her eyes started to gleam at the memory.
“Usually I'm only allowed ice cream on holidays, because sugar is so bad for
omegas, but Beta just gave me the whole tub and told me I could eat it whenever
I wanted. I ate a giant portion right there, and then I saved the rest and only
took a spoonful every day after dinner. It lasted for three weeks and it was so
great.”

Jared tried to nod impressed. He did remember how Jensen had been about sugar
in the beginning only giving him the occasional soda if he'd been good, but the
last year, Jared could eat whatever he wanted.

The girls were still looking at him expectantly though and Jared didn't want
them to think that he wasn't getting rewards – the looks of pity were not
something he could bear, not from these two – so he thought of something he
could tell them.

“Well, he told me I could have soda whenever I wanted,” Jared said and the
girls ohhd.

“Well,” Alona said, looking at Katie, “twins are a rather big deal.”

Katie nodded.” You're right. Jared, we're so proud.”

And then they hugged him. Jared awkwardly returned the gesture, but it was
nice. Andy still looked scared, so Jared smiled encouragingly at him.

“So how are you doing, Andy?”

Andy just looked on the ground and Alona tsked. “Poor thing isn't allowed to
talk to us, not since they found out the second baby is going to be an omega.
They were finally hoping for an alpha, you know.”

“Ah.” Jared really didn't know what else to say.


That night, after a nice dinner - Kim was finally allowed to sit at the table
with them, even if she didn’t dare speak and Jared was reluctant to push her by
asking questions, her discomfort too obvious - Jared made them ice cream with
fruit and chocolate sauce. Jensen was a happy man and when he pulled Jared in
close to kiss the sugar of his lips, Jared let him. Kim went to bring the kids
to bed and Jared and Jensen settled in on the couch.

They hadn’t had sex yet, Jensen still treating him like a raw egg, but Jared
wanted. He had needs, dammit and the least Jensen could do was sate them. So he
kissed Jensen again, with more intent and Jensen was too surprised to stop him.
By the time he finally managed to protest, Jared still needed to heal, Jared
already had him on the couch, straddling his hips and pressing down on his
hardening dick. When Jared sucked a bruise into Jensen’s neck and reached down
to stroke his dick, Jensen stopped protesting, instead he stood up and dragged
Jared up the stairs with him.

It was gentle and loving and afterwards they lay back to chest, connected by
Jensen’s knot and Jared fell asleep into a deep and dreamless sleep.




When the first signs of Jared’s heat arrived, he took the heat blockers
prescribed by Doctor Beaver. When Jared had asked incredulously why they
couldn’t be more wildly distributed, he’d gotten a condescending lecture of how
strong and potentially dangerous they were and how a repeated use could lead to
infertility. Jared didn’t believe it for one second.

True, the pills gave him a headache, but otherwise he was fine - and way better
than if he’d have to go through his heat, even with Jensen to fuck him through
it.

Jared was already dreading his next heat. They definitely wouldn’t attempt for
more children and Doctor Beaver had already said that heat blockers could only
be prescribed once a year.

When Jared ranted to Kim about it, she hesitated, twisting her hands nervously.

“There are ways to dampen a heat. Certain herbs have a calming effect,” she
said quietly.

“That’s great,” Jared said. “Which ones?”

Kim hesitated again. “They’re hard to get, because the seeds and the plants are
not for sale here. But you can buy the fruits.”

“So you buy the fruits and then grow your own plants?” Jared asked.

Kim nodded. “They’re called dragon fruit. They only have them in gourmet
stores, but I’m sure you could get Jensen to take you shopping there.”

Jared gave her a wide grin. “That’s not gonna be a problem. Thanks, Kim.”

“It won’t make the heat go away, mind you, but with an attentive alpha, it’s
going to make it pleasant.” She blushed a bit at her words.

Jared knew what she meant, sex during heat was quite intense and if one could
take the burning pain away it would definitely be a very pleasant experience.
Before his next heat came around, he’d definitely make Jensen take him
shopping.



Two blank weeks. Two weeks of no appointments, no meetings, no deadlines. In
three months, on the six months birthday of the twins, Jensen would officially
have his first vacation in forever. He’d never really thought about taking one,
but Jared had nagged him until he’d agreed and now that he thought about it, he
couldn’t wait anymore.

Chris had a little cabin up at the lake, on the remote side with the huge
properties. They’d have space there for the whole family, they could even take
Kim. Jensen would get to spend the whole days with his kids and the whole night
with Jared. It would be heavenly.

He’d tell Jared tonight, when they were alone in bed. That way, Jared could
show him how happy he was right there. Jensen grinned. With three kids, having
sex needed to be organized. There just wasn’t a lot of room for spontaneous
fucking, but he was determined to make it happen tonight.

A knock on the door pulled him out of his daydreams that had turned graphic
pretty quickly, and Jared put his head through the doorway.

“We need to leave in fifteen minutes, Jensen.”

For a moment Jensen pondered a quicky on the couch before they had to drive to
Jim’s practice, but then he got up and sighed.

“Coming.”

It was the twins next vaccination update, something he didn’t really look
forward to but it had to be done. Last time Davie had been pretty good about
the shot, but Maggie had cried endlessly before she’d fallen asleep totally
exhausted in Jensen’s arms.

Yeah, he wasn’t looking forward to this at all.



Later that night, when Jem was in bed and the twins were asleep, Jensen found
Jared sitting in their bed, studying the babies’ vaccination records. They had
both taken the shots really well this time, so Jensen wondered why Jared looked
worried.

There were deep frown lines on his forehead, and the corners of his mouth were
turned down. Whatever his omega was reading, it wasn't making him happy. Maybe
omegas got less vaccination than alpha or betas? Jensen knew that health
insurance didn't pay much for them in general.

“You okay, sweetie?” Jensen asked. “You know, if they didn't give Maggie all
the shots, because insurance doesn't cover it, we can totally go back and get
them. I'll pay for them, it's no problem. I want Maggie to be healthy.”

Jared looked up at him, frown still on his face. “But that's just it. I thought
that would happen as well, but Maggie didn't get less, she got more shots than
Davie.”

“What?” Jensen took the paper out of Jared's hands and yes, Maggie had gotten
two more shots than David. “What the hell?”

Jared shook his head. “I don't know. I mean...”

Jensen looked up. Jared knew something. Jensen had no idea what it was that his
omega was thinking, but Jared’s eyes were doing their shifty thing they did
whenever he wanted to hide something from Jensen.

“Jared, whatever you’re thinking? Tell me.”

Jared bit his lip. “I don't really know anything, it’s just – but you won't
believe me anyway.”

“Try me.”

Jared looked down and fiddled with his hands. “It's just something that my mom
said a long time ago. She said that there were ways to suppress an omega's
heat, the unnatural part. She said she wasn't sure if she got me away in time,
but that she had tried. I didn't know back then what she meant, but what if the
government is giving omegas shots to amplify their heat?”

That was the stupidest thing Jensen had ever heard. Really.

“Jared, don't be ridiculous. I know you don't like your biology, but don't
blame the government for it.”

“I'm not-” Jared gave a frustrated sigh and dragged a hand through his hair.
“It's just if you read old books, there's never anything in there about heats
being this bad, they're just described as a bit of a higher sex drive.”

“That's because they are,” Jensen said and he got a nasty glare for it.

“They're fucking agony, that's what they are,” Jared spit out. “And we don't
really know anything about omegas outside the US. Besides, we have no idea what
the government is capable of.”

“Jared, even if it were possible,” Jensen said, trying to reason with his
omega, “why would the government do something like that?”

“I don't know! Maybe they were just trying to heighten fertility and it's a
side effect. I mean an omega giving birth to over ten kids? That's another
thing you don't read about in older books.”

Jensen gave an exasperated sigh. “Jared you do realize that books can be
fictional, right?”

Jared shook his head incredulously. “But not like this. I mean, can’t you see
how much the government is manipulating everyone? Everything they tell you
about omegas is a lie, why is it so hard to believe they’d mess with our
biology as well?”

“Because it’s ridiculous,” Jensen shouted. He’d promised himself never to yell
at Jared again, but now he couldn’t stop himself. That Jared could choose to
believe such bullshit made him angrier than he’d ever been. It wasn’t true,
couldn’t be true, they wouldn’t lie like that.

“Jared, stop blaming the government for every little thing that goes wrong in
your life. If you weren’t such a dreamer, you wouldn’t have this problem. Hell,
if your parents would have raised you right, you wouldn’t even have to think
about this.”

The moment he said it, Jensen knew he’d crossed the line. Jared’s face closed
off and he glared at Jensen with pure hatred in his eyes.

“My parents loved me,” Jared spit out. “And my father, yes my father, he knew
what bullshit the government was selling and he wasn’t buying it. He wasn’t
just blindly following the propaganda like a mindless sheep. If you were even
half the alpha he was, you could see what they’re doing to us.”

Jensen still hadn’t moved when Jared slammed the door on the way out. He just
couldn’t move. Jared couldn’t be right. It just couldn’t be true, because if it
was, everything Jensen had ever known to be true would be a lie. Everything his
parents had ever taught him, his omega-parent had - oh god, his omega-parent.

He hadn’t thought about Mary in years, the blond, always kind omega who had
given birth to him. She was only a blurred memory, his parents had sold her
when Jensen was nine. He remembered his dad had liked her, but his mother had
resented her. Jensen dragged a hand through his hair, refusing to think about
what this could mean. He just - he couldn’t think about any of this. He needed
not to think right now.

His feet carried him down the stairs and out into the garden. Jared was out in
the back, furiously ripping weeds out of what was supposed to become a
vegetable patch.

Jensen gripped him by the collar and turned him around, pressing him back into
the ground. Jared gasped and his hands came up to push at Jensen’s shoulders.

“No,” Jensen panted out, crawling between Jared’s legs and biting into his
shoulder. “You can’t say no to me, not now. Please baby, I’m, I just… I can’t
okay?”

Jared’s hands stilled, not pushing him away, but not drawing him in either.

“Please, Jared.” Jensen didn’t know what he was begging for, didn’t know what
the words meant, but he couldn’t stop them either.

He pulled Jared’s pants down and ripped his own zipper open.

“Please, baby, I need you, need to feel you, okay? Just, let me, please?”

Below him, Jared let his legs fall apart and his hands moved over his back
pulling him in. He didn’t say anything though, didn’t kiss him, but he let him
in without protest.

Jensen closed his eyes, unable to look at Jared and shoved into him hard and
deep, not being able to do anything but try to get closer.
***** Chapter 12 *****
“I called Doctor Beaver today.”

Jensen was standing in the doorway of the laundry room, watching Jared fold
onesies. His arms were crossed defensively over his chest and he was looking
anywhere but at Jared.

“I asked him about the shots, and he said they’re to boost Maggie’s immune
system. Omegas are actually more prone to disease, so to ensure they grow up
healthy-”

“Breeding machines, you mean,” Jared muttered under his breath.

“-omegas get more shots during infancy,” Jensen continued, as if Jared hadn’t
spoken.

Jared couldn’t suppress a snort. “You don’t honestly believe that, do you?”

There wasn’t a single instance Jared could think of when the government had
ever done anything good for omegas.

“Jim knows what he’s talking about and he wouldn’t lie to me,” Jensen said,
voice hard. “Besides, the government actually wants omegas to be healthy. They
made the shots mandatory, so cheap owners don’t skip them.”

Yeah, Jared was sure that was the reason they were mandatory.

“Do you want to risk Maggie’s health on your lack of faith in the system?
Really?” Jared asked, trying to tampen down his outrage. If he wanted a shot at
convincing Jensen, he needed to stay rational.

“I am not going to risk her health, which is why she’s getting the shots,”
Jensen said with an air of finality. “Jim sent me the statistics and yes,
omegas used to have less children in earlier times, but that was because they
were sick more often. Maggie will not suffer, just because you have those crazy
ideas in your head.”

When Jensen saw the anger that must have been showing on Jared’s face, he
adopted a gentler tone. “I know you feel treated unfairly, and you are. You’re
so special sweetie, and I’m so lucky to have you, but you need to stop
projecting your situation onto other omegas.”

Jared had the choice between starting to scream in frustration and going back
to folding laundry. The twins were finally down for a nap, so he opted for the
latter. Not that the screaming would work anyway. Jensen was gripping his
blinders too tight.


Later, when Jared was alone with baby clothes and dirty towels, tears started
to gather in his eyes and he wiped them away angrily. He hadn’t cried in a long
time, he wouldn’t start now. He would just have to find other ways to protect
Maggie.


Jared’s new garden was flourishing. He had more experience now than when he’d
just started out, and he put a lot of thought in the layout of the garden, not
in the least because he had started growing several dragon fruit trees. It
hadn’t been hard to convince Jensen to let him buy the exotic fruit and Jared
had clicked himself through endless manuals on gardening in the omega education
system to figure out how best to grow the plants.

The seeds of the fruit would help him through his heats, but Kim had said they
worked better the fresher they were and since dragonfruit weren’t grown in
their country, they’d been on a long transport before they finally arrived in
the stores. So Jared had decided to grow his own, to always have a ready
supply.

With Kim’s help he prepared the first bottle of dragon fruit seed extract
before their vacation. They were from the store-bought ones, Jared’s plants
were still little more than green stems. He’d planted several, because he
wasn’t sure how they’d flourish in their climate, but so far they looked good.
He just hoped that the extract from the store-bought fruit would make his heat
during their vacation bearable.

Their vacation. He was still stumped that Jensen had agreed to it. Jared really
hoped that outside of their home, Jensen would be more relaxed, more - Jared
didn’t even know what exactly it was he was hoping for. He was annoyed at
himself that he was even still hoping, but now with his children, and
especially Maggie - he couldn’t give up, couldn’t give in. He’d fight the same
fight his mother had fought and he could only hope it would turn out better.




Chris’ cabin was perfect. It had a rustic flair, wooden furniture and hunting
trophies everywhere, but the kitchen and the bathrooms were modern and fully
functional. There was a room big enough for the kids and a small chamber for
Kim. The master bedroom had a bed big enough for four people and the first
morning, Jensen decided just not to get up.

He pulled Jared back to his chest as soon as his omega wanted to get up.

“No. Stay here.”

Jared snorted. “You do remember we have three kids, right?”

“Kim can take care of them,” Jensen said and started nuzzling Jared’s neck. He
just couldn't get enough of his omega’s scent.

“Jensen,” Jared protested, but his body was already pressing back against
Jensen’s.

Jensen grinned, reached down between Jared’s legs and found him wet already.
“Just for a little while, sweetie.”

With an exaggerated groan, Jared gave up.




Jensen couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so relaxed. The twins had
started sleeping through the night, only waking up once to demand food. Jem was
walking steadily now, curiously exploring the whole house and Kim always had a
watchful eye on him.

“She’s a real blessing,” Jensen said when he was lazing around on the couch,
watching shark week with one eye and his kids with the other.

Jared was sitting at the other end of the couch, feet thrown carelessly across
Jensen’s leg. “You should show her that.”

“Show her?” Jensen asked.

“Well yeah,” Jared said. “Give her a gift, to say thanks for a job well done.”

“A gift? Jared, she’s an omega, she-” Jensen broke off when he saw Jared’s
withering stare. “Alright, a gift. You’re right, Kim is doing an incredible job
and she should be rewarded for that.”

Jared rolled his eyes, but nodded.

“So,” Jensen prompted. “I’m sure you already have an idea.”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Jared said and for a moment there was this voice
in Jensen's head, asking him why he let his omega talk so recalcitrantly, but
he ignored it.

“She loves to listen to music, so I think you should get her a stereo for her
room. And before you wonder why an omega likes music, just don’t.”

Jared sounded so tired when he spoke that Jensen swallowed his comment about
the unusualness of omegas appreciating music down.

“A stereo sounds reasonable,” he said instead. “Maybe you can help me pick one
out?”

Jared nodded, but continue to stare gloomily at the TV. Great, Jensen thought.
Things had been going so well.


The next day, Jared’s heat hit. Kim made some weird smelling tea in the kitchen
and Jared gulped it down before Jensen could ask what it was. The effect was
almost immediate.

Jared calmed down and his scent, already wrapping around Jensen like a blanket,
driving him crazy with lust, lessened. Jensen was still aroused, still wanted
to bury his nose in Jared’s ass, but the unbearable need was gone.

“What the fuck?”

Still panting, Jared fell back on the bed. “Dragonfruit tea,” he explained.
“Helps to manage the heat.”

Jensen looked to Kim, who had taken a few steps back.

“It’s completely legal, Sir,” she said, voice shaking slightly. “Jared is still
fertile, but since he shouldn’t be pregnant again, we thought it might be a
good way-”

“You thought,” Jensen started, but Jared cut him off.

“Don’t. It was all my idea, Kim is only helping. And I won’t go through a
fucking heat without getting knotted, I won’t do it. You’ve seen what I’m like,
do you really want me go through that again?”

“It’s just how it is,” Jensen said helplessly.

Jared wiped the sweat from his forehead. “And like this, it’s better. Now I’m
still horny as fuck, so either you get the hell out or you help me jerk off.”

Jared was already sliding his hand into his pants and Jensen wasn’t sure he
could resist, so he fled the room. Downstairs, Kim was feeding Jem breakfast.

Jensen ripped every window in the cabin open, trying to let Jared’s scent out,
but in the end he settled on taking the twins outside to give them their
morning bottle.


Jensen held out until mid-afternoon. Yes, Jared’s scent wasn’t as potent as it
usually was, but it was still fucking enticing. He knew he couldn’t knot Jared,
couldn’t fuck him, but maybe he just could-

The sight that greeted him when he opened the bedroom door was a surprise.
Jared was asleep. Usually, during a heat, Jared only managed to fall into a
kind of exhausted trance while being knotted. Now he was sleeping peacefully in
the middle of the big bed.

Jensen stood there in the door like an idiot, but he didn’t want to wake Jared
up, if he’d managed to find some rest. Just when he was about to leave and
close the door behind him, Jared rolled around and looked at Jensen,

“Jen? Watcha doing here?”

“Just wanted to see if I could help you out.”

“Jensen I can’t get pregnant again, I just-”

Jensen raised his hands placatingly. “No, that’s not what I meant. But you
smell so fucking good baby, and maybe it helps if I touch you.”

Indecisive, Jared chewed on his lip, before he nodded. “Okay, yeah, maybe you
can-” Jared suddenly broke off, throwing his head back. “Shit, I think I need
another glass.”

Jensen quickly went down to the kitchen where Kim had already prepared another
glass of the light green liquid. It smelled slightly sweet and a bit tangy and
Jensen was glad he wasn't the one who had to drink that.

When he went back into the bedroom, Jared’s face was flushed and he was rubbing
his ass against them mattress.

“Alright, there you go,” Jensen said, sitting down on the bed and helping Jared
drink. He almost went crazy with want, the scent of Jared intensifying by the
second.

A soon as Jared was done drinking, he practically assaulted Jensen, climbed
into his lap and bit at his mouth.

“Fuck, Jensen please, do something.”

Jensen tried to get Jared under control somehow, but it wasn’t easy to get six-
feet-four of heat addled, squirming omega on his back in the bed, especially
when Jensen’s own dick was pressing painfully against his zipper, already
leaking and knot starting to swell.

“Shit, Jared, settle. C’mon, it’ll be better in a minute.”

Jared was still trying to rub himself against Jensen, eyes glassy and it took
him a while to come out of his heat craze.

“Thanks,” he finally managed to get out and Jensen nodded.

“Welcome. But baby, if you want me to stay here with you, you gotta do
something, because…”

Jared was already on him, ripping his pants open and eyeing his dick hungrily.
“I know we can’t fuck,” he said, “but I really need that in me.”

Jensen swallowed and leaned back. “Like I would say no to a blowjob. But what
about you?”

Jared pointed to the nightstand. “Brought a toy,” he managed to get out, just
before he sucked Jensen into his mouth.

“Holy fuck!” Jensen needed a moment to get used to the sudden sensation of
Jared’s hot mouth on his dick, before he could reach into the nightstand and
pull out the knotting dildo Jared had to help him sleep during his heats.

The maneuvering was a bit difficult, especially because Jared seemed unwilling
to stop sucking Jensen’s dick, but Jensen managed to get Jared’s hips level
with his face and both of them rolled onto their sides. Jared was already naked
and Jensen just pushed his upper leg up to his chest so he could work the dildo
in and out of Jared’s wet hole.

“Fuck, so pretty,” Jensen said, staring where the dildo disappeared into
Jared’s body, the big knot pressing against Jared’s rim.

“C’mon,” Jared ground out, continuing to massage Jensen’s knot. “No teasing,
Jen, I need…”

Jensen pushed the knot inside and Jared moaned around Jensen’s dick. The sight
of the big knot splitting Jared open and the filthy sounds he made was all it
took for Jensen to come all over Jared’s face.

Jared moaned, pressing his ass against Jensen’s hand and through his post-
orgasmic haze Jensen did his best to twist the dildo inside of Jared to help
him find relief.

“C’mon, baby,” he said, voice rough, “come for me.”

Jared’s back arched and he came with a shout.

Sitting up, Jensen took off his sticky shirt and pulled a pliant Jared up
against his chest.

“You want to leave the toy in for a while?” he asked and Jared made a satisfied
sound, cuddling up against Jensen.

Jensen leaned back against the headboard and played with Jared’s hair.
“Alright, you’re alright. Just rest, sweetie.”




It was hard to keep track of time. Jared lived in his own little bubble and he
had no intention of stepping out. He was happy going from day to day, not
planning or thinking ahead and not looking back.

They lived in a house that held no bad memories and those of his past seemed
almost like a dream now. Sure, he still thought of that time occasionally, when
a glass broke or a door slammed. Jared still flinched then, but it was more of
an afterthought, a flinch and then thinking, hey, why did I do that? Oh right,
there was that one time when-

Sometimes, there were quiet moments, when Jensen read to Jem, and Jared had a
flash of his father reading to him. Sometimes, when Kim would stand in the
kitchen, humming while she cooked and Jared had a flash of his mother singing
for him. But those memories he’d banned so long ago, buried deep so he wouldn’t
despair every time he thought of his family, they seemed almost surreal by now.

It had been nearly four years since Social Services Omega Division had entered
his home and taken him away from the only place that had ever offered him
safety. He never thought back. He couldn’t. Not if he wanted a shot at being
content with his life. Or even happy.

He’d never thought it could happen again, but his children gave hima pure joy
that made him want to live this life, as horrible as it was. And Jensen… the
alpha remained a constant source of frustration and affection. Obviously, he
cared deeply for Jared and there were days when Jared returned his affection
gladly. Why should he not take the good and block out the bad? There was
nothing he could do, nothing he could say. Jensen had come as far as he would
ever go, and Jared just made the best of it. After all, most of the time Jensen
treated him like an equal partner. And when he didn’t, Jared went to his
children, letting their laughter brighten his mood, letting their scent calm
him and their kisses soothe his soul.

So life went on. His children grew. Jem started to talk. The twins started to
walk and Jared faced a whole new challenge: two walking toddlers.

Jensen’s work continued to come in phases. Projects, some big, some small, took
up his alpha’s time. Over time, Jared gleamed distinctions. There were old,
valued business partners Jensen even went to lunch with, there were new
contacts that most of the time Jensen bitched about and then there were the
assignments he never talked about, except to roll his eyes and say “fucking
regulation crazy government”.

The topic of more children, it seemed, had been dropped. Doctor Beaver still
hadn’t given the all-clear, concerned with the scar tissue that had grown
excessively in the tears Jared had sustained during the birth of the twins.
Jared was fine with that, he didn’t want to risk having another omega and
Jensen seemed quite happy to only have three screaming kids. He might want more
kids as soon as Jem and the twins had grown up a bit, but Jared didn’t think
about that. And maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to talk him out of it.

Time flowed on, lulling Jared into a rhythm, a sense of security. Most of the
time, he could make peace with it all. He should have known that it couldn’t
last. There was always the other shoe waiting to drop.

This time, it dropped the day after the twin’s one-year birthday.

The doorbell rang when Jared was in the laundry room. The twins were taking a
nap upstairs and Kim had taken Jem out to the playground. Jensen was dozing on
the couch, probably trying to enjoy the peace and quiet. Jared heard Jensen
make a displeased sound and grumble all the way to the front door.

Jared closed the door of the laundry room almost all the way, only leaving a
small spalt through which he could hear. Someone showing up unannounced in
their home was highly unusual. Two sets of steps were walking into the living
room and then he heard Jensen say, “please, have a seat.”

His alpha sounded polite but on guard, and Jared couldn’t help his curiosity
and peeked through the opening. Across from Jensen in the armchair, there was
another alpha. He was wearing a non-descript black suit, carrying a non-
descript briefcase and his face was so generic, Jared couldn’t find a single
noteworthy thing. The man wasn’t displaying any emotion at all, his expression
strangely aloof. Jared decided to call him Agent Smith. The Matrix was not a
movie shown on television, but his parents had owned an old scratched up
version on it, that hung at the scene where Neo woke up. Jared doubted that
either Jensen or Mr. Smith had ever seen the movie.

“Mr. Ackles,” Agent Smith said, opening a little black notebook in his lap,
“you have two adult omegas living with you, is that correct?”

“Yes,” Jensen said stiffly. He clearly didn’t like Agent Smith. “Jared, my own
chipped one, and Kim, a permanent hire from Kripke Services.”

Agent Smith checked something off in his notebook. Jared thought it was strange
someone obviously sent by a government institution would use something as old-
fashioned as a notebook, but then, he had given up a long time ago of
understanding the people in charge.

“And you have three children birthed by your omega, yet you are not married.”
From his tone, it was clear Agent Smith did not approve.

Shit. Jared knew that their situation wasn’t the norm, but he’d never thought
it might be a real problem.

Jensen just shrugged his shoulders though, not the least bit worried. “I just
never found the right beta,” he explained easily. “Just like you, it seems,” he
added, nodding pointedly at the Agent’s empty ring fingers.

Agent Smith harrumphed, jotted something down in his notebook and the frown on
his face was the first emotion he showed.

“You’ve had your omega for almost four years now and he’s given you three
children, one of which you’ve given up for adoption.”

“Four children,” Jensen corrected him.

Agent Smith looked up from his notes. “Three children. And one omega.”

Jared had to ball his hands to not to punch something very loudly and give his
eavesdropping away. The only thing making it slightly bearable was that he
could see Jensen was clenching his jaw, a tell tale sign of growing anger.

“Why are you here, Mr. Smith?” Jensen asked coldly and Jared almost laughed out
loud. He couldn’t believe he’d actually been right about the name.

“I am here because the Omega Ministry has the impression that as an unattached
alpha you don’t plan to have a lot of children, seeing how you gave one up for
adoption and it has been over a year since your omega last gave birth and he’s
not pregnant again yet.”

One year and one day, Jared thought incredulously. The Omega Ministry sure
moved fast.

“So?” Jensen raised an eyebrow in a way that usually told Jared he was only
moments away from being told off. “A chipped omega has to produce three
children in five years, a ratio Jared has clearly fulfilled.”

Agent Smith smiled belittlingly. “Yes, of course. But your omega is obviously
an excellent breeder and the government can’t let a specimen like this go to
waste.”

Jared felt as if the ground had just been pulled out from under his feet. He
leaned back against the wall and tried to just breathe. After everything, after
how hard he’d fought to escape his old alpha, to get Jensen to treat him
better, not being pregnant all the time, everything would now be in vain? Was
he supposed to go to a new couple now, or even worse, a breeding farm?

“He’s still young,” Agent Smith continued. “Only twenty. He probably has more
than fifteen years of fertility in him.”

“Yes, well, but it is my decision how he’s going to spend them,” Jensen said,
his voice hard as steele. It gave Jared hope and he slowly turned back to peer
through the door opening again

“Actually,” Agent Smith said with a sardonic smile on his face, “in special
cases, exceptions can be made and an omega can be appropriated by the
government.”

Jared closed his eyes. This was it. He’d be taken away from his children, his
family. He’d go to some kind of horrible breeding facility and his life would
become a nightmare again. Really, he didn’t even know why he was surprised.

There was a rustling sound and Jared opened his eyes again to see that Jensen
had gotten up from the couch, looming over the Agent.

“You can’t take Jared away from me,” Jensen hissed.

Agent Smith had flinched back, but he quickly tried to compose himself. “You’ll
find that the twenty-eighth amendment says we can. Procreation takes precedence
over personal property.”

Jensen sat down again, glaring at Agent Smith in cold fury. “No, I meant you
can’t, because I do plan on having more children. If you’d studied your notes
right, you would’ve seen that I gave the first child away, because it wasn’t
mine. Jared was already pregnant when I bought him, an unchipped and abandoned
omega. Which, by the way, is something your ministry should maybe concern
itself with instead of trying to bully upstanding citizens.”

To go back to why Jared isn’t pregnant yet, I haven’t bred him for over a year
on doctors orders because the pregnancy and birth of the twins almost killed
him and we could’ve risked infertility. I fully plan on breeding him again as
soon as my doctor gives the all clear. So you can kindly fuck off now and stop
threatening my property. I know my rights and while the twenty-eighth amendment
gives you the right to take Jared away, the twenty-ninth amendment states that
the government cannot interfere with procreation plans without cause for
concern which is only reached after three years of disuse of a fertile womb and
becomes an invalid claim after three successful pregnancies. Jared isn’t hired
or loaned out on conditions, he is my property and the government can’t change
that, however much they’d like to. I have fulfilled all lawful stipulations. I
know my rights, Agent Smith.”

Agent Smith had gone rather pale during Jensen’s speech and now he stood up
quickly. “Well, we’ll have to monitor your progress of course, but if it’s like
that, we shouldn’t have a problem.”

Jensen nodded, eyes still blazing with fury and Agent Smith hurried out of the
house. Jensen kept sitting on the couch, staring after Agent Smith, but as soon
as the door closed, he sank back into the cushions, closing his eyes.

“Fuck.”

It was the exhaustion in Jensen’s voice that made Jared step into the living
room. “Jensen?” he asked carefully.

Jensen reached his hand out for him. “C’mere.”

Jared went without thinking, climbing into Jensen's lap and curling himself
together there, like he hadn’t done in years. “What’s going on?” he asked,
trying to sound clueless.

Jensen gave a humorless chuckle and softly tugged on his ear. “Don’t lie to me,
sweetie. I know you’ve been standing behind the door the whole time.”

Jared froze. “Oh. Uhm, sorry?”

This time, Jensen really laughed. “Don’t even try sweetie, it’s okay. This was
about you, you deserve to know.”

There was a long beat of silence but Jared needed to know. “Did you mean it?
What you said to Agent Smith about having more kids?”

“Well,” Jensen answered slowly. “I definitely wouldn’t mind one or two more.
But having a break in between is actually really nice and it’s your decision
too. Besides, I can’t stand how the government gets involved in our private
life. But the Omega ministry is difficult, I’ll need to talk to a lawyer to see
how to best handle this.”

“Just,” Jared started, but he didn’t know how to continue. For the first time
Jensen seemed to get him though, because he drew Jared tighter into his arms
and said, “Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll never let them take you away from us.”





The visit to his lawyer didn’t really put Jensen’s mind at ease. Yes, three
pregnancies in five years, but with the twins and giving birth to a healthy
child every year, Jared had put himself into the class of High Productivity
Omegas, for which the law did make exceptions.

“Basically, it comes down to this,” Alaina explained, “you comply, give them a
few more kids, maybe two, and you should be fine. You have good connections
with the government, if the OM harrasses you again, just pull the national
security card. But first you have to show them you want to cooperate, be a
good, procreating citizen. If you shut them out now, you'll have nothing but
trouble. With thirty-five, you can’t play the age card yet, and won’t be able
to for another fifteen years really. Jared is young and will be healthy again
and you have enough money to feed ten kids and put them through college.
Besides, you can always sell the omegas.”

Jensen crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’m not selling my kids.”

Alaina just raised an eyebrow. “Whatever. You asked me for my legal opinion and
that’s it. Breed your omega, and if they come after you again we can sue them
for harassment, saying you’re already going above and beyond for this country.
If they still try to take your omega away, we can argue you won’t ever marry
because you work so much, and the children need continuity growing up. Although
I really don’t know why you would go through all this trouble for an omega.”

“And it’s none of your business,” Jensen said. “Just make sure I get to keep
him.”

Alaina shook her head disapprovingly. “At least make sure you do more
government work. Make yourself indispensible and they’ll be more lenient. And
Jensen, I won’t ask what’s got you so attached to your omega, I know there’s
some kinky shit going on out there, but there have been isolated instances of
omega rights sympathisers. I don’t need to tell you that they were deported and
the omegas sent to breeding farms. Europe might have omega protection laws, but
here even the tiniest attempt to change any laws pertaining procreation is
beaten down immediately. Don’t even give them the idea you could be in bed with
those libertarian traitors. ”

Jensen raised his hands defensively. “I have nothing to do with those weirdos,”
he said. Sure, he might treat Jared differently, but Jared was different.

“Just making sure you have your head on straight.”

“Don’t worry. I just don’t want to go through the trouble of breaking in
another omega. And the kids love him.”

Jensen didn't say that he loved Jared too. He knew that that was something he
could never articulate. He tried not to think about that when he left Alaina’s
office. Tried not to think about what this meant for his relationship with
Jared and how the government dealt with omegas. There was just a certain way to
battling the population decrease, and if there was another way, the government
would’ve found it before. They didn’t fund the research center at Harvard with
billions of dollars every year for nothing. The sharpest minds of their country
had come up with their system. So there were exceptions, and so Jared was lucky
he’d ended up with Jensen. No solution was ever perfect, and there were always
those who had to suffer for the greater good.

Jensen hated that that hollow feeling in his gut didn’t go away. Instead it
settled in there, a nauseating pressure, not letting Jensen forget a single
doubt he’d ever had.

He rigorously ignored that feeling and got on the matter of dealing with the
problem at hand.



On the way home, Jensen first called Mark Sheppard, his National Security
Ministry contact to let him know that he did after all have time to work on the
new project. Then he called Speight Industries to tell them he couldn’t take on
their new location, even though he’d really looked forward to working on that.
But he had absolutely no intention of having to talk to Mr. Smith again.

His last call was to Doctor Beaver’s office for another check-up appointment
for Jared. It was time to see if Jared could be bred again. Thinking about it,
Jensen was rather glad it had come to this. He knew Jared wouldn't be thrilled,
but he’d come around. Their children were such a joy and such a blessing -
yeah, Jared would be happy about another child eventually. And Jensen could not
wait to see Jared pregnant again.

Unfortunately Jared did not share that sentiment.

“Jensen, I don’t… what if it’s another omega? It’s bad enough that Maggie might
have to suffer through what I did, I can’t-”

“Sweetie, it’s alright,” Jensen tried to calm Jared down. The omega was pacing
their living room angrily, long legs eating up the distance like it was
nothing. “Look, we’ll set up a Trust of Ownership for Maggie, there are ways to
make sure she stays in the family. They might have to have her bred, but she
can live with Jem or Davie and she’ll be fine. I mean, you’re happy with our
kids, aren’t you?”

Jensen knew it was a dirty trick but he needed to get Jared on board.

“Of course I love our kids,” Jared said indignantly, “but…”

“No buts. You’ll love another one as well and you know it. Jared, we have the
space and the money, and honestly, with that sign of faith we can get the Omega
Ministry off our backs. Or do you want them to come back?”

Jared's shoulders sagged and he stopped pacing. “No, of course I don't. I
just…” Jared made a vague gesture with his hand. “I don’t even know why, it’s
fucking stupid.”

Jensen didn’t reply and he didn’t stop Jared from walking out into the garden.
Obviously he needed space. Jensen sighed and consoled himself with the fact
that Jared would love their child with all his heart.


***** Chapter 13 *****
 
Jared stared at the little monitor. A girl. His baby was a girl. He was only
four months along, so while they could see that the baby would be female, there
was no way of telling if she would be a beta or an omega.

Jensen squeezed his hand. “It’s going to be fine, sweetie.”

Jared didn’t reply. He hadn’t wanted to risk it, hadn’t wanted to bring any
child into his world, but Jensen’s reasoning about keeping the Omega Ministry
off their backs was sound.

Driving home, Jared thought back to those conversations. He’d accepted it at
first, but then something in him had snapped. He just had to fight for this
poor unborn baby. There had been screaming and tears, until Jensen had finally
sat him down and told him everything his lawyer had told him. Jared had agreed.
He’d also for the first time really asked Jensen about his work. Jensen had
tried to brush him off, but if Jensen was involved with the government, Jared
needed to know.

“I’m not part of the government,” Jensen had explained. “I’m an independent
contractor. I do security evaluations for industrial and government
facilities.”

“Breeding farms?” Jared had asked, almost unable to get the words out.

Jensen had shaken his head. “No. I mostly do production sites. Weapons, cars,
heavy machinery, that kind of thing. I make sure security standards comply with
construction regulations, and if they don’t I make plans to fix them. Sometimes
I help to implement them in a new building as well.”

“And that’s going to help you keep the Omega Ministry away?”

“I just landed a contract with a private security company who does military
work for the government. Trust me, we’ll be fine.”

Jared just hoped Jensen was right. His alpha certainly worked hard for it, and
during his pregnancy, Jared saw almost nothing of Jensen.

Kim and he took care of the kids and the house, and Jensen disappeared into his
study for hours, only to emerge for meals. He stopped taking time for the kids,
and Jared was pissed. Jensen was so absorbed, he didn’t even register Jared’s
bad mood.

“Fucking oblivious alpha,” Jared grumbled and Kim shook her head.

“You do realize that Jem is old enough to understand that kind of language,
right?”

“I know, I just… No matter how he treated me, he was always a good father. It
just really pisses me off when he ignores the kids.”

“Why daddy pissed?” Jem asked, suddenly walking into the kitchen.

“Shit,” Jared said and Jem tilted his head.

“Shit,” he repeated.

“Jem, that is a bad word, and you don’t want to say a bad word, right?”

“Shit,” Jem said again, grinning widely. “Shit, shit shit.”

Kim rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Now you’ve done it.”

Jared sighed and followed his oldest into the living room. Maybe he could
distract him with something else to forget that new word.





The pregnancy didn’t give Jared any trouble this time around, but three kids
were still a lot to handle. Jem was infinitely curious about Jared’s growing
belly and Jared did everything in his power to instill love and loyalty into
Jem in case the baby would turn out omega. There just weren’t enough
precautions in the world he could take.

Jensen might think he could put an Ownership Trust into place, make
arrangements, but Jared still remembered when Social Services had come for him.
He was sure his parents had taken precautions as well.

Or maybe they hadn't, a nasty little voice in his head said. Maybe they thought
they would’ve left the country by then.

Vigorously, Jared pushed these thoughts away. It wouldn’t help thinking about
that now. He would just have to be more successful. Finding a way to get out of
the country would be hard, impossible if Jensen wasn’t onboard, and Jared
didn’t know if he could convince Jensen. He would just have to do his best to
make Jensen see it was the only option to keep Maggie safe. Jared knew that the
time for that conversation hadn’t come yet though. He would have to bide his
time, guide Jensen where he wanted them to go. There was no sense stressing
about it yet.

So instead he focused on his family. Jensen obsessed with Jared’s growing
belly, couldn’t keep his hands off it. Jared had enough horny phases that he
appreciated it and they had more sex than they’d been having for a while.

When Jensen finally complained that Jared was wearing him out, Jared just
snorted. “That’s because you’re getting old.”

For the next two hours Jensen proceeded to show Jared how not old he was
getting and by the end of it, Jared was a sweaty, begging mess unable to focus
on anything but Jensen’s knot finally breaching him.




At the park, Alona and Katie cooed over his growing belly. While Katie’s joy
was genuine, there was something off about Alona. She excused herself almost
immediately after Jared had shown up with the twins.

“Is she alright?” Jared asked Katie worriedly.

“It’s just hard for her to see you so successful,” Katie explained. “With me,
it’s different, I’m already twenty-eight, so it’s normal that it takes me
longer to conceive, but Alona has been without a successful breeding for her
last three heats. She’s afraid the family will get rid of her.”

“What? But she can still stay with them and raise the kids.”

Katie shrugged. “Yeah maybe. Not everybody wants an omega around though. You
don’t understand,” she tacked on, almost as an afterthought. “You’re lucky your
alpha isn’t married yet. Most betas don’t like their husbands breeding us too
often.”

Katie bit her lip immediately. “I shouldn’t have said that. That was not… I
didn’t mean to speak ill of betas. And especially my mistress is always so kind
to me, the other day…”

While Katie launched into another tale of a meaningless reward, Jared’s eyes
strayed to all the other omegas in the park. How many would have to leave their
families? Jared was indeed very lucky.

It occurred to him only when he was walking home, pushing the twin’s stroller
slowly through the sprawling suburbs, that he was actually grateful to Jensen
for saving him. It should have outraged him, should’ve horrified him, but Jared
found he was too tired to care.




Jared’s contractions woke him in the middle of the night. They were already
pretty strong and he wasted no time waking Jensen.

His alpha didn’t protest, just grabbed Jared’s bag, went to check up on Jem and
the twins before he woke Kim, telling her they were leaving.

Jared shook his head and Jensen looked at him questioningly. “What?”

“The first time I went into labour, you actually slept through most of my
contractions.”

Jensen glared at him. It had become an unspoken rule that they didn’t talk
about how bad Jensen had treated Jared in the beginning. Sometimes Jared
couldn’t keep from those little jabs though. Usually Jensen said noting or
tried to played it down. This time he just grabbed the car keys.

“Let’s go.”




Jared’s daughter was a healthy, beautiful little beta girl. Jared felt tears of
relief running down his face and even Jensen looked visibly relieved.

She had a shock of blond hair that would probably fall out soon and the biggest
blue eyes.

Jensen smiled, already completely in love and took her tiny hand. “Let’s call
her Joy.”

“Another name starting with a J?” Jared asked.

Jensen looked up at him. “I hadn't even thought about that. Why not though?” He
grinned like a little kid.

Jared looked down at his daughter. A beta. “Okay. Joy it is. But Jensen?”

“Yeah, sweetie?”

“It’s enough. I can’t take a risk like this again.”

Jensen took Jared’s hand and squeezed. “Okay.”





“Tell me again why I thought another baby would be a good idea?” Jensen asked
without raising his head from the pillow when Joy had her third colic attack of
the night.

Jared slowly got out of bed. “Because we live in a totalitarian society where
you have no say over your own family.”

Jensen’s response was a soft snoring. Jared shook his head and went to the
nursery. Kim had taken the first shift, now it was Jared’s turn. Sure,
technically he could let Kim handle it all, and she’d gladly do it, still
eternally grateful that she’d been the omega assigned to work for Jensen, but
Jared just couldn’t take advantage of her like that.

When he’d told her, Kim had smiled at him and shaken her head. “Oh, Jared. I
don’t know how you can still be like this.”

“Like what?”

Kim had reached up and put her hand against his cheek. “So good. Do you know in
how many households I worked where the breeding omega ordered me around like I
was beneath them?”

Jared had shaken his head. “How could they do that?”

“Everything to feel a little bit of control.”

Jared tried not to think about that while he picked Joy up, walking with her
through the nursery, waiting for her to calm down. It was bad enough that
omegas were oppressed by alphas and betas, but a rift between omegas and
omegas… no wonder their society was going nowhere fast.

When Joy finally stopped crying, Jared put her back to bed. He turned around to
find Jensen leaning against the doorframe, hair mussed and a sleepy smile on
his face.

“Why are you up?” Jared asked.

“I like seeing you with the kids when you think no one’s watching.”

The words made something warm spread through Jared’s stomach, something that
had no business being there.

“You know how creepy that sounds, right?” Jared asked with a scoff, trying to
push past Jensen, but his alpha stopped him with an arm around his waist.

“Jared. Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

Jensen pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t try to push me away like this. I’m
trying my best here, and you just… Will you ever be able to let it go?”

Jared looked at Jensen, surprised. “We are having this conversation now?”

Jensen shrugged his shoulders. “Seems as good a time as any. Ever since you
became pregnant, you keep pulling away. I thought it would be better a soon as
you knew Joy would be a beta, but-”

“But you couldn’t know that,” Jared interrupted him. “You didn’t know that and
we still had to take the risk.”

Jensen sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “And you know why. So can we
get past this already?”

And there it was again, the ever present entitlement to Jared’s emotional
state. Jared closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Learn to pick your
battles, he’d promised himself. He would need every bit of influence he had
over Jensen to eventually get him to leave for Europe to save Maggie. He could
forgive Jensen this, if that meant getting him on his good side.

Jared cleared his throat. “Yeah. It’s just… It’s just hard. Maggie….” He
trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished on purpose. Giving Jensen
something to think about.

For a moment, a shadow crossed Jensen’s face and Jared knew it was working. All
the small hints he put into their conversations, casually mentioning Maggie’s
omega status every chance he got, Jensen started thinking about it. Who knew, a
few more years, and Jensen would realize there was no other way than
relocation.




Jem’s first day of kindergarten was another milestone in Jared’s subtle fight.

“He’s growing up so fast,” Jensen said almost wistfully, while they watched Jem
follow his kindergarten teacher into their classroom.

Jared couldn’t suppress his grin. “I know.”

“Thank god we just had Joy. Just think what happens when the twins go to
kindergarten as well and the house would be completely empty every day.
Whatever would we do?” Jensen waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Jared was just about to go for a playful reply when he realized something.
Jensen had obviously forgotten a vital part of their society and Jared thought
it was a good sign.

“Yeah,” he said carefully, “except Maggie won’t go to kindergarten.”

Jensen looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Of course she will, don’t be
silly.”

“Jensen, she’s omega. Omegas don’t go to kindergarten.” When Jensen's face
fell, Jared decided to push on. “She won’t go to kindergarten. And when Jem and
Davie go to elementary school, she won’t go either. When they’re old enough to
go to junior high, she’ll be able to go to an omega school for three years, but
then she’ll have to stay home while Jem and Davie go to highschool, to college.
She’ll never be able to do any of that, not here.”

Jensen’s face hardened, but it gave nothing away. He looked at Jem’s little
form, turning around to wave at his parents one last time before he disappeared
inside.

“Let’s go home,” Jensen said and Jared was quiet, unable to read Jensen’s mood
for once.

He didn’t push it further though that day, he was in it for the long run. He
needed to be patient and let Jensen come to the conclusion himself. Jensen
would never go along with giving his whole live up unless it was his own idea.
Lately, it had seemed that Jensen might come around after all. Besides, they
still had time. It would be another nine years before Maggie would have to
attend omega school. Ever since the new laws were implemented a year ago, the
home school option was off the table, so that was Jared’s deadline. Nine years.

He didn’t know that he would never find out of his plan would work. He didn’t
know that his time would be up much quicker.




Shortly after Joy’s first birthday, Kim fell ill.

Out of nowhere, Kim just got a fever, started throwing up and had horrible
stomach pains.

Jensen was out, one of the rare evenings he went to Chris’ place for beers and,
as Jared had recently found out, college days reminiscing. Jared made tea, got
the fever pills out of the medicine cabinet and held Kim’s hair while she
vomited into the toilet.

Jem started making a fuss, unwilling to stay in his bed, but the tone in
Jared’s voice when he carried him back to his room must’ve struck a cord,
because Jem stayed put. Joy and the twins were already in bed, so Jared could
help Kim clean up, guide her to her bed and bring her a bowl for more eventual
puking.

He checked in on Jem, explaining that he had to be a good boy because Kim was
sick.

“Remember when you had that bad tummy ache?” Jared asked and Jem nodded,
scrunching up his face.

Jared couldn’t help but smile. “I know, that was bad, huh? Kim is feeling like
that right now, so you have to be a good boy so she can rest.”

“Will you hold her hand? And give her medicine, so she gets better?”

Jared nodded and kissed Jem on the forehead. It wouldn’t be easy, omega
insurance generally only paid for repairable things, like cuts and broken
bones, and of course, pregnancy related issues. But it wouldn’t matter, he’d
get Jensen to pay.

When Jared entered Kim’s room and saw her pale, sweaty and curled up in obvious
pain on her bed, he wasn’t so sure medicine alone would cut it.

He got a wet washcloth from the bathroom and wiped Kim’s forehead.

“How are you doing?”

She gave him a tired smile. “Jared, I appreciate it, but we both know that this
isn’t good.”

Jared shook his head. “Just a bad case of the flu.”

She looked at him, eyes feverish. “My belly has been hurting since this
morning. Right here.” She pointed to her lower right side. “Don’t tell me
you’ve never seen someone with an appendicitis.”

Jared swallowed dryly. “I had one when I was nine. I don’t remember much, but I
remember that pain.”

Kim nodded. “Just know that I couldn’t have asked for a better place, a better
family.”

“What are you talking about? You won’t die. Sure, appendicitis is nasty, but
they can operate on you, it’s a standard procedure. You’ll be fine.”

Kim eyed him, pity in her eyes. “Jared, if you want to survive, you finally
have to stop making the world how you want it to be. No doctor will perform an
appendectomy on an old, infertile omega. It’s a waste of resources. So why
don’t you be a good boy and sneak me a bit of Master’s whiskey. The pain is
getting a tad uncomfortable.”

Downstairs, the front door opened.

“Sorry, but you can’t have alcohol before a surgery,” Jared said determinedly.
“And no, I won’t stop making this world how I like it. Not when it comes to my
family.”

Jared ran down the stairs as fast as he could, catching Jensen in the foyer.

“Kim is sick,” he said without preamble.

Jensen looked at him, eyebrow raised in surprise. “Well, hello to you to.”
Jensen’s voice was mellow, he’d probably had a few beers and was in a good
mood.

“Jensen, it’s serious. She’s really sick, she needs to see a doctor.”

Jensen sighed. “It’s the middle of the night, Jared.”

“She’s throwing up, she’s in pain and her temperature is 104°,” Jared said,
counting every point with his fingers.

Jensen walked past him in the direction of the kitchen. “Please tell me there
are still some meatloaf left-overs?” He asked, already rooting around in the
fridge.

“Did you not hear me?” Jared asked incredulous. “Kim is seriously sick.”

Jensen slammed the fridge door shut, empty handed. “I heard you, Jared. I’ll
order some broad-spectrum O-antibiotics and she’ll be fine. Now there’s
obviously no more meatloaf, so do we have anything else to eat?”

Jared took a deep breath. It would get him nowhere to yell now. “I can heat up
some lasagna, if you want, but that's going to take a while, because it’s still
frozen. If you want something quick I can make you a sandwich or grilled
cheese.”

Jensen smiled like a little kid, corners of his eyes crinkling. “Grilled
cheese,” he said and sat down at the little kitchen table.

Jared got busy with the bread and the cheese, waited until he had the pan on
the stove and then turned to Jensen.

“Jensen, what if it’s worse? What if it’s something that can’t be cured with
antibiotics?”

“What are you talking about?”

“When I was a kid, I had the exact same symptoms and it was my appendix. If Kim
has an appendicitis, she needs surgery.”

Jensen sighed. “Jared, she’s an infertile omega. No doctor is going to perform
surgery on her. It’s a waste of time and resources.”

For a moment Jared was shocked speechless. It had been a long time since Jensen
had said something so incredibly ignorant and for him to repeat the exact same
indoctrinated words Kim had said earlier, it catapulted Jared right back to the
beginning as if every fight he’d fought the last four years hadn’t happened.

Finally Jared found his voice again. “You want to let her die?”

“I didn’t say that,” Jensen said defensively.

“No, you did not,” Jared said decisively. “Because you will take Kim to a
doctor and if she has something serious, you’ll get them to operate on her. I
dont care how much money you have to spend, but she is not dying. She is my
friend and she’s like an aunt to the kids.”

“Yes, but-”

“She’s family!”

“Jared-”

“Don’t Jared me! Call Doctor Beaver and make him see her. She’s not dying.”

Jensen looked at him for a long time, but then he went to pick up the phone.



Of course, Doctor Beaver wouldn’t get out of bed for an omega emergency. Jared
spend the night at Kim’s bedside, watching over her.

He was tired the next morning, and pissed, especially when he realized he
needed to stay home with the kids. There was just no way they could take them
to the practice with them.

“Promise me, Jensen,” Jared said when they had managed to get a half-delirious
Kim into the car. “Don’t let her die, no matter what it costs.”

Jensen nodded, and shot Kim a worried look. He drove off with squealing tires.

Jared tried to distract himself, tried to focus on the kids, but he burned
breakfast and spilled Joy’s milk.

When Jensen came back two hours later, Jared was a nervous wreck.

“And?” he asked impatiently when Jensen hadn’t even closed the door behind him.

“You were right, she does have appendicitis,” Jensen said wearily and took Joy
from Jared’s arms. “Hey, babygirl, how are you today, hmm? You being a good
girl for mommy?”

“Jim was reluctant to refer her to a clinic for surgery,” Jensen continued. “I
had to call in every favor in the book and pay them an outrageous amount of
money, seriously, I could’ve bought a new car, but they’ll do it and if
everything goes well, we’ll be able to get Kim from the clinic in five days.”

“And of course we’re going to visit her tomorrow,” Jared said.

Jensen gave Jared an exasperated look, but he didn’t protest.



Without Kim, life was a lot more stressful. Jared had forgotten how hard it was
to remember everything that needed to be done while keeping his extremely
energetic kids happy, from hurting themselves, or - even more likely -
destroying the house.

Jem was down for his nap, but Davie refused to go to sleep. That in turn kept
Maggie awake and Jared needed to rest. During the night, Joy had had another
fit of colics.

When Jensen came into the nursery, Jared just put Davie into his arms.

“Please make him go to sleep.”

Jensen clucked disapprovingly at his crying son, then he started rocking him
carefully and walking out the door with him. Before it closed, Jared could hear
Jensen sing the first tunes of Angie.

Without her brother crying Maggie fell asleep quickly, and Jensen came back
five minutes later, Davie sleeping soundly in his arms. After putting his son
to bed, Jensen kneeled down in front of Jared who had plopped down exhausted in
the rocking chair.

Jensen picked up Jared’s left foot and slowly started to massage it.

“You okay?”

Jared closed his eyes and hummed. They kept sitting there like that, Jared
slowly drifting off while Jensen gave him a heavenly footrub. The quiet lasted
for about ten minutes, until Jem woke from his nap and decided he needed
immediate attention.

Jensen stood up, giving Jared a soft kiss. “I’m gonna take care of him. Why
don’t you go and have a real nap.”

Jared managed to drag himself into their bedroom and collapsed into the bed.
His last thought before falling asleep was that sometimes, it just felt so
fucking real.



They went to visit Kim in the hospital, and Jared was glad to see that Jensen
genuinely cared about her well-being, and it wasn’t only because Jensen had to
help out more with the kids while she was in the hospital.

When they brought her home after five days, Kim hesitated, then turned to
Jensen.

“Sir, I just wanted to thank you. So much. I know that this is not how it’s
done and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it and will spend the rest
of my life thanking you for it.”

Jensen nodded graciously. “You’re doing an excellent job, Kim, and the kids
love you. I gladly paid for your care.”

“You didn’t need to do that,” Jared said angrily when Jensen had left. “He had
to pay, he couldn’t just let you die.”

Kim sighed. “I know. But you know how the world works and Jensen taking care of
me like that, it’s not normal.”

“But it’s right! It shouldn't even be a discussion.”

“Yes, Jared. But don’t you get it? Either Jensen keeps me on, or I go out into
the workforce again, work until I can’t anymore and then go back to the farms,
where I will spend the rest of my life helping out miserable omegas degraded to
birthing machines. And when I can’t work anymore, I’ll have to rely on the
other’s compassion to keep me fed and alive. This, here with you - it’s a dream
come true. And I know you hate all this, but I am thankful, Jared. I can’t hate
Jensen.”

Jared slumped down on the couch. “It’s not like I can hate the bastard either.”

“Do you love him?” Kim asked after a short pause. She’d never asked him before.

“Sometimes,” Jared said. “Sometimes I forget I’m just a slave and then I can
love him. I don’t want to, but whenever it’s just us, like the world out there
doesn’t exist, then yeah, I love him. And then I hate myself for being so
weak.”

“Don’t do that to yourself. Why can’t you just let it go, Jared?”

“Because if I do that, I might as well curl up in a corner and die.”

Kim shook her head sadly, but thankfully dropped the subject.




The dragonfruit plants grew and throve. The fresh plants were much more
effective in curbing Jared’s heat than the store bought ones. His heats were
still annoying, inconvenient, but he didn’t feel like he was dying anymore.

With Jem making friends at kindergarten, Jared suddenly had to go to children’s
birthday parties and playdates. Meeting other omegas was depressing. Jared knew
he was lucky, but he’d never realized how right Katie had been when she’d told
him how different it was to live in an alpha-beta household. The omegas were
truly relegated to a server's role and the children were taught they were just
that. Only very few of the kids were as affectionate with their omegas as they
were with their parents.

Jared met only very few omegas that were treated well by their owners. There
was Cindy, a pretty omega in her thirties. She’d given birth to seven kids, and
with such a large family, she was heavily involved in care-taking and raising.
Her alpha and her beta seemed to be genuinely nice people, and Jared enjoyed
talking to her. She didn’t have that expression of constant fear branded into
her face.

He also met Osric, a young omega, taken in by the family more as a pleasure pet
than a breeder. They already had four kids - Dustin, the middle son had become
Jem’s good friend - and the omega-parent had long been sold. Osric was there to
help with the kids, but mainly to look pretty. Jared visited their home a few
times for playdays and Osric wore skimpy clothing, circling around his owners
legs like a horny cat, getting pets and cuddles. When Jared and Osric were
alone in the kitchen to clean up the dishes, Osric told Jared that he slept in
their giant bed every night and that they loved to play with him together.

“Do you like it?” Jared asked.

Osric’s eyes glinted when he answered. “Are you kidding me? It’s absolute
heaven!”

Jared wanted to ask what would happen to Osric when he wasn’t young and pretty
anymore, but he refrained. No sense of raining on Osric's parade when there was
nothing they could do about it anyway.

“You know,” Osric continued, “I’m really glad I met you. I can’t talk to the
others about this, they all get so jealous. But your alpha adores you, so you
understand.”

Jared nodded, not sure what he could reply to that.

“I was wondering,” Osric said, nervously looking to the door to make sure they
were alone. “I’ve only been with them for half a year, but you’ve been with
your alpha for so long…. What do you do to keep him interested?”

“What do you mean?” Jared asked confused.

Osric winked. “You know, sex. Do you have like a special blowjob technique? I
mean, I was a good student in omega school and alpha and beta have a lot of
educational videos, I was just wondering if you have like a special trick or
something?”

Jared looked into Osric’s expectant eyes and hoped somebody would walk into the
door. When no one did and Osric was still waiting for an answer, he sighed.

“Well, if you’ve never done that, you can try a deep tissue knot massage.”

And that was how Jared came to talk sex with Osric. It amused him more than he
thought it would and it was refreshingly different to his usual conversations.
Besides, Osric was quite the hedonist and his owners indulged him, so Jared
learned a few more things that gave pleasure to omegas.

Jensen was never hard to convince to try out new things and reviving their
sexlife brought them closer together once again. Jared told himself that he
needed Jensen to love him as much as possible to get him on his side, but the
truth was that Jared revelled in this deepening of their relationship. He
didn’t know how he’d come to be so optimistic, but with the way Jensen treated
him and doted on Maggie, Jared couldn’t help but be hopeful.

He really should’ve known better.



Jared and Kim still went to the park fairly often, taking the twins and Joy in
their strollers and Jared chatted with Katie. Alona was absent for a few months
and when she came back with her oldest - over two years old now - she was pale
and thin.

“I had a miscarriage,” she admitted, her voice nothing more than a whisper.

Katie hugged her immediately. “I’m so sorry, Alona. But it happens to the best
of us.”

Alona’s eyes filled with tears. “I know. But, but beta wants more children and
if I don’t get pregnant during my next heat, they’re going to sell me to be
able to afford another omega.”

“That’s horrible,” Jared said and Katie nodded. “But look at Kim, she’s a
working omega and she has a good life,” he added, trying to cheer Alona up.

It had the opposite effect, because Alona started crying openly. Between little
sobs and hiccups she finally managed to tell them that she’d overheard her
alpha and beta talking and that they would get the best price for her at a
bordello.

They were silent for a while. Jared couldn't even imagine how horrible that
would be. Just a warm body to be passed around by everybody who couldn’t afford
an omega but wanted to fuck one.

“But your chances of getting pregnant there are higher,” Jared said, trying to
put a positive spin on a desperate situation. “So maybe you’ll get out of there
quickly.”

Alona stared at him aghast and Katie glared.

“Jared,” Kim said softly, “omegas impregnated in a bordello become wardens of
the Omega Ministry. They go to the farms.”

Jared felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry, Alona, I
didn’t know.”

There was no fate more horrible than the breeding farms, everybody knew that.

Alona nodded, wiping her tears away. “I’ll just get pregnant during my next
heat. And then I will take real good care of my body and not miscarry.”

Katie nodded, but it was obvious she didn’t believe it. “Sure, honey. You’ll be
fine, you see.”



On the way home, Jared couldn’t stop thinking about Alona and what would happen
to her. She was a good person with a kind heart and she didn’t deserve what
would happen to her. No one would deserve that.

“We need to help her,” Jared said and he meant it.

Kim looked at him in surprise. “Jared, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Jensen could buy her.”

“He would never and you know it,” Kim said.

“You don’t know that. He’s come so far, I just… I wanted to wait, wanted to get
him there slowly, so he’d take us away from here, but I can’t let Alona go to a
whorehouse, not if there’s something I can do about it.”

Kim shook her head pityingly. “I didn’t know you cared about Alona so much.”

“I don’t. But that’ not what matters. She doesn’t deserve it and I can’t let
this happen to her. I can’t just stand by. I need to try, Kim. ”

Kim said nothing, but her expression told Jared she didn’t think it was a good
idea. No matter. Jared couldn’t stand by while Alona was carted off to a
brothel like a cattle to slaughter.




“No.”

“But, Jensen-”

“I said no, Jared.” Jensen had his arms cross over his chest. “I’m sorry that
your little friend is going to be sold, but that’s none of our business.”

“But Jensen, she’ll be miserable,” Jared tried again. He had hoped, dammit, and
Jensen was not allowed to disappoint him again.

“Who is this Alona anyway? I’ve never heard you talk about her before. She
can’t be that important.”

Jared gasped. “That’s not even- I never talked about her before because I
didn’t think you’d care. And it doesn’t matter how good a friend she is. You
should care that she’s being sold like cattle to do nothing but spread her legs
every day.”

Jensen sighed. “Jared, she’s an omega. She likes to have sex. Plus, she won’t
have to work anymore. Life in a brothel is actually perfect for common omega
disposition.”

“You know that that’s a fucking lie!” Jared spit out. He could see Kim hovering
in the door behind them and when she caught Jared's eye she motioned with her
hand, indicating she’d go upstairs with the kids. Jared was glad for it. This
was nothing they needed to hear.

“Jared-”

“No.” Jared couldn’t take it anymore. “It’s all lies. And I can’t believe that
you’re still buying it, when I’m disproving it every fucking day!”

Clearly exasperated, Jensen shook his head. “Sweetie, we had this discussion a
thousand times, and I can’t believe we’re still talking about this. You’re the
exception. You’re special, okay? Omegas in general, they’re just not. Centuries
of living together, don’t you think that people by know have figured out that
omegas are instinct-driven, dim-witted, aimless creatures? They can be formed
into good workers, but without a firm guidance, they’d never be productive
members of society.”

“That is such a load of bullshit!” Jared was shouting, but he couldn’t keep it
down. “Do I look fucking dim-witted to you? Does Kim? Is Maggie any different
from any of our kids?”

“Of course she’s not, Maggie has your genes!”

Jared was completely aghast by the stupidity of the argument. “Can’t you see
that this whole fucking argument doesn’t make any sense at all? The government
is fucking brainwashing you!”

“And this is why omegas are treated the way they are,” Jensen said and his
voice got a nasty tone. “You just don’t understand. Jared, omegas are
unintelligent and that’s the truth. Just look around you! And don’t try to fool
me, I’ve seen the way you roll your eyes at all the omega-parents of Jem’s
kindergarten friend. Even you think they’re stupid.”

“And why do you think that is?” Jared shouted. “Think back to the education you
got. All the literature, math, history and everything. You learned to think, to
summarize, to find information and to understand it. Do you know what omegas
learn in school? How to cook. How to clean. How to give a blowjob. With that
kind of education it's no wonder they seem stupid to you. Most of them don’t
even learn to read!”

“But Jared-”

“And then we get constantly told that we're stupid and can't do anything
anyway. And if people tell you your whole life what you can and can't do, of
course you believe it. I mean, look at you!”

Jensen took a deep breath. “Jared, it's very noble that you want to see your
species like that, but you're the exception to the rule.”

“No. First of, we're not a different species, we're a gender, because believe
it or not, we're all human and secondly, I'm not the exception I'm just what
every omega could be with the right education and parents. What Maggie can be
if we save her.”

Jensen froze. Jared wouldn’t - couldn’t - stop now.

“Or do you want people to think about her what you think about all the other
omegas out there? Do you want people to think she’s stupid and nothing more
than a breeding machine? That she’s just dim-witted and instinct driven? That
she wants nothing but to be fucked? That they need to beat her when she does
something wrong? Do you want her to live with some old, cruel alpha-”

“Enough!” Jensen was breathing heavily, eyes wild. “That’s enough.”

Jared took a deep breath. “No. It’s time you open your eyes, Jensen. You say
you love Maggie, love her like you love our other kids? Then prove it by making
sure she gets the same shot at a happy and free life.”

For a moment, Jensen stood still, then he spun around and walked out the door.

Fuck.




Jensen didn't know what exactly he was doing when he rang the doorbell. He'd
already turned around five times on the way up the driveway, but he was still
here, standing in front of the heavy wooden doors of the old mansion.

He needed answers. He wasn't sure if he'd get them here, but maybe he'd manage
to get a perspective on all the things that didn’t make sense anymore.

Jared was still showing him the cold shoulder after their fight a week ago,
when Jared had asked Jensen to buy one of his omega friends and it had somehow
turned into a debate about omega nature. Jensen knew it couldn’t be all black
and white, Jared was right, he did prove that everyday, and Jensen couldn’t
even imagine Maggie to be anything less than perfect, but everybody else
couldn’t have been wrong for hundreds of years now, could they?

Jensen had tried to reason with Jared after he’d gone out to clear his head,
but Jared had just shut down.

“It doesn’t matter what I say,” he’d said, voice completely devoid of any
emotion. “You believe what you want to believe and you’ll never see the truth
because it would mess with your head too much. I just… I thought you were
finally seeing the light, but really, I should’ve known.”

Jared had laughed, a hollow, desperate sound and Jensen had told him that he
loved them, loved Maggie and that he would always protect her. Jared wasn’t
appeased and it didn’t seem like he’d forgive Jensen. While Jared still let
Jensen sleep with him without fuss whenever he wanted to knot him, Jensen felt
Jared's distance and it cut him like a serrated knife. He didn't want Jared to
be distant.

It had been years since Jensen had stumbled over that article online that had
given him pause for the first time and when he hadn’t managed to make peace
with Jared, he’d gone looking for that article again. He’d found other
material, but the one article he’d read had vanished. No matter. He still
remembered the nagging feeling of doubt, questioning the system for the first
time in his life and he didn’t know who else to turn to.

The door swung open and Jensen looked into a friendly face with big blue eyes
under a mop of dark curls. The soft and sweet note of omega wafted through the
air.

“Yes?” the omega asked.

“Hi. My name is Jensen Ackles. I was wondering if Professor Roché is home.”


***** Chapter 14 *****
Chapter Notes
     When I checked the today, I realized in shame that is was over a year
     ago when I started posting this story (March 2013, but who's keeping
     track, right?). Your continued feedback for this story means a lot to
     me, and so does your patience. I know I took my time, things
     happened, rl and fandom challenges, and I appreciate you guys
     sticking with me.
     Huge thanks to for muddling through this with me, lending beta and
     plotting skills, and to , who became a reluctant sounding board. I
     promise you all the booze as soon as I come visit you!
     Without further ado: The End
See the end of the chapter for more notes
 
 
Professor Roché’s home was big and spacious, exactly what you’d expect from a
famous scholar, who had published several successful books, but the carpets
were walked thin and the furniture was old and run down. The television was at
least ten years old, as old as the car Jensen had seen in the driveway.

“Mr. Ackles. What can I do for you?”

Jensen looked back to the professor. He was a few years older than Jensen,
somewhere in his early forties. There were deep lines in his face, but he had a
pleasant expression, if maybe a sad.

“A couple of years ago I read an article about you,” Jensen said, not sure how
to start. “You were expelled from your teaching position because of your omega
research.”

Professor Roché raised an eyebrow. “Really? I thought all the articles said I
was expelled because I sexually molested my students.”

Jensen smiled grimly. “This one was quite good with the sarcasm. I believe it
was published by a blog run by some of the students. I searched for it again,
but I couldn't find it.”

“Ah yes, my students,” Roché said wistfully. “So young and so full of ideals. I
told them to be careful. I wonder what happened to them?”

There was a pause and Jensen wondered as well. Truth to be told, he didn't know
if he wanted to know. What he’d came to ask was going to be difficult enough.

“Why are you here?” Roché asked.

“I need to know the truth.” Jensen said. “About omegas, about our society,
about everything.”

Roché scoffed. “The truth. Now why would you want to know such a horrible
thing, Mr. Ackles? You’re an alpha. I suggest you forget whatever you read a
few years ago in an unimportant little college blog and go back to your life.”

Jensen shook his head. “I can’t. Jared… He’s my omega. Well, he’s more than
that I guess and I just - I need to know how much wrong I’ve done him.”

“That depends, I’d say, on how you treated him.”

“I thought I was treating him fairly.” Jensen laughed at himself. “I mean, he
was abused by his former alpha and I took pride in never once hitting him. I
was generous, I bought him good clothes and I let him sleep in my bed-” Jensen
broke off when he saw Roché’s pitying look.

“You treated him like you were taught to treat an omega,” Roché said, summing
it up perfectly.

Jensen nodded mutely. “In the beginning,” he admitted. “But then I realized how
smart he was and I let him do whatever he wanted. I let him read and we - I
promised him we’d be a real family. Just me and him and our children.”

“And do you think you managed to fulfill that promise?”

“I thought I did. But we have an omega daughter and the thought of her
suffering the same fate as Jared, of being treated like… It changes things.”

Professor Roché eyed him critically, before apparently coming to a decision.
“Tell me, Mr. Ackles,” he asked, “do you have any plans to leave this country?”

Jensen shook his head. “No, not really. I mean, I know that things in Europe
are different, but I-” Angrily he shook his head. “Is there even another way? I
mean, you’re still here. With your omega,”

Roché sighed. “Let’s have a seat.”

Roché poured them a whiskey and then they sat down in the living room. “There
are just some conversations that should better be had with alcohol,” he said
and raised his glass. “To the most horrible thing in the world: the truth.”

Jensen down the complete glass and so did Roché. He refilled their glasses
before he started speaking.

“You will never be able to fully understand the wrong you’ve done your omega.”
There was no accusation in Roché’s eyes, only resignation.

Roché’s omega came over and sat down on the couch beside his alpha, taking his
hand. Roché gave the omega a sad smile.

“We can never really understand,” he said, talking to Jensen but not looking
away from his omega’s face. “We just have to live with the knowledge forever
that those we love the most, we hurt the most.”

The omega shook his head. “Sebastian, don’t. We talked about this, you’re not
allowed to blame yourself.”

Roché nodded. “That’s because you’re too good for this world, my love. But I
doubt I can ever forgive myself.” He turned back to Jensen. “I’ll tell you
everything you want to know, Mr. Ackles. Question is, do you really want to?”

Jensen didn't need to think. If there ever was a way to gain Jared’s
forgiveness and love, this was it. And if Roché’s omega had forgiven him, well
maybe Jared could see that Jensen had been a victim too.

“Tell me everything.”




When Jensen came home that night, he went directly to his study. He ignored
Jared asking him where the fuck he’d been all night, just planted a hard and
thorough kiss on Jared’s mouth and then locked himself into his study. He went
straight to the cupboard with all the expensive alcohol his clients had given
him in thanks.

He took out a glass, more in there for decor than anything really, opened a
bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass.

He couldn’t forget a single word Roché had said to him. In the span of two
hours, his whole world had come crumbling down. He hadn’t wanted to believe it,
it just couldn’t be true, but Roché had shown him studies from Europe, official
government papers noting the changes the omega laws brought overseas. Roché
showed him his own research on omega history, the documents revealing a world
in which omegas were not simple-minded breeding machines, but productive
members of society. Roché showed him the graphs of omega pregnancies
correlating to the mandatory ‘health’ vaccinations, published in old books,
banned nowadays.

Jensen sat in his study, everything swirling around in his mind and he didn’t
know if he wanted to scream or bash his head against the wall until his world
made sense again.

Jared, the most amazing person he’d ever met and probably the love of his
fucking life, and he’d treated him like an animal. Had disregarded everything
he said, despite proving it to him everyday. Jensen didn’t know how often Jare
had wanted to punch him in the face but he would’ve deserved it every time, and
then some. Jared had been right about everything. About their society, about
the oppressing laws, the manipulation, the vaccinations...

The vaccinations. He’d allowed Maggie to be vaccinated while Jared had insisted
on not doing it.

Jensen got up and walked to the nursery. It was late and the house was silent.
Jensen pushed the door open quietly. For a while he just stood there, watching
Davie and Maggie sleep in their little beds.

Then he walked over to Maggie’s bed. There were still four more vaccinations
she needed to have and Jensen would find a way to get her out of them. He
didn’t care if he had to bribe Jim or fake the records, he would protect his
little girl as best as he could.

“I’m so sorry I failed you, sweetheart,” he whispered and carefully stroked her
soft cheek. “I promise, I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting you.”

Maggie’s mouth twitched adorably and Jensen's heart ached. She was so tiny, so
helpless still and he had failed her. Just like he’d failed Jared.

He leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead, then he stopped by Davie’s bed
and did the same. His son would have it easier, but he’d still live in this
horrible world.

Jensen crossed the hallway and entered their bedroom. Jared was fast asleep,
sprawled out on their bed. After their move, he’d bought a California King,
Jared just took up too much space, but now Jensen wished they could always
sleep chest to chest, heart to heart.



Of all the things Roché had told him, one thing stood out in particular.

“Whenever you feel yourself slipping up, falling back into old habits, just
think about how old Jared is and what you did at his age. Nothing makes it more
obvious.”

Jared was sixteen when Jensen had gotten him, sixteen and already pregnant.
Jensen had played lacrosse in high school when he’d been sixteen.

Jared had delivered his first child when he was only seventeen, the child
Jensen had given away. And then, only a year later, Jared had given birth to
Jem. At eighteen. Jensen had just started college back then.

Jared had just turned twenty-one and he’d already been through so much.



Jensen went back to his study. He couldn’t bear to look at Jared now, not
unless he’d fixed this mess.

“Fix it?” Roché asked incredulously. “There’s nothing to fix. Scientists have
been messing with omega biology for decades. Ever since the industrial
revolution, fertility in betas and omegas has been dropping constantly, but
they realised too late it was humankind's fault. And of course instead of
stopping pollution and the increased use of chemicals, they started
experimenting with fertility. With betas there was nothing much they could do,
which is why we nowadays have a fertility rate of just under twenty percent in
betas, but with omegas… They were easier to manipulate due to their biology.
They found what triggered their heats and they just blew it up. Did you know
that five hundred years ago omegas only went into heat once a year?

“So of course, when emancipation took hold in our society, when betas and
omegas protested alpha superiority, they gave in and made betas equal. Omegas
though? Not so much. And betas realized that in order to be emancipated, they
needed to keep omegas down. And let’s be honest, no one minds having slaves
when they’re just considered to be little better than animals. Everybody just
conveniently forgot that science and experiments had turned omegas into omegas
ruled by their heats in the first place. It was so much easier to just rewrite
history.”


Roché had explained, in minute detail, the lock-down of the governments on
omega rights. Once they realized how it benefited their economy, countries had
restricted omega freedom more and more, until the Great War when, justified by
the need to win, omegas had been declared property that could be acquisitioned
by the government. What had started out under the pretense of a state of
emergency had turned into a status quo, and had been cemented as law in the
final ruling of the Supreme Court in 1959 in Campbell vs the State.

There was really no way to save Maggie in the US or give Jared a shot at a
happy life. Jensen sat down in front of his laptop and started researching
traveling abroad. If he didn’t intend to return, well that was just his
business. While Roché wasn’t allowed to leave the country - I’m not in jail per
se, he’d said, but technically they put me under house arrest. This way it just
makes less of a fuss, diplomatically speaking - he’d told Jensen that there
were fugitive agencies for omegas available. And since Jensen actually had rare
and useful skills, they wouldn’t have trouble getting a British or any other
European citizenship.

The hard part would be getting a travel permit for Jared and Kim. He could
probably justify taking one omega on a family trip easily, two might be harder.
The government tried to minimize the risk of defecting. Four kids should be
enough though to justify taking two omegas on a vacation. Or maybe a business
trip, that might be more reasonable…

The night wore on as Jensen clicked himself through government sites and help
chats. He’d need to get an omega transport permission, since they weren’t
classified as citizens who could apply for a passport. These permits were
easier to get for allied nations, meaning countries with comparable omega
rights, like Canada, Cuba or most Asian countries. Europe was a whole lot
tougher. The easiest way would probably be to go to Russia and then get into
Europe. Russias controls were much laxer than the stateside ones, but they did
classify omegas as objects as well.

Like cattle, Jared’s words sounded in Jensen’s mind and he felt sick to his
stomach. So stupid, he’d been so stupid. He loved Jared so much and he let him
suffer just because it was easier.

Jensen took a deep breath. He could continue to beat himself up about this
later, right now he needed to figure out how to get them out of the country.
He’d need to talk to his lawyer, and to Chris, maybe sell him the house so he
could wire Jensen the money later. Jensen knew Chris had contacts in Europe.
Jensen’s resume and what he had in the bank should be enough to keep them
afloat until he found a job, but it would be good to have some money saved up.
After all, he would need to put four kids through college.

Jensen didn’t know if it would be enough to make Jared forgive him, but he’d
spend the rest of his life trying.

He finally crawled into bed when it was almost morning, Jared waking up with a
displeased sound when Jensen slid under the covers.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie,” Jensen said. “I love you, you know that right?”

Jared sighed. “Yeah, I know,” he mumbled almost intelligible. He didn’t say
anything else though.

Jensen didn’t know how he’d never picked up on that, but he couldn’t ever
remember Jared telling him that he loved him. He just somehow assumed that he
did, hadn’t even give it a thought. Now though, he wanted it, no needed to hear
it.

“I love you,’” he said again but Jared remained quiet.

“You know, it would be nice hearing you say it every once in a while,” Jensen
said, trying to make his voice light.

Jared snorted. “It would be nice for you not to be an ass every once in a
while.”

Jensen felt like he’d been punched to the gut. He considered telling Jared
everything right then, but he wanted it to be a surprise, show him the plane
tickets and just get them out of there.

So he just said, “I’m sorry about before. You’re right, you’re not treated
fairly. There’s nothing I can do about these things in general, but I promise I
will do everything I can to make sure you and Maggie are happy.”

Jared froze. “What… what are you saying?”

Jensen pressed a kiss to Jared’s neck. “I love you. Not because you’re a great
omega, but because you’re a great person. I can’t save everybody, and I’m
sorry, but I can’t save Alona, you know I can’t, but you and Maggie. You’ll be
fine.”

“Will you-” Jared cleared his throat. “Did you ever think about leaving the
country?”

Jensen hid his smile in Jared’s hair. “Let’s sleep, sweetie. We’ll talk
tomorrow.”

Jared exhaled deeply and relaxed. “Okay,” he said and then he scooted closer to
Jensen like he hadn’t in a long time.

Jensen fell asleep a happy man. Everything would be alright.





When Jensen woke up, it was already noon. It was a Saturday, so Jared would’ve
taken the kids to the park. There was a puppet theatre there that their kids
loved.

Jensen took a long shower and then made coffee. As soon as Jared would get
back, he would tell him and start making plans. He’d need to call Chris and
Alaina, and-

The doorbell pulled him out of his musings. He wondered if Jared and Kim had
forgotten their keys, but when he opened the door he came face to face with
three men in dark suits.

“Mr. Ackles,” the man in the middle said politely. “I’m Mr. White from the
Omega Ministry. This is my colleague, Mr. Jones.” He pointed to the bald man to
his right. “And you remember my colleague, Mr. Smith,” he continued, pointing
to the man to his left.

Jensen did indeed recognize Mr. Smith, and fear spread through his stomach.

Mr Smith continued to smile, eyes cold and looking at Jensen expectantly. “May
we come in?”

Jensen knew this wasn’t really a question and wordlessly, he let them pass. Mr.
Smith shot him a condescending smile when he walked by. The three men went into
the living room and sat down on the couch and Mr. White indicated for Jensen to
sit on the armchair.

“Alright, let’s not beat around the bush,” Mr White said, almost cheerful and
opened a little black notebook he pulled from his suit jacket. “You have been
under the eyes of our ministry for quite some time, with you breeding your
omega to give you twins. Quite the feat.”

Jensen inclined his head, not feeling this was a compliment though.

“And of course, you do valued work for our government,” Mr. White continued.
“Now, you’re not married and from what Mr. Smith told me you have no intention
to. That’s fine of course, we’re a modern society, there’s nothing wrong with
being a single parent.”

The urge to punch Mr. White in the face was quite strong, but Jensen refrained.
“I doubt you came here to congratulate me,” was all he said.

“Indeed we did not. It has come to our attention that you visited with a former
professor of Language History and Sociology, a certain Sebastian Roché?”

“And how is that any of your business?”

“Oh well, Mr. Roché is under house arrest because of incitement and sedition.”
Mr. White smiled softly. “But you already knew that.”

“No, I didn’t,” Jensen said and technically it was the truth.

Mr White nodded. “You might not have known that, but you knew what you were
looking for. You see, Mr. Ackles, we have Professor Roché under surveillance.
Everyone he talks to, we listen. In all honesty, you didn’t make it better,
when you started looking for travel stipulations online and how to get an omega
to Europe.”

Jensen thought he could feel the color leaving his face. They knew. They had
surveilled his computer. They had-

“You spied in on my computer?” Jensen almost yelled. “For what? Talking? I will
sue your sorry ass for this!”

Mr. White continued to smile calmly. “No, you won’t. Let me explain to you why.
You want to illegally leave the country, because you don’t plan on coming
back.”

“You can’t prove that,” Jensen said hotly.

“We don’t need to. Your conversation with Roché is enough to qualify as
treason. Your plans to leave the country? Mr. Ackles, with evidence like this,
you won’t even get a trial. Under the National Security Act from 1995, this
qualifies you directly as a domestic terrorist with intentions of high
treason.”

Jensen stared at Mr. White in horror. “You can’t do that.”

“You’ll find that we can. But the reason I’m telling you this, is because we
don’t want to. You are a valuable asset to our government. The security designs
you do for our facilities are invaluable. And your omega, he is an excellent
breeder. You don’t know how rare twin pregnancies are. Children from such a
stock are usually highly fertile themselves. I also took a look at Jared’s
pedigree chart and saw that his alpha-sire was birthed by a beta, so it stands
to hope Jared’s beta children will be fertile as well. Even you come from a
reasonably fertile family. There were two fertile betas in the last four
generations, did you know that?”

Jensen mutely shook his head, feeling like the world was slipping through his
fingers.

Mr. White continued, voice still soft and pleasant. “Now. Mr. Ackles, we want
you to stay here and be happy. And we want Jared to be happy as well. We could
take him to a breeding farm of course, but independently raised omegas like him
usually… wilt on the farms, if you will. They just fade, become sick, and their
children… don’t even get me started.” Mr. White raised his hand like he was
waiving away an annoying bee. “So you see, it is really in all our best
interest to maintain the status quo.”

Jensen didn’t know what to say. They wanted to keep him here, take away the one
chance he has to save Maggie and Jared. He couldn’t let that happen. They just
couldn’t keep him a prisoner in his own life.

“You can’t just keep us here,” he said, shaking his head disbelievingly. This
couldn’t be happening. “I am an alpha citizen, you can’t just put me in jail.”

Mr. While put his little notebook away and folded his hands in his lap. “Mr.
Ackles, we are the Omega Ministry. We are the most important institution in our
government, charged with keeping the population up at a working level. We can
do anything we deem necessary.”

“You’ll never get away with this,” Jensen hissed. “I have friends in high
places, you can’t just make me disappear. I’ve heard the news from Europe, the
omega freedom movement is spreading and-”

“Europe?” Mr. Smith interrupted him with a harsh laugh, leaning forward. “No.
China and India will be the new players. Haven’t you heard of the financial
crisis? Spain and Greece teetering on the brink? Why do you think Great Britain
is pondering leaving the EU? Like rats, they want to leave a sinking ship.
Germany tries to keep up its numbers by immigration, but we’re seeing a
strengthening of the conservative parties everywhere. They’re going to ban
immigration and then they won’t have a choice but to adopt our policies. Mr.
Ackles, Europe is done. A few more years and its significance for the
international economy will be all but gone. It will be remembered as the place
that gave us Shakespeare, Oktoberfest and croissants, and nothing more.”

“That’s enough,” Mr. White said mildly, and Mr Smith sat back again with a sour
expression on his face.

“Mr. Ackles, your passport expired two years ago,” Mr White continued as if
nothing had happened. “Don’t even bother applying for a new one, you won’t get
one. And neither will any other member of your family. You will not leave.”

Jensen opened his mouth for an angry reply, but Mr. Smith held up his hand.
“You will stay here, and we will keep out of your business. Let’s go for a
reasonable number and say four more pregnancies. Now, some people… they try to
leave without their passport. I would strongly advise against that. First off,
the chances of success are, well, non-existent and secondly, the punishment is
quite harsh. What we’re offering here is a second chance. You don’t accept that
and the gloves come off. Prison for you, breeding farm for your omega and your
children up for adoption. Not to mention we can track your omega. And if you
decide to un-chip him - well, the moment that chip comes out, we’ll be knocking
on your door. Don’t underestimate us, Mr. Ackles.”

Mr Smith nodded. “We know about all your contacts. Your college friend,
Christian Kane? We know about his illegal endeavours. Unless you want to see
him dragged in front of a judge, you better not involve him. As to the contacts
you made through your work…” Mr. Smith looked meaningful at the telephone.
“Well, let’s just say, we’ll know who you call.”

Mr. White stood up, looking at him expectantly, but there was nothing Jensen
could say. They monitored his calls. They knew everything about his family.
They’d never let them leave.

“I see you understand,” Mr. White said, voice completely pleasant, like he was
discussing the weather. “Have a good day.”

Jensen remained on the couch while the Omega Ministry workers let themselves
out.

Mr. White paused in the door. “Oh, and Mr. Ackles? Jared will go into heat
soon. I suggest you breed him again immediately. As a sign of good faith, if
you will.”

The door fell harshly into the lock.

Jensen kept sitting on the couch for a long time, unable to move. His mind
refused to process what had just happened. It couldn’t be happening. No matter
how he tried to spin it, the outcome was always the same. They knew he knew.
They wouldn’t let them leave.

Oh god, Jared would be devastated if he told him. To find a way out, only for
it to be taken away, Jared would never accept that.

Jared would never accept that. Dread settled heavily in Jensen's stomach. It
wouldn’t matter that Jensen would tell him they’d have to stay, Jared would try
to leave. Jensen knew, without a doubt, that if Jared knew the full extent of
the government manipulation, knew that Jensen knew, he would use it to keep him
hostage. Just like when Jared had forced Jensen to let him keep both babies,
he’d threaten to ignore him if he didn’t get his way.

Jensen wanted to give him this, wanted to take him away, but he couldn’t risk
their safety. If they made a plan and it went wrong - Jensen couldn’t bear to
lose his family. Just thinking about Jared and Maggie on a breeding farm, it
made bile rise in his throat. He could never tell Jared about his plans to
leave, could never tell him he’d even considered it.

He’d have to go on as if nothing happened. He’d have to go on, with Jared still
hating him for not treating him as an equal, with Jared still blaming him for
his fate. He’d have to go on, knowing he’d had a shot at Jared’s love but now
it was irrevocably gone.

All the dreams he’d had after realizing the truth, after finally being able to
see past everything, imagining a different life with Jared, with his love, they
would stay just that - dreams.

Jensen didn’t know how he could bear it.


When Jared came back from the playground hours later, there was a smile on his
face and a glint in his eyes. Jensen hadn’t seen him like that in a long time
and he realized it was anticipation.

Jared walked up to him, Joy on his arm and pressed a kiss to Jensen’s cheek.

“Hi. We missed you at the park.”

Jensen forced himself to smile. “I was really tired. Next time, okay?”

Jared nodded. “Can we talk? About things?”

Jensen nodded and prayed Jared would be satisfied with what he’d come up with.

They put Joy and the twins down for a nap. Jem wasn’t sleeping during the day
anymore, but Kim took his hand and led him to the play corner in the living
room.

Jensen pulled out the documents he had prepared. He wasn’t sure if the Omega
Ministry would accept them, but there was nothing else he could do. He’d never
felt so helpless in all his life.

“This is a special Omega Family Trust,” Jensen explained to Jared and he could
see how his omega’s face fell. “There are certain stipulations for an omega
becoming lifelong family property, but it’s doable. Maggie would be in a trust,
that will always be under the supervision of the family’s oldest alpha. Right
now, that’s me. When I die, she’ll go to Jem. There’s still a minimum
requirement of pregnancies of course, but Jem can have her inseminated, have
her carry the children to term and then declare them as his own.”

Jared opened his mouth, expression horrified, but Jensen raised his hand
placatingly. “Jared, let me explain. This is perfect. Artificial insemination
means that she’ll never have to sleep with another alpha, if she doesn’t want
to. She will always live with our family, they won’t be able to take her away.”

“Why can’t we just leave?” Jared asked insistently. “Jensen, it would be so
much better if we would just go to Europe. Maggie can go to school there, a
real school and college, she won’t be locked into her own home, she can have a
life!”

“She can have one here too,” Jensen tried to argue and he almost had to throw
up at the thoughts of what he was condemning his daughter too. “There are lots
of jobs you can do from home. As for Europe, I can't just pack up my job and
leave. Plus, the hassle of getting one omega out of the country? It’s immense.
Two is virtually impossible. And you wouldn’t want to leave Kim behind now,
would you?”

Jensen hated himself for playing dirty, but he needed to convince Jared to
stay.

At the thought of Kim staying behind, Jared’s eyes widened in horror. “No, of
course we can’t leave her here! But Jensen, there has to be a way, my parents-”

“There isn’t,” Jensen interrupted him. He couldn’t let Jared continue, couldn’t
hear if maybe Jared’s parents had made plans to leave. For a brief moment he
wondered if Jared's father had been visited by the OM as well and just hadn’t
cared, but he pushed that thought aside quickly.

Instead he said, “Jared, why do you think I stayed up so late last night? This
is the best course of action. Everything will work out, you see.”

Jared shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re just giving up like that. It’s
your daughter!”

“I am not giving up!” Jensen said angrily. “I’m doing the best I can and you
need to stop questioning me. I want what’s best for Maggie too and this is the
best I can do. She’ll be safe with us. I swear, Jared this will work. And to
rest your mind, we won’t let her have the rest of the additional vaccinations,
okay? I’ll get Jim to hold them back.”

Jensen had never hated himself as much as in that moment, when Jared’s whole
body deflated and he nodded, eyes firmly trained on the ground and desperation
obvious in his whole posture.

“I love you so much, baby,” Jensen said helplessly. “Can’t you see that?”

Jared nodded. “Yeah, I see,” he said slowly, got up and walked over to Jem,
drawing his squirming son into his arms. Jensen kept sitting on the couch,
staring at them and for the first time since his parents had died, he felt
tears stinging in his eyes.

Jensen would never hear Jared say that he loved him, because Jared would never
be able to love him. He’d realized too late what a wonderful thing he could’ve
had, now it was too late.





Later that night, after the kids were safely tucked in and Kim had retired to
her room, Jensen scooted up behind Jared, burying his nose in his hair. He
didn’t want to see Jared’s face for this.

“You’ll go into heat soon, probably next week” he said quietly. “And I think it
would be great if we have another kid.”

It was silent for a moment. Jensen couldn’t see Jared’s face, but he still felt
how his shoulders tensed up.

“I thought we had enough?” Jared asked, voice tight. “You know I love our kids,
but you agreed that four are enough.”

Jensen tried to swallow around the big lump in his throat. It wasn’t that he
didn’t want more kids, and he was sure that Jared wouldn’t mind if not for the
threat of having another omega. The real problem for Jared was that he didn’t
have a choice. For the first time Jensen really understood what that meant.

“I know I said that. But Joy is already getting so big. How about we make
another cute little baby?” Jensen nuzzled Jared’s neck, internally begging him
to go along.

“No, Jensen. I can’t. I can’t take it.”

Jensen closed his eyes and pressed his hand on Jared’s belly, asking for
forgiveness. “Yes, you can.”

For a moment Jared tensed even more, then he exhaled in a huff and his body
just slumped down, desperation and disappointment obvious in every tired line
of his body.

“Okay.”

Jensen pressed kiss after kiss to his neck, each one a silent apology. He
didn’t stop until Jared had fallen asleep and it was only then when he dared to
wipe his eyes. He wasn’t sure if he was crying for Jared or for himself, for
their unborn babies or just for all of them. He had become a prisoner in his
own life, just like Jared had always tried to make him see.

He’d done an insurmountable wrong by Jared and this was his punishment. Jared
would never forgive him, never love him. Jensen thought he would suffer it so
much easier if Jared just wouldn’t have to suffer right along with him.

“I love you. So much.”

Jared snuffled, then rolled away from him. Jensen followed him, putting an arm
around him. He just couldn’t help himself, he needed to be close to Jared now.














Epilogue


A bee was buzzing around over their picnic blanket. It was the first real warm
day, so Jared wasn’t surprised the insect was out and about.

In the park, the kids were using Jensen as a jungle gym. He’d attempted to show
the twins how to throw and catch a baseball which had somehow ended in a
wrestling match when Maggie had declared, “daddy you’re not playing fair,” and
her brothers had immediately joined the fight.

Joy had been sitting in the grass, watching peacefully and now after everyone
was exhausted and using their father as a pillow, Jensen had drawn her in
tight, disappearing under a heap of tangled children’s limbs.

Jared looked back down at the picnic blanket where the bee had taken up on
crawling around on an abandoned piece of Jem’s jelly toast. It was getting
stuck in the thick substance, struggling futilely to get away.

Jared watched at the tiny animal and was reminded of another time, another
place, another struggling bee.

The bee finally managed to crawl off the toast, but jelly was sticking to its
legs and body. It slowly moved it’s wings and then it flew up into the air. Its
flight was bumbly and uncoordinated, but after a few crooked loops the bee got
its bearings and flew off into the distance. Jared watched it until he couldn’t
see it anymore.

He heard the approaching steps but he only looked up when Jensen dropped Joy
into his lap, mindful of Jared’s growing belly.

“She fell asleep, I’m gonna leave her here with you while I try to teach the
rest of the brood how to properly throw a… Sweetie, are you all right?”

Jared looked up into Jensen’s concerned face. Huh. He must’ve zoned out there
for a moment.

“Yeah, I am,” he said, “I just saw a bee.”

“A bee?” Jensen asked.

Jared nodded. “It got stuck in the jelly toast and it reminded me of
something.”

Jensen looked down at the piece of toast then at Jared again. “Okay,” he said
slowly. “And what did the bee in the jelly remind you of?”

Jared looked to where the bee had flown off to, some far away place he would
never know.

“I doesn’t matter.”
 
 
Chapter End Notes
     Final A/N: I know this is not what a lot of you envisioned or hoped
     for. But for me this was always how this story was going to end.
     There are stories about revolution and redemption, about
     reconciliation and happiness. This is not one of them. I hope you
     still enjoyed this story as I made my way through it.
     Usually I am not averse to writing sequels or timestamps for my
     stories. Again, this is not one of them. For me, this story is
     finished. You are, of course, to do with it in your own imagination
     whatever you want, but I can write no more. Yes, I'm looking at you,
     Kami!
End Notes
     You can find find me on tumblr here.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
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