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Dean presented as a beta like his dad. His father had a thing against alphas and omegas. He said alphas were violent and omegas were weak. In Dean’s experience, neither of those things were true but he didn’t learn that until much later in life. Not until after his baby brother ran away in the middle of the night just shy of his sixteenth birthday and was never seen again.
He knew what that meant. He knew that meant Sam was either an alpha or an omega. His father never looked for Sam because John thought alphas and omegas were abominations. Dean didn’t care if his brother was gendered as a fish taco; he would still love his brother. Unfortunately, Dean hadn’t seen or heard from Sam in years. Six years to be exact and he didn’t even know if Sammy was still alive.
A scared and homeless omega in heat could have been Sam. Dean had watched the evening news enough to know what happens to omegas like that. They end up dead or worse. However, Dean knew it wasn’t very likely Sam was an omega. Male omegas were rare.
It was more likely Sam was a scared and homeless alpha. He probably got thrown into a halfway house somewhere until he turned 18 and was fine. Dean was sure that was the case, his brother was an alpha. He was probably living a good life.
Dean was pulled from his thoughts when a warm arm wrapped around his waist. He felt Castiel snuggle up against him in bed and whisper, “You think too much.”
Dean huffed out a laugh and said flatly, “I’ve been worried about him.”
Castiel groaned and pulled away. He sat up and gave Dean a stern look. For another beta, Castiel could give off that alpha vibe sometimes. “I thought we’ve been through this. If Sammy is alive he doesn’t want to be found. He could have gotten a fake ID and is living under another name. Your father did say he would kill him if he was an omega or an alpha. If he is an omega then he may have been issued a new identity by the government under the Omega Protection Program.”
Dean grumbled. He didn’t like the Omega Protection Program. What it did was it allowed newly presented omegas to leave their parents’ home and go to a police station, fire station, or hospital to seek safe haven. It was done to end the age old practice of selling omegas. It worked, but the omegas lived in group homes and were given new last names. Tracking down one of those omegas was extremely difficult hence the reason Dean hated it.
Dean cuddled up to Castiel and said firmly, “Sammy is not a male omega. Those things are rare.”
Castiel laughed and said playfully, “Well, you’re meeting one tomorrow so play nice. Gabriel speaks very highly of his Sam. He said the omega is huge but kind.”
Dean groaned and threw a pillow over his head, “Yes, we are going to be graced with the greatness of one Sam Wesson. A law school student that works part-time at a bar with no family. As if that doesn’t have Omega Protection Program written all over it.”
Castiel jabbed Dean in the side and said sternly, “Mr. Novak behave yourself.”
Dean laughed and asked, “How did you convince me to change my last name?”
Castiel shrugged and stated calmly, “I got you drunk before you filled out the paperwork. Besides, I actually like my father unlike you.”
Dean took the point. He didn’t really see the point in carrying the family name if there was not family to share it with. His father died hating him for being in a relationship with a man. His father drove Sammy away so he didn’t really mind dropping the last name Winchester in favor of Novak.
++
Sam was curled up in bed with his alpha. His heat was last week and this week he was going to meet Gabriel’s family. His mate always talked highly of his family and Sam wished to meet them. He wished he had a family like that. As it was he didn’t. When he presented as omega, he ran.
His first heat was on the streets and he was attacked by unmated alphas. Gabriel saved him. Granted he saved him after his innocence was lost but he still saved him and never once judged him for that. Gabriel took him home and cleaned him up. Then Gabriel arranged for him to live with a foster family instead of going to a group home.
Under the Omega Protection Program, Sam’s last name was changed from Winchester to Wesson. He took the change a little hard because he had always considered himself a Winchester, but Sam knew it was for the best. He didn’t want his dad to find him and kill him or sell him.
His foster family consisted of a widower named Bobby Singer. Bobby owned a salvage yard and he was a kind man. Bobby was and still is the closest thing he ever had to a father. Bobby was a beta and he made sure that Sam was safe during his heats. He helped him with his homework and helped him get into college. He owed Bobby a lot. He knew most foster children weren’t that lucky.
Sam had a feeling Gabriel had a large role in Sam’s luck in life. He saw Gabriel every couple months during the rest of high school. Gabriel had said he just wanted to make sure he was doing okay. It wasn’t until Sam was twenty that he started to have an actual relationship with Gabriel. It just felt right. If Sam wanted anyone to be his alpha, he wanted it to be Gabriel.
Gabriel was the one alpha that never treated him like a hole to fuck. Never made a move on him during heat and always respected him. Sure, Gabriel had his faults. He liked to play jokes and sometimes they were funny. Sometimes they just pissed Sam off. Like the time Gabriel put hair remover in his shampoo. He cried when clumps of his hair literally melted away. Gabriel shaved his own head as penance and Sam’s hair eventually grew back, but it still stung that Gabriel would do that to him.
Sam was pulled from his thoughts by his alpha nipping on his neck. He growled into Sam’s ear, “I want to knot you.”
Sam huffed out a sigh. Technically, Gabriel didn’t have to ask him. He could just take. There were mated and as the omega Sam had no say. Even legally mated omegas had no say in anything. Sam could still do whatever he wanted, if his alpha allowed it. That was why he was able to still go to college and have a job. Honestly, Gabriel never tried to control him and Gabriel joked about having to write Sam an ‘alpha’s note’ to go somewhere.
Sam grumbled, “Not tonight, Gabriel. I have too much on my mind.”
Gabriel leaned back away from Sam then he pulled Sam close to his chest so they could look at each other. He was quiet for a time then he finally said, “We don’t have to meet Castiel and Dean tomorrow if you don’t want to. I know the idea of having a non-dysfunctional family is scary for you.”
Sam shook his head and said weakly, “No, they are already here and I don’t want them to think you have me tied up somewhere.”
Gabriel kissed Sam on his forehead and said fondly, “You know what I think, Sam?” Sam looked at his mate and waited. “I think you’re going to do amazing things in your life. You’re going to prove to everyone that mated omegas are just as capable and smart. Someday they are going to wonder if you have me tied up somewhere.”
Sam sighed and asked, “Are you trying to seduce me?”
Gabriel hummed for a moment and said thoughtfully, “No, I seduced you a couple years ago. You’re mine now. I am just trying to set your mind at ease. Sometimes, you forget how amazing you are. You were worth the wait Samuel Wesson.”
++
Dean stared at himself in the mirror as he adjusted his tie. Castiel said they had to put on appearances for Gabriel. Getting eloped rubbed Gabriel the wrong way which Dean couldn’t understand. Gabriel was mated to guy that he wasn’t married to, not like many alphas actually married their omegas anyways. Dean shouted into the other room to Castiel, “If Gabriel has his bitch on a leash, I am taking off this tie. I don’t want you to pull me around on it.”
Castiel sauntered into the bathroom and gave Dean’s ass a hard slap. He kissed Dean’s neck and said huskily, “I think you’ll like it to much if I did.” Then Castiel demeanor changed and he was calm, “Gabriel doesn’t treat Sam like a pet or a piece of property. Gabriel is active in omega rights. He thinks all omegas should have equal rights. I would not call Sam a bitch in front of Gabriel. I find it likely that he would take that offensively.”
Dean baited Cas, “But Sam wouldn’t find it offensive? So I can whisper in his ear that he is a bitch?”
Castiel rolled his eyes and stated, “You’re impossible and please don’t say that to him. I imagine that being a mated male omega isn’t easy. He has no rights beyond what Gabriel gives him which from my understanding Gabriel doesn’t exercise any control over Sam. Gabriel told me that Sam as a collection of signed ‘alpha notes’ in the glove box of his car stating he has permission to be somewhere.”
Dean frowned and asked skeptically, “I don’t get it. Unmated omegas have the same rights as everyone else. Mated omegas are property of their alpha. Why would he choose to do that?”
Castiel shrugged and said flatly, “Clearly, he saw something in Gabriel I’ve never seen. But honestly, he’s never told me how that happened.”
++
Gabriel and Sam arrived at the restaurant early and they had a private section of the restaurant but they still had a view of the entire restaurant. Sam was nervous and fidgeting. He whispered to Gabriel, “They are going to think I am just a stupid bitch.”
Gabriel hummed for a moment and whispered back, “Sam, if you keep talking down about yourself. I may have to change my mind on letting you do whatever you want.”
Sam snorted and asked, “Really? Are you going to gag me in front of your brother and his husband?”
Gabriel got a devious look in eye and stated vaguely, “No, I can just fill them in our sex life so you’ll be too mortified to speak.”
Sam about choked on his water with that statement and he was eternally glad Gabriel was just teasing and wouldn’t actually do anything like that. He fiddled with his bracelet on his wrist. It was the one that stated he was Gabriel’s property. Gabriel didn’t want a collar and Sam agreed with that. He wasn’t a dog. Gabriel wore a similar bracelet on his wrist stating he belonged to Sam.
Sam was relaxing about the situation when he caught sight of his brother, Dean, with a dark haired man. He was fairly certain he stopped breathing and he could feel the fear radiating off his body. Dean was always loyal to their father and John would be nearby. John would kill him for being an omega and Dean would probably help.
He could see them walking in their direction. It was clear either Dean hadn’t seen him or didn’t recognize him. That didn’t help his fear. His alpha must have been able to smell his fear though because Sam felt a strong hand on the back of his neck. Then his head was moved so it was resting on Gabriel’s shoulder and his nose was near Gabriel’s neck. He knew this was so he could smell Gabriel’s scent and calm himself. Sam let his hair fall in front of his face as he breathed in Gabriel’s scent. It worked to a degree but he was still terrified.
Sam vaguely heard two chairs get pulled out and he heard two people sit down. It was Castiel and Castiel’s Dean. Sam knew he should greet them and not have his nose buried in his alpha’s neck like a scared bitch, but he was a scared bitch. Sam heard Gabriel state calmly, “Something spooked Sam. He should be fine in a little bit.”
Dean glanced at Castiel and thought for sure he had the wrong impression of Gabriel. What Gabriel was doing to this Sam was treating him like a pet. Adults don’t get ‘spooked’ in restaurants and need to sniff someone’s neck to feel better. That is mated omega weakness. Castiel seemed unfazed by it and said calmly, “It’s fine, Gabriel.” Cas gestured toward him and said, “This is my husband, Dean.”
Dean leaned forward and held out his hand for Gabriel to shake. He gruffly said, “Hi Gabriel. It is nice to meet you.” That was when the brown haired man leaning up against Gabriel’s neck moved to look at him and Dean realized who he was looking at. Dean moved his hand away from Gabriel and his palms felt cold. He whispered out a broken, “Sammy?”
He smelled Sam’s fear spike and Dean realized that Sam was afraid of him. He couldn’t help but ask himself, why would Sammy be afraid of him? And what was all this crap about calling him Sam? He was Sammy, not Sam. Dean heard a low growl from Gabriel. It was a protective growl from an alpha defending his omega. Dean had never had that directed at him before. He sat back down in his chair for lack of knowing what else to do.
Castiel weakly asked, “Gabe? Dean? What is going on?”
Dean felt anger flare in him because if Sam was an unmated omega, he might be able to hold his own. But Gabriel mated with him and made Sam weak. He could be beating Sam which was causing Sam to act this way. Dean harshly said, “Your dickwad brother mated with my brother.” Dean pointed at Sam and said, “This is my little brother, Sammy.” He glared directly at Gabriel and repeated, “His name is Sammy.”
Gabriel responded with authority in his voice, not anger. This was alpha posturing at its finest. “First of all, his name is Samuel Wesson. His nickname is Sam or whatever he decides he wants it to be that day. If he wants to be called Sammy then he will, but that is his choice. Second of all, I am not the father and the brother that Sam had to run away from during his first heat in fear of getting murdered.”
Dean scuffed and said defensively, “I wouldn’t have let our dad lay a hand on him. If he had just come to me, I would have figured something out so we could have all stayed together.”
Gabriel nodded and brushed a hand through Sam’s hair. It had grown back a little softer after the hair removal prank but with as much as it upset Sam, he knew there was no way he was going to tell Sam that. Gabriel spoke with the same authority. “I don’t think Sam believes that. Where is your father?”
Dean rolled his eyes and stated firmly, “Dead and for the record, he disowned me when I started seeing Cas. So what did you do? Find Sam on the street during his first heat and mate him? Cas said you’ve known him for six years.” Dean could smell Sam’s fear lessening after he said their dad was dead, which Dean thought was odd.
Gabriel sighed and stated, “Yes, I found him on the street during his first heat. As you might imagine, that was dangerous for him. When I found him I took him home and cleaned him up. I set him up with a foster family and he got a new last name. I kept in contact with Sam, because I wanted to make sure he was doing okay. We started dating when Sam was twenty and we mated shortly after that. With the way society is an unmated omega over twenty is a target for aggressive alphas. Sam and I both knew we wanted to be together so the mating wasn’t a big deal.”
Dean stared at Sam critically for a moment and he said firmly, “I want to talk to Sam alone.”
Much to Dean’s surprise Gabriel neither denied his request nor agreed to it. Instead Gabriel looked at Sam and whispered something in his ear. Something Dean could not hear. He watched something get whispered back to Gabriel and that was a little annoying. Then Gabriel said, “I will ask for our food to be delivered to my home. We should talk more there.” Gabriel turned his attention to Dean and said, “Sam will talk to you when he is comfortable.”
++
Dean and Castiel left the restaurant ahead of Gabriel and Sam. Dean turned around and glared at Cas, “I swear if your brother hit him one time or forced him to do..”
Cas put up a hand to stop Dean from going on any further. He tried to placate his husband, “I doubt Gabe hit Sam or is hurting him. If he is, I’ll kill my brother and you can protect yours.” Dean was satisfied with that and continued walking toward their car.
++
It took two hours for Dean to finally be able to talk to Sam. When they got to Gabriel’s house, Sam was nowhere in sight. Dean wondered if Gabriel had him tied up somewhere but he didn’t ask that. Sam was sitting in the sun room when Dean got to talk to him. Dean could see the bracelet on Sam’s wrist that marked him legally as Gabriel’s property.
His brother still looked upset, but he didn’t smell afraid like he did earlier. Carefully Dean said, “Sammy?”
Sam glanced up with him and he wasn’t sure what to say. He corrected Dean, “It is Sam.” He knew that probably wasn’t the right thing to say and he hoped Gabriel was right. He hoped Dean wouldn’t try to kill him. He licked his lips and asked, “Are you mad that I am an omega?”
Dean raised an eyebrow at that and sat down. He didn’t want to be towering over Sam for this conversation. He carefully said, “No Sammy, I’m not mad. I am a little hurt that you ran from me and didn’t tell me. I would have protected you. You were always more important to me than Dad.”
Sam gave Dean a weak smile and said sadly, “Are you mad that I am mated?”
Dean grimaced and said calmly, “Yes, I am. You gave up all of your rights. Why would you do that? I mean, does he control you and hit you?” Dean had too many questions to process.
Sam ran a hand through is hair before answering. “Gabriel has never forced me to do anything. I wanted to get mated. It was instinct or whatever but the only alpha I wanted was Gabriel. He was the only alpha I ever met that treated me like I was his equal. He doesn’t like that mating me took away my rights. But I feel safer mated and I still do everything I did before.”
Dean nodded and said, “You know, I would never hurt you.” Sam nodded his head in understanding and Dean smiled. He added casually, “Oh and if Gabriel so much as pulls out a hair on your head, Cas said he would kill him.”
Sam paled slightly, but he was glad to have his big brother back. He just had to make sure Gabriel kept the stories of his pranks between them otherwise he could end up on Castiel’s hit list.