Chapter Text
Apollo regretted all his life decisions that had brought him to this point. Well, they hadn't been his own decisions, but those made by others, especially his father, but he still had a lot of regrets. He had been born an Omega and from the beginning he had been taught that one day he would belong to an Alpha and that he had to have children and he knew it was wrong, but what was he to do? With the help of his sister, he learned to read and write and secretly became quite clever, but no one asked an Omega about their opinions.
But the real world outside of Apollo's mind had never left him and then his father managed to sell him to the future king. Prince Hephaestus. Apollo didn't know him, but it didn't matter, he had to marry him. The ceremony was quick and then a huge party started. His new husband had quickly left to be with people he knew and Apollo stood with his sister for a long time until he was fetched to prepare for the mating.
//mild smut//skip to next mark if you are sensitive to such things//
For the second time that day, he was bathed and practically tortured with oils. Then came the most humiliating part. He was strapped to one of these benches and left there. Completely alone and naked. Until his husband decided to come.
It took perhaps half an hour before the door opened. It closed again immediately and was then locked. Footsteps came closer and then a hand lay on Apollo's lower back, gently stroking his spine. Apollo trembled. He didn't like the whole thing at all, but the quicker it went, the quicker it would be over. The hand slid down and two fingers slipped between Apollo's legs.
The mating was quick and silent, Apollo was sure his husband hadn't even undressed. It felt surprisingly good and when he finally got the bite he was filled with a sense of fulfillment that was strange. He hadn't felt any connection to Hephaestus before. The movements didn't seem to match the man Apollo had met a few hours ago either. The knot inside him took a few minutes to subside, during which time small kisses were distributed on Apollo's neck and bite, which were surprisingly beautiful. It felt right in the post-orgasmic bliss, almost caring. Apollo barely noticed half of it, his eyes were about to fall shut.
The knot came loose and was carefully pulled out.
//end of scene//continue here//
Then Apollo was freed from the shackles that bound him to the bench and taken into the strong arms of the alpha. Only now did Apollo realize that this was not his husband. It was a man not unlike him, but much more handsome, stronger and much better built. And yet he seemed dangerous. He radiated a certain coldness that contrasted with his gentle touch. He was the brother of Prince Hephaestus. Prince Ares. The disgraced prince. The runaway prince. He had claimed a castle on the coast and that was where he lived now. He hadn't been at the wedding. But most importantly, this was not his husband.
Apollo tried to get away from the alpha in his half-awake state, but he was tired and the arms holding him were strong. "Sh, Omega, calm down. Everything will be alright. Sleep now." The last part was said in alpha voice and even though it couldn't normally be used to force sleep, Apollo had been close enough to natural sleep that it worked.
When he woke up again, he was lying on a large four-poster bed with a red blanket and pillows. He was curled up under the blanket. And he was alone. Then he remembered everything. Mating. Prince. Ares. Abduction. He sat up and looked around. A dark wardrobe stood opposite the bed, to the left of the door was a table with a mirror and to the right was the way out.
Since Apollo was still naked, he wrapped the red blanket around him before stepping outside. It was a balcony half over the sea. The castle ran past the cliff and too the right was the sea. On the left was the rest of the castle.
Then it really sank in. He had been kidnapped. He had been raped, even if it would have happened anyway. But even if he was brought back, he would no longer be able to be the future king's husband. He was no longer pure and that mattered more than the wedding. What mattered was the bite. Apollo's hand shot to the bite on his neck. It was sensitive and still hurt a little.
What should he do now?
After a few minutes, he decided that sitting around wasn't the answer. So he went back inside, opened the wardrobe and found a pair of trousers and a shirt that he could put on. He tied his hair up with a ribbon from the table and then left the room. Behind the door was a hallway with three corridors and Apollo decided to go straight down the hall.
In his head he collected all the facts he knew. Ares had been disinherited because of fights in the family and because he wanted the throne. He had taken his mother's family castle, Dragonstone. He had some who defended his claim to the throne because rumor had it he was actually the older one, which was hard to tell because the royal family had kept their children secret for their safety until they had reached a certain age.
Ares was widely regarded as cruel and brutal and his dragon spread the same terror. Dragons were generally something Apollo had respect for.
He reached a staircase and went down. Then he heard voices. He immediately hid behind a curtain. "-risky." "Certainly, but what better way could he have demonstrated his power?" "But that was a direct attack. A personal attack. Stealing the Omega right from under her nose. At the wedding." "But a move that showed he wasn't kidding."
There were two men. Apollo prayed to the gods that they couldn't smell him, but he had no luck. "Do you smell that?" "Yes." Apollo squinted and then the curtain was pulled away. "Your Highness," the first man said. The second lowered his head briefly. Your highness? Right, technically he was Ares' omega. Ares was called the other king, even though his brother hadn't even been crowned yet. I guess that meant Apollo was like their queen to these people now. "You shouldn't be walking around here alone," the other said.
"I...I'm looking for...my alpha." Safest way to put it. "The king is in the great hall, shall we take you there?", one asked. He was taller than his companion, had brown hair and a thin build, but was an Alpha. The other was also Alpha, had black hair and looked at Apollo with interest. They both did, "Yes." "Good, follow us." They walked further down the corridor to where the two had come from. "I'm Hermes, House Serpentis, by the way. This is Dionysus, House Vin," said the tall one. "Nice to meet you."
"You must be nervous," said Dionysus. "You can smell that I'm nervous," Apollo replied. "I've been kidnapped." "You seem very calm and collected, though," said Hermes. "Other Omegas would be crying and calling for help." "Well that doesn't help me either, does it?" Dionysus and Hermes grinned. "No, I don't think it does."
They turned left and there stood two soldiers in front of a large door. They bowed as they opened the door. Inside, there was a large table with several people leaning over it. "Hermes, Dionysus, I didn't expect to see you in this company again. And so soon," Ares said as he stood up and approached them. "If you'll excuse me, I have an Omega to attend to," he said to the men at the table. They all looked at Apollo as if he were an exotic animal.
Ares offered Apollo his arm and the two of them left through a small corridor that led outside. "You must be confused." "I was raped and kidnapped. From my own wedding," Apollo stated. "Firstly, I doubt my brother wouldn't have raped you and secondly, it was something necessary. You're not what I thought you were." "Just because I'm not crying?" "Because you dare to look me in the eye while you talk," Ares said. "Shouldn't I? We don't have to stick to formalities in this situation." "What situation? You're my omega and you're here at my court now. When I am king, you are queen, which is more than Hephaestus could give you. You behave as you would there, do we understand each other?"
Apollo wrinkled his nose. "Understood, Omega?" "Yes, and I have a name." "Apollo, I know." Something about the way Ares said his name sent a shiver down Apollo's spine. He hated it. "We have an unexpected connection, as I'm sure you've already noticed. Not that it will do any good, but maybe it will help you behave well. Do you think you're already with child?" Apollo glared at him: "I married your brother, I should be carrying his children, not those of a traitor."
He saw Ares getting angry and let him go. "Disrespect me again, Omega, and I'll lock you in this room. You're my Omega now, whether you like it or not." Where had the gentleness from the night before gone? There was nothing left, only anger, entitlement and demand. "Sorry," Apollo mumbled. His situation really was hopeless. He wouldn't make it out of a castle full of soldiers and lords on his own. And where was he going? Even if by some miracle he did make it back to Olympus, he would still be worth nothing. His father would no longer have any use for him, nor would his husband. And if he was actually pregnant by Ares, then everything was lost anyway.
He was supposed to marry a foreign prince and had been given a foreign, kidnapping prince.
"Why?" asked Apollo. "Why did I take you? To humiliate him, of course. That was a statement. Stealing his Omega before it's even his. And besides, he made you wait a really long time. You can't think that marriage would have been better with him than with me. He did not want you anyway. I know him." "You want me to be honest, don't you? I wasn't stolen as a partner, but as a prize," Apollo said. "For your brother, at least, I would have been a husband. For you, I am revenge on your family." "And yet I told you to have my children, so what is true?" asked Ares. "I don't know." "The truth is that you were a prize first, but we're mates now too because I couldn't control myself. That's why you're worth as much as a husband to me. Life here may not be quite as comfortable as it was in Olympus, but we'll be back there in no time. Because I am the true heir to the throne and my family must pay for their lies."
Ares did not explain further. They had gone for a walk and now came back into the hall. There, Ares ordered Hermes and Dionysus to take care of Apollo before he went back to the table. Apollo had a lot to deal with. He walked silently between Hermes and Dionysus until he was spoken to.
"So, did that help?" Hermes asked. "Why are you supporting him? He's known for brutality and hot-headed behavior." Dionysus chuckled: "You obviously don't know him." "We grew up with Ares, we know him better than anyone else, why do you think he trusts us with you?" asked Hermes. It wasn't usual to entrust two alphas with an omega, he was right. "And he's only brutal when he has to be. He was brought up to be like that. And he's the older one." "Do you know that one hundred percent?" Apollo asked. "No. But we trust our oldest friend. Besides, Hephaestus is too passive to be king, believe me. He's not at all keen, Hera is forcing him. He would actually prefer to spend his days in his workshop. But Hera is better at manipulating him, that's why she disinherited Ares." "I thought that was the king." "The king probably barely noticed anything anymore, he was really ill," said Dionysus.
"And you know all this from Ares?" "No, I observed most of it myself," said Hermes. "I'm a pretty good spy, my eyes and ears are everywhere." "That's creepy," said Apollo. "You know, Apollo, Ares isn't so bad. Hephaestus would have ignored you the whole time, Ares will actually deal with you," said Dionysus.
"Because he wants children, that's what he just said. All Alphas are like that. No offense." "You can talk to us all you want, we don't care. Besides, you're Ares' mate, so technically you're our queen." "Can we focus on the fact that Ares has been bothering him with children?" asked Dionysus. "We should talk to him about that, though," said Hermes. "You don't do that." Apollo chuckled: "You're going to give him a piece of your mind?" "We often do that," said Dionysus. "Maybe I'll stick with you after all," said Apollo. "Let's be honest, Apollo, you'll be better off with Ares than with Hephaestus, give him time to get used to having an Omega," said Dionysus. Hermes nodded: "He has to adapt."
Apollo was then left by the two of them in the room where he had woken up. He found a few books in the chest of drawers at the side and busied himself with them. At some point, a Beta came in to bring him food and only then did Apollo realize how hungry he actually was.