Chapter Text
Castiel was five years old when he realized he was different.
That he didn't have a father like the other pups in his pack.
That those pups pointed, laughed and refused to play with the tiny Omega.
That his mother was the only one that loved him.
By the time he was ten, those points and laughs had evolved to pushes, shoves and foul names.
Castiel found out what an abomination was, knew the definition of bastard but had to ask Naomi why he was called a 'breeding bitch'.
"You're an Omega, sweetheart. Those words are a very mean way of saying that, although you are male, you will one day have pups like a Beta female. The ignorance of our pack is proven by the way they treat you. You are a blessing; a miracle and I am very proud to be your mother. Never forget that, my precious Castiel."
The Omega squeezed his mother tightly around her waist.
Naomi always had a way of making him feel better.
Because Castiel was without a father to teach him to hunt, he was schooled by his mother in what roots and vegetation were safe to eat. He learned to gather herbs and healing plant life, learned to create clothing from animal hide.
What the pack would call 'woman's work.'
Naomi promised him that living this humble existence would ensure his admittance to a peaceful place in the afterlife. That Odin would reward him greatly for his suffering.
When he was 12, his mother told him he could go in to heat anytime. Although he wasn't completely clear on what that was, other than his body preparing to receive his mate's seed, the idea terrified him.
Suddenly every male in the pack was a threat in his mind.
Castiel was washing clothes in the stream, alone as he was always alone, when Balthazar approached. The Omega prepared himself for the insults and possible beating that would follow, refused to look up.
"Hello, Castiel."
Balthazar's voice was soft, unthreatening; the Omega had learned long ago that was how the other pups trapped him. They would be nice; act as if they were his friends, then attack. Once they held him under the water until Michael, thankfully, chased them off.
"Not talking today?"
Cas concentrated on the clothing in his hand, heart speeding up as the Beta moved closer.
"I'm not going to hurt you.”
Castiel had heard that before too. He was trying to think of a way to gather the laundry and make his way back to his mother without engaging the young Beta.
Balthazar settled next to him on the river bank, paying no mind to the mud coating his britches. The older pup leaned his head down a bit to catch the Omega's eyes.
"You are so beautiful. There's not another wolf in the world with those blue eyes."
Castiel lifted his head, gazing over Balthazar's shoulders to see what other pups had followed him.
Nothing there but wind blown leaves and a wayward bird.
"Pack's talking about you. Said you'll present any day now. I want to ask your mother for permission to mate you."
That statement finally brought Castiel's gaze to the young were's face. After a few deliberate swallows, he found his voice.
"W-what?"
Balthazar smiled sadly at him, "You would be a perfect mate...but my father said you would only birth small, sickly pup like yourself."
Cas nodded in agreement, he had never considered mating before. After all, what wolf in their right mind would bond with such a pathetic Omega?
"But, I think, if we were to mate in secret, the pack would have to accept it. It would be too late to stop my claim and then you would belong to me."
Balthazar said this with a smile, certain his plan was perfect.
"But...Chuck... and-and the pack may banish you for disobeying. My mother said that would happen to me if I made trouble."
'Made trouble' was a term for sticking up for himself, fighting back or asking a better class of wolves for their help. It was that possibility that kept him quiet, submissive and obedient.
"No, Chuck and my father are good friends. He wouldn't be happy but we'd stay with our pack."
Balthazar was moving closer now, reaching out slowly to touch Castiel's face. The Omega flinched.
"Not going to hurt you. Would never hurt you."
That's when the younger pup searched his memories of the name-calling and abuse he had suffered.
The Beta was right.
Balthazar was never in the group of weres that circled him. He never heard the Beta's voice chanting foul language or laying so much as a hand on him.
Cas looked in to the older pup's sky blue eyes, blinking a few times before offering the faintest of smiles.
The Beta leaned closer, pressing his lips softly...so very softly to Castiel's.
"What the fuck?!" Came a deep voice from behind Balthazar.
Bartholomew, the Beta's father stood red-faced, hands clenched in fists by his side as he strolled angrily towards his son.
The older pup stood quickly, Castiel too scared and shocked to move from the ground.
"Dad..."
Balthazar's father backhanded the Beta hard enough to knock him into the mud. He stood over his son, chest heaving as he spat through clenched teeth.
"I told you to leave this Omega bitch alone!" Bartholomew turned his attention to Castiel, still sitting silent and still. "Stay away from my son, whore! You try seducing him again and I'll snap your neck, got it?"
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell the older Beta that he hadn't tried to seduce anyone, that he wasn't a whore and this wasn't his fault.
But, as always, he said nothing in his defense, simply nodding at Bartholomew with wide, glassy eyes.
Balthazar had struggled to his feet, a dark bruise already forming on his cheek.
"You don't understand..."
"Stop! You're turning 17 next month and you will mate Hannah as planned. If I so much as see you glance at this abomination, I'll kill him on principle."
With that, Bartholomew gripped his son back the back of his neck, half pulling, half dragging him away.
Castiel stayed by the water long after he had finished the laundry.
The only person to ever show him and ounce of kindness besides his mother was hurt for it.
When the Omega made his way back to his pack, other weres whispered and glared at him. He reached the tent he shared with Naomi to find Chuck bellowing at her.
"You keep that bitch in line. I won't have him trapping a wolf in to mating or reproducing another pathetic burden. Do you understand?"
"I understand that Castiel has made no effort to find a mate. I understand that Balthazar was at fault for his father's rage, not my son. I understand that..."
She was cut off by the resounding echo of Chuck's hand slapping her across the face.
Cas entered his tent then, rushing to help his mother sit as her tears trailed down her redden cheek.
"Enough! I'll not argue with a lesser wolf. Keep him under control or you'll both be banished."
The Head Alpha stomped out, leaving Castiel to comfort his mother.
"I'm sorry, Momma. I didn't mean..."
"I know, sweet pup. You're maturing and wolves are going to start looking at you differently. It's better if you're not alone anymore. We'll stay together, I'll keep you safe."
The Omega didn't go in to heat for another year.
During that time, Naomi remained close to her son whenever he left their tent. The whispers and dirty looks continued but no one tried to hurt him anymore.
Balthazar had mated Hannah as promised and hadn't looked at Castiel since.
It was dark, middle of the night, when the Omega woke up soaked in sweat, britches damp and hotter than he could ever remember being.
At first, he was sure he had caught a winter fever again. The air outside had turned cold just days before and Castiel's health always suffered this time of year.
Naomi woke just a few minutes later, inhaling deeply through her nose a few times before shooting up.
"Pup? Pup, you're in heat. We have to get you as far away from camp as possible. Can you stand sweetheart?"
Cas nodded; struggled to his feet as his mother rushed around the tent, gathering clothing and rolling up their bedding.
The Omega stood, shaking somewhere between burning up from fever and freezing from the night air when his mother expertly broke down their tent, bundling it together with their belongings and ushering Castiel further into the woods.
Slick flowed endlessly from his hole, dripping down his legs before turning chilly in the frosted air. The sudden abdominal cramps doubled him over several times, the pain causing him to limp sluggishly behind his mother.
There was a pounding in his head, he could feel heat radiating off of him, turning to fog in the winter cold.
A mile out, Naomi found a clearing, declaring it safe to set up camp. The Beta erected their tent, piling their belongings inside before turning to coax Castiel in.
The Omega was near delirium. He couldn't concentrate on anything other than the fire covering his body, the uncomfortable dripping of slick down his thighs and an indescribable ache of emptiness throughout his entire being.
"You need to lay down, pup. I'll find water, don't worry, I'll be right back."
Water.
Water would be good.
Water would be heaven itself.
Cas never doubted his mother before but he believed he must be dying, not readying himself to breed life. It was heat and pain and confusion and...
There was a loud, savage growl outside, followed by a similar feral howl that Castiel recognized as Naomi's.
The Omega crawled to the tent's entrance, rolling out on to the icey dirt floor.
His mother's deep brown wolf was battling a much larger white one.
Naomi's elongated fangs aimed for the were's throat at every turn, the rogue scenting strongly of 'Alpha' and what Castiel would later determine to be arousal. The Alpha was bigger, stronger and eventually, he had the Beta wolf belly up, her throat clearly exposed.
Cas's mouth opened wide but his screams were silent. The begging and pleading for his mother's life came out as chokes and sobs.
The Alpha wolf stopped, sniffing the air before turning red eyes towards the Omega. Naomi dared to growl again, warning the rogue away from her pup before turning to her stomach and pushing herself to stand.
There was no hesitation this time, no moment of mercy, the ivory colored wolf gripped the nape of the Beta wolf's neck between his jaws, flinging her effortlessly against the nearest tree.
A sickening cracking sound echoed through the otherwise empty woods. Blood flowed rivers from her nose and mouth, her eyes wide with the pain and fear.