Chapter Text
EIGHTEEN
It was about two weeks after Dean had set the preparations for the mating ceremony into motion when Castiel started second-guessing.
Not the decision to mate Dean, of course, not even the prospect of getting claimed afterwards and being tied to that one alpha for the rest of his life. But the fact that he would be the official mate of the Winchester Pack Alpha was increasingly worrying him.
It should probably not have seemed that terrifying all of a sudden – for one, Castiel had been prepared to be the mate of a pack alpha his whole life, and it was not like he had not known Dean was Alpha since the beginning. But still, it felt so final. And somehow, Castiel’s rationality failed him every now and then.
After the couple had made known to everyone that they were planning to bond in about a month – so it left enough time for Ellen to make preparations as well as for Anna, Balth and other guests to arrive – Castiel had not only been congratulated to his decision multiple times, but had also constantly been told how relieved everyone was that Dean was finally willing to settle down. The whole pack was clearly excited at the prospect of a content Alpha – and a more balanced leadership, with Castiel as Omega.
And that was something Castiel had never seen coming while growing up. He might have been taught to be the mate of a pack alpha – but in a world where he would have never been expected to take an active role in the pack. His job would have been to bear children, to make his mate happy, and, should the situation arise, he might have had to fulfil social functions like greeting guests or even oversee the servants – depending on the pack rules. All the while he would have had to bow down to his alpha, complying with all his wishes.
But now he was supposed to settle disputes or make decisions that could affect the whole pack. And sometimes, he just felt overwhelmed with the responsibility of his new role, convinced he did not know enough about the East to fulfil it properly.
Those were the kind of thoughts he was trying to subdue one afternoon when he was outside with Sam and Jess as well as the little Deana. Sam was running around with his daughter, chasing her over the field as well as letting her catch him, whatever she preferred at the moment – she did not yet understand the rules of playing tag. The weather was nice, and the grass had just started to shine in bright green, repelling the last specks of brown.
After Zachariah’s attack, Castiel had been surprised that Dean had not objected to him walking around freely again – without an entourage of at least three trained alphas. He had assumed Dean might get even more protective than before, but on the contrary, the alpha seemed almost relaxed after the Adler alphas were killed. Convinced that the threat had been eliminated. He also seemed to take a certain satisfaction from the fact that he had punished the traitors of his pack with his own hands – or rather his claws. But that did not mean that the alpha was not questioning his own aptitude as leader of the pack – realising that the threat had come from inside the pack as well as the Adlers had been hard for him so swallow. He blamed himself for not realising how far Ishim’s hatred had reached. That he had not seen it earlier. Castiel knew just how much Dean beat himself up for it – he had been quite busy trying to convince the alpha of the contrary. Unfortunately, Dean was not as easily persuaded as Claire had been.
Even the rest of the pack was on edge because of it. Dean had looked at everyone suspiciously for a while. But even though some shifters had been scared enough to tip their heads to the side whenever Dean was around, they seemed understanding of his mood. Castiel had heard more than once that the alpha would calm down with time – especially after he was mated. Everyone seemed convinced that just the presence of Castiel would have great impact on Dean’s temper. The omega hoped they were right – in any case, it felt just like another weight pressuring down on him.
Castiel shook his head to will the unwelcome thoughts away as he watched Sam and Deana playing around. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was replacing Sam with Dean and the girl with their own daughter. He gulped, and the hollow feeling in his stomach was back again. A daughter? Castiel breathed in deeply, trying to get his nerves under control with the scent of sun and nature. It almost worked – until, out of the blue, Jess stated:
“You have no idea how much I am looking forward to you getting mated to Dean.” Jess smiled warmly. “No one will ask me to pass things along to Dean anymore or to mediate between two quarrelling alphas. At least not half as often.” She stroked over her full belly. “And just in time.”
Castiel noticed himself how even his scent got sour from the spike of anxiousness he felt. Of course, he could not hide it from Jess either.
“What’s wrong, Castiel? I thought you would be over the moon at the prospect of getting mated. After all, you have been ranting about how stupid Dean was for not claiming you sooner during your entire heat.”
“No. No, I am thrilled to finally get mated,” Castiel stated in a firm voice.
Jess just looked at him and waited. It was a tactic she relied on quite often and it worked most of the times. Nonetheless, Castiel tried again: “Really. I can’t wait for the ceremony.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that. But there is something eating you up.” Jess studied him again as Castiel did not reply. “Look, I know that claiming can be terrifying. It is so final, and I could hardly eat for a week beforehand. I mean, I love Sam, always did, but there is no way back. And that is just frightening. There is no shame in being worried. And you don’t have to rush things, Castiel. I had Sam wait for some time after we bonded.”
“It’s not that.” Castiel felt a soft flutter in his stomach. “I look forward to that. I wanted Dean to mark me for weeks now. I want him to claim me just as much as I want to mate him.”
“Then what?”
“I just don’t feel like I am prepared enough for all the pack politics. I still stumble around when it comes to etiquette, and I don’t feel ready to settle any disputes or make decisions for someone other than myself. Everyone seems to think I will somehow lift the spirits. And don’t get me wrong, I prefer that to being seen as an outsider who should just run back to where he came from, but: What if I fail? What if I don’t have that pack omega magic everyone seems to be so convinced of? What if I don’t make anyone happier, or I make a grave mistake that will end in some brawl between pack members? I can’t even make Crowley stop driving anyone mad!”
At his outburst, Jess let out a loud laugh. Even Sam stopped in his moves and looked at his mate from afar. There was a dreamish glint in his eyes as he saw Jess, pregnant in the spring sun, throwing her head back in laughter. Only when Deana barged into him, making him stumble back at the sudden attack, he concentrated on his daughter again. Castiel had a very different expression on his face as he frowned at Jess. Finally he had confided his fears to someone, and Jess was obviously amused by it.
“Oh, Castiel, no one expects miracles from you. And you will never be alone to make those decisions. Dean is Alpha, and there is a whole Council. Don’t think about this too much.” She took one of his hands and a wicked glint stole into her eyes. “But the pack will be more balanced. Dean will be more settled. That is just a fact. I mean, he already is. With what happened with Ishim and the other traitors – believe me, everyone wonders at his restraint. If not for you, he might have ripped off a few more heads, just because. And naturally, people are happy they will have someone else to turn to. Omegas are usually good listeners and they don’t take offense as easily as the rest. But no one expects you to make decisions without consulting your mate, much less behind his back.” She chuckled. “You know, at least you are somewhat prepared for this. It took me completely by surprise.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when I chose Sam as my mate, I had no idea I was considered the pack omega now. Or at least the closest thing. I mean, I already expected to join the Council and I liked that idea. But I did not know that, since I was now also related to Dean, people saw me as the perfect liaison to the head alpha.”
Castiel was about to say something else, but then Deana suddenly ran towards him, wrapped both her arms around his legs and screamed “gotya!” with an excited yelp.
Sam laughed loudly, and a second later, Castiel chased after the tall beta, which was not easy since Deana refused to let go of him. Running was hard when a two-year-old sat on one of your feet, grabbing onto a leg whilst giggling hysterically.
At least the game made Castiel forget about his worries for a while. He would take Jess’ advice to heart and not ponder about expectations anymore. He felt lighter already – it was odd how vocalizing your concerns and have someone laugh at them could lift such a weight from your chest. But it was not the first time he had realised talking was the quickest way to overcome one´s sorrows. If you asked Castiel, this was just more proof that Dean’s preferred solution of bottling it up was stupid.
Just as Sam, Castiel and Deana untangled to go back inside, Alfie waited for his friend at the gate. The young omega’s face glowed as he all but ordered: “Come with me, Cas. Dean and Benny are training with the guards today. You’ll want to see this, trust me.”
Castiel was a bit bemused by Alfie’s enthusiasm – Benny and Dean trained with the young adults at least once a week from what he had heard.
Before he parted from the small family, Jess hugged him tightly and whispered: “It is not as bad as you may think at the moment. But it is perfectly comprehensible to fret a little before mating.”
Sam watched the exchange with furrowed brows but did not say anything. Neither did Alfie, who pulled Castiel with him forcefully.
>><<
Alfie led Castiel up to a lookout on the wall where they could watch the training session from a distance. Below them were a dozen of young shifters, mostly alphas but also a few betas, who obviously aspired to be the next generation of pack warriors. He knew Dean and Benny liked to train with them personally from time to time, but Castiel had never watched before. Come to think of it, he did not know why he never had made any attempt to do so since it looked quite --- interesting. Dean just showed a young woman a way to improve some form of attacking technique – and he looked quite good doing it.
“Do you often come here and watch?” He asked Alfie.
“Not that much anymore. But I used to,” the omega admitted with a hint of a blush.
Castiel frowned. “Then why today?”
“Wait. You’ll see,” was all the answer Castiel got. He did not ask further, knowing Alfie and his love for surprises.
It had taken a while for the alphas in the courtyard to notice the two omegas, but in an instant, their training just got more aggressive. Most of them were about Alfie’s age and they seemingly tried to impress the omega. Benny, however, did not once look up, completely focused on the training session. Alfie’s birthday had been last week and after that, most of the younger alphas had started to act up again. Alfie had not talked about their behaviour to Castiel though. And suddenly, he wondered about that.
“How is your progress with Benny going?”
Alfie groaned, which might have been answer enough. “That alpha is insufferable. I mean since the fire I am really sure he wants me – the fact that he scent-marked me without thinking is quite enough for me. And he has been… well, he did seek me out a few times and talked to me. But other than that – nothing. He has not yet made any attempt to court me officially. I swear, once he does, I will make him wait for a very, very long time before he gets to claim me. Since I have suffered for so long.”
Castiel laughed. “You just turned 21 a few days ago, Alfie. He hardly made you wait too long as of yet. In the strict sense, he had not been allowed to court you until last week.”
But Castiel had to admit he had expected Benny to act more boldly once Alfie was 21. Especially since the omega had stopped encouraging anyone else, showing a seriousness that was rare on the young man. Every night at dinner, at least one alpha offered him their plate, but Alfie always declined politely. And then he would just nibble at some bread for half an hour until he retired early. He did not even stop by Dean’s table anymore, obviously convinced it was Benny’s turn to seek him out for a change.
He had not lost his sense for drama however. He always only ate a few bites in public to emphasise he was waiting for someone to offer him their meal. Of course, everyone knew that he was not starving but ate mostly in private. Castiel did not know whether to be exasperated or amused every time he watched Benny watching Alfie with a deep frown. Some alphas had even begun to shoot angry glares at the First Warrior, like it was his fault if the treasured omega did not eat enough.
Castiel had understood that Benny had not wanted to make a move until Alfie was old enough to mate, had even understood that he wanted to make sure Alfie kept an open mind about other options and was not led by childlike infatuation, but by now, the whole thing was almost ridiculous. A few months ago, Castiel might have thought that the alpha was just not that interested, but by now, he had caught Benny watching Alfie from afar too often to doubt his feelings.
“He is still insufferable.” Alfie interrupted his thoughts again. “And I am miffed that he did not… well, he did not punch Bela last week.”
“Bela?” Castiel did not know why the female alpha was suddenly part of their conversation.
Alfie sighed and then took a deep breath, as if preparing for a long speech.
“At my birthday, after dinner, Bela followed me to my room and she… well, she complimented me and flirted so charmingly it made me laugh. And then she… ahem… tried to kiss me. I pushed her away, and she just winked and made some lewd offer, leaning back in again. And then there was a loud cough. It was Benny, observing us from the end of the corridor, and I … well, I kind of expected him to chase Bela away. Forcefully. But he just glared until she wished me a good night and left. Then Benny walked away wordlessly, into the other direction,” Alfie looked to the floor, embarrassment written over his face. A rare sight. “I know you don’t particularly like alphas challenging each other over omegas, but I really thought Benny should have done something, anything. She was making a pass at me – he must have seen it. I was really frustrated he just stood there.”
“Why is this the first time I hear about this?” Castiel asked louder than he had intended. Usually, Alfie told Castiel every detail about all meetings with Benny, and at full length.
“Well, you just had all these things going on yourself and you seemed kind of absent-minded the last couple of days. I didn’t want to bother you with my childish problems on top of that.”
Castiel felt guilty. Had he been so self-absorbed?
“Anyway, since that night, Benny had been distant, like he used to be.”
Castiel looked down at the sparring alpha and felt the strange desire to hit him with a heavy brick. Then, he tried to picture the scene with Bela in his mind. Suddenly, he had a thought.
“Alfie, did Bela ever offer you food?”
Alfie scoffed: “No. Since Benny had not done anything useful I told Bela quite directly she better not approach me again. I don’t need an alpha to help me turn someone down, you know.”
“Could it be … could it be that Benny misinterpreted the situation? When he saw you and Bela at your room… maybe he thought you had encouraged her. And you said you were frustrated. Maybe he thought you were angry at him for interrupting.”
Alfie’s eyes widened. Then: “But that’s stupid. Everyone knows I had only had eyes for Benny since… forever.”
“But Benny had always been insistent that you at least look around. And maybe he is waiting for you to make up your mind about Bela. Maybe he is just really, really stupid – like most alphas – and thinks you want Bela to court you.”
Alfie looked down at the alpha who just explained to a young man what he had done wrong in a patient manner. The omega had a deep frown on his face.
“Seriously, why did I have to fall for such a dense idiot!”
“Don’t ask me.” Castiel smirked, and pointedly looked down at Dean. At the same time, the alpha looked up and winked at his almost-mate, then blew him a kiss.
Alfie huffed out: “Now, you’re just making me jealous. But I will talk to Benny. Or maybe yell at Bela in front of him so he won’t believe I have my eyes on her anymore.”
Castiel opened his mouth in reply, but the sound of hurried steps interrupted him. A moment later, Jody, Claire and Alex stood next to the young men.
“Did they start already?” Alex asked excitedly.
“No, not yet.” Alfie answered. Castiel looked around the courtyard and only now noticed that, in the last ten minutes or so, shifters had gathered around at the sides of the yard below as well as among the wall.
“Seriously, what is going to happen?”
“A challenge.” Jody answered. “The class will try to attack Dean and Benny as a group. Before they will be deemed fit to guard the pack, everyone needs to pass some tests, mostly in single combat, hunting or survival training. But this is a group effort. Shifting is prohibited. At the first sign of wolf, the group loses. It is as much about defeating Dean and Benny as it is about holding their wolves in check.”
“But --- all of them together? Against two?”
Alex smiled at Castiel: “No one expects them to succeed today.”
“What? But there are so many of them.” Castiel would be the first to defend Dean’s skills, but the numbers were not in his favour.
“It’s only their first try. No class had ever succeeded at their first try since Dean is Alpha.”
Castiel let out a purring sound and looked to the ground in embarrassment. No one needed to know just how proud he was of his mate.
Suddenly, he heard excited muttering from all around and locked his gaze to the yard again. Everyone had already assumed position. Bobby was on the side, supervising the whole combat. The alphas and betas formed a circle and Dean and Benny stood in the middle, back to back. Dean looked up again to Castiel and smirked before Bobby roared “Attack!” that boomed through the courtyard.
What followed was an impressive show of strength and skill, on both sides. Multiple students attacked at once, but Dean and Benny seemed to have no trouble deflecting them. The two alphas moved like they had never done anything else and were completely in sync. They even seemed to enjoy teasing their opponents a bit. Some were still waiting for the right moment – a simultaneous attack was not that easy with no weapons and with the two alphas in the middle securing each other. Castiel also noticed the young men and women were hardly working as a team – everyone seemed too fixed to get a blow in, the victorious strike. He assumed this might be the true lesson here: Keep you own pride under control for the benefit of the whole group. If so, they still had a lot to learn, and meanwhile, just made it easier for Dean and Benny to defend themselves.
People around cheered – both for their head alphas as well as the students.
Sometimes Claire made a remark next to Castiel. Something like: “You have to try and break them up! Why do they never learn? As long as they have each other’s back, it is almost impossible to form a proper attack.”
Alex chuckled: “I am sure you will do much better once you are old enough to participate.”
“Of course. I have studied those two for years. First, you have to split them up. The best way to get to Benny is by multiple low punches in a quick succession. He is strong, but not the fastest.”
Alfie frowned at her like he took personal offence. Jody, on the other hand, looked proud of her daughter.
“And Dean?” Castiel asked Claire – who grinned widely. Obviously, the young alpha had thought about this a lot.
“Irritate him – throw some silly insults at his face or make him embarrassed about a stupid move. He will take it personal and concentrate too much on you. That will leave the way open for someone else to tackle him down.”
Everyone laughed, then Claire saw the problem: “But don’t you tell that to anyone. I will be in the first group to ever beat them at their first try.”
She still had a chance to break that record, because the group below did not manage to win. There were already half a dozen men and women lying on the floor, obviously in pain yet not seriously injured or just too exhausted to go on. And a few minutes later, while Dean and Benny still seemed to enjoy the action, the combat came to an abrupt halt: At the same time, three shifters had turned into their wolf form – a mixture of rage, irritation and embarrassment made it impossible for them to hold their wolves back anymore.
The crowd howled in disappointment while Donna and Charlie ran towards the wolves to calm them down and keep the fighters apart.
Claire looked at the wolves with a concentrated expression and mumbled: “That will be the hard part. Keeping the wolf in check.”
The assembled spectators soon cheered loudly as Dean started to bow in all directions in a funnily exaggerated move. Benny just merely nodded his head. Especially the kids cheered loudly and Castiel suddenly understood their heroic picture of the two alphas – if they got to see that kind of spectacles regularly. In the end, Dean turned to Castiel and waved at him. Benny looked up in Alfie’s direction with a grim expression. Like he finally was no longer able to ignore the young man watching him.
Suddenly, there was a hint of slick in the air. Both Castiel and Alfie excused themselves quickly.
>><<
It was only a week until their mating – and Castiel was still torn between pleasant anticipation and nagging worries. He and Dean did not sleep in the same room anymore – the alpha had hesitantly asked whether it would be all right with him to go back to his old room for the remaining nights. Obviously, it was tradition in the Winchester pack. In the past, the intended mates would be kept completely apart for 21 days before a union. But now, they only refrained from intimate contact for seven nights. Dean had seemed almost embarrassed to ask, but since, by Castiel’s upbringing, omegas would often have met their mates only once or twice before the ceremony, he did not find it too strange. Sweet even.
And to make up for it, Dean always joined Castiel at breakfast. This morning, they shared a happy family breakfast with only Sam and Jess. Deana was sitting in Dean’s lap, and not for the first time did Castiel admire how good Dean was around kids. He smiled at the thought that they would one day raise their own children and not simply give them away to the care of a governess. Castiel wasn’t in a hurry to get pregnant, but it was a step in his life he certainly looked forward to.
“This was nice,” Castiel mumbled as Sam picked up Deana and he and his mate were ready to leave.
Jess smiled: “I imagine this will be a lot messier in a few years. You know, when this one will be romping around.” She stroked over her full belly. “As well as your little ones.”
Castiel blushed deeply, but Dean only grinned: “Well, you lot have been asking me for years when I will finally sire strong alpha pups.”
Castiel did not feel embarrassed anymore. He felt like there was suddenly a hole where his stomach had been.
Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. “I am pretty sure no one has ever phrased it like that.”
With one almost pitiful smile – the one that said you sure you are making the right decision? – in Castiel’s direction, the couple went their way. Castiel, however, was not able to react to the joke.
Dean must have noticed that something was wrong. He looked at his omega with a frown.
“What’s wrong, Cas?”
Castiel tried to shrug it off. It was stupid. But now that Dean thought there was something off about him, he clearly was not that easily satisfied.
“You know, I don’t mean for us to get with child right away. It told you that I won’t join you in heat if you don’t want to. And even if you do… there are lots of ways I can help you without you getting pregnant. And I can drink wolfsbane, so I won’t go into rut.” He stroked over Castiel’s arm.
“I know, Dean. I believe you.”
“Then what?”
“It’s nothing really.” Dean just kept looking at him and Castiel sighed. “What if we don’t have alpha children?”
“What?”
“You told me yourself: Every pack alpha had alpha children, for generations. Not only that, but every firstborn was an alpha son. Always. What if we don’t? What if I won’t give birth to an alpha male– so they cannot mate an omega and have another male alpha son?”
There was surprise on Dean’s face, like he had never considered this could upset Castiel so much. Castiel also suspected that Dean was positive that the long line of Winchester alpha firstborns would not end with him. But what he said was:
“Cas, don’t worry about that. Even if we only have beta children, we will still love them. And I will try not to put as much pressure on them as I have suffered. Our child does not need to be the next pack leader – we should not think that far into the future yet. I just want you for now. And if Farkas will ever bless us with kids then I don’t care about their gender, but that they will be healthy and loved.” He looked so sincere, Castiel did not doubt his words. Still…
“I just… I just don’t want to disappoint anyone.”
“You won’t, sweetheart.”
“But maybe… maybe…” Castiel licked his lips but before he could remember what he wanted to say, he was interrupted:
“Cas… are you getting cold feet on me?”
“No. No!” The omega almost yelled, not wanting Dean to believe he doubted his willingness to mate him.
The alpha smiled and kissed Castiel in a way that had him soon forget all his worries.
>><<
At the day of the ceremony, Castiel woke up with an odd feeling in his stomach. On the one hand, he could hardly wait to finally be Dean’s, on the other hand, he would have preferred this whole thing would be over already. He did not feel comfortable being at the centre of attention. And neither was he used to it, like Dean was. And it did not help either that, since Dean was Alpha, the crowd would be quite large. Even other pack alphas had been invited.
Five days ago, Gabriel had been the first to arrive. He had left his mate behind again since she did not want to travel with her little pup. The baby seemed to have troubles staying in one form – which was rare. Most children only started to shift at about three years of age. With Gabriel came Anna and Balthazar, of course. The two had been the only ones to arrive in wolf form of the Angyal pack, and Castiel smiled at the sight – they obviously did not want anyone to mutter behind their backs about them needing a horse.
Though, to be fair, most of the packs arrived with a few horses – who pulled carriages with their luggage. But the usual arrangement was two humans, the rest wolves; not the other way around.
After Anna had hugged Castiel, she took Balthazar’s hand and announced: “This probably won’t be the only wedding in the family this year.”
Castiel hugged his sister again, then Balthazar, overwhelmed that those two had finally resolved the tense atmosphere around them.
The next day, the Campbells arrived. Dean hugged their Alpha Gwen heartily. Castiel had been told that there had been a gruesome fight for leadership some years ago – for a while, the pack had been led by a wolf named Christian, who had seemingly tried to force some old-fashioned ideas on his followers as well as plans to enlarge their territory. The Winchesters did not even try to hide how relieved they were when Gwen challenged the Alpha and turned the Campbells into a more peaceful pack again. And a close ally to the Winchesters. The Campbells brought the largest number of people, and Castiel noticed how nearly everyone seemed to have a distant relative in this pack, showing how closely the two clans had been intertwined for generations.
Even the Hellhounds sent a small group. As an ambassador came a fierce alpha named Ruby. She spent most of her time sneering at Crowley – who did not look any happier to see her in turn –, look at Sam like he was some form of tasting meal, or compared Winchester and Hellhound traditions in a condescending tone.
But the one who scared Castiel the most was Amara. He felt his hands shake when the black wolf spurted through the gate. She was tall, even bigger than Dean’s wolf, and just looking at her, Castiel remembered all the terrifying stories he had heard about Amara as a child. Her fur was not only black, it was so dark it felt like she was sucking in all the colour around her. When Dean stepped forward to greet her, she turned to human form. And Castiel did not enjoy it when the naked woman hugged his mate. He might even have let out a low growl, not exactly a polite way to greet a stranger. But Castiel had remembered what Sam told him about how Amara had once sought to bond with Dean herself. Luckily, she did not seem to take offense of his reaction but merely stepped back.
No one of the Roman pack appeared, and neither had they been invited, but they sent a gift – a large bouquet of flowers Castiel had never seen before. Ellen and Bobby seemed pleased about the present as it was a sign of the standing truce and peaceful intentions. The flowers, Lotus, obviously represented fertility and it was a common mating gift among their pack.
So, at least on his mating day, Castiel had already met all strangers and Anna had told him to only concentrate on his closest friends and family – and to blur out the rest.
Alfie and Anna shared breakfast with him in his room. Castiel could hear fussy noises around, the whole Castle seemed to be brimming with excitement. The ceremony itself would be held after noon, so Castiel had enough time to get ready. He would meet Dean in the courtyard when everyone else was already in the beautifully decorated Council Hall, and then the couple would be led inside by Bobby, who officiated their ceremony.
Castiel took a long bath, that even managed to calm the butterflies in his stomach. Then he put on his clothes. Picking an outfit had not been easy. The seamstresses obviously were a bit disappointed he did not want to wear a dress – in turn, that unsettled Castiel who was not sure if everyone would expect him to wear some sort of gown. But Ellen appeased him, telling him it was common for a male omega to choose trousers and a tunic. And in the end, that tunic was rather artful itself. The colour was a bright blue, almost turquoise, and the girdle of flowers on his head was colourful and yet modest. Castiel even recognized one of the Lotus flowers from the Roman pack.
“You look beautiful,” Alfie gushed and Castiel was about to brush it off when Anna chirped in:
“You do, Cas. I am really happy for you,” she announced for the tenth time that day.
When it was time, Alfie went directly to the Hall, but Anna accompanied Castiel to meet with Dean. She hugged him again, before she solemnly laid his hand into the alpha’s palm.
Unsurprisingly, Dean looked gorgeous as well. His clothes were simpler than Castiel’s, but the green suited him. He looked at his omega with a radiant smile.
“You look gorgeous.”
“Thank you. You are not too bad yourself.”
Dean snorted. “What are you saying? I look extremely handsome.”
Castiel opened his mouth to chide the cocky alpha, but he forgot about it as soon as wonderful music started around him. He looked up, squinting his eyes against the sun, and saw a swarm of birds flying over their heads. Castiel had never seen animals like that; they were of all colours and their song was heartbreakingly beautiful. Only when Dean laid a hand to his face did he notice he was crying from the sheer beauty of it. Two large birds flew towards them, and Castiel was contemplating to run ad cower, but Dean gently held him in place. Castiel saw one of the birds set a twig of silver leaves on Dean’s crown of flowers, and at a slight touch on his head, he guessed he had now a similar twig in his own hair.
Castiel still stared at the birds with wide eyes – Dean, however, did not seem as surprised, but he was obviously still touched.
“What are those?”
“A greeting from the Wild.”
The last months, Castiel had heard lots of stories about the far Wild in the East, and how the Winchesters saw themselves as protectors of the borders. And in return, nature itself blessed their pack. Castiel had always assumed those were children’s tales, nothing supernatural would live in those vast forests, but now, he could hardly deny the feeling of peace surging through his body.
“You ready?”
Castiel looked into radiant green eyes.
“More than ready.”
>><<
Castiel remembered hardly anything about the ceremony. It was all a blur. He knew he was walking through the aisles to the sound of bells, and still the wonderful singing of the birds outside. But he hardly recognized a face in the crowd.
In front sat Sam and Jess at one side, and Anna and Gabriel on the other. He remembered Gabriel, in a bright gold and yellow tunic that hurt his eyes. He also remembered how his gaze sometimes turned to Claire who sat on one of the cushions. Every time he looked at her, she smiled widely – or she tried to. It looked more like a painful grimace.
Bobby then greeted the guests, and every present pack by name, especially the ambassadors from the Wild. The birds outside chirped loudly in response and everyone in the Hall seemed deeply moved by their presence. Maybe apart from Ruby – she looked more uncomfortable than anything else.
Soon, both Dean and Castiel repeated their wedding vows and before Castiel knew it, there were cheers all around and Dean pulled him in a kiss that was more passionate than Castiel would have thought appropriate for the occasion. Not that he cared at the moment.
That was about the time when Castiel came out of his haze. He felt like waking up. A huge smile was plastered on his face and he thanked Farkas for sending him such a good alpha.
For the next eternity – that is what it felt like at least – Castiel received best wishes and blessings, was hugged by what felt like a thousand people and still could not stop smiling.
Finally, they moved the company to the banquet Hall. There, Castiel and Dean shared a dance – and even though he had had some lessons by now, Castiel was still nervous. But in the end, he just looked into Dean’s eyes and felt like nothing else mattered.
Then came the horrible part. Or rather, the part of the day Castiel had feared the most. He had to share a dance with every guest. But it turned out to be rather fun. There were also quite a few pack members who did not seem to enjoy dancing too much – Crowley, for example, hardly took Castiel’s hands before he let go again and mumbled “all right, that will do to bless you with a litter of pups”. Meg on the other hand flirted with him like she had not done for a long time, reminding him that now they would never be able to share a passionate fling – Castiel’s face had turned so red, he was glad when Dean finally cut Meg off with a jealous growl.
Gabriel had once again found Sam to talk his ear off – and with Jess being pregnant, he could not even ask her to keep dancing with him to escape the short alpha. At least, Gabriel had managed to drive Ruby away – the female alpha was now seemingly lecturing Garth, who looked like a trapped rabbit. Dorothy and Charlie sat on the side and watched Donna and Jody dragging Bobby and Rufus to the dance floor. On the other end of the room, Ellen and Jo jumped wildly up and down to a rhythm only they seemed to be able to hear, but they were surprisingly in sync. Victor watched his mate like he still could not believe he managed to catch her. Anna and Balthazar danced together the whole day until late at night and Castiel was incredibly happy for them.
And there was someone else he was very happy for.
As the banquet started, the seating order was different than usual. On the table of the mating couple were also Anna, Balthazar, Gabriel as well as Alfie and Meg as guests of the omega. Most shifters had already danced or played music for a while, so as soon as Castiel had had the traditional first bite, everyone loaded their plates with enthusiasm. Especially Benny. The alpha put everything he could reach on it until he balanced a big pile of food with a surprisingly determined look on his face. Then he stood and walked towards Alfie on the other end of the table. Meg was quick to react, as she left her place next to the omega and sat down at Benny’s stool.
Alfie looked up with wide eyes as Benny held out the plate to him. A few seconds passed and Castiel was beginning to fear the omega would do something stupid. But then the young man smiled widely and took the plate with a gracious “thank you”. Benny sat down next to him, a stupid grin trying to break his face. There were cheers all around and more than one hoot of “finally!”
>><<
Finally was also what Castiel thought after he and Dean had talked and danced with every guest – and those were a lot – and could retire to their shared quarters. Finally. Dean had asked Castiel previously to make changes to their rooms as he pleased – but Castiel only had one request: He had asked for a new bed. He wanted something new to share with Dean, something where Dean had neither slept alone for years nor brought any other shifters to keep him company, as Castiel knew he had.
But now was the first time Castiel saw the new piece of furniture he had almost forgotten about in his excitement before the ceremony. He let his hands wander over the wood in astonishment. He had not expected such an artful work. It was as dark as the old one had been, but even bigger and into the bedposts were carved beautiful patterns. More crude and deep near the feet, the higher up the more delicate they got.
“You like it?” Dean asked in a gruff voice.
“I love it. This is beautiful, Dean.”
“You sure? I can change some things if you want something different.” Dean still seemed oddly sheepish and a thought hit Castiel.
“You didn’t do this yourself, did you?”
“Course I did,” Dean answered. And Castiel thought: well, yes, of course. How could he have assumed differently. This was probably just another step in this whole Winchester-courting-process. Alpha makes den how omega likes it. Castiel chuckled, and Dean raised an eyebrow, trying to look indignant rather than hurt.
“This is almost ridiculously beautiful, Dean. I can’t believe you could think otherwise. It is amazing you did this in such a short time.”
“So… how about we try it out?” Dean pulled Castiel towards himself and the omega let him nibble at his neck for a moment.
“No, not now.” Dean leaned back and raised an eyebrow. “You know what I want, Dean.”
“You sure?
“Dean. We talked about this. I don’t want to wait. I want you to make me yours. Tonight.”
Castiel was prepared to argue with Dean again – they had had this conversation almost every day for the last week. Castiel wanted Dean to claim him right after the ceremony – and Dean half-heartedly tried to talk him out of it. Castiel might have felt discouraged, but he knew Dean just wanted him to be completely sure since there would be no going back from that decision – and as a matter of fact, in the Winchester clan, an omega would often wait a few months before taking the next step. Castiel wickedly enjoyed how every time when Dean advised him to caution, his eyes gleamed gold, like the alpha had to put a leash on his wolf to even get the words out. Castiel did not doubt that Dean wanted this as much as him; he just did not want for Castiel to regret anything in the future. The omega supposed the consideration might have had a little bit to do with the insecure and self-doubting side of his alpha.
But this time, Dean did not even try to argue, his golden eyes fixed on Castiel’s unscathed throat.
With a soft smile, Castiel started to undress, slowly, while Dean’s eyes roamed over him. When the omega was completely nude, the couple looked into each other’s eyes and time stopped for a moment.
Then Castiel grinned impishly: “Give me a head start, will you?”
A few seconds later, he had shifted, and Dean had the presence of mind to open the door for the small wolf.
Castiel rushed past the alpha, through the corridors and to the outside. He could hear laughter and music, people still celebrating. He then sprinted towards the small forest right behind the Castle. He would have liked to run out of town, but he did not know how much time Dean would grant him. But he doubted it was enough for him to even make it to the Old Tree.
When he reached the first line of trees, the sounds of the Castle were hushed down to a low echo, softened by the trees and the mild breeze. Castiel looked up at the clear sky and shivered. But not from cold; he could hear heavy paws closing in. Castiel pushed himself faster once more, his tail flagging high, an unmistakable sign he was not really trying to escape. He howled in joy when he felt the heavy weight of Dean gently push him down while the alpha grumbled victoriously.
Only minutes later, their bodies tied together, did Dean sink his teeth into Castiel’s throat, binding them together for the rest of their lives, and beyond. Instantly, Castiel noticed the low drumming sound surging through his body, like a second heartbeat, safe and assuring, never leaving him again.
THE END