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The Omegas are called to the centre square when dawn has barely broken. The air is still cold, a biting wind weaving its way through the thin cloth that Castiel has draped over his shoulders. Goosebumps rise on his arms and legs and he shivers violently. It's not just the cold. Panic swarms him because this is the dawn of Cēosan — a choosing ceremony in which one omega will be drawn to be bred by the Alpha and the other alphas of the pack.
Castiel feels his mother's hand on his shoulder but it falls once he takes a few steps from their house. He looks back around and she gives him a withering look. "Be a good Omega, Castiel."
Castiel isn't sure how to respond to that, ever since he presented as an Omega, then blessed by the council pastor, he's been groomed to accept his potential fate. He's gone through the training — the twisted ways they'd trained him to get on a bench and be opened up with the other pack omegas on similar benches next to him — and he's suffered under the hands of his own father who has barely looked at him or said a word to him since. His mother at least made sure he was in good condition, feeding and clothing him the way Omegas should be.
He's not the first to arrive at the square, two Omegas are already there kneeling on matching cushions specifically made for the ceremony. When he's spotted, one of the betas on the council grabs his arm and pulls him over to the next cushion in line. Before he's made to kneel the pack Alpha himself comes over.
"Castiel."
"Yes, Alpha," Castiel replies automatically, his mother's words echoing in his head. Being rebellious at this point would bring shame on his mother and father, though he's not sure that's a bad thing considering how they treated him. Maybe he can rebel so much that they don't want him here, that they'll let him run away.
"Get your hands off me!" A voice shouts behind him. Dean. He'll run away with Dean.
Castiel turns his head to see Dean between two betas, dragging him to the line and forcing him to keel unceremoniously. He hears Dean grumble as his knees hit the pillow and the way his familiar presence warms him through.
"Hey, Cas," Dean greets under his breath.
"Hmm. Dean, when will you learn?" The Alpha moves on from Castiel and takes Dean's chin in his hand, moving his head from side to side a little.
"Fuck you."
The Alpha smirks at Dean and shakes his head. "You won't be saying that the day you get chosen."
Castiel knows that being the Cēosan is meant to be some kind of privilege, that being chosen means that you've pleased those that need to be pleased. The way the Alpha is making out to Dean though seems like it'll be a punishment. It makes Castiel's stomach churn, even though he's not eaten a morsel since last night.
Dean looks about ready to fight the Alpha, his fists balled and a glare meeting the eyes of their Alpha, his entire body coiled to spring. Quickly, Castiel grabs hold of Dean's wrist.
"Don't," he whispers. "It won't be us." The confidence is false, but he has to believe it. After this, they will run away.
Dean flashes him a pained look before he relaxes and looks forward. Another few Omegas join them until there's nine of them lined up and of age to be chosen.
This is Castiel's third time up here and Dean's second. The process is familiar, a large copper bowl being presented in front of them on a pedestal and then the Alpha will say a few words to the skies and light whatever it is that gets put in the bowl. From there a scent will be produced and the Omega with the matching scent will be the Cēosan.
"Welcome, welcome." The alpha greets everyone — the omegas and the other Alphas and betas who have chosen to watch the ceremony — like they enjoy being here.
Like himself, the rest of the Omegas are naked aside from the sheer shawl draped over their shoulders. Castiel and two others' are blue in colour, a few in pink or purple and Dean, the only one, wearing green.
The Alpha goes through his usual spiel about sacrifices, the gift of children, about how honoured the chosen Omega should be for getting chosen to bear the children of the pack. The words make Castiel ill. They make Dean angry.
He shifts his hand again to nudge Dean's, and they link their pinkies together to steady one another through it all.
The strike of the match startles Castiel from his thoughts and he holds onto Dean tighter. It's not going to be them. It's not going to be them. It's not going to be—
"Our most honoured Cēosan is…" The Alpha scents the burning contents of the copper bowl. "Castiel."
All eyes turn to Castiel. He drops Dean's little finger and his breath sits heavy in his lungs, almost like he can't breathe, as if they're filled to the top with lead.
"No! No! I'll take his place!" It's Dean shouting, standing up and stepping towards the Alpha with intent. Two betas grab hold of him and push him away.
"Dean, you know how this works. We can't be swapping people around. The skies have spoken."
"No!" Dean continues, even as he's pulled away.
The other omegas have already scattered back to their homes, to safety where they can redress in comfortable clothing and stash away their scarves until the next one in ten months' time.
"I won't let you do this to him! I won't!" Dean's cries are getting further and further away. Castiel is still glued to the pillow below his knees in shock.
It's him. He's the Cēosan.
The Alpha touches him, slipping the blue fabric from his shoulders and leaving him bare in front of the onlookers.
If he dared to look, he'd find some looking hungry, desperate to breed him, some would be pitying him. He doesn't need their pity. He'll do it. He'll do it for Dean.
While he's full of the Pack's pups, he'll find a way out for Dean, make sure he's safe and as far away as possible. Maybe even once he's given birth he can go and find him and they can live somewhere warm and safe together.
"Come on, Castiel. Can I trust you not to fight us like your… friend… seems adamant to?"
"Yes, Alpha," Castiel replies automatically.
He follows the Alpha to the stocks where he'll remain until the same time tomorrow morning. It's only a few steps away, on the raised centre square. There are three stairs up to it and Castiel stumbles when he catches a sharp stone under his bare foot. The Alpha catches him, taking hold of his arm, using the leverage over him to get him bent over the metal and leather frame. It stands at a height that would make him easily accessible to anyone who wanted to use him.
Like this, it fully dawns on him that this is really happening. He's exposed to everyone and the feelings inside of him are warring between wanting the comply and wanting to fight. He shifts a little, for comfort more than testing the boundaries, but the Alpha doesn't see it as such and orders two betas to strap him down quickly. The leather straps are tight over his calves and arms, the one over his back in place to keep him from arching his back away.
A warm but wet cloth is run over his body, into every crevice including his cock and his hole. The morning air is cool enough that he shivers a little until he's dry. One beta kneels in front of him and wipes his face, soaking up the tears on his cheeks that he hadn't realised he was shedding. He tries not to look at her because the expression on her face is apologetic and he hates that. Once she's done a heavy weight is draped over his shoulders. The metal guard is cold and it tightens together with clasps. It's a little big for him, a one size fits all way to prevent Alphas from biting the Cēosan. Even after a few minutes, Castiel knows that it'll become uncomfortable before his twenty-four hours are up.
A hand threads through his hair, tender in a way he wasn't expecting. He shifts his eyes to find the Alpha standing there with a small smile on his lips. "Be a good Omega, Castiel." The words, reminiscent of his mother's words that morning, make him feel sick to his stomach. They're both a warning and a blessing.
Nothing seems to happen for a few minutes. The Alpha steps away and the people that had been helping him get situated have left his eye line. He tried again to move but there's very little give in the bindings. His head buzzes and screeches the longer he's left alone and he closes his eyes against everything.
Castiel doesn't hear the grand speech about his "sacrifice", he's heard it before and it's the same every time anyway. Instead, he feels the shock as a pair of hands touch his ass. He can't help but tense up even as his cheeks are spread apart.
"Relax, Omega." The words are whispered harshly but they don't calm him. He can't… he can't do this. The Alpha sighs behind him and then reaches between Castiel's leg to grab his cock. He gives it a few tugs, sending unwelcome shivers up Castiel's spine and causing a small amount of slick to form. "Just like that…"
It's a finger first that breaches his hole, sinking in slowly but firmly. A gasp leaves Castiel's throat and his mind fogs. He's so pathetic. All it took was a hard cock and a finger and Castiel had already lost to the Alpha. He thought he'd be able to fight harder than this.
He's doing this for Dean. That's what crosses his mind next as the Alpha removes his finger and presses the head of his cock against Castiel's rim. He holds it there for a moment like he's trying to tease him… but he's waiting.
Waiting for: "Please, Alpha." The words leave Castiel's mouth like some rehearsed line from a puppet show.
He hears the satisfaction from the Alpha and he presses in. He's huge. His entire length sinks into him, Castiel's slick thankfully easing the way. Castiel's cock goes flaccid, bothered by the aching pain it causes. It radiates across his hips and down the backs of his thighs but there's nothing he can do but endure it. It'll get easier, he knows that. The Alpha is just the first and likely the worst.
Large hands grip his sides as the Alpha finally bottoms out, and begins moving back out to set up a rhythm. He feels every inch, every slap of skin against skin, the way the Alpha's knot starts to form and catch against his rim.
Despite the cold morning air, Castiel's body runs hot, saliva drools from his lips and his eyes glaze over. Castiel can feel his awareness slipping and a heat arising and taking over. Fuck.
He tries to yell, to scream… something… but there's nothing but moans and gasps leaving his lips.
Eventually, the Alpha's knot catches fully and he's filled with the Alpha's cum. He leans over him, mouth close to his neck, scenting him and desperate to bite. Castiel knows that without the collar on, his neck would have teeth marks on it by now. Instead, he just has the grunting breathing of the Alpha in his ear.
It takes a while for the knot to go down, too long. But it gives Castiel's head a chance to clear and his body to cool down. It won't last long before the next person comes along to breed him up. If he's lucky he'll get a break with a few betas, but Castiel knows that's not going to be for a while.
As the sun rises, Castiel's hole remains largely filled. Cocks and fingers push in and out until cum is seeping from his ass, dribbling down the insides of his thighs. He has cummed a few times himself, unable to stop it as the alphas and betas touch all the right places.
Around what he thinks must be lunch time, Castiel's stomach starts to rumble with hunger. He's tired too, eyes drooping and body aching. It's barely been six hours and he's already had enough. Someone does come with a small plate of food just as a beta finishes inside of him with an ugly grunt. Nothing on the plate is appetising, but he eats the chunks of cheese and the overripe fruit and he swallows down the cup of water they hold up to his lips. The water is at least refreshing and wakes him up a little.
Afterwards, he's wiped down again from face to ass and a large plug is inserted into his hole, stopping all the cum from leaking out. At least it means he can have a break for a while.
The town square goes quiet again. Castiel can barely turn his head with the collar on and his only view facing forward is the path that leads up to the Alpha's house. He wonders briefly how much he watches.
"Hey."
With his mind elsewhere, Castiel startles with a cry at the voice.
"Shh, it's just me." Dean. He runs a warm hand over his back and Castiel tries with all his might to lean into the touch. "You're warm," he says.
"Heat started…" Castiel tells him. "Makes it feel better though."
Dean comes into view with a concerned face. "Wish you didn't have to feel it at all." He moves forward, his lips against Castiel's cheek.
"Don't…" Castiel breathes. "Don't make this harder for me than it already is. If they catch you, they'll hurt you."
"No one." A kiss on his forehead. "Is going to catch me." Another on his nose.
Castiel can't help the tears that start to fall, the way he wishes he wasn't tied down so he could hold Dean, or the way that his body is reacting to Dean being here, wanting… needing.
"I do wish you'd leave him alone." The stern voice of Castiel's mother rang behind them both. "He doesn't need the influence of a bad Omega like you." Castiel watches Dean's face fall, and how he backs away with his head bowed. He doesn't leave Castiel's eyesight though, not until she shoos him off with a shove. "Go on, get away!"
Dean runs off, back home to his father and brother, Castiel hopes where he'll at least be safer than being found by the Alpha kissing Castiel.
"Mother—"
"I don't want to hear it. Ever since that boy and his father joined the pack, they've been nothing but trouble. I know you're better than them." His mother crosses her arms. "Putting all those terrible thoughts in your head."
He had all the thoughts before Dean came too. He just knew never to voice them to his parents. He thought his mother would understand as Castiel himself is the result of his mother being in the same position as him, courtesy of the last Alpha. But she only waxed poetic about how it had been her duty and how right it felt to be in the position.
Castiel only feels pain and shame. He shouldn't be exposed like this, he was worth more than the pups he could bare for the Alpha and the rest of the pack. He’s here now, though, so he simply answers: “Yes, mother.” She takes his chin in her cool hand and looks him over intently.
“You’re a good boy, Castiel. You’ll bear the pack’s pups well, just like I did.”
Castiel takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and wishing it wasn’t his mother saying these things to him. He wishes that she loved him like any other mother would - like Dean said his mother did when she was still alive. He doesn’t have anything to say back to her.
“I’ll leave you to this Alpha, now,” she tells him just as hands touch him from behind.
The hands prod and poke at the plug filling his ass, before wrenching it out slowly, letting the widest section teeter for the longest, stretching his rim uncomfortably. He whines, trying to push it out but the Alpha is cruel to keep hold of it.
“Hmm, an Omega ready to breed,” he says. The words are like a system trigger as his slick gland works overtime and it — along with the other Alpha’s and beta’s cum — slip out and drip down his thighs. He can hear the Alpha breathing heavily, no doubt drinking in his ripe scent.
It’s only seconds after that when the plug is discarded and replaced with the alpha’s large cock. It slides in the entire way, the hips of the alpha pressing against his ass. It aches for a few moments but the hot flush that runs up his sides and pools in his neck and head makes everything foggy enough that he can only focus on the grunts and groans of the alpha behind him. He doesn’t hear whatever crude words he whispers to him, nor feel how deep he thrusts.
He’s thankful for it afterwards when his head clears once more and he’s left with a dull ache in his hole.
The next one uses his mouth, the first to do so. A pointless exercise in the name of breeding and he can’t escape to his hormone fuelled fog. His jaw aches, but his cock is straining even as the beta cums down his throat, leaving Castiel gagging on the salty taste. He walks away without using his ass.
Several more alphas and betas use him as the sun rises high into the mid afternoon, all of which haze over him as the fog in his mind deepens. Slowly, as the sun begins to set, the number of people using him lessens and at one point he sinks into the breeding stand that's holding him in place and lets himself close his eyes for rest.
He's woken to darkness and the Alpha crouching in front of him. "Such a hard day for you," he says condescendingly, holding Castiel's chin up. Two fingers slip beneath the heavy metal collar, reaching down towards his scent gland. Castiel stiffens when the fingers begin to massage the area, the gland a little swollen with his heat. It makes Castiel's cock twitch and he huffs with the heightened arousal. The fingers are gone and Castiel's body runs cold.
"You'll catch soon enough, don't worry." The Alpha pats his head, then slides his hand down to his lower stomach where it's exposed off the bench. The Alpha's hand is warm, but Castiel can't help but shiver with panic as it presses in, like it's trying to feel the bulge of cum inside him. "Oh yes, you're so ripe."
Soon enough the Alpha is sliding his cock into Castiel's hole once again, taking his time and making sure every thrust meets his mark. Castiel is exhausted again by the time the Alpha's knot forms and swells inside him. It presses against all the walls and makes him ache like no other has done. Castiel opens his eyes and looks out towards where the path leads up to the Alpha's house and there, unexpectedly, behind a tree is Dean peering out. They make eye contact, but Castiel tries to keep the Alpha behind him distracted, milking his cock as more cum spurts out. The Alpha will mistake it for enjoyment, keep his focus on Castiel and allow Castiel to keep his eyes on Dean.
His thoughts enter dangerous territory thinking about Dean behind him instead of the Pack Alpha, and Dean's name is on the tip of his tongue before he clamps his mouth shut. Any noise he'd been making to please the Alpha quickly quiets.
"You should keep making those pretty noises," he says breathlessly behind him as he tries to tug his knot from Castiel. Doing so certainly makes Castiel cry out in pain. The sensitive rim is already swollen and red from multiple usage.
From then he stops looking at Dean. He lets the Alpha finish knotting him and waits for him to slide out. The Alpha stays near even afterwards, coddling Castiel through a few more alphas and it makes it all the worse.
When the air begins to cool and night sets in properly, Castiel finally watches the Alpha wind his way back up to his house, leaving him blessedly alone. Sleep comes with an aching neck, sore joints and lingering pain in his hole where a plug was shoved in, this time with a pump attached. Three pumps and one too many leaves Castiel permanently uncomfortable.
Castiel starts to shiver long before the cold really starts to set in, teeth chattering shoulders straining. Being naked at this time of night is no good for anyone and Castiel wonders if half the battle of the breeding stocks is surviving the night. No one will breed him at this hour which means he won't be able to sink into his heat and forget how cold he is.
One person does come, however, blanket in hand. And of course, that person is Dean. The blanket doesn't help the bone-deep chill within him, but it certainly fends off the brisk wind that's whipping up around them in spurts of motivation. Dean sits near him, sharing his body heat but not speaking, almost like his mother's words had silenced him.
"Thank you," Castiel says at one point to break the stiff tension between them. Dean just nods.
Eventually, as Dean sits closer and closer, Dean kisses his cheek and then his lips. "Did you catch yet?" he whispers.
Castiel thinks about it, about how his body feels and how it usually reacts in his heats. He remembers the last few Alphas and how his body didn't ramp up with hormones when they entered him. He thinks about that shallow buzz inside him, like there's something else there that isn't normally. Then he wishes he could say no. Not catching today would result in him being here again in a week's time after the Pack's doctor has seen to him. That would be worse.
Castiel nods and Dean kisses him again. The next words seem hard for Dean to share. "I'm proud of you." A small smile appears on Castiel's lips as he closes his eyes.
Dean stays with him until the sky begins to lighten and scurries off with the blanket that kept him warm and alive as the lights in the Alpha's house turn on.
Just a few more hours and Castiel will be free from the breeding stand. They go by slowly, too. A few more betas and alphas come by to use him, though by this point it's for nothing as he's already caught. He doesn't have the comfort of his heat fog either, so he has to endure the vulgar words from the pack members instead.
The last person is once again the Pack Alpha and he knows that Castiel has caught. Yet he still works his cock into Castiel's hole, pounds harshly against him and then lets his knot firm one last time inside him. This time Castiel can feel every inch of him, but he hears the Alpha call him a good Omega.
The straps are removed from him slowly though the betas keep holding him down to the bench. Castiel wants to get up and move so desperately that he tries to fight them with his achy limbs that don't do what he wants them to. One of the betas laughs at him and then removes the heavy collar from around Castiel's neck. His head feels lighter suddenly and he sees stars for a few moments.
"Stand up slowly, Omega," the Alpha commands.
"Yes, Alpha," Castiel responds but gets up faster than needed. The small defiance only serves him with a violent sway that has the Pack Alpha grabbing hold of him and hauling him into his arms bridal style.
"The defiance of other Omegas has certainly got to you." The Alpha shakes his head.
Though he doesn't want to be, he finds being in the Pack Alpha's arms comfortable. He only sees his mother briefly at the edges of the square before he's carted off up the path to the Alpha's house. It's there he'll spend the next nine months being looked after until the pups are born. The pack doctor will see to him regularly to make sure that everything is going well and he'll likely only have to see his mother and father a few times a month.
It does however mean that seeing Dean will be difficult, but on the other hand will make finding out the Pack's weaknesses easier so that as soon as the pups are born, both Dean and Castiel can escape.