How Is Anyone Supposed To Be Normal After That. G-d Looked Back At Me For A Minute

How is anyone supposed to be normal after that. G-d looked back at me for a minute

Happy International Asexual Day!

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Θάλασσα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ὦ μέγα, κακὰ τρία

:Sea and fire and omega, three evils

An a/b/o fic involving Greek mythology, an alpha demigod reader, an omega Tommy Shelby and the story of their first meeting to their developing relationship and their eventual happy ending.

You appear in front of Tommy in his time of need, smelling of Greek fire and power. And you offer him something he couldn't refuse.

I went absolutely insane writing this. It's like 25k words of fic and I am actually proud of how it turned out. Tommy Shelby is beautiful and fucked up in all the best ways and I wanted to delve into how a/b/o dynamics could work in the past. This is somewhat related to the gunpowder and cinnamon universe, but it's not explicit.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this <3

Masterlist/ Epilogue

Tommy Shelby was an alpha.

What else could he be other than one? The cold atmosphere he exuded, the way in which he was unflinchingly unperturbed by the threatening growls and golden eyed glares that others shot his way.

The scent of something burning always clung onto him. It wasn’t like the scent of coal burning that many alphas at Small Heath carried around with them. And later, he would know that it was nothing like the logwood burning scent the infamous Alfie Solomons of Camden emitted off. If anything, the burning scent lingering about the second eldest Shelby sibling was cold.

Contrary to him though, the omega that shadowed him was nearly scentless and they themselves was unnoticeable most times. To the extent that even other members of the Peaky Blinders forgot they were there. But as the night deepened, their scent did too, becoming sweeter and sweeter until Tommy’s presence was the only thing protecting them.

Tommy Shelby was an alpha. To anyone but immediate family. 

To the rest of the Shelby clan, Tommy was an omega- scentless during the day but dangerously sweet in the night. Polly looked out for him in the same way Arthur and Ada did. The three alphas being overprotective of him for the smallest of things. It annoyed him to no end, especially when he could handle things on his own. His scent was unnoticeable when the sun was up, after all. He could easily pass as a beta.

Never an alpha, but he could work with being considered a beta. And he had done so. He was known to be a beta- Tommy Shelby, leader of the Peaky Blinders, beta. 

Things had come to change when the war broke out. His brothers were going, and he couldn’t- he wouldn’t- let them go out there without him.

And war had been hell. France had been hell. He dug and dug and dug- watching his brothers in arms suffocate and die. He could hear the clanging of pickaxes, could taste the mud in his mouth, and could see smell the damp, earthy scent of the earth even out of the place.

In the tunnels, his status was partially out. The others knew there was an omega in the place with them, but most thought that they were hallucinating. It made sense, in hindsight, as his scent only truly made itself known at night.

One thing did come from the war though. A saving grace in the man-made hell.

In the midst of crawling out of a collapsing tunnel- when he thought for certain that he would die- came the scent of burning fire. Fire that was nothing like what he’s smelt before. It wasn’t the scent of gunpowder from the explosives. No. It was far, far more oppressive. He had known in that instant that this scent could bend the wills of so many men.

And a person, all but appearing into his view. Not at all affected by the chaos that raged around them. A hand offered, and the same hand taken. A burning sensation wrapping taking over his hand. Their smile sharpening.

“You’ll be a king one day, Thomas Shelby.”

The sentence whispered in his ear, a soft laugh, and remembering nothing afterwards.

He to this day had no clear idea what happened and had no reason why the person came to him. Why you came to him and not anyone else.

But when he came to, he was surrounded by nurses and other injured soldiers, and… you. Who wore no uniform but fleeted about the wards without anyone else interfering. Tommy didn’t ask questions. Not when the fiery scent wrapped around him- not to claim him, no- but to offer him the scent for him to use.

At that realisation, his thoughts had whirled. Plans for the future, for the power he longed to get. He had caught onto the grin that tugged at your lips as if you knew what he was thinking. And he had asked you what you wanted in return. If he was going to make a deal with the Devil, he should know the terms of it.

But you had simply shook your head and had simply told him that you would get your dues in time.

You had followed him back home- back to Small Heath, Birmingham- and had integrated yourself flawlessly into the Shelby clan. Which came to a surprise to him, considering how viciously protective Polly got when it came to him- omega like his mother, with a scent similar to the one that she once had- but she had simply taken one look at you and nodded begrudgingly.

Rumours say that the War changed Tommy Shelby. Triggered something old in his blood to force his presentation as an alpha. He never took initiative to curb it.

Coming back from the war and getting used to everything outside of it whilst steadily planning his rise up in the social hierarchy eventually led to him being here, wrapped up in a scent that wasn’t truly his as he sat in front of Kimber, aptly aware of the fact that the man was eyeing Grace.

And thankfully not you.     

~ ♥~

You were an omega.

What else could you be other than one? The soft, sweet scent that seemed to emit from you as the sun set as well as the gentle way you smiled at others signalled to everyone that you were an omega. Soft and gentle and oh so innocent. Lingering next to a singular Thomas Shelby and being his pretty omegan piece as he went about his business. Your role was to calm him down when tensions rose to a high.

Thomas Shelby was the alpha. Cool, measured glances at people. Always analysing, always controlled. A plan in the sleeve of his shirt no matter what happens. The scent of something not at all of this world burning clinging onto his very clothes.

You were only protected by the simple fact that you were someone- something- that Thomas Shelby possessed.

Ha. As if anyone could possess you.

You were an omega. To everyone except for the Shelby pack.

To the rest of Thomas’ family, you were the alpha that lent him the power that statuses held. The one that appeared out of nowhere and tucked themselves neatly next to Thomas. Who took his scent as yours. Becoming an extension of him, in a way. Without you nearby, his scent would gravitate back to him, and yours to you. For the safety of their only omegan family member and perhaps for the entirety of the pack, you were needed.

But that sure as Hades didn’t mean they were fond of you.

You didn’t mean to find yourself in the throes of war. You weren’t a child of Ares or Athena, after all. But you were drawn to the earth they were rummaging. The death that followed. The wails of the dead who didn’t have the drachma needed for Charon to ferry them across the Styx. You didn’t mean to stumble upon a collapsing cavern that coincidentally sheltered a man.

You were set to let humans be humans, and let his string of fate run its course, but…

He had locked eyes with you. And he had the most gorgeous blue eyes you had ever seen in your life. Haunted by something but so very cold and blue. Very different from the sea blue that characterised the children of Poseidon. But not too different from the electric blue ones that the children of Zeus had.

In the corner of your eye, you had seen the three Fates. Not interfering. Simply watching to see what you, the only child of Áïdēs- a more ancient aspect of Hades- would do. You held power above them, after all, as shown by your own thread of fate weaved in between your fingers.

You had offered the man a hand. And you had wondered if he had the courage to take it. Take the hand of an unknown being, who may or may not be a figment of his imagination. Take the hand of what may as well be a demon. You truly didn’t expect him to reach for yours immediately.

But when he had taken it, the Greek fire- of your scent, your very soul- branded him. His string of fate had floated from the Fates and had weaved itself through your fingers. You had known him then. His name, his ambitions, and the possible futures he would bring about. And you had not been able to stop yourself.

“You’ll be a king someday, Thomas Shelby.”

You had found yourself saying.

You had lingered near him as he was hauled off to a hospital of sorts, nodding at several of Apollo’s children who were running about with hands glowing golden as they tried their best to save people. You had an inkling of a feeling that you had seen Apollo too, but to this date, you couldn’t be certain.

You had watched over him as he rested whilst several lingering ghosts whispered to you, begging you for drachma to let them rest. You had been feeling rather merciful at the time, high with the sensation of… something that made your inner alpha stir for the first time since your first rut.

A lot of wandering spirits had found themselves being tried in the Underworld that week. Hades had contacted you questioningly, but you had simply told him that it was war, and perhaps Ares gave them the drachma to honour the ones who had fallen in battle? The younger aspect of your father had not believed you, but he had not argued.

And then he had woken. Blue eyes fluttering open, hollow cheeks tainted with bruises. You had pinned him as an omega the moment the faint lingering trace of a comet orchid touched your tongue.

You had then wrapped your own scent around him, offering him what you had. Showing him that you could help him in his endeavours. His eyes had locked onto yours and he had spoken to you. Voice raspy and quiet but demanding all the same.

Thomas had asked you what you wanted from him without knowing that you had it already. His fate was already yours- it danced across your fingers- and sooner or later, his devotion shall be yours too. You had shaken your head and told him that you would get it in due time.

You had followed him back to Birmingham- England was never a country you liked residing in, as you preferred Greece over everywhere else- being the shadow the second eldest Shelby sibling picked up during the war. The Mist had taken care of the technicalities and the inconsistencies so nobody was wiser to what you were.

Discounting Thomas of course, and the rest of his family. Some bloodlines were more resistant to the Mist after all.

Polly Gray was exceptionally strong against the Mist, and you had seen the surprise and confusion in her eyes as she tried to figure out if you meant her pack any harm. She was a protective alpha, and you appreciated that.

It had been exciting, following Thomas as he went about his days as the leader of a growing gang. Caring for the horses, meticulously managing the movement of money and looking over things like a hawk. You didn’t care about the business as much as Thomas did, considering the fact that you had never had the determination to rise up in whatever hierarchy you were living in. But it was something new to you, and something so… human.

You hummed noncommittedly and pressed your palm on Thomas’ shoulder as his eyes flickered over to where Kimber was looking.

Ah, Grace Burgess.

Thomas said your name curtly. You smiled at Thomas’ unspoken order and dipped your face so that your cheek brushed against his. Your scent wrapped around him and strengthened the feeling of dominance surrounding him.

A large hand pat at your other cheek. A silent dismissal.

You pulled back leisurely and arched an eyebrow at Kimber’s accountant, who was eyeing you with keen interest. Thomas’ scent was near unnoticeable in the day, but you assumed that you were faking being an omega well.

You zoned out on the more business-related talk they were having to revert your thoughts back to Burgess. There was something off about her. You found her to be very, very suspicious. The air around her tasted of nobility and of war. Of champagne and perfume. So unlike the woman she was trying to portray.

A sweet omegan woman who sings like a lark. Innocent and kind and understanding of the going ons in Small Heath. An omega a strong alpha like Thomas would be bound to fall for. Perhaps she could have been someone he fell in love with. If you hadn’t found him first, of course. And if he wasn’t an omega himself.

“-your omega?”

“They’ll be there if I’m there, Mr. Kimber.”

You pulled up the lesson an acquaintance of yours taught you and fluttered your eyelashes at Kimber. You could smell the other alpha’s scent- it was something alcoholic but not wine- become tinged with lust.

You simply watched on as Thomas nodded at Kimber before getting up. He offered you his arm, and you took it readily.

“Kimber’s invited us for dinner.”

“He’s happy that I’m joining, isn’t he?” You felt Thomas’ grip on you tighten momentarily. “I could smell it. He visited you near the evening once. Probably caught a whiff of the sweet scent that follows me.”

“He’s asked for Grace, not you.”

You hummed absentmindedly. Thomas’ scent was something special indeed. Scents that fluctuated with the changing of the environment were rare. Humans didn’t quite understand these scents. But demigods did.

For example, the scents of the children of Dionysus strengthened whenever they were near wine. Demeter’s children had scents that grew stronger as the seasons passed, reaching its peak at summer and early autumn before going fully dormant during the winter.

But for a full human to have a scent like this?

“Shame. You’d assume people would have learnt to appreciate a scent like yours, Thomas.”

He let out a short, warning hiss. A reminder to not talk about your agreement and this whole situation outside the boundaries of the Shelby home. You laughed lightly.

“If you like it so much, keep it.”

“I can’t do that. The scent you have around you now is far too distinct and…” You wanted to say ‘too dangerous for a human like him to have around’ but Birmingham was free of the monsters that would follow the scent. “unsettling.”

“Tommy?”

At Burgess’ soft, faux questioning tone, your inner alpha reared its head and you settled your chin onto his shoulder, blinking at the blonde slowly. With clear intent. A warning.

Grace Burgess was a lot of things, but she wasn’t stupid.

She took a step back.

“Omega.” Thomas sternly said to you. “Stop.”

He had to give you something more than that. You didn’t budge. Not until he sighed and raised a hand to brush your cheek.

Satisfied, you pulled away from Thomas and lingered at his back instead, letting him talk to Burgess.

~ ♥~

Tommy was agitated. Grace was supposed to be the object of Kimber’s lust, not you. That was what was planned, but you just had to flutter your eyelashes at the other alpha. Just had to draw his attention to yourself.

You were a strange one. Polly had told him as much. Her voice had been low and quiet as her eyes flickered about the kitchen. She told him that you needed a strong leash. That an alpha like you would discard him the moment he wasn’t needed. And that you needed to be kept near him now that your hands were deep into the act the two of you were maintaining.

He didn’t think you’d leave him. Not when you still had something to take from him.  

Grace looked at him as she fidgeted with something, as if she was silently asking if she should do something to help you.

Was he worried about you? No. You had come to him in the middle of a collapsing tunnel, untouched by the crumbling walls and the mud that had suffocated so many others. You had known his name before he told you it.

His own eyes met yours, and he saw the excitement in your eyes. The bloodlust. And the feeling that you would put a wrench in his plans if he didn’t step in.

“My omega said no, Mr. Kimber.”

He walked over to you and grabbed your wrist to put some distance between you and Kimber. He needed to get into Kimber’s good books for now, but that didn’t mean he needed to be disrespected. The scent around him grew stronger, making the alpha take a step back.

“Then at least give me the blonde.”

Grace squeaked, but he didn’t pay much attention to her. The inner instinct- the one he had long since discarded- rising up inside of him took more interest in ensuring that you were safe.

“You wouldn’t like that, Mr. Kimber.” You said, rather smoothly as you wriggled your wrist away from his grasp to instead slip your hand in his. The soft leather of your gloved hand brushed against his palm. “My friend here has the clap.” A dry smile graced your lips as you watched Kimber’s expression turn into one of disappointment and disgust. “If you’re into that-”

“Out- The three of you, now!”

Thomas straightened his back and tilted his head. You dutifully tucked yourself into his side, and he could smell his own scent grow stronger and sweeter as the afternoon started to blur into the night. Grace took a step next to him too, but she didn’t approach any closer.

“Glad to do business with you, Mr. Kimber.”

~ ♥~

The Garrison was a nice establishment. It was always rowdy with the Blinders but they always kept their boundaries, always greeting you when you entered. It helped that you were the one to accompany Thomas every time you visited. Harry was a nice man. Who didn’t ask questions when you drank glass after glass of alcohol. Who knew what your preference for alcohol was.

Thomas was with his brothers in the snug of the pub, discussing what happened today and the plans for the future.

Rumours milled about, calling you the Shelby omega. That you were pleasing the members of the family. That you were hidden away in the night when your scent grew sweeter and more potent.

You swirled the alcohol in the glass, seeing the liquid make a small tornado.

“Up to no good as always, aren’t you?”

“As always, Hermes.” Said god took a seat next to you and gestured for Harry to bring some alcohol. The man gave you a questioning look and you simply nodded in return. “What brings you to this side of the world?”

“This and that. You’ve heard that we’re planning on relocating to America, right?”

“There’s been rumours. I picked up on some empusa whispering about it. Hecate warned them, I think.”

Hermes took a sip of the drink Harry had passed him and hummed.

“What are you doing back out with civilisation? Last time I heard, you were running about the woods with a pack of hellhounds.”

“The War. Some humans were digging under the surface and I was pulled to them. Found myself a human that intrigued me.” You raised your hand to show him the string of fate that bound Thomas Shelby to yourself. “I’m helping him out at the moment.”

Hermes tilted his head slightly and you saw him shift slightly.

Emaha graced you with a chuckle that rumbled with something ancient and familiar. The few gods you had met had told you that the ancient aspect of themselves were quick to come to the surface when you spoke to them.

Some sought you out for that reason whilst some avoided you for the same.

“A follower?”

“I’m not sure. Probably not.” You took a sip of your drink. “No one worships the ancient gods anymore. And I don’t need followers, Emaha. I’m content with watching from the side.”

You weren’t a… true god like he or the rest of the Pantheon were. You had no reason and no need to have followers. Belief didn’t feed you like it fed your father or Emaha.

“Are you?” Emaha reached to cup a hand against your cheek. “You don’t smell like you are ‘just watching’.” You stilled as he scented the air around you, shifting from an entity that didn’t have an assigned statues into an alpha. “Angraecum?”

You nodded.

“’s a nice scent, isn’t it? He would’ve caused wars for this back when you were properly worshipped.”

“Probably. I remember that Helen of Sparta had this scent.”

You felt him tug at the scent, threatening to pull it off of you completely. But you couldn’t have that. You’d expose your true scent in this crowded room. The messenger god grinned at you-

“Oi!” You were snapped out of whatever stupor Emaha had placed on you at the sound of Arthur’s yell over the usual ruckus that filled the Garrison. “Get your bloody hands away from ‘em!”

You closed your eyes and counted to ten inwardly when the furious scent of the ocean invaded your senses. The eldest of the Shelby siblings sauntered over to you, shooting a glare at Emaha, who grinned rather mischievously.

“Who the fuck are you?” John’s normally softer scent of grass turned bitter and discontent.

Emaha dropped his hand from your cheek and grabbed the glass before downing the alcohol in it in a single gulp.

“He’s-”

“I’m their cousin.” It was Hermes who was speaking again. “No need to get defensive. I have no interest in them in that way.”

“Your cousin. You’ve never mentioned a cousin,” John said, eyes sharpening at you. 

“My family is… complicated. Very complicated.” A good chunk of them had wanted to kill you back when you were masquerading as a demigod child of Hades and not as a child of Áïdēs. “I have a ridiculous amount of cousins that I don’t meet frequently. I didn’t think I’d see one of them again.”

“It was nice catching up to you. Say hi to uncle for me, won’t you?”

“You see him more often than I do-”

Hermes ignored you as he reached to press a finger to your forehead. Whilst it was an annoying move, you also knew that he was bestowing a sort of boon onto you. What sort, you didn’t know.

“I’ll check up on you later, cousin!”

And like the wind, Hermes went out of the pub, leaving behind nothing but the scent of saffrons.

“Pour us a drink, won’t ya, Harry?”

At the younger Shelby’s voice, the man brought over two glasses and poured some whiskey in them. He offered to refill your glass, but you shook your head. As a descendent of Ancient Greece, you were more inclined towards wine than any other alcoholic beverage. Whiskey was fine most times though.

“You know more about us and our family than we do yours. ‘s not fair, is it?” Arthur asked, downing the glass in one go and gesturing for Harry to just leave the bottle by him.

“What’s there to say?”

“A bloody lot.”

“John, you know by now that I’m not here to hurt you or your extended pack.” You turned to look at Arthur. “And I’m not here to take the business.”

“Aye. We know that.”

“Then what are you asking about my family for?”

The two brothers exchanged a glance and John gestured for you to come closer to both of them. You did so without question.

“Are they going to bring trouble?”

“For your family or for Thomas?”

“Both,” the two brothers said in near unison.

“No.” You said firmly, pulling away from the two of them. “They don’t care too much for me. And they have far too many cousins, nieces and nephews to keep an eye on every single one.” You tapped your finger on the table of the bar. “Although things will get more complicated if Thomas allows me to bond with him.”

Arthur choked.

“You what?” John asked, his own voice strangled. “You want to-”

You rolled your eyes.

“If. I said if.”

It might have been due to the other half-bloods you had spent your younger years with, or it might be some residual instinct that your godly parent passed onto you, but in your eyes, Thomas was a… perfect omega. The concept of omegas being soft and gentle and only worth the number of pups they can breed and carry was… something you intrinsically denied.

The worshippers of Dionysus who were privy to Bacchanalia were all omegas, after all. And they tore people to shreds when they got interrupted. Many warriors were omegas, and you knew first hand how vicious they could get when their packs were threatened. How they were beyond territorial over what they considered theirs. Alphas hunted for pack, and omegas protected pack.

A good chunk of Ares’ demigod children were omegas too, now that you think about it.

You breathed in and furrowed your eyebrows, silently cursing Emaha for tugging away at Thomas’ scent away from you. You’d have to go and get him to scent you again.

“I’ve got to see Thomas.” You slid down the stool and stretched slightly. “I’m assuming he’s still out back?”

“Wait a bloody moment-”

“Bye boys, I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”

You slunk into the familiar grasp of the shadows before the two brothers could ask you anything else. From the corner of your eye, you saw Ada- the daisy scented alpha- give you a scrutinising look before you removed yourself from the awareness of the humans in the crowded pub.

~ ♥~

Tommy sighed and buried his face in his hands.

He inhaled. Then exhaled. He inhaled again. The guns. Kimber. The shit with the Lees. Grace. Campbell. He had a feeling that maybe he’d gotten himself into more trouble than he’d thought. But he couldn’t back down. Not now. Not when the beginning was… tantalisingly within his reach.

The start of his family’s bloody kingdom, right at his fingertips.

“Thomas.” At his time of weakness, you were there. You were always there. The Devil with your fingers dug into him. His thoughts, his mind, his soul. “Thomas?”

The scent of fire wrapped around him more firmly. He felt a hand rest on the top of his head. And he pulled his face away from his hands and saw that you were looking down at him.

You offered him a small smile, and Tommy couldn’t help but watch the curve of your lips quirk upwards.

“You don’t have to worry too much, Thomas.” The sweet words of the Devil, indeed. Promises that you whispered to him echoed in his ears every night, sometimes being heard over the banging of pickaxes. “Nothing will happen to you or your pack.”

His own scent spilled to engulf his senses.

“Do you promise?”

He sounded like a child. The twelve year old that hid behind Polly’s skirts when his first heat had hit. He wasn’t helpless. He wasn’t afraid.

You slowly raised your hands, eyes never leaving his. Silently asking him if you could touch him. Tommy nodded minutely. He closed his eyes when your thumbs gently stroked his cheeks.

Your scent left him suddenly and Tommy stiffened at the loss of the scent that had kept him relatively protected as he took the business back from Polly. His own scent- too sweet, too flowery especially at this time of the night- made him want to recoil. But he didn’t.

Instead, he waited.

Your scent curled around him once more, but it was different. And his inner omega- wild and emotional- liked it.

He opened his eyes to see your face hovering above his, your lips all but brushing against his own. Tommy wanted nothing more than to move to kiss you. But that would mean that he had truly made a deal with the Devil.

“I promise.”

His hands found their way over to your waist. And Tommy really couldn’t do anything else than let you tug his face closer to yourself.

~ ♥~

You yawned as you bustled about the kitchen of the Shelby home, your scent perfectly yours within the walls of the home. You put the kettle on and rummaged through the cupboards with a familiarity that came with the whole ‘sticking by Thomas’ side’ thing.

Your scent was a part of you, and although you knew you had offered up its services to Thomas, you still missed the way it wrapped around you. Greek fire was hard to come by, especially in places where half-bloods didn’t gather.

Birmingham was gypsy territory in terms of spirituality. The Greek Pantheon had no business here. London, on the other hand…

The city was crawling with demigods- both of the pantheon you were a part of and of others- and of course, monsters.

Sometimes, you longed to wield your Stygian blade against monsters. You longed for the sense of comradery that blossomed between you and your questmates. The pack you formed with them.

You had no pack here. Sure, you were an extension of the notorious Thomas Shelby, and followed him to every business meeting he had. But you didn’t attend any family meetings. And the interactions between you and the non-business related members of their clan were minimal.

You didn’t mind, per se. You had always been somewhat of a loner. Most half-bloods avoided you because of your status as the child of Hades and later, more would avoid you due to your father being Áïdēs.

In the time when Áïdēs was the main aspect of the god of the dead, there was no such thing as a demigod. Gods were gods, mortals were mortals, and monsters were monsters. Although you were raised as a child of Hades, the ancient part of your blood quickly overpowered everything else.

You were a god now. Young or not, the ichor overtook the red blood that had been forced into you. Young or not, a god was a god.

You heard your name being called, and you turned around at the sound of a rather familiar voice.

“-are you safe?”

You grabbed the kettle and poured some hot water into the teacup that had tea leaves before turning your attention to the Iris message glimmering near the wall.

“I’m about as safe as I’ve always been, Chiron.” The centaur looked worried and rather disbelieving. “Really. I can protect myself, you know that.”

Thrust into the world filled with monsters that held grudges with nothing but a sword in hand. Forced to fight to survive. No protection from parents, nor from any authority. That was the life of a demigod. Not many survived to your age, but most that did were the gentler ones that didn’t smell as strong. Or they had too much dust and blood on their hands.

“I do. But we haven’t been able to contact you for a… long time.”

“I’m in Birmingham.” You took a sip of your tea and offered him a small smile. “It’s quiet, in terms of mythos related shit.”

“Language.”

“Sorry.” There was a pause and you squinted at him. “You aren’t calling me just to catch up, are you? What is it? Is it another quest? Did the Oracle come to tell you about a prophecy I’m a part of?”

“It’s nothing of the sort.” You squinted at him harder. He seemed slightly uncomfortable. “…The Lord of the Underworld asks if you are willing to move to the New World when Olympus relocates.”

“Everything’s going to America? Even you and the titans? I thought it’d only be Olympus.”

“Yes. We have been contacting the remaining half-bloods currently living within the Pillars of Hercules to urge them to move there.”

You assumed that most of the demigods here did not want to move. The boundaries within the Pillars were their home and the gods would be rather stupid to think that their children would just uproot their lives- one so painstakingly built on the blood of their siblings and friends- because of their parents’ suggestion.

“I’m staying.”

It appears as though he had been expecting your answer.

“Most do. Half-bloods born within the Pillars tend to inherit the more ancient characteristics of their parents.”

Even so, the children of Athena differed from the child of Atana, just as children of Demeter differed from the child of Damate. Just as children of Hades differed from you. The children of the ancient aspects of the gods were wilder and far, far more dangerous.

“And their stubbornness.”

“Perhaps.”

Another silence ensued, and you decided to take pity on him.

“If that’s all, we can end the message here.”

“Be cautious.” He warned, eyes sharpening slightly. “When Olympus leaves to the land beyond the Pillars, the gods will not be able to keep a close eye on you all.”

“As if they ever did.” You rolled your eyes and waved your hand, ignoring the disgruntled rumbling of thunder in the distance. Zeus could go fuck himself, for all you cared. “That’s fine.” You softened your demeanour and smiled. “Thanks for the warning, Chiron. Good luck with moving.”

“Ὑπίαινε.”

You echoed the farewell and watched as the rainbow petered off, pouring the boiled water into your teacup-

But you startled viciously when you locked eyes with the matriarch of the Shelby family.

Fuck.

~ ♥~

Polly didn’t trust you. How could she, when you walked about with the feeling of death looming over you? When you acted like you were above everything? When she didn’t know for certain who- or what- you were?

When Tommy came back from the War, she was more than surprised when he didn’t smell of the floral scent he tried to hide so furiously. And she was utterly taken aback when you popped out from behind him, eyes deep and haunted. But what took her off guard the most was the nonchalant way John and Arthur didn’t question your presence by their side.

Ada had been more than willing to throw a fit- at the sudden introduction of a new alpha that she didn’t know- but all of them could feel the genuine sentiment under your offer to help whatever Tommy wanted to do.

That was dangerous in its own way. You didn’t support the family. You supported Tommy- the only omega in the family, and one that she could no longer read clearly.

“How much of that did you hear?”

Polly sighed and took a drag of her cigarette. Your scent- fire that burned, that promised nothing but death- flared defensively.

“Everything.”

She watched the way you forcibly released the tension in your shoulders. You were much too like Tommy.

“And?” your single word question was calm, but she could hear the wound-up caution and fear in your tone.

“Thought you had something going on with you. Wasn’t wrong, was I?”

You studied her, and she let you do so. You may not be family, but she knew that they needed you. And a nagging feeling told her that you may be family in the future. As if you found something you were looking for, the burning scent settled.

“You weren’t.” You took a sip of the tea you had boiled. “Ancient Greek is what’s in my blood. Gypsy curses and magic fares well against a good chunk of the threats that makes up the Pantheon I’m involved in.”

Polly took in another drag of her cigarette. Fuck. What exactly had Tommy dragged into their home?

“It’s not going to become your problem, Polly. Your family, the Lees, and the other gypsy families that are around Birmingham stop anything from entering the city.” You scowled, and her inner alpha bristled with discomfort at the threat. “And if it does, I’ll take care of it before it can hurt any of you.”

“By any of you, you mean Tommy.”

“He’s the main reason, yeah.” She was surprised by the way you accepted her jab. “He smells like me the most, and monsters hunt by scent. By extension, all of you have my scent on you…”

Did you put all of them in danger? She scowled at you, but you simply shook your head.

“It’s hectic right now. Everything’s being moved to America. Monsters, gods, temples… No monster in their right mind would attack on unfamiliar grounds when their own lives are being uprooted. The ones that are actual threats, I mean.”

This was the first time she had heard you speak for this long. Most times, you simply stood by Tommy and whispered things into his ear. She had however, heard from Arthur and John that you were adept at making teasing remarks and avoiding questions.

“How long have you been hunting these monsters?”

“Twelve.” She had wondered why your eyes looked haunted. Why your eyes mirrored the coldness and distance that Tommy’s held. Now she knew. “Fought in a war that nobody knew was happening. Held a defensive line against the uproar that the minor gods staged.”

“And how old were you then?”

“Sixteen.”

Polly swore lowly and put off her cigarette on the table carelessly when she saw the bitter smile gracing your face.

She had not liked you. She had not even looked at you for the first couple of weeks since Tommy introduced you to her. She had thought of you as manipulative- offering Tommy something that she thought he didn’t need to get something from him- and condescending.

Her inner alpha had started to soften as the conversation with you dragged on, and it had all but burst with the accursed instinct to care.

She grabbed a hold of your wrist and tugged you into her embrace.

~ ♥~

You stood next to Thomas, absentmindedly listening in on the business he had with Campbell. A tip-off of some sort. Another man’s address instead of Ada’s mate’s.

You huffed slightly and pressed yourself more firmly into Thomas’ side, both to get warmer and to ensure that your own scent intermingled with his. It was deep into the night, and Thomas’ scent was too sweet and too alluring. If you weren’t touching him, the ruse would be up.

You thought back to the interaction you had with Polly. It had been surprisingly cathartic, saying all that to someone that wasn’t directly involved in the mess that was being a child of a god. And she had taken it surprisingly well, going even further to take you in as one of her own.

She had even suggested that you be allowed to join the family meeting. You had been the one to refuse that, though. You had seen the way Ada looked at you. Arthur and John trusted you, but you weren’t blood and you weren’t anyone’s mate.

You think that maybe the small bits of your past you had told her that day triggered some sort of maternal instinct in her. You weren’t complaining about that. You had tea with her rather often- mostly during the night when Thomas didn’t need your scent.

“-if I were to be fired, and it were your fault, I would do things that would shame the Devil.” Your head snapped away from Tommy’s torso to Campbell. That was a threat. That was most definitely a threat. The Irish alpha met your gaze and laughed. “My fury is a thing to behold.”

Thomas’ grasp on your waist tightened momentarily before immediately loosening. A warning.

“On my last day in power for example, I would see to it that you and your scum brothers have your heads stoved in with mallets and spades. And your sister too.” His hand on you tightened again, but you knew that it was less to warn you, but more to keep himself in control. The musky scent of the other alpha was threatening. “The pup inside her would be of no consequence to me.”

You couldn’t help it. You had your teeth bared as you hissed at him.

“The only ones to be spared would be your little brother, Finn. And maybe the whore of an omega right next to you now. They’d both be dumped into parts of prison where alphas have the most appetite for little weak things like them.” Campbell stepped closer, and you bristled instinctively. You could feel Thomas stiffen ever so slightly, but he didn’t move an inch. “That would be a dark day indeed, Mr. Shelby. Do you understand?”

Thomas didn’t say a word, and you bit back several choice words you had for the man in front of you. Campbell studied you before scoffing and turning to leave.

“Know this. The clock is ticking.”

You manoeuvred yourself to allow Thomas easier access to the gun he had on him at all times. And you didn’t say a word when he pointed it at the retreating back of Campbell. The alpha paused, but ultimately continued to walk away.

You stayed silent as the sound of his ragged breathing echoed through the alley. You waited until he had quietened down slightly.

You pulled yourself off of him and shook your head when he offered you a cigarette. You watched as he took in a deep drag of it.

“Do you want my help with him?”

Thomas shook his head, and that made you smile inwardly. He was still very cautious of you. He thought you the Devil, and you he didn’t ask for your assistance with anything. The things that you did on your volition though? He didn’t refuse.

“Why not? According to Campbell, if you fuck up, I’ll be sent to prison where alphas would take me for themselves.” You looked deep into those cold blue eyes of his. “It’d be easy for me. I can even make it look like an accident, if you want. Or an omen.”

“I said no, didn’t I?”

“Alright.” You wouldn’t push. Even if you could feel your pack of hellhounds with your soul. Even if you could give them a silent command to hunt. Even if your inner alpha wanted to take the head off of the inspector to present it at Thomas’ feet. “If that’s what you want.”

“Pol mentioned you were hiding something from me.”

“I am. You know that.” He thought that you were the Devil. You didn’t really correct him, and it wasn’t like Thomas asked you things. “I thought we had a no asking situation going on in both directions. I don’t ask about what you do, and you don’t ask me about my personal life.”

“Well, that’s changed since you told Pol about things I don’t know.” He grabbed a hold of your face after he flicked the butt of the cigarette onto the dirty ground. “I want to know.”

You didn’t move. You considered it. On one hand, you would like to dangle it over his head. But on the other hand, you didn’t want to trigger an argument with him.

Thomas’ eyes were unshaking, and his expression didn’t betray what he was thinking. Not even Atana’s child would have this good of a mask on their face.

“Monsters exist and gods exist.” You said softly, grimacing as the sweet scent of comet orchids turned sour with disbelief and a tinge of hurt. “I’m telling the truth. I swear on the river Styx.” Thunder boomed at your oath, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. You weren’t planning on breaking it, after all. “Polly overheard my conversation with a… mentor of mine,”

“Are you fucking with me?”

“No.” You tilted your head to the side slightly, baring your throat in an act of submission. The sour scent sweetened once more at your action. “I told her I started fighting when I was twelve. And that I led a charge in a war that no one knows about when I was sixteen.” The grip on your face slackened. “That was all.”

He studied you, eyes flickering around your face.

You didn’t flinch or look away. He was asking for something. But you wouldn’t give it to him until he asked. Thomas knew that.

“Tell me why you chose me.”

“I wasn’t supposed to be in France. I was supposed to be in a middle of a forest near Greece with my pack of dogs. Next thing I know, I was being pulled to where men were digging. It was a coincidence to see you there in the midst of the mud.” You didn’t protest when he turned to have your back pressed against the wall. “I didn’t expect you to see me. No one does.”

“Why?”

“I’m the child of the god of the dead, Thomas. The unseen one. When I will it, no one can see me.” You pressed your face into his palm. “But you did. And I saw the Fates standing nearby, cutting off your fate.”

“I was supposed to die there.”

You nodded and pushed him away. But before he could leave completely, you offered him your hands. Thomas was very quick to tug off your gloves- ones that had covered your fingers for the entire time since you had taken his string.

“You’re marked.” His thumb brushed against the strings of fate branded across your fingers. “That’s why you didn’t take off those bloody gloves of yours.”

“One of them’s your string of fate. One of them’s mine.” You weren’t sure which one was yours and which was his. “My origin is older than the Fates, so when they appear before me, they’re offering me a choice. The first time, I took my fate from their hands, and the second time, I took yours.”

“Did I make a deal with the Devil?” He asked you. “Did I sell my soul to you?”

“You didn’t make a deal with the Devil.” You intertwined your fingers with his. “For your life and my help, you offered me the one thing you had at the time. Yourself.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. You had, hadn’t you? It was a coincidence, not your choice. “Why did you choose to offer me that hand?”

“I-” You swallowed, feeling very human for the first time since you had taken your own string from the Fates to become a full god. “I wanted to be by your side as you built up your kingdom. I wanted to be there.”

Before you could say anything else, Thomas pressed his lips against yours roughly.

~ ♥~

The kiss wasn’t spoken about, and neither you nor Thomas mentioned it. He didn’t change the way he acted around you. Not in an explicit way at least. You still lingered behind him, wrapping your scent around him to mask his omegan status. You smiled and made yourself as innocent as possible, lulling whoever was having a meeting with Thomas into a false sense of security.

You watched on as the festivities continued as Artemis’ chariot travelled across the night skies.

“Do you dance, Thomas?”

Said man took in a drag of his cigarette and looked at you.

“No.”

John looked happy, despite your initial worries regarding Thomas’ plans. Esme Lee, now Esme Shelby, was positively glowing. You wondered if bonding rituals were different from the ones that you were used to.

“Too bad.” You stood up and stretched. “Dionysus seems to have granted some blessings to this party, and it’d be a shame to let it go without enjoying it.” You offered him a hand. “It’s night, so you have to touch me and I want to dance.”

A warm hand took yours, and you grinned when Thomas led you to where the others were dancing. With each step you took, you felt the familiar thrumming to ecstasy bubbling within you. With every breath, you smelt the bittersweet scent of wine.

“Dionysus. The Roman god of wine.”

“Greek.” You corrected as Thomas twirled you around. “He’s best known for being the creator of wine, but he’s also in charge of ritual madness and fertility.” You smiled as your face ended up very close to his, and you noticed how long his eyelashes really were. “You’ve read about them?”

“Can’t be a fool, can I?” He wrapped his arm around your waist. “Can’t expect you to tell me every little thing, eh?”

“Does this mean I have to start paying attention to your business?” You placed a hand onto his forearm and batted your eyelashes at him in an exaggerated manner. “You’re taking the effort to learn about the absolute mess that’s my family, so maybe I’ll involve myself a little more.”

“You’re already coming with me to all my meetings.”

“Yes, but I’ve never really paid attention to them. Unless it involved Campbell or Burgess.” You scowled. “They rub me the wrong way.” You leaned closer to his ear. “Please be careful, Thomas. I can taste the falsity in their words and the way they act.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

You hummed the song that was playing as you lost yourself in the flow of movement, but you made sure that your hand was on Thomas at all times. You had expected to pull him along, but he matched your pace. At times, he led you.

When the tune stopped, so did you and Thomas. You smiled widely at him and your inner alpha crooned when he smiled back.

“That was fun.” You tugged him into a more secluded area and absentmindedly tucked him by your side. “You’re a fantastic dancer, Mr. Shelby.”

Thomas shifted slightly, and that was when you noticed that you were posturing slightly. You blinked a couple of times before moving slightly so that you were pressed against his side in a slightly more submissive manner.

In the distance, you saw a woman- who looked too attractive to be human- grin your way. You bowed your head lightly when she waved her hand in your general area.

Aphrodite and you had a rather… tumultuous relationship. You respected her and her domain, but she meddled a little too much in your romantic life for your own tastes. You just hoped that she wasn’t planning anything too outlandish at the moment. Not when you were working hard on convincing Thomas that you were a worthy enough alpha for him.

With the scent of your Greek fire and the scent of Thomas’ comet orchid engulfing your senses, you stared up at the night sky, the stars blinking down at you.

You had a feeling that everything would descend into chaos in a couple of minutes- judging by the way Ada was acting- so you decided to enjoy this moment to the fullest.

~ ♥~

You stood close to Thomas, scent curling around not only him, but John as well. There was a man sitting in the betting shop. An alpha you had not smelt before. One that was rather… unwelcome, from the way Polly had looked when you came into the building. You had silently asked her what was wrong, but she had simply taken a drag of her cigarette and had gestured for you to get in.

Arthur was standing behind the older alpha, so you made the assumption that this new alpha was a family member. Of sorts. You didn’t like the way his scent permeated through the room. Didn’t like how the Shelby brothers visibly stiffened. How their scents were weaker.

Your instincts- which one, your inner alpha, or the battle hardened demigod warrior, you didn’t know- made you position yourself firmly between the two younger Shelbys and the two older ones.

“I don’t know who you are.” You said slowly, taking a measured step towards the foreign alpha. But you stopped when you felt Thomas’ vice grip on your wrist. “But I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Both of you can’t speak for yourselves when an alpha’s here, can you?” The man wasn’t addressing you. He was addressing Thomas and John. “You’re going to let a stranger speak for you?”

“You heard ‘em right! It’s time to go,” John said, and you felt a weight settle on your shoulder as the scent of grass reached your nose.   

The older Shelby blinked rather owlishly, and you felt a vicious sense of victory when you saw his eyes flicker from John to Thomas. He then looked at you, shoulders pulled back and teeth subtly bared in a way of posturing. You didn’t posture back. That would simply be picking a fight. And if you picked a fight now, there was no guarantee that this man would get out of it alive.

You tilted your chin up slightly though. This wasn’t posturing. Just a challenge. A taunt that had worked well when dealing with arrogant enemies.

“I’ve never stayed where I wasn’t welcome.” His scent retracted, and you let yourself relax just a little bit, but- “Come on, Finn! Let’s go, pup!”

The snarl that ripped out of John was loud and rough, but the lower hiss coming from Thomas wasn’t quiet enough to be ignored. You looked at Finn, then at the older alpha in the room.

The pup looked at you with questioning eyes. Why he was looking at you, and not Thomas, you didn’t know, but you held his gaze. You had come to care for the boy. He wasn’t in the ‘family business’ but it had been very clear that he admired Thomas quite a bit. Which had been a problem when he had nearly been blown up by a trap on Thomas’ car-

It had been a surprise when the trap did trigger though. You had grabbed Finn, but it had been Thomas who had shielded both you and his youngest sibling from the heat and the explosion. That protectiveness and instinct was the last nail in the coffin for you. Even if you weren’t able to court Thomas Shelby, he would never leave your mind.

Finn had opted to ask after you often, and you had taken the liberty to watch out for him in your own way. A subtle warning here and there about troubles he might get into, dropping a sweet or two for him, and so on and so forth. He reminded you of the gaggle of kids you had made a pack with, before the unknown war truly began.

“No, he’s not.” You had enough experience as a pack alpha to know the instinctual behaviour of a young, less controlled pup. You dropped your taunting display and raised your arm slightly, making a place for him. You were still surprised when Finn scuttled over to you to tuck himself behind you. “What gives you that idea?”

“Because I am his father, and he is my son. Who are you to stop me?” A cruel smile slid on his face. “An alpha that Tommy dragged in? One that couldn’t resist that whorish scent he has?”

You inwardly rolled your eyes at the first two questions but growled at the last one. From the corner of your eye, you saw your shadow spike up, your hellhounds thrumming with an eagerness to rip apart this mortal insulted what was yours.

Your scent turned acrid. Bitter and threatening and warning. This older Shelby might not know that you’re dangerous, but that inner alpha of his did. It knew that you were giving a final warning.

“Alright then. Understood. I know where I’m not needed.”

The man stood up from his chair and sauntered past you. Towards John and Thomas. You watched as he whispered something in Thomas’ ear before-

“That says it all, doesn’t it.” The comet orchid scent omega snapped and grabbed the scruff of the man’s coat. “Get the fuck. Out.”

You watched as Thomas dragged the man out of the door. And then turned your attention to the other Shelby brothers. John was currently fiddling with his cap whilst Arthur… Arthur simply looked anxious. The scent of the sea breeze characterising the eldest just… not present. You took back your scent and sighed, knowing all too well that there would be an argument when Thomas came back.

And you had been a part of too many family fights to involve yourself in this one.

“Come on, Finn. Let’s go get something sweet to eat. Your brothers need to have a talk.”

~ ♥~

“You picked a nasty way to go, Arthur.” Arthur wheezed at the sound of your voice. Coolly detached and distant. He wanted to tell you to fuck off, but your hands gingerly touched his neck. “It’ll do nothing but bruise.”

He wanted you to leave. You had pushed yourself into the situation that you had no right in. Just because you had Tommy wrapped right around your finger. Just because Pol liked you. He started to growl, but stopped when you held onto him.

“Death isn’t easy. And once it takes, it holds on. Be glad that he’s easy to bribe with the right things.”

You were cryptic and fucking weird. You always had been. But he couldn’t figure out why. Or how he knew you. He just knew that you had been there, right by Tommy’s side since… the War.

You patted his cheek lightly. It would have been condescending, if not for the fact that you were smiling at him. You raised an eyebrow, clearly asking for an explanation.

“I shouldn’t have trusted ‘im.” He muttered out. “He took everything and ran. Threatened to kill me too. Kill his son.” Arthur laughed bitterly. “Could you believe that? He threatened to kill his own pup.”

You hummed in an infuriatingly calm manner and Arthur was getting sick of it. You and Tommy were similar. Too similar. He was ready to push himself away from you. But-

“My father did that too.” He blinked at you when your smile turned bitter. “Once upon a time, he thought it’d make things easier for him if he had me killed. You aren’t alone there. So fuck him. And fuck your dad too.”

You sighed.

“You took money from the business to give to him, didn’t you?”

“I owe my family money now.” It was shameful to admit. And he wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone else. You were… startlingly easy to talk to, despite the strong scent you covered yourself with. “It’s fucking shameful of me, innit? Could’ave lived with owing a stranger money, but not my family.”

You tugged him up and made him drape his arm over your shoulder.

“I understand that, but they’re still pack. Talk to them. They won’t abandon you.” You walked with him out of the ring and towards the door. “And try not to take your life, Arthur. I can’t do anything if you cut your string of fate yourself.”

~ ♥~

“If you’re trying to pester me about getting a mate, Pol, I’ll leave the bloody kitchen.”

“What makes you say that I’d say something like that?”

Tommy remembered the way she looked at him knowingly when he dragged his father out of the betting shop by the scruff of the man’s coat. He knew she’d caught the scent of you on him. Your scent- indicating that he was under your protection.

Tommy gave his aunt a look, to which she shook her head at.

“John’s got a new mate now. Ada has Freddie and her pup. Arthur’s a male alpha-”

“I know my family’s statuses, Pol.”

“Wait any later, and you won’t be able to have pups.”

Tommy kept his silence, daring Polly to continue. She matched his look but soon relented.

 “They’re a good alpha, Tommy.” There was only one alpha she’d give that praise to. And that was you. He shook his head and took a hold of the cup Polly pushed his way. “They haven’t done anything have they? Let you control them. Protect you and our pack…”

“They aren’t interested in the business.”

“Of course they aren’t. They’re interested in you, Tommy. And don’t tell me you can’t fucking see it. You’re smarter than that.”

He glowered at Polly, who simply rolled her eyes and pushed her sage scent towards him in a rather coaxing manner. His inner omega had couldn’t help but relax at the distinct sensation of family. Pack. Polly had raised all of them, and she had been the one to suggest that Tommy hide his status.

She had also given him a knife to keep close to his heart, just in case. Male or not, being an omega put him in a lot of danger.

He had seen the way you postured near him. Never during business transactions, but when you were alone with him. It had gotten more frequent after the talk in the alley. And whilst Tommy was indifferent to it, his inner omega… blossomed at the attention.

He had disliked how you forced yourself into the situation with Arthur and their father. He had hated how you took control effortlessly. And he had hated how his father got under his skin. Whispering to him that finally, he’d take after his mother- submitting to any alpha that’d give him the time of day

But once again, his inner omega crooned at that. The way you handled Finn. The way your scent covered not only him, but John as well. The way you dragged Arthur back home without him growling and snarling at everything.

He pursed his lips, not indulging Polly with a response.

“Where are they anyway?”

“London. Visiting a friend.” You had told him that the day before, pinching the bridge of your nose as your scent turned bitter with what he assumed was annoyance. “I have to stay at home because of that.”

“And you didn’t accompany them?” She paused, mulling things over. “Spiritual business, isn’t it.”

“I didn’t ask. They told me they’ll be back early tomorrow.”

“How sure are you that they’d come back to you, Tommy? How long do you think they’d stay interested?”

“A long fucking time, Pol. A long fucking time.” He had seen the way you bristled whenever Grace showed an interest in him. Had seen how you would touch him one way or the other even when there was no need for you to do so. “They’ll come back.”

“I hope to God that you don’t chase them away.” Polly took a sip of her tea. “But even if you do, they’ll be more than welcome to stay with me. Poor pup probably needs a home. And a proper pack.”

~ ♥~

“I’d like to say that I’m happy to hear from you again, but then I’d be lying.”

“Fuck you, alpha.”

You regarded the child of Dionysus for a brief moment, and they studied you. The tension was palpable, but that quickly broke with your laugh. They echoed your laughter, their scent- the deep and rich scent of wine infused with nectar- mixing in a familiar manner with your own scent of Greek fire.

“How long has it been?” you asked, offering the omega your arm.

“It’d been around two years since you were running around the wilderness of Europe with your pack of hellhounds.” They took your offer and when you got closer to them, you could scent the warmth of a fire on them. You smiled wryly at the indication of an alpha on them. “I’m assuming your ascension’s ended, then?”

“Yeah. I’m no longer just a child of Hades. I’ve got my own domain even though I don’t know what it is for sure.” You frowned down at your gloved hand. “Can’t say I’ve gotten used to it though.” You tugged them away from a beta who barrelled towards you. “How have you been, my friend? Found yourself someone to court?”

They hummed and simply grinned at you. A violet twinkle in their eyes. You laughed.

“I hope to Hera that whoever they are, they can handle the madness that trails around you.” You felt their fingers dig into your forearm, but you didn’t stop with your teasing. This was a questmate from the first ever quest that had been given to you. And they had fought shoulder to shoulder with you in that war no one knew about. “And that they’re as open and free as you are. You’d tear them to pieces if they tried to tie you down.”

“He can try, but he knows better.” The day was bright, and the wind was warm. You could feel the monsters running about the city, but you knew that they wouldn’t come near you. You had become a god with a root more ancient than Zeus. “But enough about me. I smell an omega on you. And I know that scent. Comet orchid?”

“Like Helen of Troy.”

“A beautiful omega then. And if you’re this enamoured by them, I get the feeling that they’re nothing like the omega the people here think is… beautiful.”

Both of you made a face at that, but their expression was much more thunderous than yours. You assumed they had gotten some choice words thrown at them regarding their status.

“I think you’d like him. But I don’t think he’d like you.” You slipped into an alleyway, void of people and light. “He likes his control, and you don’t. You’d like to wind him up, but he wouldn’t grace you with a response.”

You smiled at the sound of their cackling, and released your hand from them.

“Is your potential mate the reason why you wanted a hellhound pup from me?”

“He has a lot of enemies, and monsters have their eyes on him too.” They scowled and crossed their arms. “I’ve done my best to fight them off, but they keep coming and I can’t be stuck to him all the time.”

You fiddled with your gloves and offered them an awkward grin. They looked at you, expressions morphing into something that mirrored incredulity.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually-”

“Here’s the pup.” You dipped your hands into the darkness of the alley and pulled out a squirming mass of fur. The pup made small snuffing sounds as it squirmed. “He’s a descendent from Cerberus, so he’ll be enough to deter any lesser monsters.”

The child of Dionysus gently took the pup from your hands and bowed their head lightly in gratitude.

“You want the pup to consider the mortal as his primary master, right?” They nodded at your question. “Then make sure that the mortal looks into his eyes first.”

“Thanks.” They curled the pup closer against their chest and opened their mouth hesitantly. “’m sorry for Iris messaging you so suddenly. A harpy tried to get to him when I wasn’t there yesterday.” You arched an eyebrow at them. “And I’m sorry that I was being snippy during it.”

“It’s fine. You like this man, and now that he smells more like you, stronger monsters are coming for him.” You knew that they were fiercely protective of what they considered theirs, after they became the only child of Dionysus. “Besides, I’ve heard way worse from you before.”

“That’s true, I guess. But that was before-” they gestured at you.

“I’m still me. My ascension doesn’t change that.” You weren’t going to go smiting everyone because they were rude to you. You weren’t like the godly members of your family. “I’m still the same person you fought with.”

You reached out your scent tentatively, and to your relief, found that they reached back too. Their scent wrapped around you reassuringly.

“Is there any way I can pay you back for him?”

You started to shake your head but paused. Perhaps there was a way they could help you.

“Do you know, by any chance, where lord Pegasus is at the moment?”

~ ♥~

Your hellhounds snapped their teeth in the shadows trailing after you. They were quiet in Birmingham and were slightly more active in London, but now that you were away from a good chunk of civilisation, they were getting more and more rowdy.

You snarled out an order for them to settle, and they did so.

Living things- mainly animals- didn’t particularly like you. You spooked them. That was why you did your best to stay unseen when Thomas visited the horses. Why cats bristled their fur and hissed at you whenever you passed.

Owls that screeched in the night and serpents adored you though. Rams, black as the Stygian blade you wielded, found you and followed you. Your father’s sacred animals knew that you were someone to be revered.

You never truly minded it. It was instinct for any living thing to avoid death. But it bothered you now.

You stood at the outskirts of a meadow- you didn’t know what country it was in, having had only followed the yarn that the child of Dionysus lent you- and watched as the pegisides grazed about.

The sun was setting beautifully.

You wrapped your scent around yourself tighter, knowing that the cold burning scent of Greek fire would do nothing but to make them all flee.

You took a step forward and made eye contact with Pegasus. The immortal winged horse born from the ichor of Poseidon and the blood of Medusa. Your cousin and the brother of Chrysaor.

You weren’t like the children of Poseidon. You couldn’t speak to horses. But you knew that Pegasus understood you.

“It is an honour to meet you, lord Pegasus.”

The immortal horse walked over to you, his wings folded neatly against his back. The other pegisides whinnied and fidgeted in an unsettled manner as they noticed your presence in their vicinity.

You had spoken to many of the gods and had been rather… insolent to them. You were bitter and mad about the lack of help they gave. Their lack of care. The way they ignored you as their children lay dying in a war they made you all fight.

But Pegasus was different. His children were comrades in battle. They were valiant in battle, despite their general skittishness and caution. He was one of the few immortals that you truly gave your respect to.

“I… wish to have your blessing, my lord.” You tipped your head into a bow. “There is an omega I am attempting to court. He has a connection to horses. Not stemming from our Pantheon, but somewhere else. I wish to offer him one of your brethren as a companion.”

Pegasus made a soft snuffing sound and you watched as he dipped his head to you, white coat reflecting the orange skies slightly. 

He spread open one of his wings and another of the pegisides trotted forwards, flicking her mane in a huffing manner. She was chestnut in colour and she didn’t even flinch in your presence. She instead bumped her muzzle against your shoulder.

“My lord, I would have been able to ask Chiron-”

‘A gift to you. For your ascension and a token of gratitude to the rites you had spoken for my brethren.’

You patted at the mare’s neck and smiled.

“Thank you, lord Pegasus. As for the rites- they were our friends. They deserved the same honour as the others.”

He nodded his head, and you watched as the immortal winged horse flew off with his flock of pegisides.

~ ♥~

“Thomas.” Tommy’s eye immediately opened at the sound of your voice. He let his sight adjust into the darkness. “Sorry I’m late. I had to make a detour.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He scented the air.

Polly’s sage scent, as well as John’s grassy one and Arthur’s sea breeze scent lingered about the house as always. Ada’s daisy scent was weaker, now that he wasn’t on speaking terms with her. The characteristic milky scent of pups swirled around the air.

His own scent- sickeningly sweet and only covered by the sheer variety of different scents- was mixed in with the others. But yours didn’t seem to linger for too long.

But he knew your scent. He had used it as his often. He knew for certain that you didn’t smell like wine.

“Where the fuck have you been?” He stood from the bed and walked over to you. He didn’t question how you were in this room this late at night. He knew better than to ask that. But he had to ask you why you came to him smelling of an omega. “Why do you smell like an omega?”

His inner omega hissed and Tommy resisted the urge to curl into himself. He snatched your wrist and tore off your gloves. He traced the calluses on your fingers.

“London. A friend asked for me, remember?”

“You didn’t say they were an omega.”

“Why would that matter?” He scoffed at your question. “Thomas.”

“You’re me alpha.” Tommy snapped out, eyes meeting yours. “Mine.”

A pause. He held your gaze, even though he was regretting ever speaking that out loud. You blinked at him, opening and closing your mouth a couple of times.

“Yeah?” You sounded breathless. Your scent- always burning, always bitter- seemed to soften and sweeten. “I’m your alpha?”

He pursed his lips and held your gaze. He wouldn’t say it again. He had spent a long time without ever feeling the need or the want to mate. Women, omegas, and horses were wild. But any alpha would try to keep him at home, away from the business. Have him raise pups like a pliant bitch.  

“I’m not going to say it again.”

“You don’t have to.” You pulled his hand to your face and leaned down slightly, pressing your forehead against the back of his hand. “I’m honoured.”

You respected him. You weren’t condescending or overly protective like Polly or Ada had a tendency to be at times. Arthur and John weren’t as bad- considering the three of them served in the Great War with each other. His brothers knew very well that he could take care of himself. But they were family.

You didn’t try to control him when it came to the business. Didn’t comment on anything unless he asked. You weren’t a dog nipping at his heels to control him. No. If anything, you were a hound snapping at anything that tried to keep him controlled.

Your scent circled around him. Curling around him as you tugged him out of his room.

“I’ll make a proper courting gift for you later. But right now, I want to show you something.”

“Couldn’t it wait until morning?”

“It could, but I don’t think you’ll mind me dragging you out of bed when you see what I got you.”

~ ♥~

Your inner alpha sang and crooned with the giddiness of Thomas’ referral to you as his alpha. This omega- with beautiful blue eyes and a lethalness that he carried- gave you his permission to court him. And you were very glad he did so before that urge to kidnap him overtook you.

You were the child of an ancient aspect of Hades, after all. And everyone knew how he ‘kidnapped’ Persephone. You were more inclined to believe that Persephone voluntarily sought out Hades to become a queen, but you didn’t know for sure if that was the truth.

You watched as Thomas pressed his face against the pegasus’. He spoke to her, but it was too quiet for you to hear. But she seemed to be content, judging by the gentle shifting of her wings.

“What’s her name?”

“She doesn’t have one yet.” He gestured for you to come closer, and you obliged. She hadn’t been scared of you when she was gifted to you, and she had been completely fine with you when you rode her back to Birmingham. So you assumed she’d be unperturbed by your presence now too. “What do you want to name her?”

You lingered uncertainly behind Thomas as he scratched her neck.

“Roamer.” She whinnied softly and nuzzled the man. The smile that graced his features was stunning, and you regretted not thinking of gifting him a horse sooner. “You like the name, girl?”

The pegasus nudged him again.

“I told you it’d be worth getting out of bed for.”

“Aye, you did.” You moved closer to Thomas and gingerly pressed your chin onto his shoulder. “Was this why you were late then?”

“Because you aren’t a half-blood, I needed to ask the origin of all winged horses if I could gift her to you. And he gave me Roamer here as a gift.” You rubbed your cheek against his shirt. “I think I was in… Russia? And I had to ride her here.”

“The stable would be too small for her. And she has wings.”

“She’ll appear to be a normal horse to anyone who isn’t clear-sighted or a half-blood. You’re clear sighted and I’m certain Polly is too. The other members of your pack, though… I’m not too sure.” You reached out hesitantly to pat her head. “The stables you have should suffice, but pegisides prefer freedom. She just needs a place to return to.”

He hummed softly. Absentmindedly.

“Pegisides are loyal creatures.” You said, your mind going to the stallion that had aided you during your quests. A brave creature who didn’t fear to let you ride him. You had wept when the poison took him, and had scattered the dust he left behind in the meadow he often grazed at. “Skittish, but reliable when you need them. She’ll find you when you need her.”

The mare huffed slightly and nudged closer into your touch, silently promising you that she would do just that. Helpful creatures or not, pegisides were monsters too, and their sense of smell allowed them to track anyone they had a scent of.

You basked in the sweet, content scent of comet orchids surrounding you. All the while not acknowledging the low purring- most likely instinctive and unknown to him- Thomas was making.

It was best not to scare him off. Horses were prey animals, after all.

~ ♥~

Nothing really changed even after Thomas allowed you to court him. You still lingered about his sight during whatever business he had. You still manipulated your scent to be his. Making your scent turn bitter and aggressive when he needed to be threatening. Making it colder and closed off when he silently indicated for you to do so.

But many had commented on how much sweeter your scent was. And they many had thrown jabs towards you, asking Thomas if he had finally taken the ‘omega whore’ as his. Unbeknownst to them though, the scent circling around you was his, not yours. Their comments essentially insulting him, not you.

You were still as uninterested in the Shelby business as ever, but you did keep a close eye on whoever Thomas wanted you to. Your hellhounds being all too willing to lurk in the shadows of those people. All too willing to hunt. He didn’t know of your hellhounds though. He just knew you had some spies running about.

That was how you had known that Grace was a spy, and how you had known that Kimber was all too aware of the plan Thomas was concocting.

On one hand, you had not been able to pass on that information in time- the Fates’ interventions, you assumed- and shit had gone down quite quickly. But on the other hand, things had settled after Ada’s mate took Thomas’ side. There were some deaths of course, with one of them being Kimber, and another being Danny Whizz Bang.

You had seen over the funeral for the beta yourself, out of gratitude for his sacrifice. It had made you pray for your father and Hermes to take care of him in his journey beyond. The man didn’t deserve to be one of the poor souls making up the Cocytus.

“Burgess is lucky.” You said softly, in the kitchen of the Shelby home, swirling the tea Polly had given you. Ada was sitting with her pup tucked firmly against her chest and Esme was wrangling one of John’s pups into eating something. “She escaped before I could do anything to her.”

You didn’t take well to betrayal. Didn’t take kindly to spies. Especially ones that threatened you and yours. If you hadn’t talked Thomas out of visiting the Garrison that day- due to a dream granted to you- Campbell would have had his grip into him. Into the beautiful omega that was yours.

“What could you have done to her?” Ada asked, her tone much less hostile than when you first properly spoke to her, a couple of days after Karl’s birth.

“A lot of things.”

“Me ma says you ain’t human.” Esme said, when it was for certain that you weren’t going to elaborate any more than that. “Was she right?”

You smiled and took a slow sip of your tea, all too aware of the eyes on you.

“Your mother knows a lot, Esme. What exactly did she say?”

“She said that death follows you. That there’s magic in your blood and fire in your soul.” You stared at her, and she hesitated slightly before speaking again. “That you’re as benevolent as you are ruthless.”

Huh. That was fairly accurate of her. Zilpha Lee had seen you a handful of times, and you had never spoken to her directly. But for her to know those things about you, she must be pretty prophetic.

“I’m a child of the Ancient Greek Pantheon. Meaning my father is a god.”

Ada laughed, but stopped rather abruptly when she found Polly and Esme nodding solemnly.

"Wait, you aren’t being serious, are you?”

“I wouldn’t lie about this, Ada.”

She studied you, eyes sharp and scent defensive once more. You let her do her posturing whilst you yourself held your inner alpha back from responding to her posturing. You forced your expression to be as serene and calm as possible, not even flinching when her Daisy scent turned sour.

“Fuck. Alright.” The oppressing scent disappeared. “That makes more sense.”

“It does?”

“I’ve wondered why Tommy let you near him so much. And don’t tell me it’s because of the ‘better of our family’ cause we all know that’s not the only reason.” She rolled her eyes. “He could’ve led the pack as an omega, or whilst pretending to be a beta. He must’ave made some sort of deal with you.” She arched an eyebrow at you. “Am I right?”

“You’re right. About the last part. I don’t really know about the first part.”

“Of course I am. I know Tommy.”

“Does my husband know? Do me brothers-in-law?”

“Thomas is aware.” He was all too aware. He had started riding Cloud Roamer, after all. Not flying though. “John and Arthur though? Not yet. I’ll get around to telling them all this later.”

“It might be best to keep this away from them for a while.” Polly said, flicking her cigarette into the ashtray. “Men aren’t as spiritual as women or omegas are. They wouldn’t believe you even if you showed them whatever you can do.”

You snorted and wiggled your fingers over Karl’s face, cooing softly when the pup babbled and reached for them.

“Let’s hope you’ll be more… clear sighted than your uncles, pup.” You gently pressed a finger onto his forehead when Ada showed no indication of stopping you. “And that you’ll be as sharp and accepting as your mum.”

“Shove off it, you.”

The relatively harsh words from the daisy scented alpha were more affectionate than not when they targeted her family. And you were certain that the sentiment was found in her words at you now.

~ ♥~

Tommy watched as you tentatively poked at his bed, hesitantly looking at him for instructions. Gone was the confident, powerful… confidant of his. And in their place was a shy, cautious alpha.

“You’ve been in my room before.” He offered you a small smile before reaching for a cigarette and taking a drag of it. “Why the sudden shyness, eh?”

“That was- that was before you let me court you.”

You tucked yourself against the wall and pouted. He simply raised an eyebrow at you, finding himself to be more amused than annoyed or irritated. He puffed out the smoke.

“Come ‘ere.”

You walked over to where he was- on the bed, and in the haphazardly made nest- and settled yourself on the edge of the cot. But he grabbed your hand and pulled you to him. The soft scent of fire wrapped around him, and he heard you purr against him.

Tommy swallowed when your fingers trailed up his throat to grab his chin. You smiled at him, mischievous and playful.

“Take a drag of your cigarette for me, won’t you, Thomas?” He did as you asked, not at all willing to resist you. “Good.”

Then you swooped in to kiss him, taking the smoke from his mouth into yours. Tongue easing into him, fingers slipping inside of his shirt-

You pulled away from the kiss and tugged him to you, trapping yourself all too willingly between him and the bed. He hovered over you, breathing in the sweet, lust-filled scent that only he had the right to smell.

“Will you fuck me, Tommy?” You asked, trailing a hand up his chest as you wrapped your legs around him. “Hm? Or should I beg?”

Fucking Hell.

Tommy just kissed you, stopping your wicked laughter in its tracks.

~ ♥~

You curled up beside Thomas, basking in the afterglow as well as the intermixed scents of yours and his.

In the heat of the moment, you had offered him your neck. Gave him the choice to mate you. Bond you to him. And that had paused him briefly. He had lightly bit at your neck but hadn’t sunken his canines into you.

You weren’t too offended by it. Not when you were yet to prepare a proper courting gift for him. Courting gifts had to be crafted. Made with love and thought. Made with prayers to Athena, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. Normally, alphas started making it when the intention for them to court someone first blossomed, but your idea for a courting gift required some rather… specific materials.

“You’re the perfect omega, did you know?” You nuzzled into his bare shoulder. “Ruthless, viciously protective, territorial.”

“I wouldn’t call those being a good omega.”

You scowled and looked at him, but softened your expression when you saw his eyes- so blue and so cold- turn a little guarded.

“Omegas defend pack and pack territory. Alphas hunt and bring back whatever pack needs. That’s what I’ve learnt. And that’s what I’ve experienced.” You paused and furrowed your eyebrows. “But I’ll kill anyone that threatens you.”

“You will?”

“’f course.” You yawned and purred when you felt his hand stroke your waist. “Send them straight to the fields of punishment. I’ll make sure they suffer for all of eternity.”

“Tell me about your family.”

“My father’s the king of the Underworld. Kind of. Most of my… fellow warriors know me as one of the children of Hades, but I’m not.” You lowered your voice. “I’m the only child of Áïdēs. And I’ll always be the only child of him. The more ancient aspects don’t have children often.” The haze of pleasure and contentment left you. You shook your head to clear your mind a little more. “What’s brought this on?”

“Arthur.” His tone was rather curt, but you didn’t mind it. “Why is it that everything I learn about you comes from the members of my family?”

You rolled your eyes and shifted so that there was a little physical distance between you and him. Your inner alpha lamented the loss of contact, but you ignored it.

“Because you never ask, Thomas.”

“You should tell me these things before I ask you to.”

“What am I, a mind reader?”

“Aren’t you?”

You gave him an unimpressed look as he reached over to grab a cigarette by the bedside table.

“Unfortunately, no.” You plucked the cigarette from his fingers before he could light it and twirled it around in your fingers. “Communication is important to me, and I’ll never tell you things if you don’t ask.” You held out the cigarette and he lit it. “But if you do, I’ll tell you the truth.”

You simply watched as the cigarette continued to burn.

“You’re the only one to know that I’m the child of Áïdēs though. If that means anything.”

Thomas huffed and took the burning cigarette from your fingers to put it between his lips.

You caressed his jaw with one hand and pressed a soft kiss onto his cheek.

“If you want me to tell you things about myself, you ask me, yeah?” You murmured in a rather coaxing manner. You grinned inwardly when his breath hitched and his scent softened once more. “Try not to use sex as a way to get my lips loose. It worked this time, but it won’t work next time.”

~ ♥~

It was 1922. Three years. Three years had passed since you came to Birmingham with Thomas after the Great War. Two years or so after the incident with Kimber and Grace and Campbell. And two years or so after you gifted the man with the haunted blue eyes a winged horse.

Thomas had told you his aspirations and ambitions to expand the family business. To London and beyond. And you wanted what he wanted.

The two years were rather busy. It was essentially business meeting after business meeting, rigged bet after rigged bet. You and Thomas still danced around the topic of bonding and mating, much to the chagrin of a good chunk of his pack. Thomas might deny it all he wants, but his inner omega was waiting for your courting gift to him. But you knew it wasn’t time yet.

But it was very apparent that you were Thomas’ and he, yours. Whilst before, you lingered behind him and his hands always kept at a distance from you, now you were more often than not by his side. Observing- with a gaze as cool and professional as Thomas’- the men he was conducting business with quietly.

You weren’t referred to as the Shelby omega. Not anymore. The last man who had called you that- as well as several other demeaning words- got his nose broken by a very angry Arthur Shelby. And cut by an equally furious John Shelby.

You had never truly minded the rumours, but it had been… nice to see Thomas’ brothers care about your ‘honour’. You had somehow gained their trust and approval. Both in a way that was more personal than before.

Ada’s mate had passed, and it had taken the whole of the Shelby pack a week or so to console her properly. You had offered your aid in looking after the business whilst they did that, considering the fact that you weren’t proper pack. And you had kept your distance from their family home, busying yourself and only popping by to let Thomas scent you.

Keeping your distance at the time- and perhaps indicating to Ada that you weren’t interested in taking her place when it came to her brother- seemed to have warmed her up to you more so than before. Whilst she had been cordial with you before, after that, she was more of a friend than a family member of the man you were courting.

The Garrison had blown up, and it was a shame. You felt bad for Harry, and you had offered the distraught beta whatever help you could give him. It was in the process of being rebuilt, though.

“Where are you going?”

You paused on your way out of Thomas’ office and turned back, seeing the way he set the papers he was looking at on the desk. His gaze following you.

You had managed to get him to talk to you and ask you things before he made decisions regarding you. A king was destined to be alone, and Zeus was. Your father was not, however. Thomas Shelby might have the eyes of the King of the gods, but his soul was yours, and you’d do your best to ensure that he would follow more of your father than your uncle.

“You’re planning on expanding. So I’ve got to go hunting for a little bit.” You scratched your neck. Which remained markless even now. “Birmingham’s safe. But London isn’t. The situation in America’s settled somewhat, and that brings more trouble for us.”

“For us?”

“Accidents, bad luck… You’re clear sighted so some monsters might try to kill you. It’s best to send a warning to them before they get any ideas.”

“I have a couple of meetings that I need to attend.” Thomas needed your scent. You hummed and chose to turn back towards his desk. You stepped around it and wrapped your arms around his head, tugging his face to your torso. “I need you there.”

“For my scent or for my charms, Tommy?”

“For me peace of mind.”

You laughed and let your scent turn softer.

“How about this- if you can schedule the very important meetings that need my scent to be active for this week, I can stay for a little more.” He held you more firmly against his face. Who would have known he’d be this clingy? “But I’d have to leave for longer. My uncle requests my presence.”

You heard him hiss lowly. Thomas had asked about your other family members, and you had told him about Zeus. How he was paranoid about being usurped. How he had on multiple occasions attempted to have you… out of his way.

“I’ll be okay. He wouldn’t dare to hurt him. Not when I’m out of the influence of ‘em all.” You were unable to be influenced by the gods now. Both as you were one and as their power within the pillars of Hercules decreased. “Whilst I’m there, I’ll get you the courting gift you deserve.”

“Roamer would have been enough.”

“She was never meant to be a courting gift, Thomas.” You stroked the nape of his neck and leaned down to place a soft kiss on the top of his head. “I gave her to you because I wanted to see you smile.”

You gently pushed him off of your torso and instead cupped your hands around his cheeks. His eyes- so beautifully blue and so, so alluring- seemed to trace your face. You smiled and bumped your forehead against his.

“When you come back.” He said, voice low and promising. “You’ll come back to a home with enough power and riches you’d ever want. With far more territory for you to hunt in.”

You didn’t know if he was aware of the appeasement he was making. An omega, offering to expand territory for an alpha? It made your heart flutter and your inner alpha purr.

“When I come back.” You said, moving your body and urging him to shift so that you were well on straddling his hips. “You’ll be presented with the most beautiful of weapons and as much crystals and gems as you want.”

You kissed him, feeling his hands palm at your back with a distinct passion that you associated with him.

~ ♥~

You were dripping with ichor and covered in dust. The monsters on the lands to London from Birmingham and London itself weren’t too difficult for you to dispose of. But you had been rather surprised by an arai who had seemingly escaped from Tartarus during the move of the Pantheon to America.

You had sent her back to Tartarus, but you felt your sword wielding arm jump and burn. A curse from one of the many monsters you had sent back, you assumed.

“You look like shit.”

You rolled your eyes at the god of war’s rough voice and grunted as you sheathed your blade. The god was never truly fond of demigods or Heroes, but he acknowledged the way war affected you and your brethren.

“Fuck off.”

You knew better than to swear at any of the other gods, but Ares was different. He had been hands deep in the Great War, after all. He knew the vulgarity of the soldiers and the shellshock that was inflicted on many of them. In a way, you knew him better than you even knew your own father.

He said your name. You looked at him, fully expecting the crimson glare he preferred, but you were greeted with the haunted eyes of Thomas. You snarled at him, making him only grin.

“They called him a Hero, and he was supposed to die as one. But he’s a soldier, isn’t he? One you chose to make a king?” You flinched when he gripped your cursed arm. “Father’s not happy with that. Athena’s not happy with that.”

“They’re never happy with me.”

The god barked out a laugh as he walked with you to the entrance of the council.

“Is this a trial or a simple meeting?”

“A meeting. We don’t have power over you brats inside the boundaries of the Pillars. They’ll ask questions about your domain.”

“I don’t even know what mine are.”

“That’s your fucking problem. Just keep me out of it.”

You might have ascended in the wilderness, hunting and running with your hellhounds, but the trigger for that ascension was the god of war himself. You weren’t the royal child of the King of the Underworld. You weren’t the Ghost King. You were a soldier. A warrior that only used their powers over the darkness, the dead, and the earth to protect.

“Fine.”

He grinned at you, his eyes glowing crimson and erasing any trace of your courting partner’s from his face. He released his grasp on your arm and slapped the back of your shoulder roughly.

“Good luck.”

~ ♥~

Tommy was certain that you were truly someone that protected him spiritually because the moment you were gone, many of his plans had to be improvised. Going to the establishment run by Sabini in London with his brothers and taking over it was a success. But that was about it.

Birmingham was his city. He should not have been beaten by Sabini’s men. And they definitely shouldn’t have scented the fact that he was an omega.

You had, before you left, scented most of his clothes. Until the whole house smelt of nothing but the cold fire of you. But you had warned him that your scent wouldn’t hide his own when night came.

He knew the reality of being an omega. If the shadows hadn’t snapped up and swallowed the men, he would have been raped. In a sense, he had been glad that it was only a beating he took.

Tommy couldn’t remember much after that, but he had managed to find himself in a hospital, with none of the staff knowing of his true status. Campbell had also come by- whilst his head was pounding and his body aching- to threaten him once again. But the inspector too did not notice his sickeningly sweet natural scent.

In retrospect, he thinks that the lack of attention or care to his scent was thanks to you. You had told him that if you willed it, you could be unnoticeable to anyone. And quiet barking seemed to echo in his ears whenever someone not-pack came to see him.

He had left the hospital- discharged himself without giving a single fuck about how he was feeling because he had made you a promise, and he wouldn’t break that- and had asked Curly to take him to Camden Town. He needed to meet with Solomons to get the man to agree with his plan to take down Sabini.

The alpha held a dominant scent. The man smelt of fire and wood. Tommy couldn’t say that he thought it to be pleasing. He had gotten too familiar with the ashen scent that was yours.

His own scent had almost completely overtaken yours this time, and he had half-expected Solomons to comment on it. Half-expected him to do something. But the man didn’t even mention his status. Only commenting on his ancestry to rile him up.

Tommy had more than enough experience keeping his expression firmly indifferent. He looked at the alpha in the face just like he looked at any man. The security of your scent wasn’t there, but he had survived the War without it anyway.

Solomons had offered him a choice- rum for fun and fucking or whiskey for business- but Tommy had opted to refuse. And they talked.

As expected, Solomons had pulled out a gun from his left drawer and had pointed it at his face. Tommy had stared down at the barrel unflinchingly. If he had been afraid to die, he would have stepped away from the business after the incident with Kimber. He would have kept his expression as serene and indifferent as he could have, but his injuries had gotten the better of him.

The man had put down his gun then and asked him about his plan.

All in all, Tommy thought as he staggered out of the bakery, everything had gone well.

His inner omega wanted him to whimper and curl up in a ball somewhere, but he ignored it. He had to go back home. He had to handle the aftermath of everything. Speak to his family. Inform Ada about the house in London he bought for her. He had to buy Polly another house in Birmingham-

A soft whinny pulled him out of his thoughts.

He felt a warm muzzle against his arm and he reached to pat the horse’s head with his other hand.

“You came to pick me up, girl?” He felt a smile tug at his lips when she huffed quietly. “Help me get to Curly, won’t you?”

Roamer knelt slightly, allowing him to get seated on her back. She had no saddle but reins were fitted on her. He felt her wings shift and he quickly patted her neck. He was in no condition to fly.

She huffed and tossed her head back.

“Don’t give me attitude, Roamer.”

But the mare made another huffing sound before making a gentle trot through the streets.

~ ♥~

You grinned as you stood upon the smoking carcass of the drakon. It’ll come back again, but it was currently turning to dust. You had to be quick. You had to pull out one of its bones so that you could carve it into a dagger.

The blood of the drakon was venomous, even to you. But you didn’t care. With your good arm- not the one currently recovering from the curse set upon you by the arai- you dug through the rotting flesh and ripped out a femur.

Yes, your fingers were burning from the venom. Yes, you probably looked like shit. And yes, you were more than tired from the lack of rest. But you were victorious.

You crawled out of the carcass and curled the bone closer to yourself, cooing softly. You had finally gotten the main material for the courting gift you were planning on making. Now you only needed to carve it and dunk it in one of the rivers.

A call of your name pulled you out of the space your inner alpha had put you in. You straightened your back and pushed your prize out of view.

“Lord Hades.” You greeted with a nod. “I had your wife’s permission to hunt here.”

“I can tell.”

You didn’t bother making any attempt to start up a conversation. Hades was not your father, and you knew he didn’t quite like you calling him that to his face. However, he didn’t stop you for calling him your father up in the mortal world.

“You are courting someone.”

“I am.”

Gods, he was awkward. But so were you. You sighed and slumped down.

“What do you want, my lord?” You were tired. You wanted to go near one of the rivers to quietly carve and sharpen this into a blade small enough for Thomas to have on him at all times. You didn’t want to speak to him unless absolutely necessary. “If you don’t have anything else to say-”

“Child. If you wish to ask the rivers for their blessing, you require my permission. Not my wife’s. Not the rivers’, but mine.” You tensed. Was he threatening you? To stop you from making what you needed to make? The god sighed. “You expect the worst from me.”

“Of course I do. You were more than willing to see me die because I was a child of a forbidden aspect of yourself.” You shifted your weight and prepared yourself to run. The king of the Underworld seemed… regretful. “You threatened to kill me.”

You shook your head and stepped back.

“Child. I’m not here to hurt you. I am here to offer you my blessing.” He reached to press his hand onto your forehead, not too unlike the way Hermes had done, a couple of years ago. “I regret that you were forced to ascend with the help of my… nephew. And that you weren’t comfortable in my domain to do so.”

You couldn’t help the cold laugh escaping you.

“So? You want to make up for it now?”

“Yes.” He sighed. “Áïdēs borrows power from Despoina, who was queen before he was king. Because of that you’re wilder than I am. More inclined to the nature and animals than I.” You stayed quiet and closed your eyes, feeling the essence of Hades feed your own. “You are more similar to my wife than myself. It isn’t often that Persephone’s favour reaches my…”

“Bastards?”

He said your name curtly, and you let yourself smile a bit. You opened your eyes and saw that the younger aspect of your father was smiling slightly too.

“Áïdēs would be proud of you, his wild child.” He pulled his hand away from you and you felt his essence retreat from your own. “Visit the Lethe first, then the Phlegethon. After that, visit the Styx. Ask the lady Styx for her blessing and if she accepts, any being who is killed by that weapon will be sent straight to the fields of Punishment.”

“Thank you, Lord Hades.”

“Don’t let my brother know that you’ve smuggled a bottle of ambrosia out of Olympus.” You froze, but he laughed and waved his hand dismissively. “And do invite us to your wedding when it happens.”

Before you could answer him, he was gone.

Huh. You had a feeling that you’d somehow mended your relationship with your pseudo-father.

~ ♥~

Tommy knew what he was doing. John would believe his brother, because status or not, he was the family head. He was smarter than all of them combined. But…

He was fucking furious at your absence. You were courting his brother, but you weren’t there when Tommy was beaten. You weren’t there when Campbell threatened pack. You weren’t there-

He paced about the betting shop restlessly, keeping more of an eye on Tommy than on anything or anyone else. His brother was stubborn and obsessed with work. Not even a beating could force him to rest.

The smell of fire- burning and ashen- entered the betting shop, and he turned his head to the door, very ready to yell at you, but…

You looked like shit.

“Thanks, John.” You rolled your eyes and limped over to Tommy’s office. But he stopped you because what the fuck? “I’m fine.” You furrowed your eyebrows. “I’m more worried about Thomas though. I’ve heard that he’s been hurt?”

“Yeah, but not as bad as you!” John grabbed your shoulders and forced you to sit on top of one of the desks. “What the fuck happened? Where the fuck were you? What happened to your arm?”

Your arm was in a sling, your fingers looked burnt, and he could tell that your ankle was swollen. There were cuts on your face, but you were grinning.

“I went to take care of some things for Thomas and then went to visit my family in America.” You made a gesture with your free hand. “I nearly drowned in a river, but I finally made him a courting gift!”

You were officially insane.

“Tommy!”

The best choice of action was to call for his brother. Because he really didn’t know what else to do. You seemed off, though. He wasn’t an alpha like Polly or Arthur and he wasn’t an omega like Tommy, so he wasn’t as good with scents as them, but even he could tell that something was wrong.  

“What?” Tommy emerged from his office and asked, tone sharp.

You jumped off of the desk and John had to move quickly to steady you before you could crumple to the floor.

Tommy was quick to come and take you from him, and you crooned lowly before pressing yourself against his brother. And for the first time since before the War, John heard his brother whine.

“What’s wrong?” With him or with you? John wasn’t sure about who he was asking about, so he didn’t bother specifying. “Do you need me to call Aunt Pol?”

“It’s a drop, John boy.” Tommy gestured towards his office and John went in to fetch his brother’s coat. When he gave it to him, Tommy thanked him with a nod. “You don’t have to call Polly. I just need to get ‘em home.”

“I’ll close up shop.” He’d call Polly too, because he was not equipped to deal with this. “Go.”

“Thanks, brother.”

~ ♥~

A drop. Tommy set you on his bed and let his inner omega move his hands. He never truly nested, but this time, he was sure it was warranted. His inner omega had missed you, and he was still injured. You were injured too.

“Alpha.” The status felt… awkward leaving his mouth. He’d never really called you that. Just as you had never called him omega. But once again, it was warranted this time. “Look at me.”

You looked at him pliantly, tugging his blanket around yourself haphazardly.

He took note of your injuries. The cuts, the swelling, and the sling. Tommy reached to cup your face, breathing in the offness of your scent. It was sweet, but in a rather sickly way.

He had only seen a drop for certain twice in his life. Both times during the war. Once was with a dying soldier- an alpha- who had clocked him as an omega accurately. The other time was when one of the nurses- an omega- saw her mate’s body coming in with several missing limbs.

He was pretty certain his own mother had killed herself in the middle of a drop, but he didn’t know if that was true.

“What happened, love?” You blinked slowly and tilted your head. “You swore to tell me the truth when I asked.”

“I got cursed by an arai when I was clearing the land between here and London.” You frowned. “Nasty creatures the arai are. That particular curse came from Chrysaor. I cut off his arm before I sent him back to the Pit and he cursed me for that. Hence the-” you gestured at your sling.

He sat still as you draped yourself over his lap.

“And then I went to Olympus to meet the council. They were being ridiculous as always and I spoke to some of the gods that actually like me. Some of them asked me to check up on their children.” You purred when he stroked your head. “After that, I went hunting to get some things I needed to make your courting gift.”

“My courting gift, eh?”

“I promised.” You smiled lazily at him. “But that meant I had to go down to the Underworld. Met Hades.” You blinked slowly. “He apologised to me and I think we’re good now. He asked me to invite him to our wedding.”

Tommy felt himself smile slightly. A wedding.

“You got hurt too.” You said, your tone taking on a more aggressive edge. “Sabini’s men. Bubbles told me.”

“Bubbles?”

“She’s one of my hellhounds. I usually have one of them look out for everyone in your pack, but I needed her. When she went back to you, you were already hurt.” You sniffed. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to be.” Tommy said, attempting to soothe you all the while storing that piece of information away in his head. “She got back to me in time.” He leaned down to briefly brush his cheek against yours. “Are your… hellhounds protecting us now?”

“Bubbles is always with you and me. Dust is with Polly. Blossom’s with Ada and Karl, and Nipper is in charge of guarding Arthur. And Pepper watches after John and Esme and their pups. I gave a pup to a friend of mine for their mate-to-be though.”

He was itching to ask more questions, to use them in his plans, but… you were in a drop. Tommy didn’t want to talk to you about this. His inner omega was whining and clawing at him to comfort. To aid.

“Alright love.” He shrugged off his suit and moved to position himself to curl around you. “Let’s sleep first, yeah? Then you can give me my courting gift and we can talk more.”

“Okay. Love you, Tommy.”

Tommy didn’t answer but chose to simply press his lips onto your forehead.

~ ♥~

“So. Uh.” You fidgeted awkwardly with the hem of Thomas’ shirt and looked at him. “I don’t remember how I got here.”

The last thing you remembered was speaking to the lady Styx and gaining her approval. She had blessed the bone dagger you had painstakingly carved and decorated. Before that you had been pulled into the Phlegethon and nearly drowned.

Thomas took a drag of his cigarette and looked at you. You, for some reason, wanted to shy away from his gaze.

“You were in a drop.” A drop. Fuck. The last time you had been in one, you had been pulled out by the sheer determination to get yourself and your questmates out of a rather dire situation. “It was different from the ones I’m used to.”

“Was I delirious? Clingy?” At Thomas’ nod, you groaned. “It’s something called an ‘alpha drop’. It happens to a lot of alphas like me, mainly because the steps we take to make our courting gifts are very, very treacherous. We need out courting partner to ease us out of it.”

And to tell you that the courting gift has been accepted and appreciated.

Did… did you give him your courting gift? You tugged at his sleeve urgently.

“You haven’t.” He huffed out smoke and offered you a small smile. “You can now, though.”

You let go of his shirt and scrambled through your bag, which was thankfully near the bed. You ignored the bottle of ambrosia and wrapped your fingers around the hilt of the dagger. You pulled it out and twirled it around so that you were holding the smooth blade.

You watched, inner alpha holding its breath, as Thomas took it from you and examined it.

“I hunted a drakon that lives only in the Underworld. The blade’s made of the femur of it.” You gave in to the urge to go into detail about what you had done to make the weapon. “I carved it and dunked it into three of the Underworld rivers. Lady Styx blessed it, and I’m pretty sure my father did too.”

Thomas ran a finger down the blade.

“It’s a good blade.” He put out the cigarette on the ashtray. “I accept it.”

You perked up and a strangled half whine left your lips. You crawled onto him and pressed your face into the crook of his neck, scenting him vigorously.

“If you kill someone with it, their soul will be damned to the fields of Punishment for all of eternity.” You said quietly when one of his hands gripped your waist. “And if someone touches you with the intent to rape you, the blade will kill the alpha the moment it touches it.”

“I missed you.”

You purred contently when his scent- faint as it is in the day- curled around you.

~ ♥~

You hid your face in your hands when Thomas appeared to start the family meeting. He was posturing in a distinctly omegan way. He was twirling the blade in his hand with a smug look in his eyes when John and Arthur laughed boisterously.

“Thomas-”

“About fucking time!” Ada nudged you, her daisy scent washing over you. “Did you bite him yet? Or are you still waiting?”

“They’re probably still waiting!” Esme crowed out, the apple scented beta placing her chin on John’s shoulder. “They’re too fucking cautious-”

“That’s a beautiful blade.” Polly nodded approvingly. “Blessed. I can sense it.”

“I couldn’t get Thomas anything but the best,” you said, pulling your face out of your hands.

But you hid behind them again when the family simply broke out in a more rambunctious laughter and teasing.

“When’s the wedding, then?”

You opened your mouth to say something, to deny a wedding, but-

“After the business in London’s sorted out. When I can give them what I promised them.”

You looked at Thomas, who had since tucked the dagger somewhere you couldn’t see, and saw him offer you a small smile.

“Congratulations on becoming a Shelby.” Ada said, tone more teasing and light tone than when she said a similar sentiment to Esme. “It’s too late now to run.”

~ ♥~

You were furious. And you were having trouble keeping your scent content and neutral in this fucking ‘bakery’. Thomas kept glaring at you to keep it down, and you were trying your best, but-

The alpha the child of Dionysus- your friend, your fellow warrior- was courting was him? Alfie Solomons?

You had been meaning to see them again, to ask them if they could make ambrosia from the bottle you had stolen, and had set up a night out for later this week. But you guessed you would be seeing them earlier now.

You could taste the insanity and the sharp wit in the air. Could taste betrayal on the man. This man would stab anyone in the back. You and yours, but also your friend. Also, he kept looking at Thomas in a smug, knowing way.

With Bubbles in Thomas’ shadow, even without your presence, his scent would be hidden. But you had essentially given Solomons a hellhound, and that made him immune to that.

You watched passively as Solomons warned the hundred Blinders Thomas had promised him- to stay away from Jewish women and omegas- and stayed silent until-

“Alfie!”

“Ah.” The fire scented alpha paused mid rant and looked towards where your friend’s voice came from. “There’s my ‘mega.” The man caught your eye and grinned. “Feisty things, aren’t they?” He clapped his hands and made a shooing motion. “Off you lot go. Before I need to warn you off of them.”

Thomas nodded at John and Arthur and grabbed your waist, squeezing warningly. You would have let him tug you away, but not this time.

“We’re not done here.”

“What’s that? I think I heard you wrong.” The alpha seemed to loom over you, and his scent turned acrid. “Who the fuck do you think you are? Does being Tommy Shelby’s mate make you someone special, hm? Does it?”

Thomas hissed out your name in warning.

“Alfie-” The scent of wine- mixed with the ethereal scent of ambrosia- hit you, and you knew the moment your friend saw you from the gasp that echoed through the room. “Alfie. Let’s go to your office.”

You turned slowly towards them and tilted your head at them.

“Yes. Let’s.” You lowered your voice so that only Thomas and Solomons could hear. “Wouldn’t want to see your pride get hurt in front of all these men now, would we, alpha?”

The walk to Solomons’ office was curt and tense, but the moment the door was closed, and you silently silenced the surrounding walls, you pinched the bridge of your nose.

“Really.” You sighed, glaring at your friend, who raised their hands in mock surrender. “Rum?”

“Not my fault.” They defended immediately, getting a bottle of something and pouring it in a glass to offer to you. “It grows on you.”

“Your father would be fucking furious.”

“Pops is in withdrawal and he’d drink anything with alcohol in it at this point.”

You snorted and shrugged. Your meeting with the council did involve a very bored Dionysus who vowed to bless your wedding when you offered him a bottle of whiskey.

“Besides, it’s not like you’re the one to judge me for my choices. Didn’t you say that you wanted a peaceful life? If you’re here with me-”

“’xcuse me.” Solomons cut off your friend, making them glare at him. “Don’t look at me like that, poppet. I’m just mighty fucking confused. Do you know Tommy Shelby’s mate?”

Thomas looked at you sharply as well. John and Arthur just looked confused.

“We grew up together.” They said as they watched you take a sip of the alcohol and make a face. “You, my friend, have a shitty taste in alcohol.”

“Fuck off.” You placed the glass on the desk and sat down on one of the chairs, knowing full well that this discussion wouldn’t end quickly. “But they’re right. We grew up together, we fought together, we nearly died with each other.”

“Their father is my father’s uncle.” Your friend said, their eyebrows furrowed together. “My grandfather’s their uncle. But we aren’t really related.”

“That’s what you meant when you said your family’s complicated,” John said.

“Before you ask, I didn’t know their mate was Solomons. I didn’t ask. I just knew that they were willing to ask me for a favour for him.”

“Just like I didn’t know their mate was Tommy Shelby. I just know that they were very fucking enamoured by the… man they were trying to court.” They looked at you, eyes gleaming violet. “Congrats, by the way.”

“Thanks. When’s your wedding?”

“I don’t know.”

“What wedding? Poppet, did I propose to you without knowing, or are you fucking with me?”

The wine-scented omega ignored their alpha and sighed in an annoyed manner.

“That’s the problem with us courting people not from our roots. Alfie didn’t mean shit when he threw an apple at me, and I know that. But unfortunately, my inner omega doesn’t, so it’s getting very anxious and I’m possessed with the urge to go to Greece and join in on one of pops’ festivals.”

Thomas looked as indifferent as ever, but you could smell the rage in his muted scent. Which made sense, but you had come too far now, and you wanted to take them all by surprise. Civilised and calm you may be, but your roots were in Ancient Greece, and you thrived in chaos.

“Please don’t. You always rip an alpha to shreds when you join the Bacchanalia.” You shook your head and regarded Solomons in a rather solemn manner. This wasn’t the Wandering Jew that Thomas had business with. This was the poor alpha that your friend had taken as theirs. “Do not. Let them go anywhere on September the third. Not unless you want to see them host a massive fucking orgy filled with ecstasy and bloodlust.”

Thomas hissed out your name and gripped your wrist tightly. Solomons seemed to be absolutely speechless.

“We’re doing that then, are we?” Your friend huffed and regarded Thomas intensely. “Don’t- and I really mean don’t- let them fight people. Not unless you want to see the poor mortals literally be swallowed by the earth. They also have a tendency to forget that they’re alive half the time, so make sure to keep an eye on them.”

“What the fuck are you two on about?” Arthur eventually asked, his voice loud and aggressive. The scent of the sea washed over the room, and Solomons’ bonfire scent reacted to combat the oldest Shelby’s.

“Monsters exist, gods exist, and me and my friend here are proof of that.” They said, sending Solomons a slightly apologetic look. “Sorry I couldn’t tell you. Laws bind me more than they bind them.”

Solomons sank down on his chair whilst Thomas settled himself on the other chair across the desk from the other alpha.

“But this isn’t just a social call, is it?”

“I want to make a deal with you.” You said, grinning when the proper gang members in the room were immediately on alert. “Can you still make ambrosia, my friend?”

“No, you ass.” They huffed and crossed their arms. “If you’ve forgotten already, they took all the ambrosia with them. A punishment for their children who chose to not blindly follow their suggestions. ‘s why your arm’s fucked up.”

You looked at the sling you were still wearing.

“This is from an arai.”

They made a face and gagged.

“Horrible fucking things those are. I’d rather fight a hydra again than face off against those daimons.”

“Arai.”

“Female curse spirits that reside in the Pit.” You answered Solomons, who seemed to be grasping at the intense amount of information rather quickly. “They’re the curses of the dead given form. When you kill them, they make you take the curse.”

“Anyway. I need some pure ambrosia to make new batches. Besides, I hate making deals with you. Whenever I do make a deal with you, we’re always chased by the coppers and ends with at least one explosion.”

“Not this time. Catch.” You pulled out the bottle of ambrosia from the shadows and threw it at them. To everyone’s surprise but yours, they caught it effortlessly. They gaped at the golden liquid swirling about the bottle. You grinned sharply. “Stole it from Olympus.”

They looked at the bottle, then at you.

“You’re fucking- You’re fucking insane!” You preened at the compliment. “Absolutely fucking mad!”

“Ambrosia. The drink of the gods?”

“Right-o, Alfie!” They said, cuddling the bottle to their chest, their scent popping up with pure, unadulterated joy. “Mortal consumption’s not recommended though. They’d burn from the inside out. But it helps us heal wounds.”

“So?”

“I can do that. Redistribute it to our brethren within the boundaries of the Pillar.” They tapped the glass. “What’s the catch? What do you want?”

“We get priority.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” They shrugged when Solomons growled out their name. “This shit won’t bring profit anyway. Us half-bloods are pretty poor. And we use drachma anyway.”

“Swear on the Styx.”

“I want to add in a clause though.”

You tilted your head towards them and watched as they shifted into a more anxious demeanour, their scent souring slightly. Solomons postured immediately, taking in his omega’s submission as a threat.

“Whatever happens between your mate and mine stays between them.” You straightened your back and blinked slowly. “You don’t retaliate. You don’t kill him, and you don’t torment him after death.”

“You want me…” You drawled out, the more ancient, godly part of your part making itself known. “To turn a blind eye to whatever plan your mate has when it comes to me and mine?” They seemed to have noticed the change in your atmosphere because they instinctively dipped their head slightly. “When he tastes of Apate’s signature? You dare to ask of me that?”

“Snap out of it. You’re acting like your father.”

Arthur was, surprisingly, the first one to snarl at their words. You had connected to the eldest Shelby due to your mutual experience with your fathers, after all.

You shook your head and closed your eyes. You took in a deep breath and let go of the tension in your jaw.

You opened your eyes and studied Solomons, who had his eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed.

“You swear the same. Whatever happens between yours and mine- any of mine-” you gestured pointedly at John and Arthur “- stays between them. You don’t get to drive them insane. You don’t get to poison them or kill them.” You paused, uncertain as to whether or not you should verbalise this, but the alpha knowing of Thomas’ omega status was still a threat. “If he tries to use mine’s status against him-”

“I’d not do that. I have fucking lines I don’t cross.”

“If Alfie does, I’ll personally bring you his head.”

You hummed approvingly.

“Human affairs stay human affairs,” they offered, holding out their hand.

“Human affairs stay human affairs,” you accepted, holding out your gloved one.

“I swear on the river Styx,” the two of you said in unison, and the humans in the room shifted uneasily when thunder boomed out of nowhere.

A silence ensued and they sighed.

“The pup’s doing fine, by the way.”

“Oh, is he? What did you name him?”

“Alfie named him. His name’s Cyril.” You nodded. It was a good name. “I wanted to name him Grapes, but he said no.”

“Poppet, you told me that you found Cyril on the street.” An alpha wrapped around his omega’s little finger. It was what your friend deserved. “You didn’t tell me that you got him from a… friend.”

“I mean, I did find him on the street. And it wasn’t like they gave him to me for free.” They nodded at Thomas. “They got you a pegasus, didn’t they?”

“They did.”

“What’d you name it?”

“I named her Roamer.”

“Cyril’s a hellhound, by the way.” You told Solomons, as you scratched the back of your neck. “They were worried about you being attacked by the numerous monsters out for our blood and they asked me for protection. For you. You named him, and he considers you his master so don’t worry about anything.”

“This is fucking enough for today.” Solomons said, looking infinitely more tired than when you first met him. “Ollie! Show Mr. Shelby and his pack the way out!”

~ ♥~

“Don’t get mad at me.”

Tommy took in a deep drag of his cigarette and regarded you coolly. The whole incident at Solomons’ bakery took him completely off guard and that didn’t seat well with him. It was something completely out of his control and coming from the one person he trusted to be truthful with him.

He stayed silent.

“I had that conversation with my friend in front of you and your brothers and Solomons for a reason, Thomas.”

You kept your distance from him, and he was fucking glad you did, because he really didn’t know how he would react if you touched him.

“Yeah? Why the fuck did you decide to do that then, hm? What would have happened if it went wrong?”

“Solomons is aware of my relationship with his mate. And if you saw the way he treats them, you can tell that he would think twice about making them sad by causing me- and you by relation- harm.”

He blinked at you slowly, arching an eyebrow.

“The same doesn’t apply for us. You’d kill them and Solomons even if it causes me grief. And I wouldn’t leave you or fault you because that’s just who I am.” You laughed, and Tommy broke off his mask when he heard how hollow you sounded. “My father is Hades, and because of him, I’m always bound to love my mate more than they love me.”

Your scent- always curling around him, always lingering on him- was pulled back. He couldn’t smell you unless he really tried now.

“It was also the best way to get your brothers to know the truth about me. They can’t disbelieve me if there’s a complete third party.” You were quiet. “And this way, Solomons knows that you’re all under my protection.”

“Your protection.”

“Thomas, you might have forgotten, but I started wielding a sword when I was twelve. I killed my first monster when I was twelve. I led the finishing charge against a fill army of monsters when I was sixteen. My friend is strong, yes. But my origin is older, and much, much stronger.”

Tommy took a deep drag of his cigarette again.

“My agreement with them only affects Solomons and his life. Nothing business related.”

“I think...” He said slowly, as he tapped the cigarette onto the ashtray. “That you should start paying attention to the business. If you want to keep on interfering with it.”

You looked hesitant. So unlike the wild, uncontrollable alpha you had been back in Camden Town. And in a way, Tommy liked that he was the one to see you like this. But he also wanted to see you wild when you were with him.

“Come here, alpha.” You came over to him quickly, and slid onto his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck. “You’re fine.”

~ ♥~

You drank the tea Polly gave you as you listened to her talk about her pup. Michael was his name, and apparently, Thomas had been rather busy in your absence, as he had found the boy. Not yet an adult, but tantalisingly close.

“-wants Michael in the business. Michael.”

“It’s your pup’s choice, though. If he wants to become an accountant in a gang, he should.” You tapped your fingers on the shiny new counter of Polly’s new house. “It’s either that or he goes off to find another gang to work in.”

The matriarch scowled at you but didn’t say a word, knowing that you were right.

“You haven’t met him yet, have you?”

You had not. Unfortunately. But his betan scent of rosemary lingered on Thomas’ clothes and the house you were currently in.

“Not yet. I guess I’ll see him soon though.” You softened at Polly’s worried scent. “Polly, I’ll watch out for him just like I try to look out for you and the others.”

“Thank you.” She took a deep drag of her cigarette. “Aren’t you worried about Tommy and that rich alpha that he hired to train his racehorse?”

“Worried about what? Him deciding to fuck her?”

“Men- alpha, omega, beta- all think with their dicks. Even if alphas are the worst.”

“Not really.” You swirled the tea leaves around the cup. “Thomas has a tendency to feel a pull towards the rich, posh ones. Cause they have something he doesn’t have. But that’s just it. Pull.” You squinted at the image the leaves were making. “You know him better than I do, Pol. He’s as wild as can be, so he’ll always come back to me.”

“Grace loves him.”

“I’m not worried about her. At all. She wants a Thomas Shelby with an ashen scent and an indifferent demeanour to anyone but her. But that’s not really a Thomas Shelby that exists.”

“You love him.”

“Of course I do. That was why I made him a courting gift, Polly. I don’t go crawling to the depths of my father’s domain just for any omega I’m interested in.”

“But you haven’t bit him yet.” You gave Polly a tired, exasperated look. “Ah. He’s being stubborn.”

“He wants me to bite him when everything’s settled. I don’t know what kind of shit he got himself into whilst I was gone, but it’s apparently very bad.”

“Very bad is an understatement.” She scoffed and extinguished her cigarette on the ashtray. “He’s fucked up, and I swear to God- if you help him out of this mess, I’ll cut ties with you.”

You raised your hand in surrender.

“He’s been hiding things from me anyway. I’ll help if he asks, but I don’t think he will.”

“He definitely wouldn’t.” Polly smiled at you. “You’re probably the best thing that’s happened to Tommy in a while.”

You laughed with her. She didn’t know the half of it.

~ ♥~

“I bet, 100-1, that you’re fucking lying, mate. That’s my money.”

Tommy Shelby was a dangerous man, and an even more dangerous omega. Not because of the unsettling alpha that he calls his mate. But because he was sharp and cunning and confident.

“Well, you’ve failed to consider the form. I did blow up me own pub for the insurance.”

Alfie was certain that he was bluffing. But Ollie was fucking shaking, and Tommy’s expression was far too indifferent for him to be completely certain. Besides, his insane omega was also in this building, so in the off case the man was telling the truth…

“In France, Mr. Solomons, when I was a tunneler, a clay kicker, 1-7-9… I blew up Schwben Hohe. Same kit I’m using today.”

“That’s funny, that. I do know the 1-7-9, and I heard they all got buried.”

A ghost of a smile tugged on the man’s face but it was gone before Alfie could properly pin it.

“Two of them dug themselves out. I had some help.”

Alfie wasn’t an idiot. He knew Tommy was referring to you. The wild one as opposed to his insane one. What a pair the two of them make. Tommy being one half of a wild pair, and he himself being one half of the insane one.

This… backstabbing wasn’t anything personal. If anything, he liked Tommy. They were both from oppressed groups, and their mates were off their rockers half the time.

“Are you digging yourself out now?”

“Like I’m digging now.”

“Well, fuck me. Thirty-five. Nothing less.” He held out a hand, and luckily, the man agrees, and the two of them shake on it. “Glad to do business with you, Tommy.”

Alfie watched as the man walked towards the door.

“You’re invited to the fucking wedding, by the way.” Tommy paused in his tracks. “You’ll get an invitation soon. My ‘mega wants your alpha there, and has extended the invite to you too.”

“I’ll talk to them.”

“You best invite them to yours, or else I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Right then. Fuck off.”

~ ♥~

You had your eyes on a single Grace Shelby who walked about the races with the characteristic softness of an omega and the aloofness of a rich, spoiled lady. She was probably looking for Thomas.

His scent clung to you, but to Grace’s knowledge, your scent was Thomas’ and his natural scent, yours. You watched as her eyes landed on you.

You could fake the characteristic softness of an omega, but you knew that it wasn’t enough to fully trick a real, pampered omega. You knew that to her, your demeanour was rough and unforgiving. It also didn’t help that Thomas and his family were more lenient with your act as it was apparent that they liked the wilder part of you better than the faked posh one.

You wondered what she would do. You didn’t think she’d be stupid enough to walk up to you-

“Omega.” But she was. You plastered a false smile on your face and untensed your shoulders. “I’m here to see Tommy.”

Your inner alpha snapped. How dare she call your courting partner in that soft, loving tone?

“Why?”

“Because I love him. And it’s clear that he doesn’t love you.” You looked at her unflinchingly even when her eyes clearly flickered to your unmarked neck. “He deserves an omega that can be soft with him. Not someone… like you.”

She looked at your arm distastefully.

“You should leave then, because it’s clear that your mate loves you.”

She flinched back when you stared pointedly at her neck.

A call of your name pulled you out of the stare off you were having with Grace.

“Tommy-”

Thomas grasped at your waist and pressed his face into the crook of your neck, simultaneously marking you with his scent and forcing you to mark him in yours. You smiled inwardly because it was clear that his inner omega was jealous. Of Grace being near you.

“Grace.” He said, sounding slightly confused. “Weren’t you supposed to be in America with your mate?”

“Tommy, I-”

“Don’t you have to hurry somewhere, Thomas?” you cut her off.

“I do.” He responded, blue eyes studying your face. Your inner alpha purred at his utter lack of interest in the blonde. “Since when could you speak Romani?”

“I’m not sure. I think Hermes blessed me back in 1919.”

He pressed a soft kiss onto your cheek and murmured quietly;

“Is Bubbles with me?”

“As always.”

“Good. Come get me when she comes to you.”

“Are you asking me for help, Tommy? For the first time since you’ve been keeping secrets from me?”

“Yes.”

You squeezed his hand.

“I’ll do just that.” You pulled away from him and switched to back to English. “Go, Thomas.”

You watched as his cool gaze lingered on Grace.

“I love you.”

You stifled your laugh at Grace’s expression, and simply waved at Thomas as he quickly made his way back into the crowd.

“You were saying?”

~ ♥~

Tommy looked up at the blue skies from within the grave. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

“Now will you promise to tell me the gist of your plans, Tommy?”

Your voice was teasing and light, and your scent quickly overtook his senses to cover the smell of mud and moss. The ashen scent of burning was a comfort to him now.

“Aye. I will.”

He opened his eyes to see you hovering above him. You offered him a hand. Ungloved and marked with your string of fate and his. He reached up to grab it. Your hand was warm and callused.

“Come on then. You’ve kept your promise to me.” You tugged him upright and helped him out of the grave. “It’s time for you to bite me and be proper mates with each other.”

It was. It really was.

~ ♥~

“I’m still fucking mad, by the way.” You said as a greeting to Solomons, who opened the door to his house. “Where’s my friend.”

“Well, good fucking morning to you too.” The other alpha grumbled, but let you through. “My ‘mega’s still sleeping.”

“That’s a shame. I wanted to show them-” you gestured at your neck, which was now freshly marked.

Solomons squinted at your neck, and your inner alpha preened at the attention the mark was getting.

“He pounced on me. Caught me completely by surprise and bit me from behind.” You puffed out your chest in pride. “Perfect omega. Deadly and lethal and with a hunter’s instinct.”

“Good to know. Not that I care about Tommy’s personal life.” Solomons nodded absentmindedly. “All good omegas are dangerous. Hm. Look at mine.”

“Yes, yes.” You nodded in agreement. “Your omega’s terrifying. Have they threatened to rip you from limb to limb yet?”

“They have. They were very colourful with their description. Glad to see another alpha who agrees with me.” Solomons beckoned for you to follow him, and you did so. “Yours threatened to blow up my bakery.”

“It was warranted.” You sat down on the chair he offered you. “It’s a shame that I couldn’t see it.”

“He terrified Ollie. Not that the beta’s hard to scare.”

You slumped against the chair and really looked at Alfie Solomons. Without his interactions with you and yours. And without the knowledge that he was your friend’s mate. And much to your chagrin, you liked him. In another universe, you might have started off a friendship in a more normal way.

“I like you, Mr. Solomons.” You said firmly. “I think we could become friends.”

“Alfie. None of that Mr. Solomons shit. Not when you’re part of my ‘mega’s family.”

You grinned at him and tapped your fingers on the coffee table. Alfie grinned back.

“I’d like you more if you didn’t stab Thomas in the back.”

“But where’s the fun in that?”

~ ♥~

You choked on your breath as you peered down at the red apple in your hands. You blinked at the fruit, begging your father to tell you that you weren’t dreaming. You looked up and saw Thomas smile at you, all the while patting at Roamer’s muzzle.

“Thomas…”

“I mean it.” His scent- sweet and soft in the setting sun- curled around the stable. “I have the ring in me office.”

You rolled the apple in your hand.

“Did you know.” You started off, as you threw the apple in the air. “That when you first called me your alpha, I was so tempted to kidnap you?”

His expression was impassive, but you saw the way he arched an eyebrow, beckoning for you to continue. And you did.

“I’m warning you, Tommy. You can’t take it back. You marry me, and I’ll never let you go. Even if you want me to.” The apple landed in your palms. “Being my mate is one thing, marrying me is another.”

“You put up with my family, I can put up with yours.”

You rolled your eyes and laughed.

“Your family’s a joy to be around, Thomas.” You took a bite of the apple and smiled, your inner alpha cooed and crooned. Being officially mated and proposed to in a span of less than a month? You were ecstatic. “And yes, Thomas. I’ll marry you.”

The man- the omega, the one with the scent of the beautiful Helen of Troy- stepped away from the pegasus and wrapped his arms around your waist. You reached to trace the back of his neck and pressed your lips against his.

~ ♥~

“Lord Hades.” Hades looked at the blue-eyed mortal that you had taken as yours. The cool, impassive expression on his face was good, but the content glow of a union couldn’t escape a god’s eyes. “Thank you for coming. They appreciate your presence here.”

“They most definitely do not. They appreciate my wife being here. And the fact that my presence in this wedding deters my brothers from intervening.”

“May I ask who else of… their family are here with us?”

Thomas Shelby was a wily one. Tongue sharp and questioning. Clever mind and a manipulative soul. If you had not snatched him away from the earth, it would have been Zeus or Athena who would have taken him. He had heard from Hermes about how furious is brother and niece had been when this man escaped their grasp with no way to make him theirs.

Áïdēs’ child may be a new god- ascended for not even a decade- but you were one of the very few that carried more ancient blood than his father or even his grandfather. And you taking Thomas as yours would have led to a fate far better than if he had been taken my Zeus or Athena.

“Dionysus is here because his child is here. Hermes has been personally invited by your mate, and Ares as well. Aphrodite follows love, and so she’s here with her lover.” He reached out his essence to search for any other of his brethren. “My sisters are here as well, which is a… surprise.”

Hestia, he had expected. His eldest sister had a fond spot for you, considering how long it took for you to find a hearth. Demeter was cordial with you, even if it was only due to her daughter favouring you. But Hera? She never truly liked demigod children born out of wedlock.

Hera- his sister, regal and vindictive- locked eyes with him. He silently told her to not interfere. Hades was not a good father, but he would not be the worst one. You may not be his child technically, but he had claimed you. And he had vowed to himself to watch after you when you came to his domain to make your courting gift.

She nodded curtly before returning to her conversation with one of the mortals.

“Burn an offering to my sister after the wedding.” He told your mortal- firmly, as he took a sip of the ambrosia infused rum. The child of Dionysus outdid themselves. This was good. “Hera likes ewes and honey. She’ll send an ewe to spill the blood of. Make sure you kill that one.”

Your mortal mate nodded.

“Thomas!”

Hades could see the mortal twitch at the sound of your voice. The mortal longed to go to you, and Hades wasn’t cruel enough to keep him away from you. He dismissed the mortal, and watched as he made his way quickly over to you.

“It is a happy day.” He felt a slender pair of arms wrap around him. “Not often do your children get those.”

Áïdēs watched as you- his only child, his pride and joy- nestled next to your mate, the taste of happiness and glee dancing in the air. The child of Dionysus was with their own mate, speaking with you and yours. There were a couple of his brethren’s children, most of whom he didn’t know. But he did notice Atana’s child nodding at him. Despoina stood next to him, her head resting on his shoulder.

“It is a shame that I cannot speak to them personally. I curse the constraints that bind us, my queen.” He scowled. “Not when Emaha had the pleasure to speak to them. Not when Are does.”

“Zeus is worried about you and Posedao more than he is worried about his children.” Despoina pat his back lightly. “Lighten up, husband. At least you’re seeing them in their day of joy now.”

“They think I care for them not.”

“Then bless them, dear husband. Not a blessing from Hades or Pluto but from you.” Despoina hummed lightly. “Perhaps granting their mate and his family semi-immortality…?”

Áïdēs decided to ponder about her suggestion.

~ ♥~

Thomas Shelby was your mate, your husband, and the love of your life. You had gotten married to him, have been blessed by the queen of the gods herself following the sacrifice of an ewe, and had been given far too many mystical gifts than you knew what to do about.

You liked the house. It was large and regal. It was in the countryside, with fields surrounding it and a large stable for not only Roamer but many other horses. You should probably go see Pegasus to ask if you could get another one of the pegasides to keep Roamer company. And for you to ride.

Arrow House had been a surprise, though. You had thought that you were at the wrong place when the car dropped you off here from the wedding, but no. Apparently, Hermes had given you your wedding gift early by whispering into one of the company’s accountants to urge Thomas to invest in some fields.

It had been nice, seeing your fellow half-bloods, as well as some of the godly members of your family in a less dire situation. You had not expected the gods to stay at the wedding for that long, but you assumed that they had missed their old grounds. Because you knew that the gods who came to your wedding were the ones that weren’t too happy about moving to America.

You lounged about on the bed- silk sheets? what the fuck- and traced the sunken teeth marks at the side of your neck. You remembered the bond snapping into place. You remembered the passion and pleasure when the two of you fucked. Wild and rough and instinctual.

Thomas entered the master bedroom. Gods above, there was more than one bedroom you could use in this massive place. And you were beyond certain that you’d spend the most of the honeymoon in each of the rooms… christening them.

“I saw the child of Atana give Michael their number.” You said in greeting, shifting your legs open so that Thomas could slide in between them. You wrapped your arms around his neck and purred softly when his hips nestled against yours. “Poor boy. They’ll swallow him whole.”

“Would they?”

“Yeah.” You traced the mark on his neck delicately. “They’re insanely smart and they pinned your cousin as theirs. They’d do everything to have him.”

“Should I send him to America then? A show of good will to this family member of yours?”

“No. They’d think you sent him as an offering. An appeasement. They like making things happen with their own hands, so wait until you have no other reason to not send him there.”

The scent of comet orchids wrapped around you possessively, and you reached out your own scent to mingle with his.

“Anything else?”

You smiled when you heard the unspoken ‘before we fuck’ part of his question.

“My father likes the rum my friend made. We have priority, so I think we can make an agreement with them and Alfie to export it to America. Or we could do it on our own.” You pressed down at his mate mark gently. “I can come up with some means to do it by ourselves, but I want to share some profit with my friend.”

“Let’s go set up a meeting with them after the week.” His fingers dipped to your thighs and squeezed roughly. “Not now, alpha.”

“Of course not, dearest husband.” You rocked your hips against his and watched as his cheeks took on a beautiful red flush. “Let me take care of you, omega.”

And you kissed him, tasting the power and promise in his bare essence. Tasting the sweetness and the vicious wilderness thrumming in his soul. Tasting Thomas Shelby, who was irrevocably yours.

---

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werewolf partner who is terrified of turning around you because they're not sure how much control they'll lack in wolf-form. They make you chain them up in the basement, lock the door, and arm yourself with a gun just in case. Finally the time comes, and you're ready. You expect to hear growling and thrashing, or some sort of vicious struggle. But you only hear faint whimpers. You decide to go downstairs to see what's up, and there you find them, in their wolf form - ears back, head down, looking sad and scared. You approach, and still, no aggression.

After a few moments, you even decide to sit next to them. They lean in cautiously to sniff you, their eyes lighting up as they seem to recognize your scent. They immediately scoot over and lay their gigantic head in your lap, still whimpering and shaking - clearly seeking comfort from you. You expected a ferocious monster from how they'd warned you, but instead, you essentially got a giant puppy. You gently stroke and cuddle your werewolf until they fall asleep on you. Exhausted from all the previous excitement, and not wanting to leave them scared and alone, you fall asleep too. You're awoken in the morning by them - back in human form - shaking you in a panic. They found you lying next to them in a pile of fur, and thought that something had happened - that you were dead. They're glad to be wrong, as you rub the sleep from your eyes. When they find out what all actually happened, they're extremely relieved, but a little embarrassed.

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