Chapter Text
Peter hated parties like this. The only point to coming to these things was to find a mate and the last thing Peter wanted in his life was a simpering, pandering, perfect omega mate. Yet, here he was looking for just that. He forced another smile on his face as Talia swept up to once again introduce him to the daughter of so and so. He let himself ooze charm as he daintily kissed her hand and watched her blush and giggle just like all the others. He was so sick of it. He smiled at the little thing’s father and made all the right comments that were expected in settings like this. Letting the father puff up in pride at raising such a good omega daughter.
Deucalion appeared at his side if summoned (he had been) to whisk him away just as the father was about to invite Peter for a drink. There was an urgent thing that must only be discussed with Alpha Hale, you see, said Deucalion. His smooth voice charming over any objections the father might have had. And away Peter was whisked. Thank the gods he and Deuc had come up with this escape plan a long time ago.
Growling into his second (5th) glass of wolfsbane infused whiskey of the night Peter glared out at the sea of people that had come to this year’s annual “Meet and Mate A Pack Alpha” party. The gathering was not actually called this but it was what Peter had called it so often in his mind for years that he had completely forgotten by now what it was actually called. Basically, it was a time for any pack alpha that wanted an omega mate to come meet all the upper echelon omega’s and find one to pursue a courtship with.
He sighed and quickly shuffled further back into the dark corner he had found to hide in for the moment. Talia had yet another pretentious looking alpha human who was hauling along an omega daughter. This daughter looked more terrified than simpering. Peter honestly felt sorry for most of the omega’s. The majority of them would barely speak five words to their future alpha before the contract was signed with the father. No matter how much headway the human rights activists and omega rights activists got in human only circles, it would never touch pack culture.
Werewolf society had been the elite for far too long. Humans may be equal in many things now but in reality they would never be able to do away with the pack laws that were written into western society’s very bones. He normally didn’t have strong opinions one way or the other over werewolf vs. human laws. They usually were enough intertwined and overlapping that it didn’t matter much for the majority of humans or even the majority of common werewolves. Even for parties like this, you had to be of old blood to get an invite. The humans and wolves here would be able to trace their family lines back generations of being the elite of society.
He sighed again. They had come so far from the old pack ways where an alpha and their mate would guide a pack together. When an omega’s magic could call lighting or move storm clouds. All an omega could do with their magic nowadays was make pretty sparkles or call up illusions of roses.
“Still hiding I see.” Deucalion’s smooth voice interrupting his increasingly morose thoughts.
“It’s just so stupid, Deuc.”
“Careful, Peter, you never know who might tune their ears to try and find out the prodigal Hale son’s next plans since inexplicably becoming a pack alpha.”
Peter glared at him. “One thing I can say for these things is that people tend to at least not spread information they hear at them.”
Deucalion shrugged while gazing over the crowd himself. “Still, I have found it is often better to only say what can be repeated in front of anyone while at a party.”
Peter resisted the urge to roll his eyes (just barely) and stared morosely down at his empty glass. Idly wondering if he could get to the bar and back before Talia noticed him he looked over his friend. “I’m surprised you are still here. Usually you leave after the cursory checking in with all your ‘allies’.”
The other alpha gave him a small smile. “Why, Peter, I thought I’d stay to help my friend make a choice that will affect him the rest of his life. Any one of these fine young omegas could be the next Hale bride.” Making a sweeping gesture with an arm across the room Deuc’s eyes sparkled with mirth.
“They wish…” Peter muttered into his (still) empty glass. “I wish...” He huffed and shifted back and forth, “...I wish just one of these omegas would be different. Have a fight to them or an opinion...or something.”
Deucalion rolled his eyes and looked like he was about to respond in his usual cutting manner when a loud crash from the center of the room made everyone freeze and stare. Two young men were glaring furiously at each other. One had obviously just been thrown to the ground and had red eyes glowing and fangs dropped.
Peter sighed, of course, Theo Raekon. The boy was the youngest alpha there and in Peter’s mind shouldn’t be there at all. The barely adult had just inherited the alpha spark from his father who had died two months previous. The new alpha was still on the power high and used every opportunity to try and exert his newfound authority. Peter wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out that his pack would report him to the council as unfit in the next month or so.
He turned his attention to the other young man, also looking barely adult age who was giving Raekon a scornful look. The crash itself looked to have come from Raekon falling on a server’s tray of drinks. The server was frantically apologizing to Raekon while the other boy was apologizing to the server. Peter almost wanted to thank them all for livening up the evening when Talia came sailing into the fray with a fixed smile on her face. The smile dropped and her eyes went livid when they landed on the unknown boy. He in turn, gave her a cocky grin and salute before trying to make a hasty retreat. Talia was quicker though and sped up to grab the boy’s arm and begin to haul him out of the room throwing out cheerful apologies as she half dragged the boy out.
Much to Peter’s pleasure she came close enough to his hiding place for him to get a good look at the boy. The smell smacked him in the face. Omega. Sweet honeysuckle mixed with ozone and petrichor filled his nostrils as he took a deeper breath just before the door shut behind them. Duec’s hand on his shoulder made him realize his control was close to slipping. Shaking it off he turned to his friend who had a knowing smirk on his lips.
“Well. Was that different enough for you?”
Peter just ignored him and hurriedly slipped out of the door after that delicious scent. The scent seemed to lessen a bit once he hit the hallway but it was strong enough for him to follow it to a half open door a couple hallways down. Talia’s raised voice also gave it away.
“-- don’t know what you could have possibly been thinking coming here of all places.”
“Oh so it’s ok to issue an invitation to the lowliest of lows but for them to actually show up is crossing the line? Excuse me, your majesty, for not knowing such etiquette. I guess they skipped the ‘don’t actually go to parties you received an invite to’ class in school.”
“Sass and sarcasm are the lowest form of humor, Omega Stil --”
“And condescension and scorn is just plain old rudeness but hey, guess we can’t all be equal in our social defects can we.”
“And having the sheer nerve to attack and alpha at this event. As an omega from my territory anything you do has a direct impact on me. I will expect you to apologize imm --”
“Fuck NO! And fuck you, alpha Hale. You know well enough that as I’m not a werewolf you have absolutely zero say in my life even if I do live in your hellmouth of a territory.”
While Peter could have probably stood there and listened to his sister be totally schooled by a mouthy omega all evening, the urge to see and know was too strong. Taking a few steps forward he slipped easily into the room and raised an eyebrow. Talia’s mouth snapped shut and she glared at him.
“Is there a problem, Talia? Alpha Raekon is still upset and demands attention like a spoiled toddler. I would have thought you’d be right in that fray cleaning up the mess that I suppose, your omega made.”
Peter wasn’t sure which face showed more disgust at the last comment but they were both a delight to behold. Talia gave one last glare at the omega before leveling her brother with an equally annoyed look.
“I will go handle it. Make yourself useful for once Peter and see this omega gets to...wherever he needs to go safely please. You,” She turned back to the omega who widened his eyes and pointed to himself in surprise, “go with Peter, leave and I’ll maybe forget about this the next time I see an application cross my desk for visitation.”
The omega just looked furious as she swept back out of the room with one last glare at the both of them. Peter spun back and made an obvious sweep of his eyes up and down the pretty thing. The omega just gave him an unimpressed flat look.
“Great, I guess I’ll just be going now. You can toddle off to finding your perfect underage mate and not be bothered by all these shameful shenanigans anymore.” The omega gave an exaggerated bow and went to move past Peter. While being careful not to touch the boy, Peter sidled up as close as he dared and purred in the boy’s ear.
“What if I am a particular fan of shameful shenanigans?”
“Oh gods, yes, I’m a male omega, congratulations on actually laying eyes on the rare majestic unicorn that is me. No, I’m not a whore or a slut. No, I don’t sleep with any alpha who purrs in my ear like an overgrown feral tabby cat. Now back off, I apparently have a party to get as far away from as possible.”
Peter was so shocked he actually moved and let the omega storm pass him. Frantically he tried to catch up with what just happened. This had been much more amusing watching it happen to Talia than experiencing it himself. This was the most exciting thing that had happened to him since becoming an alpha. Spinning around he hurried after the intoxicating scent and it’s owner.
“Wait, please, let me apologize.”
Slowly, the omega turned back. Meeting Peter’s gaze, the boy deflated slightly. “No, shit, I’m sorry too. I overreacted.”
Peter gave him a rueful grin. “I don’t blame you if Theo Raekon said even an eighth of the things to you he likes to spout off in the company of all alphas. I’ve almost given him a beat down several times and I’m not even the one who should be offended.”
The omega grimaced slightly and looked down at the floor. “Yeah, well, at least it would be socially acceptable for another alpha to do it. Me, I’m a shame to my gender.”
“I thought it was very impressive. Livened up what was otherwise a completely dull evening.” Peter paused, trying to calculate how much he could push right now. “If I’m not being too forward, may I buy you a drink in thanks?”
The omega’s sharp brown eyes landed on him fully now, assessing him. He wasn’t sure he had felt so exposed in his life as he did to that gaze. Slowly, the omega nodded. “I suppose, then at least I can tell myself I talked to one alpha without being a total failure. Gods, I am so shit at this. I shouldn’t have come.”
Raising his eyebrows, Peter said, “I think you’ll have to explain why you did come here then. But, over drinks. Shall we?” He gestured down the hall and away from the sounds of the party.
Peter steered the boy out through the hotel and quickly into a small bar he knew no one from the party circles would ever want to be seen in. It also had the desired effect of making the omega relax a little to be out of the higher end scene. From the comments he had overheard earlier and the clothes the omega was wearing Peter guessed that he would be comfortable in a place that had cheaper food and drink options.
When they had settled in a back booth and given their orders to the server the omega shed his jacket and then started to fight to get his tie off. Peter watched amused, for about a minute, until he reached out and took over. “Here, let me. You know, these would be easier to take off if you didn’t actually tie a knot in it when putting it on.”
The boy slumped into his seat and glared sullenly at the table. “Like I said, I’m really shit at this. The only other time I’ve worn a tie in my life a friend tied it for me.”
“If you are so shit at this then why did you come here?”
The omega leaned forward and rubbed his hands over his face. Away from his righteous anger, he looked exhausted. Peter’s eyes narrowed as he took in the boy in front of him again. Too skinny as well, beneath the natural scent there was deep grief and sadness with the faintest hints of another omega scent that was almost gone completely.
“Honestly? I didn’t know what else to do. I need to mate an alpha powerful enough to help me...and I was hoping to find one and make a deal or something. But,” He grimaced, “nobody wants a male omega who -- well, you know.”
“Has a mind of their own?” Peter put in, smiling humorlessly.
“Exactly.”
Their food and drinks came. As the omega rolled up his sleeves, Peter got the edges of tattoos snaking up the boy’s arms and he itched to know how far they went up and what they were off. Every little piece of information made him just desire to know more.
Carefully, he asked, “And why do you need to make a pack alpha? I should think there would be enough humans out there that have money and influence enough for you.”
Swirling the drink slightly, the omega stared into it for a moment before responding. “Not powerful enough to go up against Talia Hale.”
Peter sat up at that and said back just as carefully. “Why do you want to go against Talia?”
“Want is a strong word here, more like desperately need to...ok, shit, I guess you really don’t know. I wondered for a bit if you were just trying to play me here. Ok, so, wait, fuck. Do you even know my name?”
Peter gave the boy an amused grin. “I do not.”
“Right. It’s Stiles. Yes, really, it’s a nickname, my real one no one can pronounce it anymore except my sister and presumably people from Poland but I’ve never been there so haven’t been able to test out that theory yet. Right...so my dad died six months ago. My sister was only eight years old and an omega. I was applying for custody and it looked likely that I would get it. The whole area knew my dad because he was the sheriff and me because I’m loud and obnoxious. At first it looked like it would be fine but then…”
Stiles broke off and stared determinedly at the wall for several long moments. “How much do you know about the feral alpha that went through Beacon Hills three years ago?”
Peter startled slightly, “Not much to be honest. Mostly just what was on the news. I was kept pretty busy by other pack matters and wasn’t even fully aware of it until Derek came parading back with a newly bitten werewolf to join the pack.” He grimaced, Scott McCall was exhibit’s a-z of why humans should be carefully chosen before being given the bite.
Stiles matched his grimace. “Yeah, Scott was my best friend and I didn’t exactly...appreciate the way your sister handled the situation. She was trying to keep it quiet, she didn’t want anyone to know a human alpha had been bitten or that a feral pack alpha had made such a mess in her home territory. But I was a righteous teenager, who had lost a friend in the mess and I went to the news about it. She found out it was me and I guess she can really carry a grudge. Scott and I ended up having a super big falling out over it and I think his mom must have told him about Miriam and before you knew it a big ass lawyer from her firm shows up and throws enough money around that I lose any chance of getting custody and not only that she gets shipped off to this special boarding school for omegas.”
Stiles was getting agitated and stopped. Peter reached over on instinct to grab the boy’s hand and rub his thumb over Stiles’ pulse point. Taking a couple of deep breaths, the omega went on.
“I tried to go visit her but they wouldn’t let me in. Apparently they got told I was a bad influence or something. The thing is, I know she’s not ok there. I just know it. She sent some letters and she actually used this old code that was used by my mom and her sister when they were kids. She said they would lock her in this closet overnight if she did anything ‘un-omega’ like and -- shit. I just...I need...to get her out of there and I didn’t know what to do other than try and find an alpha strong enough to stand up to Talia and help me.”
Peter sat back, his mind racing through this and all the possible implications of it. None of it surprised him knowing his sister. Her mother had been from an incredibly traditional family and had raised Talia to be just like her. Talia wouldn’t have even thought of it as being cruel. The society families all sent their daughters to these places. Looking back at Stiles he had to hold back a grin. This could be it.
“My sister is very good at keeping things out of the news and less credible places.” He started slowly, looking down at the table but could hear the shift as Stiles’ attention went back on him. “Talia brought that alpha back to try and bring them back out of the madness. For a while it looked like it might work but about a year ago he got out. Kidnapped my niece’s two children and demanded that Talia grant him the Beacon Hills territory. I killed him before he could hurt the children which is how my sudden status change happened. As you know, holding actual territory for a pack is alpha isn’t the most common anymore.”
Stiles nodded, “Yeah, only the older families who had it passed down get to have actual territory with humans living on it. Otherwise, the human’s rights people have managed to lock down an alpha just going, oh hey, this land is my land now.”
“Exactly. The only way for a pack alpha to gain territory is either for another pack alpha to grant it to them or…”
Stiles’ eyes widened. “You go to the council and state a claim. If enough humans or werewolves from the territory support your claim and the council decides you are worthy they can take it away from one alph and give it to another.”
“Yes.” Peter watched Stiles carefully and saw the moment the omega figured out the rest.
“You also need an omega mate from the territory you want to claim.” The dark eyes regarded him carefully again. Peter nodded but didn’t say anything else, just let the omega think through it.
“Could you do it? Would the council grant it?”
“I believe I have enough friends on there by now. Talia was also the one that moved the family off the Hale lands to the ones left to her by her mother. The incident of the rogue and the poor decision making there, especially if presented to the council by someone who lived through it...” Peter let the end trail off. There were a lot of signals coming off Stiles at the moment. Anticipation mixed with apprehension but also something like resolve was building.
“You mean it. You would really make me your mate so you could claim the Hale lands.”
Peter leaned forward and caught up the omega’s wrist again. “I really do mean it, Stiles. That’s why I was at the party tonight. Having a mate from the territory wouldn’t be mandatory since I was born there but it definitely gives me an even stronger case. I can give you what you want and you can help me get what I want. What’s more, I can promise you that I have never wanted some simpering omega, I took you here before I knew any of this because I have never met an omega that intrigued me so much.”
Stiles took a deep breath and stared wide eyed in his eyes. Peter smiled at him. The pounding heartbeat wasn’t from fear this time but want. “Yes. Yes, I will mate you.”
Peter felt his eyes flare. “Good.” He checked the time and then grimaced. “We will have to wait to make a contract tomorrow though. Where are you staying?”
“Oh uh, around…”
He looked up with a frown and narrowed his eyes at Stiles. “That’s not exactly an answer.”
The boy actually blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was planning on sleeping in my jeep.”
Peter startled forward slightly, “No. I mean, please, let me get you a room.”
A slightly defiant gaze passed over Stiles’ face. “I can protect myself.”
Willing down his instincts to just bundle up the boy and take him up to Peter’s own rooms, he forced himself to answer in careful words. “I know, I did see evidence of that. However, this is something that I want to be able to do for you to show how serious I am about this. Even when my head knows you would be fine in your jeep my instincts will not be. I would probably not sleep at all unless I know for sure you are somewhere safe.”
Thankfully, Stiles gave in with minimal amounts of fussing. Peter sent him to fetch his jeep which was (also thankfully) not parked too far away while he went in to get another hotel room. The hotel that the banquet was held at every year always kept some of their omega rooms free in case of any last minute guests or changes to the plans. A little tip to the beta at the front desk and Peter was assured silence on the matter. He did not want Talia to get wind of this until the contract was signed and done.
He had to wait another anxious ten minutes for Stiles to show up. Giving the jeep a once over he blanched internally. The first thing he was going to do as a courting gift was to get this thing serviced. After Stiles had been sent up to the room, Peter headed back up to the party. He was hoping Deucalion hadn’t left yet. He was in luck and managed to pull the other alpha away rather quickly and also avoid Talia noticing him. She would probably assume he had just taken the opportunity to run away.
“Well? Come on, my friend, don’t keep me waiting any longer. Marin would kill me if I came home without any details.”
Peter grinned at him. “Come up to my rooms for a nightcap.”
He managed to wait until the door closed but was unable to draw any of it out like he would normally tell such a story. By the time he had finished, Deucalion was looking slightly gobsmacked.
“Well, this is a bit of luck for you.” The other alpha’s eyes narrowed. “Please tell me you are planning to have his story checked out before agreeing to anything. While such a ruse would be beneath Talia, there are others who would get a little too much joy out of bamboozling you.”
Peter mouthed bamboozle back at the man before rolling his eyes. “Of course I’m going to check out the story. I already called a few people and got them started on it. What do you take me for?”
Settled back into the couch, Deucalion smirked at him. “I will, of course, be there tomorrow to take a look for myself.”
Peter nodded, “Of course. I was going to ask if Marin could come as well. Stiles won’t have anyone to stand for him or even as his support and I’m hoping the presence of another omega might make him feel like things are a little more even.”
“I don’t believe Marin would miss you agreeing to mate with an omega for the world my friend. I am looking forward to it myself. If I wasn’t so happily mated I might find myself a bit jealous. That boy is completely delicious.”
Peter smirked and toasted his drink at his friend. Things were finally coming into place for him. This could be the last step in getting what he wanted. There needed to be a Hale in Beacon Hills, no matter what Talia or that idiot druid said. The territory needed an alpha and like hell would Peter ever let that alpha be anyone but himself.