Chapter Text
Max breathed a sigh of relief as he looked up at the tall gates in front of him.
He’d made it. He’d finally made it, away from Red Bull and all of the twisted views they held, to the pack he’d heard rumors about for years.
They were supposed to be an elite pack, the kind with the power that could protect him from Red Bull if they ever decided to come after him for leaving. And they were constantly looking for potential recruits, if the rumors were true, meaning that provided he impressed the pack Alpha he’d be able to join without a problem.
Maybe it was just his own alpha mentality talking, but Max was sure that he could impress the pack Alpha here. He’d lasted so long at Red Bull for a reason after all, it wasn’t like he was weak.
So Max stepped up to the gates of the compound that he’d heard so much about, and took a deep breath before pressing the buzzer on the intercom.
What the hell was he even nervous for? If he could survive Red Bull, he could survive whatever he had to do to impress this pack Alpha.
“State your name and business,” came a tinny voice through the intercom, taking Max by surprise.
“Max Verstappen,” he said, clearing his throat. “I understand you’re recruiting?”
There was a pause for a moment from the other side, and Max decided not to break the silence, instead just looking at the camera on the intercom. He wasn’t going to let them sweat, let them think he was too meek or timid to be useful to their pack.
“Please wait there,” said the voice again after a minute, the intercom cutting off with a beep.
The gates didn’t open, so it wasn’t like Max could go anywhere anyway, unless he decided to leave.
A few minutes passed before there was any sign of movement behind them, coming in the form of a few beeps before a small portion of the gate swung open, revealing a tall, lanky alpha with sharp cheekbones.
“Come with me,” he said, waving a hand to beckon Max, leading him through the gates.
He was faced with a second, inner set of fences, which the alpha led him along, towards a small white building that was completely separated from the main compound. Clearly it was for those who weren’t trusted yet, which Max could understand.
With the amount of rumors that swirled around this pack, no wonder they had tight security measures. While the alphas had to prove themselves to the pack leader, Max doubted the omegas had to do the same.
The other alpha entered a code to open the door, leading Max inside. They walked along a corridor, before turning into a small room with a desk and two chairs on opposing sides. The alpha sat down on the side closest to the door, nodding for Max to take the other chair.
Max did so, resting his elbows on the table and looking at the other omega directly.
He had sharp cheekbones and blue eyes that seemed as large as tennis balls, and a confident air about him that Max could tell was meant to be somewhat intimidating.
Max wasn’t intimidated though. He hadn’t been in years.
“All of this is going to be recorded,” said the other alpha, reaching to press a button on the wall. “Standard for our pack, so they can review it themselves if they wish to.”
“Okay,” said Max easily.
“Can you tell me your name and age?”
“Max Verstappen. 25.”
“Were you previously alone, or with another pack?”
“With a pack. Red Bull,” said Max, watching the other alpha’s eyebrow raise.
Red Bull had a reputation, and not without reason. Their alphas were trained to be aggressive, Treatment of omegas within the pack was notoriously poor, meaning that after joining for whatever reason - be it wanting safety from another, worse situation, or just being lured by the prestige that came with being part of a notorious pack - they tended to leave quickly. And betas? They were essentially nothing within Red Bull, existing to serve only.
“And how long had you been with Red Bull before you left?” asked the other alpha.
“8 years. And I was with their co-pack Toro Rosso for a year before joining,” said Max.
“And why did you decide to leave?”
“I disagreed with the head alpha on a lot of things. They have very old fashioned views on same secondary gender relationships, for one. They tend to treat people who aren’t alphas poorly. They wanted to start invading other packs as well, to try and increase the number of omegas in the pack,” explained Max. “I didn’t want to be a part of that any more.”
“Do you have any ongoing issues with any other former members of Red Bull?”
Max furrowed his eyebrows. He hadn’t been expecting that question - did that mean that there were other former members of Red Bull here within their pack already?
“Not on my side. People left all the time, it’s very high turnover,” he said simply. “I was pretty high up in the power structure, so maybe former members didn’t like me very much. But I can’t think of anybody that I had an issue with.”
“What position did you hold?”
“They have two layers of power,” explained Max. “There’s the top level, which is Horner who you’ve probably heard of, and people who work with him. Wheatley, Marko, Schmitz, those guys who don’t actually get their hands dirty. I was the level below them, so I was the one dealing with other packs that they were trying to take over. Or disciplinary matters with pack members.”
“So not top brass, but top of the pile for people who took orders from them?” clarified the alpha.
“That’s probably a good way of putting it,” nodded Max.
“Why did you want to join our pack in particular?”
“I heard that you’re an elite pack,” said Max. “With the position I had in Red Bull, obviously that comes with risk now I’m leaving, because I know a lot about them. And while I can handle myself, it’s obviously easier if I’ve got a pack around me.”
“Do you know any of our members?” asked the Alpha.
“I’ve heard of Hamilton. He’s your pack leader, right?” said Max. “Obviously Red Bull are aware of him and see him as a threat. But I don’t know anybody else who’s a member, no.”
“Would Red Bull know any of our members, even if they haven’t told you about them?”
“They try to keep track of previous members that they have an actual interest in. So mainly alphas, or pregnant omegas. Anybody else, not really,” said Max. “They don’t care where they end up.”
“Good to know,” said the alpha with a nod. “You mentioned Red Bull’s stance on same secondary gender relationships being an issue for you.”
“Yeah. I’m into alphas,” said Max. “Not omegas.”
“Were Red Bull aware of that?”
“Yes. There was an alpha that they realized I was interested in, and they sent him away because of that,” admitted Max.
“Are you aware of the location of that alpha?”
“No,” said Max, trying not to sound wistful. “It was 4 years ago that he was sent away.”
“I think that ends the questions I have for you now. We might need to ask more in the future,” said the alpha, and Max nodded. “I’ll run you through the procedure that you’ll be going through in the coming days.”
Max nodded again, folding his arms on the table.
“We’ll be housing you in this outer section of our compound, with some other potential alpha recruits,” he explained. “We’ll be asking you to assist with tasks, to assess your suitability and how well you gel with our pack members. We may also reinterview you at points if we need to. Eventually, we’ll come to a decision on whether we accept you as a part of the pack, but I can’t promise how long that will take. Some of our members are currently away on business, some may take a little more time than others to decide, it’s not an exact science.”
“Okay,” said Max, nodding. “It's understandable.”
It was their pack after all, so their rules. And if he wanted in, he was going to have to stick to them.
“I’ll show you to your living quarters then,” said the alpha, standing up again and going to open the door. He led Max down a number of corridors, and out of another door, to a pair of small houses. “You’ll be sharing with two others,” he explained, opening the door for him. “They can tell you which room you’ll be staying in.”
“Thank you,” said Max, stepping through the threshold. Almost immediately, he felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw who was sitting on the couch.
Daniel. Daniel fucking Ricciardo, the alpha who’d been sent away by Red Bull 4 years ago.
Holy
shit
.