Chapter 9 - My Mate
February 12, 2011
Therapy had gone back to normal and I'd kept an eye out for the car since. There hadn't been any more sights of Michael, so I guess he got the message.
Cas had come to love kisses and often that honey scent would surround us both. He admitted curiosity in seeing me naked but he was afraid. I helped by letting him watch after a particularly heated make out session. It helped him - he got to see and watch but wasn't expected to do anything. Twice after that he watched as well, but he wouldn't get too close, and hadn't tried to touch.
I wasn't entirely sure what woke me up. I'd been dead asleep but something said wake up and I did. I blinked in the darkness of the room, my hand reaching out for Cas. But instead of a warm omega asleep I was met with cold sheets. I started to call out but something felt off. Cas rarely got up at night and usually it was for the bathroom.
"Alpha."
I heard his voice and even though it was barely audible to me I heard the undertones of fear. It got me up quickly and I headed toward the front. I heard "Alpha" again followed by the distinct sound of skin hitting skin followed by a whimper.
I turned into the hallway about the time I heard another skin to skin sound and Cas was suddenly in view, he had stumbled from the kitchen area to near the sofa. Followed closely by another person. I could feel the heat coiling in my gut and rapidly spreading, it only got worse as this person put their hands on him. Shoving the nightgown up and then ripping the satin panties he'd worn to bed. I couldn't hear anything he said but my vision tunneled to him, red seeping in around the edges.
The fire spread to every inch of my body and the growl that erupted from deep in my chest vibrated in the air. His head barely turned before my shoulder made contact with his ribs. I heard a distinct cracking sound and a howl of pain as he collided with the floor.
"Get out of here, Castiel."
I could faintly hear him moving toward the back of the house, the door shutting and even the lock. He was safe. I could focus on the son of a bitch on the floor.
The scent hit my nose after a second, scared omega and his acidic scent that I hated on him. Followed by the musky smell of mildew.
Michael.
My vision was turning red but he got up, muttering words and I heard "I will bite him" and that was it. I rushed him again, pinning him to the floor and landing multiple shots to his face and upper torso. I could hear each grunt or groan, and could hear the distinct cracking sounds.
I felt the one meager hit he got, maybe a few scratches it was nothing worth stopping my own rain of blows. It wasn't until the grunts, groans and noises ceased to exist that I paused my fist in the air.
He made no movements. I let some of the red fade so I could see clearly. Michael was laying on his back, blood coming from a few different places on his face. He wasn't moving but he was breathing, clearly he was unconscious. He wasn't a threat to my mate at this moment.
Mate. Castiel. I needed to check on him. I slowly got up in the unlikely event he came to or was faking it, but he remained motionless. The only signs of life were the shallow movements of his chest and the blood still coming from wounds. His arm looked a bit weird but it could be me
I backed down the hallway until I was in front of the bedroom door. I couldn't hear any noises from the bedroom. But as much as I wanted to tear the door down I stood here for several minutes, calming down. I then knocked gently on the door. "Castiel, sweetheart. Can you let me inside?"
The locks unclicked and the door opened slowly. "Alpha?"
He paused only for a moment before his arms were around my neck and his legs around my waist. The soft scent of jasmine and vanilla drifting up, the acidic scent gone.
I could feel the cool, calming feeling spreading through my veins. My omega calming down the raging alpha. The hazy red in my vision was fading and things were clearing up.
"Is he...?"
I shook my head. "He's alive. But he won't be hurting you anymore."
He leaned back a bit. "I called Mrs. Mills, was that okay?"
I tightened my arms. "That's good. You needed too. Thank you."
I moved into the room and sat down on the bed, he automatically adjusted to be sitting in my lap. I buried my face in his neck, letting the calming scent do its job.
My hand finally registered that it was touching skin. "Did you remove your panties?"
"Yes. I put them in a bag for her, she told me too. I knew you'd want to inspect it when you could."
"Do I need to? Did he hurt you?"
"He slapped me twice on the face and the side of my leg. I wouldn't move."
I moved him back and checked out his face, seeing a clear indication that he was hit. I traced the edge of the bruise. "He'll never do this again. Which side?"
"Left."
It took a little maneuvering to see the handprint on his thigh. I traced that one as well. The light growl made him shiver in my arms. "Are you cold?"
"No. I should put something on though. Mrs. Mills said she would be here soon."
I pulled him closer and held him, feeling him relax in my hold. When the front door opened though, I let him up and got him a pair of pants to slip on. "Stay here for now. I want to make sure he doesn't see you anymore."
I kissed his cheek and then headed to the front. Jody was checking vitals but he hadn't moved at all.
"Should I ask what happened?"
I explained what happened from my point of view and what I had seen on Cas. He'd already told her from his perspective.
"You know I'll need formal statements from you both."
"We'll come down later today and fill them out."
She called for emergency services and got him some help. Michael was barely coming to when they arrived but a snarl from me kept him from even moving.
I was certain his arm was broken and probably a few ribs based on his breathing. Once the paramedics arrived I left them to deal with him.
"Go be with Cas, Dean. I got this."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. He needs you more than I do. He'll be taken for medical, then, pending their outcome, jail. Investigators need this part of the house. Take some photos of the bruises on Cas before they fade or I can have them taken at the office."
"I'll take them."
I was not subjecting him to strip down at the station for the one on his thigh. I would do that myself. I headed back to the bedroom and he was sitting on the edge, looking quite unsettled.
His knees were bouncing, his hands fidgety and he kept moving his head. I closed and locked the bedroom door. Let them stay out there and do their thing.
"Sweetheart? Everything okay?"
"I feel..." he looked around. "I can't place this feeling."
I climbed onto the bed and laid down. "Come on. Lay down with me."
He turned and moved into the spot to my left side. I made sure he was as close as he could be. My best guess was the adrenaline was wearing off.
"You want to talk about what happened?"
He was quiet and I thought maybe he didn't want to but he finally looked up at me.
"I went for water and he was just there. I knew I should follow his directions but there was this instinct that said not to. That where I belonged, despite his words, was right here."
"You know you're safe here."
"Even after he hit me, I couldn't make myself agree to go. Right before you growled he told me he was going to..."
His voice trailed off and I kissed his forehead."It's okay."
"He said he was gonna fuck me and mate me; then I wouldn't be calling anyone else alpha. Your growl came right after that."
"I saw him rip that pair of panties. My alpha did not like that one bit. You were awesome though. You stood up to him, you didn't just do what he wanted."
"Yeah...I don't want his bite. I have never wanted him."
"I would have never let him."
"I didn't think I ever wanted a bite, it wasn't something that appealed to me. But with you... I do. I think about it often but it still scares me."
I blinked. He wanted my bite?! That was big news but I also understood the implication.
"I would love to give you mine and receive yours. But, I believe that should be a mutual acceptance. I will never force that on you. When you're ready we can."
He snuggled up closer and the content omega scent was so intoxicating to me. I hated when he smelled acidic or sad. I felt his foot creep over my calf and before long he had moved his entire leg over mine.
"Starfish."
"I'm your starfish."
"Always. How about we nap for a while, the sun's barely even up. I'll send Jody a message right quick to let her know."
He nodded and I sent Jody a message that we were napping and I would come down when we got back up. To just lock the door when they were done. She replied okay and then I turned off the lamp. He snuggled up closer and I kissed his forehead.
He dozed off before me but I woke up before him. The sun was up now and I checked my phone because it seemed very quiet.
Jody had sent a message at 9:06 saying they had gotten what they needed evidence wise and had gone for the day. I scrolled up and saw where she'd sent an update on Michael. There were a few but the basis was that he had a broken arm, several broken ribs, a fractured jaw and a multitude of bruises. He was stable and would live, but he was under arrest and she had two guards posted with him. In addition, it gave her enough to file a restraining order against him on behalf of Cas.
Least he wouldn't be around anymore. I laid the phone down and glanced down to see the beautiful blue looking up at me.
"Morning."
"I rather like this type of morning. Are they done?"
"Yes. He's alive but with injuries and he'll be arrested and charged."
"Thank you."
"Anytime."
He laid his head down but eventually we had to get up. Pesky bladders. I got the photos they needed before he showered, the bruising was more pronounced on his thigh though.
"He hit harder here?"
"Yes, that was for not returning I believe. I don't fully remember what he said."
I got a few photos and then leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to the center before getting up. His face was red but not that bad, so I took a few photos and gave him a kiss like before.
"I'll start breakfast. Go ahead and get dressed, we both need to make statements. The sooner we do, the sooner it's behind us."
He nodded and I headed to the front. I sent Jody the photos as I surveyed the damage. I expected worse but clearly Jody had cleaned up too. There wasn't any blood on the floor, no broken glass or evidence they had gotten prints. It was like nothing happened.
I got pancakes going, sausage and got orange juice out. I even cut up some strawberries and grapes for the top of the pancakes. By the time he came in, breakfast was done. We sat at the table and enjoyed it like nothing had happened.
Once I had finished and gotten dressed we headed to the station. They would split us up, but Jody knew to put Cas with someone he trusted as well. Giving statements didn't take too long for me. So I went to Jody's office.
"Does this mean my undercover is over?"
"No. Not until the DA says. Castiel is still a witness and still could be needed. Alastair hasn't really said much and as of ten minutes ago Michael wasn't talking either. But we haven't really brought everything against him."
"He may cave when you do."
"Maybe."
"So, I'm still classified as undercover?"
"Yes. For the foreseeable future."
I nodded and went to wait for Castiel to be done. It was strange to know I was still being paid to just be his guard. But, honestly I liked having the time to really spend with him and get him used to not being told what to do all the time.
Once he was done giving them a statement we went by the smaller store for some provisions. He'd made improvements but sometimes he just wasn't up to it. We got what we needed and headed back home. He changed into comfortable clothes the moment we got back. He clearly wasn't a jeans guy.
I was sitting in the living room when he sat beside me.
"Alpha?"
I looked at him. "Yes?"
His head tilted down, his fingers twiddling with the tail of the shirt. "It was wrong of my parents to sell me, right?"
"Yes. It's not how parents should be."
"And the two after them, also wrong?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"It's hard for me to process it. I was always told I'd be sold. You mentioned a therapist last year - is that still an option?"
"I can imagine it's hard to reconcile what you were always told with what we were saying. Yes, if you want to see someone then I will request some names from Ellen and Dr. Fuentes."
"Thank you. Thank you for buying me."
"Cas..."
"I know you didn't really. But, thank you for choosing me. For getting me out of it and for showing me how people are supposed to be. Even if my brain hasn't fully realized it."
I pulled him in for a hug. "You deserved it and even if I hadn't chosen you at that moment, we would have saved you that day. But, I am glad I chose you and I'm glad we met. Even if it was under bad circumstances."
"I'm glad we met as well."
He moved into my lap and I got the best starfish hug he could muster. It was nice that he didn't move away either. Truthfully, it settled my alpha down more because having that bastard in my home was upsetting.
Having Cas in my arms, safe and smelling all happy and content was helping. Michael had hurt him, but not badly. He hadn't withdrawn and didn't seem to be heading toward a relapse.
"When you go back to work, what do I do?"
His head was still on my shoulder so I turned slightly. "You'll be so bored. But hopefully by then it will be safer for you to be alone or with others. I would like for you and Sam to spend more time together and I think you and Charlie would get along great."
"I mean... what do you expect of me?"
"Nothing. I don't expect or demand that you cook, clean or slave here at the house. As long as you eat and take care of yourself. If you want to do those things, I won't stop you."
He sat up in my lap. "Would you mind if I went to school? I know I can't really do traditional things but I would like to have my diploma. It was something I thought I could get even after they sold me. But Michael said it wasn't needed because he'd bought me for a breeder."
"I would never stop you from doing that. Sam can help actually, he mentioned a few programs that could see where you are and what you needed. He can even help as he is the brains between us."
"Is there anything you won't let me do?"
"Several, but most of those aren't forever. It's just because you need to learn first. Such as how to drive, I wouldn't let you now, but it's something I want you to learn if you choose to."
"And if I wanted to go to college?"
"That would depend on money but I am sure I can find a way."
He gave me a smile, one that was often rare for him. He then laid back down, cat naps for us both. Before getting up and moving around.
It was nice to have domestic bliss as well.