cordi-winchester

[cordi-winchester]

Primal (Part 6)

Summary: The team finally confronts Hunter in an effort to take him down. In the aftermath, the gang heads to Boston to help with the investigation by the Marshals and Y/N and Tim have a heated discussion about what the future holds now that Y/N's mated to Beau. But things aren't so simple and danger still lurks under the surface...

Primal Masterlist

Pairing: Alpha!Beau Arlen x Omega!reader

Word Count: 5,300ish

Warnings: language, angst, violence, drugging, serial killers, death, kidnapping, mention of human trafficking

A/N: I absolutely love the end of this part for so many reasons! Enjoy!...

Reader POV

“Well Brock’s a piece of walking human garbage,” said Lucy as you walked through the parking lot around mid morning. 

“Lucky me. Two piece of shit father’s,” you said, leaning against the side of your rental car, Lucy throwing an arm over your shoulder.

“Hey. This whole thing sucks but at least you found out you and Tim are half-siblings. At least you got one family member on your side.”

You let a small smile onto your face. You honestly hadn’t cared about if you were related or not. But hopefully it was a comfort to him that at least someone in his family gave a shit about him. He’d sounded so damn…broken on the phone. His hormones were probably all out of whack after the Primal incident but you’d never heard him like that before.

When this was all over, you were having a serious discussion with him about getting some help.

“Are you worried about your mom at all?” she asked, pulling you back to the present.

“I should be but like, I’m not?” You crossed your arms, resting your head on her shoulder. “I have this awful feeling she knew about my dad this whole time. If she knew what he did to all those omegas…am I a monster for not caring if she’s alive or not?”

“What’s your gut say?”

“Y/N.” You both turned, Brock dragging an oxygen tank on wheels behind him across the wet pavement of the parking lot.

“Go back inside, Brock. I’d hate for you to catch pneumonia and die,” you said, narrowing your eyes. Brock ignored you, stopping at the trunk to catch his breath. You towered over him as he leaned against the metal, breathing hard, struggling to catch his breath. “I know what you did to Tim. What kind of monster hurts a child?”

He straightened himself up, staring as you balled up your fists.

“Unless you have something to share that will help us, get the hell away from me.”

“You really think your father could pull all those beautiful women by himself? He’s ugly as sin. Your mother had affairs all the time. Some he didn’t know about, some he did.” You held up a hand, Lucy walking around to your side.

“You’re saying Y/N’s mother helped Teddy with the murders?” she asked. “Why wouldn’t you say something?”

“Hey. I don’t know that they did anything for sure but I do know your mother and father would find women to join them in the bedroom. Young omegas. They used to talk about how much fun the first time they did it was with a Tina.”

“Tina Paxton,” said Lucy, pulling out her phone to text Beau. “Y/N-”

“Thank you Brock. Please contact Officer Wilde if you remember anything else.”

“You’re my daughter-”

“I have no need for any more parental figures in my life, Brock. Now please return inside and do Tim and I a favor. Make your end of life arrangements now and make damn sure we have nothing to do with it.”

You flipped him off, Brock grumbling as he headed back for the entrance slowly. You spun around and clapped your hands together, Lucy’s eyes full of concern.

“I’m good,” you said, forcing a smile on your face. “I got Tim and Beau and an old friend back in my life. I’m good.”

“Beau wants us to stay in Seattle,” said Lucy, shoving her phone away. “Says he and Tim are making a move on Hunter and are close. Once they grab them, he’s going to contact Boston PD to arrest your parents.”

“Sounds easy when you put it like that. I’m sure those boys don’t need us at all, right?” Lucy rolled her eyes, heading for the drivers seat. “I’ll call that army guy, see how fast we can get back to Helena.”

Two Hours Later

“How do we know where they are?” asked Lucy, handing you her phone as you drove through Helena. You tapped away on it, pulling up an airtag that was no longer sitting at the station. “You think that’s Tim’s?”

“We kept four in our go bag for emergencies. One is offline and is the one Beau shoved down his pants earlier. The other two are at the station. This is the only one that’s showing elsewhere. Looks like in the business district.” She drove as you directed her, coming to a stop outside a warehouse looking building.

“I can’t let you go in there,” she said, getting out of her patrol car and popping the trunk. You watched her pull on a vest and grab a shotgun. “Will you please stay in the car?”

“I promise. Go get the boys.”

You slid back in the passenger seat, ready to call for backup once Lucy texted that they had Hutner and his guys under arrest. Five minutes turned into ten which turned into fifteen. Why was it taking so long? You jumped up when your phone buzzed.

Call for backup. Bring the medical bag from the trunk inside asap.

Dread filled your gut as you did as told, getting a message out to the station and finding the orange bag in the back of the trunk. You ran inside the side door, looking all around. “Lucy?”

“Back here!” You followed her voice, startled by the amount of blood spatter everywhere. Hunter and his cronies were in various positions of death on the far side of the room. Tim sat on the concrete nearby, a bloody nose making his face look a mess and was holding his shoulder that looked just a tad too off to be normal.

“Beau,” you breathed out when you saw him on the ground, Lucy pressing blood hands against his shoulder. 

“I’m fine. Ain’t you ever seen a movie? Totally non-lethal,” he joked, wincing as Lucy pressed more of her body weight against him. 

“That’s a lot of blood,” you said, Beau grimacing. 

“He’ll live,” said Tim, sitting forward, tilting his eyes at Lucy. “Who the hell are you?”

“The person saving your ass,” she said. Tim raised his eyebrows, Beau chuckling as you cradled his head in your lap. “Got a problem with that Alpha boy?”

“You could have cleared the room a little less sloppily but other than that, nope.” 

“God it’s good you’re pretty with a mouth like that,” she said. Tim smiled, a strange look of adoration on his face.

“You think I’m pretty? Cause I ain’t got nothing on-”

“Timothy,” you growled. “She just saved your life. Behave.”

“We had it handled, right Barlen?” grunted Tim.

“Got a little dicey for my liking,” he said, wincing up at you. You sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You didn’t listen to me about staying in Seattle.”

“It was all Lucy.” She huffed, taking a wad of bandages as Tim scooted over and handed a package to her. “No it’s true. She dragged me back here against my will, wanted to save her boss.”

“I’m sure that’s what Officer Wilde’s report will say,” he said, sirens bouncing in the distance. “Wilde. When you get done keeping the blood in my body, contact Boston PD, let them know to move in on Y/N’s parents.”

You sighed, holding a hand over his wound when Lucy went to check Tim, that same stupid look on his face.

“Good god, he’s practically drooling over her,” mumbled Beau, chuckling when you giggled. You ran a hand through his hair, Beau smiling up at you. “You’re safe now, sweetheart.”

“You got hurt,” you said softly, Beau waving you off.

“I’ll be fine. Are you okay?” 

“Yeah. We need to have a talk about…everything when you get a chance.”

“We will,” he murmured, closing his eyes. “We don’t really have to live in Boston do we?”

You smirked, leaning down and kissing his forehead. “Helena is fine with me. Later. You just rest now.”

Two Weeks Later - Boston

“Hey, kiddo.” You stared at the wall of pictures in the foyer of your parents house, a heavy hand resting on top of your head as you sighed. “We don’t have to do this today.”

“I never want to come back to this house, Tim. Let’s get this over with.” He gently ruffled your hair, smoothing it out before he was standing next to the wall with a black storage tub, the yellow lid laying somewhere around there. By the front door were two more, already filled with objects from your parents home to go into storage.

Teddy was on the run and your mother was in custody. You’d been back in Boston for over a week to answer endless questions by the Marshals office but thankfully they’d cleared Tim of any wrongdoing and told him he was eligible to rejoin the agency.

“Leave the photos of my parents,” you said as you walked down the hall towards the front den. You knew Tim would ignore you. Someday you might want them. You didn’t have to sort through them right now he’d tell you. As far as you were concerned, they could sit in a storage container in Montana for the next few decades. Any of the ones you’d actually want to look at and put up were back at your shared townhouse.

“We cleared out your old room, pictures, basement,” he said, almost to himself as you leaned against the entrance to the den. “You want to steal any of your mom’s shit?”

“We could set it on fire?” He frowned. “You’re no fun, Barclay.”

“Your mom gave us permission to take what we want from the house, not burn the place to ashes.” He sat the bin down behind you, looking over your shoulder into the den. “Heard she’s claiming Teddy threatened her into helping him. Says she hasn’t helped kill someone in over thirty years. Still a life sentence at least.”

“Did she know Teddy wanted me dead? Wanted to frame you for it?” He shifted, eyes downcast when you looked over your shoulder. “Is that a yes? Did she even give a fuck about me?”

He scoffed, exhaling slowly. “I think in her own twisted way she cares about you. Maybe not other omegas but you she does. Her affair with my dad was just her having fun. Your dad will always be her priority though. She let herself get caught to give him time to get away.”

“Well, we’ve known that since I was a kid they cared more about each other than me. They’d have you babysit me while they went on their fucking murder dates.” You leaned your head against his shoulder, Tim wrapping his arm around your back.

“Yes but I gave you oreos and would let you watch horror movies far too scary for an eleven year old so I think you made out alright.”

“I hated watching horror movies,” you said, Tim smirking. “I didn’t want you to think I was some lame girl. I wanted you to think I was the coolest kid there was.”

“Hard fail there.” You punched his good arm, Tim feigning pain. “I’ll be sure to let Arlen know how much you love horror.”

“I’ll be sure to him know how much you like him.” You grinned wide, Tim rolling his eyes. “You’ve been using his actual name more often. I know you’ve warmed up to him.”

“He’s…not as awful as some of your past boyfriends. But that doesn’t mean I like him.” 

“Sure you don’t.” You hummed, peeling yourself away and spinning back around to examine the foyer. 

“Do you mind if I take the kitchenaid mixer?” he asked, nodding towards the kitchen.

“I mean go for it but we got one at home. You want to re-sell it or something?” He raised an eyebrow, looking at you like you were the weird one. “What is that face for?”

“Aren’t you taking the mixer at our townhouse to Montana?”

“Yes? Which again, why do we need another one?” you asked. 

“For the townhouse...” he said, frowning at you. You both stared at each other and stared and stared, your heads tilting so much if anyone came inside they’d take you both to be examined by a doctor. “You’re taking the mixer to Montana.”

“Yes…”

Therefore, I need a mixer.” You shook your head. “What is so confusing about that?”

“What are you talking about, Timothy? We’ve shared that mixer for the past decade. We don’t need two of them in Montana.” He closed his mouth, a wave of relief, perhaps realization, washing down his face. Meanwhile an unsettling feeling worked its way into your gut.

“Y/N, I’m not going to Helena. I’m staying in Boston at the townhouse.” You held up a hand, quirking your lip up.

“Ha ha. Very funny. Now help me-”

“Y/N.” His voice was quiet yet sharp. No. He was full of shit. He was messing with you. You crossed your arms, Tim’s eyes darting downwards. “I’m not moving out of Boston.”

“Why? You have nothing here.” You sucked in air the second the words left your lips, Tim looking up and nodding. “Tim, I didn’t mean-”

“You’re wrong,” he said, his tone flat, no malice behind it. “I can rejoin the Marshals. I can go to trivia night with my old friends. I can rejoin that baseball league. Hell, maybe I can even find myself a girlfriend that’ll stick this time.”

“You can do all those things in Montana though,” you said softly, Tim’s shrug starting to piss you off. “You never have a problem making friends or meeting women and they have the Marshals and baseball in Helena. Why would you stay here?”

“Because I’ve been following you around my entire adult life and I need some damn space from you. I gave up a year of my life for you. I was almost killed. I’ll be on thin ice with the Marshals the rest of my career not because of Teddy but because I got involved with you.” He wiped a hand over his mouth, resting his hands on his hips while your anger deflated like a balloon. You shook your head, frowning at him. No. This was him trying to push you away because he felt shitty and you weren’t about to let him get away with it.

“Bullshit. You’re being mean because you blame yourself for attacking me. You want me to get pissed and walk out on you like everyone else does. Not going to happen so be an asshole. You don’t get to-”

He stormed over, leering down into your face with a snarl. “Teddy was my boss. Do not confuse me doing my job to impress him with me caring about you.”

“Why don’t you be a real man and just tell me the truth, coward,” you snapped back, lifting your chin. He glared at you but you saw his facade starting to crack. “You’re scared that because Beau claimed me, I don’t need you anymore so you’re trying to cut me out of your life first because everybody you trust hurts you in the end. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re an insufferable know it all.” He walked away, heading for the stairs, pausing with one hand on the railing. “Go play house with Beau in Montana and we can both move on with our lives.”

“No!” You grabbed the closest object to you, a decorative wicker ball thing and chucked it at his back. He spun around, eyes flashed in alarm as you stormed over and yanked on his shirt collar on the steps, pulling down to your level. “You don’t want to move to Montana? Fine. I’ll learn to live with it. But you don’t get to walk away from me. I have always known I’m the only family you have and I always hated it. I wanted my parents to love you but I knew it wouldn’t happen.”

You took a deep breath, his face unreadable. Unfisting your hand, you found his, wrapping your smaller one around it. His eyes flickered, a vulnerability setting in.

“If you don’t want to live with me anymore, that’s okay. I know we annoy each other and I know you sacrificed a lot this past year. There were so many nights you stayed up so I could get a good night’s sleep. So many times I was a brat and argued with you about wanting to go out alone and you were right to protect me. So I’ll give you your space. But don’t ever think space means I’ve left. You’re still my family and now? You’ve got Beau and his family too.”

“You wanted me to live with you and Beau?” he asked quietly. You blinked a few times, holding up your finger. 

“That’s what you focused on in all that? I just told you-”

“Again, you want me to live with you and your boyfriend?” You rubbed your temple, trying to fight the twitch in your eye.

“No…I want you to live with me…in the townhouse I’m moving into in Helena.” He parted his lips, waiting a moment before tucking them closed.

“So…” He cleared his throat, glancing towards the ceiling. “You aren’t moving in with Beau.”

“Did you pull all this shit because you thought I was about to move in with a man I’ve known for three weeks and suddenly he would be my whole world?” 

“No?” he said, now staring at the chandelier over the foyer. You growled, Tim sighing in response. “He’s your mate, probably your true mate if we’re being honest. I didn’t want to get in the way of your new life. You know me.”

“And you know me.” His gaze traveled downwards, finding your stern face. “Someday, yeah, I will move in with him. Someday you’ll live on your own again. I was a brat last year but I trusted you’d keep me safe always. Trust. Me.”

He swallowed, taking a beat to breathe slowly. “Alright. I’ll go to Boston. I want the bigger bedroom though.”

“Fine.”

“And to keep your pots and pans when you move into Arlen’s someday.” You narrowed your eyes, Tim’s lip twitching up. “I’m joking.”

“You better be. I paid for those,” you said, stepping up two steps, wrapping your arms around him. He returned the hug, resting his chin on your shoulder. “You’ll come with me?”

“Would you help me find a good therapist out there?” You nodded, squeezing him tighter. Tim winced, a huff of air escaping him “Take it easy. I only got shot a few weeks ago.”

“Oh, that was a graze and you bruised your shoulder. You’re fine. Beau got hit worse” You leaned back and smiled. “By the way, we’re going to Houston for Thanksgiving with the whole extended Arlen family. It’s non-negotiable and I will have my boyfriend kidnap you to make you go if necessary.”

“If I say no, it’ll piss you off again, won’t it.”

“You’re so smart,” you said, pinching his cheek. He slapped your hand away as someone knocked on the front door. You jogged down the steps as it opened, a wisp of blonde hair entering view.

“Hello?” Jenny called out, looking to the left before smiling when she saw you. “Hey guys.”

“What are you doing here, Hoyt?” asked Tim, coming to your side. “I thought only Arlen was needed to do in person interviews in Boston.”

“Calm down, slugger,” she said, crossing her arms. “Lucy decided to visit her parents and do her interview in person. I followed her lead and came out to visit a college friend, do the interview here. Beau said you’re moving stuff and I got done early so I offered to help.”

“Thanks,” you said the same time Tim scoffed. You looked back at him, Tim standing there with a raised eyebrow. “What?”

“Come on, Y/N. She’s not here to help you move. She likes Arlen.” You couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped you, Tim tilting his head at Jenny. “Back at his place when Emily thought she smelled something between me and Hoyt? That wasn’t attraction. I knew something was up between her and Arlen and given the way he doesn’t seem to give you puppy dog eyes the way you do him, I’m going to say it’s one sided.”

Jenny frowned, glancing away, crossing her arms. “Fine. I like Beau. I won’t deny it. But I honestly did come here to help pack and get stuff in the pod outside because believe me or don’t, Beau is still my friend no matter who he’s with.”

She turned to you, her face softening. 

“I’m not stupid enough to believe you’d be cool with a woman you know that likes your boyfriend being friends with him. All I ask is you give me a chance to move on from him. If I don’t, I’ll transfer departments to the troopers or county or something.” 

“Alright, you can have your chance,” you said. Tim was about to protest but you beat him to the punch. “But if you do care about him, think about what he wants, okay?”

“I know,” she said, forcing a smile on her face. “So. What can I help with?”

“There’s some Christmas ornaments in the basement I think we missed. Tim, go show her while I finish with the upstairs,” you said.

He grumbled, waving Hoyt to follow after himself. When they rounded the corner and you heard their footsteps down the wooden steps you pulled out your phone, throwing your head back. Still no texts from Beau which meant he was still in his Marshals interview.

Hey. Hope it’s going good over there. Tim and I are almost done at my parents house. Thanks for sending Jenny over to help. Why don’t we get an early dinner after you get done and we can pack up the townhouse tomorrow? Text me when you’re free.

“Y/N? Can you come here for a second?” called Jenny. 

“Coming!”

Beau POV

I let out a deep breath as I exited the small conference room I’d been sitting in for the past seven hours. I cracked my back, nodding to the two Marshals that slipped out beside me. “Sorry to keep you in there so long, Arlen. This whole case is a shit show for us as you can imagine.”

“I understand,” I said to Springs, her junior partner taking a bundle of notepads back into a bullpen of cubicles. “Any luck on finding Teddy yet?”

“The fucker disappeared sometime that morning when you folks took down Douglas Evans and his friends. Evans’ phone indicated he had a check in to a burner, Teddy presumably. Looks like Evans got nervous and told Teddy to get out of Dodge.” Spings led me down a hall, further into their office area. “Teddy and Evans did a pretty good job of making Mr. Barclay look like Hunter.”

We stopped outside a tapped over door, Tim’s name on a placard outside of it. Springs swung it open to reveal a mostly clean office. “Teddy made a mistake though by targeting Tim. Do you see it?”

I looked through the door into the small room, glancing around. It looked like most other law enforcement offices. Files. Computer. Pens. A few awards and commendations on the wall, a picture of Tim and Y/N at the beach on his filing cabinet behind the desk. 

“Huh,” I said, cocking my head. “Didn’t know Barclay was capable of not looking like he’s got a stick shoved up his ass.”

Springs didn’t bother to try and hide her laugh. “He’s actually a pretty nice guy when you get to know him.”

I huffed. Just because he’d warmed up to me didn’t mean he still didn’t like to call me a dickhead every time we talked. A week and a half ago, he and Y/N travelled back to Boston. By the time I’d been discharged from the hospital, I’d found out the FBI and Marshals were in charge of investigating what the hell had happened. All of us had been separated and questioned over and over. Tim and Y/N were “escorted” back to Boston for more questioning while I’d been stuck back in Helena. Y/N and I needed to discuss things, in person, but thankfully the investigation cleared both of them after a few days. One six hour phone call later, Y/N had a lease agreement signed on a townhouse ten minutes from my house, a lengthy email in to her old job requesting her position back and she’d reassured me more than once that Tim was an idiot. She hadn’t cared at all about the age gap, that I was divorced or had a teenager. 

Apparently she had a thing for older guys so suck it Barclay.

“Yeah, well, you’re not mated to his sister either,” I mumbled, Springs snorting.

“Well, those two have been thick as thieves since she was a kid. Teddy wasn’t very present but Tim filled that gap for her,” she said, my eyes roaming over to another picture of Tim and Y/N in obnoxious orange shirts and numbered bibs. I raised my chin, nodding at it.

“The running picture. That’s what gave it away he wasn’t Hunter,” I said, Springs smiling.

“Good job, Arlen. Teddy was also so invested in his cases, he didn’t pay too much attention ot office crap. He never knew that Barclay was our Omega’s in Law Enforcement representative. Encourages them-”

“To join traditionally Alpha related careers. It helps them know that they have no limitations in those fields. We have it out in Helena too.” 

“He volunteered when our previous rep retired. He mostly would talk to middle and high schools, kids in clubs, that sort of thing. He’d always tell a story about how his omega sister beat up an Alpha that broke into their house one night and not to let anyone tell them they can’t do something because of what they present as.”

“You took that as proof of his innocence?” I asked. She shrugged.

“Not completely on it’s own but I’ve know Tim for nearly twenty years. I started a few years before him. He was a friend. Teddy saw him as an angry brute, a powerful tool on dangerous cases. Yeah, Tim is extremely skilled and lethal. But the rest of us knew deep down he was gentle. Above all else, he’s a protector, not an attacker. So no, there’s no world in which I’d have ever believed Barclay wanted to hurt Y/N, no matter what Teddy wrote in those stupid journals. The timeline doesn’t match up anyways.”

“Journals?” She hummed.

“Man was a grade A psycho,” she said, showing me across the hall where a few marshals were each sitting with a filled out notebooks before them. “Teddy was a journaler apparently. Kept daily logs from his teen years up until the day he fled a few weeks ago. He wrote about his kills. The wife is so screwed based on what we’ve found so far. She was a very active and willing participant. Sounds like she might have even been the one calling the shots.”

“Anything about Y/N in them?” She shook her head.

“No, we haven’t gotten that far yet. Still going through when Teddy was in his twenties. There’s a lot of deaths marked natural causes or accidental that he caused. Then there’s some girls who went missing. He wasn’t shy about details. Seems like sometimes the heat triggering went wrong and women with underlying conditions died a little more obviously. Only good thing is we know where the bodies are for the families.”

“Sicko,” I said. Springs handed me a pair of blue gloves from a nearby box. We put them on, Springs guiding us to the end of the table where a few boxes sat, all filled with notebooks. “You’ve been focusing on the earlier stuff?”

“Yeah, we figure start at the beginning, develop the timeline. I’m sure we’ll find information about his plans for Y/N and how he recruited Douglas Evans in the more recent years. Feel free to take a look if you got a minute.”

She checked in with her team as I went to the most recent dated box, peeling the lid off. Most of the notebooks were plain black with the year written on a little white box in the center. I fingered through them, going back in time, pouting at an unlabeled one stuck between 2000 and 2001. 

I pulled it out, Springs noticing. “Got something?”

“Not sure. The wear on this one is much worse than the others, like it was looked at and used a lot more.” I flipped it open, narrowing my eyes. “Springs. This isn’t a journal.”

I held up the first page, her eyes flashing wide at the heading written on top. “Primal candidates?”

“He was looking for his protegé for awhile it seems.” I said, scanning through the list of qualifications they had to have. Alpha. Law enforcement. Attractive. Unmated. 

“That does track. Teddy majored in biology in undergrad. One of his journals mentioned a class where a professor taught about early presentation evolution like heats, going primal, that shit. Seems like that’s when he fixated on it.”

“Probably where he learned about this stuff…” I flipped a page, a picture of a young smiling Tim taped inside. I frowned, glancing through the notes on him.

“Barclay’s on the list?” she asked, peering over my shoulder now.

“He was a potential candidate. Looks like Teddy wanted him,” I said, trailing my finger down to where words like “favorable” and “plan recruitment procedure”. But the most recent dated entry was all different, written in red ink from around the time Y/N met him. “Reject as candidate. Y/N likes the boy. Too suspicious to involve him now. Allow to remain family friend for her benefit. Good babysitter/protector for Y/N when her mother and I go hunting.”

Jesus christ. I stared at the page, shaking my head.

“Did Y/N save him from being a Douglas Evans without knowing it?” said Springs quietly.

“Barclay, you owe that girl more than you’ll ever know,” I mumbled to myself, flipping through page after page of young men and women, all Alphas. Douglas Evans picture popped up, a large PRIMAL written next to his name.

“We really got to find Teddy guy before he attacks again or turns someone,” said Springs, as I got to the end of the book.

“At least the good news is it looks like only Evans was turned,” I said, flipping one more page and freezing. Springs groaned, my heart in my throat.

“Well shit. That one is primal too,” she said, staring at the picture of the young woman. The young, blonde woman with her hair in a side braid, a soft smile on her face. The blonde woman I’d spent the past year working with. The woman I thought was my friend. The woman currently at the Y/L/N residence with Tim and Y/N.

“Jenny Hoyt,” I breathed out, standing up fast.”

“Who’s-”

“Get your Marshals to Teddy’s residence right now! Y/N and Tim are there alone with her,” I said, rushing out of the room and down the hall, nearly crashing into Lucy as she exited her own interview room. 

“Beau? What’s-” I grabbed her hand, pulling her with me.

“Hoyt’s one of Teddy’s protegés and I sent her straight to Y/N and Tim.” 

__________

A/N: Part 7 coming soon!

[cordi-winchester]

Primal (Part 5)

Summary: Tim's missing, the team makes a major breakthrough in the case and more than one secret will be unraveled. Above all else though, Beau and the reader make a life changing decision in the heat of the moment...

Primal Masterlist

Pairing: Alpha!Beau Arlen x Omega!reader

Word Count: 7,700ish

Warnings: language, angst, violence, drugging, serial killers, death, kidnapping

A/N: Here's a big one for ya! 😉

Reader POV

“Motherfucker!” Beau shouted, followed with a a garbled string of curses. You looked up from the laptop in front of you in the conference room. Across the hall, Beau had ripped off his bulletproof vest and thrown it across his office, knocking his computer monitor off his desk. 

“They lost track of Tim, didn’t they,” you said when he slowly walked across the hall and opened the door. He nodded, closing his eyes.

“They must have found the airtag the second they left. Stuck it on a big rig. We checked with our local Marshals and they didn’t bring him in yet. Douglas Evans is a transfer. Six months ago. He’s claiming Tim escaped and he’s out looking and refuses to give his location. Y/N, I’m so-” 

“Don’t apologize.” You got up, pushing him out into the hall, pulling the door after you. He shook his head.

“Y/N. I promised-”

“Tim’s a big boy. And we know odds are Hunter, Douglas Evans, whatever the hell we’re calling him, isn’t going to kill Tim if they want to frame him for the murders.” You put your hands on his arms, closing your eyes. “It’s not good but Hunter clearly has a plan. If he wanted Tim dead, he’d have shot him in the parking lot. We have time to save him. So let’s figure out the plan. If you were going to frame someone, what would you do?”

“Hunter didn’t take him into the office yet though. That’d be his first move,” said Beau. You peeled open your eyes, sliding your hands down, Beau catching them in his own.

“Would it? Because Teddy and Hunter still want me dead and you can’t blame a serial killer, aka their fall guy Tim, for it if he’s in custody. Now, Tim either truly did escape which I’m not buying because he would have contacted me if he had or Hunter’s holding him somewhere until they can take care of me and blame it on Tim.”

“Hunter has to know that it won’t be that easy. My whole department knows-”

“Beau, It doesn’t matter what your department knows.” You pulled your hands away, staring up at him. “It’s what you can prove and if I’m dead, it’s conjecture. If they’ve got Tim’s DNA at other murder scenes, it doesn’t matter what anyone here says, including you. Beau, you have to start thinking about the fact that Tim’s not the only target as my eventual murderer. Hunter was probably at your house tonight, had access to things like your hairbrush, fingerprints.”

“So, frame me too in some way,” he said, your head nodding. He ran a hand over his face, breathing deeply. “So even if we find Hunter and Tim, your brother and I are probably still screwed.”

“Not if we can prove it’s a setup. We could catch Hunter in the act,” you said, Beau considering it. “If we did that, I can be Tim’s alibi. They won’t go digging too closely if I’m dead but I’m alive? When they really take a look at stuff, they’ll find out the timeline doesn’t work and he couldn’t have committed those other murders. Tonight was literally the first night in ten months we were separated. Tim and I have gone everywhere together. They need me dead for this to work.”

He sighed, a frown forming on his face. “I’m all for catching Hunter and you have proven yourself capable, sweetie. You have. But you’re not a cop and there’s no way in hell I’m putting you in jeopardy. Tim wouldn’t want that either.”

“I figured you’d say that,” you said with a smile, Beau raising an eyebrow. “While you were running around the past hour, I found a friend.”

“A…friend?” You smiled, poking your head into the conference room, waving to the omega with dark hair. “Uh, who the hell is that? That is not one of the officer’s Jenny picked for your protection team.”

“Trust me, I know,” you said, the officer coming outside with a nervous smile. “Beau this is Officer Lucy-”

“Wilde. I’m aware. She transferred from LA last week,” said Beau, crossing his arms. His green eyes narrowed on her, Lucy trying to maintain a relaxed face and failing horribly. “Why are you not out on street patrols with your partner as instructed Officer Wilde? You better have a damn good reason-”

“Because,” you cut in, Beau raising his eyebrows at you, “I know her.”

“You know her?” asked Beau, looking between you.

“Yes, I do,” you said, giving Lucy a reassuring smile. “We sat next to each other in biology freshman year of college. We were friends back in undergrad, fell out of touch when we graduated.”

“That’s nice and all but Officer Wilde you have to realize, I have to be leery of any new hires we’ve had in the past six months. Hunter clearly isn’t working alone and the fact you knew Y/N previously only makes me more suspicious of you, not less.”

“Tell him what you told me,” you said, Beau growing more agitated. 

“Y/N, go back in the conference room. Officer-”

“This happened in the eighties,” Lucy blurted out, Beau looking at her like she’d grown a second head. “I pulled cold case files and searched for similarities of our previous victims.”

“Excuse me? My office. Now. Y/N, back in the conference room.” He shoved open his door, Officer Wilde following after. Beau glared when you walked in. “Y/N, stay away from her. She could be dangerous.”

“Trust me. Please.” He was still, twitching his cheek for brief moment before he zeroed in on Wilde. 

“You are not a detective, Officer Wilde. You are a street cop who by all means, has disobeyed her direct orders.”

“Sir-”

“Why were you doing research on Hunter? It better be good,” growled Beau in a way that made you squeeze your legs together. He cleared his throat, glancing at you once, clearing scenting you. Lucy stepped forward, steadying herself. 

“Detective Hoyt mentioned the Hunter situation during my orientation last week and I thought it sounded vaguely familiar. So I’ve been poking around on my lunch breaks and found there was a case study we went over at the academy that had similar…circumstances.” She lifted her chin, Beau still sizing her up. “There were a string of unsolved deaths in the late eighties in LA, New York, Baltimore, Orlando and Boston. It was suspected to be a serial killer but no evidence was ever found to prove it was anything other than natural causes.”

“My father worked in all of those cities during that time, Beau.” You watched him look at you and Wilde, his finger raising. “Douglas Evans is too young to have been involved back then. I think Teddy killed those omegas.”

“There was a survivor,” said Wilde. Beau’s finger pointed at her, Lucy talking quicker “Although they labeled her as having a mental breakdown. Evidence pointed to her boyfriend attacking her, not someone else. She claimed a man abducted them both and injected them with something. She went into heat and he went…primal. The police laughed her off, said it wasn’t possible.”

“And the boyfriend? What’d he say?” Beau asked. Wilde shook her head.

“Police killed him when he ran. There was no way to verify her story and she ended up overdosing a few years later since she couldn’t cope.”

“So it’s just a story,” said Beau, dropping his hand. “Thank you for that Officer Wilde but I need facts, something provable. I already know Douglas Evans is Hunter and Teddy Y/L/N is very likely trying to murder his own daughter. Unless you can tell me something about where Tim Barclay might be held right now, get your ass back to work.”

“Beau,” you said, putting his hand to your neck. He reacted visibly, touching his own, breathing deeply, calming down slowly. “It’s important. It shows a pattern. Teddy killed omegas on his own all those years and then in Boston, he took this husband and wife and made the Alpha go primal. Now, Hunter has been killing omegas on his own and those guys with him? Maybe he turned them primal so he had more muscle. Maybe Teddy taught Hunter and he’s like a protege.”

“Yes but how does that help us find Hunter?” You looked at Officer Wilde, her back straightening. She glanced down, taking a moment to answer.

“Because logically we know based on the story, if Hunter is Teddy’s student, then Hunter most likely intends on turning Barclay primal and having him go after Y/N which will be irrefutable evidence.” You swallowed, Lucy finding your hand, giving it a squeeze. 

God, you wish you hadn’t fallen out of touch with her. Wished you were meeting up like a pair of normal people for lunch and to catch up, not talking about the fact a serial killer had your brother and was going to do something awful to him. 

“In theory, once an Alpha goes primal, they can’t go back,” she said. “Tim probably wouldn’t be able to make a legal case for himself as he’d likely admit his hatred for omegas and he’d ultimately be screwed, sir.” 

Beau nodded, giving you a forlorn look. “If Tim’s been turned primal, Y/N, it’s most likely already too late for him. He’ll probably try to mate or kill every omega he crosses paths with. They used to outright kill them back in the day for a reason.” 

“I know,” you said quietly. “So let’s draw Hunter out before that happens. Let Officer Wilde go undercover as me. Get Hunter to make a mistake and his greed to have Tim kill me be his downfall.”

All three of your heads turned when there was a flurry of footsteps down the hall, someone poking their head in. “Barclay called 911, said he got away from Hunter’s crew and is on his way here.”

A car screeched out front, your heart breathing a sigh of relief as you caught his bruised face outside Beau’s window. You rushed out of the room, jogging outside to the front of the station, a number of officers out there already. 

“Barclay?” called Beau as Tim held his side, sporting a frown. 

“You gonna stand there looking pretty or help me, Beau. Pretty sure I broke a few ribs,” he said. He smelled just like himself, only hurt if anything else. You ran over to him, Tim slumping against you. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

“Me too,” you said, giving him a gentle side hug as a sharp prickling scent filled your nose. Your eyes drifted over to where Beau’s scent was fierce, burning with worry almost. Beau’s eyes went wide, his body already moving.

“Y/N, get away him!” You went airborne, landing hard on your back, the cold pavement below knocking the wind of out you. Tim’s eyes were nearly black when you saw them staring down at you. There was the gentlest scrape against the column of your neck, the side of your neck without your gland, before his weight was gone. You rolled to your side, Beau’s arms wrapped tight around a snarling Tim, other officers rushing past in the background.

“No! Y/N!” he spat, your body jerking away when Tim reached for you. He got a hand on your ankle, Beau having to kick his hand away. “Y/N!”

“He’s primal! Everyone but Alpha’s stay back!” shouted Beau as more officers came over, Tim doing everything in his power to break free, his face contorted in hatred as he stared you down. 

“Inside,” said Jenny, pulling you up by the arm, shoving you backwards into Wilde’s chest. “Now!”

“Y/N get back here!” snarled Tim as Jenny dragged you behind her, every lurch of Tim’s body making you flinch. Your head was swimming as you were guided back inside, sitting you down on Beau’s couch after a moment. 

No. Tim hadn’t turned Primal. The man spent his entire life devoted to protecting you. There was no way he’d just…no. You hadn’t lost him. You refused to accept it.

“Lucy,” you said quietly, getting to shaky feet, flinching when you could hear Tim and Beau shouting at each other outside. She nodded, grabbing your hands. “There has to be a way to turn off the primal in him. Is there anything, anything, you found about that couple that was attacked and the Alpha that was turned primal?”

She sighed. “The only thing was he was running away from his omega when the cops showed up which seemed strange. Primal Alphas once they lock in on an omega, they always go to them. Always.”

You nodded, biting your bottom lip. “Tim said Beau out there. That’s how Beau knew Tim wasn’t himself. Tim always calls him Barlen,” you said, going over to Beau’s discarded bulletproof vest on the ground and picking it up. “He was warning us.”

“Y/N. He attacked you,” she said softly.

“No. He said Beau to warn us. He had time to bite my gland but instead he went to the wrong side of my neck to give Beau a shot. My brother’s still in there and he is fighting like hell. We aren’t giving up on him,” you said, lifting the vest over your head, pulling the sides taught. “We think Primal Alphas lock in on their chosen omega?” She nodded. “Well he can’t have me and I’m going to go prove it to him.”

“Y/N, what are you doing?” she asked when you walked out of Beau’s office, people in the bullpen standing from their desks. Jenny looked up from a computer, fury in her eyes.

“Get your ass back-” You drew the gun that was still on your hip, Jenny frowning. “You wouldn’t shoot me.”

“I wouldn’t kill you. Shoot you, now that I’d do. Now let me go save my brother.” She grumbled, letting you pass. You ran outside as fast as you could, Tim’s loud snarl reverberating down your spine when he caught your scent.

“Y/N! What the fuck are you doing! Get back inside!” Beau shouted as you ran to him and where six Alphas were working on restraining Tim.

“You want to be my damn Alpha, Barclay?” you said to Tim, his eyes wild. “Too fucking bad because I’m taken.”

You turned to Beau, grabbing him by the back of the neck, his whole body rigid.

“Y/N. You want to…” he trailed off as you nodded.

“I know you wanted to do this differently but if you claim me right now, right in front of him, and he knows he can’t have me anymore, there’s a chance it might save him. I don’t know. I don’t know Beau. It’s the only idea I have. I can’t ask you to do this for me.”

“You don’t have to ask.” You were vaguely aware of the guttural scream that tore through the air as his teeth sank into your bonding gland. Flashes of heat and pain and pleasure rippled across your skin, a thudding boom echoing through your chest that seemed to last and last. You were shaking as you and Beau fell to your knees together, his teeth pulling back, replaced with a soft kitten kiss over the fresh mark in your skin. Your head turned, Beau bringing his lips up to yours, meeting them with a slow, sensual kiss that had you forgetting you were in a parking lot with about eight other people.

“Sir!” You and Beau both growled at the interruption of your bonding, the annoyance quickly washing away as you saw Tim laying on the ground breathing hard but no longer struggling.

“Tim?” His eyes were closed, a flushness leaving his skin as his scent started to calm.

“Give him every damn dose of Rutcan we have in the place,” said Beau, a spray nozzle already under Tim’s nose. He winced as he was forced to inhale it, his eyes flashing open wide. Beau kept his body in front of yours as another does was forced on Tim, your head peeking around him. “Barclay?”

Tim lazily turned his head, staring over at you both. “Did you just fucking claim my sister, Barlen? In a parking lot? The fuck kind of Alpha are you? And why the fuck am I in cuffs!” You smiled, Beau chuckling, hugging you hard.

“Your sister’s being Sarah Connor again and saving your ass. Smart, smart woman,” said Beau, kissing your temple. Tim just shook his head, his face going blank. “Barclay? You okay bud?”

“I don’t feel good,” he said, closing his eyes, the officers looking to Beau. 

“Get him to the hospital asap and do not leave him unrestrained until we get the clear. You six keep an eye on him.” 

“Y/N,” Tim groaned, your body turning towards him, still wrapped up under the warm cozy layer of Beau’s scent. “M’sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you said, wanting to go to him but Beau keeping a hold on you. “Just get better, that’s all I want right now.” 

He nodded slowly, Beau giving a few more orders before walking back into the station with you, practically slamming straight into Jenny in the foyer. 

“You!” she glowered, pointing a finger straight in your face. “I should fucking arrest you-”

“Stand down, Hoyt,” he said, interlacing your fingers. 

“She pulled a gun on me!”

“I imagine you got in her way then,” he said. Your jaw dropped, Beau leading you back to his office. He quickly shut the door and locked it, pulling the blinds down with a groan. 

“Jenny’s right you know. She was just following your orders.” You smiled when Beau shrugged. “Dude.”

“And she could have come after you if she really wanted to but she didn’t,” he said, wrapping an arm around your waist, pulling your body flush to his. “Why the hell did you put on my bulletproof vest? You thought you didn’t look hot enough in your normal clothes?”

“You mean your jacket?” He grinned, something boyish about it that made you smirk.

“You do have a tendency to be wearing my stuff when you’re being a badass, just saying.” You punched his arm lightly, smiling up at him.

“I figured if it didn’t work, it’d piss him off and if he got free somehow, it was a tiny bit of protection. Honestly, I wasn’t really thinking. I just know he’d never give up on me and I couldn’t do nothing. I don’t even know if it worked in the long run. How do we know it’s not temporary or-” He pressed his lips to yours, capturing them in a slow, calming kiss. There was no frantic energy, no sense of an Alpha wanting his newly claimed Omega. No, this was…gentle. Sweet. His hands holding your cheeks, silently telling your body to take it easy. 

Your mouths parted slowly, Beau’s green eyes kind as you stared into them.

“We’ll get him to the hospital and keep him safe while they figure out how to make sure he’s alright for good. Don’t worry about him or Jenny or even Hunter. I got you.”

“Beau, I made you claim me to help him,” you whispered. “I shouldn't have done that. We were going to wait.”

“You didn’t make me do anything, Y/N. I made a choice. So what if we’re doing this all backwards? I’m divorced with a kid. Serial killers apparently love you. We were never traditional.” You felt yourself smile despite the worry in your gut. He kissed your temple, giving you a deep hug. “A few days from now, when this has all quieted down, I’m going to make you dinner.”

“Your house is a crime scene.”

“I will take you out to dinner then,” he corrected, tucking your hair behind your ear, tilting his head at you. “We’re going to go on a date and another one and another one and if we find out we can’t stand each other, then we’ll go through un-claiming.”

“You’ve been through it before with your ex,” you said quietly. He hummed. “Does it hurt as much as they say?”

He paused, nodding once. “It’s not fun but I’m not worried about it happening with us. You feel…different than Carla did,” he said, tracing his hand over your gently throbbing mark. You turned into the touch without meaning to, Beau smiling. “Now stop making out with the boss and go work with Officer Wilde on figuring out why Teddy wants you dead. Apparently the omegas are the only ones capable of making breaks in this case while us Alphas are walking around like a pack of idiots.”

“You’re not an idiot…” You trailed off and took a step back, looking around the room. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, following you over to where a picture of all the officers at the station hung on the wall. You pointed at it, Beau taking it off the wall, setting it atop his desk. “This is from about six months ago. Officer Wilde is our only new staff member since then. What are you thinking?”

“You just said it yourself. You and my brother are smart. Jenny’s smart. You got a whole office full of smart Alphas. So why are me and Lucy the only ones that have picked up on the link to the cold cases? Surely someone on your team would have caught that.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow beside the fact the Alphas are acting like morons,” he said, watching you tap your finger to the yellow banner at the top of the picture. “Y/N. What?”

“Helena Inter-Departmental Training Seminar. This looks like most of the office was at this thing, right?” He nodded.

“We went to a skeleton crew that day. Left some of the newer officers behind to man the ship. Most law enforcement offices around here do that.”

“Who else was at this thing? The Marshals?”

“Them, FBI, County PD, state troopers…why?” 

“Just entertain me,” you said, sliding around behind him to sit at his desk. He put in his password at the computer, leaning over the back of his chair as he told you what program to open to search the database. “Now Lucy searched Boston cold case and…no results.”

“Okay?” You spun, looking up at him with a smile. “Why are you happy about that?”

“Because Lucy didn’t work here six months ago. Because on her computer she gets results for that search.”

“Someone fucked with our computers,” he said, standing up straighter. “The day we were all out of office at training. Motherfucker, no wonder we couldn’t find shit for so long.”

He unlocked his door, popping into the cubicle next door where an admin sat. 

“Molly, when’s the last time we had IT in here? Something big, like an update all the computers big.” She raised an eyebrow as she typed on her computer, glancing down at the results after a moment. 

“Looks like March-”

“18th?” She nodded, Beau flashing his eyes wide. “Fuck. That was the day of the training. We’ve been fucked this whole time.”

“You could check security, see if you caught him on tape?” you said. Beau went off to investigate while you returned to the conference room. He took his time coming back, shaking his head when he popped his head in. 

“Good news is we know the problem,” he sighed. “Bad news, the entire department needs new computers and we don’t know which agencies we can trust to get us those. Officer Wilde’s is the only one without whatever block or virus on it in the whole station,” said Beau. She was about to relinquish it when he shook his head. “No. You’re doing good work, Wilde. You two keep researching together. The rest of us don’t need files to do a manhunt.”

“Good because we found something even weirder,” you said, hopping out of your chair, going to the white board where two officers, Travis and Viv, were finishing writing down the previous vic profiles. 

Beau took a seat, sipping on a cup of coffee while you picked up a black whiteboard marker.

“Trav, name of the earliest victim we could find with the whole suspicious natural cause death,” you said.

“Tina Paxton. ‘78. LA. Cause of death heart attack after failed attempts to contain a heat. Doctors ruled the death suspicious but no suspects were ever identified.”

“Teddy went to USC from ‘76 to ‘80. Math checks there,” you said, turning back. “Viv, earliest victim in New York. Year only.”

“‘83.”

“Teddy worked for NYPD ‘82 to ‘85,” you said, jotting it down. “Match checks again. Anybody join in. Earliest for Baltimore? Orlando?”

“‘86 and ‘89 respectively.”

You hummed, writing more. “‘85 to ‘87 Teddy worked out of the Baltimore office before transferring to a warmer climate in ‘88. And finally Boston. First victim.”

“‘90.” You spun around after writing it down, plopping the cap back on the marker.

“Correct. Teddy moved to Boston in ‘89 where he got a job at the Boston field office and has since worked to this day. Math checks again. But we’re also all wrong,” you said, the officers sharing looks. “During the summer of 1984, Teddy took a special assignment for three months in Boston in which he shadowed a Detective Brock and assisted him when his partner fell ill.”

“That’s not in the files anywhere,” said Lucy with a frown. 

“Nope,” you said, lifting your chin, dotting a line down on the board, writing more. “Because Teddy officially worked for the NYPD back then. No one would know that he was in Boston back then except for me who had to listen to his stories growing up,” you said, drawing on the board. “Now, when was Tim Barclay born?”

“Oh god, don’t tell me Teddy’s Tim’s father,” said Beau, making a face. You shook your head as she rattled off the date.

“1979,” you said, drawing a big circle around it. “Tim’s mom walked out on him when he was nearly four years old. Lucy, what’s the date listed on the missing persons report filed by her co-workers?”

Beau leaned forward in his chair. “Uh, July 14th, 1984.”

“And where did she work?” you asked, clasping your hand behind your back, Beau watching you carefully.

“A diner. Macy’s Diner?”

“Macy’s Diner,” you said, smirking at Beau, his eyebrows raising. “They serve a hell of a burger according to my father. I’ve been there myself a few times.”

Beau sighed, holding up a finger. “Y/N, I see where you’re going and that’s a leap. You think Teddy killed Tim’s mother? How do you know she didn’t actually walk out?”

“Because Tim’s biological father is a piece of human garbage and Tim never found a trace of her in the past twenty something years he’s been looking.”

“Y/N-”

“Lucy, show Beau a picture of Detective Brock.” Her eyes went wide, slowly turning the computer, the other officers and Beau’s matching.

“Detective Brock…Barclay? God, he looks just like Tim,” said Beau quietly. “Teddy worked with Tim’s father?”

You hummed, crossing your arms. “Really weird that my dad never mentioned that fact to me or Tim, isn’t it? My father, the guy who knows the movements of a suspected serial killer. My dad who’s movements match a serial killer in the eighties. I never put it together because he never mentioned a last name for the detective he worked with on special assignment but when we started digging about who Teddy worked with, well that name and the face was pretty jarring.”

“You think Teddy killed Tim’s mother?” You nodded. “It’s circumstantial.”

“But odds are Teddy did it and Brock is the one who asked him to do it to cover his ass. Who just leaves their child like that? Brock Barclay is still alive. He’s in his late seventies but he’s alive. I think we should question him.”

“You think he’d admit to having his wife killed?”

“I think Brock Barclay lives in an assisted living community in Seattle, Washington, exactly the place you have an officer you can trust right now.” Beau looked at the table, scratching his head. “Yes, it’s circumstantial. This whole damn thing is. But it’s too much of a coincidence to not mean something.”

“I’m not sending the officer I have in Seattle with Emily to do this.” You sighed, crossing your arms. “I can’t spare anyone and we don’t know how far this goes.”

“Beau-”

“Which is why you and Officer Wilde are going to Seattle to interview Brock.” You raised your eyebrows, fighting back a smile when he frowned. “I ain’t happy about it, believe me.”

“Sir, she’s not an officer,” said Lucy. Beau nodded as he stood.

“No, she is not. She’s a consultant on this case and she’ll be under your protection in the field. I won’t say no to the added benefit of getting Y/N out of town either.” You bit your bottom lip, Beau raising his chin. “I expect a confession from Brock Barclay for the murder of his wife for the amount of tax dollars we’re about to spend.”

“How are we getting there?”

“Let me worry about that.”

“And I thought my red eye from Phoenix to Philly when I was in college was bad,” you grumbled at three in the morning. You adjusted your backpack on your shoulders as you and Lucy followed a soldier down the loading door of a large military plane at some airport or base or something in Seattle. “How the hell did Beau pull this?”

“Mr. Arlen was partners in Texas with one of our commander’s old company buddies. We look out for our friends,” he said, handing a card to Lucy. “If either of you need anything while in town, please don’t hesitate to call.”

After he pointed the way towards the parking lot, you found a car waiting for you to use. You both dropped your bags in the trunk before getting inside. 

“You okay?” she asked when you checked your phone. There were a few texts from Beau. 

They’d identified the two other men with Hunter aka Douglas Evans. They’d both gone missing in town over two weeks ago from Stormy’s Bar. No luck on finding Hunter yet. Tim was at the hospital resting and recovering. Your idea about mating was old school, something done back before medicine was much of a thing but the doctors were confident it had worked and Tim was no longer Primal. To be on the safe side, they were flushing his system and keeping him restrained until he’d gone through a full cycle along with some hormone balancers. Beyond that, he had a hard time remembering anything beyond being in a warehouse.

You smiled at Beau’s very last message.

How much would I have to pay you to stay out in Seattle until this dies down? I bribe very well. Just ask Emily.

“I’m okay, Luce,” you said, shooting off a quick message that you’d landed. “Coffee and then let’s go pay this bastard a visit.”

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“So?” you said, Lucy rolling her eyes. “Dibs on being bad cop.”

“Big shocker there.”

Beau POV

I yawned as the sun rose outside the hospital around six or so. My head popped up from my phone when a door slammed. A very disgruntled Tim walked out in a gown and hospital socks, my eyebrows raising.

“Mornin’ sunshine,” I said, tossing a backpack at him. “Sorry about taking your clothes. Evidence.”

“Whatever,” he said, climbing into the backseat of my truck. A minute later he exited in my clothes, shrugging on a thick olive green jacket I used for yard work in the fall. “You hear anything from Y/N?”

“Not yet. Lucy texted about an hour ago they were about to head in to question the person of interest,” I said. Tim snatched my phone from my hands, crossing his arms. “Well, now I know you’re just being an ass right now because they already flushed every bit of Alpha shit out of you. Ever hear of manners?”

“Tell me who she’s talking to because fifteen minutes ago it was to question someone who might have information and now it’s a person of interest. I damn know well you wouldn’t send her to go talk to a suspect so who the hell is Y/N talking to?”

“May I have my phone back?” He grumbled but returned it. I put it in my pocket, taking a step back from him. “Brock Barclay.”

His eyebrows shot up, genuine confusion crossing his face. “My dad? Why the fuck is she out there talking to him? She’s never even…what the fuck, Barlen?”

“Y/N seems to think he has an idea of why Teddy wants her dead.”

“Why would he know that?” Fuck. There was no way to do this gently. Blunt honesty it was.

“Because your father’s worked together during the summer of ‘84. Y/N has a working theory Teddy killed your mother and Brock was aware.” Tim stared at me, shaking his head.

“No. No, my mother left because...she wasn’t…” He stared off into the distance, looking at something that wasn’t there. He kept shaking his head, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“We have no evidence but the fact Teddy never told you or Y/N that he knew your father lends a degree of credibility to the idea,” I said quietly, Tim walking away over to a tree, slipping around behind it. “Tim.”

He was silent. I frowned, walking over after a beat. He sat on the ground, head in his hands, tugging hard on his hair.

I sat next to him, gently pushing his hands away from the strands. “Hey. S’just an idea. Doesn’t mean anything.”

“She left,” he said, forcing his head up, unshed tears in his eyes. He frowned, fighting back the wobble in his chin. “My dad didn’t kill her.”

“Tim-”

“I found her,” he spit out. I froze, Tim closing his eyes. “It was about five years ago. It took a long time but I'd finally found her. She’d changed her name, changed her hair color. I set up a meet. She finally agreed after a few months. Turns out, she didn’t leave Brock because he was abusive. She left because she didn’t want me. She didn’t want to be a mother. The real kicker? Now she’s married and has two kids in their thirties she fucking adores. Even showed me pictures of her newborn grandkid.”

“Tim,” I said quietly, his head shaking. 

“My father hated me for making her leave. Only I got the shit. Only I got to know the evil side of him. He blamed me, a fucking toddler. Brock did not murder my mother.”

“Does Y/N know?” He shook his head.

“I never told her. I was ashamed what I found out,” he said, wiping his face with the back of his hand. “I could have accepted it if my mother didn’t want kids but no, she just didn’t want me. How the hell was I supposed to tell Y/N even my own mother couldn’t love me?”

I slapped my phone in his hand, Tim staring at me.

“First off, you’re an idiot. A massive, monumental idiot. I used to be an idiot too so we’re gonna work on that someday but right now you need to call Y/N and tell her all that because my gut says Brock still knows something Teddy doesn’t want us to know.”

Tim tapped on the phone, wiping his face off steadying himself. He typed in her number, his finger over the green button but paused. “Beau.”

I frowned, a pit forming in my gut. “You called me by my name, that’s not a good sign.” Tim stood up, yanking my arm. “What?”

“The blood they took from Y/N when she came in earlier tonight. Where is it kept?”

“Uh, the lab here probably. They wanted to do research-” He started to run back towards the hospital, pulling me with him. “Barclay, what do you need with her blood?”

“I’m thirteen years older than Y/N.”

“Congratufuckinglations. What does that have to do with anything?” I asked. Tim rolled his eyes, dragging me along.

“When I was twelve, my father dated a married woman. He did that a lot growing up but he dated this one particular woman while her husband was away at work conferences. Brock said he knew the man from when they worked together and that he’d kill us both if he ever found out so I better keep my mouth shut. Said he was a son of a bitch.”

“What-”

“Her husband was a damn Marshal, Beau. In Boston.” 

“Oh god,” I breathed out. “You think you and Y/N could be…actual…”

“We need to test that blood now because if I’m right…and Teddy is not her biological father and he found out-”

“No better way for the omega hating son of a bitch to punish his cheating wife than by killing Y/N.” We ran into the building, Tim on my tail as I jogged past the front desk, back towards Dr. Olson’s office.

“Is something wrong?” asked a nurse that’d been in with Tim earlier tonight. 

“Doc Olson. Now,” we both said. She rushed off the opposite direction, pulling him out of a patient room. He gave Tim a once over, his lips pursed. 

“Everything alright, Mr. Barclay?” he asked, Tim holding up a hand.

“We need you to do a blood test against me and Y/N to see if we’re related.” He seemed like he was going to make a comment but shook his head.

“I’ve seen enough shit tonight than to know better than to ask. I’m assuming you need the results as soon as possible?” We both nodded. “Stacy, take a blood sample from Mr. Barclay and get it down to the lab. Move the test to the front of the line. I want these gentlemen to have their results asap.”

“Thanks doc,” I said, Stacy leading Tim into a nearby empty room. 

“Honestly sheriff, the sooner I get y’all out of my hospital the better if you get my drift.” 

“Trust me, I’d love to get the hell out of here too.” I watched through the window as Tim had his arm tied off. I shot off a text to Y/N, getting a call back immediately. I closed my eyes, forcing a smile on my face. “Good morning, dear-”

“Put him on the phone, Arlen,” she said sharply. I quickly entered the room, handing it to Tim as Stacy stuck a bandage on his arm and carried away a few vials of blood. 

“Y/N would like to say good morning.” He glared, taking the phone, hitting it on speaker.

“Hi-”

“Timothy Andrew Barclay, why the hell didn’t you tell me about your mother! Why the fuck would you hide that from me!” 

“Are you mad about the whole us possibly being related thing too?” he asked quietly. Y/N breathed heavily, a tiny growl heard at the end. “Listen, I’m sorry for lying. I’m sorry for making you waste a trip out to Seattle. I’m sorry for attacking you earlier. I’m just…fucking sorry.”

“Are you okay?” she asked after a beat. I expected him to roll his eyes and shrug, tell her he was fine. He sat still though, fiddling with the bandage on his arm.

“I’m sorry if we are related you got stuck with me.” She sighed, Tim’s body tense. “Y/N-”

“Listen to me you gigantic moron. God, I want to strangle you right now.” Tim looked at me, my hands going up that I wasn’t getting involved. "I do not give a shit what some test says if we’re related or not. It changes nothing about you and me. You are always going to be my fucking neanderthal moronic idiot brother…and I need to know that you are okay cause last time I saw you you weren’t so talk to me.” I smiled, Tim’s gaze lowering to the ground. I kicked his foot, Tim sighing.

“I feel pretty shitty about nearly tearing your jugular out earlier and that people want you dead but besides that I’m peachy. I could go for a breakfast sandwich while we’re at it.”

“Can you do me a favor?” she asked, Tim straightening up. “Can you call up guinness world records and let them know of this momentous day where I did not have to drag an answer out of you for once in your damn life?”

He smiled shyly, chuckling to himself. “Always got to be a brat.”

“Naturally. Beau are you still there?” I hummed. “Now if we assume Brock is my father and that’s why Teddy wants me dead, what’s our next move? Should Lucy and I question him about my mom? We have to wait until the place opens in another hour.”

“We could talk to Y/N’s mother first, then see…” I trailed off, Tim shaking his head. “No go on talking to Y/N’s mom?”

“My dad said he put her into wit sec. She talked to us the day before we left Boston and said she was settling in,” said Y/N.

“And you two didn’t find that suspicious that she went in and you two didn’t?” I asked. 

“Of course we did but Y/N’s mom has a few medical conditions. She can’t be on the road and move fast like we could. It was still risky but safer than being with us when she wouldn’t have access to doctors or medicine,” said Tim. 

“Is your mother omega?” I asked. Tim frowned, Y/N pausing.

“Alpha…” Y/N responded. “Why?”

Tim cocked his head, rising to his feet as I held up my hands. “Barlen, she went into wit sec. She said so herself.”

“Do you know that for sure?” I asked. Tim muttered under his breath. “Y/N. You and Lucy question Brock about his affair back in the day. Try to sus out if it was your mom he had it with and any shit he might have on Teddy. Timothy and I need to see where the hell your mom is.”

“What about Hunter and his goons running around?” asked Tim. An idea popped into my head, Tim eyeing me wearily. “Oh god. I’m not going to like this am I.”

“What are you guys talking about?” asked Y/N. I swiped the phone, turning it off speaker. 

“Be safe, honey. Give us a call when you’re done with Brock.” We hung up, Tim following me towards the elevators, crossing his arms as we waited for it to arrive. 

“You want me to pretend to still be Primal in the hopes Hunter picks me up again. Don’t you.”

“Not just a pretty face, aren’t ya, Barclay?” I teased. “Did you know this hospital is hooked up with the university?” I asked, slipping in through the doors, Tim groaning when I hit the button to go down to the basement.

“Why do I feel like we’re going to the morgue,” he moaned. I grinned, Tim giving me his best bitch face. “We’re getting a dead body and pretending it’s Y/N, aren’t we.”

“Nope.” We exited into a quiet hallway, Tim leading the way down a long corridor. “I meant to ask, how’d you get Y/N out of here earlier tonight? With that whole morgue trick?”

“Came in a side entrance. Went to the basement. Stole scrubs from the laundry room. Found her in the ER. Tossed a sheet over her. People don’t tend to want to look at dead bodies unless it’s your annoyingly thorough officers.” 

“How opposed are you to body bags?” Tim stopped walking, making a face akin to a child eating asparagus for the first time. I only grinned and patted his cheek. “You’re too easy to fuck with, Barclay.”

“What the hell does she see in you,” he mumbled, following me down to hang out just outside the morgue where a doctor was inside with a body. “Why are we here?”

“Because you were in the morgue earlier tonight.”

“Yeah and?” Beau smirked.

“So where the hell was the coroner during that time?” Tim’s gaze flittered over to the glass, watching the coroner work on a body. “One of the men we identified as helping Hunter was Maxwell Bittel. Our very own previously missing hospital coroner over there.”

Tim grabbed my arm, dragging me around a corner, eyes wide. “I can’t go in undercover cold! I need comms, gps, a team-”

“There’s an air tag in the insole of the boots you’re wearing. I was smarter this time, I promise. There’s a brand new burner phone in the inner zip pocket of your jacket. And as far as my entire department knows, you are still Primal. The only people that know you aren’t are me, Y/N and Officer Wilde.”

“Who the hell is Officer Wilde?” I rolled my eyes.

“She moved here after the fact and Y/N knows her from college. It doesn’t matter.” 

“Couldn’t she be incredibly dangerous for Y/N then? What if Teddy recruited her?” 

“As far as we’re all aware, Teddy was a loving, if not somewhat absent father to Y/N right up until a few weeks before he told you two to skip town, right? Officer Wilde had absolutely zero contact with him or anyone from the Marshals during that time. Plus she’s omega and so far, he only goes after other Alphas to help him.”

“If she betrays Y/N-”

“You’ll kill me, I know-”

“It’ll break me if she dies and as your mate, it’ll probably break you too. We can’t let that happen, Arlen.” He zipped up his jacket, throwing up his hood. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

“I’m gonna need you to let me punch you in the face.”

__________

A/N: Read Part 6 coming soon!

[cordi-winchester]

Primal (Part 4)

Summary: The reader learns of Teddy's involvement with Hunter. Meanwhile, the team tries to understand why reader is a target and comes to an unfortunate conclusion about the true purpose of her and Tim's trip...

Primal Masterlist

Pairing: Alpha!Beau Arlen x Omega!reader

Word Count: 6,500ish

Warnings: language, angst, violence, drugging, serial killers, death, kidnapping, mention of human trafficking

A/N: *Evil laughter intensifies* Have fun with this one!...

Beau POV

“Barclay,” I said an hour later when he slipped out of the conference room at the station Y/N sat in with Jenny’s team. He bypassed me, picking up the coffee pot nearby and pouring some in a paper cup. “How’s she holding up?”

“You’re scent mated to her. You can smell her better than me. How you think she’s doing?” I sipped from my own cup, a heaviness in the air. Sharp. Bitter. Salty. 

Y/N might have looked stone faced sitting in that room but her heart was shattered, some piece of innocence stolen she’d never get back. 

“Don’t pity her.” I turned my head, Tim watching me closely. “If you’re going to be her mate someday, you better learn that girl is tougher than you or me or any cop in this place. She’ll survive this.”

“I don’t doubt it. Just unfortunate.” He hummed. “She didn’t seem to resist to the idea that Teddy’s involved somehow. Was her father ever…” Barclay, took his cup, shaking is head.

“No. I mean I didn’t live there but they seemed pretty normal. Her folks fought, had a couple of rough patches when she was a teenager. She was afraid they’d get divorced but they worked it out as far as I knew. Teddy worked a lot but he seemed like a stereotypical dad with her. He was always more involved than her mom. They weren’t bad people, they just prioritized their time together over time with her it seemed.”

I frowned, pouring my own cup of coffee. “Then why didn’t she even argue that you were wrong when you told her back at the house? Most people wouldn’t just accept that their parent is working with a serial killer or best case, using them as bait.” Tim shifted on his feet, drinking his black coffee. “Are you sure Teddy never hurt her?”

“I’m sure,” Tim said, leaning back against the nearby wall. “Teddy is very driven. He would get laser focused on a case. Definition of a workaholic. He always brought work home with him. He couldn’t let things go. That’s actually how I…” Tim trailed off. “Doesn’t matter. I should go back in with her.”

He didn’t move though, taking another small sip from his cup, avoiding eye contact. I breathed deeply, taking a step closer.

“Are you that angry that we scent marked? Because I don’t care if our bodies have picked each other already. I will not mate Y/N until we are in an established relationship and we’ve dated and know that it is what we both want. Believe me, I’m not going to just pounce on your sister. It ain’t my style. Even if we did mate someday, and I’m talking way, way down the road, I expect you be part of this pack. Understand me?”

“I don’t do packs.” I rolled my eyes, leaning in next to him.

“Yes, you do. Yours is just one other person right now. And she turns into Sarah Connor apparently at the drop of a hat which is kind of terrifying and amazing all at once.” His lip twitched up, his stance relaxing. “We both know she’ll get her way so just get on board with the pack shit, alright?”

“Whatever you say, Sheriff.”

I sighed, fighting the urge to rub my temples. “So you taught her all that? The shooting, breaking into a gun safe?”

“God no.” He smirked, shaking his head. “Teddy taught her guns and all that. If she was going to grow up in a house with them, she was going to learn to respect them. I think the man had her take every safety course there was and then she got her own license when she was eighteen. She mostly kept up with it because she’d tag along with me to the range every few weeks to blow off some steam.”

“And the safe?” He shrugged.

“She’s smart as fuck and her first instinct is not to panic but be logical. It’s just how she’s built. I guarantee she heard the gun fire, figured a guy like you had his own personal weapons and you’d keep them locked up but close by which meant a closet. Guessing the code probably took her a little bit longer but again, a guy like you, she assumed you picked something sentimental, something you wouldn’t forget when your adrenaline is spiking.”

“Emily’s birthday,” I mumbled, Tim humming.

“Like I said, she’s smart. I showed her a few basic moves growing up, pretty standard stuff. When we left Boston, we were stuck in motel rooms, foreclosed homes sometimes. I had to train her more. How to fight. How to defend herself. How to survive in the wilderness, in the city, a small town on her own if she had to. Go plans and scenarios. It was her own personal bootcamp.” Tim pouted, shoulders sagging. “We fought a lot the first few months. I can be…harsh when I’m teaching.”

“I’m sure she wanted her brother more than a teacher.” He nodded. “Come in my office for a minute.”

He followed me around the corner, mindful of when I shut the door behind us. He sighed. “You can save it, Barlen. I already apologized to her over that shit months ago.”

“That’s not why I asked you in here. We both know that while she’s a badass and intelligent, she’s not us. She doesn’t have the decades of training we do. For her, Teddy is just…her dad. But he was your boss. You saw a different side of him she never did. Barclay, I need to know this man like you do because right now, I don’t know if he’s obsessive over Hunter and was using you and Y/N to get to him somehow or if this man is working with him or what the hell is going on. I’m not about to accuse a decorated Marshal, a very high up Marshal, of something without knowing the facts.”

Tim sat down on my couch, both hands clasping his cup. I sat in one of the chairs across from my desk, spinning it around to face him.

“Am I suspect anymore?” Tim asked. 

I shook my head, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “There’s no way you committed those murders this past year. The timeline doesn’t match up and I’m fairly certain Y/N would have killed you herself if she found out it was you.”

“I would have let her too. I assume you somehow got ahold of my Marshal file when you were looking into me.” I hummed, Tim staring at his mug. “I did well in the army. I got my degree while I was there.”

“You joined straight out of highschool,” I said. He nodded, glancing up at me. “Strange for a kid that was at the top of his class. Why not go to college, at least get your degree and go in as an officer?”

He smirked, looking past me and to my bookshelf where a picture from last Christmas sat. 

“I got kicked out of the house on my 18th birthday, Barlen. Oh, I wanted to but I was never going to college, live in a dorm, go to parties, like my friends. I made it through my last month of school bouncing around a few friends houses and then I graduated, left that shithole town, and never looked back.” I stared at him, Tim’s face hardening. “This ain’t about me so don’t fucking ask.”

The phrase daddy issues popped to mind for the second time tonight. It wasn’t exactly a stretch that Barclay’s home life as a kid hadn’t been great.

“I said don’t ask,” Tim growled. I held up my hands, lowering them back down.

“I’m not. I’m just starting to get the idea of how you got involved with Y/N’s family since yours seems…,” I trailed off when he glared. “Just tell me how you got involved with Y/N, things you saw.”

Tim leaned back on the couch, running a hand through his hair. “I was twenty four and had just finished my training. I’d been a Marshal a few months, been at the Boston office about two months. I was new in town and…as you’ve deducted, don’t have any family,” he said quickly, staring at his coffee. “You know how it is as the new guy. You get the crap shifts. I was working the holidays and it was Christmas Eve when Teddy asked me to bring some files to his house so he could review them while has on vacation. So, I brought them over to this really nice house in a nice neighborhood, decorated like lights and all that stuff. The driveway was full of cars and I just wanted to get in and out since they were obviously hosting. And then this little runt of a child opened the front door.”

I smiled, picturing a much smaller Y/N giving Tim a once over. “Y/N answered the door.” He smirked, rubbing his jaw, his smile turning softer.

“She was in a little candy cane sweater and she looked flippin’ adorable. Until she saw the files in my hands. That little eleven year old with a pink ribbon at the end of her braid tore snatched the files out of my hand, told me to wait, stormed into another room and dragged her father back out. She tore him a new asshole for making me work on Christmas Eve, for lying about taking time off while she was on her school break. In all my genius, I tried to cover for him so I tell her it was okay because I had no one to spend Christmas with.”

“Let me guess. She didn’t take that well.”

“You think you saw something when she went all Rabmo earlier? No, no,” he chuckled. “That child yanked me into her house and informed me and her father I would be having Christmas with their family. Teddy looked like he wanted to argue with her but just gave up and walked away. The little shit then informed me I looked ‘too stuffy’ in my suit and proceeded to force me to wear the ugly sweater her father had refused to put on.”

“So she pretty much adopted you for the holidays and said tough shit, deal with it.” He took a small sip of coffee, offering a small shrug.

“I hated it with a burning passion. I wanted to leave so badly but I didn’t want to upset my new boss so I stayed. When I went to leave, Teddy told me I had to come back the next day or Y/N would disown him. So I did as told and came back on Christmas. I watched her open presents under the tree with her big extended family and then she pulls out this horribly wrapped thing and hands it to me. It was some awful bear thing she made in her home economics class. She wanted to make sure I had something to unwrap. I don’t think she knows it but she gave me my first ever Christmas present.” He slumped down on the couch more, staring at his lap. I waited a beat, Tim seemingly lost in a memory. 

Quickly he cleared his throat, adjusting himself straighter. “After that I just…her parents invited me to things and come over and Y/N was always all over me. Her mom thought she had a crush on me at first but it was never that. I don’t know why but she picked me. An asshole. The family was always kind but they weren’t like Y/N. She was the one that actually loved me.” He looked over at me, giving me a nod. “Eventually she became my best friend and it just felt like we were siblings.”

“I think she’s a pretty good judge of character.” He hummed. “You said her parents fought a lot? Over Y/N and you ever?” He shook his head.

“No. Honestly, if anything they were probably a little too trusting with me. Maybe they thought it was okay cause Teddy worked with me. After a while, maybe a few months, I started to be trusted with Y/N more. The kid would invite me to a soccer game or school play and I went. Always with the parents permission. But that started to change. Teddy was always busy with work and her mom got a great promotion at the hospital she worked at. Y/N was twelve by then and yeah, she could legally be home alone but she was also a twelve year old girl with no siblings and two parents that very often worked on the weekends and wanted to spend their evenings together. I was single and didn’t know a lot of people in Boston yet so my nights were pretty free. I became the defacto baby sitter.”

“It’s not hard to understand why you two are so close. Seems like you were there for her when they weren’t.” I looked through the office window to across the hall, Y/N talking to an officer in the conference room. Tim was right. She was hurting but there was an energized look about her, like she wanted to solve this mystery more than sit there and wallow.

“She started staying over my place when she was twelve and her parents would have date nights. It was all very normal. We got closer and would hang out. She started to get a bit sullen around thirteen though. She told me her parents were fighting a lot and that’s why they were trying dates, to rekindle something. They struggled a few years. They weren’t bad people but they had a teenage daughter that they let fend for herself. She came over my place one night when she was seventeen and asked if she could move in with me. She was sick of them fighting and was trying to get ready for college and I calmed her down, told her to go back unless there was a real problem. She made it another few months, graduated high school. About a week later she did moved out and in with me. Back in Boston we share a townhouse. We’ve been roommates ever since she was eighteen.”

I cocked my head, frowning. “Teddy hold any resentment towards you? Feel like you took Y/N or anything?” I asked, Tim already shaking his head.

“No. He was grateful for it honestly.” Tim sighed. “He knew he worked too much and wasn’t the easiest person to live with. He was never the father Y/N wanted him to be for me but I never saw him be anything but kind to her or myself.”

“Do you think he was enough of a workaholic to use his own daughter as bait for a serial killer?” Tim sat back against the couch, shrugging as he went. “Your lack of an outright denial doesn’t bode well.”

“Listen, I’ve seen him skirt the line before, especially with our female marshals and putting them in dangerous positions. But there was always backup.” 

“From everything you know about the man, would he put his daughter in danger to stop a larger threat like Hunter?” Tim threw back his coffee, crumpling the empty cup and tossing it into my trash can. “Barclay.”

“If you’d asked me a year ago, I’d have said no. I know bad fathers and Teddy never struck me as one.” I stared at him, Tim giving me a look to not press further. “All I do know is a few weeks before we left Boston, Teddy started acting…strange. It was the holidays. Lots of family parties. Teddy was distant with Y/N even though Christmas was the one time of the year they always made sure to spend time together. He wasn’t cruel or anything like that. He just brushed her off, said he was busy with work.”

“That doesn’t sound atypical of him though based on what you’ve told me.” Tim shrugged again, leaning forward.

“It wasn’t. He just…it was just a vibe I got. Teddy and Y/N’s mother seemed to barely be on speaking terms but were hiding it. I thought maybe they were going to get a divorce or something and Teddy was trying to keep it a secret until after the new years. That’s the only weird thing I ever felt from him.”

“Alright.” I stretched my arms overhead, a wave of exhaustion wafting over me despite the coffee. Tim rubbed his palm with his other hand, the gears turning in his head as well. “Best case scenario, Teddy crossed a line and used his daughter as bait. It doesn’t explain why he wouldn’t tell you-”

“Because I’d never agree to it.” I held up a hand.

“Okay. Besides that, it doesn’t make sense why he’d use his daughter and not a trained marshal. Second, last I knew, hunting serial killers is more the FBI’s thing. Everything you tell me says Teddy’s an okay dad with some work to do but he’s not a monster.”

“But what father sends their child after a serial killer?” said Tim. 

“They don’t Timothy,” I said, one very clear and present conclusion jumping to the forefront of my mind. God, how was I going to tell him, tell Y/N? “I’d rather be chopped up into tiny pieces and fed the pieced than let my daughter near anyone like Hunter. I know you’d do the same for Y/N which means there’s the other option.”

We both looked down to our laps, Tim grunting, my head snapping up. “Barlen, there’s no way that he…Teddy did not send Y/N after Hunter to be…”

“Tim,” I said quietly. He met my gaze, letting his fury and fear blend together. “You’re a smart man. Teddy didn’t send you two after Hunter as bait. Teddy wants Y/N dead for some reason and he’s using Hunter as a way to do it.”

“Why go through all this?” he whispered. “If he wants her dead, why not do it himself?”

“It’s obvious, Tim.” A figure stood in the doorway, Y/N’s scent full of rage. We both stilled, her head raised. “I didn’t catch all of it but I got enough. Beau’s already figured it out, Tim. Why would my dad send the two of us off alone with no contact but him chasing a serial killer? It was breadcrumbs. Evidence. It sells the story.”

“What story?” Tim demanded. Y/N stepped inside, taking a seat beside him before glancing at me with a nod.

“Tim, Teddy’s going to use you,” I said, his eyebrows shooting upright. I waited, the color draining from his face as it set in. “He’s going to paint a picture that either you abducted Y/N or fabricated a lie to cut her off from the world. That you kept bouncing around the country to hide her. That you have been obsessed with Y/N since she was a child and when she rejected you, you killed her, like all the other women in all those other cities. He’s going to have Y/N killed and then frame you so the world believes you’re Hunter. With Y/N dead and a pile of evidence which I’m sure includes some of your DNA at those crime scenes, doesn’t matter what you say. No one’s going to look too closely at the timeline or even believe your word alone. You’ll get death row. I wouldn’t be shocked if the plan would be to have you killed in prison long before a trial even happened. You’re both dead and Teddy and Hunter got away with it.”

Y/N took Tim’s hand in her own, Tim closing his eyes.

“That was his plan,” she said, nodding her head, breathing deeply. “But Hunter fucked up when I got away. Whoever Hunter is, they’re scrambling. That plan isn’t going to work anymore.”

“He’s already set the ground work in those other cities though,” groaned Tim. “I’m fucked the second someone runs my DNA and it pops in the system tied to those murders. After that, he’ll get to Y/N-”

“Hey,” I said, leaning forward, grabbing hold of his other hand. “I’m not going to let that happen and I’m not letting you get blamed for what Hunter or Teddy’s done. We’re gonna Sarah Connor this bitch, alright?”

“God, he’s as much of a loser as you are,” he said. I squeezed his hand, Tim nodding his head. “Forget about me for right now. We need to figure out why Teddy wants Y/N dead. Maybe we can figure out how he got into contact with Hunter that way.”

“You two work that. Brainstorm anything. We’ll give you access to the station resources. Let my team focus on finding Hunter here in Helena,” I said. Jenny knocked once on the door and entered, quickly closing it behind her. “What’d you-”

“Marshals just put out an arrest warrant for Barclay for the abduction of Y/N. We’re trying to figure out where it came from but there’s a Marshal at the front desk looking to take him in right now.” I stood up, Jenny yanking Tim to his feet. He went to pull away, her eyes narrowing as she slapped her truck keys in his hand. “Old white truck with the stripe. Parked on the side of the building. Go out the back, take a left, and make a run for it.”

She shoved a backpack at him, Tim looking back over his shoulder. Y/N pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight.

“Beau will keep me safe. Now get out of here.” He pecked a kiss on her temple before breaking off.

“I’ll call you when it’s safe.” Less than a second later, he was out my door, heading down the back hallway. 

“I’ll go hold off that Marshal as long as I can,” Jenny said, exiting and going for the front of the station.

My office was suddenly quiet, Y/N stepping in front of me, resting her head against my shoulder. “He’ll be okay. He’ll-”

I shoved her to the floor when I heard gun shots, laying my body over top of hers. Unfamiliar voices shouted outside my window facing the parking lot. “Runner!”

I popped my head up, watching Tim sprint past the dark window, two men in suits chasing after. “Y/N, stay here. Lock the door after me.”

I ran out of the room, instructing Jenny’s team to keep guard of Y/N. I darted through the back hallway, rushing out the backdoor and around the corner of the building.

“Get off, assholes!” I saw Tim was pinned on the sidewalk, hands in cuffs as two men in suits hoisted him to his feet. Another man, blonde, late thirties, walked towards us, his face in a pout.

“Sheriff Arlen. Marshal Douglas Evans,” he said, showing me a badge that I unfortunately knew was real. Crap. I couldn’t let them take Tim. “Good thing we showed up. Seems you let Barclay get the slip there.” I narrowed my eyes, walking over and grabbing Tim’s jacket collar.

“Thanks for the save, Marshal, but as you’ll understand, Barclay’s in my custody.” Marshal Blondie lifted his chin, one of his men grabbing Tim’s arm and pulling him back.

“I’m sure you’ll understand once you read the warrant, Barclay’s being taken into federal custody. You got a problem with it, take it up with my supervisor.” Tim kicked at one of the Marshals, getting free before plowing into me, both of us hitting the ground. Hard.

“Evans is a Marshal but those other two sure as shit aren’t which means they are absolutely not taking me into custody. I’m looking at a bullet in the back of the head,” he growled quietly.

“We’ll find you. Now sell this,” I mumbled, popping him in the stomach gently before I slipped an air tag under the band of his underwear. He drove his knee upwards, avoiding slamming into my gut but putting on a decent show.

“Do it fast or I’m dead,” he said back, headbutting me hard enough I knew I’d have a goose egg. He was lifted off me by two of the men, Tim struggling. Blondie smirked as he helped me to my feet.

“We’ll be in touch, Sheriff. But this is our case now. Don’t wait up for us,” he said, Tim looking over his shoulder once before being shoved in the back of a nearby black SUV. I rushed back inside, letting out a loud whistle.

“Listen up! We have a potential lead on Hunter. We have a tracking device on Tim Barclay. I want plain 2 sets of plain clothes officers tracking that location and on the road in two minutes. I want everyone and I mean everyone, dressed in full tactical gear ready to make a move on that location at my call. Now move.”

I went back to my office, Y/N hanging by the doorway, her eyes worried but curious all the same. 

“How’d you get a tracker on Tim? And what did you mean you have a lead on Hunter?” she asked. I smirked, reaching into my pocket, pulling out another airtag. 

“They were in your go bag. I could tell just looking at those guys something was wrong. Tim thinks only one was a real Marshal. I got one in your brothers undies when Tim made a show of trying to get away. The second they stop, we’ll grab them and hopefully get some evidence along the way. But I need you to tell IT-”

“What the tag is. On it,” Y/N said, already following me as we went out to the main office. In a few seconds, the tag was on screen, driving down the main drag, speeding through lights and for the outskirts of the city. Y/N tore her gaze away from the computer, standing straight up. “Beau?”

“We’ll get him back.” She shook her head.

“It’s not that. I…” she sniffed her nose, following it out towards the front of the office, Jenny’s team and myself on her tail. She inhaled sharply, nodding vigorously. “Hunter. He was here. I remember that smell from the park.”

“Marshal Evans. That’s his damn scent. He’s Hunter,” said Jenny. I clenched my jaw, taking Y/N’s hand and leading her back behind the safety of the front desk and into my office. Y/N crossed her arms, pacing around the room.

“We should have grabbed him,” she muttered, kicking my trash can. “Hunter was right there and now he’s got Tim? He’s not arresting him. He’s taking him out of town to kill him. Beau-”

“We know where he’s going. We will get him. I swear. He’s not going to kill Tim. Teddy and Hunter need him alive to blame it all on him, remember? We will get Tim back.”

“But what if they just want to kill him at this point?” she said, stopping only when I caught her by the arms. 

“Listen to me. I will not let Tim die. I swear.” Y/N stared up at me with big eyes, taking a shaky breath, nodding to herself. I pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight. “Good girl. I still need your help to figure out a motive for Teddy, more now than ever.”

She tilted her head at me, offering a small smile. “This is awful timing but you smell really good right now.”

I returned it, Y/N placing a hand on my chest. She fisted my jacket, a heavy sigh slipping past her lips. “Hey. This time tomorrow, Hunter will be in custody. So will those other two guys and Teddy too. Tim will be back and we can make fun of the glare he gives me when I take you out for a proper meal.” 

“Okay,” she sighed, fluttering her eyes shut when I stroked her cheek. “You go work and I’ll try to figure out what I did to piss off my dad so much.”

“Make sure you don’t go with anyone except the team.” She hummed, her shoulders relaxing as I leaned in closer. “You smell pretty too, sweetie.”

“You still have time to change your mind you know. Scent marking isn’t permanent,” she mumbled, flicking her gaze to meet mine. I cocked my head, running my thumb over her chin. 

“But where am I going to find another Sarah Connor?” I teased. She rolled her eyes, smirking shyly. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you’re not the hot mess in this relationship.”

“Oh, so we’re in relationship now? Didn’t even buy me dinner first,” she shot back, her scent lighter for a brief moment. 

“I gave you a gun and crappy coffee, to be fair. You telling me I need to do more than that?” Y/N giggled quietly, pressing her hands against my chest. I sighed. Flirting aside, she needed to know the truth about me. “My marriage failed because I wouldn’t get the help I needed. I’m not joking when I said I’m the hot mess.”

“Beau,” she said, grasping my jacket in both hands. Her eyes darkened, scent turning musky. “I don’t know your favorite color or movie or dessert. But I’ll learn them. Your character, I think that’s most important and I really that on you.” I looked away, Y/N turning my face back, gentle eyes greeting mine. “And your marriage didn’t fail. It ended was all. Your ex-wife just didn’t know how to get you the help you needed and that’s not your fault because she gave up on you.”

“How do you know she did that?” I whispered, touching my forehead to her warm one. “I didn’t tell you that.”

“Because you’ve proven you can be stubborn and stubborn men that hide their feelings has been my wheelhouse since I was a kid. People give up on you guys too fast.”

I shook my head. “I checked out of my relationship, Y/N. Of being a dad. All because my partner died and I blamed myself. That’s not the kind of guy you want.”

“My dad wants me dead and is involved with a serial killer who happens to be holding my brother against his will. I think I win in the shitty life department, Arlen.” She tilted her head up, brushing her lips over mine, breath hot, needy. “Whatever was hurt inside you, you healed it on your own when you shouldn’t have had to. I wouldn’t have let you go.”

“You weren’t there,” I mumbled, the tip of her tongue so close I had to fight the urge to shove my own straight in her mouth and claim it at my own. “You don’t know how awful I was.”

“I would have dragged your ass kicking and screaming down to a therapists office and I wouldn’t have given a shit how much we fought over it. Your mates job is to have your back, even when you don’t have your own. If you have a problem with that line of thinking, you ought to tell me right now so I can tell you how wrong you are.”

“I went to a dark place Y/N,” I whispered. “You would have given up on me just like she did.”

“You think I’m scared of the dark, Arlen? I ought to introduce you to this guy, Timothy Barclay. You don’t want to know the number of times he told me off, to get lost, to leave him alone. He told me when I was thirteen he was a dark fucked up dude and a sweet nice girl like me shouldn’t want him in her life.”

“What’d you do?” I breathed out. 

“I told him I don’t know how to pull someone out of the darkness but I’ll sure as hell sit with you in it so you’re not alone.” She shifted closer, her face oh so close. “My life is kind of falling apart, Beau. I know you have my back. Let me have yours. I’m not afraid of your scars.”

I pressed my lips to hers, a spring like flowery aroma floating all around us. God, she was so damn warm. Y/N pulled on my jacket, keeping me close, parting her lips. She smiled, a teasing little thing, my own lips curling to match it. Shit, how many years had it been since I’d smiled during a damn kiss? Too fucking many to count.

A throat cleared, Y/N ducking her head away, Jenny appearing in the doorway in her bulletproof vest. “Sir, plain clothes are in pursuit. Looks like they’re heading out towards farmland.”

“I’ll be right there.” I thumbed over Y/N’s slightly swollen bottom lip, her eyes losing a bit of haziness, worry returning to them. “I got to go save your brother.”

“Think that’s going to make him like you?” she teased, a nervous edge to it.

“Oh, he’ll fall in love with me soon enough,” I said, winking at her. She nodded, her eyes closing when I kissed her forehead. “I got your back too and that means having his. I’ll be back soon.”

“Beau,” she said as I went for the door, her eyes growing more anxious. “Be careful.”

“This’ll be over soon. I promise.”

Tim POV

“It’s almost no fun with how easy it is to trick the locals,” said Hunter, aka, Blondie douchebag, aka Douglas Evans. I knew I recognized the bastard from somewhere. I met him at a work conference a few years back. He spun around in his chair, happily holding out his phone to me where I saw the airtag Beau had slipped on me, the airtag Hunter’s buffoons had found on me immediately in the car, was heading in what I could only assume was the complete opposite direction of this dirty ass warehouse.

“To be fair to the locals, I’m pretty sure Arlen’s got you pegged as Hunter. I’d think about skipping town if I were you,” I said. Hunter smiled, looking me up and down. “Look at me like that again perv and I’ll rip your dick off.”

“You’re handsome,” he said darkly, my eyes following as he stood. I was well aware of the fact I was tied to a chair in nothing more than my boxer briefs, Hunter chuckling to himself. “Oh, Timmy. You’re not my type. But you’re a lot of women’s type. Lots of omegas love big, strong guys like us.”

“Congratulations on understanding basic human attraction, psycho.” A fist flew out, popping me in the cheek, making my head spin. “You hit like a bitch. No wonder my sister kicked your ass even drugged up.”

Hunter pushed up his sleeves, revealing deep scratch marks littered his forearms and a chunk of skin was missing from his right arm. I smirked, a swell of pride filling me at how Y/N had fought back before he was cocking his head. 

“It’s cute how close you two are,” said Hunter, smirking. “You ever have the hots for her cause man, I’ve met a lot of omegas but she’s something else.” 

“I’d rather cut off my own balls.” He shrugged, crossing his arms with too gleeful of a smile. 

“I used to be just like you. Good guy. You remember from that conference, right? Got to protect those innocent lives and all that. Then I met Teddy and all that changed.” I rolled my eyes, Hunter stepping closer, staring down at me. “I bet you think he brainwashed me. Or that I went nuts.”

“I think all of the above. Why don’t you…” I trailed off as he pulled out a long, sleek black leather pouch from his back pocket. He flipped open the top, revealing a large syringe filled with a milky liquid. “Last I checked, I ain’t omega.”

“Like I said, I used to be just like you.” He narrowed his eyes, breathing deeply. “I was in the same situation. You have no idea how hard I fought to get out of that chair back in the day. Of course I knew what would happen to me. It’s overwhelming at first. Normally I’d leave you tied down through the process like I’ve done with the other boys. Let you sit with it, come out the other side with a clearer mind. Alas, we’re on a time crunch so double dose it is for you.” He twiddled the syringe in his fingers, plucking a cap off. I swallowed when his eyes darkened, zoning in on my neck.

“Stab that thing in me and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” 

“I said the exact same thing to Teddy three years ago. Funny how life turns out.” He brought it closer, stopping just short of shoving it in my gland. “Tim.”

He yanked my head back, exposing my neck further, forcing me to look up at the ceiling. He hovered over top, looking almost disappointed.

“When you give an omega heat inducer mixed with an Alpha’s saliva from a primal state, it triggers an intense heat in the omega. I’m sure you figured that out already.”

“Aren’t you supposed to tell me why you’re doing this shit?” I growled, feeling the prick of the needle against my skin.

“You’ll learn the truth soon when you can be trusted,” he said, pushing down on the plunger. I winced, a strange heat not dissimilar to a rut growing in my veins. “For now, sit back and try to relax. Oh and I really do hope you spend this time reflecting on all those warm fuzzy memories with Y/N because in about thirty minutes…well, we’ll keep that one a surprise for now.”

“Psycho motherfu-” My lungs burned, not enough air getting in. Meanwhile Hunter released my head, smiling as he walked around me, heading for the door.

“See ya when you’re primal, Timmy boy. And since you’ve spoken so highly of Sheriff Arlen, we’ll make sure to recruit him before leaving town.”

“Primal?” I breathed out when a heavy door closed behind him, my skin itchy, muscles tensing. No. No. That wasn’t possible. You couldn’t force…

But Douglas Evans back at that work conference was nothing like the man I’d just met. He’d just lost it, right? Teddy got his hooks in him somehow was all. That was it. He didn’t make Douglas that way. He didn’t turn him into Hunter. It wasn’t possible to make another Alpha Primal…was it?

“Fucking goddamnit!” I cursed, a weird dark pain rippling up from my core. I shook my head as a strong sense to mate washed over me. “This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.”

I clenched my fists, bracing myself for the next wave of pain as more strange thoughts circled through my head.

Except the next wave was too much and when it hit, everything went lights out.

_______________

A/N: Read Part 5 coming 6/8!

[cordi-winchester]

Primal (Part 4)

Summary: The reader learns of Teddy's involvement with Hunter. Meanwhile, the team tries to understand why reader is a target and comes to an unfortunate conclusion about the true purpose of her and Tim's trip...

Primal Masterlist

Pairing: Alpha!Beau Arlen x Omega!reader

Word Count: 6,500ish

Warnings: language, angst, violence, drugging, serial killers, death, kidnapping, mention of human trafficking

A/N: *Evil laughter intensifies* Have fun with this one!...

Beau POV

“Barclay,” I said an hour later when he slipped out of the conference room at the station Y/N sat in with Jenny’s team. He bypassed me, picking up the coffee pot nearby and pouring some in a paper cup. “How’s she holding up?”

“You’re scent mated to her. You can smell her better than me. How you think she’s doing?” I sipped from my own cup, a heaviness in the air. Sharp. Bitter. Salty. 

Y/N might have looked stone faced sitting in that room but her heart was shattered, some piece of innocence stolen she’d never get back. 

“Don’t pity her.” I turned my head, Tim watching me closely. “If you’re going to be her mate someday, you better learn that girl is tougher than you or me or any cop in this place. She’ll survive this.”

“I don’t doubt it. Just unfortunate.” He hummed. “She didn’t seem to resist to the idea that Teddy’s involved somehow. Was her father ever…” Barclay, took his cup, shaking is head.

“No. I mean I didn’t live there but they seemed pretty normal. Her folks fought, had a couple of rough patches when she was a teenager. She was afraid they’d get divorced but they worked it out as far as I knew. Teddy worked a lot but he seemed like a stereotypical dad with her. He was always more involved than her mom. They weren’t bad people, they just prioritized their time together over time with her it seemed.”

I frowned, pouring my own cup of coffee. “Then why didn’t she even argue that you were wrong when you told her back at the house? Most people wouldn’t just accept that their parent is working with a serial killer or best case, using them as bait.” Tim shifted on his feet, drinking his black coffee. “Are you sure Teddy never hurt her?”

“I’m sure,” Tim said, leaning back against the nearby wall. “Teddy is very driven. He would get laser focused on a case. Definition of a workaholic. He always brought work home with him. He couldn’t let things go. That’s actually how I…” Tim trailed off. “Doesn’t matter. I should go back in with her.”

He didn’t move though, taking another small sip from his cup, avoiding eye contact. I breathed deeply, taking a step closer.

“Are you that angry that we scent marked? Because I don’t care if our bodies have picked each other already. I will not mate Y/N until we are in an established relationship and we’ve dated and know that it is what we both want. Believe me, I’m not going to just pounce on your sister. It ain’t my style. Even if we did mate someday, and I’m talking way, way down the road, I expect you be part of this pack. Understand me?”

“I don’t do packs.” I rolled my eyes, leaning in next to him.

“Yes, you do. Yours is just one other person right now. And she turns into Sarah Connor apparently at the drop of a hat which is kind of terrifying and amazing all at once.” His lip twitched up, his stance relaxing. “We both know she’ll get her way so just get on board with the pack shit, alright?”

“Whatever you say, Sheriff.”

I sighed, fighting the urge to rub my temples. “So you taught her all that? The shooting, breaking into a gun safe?”

“God no.” He smirked, shaking his head. “Teddy taught her guns and all that. If she was going to grow up in a house with them, she was going to learn to respect them. I think the man had her take every safety course there was and then she got her own license when she was eighteen. She mostly kept up with it because she’d tag along with me to the range every few weeks to blow off some steam.”

“And the safe?” He shrugged.

“She’s smart as fuck and her first instinct is not to panic but be logical. It’s just how she’s built. I guarantee she heard the gun fire, figured a guy like you had his own personal weapons and you’d keep them locked up but close by which meant a closet. Guessing the code probably took her a little bit longer but again, a guy like you, she assumed you picked something sentimental, something you wouldn’t forget when your adrenaline is spiking.”

“Emily’s birthday,” I mumbled, Tim humming.

“Like I said, she’s smart. I showed her a few basic moves growing up, pretty standard stuff. When we left Boston, we were stuck in motel rooms, foreclosed homes sometimes. I had to train her more. How to fight. How to defend herself. How to survive in the wilderness, in the city, a small town on her own if she had to. Go plans and scenarios. It was her own personal bootcamp.” Tim pouted, shoulders sagging. “We fought a lot the first few months. I can be…harsh when I’m teaching.”

“I’m sure she wanted her brother more than a teacher.” He nodded. “Come in my office for a minute.”

He followed me around the corner, mindful of when I shut the door behind us. He sighed. “You can save it, Barlen. I already apologized to her over that shit months ago.”

“That’s not why I asked you in here. We both know that while she’s a badass and intelligent, she’s not us. She doesn’t have the decades of training we do. For her, Teddy is just…her dad. But he was your boss. You saw a different side of him she never did. Barclay, I need to know this man like you do because right now, I don’t know if he’s obsessive over Hunter and was using you and Y/N to get to him somehow or if this man is working with him or what the hell is going on. I’m not about to accuse a decorated Marshal, a very high up Marshal, of something without knowing the facts.”

Tim sat down on my couch, both hands clasping his cup. I sat in one of the chairs across from my desk, spinning it around to face him.

“Am I suspect anymore?” Tim asked. 

I shook my head, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “There’s no way you committed those murders this past year. The timeline doesn’t match up and I’m fairly certain Y/N would have killed you herself if she found out it was you.”

“I would have let her too. I assume you somehow got ahold of my Marshal file when you were looking into me.” I hummed, Tim staring at his mug. “I did well in the army. I got my degree while I was there.”

“You joined straight out of highschool,” I said. He nodded, glancing up at me. “Strange for a kid that was at the top of his class. Why not go to college, at least get your degree and go in as an officer?”

He smirked, looking past me and to my bookshelf where a picture from last Christmas sat. 

“I got kicked out of the house on my 18th birthday, Barlen. Oh, I wanted to but I was never going to college, live in a dorm, go to parties, like my friends. I made it through my last month of school bouncing around a few friends houses and then I graduated, left that shithole town, and never looked back.” I stared at him, Tim’s face hardening. “This ain’t about me so don’t fucking ask.”

The phrase daddy issues popped to mind for the second time tonight. It wasn’t exactly a stretch that Barclay’s home life as a kid hadn’t been great.

“I said don’t ask,” Tim growled. I held up my hands, lowering them back down.

“I’m not. I’m just starting to get the idea of how you got involved with Y/N’s family since yours seems…,” I trailed off when he glared. “Just tell me how you got involved with Y/N, things you saw.”

Tim leaned back on the couch, running a hand through his hair. “I was twenty four and had just finished my training. I’d been a Marshal a few months, been at the Boston office about two months. I was new in town and…as you’ve deducted, don’t have any family,” he said quickly, staring at his coffee. “You know how it is as the new guy. You get the crap shifts. I was working the holidays and it was Christmas Eve when Teddy asked me to bring some files to his house so he could review them while has on vacation. So, I brought them over to this really nice house in a nice neighborhood, decorated like lights and all that stuff. The driveway was full of cars and I just wanted to get in and out since they were obviously hosting. And then this little runt of a child opened the front door.”

I smiled, picturing a much smaller Y/N giving Tim a once over. “Y/N answered the door.” He smirked, rubbing his jaw, his smile turning softer.

“She was in a little candy cane sweater and she looked flippin’ adorable. Until she saw the files in my hands. That little eleven year old with a pink ribbon at the end of her braid tore snatched the files out of my hand, told me to wait, stormed into another room and dragged her father back out. She tore him a new asshole for making me work on Christmas Eve, for lying about taking time off while she was on her school break. In all my genius, I tried to cover for him so I tell her it was okay because I had no one to spend Christmas with.”

“Let me guess. She didn’t take that well.”

“You think you saw something when she went all Rabmo earlier? No, no,” he chuckled. “That child yanked me into her house and informed me and her father I would be having Christmas with their family. Teddy looked like he wanted to argue with her but just gave up and walked away. The little shit then informed me I looked ‘too stuffy’ in my suit and proceeded to force me to wear the ugly sweater her father had refused to put on.”

“So she pretty much adopted you for the holidays and said tough shit, deal with it.” He took a small sip of coffee, offering a small shrug.

“I hated it with a burning passion. I wanted to leave so badly but I didn’t want to upset my new boss so I stayed. When I went to leave, Teddy told me I had to come back the next day or Y/N would disown him. So I did as told and came back on Christmas. I watched her open presents under the tree with her big extended family and then she pulls out this horribly wrapped thing and hands it to me. It was some awful bear thing she made in her home economics class. She wanted to make sure I had something to unwrap. I don’t think she knows it but she gave me my first ever Christmas present.” He slumped down on the couch more, staring at his lap. I waited a beat, Tim seemingly lost in a memory. 

Quickly he cleared his throat, adjusting himself straighter. “After that I just…her parents invited me to things and come over and Y/N was always all over me. Her mom thought she had a crush on me at first but it was never that. I don’t know why but she picked me. An asshole. The family was always kind but they weren’t like Y/N. She was the one that actually loved me.” He looked over at me, giving me a nod. “Eventually she became my best friend and it just felt like we were siblings.”

“I think she’s a pretty good judge of character.” He hummed. “You said her parents fought a lot? Over Y/N and you ever?” He shook his head.

“No. Honestly, if anything they were probably a little too trusting with me. Maybe they thought it was okay cause Teddy worked with me. After a while, maybe a few months, I started to be trusted with Y/N more. The kid would invite me to a soccer game or school play and I went. Always with the parents permission. But that started to change. Teddy was always busy with work and her mom got a great promotion at the hospital she worked at. Y/N was twelve by then and yeah, she could legally be home alone but she was also a twelve year old girl with no siblings and two parents that very often worked on the weekends and wanted to spend their evenings together. I was single and didn’t know a lot of people in Boston yet so my nights were pretty free. I became the defacto baby sitter.”

“It’s not hard to understand why you two are so close. Seems like you were there for her when they weren’t.” I looked through the office window to across the hall, Y/N talking to an officer in the conference room. Tim was right. She was hurting but there was an energized look about her, like she wanted to solve this mystery more than sit there and wallow.

“She started staying over my place when she was twelve and her parents would have date nights. It was all very normal. We got closer and would hang out. She started to get a bit sullen around thirteen though. She told me her parents were fighting a lot and that’s why they were trying dates, to rekindle something. They struggled a few years. They weren’t bad people but they had a teenage daughter that they let fend for herself. She came over my place one night when she was seventeen and asked if she could move in with me. She was sick of them fighting and was trying to get ready for college and I calmed her down, told her to go back unless there was a real problem. She made it another few months, graduated high school. About a week later she did moved out and in with me. Back in Boston we share a townhouse. We’ve been roommates ever since she was eighteen.”

I cocked my head, frowning. “Teddy hold any resentment towards you? Feel like you took Y/N or anything?” I asked, Tim already shaking his head.

“No. He was grateful for it honestly.” Tim sighed. “He knew he worked too much and wasn’t the easiest person to live with. He was never the father Y/N wanted him to be for me but I never saw him be anything but kind to her or myself.”

“Do you think he was enough of a workaholic to use his own daughter as bait for a serial killer?” Tim sat back against the couch, shrugging as he went. “Your lack of an outright denial doesn’t bode well.”

“Listen, I’ve seen him skirt the line before, especially with our female marshals and putting them in dangerous positions. But there was always backup.” 

“From everything you know about the man, would he put his daughter in danger to stop a larger threat like Hunter?” Tim threw back his coffee, crumpling the empty cup and tossing it into my trash can. “Barclay.”

“If you’d asked me a year ago, I’d have said no. I know bad fathers and Teddy never struck me as one.” I stared at him, Tim giving me a look to not press further. “All I do know is a few weeks before we left Boston, Teddy started acting…strange. It was the holidays. Lots of family parties. Teddy was distant with Y/N even though Christmas was the one time of the year they always made sure to spend time together. He wasn’t cruel or anything like that. He just brushed her off, said he was busy with work.”

“That doesn’t sound atypical of him though based on what you’ve told me.” Tim shrugged again, leaning forward.

“It wasn’t. He just…it was just a vibe I got. Teddy and Y/N’s mother seemed to barely be on speaking terms but were hiding it. I thought maybe they were going to get a divorce or something and Teddy was trying to keep it a secret until after the new years. That’s the only weird thing I ever felt from him.”

“Alright.” I stretched my arms overhead, a wave of exhaustion wafting over me despite the coffee. Tim rubbed his palm with his other hand, the gears turning in his head as well. “Best case scenario, Teddy crossed a line and used his daughter as bait. It doesn’t explain why he wouldn’t tell you-”

“Because I’d never agree to it.” I held up a hand.

“Okay. Besides that, it doesn’t make sense why he’d use his daughter and not a trained marshal. Second, last I knew, hunting serial killers is more the FBI’s thing. Everything you tell me says Teddy’s an okay dad with some work to do but he’s not a monster.”

“But what father sends their child after a serial killer?” said Tim. 

“They don’t Timothy,” I said, one very clear and present conclusion jumping to the forefront of my mind. God, how was I going to tell him, tell Y/N? “I’d rather be chopped up into tiny pieces and fed the pieced than let my daughter near anyone like Hunter. I know you’d do the same for Y/N which means there’s the other option.”

We both looked down to our laps, Tim grunting, my head snapping up. “Barlen, there’s no way that he…Teddy did not send Y/N after Hunter to be…”

“Tim,” I said quietly. He met my gaze, letting his fury and fear blend together. “You’re a smart man. Teddy didn’t send you two after Hunter as bait. Teddy wants Y/N dead for some reason and he’s using Hunter as a way to do it.”

“Why go through all this?” he whispered. “If he wants her dead, why not do it himself?”

“It’s obvious, Tim.” A figure stood in the doorway, Y/N’s scent full of rage. We both stilled, her head raised. “I didn’t catch all of it but I got enough. Beau’s already figured it out, Tim. Why would my dad send the two of us off alone with no contact but him chasing a serial killer? It was breadcrumbs. Evidence. It sells the story.”

“What story?” Tim demanded. Y/N stepped inside, taking a seat beside him before glancing at me with a nod.

“Tim, Teddy’s going to use you,” I said, his eyebrows shooting upright. I waited, the color draining from his face as it set in. “He’s going to paint a picture that either you abducted Y/N or fabricated a lie to cut her off from the world. That you kept bouncing around the country to hide her. That you have been obsessed with Y/N since she was a child and when she rejected you, you killed her, like all the other women in all those other cities. He’s going to have Y/N killed and then frame you so the world believes you’re Hunter. With Y/N dead and a pile of evidence which I’m sure includes some of your DNA at those crime scenes, doesn’t matter what you say. No one’s going to look too closely at the timeline or even believe your word alone. You’ll get death row. I wouldn’t be shocked if the plan would be to have you killed in prison long before a trial even happened. You’re both dead and Teddy and Hunter got away with it.”

Y/N took Tim’s hand in her own, Tim closing his eyes.

“That was his plan,” she said, nodding her head, breathing deeply. “But Hunter fucked up when I got away. Whoever Hunter is, they’re scrambling. That plan isn’t going to work anymore.”

“He’s already set the ground work in those other cities though,” groaned Tim. “I’m fucked the second someone runs my DNA and it pops in the system tied to those murders. After that, he’ll get to Y/N-”

“Hey,” I said, leaning forward, grabbing hold of his other hand. “I’m not going to let that happen and I’m not letting you get blamed for what Hunter or Teddy’s done. We’re gonna Sarah Connor this bitch, alright?”

“God, he’s as much of a loser as you are,” he said. I squeezed his hand, Tim nodding his head. “Forget about me for right now. We need to figure out why Teddy wants Y/N dead. Maybe we can figure out how he got into contact with Hunter that way.”

“You two work that. Brainstorm anything. We’ll give you access to the station resources. Let my team focus on finding Hunter here in Helena,” I said. Jenny knocked once on the door and entered, quickly closing it behind her. “What’d you-”

“Marshals just put out an arrest warrant for Barclay for the abduction of Y/N. We’re trying to figure out where it came from but there’s a Marshal at the front desk looking to take him in right now.” I stood up, Jenny yanking Tim to his feet. He went to pull away, her eyes narrowing as she slapped her truck keys in his hand. “Old white truck with the stripe. Parked on the side of the building. Go out the back, take a left, and make a run for it.”

She shoved a backpack at him, Tim looking back over his shoulder. Y/N pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight.

“Beau will keep me safe. Now get out of here.” He pecked a kiss on her temple before breaking off.

“I’ll call you when it’s safe.” Less than a second later, he was out my door, heading down the back hallway. 

“I’ll go hold off that Marshal as long as I can,” Jenny said, exiting and going for the front of the station.

My office was suddenly quiet, Y/N stepping in front of me, resting her head against my shoulder. “He’ll be okay. He’ll-”

I shoved her to the floor when I heard gun shots, laying my body over top of hers. Unfamiliar voices shouted outside my window facing the parking lot. “Runner!”

I popped my head up, watching Tim sprint past the dark window, two men in suits chasing after. “Y/N, stay here. Lock the door after me.”

I ran out of the room, instructing Jenny’s team to keep guard of Y/N. I darted through the back hallway, rushing out the backdoor and around the corner of the building.

“Get off, assholes!” I saw Tim was pinned on the sidewalk, hands in cuffs as two men in suits hoisted him to his feet. Another man, blonde, late thirties, walked towards us, his face in a pout.

“Sheriff Arlen. Marshal Douglas Evans,” he said, showing me a badge that I unfortunately knew was real. Crap. I couldn’t let them take Tim. “Good thing we showed up. Seems you let Barclay get the slip there.” I narrowed my eyes, walking over and grabbing Tim’s jacket collar.

“Thanks for the save, Marshal, but as you’ll understand, Barclay’s in my custody.” Marshal Blondie lifted his chin, one of his men grabbing Tim’s arm and pulling him back.

“I’m sure you’ll understand once you read the warrant, Barclay’s being taken into federal custody. You got a problem with it, take it up with my supervisor.” Tim kicked at one of the Marshals, getting free before plowing into me, both of us hitting the ground. Hard.

“Evans is a Marshal but those other two sure as shit aren’t which means they are absolutely not taking me into custody. I’m looking at a bullet in the back of the head,” he growled quietly.

“We’ll find you. Now sell this,” I mumbled, popping him in the stomach gently before I slipped an air tag under the band of his underwear. He drove his knee upwards, avoiding slamming into my gut but putting on a decent show.

“Do it fast or I’m dead,” he said back, headbutting me hard enough I knew I’d have a goose egg. He was lifted off me by two of the men, Tim struggling. Blondie smirked as he helped me to my feet.

“We’ll be in touch, Sheriff. But this is our case now. Don’t wait up for us,” he said, Tim looking over his shoulder once before being shoved in the back of a nearby black SUV. I rushed back inside, letting out a loud whistle.

“Listen up! We have a potential lead on Hunter. We have a tracking device on Tim Barclay. I want plain 2 sets of plain clothes officers tracking that location and on the road in two minutes. I want everyone and I mean everyone, dressed in full tactical gear ready to make a move on that location at my call. Now move.”

I went back to my office, Y/N hanging by the doorway, her eyes worried but curious all the same. 

“How’d you get a tracker on Tim? And what did you mean you have a lead on Hunter?” she asked. I smirked, reaching into my pocket, pulling out another airtag. 

“They were in your go bag. I could tell just looking at those guys something was wrong. Tim thinks only one was a real Marshal. I got one in your brothers undies when Tim made a show of trying to get away. The second they stop, we’ll grab them and hopefully get some evidence along the way. But I need you to tell IT-”

“What the tag is. On it,” Y/N said, already following me as we went out to the main office. In a few seconds, the tag was on screen, driving down the main drag, speeding through lights and for the outskirts of the city. Y/N tore her gaze away from the computer, standing straight up. “Beau?”

“We’ll get him back.” She shook her head.

“It’s not that. I…” she sniffed her nose, following it out towards the front of the office, Jenny’s team and myself on her tail. She inhaled sharply, nodding vigorously. “Hunter. He was here. I remember that smell from the park.”

“Marshal Evans. That’s his damn scent. He’s Hunter,” said Jenny. I clenched my jaw, taking Y/N’s hand and leading her back behind the safety of the front desk and into my office. Y/N crossed her arms, pacing around the room.

“We should have grabbed him,” she muttered, kicking my trash can. “Hunter was right there and now he’s got Tim? He’s not arresting him. He’s taking him out of town to kill him. Beau-”

“We know where he’s going. We will get him. I swear. He’s not going to kill Tim. Teddy and Hunter need him alive to blame it all on him, remember? We will get Tim back.”

“But what if they just want to kill him at this point?” she said, stopping only when I caught her by the arms. 

“Listen to me. I will not let Tim die. I swear.” Y/N stared up at me with big eyes, taking a shaky breath, nodding to herself. I pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight. “Good girl. I still need your help to figure out a motive for Teddy, more now than ever.”

She tilted her head at me, offering a small smile. “This is awful timing but you smell really good right now.”

I returned it, Y/N placing a hand on my chest. She fisted my jacket, a heavy sigh slipping past her lips. “Hey. This time tomorrow, Hunter will be in custody. So will those other two guys and Teddy too. Tim will be back and we can make fun of the glare he gives me when I take you out for a proper meal.” 

“Okay,” she sighed, fluttering her eyes shut when I stroked her cheek. “You go work and I’ll try to figure out what I did to piss off my dad so much.”

“Make sure you don’t go with anyone except the team.” She hummed, her shoulders relaxing as I leaned in closer. “You smell pretty too, sweetie.”

“You still have time to change your mind you know. Scent marking isn’t permanent,” she mumbled, flicking her gaze to meet mine. I cocked my head, running my thumb over her chin. 

“But where am I going to find another Sarah Connor?” I teased. She rolled her eyes, smirking shyly. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you’re not the hot mess in this relationship.”

“Oh, so we’re in relationship now? Didn’t even buy me dinner first,” she shot back, her scent lighter for a brief moment. 

“I gave you a gun and crappy coffee, to be fair. You telling me I need to do more than that?” Y/N giggled quietly, pressing her hands against my chest. I sighed. Flirting aside, she needed to know the truth about me. “My marriage failed because I wouldn’t get the help I needed. I’m not joking when I said I’m the hot mess.”

“Beau,” she said, grasping my jacket in both hands. Her eyes darkened, scent turning musky. “I don’t know your favorite color or movie or dessert. But I’ll learn them. Your character, I think that’s most important and I really that on you.” I looked away, Y/N turning my face back, gentle eyes greeting mine. “And your marriage didn’t fail. It ended was all. Your ex-wife just didn’t know how to get you the help you needed and that’s not your fault because she gave up on you.”

“How do you know she did that?” I whispered, touching my forehead to her warm one. “I didn’t tell you that.”

“Because you’ve proven you can be stubborn and stubborn men that hide their feelings has been my wheelhouse since I was a kid. People give up on you guys too fast.”

I shook my head. “I checked out of my relationship, Y/N. Of being a dad. All because my partner died and I blamed myself. That’s not the kind of guy you want.”

“My dad wants me dead and is involved with a serial killer who happens to be holding my brother against his will. I think I win in the shitty life department, Arlen.” She tilted her head up, brushing her lips over mine, breath hot, needy. “Whatever was hurt inside you, you healed it on your own when you shouldn’t have had to. I wouldn’t have let you go.”

“You weren’t there,” I mumbled, the tip of her tongue so close I had to fight the urge to shove my own straight in her mouth and claim it at my own. “You don’t know how awful I was.”

“I would have dragged your ass kicking and screaming down to a therapists office and I wouldn’t have given a shit how much we fought over it. Your mates job is to have your back, even when you don’t have your own. If you have a problem with that line of thinking, you ought to tell me right now so I can tell you how wrong you are.”

“I went to a dark place Y/N,” I whispered. “You would have given up on me just like she did.”

“You think I’m scared of the dark, Arlen? I ought to introduce you to this guy, Timothy Barclay. You don’t want to know the number of times he told me off, to get lost, to leave him alone. He told me when I was thirteen he was a dark fucked up dude and a sweet nice girl like me shouldn’t want him in her life.”

“What’d you do?” I breathed out. 

“I told him I don’t know how to pull someone out of the darkness but I’ll sure as hell sit with you in it so you’re not alone.” She shifted closer, her face oh so close. “My life is kind of falling apart, Beau. I know you have my back. Let me have yours. I’m not afraid of your scars.”

I pressed my lips to hers, a spring like flowery aroma floating all around us. God, she was so damn warm. Y/N pulled on my jacket, keeping me close, parting her lips. She smiled, a teasing little thing, my own lips curling to match it. Shit, how many years had it been since I’d smiled during a damn kiss? Too fucking many to count.

A throat cleared, Y/N ducking her head away, Jenny appearing in the doorway in her bulletproof vest. “Sir, plain clothes are in pursuit. Looks like they’re heading out towards farmland.”

“I’ll be right there.” I thumbed over Y/N’s slightly swollen bottom lip, her eyes losing a bit of haziness, worry returning to them. “I got to go save your brother.”

“Think that’s going to make him like you?” she teased, a nervous edge to it.

“Oh, he’ll fall in love with me soon enough,” I said, winking at her. She nodded, her eyes closing when I kissed her forehead. “I got your back too and that means having his. I’ll be back soon.”

“Beau,” she said as I went for the door, her eyes growing more anxious. “Be careful.”

“This’ll be over soon. I promise.”

Tim POV

“It’s almost no fun with how easy it is to trick the locals,” said Hunter, aka, Blondie douchebag, aka Douglas Evans. I knew I recognized the bastard from somewhere. I met him at a work conference a few years back. He spun around in his chair, happily holding out his phone to me where I saw the airtag Beau had slipped on me, the airtag Hunter’s buffoons had found on me immediately in the car, was heading in what I could only assume was the complete opposite direction of this dirty ass warehouse.

“To be fair to the locals, I’m pretty sure Arlen’s got you pegged as Hunter. I’d think about skipping town if I were you,” I said. Hunter smiled, looking me up and down. “Look at me like that again perv and I’ll rip your dick off.”

“You’re handsome,” he said darkly, my eyes following as he stood. I was well aware of the fact I was tied to a chair in nothing more than my boxer briefs, Hunter chuckling to himself. “Oh, Timmy. You’re not my type. But you’re a lot of women’s type. Lots of omegas love big, strong guys like us.”

“Congratulations on understanding basic human attraction, psycho.” A fist flew out, popping me in the cheek, making my head spin. “You hit like a bitch. No wonder my sister kicked your ass even drugged up.”

Hunter pushed up his sleeves, revealing deep scratch marks littered his forearms and a chunk of skin was missing from his right arm. I smirked, a swell of pride filling me at how Y/N had fought back before he was cocking his head. 

“It’s cute how close you two are,” said Hunter, smirking. “You ever have the hots for her cause man, I’ve met a lot of omegas but she’s something else.” 

“I’d rather cut off my own balls.” He shrugged, crossing his arms with too gleeful of a smile. 

“I used to be just like you. Good guy. You remember from that conference, right? Got to protect those innocent lives and all that. Then I met Teddy and all that changed.” I rolled my eyes, Hunter stepping closer, staring down at me. “I bet you think he brainwashed me. Or that I went nuts.”

“I think all of the above. Why don’t you…” I trailed off as he pulled out a long, sleek black leather pouch from his back pocket. He flipped open the top, revealing a large syringe filled with a milky liquid. “Last I checked, I ain’t omega.”

“Like I said, I used to be just like you.” He narrowed his eyes, breathing deeply. “I was in the same situation. You have no idea how hard I fought to get out of that chair back in the day. Of course I knew what would happen to me. It’s overwhelming at first. Normally I’d leave you tied down through the process like I’ve done with the other boys. Let you sit with it, come out the other side with a clearer mind. Alas, we’re on a time crunch so double dose it is for you.” He twiddled the syringe in his fingers, plucking a cap off. I swallowed when his eyes darkened, zoning in on my neck.

“Stab that thing in me and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” 

“I said the exact same thing to Teddy three years ago. Funny how life turns out.” He brought it closer, stopping just short of shoving it in my gland. “Tim.”

He yanked my head back, exposing my neck further, forcing me to look up at the ceiling. He hovered over top, looking almost disappointed.

“When you give an omega heat inducer mixed with an Alpha’s saliva from a primal state, it triggers an intense heat in the omega. I’m sure you figured that out already.”

“Aren’t you supposed to tell me why you’re doing this shit?” I growled, feeling the prick of the needle against my skin.

“You’ll learn the truth soon when you can be trusted,” he said, pushing down on the plunger. I winced, a strange heat not dissimilar to a rut growing in my veins. “For now, sit back and try to relax. Oh and I really do hope you spend this time reflecting on all those warm fuzzy memories with Y/N because in about thirty minutes…well, we’ll keep that one a surprise for now.”

“Psycho motherfu-�� My lungs burned, not enough air getting in. Meanwhile Hunter released my head, smiling as he walked around me, heading for the door.

“See ya when you’re primal, Timmy boy. And since you’ve spoken so highly of Sheriff Arlen, we’ll make sure to recruit him before leaving town.”

“Primal?” I breathed out when a heavy door closed behind him, my skin itchy, muscles tensing. No. No. That wasn’t possible. You couldn’t force…

But Douglas Evans back at that work conference was nothing like the man I’d just met. He’d just lost it, right? Teddy got his hooks in him somehow was all. That was it. He didn’t make Douglas that way. He didn’t turn him into Hunter. It wasn’t possible to make another Alpha Primal…was it?

“Fucking goddamnit!” I cursed, a weird dark pain rippling up from my core. I shook my head as a strong sense to mate washed over me. “This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.”

I clenched my fists, bracing myself for the next wave of pain as more strange thoughts circled through my head.

Except the next wave was too much and when it hit, everything went lights out.

_______________

A/N: Read Part 5 coming 6/8!

[cordi-winchester]

Primal (Part 3)

Summary: The Arlen residence is under attack but an unlikely hero emerges to save the day. When the dust settles, Beau and the reader need to have a serious discussion and acknowledge what's been hanging over their heads since they met...

Primal Masterlist

Pairing: Alpha!Beau Arlen x Omega!reader

Word Count: 5,300ish

Warnings: language, angst, violence, drugging, serial killers, death, kidnapping, mention of human trafficking

A/N: Picking up with the action in this one and it may have one of my best lines if I do say so myself...

Beau POV

“I’m okay!” she said. Tim looked over at me, giving me a small nod that he had her. Bile crept up my throat but I forced it back down with a deep breath. He would protect her and he’d probably do a better job of it than I ever could. 

“Barlen, I’m too exposed here,” called Tim, clenching his jaw when he stared over to where I poked my head around the island quickly. It was too far in the open to risk to get to the cover of the kitchen cabinets. Just Tim, sure, he could probably make that run but it was risky on his own. With Emily, he’d never make it. He could try to stay in place but we both knew they were exposed to the front of the house if someone made it through the front door. Based on the gunfire coming from that direction, it sounded like that was the goal.

“Cover us!” That was all the warning I got before Barclay was in a crouch, one arm around Emily and lifting her off the ground. He moved faster than I could with her like that, that was for damn sure, practically diving into the small cubby off to the left side of the room where a built in bookcase used to be. “She’s alright!”

“You got shot!” shouted Emily. Barclay winced barely as blood dripped down his right arm. 

“It’s fine. You don’t move unless I tell you, kiddo,” he said, keeping himself between her and the wall, one arm over her protectively. “Any chance you got another weapon on you, Barlen?”

“Just your gun in the backpack,” I called. Tim eyed where it was slung over the back of one of the kitchen chairs, muttering to himself. “No way either of us are making that run.”

“Your officers sound like they’re still firing,” he said, eyes following mine upwards as I saw movement at the top of the stairs. “What the…”

Good. Lord. 

Standing on the top step was the woman of every teenage fantasy I’d ever had. Y/N was all tousled hair, only in underwear and one of my navy t-shirts which when hell had she changed into that? I didn’t remember that on her before. She had a shotgun in her hands and a thigh holster with my own personal pistol on her bare skin.

Move over Ellen Ripley. Y/N Y/L/N was here to dethrone you with a double pump action shotgun in one hand and a 45 in the other. 

“Hope you don’t mind I broke into your gun safe,” she said with a wink. “Anyone comes through the back, I’m about to Sarah Connor this bitch.”

My heart rate skyrocketed, Y/N’s lips quivering ever so as our gazes locked onto one another. Her heat smelled like it’d passed but fuck, I wanted her even more now for some reason. 

Oh shit, Emily was right. There was something else more serious going on here and the middle of a firefight was not the place to dissect that.

“Y/N! Get your ass back in a room!” shouted Barclay.

“Don’t you worry about me,” she said, laying down on the second floor landing, aiming the shot gun at the shot out back patio door. “I got the back covered.”

“Everybody stay where the hell they are,” I said, catching movement out the front window. I turned my direction there, sirens and lights flashing outside, the gunfire quieting. “I think they found the-”

A loud shotgun blast sounded off making my heart jump, a red capsule flying past Y/N’s face and down the stairs. A deep voice shouted, followed by a high pitched whine.

“You shot off my finger!” someone shouted from the back door.

“You got nine more. Put down the gun or I shoot off your balls next.” Y/N bit her bottom lip as I stared at her in amazement. How the hell did she get a shot off like that? Unless her brother had shown her some moves? Tim was grumbling something to Emily, Y/N squeezing one eye shut from where I saw her in the shadows of the upstairs hall, finger on the trigger. “Three. Two-”

Heavy metal hit the hardwoods, Y/N tutting. “Alright, alright!”

“Good choice. Now how many are out there or do I have to shoot off more digits?” 

“Four you bitch,” he snapped. 

“All units, four confirmed assailants at the Arlen residence. One being held at gunpoint in the rear of the house,” I said into my radio.

“We got two in custody out front, boss,” came back through. After a few moments of back and forth, I had a dozen officers chasing through the woods after the last man and the one in the living room was being led out by a sergeant.

“Everyone okay?” asked Jenny as she walked inside the house. I nodded, watching Barclay help Emily to her feet. Y/N jogged downstairs, panic in her eyes when she saw Tim’s blood soaked arm.

“I’m fine,” he said, letting Emily slip past and into my arms. Tim ruffled Y/N’s hair, mumbling softly, showing her the injury. She relaxed slightly, lightly slapping his chest. Emily hugged me tightly, sucking in air when I returned it too harshly, tucking her in close. 

“I’m okay dad,” she said quietly, a thick swallow escaping me as I noticed the torn up fabric of the couch she’d been sat on, now shredded by bullets. Tim shared a quick look in my direction, giving a barely there nod when I mounted a silent thank you.

Jenny walked over to the back door, examining the damage. Tim peeled away from Y/N, touching a hand to her forehead, likely sensing her heat was gone as well. “Heard you wanted to kick me in the nuts, blondie.”

She scoffed, rejoining us in the kitchen, crossing her arms. “Well you got that baby graze on your arm there. I think that’s more than you can handle for one night.”

“Don’t go soft on me now, Hoyt,” he shot back, narrowing his eyes.

“I will cuff you,” she growled. Tim only smirked, Y/N shaking her head in the background.

“You into that kind of thing, Jenny?” he teased. 

“Get yourself looked at by a paramedic, jackass.” She grabbed his good arm, yanking him towards the front of the house. 

“I’m sorry for him,” said Y/N, setting the shotgun down on the kitchen table gently. “Tim deflects when he’s hurt or scared and that was a lot just now.”

“Sounded more like he was flirting,” I said, Emily turning out of my chest and humming her agreement. 

“Maybe but I know he’s pretty on edge.” I nodded, Y/N pushing her messy hair back, breathing deeply.

“That was something else,” I said, Y/N turning her face away. “No wonder you got away from Hunter. You’re tough as hell.”

“Sorry,” she said again, focusing on Emily, a sliver of wetness in her eyes. “I’m so sorry I brought this mess to your home and put you both in danger. I’ll find a way to pay for all the cleanup or whatever you need. I promise. I’ll make it right.”

“Barclay saved Emily’s life,” I said, running a hand over her head as she tucked herself under my arm, wrapping both arms around my waist tightly. “You, you saved all of ours by, ‘Sarah Connoring this bitch’ to use a phrase.”

Y/N smiled, looking down shyly.

“We owe you two, not the other way around.” I rubbed Emily’s back, kissing the top of her head. “We’ll be right back, Y/N. Em, let’s go get your bag and get you out of here.”

Reader POV

Your adrenaline was crashing, the sudden realization that you were in your underwear washing over you. Quickly you set Beau’s thigh holster on the table and grabbed Tim’s backpack from the back of a chair. After a short trip to the downstairs bathroom, you’d changed into your go-bag clothes. A pair of athletic black leggings with pockets, a clean sports bra, socks, undies, and a plain dark gray t-shirt. When you exited, the house was mostly quiet, a few officers standing around the back in the living room, taking pictures of the shattered glass and blood from the guy you’d shot.

You sighed as you took in the mess and made a mental note to stop at a bank sometime tomorrow to write him a check for the damages. By the front door you found your sneakers, slipping them on, pausing when a whiff of strong musk floated past. You stood, looking around for Beau, heart rate picking up. You swallowed and put a hand over your bonding gland, walking a few steps over to a coat rack on a wall. 

You thought those feelings for him would have passed when your heat did but it was still there, that desire deep rooted in your bones. Your cheeks flamed with heat when you recalled how he’d looked at you when you came out in his shirt and a shotgun. He probably hadn’t even noticed the way his jeans had tightened but you sure as hell had.

“Hey,” said Beau when you stepped outside on the front porch a moment later. The night air was much colder now, your hands shooting to your arms to rub the chill away. “You changed.”

“Sorry I took your shirt before. I was…” you trailed off. How exactly were you supposed to say you couldn’t help but steal his clothes full of delicious Alpha scent while you rode out a heat in his bed? 

Or how you’d stuffed that same shirt in your go-bag for reasons you didn’t want to acknowledge.

“S’all good. Wait here one sec.” He disappeared inside, your eyes tracking the numerous cop cars and ambulances lining Beau’s long driveway. Off to the left you spotted Tim sitting at the back of an open ambulance with his shirt off. Dr. Olson stitched up his arm, thankfully only grazing his bicep and not tearing right through. You gave him a small wave from the porch, Tim raising a finger that he was alright in response.

Jenny was close by him, hands on her hips as she spoke. Tim rolled his eyes at her, flipping her off, Jenny’s hands going ot her hips. A tiny giggle came from nearby, your head turning to catch Emily sitting in an adirondack chair further down the porch.

“Those two either hate each other or they flirt like a pair of morons,” she said. You smirked, taking a seat in the chair next to her, letting out a sigh as the cold wood touched your bare arms. 

“My brother doesn’t date Alphas and she strikes me as wanting something more than a hookup at this point in her life. So I guess hate it is,” you said, the wood creaking, eyes drifting upwards to find Beau standing there with a hooded black jacket and the thigh holster, a small pistol inside.

“Thank you,” you said, standing and putting the heavy jacket on, Emily giving her father a strange look.

“You could give her one of my coats you know…” Beau shrugged and I secretly was grateful to be wrapped up in his scent again. 

“It’s not going to fit perfect but it’s from around twenty years ago when I was smaller,” he said, ignoring Emily. It smelled like him, Beau’s fingers on the zipper, tugging it up. You flickered your eyes up to his, a rush through your veins he no doubt felt as well. “It uh, it’s durable and will keep you warm. If you get into trouble, you’ll be cold but won’t freeze to death in the mountains unlike a certain someone’s apparel over there.”

“Know it all,” she grumbled, an officer stepping up on the porch, giving Beau a nod.

“Emily,” said Beau, letting his hand linger on your sleeve for a moment longer than necessary before going to her. He knelt down in front of her, a heavy sigh leaving her. “It’s time to go, baby. You got a flight leaving in about 90 minutes. Pop’s going to take you to the airport and stick with you in Seattle.”

“I want to stay here with you.” You started to back away to give them their privacy but Beau caught the fabric of your sleeve. 

“I know you do and believe me, I want you where I can see you too.” He sighed, rubbing her hand. “But take it from Y/N, it’s no fun to be looking over your shoulder all the time. The men that came here tonight were not that Hunter man I told you about. They were from Stormy’s.”

“The biker gang?” she asked. Beau hummed as I frowned. Shit. So this had nothing to do with being attacked earlier in the night? 

“You know what they do to young omega girls?” She nodded, looking down. “I need you out of town until I know you’ll be safe here. I can’t…protect you on my own.”

He lowered his head, breathing deeply. Something about it made your heart lurch, your hand reaching for his shoulder. He leaned into the touch, Emily catching the subtle movement.

“What’s your phone number?” you asked her, both of them looking up at you. You dug out a burner phone from the backpack, handing it to her. “I can text you wherever you go, let you know how things are going and that your dad’s okay. I mean, between me and Tim watching his back, he’s going to be just fine. We’ll have all this mess wrapped up soon I’m sure.”

She took the phone, tapping away as Beau gave you a brief smile. You backed away a few steps when she handed it back, letting them have some space. Beau mumbled something to her before embracing her in a hug. 

“I’ll call you in a few hours after you land,” he said, Emily reluctantly grabbing her bag. She went over to an officer, Beau stopping by your side as she climbed inside a black and white. “You think I’d be able to convince Tim to go be her bodyguard until this is over?”

“He’d do it in a heartbeat if you asked.” He raised his eyebrows. “You’re meeting him on a bad night. He’s normally not so much of an asshole. Do you want me to go ask him to go with Emily?”

“No,” he said quietly. “Those boys from Sharkey’s weren’t after Em. They wanted me. We’ve been having problems with them the past six months. This was just…bad timing.”

“Tim knows protective custody inside and out. He started out working wit sec in the Marshals.” 

“I read his file,” said Beau, crossing his arms. He gave a small wave as Emily held up a hand from the passenger seat of a cruiser. “That’s my buddy, Pop with her. I just need her out of here.”

“So now what do we do?” He ran a hand through his hair, leaning back against the wooden post of the porch. You swallowed thickly, Beau not realizing how darn right sexy he looked. “It can’t just be bad timing that these Sharkey guys came shooting up your house tonight of all nights.”

He blinked, tilting his head. “You said you went past Sharkey’s when you were escaping Hunter, ran into a few guys outside, right?” 

“Yeah. Why?” Beau bit the inside of his cheek, gaze locked onto the bruised side of your neck. You placed a hand over it, Beau finally finding your face.

“Your forced heat…Doc Olson tell you what we figured out?” You nodded. “You could smell your heat for blocks. It was…alluring. You sent a few Alpha’s at nearby businesses into their first ruts actually.”

You felt heat in your cheeks, remembering how pleasant he smelled as you laid on that sidewalk in pain. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he quipped. You rubbed your arm, trying to understand his point. 

“So I smelled good? And you think that’s why those Sharkey’s guys came here? For me?”

“I think those guys have questionable moral compasses but even they aren’t stupid enough to attack a cops home. Unless they couldn’t help it. You notice how that one that got in the house didn’t stop shooting until you came downstairs? Your scent had calmed down since your heat had passed.”

“I don’t follow.” 

“I think I do,” said Jenny, Tim following along right after her. She gave him a dirty look, Tim shooting it right back. “There was a brawl at Sharkey’s tonight. A big one. Those guys are dicks but they don’t fight with each other.”

“Someone drugged them with rut enhancer,” said Tim, his arms covered in goosebumps. You started to shrug out of your jacket, Tim quickly shaking his head at you.

“Most likely. Which means Hunter somehow drugged the whole bar so they’d come after Y/N. Question is why go through all that trouble?” asked Jenny. “Hunter would want to watch Y/N die, not get claimed. No offense.”

“Because they would come after me,” you said, looking around them all at the cops all milling about the yard, walking around, talking on radios. “Hunter knew I was here, at a cops house. He knew Sharkey’s guys would come looking for me all drugged up and that we’d hold them off until backup came.”

“To Jenny’’s point, why?” asked Beau. Tim’s breath hitched, your head nodding. “What? What do you two know?”

“Hunter likes to watch his victims suffer you said,” said Tim. Beau and Jenny shared a look but nodded. “Barlen, Hunter is one of those people out there. A cop, EMT, firefighter, sheriff, highway patrol. They set this whole thing up. Hunter saw the Sharkey’s boys confront Y/N on the street. He knew he could use them to get close to her again.”

“That is insane. I know these men and women,” said Beau. Tim got in his face, his jaw clenched. 

“And we both know who else has to be involved. Unless you were lying to fuck with me before.” The two men stiffened, the threat of a fight in the air. Jenny pushed Beau back the same time you forced Tim backwards.

“What the hell are you talking about?” you asked. Tim ignored you, Beau breathing hard.

“Hoyt, I want a team of six officers, people you know. Only people you know have lived here more than a year. Understand? No one except this team or us three is allowed near Y/N until further notice,” said Beau. Jenny took off before he was pointing a finger at Tim. “Y/N is my priority and I will not jeopardize her. Period. Don’t insinuate shit after I just trusted you with my daughter’s life.”

“No,” you said when Beau turned to leave. You grabbed his wrist, holding it tightly. Both men could easily slip away but you held on hard. “Stop your Alpha bullshit you two. What is going on? Who’s this other person you’re talking about?”

“Barlen’s a cop,” said Tim, narrowing his eyes, Beau’s scent developing a sharp edge to it, Tim’s matching it in response. “He was in the area when you were attacked. He can’t stop undressing you with his eyes. For all we know, Barlen is Hunter or working with him.”

“Oh grow up, Timothy,” you said, pushing him hard on his good shoulder. He frowned, rubbing it. “His damn daughter was in this house getting shot at. If he was Hunter, he’d have fucking killed you already and taken me. Get off your overprotective high horse and realize I am not a child anymore. Men look at me. I look at them. Beau? He’s ridiculously hot and I’ve been stuck with your ass for a year. I’m a thirty two year old woman. Calm the fuck down and trust me, asshole, or get fucking lost.”

Tim’s face went hard but you saw the tiny waiver to his eyes. Shit. That was too harsh. He had his abandonment issues and you just told him to get lost. He turned and went inside the house, slamming the door along the way. You sighed. Hopefully you could find a way to apologize later before he internalized that shit. The last thing you wanted was for him to doubt you cared about him. 

“I’m sorry,” said Beau. You looked up at him, his shoulders slumped. “I’ve been…confrontational with Tim and my priority is your safety. He clearly loves you and has shown you how to protect yourself. But I discovered something that makes him…questionable to me. I was letting him have some leash earlier in case he was playing me but I think the both of us are having a hard time believing we can completely trust you with each other. I think we’re both being a little too Alpha and I’m sorry. It’s unprofessional of me.”

“He would never hurt me,” you said gently, relaxing your grip on Beau. “I know you don’t trust him but trust me.”

“He could be playing you,” said Beau but even he didn’t sound like he truly believed it. You shrugged.

“You’re right. He could. He could be Hunter. He could have a dark side to him I don’t know. But I know his soft sides. His secrets. Maybe he has more. Maybe he’s evil deep down. I truly don’t know. But he also shielded your daughter. Hunter from what you’ve said, he likes to see Omegas suffer. I’ve known that man since I was eleven. He’s always been my protector and he is terrified of losing me because he knows I’m the only person on this planet that loves him. I’d bet my life on the fact he isn’t Hunter.”

“Okay then,” said Beau, taking hold of your hand. “I trust you so I trust him.”

“Thank you.” He bit his bottom lip, his large hand warm around yours. You glanced down at it, rubbing the back of his skin, a slight roughness to it, a callus around his trigger finger. “I’m going to be blunt Beau because it’s been that kind of a day. Do you like me? Cause I’m picking up a vibe.”

He smirked, a tinge of pink dotting the top of his cheeks. “My scent give it away? Or the way I keep breaking the rules to make sure you’re close.”

“It was a little hard not to notice how you smelled when I came down the stairs with that shotgun,” you said, Beau flickering his gaze to meet yours.

“I forget Omega’s sense of smell is heightened right after a heat,” he said, licking his lips. His chest rose and fell slowly, the air stilling. Your heart rate slowed down, Beau tilting his head. “I think my body knows something my head doesn’t yet if that makes sense.”

“It does,” you said, Beau moving his thumb over the top of yours. 

“That why you stole my shirt and can’t keep sniffing the collar of that jacket?” You bit your bottom lip. Beau moved his hand to your face, running his thumb over your lip until you released it. “Keep them. I like that they make you feel better.”

“This is probably just a whole you saved me thing so you feel protective and I like the hot guy that saved me,” you said, his thumb moving down to trace along your jaw. Your breathe hitched, Beau pausing his movements. “S’just sexual attraction.”

“Thought you weren’t going to lie to me anymore, Y/N.” You let out a breath, forgetting how to inhale under the intensity of his green eyes. 

“I don’t believe in true mates,” you whispered, Beau nodding.

“Neither do I. I think you can have more than one soulmate and it’s unfair to think you can only have one true love. Love’s too boundless to be limited like that.” You swallowed as he dropped his a fraction, tentatively reaching out to brush his knuckles over your bruised bonding gland. “Now the idea that you can have more than one true mate? Fate…that kind of fate I can believe in.”

“You think fate put us together?” you asked. He chuckled, shaking his head as a spark shot through you, your bonding gland pulsing under the skin.

“I think a lot of crap had to happen to me and a lot had to happen to you so that I was on that street with medicine you desperately needed at that exact moment in time. And normally I’d chalk that up to coincidence.”

“But?” you pondered, Beau rubbing over the gland, a soft sigh slipping past your lips.

“I ain’t never met a woman like you. One that helps my daughter be at ease all while acting like she belongs in an action movie and is loyal to a guy that seems like an asshole to everyone he meets. You escaped a serial killer and you’re scared yet I don’t see you hiding. You’re strong and being hunted and you come apologize to me like this is all your fault…and the way you smell, I have an awful feeling I’d follow you straight into hell without a second thought.”

“Doesn’t mean we’re true mates,” you breathed out. “Just…” you closed your eyes as he stroked your bonding gland. “Goddamn it, Beau. If you don’t stop doing that I’m going to drag you in that house and bite you in your damn gland.”

“Funny. This has no affect on people that aren’t mated already,” he said, stepping into your space, warm breath fanning down over your face. “If I told you that you and Tim could leave right now, would you be able to? Would you be able to walk away from me?”

“No,” you whispered, turning your face into his neck, inhaling his scent, letting it fill your veins. The more you got of it, the more you wanted it. Your hand fisted his jacket, pulling him in tight, your mouth kissing over his gland. “I barely know you.”

“I think you’ve gotten enough of a taste of my character tonight just like I’ve gotten yours,” he mumbled, pressing his nose against your hair, inhaling sharply. “Slow it down. We got time.”

“I want…” You let your teeth scrape over his skin, your head thumping with the need to sink in, to make that sparking connection between you solid.

“I want it to. But calm down. We have bigger problems tonight than figuring us out.”

“You’re right,” you said softly, Beau nodding, a tiny smirk in his voice.

“But my pup smells something between us for sure.”

“Emily scented…” you trailed off when he hummed. “I thought pups could only smell that between mates.”

“Anyone in a five mile radius of you two could tell you were scent mated.” You turned your heads, Tim on the other end of the porch sporting a black t-shirt and dark gray jacket. He narrowed his eyes at Beau, watching you pull apart. “Keep it in your pants, Barlen. She’s got enough shit going on without getting an Alpha tonight on top of it.

“Is that my-”

“Yup,” said Tim, cutting him off, pushing the jacket aside to reveal Beau’s larger handgun on his hip. “Considering you took mine and left it at the station, figured you wouldn’t mind I borrowed this from your gun safe.”

“Does she have her own weapon?” Beau asked, glancing down at you. Tim furrowed his brow.

“Our go-bag only has one. Hers is back in town where we’re staying.” Beau nodded. Tim reached behind himself, pulling out the thigh holster and pistol you’d sat on the kitchen table. You took it after Beau nodded, strapping it onto your thigh.

“Y/N, based on what I saw, I’m going to trust that you have some weapons training?” You nodded. “Good. Keep that weapon on you from now on.”

“Isn’t scent mating rare?” you asked quietly to Beau, Tim rolling his eyes. 

“You have a literal serial killer on your ass and you’re worried about how you and your little boyfriend got together?” You frowned up at Tim, his harsh glare flickering ever so slightly.

“Hey,” barked Beau, loud enough a few heads turned to where you three stood. He waited until they went back to their business, keeping his voice low, thick with a layer of Alpha gruffness. “If you’re going to be a dickhead, you can go sit in the damn station doing research. Better yet, I’ll put your ass in lock up. Otherwise, do what she said and grow up. She didn’t ask to scent mark me today and I didn’t ask for it either. But we did and that’s that. Apologize and then tell Y/N what I told you.”

“Not man enough to tell her yourself? What a wonderful boyfriend you’re going to be. I guess I should be grateful scent marking don’t mean you’re bonded because there’s no way in hell you’re ever mating her.” Beau stepped in his face, growling slowly. A clear sign to back off. Tim didn’t back down though, not that you expected him to. He pressed his nose flat against Beau’s snarling back. “Tell her yourself, coward.”

“I may have scent marked with your sister but you’re her brother and this will hurt her. You know that.” Beau’s scent spiked with hormones, one’s you’d only ever smelled on Tim when a guy at a shady motel was giving you the creeps or when someone at bar wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Get your head out of your ass and get over the scenting shit. Tell her the truth and do it gently. Now.” With a quick squeeze of your hand, Beau stepped away and over to where Jenny had a group of officers around her. 

“Tim. What’s he talking about?” He looked past you, looking out at some dark trees in the distance. “Are you that mad I scent marked with a guy? Seriously-”

“Of course not. You think I don’t want you to find someone? Any other day I’d tell you, sure, that guy is probably everything you want in a man and more. But scent marking is always, always, a precursor to mating which you do not have time to fuck this guy when someone wants you dead.”

“It’s scent marking, not a marriage vow.” He scoffed. “Timothy-”

“Have you ever, ever heard of two people that scent marked that didn’t bond? That didn’t get married?” You frowned up at him, Tim putting his hands on his hips. “You just found your freaking husband.”

“Then be happy for me and trust that I will keep it in my pants until this shit is over. You might not see it but he is not going to hurt me.” Tim closed his eyes, inhaling through his nose. “Scent marking isn’t true mates. It just means-”

“Your bodies picked each other, I know. I’m sorry,” he sighed, sitting you down in one of the adirondack chairs. He knelt down, breathing deeply. “Whatever you decide to do is up to you, but please, just wait until it’s safe.”

“There go my plans to go on a late night date with Beau.” Tim gave you a bitch face. “You deserved it.”

“I did,” he said, your gaze wandering to where Beau chatted with some officers by a cop car. 

“What do you need to tell me, Tim?” Tim took both your hands in his, a look on his face making your annoyance disappear in a flash. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to tell you something about your father.”

______________

A/N: Part 4 coming 6/1!

[cordi-winchester]

Primal (Part 2)

Summary: The reader and her mysterious friend are forced to come clean to Beau about who they are. Beau still has questions he needs answered though, and when the reader's heat returns, bringing them both home seems like the smartest choice. But the question of the reader's strange heat puzzles them until Emily voices a theory, one that means they're dealing with something far worse than just a serial killer...

Primal Masterlist

Pairing: Alpha!Beau Arlen x Omega!reader

Word Count: 7,800ish

Warnings: language, angst, violence, drugging, serial killers, death, kidnapping, mention of human trafficking

A/N: Here we go with Part 2! Lots of answers in this part and even more questions!

Reader POV

Thirty Minutes Later

“Oh, what the fuck, Y/N.” You waved awkwardly to the Alpha that was frowning as you walked into the interrogation room. Both of you now wore a pair of Helena PD sweatpants and t-shirt but his annoyed glare remained unchanged. “You moron. You could have walked away. You-”

“Nice to see you too, bud. Always love the compliments,” you said, Beau brushing past you, gently shutting the door behind you.

“Hello. Barclay.” Your jaw dropped, Barclay’s eyes raging as they settled on you. “Tim Barclay. Y/N Y/L/N. Now you two are a long way from home.”

“You told him?” he snarled. You shook your head, Beau smiling happily as he sat up on top of the table.

“No, no. She tried to come up with some half-cocked plan to get you out without us running your prints,” said Beau. Barclay scrunched his brow. “I know what you’re thinking. We didn’t take your prints. Oh but see we did. You had your hands all over that stretcher.”

“Fucker,” Tim grumbled. Beau lifted his chin, looking down his nose at him. “I ain’t saying a fucking word.”

“I ain’t the dumb hick cop you must think I am,” said Beau, sliding to his feet, turning to you with a smile. “Let’s see how much I know already for fun, hm? See Timmy here is a US Marshal, formerly out of the Boston office. He went on a sabbatical ten months ago.”

Beau stepped over to you, tilting his head. You swallowed under his intense gaze, his scent floating around you, making your head dizzy.

“Did you know Tim’s old supervisor took him under his wing when he first started? Poor kid didn’t have much in the way of family. That supervisor invited the young man around for family dinners with his own wife and kid daughter and all that. Turns out Tim was like a big brother to that little girl. Cute story, huh?”

Beau pulled out a phone and spun it around, showing a picture from Tim’s instagram. A throwback of when he’d spent his first Christmas with you and your parents. You closed your eyes, Beau clicking his tongue. 

“Throwback Thursday to that time the little brat gave me the nightmare fuel teddy bear #FrankenBear.” Beau hummed. “Oh and my favorite is the response from a profile with a striking resemblance to you. ‘First off I was eleven and handmade that shit. Second, I remember you bawling like a baby when you opened it, dumbass. #ungratefulbrothers #Imgettingyouacreepyassdollthisyear’.” 

You took a seat at the table, Beau sitting down across from you. He looked to Tim who was breathing deeply, hands in fists from where he was cuffed to the table.

“Why are you protecting your sister, Tim?” 

“She’s not my sister,” he said, peeling open his eyes. “...Legally speaking.”

“Why are you protecting Y/N?” he asked again. Barclay ignored Beau, frowning like he did when he was worried. He stared at you, his scent growing nervous. 

“Because of me,” he whispered, his gaze dropping to his lap. You sighed, Beau leaning back in his seat, glancing at you. 

“Tim worked a big case last fall. Illegal drug smuggling. Pharmaceuticals. It targeted Heat and Rut medications that were sold on the black market to traffickers for control purposes. He was part of the task force.” You found Beau’s face, his eyes cautious. “One man was killed during the raid…by Tim.”

“His brother wants an eye for an eye.” Tim closed his eyes, scrapped up knuckles showing the white of his bones. “I killed his brother so he wants Y/N dead. Only problem is he’s former special ops and he made off with an obnoxious amount of heat inducers. He’s been targeting women that look like Y/N. We’ve bounced around the country but he always follows us. Somehow he has inside information which is why we can’t trust anyone, even law enforcement.”

“We’ve been in Helena two months. Tim finally let me go out of my own tonight for the first time since this all started.” You put your arms on the table, resting your head in them, a wave of exhaustion rolling over you. “It’s my fault this happened.”

“Hey. No, it’s not. I should have been there,” said Tim. You peeled open an eye, his expression softening. He sighed, angling his body towards the sheriff. “I’ll answer whatever questions you have, Arlen. Shit, arrest me for what I did to your officer back at the hospital. But let Y/N go rest somewhere and for the love of god, keep her safe.”

Beau let his gaze wander, your head raising under his heated stare. Your nose twitched, his scent turning musky, your own responding in kind. Tim looked between you, narrowing his eyes.

“Why the fuck are you two eye fucking?” You blinked rapidly, pressing a hand to your abdomen and the heated coil that began to simmer. 

“I uh…need the ladies room,” you said, rushing out of the room and heading down a hall. You shoved open a door and went to the sink, turning the faucet on to splash cold water in your face.

“Are you alright?” You turned, water droplets running down your cheeks. Beau stood in the open door, one large hand splayed against it, his scent coming off even stronger now. His eyes tracked down your body, lingering in way that made your insides clench. “You’re going into heat again, aren’t you.”

“Yup. That is a thing that’s happening,” you said, chewing the inside of your cheek. “I thought the heat stopper worked?”

“It smells…natural.” He wiped a hand over his face, holding it up. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not…scenting you or anything. It’s just…”

“My hormones are all screwed up. I’m sure you smelling like that…” Your cheeks were on fire, slick dampening between your thighs at the thought of being so near a strong, protective Alpha. You cleared your throat. “It just triggered a natural heat I’m sure.” He hummed, both of you ignoring the way you could clearly smell the growing arousal in the air. “You should probably take me to the hospital to be safe.”

He frowned, making a face. “Normally I’d agree with you but there sort of is a serial killer on the loose and given their proven access to heat inducers, we are likely dealing with someone with access to the hospital. I can’t guarantee your safety there.”

“Right,” you said, pointing a finger at him, nodding your head. “Good call a rooney.”

Oh god, someone please drop me off to that killer after all so I don’t die of embarrassment first.

He opened his mouth, pressing his pink lips closed after a moment. He debated something internally before he looked at the ceiling with a wince. “The last place you should be having a heat is a filthy police station with a bunch of criminals down the hall. I…do have a safe place you could have it. And a way to keep Barclay out of the system potentially. Not saying I buy his story but I can keep things on the down low while I look into things.”

“I’m all ears, sheriff.”

Two Hours Later

“How are you feeling, Y/N?” asked Dr. Olson. You hummed from the warm bed you were curled up in, not even bothering to open your eyes. 

God damn, Beau had a comfy bed. A nice, big, soft, full of musky Alpha scent woven into every trace of fabric, bed. He was working downstairs while you rode out a nice, drug-aided heat in his room. Dr. Olson and a nurse Beau knew personally were spending the night along with at least three officers. You’d tried to explain that you could suffer through in his office at the station once you realized how much work you were causing but Beau had an ulterior motive for bringing you home it seemed.

Namely, he had a seventeen year old daughter and the fact he was personally protecting her at home while a serial killer was running around his town?

Yeah, that was not helping this whole, “sexy sheriff made you go into heat” thing. 

“Dr. Olson, my dad wants to talk to you?” You slowly opened your eyes, the doctor leaving as you caught sight of the young woman with dark hair. The nurse excused herself to the guest room next door, leaving the two of you alone. She smiled at you, stepping in for a moment. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, I’ll sleep this off and be better by morning,” you said, the faintest whiff of her light, airy scent in the room. “I promise being an omega normally isn’t like this.”

“That’s what the nurse said.” She came in more, sitting at the end of the bed when you nodded. “When did you get your first full on heat?”

“Early twenties is normal. I’m thirty two and have been having them a decade. They aren’t so bad,” you said, sitting up and leaning back against the stacks of pillows behind you. She looked worried though. “Your first one will be your worst one since you have to go through it without medicine. After that though, it’s a breeze. This is so completely not normal.”

“Do Alphas really trigger heats? Cause like, I know my dad gave you Blaze on the street and then you got better and then you went into heat again after hanging out with him…”

“Um,” you said, scratching your head. You didn’t really want to be talking to this girl about how her very handsome father had absolutely triggered her into having a heat. “I mean, yes, they can if you don’t stick to your regular cycle. True mates can do that too. My hormones are very all over the place right now and I haven’t had one in a while so your dad probably played a small part in it but that’s all completely normal and-”

“He thinks you’re hot.” You blinked, the girl shrugging. “He can’t keep his eyes off you, not to mention he’s doing that musky thing with his scent which last time I smelled that I was ten and walked in on my parents which was scarring enough but yeah, he’s like, into you. Just thought you should know.”

“I’m sure your dad isn’t into me,” you said with a smile, while she hummed. “You’ll learn this but when an omega goes into heat in public, it makes the Alphas…eager. Our heats can trigger their ruts so I’m sure all you think you’re picking up is an Alpha and Omega scenting each other.”

“The doctor told him the only reason you would have gone into heat again so soon after the stopper was because you scented ‘desire’ from an Alpha. And then his face got beat red and then he took a scent blocker but I’m sure you’re right. He’s-”

“Emily, right?” you asked. She hummed, her face knowing she’d overstepped. “Emily…to put this really bluntly, when an Alpha smells an omega in heat, it makes them want to have sex. All you smelled was him getting turned on when I had some very strong heat scents going on. I’m sure he’s a very nice man but that’s all it was. Okay?”

“Sure, cause it’s totally normal for him to bring some random omega home but what do I know. My dad’s just horny, hm?” She got up and you sighed. “I know you don’t want to hear this but I know him. He likes you.”

“Alright,” you resigned, slipping down in the bed, a wave of drowsiness washing over you. “You can tell me how much he likes me after I sleep this off.”

“See? Told you I was right,” she hummed before heading out of the room.

“Kids,” you mumbled, shaking your head. Sure, Beau was attractive and smelled nice…and okay, he was letting you stay in his home…and hadn’t charged Tim with anything yet as far as you knew. But he was just doing his job. He was being nice. He didn’t think of you as anything more than a poor victim. You hadn’t dated or been with anyone in a long time so sure, the hot protective guy paying special attention to you? It was a little crush was all. Nothing more.

At least, that’s what you told yourself as you burrowed your nose in his sheets, wishing he was beside you in that bed. 

Beau POV

The October night air was cool, cutting through my flannel shirt, a sharpness to it that sent a chill down my spine. My gaze darted around the property, an unsettling feeling of being watched cascading over the house. I knew I had my officers around the entrances. Logically, this place was secure. Hunter wouldn’t dare try something here.

True, Emily and I didn’t exactly live in the suburbs. The rustic style house was bigger than the two of us needed but after all the shit she went through with that nutjob family at the camp, I wasn’t above buying the first place that put a smile on her face. We had a few acres that backed up to the woods and surrounded the property. A short minute walk through them on either side lead to the neighbors. 

Unease weighed down as I looked around again. The sun was long gone and I couldn’t make out trees I knew were there from the smear of darkness that enveloped our lit up hideaway.

Goddamnit. I came out here to get some clear air, not fucking paranoid.

I stepped off the porch and to the front path of pavers, veering off it to wander out into the grass about thirty or so feet away. The air was crisp, maybe coming off the mountains tonight. I closed my eyes, hoping the breeze would help the pounding in my head.

A serial killer was running around my town and making fools of my officers. I had information overload on Marshal Tim Barclay. I’d need to talk to him alone soon. On paper, on the premise of facts, I’d be stupid not to suspect he was Hunter. Statistically, you were much more likely to be killed by someone you know and it wouldn’t be some insane stretch to think for some reason, he was manipulating Y/N all along. 

If it were him, that’d be so fucking convenient for me. A nice little bow on the end of a long, emotionally draining, case. But my gut kept throwing up warning flags, flashing neon signs that Barclay truly was nothing more than a guy protective of his kid sister. 

Kid. More like a thirty two year old woman with a body that had me adjusting my underwear more than an acceptable amount tonight. The whole damn house smelled like her. Her goddamn scent was…

“Stop,” I growled when I felt my dick twitch in my jeans. I rubbed my temples, walking out further from the house. Y/N was simply an incredibly attractive, incredibly in heat, omega that was triggering the fact I hadn’t been laid in nearly three years. That was all whatever this…feeling was. 

My hand went to my stomach when a curl of wrongness settled there sending another message upstairs.

You aren’t just horny, moron. You can’t get her scent out of your head. Now why would that be? Remember health class? Biology? That thing we didn’t pay attention in? Bet you wished you had right now cause the answer is buried way in the back drawer of your subconscious under all that useful knowledge of the stats of your fantasy football team. 

The air clearly wasn’t helping and bringing Y/N here was a stupid idea. But I just…couldn’t leave her at the station, couldn’t stay away from her. I couldn’t have Tim booked into the system, a nauseous wave overcoming me each time I thought I’d be better off to formally charge him as Hunter.

He wasn’t crazy. He was scared for Y/N like any good brother would be in this situation. And her? Y/N was a victim that had an Alpha nearly a dozen years older in a tail spin because his job was to catch who hurt her and all he could think about was the vanilla scent that followed her wherever she went.

Forget about Y/N and go back to work. I stormed back inside, my head probably more confused than when I left. I glanced one to the right where the closed doors of the den were. It was quiet inside the room. Good. I’d deal with him later.

“Em, bed time,” I said when went down the hall and found her in the open kitchen making popcorn. She pretended not to hear me, bypassing me as she got out a glass from the cabinet. I stood by the island, crossing my arms, growing impatient as she filled it with cold water from the tap. “Emily. You have to be at the airport at six in the morning. It’s nearly ten. Go. To. Bed.”

“It’s 9:15, old timer,” she scoffed, spinning around with a frown. “I’m already packed and I promise I will be up at 5:30. I’ll sleep on the plane.”

“Emily, I-” She held up a hand, my eyebrows raising.

“There’s a cop on the front porch. There’s a cop on the back porch. There’s a cop by the garage door. Not to mention there’s a doctor and nurse upstairs in your bedroom with that sleeping woman. Then there’s that hot, angry looking guy in the den-”

“I told you not to go in there,” I growled. She held up her hands, her scent growing more tense right along with mine. Why wouldn’t she just go up to her room and sleep and give me one less thing to worry about tonight? “Emily. There is a lot of shit going on-”

“I didn’t go in the stupid den,” she snapped, a bit too much venom behind her words. I breathed deeply, Emily getting her popcorn out of the microwave, pouring it in an empty bowl nearby. “I saw out the window some guy in cuffs got brought into the house and you said don’t go in the den so yeah, I figured that one out. I’m getting sick and tired of everyone treating me like a child. I’m a senior. Seventeen. In a year I’ll be at college living on my own. All you and mom and your friends and even that omega upstairs who I don’t even know…all you do is treat me like an helpless child. Yeah, I got kidnapped last year. Over a year ago. Stop babying me.”

She took her bowl and glass of water, storming off to the living room, the sounds of The Bachelor playing in the distance. I leaned back against the counter, closing my eyes as a dozen conversations from therapy came rolling back. Maybe I’d been too overprotective in the past. Maybe I did need to loosen the reins more. It was a process we’d been working on for over a year and she knew that. But something was going on in town and I needed her clear of this place, no matter how it made her feel.

It was already hard enough to concentrate with Y/N in the house. My gaze wandered away from the family room and to the stairs leading to a dim hallway where she was tucked away. My body buzzed happily for a moment, like it was relishing in the fact she was in our bed right now. 

Y/N being gorgeous as sin wasn’t helping. Her bravery for trying to defend Tim when less than thirty minutes earlier she was in a life or death situation wasn’t great either. It was obvious she cared deeply for him. On top of it all, she escaped a fucking serial killer while drugged to hell. Strong. Intelligent. Beautiful. A kind soul that smelled like walking into a warm bakery on a cold autumn day.

I scratched over the small patch of skin on my neck where my bonding gland was buried deep within, a wave of fuzziness rolling through my body. Wait, that wasn’t lust because of her heat. That was…what the hell was that?

“How the hell did you hold out for so long?” I mumbled to myself. I lasted maybe three minutes from the time I touched Y/N’s neck drenched in the heat inducer to being floored on the ground. From all accounts so far, she’d made it ten from the time she was attacked at the park and made it to the sidewalk in front of the bar.

“You didn’t read that sex ed book you got me, did you.” I glanced up, yanking my hand away when Emily stood there again, her arms crossed. “Heat inducers trigger a heat when an Omega’s cycle isn’t normal. But, if an Omega has a normal cycle like most of them do, the inducer causes a flash point.”

“Like you get flash points right now cause you’re still presenting,” I said quietly, Emily pursing her lips. “So what are me and the doctors missing? A flashpoint is just a mini-heat that lasts for a few minutes.”

“Right. So you gave Y/N the Blaze to stop the flashpoint and she started to get better.”

“But she was not in the middle of a flashpoint. I was there. That was…something worse than a heat.” I said, remembering how hot her scent was, how potent it was. Her shrill, guttural scream as she passed out would be the star of many a nightmares to come.

Emily walked around to the island, taking a seat on a stool. “It temporarily got better and then you sent her into heat again at the station. Now the only reason that could happen would be the really big obvious thing that no one is thinking of because it hasn’t been a thing in over a century when medicine became a thing.” Emily tilted her head, my eyebrows raising. She rolled her eyes. “Dad. That heat inducer was laced with something else. Something they don’t test for because it’s not a thing that happens anymore…Did you seriously not pay attention in history class either?”

“First off, I didn’t take all AP classes like you and second, Em, you’re confusing the hello out of me. What are you even talking about?” She leaned over the island, letting out a groan.

“Way, way, way back in the day, unmated Alpha’s in a Rut that went on too long used to go around biting omegas they wanted in their bonding gland. You know like if they were crossing the ocean or marching across a country or some shit and some poor dude went into rut and he couldn’t bust a nut in an omega.”

“Emily,” I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. “Jesus fucking christ…”

“Sorry,” she said, making a face like I was the one making it awkward. “Anyway, they’d be so hopped up on Alpha hormones, they wouldn’t even wait to have sex, they’d just bite to claim the first omega that suited their fancy. But they’d go a little stir crazy cause they had to wait so long and they called it-”

“Primal,” I breathed out, shaking my head, opening my eyes again. “That’s…Em, that’s not been a thing for hundreds of years. Primal Alphas don’t exist anymore. We have medicines for Ruts now and even then, you have to be in Rut for close to a year I thought I remember to go Primal. Literally no one in this day and age would be able to have that happen.”

“Alright,” she shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong but what else makes an omega go into a strong heat that keeps coming on except for being bit by a Primal Alpha? Nothing. The omega goes into heat over and over until they mate with the Primal Alpha and get claimed. It’s either that or die of the heat. At least back in the day. Nowadays like you said, we have medicine.” 

I stared at her, that creeping sensation washing over me again. If Em was right, somehow I had a Primal Alpha with a torture and murder kink running around. And he’d picked Y/N as his next target.

My eyes darted over to the stairs again, dread filling my gut. Would Hunter come back for her? Could I keep her safe from a monster like that? I glanced back at Emily, memories of clutching her tightly while she still had rope burn on her wrists telling me I’d fuck this up and let Y/N down too. 

Emily sighed, looking up at me with gentle eyes as if she could read my thoughts. “I’m sorry for being a pain tonight. I just get nervous when you start banishing me to other states that you’re being too protective cause that just makes me feel like I need you to protect me and we both know from therapy that’s not good for either of us.”

“No, it’s not,” I said gently, tugging on the end of her braid. “I’m your dad, Em. I’ll always protect you and this situation with Hunter is dangerous. I’m not sending you away because I think you aren’t capable. In fact it’s the opposite. I know you’re strong enough to go off on your own. But I’ll worry if you’re here in town, Em and the more worried I am about you, the less focus I can give to protecting that omega upstairs and stopping Hunter from hurting more people. I know my limit and I need your help.”

“Then I go to Seattle and if it’s still not safe for me to come home, I’ll go stay with Grandma and Grandpa in Texas.” I smiled, tugging again. 

“You could stay with your mother…”

“Don’t push it,” she said, pursing her lips. “I told the doctor my idea about the Primal stuff when everyone first got here.”

“What’d he say?” I asked, Emily shrugging.

“He said that it was nearly impossible for a Primal Alpha to be out there without someone knowing about it.” I frowned. Sure, it was far fetched. But Emily was a smart kid, smarter than me about this stuff. He shouldn’t have discounted- “Then he drew blood and made a face like oh shit and then gave Y/N a shot in her bonding gland and then he tested her again and his face looked better.”

“Why didn’t he say anything?” I asked as the stairs creaked. Both our heads turned as Dr. Olson came downstairs, giving us a nod.

“Because that’s not something I could verify on the spot. I sent the instant read results off to a friend of mine at the university to do further analysis. Your daughter’s unfortunately right, Sheriff Arlen. The heat inducer was mixed with salvia from an Alpha in rut. An Alpha that is Primal” he said. 

I wiped a hand over my face as he held up a hand. “I took a precaution with Y/N and gave her a flushing agent to her bonding gland in the event Emily was right. She’ll be just fine with no adverse side effects.”

“That’s great doc but I have a psycho on the loose in my town. Please send any information you and your friend have come up with over to the county morgue’s office and let them know what you’ve discovered. A fucking Primal Alpha serial killer…”

“Will do,” he said, returning upstairs. Emily was quiet, watching me pace around the kitchen. Shit, I was making her anxious. I padded across the wood floor, forcing myself to relax, give her a soft smile.

“Thank you my little smartie pants.” I kissed the top of her head, pulling her into a hug. “You helped Y/N and with my case. I owe you one.”

“Does this mean you’ll start listening to me from now on?”

“It means I’ll listen but you need to give a little too,” I said, leaning back. She rolled her eyes but it lacked any animosity. “Being a grown up means making decisions but also knowing when to listen and do as told. Please be safe tomorrow and don’t go anywhere alone.”

“Deal. If you tell me if you like that omega upstairs.” I breathed deeply, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Dad. You guys are giving off major vibes.”

“And there’s the teenager side again,” I said, Emily smirking. “She’s…attractive.” 

Emily grinned like the cheshire cat, my own eyes narrowing. “Emily. That doesn’t mean anything.”

“You like her,” she said with a triumph hum. “That’s good considering she likes you too. All y’all grown ups forget that pups can smell things y’all can’t like how your scents are doing that mixing thing when y’all are in love.” 

“Mhm,” I said, spinning her around. “Go finish your trashy reality show then off to bed.”

She waved me off and left to the family room, leaving me to settle back in at the table with my laptop. An hour later, Y/N’s scent had lessened, her heat probably having passed which was good. I had a better idea how I wanted to question Barclay about all the bombshells I’d discovered and was just jotting down one last though when I heard Emily start a new episode. I shook my head as Jenny called to check in.

“Any luck?” I asked.

“Only the shitty kind.” I leaned back in my chair, biting the inside of my cheek. “Beau, it’s been over four hours. Hunter’s in the wind. We got to re-group.”

“Keep up patrols but we can pull a third back. I want Hunter to feel squeezed still. Put everyone in the station on this but designate a team to work other cases tonight. I want them to keep working this. Hunter fucked up somewhere and we’re going to find it tonight. You and Pop head back to the station too, get you guys to start tracking down this Primal Alpha thing, see if there’s a connection there,” I said. 

“You coming in? We could head to yours, brainstorm there.”

“Good call. I’ll make some coffee. You guys bring some grub. It’s gonna be an all nighter. Oh and Hoyt? You going to press charges against Barclay or what? I need an answer.”

“No,” she grumbled. “But I do want to kick him in the nuts.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” I chuckled, rising from my seat. “You sure you don’t want to charge him?”

“I’d take you up on that but the guy was just protecting his sister. Unless he turns out to not be innocent, then I’ll beat his ass so good he never makes it to trial.”

“Hoyt, what did I tell you about admitting your bloodlust to me?” I sighed.

“Whatever. You ever find out why he went off grid instead of using the Marshal service to keep her safe?”

“I have an idea. I’m about to go question him, see if I’m right. Text me when you guys get here.”

I hung up, grabbing my notepad and pen from the table before heading over to the shut doors of the den. After a brief pause, I turned the handle, Barclay exactly where I’d left him earlier in the night. I quickly surveyed the room, smirking when I saw a stray paperclip on the ground under the desk. Nothing else was out of place, not even where the chair indented the rug. 

“So, how long ago did you get out of those cuffs?” I asked, closing the door behind me. He shrugged his shoulders forward, letting the cuffs fall to the ground behind him as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’d guess about three minutes after you got dropped off in here?”

“I take it blondie isn’t pressing charges?” he asked. He stood from my office chair, a sharp edge to his scent.  

“To be determined. Now make yourself comfortable,” I said, reaching into my back pocket, tossing a zip tie at him. He caught it, narrowing his eyes. I rested a hand on my hip, not on my gun but near enough for him to get the message. 

Barclay fixed the loop and put his wrists through it, pulling it taught with his teeth. Tim sat back down, all while giving off major, “fuck off” vibes in his scent. I came closer now in the small room, clenching my jaw. “Now we both know you could get out of those if you tried. This is about you understanding your place. Disobey me again and I’ll let blondie hog tie you and beat you like a pinata if that’s what she wants. Understand?”

He rolled his eyes, an air of indifference around him. Not smug. No, he was confident. A confidence he could back up. Which meant he was either going to be a great asset if he was innocent or incredibly dangerous if he was Hunter.

Tim’s jaw clenched, eyes examining me as if I were the one that had attacked his sister or something. “I told you everything I know and Y/N is somewhere in this house. If you were going to charge me, Barlen, you would have left me at the station. So let me go and take my sister with me. We know how to keep a low profile. You can run around and catch your killer without us.”

“It’s Arlen,” I grit out. He smirked, leaning forward in his seat.

“Bitch ass Arlen? No, I think I got it right the first time.” 

“Listen you, Alpha fuck.” The den door swung open quickly, Emily standing there with my radio from my belt. “What the hell-”

“Sorry but they needed you and were freaking out about something,” she said, shoving the radio in my hands. I didn’t miss the way Barclay stared at her, Emily giving it right back as someone droned through the speaker about a massive bar fight at Stormy’s.

“The fucker is trying to pull cops out of the area by causing a diversion,” said Barclay, offering a quick glance at me. “They probably spiked drinks with rut enhancer and the whole place is going nuts.”

I tried to ignore him but he was almost certainly correct. Stormy’s reputation preceded itself. Omegas knew to not go near it. Alphas knew you could easily buy drugs out the back. No cameras and no one ever talked to cops. Hunter’d been in town long enough to know that and know the place was a massive thorn in the side of law enforcement. 

If nothing else, it told us Hunter was still in the original area which was good. I turned around, pressing the call button on my radio. “This is Arlen. Call the fire chief, tell her to send some of her bigger guys down with Rutcan. The aerosol kind and no, I don’t care how expensive it is. Tell her to bill me.” 

I sighed, clipping the radio on my belt. Emily scurried off when I nodded, Barclay biting the inside of his cheek to stop a smile.

“You’re gonna forget that girl you just saw even exists, understand?” I snapped. “I swear to god-”

“The only thing I want is my sister safe. If she’s here with your kid, I’m going to assume you have this place locked down.” He leaned back into the chair, breathing deeply. “I told you everything and I’m sure you looked into me. I get being pissed over what I did to your officer but I do not hurt kids. I’m more of a help to you right now and we both know it. If you won’t let Y/N and me leave town, then at least let me work this with you.”

I took a deep breath. Alright, time to get to the truth.

“Your story doesn’t hold up, Barcly.” He looked confused, a flash of anger on his face hiding concern. Ah, so he was that type of guy. Anger was his front. I could work with that. “That drug dealer brother you said was after you?”

“Yeah…” he trailed off. I sat against my desk, crossing my arms all while Tim frowned up at me.

“He died about three days after you and Y/N left Boston. Drug turf war stuff.” Barclay shook his head, holding up a finger from his bound hands.

“You must have the wrong guy. I have intel from the Marshal service-”

“Barclay.” He snapped his mouth shut, both of us pausing a beat. He didn’t try to hide the gears turning in his head, a dozen scenarios and then some flashing through his mind in a split second.

“You have the wrong guy. Probably the same name. Mix ups have happened before,” he said, landing exactly on the idea I figured he would. But it wasn’t enough yet. I needed more before I could trust him.

“If there was truly a threat, why didn’t you follow your standard protocol and put Y/N into witness protection? Why do this off the books bullshit and put Y/N in danger?”

He looked past me out the dark front window, his face losing some color as the gears in his head turned him down a different path, down the ones he didn’t think existed a moment ago. I knew from his file Timothy Barclay was a highly skilled and highly trained. He graduated valedictorian of his high school in Boston. Somehow managed to get a four year degree in Business Management, minor in Criminal Justice, all while being in the army and joining special forces the second he was eligible at 19. He spent four years running around the world before he got into the Marshals, impossibly difficult at his age but his military career definitely helped. By 24, he graduated training and joined the US Marshals Boston field office where he’d remained up until early last January.

It’d taken some digging and bribing an old friend that was now a Captain back in Houston but he got hold of Tim’s personnel file. The man lived and breathed the US Marshals. He had taken more certifications, more courses, had more awards, than my entire station combined. I was very well aware of the fact this man was a better investigator, a better fighter, better shooter, better liar, than I’d ever be.

But some things, you just couldn’t fake.

“Talk to me, Tim. I can’t read your mind,” I said, trying to coax him back from whatever dark rabbit hole he’d gone down in his head. He blinked a few times, watching the stillness of night outside.

“I uh, got a threat on our front door. Like old school, letters cut out of a magazine, threat. Y/N and I share a place back in Boston,” he said, closing his eyes, searching his memories for an answer he didn’t want. “There was a power outage that night and our backup on our security system didn’t work that night which never sat right with me. Neither of us were home. I had a late call at work and Y/N had a girls night with a friend, stayed at her place. I saw the note when I got home in the morning.”

“Then what happened?” I asked, Tim shaking his head.

“I went to my supervisor like anyone would. Teddy, Y/N’s father. I said I wanted Y/N in protective custody, wit sec, something where she’d be protected round the clock. I didn’t care where. This drug family, they had enough connections with traffickers that if they got hold of Y/N…I just couldn’t let that happen to her.”

“So you went to Teddy,” I said. 

“He said it wouldn’t be safe to do the normal protocol, that the dealers had an in at the Marshal service and would find us. I didn’t understand how that was true but they knew where we lived after all. I figured Teddy was high up in our office, in command. He would have known if there was an insider threat and I had no reason to question him.” Tim took a beat, opening his eyes, breathing quietly. “Teddy told me he’d put me on sabbatical and to grab Y/N and get out of town that night. He said he was to be my only contact and I was to trust no one. He’d tell us when to move around, where to go next but that was it. Every time Y/N asked when we could go home Teddy would say the drug dealer put a hit out on the two of us and we couldn’t come back until he’d built his case against him.”

“Teddy failed to mention this drug dealer being dead.”

“Why would he lie to us?” Barclay looked up at me finally, a mixture of anger and fear. A sliver of vulnerability that he’d fucked up. I sighed, walking over in front of him, stopping at his feet. “I don’t understand.”

“Barclay, I have a serial killer on my hands. They’ve been active in Helena for six months. Before that, looks like the same killer profile as in Boulder.” He shook his head, a look of panic crossing his face. “Before that, Atlanta.”

The dread on his face was a clear enough answer for me. This man had no idea about Hunter or what Teddy was up to. 

“Let me guess. Cleveland before that?” he whispered. I nodded.

“Boston before that,” I said. Tim closed his eyes, flashing them open with another shake of his head. 

“Wait, you said six months. That doesn’t make sense. Y/N and I didn’t show up here until closer to three months ago. There’s no way this guy is following us.”

“Oh, you’re right,” I said, squatting down. “You’re following him. Now tell me again, do you pick your next city or is that Teddy too?”

“That’s not…” Tim made a face, standing and brushing past me. He went to the window, his scent coming off in big panicked waves, something he would have learned to control years ago in all his trainings. No I recognized it all too clearly. It was the same way my office had smelled when Emily was abducted last year. 

“No. No, you’re wrong, Barlen. If Teddy was tracking a serial killer, there’s no way in hell he’d not report it. He’d rather die than see his daughter get a paper cut a-and you’re telling me he’s sending her after a serial killer the past year? It makes no sense. It makes no fucking sense.”

I nodded, quietly walking over to him, cutting his zip tie off. He rubbed his wrists, his face hard again but the worry burned into his eyes. He knew what I did. Teddy was involved with Hunter, with a serial killer. There was no good justification in the world. Except for the fact Teddy probably wanted Hunter to kill Y/N or the both of them for some reason. 

But Tim wasn’t ready to say that out loud and I wasn’t about to push him. 

“No, it doesn’t. A lot doesn’t make sense. All I do know is Y/N was Hunter’s next target and she got away. We have to assume he will come after her again. Either way, you’re both involved and the one thing I have zero doubts about is you value her life above your own. I read your file and I need someone like you to help me catch this son of a bitch.”

Tim steadied himself, nodding to himself. “Hunter comes near her, I’ll make him regret being born.” 

“Good,” I said, his face showing a flash of surprise. “My daughter was abducted last year and left for dead. The things I wanted to do to the man that took her…law and order has it’s place in the world. But some monsters just need to be put down.”

“Maybe you’re not awful after all, Barlen,” he said, tilting his chin up with a barely there smirk. He held out his hand, sharing a firm handshake with him. “Let’s get this guy and figure out what the fuck is going on with Teddy.”

“That’s all I get? No threats to stay away from your sister? Maybe you’re the one that’s into me,” I teased, letting a smile cross my face. Tim chuckled, stepping past me.

“First off, you couldn’t handle me, Barlen.” He looked over his shoulder, a dark smirk on his face. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re handsome and my sister’s type but the whole divorced, dad to a teenager, in his fifties means I don’t even have to threaten you. Once her heat’s passed, she ain’t even going to look at you.”

“I’m forty three, fuckhead.” He just smiled, egging me on. Fine. He wanted to play that game, I was down. “You know how pups can smell things we can’t?” I said, throwing an arm over his shoulders, walking him out of the den and towards the kitchen. “Emily says mine and Y/N’s scents are mixing and we all know that means there’s more than just attraction going on.” I flashed him a wink for good measure, his eye twitching. “Your sister smells so damn good, Barclay. Shit, she could be my true mate.”

“I need to speak with your child with poor scenting abilities. Now,” he grumbled. 

“Barclay. You manage to get her the hell out of that living room and in bed, I won’t let Hoyt kick you in the balls when she gets here in fifteen cause man, she really wants to.”

“Deal,” he said, storming into the living room as I stood over the kitchen table. “Kid, tell me what the hell you smell between your dad and my sister and I won’t toss your butt in bed in the next twelve seconds.”

“Oh boy you really don’t want the answer to that based on your whole vibe. By the way, do you like Jenny?” I heard from the next room, chuckling when Tim scoffed like a teenager. “Cause your scent did that you like someone thing and you sound like you got maybe some enemies to lovers thing going on.”

“You know what you little-”

Glass shattered nearby, the distinctive sound of a shot ringing out, somewhere towards the back of the house. I hit the ground, watching wide eyed as Tim yanked Emily to the floor, covering her body with his all in the same fluid motion.

“Emily!” I went to move for her but slammed down and back behind the kitchen island when shots rang out from the front as well. “Emily! Answer me!”

___________

A/N: Part 3 is coming 5/25!

[cordi-winchester]

Primal (Part 1)

Summary: The reader is out for a simple run in the streets of Helena, Montana when she's attacked. After making her escape, she runs into Sheriff Beau Arlen who knows she's his first lead on catching a killer. But there's something more to her than meets the eye...

Pairing: Alpha!Beau Arlen x Omega!reader

Word Count: 5,600ish

Warnings: language, angst, violence, drugging, serial killers, death, kidnapping, mention of human trafficking

A/N: Here we go! I'm so excited to finally be sharing this one with you guys! It's got action, drama, romance, familial relationships all tucked under the pretty bow of ABO! This series follows the events of Big Sky season 3. This series is told in split POV between multiple characters.

Reader POV

Run. Keep running. You breathed hard as you sprinted through the park gates and down the sidewalk. You wanted to desperately look back but you weren’t about to be that idiot that tripped and fell that you’d make fun of during a horror movie.

Oh god, the sympathy you now had for those poor people. Running away from a psychopath was harder than it looked. Clichés were clichés for a reason, right? 

The air in your lungs burned as you kept running, searching for anyone that could help. But of fucking course the construction on Main meant a detour that had made the far side of town far, far quieter than it should have been. Footsteps still pounded pavement behind you. Loud. Threatening.

A predator hunting it’s prey knowing it was now or never.

Summoning the last bit of adrenaline in your wrecked body, you ran full speed where a ditch lay in the dug up road, a wide one exposing sewage lines and bundles of cables all underneath the thick asphalt above. 

You kicked off with one foot in the air, pushing yourself off the edge and propelling yourself forward to the other side. Hot pain hit your shin as it scraped broken road but you rolled away to solid ground, staring back at your pursuer as they came to a skidded halt on the other side of the ditch.

Part of you wanted to gloat that you’d made the jump and he was too chicken shit to even try. But another part very quickly understood why he’d hesitated, why he was turning tail and running back towards the park.

You’d jumped right in front of the infamous faded green building with a piss yellow name stamped over the doorway. Stormy’s Bar. 

You hadn’t been in town long but you knew this was not good. Very, very not good. Quickly, there were about six different Alpha’s coming outside, their noses twitching as they caught your scent.

You scrambled to your feet, body fiercely cold and drenched in sweat all at once. Maybe it was from the pain, the fear, whatever drug that fucker in the park had stabbed in your neck. Your stomach cramped and you winced at the flush wave of warmth that rippled. Fuck, your heat was three months early on top of it? This was not an adrenaline rush. Something was severely wrong.

Standing there for a beat you caught your breath as the cramp passed, skin prickling as the group of Alpha’s approached like you might run off if they startled you. Shit, shit, shit.

“Smells ripe,” mumbled one, your eyes drifting to his neck and spotting a tattoo that made you physically recoil. Omega Tamer. More like gang member that was less than ten seconds away from taking what he wanted.

First some crazy man grabs you and stabs you with a syringe, than you run into a gang known for trafficking omegas? Whoever said running was good for your health was so full of shit.

You didn’t wait around for them to make a move and ran down the street, jumping over a temporary construction barricade and another, leaving them behind. You could hear them follow but it went quiet when you finally saw foot traffic appear on the sidewalk again. The Alpha’s scent dissipated as you got further away and you fought off another wave of intense heat in your core. All you could focus on was some guy fifty feet ahead carrying a pizza walking over to a red truck.

His head whipped in your direction before you could even reach him, a cramp hitting you, sending you to the ground. A door opened nearby, someone stepping out from a bar. By the scent it was another Alpha. Great. A strange Alpha. Just what you needed mid-heat laying on the sidewalk.

“I need an ambulance at 947 Main Street. Female omega going into some kind of exacerbated heat. Looks to have other injuries,” said a strong voice, a handsome face and green eyes to match appearing above you. Your body tensed when you smelled him. All Alpha, so fucking delicious but so…White hot pain exploded behind your eyes as his scent consumed you, the man cursing into a cellphone. “Yes, that’s her screaming. It’s the heat. What could…”

Two fingers grazed over your bonding gland, the man looking at you with serious eyes as you gripped his wrist.

“Send me every available officer we have now. Hunter is in the area. North end of Main. I repeat, Hunter is in the area.” He grabbed your cheeks, getting right in your face, watching you choke on air you couldn’t get in your lungs. “I will be right back, sweetie. I’m not leaving you, understand? I need to get something to help.”

Your body shuddered when he left, the sky above you turning dusky, the faintest of pinks swirling in the deep blue sky. God, was this how you were going to die? Body on fire as you watched a brilliant sunset high above? Suddenly, his face was there again, a scared smile on his face, his scent triggering your heat further but tethering you back to earth for a split second.

“Be brave for me because this is going to hurt like hell.” You nodded once before a syringe hit your bonding gland for the second time tonight, his thumb pressed down on the plunger.

He was right. For a blistering a moment, all you knew was burning. Burning in your veins, fire in your guts, acid in your bones.

It grew and grew as the strange man wrapped his arms around you, letting you squeeze his body in a death grip. “Shh, breathe. Try to breathe through it for me. That’s it. Just breathe. I got you.”

In a blink, the fire consumed you and everything went cold.

Beau’s POV

“Good girl,” I murmured when she finally went lax in my arms, her broken body so hot to the touch. I gently rested her on the cooling sidewalk, grateful any warmth from the sun was long gone. I heard two different sets of sirens in the distance as the man from the entrance to the bar along with a few others gathered around. I snapped my fingers at a tall, if somewhat skinny, young Alpha that looked barely old enough to drink. “You. Go in the bar and ask if there’s a doctor. Now.”

The kid took off, the small crowd growing larger, a distinct correlation being made with the omegas and Alphas over twenty five versus the young bucks. 

“Any Alpha that’s been through rut before, get your ass back in that bar. Omegas, I highly suggest you go home.”

“What bout the rest of us?” asked a guy that smelled like Beta as I removed my jacket and tucked it under the head of the out cold omega on the ground.

“Damn, she’s in heat,” said a younger Alpha, his scent shifting so swiftly a group of omegas all went wide eyed. He took an instinctive step forward before one of the Beta’s grabbed his arm.

“Betas, you get the pups the fuck out of here before they all go into their first rut and escort the omegas to their vehicles. Now everybody clear out.” I knew my scent was wildly dangerous, a dark edge in my voice that had them all compiling, even to the Alphas that had decades on me.

“Jesus fuck,” said Jenny, pushing her way past the departing crowd, putting her arm over her nose. She stared at me and then the omega on the ground. “Arlen. Get away from her.”

I glared back, showing my teeth to her displeasure. “I’m fine, Hoyt.”

“I can smell her heat from three blocks away. You’re going to go into rut-”

“Hoyt! If I was going to go into rut, I would have done it when she smelled…” I trailed off, putting my hand to the flush omega’s forehead. “Her scent was worse before. I gave her a shot of Blaze.”

“Good thing for her you have a teenage omega.” Yeah, and thank God I’d picked up her prescription before grabbing pizza or this poor omega would be a dead woman walking. Jenny looked around before crouching near the woman’s head, putting her hand to the back of her cheek. I turned her neck gently, showing the red splotchy mark on the omegas neck.

We shared a look, Jenny’s gaze suddenly darting all around the street. I stared down at the omega breathing rapidly, eyes moving behind closed lids. 

“Stay with her. Where she goes, you go. I’m going after Hunter,” I said.

“Wait for backup,” she said as I stood, already turning towards the direction she ran from. I pointed at a patrol car that pulled up, jogging over to it. “Beau! Wait-”

“You watch her, I’ll…” My vision swam as I stared at my palm that was turning red. I tried to shake it away, blame it on being so close to an incredibly in heat omega. But I’d been around plenty of omegas before and never felt my body get hot like this, like…

“Beau!” Jenny rushed over when I lost my balance and fell down onto my side on the sidewalk. I watched two officers rush over to the omega, Jenny whipping her head around. “Do not touch her neck without gloves! She’s got heat inducer on her skin.”

“Jenny,” I said, tugging at my buttoned shirt, ripping it open, desperate to get to some cool air. “Fuck, I’m boiling. Jesus fuck. It’s so hot.”

“Sorry boss.” I barely flicked my eyes upwards in time to see an EMT standing over me with a syringe filled with blue liquid. 

“No, no I don’t need…” I couldn’t fight the wave of sedation that overwhelmed me, eyes fluttering closed before I could get out another word.

“Hey big guy.” I groaned, coming to on the sidewalk and noticing a hell of a lot more officers around. I pushed away the hand that reached for me and glanced at my watch. Huh. It’d only been five minutes but the omega was already gone, along with Jenny’s scent.

“What the hell are you doing here, Cassie?” I grumbled, sitting up and pouting. “Where the hell is my shirt?”

“You sort of tore it off, sheriff,” said an EMT from next to me. “The Rutcan did it’s job.”

“I wasn’t in fucking rut,” I snapped, too many voices going quiet around me. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. “I’m forty three years old. Believe me. I’ve been having ruts for nearly twenty years. I know what they feel like and that…that wasn’t a rut.”

“Heat inducer in it’s rawest form has been known to have side effects on Alphas that can mimic…” The EMT shut his mouth as I glared. “You should probably go to the hospital just to be safe.”

“Pop,” I said, getting to my feet reluctantly with Cassie’s help. He appeared from near a SUV with a Helena PD t-shirt in hand. “This is why you’re my favorite employee.”

“I don’t think you can openly have favorites,” said Cassie, raising her brow. I frowned. 

“Blame it on the Rutcan,” I said, shoving the shirt on, looking around for my jacket. Screw it. It was probably at the hospital. “Cassie, I don’t know what the hell you’re doing here but you need to go home. Now.”

“Uh, there’s only a million cop cars on the street. Jenny texted, said you needed help so of course I came.” I sighed, nodding as I checked my pockets, grateful all my gear was still there. “So what’s going on to make downtown look like the end of Die Hard?”

“Pop, status?” I asked, ignoring her. He shook his head, wincing when I didn’t bother to hide my curse. “What, he slipped out of the net?”

“Looks like from what we can tell is the omega got away from Hunter somehow further up the street.” My gaze drifted down the sidewalk to the last block where Stormy’s Bar sat beyond the construction area. “Think she came from there?”

“Those scumbags are twisted motherfuckers but they aren’t stupid enough to shit where they eat. It wasn’t them.” I ran a hand through my hair, putting my hands on my hips, both of them looking where I was. “She was in workout clothes and sneakers, had a smart watch on. My gut says she was running over at the park or near there and ran into Hunter in there.”

I spun around, both of them looking at each other. Cassie crossed her arms, biting her bottom lip. “Okay, putting aside the fact I still don’t know what is happening, why the hell would she be running in Cartridge Park? I thought it was permanently closed. The gates have been locked for months since that body was found…oh please don’t tell me what I think it happening is happening.”

“That we have a serial killer lose in Helena? Fine, I won’t tell you,” I said. Cassie smacked my arm. Hard. Pop pretended to take a call, leaving me along to rub my arm. “Cassie, I couldn’t tell you.”

“I’m one of your best friends! And I-”

“You were not in danger, neither was Noah,” I cut her off, her anger fading a sliver. “He only goes after female Omegas.”

“I thought that omega had a heart attack,” she dead panned. 

“...Not a natural one,” I mumbled, pulling her around the side of brick building to the side street, Cassie’s face hard. “Cassie, I cannot have a public panic. You know that. Swear you keep this quiet.”

“Fine. But you’re telling me everything starting with how many victims have there been so far.” 

“Seven.” She tilted her head like she heard me wrong. God, I wish I was. “He has a type. Female omega. Age range is pretty big. Youngest was twenty two, oldest forty seven. Single. Recently moved to town. He started with the older ones first so we didn’t even realize until two vics ago that these weren’t heart attacks in seemingly healthy women. We think he got annoyed with us and made it obvious.”

“Okay but that woman they just took to the hospital, she was in heat.” I breathed deeply, rubbing my temple. “Heat inducers can cause a heart attack?”

“No, they can’t.” I crossed my arms, tilting my head back to stare at the darkening sky above. Here I thought I’d be halfway through a slice of meat lovers pizza and watching Love Is Blind with Em right now. “Basic sex ed. An omega’s heat passes either naturally with time or by mating. Heat inducers help omegas with hormone issues stay on a regular schedule, right?”

Cassie leaned back against the brick wall, her eyes closing in realization. “He gives them the heat inducer to force a heat to slow them down and grab them. Then he keeps giving it to them.”

I sighed, giving her a simple nod. “Autopsy on previous vics shows off the charts levels of heat inducers and heat markers in the bloodstream. We got some big wig doctor at the university hospital to look at the data. Cassie, he keeps them in a never ending heat for anywhere from two to three weeks until their hearts literally stop from the exertion.”

“He doesn’t need to restrain them,” she said, my head nodding. “The heat turns their own bodies into prisons.”

“And he watches them suffer. For fun. He put a note on the last girl telling us so. That is who we are chasing and that omega at the hospital is the first real lead we have.” She glanced down the quieter street, making a face.

“Does Emily know?” I pursed my lips, looking away and beyond at the darkening mountains beyond. If we didn’t catch Hunter and soon, he could easily slip away into the forest or hills. Damn it, I should have pout on gloves before I touched that omega’s neck. I knew about the heat inducer. Stupid, stupid. If someone else got hurt- “Beau. Does she know?”

“She’s not even capable of getting a heat for at least a few more years.” Cassie eyed me up and down, looking right through me. “...She’s known for a few months.”

Cassie gritted her teeth, breathing deeply to calm down. “Do you think she’s in danger?” I scoffed.

“After all the shit that happened last year, fuck yes I think she’s in danger. Constantly. But I can’t get her to go down to her mother’s. She’s a stubborn as hell seventeen year old.”

“Is an officer keeping tabs on her?” 

“Who’s the cop here, Cassie? There’s always one within fifty feet of her which has earned me a whole lot of brownie points.” I tilted my head, Cassie sighing. “You really think she’s a target?”

“I was headed down to Seattle to visit my sister next week…I could do that early, take Em with us if you want. Give you some peace of mind.”

“I don’t want to go to Seattle.” My head whipped around fast, eyes wide when I saw Emily approaching with a very remorseful looking Officer Jergens. I started for him, Emily cutting me off. “You said all hands on deck and I told him you’d fire him if you didn’t show up. Whoops.”

“You and I are going to talk,” I said to the officer, his head nodding quickly. My gaze turned on Emily, her eyes narrowed. “And you? You’re getting out of town until this situation is resolved. End of story.”

“I’m not even able to have a heat for a few more years. I don’t fit the victim profile at all.”

“You’re the Sheriff’s daughter though,” said Cassie before I could respond. Emily frowned, Cassie taking a few steps towards her. “This guy is bad news, Em. It doesn’t matter if you’re presented fully or not. He might not care about that or he might try to use you to get to your dad.”

“I’m not leaving.” I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, Emily straightening her own back in response. “Don’t pull your Alpha crap. I. Am. Staying.”

“Would you back me up?” I said, Cassie shrugging. “Cassandra. You’re a parent. Talk to her.”

“Emily, I’m booking Noah and me a flight for the morning. You are more than welcome to come to Seattle with us. Beau…maybe she wants to stay because something bad happened to her last year and she wants to face it this time, not let it rule her life…or yours.” 

“Some friend you are,” I grumbled, crossing my arms, Emily doing the same. I stared her down, Emily giving it right back. Damn stubborn child. “Emily-”

“Two days. Then I’m flying home. Got it?” she said. I exhaled slowly, her face softening at the relaxation in mine. “Be fucking careful, dad.”

“Thank you,” I said, kissing her temple. “Now Officer Jergens is going to take you out wherever you want for dinner and then take you home to pack.” I gave him my attention, Jergens swallowing thickly. “Anything happens to her, they won’t be able to find pieces of you. Understand?”

“Yes sir,” he said, Cassie giving me a smile. 

“Come on, Em. As long as Jergens is paying, lets go grab Noah and go all out,” she said. My officer sighed, getting them both out of there as my phone rang.

“Arlen,” I answered.

“Sheriff, this is Dr. Olson at County Memorial. We were asked to give you an update on the omega that came in.”

“Yes, you’re that specialist we’ve been working with,” I said, heading back up the sidewalk where my officers were scattered all over the street, some talking to people, others doing a gride search. “Is she still alive?”

“Yes, the Blaze you gave her slowed the heat inducer. She had a very atypical reaction to the inducer. We can’t be positive until we get results back but we belive your Hunter suspect has increased the dosage which causes additional strain on the omega. We gave her a high dose of heat stopper in the ER which pulled her out of it. She was being moved to a room to rest but…” I could hear him move around, footfalls against linoleum. “We can’t seem to find her.”

“Excuse me?” I shook my head. “I sent a detective with her. Jenny Hoyt. Blonde, always wears a leather jacket-”

“We can’t find her either.” 

“Lock that hospital down now,” I said, snapping my fingers at Pop and a trio of officers he was talking to. “County Memorial. The victim and Hoyt are missing.”

Reader POV

You woke up with a headache and the taste of cinnamon in your mouth. You sat up from the stretcher you laid on, spitting onto the linoleum floor. 

“Fucking Blaze,” you grumbled, holding a hand to your head as you looked around. You jumped as you realized the room you were in, eyes wide as the door opened. “The morgue? Really?”

“I improvised.” You spotted a familiar face, relaxing slightly. He turned his head the same direction as you when you heard a grunt. Your eyes landed on a blonde woman taped to an office chair in the corner, a sticky piece of medical tape over her mouth. She looked between the two of you, her eyebrows raising. “Can you walk?”

“I don’t know,” you said, swinging your legs off the table. You touched the ground, legs wobbling hard before you started to go down. A strong arm wrapped around your waist, helping you back up on the stretcher. “Do you know what they gave me?”

“Some kind of heat stopper I’m guessing,” he said, going into a room off to the side, returning with two pairs of new blue scrubs. “Change.”

He stripped down to his boxer briefs and had his pants up by the time you managed to reach behind and pull off the tie on the back of your gown. 

“You didn’t happen to find a bra back there, did you?” you joked as he went to your back, pulling away the gown from behind. He dropped a bra in your lap, catching your smile over your shoulder. “Always the boy scout.”

You got your arms through the loops, his large fingers attaching the clasp in the back before he helped to tug your scrub shirt. 

“What are you going to do with her?” you asked. He came around to your front and knelt down, pulling up your pants and shoving a pair of cheap sneakers on your feet. His gaze darkened as he looked past you. You touched a hand to his cheek, a waft of angry hormones coming off him. “She’s just doing her job.”

“She’ll know our faces,” he said, standing again, putting his own tee on. He reached under the stretcher and pulled out a backpack, releasing a gun and holster from the front pocket. He tucked it in his waistband before tossing it on the stretcher. “You. Alpha girl.”

You watched him go to her, lean down in her angry face with a lifted chin.

“Listen very carefully. I did not hurt her tonight. End of story,” he said, pointing back at you. “I will die before I let something happen to her and I’m going to beat myself up over what happened this evening for a very long time so I can guarantee that doesn’t happen again. Go hunt down who did this to her and I will keep her safe. If you come looking for us, you jeopardize her. I will kill anyone who does that. Am I clear?”

The blonde woman’s gaze travelled over to you, eyes snapping back when he grabbed her chin.

“Do not come after us.” You rolled your eyes, shifting on the stretcher, rubbing out your thigh and hoping to get some feeling back in it.

“Don’t be a dickhead. Let go of her. Now.” He grumbled but listened, her eyes softening when you gave her a half-there smile. “I promise he’s not holding me against my will. It’s complicated is all.”

He turned around, putting his hands on his hips. “You think that’s going to make her think I’m not the guy who attacked you?”

“Oh, she already knows that. Anyone could smell your protective Alpha shit all over this room. All she’s trying to do is figure out what’s going on so like I said, back off of the police officer.” He breathed hard, closing his eyes like he often did when you frustrated him. 

“Fine. We’ll toss her in a morgue drawer.”

“No!” Her scent flashed with fear she couldn’t hide, eyes darting back and forth between you and your stubborn Alpha. “We’re going to leave her here, in that chair, and that’s it. Okay? Ma’am, I’m sorry for him. He’s in a bad mood because I was attacked and he doesn’t let shit like that go.”

“Don’t apologize for me,” he said, pushing you to lie back on the stretcher. 

“Don’t be a dick and I won’t have to.” He rolled his eyes and grabbed a sheet from a nearby table. “You really think you can roll me out of here?”

“I think you let me figure that out. Now be quiet and don’t move.” He tossed the sheet over top of you and tucked the backpack between your legs, the stretcher moving somewhere. You tried to stay calm, eyes squeezed shut. 

“Sh,” he murmured, reaching over top of the sheet and squeezing your hand for a fleeting moment. “Ninety seconds and we’ll be in the car nice and safe. Just breathe nice and slow for me.”

You didn’t answer as he turned down a corner, a tiny flash of annoyance in his scent you recognized instantly. Crap.

“Sir, the hospital’s in lockdown,” said a new voice. You caught two new scents. Double crap. 

“Shit man, can’t I just get this body outside? The funeral home should be here any minute to pick it up. My boss’ll kill me if I fuck up and make them wait again,” said the Alpha, his grip on the stretcher tightening. 

“Sorry sir but no exceptions.” You swallowed, feeling a hand tug the end of the stretcher near your feet. “We’d be more than happy to turn over the body to the funeral home for you.”

“Nah man, I can’t do that. No offense but I can’t let a body go unattended. Appreciate it though,” he said. You felt him try to tug you backwards, the hand on the other end of the cart tugging it back. 

“What’s the rush? I’m sure this’ll clear up in a minute.”

“You want to leave a dead body in a seventy degree hallway? Man, my boss would really kill me then,” he chuckled, the tension in the air rising. “I got to get it back to cold storage.”

“Lift up the sheet.” Two seconds later you were on the ground, the stretcher tipped over by who you didn’t know. You blinked, a strong arm around your waist, yours instinctively finding the backpack and bringing it to your chest. You could see they were hospital security guards, one with their hands raised, the other with his hand on his holster.

“Don’t do it,” you said to the guard, seeing an arm outstretched, glock in hand in your periphery. 

“I’d listen to her,” said the Alpha holding you up. The guard debated before holding his hands up.

“The cops are already on their way,” said the guard as they both got on the ground.

“No shit,” said the Alpha, dragging you with him and out the door. Your legs were still weak but you could stumble along with his help. 

“I ever tell you how good you are at making friends?” you said when the door outside shut behind you. He scoffed, finding a piece of plastic from some kind of tray on the ground and shoving it under the door, jamming it, at least for long enough to get away.

“I’m amazing at making friends,” he said, bending and scooping you up bridal style. “I thought I told you to stay quiet.”

“I got to keep you on your toes,” you said. He jogged as fast as he could with you for the parking lot, cursing when two black and whites sped through the lot entrance in the distance. “Company.”

“I see them.” You both froze when a gunshot rang out from nearby. 

“Put her on the ground.” You leaned your head back, wide eyed when you recognized the Alpha from the sidewalk.

“You’re the guy that gave me Blaze on the street.” Your eyes drifted lower, spotting the badge on his hip. Your gaze travelled back up, his gun aimed at the Alpha carrying you. Your eyes met the Alpha’s green ones, a reassurance to them. “Thank you for everything but you need to let us leave.”

“He can’t hurt you anymore,” said the cop. You looked away and up at the Alpha that held you as you were set down. 

“What the hell-” you mumbled, his arms holding you upright.

“Make a run for the car. It’s one row back on the left. I’ll hold him off. You know what to do,” he whispered against your ear. “Now.”

You didn’t even make it a step when you fell forward without his support. He reached for you instinctively, the cop taking advantage and tackling him straight to the ground. The glock went scattering from the Alpha’s waistband on the pavement as all three of you went down.

You flinched when the cop punched him square in the jaw, the two wrestling as you slowly tried to inch yourself towards the black sedan in the distance.

But it was too late. More cop cars flooded the lot, there were at least three hospital guards surrounding the two men fighting on the ground and you backed straight into an officer’s legs.

“You’re okay, ma’am. You’re okay,” he said as you locked eyes with your friend as he got cold clocked in the face. The cop rolled away and there were multiple guns aimed at the Alpha on the ground breathing hard. “He won’t hurt you.”

“Stop!” you shouted as someone kicked him in the ribs, rolling him to put him in cuffs. You wracked your brain, squeezing your eyes. “Beau! Beau Arlen, right?”

“Yes,” said the green eyed Alpha, voice gentle as he came over to you, kneeling down. “I’m surprised you remember. It’s all going to be alright now. He can’t hurt you. He is going far away-”

“The fuck he is,” snarled an angry voice. You swallowed when the blonde cop, Jennyy Hoyt you’d thought her name was, stormed over with tape stuck to the sleeves of her jacket. She leered down at you, venom in her eyes. “Neither is she. She’s fucking working with that guy.”

“You’re wrong. She’s clearly…” trailed off Beau when you looked away. His heated gaze didn’t leave your skin, his gaze drifting over to the cuffed Alpha, surely catching the look of concern you shared. “Did that man over there attack you tonight?”

“No,” you sighed, closing your eyes. “No, whoever that was is still out there.”

Beau looked you up and down again when you managed to face him, biting his bottom lip. “I want these two brought into the station for questioning. Hoyt, Pop, go back to the manhunt. Ellis, Berks. Take him to interrogation A. I’ll follow with her. I need to have a word alone with our new friend here first.”

You swallowed as he came around behind you, wrapping an arm around your waist, the other taking your backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. He walked you away front he commotion slowly, letting you take your time on your shaky legs. Everything in your head said you had to get away from him but something about his scent had you trusting him. Maybe if you played along, you could get the Alpha out of police custody before they realized what had happened.

“So,” said Beau two seconds after sliding in behind the wheel of his truck. You reluctantly sat in the passenger one, swallowing as you watched the other cars leave the lot. “Let’s start with the basics. What’s your name?”

You frowned, looking at your lap. “Okay. Is that man your Alpha?”

You shook your head.

“Boyfriend?” You couldn’t hide your snort, Beau humming.

“He was putting out some major signals in his scent.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you said, staring out the window.

“Either you tell me what the hell is going on or I’m going to have to charge him with kidnapping, assault on an officer-”

“Then charge him. Now as far as I see, I’m the victim. You can’t know that I wasn’t playing along with him back in that morgue just to survive. So charge me or let me go.” Beau licked his lips, smirking. “What?”

“That being held against your will doesn’t really work when you were on your own earlier tonight and your man was so adamant about not being your attacker. I saw it in the way we fought. He wasn’t concerned about winning. He was buying time for you. So. Let’s try this again. Tell me your name.”

“And what do I get if I do?” He scoffed. “I’ll make you a deal. You don’t put my guy in the system and we’ll tell you everything. Only you.”

“You got a deal.”

___________

A/N: Part 2 is coming 5/18!

[cordi-winchester]

Imagine...Ghosts In The Bunker

Pairing: Dean x reader

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[cordi-winchester]

Imagine...How Jared Comforts You On A Bad Day

Pairing: Jared x reader

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[cordi-winchester]

[cordi-winchester]

Wrecked (Part 1)

Summary: Dean's in the mood to push you to your limits tonight...

Pairing: Dom!Dean x sub!reader

Word Count: 1,000ish

Warnings: language, smut (dom/sub, sex toys, bondage)

A/N: This is part 1 of a 2 part fic I wrote with my friend Elaina (aka @campingmonkey )! To see part 2 written by her (linked below), be sure to hop over to her blog! Pst, she also makes gifs too!

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You arched your back, sighing quietly through your first orgasm, bottom lip tucked between your teeth. Dean slid his body back up to yours, stealing your lips away for his own pleasure, smiling against them. You went to reach for his hair, keep him close, but felt the gentle tug of the padded restraint on your wrist.

“Good girl,” Dean murmured against your ear, one hand sliding between your bodies, finding your breast and brushing over your pointed nipple. You groaned as he teased it. A pinch here. Roll of the fingers there. You strained again, huffing when he tsked you. “Greedy tonight, are we?”

“Dean,” you growled, pouting when he stopped playing with you completely. His face hovered over yours, a dark smirk on his face.

“Good girls get orgasms and you’re not being very good right now. Maybe I ought to remind you how to behave.” 

“No! I can be good,” you said, Dean already winking and disappearing from view. You swallowed when he rolled off the bed, rummaging around. You lifted your head, frowning when he returned to the end of the bed holding a small black tube. 

“I love this little thing,” he said, flipping the switch on. You swallowed thickly, Dean grinning as you squeezed your legs together. “No, no. You wanted me to give you my full attention and you’ve got it.”

He swatted your thigh, the two of you staring at one another, silently fighting for control. “Open now or I edge you for an hour and you don’t get to come again tonight.”

You closed your eyes and relented. You spread yourself wide for him, Dean humming his satisfaction at your compliance. Your breath hitched as the bed dipped, the low vibrations of the mini vibe against your clit pleasant but nowhere near enough to get you off.

“Give me one, sweetheart,” he murmured, kissing up your body, mouthing at you nipple. “Just one and I’ll fuck you so hard you’ll feel me for days.”

You arched your hips up into his hand, Dean teasing you by pulling the vibe away. You yanked on the restraints again, Dean toying with your breast with his free hand, his mouth nipping at the other. With an ungodly amount of willpower, you forced your legs to go still and body to ease back into the bed. Dean rewarded you with the vibe, a thin layer of sweat breaking out over your warm skin. 

You whole body was tingly, wanting desperately that second orgasm that would blow the first one out of the water. Dean Winchester was a man that knew how to deliver on the first go around but there was nothing he loved more than pushing you to the edge of your limits and then some. Which was clearly his goal tonight. You could feel that familiar pressure in your core growing but Dean wanted that elusive nipple orgasm that you’d only managed a few times before.

He sucked hard on your breast, his pinching becoming borderline painful but god, it felt so damn good. Sparks of pleasure ran from your nipples straight to your clit, Dean humming as you started to grind against the vibrator. Hips rolled in time with his assault on your breasts, Dean sure to leave bruises behind. Fuck, you were right there, Dean greedily crushing the poor bud under his strong fingers.

And then the vibrations stopped and you thrust up into open air, clit throbbing as your deep, low orgasm rumbled through you, turning sharp and pointed when Dean didn’t let up teasing your breasts. You cried out, legs scrambling for something to squeeze, Dean pushing you through it until you were sucking in deep breaths.

“And you say you hate that toy,” he chuckled, swiping his tongue over your nipple, an ungodly spark of pleasure coursing through you. “So…sensitive.”

He brought the vibe up, leaning down to kiss you roughly as he let the tip of it drag over your swollen peak. You squealed straight into him, Dean’s tongue mapping out your mouth for the millionth time. You pressed your chest up, Dean kissing you harder as your head spun, a brutal wave of pleasure building up in your body.

“You’re right,” he said, suddenly pulling everything away, your head spinning as the cusp of another high was stolen. “Such a silly little toy. I ought to go throw this away.”

Some garbled half moan, half screech left your lips, Dean grinning and climbing on top of you. The tip of his cock hit your clit and you nearly forgot how to breathe.

“One more for me, sweetheart.” You were so wet there was no need for lube. Dean slammed himself inside of you in one go, resting one hand by your head. You squeezed your eyes shut, Dean’s lips finding yours. “Go as many times you need to, sweetheart, cause I ain’t stopping until I give you all I got.”

Dean’s hips snapped forward, your walls trying desperately to clamp down onto him as he fucked your pliant body hard and fast. You shouted against his closed lips when the vibe touched your clit, an orgasm rocking through you, head pounding. Dean didn’t falter one bit, even with the added friction of your death grip on his cock. Over and over, your toes curling, legs wrapped around his back so hard you knew you’d leave marks on him.

Your orgasm barely faded before you rolled into the next one, Dean kissing under your jaw as you openly shouted. Too much pleasure rocked your body, too much heat, too much of Dean’s scent, his kisses, his body all around yours.

You threw your head back hard when you came around him, Dean biting your collarbone, his cock throbbing as he came deep within you.

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A/N: Be sure to check out Part 2 here!

[cordi-winchester]

Imagine...Catching Dean Off Guard

Pairing: Dean x reader

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[cordi-winchester]

Angry Puppy

Summary: The reader thinks Jensen volunteered to go a spin class with him but he has other plans…

Pairing: Bodyguard!Jensen x reader

Word Count: 1,200ish

Warnings: language

A/N: Been awhile since I did some Jensen stuff. Here’s a little something I whipped up awhile back!…

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[cordi-winchester]

Headcanon: How They Celebrate Your Birthday

This is for everyone but extra Happy Birthday to my girl @zepskies 🥳

Dean Winchester

Cooks you a breakfast with all the fixin’s including eggs, bacon, pancakes, hashbrowns and huevos rancheros 

Insists on washing your hair during your morning shower

Takes you into town to a bookstore and proceeds to tell you that you have ten minutes to grab whatever books you want, he’s buying (Dean will be alarmed at how quickly you rush away from him down the aisles)

After making room in Baby for your haul, he swings through your favorite deli, grabbing road trip food

You raise an eyebrow, wondering if a hunt popped up, but instead Dean heads towards the state park, smiling behind his sunglasses 

“What are we doing?” You’d ask

“That.” 

He’d grin hard when you turned a corner and found a pavilion with streamers and balloons, a large group of people underneath

“What’s that?”

“Your birthday party, sweetheart.” He flashed a wink, grabbing your chin and pecking a chaste kiss on your lips. “Surprise!”

Beau Arlen

Let’s you sleep in like the true king he is

Leaves you flowers and a cheeky note on your nightstand teasing you with how he can’t wait to get his hands on you tonight

Surprises you in the kitchen, pouring you a cup of coffee with a smirk, letting you know that he took the day off to spend it together

Beau takes you on your favorite hike in the mountains (and will take any excuse to see you in leggings and a sports bra)

After a wonderful joint shower at home, you go out to lunch, Beau taking you to an exclusive place downtown that he may or may not have threatened to call the health inspector if he didn’t get a reservation today

You walk main street together, popping into the mom and pop shops, Beau discreetly buying a bracelet he’d notice you’d looked at no less than four times

Inside the bakery, you shared a piece of cake for your dessert before Beau abruptly informed you that you were going to be late if you didn’t head out soon

Two hours and one change into a dress later, Beau was escorting you out of the truck to where his rarely used air stream sat

The air smelled delicious and you grinned at the romantic table set up on the porch under string lights

“All this for me, Arlen?”

“Oh no,” he said, reaching into his pocket, slipping the bracelet onto your wrist. “This is for my other girlfriend. Just wanted your opinion on it.”

“Such a loser,” you’d grin

He’d lean down to kiss you, smiling against your lips. “Oh, yeah. I’m such a loser.”

Soldier Boy

Wakes you up with kisses in ahem “places”

Informs that you as it’s your special day, it’d be better to spend it in your birthday suit. With him. In bed. 

Has all of your favorite foods delivered to the house. Coffee. Brunch. Even that hole in the wall place he said he’d rather die than step foot in again

Let’s you top him and to his surprise, finds he enjoys little spooning

Carries you to the tub for a long soak when he breaks your previous record

Brings you a glass of your favorite drink and lays your body down on fresh sheets at the end of the night

Rests a padded jewelry box on top of your pillow, smiling shyly

Inside you find a necklace you recognize as his mother’s from photographs and catch the nervous look on his face

“You like it?”

“Best present ever, Ben”

Russell Shaw

Has a suspiciously large pink box delivered to the front porch which has you scratching your head considering he’s supposed to be on a different continent at the moment

Inside the box is a card that informs you to turn around where you find Russell holding a cake

Russell barely gets the cake on the counter before you jump in his arms and he carries you back to bed

After a long nap, you’d awaken to Russell cooking you a late lunch in nothing more than a pair of gray sweats

“So when do I get to unwrap my present?” you asked, nodding to the box

“Later,” he teased. “Let me dote on you first.”

Doting included the best lunch of your life, a back rub, foot rub, shared bath with too many bubbles to count and then wrapping you up in a blanket that surely was made from sort of mythical animal

“Alpaca. Picked it up a while ago for ya in Patagonia.” He’d bring the pink box in the room, setting it in your lap. “Your true present, m’lady.”

“Oh yeah I’m sure-” You screamed, unfurling from the blanket, standing on the bed naked. “YOU GOT THEM?”

“I was really hoping you’d be more excited,” he frowned, quickly breaking into a laugh. 

“HOW? Tell me you didn’t kill someone to get these.” You’d pick up the VIP concert tickets you’d been unable to get six months ago, Russell laying back on the bed giggling. 

You’d plop down to your knees, Russell resting a hand on your bare thigh

“Connections, baby. I also may have hacked into the system to see who bought tickets and then threatened to report the guy for having an outstanding warrant if he didn’t sell them to me but it was all connections.”

“I love you so much!” He giggled again, pulling you down against him. “You got them!”

“Anything for my girl.”

___________

[cordi-winchester]

Future Days

"Hello Benjamin." He shook his head, out of breath, looking you up and down.

"How are you alive? And so young?" he demanded. "I ain't seen you since '57."

"I suppose you can thank yourself for that." You looked over your shoulder, watching a guard enter the room and slowly back out. "I like the beard. It suits you."

"Y/N-"

"You sure took your sweet ass time coming back to me. How many years has it been?"

"Sixty eight," he whispered, freezing in place as you placed a hand to his cheek.

"Take me home, Ben. We have a lot to talk about. Especially that son of ours."

"Ours?"

_________

[cordi-winchester]

Old Faces

Summary: At seventeen, Dean fell hard for the girl in his high school English class. He never got a chance to make a move before he was on the road again. When he bumps into her working the same case as himself, he wants to know how her apple pie life got flipped upside down…

Pairing: Dean x reader

Word Count: 1,200ish

Warnings: language

A/N: Enjoy!…

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[cordi-winchester]

Imagine...Dean Trying To Keep A Secret From You

Pairing: Dean x reader

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