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The instant Eren is swarmed by an excited gaggle of betas, all chattering and crooning and offering their hands to him, the omega scrunches his nose and immediately turns away, leaving.
Even when his packmates chase after him inside the den, he merely pulls a face and hisses, tail lashing at the air. One of the younger betas lowers their hand with a confused warble, looking towards the others.
They’ll learn soon that being an omega doesn’t control Eren.
He doesn’t give the scent they’re offering a chance, not one bit, retiring to the royal chambers to find Grisha busy weaving reeds together, a pup happily curled up against his chest.
Eren’s dam takes one look at the younger’s sour expression and huffs, rolling his eyes.
He drops down into his own little nest and glares at the entrance as an excited beta charges in, hand raised. Eren’s lips twist into a snarl. She slows down, head tilting ever so slightly, but continues approaching. And when she offers her hand, the omega growls, glaring.
Not. Interested.
So what if there’s a new arrival to their territory? He doesn’t care. It’s just another alpha wanting to throw their weight around and claim a mate so they can start their own little pack. Yeah, well, it’s not going to be Eren they bond with, nope!
When Eren recognises Hange, he settles down, watching the strange beta-not-beta as they walk over to him and crouch nearby. At least Hange doesn’t try to force the stranger’s scent upon him.
He has to turn away four more betas before they finally leave him alone.
Eren knows how this goes, gaze locked upon the den’s entrance. Unmated alphas drift between packs, searching for unmated omegas to make their own pack with.
And when the betas accept them as a non-threat, they’ll go seeking out the omega in question, even inside the den.
Eren continues waiting, staring, ears pinned flat to his hair, blinking. Whoever it is, they’re not going to get some complicit, happy, submissive little omega who is so eager to be swept away from their family to start a new one.
Grisha sighs louder as he tends to his pups.
No one appears though.
Eren lounges within his small nest, stretching across pelts. Maybe they left? They didn’t like the look of the betas and assumed Eren would look like them?
So he gives up on his defensive position and, after checking Grisha doesn’t need anything, leaves.
But the moment he exits the den he realises, no, this prowling alpha did not, in fact, leave.
Eren watches as the scarred stranger peers at a tiny pup from the previous year’s litter as he crawls closer to danger and play-hisses. His blood runs cold, fur standing on end.
Sharp claws move towards the youngster.
Eren kicks himself into motion, snarling as he charges the alpha. There’s only a split second for the other to react, and he does, bouncing backwards with his lips twisted into a sneer of his own, teeth bared as he glares with one eye.
Eren scoops up the tiny pup as he whimpers, clinging to the omega and looking around with big eyes, shivering from the sudden stench that pours into the area around them.
Regardless of this stranger being an alpha, a threat is a threat. Eren’s pack snarls from nearby.
The alpha blinks and settles, not even growling in response to the aggressive display. He doesn’t even try to get into a fight.
Judging by his milky eye and missing fingers, he’s scared of losing.
Eren snorts and intentionally smacks his tail against the alpha as he leaves.
He walks past a smiling Hange on the way, the not-beta speaking to themself in that strange manner he doesn’t understand. But, whatever; they’ve been around since Eren was born, he trusts them, they’re just… weird, different.
Eren deposits the pup beside Grisha and lies down.
He expects to wake up the following day and go about his usual business of helping to tend to the pack’s young while Carla is out hunting.
Instead, he wakes up to the betas all chattering and buzzing as they crowd the den’s entrance.
Carla harrumphs and croons for Eren.
There, covered in some ferns to ward off pests and flies, is a deer. Freshly caught, it’s still bleeding slightly. But they haven’t gone hunting yet? Carla’s right here.
And her gaze is locked on something opposite their den entrance.
Across the way sits the culprit.
That same alpha as the day prior sits beside a tree, intently focused on grooming his claws, licking them clean and scraping away anything beneath.
Eren growls, but the betas beside him nicker as they investigate the meal, the ‘gift’ they’ve been provided by the alpha.
Carla gives Eren an odd look before barking to summon the rest of her hunting party, preparing to depart.
Eren continues glaring. The alpha doesn’t so much as look in his direction.
This is… odd behaviour. This alpha is acting strange. It doesn’t make sense!
Alphas don’t bring ‘gifts’ when they want a mate; they convince the betas they only want the unmated omega, they waltz into the den where omegas normally hide away, they mate the omega, and then they leave with their new mate to make their own pack.
This… is weird!
Maybe it’s because he’s older. Normally, as soon as an alpha has their first rut, they depart to find a mate to begin their pack, to become the King and Queen of their own territory.
This stranger is past that point. He must be unappealing for some reason.
It’s not the scars; he’s definitely a skilled fighter to have been in so many fights and survived.
It’s not his scent; he can smell the appealing essence clinging to the deer.
It’s not his appearance; the alpha’s stare pierces through Eren, muscles toned and defined.
The instant Hange arrives, however, the strange alpha shifts positions, crouched and staring at the not-beta. Eren snorts.
Hange gives him an odd look as they do their weird walk over to the pack, greeting them after their night spent wherever it is they go to.
Eren greets his furless, tailless packmate with a hum and walks past them. He can hear Hange following as he approaches the alpha that had brought them their morning meal without prompting or asking for anything in return.
The only sign he knows Eren is there is an ear twitch.
He chatters in greeting, but the alpha merely lifts his gaze, chuffs in response, and continues grooming and cleaning himself, removing the stains of crimson marring his skin.
Eren frowns, puzzled.
And when the stranger doesn’t respond much to him, he’s even more confused!
No matter his questioning sounds, head tilting to exaggerate his inquiries, the alpha merely blinks at him and doesn’t respond.
Eren snorts. How rude!
But before he can leave, Hange trots closer.
This time, the raven hisses and arches his back, making himself bigger.
The omega snarls in response, getting between the two and protecting his non-aggressive packmate without hesitation.
That manages to at least convince the other to settle, no longer baring his fangs.
Yeah, okay, Hange may be a weird, lanky, hairless not-beta, but they’re good!
Only when Hange starts gesturing alongside their slightly-off crooning and chirruping, using body language and pointing, does the stranger finally understand what’s being asked.
He gives a small dip of his head to Eren, respectful.
He got it… for him
Hange is the one that manages to communicate their names—still such a strange thing for a beta to have a name, something normally reserved for those of importance such as an alpha or omega. Still, Hange is different, but welcome in their pack.
The alpha calls himself Levi.
He makes noises Eren isn’t familiar with, rougher and sharper. Another dialect from a distant pack maybe? Either way, the alpha stands and begins moving, tail held above the ground so it doesn’t drag.
When the omega doesn’t move, Levi barks at him, louder, persistent.
Maybe he’s stupid for following the alpha, but he’s curious! He hasn’t met an alpha like this before. To be fair, he’s only met around five aside from Carla, but they’ve all tried to simply take him as their mate without caring about his wishes. He showed them who’s boss…
So when he trails after Levi, every single sense is on high alert. The last time he was allowed to wander so far from the den was when Grisha was sick and Carla needed all hands on deck with bringing home food and herbs to tend to her sick mate.
But now he can see it all freely.
Levi comes to a halt beside a rushing stream, water white from how fast it’s going. Eren hesitates beside it, but when the alpha pounces across to a stone poking out of the water, he doesn’t plan on being left behind!
He almost slips the first jump, claws keeping him upright.
Instead of crossing, however, the scarred alpha turns and stares at the water, eyes narrowed and tail held aloft, frozen in place.
Eren tenses as well, mimicking his posture. What’s he looking at…?
The omega jolts in surprise when the alpha lunges forward with claws extended.
Levi rears backwards on his hind legs, almost thrown off balance by the added weight of a giant, wriggling fish in his clutches that he bites into, fangs sinking down with a solid crunch.
It falls still.
The alpha turns to look at Eren expectantly.
…What?
Levi grunts at him, head tilting at the water. Eren peers down at it and swallows.
He wants him to hunt? To catch a fish? But… why? That’s not what omegas are for! They’re meant to—
Oh.
Eren’s eyes light up. The alpha doesn’t see him only as a breeder; they’re equals.
Failing to hide his giddy joy, Eren stares at the water, blinking and squinting until he spots a flash of silvery scales. He swipes, misses, and almost falls in. The omega huffs and, after checking the alpha again, searches for another fish.
This time he really does fall in.
Eren holds his breath the moment his head goes under, scrambling to grab onto the rock he was seated on, only for his grip to slide right off.
Claws latch onto Eren’s arm, teeth biting at his shoulder, not hard enough to break but definitely bruising as he’s pulled to safety.
So close to his face, Eren stares at Levi as he’s dragged clear of the water until he’s back on dry ground.
He drops down into a crouch once there, fur sodden and tail tucked between his legs. He sneezes water from his nose.
The alpha growls a low, threatening rumble.
Eren lifts his head up, mouth already open to snarl in response, but Levi is looking off somewhere else. A sniff of the air doesn’t give away what he’s growling at. But when Eren follows his gaze, he realises the other is looking towards Eren’s pack, back where their den is.
He’s mad… at Eren’s pack? For what? Because Eren can’t swim? How is that—?
Right, they never taught him. Why would an omega need to know how to swim? They’ll never leave the den anyways.
Eren snorts louder, this one filled with distaste. Look at him now, not in the den.
Levi steps towards the stream and looks back at him, head tilting slightly. Eren doesn’t quite understand the meaning behind his low chirp, but he thinks the alpha is offering him another chance? To try again without falling into the water.
Eren refuses to give up so soon!
It’s not until the sun is beginning to set that Eren finally returns to his pack, proudly holding a fish aloft and crowing proudly. A couple betas nearby minding the young pups perk up with excited barks. Hange gapes, mouth open, and hurries closer with a thrilled yell.
Eren huffs and brushes off their hand when they check his neck—he’s not mated, stop it! Well, he can’t blame them; they can’t smell very well, can’t tell if he’s mated or not without looking.
Either way, Eren takes his prize inside the den while Levi waits outside.
Carla perks up from her task of skinning her hunt, brows raised upon spotting the fish her omega son had caught. She croons, scent wavering slightly, but doesn’t stop him from showing off his prize to Grisha.
Even he’s startled and a little confused, but still purrs happily.
Eren lets the betas share the fish while Carla offers him some of the pheasant she’d caught during her hunt—a meal he’s rather fond of.
And when he exits the den, licking his hands clean, Eren’s greeted by the sound of a distressed, screeching pup. He tenses, searching.
Chasing the noise, the omega circles round a couple bushes to find two betas and a gaggle of younger pups looking on fondly, laughing at the youngster’s agitation.
Why is it making such noise?
Because Levi has the tiny thing pinned while he grooms its filthy coat.
As Eren approaches, slow and inquisitive, one of the betas notices and nudges the other caretaker, the pair ushering away their assigned litter—with a young alpha in it too. One gives Eren a small bark and gesture towards the feisty pup being groomed by the alpha.
Levi’s ears twitch at his presence, aware but not reacting as he focuses on cleaning the squirming pup. It hisses and bares its fangs, but the display is ruined by its purring, more than happy to be groomed, even by a strange alpha. The scent must be making her freak out…
Once close enough, Eren chuffs lowly and stares, waiting for Levi to lift his head. Only then does Eren lean in to scruff the tiny thing and bring her close, allowing her to scent at his neck, a familiar omega aroma. She settles quickly, no longer trying to escape.
And just to make sure the alpha knows his efforts are appreciated, Eren gently bumps against his side as he turns, tail brushing across the other’s face briefly.
Teeth nip at the tip. Eren turns to send a toothy grin towards Levi before continuing back inside the den.
Levi never tries to go inside the den.
It’s one thing that completely and utterly baffles Eren. Alphas are supposed to check out each pack they come across, see if they have a viable omega they could claim, and take them—or, if not, try to steal the queen.
So far, Levi has shown no signs of even attempting to mate Eren. He’s still hanging around though, interacting with the betas, sometimes the pups, and even occasionally brings them a meal as a gift.
Hange seems to like him, despite how the alpha tenses up around the not-beta.
Whether by pure chance or maybe she ate something bad, Carla stops leaving the den.
Eren finds her lying in a separate nest from Grisha, huffing and struggling to lift herself up as the betas all work to bring her water and food. They all tend to their sire, their alpha.
Eren tries to do his best to mix their stored herbs or to make a remedy, knows which roots work best to fight against fevers, but the one he knows works better than the others, Elderflower, is nowhere to be found. And it’s a long trek to reach the fields in which they grow…
The pack’s in shambles, hiding away within the tunnels and resting chambers of the den, all waiting for their alpha to direct them on what to do, where to hunt, what to forage—but she can’t even communicate, throat raw and dry.
Eren lies next to her while she sleeps.
A beta nearby barks, sharp and high, followed by a trill.
Eren lifts his head, freezing in place upon spotting Levi tentatively stepping forward, eyes darting towards Grisha at first as the omega nurses his most recent litter. It’s not uncommon for alphas to steal a queen…
Instead, Levi turns towards Carla and Eren, letting slip a quiet rumble as he approaches, almost a purr but still rough around the edges.
Eren doesn’t move from the resting alpha’s side, listening to her chest rattle with each breath, panting even in her sleep.
Levi merely sniffs at her a couple times before turning and inspecting what little remains of their herbs, satchels almost completely empty from frantically trying anything and everything to ease Carla’s illness.
His ears twitch and perk, even the one with a chunk taken out of it.
Eren watches as the alpha turns and leaves without a single sound, departing as quickly as he had appeared.
He snorts and begins grooming Carla, hoping to at least make her more comfortable. Who knows how long it’ll take for her to recover, or if she even will recover…
When their food stocks begin to dwindle and Carla shows no signs of improvement, Eren barks at a few of their known hunters. They blink at him before resuming mindless little jobs, either clearing out the den or playing with the younger pups.
They won’t listen to an omega.
Eren can only catch two fish in the entire day, which he gives immediately to Grisha and Carla—all his beta siblings agree; their king and queen need to be kept alive or their pack dies with them.
No alpha will keep the beta offspring of another alpha, and vice versa.
On the second day, when the entire den is filled with the sounds of rumbling stomachs, whimpering betas, and squealing pups, Eren perks up when he hears a deep, unfamiliar roar from the den entrance.
He doesn’t dare move. The betas can deal with it. He wants to stay with Carla…
But when the buzz and hum of excited betas reaches him, yelping and yapping and trilling, Eren stands up finally to figure out what the noise is all about.
And there Levi is, busy helping to drag a dead buck into the den, two satchels around his middle. What…?
Eren watches as the betas all quickly help to skin and treat the pelt while the others pull apart the meat and remove the organs.
The alpha leaves them to it and circles around towards Carla, a low rumble greeting Eren as he approaches.
He drops the two satchels.
The omega blinks at them as Levi steps back and starts cleaning his claws and face, always so pressed about having blood or dirt on them.
Eren peers inside one and gasps, gaze wide as he stares at the dark-haired alpha. Elderflower… He’s helping Carla!
The second has the roots of a plant he isn’t familiar with, already washed of all dirt, ready to be chewed on.
Eren doesn’t hesitate to start preparing the remedies, double checking with Levi to make sure the second unknown root is also meant to help.
Eren chews the herbs and uses a strip of the buck’s meat to help disguise the taste as he gives it to Carla. She can barely lift her head to chew and swallow it, but she pushes through and sips some water too.
Levi lingers nearby, keeping his distance, watching.
Eren remains by his sire’s side for the next two hours, watching and observing, occasionally offering her more of the herbs.
And when her breathing evens out, when she doesn’t feel so hot, when she doesn’t sweat so much, Eren can’t stop the tears falling from his eyes.
The omega strides towards the alpha resting nearby and drops atop him, careless of the way he tenses as Eren furiously scents him and shoves his face against Levi’s neck with a satisfied purr.
Slowly, he relaxes and accepts the younger’s gratitude with a pleased rumble.
Carla is back on her feet the following day, still a bit tired and achy, but she can at least direct her pack once more and resume their usual activities. Eren can’t be more happy, immediately showering Levi with another litany of affectionate scenting sessions.
Levi, he discovers, has zero idea how to react to such scentings, let alone how to initiate it himself.
Thankfully, Eren is more than happy to show him, especially since the alpha single-handedly saved their pack from dying out when he could’ve taken Eren and left.
Hange lingers around more during the day, oftentimes following Eren around and watching him and Levi. They still disappear to wherever it is they go during the night, only to return the following morning and seek him out, doing daily inspections of his neck for a mating bite.
It’s during one of these scentings that Eren feels a pleasant zing dart up his spine when Levi nips at his neck.
He jumps away and blinks. Levi stares in return.
Ah. So that’s why he’s been so affectionate lately. It’s almost here. He must smell different…
Levi chatters at him when he leaves, then barks when he disappears entirely, retreating back inside the den.
Well, it was only a matter of time, he supposes. The moon is the same shape as it was last time his heat hit, so it’s not out of the ordinary, he supposes.
Of course the other betas start chirruping at him when they notice him fussing with his nest, a few even bringing him a new fleece from when they managed to catch a wild goat during their hunt. He accepts it and resumes rearranging the pelts. Won’t be long until it hits…
Two hours pass during which Eren continuously messes with his nest, more than he has in the past.
Grisha watches from where he lies in his own nest, comfortably sprawled on his back with a pup sleeping on his chest, chuckling at the younger omega’s finicky behaviour.
Hange appears with one of their weird things again, this one black and small with some rods attached. Eren rolls his eyes as they fiddle with the thing and stab it into the ground, a shiny round stone looking at him. This one even has a tiny red light that flickers on and off.
Eren’s grateful he noticed his approaching heat when he did, because he falls victim to it faster than he ever has before.
Likely because his body is reacting to an unmated alpha being nearby, ready, available.
Eren huffs and glares at the entrance to the royal chambers.
Despite the obvious heat flooding his veins, skin flushed all over as he curls up within his nest, thighs already damp from slick, Eren is more than ready to chase off that damn alpha if he thinks he can overpower him in the thick of his heat.
Too many have made that mistake…
At least his packmates know to tend to him during this time, that he won’t leave his nest until his heat passes, bringing him water and food to nibble on. Eren shows his gratitude but remains ready to pounce and run if a certain someone shows up to claim him…
Surprisingly, it takes a few more hours before Eren watches a beta come running into the chambers, grinning and eagerly thumping his tail against the ground as he looks behind himself.
Eren continues glaring, hunkering down, legs tucked beneath him, ready to spring.
Sure enough, there he is, walking slowly through the opening, only to pause upon spotting the position Eren is in, tucked low into the divot in the ground, surrounded by soft pelts and furs.
If his flattened ears aren’t enough, the growl he lets off gets his point across.
Levi’s nose twitches, his ears remain perked upright, leaning forward ever so slightly like he’s straining to see more, smell more. Eren readies himself…
The alpha turns and leaves.
What.
Eren sags and stares, head raising. Where is he going? He’s not going to try claiming?
Of course not. The longest an alpha has attempted to win Eren over is a day, at most.
Levi has been hanging around and helping out his pack for around three weeks.
The only other available omegas are Grisha and his eight year old sister, of which Levi isn’t interested in.
He only wants Eren, that’s why he’s been hanging around for so long.
A frown creases the omega’s brow.
No wonder he hasn’t picked a mate yet; why would he when he’s been waiting all this time and put in so much effort for Eren, a stubborn omega who doesn’t fit pack roles?
And… Levi doesn’t either.
An alpha who grooms and tends to pups? Who encourages omegas to hunt and explore outside the den? Who actively turns his head away from a hissing omega in heat instead of claiming and mating him like all the others would try doing?
Eren gets up onto shaky legs and barks as he rushes out of his nest, chasing after Levi.
He finds the dark haired alpha waiting just outside the den’s entrance in a worn out spot, like he’s been lying there for who knows how long, guarding the entrance.
Eren purrs.
This time when Eren scents against Levi, he doesn’t mind the tension within the alpha’s body, muscles tightened, visibly restraining himself from the omega in heat.
But when he pointedly nips at Levi’s shoulder and juts his head, the alpha follows him back into the den.
Little sparks keep igniting throughout Eren’s limbs with each step back to his nest, continuously checking Levi is behind him, brushing the alpha with his tail playfully. Of course he’s still there; he won’t leave until he’s convinced Eren to be his mate, his queen.
Even Grisha perks up with a surprised chirrup upon spotting Levi trailing behind Eren, smiling and crooning happily. Of course he’d be happy his son has finally picked an alpha instead of chasing them all off…
And when Eren settles down in his nest, Levi clambers in too.
Eren stretches his hind legs out, claws dragging along the pelts as he folds his arms and looks up at Levi overhead, purring louder when his scarred hand drags down his spine.
Such a battle-worn, ragged alpha, and yet he treats Eren with such softness in his movements.
Not one for patience, Eren smacks his tail against Levi’s legs and raises his hips, unable to stop the dribbles of slick that slide down his thighs. C’mon, hurry up already!
He doesn’t have to wait long.
Levi nips his left ear, shoves a brown pelt aside, and grinds forward.
His chest vibrates with a rich purr upon feeling the alpha’s body align with his, hard heat bumping between his legs, twitching as it’s coated in slick. Eren rocks forward and back, only for Levi to huff and nip him again, a blatant instruction to stay still, stop moving.
His tail smacks against the alpha again as he shuffles his knees that little bit wider.
This time, when Levi shifts backwards to readjust and pushes forward, Eren squeaks at the sudden pressure pushing against him. Claws dig into fur and wool as his hips tilt.
When his cock finally slips into place, sliding past his tightened entrance, Eren lets slip a shrill squeal, jolting at the mix of pleasure and unfamiliarity that courses through him. Levi huffs above him and presses his face against the omega’s hair, thoroughly scenting him.
The brief pause doesn’t last long, no, and Eren releases another sharp noise when the alpha withdraws and pushes back in, finding a rhythm that immediately has the omega gasping and clutching at his nesting materials. Slick drips down onto the furs with each thrust.
The swell of a thick knot forming has Eren keening, eyes falling shut as he hides his face and shivers.
Surprisingly tender touches rain down upon him, blocking out his pack, reigning Eren’s attention in, focused solely on Levi as the alpha breeds him, mates him, claims him.
His knot feels like it’s going to tear him open, expanding with each push and pull, forcing him to stretch more than he ever has.
But when Levi reaches beneath them, down across Eren’s stomach, mindful of his claws, and grinds into his clit, the omega’s vision goes white.
He feels it all—the stretch of Levi’s knot sliding inside his soaking wet cunt, the grinding of their hips together, the hot air against his neck right before teeth sink down into his skin, permanently claiming him—but it’s like a dream, floaty and cloudy, blissfully buzzing.
Eren knows he definitely screamed when he was bitten, his throat hurts so much that there’s no way he didn’t.
And when he finally feels more aware, all he cares about is Levi’s little growl-purr as he licks and cleans the bitemark he’d made, knotted deep inside Eren.
The pack slowly filters through, each of them offering their own version of congratulations, purrs and chirrups and little gifts of food and water. Eren accepts gratefully, knows his heat is going to last a while longer. Levi can’t exactly do much while they’re tied together.
Finally, an alpha worthy of him, caring and decent and absolutely perfect.
Eren purrs as he leans up to nuzzle Levi—his alpha, his mate, his king.
Once his heat passes, Eren cannot wait to set off to find a place to start building their own den, their own pack.