Epilogue – Three years later.

"Hey, bitch."

Dean went tense immediately at the slur, pressing his lips together and curling his fingers more tightly around the edge of his beer. He'd just turned twenty-one a week ago, and, like the cocky S.O.B. he was, he had decided to go to the most notorious Alpha bar in town to celebrate. The only Omegas in this room were on their knees and wearing collars, or no more of a physical presence than the occasional desperate cry from one of the back rooms.

He took a sip of his beer, trying to ignore the warmth seeping into him from behind him, where he knew the big, hulking Alpha had addressed him. It was either that, or talk back – talking back would get him punched in maybe two seconds, but ignoring him bought Dean some time.

Soon enough, a hand landed on his shoulder, spinning him around on the bar stool so violently that he almost fell off. "You'll fucking look at me when I'm talking to you," the Alpha demanded, all snarling teeth and glowing red eyes, and Dean took another sip of beer to hide his smirk because a lot had changed in the past three years – one of them being that Dean didn't cower for anyone anymore, knothead or not. He was bigger now, stronger, and definitely more adept at handling handsy Alphas.

Dean did smile, then, leaning back against the bar and cocking his head to one side, looking for all intents and purposes as though he was admiring the Alpha. He could sense those on either side of him moving away a little, either nervous or anticipatory of a vicious attack about to take place – Dean knew he was playing dangerously; he'd sat with the back of his unmarked neck to the room, scent teasing with the beginnings of a Heat, potent and strong despite the early hour, and at one point or another during the night he'd had more than one Alpha sending him an interested glance.

The Alpha's eyes flared red when he still didn't answer. "And what's a pretty Omega like you doing in a place like this?" he demanded, voice a low growl now, and Dean barely stifled his snarl of defiance at the word – fuck, he hated it when it was being used against him like that. The Alpha stepped forward, laying a hand on Dean's thigh and forcing him to spread his legs outward. "I think you should come with me, green-eyes. I could have you hangin' off a knot so big you'd be sore for -."

"About ten minutes?" Dean snapped in reply, smirking wide when the Alpha snarled at him, hand tightening to the point of pain and making Dean wince and close his legs again. Or at least try; the Alpha's grip was firm and strong and Dean couldn't get far.

"The fuck did you just say to me, bitch?" he demanded.

Dean sighed, rolling his eyes and setting his beer down. "I really don't like that word," he murmured, almost to himself, and then without warning he turned around and landed a hard punch to the Alpha's jaw, sending him staggering back. It wasn't too bad a hit – not enough to be grounds for assault (though what self-respecting Alpha accused an Omega of assaulting him) and not enough to stay him for long, but it was a good enough hit that it made the Alpha let go of him, and gave him enough time to slide from the bar stool and make a run for the door.

"You'll fucking regret that!"

Dean laughed, loud and mocking, and took off at a sprint. His car was in the parking lot but he left it abandoned, and instead tore off towards the backwoods behind the bar. There was about thirty feet of open air where the Alpha could gain ground, but then it was just woods, and while that would mean Dean would have to slow down and tread carefully, the Alpha would have to as well.

He could hear the low roar of outrage behind him, the heavy thudding footsteps of the larger man gaining ground, and then Dean was in the trees, his steps light due to his breed and his nature where the Alpha was heavy and brash. An Alpha's eyes were not as accustomed to darkness as Dean's were; Omegas had to be sneaky and sly, and Dean's eyesight was superior through practice as well.

He could hear three sets of footsteps following him, in fact – clearly the Alpha's friends had decided to join the chase, and Dean almost laughed again, but it would give away his position and lose him some much-needed air, so instead he forced himself to run faster and put as much distance as he could between him and the Alphas following.

He could hear a river, and he swerved left and ran for it. The Heat was starting to really hit him now, brought on by the presence of so many Alphas, and he knew he had about half an hour before it became strong enough that he would be traceable.

Dean paused for a moment, allowing himself a brief rest while he breathed deeply and tried to listen. He could hear footsteps ahead of him but they were retreating – one of the Alphas had overtaken him and was still running. Another two sets passed by him, heavy curses and footfalls meaning he could remain still and silent and be unnoticed. As they ran past, Dean continued on his way towards the river – the water would cool his scent, or at least mask it should they return to his trail.

He could hear the running water clearly and knew he was merely feet away, when a hard body collided with his – running up on silent feet and slamming into Dean from behind – and with a snarl Dean turned enough that they both went rolling, until Dean ended up with the Alpha's hand around his throat and another curling against his stomach, teeth at the back of his neck and a heavy body settling between his forced-apart legs, pinning him down.

He growled, clawing at the Earth and at the Alpha's arms to try and get himself free, when a low and familiar laugh reached his ears. "Can't we pass by one town without you getting yourself into trouble?"

"Cas," Dean whispered, abruptly relaxing and losing all of his fight. He smiled despite himself, turning his head to nuzzle against his mate's cheek, and Castiel turned his head for a kiss. "Heard the receptionist talkin' 'bout the bar," he said in explanation, grinning at Castiel's exasperated huff. "Wanted to have some fun."

"You're an idiot," Castiel murmured in reply, tilting his head to suck a new mark onto Dean's neck – he did this every time Dean wandered off in this way. They usually went out of town when Dean was in Heat because, let's face it, clean-up was a bitch and a half – but that also meant Dean had more opportunity to wander and attract outsider attention. He knew Dean liked it when Castiel reacted; that was why he kept doing it. Abruptly, the Alpha paused, breathing in with his nose pressed to Dean's neck. "I…Dean, you're -."

In response, Dean bowed his head and pressed his hips back against Castiel's, drawing his legs together so that he could lift his hips up and get into a better position to be mounted. Castiel groaned at the mere thought of it, dragging his teeth against Dean's skin and the back of his neck, and dropped his hand from Dean's throat and his stomach, both hands instead flying to Dean's jeans in his need to get his Omega naked and exposed enough for him to sink inside.

Dean hummed, trembling in anticipation, and drew his arms back so that he could rest his forehead against his folded hands. He shivered when Castiel exposed his hard cock and leaking ass to the chill air, only to yelp and almost collapse when Castiel's warm tongue flattened over his hole, greedily licking at the slick leaking down his thighs, eager to taste the Omega where his Heat pheromones were strongest.

"Mm, fuck, you're good at that," Dean breathed, trying his best to keep his voice steady when the simple action of Castiel flicking his tongue against his rim had him shaking, ready to come already. The Alpha merely hummed in approval, cold fingers sinking into Dean's cheeks to spread him open so that he could lick deeper, feel the inner heat of his Omega mate around his tongue. "Fuck, Cas – please don't tease me."

"I don't want you to come until I knot you," Castiel murmured, finally withdrawing from Dean's hole, dragging his nose up until he could kiss at the small of Dean's back – already sweat was starting to form on his Omega's skin, and Castiel eagerly breathed in the scent of sweat and Heat and sex that was Dean Winchester. "Can you do that for me, Dean? Be patient?"

Dean groaned. "God damn you," he hissed, but spread his legs wider, and Castiel figured that was all the invitation he needed.

He straightened up, forgoing his hold on Dean while he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pleased when his Omega remained still and waiting for him, and he pulled his cock out and gave himself one cursory stroke. With his other hand, he curled his fingers tightly around Dean's hip to hold him still (and to have bruises to darken in the morning), and pulled his Omega backwards, watching with fascination and dry-mouthed awe when Dean's body opened eagerly to him, pretty pink hole stretching wide around his cock as he sank in deeper, until the crisp hair at the base of his cock was pressed against Dean's ass.

Dean moaned when Castiel bottomed out, fingers clawing into the moist earth beneath him and bending down to press his forehead against the dirt. It had been three fucking years, and yet the feeling of Castiel stretching him wide was still so damn good, Dean couldn't get enough of it. Then Castiel pulled back, sliding back in with almost maddening slowness and ease, and Dean made another soft sound, biting his lip when he felt more of his slick leak out around his mate's cock, more wet than he'd been in a while because of the first pulses of Heat pheromones.

Castiel tilted his head back, breathing out harshly behind clenched teeth at the feel of his mate's tight, hot channel clenching around him. Since the first time, it always took his breath away how easily Dean let him in, how eager his body was to receive Castiel and wring pleasure from him.

Dean's breath was getting short, shoulders tensed and head bowed down enough that his shirt and jacket bunched up around the back of his neck, shielding the skin from sight, and Castiel snarled at that, reaching forward with his free hand and curling his fingers around the back of Dean's neck and squeezing tight.

It made Dean shiver – Castiel had never bitten him there, in all the time they'd been together. It was one of the things that marked him apart from other Alphas – to bite an Omega and place a mating mark to the back of their neck while they were in Heat or during a mating was commonplace, but it was also so brutish and violent that Dean balked at the very idea of it. He loved that Castiel could control himself like that now, could chase and catch him or beat another Alpha to a bloody pulp without even a flicker of red in his eyes.

He reached back, lacing his fingers through those clamped down on the back of his neck, and Dean could hear his Alpha's answering purr of satisfaction, thrusts gaining in speed and force the closer Castiel got to his orgasm. The swell of his knot was just beginning to grow, catching on Dean's rim with every feverish, harsh thrust inside of Dean's body.

"Cas," Dean whispered, not even sure what he would ask for if he could get more of his voice to come out; his mouth was so dry, tone desperate and wanting. Each drag of Castiel's cock inside of him was driving him crazy, lighting him up from within. He wanted to come – needed it, like he needed Castiel's seed in him to satisfy his Heat and he needed that biting pressure on the back of his neck and he needed it all. "Please, Cas – please -." I need you to come. I need it.

"You shouldn't tease other Alphas like that, Dean," Castiel said lowly, a small flicker of red going unnoticed behind his eyes as he flattened the hand on Dean's hip against the small of Dean's back, thumb rubbing at the divots there. "It's just cruel."

Dean choked on his laugh, high-pitched whine mixing into the harsh sound that left him. "Fuck you, Cas," he bit out, earning a low growl from his Alpha mate. "Please."

"I'd never deny you, Dean," Castiel whispered in reply, leaning down to press a kiss to their interlinked hands, before he clenched his eyes tightly shut, teeth gritted harshly as he allowed himself to let go, fucking into Dean with a low grunt. His knot swelled up with each withdrawal, causing a low sound of pain to leave Dean, and finally he knew he would hurt his mate too much if he kept going – he bottomed out completely and let his knot swell and lock him inside of Dean.

He breathed out harshly, orgasm crashing though him like a punch to the gut, and he wrapped his arm around Dean to reach the Omega's own hard cock. "Fuck, you actually did it," he whispered, awed, voice thick with lust. "God."

Dean was trembling, soft whine escaping him as he clenched his eyes tightly shut, arching forward into the tight fist of Castiel's hand around his cock, only to fuck back onto the pull of Castiel's knot inside of him. He cursed lowly, biting into his free fist as he shuddered and came onto the ground below them and over Castiel's hand, letting his Alpha milk him through it as his body clenched tightly around Castiel's knot, unbearably tight and hot and wet, and Castiel's moan was almost as loud as his was.

Castiel pushed himself upright, using Dean's shoulder to prop himself up despite the Omega's protest, and shrugged his jacket off to lay it down onto the ground to their side, and pulled Dean onto his side so that they could lay on it in relative comfort. He buried his nose against Dean's neck, letting go of the Omega's neck to wrap his arms tightly around his Omega, to shield him from the cold and to affirm that Dean hadn't been molested by those other Alphas – he could smell no discernible trace of foreign scents on Dean's skin, either driven away by sweat or sex or Dean, and he hummed, nuzzling his mate and apparently satisfied.

"You always run," he whispered, smirking to himself and shaking his head. "One day you're gonna meet an Alpha who can catch up."

"You always find me," Dean countered, turning his head to press their cheeks together and licking at the Alpha's jaw. "You're always faster."

Castiel's arms tightened, soft sound leaving him, and Dean closed his eyes as Castiel's hips stuttered against him, the Alpha obviously reacting to that. Castiel combed his fingers through Dean's hair, allowing his arm to become a pillow for the Omega to rest his head on. Then, Dean abruptly went tense. "Cas," he whispered, tilting his head and reaching back to curl a hand around the Alpha's hip. "I thought I had another day."

It took the Alpha a moment to realize what Dean was saying, and then he took a deep breath as well, pressing his face against his mate's hair while he tried to think about just what that might mean. Unbidden, his free hand snaked forward to flatten across Dean's stomach. "What are the chances, do you think?" he asked.

Dean snorted. "I dropped biology for chem, Cas," he replied, smirking despite himself. "I don't remember."

"It's only just starting," Castiel hazarded. "We have time for Plan B, or something."

Dean was already shaking his head. "No. You can't leave to get it now," he said, biting into his lower lip and flattening his hand over Castiel's. The Alpha tensed for a moment, expecting Dean to move his hand, but the Omega's fingers merely curled around his, grounding and gentle. "I guess now's as good a time as any to say I've been thinking about it."

Castiel blinked, raising his head. "You have?" he asked, surprised.

He could feel the Omega's blush. "Well. Yeah," he replied, shifting enough that Castiel hissed at the tug on his knot, fully reminded that he might actually be coming into his fertile mate right now – Dean was on birth control that only had to be taken once a day before a Heat for four days, and Dean was two pills behind at this point. It was enough of a window as anything.

Dean was tense, waiting with baited breath for his Alpha's response – they hadn't talked about children, starting a family, though Castiel came from a large one and Dean's brother was soon to be happily mated with a baby on the way and so they knew both of them were fertile enough to have one. They just hadn't talked about it, really, since the entire mess of their courting had finally been settled.

"Well," Castiel replied slowly, thumb stroking over Dean's stomach in a gentle touch, "if this one doesn't take, we can talk about actively trying."

Dean's eyes flared open. "You want to?" he asked, turning again in an attempt to look Castiel in the eye, hand tightening around Castiel's.

Castiel smiled, leaning down to nip gently at the side of Dean's neck, and then kissed him over the bite, up his jaw, before finally sealing their lips together. The kiss didn't last long – the position was awkward and Castiel knew from experience that it was uncomfortable for Dean to look at him when they were lying this way – and after it Castiel nuzzled against his mate's cheek, hugging him tightly. "Yes," he said – simply, firmly, without any hesitation. "I love you, you arrogant dick."

That startled a laugh out of Dean. "And I love you," he replied softly, pressing his forehead against Castiel's jaw before laying back down, comfortably resting his head on his Alpha's arm, "even if you're a self-righteous asshole."

Castiel laughed again, softer this time. It was getting cold now, and Dean was shivering, but he knew it wasn't just from the cold. His knot was starting to deflate, pumps of semen slowing and getting fewer and farther between. Soon he'd have to pull out and they would have maybe twenty minutes to get somewhere more private – or at least warmer – before Dean's Heat flared to unbearable levels again and they'd have to go another round.

They made it to the car before Dean shoved Castiel inside, damn near knocking him unconscious against the door, and mounted him and rode him until Castiel snarled and bared his teeth against Dean's shoulder and forced his knot inside again.

Then, five miles from their hotel room, Dean reached across from the passenger's seat (he couldn't risk driving while in Heat) and teased at Castiel's cock with his hands and mouth until the Alpha snapped with a low growl, red flaring in his eyes as he pulled over on the side of the road, yanked Dean out of the car and fucked him hard over the hood of the Impala.

Six weeks later, Dean had snuck into the bathroom with a pregnancy test – he'd had no symptoms of it. No morning sickness or weird cravings or anything like that, but he had to be sure. Castiel came home while he was waiting, and without a word Dean threw him the empty packaging and gestured to the stick that was sitting on the sink and soon would show the results.

They had cleared out the spare room a few days ago. Just in case.

Castiel watched from the threshold, eyes wide and flickering red, and Dean knew his own were glowing with gold – Omega instinct for a family and a child flaring up strongly in him. Finally, his watch beeped, and he took a deep breath before flipping the test over to see the result.

"Negative," he whispered after a long – unbearably long – moment, and he could hear Castiel's heavy exhale. Whether it was relief – empty promises spoken in the heat of the moment – or disappointment – God, how fucked of an Omega was Dean if he couldn't get pregnant during a Heat? – Dean couldn't say, and he didn't look at his Alpha's face to figure it out.

He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair, before he picked up the test and threw it out. "Well," he said, shrugging one shoulder and forcing a sheepish grin, "I guess we dodged a bullet there."

Castiel nodded, pressing his lips together. "Dean, it's okay," he whispered, and the Omega wanted to punch him – or maybe break down, because fuck, he hadn't even known just how badly he wanted a family until Castiel had suggested that he might be willing to have one too. Dean was due to graduate in a few months and was already on track for a Masters in Chemical Engineering, and Castiel was already on the fast track to being promoted at his job – school hadn't suited the Alpha, he'd decided, and for the past two years Castiel had been steadily working his way up through the ranks of the police force after he'd joined straight out of high school.

They were doing okay. And Dean wanted to settle down. He wanted a child. And now…

He sighed, rubbing his palms over his mouth and jaw again, before rolling his shoulders in an attempt to shake the thoughts away. "S'probably better," he said, not meeting Castiel's eyes and dodging out of the bathroom to avoid the Alpha's gentle touch.

"Dean." Dean ignored him, turning away, only for the Alpha to grab for him and spin him around so they were face to face, warm hands cupping Dean's cheeks and forcing their eyes to meet. "Dean, it's okay," Castiel said again, earnest and firm and so in control that Dean wanted to punch him all over again. He could feel Castiel's thumb brushing over his cheek, the Alpha looking so damn concerned and adoring – Dean wanted to curl into a ball and hide his face away. "It just means we'll have to try again."

Dean blinked, flashing startled eyes up to meet Castiel's earnest ones, a sudden, startled laugh spilling from him. "Yeah?" he asked, reaching up to pull one of Castiel's hands down from his cheek, bending to kiss at his palm instead.

"Of course," the Alpha replied, smiling as well; glad to see the light back in his mate's eyes. "It's not fair that you've been allowed to torture me all these years and have had absolutely no karmic payback. A child would be good for you."

Dean's eyebrows shot up at the challenge, narrowing his eyes at the smug-looking Alpha. "You're such a dick," he spat, grinning despite himself, and leaned forward to kiss chastely at Castiel's mouth. "'Sides, our kids will love me – I'll turn them all against you and train them to attack you whenever they see you and -."

"You're planning on having more than one?" Castiel asked with another dramatic eye roll, thinly-veiled horror in his voice.

Dean smirked, baring teeth, and leaned in close. His eyes flickered to Castiel's mouth briefly, just to go back up to his eyes and watch them dilate and flicker red. "An army," he hissed, grinning at the surprised, almost lustful sound Castiel let out at that. He laced his fingers with Castiel's and stepped back, tugging him towards the bedroom. "Run with me, Alpha?"

Castiel growled – dangerous, predatory – in a way that made Dean shiver, and the Omega dropped his hand and turned tail and fled.

And Castiel chased him.