John clung to the arms that had pulled him from the coffin. The enclosed space had been so small that he had thought he would die. Or worse had been buried alive. That scent was on him and it was humiliating how he wanted to crawl inside it. Instead, he settled for the warmth of cloth wrapping him in the safety and security that the scent offered.

The voice speaking was words he faintly recognized and it was against his will how he whimpered and offered his sore neck in response.

"Poor thing. I have called you a bath. You reek but we'll take care of that. Just let me-"

John's eyes opened now, wider. What was he doing? What was this? Where the hell was he? A shaky hand went to his neck. The Alpha with dark hair and gray sharp eyes was looking him over as one would a meal. The cloth that carried the man's scent. It was on him. He laid a hand to his neck he found...a collar? He had been collared? More so, he had been bit! He could feel the stretch of tender skin, raw against the cruel leather, locked at the nap of his abused neck..

He could barely stand on his left ankle but he steadied himself, allowing the deceitful cloak to fall from his naked body. Two Beta servants were carrying a bath in and filling it as the Alpha snarled commands at them.

The bruises on John's skin were very much apparent. Their indication was sickeningly obvious. Eyes wide, he glared at the Alpha approaching him. The room empty and absent of this Alpha's stench. John guessed by this fact that perhaps the room was connected to the stranger's. This stranger he was now tethered to. He was mated to this man. Oh. God. The Omega felt his stomach turn and sheer panic started to set in.

So preoccupied with this idea of being owned and confused by his own body's response to the Alpha, his Alpha, John was unaware of the dark haired stranger's hands until they started to touch his neck. Pulling him close, a grunt and growl from him demanding submission immediately.

This snapped the soldier to attention and he pushed at the solid chest facing him in a rather expensive blue tunic.

"No!" John hissed.

"Omega. Er. John. You are confused. I have heard it is usual after such an experience. Now, come. " The Alpha gestured to John like a dog. He dared command a Prince! A grandson of the Bella Queen. A soldier, a healer in his grandmother's court. An expert archer, and swordsman. This Alpha dared! And at the same time John wanted to follow that direct order. His whole body vibrated in a battle of wills and it was then the smaller blond realized that this Alpha was flooding the room with his pheromones.

"Bastard! You! HOW DARE YOU!" John backed away, holding a shaking hand to his nose, careful to not lean on his sore ankle.

"Don't be ridiculous, John. My bloodline is secure in the fact that my parents were wed at the time of my conception and birth. I am a prince and the third son of my father, the King-" Confused, the Alpha Sherlock took a step towards the naked and very filthy blond. "You will bathe with me.. And after, you can dress me, then yourself in the clothes I've provided. I will remove your collar and then you will allow me to properly scent you. I detest all acts of sentiment however, the awful panicked reek you are sending out is forcing me to act on my more primal needs. Now. Come. Here. The bath is ready. "

"Don't come near me!" John growled, his hands balled in a fist. "What have you done!"

"What. Have. I DONE!?" Sherlock took a step back in confused anger. "Are you mad? Or somehow impaired? I should call a medic? "

The Omega was panting uncontrollably. Sherlock thought he was going to faint so he started forward. "Now. Come here. I detest cold baths. We will discuss your role as my Omega. You've put me in a difficult situation. However, I will work the politics out myself. Don't be bothered with any of it. You will have everything you need-" The Alpha had backed the limping Omega into the corner and reached for the young blond by the collar. It was just easier this way. Omegas were, after all, very jumpy by nature. They needed training and direction. This tedious task he was forced to take on. He could leave it to someone more trained in these things, but the idea of someone else touching the blond sent a cold anger through his veins. This reaction annoyed him more than calmed him.

However, the insane Omega, was producing a letter opener. Where he had found such a thing was beyond the Alpha. Perhaps off of the rather old vanity the Omega had come up against. Sherlock had superior observational skills so dodging the very pointed stab to his shoulder was effortless. Nonetheless, he wasn't happy with the closeness of the strike and the fact the Omega was still coming at him. The blond, even in his injured state was forcing him back?

"Get out!"

"But, what about the bath?"

"I'll bathe alone! OUT!"

"How dare you!" Sherlock growled. "First you put me in an uncomfortable situation. You-you assaulted me with your scent. "

"I assaulted you! I tried to get away, twice. My ankle was injured in the process, and if you think this collar will stay-"

Sherlock frowned, it was true John was favoring one leg over the other, were there other injuries the young Alpha couldn't see or deduce. Why did that make him feel sick?

"Your ankle?"

"Yes! My ankel you bastard! forced your bond on me. I won't have it! I don't want it! I don't want you!" John clutched the only weapon he could find in the whole blasted overly decorated room. "Give me the key to the collar!"

The Alpha looked at John confused, as if he grew another head. "THE KEY! NOW!" John waved the small letter opener at the Alpha. The dark haired man raised an eyebrow in irritation?

"This is ridiculous, Omega. Come here and give me that before you go and hurt yourself again. Clearly these injuries you accuse me of were of your own doing."

That was enough for the blond. He hissed and charged the Alpha, the very startled Alpha. Sherlock barely had time to step out of the way before he was being pushed out by an Omega making mad stabs at his person. Only to find himself locked out of the connecting room. A very pointed click of the heavy door's lock.

~0~

Shakily John eyed the door, the Alpha was swearing but made no move to break the heavy oak doors down. John quickly washed. He needed to get out of here. He pulled on the leather collar but it was locked in place. This barbaric practice was an ancient one that signified the Omega as property and only the Alpha held the key. Such things were outlawed in his grandmother's kingdom. He needed to stay far away from the Alpha. The bond was taking hold. He could feel the vibrations of anger, confusion and tension. Part of John wanted to unlock the door and calm the man behind it. The other half needed to find a way out. Perhaps grandmother knew how to break bonds. He had never heard of such a thing but surely there was a way. He couldn't be locked to this cruel stranger forever.

Fear was settling in as he hurriedly dressed keeping an eye on the door. Apparently, the strange Alpha had found his senses and was now pounding on the door with a heavy fist.

John understood the more panicked he was, the more the Alpha on the other side of the door became aggressive. However, he was still in a state of shock. He had woken up in a coffin for goddess' sake!

"Let me in!"

"Piss off! You kidnapped me! You raped me! I'll see you dead!"

~0~

"I? You? Obviously, you need to rest and collect your thoughts. I will break down this door! It is I who should be angry. I am the injured party here! You put me in such a situation. Now! Now! Now, the social edict of my station dictates that I do the honorable thing and -"

"If you come in here I will cut you! I should cut your knott off and wear it around my neck to warn any other would-be suitors!"

"What would-be suitors? You are MINE! Like it or not!" Sherlock growled. His actions could only be blamed now on the Omega. Kicking open a door wasn't his usual game plan. It was all so primitive. Though his mind screamed this, his body overpowered such logic and continued to act as if on it's own.

How could John think he-No. The Omega was wrong. Sherlock was the injured party! He didn't even like Omegas. "I detest Omegas. Now I'm saddled to one! If you think I'll -"

~0~

John searched the room for things to barricade the door. He quickly pushed a small bureau and then a heavy antique end table. The decorative chairs with clawed feet and winged backs were not as easy to maneuver with a swollen ankle as John had hoped.

"Are you actually blocking the door?" The brutish Alpha growled in response to John's ignoring him. The kicking and what sounded like the man thrusting his shoulder hard against the heavy door continued until suddenly it stopped. John thought perhaps the idiot had knocked himself out.

This happy hope/idea was quickly disproved when he heard a woman's frantic voice and then something else. The sound of pup. A cry that made his chest hurt and his stomach tremble.

He made out the words of this newcomer and couldn't believe the horror of it. Without a thought, he was pushing the heavy pieces of furniture away and unlocking the door. A primal need to get to the baby, to soothe and protect.

He held out the small weapon like a sword, ready to battle anyone, inching forward and forgetting the pain of his injuries. The Alpha, without a thought, handed him the fussing pup wrapped delicately in a royal blue blanket, his whines were growing weak and it broke John's heart.

"No one will hurt this pup!" John pulled the child to him, feeling the pup search for comfort, turning into him and sniffing. But John didn't share a kin scent with the pup's mother, and this seemed to frustrate the already fussy child.

"John. Go back in that room. Barricade the door. Let none in! Do you understand?" The Omega would usually growl and hiss in response to a command from such any Alpha. His body overriding this knee jerk reaction. The pup nuzzled him searching for a food source, once more reminding John of the situation at hand. The injured Omega sneered at the Alpha.

"This is not over, Alpha." John backed up towards the room, eyeing the older woman suspiciously. However, this servant a Beta. Perhaps she was grinning at John.

He waited for what seemed like an eternity, strategizing how he would escape the room, cursing himself for not memorizing his surroundings. He knew enough to realize he was far from home and if he didn't return soon, it would mean war. Looking into the blinking eyes of the distraught but eerily silent pup, he knew that war was bad for everyone. He brushed a steady hand through the small head of dark hair, calloused by years of swords practice and yet soft still from the medicines he mixed by hand.

The pup blinked, sniffling, it's small cheeks soft and wet from tears. The dark head of hair reminded John of the Alpha he had locked out of the room. If they were to have children was this how they would look? Their pups with eyes sharp and curious and locks of dark curls.

"Do you remember me little one?" The pup sniffed and yawned, his chin starting to quiver once more. "I know the feeling." John bounced the baby awkwardly recalling one of the palace maids doing a similar thing with her small child. "Oh, little one. What a cruel world we've entered into but no fears. I will let none hurt you." He thought of the child's mother. How scared she had been. He now understood a little of her fear. Being so far from home and in hostile territory. This was not home. This could never be home. This was a prison and he needed to figure out how to break free.

He recalled the many beatings and harsh words his mother had suffered at the hands of her Alpha. John never understood what had kept her there with such a man, and when she passed he had felt sick with heartache. His father had had her buried and never spoke of her. Her scent had been cleaned from their home, so much colder in her absence. John would never wish that fate on any pup. Perhaps he could break Eira out and they could all flee to better lands to freedom. How did she manage to get so far from her Alpha? John would ask her once whatever was going on allowed him the chance. He had seen what a broken bond could do to an Omega. It always resulted in death. As unfair as it sounded the Alpha could always find another mate but an Omega mated for life.

John felt ill at this thought. The unfairness of it. The pup responded with a whine, feeling John's unease.