#beta!evie

Carlos is drugged up for most of this chapter and a lot of his actions are similar to someone in a depressed state. Proceed with caution.

Everything is moving in slow motion. Or, maybe he’s moving in slow motion. Maybe both him and everything around him are moving in slow motion.

No, that doesn’t make sense. If both he and everything else were moving in slow motion, the relativity of slowness wouldn’t exist. It all would be moving at the same speed.

So something is moving slow, either Carlos or his surroundings, but definitely not Mal, who is marching up to him.

If Carlos weren’t spaced out on these intense drugs, he would probably piss himself at his alpha’s murderous look.

“What’s going on?” He asks as Mal wordlessly grabs his elbow and drags him along.

“What’s going on-” Mal hisses as they nearly run down the hall “-is that Ben went into heat and Jay’s rut started.”

Carlos’ feet stop moving, but Mal keeps pulling and he stumbles nearly to the ground. “What?”

“We have to go!” Mal snaps at him, grabbing his hand once more. “Evie has Jay alone in his dorm!”

“Ben can’t be in heat though.” There are dozens of questions and concerns running around Carlos’ head, but that’s the one that falls out of his mouth first.

“My knowledge after dating him for a month is still pretty limited, but I’m pretty fucking sure that he can.”

Ben can’t though because he’s on his suppressants. Carlos gave them back to Ben three days ago. In his office, where Ben had been in such anguish over Isle kids and their lack of medical needs, where his trust and goodness inspired Carlos to be honest and open clean.

Not that the inspiration did much in the long run.

“But Jay’s…” Carlos struggles to form words through the fogginess, the confusion, the rush. “His rut doesn’t start until…”

He didn’t mark it in his calendar or anything, but Carlos at least knew that Jay’s rut wasn’t for a little while longer.

“It should have been in another three weeks.” Mal’s grip on his wrist tightens and Carlos feels nothing in regard to it. “But the smell of an omega in heat must have caused him to start early.”

“Like your rut did with Anastasia.” Carlos remembers. They exit the building and hurry across the sidewalk. “Her smelling your rut caused her heat to start when she was out.”

“Exactly.” Mal throws the door open. “Ben did the same to Jay.”

Carlos blinks and his brows furrow as he follows Mal down the hall. “And now he’s with Evie. Alone.”

Mal looks at him warily over her shoulder. “Yeah. So?”

Jay’s not going to hurt Evie. That’s not a concern for Carlos for even a moment and he’s hurt that Mal thinks he doesn’t trust Jay.

But the offense fades as quickly as it had appeared. Carlos really hasn’t felt much of anything lately, if anything at all. Not since upping his dosage. He didn’t even have this much of a reaction when he was taking Ben’s omega suppressant.

It’s kind of nice.

They go to turn down Jay’s hall, but Carlos stops in his tracks. Mal keeps moving forward and her grip on him is so tight that she’s nearly jerked back by his sudden pause.

“Carlos?”

“I can’t…” Carlos blinks and squints. His mind is so messy, but that’s a good thing, something is working, right? “I can’t go in there.”

Mal blinks back at him. She tilts her head. “I mean…you don’t have to.” She turns to face him fully, but glances over her shoulder and down the hall. “But…it’s Jay’s first rut in Auradon. It’s his first rut since we all became…official.”

Her pauses and uncertainty are out of character. Carlos almost feels like it’s not even really Mal he’s talking to.

“And it started earlier than he expected.” Mal’s brows knit together, but then she smiles at him. “We’re not going to have sex or anything. I mean, you’re not expected to.” She shrugs nonchalantly. “You or Evie. I can handle all of that. But even with him being more aggressive, he’s probably pretty scared.”

Being scared is out of character for Jay, Carlos has seen him sad and distraught but never scared. It feels like it’s not even really Jay they’re talking about.

“He’ll just want to scent you and see you. According to Lonnie, Jay latched on to Evie as soon as it started. He was just cuddling her and she got him back to his room.”

“No one said anything? Or stopped them? Stopped Jay?”

Mal shrugs. “The school is kind of in a frenzy over Ben going into heat. You didn’t notice anyone acting weird?”

Carlos has noticed anything lately. It feels like he’s standing still and everything is moving around him. “No.”

“Listen, Evie mentioned last week, before, you know,” Mal looks around, “we called…everything off. She told Jay she wants to be involved in his next rut. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but she probably plans on staying with him, with us, most of the time.”

Evie, the social butterfly who had fallen in love with Auradon’s library and science wing and grounds, staying confined for almost a whole week? Why is everyone behaving so odd today?

“Maybe you’ll come by in a couple of days?” Mal offers as she looks down the hall again. “Once you feel more comfortable. I’ll tell him that-.”

“I won’t.” Carlos cuts her off. “I, sorry. I just…I really can’t be there.”

“Carlos, are you sure?” Mal places a hand on his arm. He doesn’t have the urge to nuzzle her palm and her touch doesn’t create a warmth in his chest. Good, good. This is all good. “You don’t have to make a decision now, but this is Jay’s first rut in Auradon, his first since we became a pack. It’s…it’s meant to be kind of special once you have a pack. Plus, he’ll be more stressed than ever with a new place and knowing of an omega in heat. You don’t have to be around for all of it. In fact, you can just be around when there’s no sex, okay?” Mal reaches for his hand again and tries to tug him down the hall. “We’ll even be fully clothed the whole time you’re around, okay? And whenever it starts, you can bolt and come back in a few hours.”

He doesn’t budge.

“You…you seriously don’t want to be around for any of this?” Mal asks. She sounds hurt and it’s not her rut and she never sounds hurt, not even when she said she hated her mother. “I know you don’t like sex and I get it, I do, none of us are upset by this,” she stresses, “but we’re a pack, you don’t even want to come see him?”

That’s a loaded question because Carlos doesn’t really want anything. He just knows what he should do and what he should avoid and the thing at the top of that list is an alpha in rut.

His silence must be enough of an answer because Mal drops his hand.

“Okay, well.” She takes a step back and looks down the hall again. “I need to go to him. If you change your mind, just come by.” Mal looks at Carlos again, but her gaze is different. She’s looking at Carlos like he’s some stranger. “You don’t have to knock or tell us. I know Jay would just be happy to see you.” Mal takes another step. “I-. Bye, pup.”

“Bye.” Carlos watches as she walks down the hall and keeps watching as she opens the door to Jay’s room and quickly steps inside.

He ought to feel more awful about this, Carlos thinks as he walks out of the alpha boys’ dormitory. Jay is distressed and Carlos is doing nothing to help. The urge to purr is there, deep down, buried so deeply that suppressing it is hardly any effort. He doesn’t soothe his hair down or touch his wrists or rub the back of his neck.

So, clearly, his suppressants are working better than ever.

Doug is out when Carlos steps into their dorm room and he realizes that classes are still in session. Was anyone acting weird today? If Ben really did go into heat, then the school must be freaking out. Even if omegas are common in Auradon, an omega king-to-be isn’t and such a big event before Ben’s coronation could ruin months, maybe years, of planning.

But there’s no way Ben is in heat.

Not that Carlos doubts Mal or her hyper-awareness of everything going on, but it’s not possible. Ben has his suppressants back and even before then, he said he was taking generic suppressants from the nurse.

Carlos digs into his bag and pulls out two orange pill bottles, each filled with powder. He keeps these on him at all times, his bag is never out of his sight and, in the month that they’ve been in Auradon, no one has tried to take his bag or bully Carlos into handing it over. That’s not too surprising for Auradon, but not even the teachers have asked to search his bag.

And from the stares Carlos gets from some of the staff here, that surprises him.

The bottles have little labels on them. Carlos had once thought of peeling the labels off and disposing of them, just in case, but he’s confident in his ability to keep his backpack in his line of sight at all times

But, honestly, he had been worried of how the new dosage would affect his head. He knew it would disorient him more than what he had made on the Isle, and having a negative reaction was, and still is, even after three days on the dose, possible.

Carlos had memorized the labels the very day he asked Mal and Jay for their suppressants, but if this experimental dosage messed with his mind, who knew if he would remember? Carlos is in this by himself and he can’t afford to give up any resources, no matter how few or insignificant they may seem.

There are risks in keeping the labels, but there are more risks in getting rid of them.

But so far his memory is intact because Carlos remembers what the labels on the bottles say. The ingredients, the expiration date, the company, the Adolescent female alpha suppressant and adolescent male alpha suppressant across the top.

Except that’s not what he’s seeing anymore. And Carlos is positive it’s not his memory that’s wrong.

In one hand is the bottle that Jay’s former suppressants came in and in Carlos’ other hand should be Mal’s, but it’s not.

No, Carlos is looking at the label for a male alpha and the label for Benjamin Florian Hope.

“Oh, fuck.”

No, no, no. That’s not right. Carlos gave Ben back his suppressants, Ben took the bottle and accepted them back.

And then went into heat. As if he weren’t taking his suppressants. Or, at least, maybe as if he weren’t taking the right suppressants?

“Fuck!”

Carlos is irritated, which is odd since he doesn’t feel much of anything lately, but it’s dull to what he should be feeling. There’s a stirring of - guilt? Regret? Anger? – something in his gut.

He falls back onto his bed and digs the heels of his hands into his eyes as if this were all a bad dream. But Carlos is familiar with bad dreams and bad reality and he can tell them apart easily.

Ben’s in heat and Mal’s uncertain and Jay’s scared and Evie’s locked up again. Everyone is acting so strange, but Carlos thinks, logically, he may be acting the weirdest, even though he doesn’t feel like he’s acting weird.

It’s a few more hours before Doug walks in the room.

“Hey man.” He greets with a small wave. Doug is pretty friendly, actually. Though he hasn’t invited Carlos to chess club again yet. “Have you heard?”

“That Ben went into heat?” Carlos asks. “Yes.”

“Um, do you know where Mal is?”

Carlos, still laid flat out on his bed, raises his head. “Yes. Why?”

“Well…” Doug sets his bag down and rubs the back of his neck. Huh, Carlos had assumed that was an omega thing. He hasn’t rubbed his own neck recently and he thought that was good, but if betas still do things like that, maybe he shouldn’t base his progress on it. “Belle was asking for her. Or, she was asking students for her.”

“Why?” Carlos fully sits up in his bed now.

“I guess Ben is asking for her. Or some of her stuff to, uh, nest with.” Doug swings his arms at his side and concentrates on the foot of Carlos’ bed. “I mean, that’s what I’m hearing.”

Carlos swallows. “Ben asked for Mal?”

“Yeah. Or, some of her stuff. I’m not sure which.”

“He wants to nest with her clothing?”

“I think so.”

Carlos swings his feet over the side of his bed and looks at the carpet. “Get the word back that Mal won’t give anything. She’s-.”

“Broken up with Ben, yeah, we all know that too.”

Carlos freezes and looks at Doug from the corner of his eye. “What did you say?”

Ben agreed to not say anything about his relationship with Mal so soon to coronation – which, what’s happening with that now? Is it cancelled? Postponed? Will Ben be given the crown privately on the set day?

News of his break up with Mal could possibly give people a negative view of the VKs - er, a more negative than they already have. Ben said with such a big event coming up, he and Mal should tell people after he became king and time had passed.

He had said that because he’s the freakishly most kind person Carlos has ever met and Carlos is the asshole who sent him into heat. Right before his coronation.

Fuck.

“Ben asked for Audrey and Chad when he was in class. He didn't ask for Mal.” Doug says slowly. He’s perplexed by Carlos’ focus on him. “I mean, you have to have known, right?”

Carlos blinks and finally looks up at Dough. “Uh, I kind-.”

“Oh Merlin, I’m so sorry.” Doug covers his mouth and his eyes grow wide behind his thick glasses. “I just assumed because you and Mal are such good friends.”

Good friends.

Yes, Mal is Carlos’ friend. She’s one of his best friend, one of his only friends, but she’s a part of his pack, they made it official that day in the kitchen of the beta girls’ dorm.

Doug doesn’t know about that though. None of the school does.

But they all know Ben went into heat. They know Ben asked for Mal.

Now Mal is with Jay, during his rut, and Evie too. When the school realizes what’s going on between the three of them, everyone will know that Mal and Jay and Evie belong together, they own each other.

And Carlos is their good friend.

Carlos doesn’t realize he’s rubbing his chest, feeling his raised skin with Cruella’s signature through his shirt, until Doug clears his throat.

“Are you okay…Carlos?”

After a moment, Carlos nods. He’s been taking double the normal amount of suppressants for three days now. It’s been a while since he felt anything so intense.

He was kind of enjoying being numb.

---

The entire school is chaotic with so much going on. Their schedule had already been loose and jumbled because of the coronation, but Ben going into heat has pushed everything back.

According to the newspaper that Carlos scans in the halls, the media is purposefully vague about the change of plans. Nothing says Ben is in heat, or ill, or in distress. No, the paper just says coronation will be rescheduled.

In fact, none of the students seem perplexed at the news. Carlos is assuming more of them knew Ben was an omega than he thought. The future king’s role isn’t a secret, it seems, but more like something that just isn’t discussed.

It’s like Cruella’s scar on his chest. Carlos knows it exists, his pack knows it exists, Doug even knows it exists, but they all pretend it doesn’t.

Being an omega is like being a scar that no one wants to address.

Still, classes and students are distracted and disinterested in each other. Teachers are scatter brained and stressed between the change of plans and the riled up students. They bring up lesson plans that don’t follow the curriculum just for something to keep students busy, it seems. If there is a lingering scent in the classrooms from Ben’s heat, or even Jay’s rut, Carlos can’t smell it and no one mentions it.

Carlos is pretty sure no one has even noticed Jay and Evie not being around. Mal’s absence has been noted because several other students have come up to him asking if he’s seen her – Lonnie, Ally, Hannah – because Ben is still asking for her clothing.

He tells them all the same thing: Mal is not interested in giving her clothing to Ben. She is busy. She should be left alone right now. She doesn’t like omegas.

Though, he doesn’t say that last part.

Carlos is tired of all the people asking him and looking at him and all of the teachers who can’t control some rowdy high schoolers all excited over coronation and the following drama, all gossiping about where Ben is and Audrey and Chad and even questioning Mal once in a while, so Carlos bails on classes.

It’s not something he usually does – even on the Isle – but Carlos skips after his second period and he wanders.

He passes a few other students in the halls, some of them looking around every corner and moving quietly, giggling at their mischief and wickedness. Others move easily, with the confidence of someone who has skipped class in the past and survived the misdeed.

Carlos doesn’t say anything to them and they don’t say anything to him.

Auradon Prep really is a beautiful campus. It has trees taller than anything Carlos has ever seen and flowers in a thousand different colors. The air is turning cooler now and the leaves are starting to fall and all of the nature is bare, but Carlos could stand and just look out at the yard all day.

At least, he could when he first arrived. Now the colors and sights aren’t exciting. Maybe he’s just grown used to the beauty, become spoilt with fresh air and live trees.

Something cold touches his leg and he looks down.

“Hi, Dude.”

He hadn’t heard Dude coming, the click of his too long nails on the concrete, but Carlos hadn’t jumped at something touching him.

Everything about himself feels so delayed.

Dude woofs at his feet and Carlos tries to smile.

Less than 24 hours since Jay’s rut began and he feels almost lonely. It’s like he should feel lonely, but Carlos doesn’t feel much of anything.

It’s been almost a full day since he last saw Mal and longer since he last saw Jay or Evie.

His mind wanders with his feet. He wonders if Jay is asking about him, if Mal told him the truth. Did Evie ask about him? Or were Jay and Mal and Evie so caught up in each other that the thought of Carlos was abandoned in the hall as soon as the door the Jay’s room had clicked shut?

Despite classes being chaotic, they were at least a distraction. Carlos walks down the halls and his mind keeps turning.

What are they doing right now? Is Jay fucking Mal? Is he just scenting her? Is he scenting Evie? What has he done with Evie?

After his bullshit confession of never wanting sex, Carlos hadn’t really thought about the topic. He went from avoiding the idea at all costs on the Isle, to obsessing over it after kissing Mal and Jay and Evie, back to pretending the act didn’t exist.

And now the three people he loves (because even if the suppressants take away his emotion, Carlos knows all of this is for them, he remembers that he loves them) are together and Jay is in his rut.

Carlos looks around at the empty court yard he’s found himself in. He’s not sure where he’s going, but no one is around him and Dude will bark at anyone who comes near and his suppressants should kill any scent he could potentially give off, so he thinks.

Even though, buried way deep under all the numbness, part of him is terrified of what’s going on without him right now.

And, even deeper down, part of himself that Carlos doesn’t want to address, is curious.

Jay and Mal have fucked before, in both of their ruts, but Carlos doesn’t think they’ve ever done anything outside of those few times. Maybe they have though. They’ve been friends longer than anyone else in the pack, even longer than Carlos and Evie. Maybe they fuck when they’re bored or riled up or because they actually want to.

And Mal had said that Evie wanted to be a part of Jay’s rut, she had said so last week. Maybe she’s fucking Jay too or maybe she’s fucking him and Mal. Maybe she’s watching as Jay and Mal fuck. Maybe she’s enjoying it.

The idea doesn’t create any kind of stirring like it had before. Carlos thinks what Evie might be doing, how she and Mal are together and what they’re doing for Jay. Carlos thinks about all three of them and what they must look like right now. He thinks about their mouths, their hands and bodies, and…

Nothing.

“Huh.” Carlos says as he looks down. There’s no sign of interest from him.

Dude woofs again.

“That’s weird, isn’t it?” Carlos asks him. “I mean…” He sits down in the grass and lays out on his back. The sunlight is warm even if the air is not. Dude jumps onto his chest and lays down, his wet nose touching Carlos’ chin. “They’re all beautiful.” He mumbles as he scratches Dude’s ears. “Have you seen them? They’re gorgeous. I just…” Carlos lowers his voice to a whisper. “I don’t know.”

He thinks about kneeling. Evie was right – sex doesn’t have to be a part of a pack, but it usually is. There are omegas out there who don’t have sex, Carlos is sure of it. Maybe he wasn’t the only omega hiding on the Isle. It was rare on an island so full of alphas to produce an omega, but there have to be more than the few Carlos knew about.

That’s why they’re staying in Auradon, he remembers. So they can get the Isle kids away from parents who never scent them or love or parents who would whore out their omega children.

Carlos thinks about kneeling in front of Jay or Mal. Nothing sexual, just kneeling. Letting them stroke his hair, breathing in their scents, and submitting to them and giving up the little control he had in his life.

That had once been one of his favorite fantasies, on the rare times Carlos allowed himself that luxury, but now…

Nothing.

“Wow.” Carlos exhales against Dude’s fur. “I guess these things really are working.”

He hasn’t wanted to nest in a while. He hasn’t offered sensory comfort to himself. He hasn’t purred.

“I wonder how long I have to take these to kill this part of me off.” Carlos speaks softly to Dude. “I don’t want to be on them forever.” As nice as it is to not feel things, he misses feeling like himself.

He misses the days before he presented, when he just assumed he was a beta, even when he was just Cruella’s slave and an easy target for bullies.

It’s easier to be a beta on the Isle than it is to be an omega in Auradon.

Though that’s not true. It’s easier to be a beta on the Isle than it is to be an omega in his pack.

Carlos groans and sits up. The grass is starting to itch and third period will be out soon. Students will be swarming the outside in between classes or on their way to lunch and Carlos would prefer to not be so noticeably skipping class in the middle of a courtyard.

Dude eagerly follows as Carlos moves through the grass.

The pathways between buildings quickly fills up with kids. The crowd is noticeably thinner than usual. More students must be skipping than the few he saw. Maybe other alphas have been triggered by Ben and are off with their own little packs.

Carlos wonder how many people at Auradon Prep are in packs. He glances around and notices girls wearing the tourney jackets of the boys they like and students with hickeys and bite marks.

He reaches up to touch his own bare throat. He feels so very naked.

Surely, people know. At least a few people have put it together after Jay was seen in rut leaving with Evie and now Mal is nowhere to be found. People know what’s going on.

And people know Carlos isn’t a part of it.

Carlos shies away from everyone. Are people staring at him? Are they pointing and whispering? Are they mocking him behind their hands?

Well, they always do that. Carlos is from the Isle, his hair is crazy, he has all but adopted Dude and students are disgusted by it.

But now, everyone is chattering and gossiping and Carlos can see that no one is paying him any mind. The news of the prince going into heat just days before his coronation was infinitely more interesting than some scrawny beta boy, even one from the Isle.

All around him, people are holding hands and smiling at each other. They are sharing clothes and laughing and enjoying the fall weather and Carlos is standing off to the side, as lonely as can be.

The halls thin out and Carlos is left actually alone, no one in the hallway but him.

He keeps wandering, and nothing feels like slow motion anymore.

---

Classes are too trivial for Carlos to attend. It seems like things are getting more settled down, but everyone is still in a frenzy about Ben and the coronation.

And Carlos’ mind is still whirling. A classroom full of giggling students no longer provides any kind of small reprieve.

It’s been two days since he last saw Mal, Evie or Jay.

He keeps wandering. He finds old classrooms that aren’t being used. He has to pick the locks, but whatever. Auradon will survive some busted locks. The first few are dusty and nearly empty, but Carlos finds a few books in them. The books are never on topic that interest him, but he takes the books anyway.

Books had been his friends before Carlos even knew what that word was. Being locked away where no one could use them didn’t seem right. At least holding them in his hands made him feel better. He tucks them into his bag with his chemistry textbook and the weight on his shoulders is almost comforting.

Most of the locked classrooms have desks coated with dust. One has a loose light switch cover that Carlos fixes with the screwdriver in pocket. Another had a cracked window and Carlos tries to imagine what happened in an Auradon classroom to result in that.

All of the rooms are dark and cold, though. The lights take a few moments to flicker on and the heat is shut off in all of them. They’re quiet and oddly empty, despite many being stuffed full as being used for storage.

Carlos never stays in one classroom too long.

There are hallways he’s never walked down before for departments he has no interest in, but are these halls lined with classrooms full of chattering students. Carlos pays them no mind. He’s mapping the school out in his head and it occurs to him that it’s odd he hasn’t done this already. He likes knowing escapes and doorways and dead ends, it prevents trouble. (Or, it prevents more trouble when he’s already in some.)

But it keeps his mind occupied.

Carlos finds supply closets inside buildings that aren’t meant for students. There are heavy cleaning machines like floor buffers and power washers that he itches to use, partly because he feels the need to clean and partly because new machines still excite him in this numb state.

He makes notes of windows with broken locks and lights that are about to die out. There’s a back entrance to the kitchen of the cafeteria that Carlos sneaks into because he skipped breakfast. It’s the first time ever that he skips a meal that he has access to. It should probably worry him. Carlos doesn’t even sneak in the kitchen because he’s hungry, he’s just bored. He shoves snacks in his pockets when the kitchen staff have their backs turned – apples and chips and a container of juice.

The buildings he likes best have signs that restrict students. There are fewer people in them, more quiet and less interruptions. Nobody ever sees him and he never sees anybody, up until the late afternoon when Carlos stumbles into a room that smells familiar but he’s never been in and Jane is sitting on the floor.

Her eyes are big and sad when she looks up at him. Her cheeks are wet and over a soft roar, Carlos can even hear her purring.

“Get out!” Her voice is trembling and croaky and soft. Her eyes say she is a threat, but her tone says Carlos is the threat.

No one sees Carlos as a threat. Not even the soft kids in Auradon.

Carlos just keeps looking down at her. Everything is becoming more familiar. The smell is detergent, the low rumble is from washers and dryers (which Cruella had in Hell House, even if Carlos was fixing them every other week and even then, they only worked half of the time).

The blankets and clothing on the floor are even familiar. Not the sight or smell of them, but how they're bundled, how they're laid out. He knows what this is.

“Why are you nesting here?” Carlos asks and his voice rings in his ears. How long has it been since he spoke out loud? He had avoided classmates and teachers, he hadn’t spoken to Doug this morning or last night, he hadn’t talked to Dude since yesterday.

More importantly, why is he talking to Jane? The two of them have never spoken. Mal had flirted with her when they were searching for the wand and Jane had clung to Mal and her little affections.

He should be jealous, even with the dullness of suppressants working. But no, Carlos is here talking to her.

Something about this sight is over powering the suppressants and his own self-preservation skills.

Jane opens her mouth to speak, but her lips quiver and she falls back to the floor, hiding her face in a pillow case.

He had been like this before, once, in his treehouse. It had been right after he ran from Mal in her rut. Mal had chased him and Carlos had defied her and he hid in his treehouse with the pillow and blanket from Evie and the jacket from Jay.

“Are you okay?”

Jane purrs and it’s so loud that Carlos hears it over the washer and dryers. He notes again that they’re in the laundry room of the school, where students can come to wash their own clothing and where staff washes their bedding.

It’s a decent place to nest, Carlos thinks, and he hates himself for appreciating it. The rumblings of the washer and dryer are low, but enough to keep someone from drowning in the silence because this room is hidden enough with how far it is from more frequently used buildings. It’s dim inside and it’s full of soft materials to use.

“He didn’t ask for me.”

“Huh?” Carlos stops gazing around the room and looks back down at Jane. “What? Who didn’t?”

Jane hides her face in a jacket that looks familiar to Carlos, but he can’t place it. “He asked for Audrey and Chad, but not me.”

Carlos blinks and tilts his head. “Ben?”

“He’s not even with Audrey anymore! He asked for his ex before he asked for me!” Jane whimpers and her shoulders tremble pitifully.

On a positive note, his suppressants have him numbed so much that Carlos doesn’t even feel awkward with Jane rubbing her face into the jacket in her hands. He can provide better comfort this way.

And how odd to want to give comfort to a practical stranger, someone who hung over his alpha, but Jane’s purr has Carlos unable to move away from her.

Fairy Godmother had once said that omegas could affect the emotions of others, but doesn’t feel anything and Jane can’t affect what doesn’t exist.

Still, Carlos can’t leave.

He slowly sits down outside of her nest, a few feet back. Jane doesn’t acknowledge him and keeps her face hidden in what Carlos recognizes as a tourney jacket. Jay has one just like it.

But he doesn’t want to think about Jay right now.

“You…wanted Ben to ask for you?”

Jane hiccups and bunches up the jacket under her head. “I…I thought he might. Before Mal came along…” Jane sniffles and avoids his eyes. “We kind of had something going. Me and Ben and Audrey and Chad.”

That’s a weird foursome, but Carlos can't be a hypocrite. His foursome with Evie and Mal and Jay is pretty weird to most people. The four of them have little in common personality wise, but Carlos thinks that’s what attracted them all together, each of them providing a trait that the others lacked. Mal is leadership and Jay is muscles and Evie is charm and Carlos is…

Not with them.

“I thought just Ben and Audrey were together?” Carlos asks her because he can’t leave and starting a conversation is better than sitting in silence. It's odd for him to be talking to Jane, but it's just as odd for her to be talking to him. She probably hasn't had anyone come in here yet and Carlos has no idea how long she's been in here. Surely the staff have seen in her in here when they come to do laundry, but maybe they just ignore her and let her be.

That thought - of someone seeing an omega nesting and purring and not offering comfort to them - makes Carlos swallow heavily.

“Officially, yeah.” Jane purrs to herself. Her eyes drift to the wall behind Carlos and her voice drops, becoming hard to hear over the machinery in the room. “But that was for appearances. For Auradon.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Jane swallows. “We just kind of had something between us.” She looks sharply up at Carlos. “But then Mal took Ben and Evie wanted Chad and it all fell apart!”

Before Carlos can process the accusation and hurtful words, Jane curls in on herself again.

“But I know they didn’t mean to.” She whispers, more to herself than to Carlos. “They just wanted to fit into Auradon.” Jane purrs and rolls onto her back, bringing the jacket with her. There’s no 7 on it, like Carlos expected from Ben’s jacket, but instead there is a 23, Chad’s number. “Ben and Chad left and ruined everything and it was just me and Audrey for a while.” Jane smiles and sighs. “But then Chad came back and then it was just him and Audrey. Then Ben and Mal broke up and he asked for Chad and Audrey but not me.”

I’m an asshole, Carlos thinks.

Jane is lying here sobbing because she wasn’t asked to spend Ben’s heat with him and she cares so deeply for him.

Carlos was meant to spend to Jay’s rut with him and he’s not. He can’t.

“Well I don’t think it matters. Omegas are pretty delirious in their heat.” Though Carlos only ever had three heats and two of them were affected by the suppressants he was still trying to perfect. He remembers his first heat, that day when he presented on the steps of Hell Hall. The memory of his first heat is hazy, but Carlos knows he had clung to Cruella’s clothes for a sense of comfort and that was enough proof that Carlos was in a bad state mentally. “He probably doesn’t even know what he’s asking for.”

“He knew enough to ask for them.”

“Yeah, because they were familiar to him.” Carlos says back and, surprisingly, it takes a little bit of effort to keep his own voice neutral. He should get out of here, get away from Jane’s scent. “That’s why.”

“So was I and he didn’t ask for me!” Jane truly snaps back, glaring at him from where she still lays pitifully in the nest of blankets and Audrey’s shirts.

Carlos’ hands twitch at his sides. “He just asked for the first people he thought of.”

“Then why didn’t he ask for Mal?” Jane hisses and sits up in her blankets. Her purring has stopped while she converses with him, but she looks no less sad and lonely. “The one he’s actually dat-?”

“He did ask for Mal!” Carlos snaps at her. “Ben asked for Mal and he asked for her clothing to nest with! He doesn’t know what he’s asking or for who!”

Jane’s lips pull down and she shies away from Carlos’ outburst.

Carlos decides he does not like being seen as a threat.

“Sorry. Damn it, sorry.” Carlos hangs his head and sighs. “Just…Ben and Mal recently broke up. I don’t think you heard that if you’ve been hiding in here for a while.”

He expects Jane to deny that she’s hiding, but she doesn’t.

“So he’s clearly not thinking straight.” Carlos tells her. He leans his forehead on one of his hands. “Ben asked for someone he’s not even dating anymore. And they haven’t been dating for a while. I guess people have figured that out too.” He drums his fingers on his boots, big and black and clunky. “So don’t be mad or upset. Ben doesn’t know what he’s asking for.”

Something hits him in the head and falls into his lap. It doesn’t hurt at all – it’s just a pillow – but Carlos raises his head in shock and nearly recoils at the death stare Jane is giving him.

“We’re not idiots!” She seethes and her fingers curl around the materials of her nest where she’s now sitting up. “We’re not children in our heat who don’t know what we want or what’s best for us!” Jane grinds her teeth in a way that would be terrifying if it weren’t from an Auradon kid. Or if it weren’t from an omega.

“That’s not what I-.”

“He knows what he’s asking for.” Jane’s voice cracks as her eyes soften and water again. “He meant to ask for Audrey and Chad and Mal and he meant to not ask for me.”

Carlos is the one shying away now. He looks down at his lap. He has questions about all of this, ones that shouldn’t exist since he’s going to be a beta, he’s currently killing the omega in him. These questions don’t matter and don’t affect him anymore.

“Why did he ask for Mal, then?”

Jane looks at him with teary eyes. “He must’ve wanted her. She didn’t go to him…did she?”

Carlos shakes his head. “No. They’re broken up.” At least he can give Jane some sort of good news. “Sorry that we…kind of messed things up for you.”

“Don’t be.” Jane lays back down on her side, clutching a pink shirt that must belong to Audrey. “We hadn’t made anything official. Only Ben and Audrey were definitely together. Chad and I were just kind of…there.”

There’s never been a time where Carlos has provided comfort for someone who wasn’t Jay or Mal or Evie, but he almost wants to reach out and pat Jane’s shoulder.

But she hasn’t invited him into her nest. And Carlos isn’t going to ask.

“Your emotions are affecting me.” Carlos mumbles as he stands. “You… Shit.”

Jane hardly looks at him. “Sorry.” She hides her face in the jacket.

From a standing position, Carlos can fully see her nest. It’s small, just big enough for her.

His sad nest hadn’t even been big enough for him in his treehouse. The blanket and pillow from Evie and the jacket from Jay was too small for even Carlos at the time.

Had he looked this pitiful? Does it hurt Jane the same way it hurt him to have no one to share his nest with?

Carlos turns to leave, panic bubbling up in a way that he hasn’t felt in almost a week. His breathing quickens and his hands tremble. He needs to get out of here, away from Jane and her stupid effect on him, away from his guilt because he did this, Ben is in heat and Jay is in rut and Jane is hurt and why is Carlos so fucking stupid?

His hand is on the doorknob and Carlos wrenches the door open and takes a step outside where the air is clearer – no laundry detergent or lingering scents of student’s clothing or stupid omega pheromones – but he doesn’t leave.

He kneels down and sets his backpack on the ground. Carlos reaches in for the books, the ones from the abandoned classroom, and pulls them out. He has one about birds and one about knitting and one about furniture and even an old magazine squished between them. Carlos holds his breath as he sets them next to Jane’s nest.

The food in his pockets comes out too. All of it. The fruit and the chips and the juice. Carlos sets them on top of the books. Jane’s face is still hidden in Chad’s jacket. Her purr and the low roar of the laundry room effectively covers what little noises Carlos makes.

Carlos zips up his bag, stands, and leaves.

---

“Pup! Hey!”

Carlos turns on his heel to see Evie walking up to him. She’s bundled up and looks rather cute in her blue sweater and black scarf, face pink and eyes wide.

She opens her arms and pulls him into a hug and Carlos slowly returns the gesture. He has missed Evie, but he hadn’t expected to see her for a few more days. She smells like Jay, faintly, but the fact that Carlos can smell Jay on her despite his suppressants means the scent must be strong.

“What are you doing?” Carlos asks as they pull apart and he is pleased to note that there’s no whining in the back of his head to pull Evie close again and cling to that physical contact. “Isn’t Jay still…?”

“Yes.” Evie answers quickly and walks off to the side, out of the flow of walking traffic. Carlos had just been about to enter the cafeteria, but he follows her to the lockers. “He is. Mal is with him.”

“Are you…not spending the rest of his rut with him?”

Evie nods. “I am. I just came to get food.” She looks up and down the halls, at the students who hardly pay them any mind, then pushes the doors to the cafeteria open.

“Oh, this is the first time I’ve seen you out.” Carlos tells her. “I must have been missing you, no one has seen you. I’ve asked.”

Evie purses her lips, but takes a moment before responding. She looks away from him. “This is the first time I’ve left. We had…thought someone was going to bring us food, but I just figured it would be easier to come get some and bring it back.”

He can read between her words. Shame settles in his gut and Carlos tries not to think about it. “Oh. Uh. Oh.”

“So I only have a little bit before I’ve got to be back.” Evie tells him as they walk. She is as chipper as ever, even with her flushed face. “What’s new? How’s Ben? How’s the school? How are you?”

Carlos follows her as Evie grabs a tray. He doesn’t feel so hungry anymore. “It’s been pretty wild. Students and teachers are kind of in a frenzy. Not because of Ben going into heat.” He adds quickly as Evie looks at him. “But with the excitement of coronation and everything being messed up.”

“I hope they don’t blame Ben.” Evie piles on food. “It’s hardly his fault.”

Without suppressants, Carlos could never control when his heats were. They were to happen every three months, four times a year. That was the normal schedule, at least, according to the books he could find on the Isle.

But outside forces could affect a heat too, jump start it early. It’s why Anastasia Tremaine had been in public the day she went into heat – she could smell Mal’s rut.

Carlos swallows. “How has…Jay been?”

Evie looks at him and smiles softly. “He’s okay, Carlos. We’re taking care of him.” She turns back around. “He’s pretty delirious. Mal said that would happen since he’s in a new place and he could smell Ben’s heat, but Mal’s handling him very well. I would’ve never suspected that she…could be that submissive.”

He can’t imagine Mal being submissive. “What are…they doing?”

Evie raises a brow and her lips twitch upward. “They’re…having sex.”

“Oh.” Right, right. He knew that, Carlos always knew that. “And what are…you doing?”

“I’m…participating.” Evie says quietly and she fiddles with the tongs in front of her as her hands fidget. For the first time, Carlos notices that she’s not wearing makeup.

He’s never seen Evie without makeup.

The sight has his breath catching in his throat. Carlos should tell her more often that she’s beautiful, with make up, without make up, she’s gorgeous. He wants to tell her that all he wants is for Evie to be happy and he would do anything for her.

She and Jay and Mal are why he’s doing this, why Carlos is changing himself. The sudden longing for all of them and his adoration for Evie’s bare face over rides his dull senses, just a little bit, and he remembers that this will make them all happier. His guilt and numbness and any side effects will be worth it.

“I mean, I’m not really doing a whole lot with Jay. You know, alphas can’t really agree to anything when their rut starts.” Evie hasn’t noticed Carlos’ intense studying of her. She drums her fingers on the tray. “I guess they can, but it becomes more tricky. My mother hated a lot of what she did during her rut and regretted it all after.”

“Like what?”

Evie hesitates before she answers. “Never anything with me. I told you guys it wasn’t like that. But servants she had, there were a few that knew the truth and she would call on one of them during her rut.”

Carlos sighs in relief. He knew the Evil Queen had never touched Evie, but it’s nice to be reassured. “So…what is it you’re doing with them? With Jay and Mal?” He hasn’t given their activities much thought, but now, next to Evie and seeing her for the first time in days, Carlos’ mind is buzzing.

“I’m guessing you don’t want too many details.” Evie picks up her tray, full of food. “But, I’m just there while they do their stuff. We’ve been scenting a lot. Sometimes Jay…” Evie hums to herself and smiles. “Sorry.” She looks at him from the corner of her eye. “I know you don’t want to know about it all and that’s totally okay.”

“Is that why you’re wearing a scarf?” Carlos looks pointedly at her neck. “You came out in a hurry, but you took the time to put on a scarf.”

Evie looks surprised. “I forgot how observant you are. I’ve missed you.” She places her hand on his and squeezes, but continues before Carlos can respond. “But yeah. Jay likes to scent a lot and he likes to…bite a little bit.”

Carlos remembers Jay’s neck being bruised and scabbed the day Mal was out in her rut. He wonders what Evie’s neck looks like.

He wonders what it feels like to be bitten by an alpha.

“You okay?”

Evie’s voice knocks him out of his own head. Carlos nods. “Yeah. I’m fine.” He looks around and realizes he’s followed her to the edge of the cafeteria, just in front of the doors.

“You should come by. If you want to.” Evie tells him. She’s holding the door handle, but not pushing it yet. “Jay wants to see you. He’s been asking about you.”

Carlos’ fingers twitch. “He has?”

“Constantly. He asks where you are and if you’re okay.” Evie takes a deep breath. “I understand if you don’t want to because of the sex. I know that it would be weird. But if you wanted to come for an hour just to scent him or touch him…” Evie offers him a small smile. “Jay would love it. It would mean a lot, Carlos.”

“Okay. I mean. I’ll think about it.”

Evie’s smile widens and Carlos’ own face splits into a smile for her. “Come here.”

Carlos is confused, but obeys nonetheless. He steps closer and tilts his head.

Evie looks around at the cafeteria before leaning forward to peck his lips. It is soft and sweet and gentle, just like Evie. “I’ve been missing you too. So has Mal.”

The cracks in his numbness fully shatter. There is a rush of relief and joy and love. Carlos wants to follow her as she pulls back, follow her back to the room, follow her for the rest of his life, but instead he settles for, “I’ve missed you guys too. How much longer?” If his tone is breathless, Evie doesn’t mention it.

“We’re not sure. All of these things playing into it – Ben’s scent and a new place and us being a pack – could shorten it or lengthen it. Mal says his rut only lasted a few days back on the Isle, but it might have been because of…”

“Jafar?”

Evie nods and purses her lips. “So if it keeps going like that, we should be more than halfway through it.”

Carlos wants to ask her to stay. He wants to beg her, actually. He has missed her and Mal and Jay. He’s missed them all a lot lately and he hadn’t realized it until Evie was being taken away again.

“Bye, pup.” Evie says as she opens the door. “I…” She tries to smile at him. “Bye.”

Carlos doesn’t want to go to chess club anymore. Well, not right now. But what he wants and what he gets are usually polar opposites.

---

Still, he allows himself this one thing under the guise of helping someone else.

He knocks on the door to the laundry room. There’s no way Jane would be able to hear that over the washing and drying machines, so Carlos slowly pushes the door open while balancing a tray of food.

The room is empty of Jane and her nest. Carlos feels his stomach drop. There’s no sign of her or that she had ever been here. What was once her little corner is just laundry baskets. Her blankets are gone and there aren’t even crumbs from when Carlos brought her food yesterday.

It’s probably for the better, Carlos thinks as he shuts the door and walks back down the hallway. He eats the sandwich, but tosses the tray and the rest of the food into a garbage can and hopes someone on the Isle finds use for it all.

Jane’s area had been comforting, even if it was stressful. Her presence had been nice. She was without her pack, just like Carlos. Her sorrow was familiar.

But there’s no logical reason for him to seek her out.

The building with the laundry room is on the way to the building for extra cirriculars. Carlos passes a dance studio and a band room, rooms for photography and painting, and stands quietly in the doorway, unsure if he should knock or just walk in.

Thankfully, he is saved by Ally noticing him. “Carlos! I didn’t think I’d ever see you.” She looks around at the group and smiles timidly at him.

He steps into the room and waves.  “Hi.” He takes a seat by Doug, who looks genuinely happy to see him here.

There are a few people Carlos doesn’t recognize, all watching him. Outside of Doug and Ben, Carlos hasn’t made many other friends. In fact, he wouldn’t even call Doug and Ben friends.

There is one person here who is familiar and is watching him with wide eyes. “Carlos?”

“Hi Lonnie.” He tries to smile even though he really doesn’t feel like it. The only reason he’s here is because exploring the school grounds isn’t fun anymore. Well, it wasn’t fun to begin with, but at least it wasn’t boring before.

And he’s…lonely. Maybe. Carlos thinks that’s what he is. He feels lost laying in bed with no one around.

“What are you doing here?” She looks at the rest of the group, who have gone back to talk amongst themselves. Lonnie grabs his arm and pulls him away from Doug. “Is Jay’s rut over?”

“What?” Carlos pulls away from her. “You know about that?” As soon as the words leave his lips, Carlos knows it’s a dumb question. Jay was in class when his rut started, even though people were distracted because of Ben, and Evie took him back to his room immediately, people noticed. Jay’s been gone for five days now, Mal and Evie too, the teachers have to be aware of something.

Carlos is pretty sure that spending a rut in one’s dorm with only a beta and another alpha present is not how Auradon Prep takes care of their alpha students, but he suspects that the four of them from the Isle, much like the Isle itself, is an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ situation. He’s pretty sure no teachers have sought Jay out and Fairy Godmother might not even be aware of it with everything else going on.

Villain kids are pretty low on the list of priorities.

People must know, but no one has mentioned it.

“Seeing as Evie’s my roommate and I haven’t seen her in a few days, I can piece it all together.” Lonnie tucks her long hair behind her ear. She had short hair when they first came to Auradon, Carlos remembers how Evie had turned her nose up at describing Lonnie’s hair to them all. Then Lonnie had come to Mal after she did Jane’s hair with magic. Mal had initially turned Lonnie down, but Evie asked sweetly, saying Lonnie would be less afraid of them all if they did something nice for her.

Mal never says no to Evie.

“I haven’t seen you.” Lonnie continues. She’s staring at his face. “I assumed you were with her and Jay. Mal too. I’ve been telling everyone that’s where you were.”

Oh. That would explain why no teachers came asking after him when he skipped. Not that they cared about a missing Isle kid from their class.

“Evie’s still not back yet, so I know it’s not done.” Lonnie cocks her hip. “So what are you doing here?” Her tone isn’t accusatory. At the very least, she had been neutral to them all in the beginning, and warmed up to Evie quickly, like everyone does, but ever since Family Day, Lonnie has been softer with all of them. Apparently, Audrey told her how villains never scent their children and Lonnie took it pretty hard, according to the awkward conversations she and Evie had.

Carlos rocks on his feet. At least he’s not rubbing his wrist or neck. He hasn’t done that in a week. “I’m not…spending Jay’s rut with him. Just Mal and Evie are.”

Lonnie’s eyebrows raise. “Oh. I just…assumed.” She exhales slowly. “Sorry. Just with Ben and Mal dating, then him going into heat and not asking for her, but asking for her clothes, then all my friends say they saw Jay’s rut start and Evie dragging him away and no one has really seen you and Mal since then...” Lonnie babbles and looks over at the desks. A few students are playing chess and some are discussing strategy. “I guess I could have asked Doug to double check.” She looks back at Carlos with narrow eyes. “So where have you been the past few days?”

Carlos shrugs. Her questions and rambling and close proximity might have put him on edge last week, but he’s indifferent to her now. “Around.”

“Okay…” Lonnie crosses her arms. “Is everything alright?”

Carlos nods. He came here for chess. Or, to be around other people, but not like this.

“Well, come on then.” Lonnie grabs his hand again. “Have you ever played?”

He tells her no, but that doesn’t stop Lonnie from sitting him down in front of a board.

Chess is fun. It’s memorization and strategy and thinking ahead. Carlos likes that.

He also learns that coronation will be set back until next month.

“They can’t do it right away.” Lonnie explains as she sets up the board again. She had won the first match, but Carlos in undeterred. “The food made in preparation has all gone bad and was thrown away.” (That’s a lot of food that will make it to the Isle on the next barge shipment, Carlos is pleased to note.) “A lot of the royalty from other countries that came in had to leave again. Some will manage to make it back, but most won’t.”

Coronation doesn’t hold much interest for Carlos anymore. It’s not a big deal. They’re not going for the wand. But it’s nice to be kept up to date.

“Was Ben good friends with Jane?” He asks as casually as he can, running his finger down the edge of a pawn.

“Ben’s good friends with everyone.” Doug says from Carlos’ side. He’s been helping Carlos play. “He’s the nicest guy ever.”

And Carlos is the one who took Ben’s suppressants and accidentally gave him alpha suppressants back. It’s not a good idea for anyone to get close to Carlos.

“Jane probably has a crush on him.” Lonnie tells him with a shrug. “Most girls do.”

“She definitely had a crush on Audrey.” Doug says.

“Most girls do.”

Doug laughs and Carlos tries to laugh too.

“Audrey also isn’t that bad.” Lonnie leans forward on her elbows, looking at Carlos over the chess pieces. “She freaked out on Family Day because she’s…protective. Of her family and of Auradon.”

Carlos doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t want to insult Audrey. Not to Lonnie’s face. Really, not at all. He hasn’t thought much about what happened on Family Day.

“And she feels really bad about embarrassing Mal like that.” Lonnie stresses as she stares at him.

Again, Carlos doesn’t say anything. Doug squirms uncomfortably next to him. Lonnie pulls back after a long moment and they start the next game.

---

When Carlos spots Jay and Mal and Evie in the cafeteria early Saturday morning, he could swear his heart stops.

They all look awful. All three of them have hair in a mess, full of knots and kinks. They’re all in their pajamas – big t-shirts and cozy pants. Evie is still without make up, as is Mal, and both of them wear heavy scarves, despite being indoors.

It feels like everything has slowed down around him again, or maybe Carlos has slowed down while everything remains the same. The cafeteria is nearly empty this early on a Saturday morning. Carlos is only up because Dude was whining to be let outside to chase the squirrels, where Carlos left him. The room is quiet, but as he gets closer, Carlos can hear his pack giggling.

Evie is halfway in Jay’s lap, his face buried in her neck. She is picking at some eggs with one hand around Jay’s shoulders. Mal is next to them, cuddled into Jay’s side and watching the two of them with a small smile.

All of them sit with their backs to the wall – a force of habit that lives in Auradon still – and Mal sees him when he’s just a few feet away.

Carlos’ breath catches in his throat. He’s not meant to be here. They are so content without him, he knew they would be happier without him, he knew it.

Evie’s eyes light up at the sight of him and Mal waves him over.

He gulps and continues walking toward them. It feels wrong. This isn’t right. “Hi guys.” Carlos whispers as his fingers curl into his palms.

Jay looks up from Evie’s neck. He tilts his head, hair falling over his shoulder and squinting intensely. “Carlos? Pup?” Jay moves Evie from his lap to the bench in one easy movement and stands. He rushes around the table and up to Carlos in less than a second, cupping his face. “Hi.”

There’s a bubble of excitement that forms in Carlos’ stomach, consuming all of his doubts. It rises through his lungs and throat until it bursts his face into a smile. “Hi.”

Jay leans down to kiss him. His lips are chapped and he has bags under his eyes, but his hands are warm on Carlos’ face and his mouth is gentle. “I’ve missed you.” He breathes into Carlos and kisses him again, biting at his lower lip.

And Carlos has missed Jay too. He hadn’t realized how much until Jay is holding him and kissing him and Carlos can feel the little tremors in Jay’s hand.

Their first kiss, which had been just a month ago in the boy’s locker room, had left Carlos dizzy. He felt warm, he felt happy. It had been one of the best moments of his life, allowing himself to have Jay, to feel him on his lips like sunshine, to show desire because Carlos wanted Jay, oh evil, he did he want Jay.

And now, in the cafeteria, kissing Jay again…

It’s alright.

Carlos kisses back the best he can – which isn’t great with his limited experience – but there’s no real thrall to it. He’s still happy to see Jay again after going days without him, Mal and Evie too, but kissing is so underwhelming compared to what he remembers.

It’s also lasting so long. Maybe Carlos won’t mind long kisses in the future, but it’s risky right now, his anxiety is crawling back up his throat. He wants to push Jay away, but Mal clears her throat and ends their kiss before Carlos can try.

“Sit boys. We all need to eat and re-group.”

Carlos is dragged to the table by Jay, who holds him tightly. There is breakfast food still left, but many of the plates are dirty (though, nearly clean by Auradon standards because he and his pack have a tendency to lick every crumb off the plate. The only reason Carlos throws food away is so it will reach the Isle, but Auradon just wastes it all without a purpose) and used napkins are scattered about. Their table is round and Mal, shockingly, moves so her back is to the door and she makes room for Carlos.

“How long have you guys been here?” Carlos asks as he sits next to Jay.

No one answers though because Jay wraps both arms around Carlos and nuzzles his neck and Carlos flinches away so violently, he nearly falls out of his seat. “Get off!”

Alphas naturally have a stronger sense of smell compared to betas, maybe to even omegas, but their sense of smell is always best during their ruts. The brief moment that Jay’s nose touched his neck, Carlos had felt a fear run through him that he has not felt since leaving the Isle, maybe ever.

Sitting with Jay is one thing, kissing and touching him is riskier, but allowing Jay to scent him cannot happen, not when Carlos has only been on these suppressants for a week and Jay is just coming out of his rut.

His breathing is hard and his hands are shaking. Carlos’ panicked shout of “get off,” repeats in his head, sounding more angry and bitter each time it plays.

A hundred thoughts are racing through Carlos’ mind, but when he looks at Jay, they all stop.

Jay hadn’t even looked this hurt when they sat on the floor of his room just last week and he opened up about his forced submission to Jafar. This contrite expression is one Carlos has never seen on his alpha’s face. Jay’s eyes are wide and his mouth has dropped in surprise, his eyebrows pulled together in some sad state of confusion and his hands still clenching around the air where Carlos had just been.

Carlos bites his lip, but he doesn’t purr or rub his neck, at least. But shit. Why can’t he stop hurting people?

“What the fuck?” Mal snaps. Her anger is directed at Carlos, he can tell, even though he won’t look at her or Evie. Mal doesn’t usually speak so harshly to him, or any of them, but Carlos has no reaction to her displeasure.

There’s no desire to please her, to whine for her approval. His suppressants are stopping his submissive urges even around his pack.

That’s good.

There’s also no guilt at upsetting her, no worry for her anger. He feels nothing for upsetting her.

That’s not good.

(Or maybe it is?)

Even if he’s not worried about Mal’s anger, Carlos hates himself for distressing Jay, for putting that sad look on his normally charming face. Carlos swallows and straightens himself in his seat. “Sorry.” He mumbles to the table. He can’t look at Jay anymore, still won’t even risk a glance to Evie and Mal and see their expressions. “It’s just…uh…been a while. Sorry.”

He’s an idiot. What does that excuse even mean?

“Okay.” Jay says next to him, still watching Carlos with those big, wounded eyes. “Did I scare you? I didn’t mean to.” He says softly.

After coming out of his rut, Jay ought to be more aggressive, more dominant. But he’s sad and small and looking at Carlos like all Jay wants to do is hold him.

“It’s fine.” Carlos shrugs his shoulders. His face burn with embarrassment.

Jay sounds so hurt and Carlos feels bad, he really does, but he can’t bring himself to console Jay. He’d have to get close and try to explain and Carlos can’t do that.

“We, uh, we got here about an hour ago, Carlos.” Evie’s voice is low, almost a whisper like she’s afraid to speak with all of the tension. She curls closer to Jay, sneaking her head under his chin and hugs him.

Mal speaks next, her tone louder. “We got hungry last night.” She doesn’t have a bite to her words anymore. Her anger is gone, but her confusion, the edge to her tone is still there. “So we were here as soon as the cafeteria opened.”

“I’m sorry, again.” Evie finally takes her eyes off Carlos and Jay and looks down at her lap. “I thought I grabbed enough food. I didn’t realize how much energy we’d be using up.”

“Don’t.” Jay thankfully stops looking at Carlos too and grabs Evie’s chin and to force her head up. “You did perfect, beta. If you didn’t bring us that food, it would have been way worse.” He still holds her face when he kisses her and Evie melts. Jay understands her compliance as an invitation and draws closer to her, pulling himself away from Carlos.

The distance between them feels so much larger than it actually is.

Carlos peeks at Jay from the corner of his eye and curls in on himself. Something hits his shin under the table. He looks up and sees Mal watching him.

“You didn’t know.” She says, her voice gentle. It’s so very different from just moments ago, but Carlos can’t seem to care about that either. “Okay? Next time, you can bring us food. But you didn’t realize that we wouldn’t be able to leave.” She glances at Evie and Jay too, now nuzzled into each other comfortably. “You’ll know for next time. My rut will probably be in another two months.”

“Okay.” Carlos sits up straighter and nods. “I can do that next time.” Probably. Two months will be plenty of time for the omega in him to start dying off with these new and improved suppressants, but Carlos doesn’t want to risk being around an alpha in rut for a while. For Mal’s rut, he can at least send someone else to do it and make sure they get food daily.

Mal’s eyes flicker over to Jay and Evie, now consumed in each other. He is scenting her neck and she is stroking his hair, both of them making little noises of content. Mal looks back to Carlos. “Be nice.” She whispers, almost inaudible. “It was a hard week.”

“Okay.” Carlos whispers back, not looking at Jay and Evie next to him. He meets Mal’s gaze without any trouble and if she’s surprised by that, she doesn’t show it. “Sorry. I’m…sorry.”

“We didn’t get you because we didn’t know if you were sleeping or not.” Mal’s voice is louder, but she sounds far away. It takes a second for Carlos to realize she’s talking about here and now, how the three of them had been enjoying themselves without him. “We weren’t trying to exclude you.”

“Who? Carlos?” Jay, now done dominating Evie’s throat, looks at Carlos. “Of course we weren’t. We just thought you weren’t awake.”

He’s so worried for Carlos, about him feeling excluded, so eager to assuage any fears and doubts Carlos might have as if Carlos hadn’t just completely rejected Jay a minute ago.

Mal snickers. “Yeah. I just told him that.” She kicks Jay under the table and he kicks back, grinning mischievously.

Ruts can mess with the emotions of an alpha. Even though Jay is no longer in his rut, it seems he is still feeling the after effects. He is quick to jump from Evie to Carlos to Mal, expression changing every second with no defenses up, going from hurt to concerned to giggly in mere moments.

Jay’s kind of cute like this. So invested in everything.

Carlos’ chest tightens.

“So, Pup,” Evie calls him from the other side of Jay, “what’s been new? Catch us up to date.”

His transgression of rejecting Jay has mostly faded. Carlos still feels uncomfortable, but it appears no one else does anymore. Jay can’t scent him, but they can hold hands, they can bump each other’s shoulders, they don’t have to keep this distance between them that prevents them from touching, Carlos wants to say. Or, he should say. He should tell Jay that little stuff is okay and Carlos should offer what he can.

But Carlos just focuses on Evie’s question. He tells them everything. Classes have been hectic, teachers try to control the frenzied students. Everyone was told that Jay, Mal and Evie wouldn’t be attending classes (though Carlos leaves out the part that Lonnie was the one who told, and not him). Ben’s coronation is moved back until next month and Mal doesn’t say anything about it.

“People know we’ve broken up?”

“Yeah.” Carlos picks at the toast in front of him. “He, uh, asked for you. I guess. He wanted your clothing to nest with.”

“Nest with?” Evie asks. She is cuddled into Jay’s side, watching them all.

The space between Carlos and Jay has shrunk, but they’re not touching each other, as if there is a wall up between them that they can get close to, but can’t get over. Carlos wonders if Jay is trying to compensate for Carlos’ rejection by clinging to Evie, scenting her and touching her regardless of the glares of new students walking in for breakfast.

Mal rolls her eyes. “It’s this dumb thing where omegas steal clothing of people they care about and like make a bed with it all. It’s about having familiar scents. Ben told me about it a couple of times.”

“That doesn’t sound stupid.” Evie rests her chin on her hand. “It sounds sweet. Comforting.”

“It’s silly is what I meant.” Mal waves her hand. “I had thought it was a waste of time and energy when he told me about it.”

Carlos swallows his food. “Definitely silly.”

“Don’t be mean.” Evie chastises them both with a stern point. “How is Ben doing anyway?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t been seen yet.” Carlos takes another bite of toast. “He asked for Chad and Audrey though.”

“Why would he ask for my clothing?” Mal narrows her eyes in thought and folds her arms. “We’ve been broken up for a while.”

“Maybe he still likes you?” Evie teases, but her smile disappears with Jay’s growl.

The sound shocks them all. Jay isn’t growling at any of them, per se, but his teeth are bared and his hands are clenched.

Evie lowers her eyes in submission and tilts her head to expose her throat, but Carlos doesn’t do anything. Jay’s growl plays on repeat through his head but it doesn’t pull any reaction from him.

“Relax, meat head.” Mal kicks Jay under the table again, but her voice turns sweet. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Jay, surprisingly, obeys her. His shoulders sag with relief and he leans across the table to grab her neck and pull Mal close. “Mine.” He growls the word, but leans his forehead against Mal’s in a tender way. “Mine.”

“Yours.” Mal agrees and closes her eyes.

“Mine.”

“I heard you.” Mal flicks his ear, but kisses him easily.

Jay pulls back and sits down, just to reach for Evie next to him. He yanks her close. “Mi-.”

“I’m yours, I’m yours.” Evie promises, leaning into his touch. She brings his hand up to her throat, resting on her thick scarf. “I have the marks to prove it.” Evie grins and giggles, wrapping her arms around Jay.

His hand moves from her throat to her neck. Jay pulls her close and kisses her with an open mouth.

Carlos, still and quiet, watches the two of them move. Evie is practically in his lap, one leg thrown over his haphazardly. Jay grabs her hips and pulls her close, making pleased little noises when Evie’s hands tangle in his hair.

“Hey horndogs. We’re in the cafeteria.”

Jay detaches himself from Evie’s mouth and moves her to his neck, which she proceeds to kiss down and sigh. “You really wanna call us horndogs?” He grins at Mal.

Carlos watches silently as Evie nuzzles Jay’s collar, panting against his skin and feverishly leaving kisses. He sniffs the air but catches nothing. Maybe there is a lingering scent to Jay’s rut that Evie can pick up on that is affecting her, but Carlos can’t smell anything.

He discreetly looks down and verifies it. He has no reaction – mental or physical – to watching Jay and Evie grind on each other.

There’s a drop of disappointment in his stomach. In the small time frame he had of wanting to come clean, Carlos had wanted to try sex, at least once.

Whatever. He’s lasted almost 16 years without it just fine.

“It was your rut doing all the work.” Mal says with an eye roll. “But save it for later. We should probably be making an effort not to fuck where everyone can see.” She looks off to the side where two students are packing up their belongings and sneering at Jay and Evie.

“My room, princess?” Jay asks as Evie mouths up his neck. “I’m not in rut anymore. I can agree to this.” He palms her ass over her dress and tights. “Instead of just…having dessert.” Jay kisses Evie, biting her lower lip. “But I’m not against doing that again either.”

Evie flushes down past her scarf. She shakily moves off of Jay and wipes her mouth. “I mean… Another day, yes.” She nods and hides her trembling hands under the table. “But let’s take some time.”

“That’s not what you said when I had your legs over my shoulders.”

Carlos’ eyebrows shoot up and he looks between the two of them. It clicks. Evie was the dessert. Jay had performed oral sex on her.

Images flash in Carlos’ mind – Evie on her back, Jay between her legs, Mal watching and encouraging – but nothing happens. There’s no rush of blood, no heat in his face, no tension in his pants.

Carlos huffs. Whatever. At least now, he wasn’t really lying when he told his pack he didn’t want to have sex.

Evie notices his reaction and soothes down her hair. “Let’s talk about this later.” She tells Jay, resting her head on his chest. “When we’re alone. In your room.”

Jay pouts, but nuzzles the top of her head. “What were we all talking about?” He looks at Mal and Carlos.

“Ben.” Mal reminds him, watching all three of them curiously. “You said he asked for Audrey and Chad, Carlos?”

Carlos nods.

“Interesting. He never mentioned anything about Chad.” Mal hums and looks at Evie. “What is he? An alpha?”

“Hades no.” Evie waves her hand. Her face is still pink and her voice is breathless. “He’s a beta. Maybe not the alpha prince mother had hoped for, but still a prince. I got the feeling he was trying to make someone jealous.” Evie looks down and shrugs. “But maybe, in a way, I was too.”

“I wanted to rip his face off.” Jay says easily, like they’re still on the Isle where comments like that are fine and like they’re not in Auradon where comments like that could get him sent back. “Every time you talked about him or I could smell him on you.”

“Relax, alpha.” Evie places her hands on Jay’s, which are balled into angry fists. “I’m all yours.”

Jay obeys the beta and his hands open with her prying. “All mine.” He says dreamily and looks over at Mal.

“Yeah, yeah.” She purses her lips but smiles. “We’re all each other’s.”

She looks at Jay, then Evie, then Carlos, but Carlos feels as if they all have forgotten he’s right here.

---

Ben’s coronation comes so quickly, Carlos can hardly believe it.

He’s gotten more used to his suppressants. Time doesn’t crawl by anymore, Carlos doesn’t feel sluggish and delayed. Everything is weird and sometimes Carlos thinks he’s in the wrong skin, but he feels less…dead.

“Princess, you look as ravishing as ever.” Jay purrs as he eyes Evie up and down. “Or have I already said that?”

“Only about a dozen times.” Evie twirls one of her curls and rocks on her feet. “But I don’t mind.” She giggles and accepts Jay’s outstretched hand, allowing herself to be pulled closer.

“You look quite handsome as well, Jay. Or has E already told you that?” Mal watches the two of them with a smile on her face.

“Pup, you look nice too.” Evie tells Carlos from under Jay’s arm, huddled against him. She looks Carlos up and down, as if seeing him for the first time. “Even if your boots still aren’t tied.” She teases.

Jay nods with a serious look. “Absolutely adorable.”

“The cutest.” Mal says. "Dude too."

The four of them are high in the stands of an old cathedral, just outside the perimeter of Auradon Prep. Nearly everyone in the kingdom is here as well, but Carlos doesn’t pay anyone much mind. He’s dressed in a formal suit – with his signature shorts, of course – as is Jay (who really does look handsome, though Carlos hasn’t told him that). Mal is in a soft purple dress, offset with black boots that keep her from looking ‘too Auradon’ while Evie is in a royal blue dress, looking more elegant than any other princess in the room.

Below them are a dozen royal families, the important people. Not that Carlos has any desire to be down there with stuffy strangers and people who look at them like scum on the bottom of their shiny shoes. On the little steps below, sitting in a glass case, is fairy godmother’s wand. Weeks ago, that wand was their entire purpose, but now, the four of them are content in Auradon and unwilling to bend to their parents’ will.

The sting of Cruella’s signature on his chest ebbs to life with her memory. Carlos ignores it.

He also does his best to ignore Jay and Mal and Evie all laughing together right next to him.

It is not their fault. They’ve tried so hard to include him.

Carlos knows that they’ve tried so hard to include him.

Carlos hates that they’ve tried so hard to include him.

In the weeks following Jay’s rut, it was clear that Jay and Evie and Mal were closer than before. Their constant affections, scentings, the little gifts between them, Carlos had witnessed it all. He was never blind to how Evie saw her way into Jay’s side as often as she could or how Mal left bite marks all over the two of them. He couldn’t smell anything these days, not with the suppressants in his system for almost a full month, but Carlos is sure that the three of them reek of each other.

It isn’t like they had made an effort to exclude him. On the contrary, Jay, Evie and Mal go out of their way to see to him, which is part of the problem.

Their affection with him doesn’t come easily anymore. Or, not as easily as it had between the three of them. There is always hesitation in Jay putting his arm over Carlos’ shoulders, uncertainty in Evie kissing his cheeks, too much thought in Mal offering to scent him.

Loving him is an effort for them.

The realization hurt more than Carlos anticipated. After the weeks of his double dosage, his feelings have begun to return. The world doesn’t seem to be in slow motion, his thoughts and emotions aren’t so muted. Nothing feels as intense as before he started these suppressants, but he doesn’t feel so numb either.

Not for the first time, Carlos wishes he had some sort of reference for his suppressants. Was he supposed to lose his feelings? Were they supposed to come back? Was he supposed to feel so tired some days and just fine on others?

But he doesn’t need a reference. Omegas need references for their suppressants and Carlos isn’t an omega, not anymore. He is going to be a beta, he is a beta, and while he’s surely not the first person to try and change his role, there are no references. Carlos is not going to need something that doesn’t exist.

Regardless, the idea of Jay and Evie and Mal putting work into loving him, like it was some kind of chore, had hurt. It still hurts. Even with his dulled emotions, it causes an ache in his chest that nearly puts Cruella’s burn to shame.

An over the top children’s choir sings in the stands behind them and drown out most of the small conversations happening throughout the cathedral. The heavy wooden doors are pulled open and everyone silences themselves to watch Ben enter.

People everywhere bow as Ben passes them. From the older, more experienced kings and queens to the young and giggly students, they all lower themselves as Ben walks past.

Jay and Mal stand rigid as Ben passes down below them. Evie curtsies like all the other girls and nudges Mal, who does not move. Carlos gives a half-ass bow with Dude in his arms, looking down at the ground and his untied laces. Evie’s right, he really should tie them. He's been really bad at doing little things like that lately: tying his shoes or walking Dude or paying attention in class. Other students rise from their bow and Carlos follows.

Ben reaches the front slowly. His parents and Fairy Godmother are waiting on stage and off to the side are Audrey and Chad. Jane is up there too, but she shies away from everyone and never stands too close to Chad or Audrey. She is up there because she is the daughter of the Fairy Godmother and not because she is of importance to Ben.

It is not lost on Carlos that the distance between him and his pack matches the distance between Jane and the ones she loves.

The whole ordeal is rather boring. Carlos didn’t know what to expect. King Adam’s crown is taken from his head and placed on Ben’s. The magic wand is uncovered from its glass case and Mal’s fingers twitch, but Evie grabs her hand and squeezes. Everyone is quiet.

The most interesting thing is how Ben kneels on the steps. There is nothing submissive about his stance, but Carlos can’t believe a new king would kneel in front of his kingdom, on national television, just as he is given the greatest authority one can get.

“Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?” Fairy Godmother asks. She speaks at a normal volume, but the building is so quiet, everyone hears her.

“I do solemnly swear.”

Mal inhales sharply and when Carlos looks at her, she is following every wave and flick of the wand.

He wonders if she regrets giving up such power for all of them, for him.

“Then it is my honor and my joy to bless our new ki-.”

Carlos isn’t watching Jane, but he is always aware of her presence down there. From his view up so high, Carlos has the perfect angle to see Jane’s lips curl back as she hikes up her dress. She lunges forward, her hand outstretched, and snatches the wand from her mother as easily as any thief from the Isle.

The crowd of people on the ground level gasp, some of them shout, but the people up in the balconies don’t pay attention to any of it.

Being so high up means Carlos can see the magic from the wand as it blasts through the roof of the cathedral without making a hole, as if the ceiling simply absorbs the magic, but that can’t be right. Not that Carlos knows anything about magic. But what he sees, what he feels, is like pure electricity, sparking and zapping. The heat of magic nearly burns on his face, he has to turn away because of how brightly it cackles, he can hear every pop and snap as if they would burst his ear drum.

“What the fuck?” Mal shouts. The sound of magic exploding around them is nearly enough to drown her voice out, but Mal has pulled Evie behind her, Carlos too, arms outstretched as if her body alone could shield them.

“Get down!” Jay yells at them and Carlos feels someone pull him to the ground.

“What’s happened?” Evie asks. People all around them are screaming and cowering, falling over themselves. Evie reaches for Carlos’ hand and he yanks away from her, folding in on himself.

He does not want to be touched right now. Everything is so loud and the light is still so bright, why are people screaming? That doesn't help anything, he wants to yell, they all need to shut up.

“It’s Jane.” Mal grunts as she pushes herself up onto her hands and knees. “She grabbed the wand.”

“Why?” Evie tries to stand, but falls as someone steps on her dress and keeps her down.

“Who fucking knows.” Mal snaps as she stands and quickly lifts Evie up. “But we need to get down there.”

Carlos struggles to stand on his own, tripping over his stupid laces. He had dropped Dude when he hit the floor, but the little dog is running around and barking at everyone, he’ll be fine. “Us? Why?”

“To get the hell out.” Jay reaches for Evie’s hand and pulls her along the stumbling crowd.

“Or to get the wand from that dumb ass!”

No one else runs for the stairs like they do. Most of the students are hiding behind each other, cowering under the shelter of the stone ledge. It’s as if they’re frozen, fleeing doesn’t even cross their minds.

Carlos can still hear the sounds of magic and people shrieking as they run down the stone staircase.

“Come on, move it!” Mal shouts as they jump down the steps as quick as they all can. “Watch out for running people down here!”

Just as the words leave her mouth, Jay leaps out of the staircase and collides into Jane. The hard smack of their bodies colliding is heard even above the chaos.

Jay falls back onto his ass and Evie trips over him, and Mal trips over her and Carlos does the same. Jane, significantly smaller than Jay now that he’s gained proper weight in Auradon, flies backwards and lands hard on the linoleum floor. She’s a distance away from the front and the stand that originally held the wand, having run from her mother chasing after her.

“Child, what are you doing?” Fairy Godmother shrieks. She drops to Jane’s side and finally gets a hold of her.

Carlos groans. He’s still entangled in arms and legs and fluffy purple and blue dresses. He can’t seem to get up without pulling one of the girls down by their extravagant gowns.

Jay has rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up, still slipping on Evie’s dress under his feet. “Let’s go.” He grunts as he hoists Evie up, tearing her dress in the process.

“Oh shit.” Evie hisses, but, to her credit, doesn’t give her ruined dress another thought. She reaches down for Mal and offers her hand.

“Where’s the wand?”

“M, you’re not still planning-?”

“No.” Mal snaps as she brushes herself off. “We’re not. But Jane doesn’t have it.”

They all follow her gaze to Jane, crawling on the floor as she searches for what was lost in her collision with Jay. Now that the bolts of magic are gone and there's no immediate threat, people are still running and falling over each other, doing more damage to themselves than anything the wand had done. Fairy Godmother grabs the back of Jane’s dress and tries in vain to pull her up.

“If I’m pretty,” Jane cries as she scrabbles on the floor, “they’ll want me! They’ll want me if I’m pretty!”

Carlos winces at her words. Mal does too, but Jay and Evie don’t notice.

People all around them are still losing their shit. Carlos thinks they're overreacting a bit, but a few of them settle now that Jane isn’t violently sending off blasts of magic that shake the whole building. Some are still cowering on the floor and others are crying. Carlos looks back at the front and sees Ben watching Jane with wide eyes, Audrey and Chad huddled next to him.

“I can make them want me too.” Jane is still sobbing as she fights her mother’s grasp. “I just have to fix me.”

There’s a pain in Carlos’ chest that makes it hard to breathe, but he’s knocked out of this distraction by a sharp scream.

Carlos turns around and takes in the sight of green smoke spiraling down from the ceiling. It’s so thick that Carlos can’t even see through it, but there’s no scent to it. At least, not one noticeable to a beta.

“What’s going on?” Evie asks as she reaches for Mal’s hand.

“We are so totally fucked.” Mal pales and her hands shake and her eyes grow wide. She looks so scared and small that Carlos can’t take his eyes off of her.

Once the green touches the floor, it expands outwards, rushing so fast that Carlos’ hair is ruffled by the wind. He throws his arm up to shield his eyes.

“I’m back!”

The words echo in the cathedral. No one speaks for a moment.

“It can’t be.” Fairy Godmother whispers.

“Holy fuck.” Jay exhales shakily.

Carlos lowers his arm and opens his eyes.

Standing before them, arms wide open and eyes a familiar shade of green, is Maleficent.

“Oh, baby girl,” she sneers at Mal, “you disappointed me again. I’m shocked.” She deadpans. Maleficent opens her mouth again, but people begin shrieking all at once.

It is all so loud and endless that Carlos can’t even think. Everyone’s voices meld together and he can faintly hear Fairy Godmother shouting something but he can’t tell what or even which direction she’s talking in. He can see people run and fall, but he can’t hear footsteps or bodies hitting the floor. It’s all just screaming. Carlos can’t tell what bothers him more – the noise drowning his thoughts or the Mistress of Evil staring at Mal like she’s dirt. He can’t think or breathe between the two things.

His legs feel weak and Carlos stumbles back. He bumps into something, someone, that holds him up. Carlos knows it must be one of his pack, they were the only ones around him, but whoever is holding him isn’t important, not when the whole room is spinning.

“Breathe, breathe. Keep it together. Breathe.”

He is breathing, Carlos wants to say, but then he realizes Jay isn’t talking to Carlos, he’s mumbling to himself. Carlos reaches back and grabs Jay’s hand and squeezes as hard as he can. (The motion is so awkward. When was the last time Carlos held Jay's hand? The last time he initiated physical contact?) The feeling of something warm and physical and real will calm Jay, maybe, hopefully, as everyone stops screaming.

Actually, everyone stops everything. Everyone just stops.

“That’s so much better.” Maleficent closes her eyes and smiles. Her scepter glows with the spell she has just cast and the thud of her slamming it down echoes in the cathedral now that all other noises are silenced.

“Alpha,” Evie whispers to Mal, “what do we do?”

Carlos pulls his hand back from Jay, who is panting, but not hyperventilating. Carlos locks his knees and hears his blood rushing. His palms are slick with sweat. He can’t break his eyes from Maleficent, not even to look at the rest of his pack.

“How long, Mal, were you going to let me sit on that island?” Maleficent sings as she wanders around the open space. She sneers down at Fairy Godmother, frozen on the ground with her arms outstretched in front of Jane.

“What are you talking about?” Mal asks with no emotion in her voice. None. Carlos can’t even wonder how she sounds so calm. She was so frightened just moments ago, but there is no trace of that on her face. “You’re off the island. You’re welcome.”

“Don’t fool me, girl. You had no role in this accidental liberation.” Maleficent nudges Fairy Godmother with her foot and Fairy Godmother tips over to the ground, her face hitting the hard surface. “This one, the mousey one,” Maleficent looks down at Jane, “she grabbed the wand. We were all watching on the television back home.”

Mal steps forward. Carlos doesn’t move, but Jay follows her lead and keeps Carlos and Evie sheltered behind him. “Only because I convinced her to.” Mal says as she cocks her hip and crosses her arms. “That way if the plan failed, there would be no blame on us. We wouldn’t be sent back.”

“You’re a horrible liar.”

Carlos’ gut twists. Mal’s easy words had almost convinced him that was her plan the entire time.

Mal tenses in front of him. Her mind must be racing, but Carlos can’t read her face from here. She flings her arm out to the side, fingers spread and twitching, but Maleficent does the same and the wand comes shooting from the floor, wherever it had been lost from Jane’s grip, and into Malefient’s hand.

“But you have managed to be a fantastic disappointment once again.” Maleficent’s lip curls back. “To think, I actually thought you would succeed!” Her eyebrows shoot up and she laughs. “I genuinely thought you would free me from the Isle! I hoped that you would be successful!” Maleficent throws her head back and nearly howls.

“Take them,” Mal whispers over her shoulder, making the briefest eye contact with Jay, “and get out.”

“Not a chance in Hell.” Evie hisses and steps forward so she’s no longer hidden behind Jay, but stands at his side.

Carlos swallows and looks around, but does the same. He decreases the distance between himself and Maleficent, who is holding her scepter in one hand and Fairy Godmother’s wand in the other, which is the last thing he wants to do, and he’s not quite sure why he does it. Probably for Mal and Jay and Evie, his delayed brain supplies ad Carlos nods to himself.

That explanation makes sense.

Mal’s eyes soften, but she turns back to her mother. “You’re crashing another party you weren’t invited to. How predictable.”

“And you’ve grown weak with your little attachments.” Maleficent says back in the same disinterested tone. “Just like I knew you would.”

“I’m not weak.” Mal seethes as she steps closer to her mother. “I’m just not following your orders blindly anymore.”

“You? Following orders? Don’t try to paint yourself as competent.” Maleficent spits. With Mal in heels, Maleficent is the slightest bit shorter, but it doesn’t seem to matter with two magical weapons in her hands. “You failed to get my scepter on the Isle, you failed to get the wand, you failed to not grow attached.” Maleficent smirks, she giggles. “Not that it matters. Once your parents are off the Isle, they each have their own ways of dealing with you.” She looks at Jay, at Evie, at Carlos and makes full eye contact with them as her smile grows.

Carlos hardly has time to register the fact that she’s talking about Cruella or how Jay and Evie tense next to him. There’s enough of a pause for Carlos’ breath to catch in his throat and a sense of nausea, but too much is going on for him to slow down.

Maleficent turns back to Mal. “Once the barrier is down and the rest are here, your little pack won’t matter.”

Mal’s shoulders tremble. “Guess I’ll have to stop the barrier then.” Her arm shoots out and a gush of wind follows her.

"And now I command, Wand to my hand!"

Carlos doesn’t understand magic, not really, not at all, but he understands Mal. He believes in Mal, and even if Maleficent is the scariest person he has ever seen (excluding Cruella), Mal is the strongest person Carlos knows.

The wands is yanked by an invisible force – magic – from Maleficent’s hand into Mal’s.

“Yes!” Evie claps her hands and next to her, Jay whoops. Carlos’ face breaks out into a grin.

“Whoa.” Mal breathes. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is hanging open. “It worked!”

Carlos wishes she believed in herself as much as Carlos believes in her.

“You needy little brat.” Maleficent seethes, eyes trained on the wand. Her fingers are curled into talons around her scepter and her teeth are exposed in a way that makes Carlos sway. “How dare you!” She raises her scepter off the ground and Carlos has the fleeting thought that he really doesn’t know what Maleficent’s scepter can do. It put Mal to sleep back on the Isle, but it’s not as powerful as Fairy Godmother’s wand.

Not that Carlos wants to find out what kind of damage it can do. He flinches back, Evie too, but not Jay.

Jay doesn’t flinch away from anything.

He surges forward and grabs the scepter. He throws his whole weight back, desperate to release it from Maleficent’s grasp, his feet slipping and sliding on the floor, to no avail.

Maleficent laughs, even throws her head back with mirth. Her scepter doesn’t move an inch, despite Jay’s best efforts. She takes a breath and keeps her smile in place as she pulls Jay closer to her. Maleficent grips his arm, his bicep, and digs her fingers in – her fingers, not her nails, as if she's trying to keep Jay in place and not hurt him into letting go – and does her creepy giggle again. “Oh my.” Her hand travels up Jay’s arm, his shoulder, his face.

Her movements make Carlos’ skin crawl.

Jay has stopped fighting and stopped trying to pull the scepter from her. He is as frozen as the people around them.

Maleficent’s fingers finally settle on Jay’s chin, pulling on his lip with her thumb. “I can see why your father misses you now.”

Jay jerks back violently, falling to the floor in his haste to put distance between himself and Maleficent. He scrambles away until he bumps into Evie’s legs and she reaches down to pull him up.

“Oh, maybe your pack isn’t as tight knit as you thought.” Maleficents tsks while watching Mal’s face. “Didn’t you know that?” She looks back to Jay, who is shaking behind Evie, her arms outstretched in front of him (because a beta can protect, they can at least try). “Didn’t you know your other alpha was his father’s chew toy?” Maleficent’s lips pull back, but it’s not a smile, not even close. “Jafar talks about you constantly. He can’t wait to see you again.”

“Shut your mouth.” Mal says. She says that to the Mistress of Evil, holy shit! “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I know exactly what I’m talking about. This big, bad alpha was-.”

“I already knew that.” Mal cuts her off. Her mother turns back to her. “I know that. Jay is still mine. And I’m…I’m his.” Mal gulps. Her fingers are white around the wand. “You’re not going to divide us.”

Maleficent’s not-smile turns into a definite not-smile. “You’re aware of the weak and pitiful ways he submitted? And you call him your right hand. You call yourself his.” She sneers in disgust. “You should be thanking me for helping divide you, you’re clearly not thinking properly. Did you know about your beta’s promise to Grimhilde?”

Evie, still shielding Jay, gasps. Her posture becomes rigid and her mouth snaps shut.

Mal, to her credit, doesn’t take the bait and keeps her eyes on her mother. “Evie is-.”

“She’s only using you to get to Auradon, Mal.” Maleficent sneers as she stalks closer. “She told her mother that the only reason she put up with you was to find her way off the Isle and into the arms of a prince.” Maleficent studies Evie. “What a clever girl to follow such power for her own selfish gain. I wish Mal had that sense.”

“It wasn’t true.” Evie says meekly. She steps away from the group, folding in on herself and watching them all. “I just told her that.”

“You gave your word.” Maleficent sings, drumming her fingers on her scepter. “You promised your mother that as soon as you found a prince, you would abandon your silly pack for a more respectable option.”

“She wouldn’t let me stay with you.” Evie whimpers as she looks between Mal and Jay and Carlos. Her lips tremble and she blinks rapidly, dabbing at her eyes carefully. “That’s it.”

Carlos believes Evie over Maleficent easily, there's not a doubt in his mind. Maleficent lies, she wants to hurt them, and Evie has never hurt them.

“It doesn’t matter.” Mal hisses. For a short moment, Carlos thinks she’s talking to Evie, but Mal has turned to her mother again. “I know where Evie stands. I know where my pack stands. I know we’re…we’re stronger together.” Mal wiggles the wand to prove her point. “You know it too. That’s why you’re trying so hard to break us up.”

Maleficent’s eyes wander to Carlos slowly, as if she forgot he was there. “I wouldn’t call any group with an omega in it ‘strong’.”

What did-?

There's no way.

There's no fucking way she said what Carlos thinks she just said.

But Maleficent keeps looking at Carlos and her smile widens like she knows.

Carlos’ heart stops.

It actually stops. He can feel it in his chest.

His heart stops but he’s still alive (right? Is he alive still?), but his heart is completely still.

“Oh, dear.” Maleficent coos. “It seems maybe you don’t know all of your pack’s secrets.”

Carlos can’t find it himself to look anywhere other than Maleficent. He’s frozen. He thinks he might be placed under the same spell as everyone around them. His limbs are stiff and his neck won’t turn and his eyes are held open and his heart has stopped.

His vision blackens at the edges, otherwise he would see Mal half turn to him with her brows pulled together.

Did someone say something? Is he being spoken too? Carlos can’t hear anything other than the blood rushing in his ears.

How is his blood moving if his heart has stopped?

“You did very well at keeping it a secret, dear boy.” Maleficent says to him. It sounds as if she’s underwater. “Quite clever. Even I am still uncertain of how you did it.”

What is she saying? Why is she saying this? Why does she think he's an omega?

He's not anymore, or he won't be an omega soon enough, he just needs more time.

But how does she know?

“Your downfall was your list.” Maleficent tells him and Carlos thinks maybe he’s voicing his questions aloud without realizing it. “The ridiculous one about whether or not to tell my daughter, I’m sure,” Maleficent waves her hand at Mal.

Carlos shakes. He tries to shake his head, but it’s his whole body that shakes.

“You remember it, don’t you? Cruella said she found it in the kitchen. Mal’s name was all over it, as were the other two.” Maleficent says this all with little emotion, as if crumbling Carlos’ world is a trivial topic. “Cruella didn’t understand it at first, but she put it together. Her only child is an omega.”

He can’t breathe. He can’t breathe and his heart has stopped, he must be dying. Please, please, please, let him be dying.

“No.” Carlos croaks. His throat feels as if he hasn’t spoken in years. “No. Not her.” He brings his hand up to his throat, quickly swelling shut. He can’t breathe, he can’t breathe, he can’t fucking breathe.

“Oh yes,” Maleficent purrs as she steps nearer. “Cruella knows. The whole Isle knows. She has her own list, now, one filled with alphas on the Isle who will kill each other to be the first to find you. I hear some have even paid in advance.”

Carlos hits the floor before he even realizes he’s falling. Or collapsing. Is there a difference?

Cruella knows.

Cruella knows he’s an omega, he’s been lying, he’s been hiding from her.

She knows everything.

“Carlos, are you okay?” Mal asks from above. She drops to the ground with him. “Carlos? Carlos? Carlos, fuck, you need to breathe. Breathe!”

Mal smacks him hard on the back and Carlos chokes on the air. He coughs and splutters and still clutches at his throat. His windpipe is too constricted for him to get air, which is good, actually, because Carlos can’t live through this. He can’t live with Cruella knowing the truth, he just can’t.

“Kneeling for an omega?” Maleficent drawls. “Pitiful.” She snaps her fingers and Fairy Godmother’s wand, once loose in Mal’s hand as she spoke to Carlos, soars back to Maleficent.

“No!” Mal shouts and jumps up, her concern for Carlos replaced with new fear. She stretches her hand again, fingers trembling, but Maleficent shakes her head.

“Don’t you see what a mistake you’re making?” Maleficent shouts and slams her scepter to the floor. “You are willing to give up everything for a group of spineless, worthless teenagers who won’t give up anything for you! They don't fear you! The don't even respect you enough to be honest!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Mal screams back with her hand still reaching for the wand. “Carlos isn’t an-!”

“Done with lips so tightly sealed, Now the truth will be revealed!”

Carlos flinches violently. He throws his arms up over his face, just like he used to when he saw Cruella reaching for him.

He didn't think it could happen, but he found something scarier than Cruella.

But nothing happens, as wild as that seems to Carlos. He hears Maleficent’s words, her spell, but nothing happens. No forced truth tumbles from Carlos’ mouth like he thought.

That doesn’t change his utter panic though. Carlos tries again to gasp for air and-

When did smells get so intense?!

- he coughs from the stench of everything. The floor cleaner used last night, the polish used for the frames around the room, the overwhelming scents of perfume and cologne. The leather of Jay’s boots, the nail polish of Evie’s fingers, the hairspray for Mal.

He can’t get pure air, it’s all just smells and chemicals and sweet, overbearing fragrances when he inhales and it makes Carlos’ stomach churn.

At least he’s already on the floor. All he has to do is turn his head to the side and retch.

He can’t remember what he ate for breakfast this morning, but whatever it was, it burns his throat and tongue, makes his eyes water.

“Holy fucking shit.”

Carlos wipes at his mouth with the back of his trembling hand and looks up.

Jay is the one who spoke and he’s watching Carlos with giant eyes, jaw hanging open. Mal is blinking rapidly, speechless. Evie’s eyebrows are nearly in her hairline.

All of them have twitching noses, furiously inhaling the new scent, Carlos’ new scent.

Carlos scampers back. He’s already on the floor, but he falls onto his back in his hurry and his loose boots and sweaty palms make it a struggle to get away, get away, get away.

“My, my, my,” Maleficent sings. She brings a hand up to her nose. “It’s been years since I smelt one of you. I forgot how potent it is.”

“Carlos.” Evie breathes his name, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion, in hurt. “I…” She looks away from him and shakes her head. “You’re not…” She doesn’t look back at him.

Jay keeps staring at him though. “There’s no fucking way.” He says and he might be angry or sad or surprised, Carlos can’t really tell.

“You’re lying!” Mal turns to her mother. “You’re using a spell to distract us because you know we’re stronger than you when we’re together.” She clenches her hands into fists and breathes through her mouth. “Stop whatever you’re doing to him.” Mal looks over at Carlos, still coughing on the ground and trembling. “Stop!”

“What further proof do you need?” Maleficent seethes, brandishing her scepter and the wand menacingly. “You know you have a bitch alpha, a liar and a bitch omega in your pack and you still choose them?”

“What’s my other option? You?” Mal spits and takes a step forward. “I am not you and I don’t want to be you!”

“You will either be evil, or you will be nothing!”

Mal’s hand shoots out again, fingers twitching.

“And now I command, Wand to my hand!”

Maleficent surges forward, still clutching the wand. Her wide eyes tell her shock at Mal's strength. She growls and jerks herself back, her feet skidding on the floor in a way that would be funny if it all weren’t so terrifying.

“The good of evil is good as none, When stands before four hearts as one!”

The words ring around the hall, echoing off the walls and falling in sync as Mal repeats the spell again and again, but they don’t register in Carlos’ ears.

He had crawled away from everything, until his back was against a pillar. His dress shirt is pulled up to cover his nose. He can’t breathe, there is too much in the air. How do people fucking breathe like this? Was it always this bad before his suppressants?

Because that’s what happened, that’s what Maleficent did. She erased the effects of the suppressants in him. 'Now the truth will be revealed'. She forced him out of hiding.

They all know.

Tears force their way out of his eyes and Carlos isn’t sure if it’s from the intense smells or from the horror bubbling in him. Holding his shirt to cover his nose helps, a little, because he had only used a little of Jay’s cologne this morning, but at least that’s only one scent and it’s familiar, maybe even comforting (though still overpowering and leaving him choking), except for the thought of Jay sends him into another panic.

He wishes he could run and flee, but Carlos can hardly move. He’s slumped over, crying and gagging. He can hardly make out the power struggle between Mal and Maleficent, Jay and Evie behind their alpha. Evie has her hand on Mal’s arm and Jay is holding onto her shoulder. Even if they can’t fight with Maleficent, they are present, providing their own support.

And Carlos is here fighting to just breathe.

The purr in his throat catches him off guard. Carlos hasn’t purred since… Evil, he doesn't even know. It's not important. It bubbles up from his chest and out of his throat, masked almost entirely by his sobs.

When Ben first introduced him to Dude, that was the last time he purred, Carlos remembers. That event seems so long ago, when it was just weeks ago.

It hadn’t done much back then, when Carlos thought he was going to die and be ripped to shreds, and the purr doesn’t do anything now, as Carlos watches the battle between Maleficent and Mal.

He should be with them, helping, fighting!

Not that it would do any good. Omegas can’t protect anyone. Hell, Carlos can’t even keep his own secret.

He stops sobbing though, at least. He watches everything unfold in a haze.

Maleficent is still clinging to the wand in her grasp, holding on with one hand. She probably can’t cast a spell with how divided her focus is, Carlos thinks. She’s keeping a grip on her scepter and fighting to keep the wand at the same time. Maleficent's time on the Isle, her unfamiliarity with her own magic, is working in Mal's favor, even if Mal is just barely able to keep her own.

As Carlos watches, the idea of getting up and doing more is unattainable, but he makes eye contact with Evie, gripping Mal’s arm as if they could share strength.

She looks between Carlos and Mal and jerks back from Mal as if she’s been burnt. Evie is at Carlos’ side in a matter of seconds, kneeling on the ground with him.

“Get up!” She hisses. Her angry tone makes him want to hide. “Carlos, please! Mal needs you, we need you.”

Mal doesn’t need him, she said so. She said Carlos would weaken them, he would be a distraction, which he is clearly being if Evie is with him instead of Mal.

They all must hate him now. He’s an omega, he’s the weak link, he’s a liar.

He tried to tell them. He wants to tell Evie, he tried. He’s sorry he lied, he’s sorry he never told Evie, his first love, the truth and he’s sorry he stole her mother’s suppressants and had Evie starved for a week.

He ruins everything, he’s the worst, why is he even alive?

“Carlos, please.” Evie grabs his arm and pulls. “I don’t think Mal is strong enough-.” Evie coughs and pulls away from him, pinching her nose. “Shit.” She winces and exhales slowly. “I’m sorry, I-I-." The adrenaline has kept her tears at bay long enough, but they sneak past her eyes and down her face. "Oh no, what are we going to do?”

There’s a hard yelp from behind Evie and she whips around to see, Carlos following her gaze.

Mal has fallen to her knees, hand still outstretched. Jay kneels beside her, gripping her shoulder tightly.

“The strength of evil is good as none, When stands before four hearts as one.”

Her spell is weaker, Carlos can hear it in her voice.

“She’s failing.” Evie breathes. “And Maleficent knows it.”

There is pain in Mal’s voice. Her words crack and break and waver, though her hand never shakes.

Over the sweat and perfume in the room, there is something sour. The underlying scent is familiar, though Carlos hasn't been able to detect it in weeks. It's Mal, it's her pain, the anguish of carrying on this spell against her mother.

And he had distracted Evie from her.

He keeps hurting her. And he’s already making them all weaker.

Carlos cries out as he forces himself to look away, to look at the ground by his feet, where he sees his stupid laces on the ground. Mal asked him to tie his boots, and Evie asked him, and what a dumb thing to be distracted by in a fight.

“Give up!” Maleficent screams, slowly pulling the wand back to her chest as Mal’s magic begins to falter. “You’re nothing more than a weak...spineless...pitiful...embarrassing little-.”

Maleficent yelps, actually yelps, as Carlos boot hits her shoulder.

He had been aiming for her face.

But it doesn’t matter where he wanted to hit and where he actually hit, it just matters that Carlos hit her at all because Maleficent is hurt or surprised or, at the very least, her concentration is broken, and the wand jerks out of her hand and into Mal’s.

“The strength of evil is-.”

Mal’s words die quickly. She rapidly looks between the wand in her hand, her mother, and Carlos’ boot on the floor. Mal blinks, her mouth hanging open. She clearly hadn’t thought she would win against her mother.

“You little bitch!” Maleficent snarls at Carlos and he is worried that he might actually piss himself, but she doesn’t waste any more time with him and turns back to Mal. “Give it back,” Maleficent hisses. Her fingers tighten around her scepter. “Give me the wand, give me the wand!Now.”

“No.” Mal pushes herself off the ground and sways, but Jay steadies her with a hand on her elbow. Mal doesn't bother pretending she doesn't need him.

“I said ‘give it back’!”

“And I said ‘no’!”

Maleficent raises her scepter. “You stupid brat! You will regret defying m-.”

Carlos’ other boot hits her abdomen.

Evie, kneeling just inches away from him, whips back to look at him. Her eyes are wide in what might be shock or horror or something in between. In fact, everyone looks at him.

“Don’t…cuh-call her that!” Carlos shouts. His voice is so hoarse. The smells around here are burning his nose and eyes and throat. His harsh breathing left his mouth dry. His shaking body affects even his lips as he stutters. “Duh-don’t!”

Maleficent’s eyes glow green and it’s horrifying because it’s Maleficent, but also because they are so similar to Mal’s own glowing eyes. “Oh, little omega,” she whispers, but her voice echoes around the silent room, “I can’t wait for your mother to remind what your place is.”

Carlos crumbles easily back into the pillar behind him. The mention of Cruella replaces every anger he had in Mal’s defense and all the bravery (or stupidity) he felt to help his pack.

“Drawing strength from all that’s passed, Send her back, once at last!”

The words hardly make it into Carlos’ ears. He can’t decipher what is being yelled now, he just buries his face into his knees.

But that isn’t just Mal’s voice he recognizes. Jay’s there too, shouting with her.

“Drawing strength from all that’s passed, Send her back, once at last!”

“No! I’ve waited too long! I’ll show you real evil!”

It’s too loud in here again and Carlos could suffocate in the noise alone.

“Drawing strength from all that’s passed, Send her back, once at last!”

Evie’s voice is in there too now. Carlos can almost make out the words with how close she is and he wants to beg her to stop shouting, please, Evie, it hurts.

She reaches out for him, just making contact with his socked foot, but holding tightly.

“Drawing strength from all that’s passed, Send her back, once at last!”

“You’ll never get rid of me!”

“Carlos please.” Evie cries for him.

“Drawing strength from all that’s passed, Send her back, once at last!”

“I’ll wring all of your throats! Slit all of you open!”

Evie lets go of his foot and reaches for his hand, curling around his limp fingers.

“Drawing strength from all that’s passed, Send her back, once at last!”

“Carlos, we need you.”

“Mal Bertha, I will end you and your little pack!”

He never raises his head, but he can hear Evie and Mal and Jay and he’s so tired of disappointing them. He’s so tired of being weak, of being a burden, he'll never stop. Now that they all know, he'll never be able to stop hurting them.

Carlos tightens his hand around Evie’s and opens his mouth. He doesn’t have a voice, but he mouths the words, his exhales coming out in the shape of Mal’s spell.

“Drawing strength from all that’s passed, Send her back, once at last!”

There’s a poof that Carlos hears. It’s so loud it aches. The shouting all stops. There is silence. He can’t open his eyes. He can’t remember closing them.

And then there is screaming.

Carlos’ eyes shoot open and there is the fleeting moment of terror that the villains are all here, or that he’s back on the Isle.

But no, he’s still in Auradon.

Screaming, panicking Auradon.

Screaming, panicking, unfrozen Auradon.

The noise doesn’t last for long. Carlos peeks through his fingers to see that, yes, Maleficent is gone. There is nothing to show that she had even been here. Everyone in the cathedral has been lifted from her spell and are left in a murmuring confusion at her absence.

“We did it!” Jay shouts and his voice is louder than anything in the building. “We fucking did it! Hell fucking yeah!” He picks Mal up and spins her in a circle. She swats at his back, but her laughter is just as loud as Jay’s.

“I can’t believe it.” Evie breathes. She is still clutching Carlos’ hand like some lifeline. “We sent her back.” Evie brings her hands up to her mouth slowly. Then her giggling starts, high pitched and uneven and hysterical. “We did it! Carlos!” She turns to look at him. “We-!” Evie’s smile drops from her face and takes all traces of joy with it. “Carlos?”

There is too much in here. Too many smells and noises, too much of his skin feeling like it’s on fire and his stomach twisting itself up and tearing itself apart, too many things to process because they know, they know, they all know.

The threat of Maleficent isn’t here to distract him from that anymore.

His pack knows. The Isle knows. Cruella knows.

They all know.

“I don’t…I don’t understand.” Evie pulls away from him. She looks at him like she’s seeing him for the first time, like she doesn’t know who he is because she doesn’t.

Carlos should maybe realize that Cruella isn’t here and she has no way of getting him now, but that doesn’t matter in the long run, not really. He looks at Evie, but not at her face and not in her eyes.

Crawling on his knees and kissing her feet and begging for forgiveness would be the first step in a million mile journey to show how guilty he is and to show his grief. Carlos can’t even find thoughts right now, let alone words or movement or a plan.

He risks a look over Evie’s shoulder for Mal and Jay, which is a terrible mistake – but isn’t Carlos an expert in those? – because they’re looking right back at him, facing him, trying to get to him despite the people swarming them. Fairy Godmother and Belle and Adam and Ben and a dozen others trying to reach Mal and understand.

Carlos’ eyes flicker back to Evie – but not to her eyes, don’t ever look someone in the eyes, you idiot – and the chattering people all around them, trying to calm themselves. They’re nightmare has just ended.

And Carlos’ has just started.

He forces himself to stand even though his legs buckle and his boots are somewhere he can’t see anymore. The tile is cold under his socks and he slips without the tractin of his boots.

“Carlos!”

Oh, he just wants to submit. To fall down to his knees and obey Evie’s call for him.

Well that’s not entirely true. What Carlos really wants is to die. Or hide. Or just stop existing, for forever.

He doesn’t know how to stop existing though.

So Carlos does the next best thing and runs.

---

“I still think this is bullshit.” Jay snaps as they stalk up the halls. The dried blood under his nose is gone to reveal minor swelling, but nothing broken. His right eye hasn't gotten any better or worse in the half hour since they left the Isle. “Why are we all separated?”

“You heard Fairy Godmother,” Evie reminds lightly. “Students are separated by gender and role. They won’t let a beta and alpha share a room.”

“It’s bullshit. We’re not gonna fuck like rabbits or anything.”

Carlos flushes, but no one notices. “My room is coming up.” Judging by the twitchy guy with glasses up ahead, Carlos can guess which door is his.

Although his shirt is ripped where Cruella yanked it down to burn him, Evie fastened it back together with a safety pin after to hide it. Showing a weakness so early in Auradon wouldn't do. Evie also had a small first aid kit in her packed bag, which she took out of the trunk and into the limo for him.

Mal had been the one to very gently bandage the wound and Carlos had stayed perfectly still, trying not to let the tears fall with every poke and prod.

Still, the guy with glasses looks at Carlos’ torn shirt longer than necessary. So did everyone outside. “Uh, hi,” he says as the four Isle kids walk up to him. He looks at Jay and his bruised face, blanches, and then looks back to the much smaller Carlos. “You’re Carlos, right?”

“Yeah,” he shifts his weight and looks up at the Auradon student. “You’re Doug?”

“Y-yep!” He rocks forward, thumb in his suspenders. “Dopey’s son!” Doug looks at the others nervously, but makes no comment on their presence.

Carlos knows why he is the first one to get dropped off. The other three are still in shock over Cruella’s burn on his chest. They want to ensure he gets to his room safely, check out the person he’ll be living with, force Carlos to lay down and relax.

It’s kind of nice. Carlos can’t risk indulging them and trying to rest in his new room, but it’s nice.

“So, son of Dopey,” Evie nearly purrs. “I’m the daughter of the Evil Queen.” She outstretches her hand.

Doug looks like he might faint, just to wake up and kiss her boots. It’s the same reaction a lot of guys have to Evie. “N-n-nice to meet you.” He shakes her hand.

“I’m sure it is.” Evie smiles at him and places a hand on Carlos’ shoulder. “Doug, could you be a dear and make sure Carlos rests before dinner? He’s tired from the ride and we like for him to be in good condition.”

Carlos would bristle at her words if he wasn’t so distracted by her fingers trailing circles on his spine.

At first, he’s peeved she would place in him in Doug’s care and imply that he is weak, give Doug the idea that Carlos could be overpowered, but he picks up on her subtle words.

Good condition.

She is being as sweet as a flower, warning Doug that any new bruises or scraped will be noticed and not tolerated. She is ensuring Carlos' safety, lest Doug be blamed for any mishaps.

Carlos can take care of himself, he’s not weak and stupid.

But it’s still nice for Evie to look out for him.

“Yes ma’am. I mean, uh, yes Evie. Sure, um, ahem,” Doug plays with his bow-tie and opens the door. “Carlos, your bed is the one on the left, you can come in and-.”

“How about you run inside for minute, hmm?” Mal suggests, but it’s clear by her tone that it’s not up for debate. “We need to chat with Carlos for just a minute. Then he can rest and you two can bond over…whatever it is boys and betas do.”

“Uh, well, actually, I’m not supposed to-.”

“Tick tock.”

Doug turns and shuffles back in the room, closing the door behind him.

“So, what’s the plan?” Carlos asks softly. “We’ll all be able to meet up for dinner, right? That’s wha-.”

Mal holds up her hand and ceases his flurry of questions. “We’ll meet up together later today, no matter what Auradon says.” She vows, then looks at Jay for a moment with a raised brow. “Who’s first?”

Jay sweeps his arm out. “Ladies first, of course.”

She turns back to Carlos, face expressionless. “You’ve earnt your place back.” She says, trailing her fingers on his shirt, just under where she cleaned and bandaged him and his flesh is still searing from Cruella’s burn. “I’m…sorry that happened to you. That’s not what I wanted.”

Carlos shrugs and swallows. It was worth the pain, one hundred times over. As long as he found his place with Mal again, every pain was a worthy price.

“But you’re mine, right? Ours?”

It’s difficult to break eye contact with an alpha, but Carlos looks over to Jay, who is simply watching him, then to Evie, who smiles at him.

The wounded flesh on his chest burns. “Yes.” He swallows again. “Please.”

“Good.” With that, Mal’s eyes darken. She grabs a fistful of his shirt and yanks Carlos closer, nose trailing along his collar and throat. She rubs her cheek against his skin, his neck and under his chin.

Carlos gasps.

She is scenting him.

A whine escapes his throat before he can think about it. This…is not what he was expecting. Not at all.

Mal snickers, nips at his collar bone and Carlos swears he can even feel her tongue on his Adam’s apple. Her hair tickles his skin, tangled and un-brushed, but soft and cool. She nuzzles his throat, caresses her cheek along his jaw, imprinting her scent onto his skin, claiming him, announcing to all who came near that Carlos is hers.

Carlos’ eyes fall shut and he whimpers at the attention, the implication of carrying Mal’s scent and belonging to her. “A-Alph-pha.”

His double dosage of suppressants since Mal’s abandonment is being quickly overridden. His knees are weak, his legs are boneless. He can smell Mal, her perfume, the leather of her clothes, the alpha in her and Carlos can’t even breathe right.

Which is a good thing. If he weren’t so breathless, he would be moaning.

Finally, just as he is about to sink to his knees – and Carlos doesn’t know if that’s because his legs are so weak or because the need to kneel and submit is so strong he can taste it – Mal pulls away.

Instantly, Carlos wishes to pull her back, regain that contact with her, but he doesn’t. He’s not in charge.

Mal smirks, clearly pleased with the state she has pushed him into.

Though he can’t see his expression, Carlos is sure he looks pretty pleased himself.

“Everyone will be able to smell me on you. Especially any alphas here.” Mal explains because the olfaction of betas is nonexistent compared to that of alphas and she’s assuming Carlos can’t smell anything different, but he can smell her and only her, despite the feet of distance between them. It makes him dizzy.

Carlos gulps. He should say something, right? Why can’t he speak?

She grins, happy with his attitude. “You’re welcome.”

Jay steps forward with a smirk as Mal steps back. “You okay?”

Shakily, Carlos nods. He can’t quite find his voice.

“Can I scent you too?”

That’s the difference between Jay and Mal. They are both in charge, both strong and quick and confident, but Mal is more so. Or, at least, Jay holds back more than she does. He is every bit as strong and quick and confident, but he pulls back.

Jafar, Carlos thinks as he nods and Jay steps closer. Jay is like this because of his father.

As soon as Jay’s mouth touches his throat, all thoughts of Jafar fly from Carlos’ mind.

The alpha’s teeth scrape over his skin, not biting but marking, scratching with his canines. He cups the back of Carlos’ head with one hand, the other resting on his shoulder.

Carlos tips his head back, leg strength disappearing once more. He reaches for the wall behind him, shuffling backwards to lean against it for some sort of support because his bones have become mush. The hard plaster meets his back, holding him up, as Carlos bites on his tongue hard enough to draw blood.

Jay nuzzles his throat and neck, paying certain attention to his collar, but never going too close to the still searing skin. He is gentle and slow, reading Carlos’ body language, and taking care to not jostle his shirt and rub against the burn.

By some miracle, Carlos still can’t find his voice and he doesn’t need to worry about moaning or whimpering or whispering Jay’s name over and over again.

His head is fuzzy with the proximity, the scent of an alpha on him. And the scent won’t fade, not for days. It will linger on Carlos’ skin, allowing all to know that he has been claimed, he has alphas, he belongs.

“Jay,” Evie calls sweetly. “We’re short on time.”

Evil, how long has Jay been rubbing his neck and licking his collar bone? How long has Carlos been gripping his shoulders because his pathetic knees were trembling too badly?

With pink cheeks, Jay pulls back and looks at Carlos, who has the horrible urge to avert his gaze and duck his head like a behaved omega should. “You good?”

Carlos nods, still mute.

“May I?”

He blinks and looks past Jay to Evie, standing patiently beside Mal, hands clasped in front of her. She smiles warmly at him, waiting for his answer.

“Don’t overboard him,” Mal warns, though she is grinning at Carlos and he feels very much like a mouse that is about to be pounced on.

“Of course not,” Evie agrees with a solemn nod, but a smile plays at her lips. “Carlos?”

Where on earth is his voice? He can only nod his head, fingers scrabbling at the wall behind him.

Evie’s smile widens and she steps to him. “Afterall,” she sings, looking over her shoulder at the two alphas, “I had him first.”

Carlos barely registers the look of surprise on Jay’s and Mal’s faces before he closes his eyes and exposes his throat to the beta.

She is the gentlest and the quickest of the three. Evie cups his face and presses a kiss to his nose, just like she did last year when she promised Carlos would always be a part of her pack, swearing to always take care of each other.

The wall behind him is hardly enough, but Evie is light with her scenting. She rubs her nose along his jaw and over his ear, kissing the skin just beneath. The contact between them is hardly anything, which Carlos is so grateful for because the wall can’t hold him forever, but he also hates because he’s so crazy for Evie, he can’t stand the idea of not touching her right now.

Their cheeks rubs together and Carlos can smell her perfume, so sweet on the Isle but already sour compared to the scents of Auradon.

He hopes it will never fade from his skin.

Just as Carlos thinks he might pass out or collapse or start begging, the beta pulls away and runs a hand through his hair. He follows her hand pathetically as she pulls away.

“Still here?”

He nods, lips pursed shut.

Evie laughs sweetly, sliding away from him delicately and turning to stand with Jay and Mal. “Do you…want to scent any of us?”

Before Carlos can answer, Jay snickers. “Let’s save that for another day. Pup looks like he forgot how to breathe.”

No, he’s breathing just fine. He doesn’t remember how to talk is all.

“Take a second to breathe, relax.” Mal orders him. She looks at him softer, the anger and heat in the limo is gone. “Then go meet the dwarf. He smelt fine to me. Be careful of him though.”

Carlos nods. He can take whatever Doug has to give, the beta can’t be worse than Cruella.

“Since Mal and I don’t have roommates, you can sneak into our dorm anytime, okay?” Jay offers. “We’ll show each other our rooms tomorrow.”

Even the biggest, baddest alphas on Auradon’s campus hadn’t been willing to room with an alpha from the Isle. Jay and Mal had argued that Carlos and Evie should be their roommates respectively, but the Fairy Godmother had refused and the four of them know better than to cause trouble with such a heavy burden on their shoulders.

“We’ll all meet up during dinner, okay?” Evie says and looks at them all. “That’s in less than two hours and we should still have time to check out each other’s rooms.”

They all nod in agreement. Mal, Jay and Evie leave to walk the beta to her room and Carlos is hit with an overwhelming jealousy that the three of them will meet Evie’s roommate, check out her room and declare it safe, without him. He relaxes himself with the reminder that he will be able to see Evie's and Jay's and Mal's room in a short while and check out the dorms himself.

Carlos waits for the three of them to turn the corner, giving one final wave, before hanging his head.

He really must find proper suppressants in Auradon.

--

Auradon Prep’s library puts Dragon Hall to shame without even trying. The bookshelves are so high, ladders are offered every couple of feet. The shelves along the walls reach all the way to the ceiling. There are rooms just for studying and little benches and couches for idle reading.

“Dude, chill.” Jay laughs in his ear. “You both look like you’re about to come in your pants.”

Carlos flushes and swats at him, but when he catches Evie with her mouth open and eyes wide, he’s sure his reaction to the library was similar.

“Split up,” Mal mumbles casually to them. “Find a book on Fairy Godmother and her wand. I’ll take the north side, Jay takes south. Evie is west and Carlos goes east.” Their group shares a quick look and they all nod.

The four of them have been in Auradon for just a few days now. It’s…intense. But not in the way the Isle is. There are no fighting and the teachers don’t try to grope the students.

But Auradon is bright and overwhelming. People are always smiling and talking to him. Food smells nice, the air is warm, everything is soft and gentle.

It’s intense.

Carlos wanders to the east side of the library. He’s sure he could figure out where the books about magic and wands are if he could study the bar-codes on the spines for a bit, but they have already gotten several strange looks from their classmates, due to lingering scents and overbearing touches. Auradon is more accepting than the Isle of physical affection, but not as public with it. Mal’s arm around Evie’s waist got strange looks, just like Jay and Carlos sitting too close in the cafeteria.

People aren’t suspicious yet, but they could be. The four of them must remain inconspicuous. They must blend in. Don’t give anyone in Auradon a reason to look at them twice.

Along the east wall are books about science, so Carlos is pretty damned please about where Mal told him to go. There are brand new physics books, chemistry books, and-

“Oh Hades!” Carlos gasps as he tugs a book out from the shelf.

It’s Mass Transfers in Chemical Engineering by H. Lemon and G. Tamogo. A similar book, Chemical Engineering and Thermodynamics, by the same two authors is in Yen Sid’s class, behind his desk. The professor allowed Carlos to read it when he had completed all of his work early, but the copy on the Isle was not nearly this well-kept. It had water damage and pages missing, but that never stopped Carlos from reading it.

But this book is nearly new! It’s hardback and shiny and all of the pages are in perfect condition! There’s even a plastic book cover with information about the authors on the back! Carlos reads it eagerly. Yen Sid always spoke so highly of both of Lemon and Tamogo, both of them idols in their fields.

Honey Lemon, born in San Fransokyo just before Auradon was created, is a graduate of SFIT – San Fransokyo’s Institute of Technology, Carlos assumes – and a genius in all chemical engineering. The back lists her accomplishments and other works, her degrees and discoveries.

All of it is amazing and impressive, but Carlos’ eyes widen at the little label under picture.

Omega.

He brings the book flat against his chest and looks over his shoulder. A few students are lounging in a corner and another girl is on her phone (what is Auradon’s obsession with phones anyway?), but no one is watching him.

Carlos gulps and opens the back again, making sure he read it right.

He did.

Yes, Honey Lemon, respected chemist and engineer, is an omega.

"What?" Carlos breathes, studying the word like he's never seen it before. He just had no idea it could be applied to someone...successful.

When he had packed his bags just days ago, Cruella had mocked him from the ground and called him a baby for still having a tree house, but Carlos made sure to grab his suppressants and hide them well in his trash bag. Outside of the fact that he needed them, he couldn’t leave them for someone on the Isle, to find. Surely Cruella has no interest in his little lab, but others would come by quickly to loot whatever he left behind.

Once the barrier is lowered, Carlos will be back with his mother and every other pervert on the Isle and he’s not letting anyone learn his secret while he’s gone. There are better suppressants in Auradon, where actual medicine exists, and Carlos will be sure to grab some before Auradon is up in flames, but he’s okay with what he has for now, especially since he's back to his regular dosage now that Mal has forgiven him and he has found his place with her.

But there is proof in his hands that an omega has succeeded. She went to school, surpassed alphas, made a name of her own. She leads breakthroughs in her field and gives lectures to people who want to learn from her. Honey Lemon is a scientist Carlos has idolized since the first time Yen Sid handed him one of her books.

He’s looked up to an omega for all these years.

Maybe that's why he looked up to her for so long. Of course, he had no idea that Honey Lemon was an omega, but he felt drawn to her studies more than other chemists. He always thought it was because she reminded him of Evie with her fashion sense and bubbly personality, but maybe something in him knew?

Carlos keeps the book tight in his hands. Tonight, he will read it cover to cover, embracing every moment and new bit of information, and he owes it all to an omega.

Casually and trying not to draw attention to himself, Carlos wanders along the shelves. There are neat signs listing what books will be contained in each aisle, so he passes until he finds a shelf with books on biology.

He doesn’t need How to Make Biology Fun or 101 Creative Experiments! Carlos keeps walking until he finds books on…dynamics.

No one else is in this aisle.

No one is watching him.

No one will see.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Carlos peers at the titles, eyes flickering quickly. He doesn’t need to know about the mechanics of sex, the Isle taught that well enough (though he can’t believe Auradon has books on fucking), and he doesn’t need to read the importance of alpha control. Carlos takes a deep breath and keeps moving.

What to Expect With Your First Heat

Presenting as an Omega: How to Handle It

Omegas and Their Sensitivities

Carlos bristles at the last title and scowls. He’s been on suppressants for more than half of a year, but he doesn’t remember being sensitive. That's a ridiculous stereotype.

Well, he kind of had a crisis when Evie stopped talking to him. And he always got flustered when Jay provided for him. And he nearly risked his life for Mal to just look at him after her rut.

It's still a stereotype.

A book on the shelf below reads The Importance of Omegas and Carlos hesitates before grabbing it. He looks around again to ensure he’s alone (breathe, breathe, breathe) and flips through the book.

The chapters range from significant omegas in history to their role in families and in packs to their impact on society. It is thick and heavy in his hands, Carlos is pleased to note, and the list of chapters is so long, it takes up two pages.

With his breath held, Carlos slips The Importance of Omegas into his backpack and zips his bag up quickly. He takes his bag with him everywhere for the same reason he couldn't leave the suppressants in his tree house. Anyone snooping through his belongings - Doug, a teacher, a maid (because Auradon has people who come in and clean their bed sheets and Carlos really isn't sure what to do with someone cleaning after him) - could find them. In his backpack, he keeps the suppressants close to him, no one will be able to find them unless they get his backpack and Carlos would rather die than allow that to happen.

He takes one last look around to ensure no one saw him and then leaves the aisle with Mass Transfers in Chemical Engineering under his arm.

“Sup, pup?”

When Carlos turns around to find the voice, he jolts. “Get down from there!” He hisses, quietly stomping over to the bookshelf Jay is currently climbing. “No parkour in the library!”

“Sour puss.” Jay rolls his eyes, but jumps down and doesn’t stumble. “I thought I saw a book about the wand up there!”

Carlos scowls and reads the little sign on the side of the shelf. “Really? This aisle is all about history.” He points at the book closest to him, the spine reading The Creation of Auradon. History isn't anything Jay is interested in. Carlos huffs and looks up to the shelf Jay had climbed up to, just a few feet above his head and scans the titles.

A red book, slightly pulled out from the rest in its group, gets his attention.

Agrabah, a Historical View.

Oh.

When he looks at his friend – because Carlos can use that word freely now – Jay is curiously studying the pattern in the wood and not making eye contact.

“Nothing here, huh?”

“Nope,” Jay shrugs and they walk out of the aisle. “We failed at the museum, we fail at finding books.” He huffs as they search out the girls.

“Well…” Carlos sings and nudges him good naturedly. “You failed at the museum last night,” he mumbles under his breath. “I wasn’t the one who set off the alarm.”

Jay snickers and nudges him back. “No, you're just the one who fixed it. Maybe Mal or Evie have found something.”

As it turns out, they have. Evie holds a large book in her manicured fingers, grinning brilliantly. “It may not tell us how to get the wand,” she whispers in their huddle, “but it could give insight on how to handle it and how to work it.”

Mal nods in approval. “We can’t check that book out of here.” She eyes the group. “Carlos, give me your backpack.”

Instantly, his hands fly to his straps, trying not to hold on too tightly. “Why not just give it to Jay?” He suggests with a twitchy smile. “Make sure his thieving skills haven’t faded in Auradon?”

“Is that a challenge?”

Carlos shrugs and relaxes with the attention off of his backpack. “Maybe. Let’s see how good you are at stealing in Auradon.”

“Gimme!” Jay snatches the book from Evie and he even grabs Mass Transfers in Chemical Engineering and narrows his eyes at Carlos. “I’ll show you how good of a thief I am.”

--

Ben is a beta. Even though Carlos can’t smell anything on anyone, he knows. Ben isn’t aggressive enough to be an alpha. Or, well, Carlos doesn’t think Ben is. He can’t really tell how the alphas here act. Alphas in Auradon don't really seem like alphas at all.

But, looking at Ben stand in the doorway of Jay’s room, Carlos just gets the sense of beta.

“Here,” he outstretches his hand to Jay. “These are for you and Mal. One for each.”

There is a moment of silence. The four of them don’t have much experience with Auradon people and the king is no exception.

“They’re, uh, suppressants. If you’d like them.”

A second moment of silence passes. Then Mal laughs.

“Cute. Send them back.”

Ben shifts awkwardly on his feet, but smiles warmly at them. He’s fascinating to Carlos. Practically looking into a lion’s den and still thinking he can pet them. “Well, nearly all students are on them. They’re not a requirement, but most students prefer to have ruts or heats in the comfort of their own home during the summer.”

The next silence doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone but Ben.

“But of course, your situation is different! If you’d like to return to the Isle for the summer, that can be arranged, but it isn’t necessary. Whatever you feel most comfortable with.”

“Relax, your highness,” Mal fakes a curtsy. “Don’t worry about what we’ll do for the summer.”

By the time summer comes, they’ll be able to go anywhere. They’ll control every land in the country, if not the world.

Or, their parents will, at least.

“Well, students in ruts aren’t permitted in classrooms, and you’ll miss much of class-.”

“Okay, cool, thanks.” Jay plucks both bottles from Ben’s hand and promptly shuts the door in his face. When he turns around, it is clear that he was done listening to Ben talk and growing frustrated of an intruder in his room.

“You ought to be nicer to him,” Evie scolds Jay from the desk where she is painting her nails. “Ben is royalty. He’s also the reason we’re over here.”

“So when we overthrow him and his family and take over the country, we’ll make sure to send him a thank you card.” Mal says from the empty bed.

Neither Jay nor Mal have roommates, so almost all of their free time is spent huddled in one of their rooms. The unoccupied bed has books and clothing belonging to all of them, a shared space in Jay’s room for when they hole up in there.

More than once, after something new in Auradon particularly rattles him that day, Carlos has caught himself in that bed, strategically moving and folding the clothing based on scent and feel and familiarity. He arranged the softest on one side because Evie loves plush blankets and anything with purple on the other because, well, Mal, and then promptly berated himself once he realized what he was doing and reminded himself on the ridiculousness of nests.

Auradon is just so intense.

“Whatever, at least he went away.” Jay places the two bottles on the stand without a second look.

“Are you…going to take them?” Carlos asks, rubbing his wrist in small circles.

Jay scoffs. “Of course not. I’ll throw them out later.” He pauses and turns to Carlos. “Unless you want them? For, you know, Cruella.”

Carlos tries not to flinch. He’s gone a whole week without getting hit or dragged or scratched, but her signature still aches on his chest, it is the only thing he can focus on when he undresses, mocking him in the giant, clean mirrors of Auradon bathrooms.

It doesn’t matter how often Mal or Jay or Evie scent him. Cruella’s burn on him is everlasting, it won’t fade in time.

She marked him first. She marked him permanently.

“It doesn’t matter.” Mal snaps at them. “When the barrier is gone, so is Cruella.”

The burn has been a sore topic with Mal, they all avoid it when they can, but Carlos realizes he has his hand over the scar, shielding it from view, even under his shirt. “What do you mean?”

“She won’t touch you again.” Mal says simply.

There are no details or explanation, but Carlos relaxes.

If his alpha says it, it must be true.

"Just...don't kill her. Please."

In the end, Carlos still takes the bottles of suppressants with him. He lies to Mal and Jay easily, so easily it terrifies him, and says he wants to study their chemical components for fun.

And they don’t question him, not even with a lingering look. They even go as far as to rub their noses along his throat to reinforce their scent on him, Evie too, before any of them let him leave. They fully trust him.

“Carlos, I’m going to shower. Do you need to use the bathroom first?”

Doug is considerate and that might be because he’s from Auradon and they teach that or because Jay and Mal and Evie are horrifying to people who don’t know them.

Regardless of his reasoning, Doug is okay. He’s not violent or mean or arrogant.

Doug is…kind of cool, actually. Carlos is two years younger than him, so hey normally wouldn't be roommates, but Carlos is pretty sure that Doug was the only person to not refuse to room with an Isle kid. Probably because he's a pushover. But, luckily, it means that Doug has his old text books and notes the he allows Carlos to use and he has some cool physics documentaries. He even gushed about Lemon and Tamogo when he first saw Mass Transfers in Chemical Engineering laying on Carlos’ bed.

“No, I’m okay.” Carlos swallows. “Thank you, though.”

Doug grabs his belongings and moves to the bathroom. The shower starts up in a few seconds, but Carlos can still hear the click of the lock.

Right, they're not friends. Carlos is an Isle kid. He’s a lowlife villain.

Carlos shakes his head and quickly pulls out his backpack from under the bed. Doug usually takes six and a half minutes in the shower, but as long as twenty-three minutes in the bathroom, so Carlos must use his time wisely.

The Importance of Omegas sits heavily in his lap. Carlos keeps the title hidden in case Doug comes wandering out unexpectedly.

He doesn’t know where to start, so Carlos turns to the table of contents. He skims the list and immediately berates himself for grabbing such a large book. The longer he keeps it in his possession, even in his backpack, the more likely it is for someone else to find it. He won’t be able to read this book as quickly as he read the three books on the Isle.

But time is of the essence. Carlos decides on The Importance of Heats because, well…it’s been on his mind a lot. Recently. Ever since the scenting.

Sometimes he wonders what it would be like to have another heat, but for Mal and Jay and Evie to be by his side. He won’t nest because that’s stupid, but he could scent them. He could kneel before them, rest his head on Evie’s thigh as she does her makeup in the mirror, or on Mal’s hip when she flips through her mother’s spell book. He knows what alphas and betas do with an omega in heat and...it's hard not to obsess over.

It can’t happen for obvious reasons, but Carlos just likes to wonder. It’s a waste of time and thought, but there are days where he wonders what it would be like if Cruella loved him or if he didn’t live on the Isle or if he never presented.

He’s just curious is all.

This particular chapter doesn’t seem to offer anything new to him. Carlos skims through, passing over words like submissive and dependent. Just as he’s about to turn back to the table for something more substantial, a word jumps out at him.

Drops.

Carlos glances at the bathroom door, pleased to hear the shower still running. He begins reading from the top of the page.

It talks about emotionally trying experiences, like heats or death or just horrible days, and how omegas experience a crash as their adrenaline lowers. A rollercoaster of emotions is what the book calls it and though Carlos doesn’t know what a rollercoaster is, he begins to understand it.

He reads over the symptoms: depression, low self-esteem, fatigue, immobility, cold sweats.

That describes the majority of his life. At least, on the Isle. He was always panicked about something, always lacking sleep, always too cold.

But drops are…familiar. Not just in the way life on the Isle is. This description makes sense. He’s dropped before.

Right after his first trip with Jay and Mal and Evie, back when he was figuring out suppressants and he was sure Evie hated him and he had to admit Cruella never loved him and he thought for a minute that Mal was dead.

He had come home, to Hell Hall, and sank to the floor. He had been so tired, so weak. He had started purring, but he didn’t know why at the time. There was no pain from the journey, no new injuries, nothing to be sad about.

Carlos had been unable to move once he hit the floor, purring and huddled in on himself feebly.

The excitement and terror and relief and loneliness had just been so much. When he had a moment to be alone and process it all...he had dropped.

That hadn’t been the first time either. He remembers the familiarity of that situation, remembering he must have dropped before their search for Maleficent’s scepter.

It takes a moment to recall his first heat, nearly a year and a half ago now, and the whirlwind that came with it all.

Without food and comfort and a person with him, he had dropped. It’s hard to remember his first heat, partly because of the time that has passed and partly because his head was so foggy for it all. Probably because of dropping, Carlos muses.

According to The Importance of Omegas, drops should always be done with someone around. There needs to be another person to ensure the omega eats and drinks and rests, piling on praises and physical affection.

Without someone, a drop could last days, even a week.

His first drop, after his first heat, must have gone on for his whole heat. He hadn't been able to do more than crawl for days.

But the second one was only a few hours before Evie came to check on him. If she hadn't, there's no telling how long Carlos would have been stuck in a drop.

That’s terrifying. It’s so gut-wrenching that Carlos grins his teeth and tenses on the bed, alone. The vulnerability that comes with heats is terrible, he remembers that, but the weak, dire state of dropping is worse. He dropped, twice, on an island full of villains. With Cruella, who could drag him into the closet, and Jasper and Horace, who could hold him down and do what they wished, with alphas who could barge their way into Hell Hall and strip him and-.

Carlos feels sick.

The water of the shower turns off, so Carlos estimates he has at least nine minutes before Doug comes back into the room.

He doesn’t feel like reading much anymore though. Carlos tucks the book back into his schoolbag and pushes it under his bed. He’ll risk keeping it for a few days, his book bag is always with him and Carlos can guard it.

If he’s honest with himself, which he always is because he really can’t be with anyone else, Carlos is afraid to keep reading.

--

Whoever invented tourney belongs on the Isle

“We get to tackle people!” Jay eagerly rips off his shirt. “And they shoot at us! There’s something called the Kill Zone!” He kicks his pants down to his ankles. “This is like the most violence we’ve been allowed to have here! I can’t wa-… Carlos?”

He jolts at hearing his name. “Y-yeah?”

Jay is standing next to him, practically naked. Due to years of malnutrition, Jay is smaller than the alphas in Auradon, but he still looks like an alpha. He has muscles and a wide chest. He’s taller than Carlos, not by a lot though. And his underwear…well, it’s not hiding much. “You okay?”

Carlos tries not to flush at how Jay’s lips move around the words. His teeth are nice, his canines are sharp. He would leave some very lovely bites and bruises if he wanted to mark Carlos up. (And if their constant scenting sessions are anything to go by, Jay wants to mark him up.) “Yep.”

Unfortunately, Jay seems to realize Carlos’ exact problem. He winks and tugs a stupid jersey over his head. “I got an empty room man, you can see this whenever you want.”

The shiver leaves Carlos breathless for a moment. He knows Jay and Mal have sex for their ruts and Evie’s growing closer to Mal, but he had never thought about doing anything sexual with his friends.

Well, that’s a lie. Carlos has thought about it a bit. His daydreaming of what another heat would be like usually led to other thoughts that made his face burn. They’re all around the same age, they’re kind of a pack and packs will typically...do sexual things.

That doesn’t mean Jay and Mal have offered to do anything with him. Or with Evie. They don’t do much with each other outside of their ruts.

Speaking of which, “when is your next rut?”

Jay’s eyes widen and he stops pulling up his blue shorts. “Uh…what?”

“Oh my evil.” Carlos covers his face with his hands. “I wasn’t offering to do anything! I just wanted to know!”

The alpha shifts his weight. “Uh, next month?”

Carlos peeks through his fingers. It’s a good thing his face is still covered, he’s rather disappointed to see Jay is fully dressed in a uniform and he's sure his expression shows it. “So, it’ll happen after we, uh…you know. The plan.”

“At this rate, no.” Jay scoffs and ties his hair back. “We’ll be here for the rest of our lives if we keep going at this pace.”

In silence, Carlos changes. He feels the weight of Jay’s stare on him and it flusters him until he realizes the alpha is watching the make shift bandage under his collar bone, hiding Cruella’s signature. Carlos hadn’t let anyone see it, that’s why they’re hidden in the back of the locker room, but he bandages it after every shower (because Auradon has real medical supplies and first aid kits, just sitting in every dorm, how is that even possible).

Still, burn or not, Jay is watching him undress. It’s exciting.

Which ends up being worse later on.

Out on the field, Carlos glares in the sun. It’s always so bright in Auradon, it hurts his eyes. There are whistles and canons and shouting and before long, his ears hurt too.

He’s dressed in yellow and Jay in blue, which means they’re on opposing teams and that is quite scary because Jay is all alpha – strong and quick and aggressive – and Carlos is all…well. Carlos.

Jay has the ball, and Carlos can assume that the objective of the game is to get said ball by how everyone chases after it, but no one can keep up with Jay, let alone surpass him. He is faster and slicker than the Auradon students who have supposedly been playing this game for years.

A heat builds in Carlos’ chest as he watches Jay move, the omega in him nearly preening at how successful Jay is. His alpha is definitely better than anyone on the field and the two of them are basically in the same pack. It’s exhilarating to watch Jay prove himself as the best.

It’s also causing a certain heat in his face that isn’t from the sun.

Which is why it takes a moment for Carlos to realize that Jay is running right at him, prepared to run through him.

Carlos is supposed to retrieve the ball from Jay for his own team, though he doesn’t understand the purpose or value in getting a ball, but that’s not going to happen. First, Jay is simply an unstoppable force. Second, Carlos can’t move.

An alpha is charging him, Carlos’ alpha is running toward him.

But it’s different from that day with Mal, which seems so much longer ago than it really was. Jay has scented Carlos, he’s not in his rut, they’re not surrounded by perverts and prying eyes, they were just watching each other undress.

Jay has his teeth bared, despite the fact that they are hidden under the face guard of his helmet. His dark eyes are narrowed and focused. He is intent on conquering.

And Carlos doesn't really mind getting conquered.

He gulps and the shield in his hands drops to the ground just before Carlos does. His knees meet the plastic grass of the turf and his vision is blocked by the bulky helmet, but Carlos has never felt so comfortable in his life. It's like that day in Jafar's shop when he had knelt before Jay, the feeling of tranquility and warmth spreading out to even the tips of his toes.

His head is light and his knees are heavy and Jay looks so good from this angle.

Faintly, Carlos hears the whistle blow just as Jay skids to a stop before him.

Oh, sweet Hades, he's so handsome. Tall and broad and confident and looking down at Carlos like he’s a dessert.

“Alpha.” He breathes and lowers his head.

“Lost boy! Get up!”

Carlos blinks as the words register. He gazes around and realizes the game has stopped, the players are still. The sun is warm and the turf under his hands is rubbery and Jay is looking like he’s been told he can’t have any dessert.

Cheeks burning with shame, Carlos jumps up. The helmet hides enough of his face to offer a little comfort, but he can feel eyes on him, everyone is watching him.

So Carlos runs.

He runs into the locker room and throws his helmet off, cursing up a storm. “Stupid fucking alpha body,” he hisses as he rips off the jersey. “Stupid fucking sports! Stupid fucking Auradon!”

Stupid fucking omega instincts.

Stupid fucking homemade suppressants.

Stupid fucking submission.

Carlos tears open his locker, putting on his normal clothes and growling to himself.

At least he’s not purring. He’s too angry with himself to purr.

“Hey, Carlos!”

He jumps around, yanking his black and red shirt down over his stomach. Jay is marching in, helmet off and hair sticking to his face like some unfair god that Carlos wants to kneel and worship. Instead, he bites his tongue and glares at the floor.

That doesn’t deter Jay. He walks up and grabs Carlos’ shoulder, shakes him just a bit. “Dude. Carlos.”

“What?” What bullshit excuse can he give this time? Does Jay want to hear again about Cruella making him submit, does he want to hear how Carlos just wanted - needed - to submit? Carlos is going to stand here and sprout off about his mother and some pitiful lie just so-.

“Can I kiss you?”

Carlos inhales and looks up. Jay is biting his lip and waiting. He’s staring at Carlos, not like he’s a dessert, but as if he is the whole damn meal. “What?”

Jay places his hands on either side of Carlos’ head, keeping him in place, overwhelming with his mere presence. “Can I kiss you?”

He just wants one good thing in his life, he can have that, can't he? “Please.”

Their lips meet in the middle, Carlos too eager to wait for Jay to reach him. It’s his first kiss and it’s awkward and his mouth doesn’t move right and he should have brushed his teeth better this morning, but he’s kissing someone, he’s kissing Jay.

On the tourney field, the sun had been too bright, too warm and overbearing, but now Carlos loves it because kissing Jay is like kissing the sun. It is brilliant and warm and encompassing, surrounding him and heating his skin. His legs are weak because his bones are melting and his eyes are clenched shut because Jay is so bright and shining. Carlos can feel the comfort seeping in from all that is Jay and every chill flees from his body.

Shaky hands fist themselves in Jay’s jersey, desperate for the contact to realize, to understand, that this isn’t a dream and this is real. Carlos is kissing Jay, he’s kissing his alpha, this is happening, it’s really happening.

Jay’s hands move from the lockers on either side of Carlos to his back, sneakily dipping into the back pockets of his shorts and shamelessly groping. Carlos moans because he’s been thinking about this for so long and this is real life, he has this, he can have something good.

“Gotta put my scent back on you,” Jay seethes against his lips. “Make sure it never fades.” One hand comes up to grip Carlos’ neck, the other hand still in Carlos’ back pocket and pulling them together so no space remains between them and the two of them can rock against one another.

“Yes,” Carlos moans into his mouth, messy and wet and uncoordinated. He risks a bite at the alpha’s lip and is rewarded with a feral noise that has his blood rushing.

Jay pulls back, panting and flushed. His pupils are wide and his eyes are trained on Carlos’ face. “My room?”

“Please.”

--

Someone, something, out there in the universe is watching out for Carlos.

Or maybe it’s just because they’re in Auradon and everything is just easier here.

Whatever the cause, Mal and Evie are lounging in Jay’s room, waiting for the two of them to return from tourney practice.

“You two are back early,” Mal’s eyes flicker up from her mother’s spell book, opened on the desk Jay has never used. “That sport or whatever suck too much?”

“No. I mean yes.” Jay drops Carlos’ wrist. “I mean…it was fine. Whatever.” He is flushed and his hair is wild from Carlos’ fingers running through it. His eyes are still dilated and he’s panting – the boys had practically run to Jay’s room, so eager to reach his bed – and his lips are swollen.

Carlos can’t imagine he looks any better.

“What are you guys doing here?” Jay narrows his eyes, clearly displeased with the interruption while Carlos processes the fact that he and Jay were very very close to having sex and has an internal crisis.

The two of them are a mess and the girls pick up on it quickly. “What were you two doing?” Evie asks softly, taking a step back and eyeing them. “You’re both out of breath and your eyes are dilated and,” the beta looks them up and down, her eyes widening before she quickly looks away.

With a tilted head, Carlos looks at Jay. Yeah, he looks rugged and wild, but-

Oh.

Jay has a boner.

And, when Carlos looks down, he is in the same state.

He gasps and covers his crotch with both hands, face burning.

The alpha, however, is not nearly as embarrassed. He shrugs at the tent in his blue shorts and looks at Mal, who is staring at them both with a single raised brow. “What are you two doing in here?” Jay asks again.

“Unintentionally cock blocking, apparently.”

“You have a problem with that?”

“Not at all.” Mal smiles and leans back in her chair.

“I-I don’t have a problem with it...either,” Evie says, quickly spinning on her heel. She doesn't return to her spot on Jay's bed, instead she opts for the empty, unused one.

“I was expecting it, honestly.” Mal kicks her feet up on the desk, smug and comfortable. “Save your fuck fest for later, we have an update on the wand.”

The wand, Mal explains, will be used at Ben’s coronation to bless him as king. It will be the only time the wand is brought out of the museum and in Fairy Godmother’s hands, in front of everyone who is invited, which includes every student at Auradon Prep, even the four of them.

“Ben’s girlfriend gets to sit up front, right by the wand.” Mal says, eyes glinting like they always do when she is up to something particularly wicked.

“Audrey won’t help us.”

“It’s a good thing Audrey isn’t about to be his girlfriend anymore.” Mal says to Jay, raising the spell book and revealing the page she has been studying so intently.

“You want to use a love spell on him?” Carlos asks as he steps closer, reading the instructions carefully.

The four settle down in the room. It is too early in the day, too many people about, to head to the kitchen and bake a treat with the spell inside. They must wait until the evening, with the cover of darkness.

Jay heads to the bathroom and changes back into his familiar leather, which looks ridiculously good on him. He grumbles and sits on his bed, pretending to flip through a magazine before tossing it aside and getting on the floor, working out.

It’s a stress reliever for the alpha, Carlos knows, and Jay is clearly stressed. Whether he’s tense about their new plan or tourney or because the two of them nearly had sex and Jay is also inwardly panicking or because he has a case of blue balls, Carlos can’t tell.

But he’s also not complaining. He’s happy to watch Jay do crunches and push ups and jumping jacks. More than happy, actually.

Mal continues to flip through the book, categorizing every ingredient they will need. She glances at Jay every once in a while, then at Carlos, then to Evie, keeping tabs on whatever they all do.

Evie is utterly silent on the bed. Her posture is perfect, more so than usual, and she sits completely still, hands folded in her lap. Several times, Carlos sees her composure break and she begins picking at her nail polish, but she always corrects herself quickly and forces herself to remain like a beautiful statue.

Carlos sits on Jay's bed in the room. As much as he appreciates Jay's bed (and the activities that nearly happened on it), he almost wishes he was on the spare bed, where Mal’s jeans and Evie’s pajamas and all of Jay’s dirty clothes lay. There is a tension in the room, probably from their plan and the reality of it all settling in, and Carlos wishes he could fiddle with the clothing of his pack as he sits.

He's also freaking the hell out on the inside because he’s an idiot and almost had sex.

Not that he doesn’t want to have sex, with Jay, but there are so many risks. They would be so close, his elevated heart rate and sweat could overpower his suppressants and give away his true scent. Jay would obviously be more dominant than usual, Carlos could lose himself in that and give into his submissive nature. Then there’s the emotional connection that supposedly comes from having sex with someone, the struggle of lying to Jay would only worsen.

It’s Auradon, he blames. The change in scenery and people and social norms, the stress of the wand, the independence he has being away from Cruella.

Clearly, Carlos has no idea what to do with his new-found freedom.

Fuck. He almost cost himself everything.

After far too long, Mal deems it safe enough to venture out for the kitchen. Most students are eating dinner right now and the sun is beginning to set, so they meet no one as they walk through the halls of the alpha boys’ dorm.

As it turns out, alpha boys don’t bake a whole lot. Their kitchen is nearly bare. Not as empty as any cupboard on the Isle, but enough that it’s impossible to bake anything here.

“We can go to the beta girls’ dorm,” Evie offers, three whole nails void of polish. She has been oddly silent the whole time. “We always have materials in there.” She shrugs and keeps staring at the ground. “We should go now though, before the halls fill up with people again.”

“Okay…” Mal agrees carefully, looking at the boys who are just as puzzled. “Good idea, E. That’s smart.”

The four of them start across campus and Carlos falls behind the two alphas. “Evie, what’s wrong?” He reaches for her shoulder, but she brushes him off and doesn’t answer.

When they enter the beta girls’ dorm, it is clear Evie is right – not that Carlos doubted her – about the kitchen inside having more ingredients. It is nice and tidy, but there are pots and pans and cupboards full of flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder and more. There are even a few ziploc bags with a beta girl's name written in pen, claiming the food as hers and just trusting the others not to take it.

“Pup, get the oven ready for 325 degrees. Jay, grab eggs and milk. E, find me some flour?”

In no time, the cookie batter is ready. They are only lacking one ingredient.

“Alright, it says that we still need one tear.” Mal cocks her hip and scowls at the bowl, as if it is to blame for their lack of necessities.

“Here,” Carlos offers from his spot, perched on a counter. “Cut up an onion.”

“No,” Mal narrows her eyes at him. “A tear of human sadness. We can’t use anything else.”

Jay scoffs and waves his hand. “A tear is a tear. The onions are a good idea.” He bumps Carlos’ shoulder and Carlos flushes.

“That’s not true,” Evie hisses and her tone shocks all of them. She has spoken even less in the kitchen than she did in Jay’s dorm. “Tears will always have antibodies and enzymes, but an emotional tear has more protein based hormones than a reflex tear, which is what cutting an onion would cause.”

The three of them stare at her in silence, but Evie won’t meet their eyes. She is hidden behind her own hair, falling into her face and shielding her from the outside world.

“Whatever,” Evie sniffles as she reaches up to her face and swipes under her eye. “Here.” She holds her finger over the mixing bowl, and Carlos can barely see the small tear she gathered before it drops into the batter. “I’m going to go to bed.”

“No, you’re not.” Mal orders as the beta turns to leave. “E, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Beta.”

Evie stiffens at the warning tone, fingers curling into delicate fists. Her face crumples in a way Carlos has never seen because Evie is horrified of wrinkles, but she swallows and forces the tension to fade. “You and Jay…you have each other for your ruts. And Jay and Carlos…have each other now too.” Her voice breaks. “I don’t…I don’t have you guys or stupid Chad or…” She presses a hand to her face, hiding her tears and sorrow.

Carlos hops off the counter and rushes to her, Jay moving just as quickly. “Evie, what are you-?”

“You two are…you’re having sex.” She says bluntly. “Jay and Mal do the same for their ruts. And,” Evie wipes at her cheeks, her mascara running, “I guess it’s fair. You three have known each other for years and I only met you all 12 months ago, but…” Evie closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “I can't even get a prince here. I don't have anyone." Her shoulders tremble. "Evil, I thought I at least had Carlos. He was mine first.”

His heart sinks into his stomach and it’s like he can’t breathe. All he can hear is Evie’s rapid sniffling. “What? Evie…you have all of us, right?” Carlos looks at the alphas and they nod quickly.

“Of course. Eves, we’re here for you.” Jay wraps his arm around her, but she stiffens in his hold immediately. He swallows and pulls away. “Evie, Carlos and I, that whole thing just happened today. It took us both by surprise.”

“He’s telling the truth,” says Mal with a small smile. “The boys could never keep a secret like that for long.”

“And there are no secrets between us, right?” Jay brushes back blue hair. “We tell each other everything. You guys know about me and Mal during our ruts and we know about Cruella being a raving bitch.”

“The whole Isle knows that,” Carlos snickers, but he can’t force himself to smile. As far as he knows, he is the only one to be aware that Evie’s mother is an alpha. He is the only one to know about how often Jafar made Jay submit.

And well, he is the king of secrets.

“I don’t feel…like I belong in this group,” Evie trembles as she speaks and still refuses to look up. “You all have this intimacy with each other, even if it just started, and I…”

“Evie.” Carlos speaks and his voice sounds so far away. “Can I kiss you?”

That gets her attention. She raises her head instantly, brows furrowed. “What?”

“You’re right. You and I had each other before Jay and Mal came along.” His throat is so dry, his lips are quivering, his hands are unsteady. “Can I… Can I kiss you?”

Honestly, he does it for himself more than he does it for Evie because if his beta won’t stop crying, then he will begin to purr. He can’t stand watching her cry and fold in on herself as if she’s embarrassed, he can’t bear to witness Evie doubt herself and her place so terribly.

When she nods, Carlos moves on instinct, remembering his actions with Jay just hours earlier. Two kisses in one day, that’s more than he ever thought he would get, but so is his friends and their strange little pack.

Their mouths touch and Carlos really doesn’t know how to kiss and Evie doesn’t either, but that’s okay.

If kissing Jay is like kissing the sun, kissing Evie is like kissing a flower, or all of the flowers, every single one that he’s seen in Auradon. She is softer than petals, sweeter than nectar and Carlos can feel every color, from the blue of her hair to the red of her lipstick, from the lilac of her eyeshadow to the white of her sparkling teeth, and when she sighs into his mouth, it is like breathing in fresh air.

Their kiss isn’t as intense as the kiss with Jay, but it’s just as passionate. Their lips move slow and uncertain, but persistent and needy because he does need Evie, he needs Evie like he needs Jay and Mal, like he needs oxygen.

He doesn’t register that he’s whining until Evie’s hand on the back of his neck tightens.

Carlos gasps, stealing the air from Evie’s mouth, and pulls away.

Evie is gorgeous in every waking moment and probably even in sleep, but right now, with her cheeks pink and her lipstick smeared, Carlos has never felt so light headed looking at her.

“That was quite a show,” Mal murmurs, breaking the silence between them all. She commands attention easily, grabbing Evie’s wrist. “Evie, you are a part of this pack. You are mine and Jay’s and Carlos’, for now until the end of time, and any prince you meet is going to have to deal with that.” She moves forward, invading Evie’s space and forcing her against the counter. Mal places a hand on the beta’s face, thumb against her bottom lip. “And just in case you have any other doubts…”

The girls kiss, Mal dominating in the way her nature craves. She grips the beta’s face, devouring her mouth and swallowing her moans.

Carlos tries not to stare too intently, unlike Jay, who is watching way too closely.

He looks for a little bit though. Evie caves under Mal, clutching the countertop and easily giving into Mal’s assertive actions. Mal controls everything – the position of their faces, the movement of their lips, when they are allowed to part for air.

If he keeps watching, Carlos will end up in the same state as Jay, who has a growing tent in his pants.

When he hears the girls pull apart – because Carlos gazed down at the batter for several long seconds to control himself – he looks back up at them, studying Evie for her reaction to all of them.

“You’re a part of our group, beta. Forever and always,” Mal sighs against her lips, still holding Evie’s face. “Do you understand?”

Evie nods. Her cheeks are pink and her lips are swollen, but she is melting into Mal’s hold.

Mal turns to Jay with a raised brow, silently asking him what he plans on doing.

He nods subtly and steps forward, taking Evie from the other girl and pulling her close. “Hey Eves.”

“Jay.”

With one hand cupping her chin, Jay erases the distance between them, capturing Evie’s lips and kissing her deeply. It’s not as fiery as their kiss in the locker room, Carlos can tell, but just as demanding and helpless.

In his hold, Evie embraces his warmth, all that is Jay, and flourishes. Her posture is submissive, relaxed, but confident and certain. She follows Jay’s lead, the movements he makes, the noises he emits, and blossoms under his heat.

Carlos averts his eyes when the two of them moan, his whole face burning. It is not until a hand touches his shoulder that he looks up.

Mal is next to him, waiting in silence for him to fully acknowledge her. “Pup.”

“Yeah?”

“They’re a show, aren’t they?”

He follows her eyes to Jay and Evie, still embracing each other. Jay’s hold on her chin has moved to the back of her head, the other hand on her hip and rubbing the bare skin between her shirt and leggings. Evie is arching into him, her chest against his, both of her hands clutching his shirt and holding him near.

Carlos looks away again. “Y-yeah.”

“Let’s give our own show.” Mal pushes him easily because Carlos feels like a rag doll watching Jay and Evie kiss and he barely registers that he’s being moved until the counter is at his back and Mal has one hand in his hair and the other on his throat.

Jay is sunshine and Evie is flowers and Mal is ice, her presence all-encompassing, being felt down in his bones. Carlos has goosebumps all over, but his hands lay numb at his sides as he tries to kiss back. He opens his mouth on instinct when she bites his lower lip, shivering despite how warm her hand is on his throat. Mal has frozen him to this very spot, but he wouldn’t move even if he could.

She is confident (which makes sense because of all of her days with Jay), moving against him slowly, but knowingly, the hand in his hair moving down over his shoulder, onto his chest, where her nails sink into his skin. Mal snickers into the kiss before moving and Carlos groans when she pinches his nipple through his shirt.

Faintly, as if they are a thousand miles away, Carlos hears a low whistle. Mal pulls back and he lazily blinks his eyes open, catching Jay and Evie staring at him and Mal.

Three kisses. Three kisses in one day from three people he is so crazy for, it scares Carlos.

Kissing is different than scenting. Scenting is done as a public act, to give comfort and to claim someone, but kissing...is private. It's done for pleasure, not to showcase who belongs to whom. Scenting can be platonic - between family or friends - but kissing is romantic, it's sexual. It is not to claim for protection or for power, but for pleasure.

Despite the fact that this has been one of the most amazing nights of his life, Carlos is fucked. He is absolutely fucked.

“The four of us are always together. No matter what.” Mal insists with hard eyes, looking all of them, one at a time.

“Should we go consummate this?” Jay waggles his eyebrows and kisses Evie’s cheek.

Mal huffs and moves back to the bowl, now properly completed with Evie’s tear. “I can’t. If this thing with the king is to work, I can’t risk being seen doing anything with you three or anything that leaves a noticeable scent.”

“Oh.” Jay pulls away from Evie and looks at her, then Carlos, eyes narrowed in concentration.

“Then none of us,” Carlos says over the blood rushing in his ears, “should do anything with each other. We can’t risk people in Auradon finding out.”

“What, about us being a…pack?” Evie asks, hesitating over the word, but no one corrects her. They haven't officially used the word, but it's fitting for Evie to be the first to say it out loud. “Auradon is all about love and such, they go crazy for packs, even ones that are made young.”

“Carlos has a point,” Mal says as she stirs the bowl one final time. She instructs Evie to get a cookie sheet before continuing. “And I’m not saying that just because I don’t want the three of you to…fool around…without me. I don’t care if you do that,” she shoves the bowl away from her and snatches the tray from Evie’s hands.

The beta grabs her wrist. “We wouldn’t do anything without you, M.” Evie promises, tracing small circles on the palm of Mal’s hand. “The four of us are always together.”

Mal smiles at her own words being used against her. “Still. People shouldn’t be able to figure anything out between you three, it could look suspicious if I’m not a part of it. I can’t risk any more kissing or much more scenting, but you three can’t do anything that would cause some serious scent-carrying or marking.”

“Then we won’t do anything.” Carlos says and leans on the counter because his knees are still weak. “If Mal isn’t a part of this until after the love spell, none of us should do anything with each other. Not until…”

Not until they grab the wand and unleash evil on Auradon.

The others understand him though. Jay nods. “Yeah, okay. We’re a pack, but we can’t…fuck around, not until this whole thing is done with.” His shoulder slump with disappointment, but he accepts their situation for what it is.

“At least we got all of our kisses out of the way,” Evie bats her eyes at Mal.

“So now all I’m going to be thinking about is what I’m missing out on!” Jay groans as his head falls forward.

Evie laughs, sounding so sweet and musical, and swats his chest.

--

Ben proclaims his love to Mal at the end of a tourney game.

Carlos had not been thrilled at the idea of being chased again or kneeling before Jay in front of a dozen people again, so he had politely backed out of the sport by not showing up for any more practices and ignoring the other team members in the halls.

He stands with Evie and Mal in the bleachers, the three of them watching and cheering for Jay. When the king professes his love over the microphone, Carlos is giddy and furious at the same time. Next to him, he feels Evie clench her fists and he knows she is just as unhappy to have a foreign boy cling to Mal and offer himself to her in front of a hundred people.

Because it’s Ben claiming himself as Mal’s, not claiming Mal as his own. The king of Auradon is a beta, tripping over his feet to get to Mal and ask to be hers.

Of course, Mal agrees. She is gorgeous and confident, but Carlos can see the little twitch of her lips and the spasms in her fingers that show how nervous she is for everyone in the school to be staring at her.

His burning jealousy doesn’t kick in until Mal demands that they all meet in Jay’s room a week later.

“Ben’s an omega.”

Carlos feels his jaw drop, the same as Evie and Jay.

“There’s no fucking way.”

Mal turns to Jay, teeth clenched and hip cocked. “He is. He told me. He told me everything. His middle name, his childhood, his family history. He’s an omega.”

“I couldn’t smell that on him though.”

“You can’t smell it on anyone here!” Mal seethes. “Ben ever said almost all of the students are on suppressants. Not just the alphas but the omegas too. Apparently his family and close friends know, but a lot of the kingdom doesn’t.”

“Of course they don’t.” Evie paces the room, moving in circles, “you can’t have an omega king. Princesses are fine, even some princes. But queens and kings, especially kings, they can’t be omegas.” She shakes her head at the very idea.

There ought to be some part of Carlos that is offended and wants to correct her, but he agrees. The only omega he has met is himself and Carlos certainly isn’t fit to be king.

Still, her words echo in his head.

“So…what problem does this cause?” Carlos asks after he swallowed the sting of shame. “I mean, omegas...is that a problem?”

“I guess not,” Mal drops her head and rubs the bridge of her nose. “It doesn’t cause a problem per se, but…I just wasn’t expecting it.”

She sounds stressed, she sounds bothered and Carlos isn't sure if that makes him worried or relieved.

--

Carlos had been avoiding Ben like crazy until that point. Ben was a member of the tourney team and making a true effort to talk to Carlos about coming back, so he had been dodging the king left and right.

Now though, Carlos seeks him out and asks Ben for help with tourney, a sport he never intends to play again because sports just aren’t Carlos’ thing.

But Ben comes bounding over to him, smiley and dopey and nearly giggling to himself. “Hi Carlos!”

“Hello Ben.”

“I’m so excited to hang out with one of Mal’s friends.”

“Cool.” Carlos folds his arms and grits his teeth. “I’m excited to hang out with her boyfriend.”

Ben is so starry-eyed that he doesn’t even notice Carlos’ short tone. He guides them over to the middle of the field, stop watch in his hand. Apparently, the king thinks Carlos sucks at tourney because he isn’t fast enough, not because getting chased by an alpha who scented him was too much to bare.

A little spiteful part of Carlos wants to inform Ben that he nearly outran Mal in her rut just a few weeks ago because she chased him to claim himand use him, not stupid, princely Ben with his clean hair and nice smelling clothes.

Instead, Carlos just glares at him when his back is turned.

“Alright, Carlos, are you read for some sprints?”

He nods and kneels in the grass, prepared to take off and show Ben just how fast he is and why he is chosen as Mal’s over some ridiculous boy pretending to be a king.

However, before Ben can blow the whistle, Carlos’ face drains of color and his body freezes.

An echo of a bark rings across the field.

There is a dog.

He bolts without even thinking about it, running past Ben and his ridiculous stopwatch. Carlos dashes past the canons, the stray people on the field, the bleachers. He moves faster than even when Mal was chasing him.

Mal would have bit him and forced him into submission. Maybe even fucked him.

But this thing, this beast, will tear Carlos’ throat out and eat him whole.

Over the pounding in his ears and his own horrified cries and the vicious barking behind him, Carlos can hear Ben shout for him and yell at him to stop.

This omega prince wants to kill him. He wants Carlos to stop and be ripped to shreds and murdered by the wild hound so that he can have Mal all to himself, why did Carlos ever offer to hang out with this psychopath?

Carlos launches himself into a tree, scrabbling up it and clinging to branches, ignoring the dull sting in both of his hands from the biting bark as he climbs frantically. He is perched on a limb, higher than what even Ben could reach from the ground, and trembles against the tree trunk.

The dog follows him to the tree, yapping at the roots. Carlos clamps his hands over his ears and hides his head in his knees. He’s wet with sweat and tears and his lungs can’t get enough air, no matter how many breaths he takes. It’s no time at all before the purr starts up, but Carlos is crying so heavily that he can’t hear it, he can’t focus on the soothing rumble. All he can hear is his own pitiful, horrified sobs and the monster howling below him, eager for Carlos to fall and become lunch.

He is choking on his own terror, coughing and shaking and purring, still with his hands clutching his ears in an attempt to block out the noise of the beast. But, as the minutes tick on and Carlos exhausts himself with his crying and the run, he hiccups and sniffles, trying to regain his breath.

“Carlos? Carlos? Should I go get Mal? Or Jay or Evie?”

From his perch, Carlos cracks his eye open to see Ben below him, cradling the dog in his arms.

“Let go of it!” He shrieks. “It’s going to attack you!”

“Carlos, breathe!”

He does so, surprisingly. Ben doesn’t sound like an omega when he gives orders and Carlos is so shaky that he could obey anything right now. He forces his mouth open and his lungs to work, heaving as he struggles to breathe.

“Are you okay?”

Carlos shakes his head. There is distance between him and the monster, several feet at least, but the creature is in Ben’s hold. The king doesn’t look like he’s about to throw the dog into the tree after Carlos at least, but he’s bouncing the animal and those razor sharp teeth are so close to Ben’s throat, his face, his neck.

His purr is growing and Carlos turns his head to the side to avoid looking at the beast and pinches his hand to gain control of himself.

Why is he so weak, why is he so scared, why is he so stupid?

“Have you…ever met a dog before?”

Carlos shakes his head, counting the breaths in his head.

“Look, this is Dude.” Ben offers, his voice floating up. “Carlos, look.”

He obeys with a jolt. Carlos doesn’t even think about it, but he never does, really. Someone commands him and he obeys and he’s not really sure if that’s because he was a punching bag on the Isle or because taking demands gives him this giddy, light-headed feeling, but Carlos just goes with it.

The dog in Ben’s arms is sniffing the king’s face, tail wagging. He is…small. Not just because Carlos is up in a tree, but the dog is just a small breed.

“Watch.” Ben rubs the dog’s head, then its back, then its mouth, even prying the beast’s mouth open and showing that the dog won’t bite. “He’s friendly. His name is Dude.”

Carlos looks down with interest. The dog hasn’t bit Ben at all. It just wags its tail and squirms.

“You’re one of Mal’s friends,” Ben says and the stars are back in his eyes. “I won’t let anything hurt you, Carlos.”

Right, like an omega could ever protect him.

Still, Carlos wipes at his face, his tears and sweat combining on his cheeks, before shimmying back down the tree and stepping onto the dirt.

“He…doesn’t look like a rabid pack animal.” Carlos admits. He’s not going to touch the thing, he’s not going to touch the thing, he’s not going to touch the thing.

Ben grabs his hand and puts it on the dog’s head. Carlos flinches, but…nothing happens. The fur is wiry and coarse under his fingers, a little knotted, but the dog doesn’t bite him. It just sniffs his hand. Its nose is wet and cold.

“Who told you dogs would attack you?”

“My mother.” Carlos says, but now he’s rethinking her words. The woman loved seeing him terrified and submissive and her horror stories of dogs always had that effect on him.

“You guys must have it pretty rough on the Isle.”

Carlos shrugs. Life on the Isle was life on the Isle. He survived, his pack survived, they just had to be smart about it.

“I have a question…” Ben shifts his weight as Carlos continues to let the dog sniff his hand. “What were omegas like on the Isle?”

He jumps again and whips his gaze to Ben’s face. Ben shouldn’t have been able to hear his purr, not when Carlos was so far above in a tree, there’s no way. “What?”

“Well, I don’t go out of my way to tell a lot of people, but I’m just so excited to be Mal’s,” Ben sighs and swings the dog around, “I’m an omega. I want to be hers for forever.”

Carlos huffs. He is Mal’s forever, he and Jay and Evie. “But people in Auradon don’t know that you’re an omega, right?”

“Not many. It’s not really a-. Here, hold him.” Ben unloads the dog into Carlos’ arms without much warning. He scratches the dog’s – err, Dude’s – ears and doesn’t notice Carlos’ panic. “It’s not a secret. I don’t want you to think I’m ashamed of being an omega, but some of the older generation wouldn’t like an omega in charge.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, like the idea of having the kingdom potentially taken from him is as trivial as the weather.

“Well, uh,” Carlos is equally nervous about the dog in his arms and speaking to the king about omegas. He doesn’t know which he needs to distract himself from more. “Omegas don’t really exist on the Isle. There are only a couple of them.”

“So Mal has never met an omega?”

Carlos fiddles with the metal on Dude’s collar. “N-no. Uh, nope. She never has. None of us has.”

“I should spend my heat with her!”

What the fuck was in that love spell?

“No!” Carlos shouts just as Ben turns away, seemingly prepared to run to Mal this very moment and exclaim it to her. “You can’t!”

“You’re right!” Ben groans and throws his head back. “My suppressants won’t fade for like another week, even if I stop taking them right now.” He pouts like a child instead of a king and folds his arms.

Carlos sighs in relief, the instant panic ebbing away. “Listen, Ben, you can’t-.”

“Here!” He shouts and reaches into his pocket before he thrusts something into Carlos’ hand. It’s a plastic, orange cylinder that Carlos has seen pictures of in textbooks and pamphlets, the same thing Ben gave to Jay and Mal for their ruts. “Take my suppressants. That way I won’t be able to change my mind and go back on them.” Ben giggles hysterically. “Not that I would change my mind!”

Amazingly, Carlos’ first instinct is to shove them back in Ben’s hand and demand he keeps them forever and always until it dawns on him that what he holds in his hand is a bottle of suppressants. Real, actual, true suppressants.

For the past two years, his whole life has been about creating these, perfecting the formula to be exactly what he needs. Carlos has spent hours, days, slaving over the design, the ingredients, the proportions. He has worked his hands to blisters trying to salvage what he could from the dumps and steal what he needed from Dragon Hall’s laboratory. He’s been obsessed with suppressants since he first read about them, tucked away in the tightest corner of his room and reading by the early hours of sunrise.

He has them. In the palm of his hand, Carlos has suppressants.

While Ben takes Dude back and continues to yap, ecstatic to go into heat and spend it with Mal, Carlos shoves the bottle into his pocket and ignores the erratic beating of his heart.

--

Dude is acceptable. He hasn’t torn Carlos’ throat out or bit off any of his fingers. The dog likes to lick his hands and sniff him a lot, but Carlos isn’t too worried.

It’s true that dogs can smell better than humans. Even if Dude can smell that Carlos is an omega, it’s not like he can talk.

He sits in Carlos’ lap for Remedial Goodness 101, gnawing on a rubber bone. Carlos absentmindedly pets Dude’s head, zoning out with Fairy Godmother’s voice.

It’s been a few days since Ben shoved actual suppressants into Carlos’ hand like they were no big deal, eager to get rid of them and begin his heat for Mal.

And Carlos had taken them, back to his dorm room, jingling in his pocket, and shoved them into the little nightstand by his bed.

When he first took them back out, after Doug went to shower, Carlos had pondered why Ben carried them with him at all, rather than having them in his room. But, Carlos takes care to hide the pills, concealing them in an unmarked bottle that rests at the bottom of his book bag. He can’t risk leaving them in his room, where Doug could find them, or in his school locker where a teacher could open.

No, he had to keep the suppressants with him at all times, just like the ingredients for his homemade suppressants or The Importance of Omegas, which Carlos returned to the library after he had gone two days without opening it again.

The suppressants are guarded and safe from anyone who wanted to rifle through his belongings. Ben must have felt the same way.

And now that he’s been on the pills for days…Carlos feels weird. He feels muted. He feels…not much. He doesn’t want to sit as close to Jay and Evie and Mal, doesn’t crave their touch randomly. He’s okay to go without physical affection and he doesn’t even have to pretend like he’s fine now.

That’s probably why he became so indifferent to Dude so quickly. Yeah, Carlos realizes that Cruella lied, but it’s hard to get the idea out of his head that every dog won’t attack him after hearing it for years.

But he looks at Dude in his lap and thinks…whatever. Dude might hurt him, Dude might not.

He’s not so afraid on suppressants. He doesn’t get as excited to see his pack or as worried about the plan. He doesn’t even feel guilty about taking Ben’s suppressants (even if they were technically given) or jealous about Ben spending his heat with Mal. Well, Carlos is a little jealous still, but he’s at peace with it.

His emotions aren’t entirely gone but they’re…less. Like he can only feel things halfway now.

And that’s good. Really. He’s less distracted by emotions, he doesn’t long to submit or kneel, he’s more in control of himself.

That’s good. It’s all good.

A sharp nudge in his side takes him away from Dude’s soft head.

“C, she’s talking to you,” Jay hisses.

Carlos blinks and looks up to see Fairy Godmother watching him expectantly. “Yeah?”

“Do you know the answer, dear?”

“No.”

Fairy Godmother falters. “I’ll ask the question again. Ahem. What’s the proper way for betas to interact with omegas? A, to demand submission; B, with respect and sitting proper distance apart; C, to ask intruding questions about heats; or D, to invite the omega to come to their dorm after curfew.”

Even acting as a beta, most of Carlos’ interactions with others were closest to A or D. Villains wanted submission, alphas made crude gestures, Cruella talked about renting his body to adults. Jasper and Horace had even asked if he ever got wet for men.

Really, the only option that seems unfamiliar is…

“C,” Carlos says, “respectful and sitting far apart.”

Fairy Godmother gushes and claps her hands. “Well done!”

“How are omegas treated here?” Mal asks suddenly, her voice cutting off their teacher. “Just curious.”

Carlos figures she’s trying to figure out how many people know Ben is an omega. He’s glad Mal asked the question because he’s been curious to find out too.

Fairy Godmother looks at Mal for a long moment, as if she’s perfectly aware that Ben is an omega and she’s realizing that Mal knows too and she’s trying to decide how much of a shit show this is.

“Omegas are treated with respect, or course. Just like any other role.”

“So there’s no difference?” Mal tilts her head with faux innocence. “Why are we separated by roles then?”

Fairy Godmother’s eyebrows shoot up. “Well, we don’t want scents to influence anyone or the natural dynamics that take place to be a distraction.”

Mal nods, but keeps speaking. “So what kind of influence do omegas have on alphas?” She pauses and then smiles again, looking fully worthy to be dating the king of Auradon. “Just curious.”

A look of shock passes on Fairy Godmother’s face. She realizes that Mal is aware of Ben being an omega. “Well, most students are on suppressants, so there really shouldn’t be any influence here. But everyone is kept separate because omegas bring out dominance in alphas, sometimes in betas.”

“Mmm,” Mal hums. “That’s it?”

Fairy Godmother wearily keeps eye contact. “Also, with, ahem, roles, even on suppressants, omegas can affect those around them, or their little subconscious actions can affect alphas, betas or other omegas, but other omegas are more understanding of them, but that’s a topic for another class.”

“Subconscious actions?”

Carlos’ question makes him the center of attention in the room.

“Well, it’s different for everyone, but I’ve noticed with Jane – you all remember my daughter, right?”

Yeah, the mousy girl that was eating out of Mal’s hand due to her own lack of confidence. Jane was their first plot to get to the wand, but it fell through. She practically melted under Mal’s attention on her and half-hearted praises, Carlos had been annoyed to see someone so infatuated with Mal.

And now, hearing that Jane is likely an omega who hung all over Mal…

Carlos supposes he’s upset. Kind of. He probably should be more indignant, but it’s hard to tell what he’s feeling on suppressants.

“Jane likes to play with her hair when she’s nervous or upset. Omegas often provide sensory comfort for themselves when they’re stressed, even on suppressants.” Fairy Godmother explains, waving her hand. “Or when they’re depressed, they purr and when they’re happy, omegas can chirp. Things like that can affect others who notice them. They have a tendency to…affect the emotions of others. Especially with those they have created some sort of bond – platonic or otherwise – with.”

Mal nods and briefly, Carlos wonders if Ben has done any of that around her, but he’s really more concerned with whether he has done any of that.

His limited reading has never mentioned those things, though he hadn't picked up anything else after returning the unfinished The Importance of Omegas. Carlos has never heard of sensory stimulation or chirping. Surely, Fairy Godmother doesn’t mean like what birds do?

Of course, he’s caught himself purring in distress, but he’s never done either of those. He doesn’t provide sensory comfort for himself, touch on the Isle was bad, always. Carlos didn’t play with hair or mimic physical affection, he doesn’t want things like that.

And chirping, whatever that is, Carlos has definitely never done that. He would have noticed it like the purr.

He won’t ever chirp, suppressants or not. He doesn’t get to be happy, despite the pleasure and comfort he takes in his pack. Happy isn’t for villains. Or liars. Happiness isn’t for people like Carlos.

--

Carlos feels most comfortable in the rooms of his alphas. He likes living with Doug just fine and Lonnie is friendlier than anyone else on campus, but Carlos enjoys laying on Jay’s bed or sitting in Mal’s chair and breathing in their scents.

Tonight is different though.

They are finalizing their plan to steal the wand.

Each of them has a role. Mal will grab the wand, Evie will knock out the guards and anyone in their way and Jay will muscle them through the crowd. Carlos is to find their limo, the one with the button for the barrier, and get them all back to the Isle.

He had made some embarrassing, pleased noise when Mal told him of his job. Carlos was so flushed at being given such a heavy responsibility, so flustered to realize Mal’s confidence and trust in him. He will not let her down.

Coronation is not until next week, but Mal says it is too risky to meet up and plan anything right before their big moment. It is safest to meet now, ensure everyone is aware of their roles and set it all into stone.

Carlos has been on Ben's suppressants for a full week now. Their odd effect on him has lessened, but he still feels off. It's like the stomach aches he got when first using his homemade suppressants. Eventually he got used to them being in his system and stopped reacting poorly.

These suppressants are a little different though. They're proper suppressants, of course, so they don't cause pain. They just make Carlos feel...off.

Jay falls back rather quickly onto his own bed. They thought about meeting in Mal’s room, but Mal said it would look bad on her if she had three of them leaving her room at night. She was much more likely to sneak out of the alpha boys’ dorm undetected rather than have three guests leave her room unnoticed past curfew.

Carlos likes Jay’s room. It is bare and simple, Jay’s stolen treasures line the shelves on one side, though his collection has slowed down considerably. The first week, Jay had filled his room so much that he threw out most of what he had stolen, but lately…he hasn’t been thieving. He's changed since joining the tourney team, he seems lighter, more carefree.

That's gone tonight.

“Come here, pup,” Jay calls. He lays on top of his comforter, on his side, watching Carlos sit on the other empty bed.

The girls are still talking, muttering over the plans and spells, so Carlos is quiet as he moves across the carpet and sits on Jay’s mattress. He is pulled down immediately, the alpha maneuvering him so they lay facing each other.

It’s the most intimate thing they’ve done since the kiss all those weeks ago. They haven’t risked any big displays of affection, too worried about lingering scents stirring suspicion in the people here.

But Jay reaches down for Carlos’ hand and locks their fingers together. He slowly bring Carlos’ hand to his mouth and kisses each knuckles. Jay closes his eyes and moves his mouth over Carlos’ fingers, content to share this gentle action in the dark.

This is different from their kiss in the locker room. That had been amazing, but it had been rushed and messy and desperate, all about dominance and submission and need.

Right now, laying together, Jay kissing his knuckles, this is about…

Well, Carlos isn’t sure he has the words for it.

“You want to break Ben’s love spell?”

Both boys jolt up in the bed, their peaceful moment broken by Evie’s shock. Their quick movement and rustling of blankets catches the attention of Mal and Evie, who look back at them.

“Yeah,” Mal swallows, looking entirely uncertain of herself. “You know…for after.”

“Why?” Carlos asks, fingers curled in Jay’s blanket. “He’s an… I thought you wanted that.”

“An omega.” Mal says to herself more than any of them. “He is. But…you know. Ben offering himself to me, saying he wanted to…” She trails off. Carlos isn’t sure if she’s talking about Ben wanting to go into heat for her because Mal hasn’t mentioned that to their group. Either Ben hasn’t told her his brilliant plan or Mal is keeping it a secret. “After the villains come and hurt everyone and destroy everything, Ben still wanting to be my omega just seems a little extra…cruel.”

Carlos gulps and pulls his knees up to his chest. “But when our parents come and take over everything…you won’t get another omega. We don’t have any on the Isle and the ones here will…”

“C?” Evie calls for him, but she sounds so far. “Carlos, what’s wrong?”

Jay shakes his shoulder when he doesn’t respond. “Pup? Dude? Can you breathe?”

Carlos thinks that if he hadn’t been taking Ben’s suppressants, he wouldn’t have the strength to not purr right now. He feels like he's about to vomit, but he forces out his words. “What will happen? To the…the omegas here?”

Mal blinks, eyebrows raised at his question. “I…don’t know.” She looks at Jay, who stares back at her. “I haven’t thought about it.”

“Most of the people the villains hurt were omegas.” Evie says softly. “Jasmine was an omega,” she looks at Jay, who nods. “So is Queen Belle. And Snow White. Villains prey upon omegas more than any other role.”

“And they’re treated like shit on the Isle!” Carlos hops off of Jay’s bed. His fear has become panic and panic manifests itself into mindless pacing. “I mean, Gaston rents LeFou out and-and Anastasia is treated like property. Jafar always talked about whipping Jasmine and Horace and Jasper think omegas are fuck toys and I…” He clenches his eyes shut and folds his arms, curling in on himself. “Cruella always said that if I…I presented as an omega…”

“What did she say?” Mal asks him, looking over his trembling form. “Carlos, what did Cruella always say?”

He can’t breathe, there’s no air. His chest hurts and his whole body is shaking. The room spins and his throat is so tight that oxygen can’t pass through no matter how badly his lungs burn.

“Carlos, breathe!”

It’s not until his face is buried in Evie’s shoulder that Carlos realizes he sank to the floor in his panic. The beta holds him tightly, shushing him, rubbing his back and kissing his hair.

He chokes on air, coughing and wheezing until he regains his senses and collapses in Evie’s arms.

“What the hell, Carlos?” Mal kneels next to him, hand on his shoulder. “We always knew what was coming, we knew the plan.”

“The alphas on the Isle won’t be as nice as you, Mal,” he tells her sincerely, looking up at her befuddled face. “They won’t care about drugging omegas or using magic or just using force.” Carlos pulls away from Evie and narrows his eyes at Mal. “If we do this, this is a death sentence for them.”

Even on the Isle, the most ruthless villains were still bound by the barrier. They didn’t have magic, their own bodies were withering and weakened by the absence of food, they lacked moronic followers. They could be as big and bad and strong as the Isle allowed and they ran the place, reminiscing of omegas to bend over and claim.

And now, without that barrier, they will be limitless.

None of that seems to register with Mal, who grits her teeth and says, “I’m not nice.”

Carlos nearly rolls his eyes at her. “You have an omega who is head over heels for you and instead of taking that-.”

“We’re evil!” Mal barks at him and Carlos recoils further into Evie. “We are evil and wicked and ruthless. Okay? The only people we give a shit about are ourselves. The four of us.” Mal gestures to their pack. “That’s it.”

“What about everybody els-?”

“Carlos,” Mal hisses, lips curling back. “We are rotten. We are villains. We are unleashing evil.”

They are condemning omegas everywhere. They are allowing omegas to be victimized and used and forced into submission.

“It doesn’t even matter, man. You’re not an omega.” Jay crouches down and grips Carlos’ shoulder. “We got each other’s backs, no matter what happens.”

That's right, they only have each other. Mal even swore that Cruella would never be able to touch him again, but that she wouldn't kill her, so that means his mother will end up locked away or injured or disabled. Mal was willing to take down one of the most infamous villains, which is pretty damn evil, sure, but she would do it for him, to keep Carlos safe from harm.

“We’ll protect each other.” Mal nods and sits on the empty bed. “We’ll look out for each other and keep each other safe.”

Carlos was never very good at being a villain and he still must not be, because that doesn’t sound very evil to him at all.

--

Family Day sounds like a fairy tale bunch of crap, but so does most of Auradon, so Carlos doesn’t fight it.

Honestly, it’s not that bad. There is food everywhere and an open area for him to run around with Dude.

They are to fit in and play nice and not cause a scene. This is their big moment, their final chance, to really blend in with Auradon and become perfect, invisible background characters that no one takes a second look at.

Evie scolds him and Jay for going overboard with a chocolate fountain, but a small smile hides under her faux annoyance. She looks around casually before swiping a drop of chocolate off Jay’s lip with a smile and licking it off her finger.

Carlos chases Dude in the grass, avoiding people like the plague. He finds his own behavior odd. Before he had proper suppressants and could only use his home-made ones, Carlos fretted about getting too near to anyone, in case they caught his scent. Now that he has real suppressants, his self-induced seclusion hasn’t stopped.

He keeps an eye on everyone from the back of the party, Dude yapping at his feet. Evie and Jay are playing a game of…croquet? Cricket? They are playing a game of something with Ben and Carlos brushes off the faded jealousy that comes with the sight.

Ben's pills are still altering his emotions. Carlos feels, but it’s all diluted with suppressants. He can be sad, but not depressed. He can worry, but he isn’t anxious. He is jealous, but not possessive.

Well, not as possessive as he once was over his pack.

Jay high fives Ben and Evie giggles, twirling her hair. As far as Carlos knows, Ben doesn’t know that Jay and Evie know that he is an omega. Though, if the king had been so affected by the love spell to tell Carlos, maybe he told Jay and Evie as well.

Mal has said little about Ben being an omega. She’s still set on reversing the love spell and refuses to talk more about it, despite Carlos asking how can it seem “a little extra cruel” when she’s so wicked and evil.

She always glares at him when he asks that.

Carlos still remembers that day in Jafar’s shop, having dropped to his knees before Jay and feeling the giddy, light-headed feeling of kneeling and submitting. He remembers Jay’s words, his desire for an omega to be a part of his future pack, one to be “fucked and used”.

He daydreamt about it a couple of times, in the shower where the soap and shampoo were fragranced enough to hide his growing scent from Doug. Carlos leant against the shower wall and entertained the idea of being fucked and used by his pack – kneeling before Jay again, Mal’s fingers in his hair, Evie praising him with her words and gentle kisses.

Eventually, the day dreaming had its effects and Carlos had to shut the thoughts down. The musky soap would only cover so much, if he got too excited, his scent could give him away. He had bit his tongue and turned the water cold until his body relaxed.

But those desires have been fading since he began taking real suppressants. His omega urges are being squished and it is like being able to breathe for the first time in nearly a year and a half. He is meek and submissive still, because, well, it’s all Carlos has ever been, but he doesn't desire to be submissive anymore.

He feels like a beta. And that’s more than Carlos ever really hoped for.

So why the hell is he so irritated at the way Jay slings an arm over Ben’s shoulders and how Evie watches with a grin?

They both know that they’re not keeping Ben and that Mal has no interest in him. From what Carlos can tell, though his olfaction has dimmed even more with proper suppressants, Ben’s natural omega scent has not yet overridden the suppressants still in his system. He isn't acting more submissive, he's still just a normal king, so why are Jay and Evie all over him?

Carlos sighs and relaxes his posture before scooping Dude up. Anger never got him anywhere. Neither did self-pity.

He moves back over to the food, slinking around the edge of the party as to avoid the other guests. Carlos firmly keeps his back turned to Jay and Evie, still fawning over Ben and showing way more physical affection than the stupid king ought to have.

Ben’s not even stupid, not really, Carlos knows. In fact, he is quite kind, to a fault nearly. Ben brought them from the Isle, regardless of the opposition he faced, and still asks more questions about the kids there and the life they all had. He took time out of his schedule to help Carlos with tourney – though it never progressed into anything more – and introduced him to Dude. Ben gives Mal flowers and candy and praise for all of her art projects, even when it’s considered vandalism.

Carlos doesn’t hate Ben. Or think he’s stupid.

He just really has a problem with one of his alphas and his beta being so friendly to Ben.

Mal keeps her distance, idly watching Jay and Evie hoover over Ben. She stands alone, quiet and small, so unlike the presence she was on the Isle. It is part of going unnoticed, an attempt to be invisible, but Carlos can’t imagine not ever being drawn to Mal.

“Enjoying the party?” She asks without looking at him, just sensing his presence by her side.

“I guess. When does it end?”

“The sooner, the better.”

The two stand in silence, Carlos bouncing Dude on his hip. A moment passes before an elderly, dark woman smiles brightly at them. “Hello there.”

“Hi,” Mal sings, sounding as sweet as bird. It’s a tone Carlos has only ever heard in Auradon and he secretly kind of likes it.

The woman looks at Mal, studies her curiously up and down with a bewildered face. “Have we met?”

She’s talking directly to Mal, so Carlos stays quiet and out of the way. He takes a small step back to further isolate himself and listen behind his alpha.

“No, I don’t believe so. We’re new,” Mal looks back at Carlos, as if to make sure he hasn’t left her. “We’re like transfer students.”

A sharp nudge has Carlos stumbling with Dude in his arms. He looks up to see Audrey walking importantly past him, acting completely unaware of her obvious push to Carlos’ back. Dude whines at being jostled and Carlos glares at the showy princess.

Audrey might be an alpha. Her scent is so muted that she smells like a beta, but Carlos thinks she’s more assertive and egotistical than the normal Auradon citizen.

“Hi, Grammy,” Audrey coos, handing the older woman a drink and kissing her briefly on the lips. When she pulls back and looks and recognizesCarlos and Mal, her eyes widen, as if Audrey had not realized they were there.

That’s different, Carlos knows as he snuggles tighter to Dude. There is a difference between Audrey intentionally ignoring him and her genuinely not seeing him. His chest tightens and he hides his face.

“Grammy?” Mal asks and takes a step away.

Carlos looks between the three, quickly realizing that Audrey’s grandmother is-.

“Yes, as in Sleeping Beauty’s mother.” Audrey narrows her eyes, lips curled in disgust. “Grammy I don’t think you want to be talking to this girl,” she sneers at Mal, entirely ignoring Carlos. Even though that is what he wanted, invisibility, it stings to see Mal be targeted. “Not unless you feel like taking another hundred year nap.”

Mal purses her lips and steps closer, hearing the challenge and refusing to shy away.

Audrey does the same – she must be an alpha, even one on suppressants, she must be – moving in front of her grandmother, as if to shield her from Mal.

It would be sweet if Carlos couldn’t stand Audrey so much.

“What are you talking about, dearest?” Asks the woman, who Carlos now knows to be Queen Leah.

Mal exhales through her nose, jaw moving in the little way that says she’s grinding her teeth. She is not ashamed of her lineage, not willing to hide it from strangers, but she also does not want to draw attention to herself.

“This is Maleficent’s daughter, Grammy.” Audrey says coldly, nose up in the air so she can properly look down on Mal.

Carlos holds Dude with one arm and runs his free hand through his hair. This could get ugly, Leah could cause a scene or Audrey or even Mal with that defiant look in her eyes. Carlos is prepared to drag his alpha away as soon as a fight starts, one single shout and they’re gone.

“What are you talking about, Audrey?" Queen Leah shakes her head. "This isn’t Maleficent’s child. How could you say such a thing?”

Mal blinks and Audrey blinks and Carlos blinks.

Leah gently moves her granddaughter aside and leans closer to Mal and…sniffs. Casually, subtly, staying far enough back that she respects Mal’s personal space. “No, don’t be ridiculous, Audrey.”

“Grammy, what are you talking about?” Audrey seethes and clutches her grandmother’s hand. “This is Maleficent’s daughter!”

“No,” Leah says softly, shaking her head and pulling away. “I know Maleficent’s scent.” She looks at Mal with a curious head tilt. “You don’t smell anything like her.”

Carlos feels his mouth snap shut and he immediately looks away from the queen and princess to Mal.

Her eyebrows are practically in her hairline and her lips have formed a little O of surprise. The faded pink blush Evie applied to Mal's face earlier becomes a striking red of shame as she clenches her hands into tight fists.

Audrey is baffled, not at their reactions, but at her grandmother’s words. “What? How is that…?”

“I will never forget the smell of the woman who took your mother from me,” Leah says and holds a hand over her chest. “I will never forget her face or her voice or anything about her.” She shudders, eyes closed in a memory that haunts her face. “Maybe my sense of smell has faded over the years, but this girl doesn’t smell anything like her. Audrey, you owe her an apology.”

“But…I…” Audrey’s mouth opens and shuts without thought, her brows knitted together in confusion. “Mal!” Audrey glares and purses her lips, waiting for an explanation. “You’re hiding something!”

Mal’s face is red all over, a sharp contrast to how pale she normally is. She looks to the ground, unable to meet the eyes of anyone around her, even a member of her pack. “My mother," she quickly exhales, "never scented me.”

Carlos lowers his head and steps closer to his alpha, offering a silent show of comfort. It’s not a big deal - it’s not - but Auradon makes everything into a big deal and he can hear the gasps of Audrey and Leah.

“That’s not true.” Audrey says after a moment of silence. “You’re lying.”

“What do you mean your mother never scented you?” Leah murmurs. “Parents always scent their children. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Carlos knows it’s hurtful to acknowledge. For the people of Auradon, of course. Not him. His mother never scented him, not once in his childhood. She never provided comfort and held him. Maleficent never did that with Mal, Jafar never did that with Jay, the Evil Queen never did that with Evie. It was part of growing up on the Isle, living with parents who didn’t love them – maybe because their parents didn’t know how to love them – but it’s not a big deal, it’s not, it’s not, it’s not.

He’s never been hurt about it before. Some story books talk about scenting between parents and children as a way to bond, but it just didn’t happen on the Isle. Carlos didn’t care. He can’t miss something he never had.

But looking at Audrey and her wounded eyes – her expression is so contrite, it’s as if it had been herself to never bond with a parent – take a step back into her grandmother, reaching for her hand and curling close for comfort…

Carlos thinks – just maybe – he wishes he had that with Cruella.

Leah reaches for Audrey and grabs her hand, rubbing circles onto her wrist. A subtle, socially acceptable way in Auradon to provide comfort, but a gesture that would never be acceptable on the Isle. Carlos feels nauseous watching the quiet affection even though he’s seen similar actions a hundred times since they arrived here.

“You're telling the truth,” Audrey chokes out, sounding not very alpha at all. “I didn’t know…” She looks away and takes a step back, clearly uncomfortable with the new information and unsure of how to behave now.

Fury radiates off Mal instantly and Carlos nearly cowers away. He doesn’t do self-pity, but Mal doesn’t do pity at all and the soft looks from her mother’s sworn enemy and granddaughter are enough for eyes to glow.

Thankfully, Leah and Audrey are so caught up in each other, their own shock and disbelief, that Carlos sees the emerald first. He snatches Mal’s hand and forces her to look at him, dragging her away.

“Not here!” He seethes and continues to tug, even though Mal is hissing at him and that makes him want to run and hide, omega or not. “We can’t cause a scene!”

Mal snatches her hand away and whips back around. She freezes.

Carlos follows her line of sight. Several feet away, still standing where they were, Leah and Audrey are hugging, Audrey’s face buried in the neck of her grandmother as Leah rubs her shoulders.

There’s a noise to his left and Carlos glances at Mal, face screwed up and eyes back to their normal green.

--

“I think I hate my mother.” Mal says that night. The four of them are huddled in her room, the girls sitting on Mal’s bed. “I always knew I didn’t love her, but now…” She trails off and sighs heavily.

“Are you sure?” Evie mumbles into her shoulder. “That you never loved her?”

Mal looks at her with a bewildered expression, Jay and Carlos watching from the spare bed in her room.

“Because maybe you loved her or you still love her and you’re hurt…that she doesn’t love you back.”

Carlos winces at the words. Those won’t go over well with Mal, the implication of weakness and the direct assessment of Maleficent’s lack of care, but Evie keeps speaking.

“That’s how it is with my mother. I love her, I know that I do, and I know she doesn’t love me back.” Evie moves as if she wants to pull Mal closer, erase the distance between them, but sitting as close as they are right now is already risky. They're arms are already touching, any nearer and their scents will definitely rub off on each other. Evie rethinks her movement and pulls back

Mal sighs, but doesn’t correct her. “I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

“I hate Jafar,” Jay says from his seat next to Carlos. “I don’t think I ever loved him.”

Carlos knows it’s his turn to speak. It’s his turn to talk about Cruella and how she never loved him and how he used to love her and maybe he still does and his turn to confront all of those ugly, confusing emotions after seeing Leah comfort Audrey.

He doesn’t have the energy for all of that.

“What does this mean for us?” Carlos asks softly, pinkie sliding over Jay’s because they can risk an action that small.

“Why would we go so out of our way for people who don’t give a shit about us?” Mal seethes, hands bunching up the bedding and shoulders curling forward. “Why do we go so far for them?”

That’s what it’s always been about. It wasn’t about being villains. It was always about their parents, the withheld affection and bonding that drove them all desperate.

He knew Mal wasn't evil.

She just wanted Maleficent to notice her.

“Because we thought we could earn their love,” Evie offers, looking out the window with a weary expression.

“Because we had to,” Carlos gulps. “On the Isle. We couldn’t say no to them in that room when your mom gave us the plan. Disobeying our parents doesn’t work out for us.”

There is a heavy silence in the room that lasts for too long. When Carlos looks up from the ground to his friends, his pack, they are all watching him.

Carlos freezes and scowls at his subconscious movements. He had brought his hand up to rest against the burn of Cruella’s signature, feeling the raised skin beneath his shirt and lost in the memory of the pain.

Cruella hadn’t even laughed when she held the metal stamper to Carlos’ skin. She usually found humor in his torment, but not that time. Cruella had been so set on scarring him, on teaching him a lesson, that she hadn’t even thought to find it all funny. "You don't belong to that alpha child," Cruella had mocked as Carlos wailed, "you belong to me, boy."

“Because we wanted to be evil,” Jay says into the dark, “because we thought we had to be them.”

“I don’t want to be Maleficent. I know that I’m not her.” Mal draws her knees up to her chest, bootless feet resting on her comforter. “A couple of weeks ago…Ben asked me…if I loved him,” she admits and looks at the door, pointedly avoiding all of their eyes. “I thought for a while that I might because I was so…attached to him. But it was just me being invested in an omega, that was all.” Mal huffs and nuzzles her knee. “I knew that I didn’t love him though because…I already know what it’s like to love someone. To love more than one person.”

It clicks for Carlos at the same moment it clicks for Jay and for Evie. His chest aches, but not with the burn of Cruella. It’s as if his heart is beating too fast and his head is floating away.

Even though he can’t breathe and all he can hear is the rushing blood in his ears and he thinks he might pass out, Carlos has never felt so special in his life. Not on the day that Evie first sat down with him in Dragon Hall or the day she gave him his first ever blanket. Not on the day that Jay and Mal demanded his help for Maleficent’s scepter, not when the two first invited he and Evie to hang out with them. Not on the day he was called to Auradon, not when Jay and Evie and Mal took their time to scent Carlos as mark him as theirs.

Mal loves them. She loves them all. And she said it.

“Oh, M,” Evie breathes and she breaks their rule of no contact, no risk of scent contamination. She throws her arms around Mal and kisses her cheek. “M, we love you too.”

“Even though I’m not a prince?”

Evie bites her lip and hesitates, but her voice is stern when she speaks. “If you can admit you’re not your mother, so can I. What she wants for me isn’t what I want. Chad wasn't anything compared to you three.”

“So you’re fine with disappointing your mother?” Mal scoffs, but leans into Evie anyway. “You’re okay with her never being proud of you?”

“I think even if I did marry a prince…” Evie rests her head on Mal’s shoulder, “she would still be disappointed in me. She would still find something to complain about. The castle wouldn’t be big enough, she’d want me with a king instead of a prince, just anything to say I needed to do better. But, that doesn’t matter.” Evie swallows and looks at the boys, still sitting on the bed side by side. “Because, I mean…”

“We don’t ever have to see them again,” Carlos says. “We’re here and they’re on the Isle. We can keep it that way for the rest of our lives.” He grips Jay’s hand tightly, fearing the words in his throat even though it’s what all four of them are thinking. “We live in Auradon and…stay here. Be a part of this world.” Where people smile and food smells nice and air is warm and they can say love.

Evie looks at him, still resting on Mal’s shoulder. “We’d have to be good.”

“Or, at least, not evil,” Jay suggests with a shrug. “And it’s not like any of us are actually evil if we…uh…love. Because I…” He rubs the back of his neck and Carlos looks at him with an amused grin. “You know, Mal. Same.”

The girls laugh and Carlos nudges his side, but the tension is broken. The four of them can breathe.

“So we’re all on the same page.” Mal takes a deep breath and looks at them all. “We stay, here, in Auradon. No more plan to steal the wand.”

“We can be ourselves,” Evie says and kisses Mal’s cheek. “We can be us.”

Hours after they leave Mal’s room, those words ring in Carlos’ head.

--

Things with Ben go surprisingly well, according to Mal.

He had known for a while that he was under a love spell - something about an enchanted lake? - but he was unwilling to cause a fight right before his coronation. Even in his hurt and anger, he was worried about the reputation of the VKs and hurting the chances of future Isle kids to be brought over if he made a fuss. Ben had been hurt and upset and even mad, but unwilling to put the future of other VKs at risk. He had been very grateful that Mal had come forward and confessed on her own.

As far as Carlos knows, Ben has no idea they wanted to steal the wand. Carlos doesn’t see why Mal would tell him. Ben chalked her behavior up to a mistake made after being so overwhelmed in Auradon, but he was more than impressed by how she controlled herself after learning about his hidden role and how she never took advantage of it.

He’s inherently good at heart, so good that it’s impossible. Ben baffles Carlos in a dozen ways. His kindness, his strength, his desire to see the best in everyone.

So Carlos doesn’t have much of a choice when Ben asks to see him.

They meet in his office a week before coronation, Ben standing tall in his blue suit as he shuts the door. It’s baffling to Carlos, still after all these weeks, too see an omega have an office and a suit and a secretary and an entire kingdom in his hand.

And Carlos is an omega, he knows the unfair stereotypes of the Isle, but it still feels…wrong. Like there is a mistake in Ben being king. On the Isle, Carlos could never embrace his role and it seems…as if Ben does the same. He doesn’t stand like an omega, he is tall and proud and his head is high. He is not submissive or quiet or small, but today, Ben looks off. Different.

If the love spell hadn’t been washed away already, Carlos would have chalked up his disheveled appearance to breaking out of his obsession with Mal.

“Please, sit,” Ben gestures to the chair across from the desk and smiles when Carlos takes a seat. “So, Carlos, I have something to ask of you.”

He gulps, clutching the cushion of the chair. “Okay.”

“Do you remember that day we practiced drills on the tourney field? They day you met Dude?”

The little dog is with Evie right now, sitting handsomely for his fitting. Evie had been inspired by Jay’s tourney uniform to create a matching one for Dude and insisted on making it soon as possible.

Carlos nods.

“Well,” Ben takes a deep breath and clearly forces a smile. “I also gave you my bottle of suppressants that day. I wasn’t thinking clearly and I…I need those back.” He clasps his hands together. “What did you do with them?”

“How have you not gone into heat yet?” Carlos blurts out. He’s certainly not about to answer the question honestly. “Because that…that was like three weeks ago. You should…”

He had panicked every time Mal was late to a meeting or had gone without being seen for a few hours. Carlos was convinced that any time she was missing was because Ben had finally gone into heat and Mal had dragged him off, intent on holding him down and biting his throat and using Ben however she pleased.

The king clears his throat awkwardly. “Well, suppressants don’t just stop immediately. They need time to work their way out of my system, like most medications do. But when I realized I was under a love spell,” he says it so calmly, naturally, not an ounce of anger or resentment, like he has completely let the issue go and Carlos is still puzzled by how everything works in Auradon, “I sought out the school medical staff and asked for generic suppressants she keeps on hand.”

“Generic suppressants?”

“Well, there are over the counter suppressants anyone can buy. Omegas or alphas, they’re the kind we gave to Jay and Mal.” Ben looks more uncomfortable with every passing moment. “But a person can also have suppressants prescribed to them. Once a doctor takes in your weight and height and history, they can give you an order for medicines specifically for you, whether you need something stronger or lighter.” He looks away, brow furrowed and eyes hardened.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Carlos says softly. He didn’t think it was possible to upset Ben, who hardly reacted to Mal admitting she put him under a spell, but Ben is clearly bothered by the questions and that unnerves Carlos.

He should be able to differentiate by now. Carlos knows Auradon is not the Isle and he probably won’t get hit for upsetting Ben, but what if he does? Just because Mal got away with a wicked scheme doesn’t mean Carlos will get away with prying too much. Mal is an alpha and she’s strong and dominant and in charge, but Carlos is weak and small and submissive and he should have kept his damn mouth shut.

“I am so sorry,” Ben finally whispers and Carlos’ eyebrows shoot up. “I…I know that you don’t have medical care on the Isle, you must have so many questions about medicine and doctors and health care.” Ben slowly exhales. “I can’t believe the life you all have lived. The life innocent children are still living.”

They’re not innocent, they’re anything but. Mal uses illegal magic and drugs Ben into loving her, Jay thieved and fought constantly, Evie helped him steal from Yen Sid’s lab, Carlos is a lying, secretive manipulator.

But he’s not about to say any of that aloud. Not to Ben, who sees the four of them as good and genuine. Ben, who sees them as worthy and redeemable, Carlos can’t ruin that image.

Especially since it makes him want to be a better person.

“Do you still have my suppressants, Carlos?” Ben asks, posture low, but eyes bright with hope.

“Yeah,” Carlos tells him. “I still have them.”

--

He’s doing this. He’s actually doing this. It’s happening. Today.

“What’s up, pup?” Jay asks as soon as Carlos walks through the door. “You sounded so stressed out today.”

Carlos rubs his palms on his pants, he is sweating and clammy all over. “Are the… The girls aren't here yet?”

“No, but they’ll be here soon,” Jay looks at the clock on his table stand. Mal and Evie have eight more minutes to arrive. “Carlos, seriously, what’s up?”

“I jus-just w-wanna wait f-f-for the girls.”

Jay stands from his bad and grabs Carlos’ shoulders. “You were real weird this morning, you’re real weird now. Are you okay?”

Carlos nods. He thinks so. He hopes so.

Earlier, before classes, Carlos hurriedly asked over breakfast for all of them to meet in the evening. He couldn’t say why because he hadn’t worked up the damn courage yet, but all of them agreed to meet at 7 in Jay’s room before Carlos ran off, hyperventilating in the cafeteria because he gave Ben’s suppressants back yesterday.

Which means Carlos is officially off suppressants.

Including his own homemade ones.

Jay brings his arms around Carlos and pulls him into a hug. “C, breathe. Whatever this is about, we’ll get through it.”

He brings his arms up to wrap around Jay’s back and nuzzles into the alpha’s chest. Jay kisses his hair and Carlos forces his heart rate to slow, concentrating on being surrounded by the warmth and strength of Jay.

This is it. He is going to tell them. Jay and Mal and Evie will all know the truth. It doesn’t have to be a secret anymore, he doesn’t have to fret and panic and think about Cruella selling him out. Carlos can tell his pack and be himself. They can live the rest of their lives in Auradon, happy and honest and themselves.

Mal and Evie walk in together, a fair distance a part. Ben and Mal agreed to keep up the appearance of dating until the coronation was over, after people stopped watching and scrutinizing everything they did. It would make so much more sense if Carlos waited until after coronation, when everything was calmer, but he has to do it now, he has to finally stop this.

“What’s wrong, Carlos?” Evie immediately grabs his hands. “You had us so worried this morning.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” Carlos breathes out. “I, uh, I need to tell you guys something. It’s, uh, I, uh, it’s-s impo-portant.” Shit, he’s sweating and stuttering and his face is blotchy and he didn’t have time to comb his hair or wear something nice, but this doesn’t need to be nice because they’re his pack and they love him, but it does need to be nice because this is going to change their whole dynamic.

He’s doing this. He’s telling them. It’s happening.

Jay snaps his fingers in front of Carlos’ face. “C! Breathe, man!”

Carlos gasps and clutches his chest. Someone guides him to Jay’s bed and pushes him to sit. His head ends up between his knees and he chokes on air.

A wide hand rubbing circles on his spine must belong to Jay and one of the girls is combing her fingers through his hair. There are mumbled, soothing words, shushing him and surrounding him and Carlos slowly remembers to breathe.

He’s not purring though. Probably because of Ben’s suppressants still in his system, but Carlos doesn’t even think about it. He’s so warm and calm and at ease that he doesn’t even want to right now. His pack is here, they're all here with him.

“Deep breath, come on, pup. Deep breath.”

Carlos looks up at Evie’s voice. She is crouching in front of him.

“Whatever you want to tell us, it’s okay,” she whispers to him, cupping his face and kissing his lips briefly. “It’s okay. It’s all okay.”

Aftercare was one of the only others things Carlos read about in his books. A time for omegas to be comforted and held and praised after something intense, like a drop or a rough day. It involved physical affection and words of affirmation and blankets and quietness and soft hands.

He hasn't even told them his secret yet and they're already providing such comfort for him.

Fuck, he loves them all so much. He can tell them.

“I’ve been…keeping a secret.” Carlos avoids Evie’s eyes. “I…I couldn’t tell you before. But, I…I can. I want to.”

Evie shushes him immediately, her fingers pushing into his neck. “Your pulse is spiking again,” she says. “Just breathe, take your time. I…you know, I have my own secrets too.”

Carlos is still bent over his knees, Jay on one side and Mal on the other. He looks at Evie and waits.

“My mother,” Evie says and takes a deep breath, “she, well, she wanted me to be an omega. She always has.” Evie looks up at Jay and Mal. “She said that omegas were more likely to be princesses, more likely to attract a prince because they’re sweet and submissive.” The beta turns pink, fussing with a blue curl. “So… I never told anyone on the Isle. You three were my only friends, so it didn’t matter, but I was…I never knew what it meant.”

“E…” Mal hesitates and shifts on the bed. “What did Grimhilde do?”

“Well, she’s an alpha,” Evie flinches at her own words. “She hated it about herself, so she hid it on the Isle.”

To their credit, Jay and Mal don’t react at all. Carlos certainly never saw the Evil Queen’s role as a problem and he doubts any other alpha would either.

“So, ahem, she…would make me submit sometimes,” Evie whispers, looking at the ground. “Not even when her ruts came around, just randomly. She would make me kneel. She would bite my throat, but I always covered it up with makeup.” Evie touches her neck gently, feeling for bruises that should have faded weeks ago.

“Was it…” Jay squirms on the bed, “like…?”

“It wasn’t sexual.” Evie flushes on the ground. She trembles a bit before leaning forward and resting her head on Mal’s knee. “She wanted to bring out an omega in me. She wanted me to be able to fool a prince, so she….would make me crawl around sometimes.” Evie whimpers, high and pitiful. “She said I had to get used to being on my knees. She told me I wasn’t allowed to talk unless spoken to, I wasn’t allowed to make eye contact unless she called my name, I had to know how to work with a prince in his rut so she made me…made me s-s-stay on m-my kn-kn-knees.”

Carlos doesn’t realize Evie is crying until Mal sinks to the floor too. Mal wraps her arms around Evie, not giving a damn about their scents rubbing off on each other, and kisses her head.

“I hated it,” Evie chokes out. “It never felt r-right, I always felt dirty and like I w-wa-wasn’t good enough.”

“Shh, E, you’re okay.” Mal pulls her tighter. “You don’t need to do that. Not ever again.”

Jay moves off the bed too and Carlos follows until all of them are seated on the floor. Evie hides her face in Mal’s neck, hiccuping and shaking.

He never knew it was so bad for Evie. Carlos always knew her mother wanted her to be an omega and the Evil Queen constantly told Evie that she wasn’t pretty or beautiful or graceful. He knew that Evie tried to be more submissive to attract people, held herself in a way that never seemed natural for her light scent, no matter how often she did it.

If he weren’t working his way off Ben’s suppressants, Carlos would fully be purring right now.

“It’s alright, princess,” Jay tells her and kisses her palm. “You’re not…alone in that.”

Evie sniffles and quiets herself, wiping at her cheeks before looking up at Jay. Mal and Carlos turn to him as well and Jay holds their gazes.

“Two alphas under one house was bad,” he says and smiles like it’s funny, what he’s about to share, but Carlos has a sinking suspicion that it’s not funny at all. “My dad, Jafar,” Jay corrects himself and digs his fingers into the carpet, “he, uh, he bit me. A lot.”

Carlos pulls his knees up to his chest. He pieced together parts of Jay’s life with Jafar, understood the implication of two hard headed people living together. But he never asked. Carlos could never pry that much even if he wanted to.

“What did he do?” Mal asks, carefully watching Jay and holding Evie.

The silence is so tense and thick as they wait for his response. Carlos doesn’t know if he can bare to hear it, but he can’t sit in this moment of hell of not knowing because he's crazy about Jay and Carlos has to know what he's been through.

“He didn’t…fuck me.” Jay shakes his head, repulsed at the thought. “But, uh, sometimes, with his rut when I was young, but he hasn’t had one in a while…”

Jafar is one of the older villains and he is around the age where his ruts become less frequent and less intense. Carlos had noticed over the years that he spoke less about Jasmine not being a proper omega and he’s pretty sure Jafar’s fading strength is how Jay won their fight just before leaving the Isle. Jafar isn't out of his prime though, he's still strong and dominant and whatever he put Jay through could have lasted up until the day they left.

“You don’t have to tell us,” Carlos whispers. He isn’t sure if Jay really wants to share and honestly, Carlos isn’t sure if he really wants to know.

“He bit me. He made me submit to him.” Jay looks at the carpet and it seems as if he’s not present in the room anymore, like he’s far away. “Sometimes he would push my face to the floor and just… Or he would make me kneel and...” Jay digs his fingers into his skin, his teeth clenched together. “He always said it was more fun when I fought him, that I reminded him of Jasmine in that way. But the more I fought, the more violent he got.”

Carlos crawls over to Jay, prying his fingers away so the alpha doesn’t bruise himself. Evie moves closer too, kissing his shoulder and locking their hands together.

“It’s okay,” Evie mumbles into his chest. “He won’t ever touch you again.”

Jay laughs, broken and sad. “I always felt like I was drowning. I couldn’t breathe and I had to walk around with my head down and pretend to be what I’m not. I kept thinking…” he breathes harshly and clenches his eyes shut. “I kept thinking that I would die living there. I could never breathe and I always felt like I was trapped to be some bitch omega to him.”

Carlos draws back sharply, nearly flinching.

Evie notices and looks at him, but Jay doesn’t.

“I fucking hated myself,” Jay laughs again and lets his head fall back to rest on his bed. He squeezes Carlos’ hand and slowly, the tears fall from the corners of his eyes.

Immediately, Evie is in his lap, kissing his jaw and nuzzling him. “No, Jay,” she mumbles into his skin. “You can’t. You’re never going to do that again. No one’s going to touch you or-or make you submit.”

Shakily, Jay’s hands come to rest on her hips as Evie cuddles closer, embracing him.

“Never, never, never,” Evie promises as she holds him.

“It took you a while to be rough with me,” Mal says and moves closer. “You were so unsure and hesitant when we first started fucking around, it was like you didn’t know what to do in your rut. But once you started, it was a lot. Rough and hard and so much pent-up aggression.” Mal kisses Jay’s temple and strokes his hair. "But for my rut, you were totally calm. You didn't fight for control. And it must have... Thank you, Jay," she rubs his shoulder, "for doing that with me. I know you didn't want to."

Mal pulls back and assesses their little group. “None of us have to be a role we don’t want to be. Never again. No more hitting or beating or forced submission. No one in this group is an omega or has to act like it again.”

“Not when you practically have one.” Jay peeks an eye open, watching Mal with a hint of a smile.

She tenses. “Ben and I aren’t a thing. We’re acting like it so people won’t look down on Isle kids.” Mal fiddles with the carpeting beneath her fingers. “If we break up right before-.”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Jay waves her off with a flick of his wrist. “But do you want to keep him? Now that we're staying and being good, do you want him?”

Carlos looks down at the carpet, face heating up at the idea of omegas being kept, like possessions, but a swirl of jealousy at the thought they might keep Ben.

“It doesn’t matter,” Mal shrugs and looks like she’s trying not to care. “Ben isn’t interested in me. Us. Not like that.”

“But are you interested in him?” Evie asks, slipping sideways in Jay’s lap. She is unwilling to break contact with him, resting on his shoulder and looking at Mal carefully. “I mean, don’t all alphas…?” Evie bites her lip and falls off, leaning heavily against Jay.

“Hey, princess,” he coos at her and cups her chin, “you and C are more than enough for us, or any alpha.”

Mal reaches for Carlos’ hand, intertwining their fingers and pulling him into their cuddle pile. “We don’t need an omega.” She clenches Carlos’ fingers and looks out the window. “Not when they make us so weak.”

“Weak?” Carlos echoes.

“Ben was such a distraction,” Mal mutters as she leans against the bed. She absentmindedly strokes Carlos’ wrist with her thumb and it gives him chills. “I was so…invested in him. When I found out he was an omega, it was all I could think about.” Mal looks at them all pointedly, “not that we ever did anything. We held hands and he asked to scent me a couple of times. That was all.”

“Scandalous.”

Mal punches Jay’s shoulder, but she smiles in the dark.

“What do you mean,” Carlos tries not to let his voice crack, “that Ben made you weak?”

She settles back down, exhaling slowly. “I guess… I don’t know if betas are affected by it, but hearing my whole life about people who are naturally submissive and cater to dominance and who wouldn’t fight for control, they seemed like…fairy tales.” Mal shrugs and looks at Carlos. “Something like that couldn’t exist on the Isle, I never imagined that they could exist in real life. So when Ben told me…it was hard not to be like obsessed with him.” Her face turns pink and she crosses her arms. “I was fascinated that he was even real.”

Silence falls over the four of them and in the dark room, Carlos feels cold and alone while he sits with three people he loves.

“So what was wrong?” Jay asks.

“He was a distraction. I could hardly focus on our plan, I felt like I wasn’t focusing on the ones I already claimed enough, like I was forgetting about you. Knowing he was an omega…it brought out all the desires in me, intense and wild. I couldn’t think straight when Ben was around because it was like I finally had something I never even allowed myself to think about before.” Mal’s voice is small in the dark, as if hiding from them all.

“You wanted to fuck him.”

She punches Jay’s shoulder again. “No. Yes. I don’t know. I felt out of it when I knew the truth. I was afraid of myself. All those new cravings and the dominance it brought out in me, I was afraid of what I...” Mal shakes her head and sits straighter. “I don’t need an omega to be a distraction or a weakness. Our group, two alphas and two betas, that’s enough. That’s more than enough, this is perfect.”

Even in the dark, it is clear Evie is flourishing under the praise, but Carlos pulls his knees to his chest and rubs his wrists and the movement calls attention to him.

“What was it you wanted to tell us, pup?” Evie asks, crawling out of Jay’s lap. “We all came here for you.”

The three of them are silent, watching him. Carlos can feel all of their eyes on him even though he can’t see.

“Carlos?” Jay pokes his knee.

He takes a deep breath. “I don’t want to have sex with any of you!”

There’s a pause and then-.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Carlos looks at Mal and is so thankful that the dark prevents him from having to make eye contact. “I, uh, I don’t want to have sex. With you guys. But don’t take it personally!” He gulps and tries to work out his thoughts. He has no idea what the group plans on getting up to now that Mal and Ben are done and they’re all staying in Auradon, but sex is a logical step in the future for their pack.

He’s thought about it so many times, more than he probably should. Carlos never thought about sex on the Isle because the only way it would happen was if Cruella found out and turned him into a whore. He blocked out thoughts and pictures of his mother staying true to her word, forcing Carlos on his knees and exchanging his body for money.

But now that he has a pack and he’s kissed them all, then been forced to not kiss them for weeks, his mind has been exploring every possibility of what Jay, Mal and Evie will be like during sex. Rough and aggressive or gentle and caring or desperate and passionate.

Right when he thought that maybe he could test that, Carlos could come clean and they could all discuss taking their relationship to the next level, it’s pulled away from him.

Suppressants or not, Carlos can't be that intimate with anyone. The heightened emotions would only make his scent stronger and he’s more likely to fall into his instinctive submissive nature in such a tense situation, not to mention the possibility of a drop.

“Carlos, what is going on?” Evie grabs his arm.

“I don’t wanna have sex,” he tells her and his stomach aches with the lie. He thought he was done was lying to his pack, lying to everyone. “I-I-I know that what almost happened, that day with Jay and I, but…”

“Do you regret it?” Jay asks.

Carlos flinches at the pain in his voice. As if he could ever regret anything about Jay. “No! It was nice. Kissing. Was nice. Uh.” He jumps up because the space on the floor is too tight and he can’t look at their faces – even in the dark – for this.

“Pup, you’re 15. We don’t expect you too-.”

He cuts Evie off. “That’s what packs do. Sex. And we have two alphas,” whose ruts will only fuck with his head and his desires, Carlos can’t be around for those, he just can’t. “I…sex…”

“Sex doesn’t have to be a part of a pack!” Evie doesn’t stop his pacing, but she stands with him, following his movements. “You don’t need to be worried about this. Carlos, relax.”

He can’t and he hates himself. He hates his weakness, the weight he has placed on his pack without them even realizing it. He hates that he could be a distraction because distractions are dangerous and can get a person killed. He hates that they think their group is perfect as is and Carlos true nature will make them imperfect, he will ruin it all.

“Shh, it’s okay. Breathe, C, just breathe.”

Carlos clutches Jay’s shirt in his hands. The alpha is trying to move him onto the bed and make him sit, but Carlos refuses to budge because the only movement he wants right now is to drop to his knees and bare his throat and beg and beg and beg for them to still allow him to be a part of the pack.

Jay is in front of him and Evie is behind him and Mal is holding his hand again, they are here for him and they love him and care for him.

He can't weaken them.

So Carlos locks his knees and clenches his fist, focusing on evening his breathing and hating himself to the core.

--

The next day, Doug invites Carlos to chess club, which he almost wants to do. Chess sounds like fun to Carlos, calculating possibilities and memorizing moves, but he shakes his head and politely refuses.

Priorities come first.

Doug closes the door and Carlos sighs in relief. He slips out of his chair and over to his nightstand, opening the second drawer and sifting through the clothing on top.

Resting at the bottom, in the same place he left it, is his sack of chemicals and medicine and flora, all carefully wrapped and hidden. He has a few supplies left over from what he gathered on the Isle, plus what he’s sneaked away in Auradon from the chemistry lab and other students.

Carlos retrieves it all and places it on the ground. He is so thankful he hadn’t thrown it all away last night, otherwise he would have spent this hour digging through the dumpsters behind the building.

While that’s how he got his supplies on the Isle, Carlos prefers not to go to such lengths again unless necessary.

He still has the recipe from the Evil Queen’s lair memorized from nearly a year ago. Crushed petals to hide his natural smell, ground animal bones from the barges, fish scales from Ursula’s Fish and Chips, the list was a weird one. Once he mixed the dozen ingredients together, Carlos poured a tablespoon of the powder into his water and drank it all in one sitting.

The freshness of Auradon’s materials worries him. Surely, everything will work better when it’s not half rotten, but his body isn’t used to ripe, edible things. The first time he had fresh bread, Carlos had felt sick, no matter how delicious it had tasted.

It will all work better though, Carlos knows. His homemade suppressant will be stronger than before and he’s going to up the dosage. He can afford to Auradon. It’s easier to steal from the people here, easier to replace what he uses. Plus, he had Jay’s and Mal’s suppressants here too. Maybe they don’t fit him, but they get ground up and added in carefully. As long as Jay and Mal continue to lie about taking them, Carlos can keep adding them into his formula.

He’s been on suppressants for a year now. It’s about time for him to take a break, at least, according to Evie and her knowledge from her mother’s suppressants. His body needs time to have a heat, release those endorphins and reach that mental state.

But he doesn’t need that. Only omegas need that.

And Carlos is not going to put that burden on his pack.

He’s not going to be an omega anymore.

Continuously taking suppressants could mess up his biological functions, it could ruin his chance of kids…though, looking at Cruella and himself, Carlos thinks maybe that’s best.

But if it can fuck up his reproductive system, it can fuck up his biology too. If he suppresses this long enough, squashes down the kneeling and purring and nesting, eventually, it will all just go away. The omega in him will realize it’s never going to happen and he’ll take so many drugs that his body will give up. He’ll ruin the omega in him because he clearly wasn’t supposed to be this.

Omegas aren’t supposed to happen on the Isle, there’s no known omega in his family line, he presented too late.

They’re sweet, which Carlos isn’t. He’s a liar. He’s a thief. He’s a backstabber.

And they need protection and Carlos isn’t doing that anymore. He’s not with Cruella and rapists and bullies, he’s tougher than any Auradon kid, he doesn’t need protection.

He doesn’t nest either. Purring is stupid. Kneeling is dangerous.

Most importantly, his pack doesn’t need an omega. An omega won’t fit, Mal said so. An omega would be a distraction, a danger, a weakness and Carlos isn’t any of those things, he won’t let himself do that to Mal and Jay and Evie.

He was never meant to be an omega. That’s a fact, everything points to that. It was a mistake.

A mistake that he is going to correct.

Carlos measures out the powder in front of him. He dumps the first tablespoon into his bottle of water, then the second. It’s double what he would normally take, but Carlos isn’t trying to suppress anymore.

He’s trying to destroy.

Ahhhh, I’m so nervous about this chapter. SO much changes so many new things. I feel like it moves so damn fast.

Jay is attempting to be a good alpha, so why the hell is Carlos making such a fuss?

“You don’t have to do this,” he groans as Jay pulls him through the hallway. “Really, we can spend the rest of the day in our dorm, that’s okay.”

“But you said you missed class.” That strange complaint was not something Jay ever expected to hear from anyone, but if it makes his omega happy, who cares?

He glares at a couple of students who are watching them curiously and they all drop their eyes. Jay pulls Carlos closer, tucks bony shoulders under his arm fiercely to keep others away. The bruises on Carlos’ arms and legs have faded nicely, but his throat still looks like it has been Jay’s chew toy for the past three days.

Which it has been.

Jay stops in front of a classroom door. He knows Carlos’ schedule better than his own; the desire to know where he is at all times having existed long before Jay’s rut set in. Fuck, he’s wanted Carlos for so long and he finally has him.

And now he’s about to let him go.

Until the final bell rings, Jay nuzzles Carlos’ throat, making sure the omega will reek of him in case the state of his neck isn’t enough for everyone to see that he has been claimed.

“Alpha, stop,” Carlos whines, even as his head tips back for more attention, “people are looking!”

“Good,” Jay runs his nose against a trembling Adam’s apple, “they’ll all see that you’re mine.”

“Possessive...goofball,” the omega sighs and shivers in his hold. “Are you just...going to...wait out here for me?” He mumbles as Jay nips at his collar.

“Mm-hmm, then we can go to your next class.”

Carlos taps the straps of his book bag. “You won’t go to...to class?”

“Nah,” Jay finally steps back to appreciate the flush that has reached Carlos’ ears. “Just wait for you and then we can go to your next class.”

It’s almost easy for Carlos to ignore the gaze of students filing in and whispering about his neck. He knows it’ll be a lot of stares and silent questions in all of his classes - everyone is so concerned with everyone else in Auradon - but his priorities are elsewhere. “I won’t be able to focus knowing you’re out here,” Carlos licks his lips and blinks.

The idea of Carlos, who is passionate for his studies, being more concerned with Jay out in the hall has the alpha purring. It’s an hour. He can last an hour with Carlos in another room.

“At least read something in your chemistry book, please?” Carlos bats his eyes as the bell rings, reaching for the door. “Please?”

Jay can’t say no to that pout. “Fine. I’ll see you when class ends.”

With that, Carlos grins and closes the classroom door, waving at Jay through the small window.

Teachers all closing their own doors look at Jay with disdain as he takes a seat in the hall. He sits with his back against the lockers, right by the entrance to Carlos’ calculus class, and pulls out his own book.

The original plan had been to go up to the library, which was surely dead in the middle of a school day with everyone else in class. Though the king hadn’t said anything, Jay assumes he and Carlos have some leeway for the week as no one has tried to talk to them.

Giddy and lively at the idea of new books, Carlos had talked about how eager he was to go back to class in a few days and get back to learning and doing homework. He always talks about education with a breathless tone and his whole body buzzing with excitement - the same way Jay gets when he talks about fucking Carlos’ face.

His omega is probably sexually attracted to school on some level, but it’s kind of cute.

The clear longing Carlos had for his classes and the fading itch under Jay’s skin were enough for him to change their course from the library to the math wing.

Granted, they missed first period because Jay started the day by jerking off in the bathroom instead of grinding against Carlos’ ass again. He sucked on Carlos’ neck for a bit and then took them down to the nearly empty cafeteria for breakfast and watched as Carlos moaned over chocolate chip pancakes.

But they still were early enough for the second and third class, so Carlos will enjoy calculus and computer programming until lunch.

While Jay is stuck pouring over his own chemistry book with a scowl.

Carlos was supposed to help him study in the library and Jay would reward himself by groping Carlos under the table, but now he’s out here to read all by himself.

How long has it been since Carlos’ class begun? Jay checks the clock on the wall and swears. “Fuck.” Ten minutes.

His head feels much clearer than it has the past few days. His rut is fading and it’s doing so quietly. Jay hasn’t had to scratch himself in days. In fact, once Carlos had noticed the jagged scabs on his skin and realized that Jay caused them, he had kissed each one gently and asked Jay to not hurt himself anymore.

Even when their separation causes his frustration to rise, Jay doesn’t scratch himself.

He’s not very good at denying Carlos anything.

Which is also why Jay actually opens his chemistry book and reads the same line ten times over. Carlos asked him to read and Jay said he would so now he’s stuck here with his chin in his hand reading about cytokineses.

“This is so fucking boring.”

His book stays open even as Jay’s knee begins to bounce and he curses. The minutes drag so slowly that he begins to think the clocks are broken. It’s as if time has completely stopped. Twenty minutes.

Jay tugs at his the collar of his shirt and wipes his forehead. He’s in short sleeves and jeans, but he should have worn shorts. The hallway is so heated, his palms are starting to sweat.

After a second, he groans and pushes himself off the ground and lets his chemistry book clatter to the floor. Jay stalks over to the water fountain down the hall and takes a long drink, the cool water soothing his throat and easing his stomach, which has begun to form knots.

Thirty minutes.

He paces the hallway, eyes on the immobile clock the whole time. Carlos has been stuck with him for days and Jay can let him sit in class for a bit. He can let Carlos focus on something other than him and listen to a teacher and surround himself with classmates who are potential alphas and unfamiliar scents and...

“You’re so lucky,” Jay hisses to the nearest locker. If his rut weren’t fading already, he would have gladly put a dent in the metal with his fist.

Forty minutes.

“Why is it so fucking hot in here?” He would definitely get yelled at for taking off his shirt in the halls, but maybe the relief would be worth it. No, if Jay gets yelled at then Carlos will be upset and Jay isn’t about to upset his omega.

He glares at his chem book, still laying upside down on the floor and probably judging him for some stupid reason. Whatever. His book is an asshole.

Fifty minutes.

Hurry up, hurry up. Jay bites his lip and runs his hand through his hair. He tossed his beanie off a while ago and now all he can think about is putting it on Carlos and making sure everyone sees him wearing Jay’s clothing.

Right now, Carlos is in the middle of 20 other students, taking in their scents and everyone smelling him and fuck, fuck, fuck, why did Jay let him do this?

Oh yeah. He likes Carlos. Jay wants to show he can be a good alpha.

He wants to show he can be a good mate.

The thought brings a new wave of heat to Jay’s face. He hasn’t said anything like that and neither has Carlos, except for that one time on the third day of Jay’s heat, right before he kicked Carlos out of there room, but the idea is still in his head.

Carlos would be a lovely mate - witty and silly and so fucking attractive in his red shorts that Jay’s mouth waters at the sight alone. He’d be sweet and gentle while Jay is rough and strong, he’d be quiet and intelligent while Jay is quick and impulsive. Carlos would be perfect. He already is.

The bell rings and Jay jumps violently. He dashes up to the door of Carlos’ classroom and pulls the door open before any student can reach the handle.

“No...no...not mine,” Jay growls at the students as they walk out, each of them cowering away from him. “No...go away...no... Mine!” He grabs Carlos’ arm as soon as he lays eyes on the omega, dragging him out of the line of petrified teenagers and pulling him off to the side.

“Hey, how was-oh! Okay,” Carlos stays quiet when Jay nuzzles his throat.

The alpha trails his nose over the Adam’s apple and down a sharp collar bone, drinking in the scent like he’s been suffocating without it. “Omega,” Jay sighs into Carlos’ shoulder, inhaling deeply enough to memorize the sweet scent for the rest of his life.

“Alpha,” Carlos simply says back. He stays still as Jay cuddles him in the halls and avoids the eyes of other students. “Why are you so warm?”

“I’ve got the hots for you.”

Carlos laughs at the lame joke and finally squirms free. He pulls back to look at Jay and a line of worry instantly forms between his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

The alpha blinks in confusion, but turns to nuzzle the calloused hands that cup his face.

“You’re all pink and warm,” Carlos presses his thumbs into Jay’s cheek. “And wet. Why are you sweating? And breathing so hard? Did you go for a run? Did someth-?”

Jay is tired of all the talking and questions. He lunges forward and hides his nose in Carlos’ hair, scenting the shampoo from their dorm and nearly purring.

“Oh you big sap,” mumbles Carlos as he winds his arms around Jay’s waist. “I thought your rut was faded enough that an hour wouldn’t matter. I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Carlos kisses his shoulder. “I didn’t think you would be so affected from an hour apart. I won’t go to my next class.”

“Thank fuck.” The words escape from his mouth before Jay can stop them. Carlos always smells so good, it’s a crime to be so distracting. He drops his head to kiss his omega, but Carlos dodges his advance.

“Not in the hall!” He whines and wriggles away. “Come on.”

The warning bell for the next class rings, but whatever. Carlos is leading them back to somewhere else, possibly their dorm, and Jay is happily staring at Carlos’ ass as they walk.

Evil, he can’t wait until they fuck.

Just as the final bell rings for all students to be in their third class, two figures step out in front of them.

Carlos jolts - he never likes surprises, Jay knows - but then eases himself. “Hi, Mal. Hi, Evie.”

“Hey, ‘Los,” Mal waves at him, but keeps her gaze on Jay. “We heard you two were out and about today. Thought we would come say hi.”

“How did you know where we were?” Jay narrows his eyes.

“I have all three of your class schedules memorized,” Mal says plainly. “Just like I know all three of you have mine memorized. I figured if there was a reason you two were going to class, it was because of Carlos.”

Jay puffs his chest out just a bit. He’s being a good alpha, a very good alpha for his omega and people know it.

“But if you two aren’t in class right now,” Evie gestures to the empty halls, “care to join us for an early lunch?”

Not really. Jay wants to go back to his dorm and have Carlos sit in his lap while they make out.

Carlos wants to go though, Jay knows. He’s not a social person, but it’s been days since he’s seen Evie and even longer since he’s seen Mal.

“Sure.” Jay says and pulls Carlos so close to him that they stumble over each other as they walk, but he leads the way to the cafeteria.

“Stop growling at her,” Carlos hisses and jabs his side. “Mal is our friend, remember?”

They’re hidden away in the courtyard, each with a tray of food. Jay insisted on carrying Carlos’ tray and preened when his omega thanked him. The girls sit across from them, Evie happily chatting about what they’ve missed while locked in their dorm room as Mal watches them intently.

“She’s watching you.” Jay responds to Carlos, but keeps looking at Mal. “He’s mine.”

“Oh, I know,” she places her hands up in a mock surrender. “Everyone knows. Not much subtlety with those hickies,” Mal quirks a brow at Carlos’ neck. “He’s yours.”

Jay nods and, just to make sure, hauls Carlos into his lap again.

“Oh, dalmatians,” Carlos groans, but leans back. “You’re so territorial. Mal and Evie aren’t going to do anything, alpha.”

Mal chokes on her drink.

“I-I-I mean, it’s just for his rut!” Carlos sputters and sits up right. He tries to dislodge himself from Jay’s lap, but doesn’t get far before he is pulled back against a warm chest. “Using a person’s title helps with the stress of a rut and it-it-it-!”

“You call me alpha because I claimed you,” Jay growls against Carlos’ throat, kissing the fluttering pulse beneath the surface.

“Really?” Mal wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, clearing the juice that spilt down her chin. “I don’t see a mating bite anywhere.” She makes a show of searching Carlos’ neck, then Jay’s.

Evie pokes her arm. “Don’t antagonize,” she quietly warns.

“Whatever,” Mal scoffs before smirking at the boys. “Relax, Carlos. Evie calls me ‘alpha’ when we’re alone.”

The beta’s face pinkens. “M!”

Mal jerks forward and grips blue hair. “What was that, beta?”

“Oh,” Evie sighs and closes her eyes. “Alpha.”

A brief kiss happens between them and Mal releases her hold. “So you can both relax. I already have a potential mate-” Evie gasps and ducks her head “-and my own omega. Chill.”

“Who?” Jay narrows his eyes. His only distraction comes from Carlos, who twists around to feed Jay a carrot. The alpha snatches it and even goes as far as to nip at Carlos’ fingers.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mal shrugs and takes another bite of her sandwich. “So tomorrow is the last day of your rut. Eager to get back to tourney?”

Oh, yeah. Tourney is a thing. Jay had forgotten he had hobbies outside of groping Carlos. “Yeah. Get to go tackle some asshole alphas and betas again.”

“Gonna make anyone submit again?” Mal smirks around her juice.

Jay entertains the idea for a moment, then shakes his head. “No need.” He scents Carlos’ hair again, inhaling the scent of obedience and enjoying the tranquility. He grins to himself before tracing the shell of Carlos’ ear with his tongue, moaning when the omega shivers in his hold.

“Not here!”

“Yeah, definitely not here!” Mal sticks her tongue out. “I don’t need to smell Carlos’ need to get in your pants.”

Carlos throws a grape at her and turns to the alpha. “I’m serious,” he points a finger in Jay’s face. “Don’t do that out here.”

“Sour puss,” Jay bites at the offending finger again, but then keeps his mouth to himself.

“Did you...?” Mal laughs and Evie beside her is smiling behind her hand. “Letting an omega give orders in your rut? You’ve been trained well, Jay.”

He shows her his middle finger. “Fuck off.” If he can’t let Carlos go to class yet, then Jay can respect his desire to not exploit Carlos’ ear kink in front of others. “You’re not the only one who can be a potential mate, Mal.”

Carlos stills in his hold and Evie’s smile drops with her jaw, blinking in surprise.

“What?” Jay huffs. He pulls Carlos back against him and scowls.

“Mate, huh?” Mal tilts her head. “About damn time.”

They go to the library and Carlos picks out a dozen books on technology, a couple for chemistry and a one about dogs and another about the history of video games because that’s a combination that makes sense to Carlos.

Jay insists on carrying all of them back and Carlos puts up a minimal fight.

In the dorm, Carlos is quiet and focused on his books, only speaking when spoken to.

“Do you like your books?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I can get you another blanket if you want.”

“I’m okay.”

“Are you hungry?”

“No.”

After long enough, Carlos goes to shower and Jay lays on his bed. He’s not even thinking about how there is only a door separating him and his completely naked and wet omega.

(That’s a lie. He’s thinking about it a little bit.)

Carlos has been acting strange since lunch, when Jay let the word ‘mate’ slip. Well, it wasn’t a slip at all. He meant to say that word. Carlos is his and Jay will properly claim him later on - hasn’t he made that clear? He’ll bite and allow Carlos to bite back, that was always the plan. He can’t just have Carlos for a week and then let him go...can he?

Jay shakes his head. The water is still running, which means Carlos is taking a longer shower than usual today. Is it to get away from him?

He’s been an excellent alpha the past two days. Okay, maybe not excellent, but Jay was getting pretty damn good. He was providing food and care and physical affection. He carried lunch trays and books and went through hell for Carlos to attend his classes.

One class, actually. Carlos’ neck is darkened with bruises and bites, the marks on his arms and legs still present, if faint. He hadn’t properly eaten until Jay got his head out of his ass and was locked in their dorm for days.

But Jay is trying! And isn’t Auradon all about trying to be better?

Carlos, sweet and clever, understands that. He knows the struggle Jay is going through, the frustration and aggression and confusion. Carlos has known since they became friends on the Isle about all of his problems: Jafar’s drinking and Jay’s scars and all the times he fucked up.

Since day one, Carlos has been there for him. Always.

And Carlos is always the one that has faith in Jay - that he can do better, that he can be better. That hasn’t stopped. Has it? Has Carlos finally realized what a fuck up Jay is, has he realized Jay is too far to change?

Maybe the jump between friends with benefits and mates is too much. Maybe Carlos only likes him in the way that all omegas like alphas, but he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life with Jay.

He clenches his teeth and suppresses the growl in his throat successfully. His rut is almost gone, his head is getting clearer and there’s nothing to stop the onslaught of thoughts in his mind.

Fuck, Carlos fits into Auradon so well. He behaves and he respects authority, he appreciates deadlines and schedules, he loves being on time to class and talking to teachers, absorbing their knowledge and attention like he’s hungry for it.

He probably wants an Auradon alpha to match, Jay scoffs. Someone who is naturally gentle and clean and soft.

Why the fuck would he wait for Jay, the asshole who kept him in their dorm and marked him up? Auradon is overflowing with gentle alphas, why would he ever think Carlos would wait for Jay to get his shit together?

Whatever. For right now at least, Carlos is with him. He willingly chose to stay in the dorm and get marked up and he always smell so damn sweet when Jay pulls him close. On some level, Carlos likes sitting in his lap and kissing and having his ears played with.

He just doesn’t like the idea of being Jay’s mate.

The shower stops running and the dorm is quiet again. There are little noises of Carlos stepping out and dressing himself that Jay can hear through the closed door.

The clock by his bedside reads 7:02. Jay slowly exhales and counts his breathing, letting his eyes slip shut.

When he hears the bathroom door open, Jay stays perfectly still.

After a moment’s pause, there is a click and the room gets dimmer beyond his closed eyes. A shuffling of feet approaches his bed. The mattress dips and a weight settles itself into Jay’s side, snuggled up against his chest.

Carlos doesn’t say anything, just stays curled up against him.

He’s so close, literally on top of Jay, but it feels as if they’re miles apart.

Blah, I didn’t want the angst to come so soon!

“I wish I was an omega.”

Carlos drops the screwdriver in his hands and it clatters to the floor, not that anyone notices over the low roar of the classroom. “Wh-what did you just say?” He turns slowly, not daring to breathe, and looks up at Evie.

She’s beautiful, so stunning it nearly hurts his eyes to take in her brightness. She is graceful and petite and gentle, having never experienced the grittiness of the Isle while locked away in her castle. After her first day of freedom (and Carlos had never met a person who considered the Isle to be freedom) and being rejected by everyone for their fear of Mal, the mock princess had found friendship in Carlos.

Her logic was that neither of them had friends in Dragon Hall – Carlos because people tend to pick on him and Evie because Mal’s petty enough to hold a grudge from years ago – and therefore were a perfect match for each other.

Carlos doesn’t want friends though.

Well, he does…maybe. On some level.

But he can’t risk them. Evie has taken to sitting with him for every class and for lunch, even extending an offer to have dinner at her castle, though he hasn’t taken her up on it yet. No one has ever invited Carlos anywhere.

Evie likes to do things like hold his hand and play with his hair, but she picked up very quickly that Carlos didn’t appreciate the gestures.

Well, he does…maybe. On some level.

But he can’t risk them. The closer Evie stays by him, the more of his scent she’ll pick up and he can’t have that. Surely, she’d smell him and realize what he is and she could be horrified or disgusted or…any number of things, really.

She helps cover his scent though. Evie us a beta – a fact she despises. Really, there are a lot of things Evie hates about herself – and her constant attention on him helps mask Carlos’ omega scent with her own. It makes him uncomfortable though. Having someone talk to him and ask him questions is so frustrating, Carlos doesn’t enjoy it.

Well, he does…maybe. On some level.

Okay, fine, so Evie offers friendship and affection and attention, things Carlos never thought he would want in his life because he had never experienced them, but neither had Evie. They were both isolated their whole lives and Carlos clings to Evie as much as she does to him. He’s just better at hiding it.

Carlos is becoming quite good at hiding just about everything.

So there’s no way that Evie figured out…

He gulps.

“What?” She tilts her head, curious of his trembling lips and wide eyes. “I just like the idea of being an omega, don’t you?” Then Evie shakes her head, blue curls bouncing over her shoulders. “Of course you don’t. You don’t need to find a prince.”

“You…what?” Carlos tries to keep his voice low. They always sit in back (that way, no one can jump them from behind) and the class is too chaotic for anyone to pay them mind, but he can’t let Evie pick up on his panic.

“Finding a prince,” she pouts. “If I were an omega, it would be so easy to submit and just naturally want to please him. And omegas are always cute and soft and dainty,” Evie sighs and looks as if she’s drifting far away from the classroom. “They always make better princesses.”

Well, first off, that’s bullshit. Carlos is not cute or soft or dainty. Yes, he’s smaller and younger than most of his classmates thanks to being skipped ahead several grades ago, but that doesn’t mean he’s any of those things! He’s due for a growth spurt – which may never come at the rate Carlos eats – and his hands have callouses from tinkering. He has muscles from the heavy work of his chores and textured skin with a multitude of scars.

Evie, though…Evie is all those things. She’s more than cute, she’s gorgeous and she’s more than soft, she’s delicate and she’s more than dainty, she’s elegant.

It blows his mind that people in Dragon Hall scorn her and that Mal looks at Evie likes she’s scum. But if Mal hadn’t taken to making Evie’s life hell, the princess probably never would have taken a liking to someone like him.

Carlos squirms in his seat. He’s only been…acquaintances, or friends, whatever they are, with Evie for a few weeks now, but after going his whole life alone, he grown to like her very much and he even cares for her.

It’s the damn omega in him. Carlos curses himself again.

“I mean, I’m glad that you’re happy with being a beta,” Evie reassures him and he breathes easier. “I just wish I was an omega sometimes.”

“You wouldn’t last on the Isle,” Carlos huffs. He doesn’t even think he’ll last. He’s quite amazed he’s kept his role a secret for so many months already, but Cruella is due to figure it out and end his life.

“I know,” Evie murmurs and even though Carlos logically knows he’s on borrowed time, her agreeance still hurts, “it would just be nice to attract a prince like that. Or anyone.”

Too bad Carlos isn’t interested in attracting princes.

Right now, his goal in life is to survive.

He’s figuring out this whole omega thing by himself. The books were helpful in very broad topics. He would go through his heat every three months, crave dominance, become more submissive in his behavior. The last one, Carlos doesn’t fret much about. After living with Cruella, he is the definition of submissive and, again, he wonders if Cruella’s abuse and rage played into him presenting as an omega.

Speaking of Cruella, this will be the first time his scheduled heat will come by with her in the house and Carlos is kind of panicking about it.

His efforts to create a suppressant for himself hadn’t produced anything in time for his second heat. Carlos had taken a look at his crummy but functioning generator and wandered over to the goblins on the other side of the Isle one early morning.

“It’s yours,” Carlos had promised the goblin behind the desk, “for a couple of spa treatments.”

“Pretty boys like you always come to us sooner or later,” she hissed, but took out a pen nonetheless. “When can we schedule you?”

Bristling at the thought of being a ‘pretty boy’, Carlos had scowled. “It’s not for me. It’s for my mother, Cruella De Vil. I need her to be with you guys the last week of this month and then the last week of September and then the last week of-.”

“Hold up,” the goblin spat, saliva flying from her mouth onto Carlos’ hand over her calendar. “You want three full-week spa treatments for that hunk of junk?”

Carlos had turned as red as his jacket. “It’s not junk, it works and will give you guys power when the electrical lines here fail.”

“Not worth three full weeks. You can have two.”

“Fine. The end of this month and the last week of September.”

“Great,” the goblin sneered. “We look forward to it.”

As if anyone looked forward to being around Cruella.

But it had bought him two more heats, six more months, to figure out how to get his hands on some suppressants.

It also bought him a cigarette to the ear and a heel to his temple when Cruella assumed that her son wanted her gone for a week so he could go back to fucking his girlfriend in her mansion.

Carlos is wracking his brain trying to figure out suppressants. They don’t even need to work all the way, they just have to suppress his scent; he’ll deal with the pain and stress of a heat as long as no one else can tell what he’s going through. He has a slew of chemicals taken from Yen Sid’s science lab, old medications from the barges and trial and error.

The second heat had been awful. With every combination Carlos tried, it left him sick. He tried random medicines he picked up from the barges with chemicals to stimulate testosterone that left him vomiting, then some pills to suppress ruts in alphas mixed with minor acids to cover his smell and had Carlos trembling so badly, he couldn’t move for the rest of his heat.

His third trial, the last one he could have with a guarantee Cruella would be gone, had gone a little smoother. Different combinations of medicines found in trash cans and liquids from the science labs didn’t take away his heat, but it did lessen the affects. The pitiful whining and aching cramps had subsided after a day, but the haziness was still there.

Next month will be Carlos’ fourth heat and time really flies, doesn’t it? If he can’t figure out a suppressant and heat five comes around, it will make one year since he presented.

But if he can’t successfully hide his fourth heat from Cruella, quick time will be the least of his worries.

“Hello, Carlos?” Evie’s voice drifts in his ear, “the bell rang!”

He startles out of his thoughts and pushes his chair back. Students are filing out quickly, eager to go out and begin their Raising Hell project out on the Isle, which Carlos hasn’t even begun to think about. It might be the first project he fails.

“You’re absolutely coming over for dinner tonight.” Evie tells him as they walk down the hall, narrowly evading wandering hands and leering eyes.

And dine with the Evil Queen? “No thanks.”

“Carlos!” Evie groans his name and grabs his wrist, her fingers long enough to encircle his thin bones, “you must.”

His head always gets hazy when Evie grabs him, especially on his wrist where he’s most sensitive to touch. “I’m…okay. Really.”

“When was the last time Cruella fed you?”

“I can feed myself.”

“Or you can let me feed you!” Evie chirps and pulls him along. “You can test out my cooking and give me feedback!”

The idea of decent meal after his stressful month is quite tempting, but Carlos has work to do. He has to figure out a good combination for a suppressant and he has less than a month to figure it all out. “Sorry, Evie, but I-.”

“Please, Carlos? My mother’s been awful all week, please come keep me company.” She bats her eyes and sticks her bottom lip out, a full pout with even a little trembling.

Crap.

“Okay,” he swallows, “I’ll stay for dinner.”

--

Evie’s a fantastic cook. She puts Carlos to shame effortlessly.

“All about being a good housewife,” she says as she sets the table, refusing to let Carlos help.

It irks him, just a bit, for a beta to serve him, but Carlos has had months fighting down the urge that bubbles up for him to submit and please. He just smiles.

“It’s just you and I tonight!” She sets a candle on the table, not that they have a working lighter or matches that are ever dry enough to salvage on the barges, but it’s a nice decorative piece. “My mom’s upstairs.”

“She’s not joining us?” If Carlos had known that, he might have been less shaky on the way over.

“No,” Evie settles a torn napkin in her lap, “she’s in her rut.”

Both of their rusted silverware clatter to the table at the same time.

“What?”

Evie cover her mouth with her hands. “Shit. I wasn’t supposed to say that. Oh, shit,” she puts a hand to her forehead and closes her eyes. “Ten years of confinement to my castle kind of left me without a filter.”

“Rut,” Carlos repeats back, “your mom’s an alpha?”

Shit, shit, shit, shit. He can’t be in the same house as an alpha in rut, the Evil Queen could smell him out in a minute!

“She’s upstairs with her door locked,” Evie says before Carlos can run from the table, “she won’t let herself out for the rest of the week. Ugh, my big, stupid mouth.” Her shoulders slump forward and she finally opens her eyes. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

Now that he thinks about it, Carlos doesn’t recall reading anything about the Evil Queen’s role. She could have been anything, he never cared to study up on her. People who tried to kill weaker kids were pretty common on the Isle, Carlos never wanted to read about those villains as well as live with them.

“Carlos, please?” Evie nearly whispers. “She’d hate me for forever if she knew I told someone.”

“I won’t,” he promises. “I definitely won’t, but does everyone just assume she’s a beta?”

Evie relaxes and nods. “Yeah. People don’t typically think alpha when they think of queens. And she’s been hiding away with me in here,” she gestures to the empty castle, “for so long that people kind of forgot about us.” There’s no sadness in her voice, just resignation. “When we got to return to the Isle, people assumed she was a beta.”

Carlos tries to casually sniff the air while he sips his water, but Evie catches on and laughs at him.

“You can’t smell it,” she brushes his hand. “My mother’s on suppressants usually.”

He chokes on his drink. “Suppressants?”

Evie reaches around to pat his back. “Yeah. Suppressants are normally these pills that alphas can take to suppress their ruts.” She explains because she has no idea that Carlos’ whole life has been about suppressants for the past six months. “She made a potion though for hers with what she has left over from her days of royalty and what we can find on the Isle and it’s enough to stifle her natural,” Evie’s voice drops to a whisper, “alpha scent.”

“A potion?” Carlos asks before he can catch his breath. He had never thought of a potion, he had only been consuming raw materials. Ingredients in a potion could be steeped or drained or diluted.

“Yes, but without magic of course. Are you alright?”

“Fine!” Better than fine, actually! “How do you make it?”

Evie tilts her head at him. “The potion? Well, we use some of the materials she’s had left over from being queen. She didn’t bother with suppressants until recently, when we came out of hiding, so her old stash hasn’t been used until this year.” Evie puts a finger to her chin and thinks. “We extract natural scents from fruit and flowers sometimes. Our garden in the back isn’t much, but it’s something.”

He needs his notebook, he needs to write this all down. “What else?”

“Why so curious?” Evie studies him. She doesn’t divert her gaze until he squirms and she takes a bite of her wilted salad. “You’re not an alpha and neither is Cruella.”

“Science,” Carlos nods quickly. “Scientific purposes.”

“You’re not going to tell anyone, right?” Evie looks at him through her peripheral vision. “I mean it, Carlos. No one can know about this. My mother would be devastated.”

If only she knew how well he is at keeping secrets. “I promise.”

Dinner finishes and Evie talks about her ideas for their Raising Hell project. She pouts and drops her shoulders at the subject, insisting Mal already has something grand and wicked that will upstage everyone else. Evie kind of has an obsession with the girl who led to her banishment. She talks about fashion and gossip she’s overheard, which teachers she hates and which make her skin crawl.

Carlos offers little to the conversation. His blood is thrumming under his skin, has he potentially found a way to make suppressants?

They finish eating and Carlos jumps to clear the table, though Evie insists he mustn’t help. “You’re my guest, just relax!”

She busses around the table and in the kitchen easily, working quickly and humming to herself. She’d be a good wife, Carlos thinks, which is exactly what Evie wants for herself, what she aspires to be. She’s an excellent beta: gentle and stable, warm and welcoming. Any prince would be lucky to have her. Evie will be a part of a wonderful pack some day.

“Where do you make her potion?” Carlos asks when she finishes.

“The one for her ruts?” Evie dries her hands on a towel and thinks back to the conversation that ended nearly thirty minutes ago. “Usually in the back room so no company will ever see it. Why?”

“Can I…can I see it?” He asks timidly. “For science!”

“You’re such a nerd,” Evie says, but she sounds fond and doting rather than cruel and mocking. “It’s nothing big, just some old stuff.”

Carlos clasps his hands together. “Please, Evie? I’d love to see it and study the chemicals you have!”

She smiles at him and obliges after a small hesitation. For a fleeting second, Carlos feels guilty. Evie might be doing this because he’s her only friend and she wants to keep him happy. Is he using her? Manipulating her loneliness?

A heavy stone drops in his stomach and Carlos shakes his head. He doesn’t want to think about that. He doesn’t want to hurt Evie either, but he’s just going to look!

They stop in front of a dark door, hidden behind the staircase. Evie glances at him, then at the door, pushing it open with stilled breath.

It’s nothing grand, like Carlos expected. The room that could potentially save his life from Cruella’s damnation is plain, rather boring to the rest of the castle. There are books and a single desk, shelves holding bowls and cups along the walls and a bare, flickering bulb hangs from the ceiling.

“She taught me how to make it because she was so afraid that I would be an alpha too,” Evie says softly, leading him into the room. “But I was lucky. Well, luckier than her.” She huffs and folds her arms. “She became queen as an alpha, but she thinks I’ll never get a prince because I’m a beta.”

“You’ll get a prince,” Carlos mumbles, but he’s not fully listening to Evie. Where does he even begin to look?

“These were her trials,” Evie gestures to a notebook, “when she had to figure out what to use and how much, back before she perfected the recipe.”

“What,” Carlos clears his throat, “goes into it?”

She floats over to the desk, pulling open the drawers and gesturing the objects on the shelves. “We crush up her old suppressants before she was banished to the Isle so that they last longer. Then we add some of…”

Carlos has an excellent memory. He dedicates every ingredient to his mind, the quantities and directions, the length of time it would take for all of this.

Change a few things up to cater to his omega biology and he might actually have a form of suppressant.

“Second time today you’ve drifted off,” Evie sings. “Are you still here with me?”

Carlos nods his head. “Yeah, sorry, I’m listening.”

She steps closer and looks into his eyes. “You’re not usually so flighty. Are you sleeping well?”

“As well as I can in Hell Hall,” Carlos snorts. “Winter has not been kind.” He was supposed to have a heater for the season, but getting Cruella away for his heats took precedence and the generator he spent so long on is now at the spa.

“How many blankets do you have?” Evie asks and narrows her eyes.

“Um, Cruella has a couple.”

“How many do you have?”

Carlos looks away from her and scuffs his boot on the floor. “I don’t.”

He hasn’t explicitly said how Cruella treats him, but Evie has picked up on a lot. She’s excellent at reading people and understands his reclusive behavior was taught to him by someone much bigger and more frightening. Evie knows Cruella doesn’t feed him or provide anything; she knows that Carlos takes care of himself and their home and he has done so for as long as he can remember.

“Wait here!” The princess says and nearly leaves, but looks back at him again. “Right here. Don’t move,” then she’s off.

There was a clear order in her voice, as commanding as betas can get, that has him feeling warm and giddy, but Carlos assumes he can move around the room at least.

The supplies here must have taken years to gather – the old, thrown out medicines are scattered over the room and Carlos assumes the Evil Queen paid servants to retrieve the drugs for her back when she wasn’t allowed to leave The Castle Across the Way. The stash is impressive, clearly the work of a decade at least.

Carlos has less than a month to get it all for his own heat. Then he has to figure out how to tweak it for an omega instead of an alpha. And take it early enough to prevent his next heat. He’ll never have the time.

Oh shit. He’s a bad person.

Without another thought, Carlos tears through the drawers and shelves, snatches what he can fit in his pockets. He has the recipe memorized, so he pays it no mind, but the little bottle with pills prescribed to Queen Grimhilde gets opened and he shakes a few of them into the palm of his hand, glancing at the ingredients on the side. He takes the flowers that are used to hide natural scents and the carefully labeled chemicals that are in cracked vials.

Carlos doesn’t take everything, just what he thinks he’ll need. It’s less than half of the materials because a few of these things he already has in his treehouse, but he never had an idea of how to use them for suppressants. Now he does though. He has a chance at making his own suppressant.

His pockets are full with chemicals and pills and dry goods and his excitement and relief overpower his guilt.

When he steps out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him, Evie rushes up to him. “I told you to stay in there!” She hisses with a pout, but quickly moves on. “These are for you.”

In her arms are a blanket, plush and soft, and a pillow that’s ripped along one edge. Balancing on top, in a chipped dish, is part of their meal.

“You have a blanket and a pillow and food for this weekend,” Evie says with a grin, dumping it all into his arms. She puts her hands on her hips, brilliant smile in place as Carlos cradles the blanket to his chest. “You’ll be all set.”

“Why…?” Carlos can’t find the words to form. No one has given him this much before. No one has given him bedding, let alone bedding this nice. “Just, why?”

Evie purses her lips and takes a deep breath, her smile growing sad but not dim. “You were the only person at Dragon Hall to not scorn me. You’re the only person who spoke to me. Carlos,” she places a hand on top of his, “when I meet my prince and we form our own pack…you’re going to be a part of it,” she promises. “I’m going to make sure of it.”

The heat on his face travels down his neck and up to his ears. Carlos can’t even speak. He never thought he’d ever have a pack of his own, even before he presented.

Yet, here is this amazing beta who is gifting him and taking care of him, ensuring his future safety and home with her.

“We’re going to take care of each other. You and I, we’re a team.” Evie rocks on her heels before pressing forward to kiss his nose. “Let’s get you back. Cruella could wake the dead with her screaming when you’re not back on time.”

Carlos isn’t a bad person.

He’s a terrible person.

--

Carlos stays up for two days in his treehouse, pouring over notes and chemicals and his memory of the recipe written in the Evil Queen’s elegant scrawl. He adds less flowers to mask his scent and more of old coffee grinds from the dirty café in the marketplace, lets an alpha suppressant dissolve in water and adds some dry chemicals to it.

It takes time and effort and thought, but Carlos takes the first dose of his suppressant just two days later. He doesn’t feel different or special or any kind of effect except for a sharp pain in his stomach. It’s not the same ache from his heats, it’s dulled in comparison, but it’s there nonetheless.

Well, that’s what he gets for putting drugs into his body and messing up his biological functions.

That’s what he gets for being an omega.

The suppressant has been in his system another couple of days when Evie storms up to him in front of Dragon Hall on Thursday morning and slaps him. Hard.

The suppressant must be working though because Carlos doesn’t want to kneel or bare his throat at her rage. The desire to submit in order to soothe isn’t as strong as usual.

“You jerk,” Evie spits. Her violence toward him had drawn some eyes over to them, but she keeps her voice down. “How could you?”

After the weekend had passed when he first stole the Evil Queen’s supplies and Evie had held his arm Monday morning, Carlos thought he may be in the clear. Maybe he didn’t take as much as he thought, maybe his stolen good were so few that Evie and her mother would never notice. “What are you-?”

“Don’t you dare!” Evie seethes and points a finger in his face. Her eyes smolder, the rage barely contained under dark brown irises. “Don’t lie to me, you were the only person I’ve ever let in there!”

Carlos ducks his head, but it’s not from the want to please and calm her fury. “Evie, I’m so-.”

“No you’re not!” She shoves him in his chest with enough force that Carlos stumbles back. “I can’t believe you would do that! I think I find the one person on the Isle who…who might be good,” she spits the word like venom, “who might not belong here! I thought you were my…” Her lips tremble around the word.

“I am! I was! I still am,” Carlos says. He knew stealing from Evie would have consequences, he’s prepared for them. “You don’t understand, I needed them.”

“For science?” She mocks and he winces. “You… Was it all a lie? Were you nice to me just to get something from me?”

“No! Evil, no!” Carlos waves his hands. He hates that mindset that Evie has, the one that is no doubt the work of the Evil Queen. Evie never thinks people will like her for herself – they like her looks, her skills, her possessions, her body. She’s convinced no one would be around her just for her. “You were – you are my first friend!” It’s the first time he’s said it out loud and Carlos doesn’t know how he feels about the word anymore. “You’re clever and funny and you’re nice,” he whispers because nice is the same thing as vulnerable on the Isle.

“And you’re a huge asshole,” Evie snaps. Her eyes are wet and she blinks rapidly, taking care to not ruin her mascara. “I never want to see you again!”

Which isn’t really possible when they both live on an island and go to the same school.

By the time lunch comes around, the sting in his cheek has faded but the sting of Evie’s words has not. Carlos tries to talk with her in class, but she moves far away from him. He writes her a lengthy apology and sends it over as an airplane, but she crushes it with her heel. He grabs her hand in the hallway, but she whirls around and leaves a second handprint on his cheek.

At least she doesn’t use the back of her hand, like Cruella does. Evie’s rings look like they would tear his face apart.

There is one and only one other thing she says to him, in the back of Weird Science because Yen Sid won’t let her trade seats. “You can keep the blanket and pillow,” Evie huffs at the end of the lecture, “if it’s touched you, I don’t want it back.”

Her words cut deep, slice into his heart in a way that hasn’t happened since he was young and still convinced his mommy might love him.

“Hey, if I’m the dirtiest thing it’s touched on the Isle, it’s not that bad.” Carlos tries to laugh because Evie usually liked it when he smiled, but she acts as if he hasn’t spoken.

He gets through classes by pinching the palm of his hand hard enough to bruise. His suppressants aren’t strong enough, not yet at least, because his chest is rumbling, the low purr of his anxiety covered by the volume of his classmates.

Carlos gulps, recites the periodic table to calm himself because he can’t rely on the purr, no matter how soothing the noise is. He can’t risk someone hearing it, even though without Evie by his side, he’s completely alone again.

The next week is spent throwing himself into his chores and drawing out the suppressant supplies to last as long as possible. Evie refuses to speak to him no matter what he does, the few times she glances at him are infuriated glares that are still beautiful.

He misses her so much.

“Mr. De Vil!”

He stops from running out of the school Friday afternoon at the voice of Dragon Hall’s principal. “Yes, Dr. Facilier?”

The tall man walks up to him, goes as far as to place an arm around Carlos’ shoulder in…a friendly way? “I must tell you I was quite impressed with your Raising Hell project.”

“My…what?”

“Don’t be so modest, my boy,” the shadow man pulls Carlos along with him and they pass a few students in the halls who glare at the attention Carlos gets. Mal, with Jay by her side, bares her teeth at him in what is sure to be jealousy. She’s always so weird about other people getting praise.

Not like it’s his fault! Carlos didn’t finish his Raising Hell project. He never even started it.

“Taking out an entire business like that?” Dr. Facilier chuckles. “I wouldn’t have ever expected that to come from you, but I heard the goblins complaining about it.”

“Complaining about…what?”

“The generator you gave them all those months ago – I must know how you made one, by the way – you must have been planning this project the whole school year and timed the explosion just right!”

“Explosion?!”

Dr. Facilier pats his shoulder. “There were no casualties, I’m afraid, but that’s just room for improvement. The goblins said when your generator exploded on them, it shot the roof off of their silly spa! They said they saw electricity shot all the way to the dome of the barrier!”

Damn. A whole year’s worth of work and it exploded after only six months? At least it wasn’t in Hell Hall.

“Wretched work, my boy, wonderfully damaging! You’ll pass with flying colors.” With that, Dr. Facilier pats him on the back and moves down the hall, critiquing students and faculty alike while Carlos just shrugs.

A free A? He’ll take it.

Maybe Evie hates him and maybe she will for forever, but Carlos has some fond memories to look back on as he goes back to being a loner. Maybe the suppressants are really starting to irritate his stomach and cause some serious pain, but his grades are good and his suppressants can actually work well enough to prevent this upcoming heat. Maybe he can actually survive as an omega on the Isle.

He’ll miss Evie though. She’ll never speak to him again.

Well, that’s what Carlos thinks until a loud pounding at the door has him nearly jumping out of his skin later that afternoon.

No one ever comes to Hell Hall; guests are unheard of here so Carlos is baffled to who it might be. The oven is scrubbed, furs are fluffed and the halls have been swept. He must still mop and wax the floor and iron Cruella’s clothes, so he doesn’t quite have time for distractions.

The door swings open before Carlos can reach it and he jumps back.

He spots brilliant blue first and his heart relaxes at the sight of Evie, but she’s not alone. In fact, she’s in the back of the group; Carlos is so used to seeking her out that he had found her before even looking at the others.

Jay is present as well, looking around Hell Hall in curiosity, which isn’t too bad. He hasn’t stolen from Carlos since that day in Jafar’s Junk Shop, but they’re not friends. A quiet understanding has settled between them, but Jay is…unpredictable, Carlos deems.

Up front, looking as if she’d rather be scrubbing toilets than on his front step, is Mal. She petrifies Carlos to his core. She is just a bit taller than he is, which is fair since she’s older, and has a knack for starting fights with her fists and ending them with her knives.

“H-hi.”

“Shut up,” Mal snaps and he does. She presented as an alpha not too long ago – a late bloomer like Carlos since Maleficent never properly fed her – and she uses it to her advantage constantly. “What did you do to the barrier?”

“I didn’t do-!”

“Cut the shit,” she snarls and his mouth closes immediately. “There was a hole in the barrier last night.”

“That’s not poss-.”

“Shut. Up,” Mal stalks into the room. “I know it’s not. But it happened and it let in just a teeny bit of magic around the Isle. Apparently the runt of the island had something to do with it. I heard about your generator blowing up and reaching the dome,” she lifts a brow, “what did you do to it?”

Carlos looks at her.

“You can speak now.”

“The goblins m-muh-must have sp-spilt something on it,” he says. “It should have worked for at least a year if they treated it better.” Carlos had been certain the suppressants were working, but maybe they can be overridden because he aches to be on his knees right now. Two alphas are in his home and their scents are making him dizzy, he needs to get them out.

“Well whatever happened, we need it to happen again.”

“We?”

Mal jerks her head in the direction of Jay and Evie. “The four of us. We’re going to get my mother’s scepter.”

“Why?”

“To get off the Isle. I thought you were supposed to be smart,” Mal rolls her eyes and huffs. “You’re coming with us. I need to know what you did to break through the barrier and we have to get to the other side of the Isle.”

As much as Carlos would love to tell Mal to buzz off, he doesn’t. Mostly because pissing off Mal is a death wish and partly because he still hasn’t refused an alpha…or anyone really. Saying no doesn’t work well for him a lot.

But…his heat is supposed to start in just a few days. Carlos is sure the suppressants are enough – he’s taking so many doses that his stomach is really starting to hurt, but if they don’t work and he’s here, in Hell Hall, when his heat hits, there will be no hiding it from Cruella.

If the suppressants don’t work, he needs to be as far away from his mother as possible. Even if it means being with Mal, Evie and Jay and letting them…do whatever alphas and betas do with an omega in heat. He doesn’t want to think about that.

Just as long as Cruella doesn’t know.

“Okay,” Carlos gulps.

--

The trip is long and stressful and quiet. Jay and Mal make most of the conversation while Carlos is too nervous to speak and Evie has no desire to be near him.

They sleep outside, which isn’t half bad when his usual bed is suffocated in furs. Carlos offers his jacket to Evie so she’s not on the dirt, but she glares at him. He’s not sure why she’s here too.

Jay and Mal sneak off to plot whatever it is they’ll do when the barrier’s down. Carlos hasn’t considered what he’ll do. Maybe he can run away from Cruella? Maybe he’ll have access to proper suppressants? Maybe he could be more than an omega who spreads his legs and gets on his knees for everyone.

The stirrings of a heat haven’t hit him yet, but Carlos is so distracted with this trip and the company that he probably wouldn’t notice if it did. If he goes without a heat, the suppressants work and he has enough of a supply to last for a while and even when he runs out, at least Carlos will know what he needs to make more.

“Can you stop thinking so loudly?” Evie groans at him. “I can hear your wheels turning from over here.”

He’s been shifting a lot on the ground and in the midst of his inner ramblings, Carlos has begun to rub at his arms or play with his hair or curl up on himself. “Sorry.” He squints to find Evie in the dark.

She stands straight, not even sitting on the ground. Her heels are filthy and mud is caked on her tights. Perfectly painted nails are worrying the edges of her skirt.

Evie’s not outdoorsy.

“You can still have my jacket,” Carlos offers and sits up. “You can sit on it.”

“No.”

He ducks his head. “I am sorry for…you know. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

There is silence between them, only the wind rustling dying leaves on dying trees. “I wasn’t allowed to eat for a week after that,” Evie says after a moment. “My mother thinks that I misplaced some of the ingredients or that I gave them away and she was furious. She threw away the rest of the leftovers from our dinner because she didn’t want me to sneak food and my first instinct was to find a way to give it to you.” She sighs heavily and shifts her weight. “Even after I knew you stole from me, you were my first concern.”

Carlos is touched. He yearns to tell her, to assure her he had a good reason because surely Evie would sympathize with him after knowing the truth, but he can’t. He can’t risk anyone else finding out or Evie looking down on him with disgust. Betas don’t crave omegas like alphas do, but Carlos has heard more than one beta of the Isle talk about what they would do with a bitch in heat. He can’t bear to have Evie look at him and see the same thing. “You don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand why I ever trusted you to begin with.”

He ducks his head and hugs himself. “I’m sorry.”

--

“Something out here smells so damn good!” Jay groans as they begin their way through Isle of the Doomed. “I’ve smelt it since we got on the boat.”

Mal casually sniffs the air and shrugs. “I smell it too, but that’s not what we’re here for.”

“It’s like fresh baked bread and fruit and all types of sweet shit,” Jay inhales deeply, “what is it?”

It’s Carlos, probably. There’s an ache in his stomach that resembles his heat, but not as intense. The suppressants are only working half way. He wants to kneel before these alphas and beta, but he can fight the urge with ease. There’s still a cramp in his stomach and a need to obey, but it’s not as intense.

Thankfully, neither is his scent if Jay can’t place him.

“Focus!” Mal snaps and keeps them moving. “We get through the mountain, we get the scepter, everything will be great.” She stalks forward, leaving Jay behind to keep sniffing at the trees as if they could be the source of what he’s looking for. Evie stays far behind too, seeking distance between herself and Carlos, which means he ends up in front with Mal.

Oh, joy.

Mal purposefully bumps his shoulder on the way up the treacherous hill. “Interesting talk last night,” she hums. She’s the same girl who came barging at his door two days ago, but she’s less fierce out in the wild. Her focus is on retrieving her mother’s scepter and not on terrorizing Carlos.

“You and Jay?” He asks and blinks innocently. “Have you two decided which countries you’ll own after we get out of here?”

“What did you steal from Blueberry to make her so mad?”

Even from behind them, Carlos can hear Evie’s gasp. He knows a secret of hers and she doesn’t trust him to keep it. That makes sense, seeing as Evie loathes him, but for her to think that he would betray her a second time…

The assumption is deserved, but no less painful.

“It doesn’t matter,” Carlos says, raising his voice to ensure Evie hears him. He stumbles over a root, but rights himself.

“It had to be something precious for her to bail on her little puppy.”

Carlos just shrugs and they continue walking.

“Not gonna tell me?” Mal pesters, twisting on her heel so that she’s walking backwards in front of Carlos, forcing him to look at her.

“Why did you bring Evie on this trip?”

“Avoiding the subject?”

“So are you.” He’s pushing himself so much, especially since he normally would be in heat right now and cowering to even a look from Mal, but Carlos is able to walk and talk normally, fighting the demons that want him to submit.

And it’s for Evie. Heat or no heat, alpha or not, Carlos has to find out why Mal brought her along.

The daughter of Maleficent scoffs and turns back around, leading their group through the trails. “If you and Blueberry aren’t allies anymore, don’t worry about it.” She drops her voice and hums. “She won’t a bother to anyone after this.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Carlos risks a look over his shoulder, spotting Evie not too far behind them, trying to subtly eavesdrop. Jay is further back, having given up on finding the source of the smell and probably looking at Evie’s ass because that’s the kind of thing Jay does.

“You’ll find out why I brought her along eventually.”

“Don’t hurt her.”

“Excuse me?” Mal turns to him, eyes glinting dangerously. “I’d watch that tone, runt.”

Carlos clenches his fist. This is for Evie. “Whatever stupid thing you’re mad about from ten years ago isn’t worth your anger anymore. Evie hasn’t done anything wrong. Let it go and leave her alone, she just wants you to like her.”

A firm hand on the back of his neck has Carlos halting in his steps. The sickening want to drop to his knees rises in his stomach. His head is forced to bow at the grip, so he can only look up at Mal through his eyelashes.

“Mind your own business,” she seethes. Jay and Evie have both stopped behind them, watching with interest. “Know your place, beta.”

“Please,” Carlos gasps out. He’s not sure what he’s asking for. Please don’t hurt Evie. Please bite me. Please leave her alone. Please make me kneel. “Please.”

Mal sneers and releases him. She begins walking without hesitation once more.

Without her balzing gaze on him, Carlos swallows and tries to regain himself. At least he didn’t drop to his knees like he did to Jay all those months ago. The suppressants just saved his ass.

Carlos scrambles to keep up with the alpha, ignoring the stares of Jay and Evie. “Mal, listen, Evie isn’t mean or vicious, can’t you drop this whole thing?”

Mal doesn’t respond to him at first. “What did you mean,” her voice drops as she keeps moving, “when you said Evie wants me to like her?”

“She…she does. You’re the top alpha in school, probably on the Isle,” Carlos swallows. “You’re scary and violent and wicked-”

“Don’t try to flatter me.”

“-She’s wants to be like you.” A root trips him again and he stumbles into a tree.

“Me?” Mal finally turns to look at him.

Carlos nods and keeps walking. “She thinks you’re cool and smart and everyone respects you,” he glances back at Evie, who is still trying to eavesdrop. “She just wants your approval.”

Mal doesn’t say anything more, but Carlos can tell she is lost in thought. He can only hope she reconsiders whatever evil plot she has for Evie.

After another hour of walking, the Forbidden Mountain looms in the distance and they all sigh in relief.

They come to a bridge they can’t pass until Carlos admits his mother never loved him. She loves her possessions – her car, her furs, her money – but not him. Jay and Evie watch from behind with Mal, who still doesn’t say anything.

They come to a cave that fills up with sand, leaving Carlos to choke as it fills his mouth and lungs, Mal and Evie screaming as they cling to each other. Jay shouts something that reveals his father’s greed and the sand disappears.

The come to a room full of mirrors and see distorted versions of themselves. Carlos is old and alone, hunched over and balding. Evie sobs at her appearance, curses her reflection, but Carlos studies his own. He looks deathly ill and he wonders what will happen to omegas that never have a pack. Is this disfigured old man what he will become?

They come to the scepter and…Mal insists that Evie can’t touch it. She swats the beta away and reaches for the magic herself, only to drop unconscious the moment she touches it.

“Mal!” Evie shrieks. She falls to her knees, hands ghosting over the alpha’s face. “What happened?”

“She saved your ass, that’s what,” Jay scoffs. He stays standing, looking over Mal as if she’s an interesting bug on the ground. “She’s got magic in her, a direct link to Maleficent. She’ll be fine.”

Carlos lays his jacket on Mal, tucks it around her, and they all wait.

After just a minute, Mal blinks her eyes open and groans.

They all leave Forbidden Mountain in silence, but a conversation manages to take place anyway.

--

He returns to Hell Hall just a few days later and nearly collapses when the door closes.

“Shit,” Carlos breathes and places a hand to his head. The past week was…exciting. And terrifying. Exhausting. Enlightening. He had dreaded his heat only to realize the suppressants work well enough…as long as an alpha doesn’t touch him. The memory of Mal gripping his neck has his knees weak.

His head feels funny and his feet are heavy, a weight in his stomach pulls him to the floor and Carlos closes his eyes.

This isn’t his heat. This isn’t the urge to submit to someone, but this is familiar. He’s had this sensation before.

Carlos trembles. His head feels foggy and he just wants to sleep. Or die. Curling up and dying is starting to sound nice, he would love to just…stop existing.

A feeble whimper escapes him and then that obnoxious fucking purr starts up.

What is this sensation? Purring should only happen as a comfort mechanism. He’s not in pain! He ought to be jumping for joy at how well the suppressants work and that everyone is okay! He didn’t die and Evie didn’t die!

Evie…

Oh, Evie. She still hates him.

Carlos drags himself against the couch, resting his head against the wilted cushion. He’s so damn tired and that noise…that purr is so soothing. The vibrations coming from his chest and up his throat are hypnotic, the purr eases the panic in his mind and slow his breathing.

Emotions are so tiring, Carlos thinks. He’s been a roller coaster of relief and anguish and panic and excitement the past days and now he feels like he can’t move, he can hardly keep his eyes open and his purr lulls him into a state of relaxation.

He’s just going to rest his head for a little while. That’s all.

A little while doesn’t last very long at all when the door slams open and sharp heels click against the floor.

Carlos jerks himself up right. He didn’t fall asleep, but he wasn’t quite awake either. How much time has passed? How long has he been resting against the couch?

It doesn’t matter. He’s been gone nearly a week on this trip to retrieve Maleficent’s scepter. Carlos knows none of his chores are done.

Cruella knows it too. It’s the second time in a year he’s ignored his list.

The purr stops entirely when she comes in the room and Carlos can’t get away fast enough.

One of shoes hits his head (all anyone ever talks about is Cruella’s fashion empire, no one ever discusses her aim) and leaves him disoriented. Then she pulls his hair and sends him to the floor, the corner of the table hitting his temple.

Carlos doesn’t remember much after that.

--

“Anyone home? Hello?”

He blinks his eyes open but doesn’t move. He can’t move. Not yet.

“Carlos? Cruella?”

That’s Evie…right? A beta, not a threat, not unless she brought Alphas into his home again. If they found him like this, weak and vulnerable, Carlos wouldn’t stand a chance against them. If Evie really hates him as much as she claims, she could bring anyone in when Cruella is gone since Evie can see their empty driveway from her bedroom window. She could bring Jay and Mal or other alphas or she could be here to steal back her mother’s suppressant supplies.

It’s not like Carlos can do much about it right now.

He must have been purring again before Evie walked in because now the room seems empty except for her high heels on the linoleum floor. Carlos had grown so used to the noise that he hadn’t noticed he was doing it until he stopped to better hear her.

“Is anyone-? Oh evil.”

Blue high heels stop just inches away from his head. If Evie wanted to stomp on his skull, she most certainly could.

“Carlos?” Her gentle hands cup his face and his eyes can’t focus. There’s just so much blue. “Hey, can you hear me?”

He groans in response.

“Stay here,” Evie’s voice floats in his head. “I’ll be back.”

Why would she tell him to stay here? Carlos couldn’t move even if he wanted to.

Evie is gone for minutes or maybe hours or maybe the rest of the day. Time doesn’t seem to exist when his head feels like this. She returns at some point later, pressing a cool rag to his head and a cup of water to his lips.

Carlos tries to drink, most of it spills down his shirt, but what little makes it past his lips is wonderful and quenching. He shakily takes the glass from her and holds it himself, gulping down the rest of it.

“What happened?” She pulls his eyes open, checks his pulse, winces at the gash along his head. “Who did this?”

“Chores,” Carlos grumbles, “…not done.”

“Cruella?”

He nods.

“Oh, Carlos,” she breathes. He likes when Evie says his name. It sounds so nice. “I never knew it was like this with her. I didn’t know…I didn’t know it was this bad.”

The beta is crying and it does not sound nice. Evie shouldn’t cry. Evie is pretty and gentle. Her hands are so soft. Why would he make her cry?

“S-sorr-rry,” Carlos chokes out. He wants to sit up, but his head is in Evie’s lap and why would he ever want to leave? “I-I-.”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Evie brushes his hair back. “Come on, help me get you on to the couch.”

Carlos isn’t allowed on the furniture. He shakes his head.

“Then, oh,” she frets and whines while Carlos tries to snicker. So betas can whine, how interesting. “Hold on.” Evie lifts his head and sets it back down on something that smells so sweet. Carlos lazily reaches up to feel the material – it’s Evie’s jacket, the one made from cotton. It smells just like her. He’s missed her scent. He’s missed her.

“I…I’ve missed you too, Carlos.”

Oh, did he say that out loud?

Evie patches up his head and his face and his chest and his neck and his arms and his shoulders and how many other places did Cruella get to? She helps him with more water and eventually sits him up. He eats part of a stale sandwich and gags when he tries to eat more. Evie brings him fresh clothes and offers to help him change, but Evie seeing him undressed has Carlos flustered for reason he doesn’t quite get.

She’s a pretty beta and her smell is calming, but they’re not… She’s not…

Carlos has already been kicked out of her future pack. Maybe, before he stole from her and she was willing to form a pack with him, it would have been different, but Evie’s not ever going to be his Beta.

With a pink face, he watches Evie turn around and give him privacy. Carlos pulls his shirt over his head with minimal whining, bruises and torn skin groaning in protest. He struggles to pull his pants off and it takes some time for his boxers too, but he eventually finds his way into clothing that isn’t soaked in sweat and blood and he nearly collapses back onto the ground.

Evie is back beside him in an instant, tucking her jacket beneath his head once more. “What you said,” she whispers to him, “to the gargoyles, about Cruella never loving you, I… It made me think. All the bruises and scars and… I’m an idiot.”

“Not a…idiot.”

“I should have seen it.”

Carlos can’t look up at her because his eyes feel heavy, but his face is buried in a cotton jacket that smells of faint perfume and nail polish and Evie, Evie, Evie.

She’s only been allowed out of her castle for a few months now, she still hasn’t learnt the awful things of the Isle. Not yet.

“You’re an idiot too,” she says, but there’s no heat behind her words. She lightly pokes Carlos’ left shoulder – one of the only places that is not bruised.

Carlos hums an agreement.

“You can’t give alpha suppressants to a beta,” Evie chastises as she sits beside him, rubbing his shoulder. “I know that they can curb aggression and violence, but the biology is all wrong. You can end up doing more harm to Cruella than good.” She rubs little circles on Carlos’ neck and he shivers. “That’s probably what caused her rage this time, all those chemicals that aren’t supposed to be in her trying to suppress the biology she doesn’t have.”

It takes a while with his head so foggy for Carlos to comprehend what Evie’s implying. “I gave the suppressants to…Cruella?”

“That explains why you stole them,” Evie says to herself more than him. “If I knew you were looking for a way to calm her, I…I would have helped. But this just…made it worse.”

Carlos doesn’t say anything else. He thinks he could fall asleep.

“I’ll help you figure something out for her,” Evie sounds so far away. “We’ll get supplies together, we’ll figure out a new formula for her, something to ease her aggression as a beta, okay? It’ll all be better…”

She keeps speaking and Carlos falls asleep.

--

“You’ll need some of this and…this! What else…?”

Carlos stands watch at the door and peeks back to Evie. “How many things go into a suppressant?”

“Well, I’ve never made one for a beta before,” Evie hums and squints to read the labels in the Weird Science lab. “I’m gaging what goes into, well, you know,” she grimaces, “and trying to alter it to better fit a beta.”

“Evie, really, you can just give me the stuff and I’ll figure it all out.”

“You expect me to let you figure out how to suppress a beta’s aggression on your own?” She looks over her shoulder with a quirked brow. “I can’t let you do that.”

Carlos squirms under her gaze. He never told Evie the truth, even after she took care of him for days after Cruella’s beating. She soothed his hair back and helped him bathe, did his whole chore list on her own and made him food. He thought about it, but knew he never would, he never could. There were too many risks of someone else knowing. There was too great of a chance of Evie seeing him as the rest of the Isle sees omegas.

She agreed to help him find a suppressant for his mother and assist in making it. Then Carlos would have to take it and make his own adjustments so it worked to his omega biology after he figured out what changed need to be made.

This can work though. Afterall, Evie has more experience with making suppressants and even if she works on a recipe for a beta, that will still help immensely. Betas are closer to omegas than alphas are. This will get him closer to a suppressant that works as well as it should and get rid of his heats entirely.

“You know you can’t give these to her consistently, right?” Evie asks as she carefully piles the stolen goods into her bag. “My mother wanted to, but constantly being on suppressants can mess up your biology, so you need…” She tilts her head and places a finger to her lips. “Well, actually, since Cruella doesn’t have a rut or a heat to go through, maybe she can stay on suppressants. Alphas and omegas have to take time to let nature take its course and for their body to have release, but I’ve never heard of a beta on suppressants.”

Carlos touches the inside of his wrist as panic sets in his chest. “What happens if omegas…and alphas don’t take that time? If they just stay on suppressants forever?”

Evie shrugs. “My mother never told me, but she said going more than a year without a rut could mess up her biology. It could prevent her from having children if she ever finds another prince who wants an heir or damage her insides. It can cause pain. Like, her body doesn’t have an outlet for…whatever ruts do.” Evie’s voice has dropped again even though they are the only two in school. She has one week every year that she goes through it.”

“Oh. Okay.” Shit, nothing ever works in his favor.

Though, if being on suppressants indefinitely messed up his biology…maybe that could work in his favor. He’ll have to think about it more.

The two of them slip out of the lab, quietly closing the door behind them. They make it down the hall and out of the school without incident and it’s only when they start down the cement steps that they’re stopped.

“Hey guys,” a familiar voice sings and they turn to see Mal. “We’ve been waiting for you.” She’s leaning against the side of the building, perfect picture of cool, with Jay beside her. “What were you nerds doing in there?”

Evie brushes off her dress and shuffles her feet. “I’m not a nerd.”

“We were talking to Dr. Facilier,” Carlos says quickly. “He just kept rambling on about spirits and deals and the likes. Why were you waiting for us?” He takes a step back and reaches for Evie, ready to bolt as soon as Mal makes a step toward him.

“Go drop your stuff off,” Mal looks at their bags. “Meet us in the marketplace in ten minutes.”

“Why?”

Mal grins and shows her teeth. “We’re going to go wreak havoc, steal, vandalize, the normal shit.”

Carlos and Evie look at each other.

“You’re coming with us,” Jay informs them, smiling with the perfect amount of charm. “You know, just like the trip to get the scepter. The more, the merrier.”

There’s another pause of silence.

“We were a good team,” Mal finally relents and she looks as if the compliment has choked her. “We’ll get more stolen goods and terrorize more people if we…work together,” the words drip from her like poison, but she looks at them expectantly.

Evie, turning pink, swallows and holds her head high. “Okay. We’ll meet you in the marketplace in ten minutes.” She gives the alphas one final look before turning around, pulling Carlos with her.

In his dreams, Jay fucks Carlos. There is no setting or position they stick to, it’s everywhere and everything all at once. He’s gripping sharp hips and bucking forward into a moaning omega while Carlos shouts and moans and cries and pants. Jay holds him up at the perfect angle, one that allows for full, deep thrusts. It is hard, it is rough, it is dirty, it is hot, it is a dream come true.

But, alas, it’s still just a dream.

In real life, Jay is snoring on top of Carlos and grinding against his ass.

Carlos, however, is awake and whining, tilting his hips up. His face flushes and he pants heavily as Jay moves harder against him, stiff alpha prick making a hopeless effort to fuck Carlos through both of their pajamas. His own lively cock is trapped in his shorts and soaking through onto the sheets. It is hard, it is rough, it is dirty - quite dirty actually, but Carlos can’t find the ability to complain.

“Ugh,” Evie groans as she steps into their room and towels off her hair. “It’s hard to breathe in here.” She is out of her pajamas and into her only set of jeans and a blue t-shirt, folding her sleepwear into the dirty hamper.

“You can leave,” Carlos grunts, digs his fingers into the mattress and ignores the ache between his legs and how Evie pinches her nose.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the only reason you two haven’t had sex on every surface of the room.” She sits down onto Jay’s bed since the boys have occupied Carlos’ and packs up her shower bag, the one she ran to get from her own dorm room just an hour ago. Evie hadn’t wanted to leave Carlos and Jay alone, but both were sleeping and Mal wasn’t allowed near the room in case her own scent irritated Jay.

(Much to the purple-haired girl’s annoyance. She had not been happy to spare her beta for several days, but understood the necessity of it.)

Evie had returned, waved at Carlos, who was barely awake at the time and looking far too pleased with Jay on top of him, and showered as quickly as she could.

“I don’t know what to do about food,” she murmurs to herself.

“Food?”

“The edible material you need to live,” Evie reminds Carlos with a roll of her eyes. “Unless you want to starve in here.”

“Do you want to go get us breakfast?”

“And leave you here with Jay?”

Despite his flushing face, Carlos arches more, gives the alpha a better angle to grind against him. “Evie, really, you can leave. I have this under control.”

“You call this under control? Jay is literally dry humping you in the middle of our talk while he sleeps.”

Carlos sighs, but it’s not from her words. Jay is panting against his neck and his bucking is becoming less messy and desperate and more determined, more precise, more pleasurable. Jay is waking up and he’s truly making an attempt to fuck Carlos with both of their clothes on.

“Evie, you can leave,” but by the time Carlos tries to look at her, she’s already turned around, her shirt pulled over her nose to block out the overwhelming scent. She’s offering what little privacy she can give the two without fully leaving the room and Carlos is so grateful for that.

There’s a low growl, primal and heated, in Carlos’ ear. His mouth falls open and Jay’s fingers dig into his hips. Something warm and wet seeps through his pajama bottoms and a heated moan escapes Carlos before he can stop it. There’s something that feels so good about the alpha coming against his ass, it makes Carlos want to purr.

Dry lips find his neck and leave little kisses. “What a good way to wake up,” Jay mumbles into his ear and makes no move to get off of Carlos, content to slip his still hard dick against the omega’s ass and thighs. His voice is deeper, heavy with sleep and post-orgasm bliss; the noise of it has Carlos shivering.

“Ahem, so, breakfast?” Evie asks after a moment. She keeps her shirt over her nose, watching the two expectantly.

Jay nips at Carlos’ ear, “do I get to eat you for breakfast?” He sucks on the curve of Carlos neck, pretty and colorful from all the biting Jay had done yesterday and last night.

“Um, oh, uh...”

“How about some real food?”

“Sure, whatever.” Jay runs his hands up and under Carlos’ nightshirt, trails his fingers along warm sides and firm ribs.

“Jay,” Evie sings sweetly, her voice just barely muffled by the t-shirt over her mouth, “how about I go get breakfast while Carlos showers?”

The alpha thinks about it, then nudges Carlos. “I like my come being on you though,” he bucks forward again, slipping his own cock through the mess in his shorts and on Carlos’ ass. “You don’t wanna wash it off, do you, omega?”

“Oh, well, alpha, I...” Carlos takes a deep breath, tries to compose himself so he’s not putty under Jay. “I’d like to shower please.”

A low growl has him ducking his head forward, exposing his neck to Jay

“You wanna wash my come off? You don’t like smelling of me?”

“No, alpha,” Carlos barely whispers, “I do.” He does, he really really does. “I, uh, I need to wash myself though. I...” Brokenly, Carlos whines and grinds his pelvis into the mattress, relieving his hard prick. “My shorts are a mess.”

The irritation Jay made clear disappears and he chuckles against Carlos’ shoulders. “Did you get off on me rubbing my cock against you?”

Evie is in the room and he’s not answering that with her right here!

“Did you?” Jay bucks against him, smears more of his come against Carlos’ shorts.

“Yes! I-I liked it!”

“Good boy. Think of how much better it’ll be when you let me fuck you.”

If Jay hadn’t been in his right mind to consent yesterday, it’s sure as hell not happening today. It’s the fourth day of his rut, directly in the middle. It’ll be the worst yet, but all the worst to come.

He doesn’t respond to Jay’s open invitation. “Can... May I please shower, alpha?”

“Ugh.” Jay groans, but pushes himself off nonetheless. “Make it quick.”

“Yes, alpha.” Carlos says dutifully and scrambles off the bed, only jumping when Jay pinches his ass. He grabs a change of clothes and scurries into the bathroom.

As soon as the door is shut, Evie stands. “I’ll go get us some breakfast, okay?” She waits silently for Jay to dismiss her and ducks her head as she leaves.

Jay turns, nuzzles his face into Carlos’ pillow. It smells perfect. Yesterday had been a challenge, neither Evie nor Carlos left at all so no one had eaten dinner. Jay spent the afternoon and the evening and the night with Carlos in his lap, marking up what skin he could find with his mouth.

The omega was quite determined to not let anything happen between them, he even fought Jay to keep his shirt on, but Jay had open access to Carlos’ neck and throat and slid his hands over Carlos’ chest and back as often as he wanted.

Carlos did his own little things to help as well. He picked up after Jay, folded his clothing, organized his books on the rare moments he was allowed out of the alpha’s hold. There was even a very gentle time when Carlos brushed out Jay’s hair and rubbed his shoulders. He had run his hands through dark locks and nuzzled Jay’s neck and Jay thinks that might have been his favorite moment.

He acted like a proper omega. Like he truly belonged to Jay, he wanted to care for and please Jay.

Jay had even tried a few basic orders and was more than pleased at how quickly Carlos obeyed him.

Come here. Go change into your pajamas. Kiss me.

He’s beautiful, perfect. He’s just what Jay wants.

Carlos is also infuriating. He won’t let them progress past kissing or marking, he won’t change in front of Jay, he won’t say how much he likes the idea of Jay’s fingers and tongue and cock in his ass even though his scent was enough to inform the whole damn school.

Jay feels...incomplete. He’s not going to force himself on Carlos, it’s not as if alphas have no control over themselves. But his urges aren’t being satisfied, there’s not complete submission in Carlos. Not yet.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Jay could find another alpha to fight or someone to snarl at and bite. But he’s confined to his room, inhaling Carlos’ scent and humping his ass because somehow that’s appropriate, but jacking off with Carlos in the room is not.

There’s a noise across the room and Jay glares. It’s just Evie opening the door, but the growl in his throat arises even when he dismisses the threat.

“I’m sorry. May I enter?”

Jay just nods and falls back on the bed for almost a full second before he sits upright once more.

Carlos’ scent is still heavy in the air, but Jay has grown more accustomed to it - the close proximity, how he smells when he’s hard, the faint scent of fire on his skin. He’s used to the scent of Carlos.

There’s something new now. Something that has Jay curling his lips back and baring his teeth.

He stalks over to Evie. She’s laying food on the desk and silently looks up at Jay when he stands next to her.

She’s not a beta. She doesn’t smell neutral and faint, she smells like...

“Jay?”

“Get out.”

Evie blinks and tilts her head, still keeping her gaze lowered. “I’m sorry?”

Jay grabs her arm and sniffs her skin. It’s faint and familiar, but that’s the smell of an alpha on her skin. It’s not even a threat, really, but there’s another alpha in the room with him and with his rut, that’s bad enough, but with a beautiful, unclaimed omega living in the room? Jay’s not letting anyone else in. “Get out.” He lets go of Evie because his swirling anger and panic are about to turn much uglier than they already have and he doesn’t want to hurt Evie. Well, he does, but he doesn’t.

“What’s wrong?”

“You smell like an alpha. You smell like...” Jay sniffs her again, close enough that his nose touches her skin, “Mal. You reek of her.” The stench is nearly enough to make him gag. It’s not even over-powering, he hadn’t been able to smell it with Carlos in the room, it’s just nauseating and threatening.

Mal is a friend and one he trusts, but she’s an alpha. Even on the Isle, she knew to stay away from him during his rut and Jay returned the favor when her own time came along.

“I slept in your bed,” Evie says calmly, digs her heels into the carpet, “I ought to smell like you.” Her sense of smell isn’t as strong as his is but fuck she should be able to tell the difference. “I even showered to wash away my...” Evie halts in her words and Jay takes the advantage to pull her toward the door. “Unless I grabbed Mal’s shampoo on accident. Shit.”

That’s all she can say before Jay growls and forces her out of the room, slamming the door shut.

“Jay!” She shouts on the other side, “please! I-I... I’ll go take another shower,” her voice carries even as Jay walks away from the door. “I’ll be back soon, tell Carlos!”

With that, the sound of her heels click down the hallway.

The scent still lingers in the room, on the food. The smell of an alpha isn’t strong enough for Jay to pick out on the tray, but the smell of outsiders, random people, anything he hasn’t deemed safe is stinking up the room.

He takes the tray and shoves it into the hallway. Sandwiches fall apart and fruit hits the wall. Someone will take care of it eventually.

Fuck, he needs to open a damn window to get rid of the smell. Without Carlos in the room, it’s the only thing Jay can focus on. He shoves open the window between their beds, inhales the fresh air coming through the screen.

People are milling about outside, talking and laughing. He can hear their voices and they grate on his nerves, but Jay just huffs. At least he can’t smell any of them from up here.

“Uh, alpha?”

Jay startles at the noise. He had been so focused on reigning in his territorial panic that he had even forgotten Carlos had to be stepping out of the shower soon.

He’s cute, so fucking cute, with his curls hanging down against his face from the weight of water, skin flushed and warm. Carlos stands shyly in the doorway, waiting for permission to enter his own room.

“Come here.”

Carlos obeys immediately, walking over to Jay and ducking his head. He shuffles his feet when he stills, just inches away, and sighs when Jay grabs him and pulls him near. “Alpha?”

“You don’t smell like you,” Jay rubs his nose down Carlos’ cheek, along his jaw.  “You don’t smell like Carlos.”

There’s a little laugh. “Well, I am Carlos. I promise.”

The omega scent on his skin is still faint, it’ll return with time since the shower washed it away, but all Jay smells is something musky and deep. Carlos’ shampoo, he figures, but there’s more to it. It’s familiar, but not in the way Mal’s scent on Evie was. It’s...

“Are you wearing my shirt?”

Carlos flushes and keeps his gaze lowered when Jay pulls back to look at him. “I know that alphas like signs of, well...ownership, I guess,” he mumbles and peeks up at Jay. “I’m sorry, I should have asked first. I kind of grabbed it without thinking abo-. Whoa!”

Jay spins them, pushes Carlos against the wall and pins him there. “You want to smell like me?”

“Do you...want me to smell like you?”

“Yes,” Jay purrs against the colored skin of Carlos’ throat. There’s not a single thing he wants more at this moment. Except for to fuck Carlos.

“Then so do I.”

That’s a good answer, a very good answer that has Jay grabbing Carlos’ ass and sliding him up the wall. And his omega is quick, he’s clever, he knows to wrap his legs around Jay’s waist and grab his shoulders.

Carlos still doesn’t like to kiss though which is a shame because Jay loves to kiss. But his mouth is slack and unresponsive to Jay’s lips, despite the licking and nibbling and panting against him.

Jay runs his hands up Carlos’ sides, under the shirt. His omega has small muscles, but they’re firm and defined, Carlos is plenty strong. He’ll survive some hard fuck sessions, a couple of brutal ass poundings from Jay. Carlos won’t crumple and break, he’ll be able to take it all and then some.

Evil, he is so fucking lucky to have Carlos.

“Alpha,” Carlos breathes against his mouth. He’s still and tense, not pushing or welcoming Jay and Jay isn’t stopping until he’s told to. “Alpha.”

“Omega.”

Carlos shivers in his hold, Jay can even feel goosebumps rise on his flesh. “Where is Evie?”

“She stunk,” Jay crinkles his nose at the memory, but soothes himself with the skin of Carlos’ collarbone. “She’s out.”

“What?”

“I made her leave. You’re all mine now.”

Carlos throws his head back, Adam’s apple bobbing as he speaks, “I was always yours, alpha.”

It’s easy to carry Carlos from the wall and onto his bed. It’s similar to yesterday when Jay pushed him to the bed, but so different. Carlos is a little more responsive, moaning and sighing, not restricting the access to his throat. His hands winds their way to Jay’s hair where they fist it and tease his scalp.

“Always mine,” Jay pants against his neck. His cock is alive and throbbing despite Jay getting off less than half an hour ago against a pert backside. “You’re always mine.”

“I always will be,” Carlos promises.

Good. He’s going to make sure Carlos smells like him for forever. “Everyone is going to know who you belong to,” Jay sucks on the skin under his ear. He’s rubbing himself against Carlos, lavishing his skin with kisses. “You’re going to reek of me.”

“O-o-ok-kay.”

“I could make you smell of me by sucking your cock,” Jay bites at his color, “or by coming on your face.”

Carlos makes a helpless noise and his desire is so overpowering, Jay wonders if he can drown in it. It would be the best way to die.

They’re not supposed to fuck, Carlos made that more than clear, but he just said he belongs to Jay and he said always. So if Carlos is his, Jay can do what he wants. He can fuck his omega and come on his face and lick every inch of Carlos, like in to Carlos.

Jay’s hands fumble with the stupid tie on pajama bottoms, but Carlos’ grabs his wrists.

Fucking dammit.

“Ja-. Alpha, please,” Carlos whines when Jay rolls off of him and stalks away. “It’s just-.”

“My fucking rut, I get it.” No, he doesn’t. None of this makes sense. “You don’t wanna fuck, fine. But don’t bullshit me and say you’re mine.”

“I am!” Carlos insists and pulls back at Jay’s sharp look. “I am, alpha, I promise. I’ll be yours.”

“You’re not fucking acting like it.”

Carlos hangs his head, twists the bed sheet between his fingers. “I’m trying to, I’m trying to care for you, but I don’t know how to do this entirely.”

“Why did you say entirely?” Jay growls. “Why do you know how to do this at all?” There’s no way there’s another alpha. No one in Auradon gives them a second glance and Carlos stayed away from people on the Isle. He ran from everyone - betas and alphas alike.

The omega bites his lip and the hanging scent of his arousal is gone, replaced with something more faint. “My mo-mother. I know how to c-cater to her.”

Cruella’s an alpha, Jay knows. Most villains are, it’s why most of their kids came out as alphas too, children tend to follow their parents. Briefly, Jay wonders if Carlos’ father was an omega, some poor fellow who fell prey to Cruella.

“What do you mean by that?”

“She stopped having her ruts before I presented, but she was still a-agres-ssive,” Carlos shrugs and doesn’t look up. It reminds Jay of that day in the treehouse when Evie asked about other alphas and how uncomfortable Carlos had been, but the omega continues. “I just tried to serve her. I cleaned without being told, I cooked what I could, I tried to do it all for her. She seemed to like having someone to submit.” Carlos takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “But it’s not the same with you and I knew that it wouldn’t be. I can do, I can offer-. Or, well, you want more and I can’t...”

Jay marches over to the bed. He’s grinding his teeth and aching to punch something - Cruella would be nice, but she’s too far. “But you said that you’re mine.”

“I am,” Carlos leans into him without opening his eyes, “I’m yours, alpha.”

“Then let me mark you up. I...fuck, let me do this.”

“You already have,” Carlos blinks his eyes open, tips his head back and shows off his bites and bruises with a little smile on his lips. He’s quite pride of the state of his throat.

“More,” Jay growls and pushes Carlos to lay on the bed. “Wanna mark you up all over,” he pushes up Carlos’ shirt - which is really Jay’s shirt - but never breaks eye contact, “want everyone to know who you belong to. Every inch of your skin.”

“Alpha,” Carlos’ eyes flutter shut, it’s a common sign of vulnerability that has Jay grinning even though he still wants to put a hole in a wall. “We can’t...”

Jay sits on his hips, sighs at the slack muscles and peaceful stillness under him. “I’m not talking about fucking you. Even though that’s all I’ve been thinking about,” he slides his hands over the smooth chest. “When I fuck you, it’ll be because,” Jay leans down, kisses Carlos’ ear, “you begged me for it. I’m not going to fuck you until you apologize for being a tease and you get on your knees and beg because you. Will. Beg.” He bites down on the earlobe, nibbles when Carlos whines.

It takes a long moment to draw himself away from Carlos. With his arousal and submission kicking in, his omega scent is filtering back into the room, but he still smells like Jay, smells like he is owned.

“I’m going to mark you up wherever I want, wherever anyone can see and make sure you remember who you belong to.”

Carlos visibly swallows. “I know who I belong to.”

“I’m making sure everyone else knows too.” Jay doesn’t remove his shirt from Carlos’ skin - he can’t bare to to not have the omega in his clothing - just pushes it up so he has full access to the lithe chest and torso. He grips Carlos’ hands, moves them above blond curls and Carlos doesn’t fight him at all, just allows Jay to do what he pleases. “Do not move your hands.”

It’s another order, the riskiest one Jay has given to Carlos and unease creeps into his bones. Carlos could reject him right now, and then what? How badly would Jay hurt him, how upset would he be at Carlos’ denial after being so accustomed to obedience?

He’s too far gone to reign in his own dominance, the only reason he settles for marking Carlos up instead of fucking him is to ensure his bite, his scent doesn’t leave Carlos’ skin for days.

But his omega, his, is perfect and still and sweet and lovely. “Yes, alpha. I won’t move.”

Jay’s mouth practically waters. “Good.” He lowers himself, takes time and pleasure in licking Carlos’ chest, his pecks and shoulders. He moves over the skin, loving every inch and noting every freckle. “You’re beautiful.”

“Thank you, alpha.”

When the first bite comes, Carlos gasps and arches, but he doesn’t squirm. He doesn’t buk.

Jay sucks on his skin, digs his teeth in deeper and groans at the taste before releasing the skin and moving on to another unmarked patch. His whole body is practically unmarked, all for Jay to bruise and claim, all for him, all for him, all for him.

Until his tongue meets a scar, a small and textured circle that Jay knows the story behind. He knows the time - Carlos’ childhood - the place - Hell Hall - the bitch who did it - Cruella - and the cause - Carlos existing.

He’s not the first person to leave his mark on the omega. His marks won’t even stay as long as these scars.

“Alpha?”

Jay blinks. He had been kissing the scar, but not nipping or sucking. He was being gentle with the omega. Carlos deserved gentle. Carlos deserves more.

But when he pulls back and registers the scars covering Carlos, decorating him like some kind of fucked up painting with burns and cuts and scratches and blisters, Jay snarls.

He can’t change the past and it aches in his chest. Cruella’s mark will always be on Carlos but she is never, never, touching him again.

Jay steadies himself on the mattress with one hand, grabs Carlos’ chin with the other. “Say that you’re mine.”

“I’m yours.”

“Again.”

“I’m yours, alpha,” and Carlos is so sweet and needy, arching up to him so their chests touch.

It’s not as soothing as it ought to be. “Say my name.”

“Jay.”

He shakes his head, “say the whole thing, with my name. Say-.”

“I’m yours, Jay,” Carlos raises his head so their noses touch, keeps eye contact with Jay because he has no choice with the grip on his face. “I’m all yours. I belong to you, Jay. I belong to you. I’m yours, Jay.”

The alpha shivers, kisses Carlos deep and hungry and needy. Jay pulls back, kisses the corners of his mouth before going back down to his chest. “Gonna mark you all over,” he says more to himself than to Carlos. “Gonna make sure you only see my marks.”

He bites again, maybe harder than he means to or maybe not nearly hard enough, but Carlos cries out anyway and he smells good and warm and safe.

Carlos is safe. He is safe with Jay. Jay will never let anyone else touch him.

“Keep saying it.”

“I’m yours, Jay. All yours. I belong to you Ja-ay.” Carlos’ voice breaks with a bite to his nipple the same time the alpha bucks against his ass. “A-all yo-yours.”

He keeps up the mantra as Jay works his way down Carlos’ chest, covering every scar with a healthy bruise. His marks won’t last, but they cover up the scars of another alpha for now and when they fade, it’s just an excuse for Jay to put them all back.

Carlos squirms when Jay moves down to his thighs, but the alpha promises they’re not fucking because “I meant it when I said you would beg.” Jay pushes up his shorts, starts at the knee to lick and kiss and suck, purrs at all the hickeys and love bites he trails up as far as Carlos’ bunched shorts will allow.

It takes time, more than Jay bothers to keep track of, to cover Carlos’ skin enough to his satisfaction. There’s a time when Evie knocks at the door and shouts, Jay growls at the presence of anyone near him and his omega, but Carlos calls her away, promises he is safe even as he lays covered in bites and bruises and looking thoroughly fucked despite both of them being clothed.

“Keep going, please,” he had begged, “show me that I’m yours, Jay.”

And Jay had done just that.

Blah, I liked the last chapter better. It took me so long to figure out where this chapter was going and what purpose it served. Thanks to @disney-princess-sized​ for her help!

The itch wakes him up before any of the shouting bastards outside do. Jay growls, digs his nails into his arms and bites at his pillow.

Fuck. His head hurts, his dick hurts, his skin hurts.

It’s never been so agonizing before. But usually by day three, Jay has already fought a couple of people and forced them into submission, made them kneel before him.

(Though, at other times, his fuzzy head and distracting anger made sure Jay got his ass kicked too.)

He pushes himself up, sighing at his sticky shorts from where he must have ground against his mattress in his sleep.

Awesome.

After a shower and two jerk off sessions, Jay rubs his temple. Everything is hot and itchy, even when he scratches himself in just basketball shorts.

Carlos’ scent is still in the air despite being kicked out of his own dorm almost a full day ago and Jay sucks it in like he’s dying for it.

Was he always this desperate on the Isle?

“Fuck,” he hisses. Then, a little louder, “fuck!”

He groans at the clock. 1:06. He managed to sleep in on Saturday, thanking his exhaustion from the night before when he hit the gym for hours after he pushed Carlos out of their room, but now Jay is stuck inside. He can’t go out and risk getting in a fight or grabbing someone.

Or, at least, that was his logic last night.

Today it’s different, right in the middle of his rut. He’s ignored his urges, pushed away a beautiful omega and imprisoned himself.

Fuck that shit.

Jay grabs a shirt and forces it over his head. He pulls the door open, stepping right on a tray of food outside of his room.

Growling, Jay bends down. It’s a sandwich and some fruit, a little note with a scrawled C in the middle.

He sighs heavily, grabs an apple. There’s something undeniably soothing about how Carlos left him food, wanted to please and take care of his alpha like an obedient omega.

Jay shakes his head hard, lets his hair whip around. No, he isn’t Carlos’ alpha and Carlos isn’t his omega.

But Carlos offered to be last night. Said he would help, that he wanted to help, begged for it with a pretty please after Jay threw him out.

If he tries hard enough, Jay can remember the scent of Carlos’ desire, his arousal when Jay pinned him down and thrusted against him.

He takes a deep breath, raises a shaky hand. Maybe he should stay in the dorm. Jay’s not so sure he would be able to reject Carlos again. If he sees his roommate, Jay will probably just strip him and fuck him (hard. On his knees. Like a good little omega).

But he can’t stay cooped up in his room, slowly losing his mind with restlessness.

Jay takes a bite of the apple, turns down the hall and heads for the tourney field.

Few students remain on campus for the weekend, even fewer are wandering in the halls instead of lounging in common rooms or already outside. Those who see him coming immediately turn away and avoid eye contact. Jay just growls at them. The slightest aggression, the smallest challenge, and he will throw someone to the ground and hold them down until they still and submit.

Not everyone gets the message though.

He hasn’t started running yet when a tall figure walks up to him.

“Jay, hello,” Ben greets curtly, keeping his eyes to the ground despite his own alpha nature. “How are you?”

“Fuck off.”

The king just smiles a little to himself, like Jay just said something funny, and the dark haired teen snarls.

“Ah, I am sorry. I only wanted to see if you are well.”

“Not particularly.”

“Is there anything I, or Auradon Prep, can do to help?”

Find me a pretty piece of ass who doesn’t mind getting fucked for the rest of the week. “Nope.”

“Well,” Ben looks up slowly, “the field is yours for as long as you’d like it. Some athletes are using the track, but I can relocate them.”

“Get away from me.”

“Okay. Have a good day, Jay.”

Ben turns away and Jay sprints down the track and around the bend, running like every bit of aggression can be solved by the sound of his feet hitting the gravel. He leaps over some hurdles but ignores them for the most part.

It’s warm outside, even for late fall, but he keeps moving. He grunts and sweats and pushes himself, sick of all the fury and potential violence inside of him and Jay runs even when it’s hard to breathe.

"That’s not fair!”

“Calm do-.”

“No, why are we doing this?”

Jay slows at the next curve, strains his ears. He can hear familiar voices by the bleachers.

“Just leave it be for the rest of this week.”

“So he’s not going to get punished for anything? The disrespect to teachers, terrifying other students, tackling me?”

“You don’t understand what it’s like for alphas, especially ones that lack control.” That’s Ben’s voice, calm and kingly.

The other voice, Chad, Jay assumes, is angered and annoyed. “Dude, my mom was raised by the most oppressive alpha who always made her submit,” Chad snaps. “You don’t get to assume that betas don’t understand how fucking scary it is when you guys don’t control yourselves.”

“I know that I use to be aggressive during my ru-.”

“When you were a kid, yeah!” Chad snaps. “But we’re not kids, neither is Jay, we’re practically adults, fully capable of controlling ourselves.”

“You sure are acting like a little bitch though!”

Both of the voices stop at his shout and, for a moment, Jay wonders if the other young men will back down, but Chad walks around the bleachers and stalks toward him.

“I’m acting like a little bitch?” Chad snaps with Ben following behind him. “You’re the one who’s tackling people and scaring people!”

Jay snarls. All of his energy is still drained from his run but the aggression is ever present even if he doesn’t have the strength to follow through with it right now. “What, Auradon princes can’t stand a dirty look?”

“Both of you calm down!” Ben commands and for the first time, Jay looks at him and sees a ruler. “Your actions are unnecessary.”

Any other time, Jay might have been proud of Ben. He’s making a difficult decision and using his power to help, but all Jay hears is another alpha giving him orders.

A challenge

“Fuck off!” He snarls and shoves Ben backwards, stumbling into Chad. The king clenches his fist, but doesn’t growl or bare his teeth.

“Jay, I know this is hard for-”

“Shut up.”

“-you, but you have to control yourself.”

He doesn’t have to do anything, not anything Ben says, not follow any orders. Jay sneers, grinds his teeth and moves forward, fully intending on swinging.

But Ben ducks and Chad steps back, so Jay stumbles forward. He turns to pounce on Ben, tackles him to the ground and sits on top, canines still exposed.

The king doesn’t bare his neck like Jay expected, doesn’t cower like the alphas on the Isle who only cared about surviving. Instead, Ben bucks, dislodges Jay rather quickly.

Part of him is still weary from his run and regretting how much energy he willingly burnt off, but Jay reaches for Ben and snaps his teeth in warning before he’s being shoved off by another body. He shouts something along the lines of “fucking fuck” when Chad tries to pin him.

Oh evil, it’s humiliating how close the beta comes to besting him.

Jay quickly flips them, straddles Chad and easily holds his shoulders down. His first instinct is to bite, but the panic looked in the beta’s eyes has him pausing.

A familiar voice, high and demanding, cuts through. “Jay!”

It’s Mal, sprinting toward them. She rushes past Ben, mumbles something inaudible to the king and grabs Jay by his shoulders.

He snarls, shoves her away, but Mal comes right back, forcing him off of Chad surprisingly.

Huh. Mal is pretty damn strong for her size.

Jay jumps up and before he can even grab her, Mal is relaxed, head thrown back and neck exposed. There’s no fear or panic in her, just tranquility, as if she’s okay being bitten by another alpha.

She doesn’t smell right - too strong, too bitter, unnatural in her submission - but Jay bites anyway.

He’s bitten Mal before, and she’s returned the favor. More often before they were friends and just unfortunately bumped into each other on bad days, but it’s been a while. Jay gives her a small nip to her collar that doesn’t even break skin.

When he pulls away, Mal doesn’t move. Ben has Chad pulled close to him, both watching intently, but neither reacting.

“Jay,” she sounds so far away. “Will you come on back to the dorms?” Mal asks, carefully avoiding any demands. “Carlos is there. He’s waiting for you.”

Oh yes. A thousand times yes. The itch under his skin is intensified with the short challenge, encouraged by Mal’s submission. The idea of Carlos, sweet and obedient and desperate to please, is one he can’t possibly reject.

Jay nods mutely, shoves past Mal, and rushes up to his dorm. He’s so focused that he hardly notices any other student, so excited that he doesn’t stop to glare. He's one step inside the building before Mal has caught up to him, breathless and sweating.

She’s talking to him quickly, tripping over her words in a way that is so unlike Mal, but Jay isn’t listening. He’s taking the stairs two at a time, zooming to his room.

Sure enough, when the door swings open, Carlos is pacing the room and in the middle of a heated conversation with Evie.

Both turn to Jay in shock, but he only has eyes for one of them.

There’s hardly time for Carlos to speak, getting out only “Jay, what-” before the alpha is grabbing the back of his head, pushing their mouth together, sloppy and heated.

He’s been infatuated with Carlos’ scent the past days, in their room, on his bed, his clothing, but it’s never been so intense when Jay has his lips on freckled skin. He’s not sweet and fresh like the stereotypical smell of omegas. No, Carlos smells like copper and fire and something musky, like old books.

Groaning, he pulls Carlos closer. The next time Jay goes in the library, he’s going to have a very confusing boner.

It takes a second for him to realize that Carlos isn’t kissing back. The omega is stiff in his arms and his lips are parted, but unresponsive.

Jay makes some pitiful noise that he will deny until he’s dead. He kisses harder, winds an arm around Carlos’ waist, pulls him closer.

There’s still no reaction from the omega, painfully still in his hold. Jay whines again, moves his mouth down Carlos’ neck, kissing the skin, nipping at the soft throat and purrs when Carlos tips his head back. The alpha bites, not hard, but enough to mark.

“Jay,” Carlos whispers, but doesn’t move. “Stop, please.”

He doesn’t. Jay keeps moving his hips against Carlos’, groaning at the friction against his hard dick. He hears the soft plea and the words register slowly.

“You said,” Jay grunts, pushing them forward until the omega’s knees hit the bed, where Carlos falls back and Jay clambers on top of him, “yesterday, you...you said you wanted to,” he pushes up Carlos’ shirt, moans at the warm skin under his fingertips as he mouth works at a sharp jaw.

But Carlos pushes his clothing back down. His hands freeze and he pushes his head further back when Jay growls in warning.

“You’re too far into your heat. I, uh, rut, I mean.” Carlos takes a deep breath, firmly holds the end of his shirt down. “You’re not in your right mind anymore, you can’t a-agree to this-s.” His explanation dies with the appearance of Jay’s teeth, sinking into the side of his neck.

Which is fine because his reasoning is bullshit as far as Jay is concerned. He wants Carlos so badly it’s maddening, wants to drown in his heady scent, touch every inch of his skin.

And Carlos said yes yesterday, said he wanted to submit and let Jay fuck him. Begged and fought for Jay to use him, push his head down and dominate.

Right now, he’s gripping Jay’s shoulders, but not to pull him closer.

Jay growls. “You like this, I can smell it.” It’s true, the heavy scent of desire and arousal aren’t just from him. The air makes breathing so much harder, thinking too, and it leaves Jay bucking against Carlos’ crotch. He works at the cursed red shorts before his hand is being pushed away; Jay can’t suppress the snarl in his throat.

"You’re right, alpha,” Carlos mumbles and Jay moans against his shoulder, “I want you. But not like this.”

“Why not?” Jay bites down harder and Carlos squirms.

“Because I’m taking advantage of you. And you’ll hate yourself when this is all over.”

Jay laughs against his throat, lapping at the bite mark he left. “You think you’re taking advantage of me?”

“You can’t...can’t...” Whatever Carlos wants to say is lost with the movement of Jay’s tongue against his skin. “Um, I...I,” for a moment, he relents, lets Jay thrust against him and suck on his neck.

Another presence on the bed draws both of their attention. Jay’s snaps at the newcomer, but Evie bows her head and dismisses any threat he felt. “You can’t consent when you’re this far in your rut.” She reaches out slowly, giving Jay plenty of time to reject her affection, and rubs his shoulder soothingly.

“Says who?”

“Auradon.”

“They’re fucking pussies.”

“They’re right,” she continues, rubbing his shoulder. Jay lifts his head from Carlos’ neck, glares around the room. “Mal left. She went back to the field, she’s far away.”

“Why was she at the field?”

“Jane’s there.” Evie explains like that makes any fucking sense, which it doesn’t. “But you’re so far into your rut that you don’t have a clear head. You wouldn’t be doing this any other time.”

Jay pauses, still laying on top of Carlos, who has been silent and relaxed through this whole time.

He would definitely like to fuck Carlos. Many times, in many places and in many positions.

But he hadn’t. Not yesterday or ever in Auradon, despite the fact that they’re roommates or on the Isle, where alphas absolutely have no control.

Why was he not fucking Carlos again?

His musing give Jay a chance to catch his breath. He pants against Carlos’ throat, relaxes under Evie’s touch. There’s no challenge in the room, only sweet, beautiful submission beneath him. Carlos makes it hard to think, but easier to control himself.

He still craves Carlos, to fuck him, to tease him, to taste him, but Jay wants Carlos to want it to. Not just be a lifeless sex doll laying down and taking it.

(Though, he wouldn’t totally reject that either.)

“Alpha?” A quiet voice calls through the air. “Can I please sit up? Please?’

Oh. He’s been nuzzling Carlos’ neck without thinking about it. And grinding against his ass.

Jay sits, pulls Carlos up with him so the omega is practically in his lap, back to chest. He nips at the neck before him, moves his hands all over Carlos’ sides like touching Carlos is the only thing keeping him sane. Which it might be. “So your plan is to let me suffer from blue balls?” He groans into Carlos’ shoulder, runs his hands over a toned stomach.

“Do-don’t know-w-w,” Carlos moans. “Can’t thi-ink!” His voice breaks when Jay runs a hand over his shorts, cups Carlos and rubs the heel of his palm over the hardness. “Jay!”

His name sounds so fucking good, so perfect falling from Carlos’ lips.

“Carlos,” Evie breathes. She is flushed, looking everywhere but the two of them; her scent in the air is muffled by that of Jay’s rut pheromones and Carlos’ desire, but she’s equally aroused and uncomfortable. “Remember what we talked about?”

He nods his head lazily at first, but then with more vigor. “Yeah,” he grabs Jay’s hand, stills when the alpha strokes him harder. Carlos whines as he pulls Jay off of him, tries to soothe the growling alpha behind him. “Please, we can’t...ohhhh,” Carlos keens as Jay rubs his chest and licks his neck, “can’t have sex.”

“Sure we can,” Jay purrs, sneaks a hand up Carlos’ shirt, “just gotta those teasing fucking shorts off and I’ll lick you open,” he breathes against Carlos’ ear, runs his lips over sweet skin. “Get you nice and wet with my tongue, make you ready for my dick and fuck you,” Jay promises, pulls Carlos tighter against him so that the omega can feel his straining prick. Carlos falls limp and Jay slips his hand down again, over red shorts, makes quick work of the zipper and undoes the button.

Before his hand can slip under cotton boxers, Carlos yelps and squirms.

Jay growls, bites his neck again, holds tight until the skin is broken and Carlos goes still and silent in his arms. The alpha releases his bite, wipes at his mouth. “What?”

"Alpha,” Carlos sighs. “Please, we can’t.”

“Yes we can.”

“I don’t want to.”

Alphas crave submission, they long for control and someone to dominate. It thrums in their blood, causes the horrible itch beneath their skin. Jay needs it like he needs air, he wants complete obedience and a gentle nature for him to ruin.

That doesn’t mean he’s about to force himself on someone.

Carlos has settled in his lap, panting, but motionless otherwise. Jay keeps nuzzling his hair, breathing in the scent of metal and musty textbooks. He feels...not truly calm, but in control enough to fake it. There’s a vicious desire in his stomach, one that snarls at Jay to take everything Carlos offers and then to continue when the omega pleads for him to stop.

“Why are you here?”

“To chaperone,” Evie answers and Jay jolts at her voice. He had nearly forgotten she is here on his bed. “I’ll stop you from doing what you’ll regret.”

“Like fucking Carlos?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Why’re -. Oh fuck,” Jay hisses and lunges off the bed. “Shit.”

Carlos looks up at him, pink and flushed and hurt. “Alpha? What’s wrong?”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Jay stomps into the bathroom, searches for a black towel (because black hides everything and Carlos will lose his mind if one of their towels gets stained). He finds one, quickly wets it, and rushes back to the bed where Evie and Carlos still sit. “Here,” Jay reaches out, places the towel slowly and gently onto a bleeding neck. “Fuck. I- fuck.”

He tries to hide it, but Carlos winces when his newly acquired bite mark is touched. “It’s not bad,” he reassures, “I didn’t even notice it until now.”

“I’m sorry, fuck,” Jay dabs at the wound, sees where his canines punctured hard enough for skin to break, the bruising already started. “This is why,” he snaps, holds the towel to Carlos’ neck, “I pushed you out.”

“I can’t let you suffer,” Carlos blinks with wide eyes, open and trusting and so many things a monster like Jay does not deserve. “I’m here to help you.”

“You can’t stay if I hurt you!” Jay snaps and Evie ducks her head, stiffens even though she had been about to help Carlos.

The omega is unfazed. He drops his gaze and lowers his tone, but Carlos hardly tenses.

“May I please see the wound, Jay?” Evie whispers and reaches for the towel. She pries it off when Jay removes his hand and sighs at what she sees. “The bleeding has already stopped, it won’t even scar.”

Jay runs a hand over his face. “Both of you, get out.”

“Alpha,” Carlos whines, “not again.”

“I’m serious.”

“Jay, please,” Evie tries, but he cuts the beta off.

“No - no way!” Jay - as gently as he can - pulls Carlos off the bed and leads him toward the door. “This is exactly what I knew would happened, I bit you and I hurt you and-.”

Before he can reach the handle, Carlos grabs him, winds his arms around Jay and snuggles into his neck, rubs his lithe body against the alpha in all the right ways.

He smells so good, feels so sweet, that Jay's control is lost and he’s pulling Carlos closer, sniffing his hair, his throat, lapping at the possessive mark on his neck.

“‘M not leaving, alpha.”

“You...you should,” Jay groans as talented fingers run down his back and Carlos’ face is buried in his shirt.

“Let me stay, alpha, please?” Carlos begs into his chest. “I can’t stay away when I know you’re hurting. I...I can’t.”

“Carlos,” his name sounds like a fucking sin at this point, “you’re not safe here.”

“He is, Jay,” Evie answers from the bed. Shit, he actually forgot that she was here this time. “I won’t let you do anything to hurt him. The bite didn’t hurt him as much as you think it did.”

There’s a little laughter from Carlos. “Mal’s been marking you up, E? That’s why all the scarves?”

She turns pink and ignores the question. “We’re both here for you, Jay. I promise.”

“Yeah, alpha,” Carlos kisses his throat. “We’re both here for you.”

There’s clarity with the docile omega before him; Jay feels like he can finally think. He ought to say no, ought to push them both out and barricade himself for the rest of the week.

But the rut is at its worst now. It’s only day three and Jay wants to pull his hair out. He doesn’t want to imagine days four and five alone. He’s not strong enough to deny himself this.

“I mean it, omega,” the word rolls off his tongue sweetly. Just for this week, Jay can pretend that Carlos is really his, “one more thing, if I hurt you, if I bite you like this again,” he sucks at the wound, adds to the bruising, “you have to leave.”

Carlos moans. “Okay. Deal.”

Do I let them get better or worse? Hmmm...

So Evie is Mal’s beta, this won’t be Jay/Carlos/Evie. Or, if it does become that, the threesome will just be temporary. I’m still deciding how big of a role Evie will get.

I have a loose plot in my head, just gotta get some details and timelines worked out.