It was an old practice - hunting an Omega down and capturing them, one that pre-dated all of the young, cocky Alphas now roaming the halls. However, with time being of the upmost importance and the days of long courtships before markings long behind them, this was the easiest way to show an Omega what a good Alpha they could be. They could hunt, provide, care for - all shown by catching their prey, or in this excercise, their Omega.

Phillip had never given much thought into settling down with a mate. The Texan Alpha had trampled over a lot of people to get where he was in his career and with more foes then friends at this point, he'd just never thought that adding an Omega into the mix was worth all the hassle. However, he'd always assumed that one day, he would eventually settle down with a pretty young thing. Enough pups to keep him busy and his family line strong.

But with the virus that had devastated the Omegan population his fantasy was fleeting before his very eyes like sand through his fingers. And well, Phil had never been one for twiddling his thumbs and wait for things to happen. Which was why, when Phillip heard about the arranged auctions, hunts, and numerous other plans for division of Omegas; he all too eagerly secured himself a truck load of rounded up Omegas for his Shadows to hunt down in the Shadow Company's Headquarters. 

Phil strolled almost leisurely through the familiar halls of the base he owned, head held high as his sharp gaze flickered around. He'd come across several Omegas thus far, none of which really called to his Alpha. Some were meek, others feisty. And while Phillip wasn't exactly sure what exactly he was looking for in a mate, he let the ones he'd previously caught go, taking his time while his shadows waited eagerly for their own chances to secure a mate.

~~~

You were reasonably panicked, and pissed. Not to mention the way you were covered in grime was making an unpleasant tingle climb your spine, still in the pajamas you'd been taken in. The beginning of this "hunt" had been a mess. half the omegas barely took the chance to run, and had been subsequently easily caught and publicly rutted by overeager alphas. The entire thing was painfully debasing, but you were determined, you weren't going to be caught, you were going to make it out. Carve some sort of path out this maze of a compound. Surely there were people who'd help, that's what you'd thought until you'd realized the uniforms were military.

But still, you weren't some helpless damsel as oft stereotyped by your secondary gender. You'd often gone camping with your grandfather, and it had you forming some half baked plan to stick to off grid, toughing it in the woods until you could reach your family for help.

It was a shame that weapons had seemingly been disallowed for this hunt. You'd crumpled an alpha with his nose driven into his skull, gurgling. You didn't want to think about if he'd passed out, or had died despite you turning him to his side. You didn't have the mental capacity to really worry or care though when every part of you was focused on survival. But either way to your disappointment the man hadn't had anything useful on him to make a weapon.

You managed to somewhat steady yourself against the Texan, looking up like a doe caught in headlights. Naturally, you were disheveled from the chaos of the last few days. The abduction. Being thrown into a truck with some other un-mated Omegas. The long journey to god-knows-where. Being released into this unfamiliar building. Your scent soured with distress had Phil cooing as he gently cupped your cheek. His instincts pricking in interest, it may just be the best he gets from the batch they stole.

Your bare feet were thudding down the hall from another alpha who'd caught you ransacking the body. Now was not the time for quiet steps, it was a sprint to flee. And the sound of your feet slapping the concrete was exactly what warned Phil to your rapid approach.

"Doll, I suggest you slow down before you-" Phillip started in a warning, hearing rushed footsteps coming closer. However, too late to skid to a halt, as they turned the corner, the Omega collided straight into the Alpha with a small squeak. Phil's arms going around them to keep them steady in the collision. "-bump into me… well now, ain't you just pretty as a peach?"

"Oh, come now. Don't look at me like that, sugar. No need to be all frightened of little ol' me," He purred. "You know, I think you'll do nicely…"

You were exhausted, pissed off, scared, and worst of all overstimulated and halfway into a meltdown. So when those hands, and unfamiliar scent wrapped around you, cooing what felt like faux sympathy. Even if the accent was achingly nice, you snapped. Midway through him saying "you'd do nicely" You reared back quicker than a viper, well built through years of training. Your head connecting with his nose with a crunching sound as your leg swung, kicking out his knee with a pop that got his hands off you

Luka had been loath to leave the nest, but he didn’t want to wake Marinette from her sleep, either. Gods knew she needed as much rest as she could get. He had been getting hungry, too, which had only made him realize…he wasn’t sure when the last time Marinette had actually eaten anything was. He wasn’t sure how much she would be able to eat, once she did wake, but he wanted somethingbeyond cold bread ready for her.

Rose had said she’d be weak. That that thing had been draining her life away. She’d need to eat something to build her strength back up, right?

He had set about making a stew, his movements habitual. He had been halfway through mincing some mushrooms when a crack of thunder echoed outside the cottage. He paused, looking up as the pressure in the air seemed to build and pop, and then there was a shriek and a crash coming from behind him. He whipped around, flipping the knife in his hand to a more defensive position, and hissed.

Rose was standing on the table, Alya lying in a heap at her feet. The witch was gasping, pushing herself up and clinging to the closest chair, as she looked around. The movement seemed to make her dizzy, and she groaned as she rested her head on her arms.

“Talk, witch,” Rose commanded. Luka put the knife back on the counter and slithered over, hissing as Alya tried to lift her head. “Now!”

“I don’t even know who in the seven hells you…Luka?” Alya gasped once she had looked up. She blinked at him, squinting, and he realized her glasses had been knocked off in the trip. He bent to retrieve them, and she mumbled a thanks as he handed them to her. “What am I doing here? You know this crazy bitch?”

“I would mind my inssssultssss around my family, Lahiffe,” he said, his tone low and warning. “The only thing keeping you alive right now is what you hopefully know.”

“Ali…what?” Alya spluttered, shaking her head. She tried to stand, but she wasn’t used to traveling by fae magic and her stomach churned, sending her back to the floor. “Gods, my head…”

“You were here with Marinette. You brought the shifter here,” Rose said. Alya’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Lila?” she asked. “Yes, I brought Lila here. She’s trained in midwifery. I thought she could help.”

“Where is shhhhe now, Lahiffe?” Luka demanded.

“What?” Alya asked, shaking her head. “I…I don’t know. I haven’t seen her for a while. She’s been busy lately – we all have, getting ready for summer. You know how things get once it warms up.”

She shrieked as Luka hissed, his tail snapping out and coiling around her neck, lifting her from the ground and slamming her against the wall by the hearth. Her hands immediately came up to grasp at the coils, trying to loosen his grip even as it wound tighter. He loomed above her, fangs bared and dripping as he hissed.

“L-Luka, wh…what…can’t…breathe…” Alya gasped, still tugging at his tail. His eyes narrowed as he leaned closer.

“What did the shhhifter do with my ssssnakelet, Lahiffe?” he hissed. Alya froze, her eyes popping open.

“Wh…what?” she rasped. She cried out again as Luka’s tail tightened.

“…Al…Alya?”

Luka froze at Marinette’s weak voice. Alya’s eyes widened as she looked over his head, her fingers still uselessly scrabbling at the bit of tail wrapped about her neck. He turned, hissing when he saw Marinette swaying on her feet by the curtain. Rose was already rushing to her side.

“Sweetie, you should be resting,” Rose murmured, fussing, but Marinette shook her head.

“No,” she said firmly, sounding like it had taken all of her strength to utter that one word. Her grip tightened on the curtain, and Rose sighed as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Marinette took a shaky step, but when she wobbled even doing that Luka dropped Alya to the ground and rushed to her side. He was behind her in an instant, easing her onto his tail and wrapping his arms around her middle, pulling her close.

“You need to resssst, love,” he murmured, ducking his head against her shoulder to nuzzle her. She grunted, but she was too weak to try to stand again. She sank back into him, and he sighed and pulled her closer. He knew now that it hadn’t been her, but the relief he felt at those little gestures – the little things, the physical signs of their bond, that had always come so naturally to them and had all but disappeared over the past month – was overwhelming.

“Mari…Marinette, what –” Alya started, but her words cut off in a harsh cough. She groaned and rubbed at her throat, and Luka hissed when she looked back at them.

“You will sssspeak to me, not her,” he hissed, voice low and dangerous. Alya tensed as she watched him through wary eyes. “You no longer have any friends here, witch.”

“Excuse me?!” she croaked, but Luka and Rose were ignoring her. Rose was kneeling before Luka and Marinette, fussing over her sister. “Marinette is my best friend, you asshole!”

“Marinette, you need to get back to the nest,” Rose whispered, brushing her bangs back from her face. “Luka and I will handle this. You aren’t strong enough to –”

“I don’t care, Rose!” Marinette snapped. She tried to push away from Luka, but he held her closer. “She took…she took my baby!”

“What…what the shit are you talking about?” Alya demanded. Marinette looked up at her, her eyes filled with so much fear and hate that Alya visibly recoiled. She had known Marinette since they were young witchlings, still studying in the Citadel. Marinette had never looked at her like that. “Marinette, what’s going on? This crazy fae just kidnapped me. Your crazy husband just tried to kill me. What the shit is going on?”

“I ssssaid you will not sssspeak to her!” Luka hissed, snapping his head up from Marinette’s shoulder. Marinette grimaced and reached up, laying her hand on Luka’s neck. He hissed and leaned into her touch, bending until her hand was on his cheek.

“It’s not Alya, love,” Marinette murmured. “Alya didn’t…Alya wouldn’t do this. Not to me. R…right, Alya?”

“Do what?” Alya asked. “Marinette, what’s going on? Where’s Clara?”

Marinette sucked in a sharp breath.

“Clara…she was…we had…” she murmured. Rose placed a hand on her cheek and turned her head to look at her.

“What do you remember, Marinette?” she asked gently.

“Ev…everything,” Marinette choked out. She was still looking at Alya, but she wasn’t seeing her. She was months back, when Lila first handed her her…gods. Had that even been real? Had that actually been her daughter (her daughter!), or had she already been too late? She couldn’t remember. The birth had been so hard, and Alya had said…she had been unconscious for hours – days, hadn’t she? “Lila stole my baby. I couldn’t…I couldn’t keep her safe. I couldn’t carry her. And Lila took her. And I just let her.”

“Marinette, no,” Luka hissed, bumping his head against hers. He nuzzled her shoulder as another strangled sob choked her.

“She has my baby, doesn’t she? She took…and I couldn’t even tell. I let her…I let that thing…I lost her,” Marinette gasped, curling towards Luka and wrapping her arms around him. “I’m sorry – I’m so sorry!”

“Hushhhh, love,” he murmured, rubbing her back. “It wasn’t your fault. You did not do thissss.”

“You were cursed, Marinette,” Rose said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Faerie-struck. You couldn’t have known.”

“I’m her mother!” Marinette wailed. “I should have!”

“Hey!”

Luka and Rose looked up to find Alya glaring at them. Her hands fisted at her sides as her body shook. Her lips were curled back in snarl.

“Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on here?” she demanded. “You don’t just…kidnap someone then ignore them! You can’t accuse me of…I would never curse Marinette!”

“Not you, Lahiffe, though I am sssstill uncccertain how much of a role you played in all thissss,” Luka hissed. Alya’s eyes narrowed.

“None, you can be sure,” she bit. “I would never hurt Marinette, you idiotic –”

“You still befriended someone who would, you idiotic witch,” Rose snapped. She moved from Marinette’s side to stand before Alya. Rose was a good head, maybe two shorter than the witch, but the fury coursing through her made her seem to loom before her. Alya backed up, pressing herself against the wall as she watched the fae warily. “The shifter you call friend. We believe she replaced my niece with a changeling.”

“What?!” Alya gasped. “But…that’s fae magic! Dark fae magic! Lila’s not capable –”

“Shifters are slippery, witch,” Rose said. “You’d be surprised what tricks those damn foxes pick up.”

“Lila is a good person!” Alya insisted. She took a step closer to Rose, but she backed up again when Rose’s glare narrowed. “She is! She was trying to help Marinette, not…she wouldn’t do this!”

“For her sake and yours, I hope you’re right,” Rose said, though she didn’t sound like she believed it. “Because if she has the snakelet when we find her, she will die.”

“You have no right –” Alya started, but Marinette’s flat voice cut her off.

“Luka is guardian of the Forest,” she said, her voice emotionless and flat. She wouldn’t even look at Alya anymore. Luka’s arms tightened around her, and she tucked her head against his chest. Tried to ground herself with the steady beat of his heart beneath her cheek. “He protects his own. He has every right.”

A chill crept over Alya at her friend’s words. She wanted to argue – wanted to insist that Marinette was wrong, that Lila would never, that Luka couldn’t kill a witch – but she knew Marinette would not listen.

But Alfred being like Arthur, if you're my father, if you love me, I can't ever be a monster to you.

If you're my father, do you love me more than your lover? Is your son more important than your spouse? Do I mean that much to you? If I killed Francis would you forgive me?

Am I your favorite son?

Am I the better brother if I killed Matthew would you forgive me, would you be glad it wasn't the other way around?

Is there a limit to what your love means and would you ever let me find it?

Alfred and Arthur dynamic but Alfred is everything that Arthur was and amplified he's like a mirror image/and now there are consequences.

I think the promise of unconditional love could be horror here, maybe. And not in like the stalker way but in the "I promised I would love and care for something horrible, something I have no control over and I don't know how to stop loving him."

And maybe the really scary part is that loving someone made things worse that loving them was wrong that love, which is pure and good, was not right here, how do you admit that your son is unlovable-- (what is to be unlovable? Is that even possible? Doesn't that make you the monster?)-- so do you love him even harder?

And thank you @tea-pettiest for adding this brilliant idea: