Chapter Text
Tim woke up feeling safe. He turned over, burying himself further into the warmth. The pain of his ribs was a distant thing.
The warmth rumbled, and a gentle hand stroked up & down Tim’s back, covering him in alpha-protect-secure-love-mine. “Good sleep then, pup?”
Tim mumbled incoherently in response, nosing around until he found Jason’s collarbone. Alpha-warm-safe-protect-mine. He sighed contentedly, going boneless.
Jason chuckled softly, moving his hand up to rub a thumb over Tim’s nape. “I should scruff you more often. You don’t sleep enough.”
“Nooooooo,” Tim whined sleepily. “Alpha cuddles now; lecture later.”
Jason slid his arms under Tim’s body, lifting him from the bed. “You actually need food, puppy. You’ve barely eaten since we rescued you, and that was three days ago.”
Tim whined again in protest, but Jason nipped at his shoulder, so he fell quiet. This was nice, anyway. Jason ran warm, and his scent-glands were all uncovered, wrapping Tim in a bubble of protective pheromones. No one would dare hurt him here.
“Is he well?” Damian’s voice demanded as they took the stairs.
“He’s much better,” Jason rumbled happily. “The purring acts as a pain-reliever & semi-healer, so as long as we keep him happy, he’ll be okay.”
“Right,” Damian said firmly, as if he’d just been given a mission of the highest priority. He scrambled up onto a bar-stool next to Tim’s, reaching out to rub his scent over the omega’s exposed collarbone. Tim hummed sleepily, allowing this. The pup was anxious to help, and his scent was soothing, but not in the way he probably meant it to be. It quieted Tim’s insecurities to have the pack’s youngest near at hand.
Jason bustled around preparing breakfast, but abruptly paused when Dick entered the room. Even Damian froze. The smaller alpha smelled… off. Jason’s rut was over by now, giving way to his usual possessive alpha pheromones, but Dick’s sympathy-rut still appeared to be in full swing. His normal scent of protect-warm-affection mixed weirdly with avenge-claim-possessive-jealous-mine.
Dick glanced around, then smiled when he saw Tim. “Omega.”
Tim blinked a few times. The smile clashed sharply with the spike of claim-aggressive-mine that entered Dick’s scent. “Alpha.”
Dick’s smile brightened, and he walked closer, offering a wrist. “May I?”
This was weird. The actions were normal; the words were par for the course, but the atmosphere was wrong. Tim hesitated for a moment, but he sensed Jason’s intense staring & calm pheromones, and Damian was watching alertly at his back. If anything was truly wrong, surely they’d catch it before he did. “Sure.”
Dick walked only close enough to reach Tim, gently dragging his wrist down Tim’s shoulder & across one of his collarbones. It wasn’t a true scenting, but it did add to the pack scent, which was the point. The alpha immediately backed off after that, retreating back to a respectful distance as he quietly inquired after breakfast.
Tim barely heard Jason’s rumbling answer, lost in thought.
************
“What’s wrong with you?” Tim couldn’t help asking when Dick passed the living-room for the ninth time that day, stopped to sniff the air, then continued on his way.
The alpha stopped in his tracks, glancing over his shoulder with a rueful grin. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s just…” Tim waved a hand helplessly. “You’re feeling protective; I get it. You’re just being weird about it.”
Dick shoved his hands into his pockets. “I just want to respect your space.”
And Tim… Tim didn’t really have anything to say to that. Because he had set boundaries, and Dick was respecting them, wasn’t he?
************
As the week inched on, it became increasingly clear that something really was wrong with Dick. His mixed rut smell stretched on far longer than it should have, gaining a sour edge, and his movements became sharper. He rarely neared the den anymore, and he didn’t offer to scent Tim after the once. Whenever he did happen to stalk past, his eyes looked dark & his walk was agitated. He didn’t act like himself at all.
Unfortunately, this was also affecting the rest of the pack. Jason didn’t sleep well, sitting up instead to guard over Tim’s nest or anxiously pacing the room. He almost never went out to find Dick, but he did try to order the other alpha to go take a nap. Dick only snapped at him before going on his way.
Damian was affected far worse. He woke up at the most random of times, whimpering from a nightmare, and it was all Tim could do to calm him down. During the day, the pup stuck dutifully by Tim’s side, but he flinched at nothing & was often caught looking longingly at the door.
Tim realized almost too late that something was tearing his pack apart.
************
“What’s wrong with Dick?” Tim whispered in the darkness, knowing Damian was asleep but Jason wasn’t.
The alpha shifted in his position at the end of the bed, sitting up a little straighter. “I don’t know. He’s… unstable.” A heavy hand rested on Tim’s ankle. “My priority right now is you.”
A warm feeling curled in Tim’s gut, but it wasn’t enough to dispel the knot of anxiety. Damian whimpered in his sleep, and Tim coasted gentle fingers through his hair, dragging his omega scent over the pup’s head to calm him down. The boy curled closer, subsiding.
Jason heaved a sigh. “His rut hasn’t ended.”
Tim looked up, trying to make out the details in the shadowy form of his brother. “That’s… bad… right?”
“Yeah.” Jason ran a hand through his hair. “I’m surprised he hasn’t gone feral.”
Tim’s nostrils flared as he remembered picking up Dick’s scent earlier in the day. “He almost is.”
Jason leaned over, placing his head in his hands. “I don’t… I don’t know what to do.”
That was the kicker; what drove reality home in Tim’s thoughts. Something bad was happening & his alpha didn’t know what to do. Jason was lost. He was scared.
“This is my fault,” Tim slowly realized. He looked down at Damian, suddenly nauseous. “My boundaries are making him sick somehow.”
“That’s not negotiable. Your boundaries should be respected, and he’s respecting them.”
“But at what cost? His mental health?”
“It’s your mental health you’re protecting in the first place,” Jason reminded quietly. “He hurt you.”
Tim felt his eyes burn. “He’s more than earned his place in my pack. I’ve just been too caught up in the past to see it.”
Jason said nothing, not even to dispute ownership of the pack. He’d given temporary power to Tim, after all. He’d handed over his authority for this issue knowing that Tim would pick the best route; make the best choice.
A lot of good that did.
“Hey,” Jason suddenly crooned, drawing closer. “Hey, pup, don’t cry. It’s gonna be okay; he’ll be alright.”
“I just…” Tim scrubbed furiously at his eyes, stopping when Jason tugged his wrist down to scent it with his own. “I’m supposed to be helping this pack, not tearing it apart. I want Dick here, but something’s stopping me. I don’t know him anymore.”
“Then get to know him,” Jason said quietly, rubbing his wrist over Tim’s cheek now to spread alpha-secure-protect. He said it so casually, like it was that simple.
… Maybe it was.
************
It would have taken Tim a long time to track his oldest brother down under normal circumstances. Dick didn’t usually hide in the east library. As it was, following the souring smell of possessive-claim-protect-upset-mine took about five minutes.
He paused just outside of the door. Maybe he should have told Jason where he was going. Or Damian.
Chill, he told himself. This is your BROTHER, not some villain.
His instincts didn’t really appreciate the significance of that difference. Maybe it wasn’t much of a difference at all.
He hasn’t done anything, Tim reminded himself, slipping into the library. Yet.
Dick was pacing behind the couch, his movements almost erratic as he spun, walked, and spun again. The scent he gave off was much stronger in here, and Tim nearly gagged. He… might have miscalculated.
Dick froze in his tracks, nostrils flaring, and stared Tim down. Something in his eyes was wild. Uncontrollable.
Tim tugged urgently on his bond with Jason, and Jason’s emotions flared in alarm. He would come.
After several tense moments, Dick’s shoulders went back, and he relaxed off of the balls of his feet, no longer poised to rush forward. He looked… guilty? His hands clasped behind his back, and his expression shuttered. It was hard to read his body-language now. “Omega.”
Tim swallowed nervously, projecting confident-safe-calm into his scent. “Alpha. You’re not well.”
Unexpectedly, Dick’s lip curled in a snarl. “You should leave.”
Tim crossed his arms, glaring. “No.”
Dick snapped the air, impatience-desperate-feral spiking in his scent.
Jason slid in behind Tim, barely winded. His presence gave Tim enough courage to snap back, a low puppy growl vibrating in his throat.
Dick backed off a touch, surprised. “What are you---”
“Submit,” Tim ordered firmly, putting more force into his glare.
Dick began to snarl again, his scent edging into fully-feral. They were running out of time.
Tim snapped once more, keeping his teeth bared, and uncrossed his arms to make himself look bigger. “Submit!!!”
Dick stepped back, then dropped to one knee, grunting. His instincts were waging a fierce battle in his body, and it showed. The clashing smells of submit-claim-dominate-aggressive-alpha were almost cloying.
Tim walked forward with measured steps, keeping his scent calm. “I’m going to claim you, Dick. I want you in my pack.”
Dick looked up, and his dark eyes suddenly looked so human, so pleading and desperate and hopeful all at once. Then they darkened again, and he lowered his head into his hands, gasping. “I can’t… I’m… I’m not…”
Jason moved around them to stand behind Dick, poised. “He’s almost gone, Tim.”
Tim nodded silently, taking the warning for what it was. “Hold him.”
Dick’s head snapped up. “No, I want it, I do!!! I won’t struggle, I…”
Tim held his hands up, pacifying. “Can you honestly say you won’t lunge in a fit of desperation? What about accidentally hurting me when you feel the bite?”
Dick lowered his head again, subdued. He was trembling, Tim realized.
Jason knelt down, gently looping his arms under Dick’s, then clasping his hands behind Dick’s head, forcing the smaller alpha to keep his gaze on the ground. “Easy,” he murmured when the man began to struggle. He adjusted his grip to be gentler, less constricting, and rubbed his scent on his big brother’s neck. “Steady, Dick, steady. It’s just in case. I won’t hurt you.”
Tim knelt as well, waiting. He knew how hard this was. It was almost impossible for any alpha, let alone a feral alpha, to submit to a wounded omega for a claim. It didn’t usually work like that. To submit so much power was to make yourself painfully vulnerable, and Dick, already feeling so alone, would hate that.
The alpha finally sat still, panting. His hands trembled, and he grabbed Jason’s arms for something to hold onto. His scent roiled with aggressive-pained-feral-desperate-fear.
Tim patiently waited.
After an agonizing wait, Dick shuddered, forcing himself to relax. His head dipped lower, and a reverent whisper escaped him. “Omega.”
Tim leaned closer & offered a praising croon. He had to play this right. If Dick’s feral instincts took over for even a second, the claim could be ruined.
Dick’s shoulders dropped when he heard the sound, as if relieved. He barely twitched when Tim took his left hand & rubbed the wrist against his cheek, lightly scenting him. It was meant to calm, and it looked like it worked. Jason’s restrictive hold combined with Tim’s omega scent coaxed Dick’s guard down.
Tim leaned closer, testing, and rested his nose on Dick’s shoulder. Dick twitched again, but his head was blocked by Jason’s arms, so he couldn’t move far. A weak keen escaped him. A call to be claimed.
It was now or never, so Tim shoved all thoughts aside, tugged down the shoulder of Dick’s shirt, and gave a quick sharp bite.
Dick, predictably, began to struggle. Jason cursed quietly as he held him in place. Tim barely noticed the interaction, because a new bond was springing to life in his chest & it felt right.
He did notice when Dick went limp like a puppet with cut strings.
“Shit,” Jason murmured quietly, unwinding his hold to cradle Dick back against his chest. The smaller alpha was flushed & feverish, and his lidded eyes roamed dizzily around the room. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I believe it may be a type of shock,” Alfred’s voice offered calmly, followed by a soothing beta scent. Tim looked up to see him standing in the doorway, a sad smile on his face. “Master Dick has not had an omega’s bond since his mother’s death, I believe. You learn to live without such things given time, but finally gaining an omega packmate is likely sending his system into overwhelmed hysteria.”
Tim stood up, fear leaking into his scent. His instincts were roaring at him to finish the job, to solidify the claim with scenting and cuddling and nesting, but knowing that his brother was in danger pushed all of that to the side. “What do we do?”
“You finish your claim, Master Tim,” Alfred soothed quietly, as if reading the young man’s mind. “You cover him with pack scents & stay with him while his body rides it out. A rut, going feral, and submitting to a long-awaited claim is a lot to handle. Do not let him handle it alone.”
************
It wasn’t hard for Jason to carry Dick, who was burning up by now, and manhandle him into Tim’s nest. His worry gave him strength, and Dick had definitely lost weight. It was a mildly concerning thought.
The upside to all of this was getting to watch Tim’s extreme bossiness. The omega walked around the nest at least six times, prodding a pillow here, fussing with a blanket there, and generally fixing up what was already perfect. Only when Dick gave a low needy whine did Tim scramble into the nest, flopping onto his big brother’s chest. He nuzzled aggressively under Dick’s chin & over his collarbones, then used his wrists to rub Dick’s other scent-glands, covering the smell of weak-feral-alpha with omega-safe-dominate-possessive-MINE.
Dick went utterly limp, rumbling weakly as Tim settled down on his chest. The omega pressed his face to Dick’s neck, continuing to scent him, and gently kneaded Dick’s shoulders as a purr like a tank-engine vibrated in his chest.
The kid really was a cat, honestly.
“What has happened?” Damian whispered shrilly, rushing into the room & coming up short at Jason’s side. “What did you do to him?”
“He’s been claimed,” Jason explained calmly, ruffling the kid’s hair to both mess it up & spread his protective alpha scent. “He’s also going into shock, so Tim’s finishing the claim & giving him a safe space to wait it out.”
Damian looked up, scowling to cover up his obvious worry. “Would pack cuddles help?”
Jason gave the pup a shove, grinning. “Go right ahead.”
Damian clambered quickly into the nest, plastering himself to Dick’s side without dislodging the possessive omega on top. Dick sighed contentedly, utterly limp. His hair was damp with the fever that had taken over his system so fast, but his face was peaceful, and his body was relaxed. It probably had a lot to do with the omega aggressively scenting his neck.
Jason perched on the edge of the nest facing the door, allowing his protective scent to balloon into the room. He would stand watch while his Alpha Second rested and his omega finished a fierce claim and his youngest pup fell asleep. It was his job, after all.
************
Bruce barely made it up to the second floor before his faithful beta blocked his path.
“Alfred---” he tried desperately.
“Master Bruce,” the elder answered, sure & steady. “Why don’t you help me make some tea?”
“Dick is hurt,” Bruce argued quietly, rigid. “I’ve stayed away through losing Damian to Jason, Tim getting injured, and Dick going feral; now this? What’s wrong with him? I need to help, I---”
“You, Master Bruce,” Alfred cut in quietly. “are the most self-controlled alpha I have ever had the fortune to meet.”
Bruce’s brain stopped in its tracks, reeling for a moment at the praise. Which was of course the point. “So?”
“You have held your peace & kept your space while your sons establish a new pack, and I admire you for it,” Alfred soothed lowly, placing a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “I can assure you that the boys are all safe, and, if tonight goes well, they will finally unite under Master Jason’s leadership as one. Leave them be for a little while longer. You wouldn’t want to damage so much progress when they are so close to being whole.”
Bruce finally deflated, allowing Alfred to steer him back towards the kitchen. “No… of course not.”
“Be at peace, Master Bruce.” Alfred scented his shoulder before retrieving some mugs. “You will be able to prove your care soon enough.”
Bruce helped to prepare six cups of tea, silent. Waiting was getting rather difficult. He wanted his sons back.