Levi heard Marco's fading protests as the Alpha carried him out of the building, and though the Beta would not follow right now out of fear of Eren's reaction, they would be seeing him again soon. There was paperwork that Eren and Levi were both supposed to sign in the presence of an employee, as well as medicine that the Omega had been taking. Suppressants didn't work, but there were still anti inflammatory drugs and pain killers that, though they weren't incredibly effective, did something to dull the ache. At the moment, however, the Omega wondered if he would even need them. When Eren had rubbed at his scent gland and pressed those wet fingers into Levi's wrist, all that pain and heat had melted away and for the first time in weeks his bones did not feel like glass. His vision wasn't blurry with tears, and his jaw had relaxed from its brutal clench. Levi had not even realized how tight it had been until he heard it snap open, muscles slack and loose. He had not been prepared for his reaction to the Alpha's mating pheromones, had not ever felt them in his skin before, not even once. Even when he had been in heat before, with his hormones twisting his body in agony, Levi refused to let Erwin scent mark him. Levi's experience screamed at him that Omegas who had the scent of an Alpha on them were doomed, would be covered in bruises and bullied and broken, no trace of themselves anymore. Only an Alpha's will etched into their very being.

So no matter how much the Alpha who pulled him from those pits begged and pleaded, Levi's answer had been steadfast.

No.

Erwin did not push, but when he visited Levi and Hange's apartment just after one of the Omega's heats and smelled the anguish in the air, it was obvious the lingering scents made him twist inside. An Alpha protected, an Alpha eased an Omega's suffering, or the ones who were not monsters were supposed to anyway. Levi knew it made the blond feel like a failure, but he could not change his instincts after so long, even for his friend. He spent years covered in blood and bruises, fighting with fists and teeth and nails as fiercely as he could. As long as he fought, as long as he won, as long as he was staggeringly vicious while he broke his enemies underneath him, he was safe from the Alphas and their marks and mating and misery. Even though he was a pit fighter who defeated Betas and Alphas alike, he could not be housed with them safely, and his keepers knew it. So he stayed with the harem he had been intended for, and when he was carried in torn up and bleeding from a fight he watched the other Omegas brought in looking just the same. Blue and purple marks ringing their wrists, eyes black, lips busted, sometimes with broken ribs and shattered hipbones. They had not been in a fight like Levi. They had suffered under the attentions of an

Alpha,

those pheromones thick on their wrecked flesh. The other harem Omegas would bandage him up, care for his wounds, wrap up his sprains. He would do the same for them, wishing with everything he was that he could save them all from the nightmare they lived in.

An Alpha protects.

What fucking bullshit.

Alphas take, and force, and control.

Levi would gladly face their fists, so long as he could throw his back at them, but while he still had breath in his lungs, he would not submit to them. If he was going to be beaten and ragged, he would leave them leaking their own blood in the dirt of the pit in return.

An Alpha's touch meant pain, meant the sacrificing of free will, and even if he knew Erwin would not hurt him in that way it did not matter. After awhile Erwin stopped trying to convince Levi to let him ease his heats with touch, had never even suggested truly mating him, but the longer the Omega went without seeking an Alpha, the more worried the blond became. When he talked to Levi about it, how dangerous it was for him to keep going through heats unmated, the Omega's response shot fear down Erwin's spine.

'I'm going to let my red heat take me. I'd rather die free than live under the thumb of some Alpha.'

He should have known better than to tell the Alpha that. It was the only time that Levi had ever seen Erwin's eyes flash, lighting up with instinct ruling him. The Alpha had backed Levi into a wall, hissing his words through clenched teeth, staring the Omega down until he had averted his eyes, cursing himself. The suppressants they had forced down him for so long had erased any trace of his hormones, along with the submissive tendencies that came with being an Omega, and feeling his eyes dart away from his friend's glare made rage swell up inside Levi. He wished he had those poisonous chemicals running through his veins again, would have given anything not to be captive to his Omegan instincts. The blond was oblivious to his fury when he spoke.

'I won't let you die, Levi. You find a mate, or I will mate you myself. You might hate me, but you will be alive to do so.'

A wall had been erected between him and Erwin after that, a stain that could not be erased. Erwin had done something Levi could never forgive him for, had forced him into a corner, tried to impose his will on the Omega like all those Alphas he hated so much. When he realized what he had done, it was too late to take back his words. The damage had been done, and though he still came to spend time with Levi and Hange, still went out them, drank together, had fun together, it was not quite the same.

Then Levi felt his heat coming up, and he could already tell it was his last, even before it was fully on him. He talked to Hange, begged her to do something to keep Erwin away long enough for Levi to succumb to his final cycle. Shitty four eyes was no happier about the Omega's decision than Erwin would have been, but as a Beta it was easier for her to respect his wishes, to understand why. Even so, it had taken some serious convincing. She'd talked to their superiors at the special operations unit the two were employed at, working with police and swat to break up harems and Omega traffickers, underground brothels and fighting rings. Somehow the Beta had gotten Erwin sent away on a job, a stakeout that was meant to end in a raid, and Levi was eternally grateful. Erwin would probably hate Hange for the rest of his life for what he viewed as a betrayal, but the Beta had enough love for Levi. She would risk his endless ire so that the Omega could choose for himself what he wanted to do.

If Levi could have just loved Hange as a mate, if she could have been born an Alpha, everything would've been easier. But he did not, and she was not, and so Levi had ended up in an Omega refuge. Sweating, and crying. Aching, and dying. Until a green eyed Alpha walked into his room, covered Levi's wrist in his scent, and sent waves of ecstasy rolling through him. Begged the Omega,

let me take you home.

When Eren said he would not mate Levi against his will, swore to merely ease his suffering through his red heat, the Omega was not sure why he believed him. Something about those flashing eyes, that furrowed brow, those serious expressions. How, even in the face of an overwhelming rut, he did not behave like the Alphas Levi knew. Even Erwin was twitchier than that around him when he was near a heat, let alone mired in the most powerful one Levi would ever know. Yet Eren stood before him, instincts lighting his gaze up gold, and still those fingers on his wrist had been gentle. Soothing. Eren had sent Marco in to answer Levi's questions, but he had not asked any. The stench of a dozen Omegas in heat, along with the sincerity dripping from the Alpha's gaze, was enough to convince Levi.

He had not really expected Eren to pick him up in his arms like a bride and carry him home that way, but he should have. After a few vocal but half hearted protests he gave up his writhing and clawing at the Alpha's chest. There was no way Levi could walk more than a few pitiful, wobbly steps, and an Alpha in rut carrying an Omega in heat would draw fewer stares than Eren pushing him along in a wheelchair. Especially this Alpha, whose scent was so strong that the people around them were running for cover, crossing the street and darting into buildings. Anything to get away from Eren, whose eyes lit up gold as he scanned the crowd around them, daring anyone to so much as look at Levi. The Omega smirked, feeling a strange thrill run through him he'd never felt before.

Power.

There was power in this, one he had not experienced. The power of an Alpha who would destroy anything in his path to keep Levi safe. Levi had seen Alphas watching over their Omegas this way, but never truly considered that it was the Omega who had the control. Even if someone had done nothing at all to him, Levi could point his finger and this Alpha would destroy any of these people without a word, just to please the Omega. It was heady, and dizzying.

It was frightening, how much Levi

liked

it.

When the Alpha turned up a sidewalk and headed towards a dark brick house, Levi's eyes went wide. He hadn't really thought about where Eren lived, or what he did for a living, but he must be loaded to own a home like this. The house was unlocked, and Levi did not have to wonder why, with the scent of rut so thick in the air he could taste it. No one in their right mind would come near the place without Eren's consent. Their brains would scream at them to get away, to run, to hide. To save themselves from the fury of the Alpha inside. Not an Omega in heat, though. Levi's instincts had never been more thrilled, more ecstatic than they were surrounded by Eren's scent, protected inside those walls. Still, when Eren closed the door behind them he locked it, the knob and the deadbolts, along with a useless chain that would not keep an angry child out. Levi was smirking again, fighting back a laugh at the Alpha's instincts, which sought to protect in every way, keep safe what he held.

The Omega glanced around the house, full of clean lines and wide open space, walls a pale gray blue color. There was not a lot of clutter, or decoration, just a large black couch and loveseat, and a huge recliner that seemed big enough for two people to live in, let alone sit in. A wooden coffee table sat in front of them, with a photo album sitting on the surface unopened. No pictures on the walls, the only thing adorning them being a large wall mounted flat screen tv with a couple of video game consoles on a small table underneath, shelves on the sides stacked with games and controllers. It wasn't filthy, but it wasn't exactly clean either, some dirty laundry piled in a corner and dust obvious on the surfaces here and there. An empty glass sat forgotten on the coffee table, alongside a handful of unopened letters. Eren deposited Levi on the couch, obviously reluctant to put him down even though they were in his home now, and knelt on the floor as the Omega situated himself into the lush cushions.

"This place is a fucking mess." Compared to Levi's apartment, anyway. Or... the apartment that used to be his.

It's not mine anymore, is it? Because I'll be gone soon.

It wasn't the first time he had thought about his death, or even the hundredth, but it was the only time it had stung his chest in such a way. Eren was looking around, taking in his place with new eyes, and Levi wanted to laugh again at those furrowed brows. Fuck, he was clearly horrified that the Omega thought his house was

dirty.

The Alpha blinked a few times, turning his gaze back to Levi.

"You want to take a shower, or a bath, or something? Even I can smell the scent of those other Omegas on you. Its gotta be driving you crazy." He was right. The very air in that place had been filled with Omegan scents, and even though he'd been given his own room, traces of them remained in his hair, his skin. Still, he couldn't resist teasing Eren.

"What, I stink, Alpha?" Those green eyes went wide, darting around Levi's face, at a loss for what to say. Wracking his brain for whatever would please the Omega the most.

"Ah, no, I didn't mean that... I just-" Then Levi couldn't hold it in anymore. He laughed right in Eren's face, causing it to twist in a scowl.

"You're too fucking easy. Normally I'd say a shower, but I don't think I can stand that long." Eren's face cleared, full of worry again.

"Hot or cold?" It was a good question, and Levi didn't really know which would be better. Cold would soothe away some of the heat that was coursing through him, but as soon as he got out it would return.

Eren's scent will do more than any cold water to take that heat away.

Warm water would relax his tense muscles, ease the ache in his bones, maybe do some actual good.

"Hot. Hot's better." The Alpha made no move to head to the bathroom, however, just stared into Levi's face, expression torn. He had something to say, but was afraid to say it. Levi crossed his arms over his chest, glaring. "What is it? Spit it the fuck out."

"I need to mark you again. On your neck. If that's okay." Levi let out a harsh breath, not believing his ears. An Alpha in rut asking permission to mark an Omega. He'd never heard of such a thing, especially when Levi had come there specifically for that, to let Eren use his Alphan scent to ease the Omega's suffering.

"Wouldn't be much of a point to me being here if you didn't, would there?"

Eren nodded, biting his lip as he leaned forward, easing in close to the Omega like he expected him to bite.

Fuck, not like it hadn't happened before.

Those big hands found the sides of Levi's face, and the Omega shuddered as they turned his head to the side, exposing his scent gland to Eren's hungry eyes. The Alpha's scent shot up in the air around them, sharper, stronger as he closed the distance between them. When his face was close enough that Levi could feel hot air on his neck Eren froze, breathing coming in quick gasps. The Omega began to writhe in place, fighting against the instincts soaring up in him. Instincts that wanted Levi to rub himself against this Alpha in front of him, catch Eren's gaze and avert his own in submission, give himself up in offering.

Fuck, what was he doing?

His voice was breathier than he would like, the undercurrent of a whine arcing through it.

"What are you waiting for, kid?"

"I- I don't know. I've never marked an Omega this way." Levi couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't think. His first thought was that it had to be a lie, there was no way this Alpha could have gone so long without taking an Omega to mate, but then he realized someone would say the same thing about him. Truth rang through his words, through his clean scent that held no trace of an Omega, through his house that was totally empty of any remnants of the smell of a heat.

"You're serious?" Eren still held his face to the side, but out of the corner of his eye Levi saw the Alpha nod. "It's okay. Just do it."

Then he heard a sound come from Eren, a growl that was not a growl, and Levi cried out instinctively in answer, a whimpering moan. The vibrations of the growl were different than any he'd heard before, shaking Levi down to his very core. It was an Alpha's call, a sound that reached inside the Omega, soothing his nerves, relaxing his body, making his legs go wide in unspoken invitation. Levi wanted to slam his knees together, push Eren away, but in the face of that sweet sound, he was powerless. Levi had never had an Alpha call to him that way, since he had never mated, but the Omega in him responded in kind. An Alpha called, and his Omega cried in answer.

Fuck.

Then Eren's neck was pressing into Levi's, gently at first, skin barely touching. After a few moments the pressure increased, and soon the Alpha was rubbing fiercely against him, switching from one side of his throat to the other, marking both glands in kind. Before long he was growling louder, shoving his neck and face viciously into the Omega's skin, sliding it back and forth. He was no longer a man but a beast, desperate to get at his prey. Levi felt himself growing harder against his will, arousal throbbing where it was pressed between them. The Omega felt Eren's mouth open against his skin, felt the ghosting of teeth over his throat, and thought the Alpha had lost himself. Lost control. Instead of being angry, or frightened, for the barest of instances joy shot through him. Levi had always known what he thought it was to be an Omega, but with this Alpha pressed up against him, calling to him, touching him, he realized he did not have a clue. Then Eren threw himself backwards, scooting away from Levi and looking up at the Omega with a horrified expression on his face. He staggered to his feet, taking a few steps back, panting. Levi was in no better shape, head still tilted to expose his throat, legs wide, pupils blown dark with lust. The Omega was not aware of his hands, rubbing at the skin of his neck wildly, spreading that dark scent over his collarbones, his chest. Eren was staring at him with eyes made of gold, teeth bared. Then he shook his head, swearing under his breath, and when he looked back at Levi his eyes were green again.

"I'm sorry. I'll go fill up the tub, and then I'll come back to get you." Levi couldn't answer, could just nod weakly, and only when Eren had stalked from the room did he pull his limbs back in, still his hands, calm his breathing.

Oh, shit.

The Omega had been on the edge of surrender, ready give in to this Alpha. Let Eren mate him, and mark him. He had not even been here fifteen minutes, and he was a wretched mess of hormones, moaning underneath an Alpha's mouth.

This is going so well, Levi.

It was fifteen more minutes or so before Eren came back, and instead of feeling impatient Levi was grateful. He'd needed every second to pull himself together. The Alpha had held out his arms, reaching down to cradle Levi to his chest and carry him through the bedroom and into the bathroom. When they got there he eased Levi to his feet, supporting his weight with an arm under his shoulders as they stood there side by side, uncertain.

"You... uh... you want help with your clothes?" No. Fuck, no. Levi categorically did not want help with his fucking clothes. He also could barely keep himself upright, legs quaking under his own weight. The Omega nodded, casting his eyes away again as pink danced across his cheeks. Eren's fingers slipped into the waistband of Levi's pajama pants, hooking under the boxers as well and tugging them down together. When he leaned over to pull them off of the Omega's feet Levi saw that his eyes were wrenched shut, teeth buried in his bottom lip so hard a drop of blood leaked out. Then he scooped Levi up again, walking over to the tub and easing the Omega inside like he would break. Once Levi settled against the back of the tub, Eren was backing up as fast as he could, running into the wall behind him in his haste to put some distance between them.

"Is the water okay? Too hot? Not hot enough?" Levi did not think he could deal with those jewel bright eyes, so he closed his own, rolling back and forth under the water as warmth seeped into his muscles. He sighed in bliss, keeping his neck above the surface. Levi did not want to admit it, but he did not want to wash that sharp Alpha's scent away.

"Mmmm. It's fine."

"I'll go try to find you some shorts to wear. Everything I have will be too big, but you probably don't want a shirt on anyway." An Omega's skin was extremely sensitive during a heat, and anything on it chafed and itched. "Yell when you're ready to get out, and I'll come get you. Is there anything you want?" Levi blinked his eyes open sleepily, and only then did he wonder how long it had been.

How long since I fell asleep? How long since I felt like I could?

Four days, at least. Fuck, he was tired. Then he thought of Hange, wondered if the Beta would try to go visit him at the refuge. Would they tell her anything? He hadn't signed a medical records release. They probably wouldn't give out any of his information to her.

"Can I use your phone?" Shit, he was in the bathtub, what a stupid fucking question. "Uh, when I get out, that is."

"Sure. I'll be here, just let me know if you need me."

The Alpha left without another word, door clicking as it closed behind him. Levi shifted around in the water, feeling the tension ease from his bones as the water relaxed him. This was the last place he had expected to end up, tucked away in an Alpha's house, the scent of rut surrounding him like an embrace. It felt better than it should, like he had been waiting all his life to be here.

'You'd rather die than mate, even once?'

Yes, he would. Or so he had thought, anyway. But underneath that Alpha's touch, suddenly mating did not seem like a weight to bear. The thought of his death looming before him frightened him, for the first time ever. Levi had been ready to die every day for all those years of his captivity, and when he'd been released and gone into heat again, the finality of his end had cemented itself immediately. The Omega had never feared death before now.

This Alpha had made him weak, and part of Levi hated him for it.

......................................

Levi was not sure when he had dozed off, but the water was barely warm when a heavy hand on his shoulder pulled him from sleep.

"Levi. Levi, hey. Let me get you out of there, dry you off, get you to bed." The Omega blinked blearily, sleep clinging to him like a shroud. When his vision cleared, he saw Eren looking down at him, concern written plainly over his face. Levi reached his hands up, still half asleep as the Alpha tugged him from the tub and into his arms. Eren sat on the floor with Levi across his lap, rubbing a towel over him with quick, efficient strokes. The Omega closed his eyes, curling into the Alpha's chest in a somnolent daze. He still felt the ache of his heat, that ever present throbbing in his shaft, hips loose in their sockets, skin itching and stretched. Right then he was so tired that it was all in the background, static playing out in his mind. Levi absently noticed the Alpha running a towel over his head, ruffling Levi's hair as he dried the dark strands as best he could. The Omega did not realize it, but a contented sigh eased out of his throat, ending on a satisfied hum. He had not ever felt that way, such total relaxation. Not just since his heat started, but even before that Levi had always felt tense, tight, on edge. Right then he was awash in calm, even his fatal cycle thrust away to some dark corner of his being. He opened his eyes when Eren lifted him up, wondering when, exactly, the Alpha had gotten a pair of boxers on him.

Eren carried him into the bedroom, walking over to the bed and settling the Omega against the pillows. The Alpha had not changed his sheets, but instead of being irritated the Omega was glad. That musky smell surrounded him, pulling at his eyelids, urging him to rest. Levi sniffed the air, and realized with a start that Eren had cleaned in here while he had been in the bath. The sharp, fresh scent of disinfectant lingered in the air under the smell of Eren's rut, surfaces of the bedside tables and shelves smooth and free of dust. The laundry that Levi had noticed on the way in was nowhere to be seen, stray clothes tucked into drawers. When he glanced towards the tables on either side of the bed, his eyes went wide. There were bottles of water and juice on one side, cold and shining with condensation, along with a bucket of finely ground ice like they'd given him in the refuge to eat, to help ease the relentless warmth, along with the ache in his mouth. There was also fruit, apples and bananas, along with some granola bars and even some chocolate. A small wastebasket was on the floor nearby. The other table was piled up with books and a remote control, as well as the pocket knife Eren had given him earlier. The Alpha pulled the blankets up to his waist, backing up and looking lost in his own bedroom, as though he'd never been there before.

"Do you want anything else? I don't know when you ate, or if you're hungry, but if you want a real meal I can make you one." Levi smiled, already almost gone under. This Alpha was going to cook for him?

How fucking ridiculous.

"It's not ridiculous. If you want to eat, I need to feed you." Oh, shit. He said that out loud? The Omega laughed then, stupid with exhaustion. His words were slurred, a drunken mumble pouring out of his lips.

"Do you have black tea? I want some tea when I get up." They wouldn't let him have it at the refuge, some bullshit about hydration, and Levi would have killed someone for some tea right then.

"I'll get some." Levi nodded, sleep thick in his veins. He held his hands up, eyes closed, nuzzling his face into Eren's pillow as he breathed in.

"Mark my wrists again. It washed off." Levi felt those warm hands close around his wrists, and he sighed when Eren rubbed them both against his neck, soaking them in scent. When The Alpha released his hands, Levi pulled them up by his face, burying his nose against them and smiling. The Omega felt long fingers threading through his hair, and he pushed his head up into the touch.

"Sleep well, Levi."

"Nnnkay. G'night...." Was it night? Levi wasn't sure at the moment, but it didn't matter.

Eren's smell was in his nose, and under his face, and all around him. It was soft, and safe, and clean. Levi could sleep here.

He could stay here forever.