Chapter Text
The countryside seemed to fly by as Lily Baxter and her bodyguard, Bucky Barnes, sped down the highway headed to some secluded place that she was being banished to so that her doting and loving husband, Steve Rogers, could have an excuse to not have her around. When Lily had turned twenty-five and didn’t have a prospect for a mate and only had two heats since she presented at 16, her father had dropped her name in a lottery that she had been unlucky enough to be selected from. Men in black suits had shown up at her job, told her she was a very lucky omega, and then shoved her into a black limo where she met her husband and bodyguard for the first time. That had been two years ago.
In theory, omegas were supposed to have a say in who they married. However, defective omegas – like Lily – weren’t allowed to make their own choices. They were practically not even people because they didn’t fit anywhere in the societal designations. So, Mr. Baxter lied about her health and that she was practically defective as far as omegas went. When the third doctor told Steve that Lily wasn’t having heats and that pups were probably impossible, he banned her father from ever coming into his Brooklyn mansion again. It had been a year since Lily had seen her father.
After the third doctor, Lily’s life went downhill rapidly. Steve still wanted pups and wanted Lily to be the one to give them to him, even though she couldn’t. There were shots, pills, and liquids she had to take from an experimental doctor. Most of them made her sick and after the last batch of shots Dr. Banner gave her nearly killed her, Bucky had stepped up in her defense. That had been two days ago, and she was still feeling a little woozy from whatever it was they had given her.
Bucky spoke, breaking her out of her reverie. “Hey, you need to stop and stretch your legs, Lily?”
Blinking a couple of times, she glanced at him and then back out the window. They had been driving for at least two hours, a stretch would be nice. “That would be nice Bucky.”
Bucky was one of the sweetest alphas that she had ever met, however, he was also Steve’s best friend so Lily trusted him about as far as she could throw him. Which she assumed wouldn’t be far because as far as she could tell he was all muscle except for his prosthetic arm. Bucky was the one who always stood up for her when Steve would go into one of his rages – if he was around that is. She was certain the reason Steve had gotten a broken nose after he had given her a black eye was because of Bucky. That incident was never mentioned again, and Steve hadn’t laid a hand on her in six months because of it.
There were also the little things Bucky did for her that she always noticed but didn’t comment on because she was afraid Steve would react poorly. There were small gifts like stuffed animals, flowers, coloring books, candies, etc. She knew the gifts weren’t coming from Steve because when he gave her gifts they were big and ostentatious because he expected recognition and gratitude. Even today when they got in the car, Bucky had made sure there was a blanket and a neck pillow for her. It made her feel seen and a little special, but she kept these little things secret because of his ties to Steve.
Bucky pulled the car into a little corner shop, getting out and opening the door for Lily. Even though Lily didn’t have a prominent scent like most omegas, Bucky still acted like she did and when he took her out in public was like a guard dog around her. Lily watched him clock the three Alphas, four betas, and one omega that were already there before he led her inside. Bucky stood close to her, obviously not afraid to pretend to be the alpha to his best friend’s omega. Lily didn’t like being called Steve’s omega, because he hadn’t marked her so she didn’t feel like she belonged at all.
“Hey, princess.” Bucky said gently, pulling her out of her muddled thoughts. “I’ll be right here. Go get you some snacks and drinks we’re about fifteen minutes from the cabin.”
Princess. Bucky always found an excuse to call her some variation of princess and it made her insides flutter just a little bit. “Okay, Bucky.” She said softly before walking down the aisles to find her favorite snacks and to get a couple Dr. Peppers. The two of them were slated to stay out here for a week while Steve touted how important it was for omegas to breed. The irony that he had a defective omega and couldn’t have pups was not lost on Lily. “You want anything?”
“Couple sodas.”
Lily nodded, not noticing the tinkling of the bell above the front door opening, oblivious to the new alpha that came in. Bucky, however, noticed immediately and stiffened a little before turning his eye onto Lily, keeping her within his sights. As she walked down the candy aisle, she squealed excitedly. “Bucky! They have those cherry candies you got me that one time!”
Turning on her heel and dashing towards Bucky to show him her excitement, she let out a loud yelp as she collided with someone, almost falling. The man she bumped into grabbed her arm and helped steady her. “Easy, miss.” A soft British accent greeted her ears, but it sounded like it was underwater because where he was touching her burned. His brows furrowed when she jerked back in surprise. “Sorry, forgot Americans can be a bit cagey about their omegas.”
Licking her lips, Lily went to speak, say something but her senses were suddenly flooded as she smelled what she assumed was his cologne. It smelled like fresh leather, the smell of an old book, and cracked pepper. She sniffed again, trying to not be obvious about the fact that she was trying to smell his cologne.
When she made eye contact again, she saw a knowing smile on his face. “What’s your name, omega?”
Lily didn’t know what to say, she was confused because there was a new scent that was coming from behind her, clouding her senses more. This one smelled like sun dried laundry, the ocean, and toasted vanilla. Turning to see the source of whatever that was, she was shocked to see Bucky. Looking up into her bodyguard’s blue eyes she saw an unreadable emotion there, and she noticed that his right hand was clenched into a fist. “Printsessa, are you alright?”
Nodding slowly, she looked up at him. “I’m…okay.” Her voice sounded far away and the next thing she knew she was being led out of the gas station by Bucky and buckled into the car. “Bucky? What’s wrong?” He was gripping the steering wheel tightly and staring straight ahead. “Who was that alpha? When did you start wearing cologne?”
Bucky laughed. “Cologne is for betas, Lily, you know that.”
“But you’ve never smelled like clean clothes and the vanilla and the…sea? You smell like the sea.” Lily watched his grip shift on the steering wheel, like he wanted to reach over and touch her. “Bucky, what is going on?”
“I don’t know!” He slammed his hand onto the steering wheel in frustration.
Lily jumped and then fell silent; Bucky had never been aggressive to her but two years with Steve’s temper had taught her to shut down when getting shouted at. There was no talking for the rest of the drive to the cabin and confusion welled up inside her. The drive took longer than usual, but she didn’t say anything as Bucky pulled up to a cabin that was smaller than the one they were supposed to be going to. It wasn’t Steve’s cabin. She looked at him. “Bucky…?”
“Safer here.” Was the only response she got as he got out and began unpacking the car, without looking at her.
Lily stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips, shouting at Bucky. “James Buchanan Barnes! You tell me what’s wrong right now.” A flash in Bucky’s eyes when he turned and looked at her made her shudder. “What’s happened? You’ve never been so…”
“Strawberries.” He took a step towards her. “You’ve always smelled very, very faintly of strawberries. A little bit of sunshine and then a touch of violet. It’s always been there, real subtle.” Another step forward. “You are emitting a scent.”
“That’s not possible, I’m defective.”
Bucky closed the gap between them, his right hand grabbing her hand gently and sniffing at her wrist. “Strawberries. And sunshine.” He sniffed again before nuzzling her palm. “Violets.”
Lily’s eyes went wide as first excitement coursed through her – she had a scent! Maybe she wasn’t defective – and then dread. When Steve found out, he’d be nonstop trying to get her to have a heat. She began to shake with nerves, unsure as to what to do with this revelation. “So…so that clean laundry smell…”
“That’s what I smell like to you.” Bucky pressed a soft kiss to her palm. “Go inside, princess. I’m going to text Steve.”
“Please don’t. What if it’s a fluke?”
Bucky paused, studying her for a long minute. “What if you go into heat without your alpha?”
“I don’t have heat’s, Bucky, you know that.”
“Go inside. I won’t text him. Yet.”
When Bucky let her go she went into the cabin, taking in the small abode. There was a bedroom, a bathroom with a shower stall only, a sitting area with a nice large fireplace, and a kitchen. Everything was barely decorated, but it still looked cozy and comfortable. Lily walked around the cabin, peeking at things. This was obviously Bucky’s cabin, and she couldn’t figure out why he had brought her here instead of to the big glass monstrosity that Steve had. There was only one bed, how was this going to work?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Loki’s POV
Loki had come to the States in an effort to get away from the duties that were being thrust upon him by his family’s expectations. To be clear, if the expectation was to take on some political position or cabinet job he would gladly accept. Instead, before his adopted father King Odin Borson would allow him either of those things, he was expected to find a mate. Loki, however, wanted to find his mate. It was an old-fashioned idea that there was “the one” out there for him, but it appealed to Loki. Why would he want to spend his life with someone, raise a family with someone if they weren’t his actual mate? The King saw it a different way, thinking that all that was needed was an omega, or even a beta, that would fit the bill and make Loki look respectable. So, he came to the States to escape the pressures of home.
When he first saw the mystery omega at the gas station, he didn’t think much of her. Not because she wasn’t attractive, on the contrary she was perfectly adorable with her strawberry blonde hair half up, half curling around her shoulders. No, he didn’t think much of her because he saw the burly alpha with the silver prosthetic arm that said he meant business watching her like a hawk. Like it was both his job and his honor. Loki didn’t want to involve himself in a territorial fight when he was simply trying to decide the best course of action for his personal life.
However, when she bumped into him and he caught her, his hand connecting to her bicep to steady her, everything snapped into very clear focus. The underlying scent of strawberries he had caught, that he suspected was dimmed by suppressants, was powerful now. The omega’s blue eyes snapped onto his face, and it was obvious she was sniffing at him. Something seemed off, this wasn’t the reaction of a suppressed omega. Before Loki could gather himself, however, the omega was shuffled out by the alpha that had been watching her. The touch, the clear focus – that was a sign that this omega was his.