Work Text
"Shit." That's what Deidara thought as he turned around after noticing the team of ninjas forming a loose semi circle around him.He had been watching the Jinjuriki, Naruto, from his hiding place among the bushes after using the replacement jutsu to escape the blond ninja's attack. If that had hit, he would certainly be dead by now. Already Deidara could feel the excruciating pain from his body; he was cut in several places, both arms hung uselessly by his body as they had been broken in several places from earlier fights with both the Shikaku and the Copy Cat ninja, and he was certain several ribs were broken after being slammed into the ground just before Naruto had tried to attack with the Rasengan.His bond with Sasori, forced though it may have been, had been severed when the alpha died and it left a gaping hole in his chest. Feeling the bond break in such a dramatic way had cost him his arm’s mobility to Kakashi’s Sharingan attack.After moving away from the attack and hiding, Deidara witnessed the strange sight of orange chakra enveloping the jinjuriki. Two "tails" had formed behind the ninja and violent chakra had permeated the space around him. With a vicious growl, the jinjuriki looked wildly around him, obviously searching for Deidara. Just as it seemed like he would lose total control, the copy-cat ninja pulled out a seal and attached it to the jinjuriki's forehead. Immediately, the orange chakra retreated and Naruto became placid, collapsing into the other ninja’s arms.A few moments later, much to Deidara's surprise, the pink haired kunoichi and old woman appeared; both appeared haggard and worn, but very much alive. These two must have been the ones to kill Sasori, and Deidara was now completely on his own. Luring out the Jinjuriki with the Kazekage's body had been a good idea, but the fact that the copy-cat ninja had followed ruined Deidara's chance at a swift capture of the jinjuriki and possible leniency from Pain for the foreseeable future. Realizing the severity of the situation, Deidara backed out of the bushes after deciding now was the time to slip away; he couldn't fight much longer and any attempt at combat would end badly for him, particularly as a newly unbound omega facing a squad of angry Konoha ninja....Which is how he found himself faced with a group of four ninjas that were obviously the jinjuriki's allies."Good work, Neji."The one who spoke was older than the other three and wore a green tracksuit, while the other three, two boys and a girl, stood behind. Two alphas and two betas. And all were poised in attack positions.Looking at them cautiously, and finally focusing on the one with white eyes, one of the alphas, Deidara said, "I see. That must be the Byakugan; the eyes that are passed down in Konoha alongside the Sharingan. You used their power to find my blind spot and sneak up on me. I'd love to see how they differ from Itachi's Sharingan, but right now I need to make my escape." He didn’t think they knew he was an omega yet, but as his chakra depleted itself, it wouldn’t be long before his scent came out. That would be disastrous.Boldly, the older alpha declared, "With Konoha's strongest platoon, Team Gai, on your tail, there is no escape!"Jumping away from each other, the chase began. As he jumped, Deidara leaned forward and brought his hidden kuni that had been tucked in his leg wraps to his mouth. With both arms useless, it was all he could do.Two members of Team Gai darted forward to engage Deidara; he parried their attack off with the kunai and was pushed backward while the other two members launched forward to attack and were again blocked by Deidara's kunai. The girl threw several shuriken towards him but they were blocked by the blade in his mouth. While Deidara was distracted, the other boy jumped forward and aimed a kick at Deidara's head; leaping backward to dodge, Deidara used the trees behind him to kick off and start his retreat. The girl summoned a large shuriken and threw it towards Deidara; as it approached, it turned into four medium sized shuriken and each became lodged in the tree mere seconds behind their target. Suddenly, the older alpha appeared and kicked over the tree Deidara had been scaling. Leaping quickly away, Deidara thought, "I can't outrun them all!"The boy with the shorter hair landed in Deidara's path and used his Taijutsu to throw punches and kicks in Deidara's direction. Dodging all, Deidara moved backwards in a quick retreat only to fall backwards into the byakugan user’s Hakke Kuushou. The force of the attack threw Deidara into a nearby tree. On impact, he grunted in pain and fell to the ground. However, at the sound of the girl’s scroll unraveling, he looked up in time to see several shuriken coming towards him and he jumped to a tree and scaled it quickly, using the opportunity to move through the branches and continue his retreat. Both alphas pursued, followed closely by the other two.Deidara wasn't sure how much longer he could go on and just as he was contemplating how he could best outrun Team Gai, a flash of pink leaped up from below him and with a chakra enhanced fist, Alpha scent strong and aggressive, and hit the branch he was standing on. The branch exploded upward, dislodging Deidara and throwing him to the ground. As he landed on his back, a yelp of pain was wrenched from his lips. He tried to stand but his body refused to listen while his mind screamed for him to get up and run but despite his efforts, Deidara was not able to move from where he had landed.Slowly and cautiously, Team Gai jumped from the trees and approached the fallen ninja. They formed a loose circle around him as they watched for any signs of attempted escape. Deidara closed his eyes and, knowing he was caught, didn’t try to get up again."Don't move," said the older Alpha. "I told you no one could escape Team Gai."Deidara said nothing to this. His eyes were still closed and he was panting heavily at this point, his breathing labored by the pain consuming his senses. He took all his remaining chakra and desperately funneled it into keeping his scent hidden.Naruto, Kakashi, and Chiyo approached from where they had been standing, while the pink haired Alpha walked towards them from where she had delivered the final blow."What have I gotten myself into now?" Deidara thought. "I shouldn't have provoked them and escaped when I had the chance." Hearing them approach, Deidara cracked open his eyes and glanced around, observing the gathered ninja and finally locking eyes with the pink haired kunoichi. Her eyes stared intensely at him for a moment until the pain overcame Deidara once more and he closed them. It took a tremendous effort to not bare his throat at the powerful kunoichi who’d killed his Alpha and incapacitated him. His Omega instincts and “training” screamed at him to submit.No one spoke for a few moments, trying to conserve their strength and still wary of the blond ninja that lay fallen before them. "What should we do with him?" inquired the female beta, Ten-Ten.Naruto snarled, "We should tear him apart for all he's done! I'll do it myself!" But before he could make a move, Kakashi held him back."What are you doing sensei? He...he killed Garra, attacked the Sand and tried to capture me!" Naruto looked over to where two of his clones were supporting the lifeless body of the Kazekage.Kakashi replied, "Now hold on a minute, Naruto and think. We have a high ranking member of one of the world's most infamous rouge ninja groups; we can learn much from him, so lets not be hasty. I think we should bring him back to Konoha for interrogation."Hearing this, Deidara opened his eyes once more. Voice raspy, he said, "You won't get anything from me, may as well finish me now, yeah." Even if he’d been willing to talk, to betray Pain knowing that the Alpha would hunt him down and make him pay, the seal in his throat made sure he couldn’t spill any secrets.Not only that, but Omega ninja’s were rare. Mostly because if captured, torture methods could become… creative. His bravado was mostly for show and he knew it. Death would be the kinder option.Naruto wrenched his arm from Kakashi's and before anyone could stop him, he violently kicked Deidara's side and sent him skidding several feet away. Biting back a cry of pain, Deidara glared at the Omega."Shut up!" growled Naruto. "You look half dead already and it wouldn't take much for me to end your miserable life." Turning around, Naruto moved towards the edge of the forest. "Do what you think is best Sensei, but leave me out of it. I'm not sure I can restrain myself." With that, Naruto took off into the trees.Sighing, Kakashi turned to the other male beta, Lee. "Will you go with him?""Of course," replied Lee who turned to follow Naruto. "I'll make sure he doesn't go too far."Kakashi looked at the older male Alpha, “Gai, what do you think?"Gai frowned and finally said, "I agree with you, this is too valuable an opportunity to pass up. We can restrain him and bring him in for questioning. Although in his state, I'm not sure he is fit to travel there."Turning to Chiyo, Kakashi said, "Right, if you are okay with it Chiyo, I would like to request that Konoha be given full responsibility of the Akatsuki member."Tiredly, Chiyo nodded. "I think that would be for the best. He would not be welcome in the Sand, even as a prisoner and honestly, I think he will be killed either by an assassination attempt or under torture before we could get any information out of him. He has simply done too much to warrant any other treatment by the Sand.""Thank you. Sakura, do you think you can heal him enough to get him to Konoha?"Speaking for the first time since she had dealt the final blow, Sakura replied, "I can heal him enough to move away from here and set up camp, but to get to Konoha, I will need to replenish my chakra supplies."Kakashi nodded, "very well."Speaking up, Chiyo asked, "Can I see my grandson? There is something I would like to check." Without waiting for a reply, she moved to Gaara's body and had the clones lay him on his back. Kneeling next to him, she watched him silently.Sakura walked towards Deidara. "Okay, I need room to work. This may take a while. Please move away for a bit everyone, I don't think he’s capable of doing much harm right now."Nodding their assent, the rest of the squad moved off to the other end of the clearing to tend to their injuries, while keeping a close eye on the two. Kakashi pulled his pack off his back and after a few seconds of rummaging through it, pulled out a pair of chakra blocking hand cuffs. "Here Sakura, use these. As injured as he seems, we should not underestimate an S-rank missing nin." He handed the cuffs to Sakura."Thank you sensei." Kakashi nodded and moved a little bit away, but remained close enough that should something happen, he would be there in moments.Deidara was vaguely aware of the conversations going on around him, but was in too much pain to think much beyond taking in the basic information and thus remained silent. His breathing and pulse had both become more erratic and he grew close to losing consciousness. He almost didn’t notice the kunoichi as she kneeled and reached to attach the chakra binding cuffs on him.His mind finally registered what Kakashi had given her and his instincts screamed at him in that moment, forcing his body into action. If those cuffs connected, they’d know he was an Omega.With what little energy he had and really no plan, pain blocked by the adrenaline fueling his body, he threw himself sideways. He heard Sakura gasp next to him at his unexpected movement.She lunged after him and grabbed the first thing she could, a fist full of his hair, and yanked back hard. The full scent of angry Alpha hit him and forced his head back in submission. Before he knew it, the chakra cuffs were latched around his broken arms and hisOomega scent exploded outward as his chakra was abruptly cut off.It surprised them both when Sakura sank her fangs into the scent gland on his shoulder. His mating gland on the opposite side of his neck from Sasori’s bite.Both ninja froze, as did everyone else in the clearing, as they realized what had happened.As both terrible agony and unwanted pleasure raced up and down his spine, Deidara passed out.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Sakura, let him go!”Kakashi-sensei’s angry yell startled her enough that the red cleared from her vision and she abruptly unclenched her jaw. Her Sensei yanked her back, away from their prisoner, who was now laid out unconscious on the ground in front of her. What the hell just happened?One minute, she’d been evaluating the rogue’s injuries and the next, a red haze had taken over her vision as the most delicious scent exploded outward and filled her senses. She barely remembered the desperate struggling of the man as he tried to bolt away from her. She grabbed at him and slapped the cuffs on, then… nothing. But as she looked on in dawning horror at the injured man in front of her, an Omega, she saw the bright red blood welling out of his neck, right across his mating gland.Kakashi’s hands were holding her tightly back as she instinctively leaned forward to get closer to her mate. Wait, mate? MATE!?Sakura slapped her hand over her nose and mouth as she finally registered what she’d done. In a completely inappropriate and frankly feral way, she’d forcibly mated the grievously injured, S-ranked missing-nin from the Akatsuki. They’d had no idea he was an Omega, he’d kept such a tight rein on his scent they’d assumed he was a beta.“Oh gods,” she whimpered before turning over promptly and emptying the contents of her stomach. Kakashi stepped back slightly to give her some room. Above her, she could hear him barking instructions to the rest of the team, but his voice was fading in and out at her rising panic at what she’d just done. How the hell had this happened? She was a highly trained kunoichi, Tsunade herself’s apprentice! Not only was this highly inappropriate, it bordered on inhumane and cruel. She’d as good as raped the Omega in front of her, forcibly tying him to her. He smelled vaguely of Sasori and saw the faded scar on the other side of his neck; they must have been mates.She was panicking and she knew it. She needed to calm down and without thinking, drew in a few huge lungfuls of air. Bad choice.All around her, her teammates' scents, particularly the Alphas, threw her out of control hormones into overdrive to protect her new, injured mate. A red haze settled over her vision again and she lunged forward and placed herself over him, snarling angrily at everyone.Distantly, she recognized the Alpha scents disappearing almost entirely and the betas moving away, but not out of the clearing they were in. Quickly she took the opportunity to evaluate her mate. He was still unconscious, and though his scent was tinged with fear and distress and pain, the underlying wonderful Omega scent soothed her slightly. Sakura gathered chakra in her hands and pushed the healing energy into his body, feeling the terrible injuries. Broken bones, shattered joints, deep tissue bruising, and the messy tearing of the mating bite she’d caused. When she examined the mark, the viciousness of it startled her enough that she broke out of her red haze once again.Gasping, Sakura looked up and noticed Kakashi and Tenten, the betas on the team, watching her warily nearby. She couldn’t even sense Gai and Neji, the two alphas, nor Naruto, the only Omega.She fell back on her butt as she scooted away slightly from the rogue ninja. Her brain was a haze of confusion and her hormones were all kinds of out of whack.Unsure what to do, in a small voice, she called out to her Sensei, her pack leader, “Kakashi-sensei, please, I need help.” Her voice hitched with unshed tears and in a moment, the man who was like a father to her was there, hand resting gently on the back of her neck.“What did I do? I don’t understand,” she hiccuped, emotions wrecking havoc on her mind.In his infinite calmness, Kakashi pulled her close and admitted, “I don’t know, but we’ll figure this out.” After a moment's pause, he asked, “are you feeling more in control?”Exhausted as she was by her fight with Sasori, followed by this craziness, Sakura felt like she didn’t have much else to give. She nodded slightly and slumped further in her seated position.Sakura took refuge in her sensei’s calm voice as he took control of the situation. “We need to move out of the area. If you think he’s stable enough to move and you feel like you can make it a little farther, let’s move and reevaluate. I’ve sent the Alpha’s away and I’ll make sure the beta’s stay close enough to help, but not too close. A new bond, though unconventional it may be, is a delicate thing, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”“Yes Sensei. He’s badly injured but stable enough to move.”Kakashi reached for the unconscious ninja but at a soft growl from Sakura, he paused. Completely mortified, Sakura blushed red and stammered, “s… sorry Sensei. I think maybe I should carry him. If that’s okay?”He nodded gently and stood back, ready to help if necessary. Sakura stood and went to her new mate. She crouched and very gently lifted him onto her back. She’d stabilized his injuries enough to move him carefully, but he was still unconscious and slowly leeching out a pained scent.When she felt ready to go, she nodded to Kakashi and they took off at a gentle pace.Kakashi noticed her glancing around and said, “Ten-Ten and Lee went ahead to scout an area for us while Gai, Neji and Naruto stayed with Chiyo and Gaara.”If she reached out with her senses, she could in fact sense her teammates’ chakra signatures, though they must have put on emergency blockers or used their remaining chakra to keep their scents away as she couldn’t smell anyone but herself, Kakashi and the rogue ninja.After about 20 minutes, they came to a small clearing where Lee and Ten-Ten were setting up the standard barriers for a camp. At their appearance, the betas froze and waited for Sakura’s reaction.Somewhat ashamed, Sakura said, “I’m okay now guys.”They both nodded but didn’t really say anything to her and went back to work.Kakashi stepped up next to her and held out his hand, offering to help with the unconscious man at her back. She nodded gratefully, and together they set him gently on the ground.Knowing he was injured and seemingly unable to help it, Sakura ran another diagnostic check of the Omega and began healing his more grievous injuries. His arms would be tender for a while but she’d be able to get them to a somewhat mobile level. His leg and ribs would have to wait till her chakra reserves were back up so she set and bound the leg to keep it stable. She needed to bind his torso so she had Kakashi help hold him while she peeled back his blood soaked garments.The Akatsuki signature cloak came off, followed by his mesh armor and shirt. As his torso became visible, Sakura gasped and even Kakashi stiffened at the sight.Old scars criss crossed his entire body. All ninjas had scars, but these were different. These weren’t battle wounds, they looked largely to be marks of torture. Sakura, being a well trained medic, numbly took in the burns, the whip marks, and the knife cuts. As an Alpha, seeing an Omega in such a state was horrifying. Yes, they were ninja, and yes this Omega was an S class criminal, but still. What kind of person did this to an Omega? Had they not known? She didn’t think even T&I in Konoha was so aggressive with male Omegas.Sakura couldn’t even begin to comprehend it. As a female Alpha, as rare as male Omegas, she couldn’t imagine a world in which she did this to someone like him. Naruto was a male Omega, so she knew from experience how special they were. They were kind and sensitive, relied heavily on their pack for safety and feeling comfortable. It’d taken Team Seven years to undo the childhood trauma Naruto had faced as an abandoned Omega. It was why they were such a tight knit pack now. It was very unusual for a male Omega to be a ninja, not because they were weaker, but being a ninja was a traumatic life, and male Omegas were particularly sensitive to the lifestyle. Naruto was the only other one she knew of, and he needed his pack frequently after tough missions.Thank the gods for Sasuke. Naruto and Sasuke had mated several years before, in secret. Sasuke was traveling, acting as a spy for Konoha and working to clear his brother’s name, though he made trips to see Naruto and the rest of his pack as often as he could. It hurt them to be apart, Alpha and Omega, but it was necessary for now. He’d given Naruto the sense of security he’d craved all his life, and they were good together.Sakura knew almost nothing of this Omega. His name was Deidara, and his forehead protector indicated he’d been from Iwa at some point. She winced as she thought about the antiquated ways of Omega relations in Iwa. Had these marks come from that time? Or after? How had he become a part of Akatsuki? How would he react to his mates death and very sudden re-bonding to an enemy alpha?Sakura flinched at the thought, and felt sick again. What kind of person, what kind of Alpha was she that she’d done such a terrible thing? Her hand brushed tentatively over the messy mating bite.Kakashi sensed her guilt and murmured, “we’ll figure this out, Sakura. It was an accident, try not to beat yourself up. I promise we will figure this out.”Looking at her pack leader, she smiled ruefully and said, “I hope you’re right.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The first thing he became aware of was the pulsing agony in his neck. Moving from there, he felt like every muscle in his body was screaming at him not to move. He could tell right away that the worst of the damage to his arms had been healed, but he was exhausted and chakra depleted. He wasn’t even aware of the pained whimpering escaping his throat, or the slight trembling in his body as he came to full awareness.Someone shifted on his left side, his nearly blind side, and the throbbing in his neck suddenly drew his full attention.No. Oh no. Not again! How could he have ANOTHER unwanted mating bite barely hours after his last one had finally severed at Sasori’s demise? Panicking, Deidara wrenched his eyes open and twisted his neck enough to catch sight of the pink haired alpha sitting next to him. Her eyes were locked onto his visible one; his eyes flicked to her throat as he saw her swallow compulsively. It all came rushing back. His panic at discovery, the pain in his neck, and then nothing. The kunoichi had realized what he was and used the opportunity to tether him to her.There was a reason most shinobi were alpha’s and beta’s. It wasn’t that omega couldn’t be ninja, but the risk of being forcibly mated was often higher than most were willing to risk. Most omega ninja wore thick collars around their necks to prevent this exact thing from happening. But he’d been mated to Sasori for years, unable to be marked by another until his death, so he hadn’t worn the collar in years. And now it was too late to do anything about it.Female omegas were much more common than male, as far as Deidara knew. He was actually the only male omega he knew and he’d been forced into becoming a ninja because of his Kekkei Genkai and Kinjutsu by Iwa.He tried to lift his arm to press at the uncomfortable stinging of his mark, but remembered too late that his arms were healed somewhat but still incredibly sore. At his grunt of pain, the alpha, his alpha, grasped his hand to hold it still against the ground.He froze, stopped even breathing, as he tried not to do anything to upset the alpha. Too used to the abuse from the other Akatsuki alpha’s to do much more than avert his gaze and try to bare his throat more in submission. Maybe if he appealed to her alpha instincts she wouldn’t hurt him again, at least not until he healed some. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take, feeling already on the verge of a breakdown.She reached for his head and he flinched, thinking she was going to tear at his hair again, like some of the more eager Akatsuki members were keen to do, but she simply settled her hand on his bond mark and pushed a bit of healing chakra into it. His body hummed at the feeling of his alphas chakra rushing through his body, but his mind started to shut down, waiting for the inevitable.He didn’t hear as she muttered soothing words to him, only felt when another presence approached them. His eyes locked onto the Copy Ninja and he shrunk back, wishing to become one with the earth in his effort to escape.He snarled at the Copy Ninja as he stepped even closer but then flinched back at the subtle tightening of his alphas hand around his shoulder. His need to fight the enemy shinobi warred with his instinctual fear of his new alpha and resulted in something like a grimace crossing his features and a half snarl half whimper to leave his mouth.Luckily, the Copy Ninja stopped approaching and directed his gaze to his alpha, allowing Deidara to take a deeper breath.They were speaking above him but he could hardly focus. His alpha’s hand was pressed into the vicious mating mark and it was causing him both pain and the unwanted side effects of arousal from the intimate touch by its creator. He’d always loathed that particular part of the mating bite, and Sasori had used it cruelly to keep him in line more often than not. It seemed like this new alpha was shaping up to be just like the bastard alphas from Akatsuki.He must have been giving off some sort of scent or making a noise he didn’t realize because he suddenly got a face full of pink haired alpha staring at him with fake worry. He flinched violently at the sudden close contact and gave an undignified yelp. Surprisingly, the alpha also jerked backwards, seemingly startled. At least her hands came off him, even if he was embarrassed.The two regarded each other for a moment before the alpha sighed slightly and said, “my name is Sakura, you’re Deidara-san, yes?”Of all the things she could have said, politely introducing herself wasn’t even on his radar. Though now that he thought about it, it wasn’t unlike the first time Sasori had spoken to him. Infuriatingly polite bastard.After Itachi and Kisame had basically kidnapped him and taken him to the Akatsuki base, he’d thrown a fit and demanded to be released. Unluckily for him, they’d done their research and knew he was an omega. The two had wrestled him to the ground and Pain gave the order for Sasori to mate him, to force his compliance. He also hadn’t known his name before the forced mating.Shaken out of his racing thoughts by the clearing of the alphas throat, Deidara blinked rapidly, trying to catch up again. Spirits his head hurt.“Deidara-san?” She questioned, reaching for him again.He flinched back and hmm’ed an affirmative noise, hoping she wouldn’t touch him again. She seemed like she was trying to catch his eye but he kept his gaze averted, as he’d been taught.She finally sighed and sat back a little. “How are you feeling? I stabilized some of your broken bones but I’m a little chakra depleted right now so I can’t do much more at the moment.”He knew she only cared so she could figure out how much of a threat he was. Though it seemed a moot point considering she essentially had full control of him now with a one sided mating bite. With his pounding head and fearful mind, he couldn’t ponder it anymore and just grunted at her in response, hoping it came out like a somewhat coherent ‘fine’.She looked at him warily but didn’t say anything else so he closed his eyes and sighed quietly. He heard her murmuring to Kakashi above him but didn’t care to make it out anymore. He didn’t care.After a few minutes, he was startled awake (when had he fallen asleep?) when he felt her hand on his forehead. Ever so slowly, his headache disappeared and his mind felt clearer without the pounding behind his forehead. It was then he realized his forehead protector was gone, as was his eye scope. And his cloak and mesh armor. Instead, he had bandages wound around his torso, she must have treated him while he was unconscious. He sucked in a quick breath as he scanned his body for other injuries and relaxed minutely when he realized he hadn’t been violated while unconscious. It was always unpleasant to wake with the unexpected and hated ache in his lower body.Her hand went to his hair again and he panicked, flashing back to each time a member of Akatsuki had dragged him around, forcing him to do things he didn’t want to do. He lashed out with his uninjured leg and kicked her square in the chest, throwing her backwards and away from him.Within seconds, Kakashi and the two betas had him pinned on his stomach, arms wrenched behind his back and their weight settling across his body as he thrashed, trying to dislodge them. He snarled and growled, lost to the reality around him until a furious alpha scent slammed into him, followed by a thunderous alpha command, “stop!”His body locked up and eyes darted to his alpha, panting on the ground a few feet away. She was glaring murderously towards him, eyes roving over the scene.The three ninja moved away from him but he didn’t move, frozen in place by the rage pouring off his alpha. She stood shakily and walked towards him.Without realizing it, Deidara whimpered, “I’m sorry Alpha, I’m sorry, please.”His nonsensical pleading cut off when he felt her hand on his back and he braced for her wrath, all rational thought leaving him.XXXXXSakura was furious with her teammates, they’d jumped on her omega and probably reinjured him. Not to mention the horrible stink of his terror. Betas we’re lucky they weren’t as in tune with alpha and omega pheromones or they’d be feeling as sick as she was. As she dropped to her knees next to the rogue ninja, she heard his sad pleading, asking for forgiveness. Sure, she’d been upset at the initial blow, but it wasn’t unexpected for a captured ninja to use every opportunity to escape. It’d been her fault for letting her guard down, mating instincts confused by the warring between her rational mind who knew he was an enemy ninja and her hindbrain that wanted to protect her new mate. But the pleading and terror coming from the man in front of her just didn’t make sense to her. Why was he acting like this? Wouldn’t an S ranked criminal be less inclined to act this way?She tried to get his attention by placing her hand on his back when calling to him didn’t work but as she looked closer, she realized finally what was wrong, he was having a dissociative episode. His eyes were vacant and far away. Naruto had had several over the years, and there was very little they could do to pull him out of it besides giving him time and a safe space to process. Sasuke had more success but even then, it depended on how triggering the episode was for her omega pack mate.She turned abruptly to Kakashi and said worriedly, “he’s having an episode. Like Naruto gets.”He nodded, agreeing with her. He asked Lee and Ten-Ten, who were watching everything with wide eyes, to further secure the camp and keep an eye out for their other three teammates. Who knew what would happen if Gai and Neji came into the clearing now?Once they were out of sight, Kakashi came and kneeled on Deidara’s other side. “I’ve been thinking about it, and despite being a male omega, he seems very touch-averse. Every time he’s panicked, it’s been after he’s been grabbed or feels like he might be. Those scars aren’t from one or two torture sessions, he’s been abused.”Sakura inhaled a deep breath and sighed, seeing her sensei’s logic and agreeing. She’d never seen an abused omega other than Naruto, and his scars were more of the mental and emotional variety. A missing nin from Iwa and member of the Akatsuki, with as many scars as he had, indicated repeated and deliberate torture, by whom she didn’t know, but it wasn’t important right now.“I’m not sure how this is all going to play out. For one we didn’t expect to take any prisoners, let alone that you’d end up mated to him.” He said this with an almost wry sense of humor and Sakura couldn’t help the watery chuckle that escaped her.“No, no we didn’t. I’m still not sure what happened, he’s hardly the first omega I’ve interacted with,” she trailed off.“I wondered about that too and I have some theories. But for now, let’s work on getting him out of this and coherent enough that we can ask him about Akatsuki. We’re still close enough to their base that I don’t want to stay too long. He might know who’s in the area. After that, well, we’ll just have to see.”He patted her head, much like he did when she was a much younger pup, and she found herself so grateful for her first mentor and pack leader in that moment. She grabbed his hand and turned his wrist towards her. Kakashi caught the message and with a smile, used his wrist to mark her cheek, leaving his scent on her and re-asserting her status as pack. They’d get through this.They turned their attention to the male omega, who had stopped speaking but showed no signs of coherency, instead trembling intermittently and whining softly. Sakura tested what touching him would do and when she got no reaction at all, she was simultaneously relieved and worried. It seemed like she could move him, but that he wasn’t aware at all was concerning.She and Kakashi moved him to his back and lifted his torso gently. Sakura tried coaxing him to stand but he wouldn’t. She finally gave a firm command to ‘stand up’ and his body reacted almost instantly, trying to rise despite his injuries. They grasped his biceps to help him move and while he stumbled and remained unaware, he was up. They guided him towards a large tree and helped guide him back down under the shade.“Should we tie him up?” Sakura asked.Kakashi shook his head and said, “no, we just need to keep our guard up. With no access to chakra, he can’t do much. Admittedly, our reaction earlier was a little too aggressive if I’m being honest.”A little perplexed at the relief she felt at Kakashi’s answer, Sakura shook her head and decided to examine the thought later.Unsure how to proceed, they looked at each other for a moment before Sakura hesitantly suggested, “I can put my traveling cloak over him. I don’t think we have anything that’ll fit him and his clothes are ruined. Maybe getting used to my scent will help? Naruto’s stuff might but with Gaara and everything…”“Not a bad idea, and I don’t have another.”Agreed, she unpacked her cloak and draped it carefully over her omega’s body, hiding the bandages. She noticed at some point he’d closed his eyes and while his breathing was labored, he didn’t seem to be conscious anymore.“When he gets up, he’ll need fluids and probably food, but for now I think rest is best.” Her medical training took over finally and she felt calmer having a plan, at least for the moment.“We’ll wait for the others here and regroup.”Kakashi jumped into the tree above them to keep a look out while Sakura settled near Deidara’s legs, one hand absently stroking over his bandaged leg every once in a while.Eventually, Lee and Ten-Ten came back, both a little unsure. But at Sakura’s tentative smile, they relaxed and made their way over.“Any updates?” Ten-Ten asked.“He’s very weak and unconscious, definitely not in any shape to be moved.” Sakura chewed her lip nervously.Lee finally asked, “and how are you feeling Sakura-Chan?”She thought about that a moment before responding. “Better. Not as volatile. I don’t know what happened, why I did that.” She swallowed hard and continued, “I don’t know what came over me but we’ll figure it out.”Lee and Ten-Ten seemed satisfied with the answer, nodding before moving to keep watch around the clearing like Kakashi was.Nothing left to do but wait for the others.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When he came to, he could tell several hours had passed based on the shadows on the ground. He’d also been moved again, and was laying under a tree. A cloak covered in his alpha’s scent was laid over him. Deidara slowly scanned his body, preparing to find himself sore and used, as often happened after his episodes. When he found no evidence of new injury, he was shocked and opened his eyes. A little ways away, most of the Konoha ninja were gathered around the Jinjuriki as he spoke animatedly. Kakashi and Sakura were near him, guarding him, but the blond was being loud enough that when Deidara finally focused in, he could hear fine.“It was crazy! Granny Chiyo is amazing… was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. They took her to be buried back in the Sand Village. Gaara and Temari and Kankuro promised to visit soon, once they stabilized the Village.”Was he hearing that right? It sounded like the Ichibi Jinjuriki was alive? How?His surprise must have made him careless because he suddenly felt a hand on his leg. His alpha was touching him and looking at him strangely.“Are you okay?” She asked.What? He felt like he was going to get mental whiplash with the rapidly evolving situation with these Konoha ninja. One minute they’re attacking him, the next politely asking if he’s okay? Unsure how to answer, he simply nodded and averted his eyes. His training kicked in and he bared his neck to her, hoping to appease her further.She frowned and looked like she was going to say something when suddenly he realized the clearing was very quiet. He glanced back towards Naruto and saw that all eyes were on him.He flinched when Kakashi dropped down next to him. For a moment, he thought the Copy ninja was going to hurt him, but he was actually putting himself between him and Naruto. Who was staring intently at him. And walking over. Shit.He was still very weak and injured, but if the blond ninja decided to take his anger out on Deidara, well, it still probably wouldn’t be the worst he’s gone through, but it wouldn’t be pleasant. Odds are his new Alpha would welcome the discipline from another member of her pack.Kakashi moved into Naruto’s path and they stared at one another for a few moments before Kakashi nodded and stepped aside.Feeling especially vulnerable laying down, Deidara struggled to sit up, finally making it as Naruto came to a stop a few feet away. There was no way he’d be able to stand but at least he wasn’t flat on his back. He felt the ache in his ribs at the memory of the Jinjuriki slamming him down earlier.“Oy, you,” Naruto grunted.Deidara stared at the ninja’s knees, knowing he wasn’t supposed to look anyone in the eye. But his flinch must have been enough acknowledgement because Naruto continued.“Gaara is alive. Granny Chiyo brought him back.”Deidara sucked in a breath. It was true then.“He told me something interesting.”When Deidara still didn’t respond, he continued.“He said that you let him move the sand he’d been using away from the Village before you captured him.”Deidara went very still. He heard the sharp intake of breath from his alpha and the slight tensing of the copy ninja.“Is that true?”It was. Honestly, Deidara hadn’t wanted to fight in the Village, hadn’t wanted to fight at all. But Pain and Sasori agreed it would be the most tactically advantageous move, Deidara being a long range explosive fighter, he was most equipped to take on the Sand Jinjuriki. It was why they’d “initiated” him into Akatsuki in the first place.They’d also hoped that his destructive capabilities would cripple the Sand Villages forces. And while he couldn’t defy his alphas orders directly, he’d been able to circumnavigate them enough to allow Gaara to move his sand. They’d only said to drop bombs, not necessarily how to capture the Kazekage. And he’d paid for that act of defiance with a pound of flesh on their way to the Akatsuki hideout, though the week-long extraction process had let the scars and bruises fade.“Well?” He questioned again.Unsure what to say, Deidara closed his eyes and remained silent, head down.He felt her hand against his back and fought back his instinctual fear as his alpha came around to face him. Her hand came to his jaw and pressed upward, asking him to raise his eyes without words. He didn’t want to incur her anger again so he acquiesced, but settled for looking at the hollow of the throat instead of her eyes.“Deidara-San,” she said quietly, “is it true? Did you allow Gaara to move his sand away from the Village?” Her voice was soft but firm, allowing no argument from him.“Yes, Alpha,” he rasped, so quietly only she and Naruto heard him. He missed the shared look of concern over his use of the word ‘alpha’.“Why?”Genuinely not sure how to answer, he shrugged. “Because I could.” It was said almost like a question but it was the best he could come up with.“I’m sorry I kicked you earlier. That was uncalled for.”Deidara forgot himself for a moment, sure he had misheard the blond. His gray eyes shot up to meet the sky blue of the ninja in front of him. Naruto kneeled next to him so he was more level and continued, looking him right in the eye.“I don’t know who you are, why you joined a group like the Akatsuki , or really anything about this situation. But I do know you saved a lot of people when you just as easily could have killed them. So thanks for that.”Deidara was completely floored. He blinked owlishly at the other blond, unable to process what had just happened. His eyes moved around, checking everyone’s reactions. Team Gai was across the clearing, watching with varying reactions from suspicious (Neji) to absurdly pleased (Gai). Kakashi seemed aloof, but the tension had drained from his body. And his alpha, well, she was smiling softly. He suddenly noticed she had emerald green eyes.Oh shit he was looking at her eyes.“Sorry Alpha,” he whispered, hoping she wasn’t going to hit him for looking at her or any of her pack. He ducked his head quickly and showed her his neck.He heard her sigh but nothing more so he chanced a look in her direction. She didn’t seem to be paying him anymore attention, instead shifting to stand and speak with Naruto and Kakashi.“Wait there. And lay back down, you’re still injured.”She took a few steps away to speak with her pack and left him to settle again. Deidara was thrown by what had just happened, but was relieved nothing bad had come of the interaction. Why Naruto seemed to care about what he’d done to the Sand Village was beyond him, and he was so exhausted he honestly didn’t care. He winced as he lowered himself to the ground, finally settling on his back and closing his eyes.XXXXX“Did Gaara really say that,” Sakura questioned. The rest of the team had moved closer so they could speak, though Sakura and Kakashi were still noticeably in between their prisoner and the rest of the team.Naruto nodded and said, “ya, when he was a little more awake, he asked what had happened to the blond man who’d captured him. I told him that Kakashi-sensei wanted to take him back to Konoha for questioning and he told me what happened. Apparently he could have knocked Gaara out, which would have buried the village, but he said ‘move the sand’ and held back. I mean, obviously he did finally knock Gaara out but he let him save the village first. Gaara had no idea why but wanted me to know.”Kakashi had a thoughtful look on his face and he glanced back at the rogue ninja, as did everyone else, only to find him unconscious once again. “There’s more to his story than I think any of us realize. I referenced the bingo book I have and there’s very little, if any real information about him. His name, age, former village, and rank are all listed, but he’s not even known as an associate of Akatsuki. It just says he’s a demolitions expert and even lists him as a beta. Maybe in other books it has more information but not in the one I have. Has anyone heard of him before?”When everyone shook their heads, Kakashi nodded and continued. “I’ve been thinking more about what happened between him and Sakura; I hope you don’t mind if I share a theory, I suspect someone here may have some thoughts.”Sakura was a little embarrassed, mostly ashamed still at what she’d done, but she was desperate for answers and replied, “no, please share. If anyone has any ideas, it’d be really helpful.”“Well, I’m fairly certain he was mated to his Akatsuki partner, Sasori. He was hiding his scent right up until the chakra cuffs went on him and he’s not wearing a protective collar. Based on what Sakura and Chiyo-sama told me, Sasori died around the time Naruto and I were still in pursuit. I’d been trying to hit him with a Sharingan technique but was unsuccessful except for one moment. I didn’t think much of it at the time, maybe he was just getting to the point of exhaustion, but he faltered for a second and I caught his arm with my technique, which broke his arm. I think Sasori died at that moment and the bond breaking cost him his concentration. He also moved more into flight mode after that, instead of continuing to bait Naruto.”Sakura slowly nodded her head, “it makes sense, I agree. He also smells somewhat like Sasori, though it’s fading fast.”Kakashi turned to Gai and said, “you once fought a rogue alpha/omega pair didn’t you? I seem to remember something odd happening.”Gai-sensei nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! I was able to take out the alpha first, followed shortly by his mate, a female omega. There was a moment where her scent called to me, on an instinctual level, before I successfully completed the mission.” There was a note of sadness in the alpha’s voice, Sakura noted.“I thought so. I wonder if because Sakura was the one who killed his mate, on an instinctual level, his scent called to her too. What do you think, Sakura?”She blinked rapidly and processed everything that had been said. It made sense. If Deidara and Sasori were in fact mated, and she had killed his alpha, on a base level, she would have been entitled to make him her own. Normally, she would never fall down to the level of her instincts, but she was exhausted, grieving Gaara’s death, and when she he’d fled from her, it had activated her chase instincts. But even knowing all of this, knowing logically there had to be a reason for it, she felt worse than ever. She’d killed his alpha mate! Someone he probably cared about very much, had loved. And then She forced herself on him, like he was a prize to be won.If she’d had anything left in her stomach, she would have thrown up again. As it was, she whined and sank to her knees, hands coming to her face as a choked sob worked its way out of her mouth. Naruto and Kakashi were by her side in an instant.“I didn’t mean to, I swear! What if this happened to one of our friends? I…I…” she couldn’t continue.Naruto hugged her immediately and tried to reassure her, “Sakura-chan, you are a strong, kind alpha. We know it was an accident. We’ll work it out.” His face turned to the rest of the group, who nodded their agreement.After a few more moments, she pulled herself together. She could freak out later. Right now, she had an omega under her care unwillingly and she needed to make sure she didn’t screw it up farther.She’d been keeping an eye on him throughout the discussion and noted that he’d fallen unconscious again fairly quickly, not surprising given how injured and chakra depleted he was, but she knew she’d have to wake him up again to ask about any enemies in the area. Gods she hoped he cooperated. While she’d mated him and it seemed like they didn’t have his full story, he was still an S ranked criminal who’d just kidnapped and basically killed the Kazekage. If they had to resort to more drastic measures to get him to give them information about the organization, they would have to.Figuring they should get it over with, she asked, “Kakashi-sensei, should I wake him? I know you wanted to ask about other members in the area. He’s not strong enough to move unless we really have to.”“Yes, better now than later.” He looked somber, knowing what had to happen if he refused to give up the information without a fight. He’d seemed fairly cooperative so far, maybe they’d get lucky.While she didn’t like having them near Deidara, Gai and Neji were both trained in interrogation and needed to be present so they could assess the truth of what he was saying. If Ino had been with them, she could have done it without waking him up again, but alas, she was in Konoha.Sakura knelt by the omega and shook his shoulder, calling out, “Deidara-san, wake up. We need to ask you some questions.”His eyes opened quite suddenly and she had to thank her quick reflexes for being able to grab his foot as he moved to kick her again. She wasn’t even sure if he was aware of what he’d done but had to pin him to the ground and growl to settle him enough to stop fighting.With her hand in his hair and knee pressed into his back, the omega froze. She heard him swallow audibly and the smallest whine come from him, but she pushed aside her sympathy and said sternly, “are you done fighting me yet?”When he nodded, she slowly released him and moved to kneel beside him. Her hand pressed into his shoulder, asking him to turn over and then helped him sit up. She leaned him back against the tree next to them and tried to make eye contact but found his eyes staring worriedly at the two alphas next to them.“This is Gai-sensei and Neji-san, we have some questions for you and they’re trained in T&I, so they’ll know if you’re lying. Understood?”The color was draining rapidly from his face and his trembling got worse, but all he said was a quiet, “yes Alpha.”Kakashi knelt down next to Sakura, and asked, “are there other members of Akatsuki in the area?”Deidara hunched over and didn’t say anything, obviously not willing to answer.Kakashi sighed and said, “look, we don’t want to make this difficult, but if we need to move because we aren’t safe, we need to know. So I’ll ask nicely one more time, are there any other members of Akatsuki in the area? Or anything else we should be wary of?”When he still didn’t answer, Kakashi looked at Sakura. She frowned, unsurprised he was unwilling to answer the question. She tried using her alpha voice, “answer him.”Almost immediately, the omega choked and hunched over, clutching at his throat.“Sakura stop, revoke the order!” Neji called urgently.She whipped around and saw his Byakugan activated, staring intently at Deidara.“Uh, nevermind. Don’t answer Kakashi-sensei.”To her relief, he stopped choking. He was breathing raggedly and sweating profusely. She reached out to touch him, unable to help herself, but flinched back when he gasped out a pathetic, “please, don’t.” He was clutching his head and refused to look up.“What did you see, Neji,” Gai asked.“There’s some sort of seal in his throat. When you tried to force him to answer, it activated.” He was staring intently at the omega, eyes flickering over his body, checking chakra pathways. “Sakura, can you check?”She nodded and turned back to the omega. “Deidara-san, I need to check your throat, okay?”He didn’t seem to be in any state to respond so she steeled herself, knowing he’d react poorly, and reached to touch his throat. As expected, he jerked violently, but knowing it had to be done, she growled softly, warning him to still, before probing his throat with chakra. There was definitely something there, but she needed a better look. “Open your mouth,” she commanded gently.It took him a moment but he finally lifted his head and, with eyes still averted, opened his mouth.She used a pen light to shine into his throat and gasped when she saw what looked like a brand on the back of his throat.“What is that?” She questioned almost to herself.“A gag seal,” Kakashi said. His Sharingan was activated and looking at the seal as well. “I suspect it prevents him from discussing anything Akatsuki related in the event of his capture.”“Damn,” cursed Sakura, knowing they’d have to leave now. They couldn’t afford to waste more time if Akatsuki were indeed in the area.“Everyone, we’re moving out in 5. Be ready,” Kakashi ordered.Everyone looked grim and on edge, knowing enemy ninja could be in the area. They needed to get to Fire country as soon as possible.XXXXXHis throat was still burning from the effects of the brand. All members of Akatsuki had gag seals, though as far as he knew, his was the only one branded. Being an omega, they deemed it necessary, because of this exact situation. If he was captured by an enemy, check, and forced to rebond, double check, his new alpha could force him to reveal secrets about the organization, check, check, and check. Or if Deidara ever slipped from their hands and wanted to fuck them over himself. They worried a fuinjutsu expert would be able to remove the regular seals so Pain had Kakuzu brand it into the back of his throat. No one would be able to remove it without a strong likelihood of killing him.He was surprisingly grateful to Neji, who had seen what was happening and stopped the process. He could have easily let it continue. And that Sakura had so quickly revoked the order. The Akatsuki liked to “test” the seal every once in a while and it would leave his throat bloody and raw for days afterwards.The Leaf Ninja were bustling around, getting ready to move. He was so exhausted. He kept passing out but was actually glad to be leaving. Itachi and Kisami were nearby. Not dangerously close but close enough to make him wary. Kisame had helped Sasori “punish” him for his misstep with the Sand Village. Who knew what they’d do to him if they found out he’d been captured and rebonded.But still, he wasn’t sure how they were going to move. Team Gai was still relatively fresh, as was Naruto, but Kakashi, Sakura, and himself were all running on fumes at this point.When they were all packed up, Sakura came over and said, “Neji-San is going to carry you. I can’t right now, and neither can Kakashi-sensei.”The younger male alpha. He tried not to show it but he was terrified. In his entire life, not one male alpha had been kind to him, they only ever asserted their power over him, put him down, and abused him. In his panic he forgot that he didn’t have a rein on his scent anymore so the whole clearing suddenly went very still when terrified omega pheromones spilled into the clearing.Sakura looked shocked and stared at him with wide eyes. “I, uh, are you… are you okay? What’s wrong?”Wincing at his out of control scent, Deidara tried to calm down. The more afraid he was, the more riled up the alphas would get. If he really was going to be traveling with the younger alpha, he didn’t want to do anything to provoke him.He shook his head in answer to Sakura’s question and said, “nothing, Alpha.”She seemed like she was going to contradict his answer, obviously something was wrong, but to everyone’s shock, Naruto stepped forward and offered, “I’ll do it, I can carry him.”Shocked once again by the strange Jinjuriki, Deidara met his eyes. Naruto was watching him with an almost soft expression, like he knew what Deidara was thinking. And maybe he did, he was also a male omega after all. He couldn’t help but hesitate still, remembering how angry the boy had been not too long ago. It must have come through in his scent because Naruto tried to reassure him.“I’m sorry for before. I was so angry about Gaara. But I also know that something about this whole situation is off and until we sort it out, I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.” He glanced back towards the rest of he group and lowered his voice. “Neji is a good Alpha, but I understand. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”It was probably stupid to believe him but the other omega’s scent was showing his sincerity and Deidara couldn’t help but gravitate towards it. It had been so long since he’d interacted with another omega and in his weakened state, he couldn’t help himself. So he nodded and allowed Sakura to help him onto Naruto’s back.When everyone was situated, Sakura took up a position near the two omegas, as did Kakashi, while the rest of the team spread out and took off into the woods, away from Akatsuki and towards the Land of Fire.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
They traveled for several hours, until they were finally back in proper Fire Country and much less likely to run into any enemy ninja. They decided that they’d travel with Team Gai for one more day and then they would split off to warn the Hokage about the situation while the rest of them made their way more slowly back. It would take them several days with all their injuries as Sakura was wary about pushing everyone too fast. And there was a part of her that wanted time with her omega before the chaos that was sure to happen as soon as they ended up back in the Village.She still felt terribly guilty about what she’d done but for better or worse, they were stuck together now and she intended to do what she could to be a good Alpha.The area they chose was near a stream, which would allow everyone to rinse off, but also protected on three sides by tall cliffs. Team Gai began setting the standard seals and traps as Team 7 settled down and Sakura checked injuries again. Her chakra was certainly not back to full strength, but she had been able to accumulate some on the run. It took everything in her to check in with Kakashi and Naruto first, despite how badly she wanted to use all her energy on her omega. Deidara was still a prisoner, her omega or not, and Kakashi and Naruto needed to be at full strength in case an enemy appeared.When they both waved her off, assuring her that they were fine, she turned to Deidara, who was resting against a large rock where Naruto had placed him when they arrived. His hair was covering his left eye again but she could tell that he was surveying the clearing with a sharp gaze. As she walked over, his eyes snapped to her and his scent grew nervous again. She did her best to ignore it and kneeled next to him, holding out her wrist in a show of sincerity.The gesture seemed to surprise him, and though he made no move to take her offered hand, he did subtly take a deep breath, probably gauging her mood. Whatever he found must have made him nervous because he dropped his gaze and bared his throat to her.Sakura grimaced at the display, hating how cowed the omega seemed of her, but recognizing it for the invitation that it was as she scooted forward and ran her healing hands over his body. “I’m just checking that nothing was exacerbated on the way here. Is there anything in particular that’s bothering you at the moment?”He hesitated but finally responded with a quiet, “no, Alpha.”She could tell that something was indeed bothering him so she pushed. “Look, I can tell that something is bothering you and I’m a med-ninja. Tell me.”He sucked in a quick breath and whined slightly. She realized too late that it came out like an order but before she could correct herself, his hand drifted up to his neck. The movement was labored, considering that the arm had been shattered not too long ago it wasn’t surprising, but he settled over his mating mark and whispered, “here.”Sakura winced as a flash of guilt ripped through her. She couldn’t help it as her scent became distressed but was surprised when instead of the anger she’d been expecting, he scented like fear instead.“I’m sorry Alpha. Never mind, I’m fine. Please…” His voice was shaking badly and his scent was drawing the attention of everyone else on the team.Unable to regulate themselves in the tense situation, feeding off one another’s increasingly distressed scent, Kakashi finally stepped in. He pulled Sakura’ attention to himself as he crouched next to her and guided her head into his neck, allowing her to take a deep breath of his comforting, steady scent and calm down. Even though he wasn’t an Alpha, his status as pack leader allowed him to comfort her, and by extension, hopefully her new omega mate.It seemed to work because after a few minutes, the pungent scent of distressed alpha and scared omega started to disapate and everyone was able to relax. When she felt like she had a grasp over her emotions again, she sat up and said quietly, “thank you, Kakashi-sensei.”He ruffled her hair and turned his attention to the omega sitting curled in on himself, staring at the two of them. Like Sakura had, he offered his wrist to the omega, encouraging to scent him, but Deidara remained still. Kakashi took as steady breath and murmured, “that’s okay. I understand, you don’t need to.” Deidara seemed to perk up slightly so Kakashi continued. “Sakura is going to look you over and make sure you’re healing okay. It’s been a long day and we’re just worried.”Deidara was silent for a moment, but he finally raised his eyes and with a steely look and asked, “why do you care?” It was the most fight they’d seen in the omega since his taunting of Naruto back at the Akatsuki base.Sakura was almost relieved to see it, despite the troubling words spoken in that tone.She and Kakashi both took a moment before answering, but it was finally Sakura who did. “Because this is my fault. I don’t know what came over me, but I’m so sorry that I forced you into a bond. But for better or worse, you’re not just a prisoner anymore and I can’t help but worry.”Deidara gaped at her openly, seemingly completely floored by her response. Everyone waited with held breaths, wondering what would happen now. He finally seemed to compose himself and swallowed thickly, nodding tightly but saying nothing else as he averted his gaze again.“May I look at the mating mark? You said it’s bothering you, right?”Deidara nodded and moved his hand, allowing her to access the mark. She scooted closer, and winced when she saw how red and raw the mark looked. She’d done quite a number on his neck. She was so embarrassed over what she’d done but she forced the thoughts away as she gently pushed some healing chakra into it. There wasn’t anything to be done about it now except move forward.She tried to move her hand so that it rested against the mark instead of just hovering above it, but she quickly noticed how he tried to shrink away from her touch, so she coughed and left her hand hovering over the mark. They sat like that for a few minutes, and finally Sakura dropped her hands to run along both his arms, pushing some more healing chakra into them.When she got to his hands, he pulled them back and clutched them to his chest, his voice caught somewhere between a growl and a whine. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and held out her hand, silently asking for his. They seemed to be at a stalemate until he finally relented and slowly extended his hands, palm up.He had some strange lines in his palms and when she pushed chakra into them, she was shocked to find fully functional mouths. “A kinjutsu…” she murmured, fascinated by them.It was then that she noticed how badly he was trembling as she stroked a finger over the lines. She was so startled that she let him go and he snatched his hands back, despite how much the movement probably hurt.“S…sorry,” she stuttered.He didn’t say anything but just nodded at her. She finished her exam quickly after that, determining that he was still injured, but within a day or two might be able to walk himself instead of being carried. Kakashi had sat nearby, watching the two of them as unobtrusively as possible and when she finished her exam and gave her report he nodded.While she’d been working, the rest of the team had finally finished setting up camp and were in the process of making dinner. Something more than soldier pills were needed considering how tired some of them were. They’d probably get some food and then head right to bed. Tomorrow was a new day and with it, maybe some answers might be found.XXXXXDeidara hated when people messed with his hands. He shuddered when he thought about all the times the alphas had forced their fingers into them, prying them open with a sick fascination. The experiments his Village had run on him after forcing the Kinjutsu on him had been horrible too. His damn explosive kekkei genkai being the catalyst for all this. Maybe if he’d been an Alpha they wouldn’t have done what they did to him, but being a male Omega had made everything so much worse. But his new alpha hadn’t done anything more than press some chakra into him and trace the lines of the mouths, leaving him un-violated. He wondered how long it would really last. Obviously, she was just injured and unable to complete her claim on him, and he knew soon enough his body would start to force it, despite his wishes. His body had done nothing but betray him from the moment he’d presented.It was now full dark and they’d actually given him some decent food to eat, out of the same pot they’d cooked everything else in no less. He hadn’t seen anyone slip anything into his bowl, so hopefully it wasn’t drugged. Too tired to care, he didn’t really pay attention to who was on guard duty and instead curled the blanket and coat he’d been given around himself. He’d been given a shirt by Naruto, and the smell of another omega was oddly soothing. Unfortunately, sleep was slow to come, and when it did, it was quite unpleasant.——————The members of Akatsuki that were present formed a loose circle around him as he struggled with the bindings around his arms. They’d grabbed him from his hideout, the guy with the Sharingan and the shark guy, and brought him to a cave a few days away, saying nothing to him the entire time. By now, his suppressants had worn off and he was so chakra depleted that there was no way they didn’t know he was an omega.“The hell do you want with me - ya?” He twisted again, trying to loosen the ropes around his arms but had no success.An ethereal figure stepped forward, a projection of chakra instead of the real man, but his voice sent shivers down his spine anyway.“You are needed to complete our organization's goals. Will you cooperate?”Deidara’s head was spinning; he’d heard rumors about an organization that wore black cloaks with red clouds but no one knew anything about them. And as far as he could tell, most of the men in the room were Alphas. There was no way he wanted anything to do with them. He’d finally escaped his Village, he just wanted to work on his art in peace. Take a few odd jobs here and there to pay for food and supplies.“Let me go! I have no interest in working with you.” He’d come to regret that decision.The leader said, “that’s too bad. Sasori-San, you know what to do.” And with that, he flickered out of existence.An ominous mood settled over the group and Deidara’s head swiveled around when he heard a clicking noise coming from behind him. The hunched over figure had shed its cloak and was opening up. It looked like it was some sort of armor? But then a young looking Alpha with red hair appeared and approached him. All around him, the Alphas started to move, the scent of lust and anticipation permeating the cave.Please, please no, Deidara thought as he realized what was going to happen. His protective collar had been left behind in his hideout. He hadn’t been wearing it when he’d been taken, assuming he was safely hidden. The hungry look in the red-haired Alpha’s eyes as he leered at Deidara was enough to let him know what was about to happen.Panicked, he was finally able to snap the ropes holding him with his Kinjutsu and he surged to his feet, meaning to run, but was quickly grabbed by the same two that had brought him here. They pinned him to his stomach as the other Alpha settled against his back, a knee pressing between his shoulders and a hand reaching up to grab a handful of his hair.He yanked his head to the side and pressed his face into Deidara’s neck, scenting him. His tongue lapped up the side of his neck, along his mating gland and he growled viciously in approval. “Pretty Omega, I’m looking forward to working with you.”When his teeth buried themselves in his mating gland, Deidara screamed.——————The scream continued into the waking world, ripping him from his nightmare violently. His neck burned and he turned over and emptied the contents of his stomach, sick with anxiety. He became aware of an Alpha crouched next to him, holding his hair back, and he threw himself away from them but ended up colliding with the rock face in his panic.He instantly stilled when he felt a hand pressing into the back of his neck, forcing his body to relax as they massaged the pressure points along his spine. A deep rumbling came from above him that he recognized came from an Alpha but it didn’t set off alarm bells like it normally would. As the sound vibrated through his body, he actually started to feel his heart rate decline and his vision cleared. With a great shudder, he finally went limp.As soon as he did, the Alpha removed her hand, and she pressed his shoulder to encourage him to turn and make eye contact. Sakura’s green eyes stared worriedly at his own but she kept up the strange rumbling that soothed something instinctual in him.Still foggy from his nightmare, he couldn’t help but reach for her hand, pulling it towards himself. She went willingly and his hormone addled brain encouraged him to nuzzle into her wrist, scenting her properly. Her calm scent settled him and without any conscious thought he started drifting off again, relaxing into her side as she pressed him against her leg.XXXXXThe screaming had startled everyone in the clearing, waking everyone up. Sakura knew immediately it was her mate and she’d scrambled to help him as he threw up again. Damn. He really needed to keep some food down.When she got to him he seemed incoherent and her instincts kicked in. A soothing Alpha rumble worked its way out of her as she rubbed his neck, encouraging his body to relax after he’d thrown himself into the rock. She winced hearing the crack but did her best to stay calm. Whatever she was doing seemed to be working as he finally settled. What surprised her though, was when he reached blindly for her hand with a whine. She wasn’t even sure he knew he was doing it but he scented her wrist and breathed deeply. He fell into unconsciousness again pressed against her side, her hand held in his.Kakashi and Naruto approached her quietly, worried looks on their faces. Team Gai was wisely staying back, but looked equally concerned. Sakura ignored them for a few minutes as she continued to stroke down her mate’s arm, her Alpha rumble continuing as he fell back into a deeper sleep.When she was convinced he was truly asleep again, she turned to her pack mates. “I can’t tell if I’m surprised or not,” she admitted quietly.Naruto settled next to her and said, “I used to get terrible nightmares. Still do sometimes. You guys know. I guess I’m mostly surprised how quickly you calmed him down.”Sakura nodded, agreeing with him. Considering how averse he’d been towards her up to this point, it was shocking to see him react to her like this. The question was why.She was exhausted. Everything that had happened since they’d been dispatched from the Village - Kankuro’s near death, her fight with Sasori, and now handling a traumatized prisoner/omega, it was grating on her fried nerves.Kakashi rested his hands on their heads, rumbling softly at his students. “I know that this is a lot. Let’s go back to sleep, Gai and his team will watch our backs tonight, and we can reassess in the morning.” He sat down on Naruto’s other side, cocooning their pack against the rocks. “Deidara seems to have settled, good job Sakura, you did well calming him down.”She couldn’t help the glow of appreciation for her pack leader at that moment. Tsunade may have been her mentor for the last few years, and her parents may have birthed her, but Kakashi would always be her pack leader, her first mentor and surrogate father. His steady presence and kind demeanor were doing wonders for her frayed nerves.Naruto’s too based on his happy Omega purr coming from his chest. The pack settled together and rested, hoping for clarity in the morning.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Deidara woke slowly, his awareness coming to him in pieces. The first thing he became aware of was the soft floral scent gently covering him. The second was the warm press of a body against his own. For once, it didn’t feel suffocating and painful. Sure, there was some pain in his body, but right now, all he could focus on was the warmth. He hadn’t felt like this since he was a very young pup snuggling with his mom. He whined and pressed further into it, and a stuttering purr worked its way from his chest as a hand gently stroked over his shoulders.The moment was broken when his hearing started to come back to him, the Jinjuriki and Copy ninja’s voices uncomfortably close to him. He froze and went silent. The conversation around him paused, as did the hand running down his back. He shifted away and glanced up through his hair to the Alpha sitting next to him. Near as he could tell, he was resting against her leg as she sat next to him as the other two sat next to her. At his back were the rocks and somewhere away from them he could sense the other team hanging around. The sun was just cresting the trees.“Deidara-San,” his Alpha said, “how are you feeling? Are you okay?” She pulled her hand back but didn’t otherwise move.He gulped nervously and began to sit up. His arms felt tender still and he almost fell, but Sakura’s steady hands helped him up and he leaned against the rocks behind him, facing the trio.He vaguely recalled having a nightmare and a flush of embarrassment flooded him, his face tinting red as he hunched his shoulders. “‘M sorry, Alpha. I didn’t mean to cause problems last night.” He flinched back, expecting harsh words or a rough hand, but was surprised to find neither happening to him.Instead, Naruto responded. “Don’t worry about it! Happens to all of us. You okay? Seems like you slept okay the rest of the night.”Unsure how to react to the almost sympathetic tone, Deidara couldn’t help but avert his eyes and bare his throat, falling back into his old habits. The Akatsuki expected him to be silent until spoken to and any inconvenience he caused them was met with harsh reprimand. The lack of punishment was doing weird things to his head. “‘M fine,” he mumbled.Around them, the team was getting ready to leave, and the beta girl brought over two bowls of rice, handing both to Sakura. She in turn handed one of the bowls to him and pressed a spoon in his hand, knowing he was still too unsteady to use chopsticks.A bitter taste was in his mouth and he recalled throwing up last night. Sakura must have noticed because she also handed him a bottle of water. He took it tentatively but gratefully took some greedy sips. Though still nervous, he was surprised at how hungry he was, and started eating the plain rice as quickly as his arms allowed him.Sakura got up and left him to eat, giving him time to observe the people around him. To his relief, only Sakura seemed to be paying any attention to him, glancing over every once in a while. Team Gai was busy taking traps down and Naruto was shoveling food in his mouth. Kakashi had disappeared, likely scouting ahead.When everything was cleaned up and put away, Sakura came back over and ran her hands over his arms and neck. She made a pleased noise and declared that as long as they walked, he could probably walk under his own power instead of being carried again. Since they were in Fire Country, they didn’t need to push so hard anymore. It was decided that Team Gai would hang out until after lunch and then move on ahead, leaving Team Seven to escort him back to Konoha.The day passed slowly, Team Gai running back and forth acting as scouts while Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto hung back around him. Naruto hadn’t really stopped talking the entire time they’d been walking, going on about one nonsensical thing or another for hours. How the other omega could talk so much Deidara had no idea.After lunch, Team Gai went on ahead as planned, making sure one last time that Team Seven was back to fighting strength before taking their leave. Deidara suddenly found himself alone with the three remaining members of the team.He almost expected that now that the other two alpha’s had left, Sakura would take the opportunity to finish claiming him, so it was to his great surprise when Kakashi simply gave the order to move on.They walked for several more hours, taking frequent breaks to let him rest, and as the sun began to get lower in the sky, Kakashi mentioned that there was a good camping spot nearby. They traveled about 15 minutes off the main path and came to a small clearing. There was a rocky alcove to one side, which could provide protection in inclement weather, and a flat area to have a fire. Trees surrounded them on all sides and while Deidara was nervous to be in such an area, the Leaf Ninja seemed right at home.Sakura walked him to the alcove and helped him settle down against one of the walls near the entrance so he could look out and watch them and they could keep an eye on him. She checked his injuries again and he barely flinched, having gone through this process several times today. His arms were feeling much better, though still tender, and his mating mark barely hurt at all. His other injuries were healing nicely if Sakura’s smile was anything to go by. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or nervous. Maybe the only reason she hadn’t claimed him was because he was so injured. Not that it’d stopped an Alpha before but she did seem more concerned than most with her teammates health. Once he healed, he figured that she would finish claiming him.A low pulse of heat slid through his body, originating in his lower stomach, the first stirrings of a forced heat, brought on by his body needing to be claimed by his new mate. It wasn’t bad yet, but he knew within a day or two, he’d be in a full heat and there’s no way an Alpha, his Alpha, could resist him in that state. He just hoped it’d be quick. He didn’t really know how sex with a female Alpha would work, but he was going to find out soon enough.Luckily, no one seemed to notice as his scent hadn’t really changed yet. It’d probably happen in the next 24 hours.They let him be for a while, making dinner and Naruto bringing him a bowl of rice, this time with some mixed vegetables in it.“Sakura-Chan says that you need to eat some easy to digest food, so sorry it’s not very good. Do you feel any better? I know when I get sick…” he kept prattling on, barely giving Deidara time to process what he was saying. He was also shocked when the omega made himself at home right next to him, barely a foot away .His scent was calm and friendly though, and instinctually Deidara gravitated towards it, not having spent much time with other Omega’s. He decided to enjoy the brief moment of peace and listened as Naruto’s voice washed over him.XXXXXNaruto was doing a good job of keeping Deidara calm. They’d noticed he was getting more and more nervous as they prepared dinner and Naruto had offered to bring his meal to him. Apparently being around the other Omega was good for him. Sakura smiled to herself, relieved. The stress couldn’t be good for his long term healing, and he finally seemed like he was relaxing slightly. She and Kakashi stayed near the fire for a while longer, letting the two Omega’s be on their own.When the sun had finally set, Kakashi put out the fire and said he’d take the first watch, allowing Sakura to go check on her mate. When she approached, she noticed that Deidara immediately stiffened and went quiet. He’d said a handful of things to Naruto, but at her approach shut down. She sighed softly to herself and tried not to feel bad about that. It’d take time for them to build some trust.Naruto called to her immediately with a big grin on his face, but before she could respond, she noticed a change in Deidara.His eyes were wide, and pure terror was leaking from his body. Sakura immediately stiffened at such a visceral reaction from the omega and whipped around to see what had spooked him so much. Naruto had jumped to his feet as well and was growling at a pair of chakra signatures coming from the woods across from them.Suddenly, Naruto gave a ‘whoop’ of excitement and threw himself at a man who had just stepped from the trees. The two met with a strong embrace full of affection and love. Sasuke, Naruto’s mate and a member of Team Seven.Sakura forgot herself for a moment when she realized that his brother, Itachi, was standing just behind Sasuke. He was smiling softly at the display between his little brother and Naruto. It’d been even longer since they’d seen Itachi. Being a spy for Konoha in Akatsuki and still considered a criminal in Konoha by all but a few, it wasn’t often they were able to convene.Itachi and Kakashi acknowledged each other with a nod and fond smiles. Kakashi had been Itachi’s team leader in Anbu and had been the first to suspect not all was as it seemed with the Uchiha massacre. They’d been the first members of their little found pack.She had almost forgotten about the prisoner in their group at her joy of seeing the brothers again, but a thud behind her snapped her attention back towards him. Now she remembered why she’d turned around in the first place because Deidara had collapsed to the ground and curled in on himself, protecting his head and making himself as small as possible. He was making a horrible, soft whining noise, a noise omega’s made when they were well and truly frightened. It hurt somewhere deep in her chest to hear it as an alpha, despite the fact he was a prisoner and missing-nin.“Oy,” Naruto called, having broken away from his mate, “what’s wrong?” He seemed as alarmed as the rest of them, all unsure of what was going on.Weren’t Itachi and Deidara on the same side, as far as Deidara was supposed to know? If anything, he should be thrilled a teammate was here to rescue him. He shouldn’t have known that Itachi was with them, so why was he terrified?Itachi had an uncharacteristic look of regret on his face. He closed his eyes and seemed to collect himself for a moment before speaking. “I was hoping the rumor was true, that you’d been able to capture Deidara-san.”“What do you mean? You’re glad he’s been captured? Was he particularly valuable to Akatsuki,” Kakashi asked.Itachi sighed heavily and replied, “no, it’s not that. He is… was…” Itachi trailed off. It was the first time Sakura had seen him at a loss for words.Sasuke nudged him, apparently knowing what his brother was going to say. “It’s okay, they’ll understand.”The older Uchiha took a deep breath and said, “he was abused by most members of the Akatsuki. You taking him prisoner means he doesn’t have to go through that anymore.”Deidara didn’t seem to be listening and though his quiet crying had stopped, a heavy trembling had taken over his body. He still wasn’t looking at anyone and actually seemed to be in another dissociative episode. Concerned, Sakura knelt down next to him but hesitated to touch him, knowing the last time she had it had sent him into a total panic. She and Kakashi had suspected abuse, but not from Akatsuki. And really, what did that mean?“I’m afraid he’s reacting to me,” Itachi admitted quietly. “Kisami and I were the ones who kidnapped him and held him down while Sasori forcibly mated him. I was also the one to destroy his left eye when Pain realized he’d trained it to overcome Genjutsu.” All this was said with a bitterly regretful air and both Naruto and Sakura gasped.Itachi continued, though Sakura was feeling so sick she almost didn’t want to hear the rest of it. “While I was never an active participant, I was aware of and present for a number of abuses committed against Deidara-san. Most of the members of Akatsuki are male alphas with a penchant for violence and hedonistic behavior. It’s not my place to share what he went through but I’m sure you might be able to imagine what a young, male omega may have gone through in such a place.”Every detail of the omega’s body flashed through Sakura’s mind. The scars, the bruises, his eye. All of it made so much sense now. Bile rose in her throat as her brain latched onto something Itachi had said. He’d been forced into a mating with Sasori. And she’d forced him into another one with her thoughtless actions.Sakura gasped again and tears welled in her eyes as she took in the omega before her. Her omega, because of her actions. Like he was a prize not a human being. He was terrified of alphas, and flinched every time she so much as looked at him. He must have been anticipating the worst from them, and she was sick with herself to realize they hadn’t done much to alleviate those suspicions.“I left Kisame and ran into Sasuke on my way to come find you. Zetsu informed us Sasori had died and that Deidara was nowhere to be found, though he’d lured Naruto away from Akatsuki’s hideout last he’d seen. I offered to go see if I could track him down as we were the closest. The extraction ritual takes a lot out of us so Kisame didn’t mind staying to recover.”Sasuke finally spoke up, “I headed this way as soon as I heard Gaara had been taken. I know how much he means to you.” He shot Naruto an affectionate look which the blond returned. “Is it true he’s alive?”“Yes,” Sakura said. “Chiyo-sama brought him back, at the cost of her own life. And he told Naruto something particularly interesting.”“Yeah! Gaara said that Deidara had let him move the sand away from the village before he captured him. If he hadn’t done that, the whole village would’ve been buried,” Naruto chimed in.“Pain wasn’t happy with him for that,” Itachi said, wincing slightly.Itachi slowly approached Deidara and observed him carefully from a distance, stopping when Deidara cried out at his proximity. His eyes narrowed and he scented the air around them. Suddenly, he turned to Sakura, eyes spinning with his activated Sharingan and said, “what did you do?”Feeling sick and ashamed, Sakura actually bared her neck at her angry pack mate. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened. He tried to escape and we put the chakra cuffs on him and his scent came out and I just… I didn’t mean to… it was so fast.” The tears that had been building spilled over her face.Kakashi came to stand by her and growled at Itachi, letting him know as the pack leader that the younger beta needed to stand down. He winced and stepped back slightly, deactivating his Sharingan. “We think it had something to do with her killing Sasori and them being a male omega, female alpha mix. She was exhausted and her instincts took over. I thought he was a beta, he had such a tight rein on his scent with his chakra control, I didn’t realize what would happen. It’s my fault so don’t blame her.”Itachi trembled for another moment before relaxing and acquiescing. “You’re right, I’m sorry Sakura,” he admitted. “I just feel responsible for what’s happened to him and I took my frustration out on you. It won’t happen again.”“No, you’re right to be mad at me. I’m sick with myself over it and I don’t know how to fix it.” She wouldn’t look at Itachi but he finally stepped forward after appraising her for another moment and touched her forehead.“I am sorry little Alpha,” he said, using his affectionate nickname for her. “I overreacted. It sounds like it was a very intense situation. And honestly, this may end up being a good thing.”She tilted her head to the side, confused. He read her and everyone else’s expressions and elaborated. “According to Konoha’s laws, they can’t separate you and him. Even though he’s a missing-nin and they won’t be happy about it, they can’t take him to T&I without your permission. And I know you, given everything you’ve just heard, there’s no way you would send him there.”Sakura was horrified to even think of sending the omega to Ibiki. Who knew what they’d do to try and get him to talk about Akatsuki, and he wouldn’t be able to give them anything with his gag seal anyway. She shook her head almost violently back and forth and said, “no way! He doesn’t deserve that.”Itachi smiled at her. “And besides, Tsunade knows about Sasuke and me, Deidara-San won’t have any extra information that I can’t give her. I’m assuming you found the brand?” At Sakura’s nod he continued, “I prepared this just in case you had in fact captured him.” He held out a scroll to Kakashi. “It contains updated information and also information about Deidara-san. Please, make sure Hokage-sama gets it right away. She’ll tell you anything you need to know from there.”They heard a quiet gasp behind them and turned to find Deidara staring at them both. Eyes much clearer than before and flickering rapidly between the members of their pack. His nose was twitching and when his eyes widened, she knew he’d put it together. None of them were hiding their scents at the moment, too happy about being together again despite the circumstances and she knew he could smell the combined scent of their pack.So quietly she almost didn’t hear it, he said, “you… but Akatsuki… what the hell?”Itachi kneeled next to Deidara, who flinched, and said, “I am sincerely sorry about everything I’ve done to you, and everything I haven’t been able to stop. As you’ve guessed, this is my pack, and I am not loyal to Akatsuki. I’ve been a spy for Konoha since the beginning.”Deidara looked like he was reeling from the news but Itachi pressed forward anyway.“I know you probably won’t believe me, but you’re safe now. My pack is good people, and though it’s unfortunate how you and Sakura-Chan came to be tied together, I ultimately believe it’s a good thing. They’ll take care of you and make sure no one can hurt you again.”He was making no attempt to hide his scent. It was strong and clear, broadcasting his sincerity.The omega looked like he was about to be sick again, and his scent did nothing to hide the fact that he was nervous and untrusting. The constant scent of fear and anger was really beginning to affect Sakura as his new alpha mate. She’d never been able to stand when one of her pack mates was hurting and that feeling was amplified ten fold with Deidara. She followed Itachi’s example and kneeled next to him as well.“Deidara-san,” she started softly, “I promise you, we don’t want to hurt you. I’m really sorry for what I did, but I promise not to use our bond to force you into anything. We didn’t know what the situation was, but I promise you’re safe with us, with me.” She hoped her scent conveyed the depth of her sincerity.Behind her, the rest of the pack murmured their agreement, even Naruto uncharacteristically quiet.The omega didn’t seem to feel better, and the looks he was shooting the pack were anything but trusting. But he did finally seem to settle and collect himself, murmuring a quiet but unconvincing, “yeah, sure.” He rearranged his legs underneath himself and staggered to his feet, ignoring help from all of them. He kept his eyes on them as he backed up farther into the alcove behind them, using the shelter of the rocks at his back. He slid down the rocky wall with a weary sigh and continued to eye them all nervously but didn’t offer any other words.Realizing Deaidara was done with the conversation, Sakura and the rest of the pack turned back towards each other, finally enjoying their time together properly.They all remained blissfully unaware of the growing heat in Deidara’s stomach.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
That evening, they spent their time sharing stories and lounging together, getting as much contact with each other as they could. It was rare for the whole pack to be together and they were going to take advantage of it. Sakura was actually surprised Naruto and Sasuke hadn’t taken off on their own yet, though when she considered the new omega in their midst, it made sense. The pack was worried about their newest, though unwilling, member and were subconsciously protecting him.The omega had finally fallen into an uneasy doze, too tired to stay awake and watch them as he was prone to do. The five remaining spoke quietly with each other until they were all yawning. Itachi offered to take the first watch, so the rest of them gratefully pulled out their sleeping rolls and found places to settle. Sakura was no longer surprised to see that they congregated near Deidara.They eventually all settled, each member touching another in some way, except for Deidara who was left on his own.Sleep came to them all quickly, especially Sakura, who had been using much of her chakra to heal everyone on their journey.Her dreams were chaotic and frightening, and seemed to feature her new mate quite a bit. Sakura couldn’t help but feel a desperate need to protect him, though her dream self seemed to be having trouble keeping him safe.Suddenly, her dreams began to shift, becoming less distressing and more… well, erotic. She of course thought Deidara smelled lovely, she wouldn’t have subconsciously mated him otherwise, but something about his scent in her dreams was different. It was calming to her, hypnotic in a way she hadn’t felt before. She dreamed of going to him and helping him unclothe himself slowly. They touched and caressed each other in a way that spoke of familiarity and trust. It was so at odds with what she’d seen from the omega so far that it startled her awake.It took Sakura a few moments but she realized that the delicious smell of her mate had followed her out of her dreams and into the waking world. She heard a whimper and turned to find Deidara panting and curled into himself, seeming to be in pain.Startled, she scrambled to her feet and went to him. Her chakra covered hand waved over his forehead and found him with a dangerously high fever. She gasped and pressed her fingers into his pulse point, looking for his heartbeat, but as soon as she touched him, he startled into awareness and growled menacingly at her.Sakura fell backwards, unprepared for the aggression, but was super confused when instead of lunging to attack her, Deidara instead grimaced and whined, falling back against the rocks at his back.The noise was enough to startle the rest of the group, waking them up. Itachi also emerged from the woods and moved quickly to Sakura’s side.“Fuck,” the normally stoic beta hissed. Sakura was shocked to hear such a crude word come from Itachi’s mouth.Sasuke had covered his mouth and nose with Naruto’s shirt, and Kakashi looked cautiously at Sakura. A deliciously sweet scent wafted over her senses and she couldn’t help but growl possessively, glaring at her pack mates.She made to lunge forward towards the source, but both Kakashi and Itachi held her back. She snarled at and fought them until Kakashi shoved her face into his neck. His calming scent helped clear her head and Sakura gasped as she came back to her senses. She felt almost as she had when she’d forcibly mated Deidara, though even stronger if that was possible.“What…” she coughed, “what’s going on?””Deidara has gone into heat,” Itachi said quietly. “This happens to newly bonded male omegas. They have to be claimed by their mates soon after bonding or they go into a forced heat to try and entice the alpha into completing the bond.” He said all this with a grimace on his face, as though he hated that he knew the information.Sakura was stunned. She’d never heard of this before, despite her training as a medic ninja. She said as much to the group.Itachi said, “male omegas are very rare, and understudied in the medical field. As far as I’ve heard, it has to do with the fact that they can’t get pregnant. Something in their body tries to compensate by forcing a quick but profound bond with their new mate. I’m assuming after you bit him, nothing else happened?””Of course not! I wouldn’t rape anyone, let alone an injured omega!” Sakura was pissed Itachi could even think to suggest such a horrible thing. “I may have accidentally bonded with him but I would never do that.””Easy little Alpha,” he soothed. “I’m not suggesting you would, but unfortunately, the situation has become quite dire.”While they’d been talking, Deidara had started whining louder and louder. His panting was becoming labored and his eyes unfocused. His body moved towards Sakura for a moment before he got a hold of himself and wrenched his body backwards, colliding painfully with the rocks behind him.Sakura was kneeling before him before she knew it, not even realizing she’d moved. Her arms instinctively came up to soothe her mate as she chuffed softly at him. The omega leaned into her touch for half a second before he ripped himself backwards again and snarled, “don’t touch me!”He had an absolutely delicious smell, but it was tinged by a hint of fear that was becoming stronger the more agitated he became. Deidara had gone into heat. Despite his body’s weakness and his obvious feelings of resentment towards her, his biology demanded that he fully bond with his new Alpha, apparently. But Sakura could tell he didn’t want it, he was terrified, and why shouldn’t he be? With enemy ninja, plus Sasuke and Itachi still here, his past experience guaranteed his fear. But she refused to validate that fear.“Hey it’s okay Deidara-san. You don’t need to be afraid. I promise, nothing will happen that you don’t want.” She held out her wrist and bared her neck to him, hoping he’d sniff her and sense the sincerity in her smell.She knew it was dangerous to expose her vital point to an enemy like this, but she let her instincts take over, knowing that she was way out of her depth at the moment. He didn’t get closer, but she did see his nose twitching, indicating that he was trying to smell her from where he was.When Itchai spoke, he flinched, but Sakura turned slightly to acknowledge the beta.“I can’t really tell you what to do here Sakura. I’m sorry that my knowledge is lacking. I trust you to do what’s right, as does the rest of the pack. “ Each of her pack mates nodded in turn. “We are going to move into the forest, close enough to help should something happen but far enough to give you both privacy. Having this many males in close proximity to Deidara-San right now will just further distress him. Will you be okay?”Sakura took a deep, soothing breath, gathering her courage. She saw the faith her pack had in her to take care of their newest member and pulled on all of her training as both a ninja and a medic to calm her body down. When she felt settled, she opened her eyes and nodded at Itachi.He and Kakashi looked at each other for a moment, glanced back to Naruto and Sasuke, and all four men flickered away.She could sense them nearby, their presence calming her, and giving her courage to turn back to Deidara.He was staring at her suspiciously, though seemed more relaxed without the others in the area. She decided honesty was the best policy, and hoped they might be able to talk through this.“Deidara-San, you’re burning up and I’m not really sure what to do. I’m not usually affected by omega’s in heat, but up until this point they were either family or pack mates with another alpha. I’m sorry for jumping at you earlier, I promise I’m more in control now.”He continued to glare at her but she could tell he was wavering. She scooted slightly closer and held her arm out again. “Please Deidara, I don’t know what’s happening right now but I’m worried. I know you’re scared, to be honest, I am too. I never expected to be in a situation like this…” she trailed off and her eyes glazed over slightly with tears. The emotional toll all of this was taking on her seemed overwhelming at this moment.Sakura was startled out of her musings when she felt a hand at her wrist. Deidara had leaned forward and grabbed her arm, pulling it towards himself. His visible eye was locked on her as he brought her wrist to his nose and started to tentatively sniff at the scent glands there.She held her breath, hoping that he smelled the sincerity in her and would let her help him.He finally released her and sat back, watching her carefully. “You really have no idea what’s going on, do you?” He shook his head side to side and laughed bitterly before continuing. “Figures that as soon as I get out from under that bastard's control, I end up with another Alpha. But you don’t even know what you’ve done.”“I’m sorry. Truly I am,” Sakura said quietly, looking at her hands.Deidara sighed and dropped his head back against the wall, exposing the long line of his throat to her unconsciously. It took everything in her not to move but she couldn’t help the instinctual whine of want that escaped her.Completely embarrassed, she turned bright red and slapped a hand over her mouth. Deidara opened his eye and watched her carefully, assessing her.“There’s no way around it, we have to mate. Unfortunately for both of us, you couldn’t seem to control yourself and now we’re stuck together. So just get it over with, ya.” Deidara turned his head away from her and closed his eyes, apparently waiting for her to immediately jump him.Sakura was horrified to think that he seemed to expect her to just attack him and force him into sex with her. She grimaced when she realized that’s exactly what was going to have to happen. There didn’t seem to be an alternative and Deidara had given up trying to stop it.“Maybe… maybe I can use my medical skills to keep your fever down until this is over? It can’t last forever, surely?”The blond scoffed and murmured, “yes it will. At least until I die. So just do it already. Take what you want, you wouldn’t be the first person to do so.”Sakura didn’t miss the tear that traveled down his cheek, despite how he tried to hide it.She choked on her breath as the full weight of the consequences of her actions weighed on her. Tears escaped her eyes and she cried, angry with herself. How dare she be upset, he was the one in trouble here, not her. But she couldn’t help the profound sadness that coursed through her.This continued for several minutes until she heard Deidara shift. She looked up at him, startled, to find him staring at her contemplatively.“You’re not like any Alpha I’ve met before.”“What do you mean,” she asked, trying to get her voice under control.“Alphas take with no regard to an Omega’s feelings. That’s the way it always happens for me. I don’t understand you.”Sakura wiped at her cheeks and replied, “I’m so sorry that’s happened to you. No one should ever force themself on another person, it’s despicable.”After a few moments, Deidara murmured, “you really mean that, don’t you?”Sakura sighed and nodded, dropping her eyes back to her lap. Silence permeated the cave as Alpha and Omega contemplated one another.It was broken when Deidara shifted forward and with little warning, tackled Sakura to the ground. Her shinobi instincts kicked in and she grappled him, twisting until he was below her and she had his hands pinned by his head. When she noticed he was shaking, she gasped and scrambled off of him.But Deidara sat up and came at her again, snarling this time. Sakura reacted in kind and they traded blows for a few minutes before she got him pinned again. This time, he bared his neck at her and whined.Sakura’s eyes dilated as his heat scent washed over her. She tucked her nose into his bared neck and licked a stripe up the column of his throat. Her hips came down to grind into his, and she purred in satisfaction when she felt her Omega’s arousal through their pants.The spell was broken when Deidara flinched.Sakura was horrified at her behavior and scrambled off of him once again, throwing herself to the far side of the cavern. She was shaking, horrified by what she’d almost done but confused at Deidara’s continued advances.The omega came towards her again but stopped when she growled at him. “What are you doing? Please stop, I don’t want to hurt you!”The two stared at one another until Deidara finally said, “I trust you.”“What?” Was the only thing she could think to say.“You’re obviously more in control than I’ve given you credit for. As much as this situation sucks for both of us, I trust you. You’re the only Alpha who’s ever refused to take me against my will.”They continued to stare at one another until Sakura rose to her feet and shakily made her way over to Deidara. They stood in front of each other, watching and waiting.“Are you sure?” Sakura whispered.Deidara took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m getting real uncomfortable and the sooner we do this, the quicker we can figure things out from here.”He still seemed nervous but his heat scent was getting stronger. She could see how his body trembled but his visible eye didn’t flinch away from her. She reached out her hand and after a moment, he reached back.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“You’re in control, Deidara. I won’t do anything you don’t want. I can’t say I’ve ever been with a male omega but I know the basics.”Deidara raised a brow at her and her face turned that interesting shade of red again and she stumbled over her next few words, seemingly unable to help the nervous babbling.“I mean, I’ve read up on them, you know, because of Naruto. But it’s not like we’ve ever talked about it!” On and on she prattled and Deidara almost found it endearing. This Alpha seemed very nervous, and although he could smell the fierce want on her, she had yet to make a truly aggressive move at him.When he’d been in heat around Sasori, or heaven forbid the rest of the Akatsuki Alpha’s, they’d have already had him stripped and presenting by now. They used their Alpha voices and his weak will to force his compliance, and though male Omega’s did produce slick, they weren’t designed to take an Alpha’s knot, at least not repeatedly. Unlike female Omega’s, male’s couldn’t reproduce, so having a knot shoved up his ass was typically extremely unpleasant. In fact, Deidara hated bottoming. He’d never been allowed to top, between the Stone Village’s archaic beliefs and the Akatsuki’s strong willed Alphas, they’d all assumed he was built like a female Omega and treated him as such.What most people didn’t know was that male Omega’s tended to lean towards sharing instincts with male Alpha’s. He wasn’t sure what female Alpha’s tended towards, never having met one. They were just as rare as male Omega’s. But apparently he was going to find out.But first, he wanted to test the waters a bit, see if this kunoichi was full of shit or not. Sure, she said that he was in control but did she actually mean it? Could she control herself? Or would she snap and hurt him like all the others? He’d said he’d trusted her but he wasn’t totally convinced yet. She was still an enemy ninja after all.Deidara ignored her continued talking and tentatively stepped forward. Immediately, Sakura froze and stared at him. He took a few more steps forward until he was standing in front of her. He growled at her softly and used his presence to push her back against the wall without touching her yet. His hands came up to rest against the wall on either side of her head, trapping her there. He was surprised at her easy compliance and decided to push a little harder. If she was going to snap and force him into submission, he’d rather know sooner than later.He snarled in her face, his chest vibrating with a deep growl. He expected her to strike him, Sasori certainly would have at his insolence, but all she did was flinch slightly and bare her neck at him.His eyes widened at the display and the growling quickly stuttered out in his shock. He watched her intently for a few moments, waiting to see if it was a trick, but her scent gave nothing away and she didn’t move.Slowly, he dropped his head to her neck and sniffed at her. She had a tight rein on her scent right now so he didn’t smell much, but he was surprised she was letting him do this. It was an intimate act between an Alpha and an Omega, and Deidara had never been allowed to take his time with scenting since his mother was alive.He pressed his nose into the junction of her shoulder, where her scent should be strongest. His thigh came forward to press between her legs and his hands dropped to her shoulder unconsciously. He licked at her shoulder tentatively but she stood rigid and unmoving. Unhappy at the Alpha’s lack of response, Deidara instinctually grazed his teeth over her scent gland.The result was instant. Her scent exploded around him, unable to be held back anymore. But instead of the intense and bitter smell of an aroused Alpha, she scented like fear. It was so startling, it immediately cleared his head and he snapped his eyes up to look at her.The girl was trembling and her eyes were tightly closed. Her fists clenched at her sides and her breath came in quick pants. Deidara’s instincts reared up in a way they never had before and he flinched backwards, removing himself from her person except for his hands resting along her shoulders.“Alpha…” he murmured, unsure what was going on. When she didn’t answer and instead tears came down her cheeks, Deidara panicked and did something he hadn’t since he was a very small pup and purred for her, trying to soothe the upset girl in front of him. His hands gently cupped her face and wiped away the tears, which finally caused her to look at him, startled.“Sorry,” she hiccuped. “You’re the one who should be upset here, not me.””What’s wrong,” he demanded softly, unable to help the soothing tone his voice took on.“I’ve never done this before…”It took a few seconds for her words to sink in and he suddenly realized what she meant. “You mean with an Omega or like, never ever?” She’d said already that she hadn’t done this before with a male omega but surely she couldn’t mean she’d never had sex at all.She sniffed and said, “… never.”Well this certainly complicated things. Fucking Hell. His instincts were going crazy. His heat was really starting to get to him, he could feel his erection straining against his pants, but there was no way he was going to subject this girl to anything he’d been through. He remembered his first time and needless to say it had been traumatic. He’d gone into heat unexpectedly, not ever expecting to present Omega, and had been assaulted by several of his Alpha classmates right there in the Academy.Deidara took a deep breath. They could figure this out. In a sick, twisted sort of way, it almost put them on equal footing. Both forced into these circumstances and not happy about it, but maybe it could work out. Already this Alpha was proving to be a much kinder partner than any he’d had before. And he had to admit that under the now less fearful and more embarrassed scent, her soft and flowery scent called to him in a way an Alpha’s scent never had before.“Okay. Okay, um. Well, I guess, how much experience do you have?”She mumbled something he couldn’t quite make out so he huffed at her and narrowed his eyes. She was turning red again but answered louder this time. ”I’ve obviously kissed someone; and done some over clothes stuff…”Holy Hell she really was inexperienced and he said as much.“Look, it’s not like it’s easy to find a partner as a female Alpha! Everyone always expects me to be all gruff and in charge but I’ve just never felt that urge.” She was still red in embarrassment but Deidara could see the nervousness in her eyes. People had obviously stereotyped her her whole life, just like him.“I get it, ya.” Deidara ducked his head to meet her eyes and continued, “people always assume I’m like a female Omega, but that’s not the case at all. I don’t know if all male Omega’s and female Alpha’s are like us, but they are pretty rare and people are idiots. They make assumptions without taking individual preferences into account.”Sakura was staring at him wide eyed. Thankfully her scent had mellowed out from its fearfulness and was migrating back towards aroused.“…Right,” she breathed and a small smile graced her features. It was charming on her.“Both Naruto and Sasuke fall outside of what most people consider a ‘normal’ Omega/Alpha relationship. It makes sense they wouldn’t be the only ones.”Deidara hummed at her and tilted his head. The heat in his stomach was spiking again and he could feel the slick traveling down his thighs. He leaned in and murmured in her ear, “you ready to continue? We’ll go slow and get through this, together.”The Alpha took a fortifying breath and nodded, tilting her neck and inviting him without words to scent her again.Deidara let his instincts take over a bit as his mouth dropped to her neck. He nuzzled into it and purred with satisfaction when he could properly scent her this time. Her scent was rapidly losing the rest of its fear smell and a soft floral was getting stronger by the second. It was lovely and sweet, nothing like anything he’d smelled before.His tongue darted out to taste her and it surprised them both when Sakura moaned a little at the feeling. Emboldened by her response, Deidara pressed against her again, slower and more deliberate this time. Her hands had remained by her side all this time so he whispered into her ear, “you can touch me, little Alpha.”He smirked when she squeaked at the nickname and a spike of lust went through her scent. Interesting.Her hands came up and tentatively ghosted along his sides, causing him to shiver at the gentle touch. They finally settled on his chest and she tentatively stroked over the thin material of his shirt. Quickly, his heat scent became very strong and both of them fell into a sort of daze. Deidara leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against hers.It was soft and tentative at first, nothing like the demanding and painful kisses Sasori had forced on him. Though their kiss quickly grew heated, there remained a level of gentleness there that Deidara hadn’t realized he’d been craving all his life. Before they knew it, Deidara had lowered them to the floor, finding their bedrolls and lying his little Alpha on top of them. He settled between her thighs, purring encouragingly at Sakura when she stuttered in embarrassment.He kissed down her neck, hands exploring each other's bodies. He kept glancing up to check on her, to make sure that fear wasn’t back. He’d be damned if he was going to let her be afraid of this. She smiled at him freely, nervous but not fearful.Deidara sat up slightly and brought his hands under her shirt, pulling it up questioningly. Sakura eagerly grabbed the edge of her shirt and pulled it over her head, revealing the bindings around her chest. She sat up and helped him begin to unwrap them, and as each strip fell away, it revealed milky white flesh flushed red with arousal. When the final strip fell away and she was bared to him, she flushed dark red, the blush going down to the tops of her full breasts.“You’re beautiful,” Deidara murmured. He raised his hands questioningly and at her nod, cupped her breasts gently. The little gasp of pleasure went straight to his groin and he couldn’t help but lean forward and bring one pert nipple into his mouth. Sakura moaned at the feeling and bucked up into him with her hips unconsciously. His hand came up to play with the other and he smirked when a thought crossed his mind.Carefully, the mouth on his hand opened and took her other nipple into its mouth. Her reaction was instant, a low moan of pure want filled the cavern.“Wha…” the kunoichi barely said, panting from the dual stimulation. Deidara pulled away slightly and brought his hand up to show her the mouth there, tongue sticking out playfully. Her eyes got wide and she said, “fascinating! A kinjustsu?”“Yes,” was all he said as he dove back down and took her breasts again. Any other thought she had was cut off at the pleasure.While she was distracted, his other hand crept down her side and settled along her hip. He stroked her softly and dipped a finger under her waistband but no further. Her smell spiked with nerves so he broke away from her chest and met her eyes.He asked, “this okay?”She took a deep, calming breath and nodded.It was such a relief to be in control, and the fact that he could check in with her in a way no one had ever done for him, brought him such unexpected relief and joy. Maybe they’d make it through this unscathed.XXXXXShe couldn’t believe how kind this man was. Here was a guy who’d been used and abused so many times by so many people, and yet as soon as he’d figured out that she was scared he’d stopped everything and checked in with her. It was bad enough that his body was forcing him into a heat and basically forcing them to mate against their will, but that he still had enough compassion in him to treat her so kindly blew her away.If their roles had been reversed, she’s not sure she could treat him with the same compassion. She hated herself a little bit for what she’d done to him, but she refused to make it worse by hurting him further. What she hadn’t expected was the control he took of the situation.In her experience, betas and omegas wanted her to take the lead as the alpha, but that just wasn’t her. Sure, she had the increased strength and senses of an Alpha, but unlike her male counterparts, she’d never had the craving to be on top, to control and dominate. It’s why none of her relationships had gone very far, she just didn’t seem to be compatible with anyone.That this Omega seemed to want to was so unexpectedly sexy that she was having a hard time remembering herself. He was technically still an enemy ninja, but the way his tongue swirled around her sensitive nipple had her moaning and wanting more, uncaring of anything else at the moment.She froze when she felt his hand at her waist but just as before, he stopped and checked in with her. She’d never gone this far with another person before but his heat scent was making her ravenous for the beautiful Omega in front of her. She took a fortifying breath and nodded.At her confirmation, he sat up and slowly pulled her pants down, underwear and all. She tried her best not to flinch away from his gaze as it settled over her sex but she couldn’t help the tiny wiggle of discomfort at his intense stare. He started purring at her again, and something in her softened at the noise.His hands roved over her inner thighs and hips, but didn’t touch her at her core yet, mapping her reactions to his sensitive touch.His voice was unexpectedly deep when he said, “you’re quite beautiful, little Alpha; and you smell delicious.”Sakura couldn’t help the flush that traveled down to her chest again at the praise and she felt her pussy clench in want at the way he was watching her. “Please,” she whimpered out, unsure what she was asking for but sure that Deidara knew.His hand finally stroked over her core, thumb dipping slightly into her wet opening and she gasped at the sensation. It was so different from using her own fingers, so much better. His scent spiked in lust once again as she whimpered at his exploration. His thumb moved up and found her clit, swollen already from her intense arousal. As he pinched it carefully between two fingers, her back arched off the ground in pleasure and she called out, “Deidara! Omega, please!””Shhhh, easy little Alpha, I know.”Suddenly, a tongue was lapping at her opening and Sakura moaned again when she realized it was the mouth on his other hand. He was sitting up and watching her reactions intently as his hands and their mouths explored her sex.A familiar heat curled in her belly and she called out, “I’m so close,” causing him to pick up the pace of his thumb rubbing over her clit. As a single finger entered her suddenly, something inside her snapped and her orgasm washed over her intensely. His finger kept pumping in and out of her as she rode out her pleasure.As she collapsed back to the ground, boneless and sated, she felt Deidara lay down over her again, settling in and licking at her neck carefully. His hips were grinding his clothed erection into her pussy and he panted softly. His mouth came up to her ear, licking over the shell of it and then murmuring, “how was that, little Alpha? Satisfied?”Sakura could hardly form words so instead she lifted her hands to his shoulders and clung to him tightly. She turned her face into his neck and chuffed, finally voicing her extreme pleasure and gratitude. They stayed like that for several minutes until Deidara’s hips started to grind faster into her. She suddenly remembered that he was still fully clothed so she started pawing at his shirt and muttered, “off.”Deidara snorted at her and sat up, quickly stripping himself of his shirt. Across his left pec sat a black seal, tattooed intricately into his skin. Her hand grazed over it and he grabbed her wrist, fixing her with a hard glare as he said, “not there.”She whined and bared her neck to him, immediately sorry for touching without his consent. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.He stared hard at her for another moment but then sighed and softened, guiding her hand to his other pec and letting her rest it there. “It’s okay, just don’t like people touching it.”She could respect that, of course, and nodded to show she understood. “Is this okay,” she asked as her hand hovered over his torso.“Yes,” he almost growled, pushing into her hand.He hesitated for a moment though so Sakura forced her brain to start working again after her mind numbing orgasm and asked, “Are you sure?”He tilted his head to look at her, surprised at the question. He seemed to think for a moment before sitting up a little and saying, “anything above the waist is okay.”He seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for her response. He was obviously uncomfortable with her touching him below the waist, and given his history, she wasn’t surprised in the least. It was ultimately his heat, one that she’d forced him into, so whatever he wanted is what they were going to do, especially considering how considerate he was of her own feelings.Sakura’s hand came up to cup his cheek and she smiled at him softly, reassuringly. “Of course. I told you that you’re in control, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. Just tell me.”The Omega almost sagged in relief and he purred at her, seemingly very happy with her answer. They spent a few minutes just scenting each other's necks and making happy, comforting noises, getting more comfortable with each other.Finally, Deidara raised his head to look at her and asked shyly, “would you… would you mind if I topped?”Sakura was confused by the question at first, but then realized that he probably hadn’t been able to very often, given his history with Alpha’s. While she wasn’t overly familiar with male Alpha’s she did know that the relationship Sasuke and Naruto had was slightly unusual. She hated that she knew they switched but it was hard not to know some of her pack’s more personal details. But she was actually excited, betas and omega females typically wanted her to top, which was something she’d never really wanted to do, hence her lack of experience.She nodded eagerly and gave an embarrassingly loud moan at the idea. “Yes, God yes please.”The tense lines around Deidara’s eyes softened and he purred at her, pleased.“There’s one other thing I want to ask you, and you can say no to this and we’ll work it out, but would it be okay if you were on your hands and knees?” He was quick to add, “I know it’s your first time so if you’d rather be face to face I understand.”He seemed nervous again asking the question but honestly Sakura didn’t have a problem with it. Her pussy clenched in excitement at the idea of being taken in such a way. Plus, based on what Ino had told her, it was often a more comfortable position anyway.Instead of answering him verbally, she smiled and stroked over his cheek, making sure he could smell the spike of lust his question had brought and she turned over, shifting to her hands and knees, presenting to him. The red blush came almost all the way down her back, but she tried not to be embarrassed. The position felt natural to her and the way Deidara’s hands immediately went to her hips soothed her.“Fuck, you’re so good, little Alpha,” he all but moaned, massaging her ass with strong hands. “I’m going to prep you a little more, ya.”His fingers stroked over her wet opening again before one finger slid in, quickly followed by a second. Sakura had used toys over the years so the feeling wasn’t exactly foreign, but having someone else do this to her was erotic in a way she’d never truly considered. She moaned and panted as his hands worked her open, soon adding a third finger and pressing down to find her g-spot. Sakura cried out in pleasure as he massaged the spot, purring at her encouragingly.Once again, she could feel heat curling in her belly but this time she wanted to cum on his cock.“Please Omega, I need you,” she panted, turning her head to watch him. He looked riveted by what he was doing to her and she couldn’t help the blush that came to her face again when he pulled his hands away and leaned down to taste her.As his tongue roved over her opening, his hands made quick work of his pants, pulling them down and off. His election bobbed against his stomach and she was surprised to find that it was fairly large. Not as big as Alpha males but certainly not lacking. She pressed her hips back, urging him to slide his cock into her.By this time, Deidara’s heat scent had hit new levels, almost drugging them both with its potency. He was panting and moaning as he rubbed his cock head over her before finally pushing in. He slid in smoothly with one strong push and Sakura wailed at the feeling of being full of her Omega.Deidara curled over her back as he sat nestled in her warmth for a moment, seeming to relish it. His hands came down on either side of her head and he was muttering nonsense praise to her, which filled her with warmth. He kissed the back of her neck as he started to move and she groaned at the friction it caused. The angle he was at assured he hit her g-spot almost every thrust and she eagerly moved back to meet him.He continued to kiss and lick at her neck and Sakura suddenly realized what she wanted. His scent called to her in a way no one else’s ever had. She may not know him and he may be an enemy ninja, but something in her told her that they were supposed to find each other, that it wasn’t just an accident that had caused this, It wasn’t fair that he’d been tied to her, a one way bond, and she was realizing it was almost physically painful for her not to be bound to him in turn. And while she couldn’t take it back, she could make it even.“Bite me.”Deidara actually froze, his hips stuttering to a stop. “What?”Sakura panted and thrust back again, causing Deidara to groan. “Deidara, bite me, mate me. Please!”He seemed unable to move, at least until he pulled out of her and grabbed her shoulder, bringing her around to face him. It was so sudden it took her a moment to reorient herself.He was watching her with huge eyes. He was panting and flushed but she could see him fighting through his heat for clarity.“Do you know what you just asked me?””Of course. Listen, I know that I caused this situation, and there’s nothing I can do to take back what I’ve done.” She grabbed his hands and kissed his knuckles softly. “But I can put us on equal ground. I don’t think you’re a bad person, certainly not the person we thought you were after you took Gaara. And if I’m honest with myself, you make me feel things I’ve never felt before. My inner Alpha wants you so badly she can’t stand it. So if you’re willing, I would mate with you fully.” Almost as an after thought she added, “plus no one in Konoha would be able to separate us, ever. It doesn’t matter that you’re a missing nin, or from Iwa. You’ll be safe.”The Omega looked shell shocked for a few moments as he listened to her. But eventually, his eyes cleared and he lunged forward, tackling her to the ground and kissing her. He was purring so hard that it shook her chest and Sakura laughed joyfully at his reaction. He nuzzled into her neck and spoke so quietly she almost missed it, “thank you, Alpha.”She chuffed at him and ran her hands soothingly up and down his back. She felt wetness on her neck, he was crying, but she didn’t comment on it, instead rumbling smoothly to soothe him.After a few more minutes he looked up at her again and kissed her while he moved his hips back into position, entering her again with a gentle thrust.Quickly, both of them got worked up again, lust spiking in the air around them as they moved together, Alpha and Omega.Sakura moaned, feeling her orgasm approaching again, clenching around Deidara as it began to crest. His teeth sunk into her mating gland on her neck and the split second of pain sent her crashing over the edge. Deidara tensed around her and jerked slightly as he emptied himself in her, his teeth still locked in place.After a few moments, he unclenched his jaw and licked at her shoulder. She could feel the bond settling into place, wondering if it was anything like he’d experienced but was too blissed out to ask. It was warm and soft, and she could feel affection coming through the bond so she sent it back, amplified in her happiness.The Omega paused in his ministrations and gasped out, “oh, I didn’t know it would do that.” He groaned as the feeling forced another orgasm out of him unexpectedly and Sakura hummed in pleasure, feeling an echo of it through their new bond.When it ended, Deidara was panting and nuzzled at her shoulder again. “Holy shit…”Sakura giggled at his crude language and said, “agreed.”He huffed a small laugh against her shoulder, finally pulling out and resting his body on top of hers. He wasn’t an overly big man, only slightly taller than her, and the weight felt comforting so Sakura made no move to push him off.They stayed like that for a while, both dozing as the bond fully settled. Eventually, Deidara slid off her and nudged her until he was spooning her against his front. Already, he seemed more settled and he was purring softly again. She could only tell because he was pressed against her back.Sakura reached for the blankets around them and pulled it over their bodies before allowing herself to drift off to sleep with her new mate.XXXXXThey awoke some time later and Deidara could tell that his heat was gone. It took much less time than when Sasori had first bonded him, probably because he’d been allowed to bond Sakura back.At some point, the girl had shifted so she was facing him and tucked herself into his side, her legs tangling with his. Deidara felt surprisingly settled, not anxious or worried like he had the last few days. Okay the last few years…. Okay fine his entire life since presenting. It was a liberating feeling and he couldn’t help but nuzzle down into her pink hair, drawing in her soft floral scent.He reached out with his senses and found her packmates about a quarter mile out surrounding them, keeping guard over the pair. Where just yesterday, their presence had disturbed him, he was shocked to find that he now appreciated their presence, even Itachi’s.Deidara felt Sakura shift against him and stretch like a cat, settling again and rumbling her Alpha version of a purr.“You okay,” he asked her, knowing from experience that she was probably sore.She hummed and blinked open her eyes. “Yes, I feel good actually. Um… thank you, for being so kind.”Deidara was surprised she’d bothered to thank him but responded with a soft “you're welcome” nevertheless.She looked up at him and asked, “is your heat gone?”He nodded and sat up, pulling her with him. He noticed her wince and his eyes focused on his mating mark on her neck. It was bruised and had bled during the night. He whined, feeling bad for hurting his mate and letting his Omega instincts take over. He lapped at her shoulder again and wrapped his arms around her, feeling oddly protective. Sakura melted against him and sighed softly.They stayed that way for a few minutes before Sakura sat up and said, “we should talk about what’s next.”Deidara nodded and began searching for his clothes. Sakura made a noise as she shifted and the dried fluids from last night made themselves known. Knowing how uncomfortable it could be, Deidara stood and got a water pack out of her bags, bringing it over with a clean cloth and cleaning her gently.Sakura was blushing again at the intimacy and Deidara couldn’t help the roguish grin he gave her before leaning down and licking across her sex. The Alpha gasped and moaned but he knew they needed to talk so after another swipe with his tongue, he let up and kissed her cheekily on the lips.His Alpha groaned in mock frustration, throwing his shirt at his face before laughing and beginning to get dressed.After they’d cleaned up as much as they could, packing away their small camp while they were at it, knowing they’d have to move soon, they came out of their small cavern and sat in the shade of a tree. Apparently they’d slept all night and now it was mid morning. Sakura pulled out some ration bars for them, not the tastiest but it’d give them the energy they needed, and leaned against him, staring out at the woods as she chewed.”I don’t know how much you know about Konoha,” she started and at his shrug, she continued. “Their views on Alphas and Omegas are fairly progressive. Mated pairs can’t be separated under any circumstances, so even though you were in Akatsuki, it shouldn’t be a problem. And I’m Lady Tsunade’s student, I can explain to her what happened.”She was a student of one of the legendary Sanin? That came as a surprise, but considering how well she’d fixed him up after his arms had been nearly severed from his body, he shouldn’t be.“And where does that leave us? I can’t imagine you left on this mission expecting to come back mated to a missing nin.”She scoffed and said, “no I definitely did not. But… I think I’m happy. Naruto and Sasuke always talked about this bond they had with each other after they mated, and I think ours feels really, well, special. I’m surprised at how calm I feel.”She turned to face him, catching his eye as she continued. “I’m so sorry for what I did to you. There’s no excuse for it. But I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you and making you happy.”She looked so serious and fierce in that moment and Deidara couldn’t help but feel drawn to her. He followed his instincts and leaned forward to kiss her. When he drew back he looked a little dazed so he stroked her cheek and said, “I can’t say I was happy to be tied to another Alpha so soon after I’d finally broken free of Sasori, but even I have to admit that this worked out better than I ever could have hoped for. We’ll figure it out, one day at a time. I trust you, little Alpha.”And this time, he really meant it.