Chapter Text
The wails of his cub were the only thing Bruce could hear over his own labored breaths. He was running with no particular destination in mind. He just needed to get away. Far away.
Shoes too small for him pinched his feet and caused abrasions to the back of his ankles with every step. He had thought he had given his handlers the slip, but cub’s with little sleep while submitted to Bruce’s anxious pheromones did little to keep his cub from wailing. He had managed to pick up his son and cram him in a tattered sweater before he was running for their lives.
“Fucking bitch! Get back here!”
Shit. They were closer than Bruce had thought.
Adrenaline coursed through him and he pushed himself harder. He had to escape. There was no way he was going back.
Left, right, left.
Bruce hoped he wasn’t going in circles, but instead altering his movements enough to confuse his chasers, regardless of a crying cub.
“Shhh, baby. Mommy’s got you. Shhh, please please.” Bruce pressed his cubs face into his chest, hoping his milky scent would calm him whilst he tried to control his pheromones.
Hurtling through detritus in the alleyways wasn’t easy, especially in the middle of the night. Too preoccupied with avoiding scattered objects, Bruce forgot to look out for simpler things.
An innocuous puddle hid the pothole that brought Bruce's world crashing down.
He managed to turn just in time to protect his precious bundle, but in the process twisted his ankle.
The jostle shocked his son even more and his cries filled the alley.
“Fuck fuck fuck. Shhh baby please.” In a last ditch effort Bruce dragged himself behind a dumpster and prayed that he and his cub would go unnoticed.
Bruce's ears flicked toward approaching footsteps and he couldn’t keep his tail from bristling.
Time was up.
Two figures stepped out of the shadows, inching toward where he and his cub hid. Letting go of any pretense of calm, Bruce’s chest vibrated with a warning growl, arms wrapping tighter around his cub.
The leaner of the duo approached with a rope in one hand and a blade in the other. In any other circumstance Bruce would have laughed at their ‘weapons’, but he was tired and despite their mediocre equipment he knew what these people were capable of.
As the figure approached the stench of alpha filled the air and Bruce was ashamed at the way he couldn’t help but cower. The omega part of him wanted to submit, convinced it would please and ensure safety, but he knew better.
Fully out of the shadows with the alpha only a couple meters away, Bruce could make out her fanged smile as well as her companion’s and the bat he carried.
“Thought you could just escape did you?” The first alpha’s hand tightened around the switchblade, her tail flicked predatorily behind her. “You’ve caused us quite the bit of trouble kitten. The boss won’t like that.”
Her companion started bouncing the head of the bat in his other hand. “Why don’t you be a good lil’ bitch and come with us nice and easy.” He stepped closer and now both alphas were next to each other.
“Promise we’ll go easy on ya,” fanged smile turned manic. “Probably.”
It was too much. The cub’s cries, his exhaustion, the overpowering scent of domineering alphas. Tears of frustration burned his sight, his growls intermixed with whines of distress. He was so stupid, so fucking stupid. How could he have thought he could escape? He was just a stupid, weak omega and now his kit was going to pay the price. Oh gods.
With the alphas approaching Bruce curled around his son and waited for the inevitable, hoping that if they did attack he’d protect his kit from the worst of it.
Completely turned away from the encroaching alphas Bruce didn’t notice a figure descend from the sky, landing between the small family and the criminals.
“Jesus f-“
“Fuck, it’s-“
A gust of air whistled through the alley and for a few seconds only the cries of mother and child could be heard.
Fear had frozen Bruce in place, his mind running wild. He was going to be separated from his son. They were going to punish him by taking his baby away. Oh god oh god-
“-you alright?”
Any moment now they were going to snatch his cub away. “Please don’t, please. I’ll be good, please please.” Reverently whispered so that only he could hear what he was saying, too tired to make himself heard.
“-safe now.”
The scent of alpha infiltrated his little bubble of panic and a whine escaped his throat.
The shift in the air was instant. The new scent was infused with calmness that fully enveloped bruce. The feeling of safety was so sudden and overwhelming he couldn’t help but sob.
The tension that had gathered in his chest and clouded his mind extinguished itself, all that was left was exhaustion. Despite it, the hum of the world started to return and he could finally make out a voice calling out to him.
“-let you know you are safe. They’re gone, you and your kit are safe now.”
Safe? He was safe?
“-carry you? I know someone who can help.”
Help?
He couldn’t think. His mind was still fuzzy after the rush and crash of adrenaline. He was just as weak as his cub.
So when he felt himself being lifted, cub and all, he didn’t bother fighting. If anything, the warmth that surrounded him helped to calm him further and he gave in to nuzzling further into the heat.
"Rest." A gentle suggestion whispered into his hair.
And he did. His last thoughts filled with the sense of safety.