Chapter Text
“I want to say that this looks good for us… but… I’m not sure if it does.” Lorenzo Leclerc, the eldest of three, gives both his younger brothers a glance over. He sits at the end of the long table in a black suit, on his right is Charles, on his left Arthur and everyone else down the line are high-ranking members of the Leclerc Gang, just one of the branches in the biggest mafia gang in the world.
“So, they’re eliminating our enemies, I think it’s a good thing.” Arthur shrugs his shoulders, looking at the splayed out pictures on the table; rather graphic crime scenes of their rival gangs’ demise.
“We don’t know why they’re doing so… and maybe we’re next?” Charles chips in with more suspicion and experience.
Lorenzo nods his head in agreement, “Charles is right. We don’t know their motives so they’re a threat to us until we know more information.”
“Why are they even in Monaco? Could’ve struck Italy if they had problems with Ferrari.” another member down the table adds in.
“Maybe some business here… or just irrational killings. Rumors say the Dutch Lion is merciless… must be some sick show of power. He is one to call himself an Alpha of all Alphas... It is a territorial dispute.”
“Is that why they have yet to strike us? We have 3 leading Alphas on our side.”
“Perhaps…but no one is sure.”
“Won’t even let their enemies fight back. They leave no survivors to tell the tale.”
“Isn’t that the reason why no one knows who the Dutch Lion is?”
“...Could be anyone.”
The conversation goes on until the head of the table raises his hand and silence falls immediately. “We will investigate further but until then… Everyone please be vigilant.” The meeting is adjourned and everyone clears the room except the brothers.
“Charles… Arthur… I have a special task for the both of you.” He starts the details and this entire time he has a look of worry in his eyes but both younger brothers just think it’s because of the organization issue and nothing more to it. He explains that there’s an important deal happening on a cruise docking in Monaco two nights from today, he needs both his brothers to intercept the deal and get some important information for their parent gang Ferrari.
“Sounds easy enough.” Arthur shrugs his shoulders, Charles nods his head.
“Yes, I trust both of you to do well.” Lorenzo stands up, passes both his brothers and pats them on the shoulders before exiting the room.
There is something that feels wrong in Charles’ guts; he knows his brother better than this but still… maybe it is the stress or maybe he’s due for his rut soon. Who knows? A multitude of reasons but Charles trusts Lorenzo to make the best choices so he shoves that looming thought away and continues on.
-O-O-O-
Dressed in a navy suit, Charles boards the cruise with Arthur by his side; so far everything looks normal and if all goes well, they should be able to complete the mission before it departs in a couple of hours. Fast and simple, Charles thinks in his head of his long to-do list for tomorrow, there’s still some unrest with territory fights, he will have to deal with it eventually.
“Can’t believe bastards are dealing omegas tonight… loads of dumbasses.” Arthur mutters under his breath, a roll of his eyes adds to his annoyance.
“Omegas are rare in this day and age… a lot of people try to acquire them” Charles adds on with a sigh, it is terrible but it is what it is.
“Thank God, we’re all Alphas… even Betas get pumped with drugs to try and change their secondary gender… the experiments are sick. Honestly, I can’t imagine being born an omega…” The youngest’ voice goes soft “The last case in America about the breeding facility? Terrible. They deserve death.”
“Death would be merciful.” Charles shakes his head, recalling the news that a breeding facility was uncovered and the omegas were used to breed perfect genetic Alphas which theoretically are more powerful and dominant.
Not being able to continue the conversation when more guests board the ship, they start looking out for their target but as the hour goes by, Charles finds it odd that he and Arthur have yet to locate the man.
“Hey, I’ll try the other side again…” Arthur says and Charles nods his head, “Okay. Be safe.” They part to search different areas.
Could it be fake? A ploy? A lie? A ruse? Charles is about to give a call to the eldest for updates but Lorenzo beats him to it and calls him first.
“Charles.”
“Hey— Arthur and I can’t find the guy, are you sure??”
In the background he can hear the captain’s greeting all passengers on the cruise, and how they’ll be departing shortly.
“I am sure. Maybe there’s been a delay… Charles, I need you both to stay on the ship.”
“But–”
“I will send for another boat when you dock to the next area… so it is fine.”
With this in mind and understanding that not everything goes according to plan sometimes, Charles stays put, still trying to spot the target as Lorenzo explains the importance of this mission. Ferrari needs the intel and it would be a huge failure on their part if the Leclerc brothers allow the deal to happen tonight right in their own turf.
The last call bell rings and the door closes as the cruise prepares to depart. The Monegasque sighs, knowing he has to delay his to-do list again because of this unplanned hiccup. Suddenly, Lorenzo stops talking about the mission and requests something entirely different:
“...Charles… could you come to the edge… just so I can see you off?”
“?? What do you mean? Are you here??” Charles walks to the railings and sure enough he sees his elder brother standing there in his black suit, a small smile on his face with the phone still by his ear. The more shocking thing is Arthur is right beside him and not on the boat with Charles.
“W-what? Why are you—”
“Charles… I’m sorry. We got word from Mattia that the Dutch Lion might be targeting you. The gangs that they’ve been killing… they have one thing in common… they all have run into you or have been a hindrance to your territorial areas.”
“What—??? It could have been a coincidence or something!”
“You remember the Casino fight? I saw the leader grab you by the waist when we were negotiating, obviously you pushed him off… Well, he’s found dead with that arm chopped off and his fingers fed to stray dogs. It is not a coincidence, Charles.”
“?? So- what are you planning?”
“I need you to be safe. I’m sorry for not telling you but you’d be safer away from Monaco until we eliminate the Dutch Lion-”
“You’re planning to fight him? Without me? Lorenzo! Are you kidding me?? You know how dangerous he is. You’ll need me! I’m your right hand man–”
“You are my brother before you are my right hand man!” Lorenzo raises his voice, stern and willful, Charles grows quiet, listening “...If anything happens to me… I need you to take charge. Arthur is still too young and—”
“No. No. No. No. You cannot do this to me. You cannot say that!”
“Charles, I need you to be strong for the family, for us, for me. You need to be safe. HQ agrees with the plan, stay away from Monaco until we kill him.”
“No! You are not… leaving me… like this-”
“The best thing you can do for us right now is to stay onboard… you’ll find a suitcase in your suite that will have everything you need. Take a break. I can fight better when I know you’re out of harm’s way. That is final.”
It is the way the other Alpha says it; commanding, leading that Charles feels his shoulders drop. He made a pledge to follow his brother, the eldest of the family, the one who took all the burden after their father’s passing. If this is the leader’s will, how can he defy it? It hurts to be left behind, to be part of the problem but what choice does he have? He has to trust Lorenzo. He said he would.
“Take care.” Charles utters as the cruises slowly move from the dock. Arthur gazes at him apologetically for being part of the lie, Lorenzo smiles at him, “Charles, be safe. Be careful always… Don’t trust anyone. We’ll see you soon.”
-O-O-O-
He will have little to no service once they hit international waters, he checks-in to the suite and sure enough a large suitcase is there with all his clothes and necessities. It is just like his brother to plan things to the dot, he doesn’t expect anything less. It is a 2 month long luxury cruise, he will have little to no info of anything happening on land, he can only pray that good news awaits by the time the journey ends.
Charles sighs loudly, he has absolutely no mood to do anything, he cannot imagine how grueling this 2 months break will be, just endlessly worrying for the family. He must find a way to leave the cruise and go back to Monaco.
Closing the door to his room, he paces the large cruise to map out his locations; there’s a lot of facilities, and entertainment but this is not where he wants to be. Maybe he should defy Lorenzo’s orders and jump off… could he swim back to the dock? It should be doable so long as he doesn’t jump into shark invested waters—
“Fuck- sorry!” Someone bumps into him and Charles mutters a quick apology, he looks up at the man in front of him; slightly taller, blonde hair, blue eyes, quirky smile as he excitedly says “Sorry mate, wasn’t watching where I was going… got a little lost… the place is huge.”
“Oh. That is fine. I am sorry too… where… Are you trying to go?” He thinks he can help the civilian since he’s already mapped out 80% of the place.
“Uh… there’s like a bar… or something? Like a… common area… I need a drink…”
“Already? We just boarded.”
“...Honestly…” The stranger sighs but a smile is still on his lips “It was my mother and sister’s idea for me to be here… they bought me the ticket and… I didn’t want to waste it. I’m not… actually interested in being here for 2 whole months… but… yeah… can’t let my family down.” His eyes soften at the mention of family and Charles can’t help but feel the exact same way.
“Funny… my brothers set me up for this too.”
They share a knowing glance, between understanding and also pity for their situation.
“I’m Franz, by the way… “
“Charles.”
They shake hands and by scent alone, he can tell the other is an Alpha. Charles can’t help but think those blue eyes look familiar but he can’t quite place it, “Have we met… before?” He feels the need to ask and the blonde looks bewildered at that question.
“Are you… hitting on me?”
Charles goes pink at the accusation “No! I’m just….---” he gets cut off when he hears a hearty loud laugh.
“I’m kidding! No, I don’t think we’ve met?”
“Right.” Of course, Charles would remember if he met such a striking man before.
“We can, however, keep meeting since you and I are stuck on this involuntary cruise…” The stranger grins and Charles, who has a rather long confusing emotional day, thinks that a drink doesn’t sound so bad and if he’s going to be here for long, it is good to have some kind of company.
“Sure. Let’s grab a drink.” He doesn’t think much of it as he leads the way with Franz following much like a shadow in the light.
-O-O-O-
“I’m sorry- I’m sorry- I’m so sorry… I didn’t… spare me please please please.” a man begged on the floor, tears and snot on his face as he pleaded for mercy. There’s blood everywhere, courtesy of his missing hand.
“You touched him. You dared to lay a hand on him.” The voice in the dark is hoarse and scary, barely containing the venom in his tone.
“I didn’t know— I didn’t know he meant anything to you! I didn’t– fuck — I didn’t know! The Leclerc brothers are Alphas– they’ve always been Alphas! I didn’t know he was yours– I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
A gunshot rings clear, no more sounds as more blood begins the pool below the body. Silence only lasted awhile before footsteps were heard in the distance, slowly approaching.
“Is this really necessary, Max? We can do without the excessive bloodshed.”
“You don’t understand, Christian. He touched my mate. He deserves a fate worse than death.”
“...I am not sure how your mate will take it when he finds you murdering people on his home ground.”
“I do what’s necessary and Ferrari should take all my killings as a warning.” Max breathes in deeply, the stench of blood and gunpowder filling his lungs “Years… I was separated from him for years and finally… I’m in Monaco to see him again… and… I find out that he doesn’t smell the same anymore. What the fuck did they do? They pumped him full of Alpha hormones… changed his secondary designation out of their pure lineage insanity. He’s mine! He’s my mate! And they took him from me!” Max is up on his feet, he paces because he doesn’t know what to do with his anger.
“They’ve been feeding him lies… drugging him– deluding all this Alpha nonsense when he’s my Omega!” The Alpha kicks the table nearby, and the contents on it fall to break and shatter with force.
“He doesn’t even remember. No– how could he? We were so young and Charles was always so… gentle..” A slight smile forms on Max’s lips when he recalls but it’s gone the next second, frowning as something dark bubbles in his chest “They took him from me. They took my mate, my omega. They ripped him out of my hands–!”
The Dutchman laughs, hysterically, deranged and crazy.
“Do you know why they picked Charles? Why does it have to be him? When the eldest brother is clearly an Alpha… the youngest also an Alpha. Why Charles? Why my Omega? Why?”
Christian is quiet, he doesn’t know so he lets the Alpha continue.
“...Because Charles presented as a perfect omega. His genetics are 0.01% of the population, rarer than anything in this world and they want to use that… They want to use him to breed the perfect lineage plan so… they pumped him full of hormones since young, kept it hidden to him and the world to buy time… until they figure out a perfect Alpha to…” The thought of someone other than him with his mate makes Max even angrier, he clenches his fast, digging his nails until it draws blood in his palm.
“They took him from me.” Max repeats those words like a mantra. “They took him away from me, Christian… and I will burn Maranello to ashes for what they did to him. I will kill everyone who was involved….”
“...An Alpha deserving of God-hood, they hail him more than his brothers. Il Predestinato, they called him… the one that will lead the gang into an era of prosperity and glory. The Sun of Maranello…” Max laughs, clutching his sides because of how funny it is and then he suddenly stops, eyes dead and cold, “The Sun! My Sun. I will take back what is mine. How dare they bask in his light when he is made for me and only me?”
“I trust you have a plan set in stone? Which is why you ordered the men to get the Omega hormone injections off the black market?” Christian asks slowly, aware he’s one wrong word away from being like the dead body on the floor.
“Yes. He’s been an Alpha all his life… I need him to remember that he’s an Omega, I need his body to react to me… only then would a claiming bite take effect as his mate. Anything I try now is nullified…”
“Max… his body… will likely reject all of this.”
“I know… but it is okay, as his Alpha, I will… assist him through this.” Max walks out of the empty warehouse, leaving Christian behind to clean up the bloody mess as usual. He breathes the cold air of Monaco, the smell of the sea, the freshness of the air, he looks up at the full moon
“Two months… two months to corrupt the Sun of Maranello.”