Chapter Text
Not a day goes by where he doesn’t miss his Omega; but thinking about it, Max has missed him since he first laid eyes on him, the only difference now is that he had more than a taste so it’s no longer just imaginative or figurative longing, he can now put a detailed description to his yearning for the other’s smile, his smell, his Omega slick— he wonders if Charles misses him too or if the brunette thinks of him and there’s nothing but hatred.
Max feels like a wounded puppy at the thought of Charles’ fury towards him, which is why he came up with the plan to fake his own death. It gives his mate enough time to be frustrated yet curious about the situation and the more he digs, the more he’ll realize the real enemy is Ferrari. He knows Charles is smart, he knows he will be diligent in solving the case, all he needs to do… is wait… and Max has done years of that… so what’s a couple more months?
2 months go by and all he has are pictures to tell a story. In every blurry photograph, Charles looks worn and tired. No doubt his recovery is slow and Ferrari isn’t making it any easier. They’ve taken a few of his land, but Max doesn’t mind, he’ll trade the small tokens for bigger gold and honestly, if he can guarantee his mate by his side, he’d trade anything.
He wishes Charles will figure it all out sooner… run to his side and Max will ensure Ferrari will never touch him ever again– no, they won’t even see him.
Two knocks on the door tell him that Daniel is behind it so he leaves his thoughts to rest, allowing his assistant and good friend to come in with a tray of lunch. Max doesn’t leave his private room, and only a few can see him during his ‘death’. Surprisingly, Yuki trails quietly behind the taller male today.
“Lunch.” Daniel sets the tray down and Max nods with a grumble of his thanks. He takes a bite of food, chewing slowly, realizing the other two men haven’t moved an inch so this means there’s important matters he must attend to.
“How’s Christian?”
“Healing well.” Daniel answers immediately and they fall into silence again.
“...What happened?” Max finally gives in with a sigh, shaking his head and stabbing his fork into the meat on the plate “What did Ferrari do this time? Take more of my territory? Kill more of my men? I’ll return it tenfold once Charles is on my side.”
The other two share a knowing glance “...Look. I know you said not to tell you too much about Charles… that he needs to figure it out without your help and that you’d lay low for now but… I don’t have a death wish and I know for a fact that you’ll kill me if I withhold this information from you but before we tell you… Yuki… has a request.”
Max doesn’t reply, simply waits for them to continue but things sound pretty dire if they’re this nervous to report.
“I…I need a protection request granted for Pierre Gasly.” Yuki says adamantly, Max sets the fork down, leans against the seat, urging the other to continue the proposal because why would he grant something to someone like Pierre Gasly. That man had the blessing to be around Charles for so many years. He was just useful to Max, a tool he can discard at any time.
“Ferrari will… hunt for him and they might even kill him. Given all the information he’s been giving to us-”
“Then he served his use.” Max cuts the other off with a glare “Need I remind you, Yuki, that Pierre Gasly is a close friend of Charles and we started this mission to get intel which we did and I don’t care what kind of shit he’s in with Ferrari but that’s none of our business. I told you… not to get too close to him.”
The shorter boy clenches his fists, a rebuttal on the tip of his tongue. Always brash, impatient but with a good heart, Max knows Yuki but he doesn't know Gasly, and doesn't even care for that guy unless it involves Charles.
“Max…” Daniel tries to reason, “Gasly is being hunted because of Charles.”
“I don’t care. Charles will figure it out, and if Gasly dies then so be it.”
“He isn’t involved in gangs like us— He’s innocent and you know it!” Yuki shouts at Max but the Dutch Lion merely huffs at his unerling “...Well, you picked the target didn’t you? I gave you a task to get intel, you picked Pierre Gasly… we cannot offer protection to everyone we cross-paths with. I’m not running a charity here.”
“If Ferrari gets to him…”
“They’ll be torturing a soul that knows nothing so he can’t give away any of our secrets. Isn’t that precisely why we picked Pierre Gasly?”
Both men remain quiet, unable to fight him on this anymore. The anger isn’t gone from Yuki, it’s in his whole stance, his cheeks, his eyes, everything and maybe a few years ago, he’d shout and fight Max but he’s older now, he knows better. Instead of lashing out, he turns and he runs out the room, slamming the door on his way out.
Leaving Max and Daniel alone, he finally asks the question, fearing the worst “...So… what is it? What did Ferrari do? What did Charles do? What has got all of you so afraid that I’d kill.”
“....C-Charles is… pregnant.”
Pregnant? Charles? His Omega… with his pups? What are the odds? It is what he wanted… Yes, he had hoped the drugs and hormones worked in his favor. He had prayed for it to come true but he knew in the back of his head that the possibility would be terribly low.
“It’s what he told Pierre Gasly before he left. We…don't know where but he said France. Gasly called Yuki immediately, seeking his help to be on the lookout if he or anyone he can trust sees Charles- Pierre obviously didn’t mention the name but the description fits 100%.”
“What else did he say?”
“That… his friend is scared… that he’s on the run… that he doesn’t know where to go… that he isn’t afraid for himself but more so the pregnancy………If anything happens to….” Daniel does dare utter those words, and he made a wise decision. Max gets up to his feet, he paces forward, just far enough to marvel at his gun display.
His mate… fearing for his life? His newly turned Omega… scared? Lost? Afraid he might lose his life? Afraid for the puppies? His puppies? No- their puppies.
“...Max…I’m sorry… we had to tell you because if anything happened—”
“Remember that… chart… Sebastian drew up for us when he defected from Ferrari? Tell him that I want each and every executive from bottom to top. He can take them one-by-one…”
“Max…w-wait…”
“Interrogate them for intel and they kill them.”
“But that-”
“Am I not clear, Daniel? Are you not able to understand the words I’ve just said? If you can’t execute my orders, then get Christian back here.” The Alpha growls out, venom and anger dripping off every word, the atmosphere changing to be cold and hostile. There’s no reply, the taller male simply bows his head for the Alpha. “...Go.” he hisses the order and Daniel basically runs to the door.
“Daniel.” Max suddenly calls out and the man almost trips over his own two feet trying to stop on command. “...Send backup for Yuki.”
“...But you said…”
“He’s going to go anyway… we’re all Bulls for a reason… too stubborn for our own good. Send support, get Pierre Gasly here… I will interrogate him myself.”
“Yes, sir!”
-O-O-O-
The easy waiting game became a lot harder; his inner wolf impatient and angry for not laying waste to the entirety of Ferrari just because they cornered his Omega. Max’s thoughts become a huge mess, constantly doubting and yet remaining hopeful. Should he wish for the pregnancy to be true or not? Charles’ beautiful eyes haunt him, in every living space, in every corner, slowly eating at him, gnawing flesh off bones.
Something unsettling bubbles deep in his heart. The thought of losing Charles is painful but losing both his mate and his unborn babies? Max has thought of every Ferrari executives’ torture in detail. Death is too merciful, they must pay for their crimes and he will be their executioner.
When word finally comes that they’ve captured Pierre Gasly and held him hostage, Max felt just a tiny bit better. He stalked the halls at midnight, further down to the cellar where they keep their hostages. His trusted men stand waiting for him, none meeting his eyes; they can feel it in the air, that their Alpha is out for blood today. Yuki stands closest to the cell, hands behind his back, bandages over his arm but other than that, he seems relatively fine.
Daniel walks in with him, helping to pull the sack off Pierre’s head.
“W-hat the fuck?! Where am I?!!? W-who are you people?!? Where… Where’s Yuki?!” He struggles around the binds that keep him on the chair.
“Mr. Gasly… please calm down, we just have a few questions–” Daniel tries to be civil but Pierre keeps panicking, shouting and struggling. On any other occasion, Max would let the hostage grovel and squirm but he has no patience when it comes to the safety of his mate and puppies. The Alpha raises his hand and lands a solid punch on the Frenchman’s face.
Finally, some silence.
“Do not speak unless spoken to. If you disobey, I’ll cut off your tongue and make you write answers… if you disobey some more… I’ll cut off your fingers.”
Pierre heaves for air but remains quiet throughout.
“Retell the story when Charles Leclerc came to you. I want every detail.” Max looms over the other man whose eyes widen at the mention of his best friend’s name. “...W-who are you? I’m not talking! You can do whatever the fuck you want, I’d never sell out Charles!!”
At least, this man has a spine.
Max nods his head, opens his palm waiting and soon enough Daniel takes out his knife and gently puts it on his hand.
“Hold his jaw wide, I’ll make it quick…”
He has never made an empty threat, he means each and every word. He holds up the knife, the Frenchman struggles and hysterically screams. Max allows it because it’ll be his last time anyway—
“Wait!! Please!!” Yuki’s voice echoes, he runs in the cell.
“Yuki?!? What are you doing here?!? Get out of here!! These people are crazy!! Save yourself!!”
It is almost sweet how much Pierre Gasly cares for Yuki over himself. If this wasn't about Charles, maybe Max could find it in his heart to be nicer.
“Pierre, just tell him…. Charles will be fine! I promise– we would never let anything happen to him!”
“Who the fuck is ‘we’??!?!?”
“Pierre!!”
“Tell me this is not what it is…. Tell me you did not sell me out to some gangs… tell me I’m not about to lose my life because I actually cared about you!!”
Max rolls his eyes, he genuinely doesn’t have time for this. Heads should roll, tongues should fall. Why are they still having this dramatic scene?
“You are being stupid right now! Just tell him the truth!!”
“I am being stupid?!?! I’m fucking tied to this chair and this guy just threaten to cut off my tongue and fingers?! AND the guy I’ve been interested in for YEARS turned out to be a traitor!!! Yes, I am the stupidest person on this earth!!”
The pain and regret flash in Yuki’s eyes, a rare emotion from any one of them. They know the consequences, the risks and the hardships of being part of the gang. Everyone knows better but of course, everyone is just human.
“...You heard him, Boss. If you want information out of him, hurt me instead.” Yuki offers himself up as bait, Max raises a brow, Daniel bites his bottom lip in nervousness while Pierre fights even harder “NO! NO! You do not get to do this, Yuki!! You cannot! Do not even fucking—!!!”
“I’ll die for it if I must.”
“Yuki!!!”
Max sighs loudly, “Fine.”
“Max!” Daniel shouts too.
Why is everyone so fucking troublesome today?!
“Look… Gasly. You tell me about someone I care about… and I’ll spare someone that you care about.” Max says in a sing-song manner, twirling the blade in his hand, “I could very easily kill both of you together if that’s the wish… but I’m sure Charles wouldn’t want that either.”
“What do you want with him?! Ferrari will come for you if anything happens to him–”
“I want him safe, I want him alive. He was running from Ferrari, not to Ferrari.”
“Why the fuck would I trust you?! Any of you–?!”
Max leans closer to the hostage, whispering by his ear “Do you know… what it’s like to lose your mate? Do you see that special someone in Yuki? You can’t tell because of the scent patches, right? But you feel it in your bones… you feel it in your heart… you don’t know for sure but it feels right… and I’m going to gut him in front of your eyes… and then you can feel what I feel.”
It takes moments for Pierre to digest what he just heard from the state of panic. He looks into Max’s eyes, searching for a lie or a doubt but nothing falters under that icy blue. “...You’re… Charles’ mate?” he whispers back the question, confusion settling into him.
Whether the other believes him or not, it matters less because Max straightens his back, he walks back to Yuki, grabs the boy by the collar and really, the Japanese man just closes his eyes, ready for whatever is next.
Pierre Gasly will not have a tongue or fingers to tell the tale anyway.
“W-wait! Wait! I’ll tell you!!”
It is Daniel who exhales a breath of relief, immediately coming between Yuki and Max to put some distance between them. Max gives him a glare; he wasn’t going to actually do anything to Yuki… Pierre Gasly though… yes, he was definitely going to maim him.
“Okay. Talk.” Max nods and Pierre finally gives in, “...It was… late at night when he was banging outside my door… I didn’t expect him and when I opened it, he looked so… scared and I’ve never seen Charles like that before. Then he ran up and hugged me-”
Max’s eyes twitch in annoyance, gripping the knife harder.
“-OKAY, maybe not that detailed, Mr. Gasly… Let’s uh…. Just go to the talking part.” Daniel gives the other a wide eyed look, shaking his head slowly as if to say ‘Don’t fucking mention about touching Charles Leclerc if you value your life’.
The Frenchman looks confused but continues the story anyway “He told me that Ferrari had been drugging him and that he’s an Omega which is… the most insane thing he’s ever told me. He said he was scared… and that he came to me because… he wanted someone to know in case anything happened to him. The bomb of it all? He told me he’s pregnant! Pregnant?! He looked so worried… not for himself but for… you know. I’ve never seen Charles like that before… he’s a fighter so I know he has a plan but I wish he wasn’t alone. I tried to pry for answers, at least understand better but he wouldn’t tell me… he said he didn’t want me to be in danger..”
Max feels the rage boiling in him as hears the retelling of it but he hides it behind a stoic look, not wanting anyone to sense the storm brewing behind it.
“I tried to stop him… I grabbed his arm-”
“AGAIN, MAYBE NOT THAT DETAILED, MR. GASLY!” Daniel cuts through with a nervous laugh but Pierre doesn’t even look at him, his focus eyes trained on Max instead “...If… you are that person to Charles… and you’re the reason why he’s running… you need to find him… because Ferrari will never give up on him. They watched him like a hawk when he was a young pup, and wouldn't let him get close to anyone but his brothers… Charles is trained to fight and kill but that’s when he’s by himself… now with…. Life inside him… it’s not going to be easy.”
He knows it. Max knows it and he hates letting this happen. He loathes the idea of his mate out there alone, and fighting.
“...Yuki.” Max calls out and the Japanese boy stands upright at attention, “Yes, boss?”
“Your protection request for Gasly is approved.”
“T-thank you, Sir!”
“Get whatever information out of him about Charles… I want a written document by tomorrow morning and Gasly, it will do you well to corporate. I will do whatever it takes to find Charles.”
Max doesn’t wait for an answer, he turns away, knowing both Yuki and Gasly have things to sort out. Daniel is only a couple of steps behind him, reporting that Sebastian Vettel has found one of Ferrari’s executives and he’s in a separate cell. The Alpha makes a swift turn to the directed location and sure enough, even deeper through the area, he finds Sebastain waiting for him with a smirk, “Caught him running when the territory fight broke out… he’s pretty useless though… isn’t high enough to know anything about Charles Leclerc, though I did get new intel about Ferrari’s plans… rough locations about the other two Leclerc brothers… and even Charles’ personal assistant, Bryan Bozzi. I could narrow it down easily.”
Max nods in approval, he looks at the hostage on the chair in the same manner as Pierre Gasly; bounded at the seat with a sack over his head except he has a few open wounds from Sebastian’s torture.
The Alpha grabs the loaded gun from his holster, “Worthless.’” he mutters before starting fire. Loud sounds of gunshot echoes through, it doesn’t stop at one or two. Max keeps going even after the body is obviously dead and there’s a pool of blood on the floor. He empties the entire weapon, keeps pressing on the trigger even when there’s no ammunition left.
All of the bullet shells roll by his feet yet his anger is not even close to being sated.
“Take Checo with you on your next run… Bring me Bryan Bozzi and Arthur Leclerc.” Max looks at Sebastian who merely smiles and nods his head “Yes, sir. Not looking for Lorenzo, though? I doubt the youngest Leclerc brother knows anything… he seems to be in the shadows just the same.”
“Mafias like the Leclercs are ready to lose their lives… but it’s always harder to lose a dear one. Lorenzo already lost Charles, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect Arthur… he’ll write to Maranello for support, for aid… and when there’s blood… there will be sharks. Fish out the larger targets, bring them here for intel or kill them on sight.”
“Whatever you want.” Sebastian chuckles and Max takes his leave back upstairs this time.
There is no chance of failure, the Dutch Lion swears on his life, he will not lose his mate again.