Meant to be, make to be
Alpha!Steve Rogers x Alpha!Ari Levinson x Alpha!Ransom Drysdale x Alpha!Johnny Storm x Omega Female Reader
Intro
summary: You weren't looking for a pack to mate with. Much less a pack, or even a single relationship to be bonded to. So why the hell would fate decide to snap a matebond with four Alphas?!
warnings: Very light dub-con due to fated mates trope. Slow burn, not slow fuck. Reader is in late 30s. The Alphas are a little overbearing, but not dark.
word count: 2.4k
Author's Note: Here's the intro to something new I'm exploring. Never handled so many men and dynamics at once! The choice for the Alphas was decided in this poll, so blame those who voted for getting Ari once again, lol 😆 Also, I'm working on my other projects too, so don't give me that look 😜
With this story I venture more into my soft era. Don't mistake it for lack of smut. After all, I am me and these four are too hot to miss the opportunity to get them naked and dirty. But there will be more focus on feelings, on finding your footing in a pack with four Alphas, and exploring each individual dynamic, too.
Main Masterlist
With the sun swooping in through the high windows, filling the space with warm light, a day at the office was more bearable. Well, you had the luck of most days at your job being good, so the bonus of a sunny day and home baked goodies brought in by a co-worker simply advanced it to a really great day.
Even with the excited whispers shaking the office floors to gossip about the visitation from an international company that bought out majority of the shares of the firm you worked at.
People tried to stick to mere curiosity, though you suspected many worried if any changes would be forced. Including reductions. So far, nothing pointed towards that. Which made everyone all the more intrigued.
When Hannah, the manager’s assistant texted that they’re going through every floor with polite introductions, everyone in your office started shifting like debutants about to be picked up for marriage. Instinctively dragged into their buzz, you stuffed the rest of the cupcake into your mouth and quickly swiped any crumbs off your blouse.
You were curious. Just that. Wondering how old and grumpy the stuffy representative would be. Or maybe they’d be a cutthroat, cold shark who clearly searches for weaknesses to weed out. Whoever they were, it could be telling of what awaited your workplace.
What you didn’t expect - what nobody expected - was a whole group to walk in with the current director.
Four men. Each so much different from the other, they could as well come from not only different departments, but completely different businesses.
At the front, a tall, dark blonde with neatly trimmed beard, dressed impeccably like a billionaire CEO might, with glasses atop his nose. Right next to him an even broader man, with thick beard and longer hair, who treated his suit casually - two buttons of his shirt undone, no tie.
The other two Alphas were a step behind them, though didn’t appear to be any less sure of their power. One looking more like an old money advertisement model, with his neatly combed hair and clean shaven face; looking bored out of his mind. The other a cheeky blonde in biker leathers, with an easy, flirty smile.
So different. Yet something about them spoke of unity.
Your curious mind wanted to assess and find threads stitching them together. The answer came to you rather fast. So obvious, it was annoying you didn’t think of it on the spot.
They were a pack.
They mingled near the entrance at first, greeting the first few people, so you had quite a distance to take in all the details. But the longer you watched them, the more convinced you were they were Alphas. All four of them!
It was rare. If a pack even had an Alpha, there was one, two at most. These four were like a new discovery in your tame world. Either their pack was a really big one, with ten people at least, or they were so intense no Beta or Omega lasted with them.
The air in the office grew hotter. You felt drops of perspiration form at the back of your neck. Slowly, you breathed out through your mouth, attempting to slow the pace of your heart.
You didn’t usually get nervous much, but maybe the prospect of standing in front of four Alphas at once was a little overwhelming for your Omega instincts. Eyes glued to them, you followed every move they made forward. Your heart rate increased as they shortened the distance.
They weren’t even that close to you when suddenly the blonde one turned his head, his eyes falling directly on you.
That’s when you felt it fully. The prickle of a needle right through your heart, then a strong pull urging you to rush forward. Straight into his arms.
He straightened, if that was even possible, becoming taller and bigger. Next to him, the other three Alphas followed suit, each gaze landing on you. Drilling through you.
“No,” you muttered under your breath, “no, no, no, no.”
You couldn’t see how the rest of the office acted. If they even noticed what was going on. The director seemed to cluelessly follow the other Alphas as they changed their route and strode towards you.
You were smart, you knew what was happening. Even though you never expected it in your life. For years you convinced yourself you would never actually want it to happen!
As wonderful the tales and movie plots made it look, reality wasn’t as easy. It could be lovely, if someone gave themselves a chance to simply form connections and fall in love without waiting for the magic click. Because that click was a rarity, even if so many hoped for it.
Packs formed from friends; pairs deciding to bond together for the sole reason of satisfying that primal instinct to have a pack. Family was the first form of a pack one got to grow up in, then it all depended on connections made and risks taken.
What people dreamt of, however, was the natural matebond.
That moment when you feel the undeniable pull toward certain people and once it locks into place there’s no power to leave it. Not without hurting yourself and your mates in the process.
Honestly, it was quite scary, if you looked at it critically.
What if that matebond snapped into place for a group of really awful people? What if one of them was an Alpha and your Omega instincts would go haywire, overriding your senses and changing you from an independent woman into a helpless, dumb doll?
You tried not to exaggerate, but you knew a few Omegas who joined a pack with an Alpha in the structure and the change was visible. They didn’t seem to mind, beaming like lunatics as they talked about cooking meals and getting pregnant, but it rang alarm bells for you.
Maybe you spent too many years being on your own. There was an attempt to start a pack with your former partner, a calm Beta, Nick, but your relationship simply dissolved. Without hate and regrets. From what you knew, he was now happily mated into a small pack of three Betas and two Alphas.
You were happy on your own.
With an attachment to your family pack, you learned to sate that need for pack time with regular visits and hugs. Otherwise, you found joy in your life. Not just contentment, though you knew many silently judged you for it, pitying you for what they thought was lying to yourself. Many considered a woman your age as way past the time to become a part of a pack, so you should take whatever was offered.
At nearly forty, you didn’t care for their opinion. Nor did you entertain foolish dreams of one day bumping into a matebond and having your life flipped upside down.
So when it happened, you felt dread as hundreds of awful outcomes came to your mind.
You had to brave through it, you thought. Spine of steel, polite smile, and a reasonable refusal.
These four were businessmen, they dealt with data and risk analysis on a daily basis. Surely, it wouldn’t be hard to convince them there was nothing to explore with you, despite some inner instinct calling out to follow it.
“Gentlemen.” You greeted them when the director introduced you.
Right after introducing you, he took a step back, which was enough indication that others realized what was happening. Maybe they didn’t know it for sure, but could suspect it. And stare in wonder, since not everyone got a chance to see matebonds in real life.
“I’m sure you will trust in our current employees and appreciate the work they already do.” You opted for redirecting any thoughts they might have towards the actual reason for their visit.
After all, they came here to oversee their new business. Not for you. It would be for the best to keep it at that. Best for you and your comfortable, independent life. Best for them and whatever grandiose life they led.
“Steve.” The blonde one trusted his hand for you to take. “You call me Steve.”
“Mister Rogers.” You deliberately used the last name with which the director introduced him to you.
Though your voice quivered as his fingers enclosed around yours, a wave of warmth and excitement skipping through the nerve endings in your body.
“We got a stubborn one,” the one introduced as Ari Levinson grinned.
“I am driven when it comes to work. Some could call it stubborn, I guess,” you smiled politely.
Don’t fall for the inviting smile and so many muscles to explore!, you reprimanded yourself inwardly.
“Why bother playing it professional when all your coworkers are already ogling us like a spectacle, suspecting we’re matebonds that just found each other?” Ransom tilted his head slightly.
You watched him take a step to the side, coming a little closer from your left. A minor move, all within the boundaries of respectable space. At a first glance. But your senses sharpened, attuned to them more than you ever did your surroundings.
That’s when you realized Ari was already flanking your right. Judging by the smooth, stealthy moves of the youngest one, Johnny, he was about to circle around Ransom and come nearer your back. Though still seemingly leaving you space.
With Steve in front of you, a warm wall of muscle and calm determination, you recognized their tricky attempt to have you caught between them.
Their intent didn’t appear malicious, rather driven by instinct. Perhaps they sensed your plan to cut them out and flee from the clutches of the uninvited bond. Or, maybe, it was their own need to get to you as close as possible.
“Office workers love gossip.” You shrugged. “And I am a professional. Which is why we should postpone the conversation regarding this unexpected development.”
You swiped your gaze over each of them before settling on the Alpha in front of you. Not knowing how their dynamic worked, if it was balanced between all four, or if one took a marginal lead, you simply chose the one right in front of you.
“Continue with your agenda of the day, as I will with my work. I finish at four. There’s a nice place nearby called Buttery. We can meet there and talk about this inconvenience over food.”
“Inconvenience.” Steve repeated the word, his blue eyes darkening slightly.
But he didn’t argue with you right away. Didn’t snarl. It struck you suddenly that you didn’t fear him being angry with you for disregarding the matebond, but felt heavy for potentially disappointing him.
Which was, in your eyes, another proof that this whole matebond needed to be snuffed before it developed further.
“Alright.” He nodded, eyes not once leaving your face. “We’ll be there.”
It was hard to look away from him, but you forced yourself to drop your gaze and quickly retreated back and right into the small office you had in the right corner of the floor. Locking yourself within the glass walls didn’t help much, as it didn’t make the yearning in your chest go away.
You rubbed at your chest, willing away the pitiful patter of your heart, as well the sudden cold that seemed to brush over your skin without the Alphas overwhelming presence.
Grabbing your personal calendar, you sat down at your desk and started scribbling down potential solutions to the sudden problem, preparing yourself for that dinner meeting as if it was a business negotiation.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
“She’s like a deer in headlights and you just let her run away.” Ransom frowned, glaring at the door behind which you disappeared.
It irked him that you removed yourself from their space so quickly. Annoyed him even more that he still felt someone’s eyes on his own ass. As if he’d be interested in anyone when he was bonded.
Beside him, Steve was composed, but the vibration of his barely contained need to rush after you and claim you were pulsing in waves.
“She’s an Omega who just got matebonded to four Alphas. At once.” Steve pointed out, not the least bothered by his packmate’s displeasure. “We can’t fully rip her out of her comfort zone, even if it gives her time to strategize on putting up defences.”
“She’s gonna fight it, isn’t she?” Ari’s mouth curved in a smile.
He kind of liked the idea of having to work for you to melt into them, to come up with ways to sweep you off your feet. There were some that came to mind right away when he watched you saunter in those tight pants and flowy blouse.
“Most likely.” Steve gave him a knowing look. “And we’re going to push back.”
“How hard?” Ransom perked up at that.
He wasn’t very patient. In some areas, he could delay, but bonding was a sensitive sphere for him. The need to cut himself off from his family as much as he could and build a pack of his own, one where he wasn’t treated like the worst pest and burden, was boiling in his veins.
Ari squeezed his shoulder in a short comfort.
“Depending on how far she tries to run with her denial.” Steve turned to them, face set with that determination he had a few seconds from deciding on a masterplan.
“Which is why you’re going to get all her private information, Johnny. Address, if she drives a car, social media. Don’t overstep with the family. Ran, deal with that Buttery place. We don’t need loud chaos and snooping when approaching the topic.”
“Ari, contact the designer. Have the corner guest bedroom ready for an Omega. Two weeks tops.”
“You’re going to deal with the boss?” Ari asked him in return.
“Not yet.” Steve shook his head. “We don’t know her career plans. Maybe she really likes it here, then there’s no point in taking that away from her. If that’s the case, we’ll take it to the HR and PR on how to approach the fact a mid level worker is matebonded to the owners of the company.”
He had a suspicion you’d claim to love your work, even if that wasn’t true, only to avoid changing anything more in your life. Or to avoid discovering you might want to do something else entirely, which they could make happen.
It was a new territory. For all of the Alphas.
When the bond snapped into place as each of them met, they had no need to fight it. Each for their own reasons.
Ransom might’ve been the most distrustful at first, but he leaned on the gains, which let him open up to fully form deep bonds with each of them. Johnny never fought it in any way. Ari took everything in stride, as well. Steve… he could never step away from responsibility.
You were a new puzzle.
