Everyone knew the Marauders were untouchable.

James Potter. Alpha. Born to lead. The fire in the blood and the name that everyone worshipped.

Remus Lupin. Alpha. Quiet, calculating, always watching. The brain.

Peter Pettigrew. Alpha. Desperate to please, always just a step behind, but still one of them.

And Sirius Black—

Well.

secrets have a way of bleeding out.

It was an accident, really — an overheard conversation, a poorly hidden heat suppressant, a file left open in the infirmary. And just like that, James Potter learned the truth: Sirius Black wasn’t like the rest of them.

He wasn’t an Alpha.

He wasn’t even a Beta.

He was an Omega.

Sirius begged him not to say anything. Begged him to forget it. There had always been an unspoken understanding between them — Sirius, the wild one, the untameable fire. And James, the king of it all, letting Sirius burn beside him. Equals.

Or so Sirius thought.

But now, when James looked at him, he didn’t see a best friend.

And then one night, when the others had gone, Sirius stayed behind in the flat. Just him and James. The quiet between them too thick, too sharp.

“You should’ve told me,” James murmured, eyes burning with something Sirius couldn’t name.

“I thought it didn’t matter,” Sirius replied, forcing a grin. “We’re still us, right?”

But James didn’t answer. He stepped forward, slow and deliberate, until the tension in the room turned suffocating.

“James,” Sirius warned, stepping back.

“Please, mate,” he said, too fast, too quiet. “It’s not what you think. It doesn’t matter. I’m still me.”

But James’s eyes had gone dark. Hungry.

“You lied,” James whispered, stepping closer. “All this time. You lied to me.”

“I had to,” Sirius snapped, heart racing. “You know what they'd do — what you'd do—”

“You need someone to keep you safe,” James said, voice low and calm — too calm. “And I’m not going to let anyone else do it.”

“I don’t want this!” Sirius snapped, panic rising in his throat. “You’re my best friend — please, don’t do this to me.”

James reached for him anyway.

“Don’t,” Sirius said, already shaking. “Please, James. We don’t have to do this.”

James just smiled.

“I want to,” he said, voice low and final. “You were always mine. You just didn’t know it yet.”

Sirius fought. Cursed. Wept. He tried to run.

But Alphas don’t ask.

They take.