Chapter Text
In 1957, there was a project called “Primal Instincts.” It was founded by an Omega-rights organization, and the idea was to create “Primal Omegas”, meaning they reduced the test subjects to their primal genetics and added Alpha genes to that foundation. The goal was a new breed of superior Omegas, stronger and more dominant to stop their oppression. Still easy to control, still submissive, but not blindly so. They tried to find a way to ensure Omegas wouldn’t be the weakest gender anymore. The project went on for 20 years and over 5000 Primals were created during that time. The first few subjects died after just a few weeks. Their bodies couldn’t cope, but with time passing the organization found out that by adding a minor dose of Beta hormones they could sustain a stable breed and more and more primals survived. Primal Omegas had a few remarkable characteristics. For one, they could control when their heat started. Primals had three heats a year and could time them as they pleased. Suppressants didn’t work on Primals and neither did birth control, but it was also extremely rare for a Primal to get pregnant, even more so a male. The few Alphas that were part of the project were paired with some of the Primals and soon tests showed that if a pregnancy occurred, the children turned out to be mostly Alphas and sometimes, very rarely, pure Primals. The inconsistency however made it difficult for the breed to persist. That was why, among other reasons, the project had failed and the breed slowly died. Primals had been believed to be extinct for a long time, until the Government announced that worldwide, roughly 200 Omegas of the breed were still alive. In the ensuing outrage, two groups formed. Most people were convinced that Primals should be treated with extreme respect, as rare treasures. Only a few Alphas and some jealous regular Omegas protested and still saw Primals as disgrace.
Hannibal Lecter wasn’t one of those people. The Alpha was immensely fascinated by the idea of a superior breed.
When Jack Crawford stepped into his office to ask him to analyze one of his Omega agents, he wasn’t really interested at first. Noticing his reluctance, Jack grinned knowingly and said:
“You might want to reconsider, Dr. Lecter. His empathy isn’t the only thing that's special about Will.”
Hannibal looked at him questioningly and Jack’s smile widened. He was visibly enjoying this. His knowledge gave him a position of power in the situation, and as a textbook-Alpha, he was glad for every opportunity to have the upper hand. Perhaps that was why he worked for the FBI.
“He’s a Primal.” Jack finally said. Hannibal was at an honest loss for words for a moment. Never had the Alpha imagined he'd get a chance to meet a Primal. Most of the remaining ones were somewhere in Europe, since Primal Instincts had been located in France. The American government hadn’t allowed the project to exist in the States back then. Naturally not, a state run by Alphas supporting a project to make Omegas stronger? Impossible thing in the past. But times had changed.
“Consider my interest piqued.” Hannibal said thoughtfully.
“I thought it’d get your attention.” Jack replied with a wolfish grin. Hannibal was both an excellent psychiatrist and an unbonded Alpha. He preferred not to think about which part of him Jack was so sure would be interested.
The two Alphas agreed that Hannibal would meet the young Primal the following week. The doctor was more than looking forward to the encounter. He had no interest in a mate. His eagerness was of a purely professional nature. It wasn’t that he liked being alone, it just would not be possible to keep certain secrets from a mate, and sharing the Chesapeake Ripper’s identity was not something he was planning to do.
The first thing Hannibal noticed upon entering Jack’s office was the smell. It was a light, incredibly sweet and pure scent. Intoxicating. Without a doubt the most breathtaking thing Hannibal had ever smelled. The next thing were skittish, sparkling blue eyes. Stunning. Without a doubt the most beautiful thing Hannibal had ever seen. Superior indeed he thought as he approached the astonishing young man, who looked at him warily. Without greeting him, the Primal snapped:
“I’m sorry to have wasted your time Dr. Lecter, but I do not need a psychiatrist.” The last words were directed at Jack who sat at his desk and sighed.
“Will, I have to be able to rely on you in the field. Your recent behavior tells me I can’t!”
Will ducked his head away from the shouting Alpha out of instinct, but the defiance didn’t leave his face.
“I’m sure it’s my behavior that has you second guessing.” Will hissed. He knew it wasn’t fair; Jack had never given him reason to believe he saw less in him because of his sex, but the entire situation angered him. In fact, he’d rather believe that this was about his breed than about his psyche.
“If I may interrupt, I have no interest in being your therapist, Will. I understand you don’t want to be treated like a patient.” Hannibal stepped in, his voice soothing and calm. Will glared at him reluctantly.
“What is your interest then?” the Primal asked.
“You see a lot of darkness through your work. Jack seems to think you need someone to rely on,” the doctor said calmly. “We would simply be having conversations,” he added.
“I’m not really the conversational type,” Will said bitterly, but he watched Hannibal with new interest. The defiance was slowly getting weaker.
“Maybe your conversational partners have simply been lacking,” Hannibal answered confidently. Jack had watched the exchange quietly until now, but it seemed the Alpha was losing his patience.
“Agree or don't, but you will start seeing Dr. Lecter. That's an order,” he said sternly, all his Alpha force in the words. Every regular Omega would have been intimated by the amount of dominance Jack radiated, and Hannibal was sure even most Primals would have obeyed. But it seemed Will truly was special.
“Or what? We both know you can’t fire me.” the young man snapped. Hannibal furrowed his brow. An Omega standing up to an enraged Alpha like that… Remarkable. Going by Jack’s face, he was used to such behavior coming from the young Primal. The doctor could tell by Will’s body language that he was acting against his instincts as he slowly stood up, stared at Jack for a moment and walked out without saying another word. Jack sighed desperately and rubbed his hand over his forehead.
“I’m sorry, I should have seen that coming,” he growled. Hannibal waved off politely.
“Not a problem at all,” he said at length. The meeting had definitely been worth it, and Hannibal was determined that now that he had entered it, he would stay in the young man’s life.
“If you’re not busy, I would like to take you with us on our next case. He’ll calm down eventually,” Jack asked; his tone somewhat hopeful. Hannibal considered for a while. He probably could cancel a few appointments if he had to. It could be an opportunity to get closer to the defiant Primal.
“I will see what I can do...”
The case turned out to be in Minnesota. In a span of three weeks, seven male Omegas had been found dead. All of them had been bonded, and Jack didn’t exactly look forward to dealing with their grieving mates. Hannibal assumed that the fact that the victims were all Omegas was why Jack had wanted to bring him along. Will's empathy was enough of a burden, but having to face seven dead bodies of his own kind would be overwhelming for the poor man. Another characteristic of Primals was that they were overly sensitive and caring, even more than regular Omegas.
The flight was quiet and Will slept for most of it. Hannibal presumed the young man usually didn’t get much sleep, and when the Primal suddenly started jerking next to him and woke with a gasp that suspicion was confirmed.
“Are you alright, Will?” Hannibal asked, his voice low and soothing. The voice of an Alpha calming his mate, he suddenly realized and his features quickly hardened. The young man was beyond fascinating, but he couldn’t start thinking like that. There was no space for a mate in his life. Will glanced at him and Hannibal wondered if he had somehow picked up his brief inner struggle.
“Yeah. Just a nightmare,” the Primal muttered and closed his eyes again. Hannibal watched him in his sleep for a while, the defiance and the trouble gone from his beautiful face. Peaceful. Innocent. Suddenly a wave of protectiveness washed over the doctor.
A few hours later, they were standing at a fresh crime scene. The killer had struck again while they had been on the plane. Before they even got out of the car, the smell confirmed that the victim was another Omega. Will swallowed hard and tried not to breathe. As they approached the body, the smell got more intense and when they finally stopped and Will stared down at the dead man, a small whimper escaped his throat. The sound made both Jack and Hannibal stiffen, the two Alphas ruled by instinct for a moment. When Hannibal took a step closer however, Will waved him off.
“I’m fine.” he muttered. The Alpha stepped back again and watched Will carefully. Jack had told him about the empath’s strange trance-like reconstruction progress but he was eager to see it himself. Will pursed his lips and tried to inhale as little as possible as he calmed his pulse and closed his eyes.
Disgust. Disappointment. I see you for what you are. A disgrace. Pathetic. You are obstructing the progress I desire. I want to cleanse your kind, to free the world. I don’t honor your death because I didn’t honor your life. You don’t deserve a respectful death, because you rejected a respectful life. With your end, something new can start. This is my design.
Will opened his eyes again in shock.
“The killer is an Omega.” he said, horrified by the revelation. Jack arched his brow.
“An Omega killing other Omegas?” he asked disbelievingly. The Primal nodded.
“The victims were all bonded. He despises them because they submitted,” he muttered and suddenly felt sick. When he felt a hand on his upper arm, he realized he was trembling. Hannibal stood by his side, supporting him. Will could smell the Alpha’s strong, minty scent and couldn’t stop himself from inhaling deeply. Anything to replace the smell of dead Omega. His omegian instincts told him to lean into the touch; to let himself be held and cared for by the Alpha but Will had never been one to act upon his instincts. Despite the excited prickle the simple touch caused on his skin, he withdrew his arm and forced himself to focus and stop trembling. Luckily, Jack dismissed him, knowing that Will had given all he could. Hannibal drove the empath back to the motel they were staying in and glanced at the Primal a few times, who seemed to be completely lost in thought.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked after a while. Will stiffened as if he had forgotten the Alpha’s presence and nodded slowly. They weren’t going to get anywhere like this.
“If you refuse to talk to me it will be hard to build up a conversation,” Hannibal said calmly and stopped in front of their motel.
“I told you I’m not the conversational type,” the Omega said and got out of the car. Before he closed the door he turned around and muttered half-heartedly:
“Good night.”
“Good night, Will.” Hannibal answered and watched thoughtfully as the young man disappeared into his room. This was going to be a lot harder than he had expected. The Alpha smiled. He did love challenges.
The next morning, Will was making coffee with the small, barely functioning machine in his motel room when he was interrupted by a knock at the door. He sniffed and realized it was Dr. Lecter. Another thing about Primals; their sense of smell was almost as keen as an Alpha’s. He hesitated for a moment before opening the door. He found the Alpha unsettling. He could sense something very dark about him, but what unsettled him even more was that he felt somewhat drawn to him.
Will hadn’t been bred to ever yearn for a mate; a lot of Primals lived happily alone since the aching need for a bond had been successfully reduced by Primal Instincts. In fact, the young Omega was rather intimidated by the thought of having a mate. As a Primal, a lot of Alphas treated him like a rare jewel and he had often been courted since he had fled Primal Instincts. Although its intentions had been good, Primal Instincts hadn’t been gentle to their test subjects. Will had spent most of his childhood in a narrow room he'd had to share with three others.
Another knock, not impatient or demanding like one would expect from such a dominant Alpha, just a polite reminder that someone was at the door. Will opened it reluctantly and eyed the handsome Alpha warily.
“Good morning, Will.” The doctor smiled. Will pursed his lips and nodded once, unsure what the Alpha wanted or expected from him.
“May I come in?”
Will hesitated for a moment before he stepped aside and watched as Hannibal put the bag he was carrying on the table and pulled out two boxes. A delicious smell that reminded Will just how hungry he was filled the room, but he made no move to come closer. When Hannibal sat down and motioned at the other seat, Will stared at the boxes warily.
“You brought me breakfast?”
“That I did,” Hannibal answered. “Is there a problem with that?” he asked softly. Will finally walked over to the table and sat down slowly.
“It just seems like a very un-alpha thing to do.”
“Standing up to Jack as you do seems like a very un-omega thing to do,” Hannibal countered. Will shrugged and took the fork Hannibal handed him.
“Well I guess it’s easier for a Primal to act against his instincts,” he muttered and took a bite from the meal.
The taste didn’t disappoint the expectations the smell had already raised. The approving hum he gave sent an unexpected, electric wave of want through Hannibal. Primals could purr on different frequencies depending on the situation, and even if this had just been a faint, harmless sound to socialize, it was enough to bring out everything that was Alpha about Hannibal for a moment, and he could practically feel the young man’s skin between his teeth while he thought about marking him, claiming him. The Primal seemed to have noticed the change of tension in the room and shifted uncomfortably. His instincts told him to tilt his head and bare his neck for the Alpha in front of him but Will didn’t give a damn about his instincts. He didn’t need a mate. Not if they would just see him as a Primal Omega. He wanted to be appreciated for himself, not just for his breed. But there lay the problem, everyone just saw him as that rare, valuable creature and no one ever really tried to get to know him. Hannibal cleared his throat and averted his fiery eyes from the nervous Omega. He didn’t want to intimidate the young man, to the contrary, he wanted him to trust him. He didn’t know why it was so important to him, but he wanted to be special to the Primal. Before he could do anything he would regret, Hannibal stood and collected the remains of the food.
When he left, the Omega wouldn’t meet his eyes once again, and a part of Hannibal wanted to order Will to look up, to use the strength and dominance his gender allowed him to make the man look, to force him to show him those beautiful blue eyes. Hannibal blinked the thought away and went back to his own room. He couldn’t start thinking like that. He had never been a typical Alpha; he didn’t feel the need to show off his dominance, but Will brought out a side in him that was almost savage, a side purely ruled by instincts. Hannibal tried to push all these thoughts away.
He didn’t need a mate.