When fate and worlds collide

06 | Negotiations

I woke to a gentle beeping sound, my eyelids heavy and body ached, as if I had been running and fighting for days. I looked around through blurry eyes, trying to take in my surroundings, realising I was in the infirmary, the beeping coming from the drip machine we had salvaged a few months ago.

Well, wasn't that lucky.

Clenching my teeth I pushed myself into sitting position, ignoring the searing pain throughout my body. No one here but I could smell that Liam had not long left, his Alpha scent always dominant when he was feeling guilty or sad.

I rubbed my face and eyes, I felt like I had slept for days. What I had done to Liam should have killed me with the state I had already been in, but he must have managed to get me to Rohnan in time.

I gently removed the drip from my arm, knowing full well the speech I would receive from Doc, and swung my legs over the side of the bed. My clothes were neatly folded on the chair beside me, boots on the ground and weapons were on the bedside table. Whoever had undressed me knew I would flip if I woke without any of these items.

Just as I had finished getting dressed I heard voices coming up the corridor outside, two males talking to quietly for my ears to pick up the conversation. His smell hit me first and my body reacted in the same way I hated every time. I clenched my fist tightly until I felt my nails bite into my skin, resisting the urge to seek him out to connect.

The door opened and the conversation died as both men saw I was awake and dressed, Doc shuffling over to me quickly and checked my arm that the drip had been in

"I should have insisted harder about chaining you to this bed" Doc mumbled, a smile tugged at my mouth as he tisked "next time I will do it myself"

"I'm fine Doc"

"And I'm a flying old goat" he retorted as he began to check my vitals. Once he was satisfied with the results he stepped back and folded his arms over his chest, glaring at me, his thick and white bushy eyebrows sticking out at all ends "if I had known you would be this difficult about taking my work seriously, I would have drugged you harder from the start" a chuckle escaped my lips, the first time we had met he had been able to inject me with a sleep serum as self defence

That was the last time I judged someone by how they looked, even if they looked like an eighty year old man.

"I'm ok Doc, really" I forced a smile I knew he saw as fake but said nothing. Liam had not moved from where he was leaning against the wall near the door, face neutral and eyes hard. My body was still fighting to react to his scent, but I was holding fast

"If there's nothing else I will leave you to it. I will come and check on you later tonight, just to be sure your body is clear" Doc patted my hand and walked out, whispering something to Liam as he passed. Neither of us moved, my hands gripping the edge of the bed as I stared out the window to the broken city beyond.

"What you did was stupid" Liam broke the silence with his rough voice

"I wasn't the one who was stupid enough to allow the beast control"

"You shouldn't have risked your life for m-"

"I did it for Rohnan, not you" I said cutting him off and glancing at him briefly "you put Rohnan at risk with what you did. If I hadn't acted quickly you would have wreaked havoc in my Tower" my little jab at whose effort this place belonged to was enough of a victory to me.

"Why must you be so difficult?"

"Because you still fail to understand I am not your property" his sigh was loud; this was an old argument

"You gave up the title"

"But I did not ask to be your Luna" I ground out. I looked at him then, eyes blazing as I fought back against my instincts "you made that decision for me, you took my choice away from me"

"You did that night. As I recall, you weren't complaining" my body went ridged. He pushed away from the wall and stalked over to me, his scent hitting me like a freight train and a lustful whimper escaped my lips. Liam bent down, his arms either side of me as I lent away from him "why do you resist this Aiya?" my name on his lips sent a shiver down my spine in a good way

"Liam" I whispered, in my mind I was begging him to stop, but he could already smell my arousal, my body going against what my mind wanted

"Neither of us knew what would happen that night, we were both unwilling in the bond" he lent forward, his lips trailing along my collarbone and my body arched towards him against my will "but I don't understand why you have to waste this opportunity" he locked eyes with me, his were were glowing green as his powers and mine fought to connect.

"Neither of us would benefit from this Liam, you know I can't feel that way"

"I'm not asking you to love me Aiya, I'm asking for you to help me be a leader" I paused, frowning. I had assumed he had wanted to be the leader all on his own

"What? You wanted this title"

"Yes, but I cannot do it alone. Everyone here is loyal to you, not me. You created this place, you work and fight by their sides"

"Maybe you should try it sometime" he gave me an exasperated look

"There's more to being a leader than going out and fighting every day. Did you know that our western crops didn't take this year?" I had heard they were having difficulty getting the seeds to take to the ground, but I didn't know it had failed completely "or that the water pump had failed last week, or that part of our wheat had spoiled?" Liam let out another sigh, but this one sounded more defeated "this is the side that no one sees. And I may be the leader Aiya, but you have their loyalty, and by going against me at every opportunity proves I'm not their leader"

"I'm not going to sit inside these walls while everyone else goes out and risks their lives Liam. I can't stand by and not help where I can" Liam stood and ran his hand through his hair "I didn't build this place to sit inside and protect myself. I did it for my son and the people. Our people"

"I can't be an Alpha without a Luna Aiya, you know that. Not now with our bond, anyway. No one I take will be accepted" even though it had been four years since the fall, we still had a lot to learn about the way Auras and packs worked, and how the lesser responded. It was all by trial and error and even then we weren't sure we we had it right.

The bond Liam and I had formed may have been by accident, but it also meant we couldn't choose anyone else to take our place. Liam had tried, and her screams as she died a slow death still haunted me.

"You can't force me to stay inside the walls"

"I know" he mumbled

"And you can't keep me chained to your side" he nodded

"I know"

"Then why try?"

"As much as you don't want to admit it, I care about you just as much as I do everyone else, if not more because of the bond. I get the same feelings you do when we are close which makes it hard to act like a leader when you defy me in front of the council" he argued

"Act like a leader all you want, but the more you push me around the more I will retaliate. I'm not your b***h" I said venomously. Liam stood up straight, eyes hard as his anger stirred

"Look, I don't want to control you Aiya, and I know that you flicked that switch for whatever reason a long time ago" images flashed in front of my eyes and I flinched "what I want...need...is for you to work with me, every time you fling yourself into danger just to prove a point it..." his voice trailed off as he looked away "It unsettles me, knowing I can't be there to help you, to protect you as your alpha and your mate. Because you refuse to let me get close in fear you might feel something other than duty" I watched as he rubbed his face, his eyes looked tired

"I know this isn't easy" he continued "trust me I have been trying to figure this out since it happened, but you can't keep running from something that we created. What I have come to realise is that without you I am not at my full strength, I cannot protect this Tower when you are gone and even when you are here, the conflict that rages between us causes disharmony, and it's taking a toll on everything you - we - have struggled to achieve" he had a point, even though when I came home having my own power greet me, there was always something a little sour about it, something that never sat right.

"Then what do you propose?" he looked at me and let out a huff

"I shouldn't be surprised you'd take this from a business point of view" he put his hands on his hips and shook his head slightly "anything is better than what we have now, I guess. Work with me, if you don't like the orders I give you, then help me compromise. I know I cannot stop you from going on scouting missions, all I ask is that you do fewer, and take Xavier with you when you do go. You are the heart of this place; we still don't know what will happen to the barrier if you die Aiya"

He had a point, we were still discovering what us as Auras could do, what our boundaries were and what happens when an Aura dies while their powers are still in use.

"And what about...this" I indicated the tension between us, it was obvious he wanted to jump me, and my body was almost begging for him to do so. Liam raised an eyebrow at me

"Can we not have a little fun in between?" I raised both my eyebrows, a smile tugging at my lips "we had fun at the start, only when it became evident that you despised this bond we stopped"

"It was different then" I mumbled

"Because there were no attachments?"

"There's still no attachments" I shot back

"There almost was" I closed my mouth at that statement "that's why you are afraid of this" he indicated to the space between us "because you might have felt something" he added more quietly

"So what are you suggesting then Liam? Friends with benefits?" we both knew it was beyond that, we could not take anyone else so long as the bond existed. But that didn't make us lovers either.

"I'm suggesting" he stalked forward until his face was inches from mine, hands either side of me. I could feel his body heat, his scent filled my nose and aroused my body, wanting more "we stop fighting against what our bodies want" I felt my body tremble at the thought of his lips on my neck, on my lips. I despised and craved the way he made my body react.

My eyes flicked to his lips, and I felt that internal switch to my emotions niggle, wanting to wreak havoc on my life. Just as it had done months ago when I had drawn away from Liam.

"Whatever happens sexually between us does not mean yo-" I was cut short as Liam shoved his lips against mine, a moan escaped my throat as my arms wrapped around his neck

"Oh, shut up" he mumbled over my lips "I will do whatever you want me to do, just stop pushing me away" he had a point, the harder I pushed away the more pain I felt each time. Emotionally I could switch off, physically was different. As Liam was about to push me further onto the bed I pulled away, placing my hand on his chest to stop him from following. I stared at him, my chest heaving and lips tingling as I fought the urge to keep going.

But I still needed to be in control of my body, and that included when we would be physical

"OK. Ok Liam...you win" I puffed. Liam's cheeks were flushed, his eyes raw with emotion as he obviously fought with himself to stay where he was "but, there are rules. Nothing around Rohnan, he's still my top priority and there's..." my voice trailed off when I thought to Glen "let's just say there will be a bit of drama over the next few weeks, the last thing I want is for him to feel alone" Liam was still staring at me, his eyes flicking from green to yellow as he fought his urges

'You can't just take me whenever and wherever you please, both parties need to be willing" I felt my heart quicken as Liam lent in closer, struggling to keep his distance "and when I say willing, I don't mean the bond making us crazy horney" he let out a slight chuckle at that before shifting to sit beside me

"Anything else?" he asked

"No babies"

"That's a given, considering the situation humanity is in"

"Stop trying to dominate me in front of our people" one of the reasons I always pushed back was his insistent need to prove he was the Alpha, needing me to submit in front of the people.

"Work on teamwork, I can do that" I fiddled with my fingers

"No displays of affection out in public"

"We hate PDA, got it" I glared at him for that

"I'm serious Liam"

"I know I get it, strictly business with a side of pleasure" I rolled my eyes. His face turned serious for a moment "in return will you follow my rules?" I gave him a look "fairs fair, you give me rules I give you rules. Compromising remember?"

"Ok, fine" I mumbled looking away

"Minimal scout trips" my head shot back to at him, mouth open to protest, but he held up a hand and continued "I didn't say no scouting trips, just minimal. Twice a month"

"Twice a week" I countered

"Twice a fortnight, and you take Xavier" I walked into that one, the look he gave me told me that was the outcome he had wanted. I made a face

"Fine, what else?"

"You attend the council meetings at my side" I groaned, one of the reasons I didn't want to be Alpha was the hours of meetings with the council as they all bickered about what our next best step would be

"You are Alpha and regardless of their discussions you have the final say, so what point are the meetings?"

"Yes, but the people need a voice, and the council represents that voice. We can't be everywhere at all times. They are the extended eyes and ears of the Tower Aiya, without them everything would fall into chaos" as usual he had a point "besides, you and I both know who really has the final say" he might be Alpha, but this was still my Tower and my people

"Anything else?" he paused for a moment

"No more throwing yourself into danger, especially when your powers were extremely drained. I felt you the moment you came back into range, and after that woman came through the portal with those kids that you would have been close to flaming out" internally I cursed, I had hidden my powers on purpose but the bond we shared still allowed him to catch a glimpse at my current state. He grabbed my hand, skin tingling from his touch "you may have shut yourself off from me, but I still feel everything from you. The moment we connected again I was paralysed from the pain, exhaustion and agony you had endured over those two days" I frowned up at him, he had never told me that our connection worked that way

"Wait...so you've always felt those things?" he just stared at me

"I knew where you stood, telling you about that part of the connection would have just sounded like an excuse. I knew you wouldn't want to listen" he was right, I was so adamant about keeping him at arms length anything he said or did I would have taken as controlling

"You're still an asshole" I mumbled, Liam gave a slight chuckle

"And you're still crazy" Liam stood, holding out a hand "I promise I will try my best to take things slowly, as your Alpha, and your friend" I regarded his hand for a moment, this would be the first time since our fight over controlling me that I would be trusting him "truce?"

"I really hope I don't regret this" I placed my hand in his and in an instant, I was on my feet face inches from his as his arms snaked around my waist. I felt my cheeks flush, and heart skip a beat

"The only thing you will regret is not giving in sooner" his lips pressed against mine, I felt my body push against his as I struggled to stay in control. And then he was gone, I stumbled at the sudden shift and blinked, watching as he walked from the room.

Part of me was screaming that I had done something as foolish as giving in to the Alpha, but another part of me, the hungry, power bound and lustful side was rejoicing that it was one step closer to getting what it wanted.

I let out a frustrated groan. I was in for a world of trouble now.

~*~

Early morning light filtered through the crumbling buildings surrounding the tower, fog still clinging to the areas the sun's rays had not yet touched. The Tower was alive with activity as everyone began their daily tasks. I leant against the wall just outside the Quarantine gate, an area below the tower that must have been a carpark or garage of some kind, which we turned into a place we could monitor and asses new survivors, just in case they had been bitten or in the process of turning.

I watched the group mill about inside, how they interacted. I had noticed how well at working together they were, and I knew they would be valuable to the Tower. From what I had heard, they had been assessed successfully, the auras were noted and offered training, and since they were all lesser auras they had the opportunity to join our pack.

The downside? If they refused, they had to leave.

Eventually, the lessor auras returned to their true state as a feral, and we could not have that ticking timebomb roaming around in the Tower. The ones that had an air of uncertainty were to be watched while they all settle in.

They had lost four of their own. I watched their grieving process, how they accepted the loss. After a small funeral of sorts some had said prayers, others simply started on settling in. One of the women that had died was a parent to an older child, his expressionless face and hard eyes told me it wasn't the first family member he had lost, and even though this had been his mum, the few tears he shed didn't last long.

I underestimated the capabilities of this group. As stupid as they had been with the choices they had made to get here, it showed they'd had their share of danger and loss.

The children and one of their guardians had been taken out to a separate area to give the children fresh air and space. The look on their faces when they saw that playground for the first time was something I wouldn't forget anytime soon.

It had been pure joy, utter bliss and disbelief at something so childish. Some of the older ones were more hesitant; they were used to being quiet and not having fun, grown up in a world where it could get you killed. It made my heart swell even more when it finally made sense to them, you could see the realisation tick over in their heads, that it was ok to be a child. It was ok to have fun. They were safe.

I was watching the others intently I hadn't noticed Glen make his way over until he appeared in front of me. I felt myself tense, eyes flicking to his quickly before I let the feeling go, resuming a neutral expression. I lazily trailed my eyes over his body before returning my gaze to the group

"Where is he?" he demanded. I did not look at him, nor did I answer. He hit the gate in anger, causing a few of the others to look over in curiosity, Jax being one of them. I slowly dragged my eyes back to the man "Where. Is. He?" he demanded again through gritted teeth. I had once been afraid of his anger, a broken thing cowing in fear at his very presence. Now, those feelings were a thing of the past, and I had made a point to forget the past.

"Do not mistake me for someone you once knew" I responded, gently pushing away from the wall "I have no interest in your anger or your past. Here, we let all manner of history go. We work together for our future" I turned my burning gaze to Glen, watching in glee as he shrunk slightly, surprise crossing his face at my reaction, he had been used to the submissive version of me

'We eliminate the weak links, the tumour that rots from the inside. If you are unable to cooperate and work together then you are free to leave" I turned my back and walked away, only to stop when he hit the gate again "It is not my decision if he wishes to see you. I have told him where to find you, but I will not force him to see or talk to you" I glanced back at the man "you don't deserve any mercy for what you did" I murmured and left.