Chapter Text
The days began to blur together. A repeat of blaring, cheery music, followed by intermittent silence that lasted long enough to lull him into the beginning of a doze. Just when he finally start to relax, the music would start up again, cruelly and constantly startling him back to wakefulness.
Not enough food, hardly any warmth. Zero comfort. They were trying to break him.
Dwight occasionally showed up, mostly to take him to the doctor or to whisper threats and promises into his ear. They were trying to break him. He knew that. And hell, it was tempting, if only it meant he’d get a little sleep.
They came close, the night of his pathetic escape attempt. It suddenly seemed too much, the realisation that no one was coming to get him, the understanding that it was his fault Glen was dead, the beating and the damned photograph. He’d managed to resist in the end, the memory of what the saviours had done to his friends still fresh in his mind. He couldn’t serve a man like that. It didn’t matter if it brought an end to the torture. He just couldn’t.
So he’d been thrown back into the cage. Days turned into weeks until suddenly a new danger present itself. He’d known it was going to happen, knew that he couldn’t keep it hidden forever, but he’d hoped he’d have more time.
The last suppression injection he’d had was supposed to last three months. Nowhere near that much time had passed. It was too soon.
It was the stress, he realised. His traitorous bodies way of crying out for help, sending distress signals out to tempt nearby alpha’s to save him. Fucking biology was going to get him killed.
The door rattled and it took him a moment to realise that an alpha was on the other side, trying to it break through. Daryl wished him luck. He sure as hell couldn’t get it open.
The banging continued, additional force clearly being added. Daryl stood up slowly, pressing his back against the furthest wall as he waited for everything to inevitably turn to shit.
The music abruptly turned off. Daryl expected shouting from outside but it was suspiciously quiet. He heard the lock turn and Negan was suddenly blocking the doorway. His eyes travelled over Daryl, initially registering shock before a sly look crossed over his features and he threw his head back with a grin.
“You have gotta be shitting me?”
**********
In some ways things got better after they discovered what he was, if only because Negan stopped trying to make him into one of his saviours. Daryl was taken out of the cell and given a tiny room, placed among the single beta and few remaining omega women. He was the only male omega, which wasn’t that much of a surprise given there wasn’t that many of them to begin with.
Negan made promises. Told him he didn’t allow rape among his people. Reprimanded him for not admitting his designation earlier, promising him that things would change. The alpha was clearly affected by the distress scent Daryl was trying desperately to reign in and was attempting to comfort. The moment he tried to physically calm him Daryl released a snarl and the other man’s hand dropped to his side.
“You’re not like other omegas, are you Daryl?”
No shit, Daryl thought, tensing as the saviour moved closer.
“You got some of the characteristics though, now I know what I’m looking for. That exquisite face of yours for instance. I bet you were the prettiest little thing when you were younger, before life made you into the mean little son of a bitch you are today. I suppose that’s the only thing that’s kept you alive. Huh?”
Daryl didn’t say anything. He hardly ever spoke to Negan unless the other man downright forced him.
“And then there’s those eyes of yours. They’re fucking beautiful, you know that?” He pulled back Daryl’s dirty hair and caught his gaze. “I wonder what it costs, to meet my eyes like that. It must hurt something fierce.” He smiled, his eyes crinkling. “Fuck, this really does change everything.”
In other ways things got a hell of a lot worse. Turned out Negan kinda liked him, even when he thought he was just a beta. It meant that unlike the other inhabitants, the virtual bond slaves that carried out all the menial tasks that allowed the city to run, he was under Negan’s constant supervision. Made sense he supposed, he was definitely a flightrisk, but he felt there was more to it than that. He knew what an interested alpha looked like. It was fucking terrifying.
He got shit of the saviours, whenever Negan wasn’t watching. Blatant threats, occasional groping. Constant postering. Daryl got put back into his cell a few times, usually for responding to the alphas that took their threats too far.
He must have been six months in when they let him out of the compound for the first time. He was given a crossbow, not his own he realised blatantly, and told to hunt. He was about an hour in before he rabbited.
He didn’t know the area well enough to lose them and pretty soon he was cornered. Two of the saviours died during the chase, having stumbled upon a small herd of walkers. Negan had the soles of his feet shredded as punishment. He couldn’t walk properly for weeks.
He tried a few more times, but they always tracked him down. There was just too many of them to get away without any real provisions. The last time, when he was left with a very possible permanent limp, he realised he needed to change tactics.
So then, whenever he went out he did what he was told. He found them meat that he never got to eat and he behaved.
Then, about a year in everything changed.
*************
“Whoa, stop,” Daryl said, trying to keep his voice soothing as he pulled the little girl close against his chest. “What do you think you’re doin’?”
“Kid’s parents are walker chow. Better to put it out of it’s misery,” Roger, a mean alpha snapped.
A small part of Daryl couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The larger part wanted to break the other man’s neck. “You ain’t gonna kill her.”
“You’re telling me what I can and can’t do?” The Saviour asked with a dangerous smile. “You seriously stupid enough to try this shit again, now that you’ve finally got out of your little cage?”
“Fucking Omega’s,” Adam said, the words a mocking snarl. “Just take it from him.”
Roger stepped forward threateningly and Daryl fell back, clutching the child to his chest. It blatantly occurred to him that he was outnumbered, weaponless and alone. “She’s an innocent little girl. I thought you guys were supposed to save the innocent?” Which was bullshit, but he was prepared to say whatever it took it keep her alive.
“We save those that can contribute. What she gonna bring to the group?”
Daryl couldn’t contain the snarl that ripped out of his throat. He kept retreating, aware that pretty soon he was going to run out of space.
He felt his hackles rise when the shrill sound of a whistle sailed through the air. The group of men dropped to their knees, leaving Daryl stood alone in a ring of saviours, the kid on prominent display. Negan walked among them, his face stern, swinging the fucking, damned bastard bat as his eyes moved steadily among the group.
“What the fuck is this happy horseshit?” He shouted, coming closer. He pointed his bared bat at the kid and Daryl took another step back. “Where did that come from?”
“The bitch found it,” the mean one said from his knees. “Now he’s having a damn near fit about giving it up.”
“That a fact?” Negan said thoughtfully. His eyes locked onto Daryl and he smiled that bone chilling grin of his. “Well now, I don't suppose I see the trouble in letting you keep it Daryl. You just gotta do one thing for me first. Drop to your knees.”
Daryl stared at him for a few seconds before gritting his teeth and moving steadily to his knees. He heard laughter and lewd remarks but pushed them all aside as focused on the baby shifting in his arms.
“Good boy Daryl,” Negan mocked, stepping into his personal space. Daryl tensed, hunkering further over the babe. “Now here's the deal. You keep her, you're responsible for working for her points. Baby formulae and such don't come cheap. You feel me?”
“Yeah,” Daryl muttered. He didn't care. He wasn't going to let the little one go now, no matter how much Negan tried to use her against him.
Negan was suddenly in his space, having dropped to one knee beside him. He reached out to touch the baby and Daryl snarled at him. Less than a second later a hand fisted in his hair, pulling his head back and exposing his throat.
“Now I get that instincts are a hard thing to ignore, I really do. I understand that the animal part of your mind recognises me as a threat, but here's the thing you need to understand Daryl. You belong to me and now, by default, so does she. So if I want to take a look at my newest acquisition you're going to let me. Right?”
“Right,” Daryl said, trying not to give into the very real compulsion to attack the other man as he leaned towards them.
Negan inhaled, clearly trying for the little ones scent, “Huh,” he said, grinning. “Looks like you got yourself a female alpha in the making.”
“Don't matter,” Daryl said, aware of the stigma alpha females faced. “Designation don't mean shit anyway.”
“From the mouth of an omega,” Negan smirked, and the group broke into laughter as Negan gestured them to their feet. “Ain’t much in this world that makes sense anymore, but designations, well there as true today as they’ve always been. Only difference is that we haven’t got all the PC bullshit governing our actions anymore. You know what that means, don’t you Daryl?” He pushed Daryl back by his hair until he was practically bent in half, his knees and thighs screaming in protest. “It means that Alpha males are back on top, back where we was always meant to be. We’re bigger, we’re meaner, we’re stronger, and most importantly, we got the means to repopulate this fucked up world of ours. But Alpha females, well what have they got to offer? They ain’t as strong, they can’t have children. They’re useless, pitiful creatures. And that little girl you got there is not going to have a place in this new world of ours. You sure you wanna risk your freedom for that?”
“You ain’t the future,” Daryl said softly, meeting the other man’s eyes. “And her usefulness dont depend on her ability to make fucking kids.”
“And what is the future Daryl? People like those in your old group, huh? People like RIck? He accepted you, didn’t he? They all did. They treated you like you was one of them, their equal,” Negan’s free hand moved slowly, ghosting over the baby’s cheek. “You ask me it was fucking cruel of them. Here we are, back to the proper world order, but because of them you got improper thoughts about your place among your betters. You’re confused and now I, a proper alpha, have got to show you the way of things. For your own good o’course.” His smile grew wide. “Believe me sweetheart, it’ll be kinder to teach that little sack of nothing the way things on earlier on. In the long run It’ll save a lot of heartache for everyone involved.”