Merle desperately pulled at his hand, but the cuffs had no give and with the Alpha in his face it was hard not to panic. He didn't even know where he had come from, had only gotten in passing that his name was Rick, and he let out another snarl.

He was trapped, they both knew it, and he snarled at him, daring him to come any closer. He still had one hand free, he could still fight. He may only be a beta but he hadn't rolled over and blindly listened to any alpha so far, and he wasn't going to start now.

"Relax." The Alpha's voice was firm, and Merle wondered how the fuck he was supposed to relax when the key to the cuffs had just disappeared and walkers were coming on heavy.

Even though Merle was baring his teeth, growling, the Alpha moved up close enough to grab his free arm, stopping him from striking out and grabbed his shirt with his other hand pressing him against the pipe. He looked away from Merle to the others and yelled, "Go, now! I'm right behind you!"

Fear was threatening to overwhelm him as he realized that he was going to be left on the roof to die. He was only out on this run because of his damned brother, and he didn't even… his thoughts abruptly trailed off as he was hit square in the chest with the realization. Daryl.

His eyes flew up to meet the other man, and he stumbled around the words, "Rick…"

"Listen. You need to stay calm. I'm gonna lock that door over there and we're gonna go back to your people, get better supplies and come back for you." Rick had shoved a canteen into his hands and he took it without really paying attention. Merle just needed him to stop talking, needed to tell him about his brother and it took a moment for the words to sink in.

"What?"

Rick tilted his head so he could meet Merle's eyes and held them, "I give you my word. You'll be safe till we get back and I will be back. Just don't do anything dumb. Understand?"

The thought of any alpha made him bristle and when a strange one had stumbled in to their group he hadn't liked it, and not just because he didn't like authority. Though he didn't. They only had one other alpha in their group, and that kept his brother safe, but he didn't want another one sniffing around.

This man didn't smell like the other Alpha though, he smelled stronger and he spoke straight to Merle and defended these people like they were already part of his pack. The roof had cleared behind him and he nodded at the question and Rick returned it before moving to his feet. Merle realized what he was forgetting and reached out to grab his arm, "Wait!"

"Nothing I can do Merle, or I would be doing it. The sooner I go the faster we can get back."

"No, my brother." He swallowed down the lump in his throat realizing what he was about to give away and hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass. "My brother is an omega, no one knows at camp, he's on suppressants." He saw Rick's eyes go wide and he forced himself to continue, "There is another alpha at camp but he's not right, he'll ..." Oh, he was well aware of what would happen to his brother if he couldn't get back, if he ran out of suppressants. He'd end up at the whim of any alpha that wanted him, and Shane… Shane would be bad. "If I don't make it back promise me you will take care of him."

"Merle-"

His rage boiled over and he snarled out, "You did this and if I can't get back to protect him and that other alpha… what happens to him will be on you. Promise you will protect him."

Rick held his eyes for a few moments, seemingly oblivious to the sounds around the of walkers approaching, of their people yelling for Rick to hurry.

"I will. I promise. It won't matter though, I'll be back to get you tomorrow."

"Okay." He didn't believe that, that he would be rescued but he had believed him when he said he would protect Daryl. He almost forgot why he had been out here and reached into his pocket, shoving the packets towards Rick. Rick looked down at them, eyebrows creased before he realized they were heat suppressants.

They made eye contact again and Rick made it clear he understood, Merle was out here risking his life for his brother and he wouldn't let it be in vain. "His name is Daryl."

Rick touched his shoulder and Merle didn't have it in himself to growl or pull away. "I'll see you tomorrow. Daryl will be fine."

Rick shoved the suppressants in his pocket and took off running, and once he turned the corner Merle couldn't see anything. He listened to what sounded like a door slamming and then a few minutes later the growls of walkers and he took shallow breaths trying to be as quiet as possible. It wouldn't do anything if they got through but maybe if they didn't think anyone was up there they would eventually leave.

It seemed to take forever but finally the sounds faded away and he was sure he was left alone. Alone handcuffed on a roof. He tugged on his arm again, even though he knew it wouldn't do anything. Glancing around he saw some tools, a hacksaw that wouldn't make it through the chain but maybe... well, he would wait a day to see what would happen and then he'd consider his options. He looked up at the sky, the blazing sun, and hoped that he had made the right decision to tell Rick. He held the half canteen of water close to him, and waited.