I do not own…

Winter has begun before anyone realized it. The weather has gotten colder and that meant for them to get started with their plans. Alice had taught Morgan and Jesse how to hunt well, so they became the providers of meat when Alice couldn't. Since she was now showing she had to take things slow and not stress out. So to pass the time she helped Eileen out with the kids or with Gabriel, Axel and Big Tiny (two of the inmates) with the vegetable and fruit garden. Nathan, Angelina and Oscar (one of the inmates) were in charge of clearing out the other cells for Walkers and fixing the weak spots in the prison. For scavenging Jesse, Morgan, Angelina and Gabriel would go groups of twos. With the guarding post for new comers or walkers everyone would always switch for every four hours. Even Amy, Sophia and Duane helped out with the guarding post since they were getting better with guns and bows.

Vlad wanted to build a wall around the prison after finding a big hole in the back of the place and knew that the fences won't last long. So he formed a plan with Gabriel since he owned his own construction sight. Seeing that metal was not an option they decided to do it the old fashion way and use the trees. So Vlad, Gabriel, Jesse, Angelina, Oscar, Axel and Big Tiny would work in the woods chopping down trees and preparing them for the gates. It would have been a suicidal thing with the walkers around but the mind powers of Vlad, Alice, Morgan and Angelina were able to keep them away.

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When night fell, Vlad was taking guard for the night. Like always it was quiet, expect for the walkers snarling and moaning. He looked over his shoulder when he sensed Alice heading his way. She walked up the stairs with a thick blanket wrapped around her.

"My love, what are you doing up here, you must be freezing." He said with worries and rubbed arms to get warm.

Alice just swatted his hands away.

"Vlad you know we no longer feel cold." She smirked

Vlad smiled down at her before looking at her little round belly.

"How's my little warrior in there?" He asked, as he rubbed her stomach.

"He's doing well." She smiled, looking down too at her stomach.

"He? How do you know it's a he?" He asked

"It's a gift. Like how I knew Chris was gonna be a boy when I was pregnant with him." She said and winced when the baby kicked in the womb. "Oh…"

Vlad felt it too and smiled.

"He knows that his father is here." He said and the baby kicked again which made them both laugh. "He's a fighter, like his mommy."

"A little ass-kicker, he is." She smirked

The moment was over when they heard howling in the woods. What they sensed weren't wolves or any other canines.

They were other Hellhounds.

From what Vlad could tell these were without a master, which meant that their previous owners were dead. He believed that they must have sensed them and Lucifer and wanted to be with their own kind.

There were five of them and all of them were formed into different breeds of dogs. Two were male Rottweilers, one was a female Pitbull Terrier, an female Alaskan Malamute and an male Irish Wolfhound. They had taken down some of the walkers that were by the gate before jumping over the fences.

"Well, would you look at that?" Alice said

"Never seen a pack of Hellhounds before." Vlad said

When they reached the main entrance Lucifer walked outside and growled at them. A fight for dominics happened between the loner and the pack. It took awhile but unsurprisingly Lucifer had won and they submitted to him. He looked over at his masters and mentally told them that they mean no harm and he was their alpha now. So Alice and Vlad teleported at the main entrance to greet their new house pets.

"Your one tough pooch, Lucifer. Good boy." Alice cooed as she scratched and kissed his head.

Lucifer just licked her cheek.

Vlad approached the hellhounds before slicing the palm of his hand. In order to have them obey him and his coven he needed to give them his blood. Once they all licked his blood the five bowed to him before sitting down, waiting for his orders.

"Welcome to the family." Vlad said

"Let's introduce them to the rest of the family." Alice said before clapping her leg. "Come on, let's go."

Lucifer walked close beside her along with the other dogs and they entered inside.

Things went well with the dog's first introducion. The kids quickly took to them and started naming them. Chris had named the two Rottweilers Gambit and Nightcrawler, while Duane named the Irish Wolfhound Colossal, Amy named the Alaskan Malamute Misty and Sophia named the female Pitbull Midnight.

Then as the days passed Alice noticed the closeness between Lucifer and Midnight. Unlike with the other hellhounds Lucifer would let Midnight lay or stand next to him. At times no one will see them around for a while. She couldn't help but smile and wonder if they'll be seeing any hellhound puppies soon.

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XxTime SkipxX

Weeks had passed and Vlad was helping out with the wall when Nightwing and Gambit started growling. Vlad looked through the trees and was shocked to see who it was.

Merle Dixon, in the flesh.

He looked exhausted, had lost his left hand and looked a little banged up.

"Easy boys, nothing to worry about." He said to the dogs.

When Vlad walked up to Merle and the man took out his shotgun as he didn't recognize him. Vlad held up his hands, showing that he means him no harm.

"Easy there, Merle. I know that it's been a long time but I didn't think you'll forget about the man who saved your life." Vlad said

Merle looked at him for a minute before letting out an amusing smile and laughed.

"Ghost? Never thought I'll see you around the states again." Merle said

"You're never gonna stop calling me that, right you." Vlad rolled his eyes. "What the hell happened to your hand? A walker didn't bite you, did it?"

"No, some pussy cop handcuffed me on a roof in Atlanta and left me to die. Had to do what I need to get out of there." Merle said and went to sit on the ground. "You wouldn't happen to have any smokes' on you, would you?"

Vlad took out a pack from his back pocket and tossed it to him. He didn't smoke much only when he was under stress and never did it in front of the kids.

"What about your other wounds?" Vlad asked before lightning it for him.

Merle lit the cigarette and took a long drag before talking.

"It was the people that saved me and took me in. They have their own little community about a few miles from here." He said "They have this leader that calls himself the Governor. I found out what he was. He was a vampire just like you."

Merle was the first one in Vlad's squad that found out about what Vlad was. He was very observed around others and knew there was something off about the man. The biggest clue was when he saw Vlad feeding off the enemy. Even though he and the others knew what he was they didn't judge him as he always looked out for them, so they did the same for Vlad.

"Really now." Vlad said

"Their leader pretty much has these people brainwashed or something. I've caught him feeding off of one of his people and he saw me." Merle said after taking another drag and exhaled. "I knew I had to get out of there. Once I did he sent his own men out to hunt me down but I was able to kill them off."

"Were they like him?" Vlad asked

He knew that his old master had turned others in the past but never met them.

"I don't think I would be standing here right now if they were." Merle said as he flicked the dead bud.

"I thought nothing could kill a Dixon." Vlad joked

"Hey I said standing, not dead, shithead." Merle glared

Vlad laughed before helping him up.

"You want to join my group. Not only did I bumped into Nathan and Jesse. But there are two other people back at the base that will be happy to see you." Vlad said "When we get there, there are rules you're gonna have to follow and there will be none of your racist shit, you got it."

Merle rolled his but nodded and followed him to the prison. When he reached the main gate he saw two kids playing basketball. Merle froze in his tracks when he saw Chris.

"Chris!" He called

Chris stopped what he was doing and turned around to see his uncle Merle.

"Uncle Merle? Uncle Merle!" Chris smiled and ran to him.

Merle picked the little guy up and spinned him around with a tight hug before placing him on the ground.

"Where's you Mama, boy?" Merle asked

"She's inside cooking." Chris said

Vlad sighed and pinched the bridge of his brow in annoyance.

"She knows she's not supposed to be doing any labor work, right now." He muttered before walking inside.

Merle went inside with him with Chris by his side, wondering what the hell he meant. When they were near the mess hall Merle mouth was already watering, knowing well that it was his little sisters' cooking.

"You really enjoy not following my orders, do you." Vlad said when he was inside the kitchen already.

"I'm bored out of my mind, Vlad. I need to do something." Alice said

"I'm only thinking about both of you and babys' health." Vlad sighed and rubbed her shoulders.

Merle walked in the room and that's when they both saw each other.

"Merle?" Alice whispered

"Baby sis." He smiled as he hugged her a little.

He didn't tighten the hug as he noticed her pregnant bump.

"Don't tell me that shithead got you pregnant again." He glared

"No. He's dead. I got a new man now and got remarried." Alice smiled and walked over to Vlad.

The vampire prince smiled as he held out his hand and took hers before kissing her.

"Are you shitting me?" Merle asked, looking a little pissed off.

"I thought that you would be happy. I remember you telling me that if she wasn't married to that…" Vlad said and when he was about to say the word he remembered that Chris was in the room. "...man of hers, that I would be the perfect man for her."

Alice raised a brow at that. Her brothers were very protective of her and would never suggest such a thing unless they were drunk.

"Hey, I was drunk when I said that." Merle glared

"Now that sounds like him." Alice muttered before saying. "Merle relax. Vlad has been really good to me and Chris. He saved us from the walkers when we first met and even risked his own life to save Chris when he had pneumonia."

Merle looked torn at what he should do or say. Vlad saw this and sighed, knowing what he had to do.

"I know that you're her big brother. So I'll let you take a hit…" He said but was cut off when Merle beat him to it and hit him with his metal stump.

He hit him straight in the jaw but Vlad barely felt a thing.

"Really Merle." Alice said drily

"Hey, I'm your older brother that gives me every right. If I didn't know him and what this jackass was I would still be pounding him to the ground." Merle said "Besides this is all metal and it hurts like shit right now after that punch. His face felt like marble or some shit."

Vlad and Alice looked at each other and laughed.

Oh they have a lot to tell him.

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XxTime SkipxX

Four months have passed and winter is at its end. A lot of things had happened with the group and the prison. With the prison, the inside of it was already cleared and the wall was nearly complete.

Eileen went into labor early and had a baby girl named Kimberly. Alice's belly was getting bigger and was now on bed rest on Eileens' orders. In Gabriel's gardens and herbs, the seeds that he had planted started growing during the winter. Now they had some potatoes, peas, lettuce, Mint and chives fully grown. Vlad and Jesse were able to find some farm animals in the woods when they were out hunting, like two horses, three chickens that they found by a burned down farm, a goat and two pigs. Everything was becoming perfect and safe for their group. What they didn't know was that they're gonna have some new guess and see another old friend of theirs.

It was when Vlad, Merle, Morgan and Duane were heading back to the prison from their hunt. They had a good hunt as they managed to catch a few squirrels, two rabbits, a deer and a cougar. When they made it to the gate the two Rottweilers contacted Vlad and told him about the outsiders that they found. Vlad looked through the woods and couldn't help but smirk when he saw that it was Rick and his group.

"Well what'd you know, he survived." He said

"Duane, take the Colossal to the prison so Axel could skin the animals." Morgan said

The boy nodded and led the Hellhound that was pulling the wagon of dead animals to the entrance.

"I'll go and make sure they're not hostile." Morgan said

"You want me to come with you?" Vlad asked

"Nah, you need to be with Alice right now. I'll have Angelina come with me." Morgan said

"You sure?" Vlad asked

After reassuring him they went inside the gate and prepared for the new arrivals. Morgan and Angelina took the horses to meet with Rick's group. Nathan, Jesse and Merle took to the towers with their guns at the ready, just in case.

Rick and his group were a few miles away from the prison. Their luck wasn't so fortunate as Vlad and his group. They had to keep moving, not staying long when they saw walkers nearby. Food was low for them so that was hard as they too had a pregnant woman that was about to pop soon. So they have been trying to look for a secured place.

They were able to find a house and cleared it out but it was only for a few minutes. Sadly they couldn't stay the night as more walkers were heading their way. So they quickly gathered their belongings and supplies before placing them in the back of the cars and left. After a while they stopped by on a small dirt road to stop. Carl immediately took guard post with Carol. Maggie and Glenn grabbed a map to see where to go. From the look of it there was nowhere else to go.

"We've got no place to go." Rick said with irritation.

"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off." Maggie said

"It's what, a 150 head? Can't take them all on." Daryl said

"It's probably twice the size now." Glenn added in.

Hershel leaned in to look at the map.

"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast we might have a shot to tear right through there." He said

"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spread out this way." T-Dog disagreed

"So, we're blocked." Maggie sighed

"We can double back and swing towards Greenville." Rick suggested

"Yeah, we picked through that already man. We've been going around in circles since winter."

"I know, I know." Rick said

"We can push west." Maggie said "We can do it through Newman. We haven't been through there yet."

After everyone agreed they broke into three groups. One was to gather water, the other to stay and guard Lori and the cars while the one with Rick and Daryl went to get some meat. That was until they heard something heading their way. Guns at the ready Rick and everyone else waited for the figures to show up. When Rick saw who it was his eyes widened and almost lowered his gun.

Almost.

Angelina and Morgan stopped the horse about a few feet away. Giving both them and the group enough distance.

"Well, look who it is Morgan. It's coma man, Rick." Angelina smirked

"Morgan? Angelina?" Rick asked in disbelief

"Is this how you say hello to old friends, Coma Man?" Angelina asked

He lowered his gun a little.

It has been a long time since he last saw them and didn't know if they were still alive. He did promise to keep a signal out for them to follow on walkie talkie but he lost that when the walkers took down the farm. He didn't know if he would see them again.

"Is it just you two or…" Rick asked

"We're all still alive, Rick. We moved out of the house two days after you left." Morgan said "Everyone else is at the new base right now. Angelina and I were out patrolling when we spotted you."

The two vampires looked at everyone and they could tell by the looks of it they all had it rough and been on the road non-stop. They had Baggy eyes from the loss of sleep, dirty clothes, and they were all getting pretty skinny.

"You people look like shit." Angelina said

"Been on the road non-stop for months. Walkers everywhere." Rick said

Angelina and Morgan looked at each other and nodded.

"How many walkers have you killed?" Morgan asked

"We've all lost count." Maggie said

"How many people have you killed?" Angelina asked

"Just one." Rick said

"Why?" She asked

Rick, Lori and Carl looked down at the thought of Shane. The man was once Rick's best friend and had protected his wife and son when he was in the coma. When the outbreak happened Shane and Lori started a secret relationship until Rick returned. That's when Shane started to become a danger to the group. When Lori became pregnant his love for her and Carl became an unhealthy obsession. It came to the point where he tried to kill Rick twice. The second time Rick ended up stabbing him and Carl shooting him in his walker form.

"He became a danger to the group. I had to stop him." Rick said

The two vampires nodded as they knew that he wasn't lying.

"We can take you to our base. There's enough room for everyone. Enough food and water. And walls to protect you." Morgan said "But before we can take you there, we're gonna have to take your weapons."

"Like hell you ain't." Daryl glared

"You know Vlad rules, Rick." Angelina said "We've survived by them and we got by without losing anyone. They keep us alive."

"Rule 10: secured outsiders weapons before taking them to the base." Rick said "Which leads to Rule 11: blindfold them for caution. Sorry but I don't think everyone will be alright about that. We can't take any more chances."

"We can't break the rules, Rick." Angelina said

Rick looked at everyone before huddled together so they could talk quietly to each other. None of them knew that the two vampires could hear them very clearly from where they were.

"How do we know that we can trust them?" Glenn asked

"Dame right, I ain't going anywhere blind folded, let alone let 'em take our weapons." Daryl said

"I know these people. They are the ones that saved me when I woke up at the hospital. Vlad is their leader and a good one at that. He does what he has to do to protect his people." Rick said

"But that was months ago, Rick. How can you be sure these people are the same?" Lori said

"We don't have a lot of options here. I think we should take our chances with them." Hershel said "We can't go long on the road like this anymore. This is not good for the baby."

Rick looked at his wifes' belly and knew that the old farmer was right. They needed a steady home right now. It was a risk that they had to take. Rick walked over to Angelina and Morgan and held out his gun. He looked into their eyes and saw that they were different somehow but they weren't dangerous like how Shane was. He silently prayed to god that he was doing the right thing.