The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 78

Rowan had not slept well since she had arrived in the Sanctuary. The feeling of being well rested had become foriegn to her. A luxury. She laid in bed, her mind hugging the edge between lucid dreaming and being fully awake. Daryl was there with her. As he sometimes was in her dreams. But this felt more real. She could feel the warmth of his body. She could smell him. Her cheek was resting on the hard planes of his muscular chest. His arm was wrapped around her, holding her close.

All her muscles had gone lax. Rowan's body felt sore in all the right places, as though all her needs had been deliciously satisfied. She could tell from the amount of light streaming in the window that she had overslept. It was at least late morning, if not early afternoon. Her stomach rumbled and she moaned in frustration. Rowan knew she needed to wake up and eat but her dream was too sweet. She longed to remain in this sweet in between for just a few more moments.

"Good morning Kitten."

Rowan startled awake with a sudden gasp. She jerked away from the man next to her, trying to get her bearings. She had never seen this room before. Of that she was certain. The last thing she remembered was being out on the rooftop. Rowan looked down at herself, snatching for the edge of the blanket and clutching it against her to cover her breasts. She was completely naked. And so was Negan. Though unlike her, he had no interest in covering his own body. His bare chest had been exposed when she sat up and pulled at the covers. And his morning erection, which was thankfully still hidden, was jutting up like a flagpole.

"No sense in hiding," he teased, "I already saw it all last night. Every. Single. Freckle." He leaned forward, tugging at the blanket Rowan was using to cover herself. "I know what you sound like when you come..."

Rowan released her grip on the blanket and flopped back down into the pillows in defeat. Negan was a total asshole. But he was also right. She not only let him take her without a fight, he had fucked her six ways from Sunday. There was really no point in covering up her titties now. Her priority now was to get the hell out of Negan's room. Preferably as fast as possible. Before he decided to do something about the impressive tent his dick was pitching under the sheets.

Rowan swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. The first passable clothing item she spotted was a crumpled up white t-shirt on the floor near her red polished toes. Rowan bent down and snatched it up, yanking it over her head and trying not to think about the view of her backside she had just given to the man she was trying to extract herself from. The shirt was Negan's. Not only did it smell of him, the hem fell past her hips.

"Your clothes are over there in the closet," Negan told her, "not that you don't look super hot in my shirt."

His arms were up, his hands laced under his head as it rested on his pillow. His casual stance offered Rowan a full view of his muscular chest. The blankets had pulled down enough to reveal the hard muscles of his stomach. He had a tattoo on his left pectoral muscle and a sprinkling of dark chest hair that led down into his groin. His aura was lacking its usual cloud of angry red. Instead it had been replaced with a swirl of orange and green smug confidence. There was no doubt that he was an attractive man. He was tall and well muscled. When his smile was sincere it lit up the room. The way he was eyeing her now, like she was a meal and he was starving, made her insides clench together. Rowan turned her back to him, clenching her fists in frustration. She didn't feel guilty for sleeping with him. She hadn't had a choice in that. But she was mad as hell at herself for enjoying it. He was a disgusting pig of a man.

The closet he pointed her towards wasn't really an actual closet but more of a freestanding wardrobe. Rowan stomped over to it and pulled the door open. She had expected to find just a change of clothes inside for her to throw on. Instead she was shocked to find that all her belongings had been moved into this space. Her clothes were hung neatly on hangers or folded on the shelf above. Tank's dog bed was on the floor at the foot of Negan's bed. The large dog must have already been taken outside to relieve himself because his stance was casual and relaxed. On the long wooden dresser that sat against the far wall, Rowan saw her mother's spell book and the leather bound journal she had started using to keep track of her own medicinal recipes. Her meditation candles were next to a stack of Negan's paperback books. Tank's leash was hanging on a hook under a shelf that held Negan's barbed wire bat. The one he had used to cave Eric's skull in.

It took a moment for her observations to sink in and take root. Rowan was confused at first as to why and how her things arrived here. She had believed herself to be just another conquest for this man. Once she gave in and let Negan have his way with her, Rowan had assumed that he would quickly lose interest and leave her alone. But clearly, she had gravely misjudged the situation. Negan had all of her things moved into his room. He meant for her to stay here. He meant to sleep with her again. Probably more than once. He meant for her to be in his bed every night. To live with him. Rowan rubbed her eyes with her hands. Her head was spinning.

"Let's have some breakfast," Negan suggested.

He climbed out of bed and wrapped an arm around Rowan's shoulders. Then he led her towards the door. His chest was still bare but he had pulled on a pair of soft cotton sweatpants. Tank followed them into the next room. Rowan felt a slight tinge of relief. At least she knew where she was now. This room was one she had seen before. Negan had been sitting with Carl in here when Rowan had run from her guard and barged in on them. There were also other people present now. Two women and a young man were standing by the bar area. They looked slightly nervous and appeared to be waiting on Negan to tell them what to do.

"Good morning your majesty! What would you like for breakfast?," the younger of the two women asked with an equal amount of fear and fake excitement in her shaky voice. Rowan glanced around the room, trying to figure out who the woman might be addressing in such an odd manner.

"She's talking to you," Negan explained to Rowan with a grin.

He steered Rowan towards a comfortable looking couch. Once she sat he pulled a throw blanket from the back of it and used it to cover her bare legs. Tank was quick to hop up on the couch and settle himself as close as possible to his mistress. Negan gave the large dog a scratch behind the ears. Rowan was only partly surprised when the large dog leaned into the man's touch and then licked his retreating hand. Tank was an amazingly intelligent animal. But he was still an animal. He had no reservations about right or wrong. He didn't know what marriage meant. For Tank things were very simple. Rowan was the center of his universe. She had laid down with this man. Her scent lingered on him. Which meant Negan was now part of Tank's pack.

"Uh… I'll have a cup of hot tea please," Rowan finally answered when she realized these people were going to keep on staring at her until she answered the woman's question about breakfast.

"Don't you want something to eat?," the woman implored. "I can make you pancakes with fresh blueberries. Or a vegetable omelet. There's ham and sausage I could fry up. Or potatoes. I can make whatever you would like!"

Rowan's stomach had been growling when she first woke up. But now she felt unsettled, like a big bat was flapping around inside her. She wasn't sure if she would be able to hold down even her tea without vomiting. But these people had clearly been instructed to make her breakfast. They had already worked hard preparing everything the woman had mentioned. Not to mention carrying it all the way up here.

"All of that sounds wonderful," Rowan told the woman. "I'll have whatever you think is best. I'm sure anything you make will be delicious."

The woman's face lit up with a big smile of relief at her words. Rowan couldn't help but smile back. She tried to offer up another smile to the young man that had scurried over with her steaming mug of tea and Negan's coffee. But the boy kept his eyes focused on his own feet, not even looking up long enough to make eye contact with her.

At Negan's suggestion, Rowan took her steaming mug and headed back through his bedroom to the bathroom. The area had clearly not originally been intended for use as a bathroom. But Rowan had no complaints. As long as there was a stream of hot water for her to stand under, she was content. Her long hair was tied up out of the way in a sloppy bun on top of her head. Once she started washing, Rowan had to restrain herself from scrubbing herself raw to remove the smell and feel of Negan's hands on her skin. There was a large plush robe hanging on the back of the door. It was obviously Negan's but Rowan pulled it on anyway and shuffled towards her wardrobe in his slippers. She took a large gulp from her mug of tea. It had cooled off enough during her shower that she no longer had to carefully sip. Then she looked in her closet.

Rowan saw her clothing as just another form of artistic expression. She either dressed semi-practically for whatever activity she had planned for the day or she dressed to suit her mood. She had never given much thought to the message her clothing might project to others. Now she was unsure of what she ought to wear. Her scrubs were not an option. She had a suspicion that she wouldn't be working in the medical bay anytime soon.

Her priority since arriving at the Sanctuary had been to conceal her growing stomach. Rowan guessed that was now pointless. Finally she shrugged and grabbed a rust colored dress from a hanger. It was new. At least to her. She was attracted to the soft fabric. It was made of crushed velvet and felt comforting. Like a giant blanket. Rowan put on a pair of underwear and then pulled the dress over her head. Like the dress from the night before, this one plunged low enough to reveal her cleavage and was fitted through the high waist. But unlike that dress this one was loose and comfortable everywhere else. Rowan added a long turquoise necklace and sandals. Having something around her neck distracted her from the absence of her mother's crystal. Finally, she took a deep breath before heading back out into the other room.

From the delicious smells filling the room, Rowan guessed her timing had been good. The food was almost done. Instead of arranging things in front of the couch, a table had been set with plates and silverware. This time there were more than 2 places set. There was room for four at the table. Negan had two of his men that Rowan recognized as his lieutenants in the corner, speaking with them. Rowan assumed that was the reasoning for the extra place settings at the table. But then, to her surprise, the two men left. They each gave her a respectful nod before exiting. One gazed curiously at her. The face of the other held a mocking smile as he tipped his hat in her direction. Rowan wasn't sure quite what to make of their behavior. She shrugged it off. It was nothing stranger than the rest of the crap she had seen since arriving in this place.

"Just fucking gorgeous," Negan announced as he quickly closed the space between them.

He was not above flattering women with fake compliments. But with this one, he didn't have to improvise. She really was gorgeous. A true natural beauty. With her hair up he could see the cords of her long slim neck. From the dark piney green of her eyes down to the tips of her freckled toes, she was perfection. The curve of her growing belly was more visible now that she was wearing something that actually fit instead of baggy scrubs. In his mind, Negan had already begun to think of the child growing inside her as his. He imagined the child as his son. A boy that would grow into a man and rule over the empire Negan was painstakingly creating.

Wrapping one arm around her, Negan pulled Rowan close. He used his other hand to tilt her head back slightly. His knuckle resting softly under her chin. This angle gave him access to her soft lips. And he took full advantage of that access, plunging his tongue into her mouth and kissing her until she was dizzy and gasping for air. He could feel some resistance still lingering inside her. But that was not of concern to Negan. He would fuck that out of her soon enough. And then she would be his.

"I arranged a little surprise for you," Negan told her.

Rowan's eyes widened slightly with concern at his declaration. She glanced towards the extra places that had been set at the table. Images flashed through Rowan's mind as she tried to think of who could be about to have breakfast with her. She was terrified that her father was about to be drug into the room. Beaten and in chains. But she didn't even consider that it could be the two people that shuffled in moments later looking as nervous and disheveled as Rowan felt.

"OLIVIA!," Rowan squeaked as she darted around the table and lunged for her friend.

"ROE!" Olivia huffed as the wind was nearly knocked out of her by her slimmer friend. It was a good thing she was a sturdy woman or Rowan would have sent both of them flopping onto the floor. The two women clung to each other the way a drowning man in the ocean would cling to a life preserver. Olivia stroked her hands over Rowan's back as the woman sobbed into her neck. Tank finished jumping all over Eugene and was now circling the two women and looking for a way to insert himself into their embrace. He brushed past, shoving his weight into Rowan's legs and nearly toppling both women over.

"Oh Tank!," Olivia sighed, "I have a hug for you too!"

She knelt down and wrapped her arms around the large beast. Rowan turned her attention to Eugene, hugging him tight and trying not to cry and snot all over him. The man wasn't known for being much of a hugger but he held Rowan tightly for a moment, revealing how truly happy he was to see her.

"What are you doing in here Roe?," Olivia asked, "They said we were coming to have breakfast with some kind of queen or something."

"You are having breakfast with my queen," Negan boomed, reminding all of them of his overbearing presence in the room. He stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Rowan's waist, pulling her into his side. Olivia and Eugene instinctively took a few steps back from the man, giving him a wide berth. He used his other hand to gesture towards Rowan. "This is her," he announced before pointing towards Eugene and adding, "And this is my new chief engineer."

Olivia and Rowan exchanged pointed glances. The two women had a lot they needed to catch each other up on. But first they needed to get through breakfast.