Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.

A List of Demands

Naturally it wasn't long after the slideshow was done that the topic of conversation switched over to the fact that the wolves all wanted him to contact Layla then and there so that they could talk to her themselves. And she was to come to England as soon as possible of course, they would pay for her ticket and she wouldn't have to worry about Talia, who was in lockdown at the moment. And once they had Layla's statement from her own lips and saw for themselves that she was alive the pack would formerly expel Talia from their ranks for what she'd done all those years ago.

Kingsley, Bane, Barsad and even Salar a little kept talking over each other to Blake, or adding on to what the man before him had said though Blake had no problem keeping track of their demands and keeping quiet with his own opinions, trusting that eventually they'd realize that the plans they were formulate hinged on his help, which he had yet to volunteer. Wouldn't volunteer, come to that, without consulting with Beta first.

Of course she could currently hear everything that was being said in the room, that had been easy enough to arrange, but that was beside the point. He wasn't wearing an earpiece, they'd have spotted and questioned that, and besides that he hated the damn things thanks to the sensitivity of his ears so he wasn't in contact with her at the moment to get her take on this.

So while they discussed how to get her to England, a private jet was now under consideration, Blake wandered away to get himself something to eat from the kitchen, aware that the rest were aware enough to pay attention to him leaving, Bane getting up to follow after him to no doubt make sure he wasn't making a run for it or contacting Beta without them around.

Looking at Bane over his shoulder, and throwing in a smoldering look just for fun, Blake decided not to take offense when that got no response, all the information the man had gotten in the last few hours no doubt having overloaded his brain to the point where he could probably strip naked in front of the man and Bane would have to think for a minute before recalling what generally happened when he was presented with that sort of view. Though in this case they had company, so Bane's first reaction would probably be to get him back in his clothes once his state of undress computed.

He was almost tempted to try it just to see what would happen.

Going straight to the fridge Blake retrieved the colby cheese he'd remembered from before, and bringing it over to the counter retrieved a knife with the intention of slicing up some of it, well aware of Bane watching him like he was a ticking time bomb.

"Would you like some? We've got crackers to go with it."

"We were discussing something important and you just left."

Blake smirked as he started slicing up the cheese, his grip on the knife a firm one, just in case. "I figured you'd all clue into the fact that I'm not under your command faster if I walked out. Plus I'm hungry, so this is killing two birds with one stone."

"You will bring her here."

"That's up to her." Blake spared Bane a quick glance. "She might think of me as her alpha, you lot are wired that way, but I don't tell Beta to do something unless I have a damn good reason to. Which currently, I don't. I'm quite content to insure that she's never on the same continent as your Talia, actually. I didn't fight so long and hard to keep her alive to have her end up dead, Bane. I mean seriously, we both know that you can say you'll put her down or exile her all you want, but you threw ME away for that bitch." And if Bane could do that, given what they'd had and had had the potential to have…well Blake wasn't trusting that Bane would follow through in the slightest.

"She attempted to murder one of our own without just cause."

"And if given the opportunity she'd murder me in cold blood, Beta as well. It's what she does, Bane." Stacking the slices of cheese on top of each other Blake cut them into threes so that they'd be the perfect size for the crackers.

"Kitten."

Turning now Blake lifted a hand and then flicked Bane hard between the eyes. "No calling me that within hearing distance of other wolves."

Bane blinked at him, the flick having caught him completely off guard.

Good with that, he was just sorry the man had the mask on so he couldn't get the full face look, Blake put the cheese on a plate and then went to retrieve the crackers, counting out the appropriate number before placing them on the plate too. He wasn't remotely surprised when it was Bane who reached out for him then before he could pick up the plate, Blake letting himself be turned so that they were facing each other, the grip Bane had on his upper arms a firm one that wouldn't be easily broken.

"You need to do this, Blake. You will not be allowed to leave here until we've seen her for ourselves. Kingsley wishes it as much as we do."

"You can try. And I'm even willing to stay for a bit." Sliding his hands up Bane's chest Blake put plenty of purr in his voice even as his eyes went cold and deadly. "But at the end of the day, people that try and put me in a cage don't meet good ends. You'd be very wise to keep that in mind."

Bane spoke softly now, obviously intending to soothe. "I would never cage you. But this is not just about Talia, but Barsad as well. He's lived not even a half-life without her. I have watched him suffer all this time, being able to do nothing to help him. Now I can."

It was on the tip of his tongue to point out that Bane had been just fine with resigning them to a half-life without the other, but that would be far too telling and Blake did not put himself out there that way. Especially for a man who'd treated him as Bane had, regardless of the reasons he'd had for doing it. But aside from the fact that Blake wouldn't allow Bane to know just how deep his hooks had gotten, there was also the fact that this wasn't about them, not really.

"Whether she comes is up to her. I won't budge on that. Now let me go."

"Blake."

"NOW."

Obeying him, at least for the moment, Blake waited until Bane had taken a step back before he squeezed by and collected his snack from the kitchen countertop. Plate in hand he headed back towards the living room, Bane following close behind him. Kingsley and Barsad were now silent, as was Salar who raised a questioning eyebrow in Blake's direction. Blake gave a slight shake of his head in response, making it clear the other man wasn't to interfere at the moment.

"You have no intention of helping us bring her here, do you?"

Appreciating Kingsley's bluntness, Blake gave them the same answer he'd given Bane. "I don't order her around. That's a good way to end up castrated. But I'll let her know what you want."

"I want to talk to her. Or tell me where she is and I'll go to her."

Feeling far more sympathy for Barsad than the rest, not to mention he was still regretting being a bit of an ass earlier, Blake gave the wolf his full attention, holding Barsad's gaze so that his sincerity would come through. "I'll talk to her. And I'm not going anywhere, at least so long as you all don't give me a reason to leave. She still loves you, I can guarantee that much. Unfortunately…sometimes love isn't enough."

Blake could feel Bane's eyes trying to stare into him, but he wasn't about to so much as look in the other man's direction after what he'd just implied. Nah ah, not gonna happen.

)

Bane knew his kitten well enough to know that the feline wasn't going to budge on this, and in truth he was prepared to protect the man from the others if necessary. But even Barsad was in control of himself enough now that he wasn't going to push, not when it was obvious that Blake was prepared to dig his heels in. And if nothing else Bane had made it clear to the other two on the way to Eames's place that he wouldn't allow them to harm Blake in any way. They would gain nothing that way anyway, Blake would not bend to anyone's will now that Arthur and the children weren't within their reach to use. Above and beyond that, Layla would not likely forgive any harm they might cause Blake judging from what Ogdin had said. She'd survived Gotham because of the twins, and that was a debt she would not take lightly.

In truth Bane still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that she was still alive, even having seen the pictures and skimming over Layla's file. That Talia had done what she was being accused of…he wished he couldn't believe it of her. But he could.

"We've already stated that Talia won't be a problem, so what else is preventing her from coming here?" Kingsley's tone of voice made it clear he'd remove any obstacle personally.

"You said that all the wolves at the meeting believed the story Ogdin told them, and agreed with Talia being put under house arrest. What you're failing to factor in is the fact that I'm guessing the majority of the wolves Bane picked were ones he thought could be trusted. That if they were forced to choose between him and Talia, they would choose him. There are plenty of others in their pack that would pick her though. Some from the other compounds too, the way she's been courting them the last little while. So say you throw your Layla into the mix…and suddenly you have an incredibly dangerous wolf pack divided. Throw in their families for good measure, which ropes in your pack, Kingsley, and then add in the fact that Talia's a fucking psychopath to the mix. She won't just roll over and play dead because Bane told her to. She'd gut him if he tried."

That Blake didn't trust him to try, much less succeed, was obvious.

Bane couldn't argue that his kitten had a point, this would cause countless ripples and painful backlash within his pack, but they would survive it as they'd survived everything else and said so.

Blake's mouth was full of crackers and cheese, so the feline had to settle for giving him a derisive look.

Opting to take advantage of the fact that Blake couldn't talk at the moment, first Kingsley and then Barsad made personal pitches to at least be given a phone number or email address where they could reach Layla to talk to her themselves. It didn't have to be in person right away, and they would keep the information to themselves and guarantee that it wouldn't fall into the hands of someone else.

And it was while listening to them that it occurred to Bane that knowing Blake as he did, as well as being aware of how like her father Layla had been as a young teenager, it stood to reason that in the time Blake had had to prepare for his visit he would have set the stage for this very conversation.

"She's listening right now, isn't she? You have the room bugged."

Mouth again full, Blake smiled at him in response, a definite gleam in those golden, slitted eyes. He finished chewing and then, after swallowing, he answered the question with a casual shrug. "Yeah, but you can't hear her at the moment. We figured it was best that way."

"I didn't know." Salar blurted out in the quiet that greeted that statement. He was no longer a part of Bane's pack, but the loyalty was still there, especially as he was good friends with Barsad.

"He didn't know." Blake echoed cheekily, before selecting another cracker to munch on.

Of course Kingsley and Barsad were completely ignoring Blake now, talking into space as they encouraged Layla to get into contact with them, giving her the numbers and address that they could be reached at even though Bane imagined that she had the information at her fingertips. She's been the best of them when it came to computers, and even if that had changed Bane knew that this was Arthur's area of expertise.

Having already stated his own intentions where she and Talia were concerned, as well as figuring that he was not someone Layla would particularly want to talk to at the moment anyway, Bane didn't join in on the one sided conversations the others were having, getting to his feet and walking over to the seat Blake was currently occupying to talk to him instead.

Carefully, as sudden movements could end badly for both of them, Bane picked the feline hybrid up into his arms and then took the other man's seat, arranging his kitten in his lap until they were both satisfied with his position as Blake cuddled against him like it was the most natural thing in the world.

It was a testament to their preoccupation that the others in the room didn't look over or comment.

Breathing in his kitten's scent with pleasure, Bane sought to distract a little by asking if he'd really been trained to kill him back when they were still in the compounds.

"Of course. Like I'd let anyone else end you." To punctuate the statement Blake kissed Bane's throat teasingly before nuzzling his face there. "You'd have enjoyed the scientists' faces, when they realized that my interest in you didn't have a hell of a lot to do with causing your death."

"Oh?"

"They'd hook us up to machines, study our brain's reactions to images and questions. They thought that that would give them a more accurate reading on how well we'd been brainwashed into believing their bullshit. According to the files I read, when they first started showing me pictures of you my brain reacted the way they wanted, but then I always was a competitive son of a bitch. I liked the challenge of taking someone of your size and skill on. Then, during the last few tests, apparently very different parts of my lovely brain started showing activity. I'll give you one guess as to what area they were most surprised about."

Not having to guess, especially with Blake's tongue swiping along the length of his throat, Bane was about to say his kitten's name when something very belatedly occurred to him.

"Ogdin knows your first name, doesn't he?"

Instant reaction, Blake's entire body going stiff as his kitten literally hissed at him, the sound drawing the attention of the other three wolves in the room who blinked in surprise to see what they'd missed moments before.

"Don't you dare ask him for my name!"

It was Kingsley who muttered the question the rest of them were all thinking, which was essentially how bad could his name be?

"None of your neverminds."

And proving that she was indeed listening in Kingsley's, Barsad's, and Bane's cellphones all went off, the text message that crossed their screens wiping all thoughts of Blake's name from their minds.

I'll Come. Leave Blake Alone.

)

Having interpreted Layla's words to mean that putting Blake under house arrest wouldn't end well, the wolves finally left him in Eames's house for the day without stationing guards outside the cabin's exits. They did however place guards around the general perimeter of Eames's land, being careful not to trespass on the actual property since they all remembered very well what had happened to Salar's brothers when they'd made that mistake. Keeping on the feline's good side was a paramount at the moment, the two wolf packs currently in waiting mode with both sides knowing that everything would change when Kingsley's daughter arrived. When Layla came and they were all forced to deal with the consequences if what Ogdin and Blake had told them was true.

For the moment Talia was enduring her predicament with cold silence, refusing to speak to anyone, including Bane when he came by to speak with her. She just glared at him, eyes hard and demanding things from him that Bane couldn't give her. And once he gave up trying Bane took over watching Barsad as he was not about to risk his friend doing something stupid before they'd had a chance to sort everything out. That they both knew that Barsad would kill Talia if it all proved to be true went unsaid.

What Bane would do if that happened…neither of them was sure about that.

For his part Blake spent what was left of the afternoon and into the evening watching his 'guards' on his laptop, amused by their presence as opposed to worried. If he needed to leave he'd leave, it was as simple as that. That they thought they could contain him, well that was a little insulting but they were dogs, after all. Expecting great intelligence was asking for too much.

Plus thinking about the fun he could possibly have later, sneaking up on the guards once darkness fell and scaring the hell out of them, proved to be a good way to distract himself from worrying about Bane.

And he had far more important things to think about than the dilemma Bane would soon face, Blake told himself, but for the life of him he could only seem to distract his thoughts for so long before they returned once more to the question that was most likely on everyone's mind at this point.

When it became fact in the minds of both packs that Talia had tried to kill Layla, and had subsequently gotten her banished to Gotham and all that entailed…what WOULD Bane do?