I would like to dedicate this chapter to the four things that helped me off my ass to get this down.
Apple moonshine, Bastille, Lady Gaga, and jaimek45.
Without you this would still be trapped in my mind along with all the other shadows and monsters.

A big thank you goes to: MigratingCoconuts06, , , sparrow149. InuFan24-7, AliKattz, ItsNotEZ, lithriel23, and my three wonderful guests.
I may not know your name but I do know you're sexy.

That boy is a monster…

Two figures stood still; eyes locked through a doorway as if nothing in the world existed beyond each other. The stark contrast between the two was mesmerizing. A tall dark man almost bristling with leashed power and a small young woman, pale and golden and made to love.

Beth was starting to worry that she was having a stroke because her brain was definitely not working correctly. The only thing that was registering in her mind was a strange sense of belonging and a faint voice telling her to run from the predator in front of her.

The girl, his girl was unaware that she was in a world of trouble. The slightest tremble shook her svelte frame and his mouth quirked at the sudden thought of wolves and rabbits.

Daryl was so content to memorize the planes and curves of her face (he should really learn her name soon) that he was shocked when he heard Hershel's polite cough.

Her father's face was no-nonsense, "Beth, sweetie, I'm already done down here. Go back upstairs. Mr. Dixon and I need to talk things over for a bit.".

Beth rarely defied her father but she was so curious and she desperately wanted to know more about the handsome scruffy man who's eyes never left her. While trying to think of a way to sway her dad to let her stay Beth grew livid when the stranger looked her up and down, smirked, and rumbled, "G'on now girl. Need to talk to your daddy.".

Daryl thought she was beautiful when she froze in front of him, entranced and disheveled but the girl….Beth was fucking magnificent in her anger. Her narrowed blue eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed in such a way he couldn't not think of what it'd be like to cause that beautiful rosy color all over. The smell of her fury was intoxicating and it only grew headier as he grinned at her. Beth let out a growl that frankly impressed Daryl and turned away in a huff to stomp upstairs muttering about being treated like a child. Watching as she went up the stairs Daryl smirked inwardly and thought, "No one with hips like that could ever be a child.".

The sound of Beth's door slamming filled Daryl with horror because now he realized he was alone with Hershel. Alone with his mate's father and he was finally going to experience the terror of "the talk". Hershel knew it too. The corner of his mouth lifted and his eyes were filled with a compelling mix of amusement, resignation, and ferocity. He may not be able to stop this now that it had started but he'd be damned if he stood by and let his little girl go to a man he wasn't absolutely sure would love her like she should be. Hershel clapped Daryl on the shoulder and led him to the kitchen,

"Now your brother will be out for the rest of the night and I do believe we have some things to discuss, don't we son?"

Daryl Dixon was a fighter, a hunter, a predator at the top of the food chain and all he could manage was a jerky nod as his throat closed up and refused to work for him. He respected Hershel and liked him more than 98% of all the people he'd ever met and how could he look him in the eye and tell him that his genetics had told him that Hershel's baby girl was his mate and he wanted nothing more than to rub his scent all over her skin and keep her close so he'd never have to feel so empty and alone again? Were there even words to tell her father all that Beth represented to him?

Daryl started as Hershel slid a plate of leftovers in front of him and the old man eased himself onto one of the kitchen island's stools. "Annette still cooks as though we still had a full house." Hershel looked beyond weary as he stretched his aching hands in front of him. "I'm not as young as I used to be" he groaned. Moments passed and as the silence grew thicker Daryl took the opportunity to stuff himself with Mrs. Greene's home cooking. It wasn't often he got the chance to eat food that didn't come from the dollar menu or was processed to the point of being radioactive. With a sigh Hershel turned and caught Daryl's eye. "Do you know why I'm one of the few humans the Mac Tire, the Shifters trust?"

Daryl swallowed the obnoxiously large mouthful of greens and shook his head. This wasn't really how he thought these talks were supposed to go but he wouldn't put it past Hershel to try and lull him into a false sense of security before neutering him.

"In Georgia, in the 1960s wolves were….well the technical term is extirpated but that's just a fancy way to say they were hunted to extinction within the state. Farmers and hunters around here were tired of losing their hogs and wild game so they sent out groups to slaughter as many as they could. Some even offered money for wolf pelts as incentive." Hershel laughed bitterly, "My father even led some of these hunts. There I was, a 23 year old veterinary student and my father was helping to slaughter a species and I couldn't stand it."

Daryl's eyes were wide and he could almost taste the old man's regret and pain.

There was steel in Hershel's voice when he continued. "So I found out when those men were going to have their hunts and I'd do my best to block the footpaths. And when that didn't work I'd follow behind the hunters and bring the wolves that still had life left in them back to an old outbuilding we used for storage." Smiling gently, Hershel's eyes were unfocused and nostalgic. "You don't know what it's like to leave a sleeping wolf and come back to find a man. That was the beginning. I know just how much a Shifter values loyalty. My farm is protected and kept safe from predators and poachers and all I have to do is what I would do anyway."

Daryl's back stiffened when Hershel's gaze turned hard.

"So you understand I am fully aware of what my daughter is to you and what will happen now." uttered Hershel as his eyes turned positively glacial.

To look at him you would never think that badass Daryl Dixon, he of the leather and motor oil, was panicking. He couldn't be kept from Beth. He needed her but if he fought with Hershel Beth might get angry and this entire situation was making his head hurt and his muscles twitch with the need to run until he was exhausted.

Looking at Daryl's clenched fists and white knuckles Hershel shook his head and smiled almost mockingly.

"But I won't keep her from you or vice versa."

The young man looked up through shaggy bangs and held his breath as he waited for the other shoe to drop.

Sliding off his stool Hershel swiped Daryl's empty plate and took it to the sink. As he rinsed it off he looked over his shoulder. "She's my daughter, my youngest and I'd be a poor excuse of a father if I didn't lay down some ground rules. She's just 19 and you will treat her with all the respect and care she deserves or I will make sure you become acquainted with the business end of my old Remington."

Daryl was truly in fight or flight mode as he tracked Hershel's movements. The old gentlemen dried his hands and went to stand in front of him.

"I'm giving you a chance but that's all I can do. I can't make her love you. Honestly, no one can make Beth do anything" Hershel chuckled. He grasped Daryl by the shoulder and led him to the bottom of the stairs.

"Now, I am giving you five minutes to go upstairs, introduce yourself, and apologize for being rude."

Daryl went to argue but Hershel shook his head.

"This is your chance. I'll even give you a piece of advice that has gotten me through two marriages," Hershel was grinning now at the poorly concealed interest in his daughter's prospective mate's face.

"You are a man and you are always wrong and the sooner you can accept that the sooner you can have a happy life."

Chewing viciously on his thumbnail Daryl squared his shoulders and walked up the stairs, pausing mid-step he looked back, "Thank you" he mumbled awkwardly.

Hershel merely nodded and said, "Five minutes, door open or I'll put you in an E-Collar."

He didn't need any help to find Beth's room. Daryl simply followed that mouthwatering scent until he stood in front of a nondescript white door. He'd never gone to church and he cursed the fact that he didn't know any prayers because honestly Daryl could use some help. He was gruff and he knew getting him to have a conversation was like pulling teeth. He couldn't, wouldn't screw this up though.

Beth was braiding her messy hair when someone knocked softly on her bedroom door. Wrinkling her brow she grumbled out, "Come in" around the hair tie in her mouth. The door gently swung open. A gasp lodged in her throat as she locked onto her face. Beth couldn't name all the emotions that` flickered over the strange man's face and her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.

"He….hello?"

As Daryl opened her door Beth's scent hit him like a sledgehammer. It was so pure, so concentrated that he couldn't think beyond laying down at her feet for the rest of his days so he could breathe her in until his lungs burst. Her stuttered, hesitant greeting brought him back to himself. He smiled at her politely as he almost crushed the doorknob in his anxiety.

"Hello Beth"

Dun Dun DUNNNNNNNNNN!