"It's Clarke! She's returned! Open the gates!" The proclamation was screamed as Clarke and Anya neared the gates. A loud screeching noise reverberated in the trees and the gates were opened. The horses pawed the ground uneasily but moved forward when they were urged. The Sky people were wide eyed as the horses entered the camp walls. Anya surveyed the space around them, taking in the people and any threats to Clarke. They had guns; she knew this, saw them in action, saw the instantaneous harm they could bring. Danger. Her muscle tense even though Clarke was not her Omega, she was an Omega. She must be protected. This is why we don't bring Omegas on the battlefield. Anya rolled her eyes and halted her horse.

Clarke looked to her with a question in her eyes. She nodded to her.

"Klir." She responded. Safe. For now. Surprisingly, the scents around her were faintly familiar, she knew of the bodies milling around, they had been of the original hundred that came down in what Clarke called the dropship. She knew there were many other people who they had not yet come to meet but would be expected to become part of her people. The Commander's Coalition. Clarke dismounted her horse with an ease she wouldn't expect as this was her first time on such an animal. A woman ran across the open ground and slammed into Clarke with force.

"Clarke," Her voice was tearful and her arms held Clarke tightly. Anya bristled at the Alpha's intensity but by scent she knew this was Clarke's mother. Anya's eyes continue to flit from person to person as they neared the Omega. Lexa was foolish to send one person to protect her most prized possession. Of course, to Lexa, Clarke was not a possession. She dismounted her horse with a grunt and stepped close to Clarke. She needed to be as near as she could to protect her. Abby pulled away from Clarke and looked over her appraisingly.

"You're not hurt, are you?" She asked. Clarke shook her head but said,

"I need to speak to the Council at once." Abby nodded, "of course, they are already gathered and waiting." Abby looked at Anya for the first time and the fear that shown in her eyes was nothing Anya had known another Alpha to feel. She sniffed the air and realized it must come from the suppressant implants that Clarke had talked about. The only pheromones that were strong in the air came from herself and the Omega next to her. Of the dozen people standing near them, their scents were muted and weak. Not a threat. She smirked at Abby.

"We must return before morning light tomorrow."

"So soon?" Abby's brows furrowed and she glanced at her daughter. Clarke nodded.

"Lexa doesn't want me to be away from her longer than necessary."

"Lexa…" Abby tested the name on her tongue. Clarke bristled at the distaste that sounded on her mother's tone. "She's the Commander?"

"Yes, mom, she's my mate." She confirmed exactly what she knew her mother was asking.

"Of course, well, come this way." Abby swallowed hard and led the way into the Ark.

Anya walked next to Clarke, her hand on the dagger at her hip, ready to defend; but she felt almost stupid for it. These Alphas and Betas were like children. Undeveloped and scrawny. She felt confident that she could take down a room of 100 of this breed of Alphas if it meant keeping Clarke safe. And it would be easy.

They walked through what was once Mecha station and came to a room with a large table and several chairs. Abby sat in a chair next to Marcus Kane and smiled at her daughter, tears in her eyes.

"Clarke, it's good to see you again." Chancelor Jaha smiled genuinely. Clarke didn't reply and his face turned solemn. "Please, take a seat." He gestured to the seat across from him. Anya held her hand in front of Clarke although the Omega didn't make any motion to move.

"We will stand." Anya stated. The room was small and her own strong pheromones were filling the space, overtaking anyone else's dominance in the room. Jaha pursed his lips, reached up to scratch the back of his neck and sighed.

"Very well, and you are?"

"I am Anya Kom Trikru, I am a General of the Trikru Army and I am here to protect Clarke." She stated proudly. Clarke rolled her shoulders back, working the muscles in her neck and flexing her fingers. Anya's pheromones were powerful and she felt like the air was thick and hard to breathe.

"I have a few things to introduce today but in the upcoming days, I will explain more." Clarke began. "Chancelor, your presence is requested at Polis. You are invited to bring my mother, your Main Healer; and Marcus, your Second. These are the roles that are recognized by Heda." Her voice was reverent when speaking of her Alpha. "She has accepted your offer of a truce and welcomed unity between our people."

"Under what terms, as I'm sure she has a few." Kane leaned forward pressing his palms against the table. Anya took a step forward to stand between him and Clarke. Even with the suppressants, his pheromones were stronger than his peers. Not much, but enough for him to be perceived as a threat.

"You will be required to learn the ways of the Grounders and respect them. Especially within their lands. There are guidelines about hunting as you landed at the edge of the Trikru clan and are in their territory. At Polis, new regions will be drawn, but until then, hunting ground is limited to the northern most forest." Jaha scoffed.

"The smallest of the forests. You call her your Heda but don't forget you have a responsibility to these people, your people, Clarke." He slammed his fist on the table. The metal clanged hollowly. Anya growled at the disrespect and the traitorous words he spoke.

"Lexa is my Heda, she is my Commander and now she is yours. You wanted to bring unity, this is how. We will be the thirteenth clan of the Coalition and we answer to Heda." Clarke stated. Anya glanced over her shoulder at Clarke and ducked her head once in respect. She was quite proud of how she was standing up to these Alphas. Titus was right that she would never grovel the way an Omega was expected to.

"If you will not respect the Commander; you will not enter Polis. We will take Clarke and you will never see her again. You will not be granted the protection of the Coalition and you will perish in this land." Anya stared down at the group unimpressed. Abby's eyes widened.

"You can't!" She exclaimed.

"These are the terms. There are sacrifices to be made. I know we can prosper here but the transition will not be easy." Clarke said. She looked at Anya and eyed the door.

"We must be leaving. An escort will arrive tomorrow to bring you to Polis where we will come up with the terms of the treaty. Ready yourselves in the meantime."

"Wait!" Abby stood and hurried to her daughter's side. "Please be careful out there. I love you so much." She wrapped her arms around her and held her close.

"I love you too, Mom." She replied woodenly. Anya would ask her about her relationship with her mother at another time. It seemed unusual. Abby released the other woman and Anya and Clarke made their way back out into the sunshine. Anya took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Teik osir ge houm." Clarke said. Her trig was still rough around the edges. She spoke slow and sometimes emphasized the wrong syllables but Anya could understand her enough. Let's get home. She nodded and they started to move to their horses.

"Clarke! Wait up!" An Omega jogged over to them and Anya reeled back, her eyes wide.

"Raven!" The Omegas embraced. The brunette immediately launched into questions, "What's going on? They won't tell us anything. You disappeared for over a week and they decided we couldn't be trusted with the knowledge of where you went. They don't understand that we created something real down here without them. We have our own leadership and rules and they came down here and decided they needed to break us all again." She was speaking quickly as if she knew there was not enough time to ask all of the questions she needed to. "Luckily, they at least let us sleep in tents out here. Only a few of the 100 decided they wanted to sleep inside the Ark again. Some of us have too many bad memories in that place." She was speaking so fast but Anya's heart was beating faster. An Omega, unclaimed and beautiful. The woman's olive skin had a faint sheen of sweat in the bright sun and her dark hair was pulled back high on her head, out of her face. Her dark eyes were shining brightly as she talked to Clarke. Anya wasn't due for another rut for five months but she wished she was, she wished this Omega was in heat and begging for her. The Omega's pheremones were weak but the most pleasant aroma she had even scented.

"I know Bellamy was hoping to talk to you before you left, he's somewhere on the Ark; they're going to have a meeting and he goes as our Section Leader. He wants you to keep an eye out for Octavia. That Grounder took her when she was shot by an arrow with poison on it and he hasn't brought her back yet." Clarke was barely following along with Raven but she could feel Anya's pheromones changing. She narrowed her eyes at the Alpha.

"I haven't seen Octavia. But I trust Lincoln. He'll bring her back when she is strong enough." She said as she turned back to Raven.

"Lincoln. He's from Trikru, I know where he has a cave." Anya said, she was eager to provide information for this Omega to show that she could be useful.

"Where?"

"GROUNDERS!" Voices were screaming above them, standing at the top of the wall around the camp. Cannisters were thrown over the walls of the gate and were releasing red smoke into the air. An alarm blared and the doors to the Ark began to close.

"What the hell?" Clarke's brows furrowed. She looked at Anya. "Are there others?"

"Not Grounders." Anya used the Skaikru term. "Mountain Men." She grabbed Clarke and Raven and began running, trying to hold her breath. Everyone on the ground outside began coughing and sputtering. She couldn't see through the thick red smoke and her lungs burned. She couldn't fail her Commander like this. She couldn't allow Clarke to be taken by the Mountain Men; it would be a death sentence. She held Raven's arm tightly in her hand. She was selfish for taking the other Omega but she couldn't leave her behind. They reached the horses on the edge of the red smoke. It was spreading and she wouldn't be able to hold her breath for much longer, she needed to get them out of here. She helped Clarke onto the horse. Raven stumbled in her arms already succumbing to the effects of the smoke.

"Jok!" She cursed catching the woman around the waist. She threw Raven over the horse in front of Clarke. "Hold your breath, Clarke, and grab onto her." She told her. She inhaled and the smoke coated her lungs. She had to get them out of there before she passed out. She would give her life before failing her leader. She had seen what the red smoke brought and they could not be around when they arrived. She climbed onto the horse behind Clarke as the blonde was already beginning to pass out and urged it forward to the gate. The gate that was closed. "Skrish" she slumped forward against Clarke nauseated by the amount of contact she was in with another's Omega but she couldn't help it. Her eyes wouldn't stay open. She couldn't hold herself upright.

"Ai laik suri" She said as she took her last conscious breath. I am sorry.


Clarke opened her eyes slowly and blinked several times. It was intensely bright and white; clean and sterile smelling. She frowned and sat up, her eyes moving frantically around the room. She threw her legs over the edge of the bed and sucked in a breath at the chill of the linoleum floor. She moved her arm and felt a tugging sensation; she had an IV in her arm that she did not hesitate to rip out. She pressed her fingertips to the pinprick to stop the blood. She looked around frantically. A bed, an IV pole, a table, a toilet and sink and soap dispenser, a couch and a chair. Where was she? The only bit of color in the whole room was a painting mounted on the wall above the couch. A sky of swirling blues and yellows. She stood up and walked over to the door slowly. Across the hall, another door faced hers and Raven came into view. Her features filled with panic. "Clarke!" She saw her lips form the shape of her name as she banged on the door but she couldn't hear her words.

"Raven!" She yanked at the door handle to no avail. She looked closer out the small round window and her mouth dropped open at the sign near Raven's door.

Mount Weather Quarantine Ward