Feral: Love, Hate and Fine Lines....Negan and Pet

Trade

The next morning Negan and Pet were woken before the crack of dawn. It was just one day before the auction and the compound was buzzing like a hive of nervous bees. People scurried about, setting up a hastily constructed dining hall for the guests to enjoy after the sale was over. Tents had been set up in the field where the heavy hitting buyers were welcome to stay overnight. They would be able to enjoy their purchases then and there if they brought enough supplies to seal the deal. Often times though, the price exceeded what they brought and they would have to leave what they came with and come back with the rest of the payment. Lex's charges were not cheap but they were well known among the communities that dabbled in her trade.
Pet helped Negan dress, as all domestic charges were required to do and they both stayed quiet. The silence was somber. They both knew that their trade was probably going to happen this very day and neither of them could find any words to say. They headed down to the compound to eat together for what could be the last time in a while, if ever.
As they sat at the small table, Negan couldn't keep his eyes off of his mate. She seemed like she was in a trancelike state, going through the motions of buttering bread and passing him the first piece. Her brow was furrowed and she was wearing a subtle pout. It wasn't on purpose. He knew that. She was thinking and no doubt scheming about how she was going to flip Zane to her side. What he was asking her to do was going to be near impossible and so against what she wanted. He knew that too. But here she was, distressed, torn and still willing to follow him. If he had ever doubted her devotion, she was dispelling it completely now.
"You should eat." He told her, noticing how she had barely touched a thing.
"I'm sure Zane's charges eat very well." She quipped.
Ouch. But he didn't blame her.
"Are you seriously going to make me punish you in front of all these people?" He asked lowly. "That's not the last impression I want to leave before I release you to your god damned mission."
"Don't worry." She told him flatly. "I'll be what you want me to be...until this is over."
He saw a defiant spark flash fleetingly in the emerald of her eyes and he smiled. There was the fighter he had come to adore.
"Well, if you're not going to eat, we should go and check out the sights." He said, taking her by the wrist and leading her outside.
There were no curious glances today as he led her into the heart of the compound. There was too much preparation and Lex hadn't appeared even once during this hectic time. The people were nervous. Even the people in the hierarchy were quietly concerned. Their queen expected perfection and without her guidance, it left everyone on edge. Oh sure, the auction would happen and she would surely appear for the main event. But afterwards? Heads would roll if she deemed anything substandard.
The sounds of hammering was relentless as the carpenters finished up the last of a temporary stage. Tomorrow, bidders would be surrounding it, throwing up offers and Lex would see it all, sitting high on her perch directly over the platform. Pet could not imagine what this was going to be like or what the women and girls in the longhouses must be going through at this moment. She turned to say something to Negan and suddenly they were being showered in peonies that bloomed wild in the summers of Virginia and then the pain of Negan's hand clamping down on her arm and pulling her violently. There was a whoosh of air and then the sound of something that sounded like the snapping of dead wood hitting the ground near her feet. She looked down to see the broken body of a hierarchy servant, staring up at her with lifeless eyes. The sound had been breaking bones and Pet almost gagged at the realization. She stared at Negan who was looking up at the catwalk above. Lex was there, eyes like daggers, as she stared down on them.
"I wanted marigolds as the flower theme this time around and the stupid bitch brings me peonies." She announced coldly, a heartless grin tugging on her painted lips.
Negan's face showed shock and then outrage. The grip he had on Pet's arm tightened until she winced. She wrenched herself free and much to Negan's shock and admiration, dropped to her knees and bowed her head before the queen. He couldn't have been more proud of her.
Lex started to move swiftly towards her hut, disappointed she had missed her mark. It was a shame she wasn't able to kill one worthless charges with another but she had seen Negan's project bow down. She never would have expected that without a serious physical punishment.
"I'm coming up there!" Negan bellowed after her.
Surprisingly, Lex stopped in her tracks
"By all means, please do." She replied and continued to her quarters.
Well, she certainly showed up with a vengeance, he thought as he and Pet climbed on the lift. Within moments, they were inside the sitting area. Pet sank to her knees again, keeping her eyes to the floor. She impressed herself with her restraint. What this cunt had just done to that poor servant was pure evil, simple and true. Negan had his work cut out for him, she thought worriedly.
Negan charged right up to her though, his face hard and cold as he moved into her space and causing her to take a small step backwards. All she had to do was scream and it would end him. She knew it and so did he but that didn't stop him from reaching out and grabbing a hold of her jaw.
Without flinching, Lex snatched the dagger from its sheath that hung against her thigh and held it up, the sharp edge digging lightly into the side of his neck. He only smiled and that took her back again. He never ceased to surprise her.
"You killed a woman because of flowers?" He growled, keeping his brilliant smile. "People are a resource."
I couldn't agree more." She countered. "I know exactly their worth. I sell them, remember?"
There was an uncomfortable silence and at last Negan withdrew his hand and Lex followed suit, sheathing her blade and offering a satisfied smile. He had backed off. Apparently, he still knew who was in charge despite his steel balls. Inside though, she felt a twinge of fear and it had been difficult not to call for her guards but she had held under his heated gaze. His grip on her made her feel something else too, a fluttering in her stomach. She hadn't felt that since her very first conquest when she established her reign.
"Never mind her." Lex said, falling right back into unruffled poise. "I'm much more interested in her."
She focused her attention back to Pet who hadn't moved from her position. She could feel their eyes on her and she shivered slightly. This was it.
Negan sighed.
"Yeah. I'm done with her. She's completely changed if I do say so myself."
Lex cocked an eyebrow. The man certainly had a sense of timing. She had watched them together and it had been maddening. Even though she had locked herself into seclusion, she couldn't help but spy. The damned charge and Negan's attention towards her was like an albatross and she couldn't keep away. At least now she wouldn't have to see it anymore.
"Very good then." She answered. "She'll go up on the block tomorrow."
"No she won't." Negan said sternly.
"No?"
"No." He repeated. "She stays here. I want to give her to the good doctor."
"Absolutely not!"
Lex had yelled the answer angrily. There was no way she was going to live among her people. Not after the feelings that woman had been able to invoke within her. Envy. It was pure and vile and it had consumed her.
"Well then I'm going to take her and my leave, your highness. I don't invest my time in something I can't watch evolve into fucking perfection." He explained, grabbing Pet by the arm and pulling her up to stand at his side.
This was the riskiest card he had to play yet. The plan hinged on Lex and whether or not he had made her curious enough to want him to stay.
"I was hoping to pick another charge. One that could satisfy my, um, tastes. I was hoping to stay for a bit longer as I haven't gotten what I wanted yet."
He added that last part quickly and let his eyes move over slowly and brazenly.
Lex shivered on the inside. The way he was looking at her, undressing her with such an unabashed gaze, made her whole body flush.
"And what exactly is it that you want, Negan?"
The question had to be asked. And of course he answered it in a way only he could. He released Pet and strolled towards Lex until he stood so close, his heat penetrated the small space between them.
"Let me stick around and I'll show you." He purred. "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I would be a incredible fucking asset to your community. Plus, you were right. I think there's another more suitable woman for me. This one is pretty but not as challenging as I had hoped."
For the first time in she didn't know how long, Lex couldn't find any words. His face was mere inches from hers and her mind flashed back to the catwalk when he had taken the kiss from her lips without even thinking about the repercussions of such a bold move. Despite the burning that was swirling in her belly, she remained icy and nonchalant.
"That's something I'll have to think about." She countered. "In the meantime, I'll have her returned to the longhouse with the trained girls. It seems she graduated thanks to you."
"You hear that, Pet?" Negan exclaimed. "What do you say to your ravishing queen?"
Pet dropped to her knees deliberately, keeping her eyes averted and her outrage in check.
"Thank you, your majesty." She said softly.
She couldn't wait to get out of there because she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to control herself. It didn't matter that she would be going to the auction house to agonize over what fate awaited her. If she had to sit here and listen to them banter back and forth for another moment, she was going to throw herself off the catwalk. What made it worse was that Negan was eating this up, basking in Lex's undivided attention and his own ability to mesmerize her. It was like watching him charm a cobra. Thankfully, two armed guards came and whisked her away to be put in with the charges that were being put up for auction. It was the best place to start her part of the plan anyway.
Negan watched as Pet was ushered out without protest. He was so proud of her knowing how conflicted she must be on the inside. It now fell to him to make sure Zane took possession of her.
Once he and Lex were alone, Negan helped himself to a glass of wine despite Lex's look of disapproval. This man never asked permission for anything, she thought. It annoyed her but still she let him do what he wanted and poured one for herself. Taking a rather large gulp, she hoped the liquor would calm her nerves. His brashness wasn't the only thing that irked her. It was her lack of rational thought that seemed to escape her every time this man was in her presence that ate away at her.
"So what did you learn about her?" She asked, as she curled up on a large overstuffed pillow. "Where did she come from?"
Negan smiled, swirling the crimson liquid in his glass.
"I didn't care about her past." He told her. "I don't care about anyone's fucking past, including my own."
Lex rolled her eyes.
"Come now, surely you were curious? She was branded for Christ's sake. I for one, would like to know what group she came from." She admitted.
Taking a few steps closer, he loomed over her making her feel suddenly very small. Subconsciously, she pulled her knees closer to her body as if that could protect her from the unseen force he was putting out.
"I only care about the future, your majesty. I'm trying to build one the same as you. Nothing from the past matters anymore. Not in this fucking world." He explained, letting his eyes drift over her again. "It's nice when you come across a badass to build one with. Don't you agree?"
Lex chugged the rest of her wine.