Loki gave you a stubborn look and planted himself firmly between you and the door, obviously preparing himself for an argument. You stepped up to him, dressed and ready for this visit home. "Put on your armor and let's go," you told him firmly. His expression changed from stubborn and confrontational to surprised.

"You are not going to try to argue that I should stay behind?" he didn't believe you, but his armor shimmered into place. He was coming with you whether you wanted him to or not. That's what had caused his stubborn look in the first place.

"I was counting on you coming with me," you replied instead. You really had been counting on his presence. He looked relieved at that. "If you're not going, I can face them alone," you amended quickly. It really wasn't fair to get him involved in werewolf politics, at least not until he had to be.

"Over my dead body," he replied sourly. You smiled at him and put your car keys in your pocket.

"Ready, then?' you asked.

"Are you?" his tone and expression were both concerned. He knew how long it had been since you'd been home.

You sighed heavily. "As ready as I'll ever be," you took his hand to walk with him to the garage. Your grip was too tight out of nerves, but he didn't complain.

"Darling, I can teleport us there..." he offered, making the comment in regards to your nerves.

"They'd kill us on sight. We have to drive," you told him and headed for the driver's side of your usual car. Loki's hand was around your arm an instant later.

"Let me," he said and held out his other hand for your keys. You shook your head, tightening your grip on your keys. "You're a mess of nerves, little wolf..."

"I have to do this, Loki," you told him firmly. He hesitated, but saw your resolve.

"Very well, but kindly do not crash the car. It is bothersome..." he would only be bruised at best in a car crash.

You leaned up to kiss his cheek. "I won't," you promised. "Thanks for understanding." He kissed you and still insisted on opening your car door for you. You drove in silence most of the way. You couldn't believe you were going back after four years.

You turned off the main road onto the gravel path and your hands tightened on the steering wheel. Though you hadn't left the compound before you turned 18, you knew this path, these woods extremely well. It was home and you dreaded being back here. "Are you alright, love?" Loki asked when he saw your grip tighten, your expression hardened. Overprotective boyfriend was paying especially close attention to your emotions.

"It's been four years... I just never thought I'd be back here..." you told him as you pulled up to the security gate. You rolled down the window to face the guard.

"What business do you have here?" he demanded automatically. He didn't recognize the car since it was one of Tony's. "Y/N!? You're back!" he exclaimed when he finally realized who you were. "Who's that?" he growled at Loki, who growled right back. You rolled your eyes at the display of testosterone. You really were home...

"Jack, I'm here on pack business," you told the guard firmly, drawing his attention back to you. "This is my mate, Loki of Asgard." Jack glared, but finally nodded and stepped back from the car.

"I'm sure you know where you're going. Welcome home, Omega," he told you and opened the gate. You rolled up your window and drove through. You headed down the long drive, around a bend, and fought back tears when you saw the compound. Not tears of joy at being home. Not relief. Not fondness or happy memories.

Tears of grief that you were back in this hell.

The compound looked and felt just like a prison, thick concrete walls, barbed wire fence and all.

You managed to park the car in the lot before you were shuddering with tears and emotions that you just couldn't hold back anymore. Loki somehow, probably through magic, got you over the center console and curled into his lap and he held you safely in his arms while you wept and shuddered and just... couldn't stand the thought of being back here, of the memories of this awful place that wasn't home.

"You grew up here?" he asked horrified.

You nodded, your head against his shoulder. "I never left that building, the Alpha's house, or these woods until I turned 18 and ran away. There's a school, food, everything behind those walls. My entire life was spent behind those walls and fences," you told him softly. "It was all I had to call home, and it was no home at all. Not when I was a thing, not a person," you told him, weeping at the years of painful reminders just being outside of this hell brought back to you.

"One day, my darling. One day I shall take you to Asgard, take you to the golden city. I'll show you the palace and demonstrate how a princess like you should be treated," he promised with soft, loving, caring words that soothed your bruised soul. You caught the slight edge of his tone that told you quite clearly that he'd very much like to kill every single person who had raised you here. Everyone who was the cause of your tears now. "Why don't we just leave. We'll go get ice cream on the way home and forget all of these idiots," he suggested with a small smile in his voice. Silly Trickster loved ice cream. "What's so important that you have to come here and let them hurt you like this?"

"I killed Jareth. I killed their Alpha," you told him softly, drying your eyes.

"He deserved to die," Loki snarled and growled softly. You turned his head to you and kissed him to calm him.

You gave him a small smile. "That he did. But I still have to face...justice... for my actions," you told him. You sighed and opened the car door. Time to face the music.

"Are you sure?" Loki asked before you could climb off his lap.

You nodded. "Duty demands it," you told him and clambered off his lap. He was out of the car right behind you. You straightened your spine, took his hand, and tried to walk confidentially into the compound. Loki squeezed your hand, reassuring you with his strength.

"Oh shit. Y/N?" Asked the guard behind the desk just inside the main entrance.

"Greg, tell Samuel and Fenrir I've arrived," you told him firmly. You had to pretend to be stronger than you were. At least until you could get the hell out of this place.

"They're waiting for you in the conference room upstairs," he told you. You nodded and stepped toward the inner door. "Who's he?" he demanded, glaring at Loki. Loki growled in reply. Greg actually looked away from the challenge, acknowledging that Loki was more dominant than him, which was impressive since Loki wasn't a wolf...yet?

"This is Loki of Asgard, son of Laufey, adopted son of Odin, master magician of Odin's court, god of mischief, chaos, and lies, and my mate," you told him firmly. Greg bowed his head, actually bowed his head to you, to you, the Omega.

He knew.

Of course he knew.

They all knew what you'd done.

"Yes, of course," he said, subserviently. You stepped forward through the inner door, into the compound proper.

"You just love rattling off my titles," Loki teased you softly.

You laughed. "Nah, the werewolves just like titles and order. It's a dominance thing. Sorry I'm showing you off. Putting you on display. It's rude..." you said softly. "I didn't mean to..." you added quickly. He kissed the top of your head.

"It's alright, love. Anything to keep you safe. I know you, little wolf. You don't take advantage of my skills, Odin's beard, you barely accept my help when it's freely offered," he reminded you.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" you asked him and squeezed his hand.

"Saved me from being alone," he told you warmly.

You led him upstairs to the central conference room and heard voice inside already waiting for you. Greg had said there would be. You opened the double doors dramatically. All the heads in the room turned toward you and Loki, who was a step behind you in guard position. You stomped your way into the room. The most dominate wolves in the pack plus Samuel and Fenrir were in the room waiting for you.

"Gentlemen," you greeted them, standing at the head of the table.

"Omega," the men snarled besides Samuel and Fenrir snarled. Those two got to their feet, kissed your cheek, greeted you and Loki warmly.

"Shall we begin?" Fenrir asked as he and Samuel retook their seats at the table. You stood, facing the inquisition, Loki at your back, guarding.

"A little girl could not have taken down our Alpha!" one of the wolves yelled.

"She did. I was there as witness, as was Dan. Call him if you wish," Samuel replied calmly.

"Why is here here?" another demanded, gesturing at Loki. "He's not a wolf and has no business here!"

"This is my mate and the one infected by Jareth. In case you don't know, let me make this clear: my chosen mate is Loki of Asgard, son of Laufey, adopted son of Odin, brother of Thor, Master Magician in Odin's court, member of the Avengers Initiative, god of mischief, chaos, and lies. You know his skills. You saw the events in New York." You said a mental apology to Loki for bringing that up, but the wolves needed to know who they were dealing with.

They grumbled, but accepted Loki's presence. He had rights to be here. He was infected and your mate. But even the wolves weren't stupid enough to tangle with a god.

"The fate of the pack cannot be left in the hands of a child, a defective Omega," another wolf snarled, drawing the anger and attention back to you.

You growled and shifted to hybrid form in an instant, growling a challenge, though not drawing a blade, not yet. "I am not a defective Omega," you growled. "An Omega with no peace to offer cannot share it with the pack, as you should all well know. And I killed Jareth for purposely infecting an individual against his will, as is my right and duty,"

"I challenge your right to determine our lives, Omega," the second snarled, getting to his feet.

"Whosoever kills the Alpha must either take the Alpha's place or choose a worthy successor to the position as Alpha," you recited pack law to them. "I killed the Alpha," you reminded him firmly. Any of them could smell the lie if you were telling one. You weren't.

"My challenge remains, child. Prove that you are worthy of determining our fate," the second ordered. You lunged across the table, shifting as you did to wolf. You were fast after your months of training with the Avengers. Before he could move, your jaws were around his throat, your teeth digging into his throat, drawing blood.

"Yield!" he spluttered.

You dropped his neck and trotted back to Loki, who stood up from where he was leaning casually against the wall, unconcerned. He petted your head and stepped in front of you while you shifted back to human. You glanced at your outfit. Super sexy lingerie as per usual. You sighed in exasperation and held out your hand where Loki could see it. He chuckled, summoned his cloak and handed it to you. "Why? Why are you like this?" you teased and wrapped the cloak around yourself, while the men pretended other things in the room such as the ceiling and their shoes were extremely interesting. Nudity didn't bother them, nudity came with shifting forms, but the sexy underwear bothered them. That wasn't for any of them to see. Also the fact that your mate, an actual god with a known vicious temper, was in the room and obviously going to defend you.

"Because I love you, my darling little wolf," he told you warmly and kissed you full out, claiming you in front of all of these men before they got any ideas. "Shall I kill these men for you, my sweet?" he asked too politely when the kiss had ended, too casually, too kindly. There was a malicious glint in his eyes, one you didn't see often, but you knew the protective glare over you.

You kissed his cheek, reassuring, calming. You didn't need him killing them. Yet. "No, love. I think these gentlemen and I have come to an understanding," you said, looking at the men around the table. They were quick to agree with your assessment.