Waking the first thing Rick could recall was the smell of death, not the sterilized hospital and the scent of the nurses and doctors. "Nurse! Nurse!" Nothing, silence. However the scent of death, and the sound of groaning. Rick managed to get himself up on his feet, the Alpha male was nervous. He groaned himself as he stepped out into the halls of what he once remembered as a bright place that tried to make its occupants safe.

He could still hear the sound of groaning, there were no scents of betas or other alphas, only that of death. He looked around trying to be less disoriented but instead he was more disoriented.

Don't Enter Dead Inside.

The door with chains wrapped around it, the wing for omegas, was bursting with the scent of death. Rick stepped back.

He stepped past bloodied walls and bullet holes, past the dead bodies that piled high on the patterned floors.

What happened?

How was this possible?

How long had he been in a coma for? He remembered getting shot, remembered Shane screaming and visiting him once with flowers that he remembered seeing wilted beside his hospital bed.

Stepping into the light his stomach turned, the air still stunk of death, and bodies upon bodies laid in rows. He sobbed as he was hit with a thought, Carl, he needed to find his son.

Lori...

He hadn't even thought of his wife, a few days before his coma he remembered finding the divorce papers. Their marriage had never been perfect, they had only gotten married because somehow miraculously she got pregnant, a beta and an alpha hardly could ever conceive. He had done his duty as a good alpha and married her anyway, she was supposed to be just a fling to help with his need to breed, and then Carl.

The light of his life, his little alpha son born to a beta and alpha.

He found a bike after walking for what felt like hours on his weak legs, as he hopped on the bike he saw it. The stench of death came first, then he saw the wriggling body only half a body. He gasped seeing it, he felt shakier but he had to keep going. Forcing himself to go forward he managed to get his legs to push to his home. He let out a deep breath as he ran inside, "Carl! Lori! Carl! My boy! Son!"

Silence, he ran to Carl's room and thankfully found a piece of clothing. He scented it, trying to calm his nerves. It wasn't much, but it was something. He held the shirt in his hand as he looked about, he collected a few things in a bag trying to think logically despite the confusion.

Kitchen knife, batteries, a few flashlights. Matches, a box of unopened granola bars, poptarts, and some medicine from their cabinet. He didn't know what got into that woman, she had taken photos. Not supplies. She had always been insufferable.

He grunted as he turned to head to their room, he put on new clothes trying to get out of the death scented hospital garments. He sobbed trying to collect himself once again before he got up and carried the bag out to the front, he sat thinking until he saw a man wobbling towards him.

He realized quickly however something was wrong with him, he didn't scent like a man, but like that of the dead. He yelped seeing someone rush out, the smell of Alpha and beta suddenly mixing, the alpha shot the wobbling creature before he was hit over the head.

When he woke he was in a house he vaguely remembered by scent, neighbors, but the alpha and beta were not his neighbors. They were strangers, the alpha yelled until he saw the other alpha male standing above him.

"Did you get bit?"

"Bit? No, you shot that man."

"Wasn't no man."

"What did you just say?" The alpha snapped at the beta.

"Sorry, that was not a man."

"Then what was it?"

"What are the bandages for?"

"I got shot, why did you shoot him then?"

"Why wouldn't I? He was dead, had to, those walkers are dangerous."

The smell of confusion wafted off the alpha male, "Walker?"

"Did you just wake up from a coma or something, how can you not know what a walker is?"

"Actually, I did just wake up from a coma." Rick stated, "This morning."

The beta and alpha looked between one another, "There is a lot to tell you about then. What is your name?"

"Rick."

"Well Rick, nice to meet you. My name is Morgan, and this is my son Duane."

"Hello." The beta smiled at him, Rick smiled at the pup.

"We should talk then." Morgan uncuffed him and they began to talk. Rick felt his head spinning as things were explained to him. The news, the bombings, the goverment falling, death over taking the world. Omegas were practically extinct now, they had already been rare and now they were in high demand and were in more danger from humans than the walking dead. The safe houses and shelters, how Morgan had hoped they would make it to the Atlanta one eventually.

"What's keepin you?" Rick asked, Morgan took Rick aside.

"My wife, she's dead. I know that, but...but I can't bring myself to do it."

That was when the car alarms began to go off, the young pup raced to his father sobbing into him. Thankfully his scent was calming him down, but it wasn't enough to keep him completely silent. Rick looked out the boarded windows, his heart beating quickly, panic growing. His scent thick with concern.

"Sit Rick, they will disperse."

Four days of talking and planning and explanation later they were at the police station. Rick was thankful to see that there were guns upon guns, and the showers worked. The young pup chirped in excitement, the alphas smiled at one another taking their sweet time with the water cleaning themselves and feeling better.

"I have to find my son," Rick stated as they parted ways. "We will meet again, my friend."

Morgan smiled parting ways with Rick, he hoped they would and that they would all be safe and be able to survive this world.

—------------------------------------------------

Rick made his way to Atlanta, finding a horse was the easy part. As he turned a corner he came face to face with thousands of the undead. The horses' hooves beat into the ground catching the attention of a highly observant young beta.

Glenn.

Glenn watched a clearly idiotic man jump from the horse leaving it as a sacrifice and ran into the tank. Glenn rolled his eyes.

"Hey stupid! Yeh you, you comfy in there?"

Rick looked up thinking the walker he had just killed was talking now. He shook his head realizing that he was wrong, it was a radio.

"Are you alive in there?" The voice spoke again.

He scrambled towards it, picking up the walkie he was thankful to see it still worked. "Yes hello, are you there?"

"I'm here, you have one free way out of there. You gotta get to the hatch and run, head towards the alleyway in front of you. I will be there."

"I left a bag of guns, can I get to it?"

"If you are fast, yes, if you don't think you can don't do it."

Glenn waited, he watched the idiot rush from the cap, kick down two walkers and then jump. He rolled, grasping the bag of guns and then running as quickly as he could up the alleyway. Glenn grabbed the Alpha's arm and raced with him up to the roof. "Are you stupid?"

"Possibly. Thank you for saving me, beta."

"The name is Glenn, and whats yours officer stupid?"

"Rick," he smirked at the Betas' spunk. "You got a group?"

"Yes, and those guns are going to come in handy, we have a few pups. Lots of women."

"Alphas and Betas I assume?"

"Yes, we haven't seen an omega in months."

"Wow.."

"You trying t-"

"No, just trying to figure things out. May I scent you? I am just trying to figure things out, please?"

Glenn slowly bared his neck to the large alpha, he felt safe with him. "Go ahead," Rick scented his glands. His scent was a mix of dough, and grass. He smiled, stepping back.

"Thank you Glenn."

"I hope the group will take you in, the prime is alright but his mate is prissy as all hell, if they do would you try to take the spot as prime? We need it more than ever." Rick looked Glenn over, he bared his neck to the boy.

"You want to be my first pack mate?"

"Really?"

"Go for it," Rick stated, he had already scented him and he liked what he smelled. There was courage in him as well, Glenn stepped forward scenting him. It took a minute to catch the scent in particular he was looking for, not just a normal Alpha scent but one of power. Within an instant it was clear the two were packmates, Glenn now looked to Rick as his prime. "Ready to go?"

"We have a few people waiting for me here, let's go collect them first."

Rick followed him over a few rooftops until they raced down stairs, Rick stepped out when there was a gun in his face. "You knot-head, how could you do that! You just rang the dinner bell and we are all going to be killed!"

The beta gasped as his scent became clear, alpha, she stepped back. "Sorry, Andrea is a bit wound up. I'm Moralis," an alpha held out his hand, "this is Jaquie." The female beta waved her hand, "and this is T-Dog." Another beta.

The group then heard gunshots. "Dixon!"

Rick followed the group, the pack of guns weighing him slightly, as soon as Rick got onto the rough spotting the Alpha shooting from the rooftop something was off. T-Dog tried to fight the Alpha to get him to stop shooting, Rick was quick to help the beta who was now under the alpha and was being wailed on.

"Get off me!" He shouted. "You wont kill me, you're a cop."

"Officer friendly" Rick replied. "You can't use being an alpha to beat betas into submission."

T-dog growled but his whine was clear, he was angry and scared. "Rick, you didn't have to."

"I did. You all go down, T-Dog here is the key for this. Go with the others, if we gotta run, I am letting you make the choice if he comes or stays."

"Alright..thank you Rick."

Rick nodded and stepped away from the alpha screaming at him, after figuring out their best plan to return T-Dog dropped the key to the alphas cuffs. It was too late to do anything, Glenn was already on his way back to their campsite.

As the others piled into the moving truck they surrounded the new alpha with thanks. "No one will miss him ya know T-Dog, except maybe Daryl."

"Whos Daryl?"

"The knot-head Merel's little brother. A beta, we don't think that Daryl is half bad, but his brother well. You saw him, he is an idiot and can't control his temper." Moralis explained.

As the group finally returned the moment Rick stepped out of the truck he caught three familiar scents.

Lori.

Shane.

Carl!

He raced forward seeing his pup, his son, he dropped the bag of guns which Dale was quick to put away in the RV. "DAD! DAD!" Carl yelled running forward to scent his father, Rick threw his arms around the young alpha male.

"Carl! Oh my god, I am so thankful to find you alive. Oh my god..you..you are so strong."

"Mom said you died," Carl whimpered.

"She had every right to say that, if I hadn't woken then I would have been dead sooner than later." The alpha male scented his son, within seconds the prime alpha in Carl's world was now his father.

Lori looked to Shane, her mate mark to Rick was covered by a new one for Shane, Rick smelt it on her but didn't push. She had a right to move on, and he knew before all of this she was planning to anyway. Carl held onto his father, the scents of all the members of the camp were mixing, masking the stench of death. Rick smiled wide, finally feeling safe here, feeling like he belonged.

Shane raced to his 'brother'. "I..I thought you were dead! I am so sorry...I didn't mean to with Lori..I thought you were dead. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, I understand brother. She and I were done before this anyway." Shane hugged the other alpha, no one had seen Shane break once since this all began. It was clear Rick was prime and that Shane was giving up his position at that moment, they scented one another for the first time in a long time. Shane stepped down as Prime Alpha allowing Rick to take that position, the shift in the pack was instant.

Rick was Prime, Shane second in command with Lori as his mate. Carl was now next in line as the Prime Alpha's heir. The betas and alphas that had accepted Shane as their prime were now under new leadership, and those who had already accepted Rick as their prime the only one in the entire group beside Merle who hadn't accepted anyone as their prime was Daryl Dixon. The 'beta'.