me, him, and the moon ☾ l.s.

one - an introduction to presenting

"Honeys, we're home!" Niall shouted obnoxiously. Not even bothering to knock, he pushed through the front door of Liam's house with Harry in tow. Harry laughed loudly at the Irish boy, although he was already searching the room for a certain blue-eye boy.

Just a few seconds later, Louis appeared in the doorway that led to the kitchen, grinning widely. "How was the infirmary, lads? Save any lives today?"

Harry and Niall worked as healers in the town infirmary, while their other three friends -- Louis, Liam, and Zayn -- were busy training for the war. In other words, when the other three boys got injured from training too aggressively, Harry and Niall had the pleasure of stitching them up.

"Just the usual," Niall replied shortly, flopping down on the couch with a groan. "My back is killing me and my fingers are aching. Same old, same old."

Harry curled up beside him immediately, content to admire Louis in all of his glory as the older boy leaned casually on the doorframe. Harry quite enjoyed listening to his friends banter back and forth, even if he didn't actually join in too often.

Louis quirked an eyebrow. "Oh! You mean you sat around while Harry did all of the work."

Harry snorted, clapping his hands over his mouth to contain his laugh. Niall shoved his shoulder, gaping at the other two boys. "I am a very qualified healer, thank you very much!" the Irish boy protested. "As you both know, I come from --"

"A very long line of accomplished healers," Louis and Harry echoed in response, completely in sync. Niall got very sensitive about his heritage and his destiny, just like most werewolves did. In the same way that Niall was destined to be a healer, Louis was destined to become head alpha of their pack someday, just like his father and his grandfather before him.

Louis was only eighteen, but he had always carried the weight of his destiny on his shoulders.

Without any warning, another boy burst into the living room from the kitchen, tackling Louis from behind and wrestling him down to the floor. Louis grunted in surprise, but he flipped them easily, pinning Liam on his back after just a few seconds of grappling. The other boy struggled against Louis's firm hold on his shoulders for a moment, then stilled, pouting in annoyance. Louis climbed off of him and started to brush himself off.

"Christ, Liam!" he exclaimed as they stood up, shoving the other boy even further away from him. "Can't you keep your hands off of me for ten seconds?"

"Not until I finally get the best of you," Liam groaned, clearly upset by his defeat.

"You're on a whole new level of stupidity trying to fight an alpha when you haven't even presented yet," Zayn commented from the doorway, rolling his eyes at the other two.

Louis had presented as an alpha almost a whole year before, and he had fully grown into controlling his senses and urges. Zayn and Niall had both presented as betas just a few months before, one right after another. Liam and Harry had yet to present, but Liam showed clear signs of presenting as an alpha. Harry, on the other hand, was a bit of a mystery case.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you present soon, Li," Niall interjected, leaning forward in his seat on the couch. "You've been so energetic the past few weeks. Like you're possessed or something."

"Possessed by his wolf," Zayn supplied, nodding to show his agreement with Niall's observation.

"That's true," Harry added, finally breaking his comfortable silence. "He's been acting almost the way Louis did right before he presented."

Louis struggled not to shudder at the memory. His eyes met Harry's, and he knew that he and the younger boy had the same memories flashing through their minds.