The two boys woke up the next morning happy and sated, both floating in a lovestruck haze from the night before. Louis took a quick shower while Harry lounged in bed, already dreading going to his work shift because that meant being apart from Louis. He felt needy and clingy and dependent for the first time in his life, and somehow, he couldn't find it in him to care.
Louis walked out of the bathroom with just his jeans on, his tanned, toned chest on full display. He was still towelling his hair dry, sending droplets of water flying across the room. Leaning against the door frame, he asked, "What time do you work today?"
Harry groaned, burying his face in the pillow. "Ten."
"Still have half an hour, then. Plenty of time," the older boy decided, tugging a t-shirt over his head.
Looking up from his pillow, Harry scrunched his brow at the alpha. "Plenty of time for what?" he wondered, halfway hoping that Louis would jump on the bed and kiss him into oblivion like he did the night before.
Okay, maybe fully hoping that Louis would kiss him into oblivion.
"Let's work on your transitioning, yeah?" Louis suggested, and Harry perked up immediately at that -- because learning how to transition took a close second place to sexual activities. "Usually your father would be the one to do it, but --"
"I want you to show me," Harry interrupted, rolling out of bed to stand in front of Louis, rocking up onto his toes a few times with uncontrollable eagerness. Louis grinned at his enthusiasm, and Harry prodded impatiently, "Where do we start?"
"First, you're going to observe," Louis instructed. "I'm going to tell you what I think about when I transition, and then you're going to watch me. Sound good?"
Harry nodded enthusiastically, clasping his hands together in front of him to try to contain his excitement. He had always loved to watch Louis transition, and now he was going to learn to do it himself -- he didn't think anything could top yesterday, but today was already looking up.
"Okay, this is going to sound really stupid," Louis warned him. "But physically, I have to think about growing. Like, you want to feel like you're telling your bones to extend; be aware of your body in its current state, and then what you need it to grow into after your transition."
"Okay," Harry nodded, a bit intimidated by the idea. "What about, like, emotionally?"
"Emotionally, there are two potential scenarios. Sometimes, I have an external motivator, like when I went to find you in the woods that night. Focusing on the fact that you needed my help made my transition easy, almost instinctive. Other times, I have to create a motivator for myself. Make sense?"
"Yeah, that makes sense. So what do you think about? What scenario do you imagine?"
Louis swallowed the lump that rose in his throat. "Well, this is probably going to be a bit weird for you, but I imagine you."
Harry coughed awkwardly. "Me?"
Louis nodded, heating rising to settle in his cheeks. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Even when I first presented, I've always thought about you. Just imagining someone trying to hurt you, or thinking about you scared or upset -- it's always been an easy trigger for my wolf."
Despite his rosy cheeks, the corners of Harry's mouth tugged upward into a smile, and he couldn't resist stepping forward to press his lips against Louis's. Louis obliged him for a moment, but then he gently pushed the younger boy away, shooting him a reprimanding look.
"Okay, anyway. Focus," he said, although he couldn't hide the sheepish smile on his face. "Are you ready?"
Harry nodded obediently, taking a few steps back and staring intently at Louis. The alpha rolled his neck, then flexed his muscles, preparing himself to transition as slowly as possible so that Harry could observe the process in detail. A low growl fell from his lips, and then Harry watched in awe as the alpha's claws extended from his hands, almost in slow motion. Louis growled one more time, flashing his newly-pointed canines. And then, just a few seconds later, all of his wolf features were gone, and Louis stood in front of Harry back in his human form.
"Wow," Harry breathed. The tangle of nerves inside of him had only grown after watching Louis, threads of anxiety weaving themselves together to form a heavy pit in the bottom of his stomach. "That was . . . just wow."
"I've had an entire year of practice," Louis brushed him off.
"I know, but still!" the younger boy exclaimed. "That seemed . . . easy. Natural."
"Omegas have the hardest time controlling their transitions," Louis explained. "Alphas can usually control their features without any pain. You have the same amount of control as I do, but it will hurt you to grow claws and teeth a lot more than it hurts me."
Harry pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's not fair."
Louis smiled fondly, lifting his hand to reach out and pinch Harry's cheek affectionately. "I know, love. I'm sorry. If I could take all of your pain away, you know I would do it in a heartbeat," he said kindly. After a pause, he encouraged Harry, "Ready to try?"
With a bit of reluctance, he replied, "I guess."
"Just focus. You probably won't get it today, so don't beat yourself up. It'll take practice."
Harry exhaled shakily. He closed his eyes, forcing his mind to focus on growing, just like Louis said. He winced at the sharp pain that suddenly shot through his hand. He could feel the shake and stretch of his bones, but nothing happened. His shoulders slumped in disappointment, and he pouted, opening his eyes to find Louis smiling proudly at him. "I suck."
"That's alright. You tried, baby."
"I still suck."
"That was wonderful for your first try. I could see how hard you were focusing," Louis comforted him. "We'll keep practicing. I'll have the other boys talk you through it, too. Everyone has a unique mental process for transitioning, and maybe one of theirs will be better at helping you figure it out."
"Maybe," Harry echoed, although his tone held more despondency than hope.
With a firm grip on the omega's hip, Louis pulled Harry flush against his chest, holding him close. Harry leaned in, waiting for a kiss; instead, Louis said thoughtfully, "Even once you learn to transition, it'll be hard to find you intimidating. You're much too pretty to be a wolf."
"Charming," Harry teased against Louis's lips.
Louis snorted. "Trouble, I think you said." He cupped Harry's law, starting to lean in.
"Oh, shit, I'm so going to be late for work!" Harry realized suddenly. He grabbed a jacket off of his dresser and shoved Louis to get him moving, too. The alpha just laughed, taking hold of Harry's head and pressing a firm kiss to the younger boy's soft curls. Unfortunately, Harry wasn't quite in the mood anymore, and he pushed Louis away from him, hurrying toward the door as he called over his shoulder, "Get out of my house or you'll really be in trouble!"
/
"What is this meeting about anyway?" Niall wondered aloud. He and Harry had just left the infirmary after their shift, which had ended early so that all of the healers could attend the mandatory pack meeting. The whole town had shut down for the afternoon, and the entire pack was currently making their way to the main square.
"I'm not sure. Alpha Tomlinson called it so last minute, though, so it must be something important." Harry yelped when someone grabbed him from behind, lifting him off of his feet and spinning him around. "Louis, stop!" he shrieked, gripping the older boy's forearms tightly.
Louis just laughed, pressing his lips against the back of Harry's head before he set his boyfriend back on his feet. "Hi, love."
"You won't be laughing when I have a heart attack," Harry grumbled, although he let the alpha sling an arm loosely around his shoulders.
"Don't worry, Haz. Nialler here comes from a long line of healers, so he'll fix you right up," Louis teased. Niall stuck his tongue out at the alpha, and Louis mirrored his expression.
"Anyone know what this meeting is about?" Zayn appeared out of nowhere, falling into step beside the other three boys.
"I heard that we're surrendering," Liam supplied, suddenly emerging from the thick crowd on the other side of the group.
Louis snorted, raising his eyebrows in Liam's direction. "As fucking if."
Harry leaned in Louis's side, the corners of his mouth drooping downward slightly. "I just wish this war would be over already," he said quietly.
"Soon, sweetheart," Louis promised, needing to reassure the omega even if his statement held no true value. He pressed his lips firmly against the side of Harry's head as they entered the square.
The group found a less-crowded space by the side of the stage, standing around waiting as the rest of the pack filed into the main square. Niall and Harry stood in front, with the other three boys right behind them. Louis made sure to stay directly behind Harry.
As much as he wanted to keep the omega tucked possessively under his arm at all times, they hadn't officially presented their courtship to the pack yet. Although an announcement wasn't always necessary, as the son of the head alpha, Louis had to abide by different rules. Still, he discreetly kept his hands on his boyfriend in any way he could. The large crowd allowed him to rest his hand on the soft curve of Harry's waist without anyone taking notice.
Leaning back against Louis's chest, Harry murmured, "What's my father doing up there?"
Louis bit his lip thoughtfully, glancing up at the stage for the first time. Just as Harry said, his father stood beside Louis's father, whispering something to the head alpha. "The announcement must have something to do with the war," he guessed, speaking softly into Harry's ear. He furrowed his brow a moment later, not fully satisfied with his own answer. "On the other hand, I think that I would've been in the loop if the announcement was anything military-related."
Harry hummed curiously. "Maybe they really have found some way to make peace without surrendering," he wondered hopefully. "I overheard my father saying that a few of the enemy packs wanted to try to negotiate for the first time in years."
"That's true," Louis confirmed, pressing his thumb possessively into Harry's hip when he caught another man blatantly looking the omega up and down. "I just didn't think they had actually made any progress with negotiations yet."
"I guess we'll see," Harry responded, standing fully upright again as Louis's father approached the middle of the stage. Louis kept his hand on Harry's side, his alpha unwilling to completely relinquish his subtle claim on the younger boy.
"Here we fucking go," Niall muttered, irritation clear in his voice. The Irish boy hated full pack meetings because Louis's father tended to drone on and on about unimportant matters.
The head alpha cleared his throat, tapping the microphone twice before he started speaking. "I'm going to keep this announcement short and sweet --"
"Sure he fucking will," Zayn joked, nudging Niall playfully from behind.
"-- because I only have good news today. In fact, I'm not going to say anything else until I've given our war director the opportunity to speak."
Harry's father smiled graciously, clapping his hand on the head alpha's shoulder as he stepped forward to take his place in front of the microphone. "Thank you, Alpha Tomlinson. As most of you know, I'm the military director for the Sons of Selene. My job includes both battle strategy and diplomatic negotiations, which is what brings me before you today." He turned to scan the large crowd, turning in a full circle as he apparently tried to find someone. "Harry, son, where are you? Why don't you come on up here?"
Harry froze at the sound of his name. The noises of the crowd faded into the distance, and he swayed slightly on his feet. Niall nudged his shoulder in a useless attempt to get his attention, but even the feeling of his friend's arm against his felt distant and unfamiliar. He heard his father's voice again, still calling out his name, but the words echoed on an endless, incomprehensible loop in his head.
Then something snapped him back to himself.
Louis.
"Go on, sweetheart," the alpha murmured in Harry's ear, his thumb still tracing soothing shapes on the younger boy's hip, gently coaxing him back to reality. "I'll be right here the whole time. Go ahead."
Harry swallowed hard, risking one more nervous glance back at Louis. The older boy nodded encouragingly at him, his lips pressed together into a thin line. Then, taking a huge risk, he surged forward to discreetly brush his lips across Harry's neck.
And Harry didn't fail to notice that Louis kissed right over the spot where his mate mark would one day be proudly displayed.
Possessive, Harry thought, but he couldn't bring himself to mind.
With one more subtle nudge forward from Louis, Harry moved slowly from the crowd to join his father. He kept his arms wrapped protectively around his stomach, the weight of the pack's eyes heating his back as he moved to the center of the circle.
And Louis's eyes, he reminded himself. Louis would never let anything happen to him.
He climbed the stairs carefully, terrified that he might trip and embarrass himself before he even got on stage. The expression on his father's face seemed strange; it was too happy and inviting and caring. A facade that Harry saw right through, but the rest of the pack didn't seem to notice.
His father squeezed Harry's shoulder tightly -- a gesture that should've been reassuring and encouraging, but instead made Harry feel trapped and uncomfortable. He tried to ignore the heat of the pack's eyes on him, but his skin prickled with anxiety, and he wanted nothing more than to disappear.
"Our pack will have peace," Harry's father announced, and the pack cheered excitedly. Once they had calmed down, the director continued, "With an arrangement -- a pairing between an accomplished soldier from another clan and my own son, our newly-presented omega."
And the world stopped spinning.