Louis reached for Harry instinctively as he woke up, frowning when he found the space beside him in bed empty and cold. He sat up quickly, trying to shake off any remaining sleepiness as he looked around. Where had Harry run off to this time?
The door to the cave was partially open, the gentle pitter patter of rain echoing off of the stone walls. He rubbed his eyes, groaning almost inaudibly as he stretched. Searching for Harry didn't take more than a minute -- the omega was sitting cross-legged just outside of the mouth of the cave, his back to Louis.
The alpha climbed off of their mattress, cursing under his breath when he tripped on Harry's muddy shoes, which the younger boy always left strewn about haphazardly beside their bed. A horribly annoying habit that Louis only found endearing because it was Harry.
It couldn't be anywhere past five in the morning, if the morning chill gave him any clue. Before he began the dangerous trek across the cave, during which he could only pray he didn't rouse any of the other boys from sleep, Louis grabbed one of their blankets from their bed, knowing how easily Harry got cold.
Sure enough, the omega was shivering, goosebumps already raised on the back of his neck. Louis wondered how long he had been sitting out there alone.
He wrapped the covers around his own shoulders before sitting down behind Harry, spreading his legs around the younger boy's body so that he could wrap his arms and the blanket around him. He pressed his warm lips against the back of Harry's neck, and the omega leaned back against his chest without a word exchanged between them.
"What's wrong, angel?" he murmured eventually, scooting forward a few inches to rest his chin on Harry's shoulder. He asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Nothing," Harry mumbled in response, his voice so quiet that the gentle taps of the raindrops nearly drowned it out.
"Clearly something's bothering you," Louis prodded, his thumb tracing encouraging circles on the omega's hip. "It's my father, isn't it?"
Harry didn't reply, and that was the only answer Louis really needed.
"I'm not going to let him touch you, H. You know that," he assured Harry. "Even when I speak to him next week, I'm going to keep him as far away from you as possible."
"I know."
"Then what? What else?"
"I just don't understand what he wants," Harry said, his tone still hushed as though he couldn't bring himself to disrupt the peaceful rainy morning unfolding around them. "I-I don't . . . I don't know." His words were thick with emotions that Louis couldn't quite unravel.
"What is it, baby?" he urged gently. He nuzzled his face into the crook of Harry's neck, the tip of his nose brushing over the omega's mate mark. "I can feel how upset you are, Haz, but I need to know why. Tell me what you're thinking."
Harry sighed, whispering shakily, "I just . . . I don't understand why he hates me so much."
Louis's heart shattered. "Oh, baby. It's not you he hates. You know that."
"But being a witch is part of me. My abilities are part of me," Harry protested quietly. "I don't understand why he can't just accept me."
"I don't understand it either, but it doesn't matter. You don't need his approval or his acceptance, and neither do I."
Harry sighed again, then shifted in Louis's arms, turning sideways to tuck his cold nose into the alpha's neck. Louis just held him close, one hand on his omega's thigh and the other on the back of his neck, his thumb tracing steadily over the soft skin. In an easy silence, they watched the sun rise up over the horizon.
The other boys started to rouse as light poured into the cave, groaning and complaining about the start of another day. Things almost seemed normal, aside from the heavy tension that suffocated the air in the small space.
"The scouts, and now this?" Liam tapped his fingers on their makeshift table during breakfast, drumming the rhythm throughout the entire cave. "They have to be connected somehow. There's no way these are two isolated incidents."
"Those weren't the Sons' scouts, though," Zayn argued. He was sitting between Louis and Liam, barely picking at his food. He scooped up the oatmeal that Harry had made for them and let it plop back onto his plate, mashing it beneath the smooth backside of his spoon.
Harry gave Louis a nudge to get his attention, then nodded his head toward Zayn. "Eat," he said quietly, and Louis willingly conveyed the instruction to the beta.
Zayn tried to glare at Harry, but he sighed and forced a spoonful of oatmeal past his lips. Despite his nonexistent appetite, he couldn't argue with how much Harry cared for all of them.
Louis had his left arm around Harry, keeping his right hand free so that he could eat. With one glance down at Harry's plate, he gave his mate an annoyed look. "Hypocrite," he muttered in his ear, keeping his voice low enough that the other boys wouldn't hear over their own conversation.
"Hmm?"
"You need to eat, too."
Harry just shrugged. He poked at his food, not even trying to conceal his actions when he plopped a few globs of oatmeal onto Louis's plate. "I just want to go back to sleep," he admitted, keeping his voice low so that he didn't disrupt the other boys' conversation. He dropped his head onto the alpha's shoulder, pouting a bit. "And I don't want you to leave."
"You woke up too early," Louis reprimanded, although his tone was more teasing than scolding. "And I don't want to leave, either, but if I stay, we won't have anything to eat tomorrow."
Harry's lips quirked up into a smile, and he transferred another spoonful of oatmeal to his mate's huge plateful. "We have oatmeal."
Louis snorted. "Look how that's turning out."
"Wonderfully, I'd say."
The older boy turned his head, his lips mere inches from Harry's ear. "Then eat."
Harry huffed, but he obediently brought a small spoonful of oatmeal to his lips, raising his eyebrows at Louis as he chewed (as if to say "See? Look!"). The alpha just smiled proudly, pressing his lips to Harry's temple.
"Maybe the pack's problem is the scouts we ran into?" Niall was continuing to throw out suggestions, shrugging his shoulders as if he already knew how improbable the idea was.
Liam was shaking his head before the statement had even finished. "No, no. Even after the pack wars finished, they kept up their military forces." He nudged Zayn's side with his elbow, earning another annoyed look from the beta. "Remember when we snuck into town for supplies and they had soldiers patrolling the back gates? If anything, they're training more soldiers than before."
"Maybe they've realized that they essentially lost their three best soldiers because of some stupid age-old superstition. Maybe they want to make things right."
Louis's grip on Harry's waist tightened protectively. "Doesn't sound much like my father to me."
"Niall could be right," Harry supported the beta weakly. His voice wavered.
"He called you a witch twice just yesterday, didn't he?" Zayn pointed out. "He clearly doesn't see you for who you are. He just sees you as a threat, or whatever the fuck he thinks."
"Yeah, I agree with Zayn." Niall stole some oatmeal off of the dark-haired beta's plate, making Zayn roll his eyes and push the food closer to him. "I mean, really. Can anyone really forget what he did that day? He didn't just let it happen, lads -- he ordered it! He let the entire pack loose on Harry like some kind of secretly-trained civilian army, just thirsty for blood --"
Harry receded from the table, shrinking further into Louis's side.
"-- well, I guess you all didn't really see it for yourselves, did you? Maybe I don't do the story justice, because it was really fucked up. Like, I just remember being completely frozen, you know, and it was just Harry sobbing and --"
"Enough," Louis barked out. His fingertips dug into the soft curve of Harry's waist, anchoring his mate securely to his side as though his touch alone could shield Harry from the haunting memories of that awful day.
Everyone went a bit quieter after that, forcing thick oatmeal past the lumps in their throats.
"I don't want to leave him," Louis admitted a bit later as they grabbed their hunting bags. He hated how weak the confession made him feel, but it was nothing but the truth.
"You two need a break from each other anyway. Like, seriously, both of your hormones have been off the charts." Zayn said, squeezing Louis's shoulder reassuringly. As they returned to the group, he spoke freely: "The past week has been a lot, with the scouts and then your father, and everyone just needs a break."
"Yeah, before the shit hits the fan again," Liam interjected. "Only another few days before you have to meet your father and see what crawled up his ass."
"What else crawled up his ass," Harry supplied. The boys shot him a surprised and amused look, and he just shrugged as he tucked himself into Louis's side. "I mean, I can't help assuming there was something already up there when he decided to let the entire pack beat me to a bloody pulp."
While the other boys laughed and voiced their agreements, Louis winced at the desensitized tone of the omega's words. He pressed his lips firmly against the side of Harry's head.
"I don't want you to go," Harry confessed quietly, leaning into his touch.
Louis sighed, running his fingers through Harry's tangled curls, unknotting them gently. "I don't want to go either. But you know I have to."
With a sigh that echoed Louis's own, the omega nodded. "I know."
"Okay, lovebirds," Zayn interjected. "We don't have time for the dramatic goodbyes. It's two days, max. You'll both survive without each other for a little while."
"Every time they have to spend five minutes apart, Harry acts like Louis is going to war."
"Hunting is kind of like war," Niall supplied, defending his friend. "You know, violence and all."
The other boys promptly ignored him.
Despite their friends' teasing, Louis pulled Harry in for a passionate goodbye kiss, pressing their lips together firmly, wanting the feeling to last for the days they would spend apart. He slid their tongues together when Harry opened his mouth, ignoring the exclamations of "Jesus fucking Christ!" and "oh, for god's sake, that's so gross" that came from the other boys.
Grasping at every ounce of self restraint he had left, Louis broke the kiss, pecking Harry's lips and his cheeks a few more times before stepping back. "Be good," he said firmly, one eyebrow raised. "I'll see you in a few days."
Harry nodded, squeezing the alpha's hand one last time before letting go. "Love you."
"I love you."
He turned away and followed the other boys out of the cave before he lost his nerve. He always hated leaving Harry, but there was something tugging him back, making each step seem more challenging than the last. His alpha howled at him, clearly upset, but he ignored it.
Harry watched his alpha go with sad eyes. He was almost thankful that Louis didn't look back, because if the older boy saw the somber look on his face, he knew that Louis would turn around and never leave again.
Even more than usual, Harry's bones ached with every step that Louis took. His omega cried out inside of him when his mate disappeared from view; his chest ached, as though their bond was being physically stretched out as the distance between them grew. He forced himself back into the cave, sitting down beside Niall in front of the fire.
"Alright?" Niall asked. After years of friendship and working together, he easily took note of the omega's slumped shoulders and long face.
"I'm just so scared all the time," Harry admitted. "Like, even when everything with Louis's father and the Sons was in the past, I was still scared sometimes, but now . . . they're literally knocking on our door. How am I supposed to cope with that?"
The beta just poked at the fire, knowing that Harry wasn't quite finished.
"And how do I make Louis choose?"
Niall frowned, his eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean 'choose'?"
"He was raised to lead. He was raised to become Head Alpha one day. I can feel that he feels lost sometimes, like his whole life purpose doesn't mean anything anymore," Harry said. "And now, if his father offers him the opportunity to come back, I-I just wonder if he'll be able to say 'no.'"
"You are his whole life, Haz," Niall pointed out. "Louis would never do anything that took him away from you or put your life in jeopardy."
"I know, I know," Harry brushed off his own insecurities, giving the Irish boy a forced smile. "Don't listen to me. My brain is just all fuzzy. Didn't get enough sleep last night."
/
Later that night, the two boys sat around the fire again, much like they had in the morning. Harry's brow suddenly felt sweaty, and he wiped at his forehead with the sleeve of his sweater.
"Too hot? I can let it go down a bit," Niall offered, giving his friend a concerned look. "Hope you're not getting what I had."
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine," he replied simply. "Just feel a bit weird, you know. Probably just my body freaking out about the seasons getting ready to change and all that --"
Another flash of heat washed over him, coursing through his veins. He suddenly felt frazzled, like every hair on his body snapped to attention, standing on end. The familiar ache pulsed through him again, swelling and settling at his core, and his eyes widened.
"Shit, Ni, I think . . ." A soft whine escaped his throat, his skin prickling with heat. He curled into himself, the terrifying thought that his alpha was miles away overtaking his mind.
Niall sniffed, then pressed the back of his hand to Harry's sweaty forehead. "You're seriously burning up, H. Did you feel sick this morning?"
Harry shook his head. His ears were ringing now, and he brought his hands up to cover them, though he knew it would be no use. "D-Didn't know. It's too soon. It's too soon," he mumbled frantically, the muscles in his legs quivering with a horrid mix of anxiety and lust.
The realization hit Niall at once, and he scrambled away from Harry -- because he had known Louis for a very, very long time, and if the alpha picked up even a hint of the beta's scent on his omega, he wouldn't hesitate to tear Niall limb from limb.
"Holy fuck. Okay, um . . . fuck, fuck, fuck."