The approaching winter brought new problems. It got cold. Definitely too cold for Louis. As soon as he walked out, his skin turned blue.
On the next full moons, Harry would do the weirdest things to his house. Sometimes he brought moss and leaves, then sticks and branches again. Or even dead animals. Louis was glad it didn't happen that often. Or at least Louis didn't notice. Once Louis woke up and found a backpack and three pairs of shoes. Where did Harry get it from and what did he want with it?
Louis usually fell asleep at some point and the next day Harry was either already finished or just cleaning up the last traces of his nightly activity. Louis thought he was excused because Harry was always very busy on full moon days.
Harry also tried several times to take Louis into the forest. In the cave he always looked at him in a requesting way. If Louis then only looked questioningly, he squeaked painfully.
Louis didn't know what Harry wanted from him then and Harry didn't talk about it. Accordingly, Louis would probably only find out when he was older.
In the meantime, Louis had the suspicion that Harry thought he was a bird on a full moon and Louis an egg and that's why he wanted to build a nest, but then realised that he wasn't a bird and that he was just too stupid to build a nest all the junk just lay there. But that theory didn't really make sense, even in his own eyes.
Louis opened his eyes and hugged Harry a little tighter. How long was he here? He was out last evening. Louis had learned to appreciate the warmth of the other body and actually liked being able to have a lot of physical contact. Harry in particular was a damn good heater because he was so tall. In addition, he was always very cuddly. Dominant, growling and annoying, but cuddly.
Louis has had a bad cold since the last full moon. His throat hurt and he coughed and sniffed. He also smelled like sick, according to Harry. well thank you.
So Louis crawled a little closer to Harry and pulled an arm and a leg from it over his body.
Wolves seemed to have an aversion to body coverings of any kind. Louis could wrap himself up like a burrito in the evenings and he would always lie naked against Harry in the mornings. So he had started just covering himself up with Harry.
So Louis fell asleep again, despite a stuffy nose and scratchy throat.
When Louis woke up again, Harry was lying half on top of him as a wolf. Full moon was just. So what was that supposed to mean now? Louis was way too hot. So he tried to wriggle out of the fur. A growl stopped him very effectively.
"I'm too hot." Louis murmured, feeling but cold at the same time.
The giant wolf licked his forehead. Great. Thanks.
Shortly thereafter, Louis fell back into a fitful sleep.
When he woke up again, Harry, this time in human form of course, handed him some tea.
"Throat hurts." Louis croaked.
"Yes, that's why the tea." Harry said impatiently. Louis sat up a bit and got straight away Headache.
"Head hurts too," he better informed Harry.
"Yes." He just growled.
"Need medicine." Louis decided, since Harry obviously didn't think of giving him anything himself.
"No. Pumping your body full of stuff doesn't make it fight stuff like that itself. First, there's tea," Harry decided. Louis didn't disagree. For discussions did his throat hurt too much.
"Harry, I've got a cough. I can't sleep from it." Louis croaked the following night.
"Oh no...me neither," Harry grumbled, rubbing his face before putting his hand to Louis' forehead.
"God, you're sickly too..." he grumbled.
"People wear clothes when they go out." Louis croaked indignantly and tried to sit up.
Harry, however, immediately pushed him back into the pillows.
"I don't know much about illnesses. I don't have anything like that," he then grumbled.
Soon after, Liam and Zayn stood in front of them. Both looked pretty tired and didn't really know what Harry wanted from them.
"Maybe you should ask Lou?" Liam suggested carefully.
Harry immediately growled indignantly.
"She knows diseases and omegas can get sick.", Liam justified himself in a calm voice.
"I'll take good care of him," Harry growled louder while apparently turning half-wolf again.
Louis didn't feel like climbing onto his lap right now, so he just hugged Harry's waist from behind as much as he could.
It worked. Harry suddenly became calmer again, but now he also felt that Louis was shaking.
"I don't want her near him," he growled, shoving some blankets over Louis.
"But you want the omega to get better soon." Liam smiled softly.
Louis just closed his eyes. After another coughing attack, he was now glad that his body was getting a few minutes of rest. Fine, just a few seconds. Harry growled deafeningly and Louis tightened his grip as much as possible.
"I-I-I...I...don't do anything you don't want to." Lou squeaked. Which had obviously appeared in the meantime. "Of course not. I'll make sure of that," Harry snarled angrily, adding, "Certainly not now that I'm around."
"Stop it, you growler." Louis panted heavily.
"Oh, sweetie, that doesn't sound good at all." Lou murmured, completely ignoring a slightly stunned but pissed Harry as she listened to Louis' chest, took his fever and pulse, and did other things Louis didn't do had a clue.
That was the effect of the omega on her. In theory, Harry knew that. Betas held the pack together. Louis was the weakest part of the pack and now sick too. So now Lou's thoughts revolved only around him. It didn't matter if the alpha growled. She did her job. Or at least tried. Because even if he knew, Harry obviously found it damn stupid how naturally Lou suddenly ignored him and touched Louis.
"Okay, that's a bad flu. That's serious. Just his age. I... I'll bring some herbal paste in a minute. You have to apply it to his chest, shoulders and back. Then I have an onion and honey juice He has to gargle with it first and then swallow it. That helps against a cough and a sore throat. In between you have to air it out. Stale air is not good. He also needs tea made from thyme, sage, ginger and buckhorn. I have a mixture here. I'll get it all in a minute. I have to check on him. Very regularly. He has to drink enough." Lou finally explained, ran away and came back a moment later.
She explained the administration route to Harry and then looked back at Louis with a gentle smile.
"Why is he so ill?" Harry asked and you could tell how much it bothered him to have to ask Lou.
"Because just-humans have nothing to oppose such a way of life."
"He really needs to stay inside or be fully dressed?" Harry asked.
"Yes." Lou murmured as she stood back up.
"Okay..." Harry grumbled, looking at Lou who was still smiling at Louis.
"Why do I feel like you've been ripping me off?" Harry suddenly asked her.
"I... I've done everything I can about the flu. Really. I'm a beta. I would never knowingly harm an omega-"
"Exactly! You would never knowingly harm him. You did. Why?" Harry growled.
Lou was scared. You could see that clearly.
"Lou?!" Harry asked sharply.
"He was suffering.. didn't feel like he belonged anywhere. You couldn't really take him around, but he found it worse with Maggy. So I thought-"
"So you thought that you'd rather antagonise me by targeting yourself so that I really take responsibility for the Omega?"
Lou nodded uncomfortably.
"Thank you." Harry growled. He growled. But it was still a thank you.