Dedicated to Larrydiehardfan
Harry was seated at breakfast for half an hour now. Louis had not come down. He sent Liam to check on him, but he received no response. He stood to his feet in a haste and grabbed the spare keys before he went to Louis's room. He did not want to invade Louis's privacy, but he was worried.
When he unlocked the door, he was met with silence, an empty room, and an open window. Harry panicked. Did his omega run away? Was Harry that unbearable.
He ran. Down the stairs and out of his house. He was on the street in a matter of minutes. He slowed his pace when he was able to pick up on the subtle scent of his omega. He followed it to a crowd gathered outside Maura's bakery. The crowd parted for him when he approached and the site he was met with was beyond words.
His heart was still racing, but the fear and the panic that bloomed within him had subsided upon seeing Louis covered in flour and laughing with Niall. His omega had crinkles by his eyes. He hated himself for his words when he saw how sweet Louis was when he was happy. He wanted to be the one who made his omega happy.
Niall's eyes caught on him and the omega could not contain himself. "Alpha!" Louis froze and he hated himself. "I was just teaching Lou-our Luna how to bake!" The omega exclaimed all too happily.
"Louis. Not Luna, please," his omega said, his voice soft.
Harry's face remained stoic as he approached. He picked up one of the warm buns off the plate and slowly bit into it. He saw the way Louis bit his lip almost as if he was anticipating Harry's reaction and Harry gained twisted satisfaction from it. His omega wanted to please him.
He leaned in close to his omega's ear ignoring the way he slightly tensed. It only fuelled his rage towards himself. "This is amazing, pup. If you want to bake, I can get you whatever you need hm?" He pulled back to watch the redness that bloomed on his omega's cheeks. So soft. He almost reached out to caress his omega's cheek just to feel his skin. "I couldn't find you this morning." There was no heat behind his words although panic and fear gripped at his heart when he could not find Louis.
"I wanted to explore," Louis said. His words were soft, but it held an edge to it. Harry hated it. He hated that his omega did not enjoy speaking to him, but he had no one to blame, but himself.
"Okay," Harry conceded. He did not tell the omega about the fear or the panic he felt and he showed no emotions on his face. "The pack seems to like you." It was a statement. Louis hugged himself and shrugged. It was awkward. "I saw you liked reading. Maybe I can show you the library at home." The small light in Louis's eyes made his lips twitch slightly. His omega liked that idea. "Have you eaten? And I don't mean bread rolls." Louis shook his head. "Let's get you something to eat hm? I haven't eaten since last night either. Let's go," Harry said as he looked at Louis.
"You haven't eaten?" The omega sounded confused.
"You weren't there." Harry shrugged easily. Louis felt something build in his chest. A soft pressure. His often times kind, but other times cruel alpha had not eaten because he had not. That did not settle well with his omega who grew restless.
"I am sorry."
"It was my fault," Harry acknowledged as they walked through the streets with an occasional smile and a wave in the direction of their pack members. Louis did not deny it.
"Luna!" Louis stopped in his tracks when a little boy bound towards him. He had a wreath of flowers dangling in one of his hands. Louis bent down as he approached. His smile was so innocent and Louis could not remember a time he did not live in constant fear. "I made you a flower crown." The little boy blushed beautifully.
Louis cooed at his cuteness. "Thank you." Louis smiled softly at him and touched his reddened cheek.
He held it out for Louis. "Mama say I make the bestest flower crowns." He beamed at Louis.
"Oh, sweet boy. Thank you," Louis thanked him again as the boy gave him the crown made of wildflowers. "What is your name?" He asked him. The Styles pack made his heart grow fonder and he craved what most wolves here had. The love and the affection they had. The partners they had. The families they cherished. He wanted to be loved too.
"Elijah." The shy voice interrupted his downward spiral. Louis forced a smile onto his face as he looked at the boy. He kissed the boy's head before straightening himself.
"Your mama is right. You do make the best flower crowns," Louis said and the smile that grew on Elijah's face warmed his heart. The boy ran away giggling and he saw a young woman with an infant clutching him nodding at him in appreciation with a smile ghosting her face.
Louis looked down at the flower crown. It was sweet. The wildflowers were haphazardly placed and made it seem juvenile, but Louis loved it. "Do you want me to put it on you?" Harry's voice startled him. The alpha stood close to him when he turned around to face him.
Louis bit his lip. It was just for show. Harry was pretending in front of his pack. Louis did not want to throw a tantrum especially with an alpha that had not eaten because he had not. He nodded as he held the flower crown out for the alpha. Harry took it from him.
The alpha raked his fingers through Louis's hair under the pretense of smoothing it out before delicately placing the crown on his head. He was a sight. His blue eyes shone against the colours on his head. Louis shifted from foot to foot awkwardly and Harry cleared his throat. He stepped away from the omega and waited until Louis took the lead before falling into step beside him. "Our pack seems to like you a lot," Harry said. The word 'our' sounded so nice.
"It's very different from the pack I used to be in. Wolves are much happier here and I noticed there are male omegas here. I think there were others in my pack. I also think Alexander killed them. He didn't like me very much." Louis's voice grew small towards the end.
Harry lightly bumped his shoulder. He wanted to do so much more than that. He wanted to hold his omega, shield him from the world. "You will never be harmed here. Male omegas are extremely rare and we've only seen a few in our pack before, but they are also wolves. They are treated as such."
Louis nodded his head. Was it that hard to be kind? He would have asked Alexander that, but what good would it have done? "Thank you." He did not know what else to say to his alpha. He knew hoping for love was fool's play, but maybe they could be friends.
When they reached the pack house, Harry ordered everyone to leave including the guards and the staff. They all filed out of the house and Louis wondered where they all went. He bit his lip, the question on the tip of his tongue. "They have homes, pup. They only come for a few hours. The guards will also leave, but the ones on duty outside will remain. Do not worry," Harry said, sensing the turmoil of his omega.
"Oh," Louis said helplessly. "Why did you ask them to leave?" He asked instead.
Harry raised one of his eyebrows. "How else am I to cook for you?" Harry asked playfully.
"Is this your way of apologising?" Louis asked, just as cheeky as Harry. Louis could not help it. He would easily forgive his alpha.
"If it was, would you accept my apology?" Harry asked.
"Only if you stop being so mean to me." Louis's words were like a punch to his gut. Mean was such a trivial word, but it was meant to be felt. Harry was mean. Harry was mean to his omega. He was not rude or cold. He was mean.
Harry reached for his chest and rubbed to soothe the pressure he felt. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say all those things to you. It's just when you said you were not my omega, I got angry. I shouldn't have." Harry blew out a breath as they walked towards the kitchen. "Sit down for me, hm?" Harry pointed at a chair. Louis sat at the kitchen island as he watched the alpha.
Harry was his alpha. He knew that. Maybe Harry did get mad for what he said, but it did not justify the things he said. His words were so harsh and Louis could not just simply forget.
Harry pulled things out from cupboards as he asked Louis if he had fun with Niall. They made conversation while the food simmered and an aroma filled the air. Should Louis tell Harry he could not cook? It was expected from an omega, but nobody bothered with him since everyone knew he would be killed.
The conversation was not stilted and Harry let him ask questions to get to know the alpha. Harry did not pry into Louis's past. He took only what the omega gave and as Harry placed a plate of food in front of him, Louis had a shy smile on his face reserved for the alpha. They could be friends; Louis decided.
The flavours burst in his mouth as he ate it. His hunger came back with a vengeance, but he remembered that the alpha had not eaten either. "Aren't you eating?" He asked as he put his fork down.
"I will."
"Eat with me," he said. Harry watched him for a moment before he pushed away from the marble and fixed himself a plate. He sat beside Louis instead of across him and they both ate. Harry was a good cook, Louis deduced as he cleaned the food off his plate and waited for the alpha to do the same before he took both plates to wash.
Maybe he would not be miserable here. Maybe the Styles pack was truly different and so was the alpha.
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A toast to the end of exams. To think I never need any of these ever again in my life.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sort of a filler, but not really. They will reconcile eventually.