Liam made a spark, and the bonfire lit up in an instant, roaring with crackling orange flames, heating the shivering werewolves who stood around it.
"Perfect. I'll put the outside heaters on, and when it's warm enough, Zayn can sit outside too,"
Ares said, disappearing around the side of the house.
Vincent rubbed his hands together, watching the flames like they were hypnotising him.
"Very therapeutic, don't you think?" he asked.
Liam nodded and Vincent turned to him, studying his face. "I talked to Harry earlier. He's not coming tonight."
"Is he gonna be okay?" Liam asked quietly.
"Of course." Vincent put an arm of reassurance around him. "There's a lot on his chest that he's not talking about, and sometimes people lose themselves, and it's normal, especially in this situation. Life for Harry isn't average, and living with werewolves, demons, and angels is hard for him to keep a secret because he is the only human in the house. He feels secluded, and we haven't noticed him distancing himself."
"He's very far from being alone, though. I wish he could see that."
"Me too." Vincent rubbed his arm, "and he will. He just needs a little help."
Liam nodded, watching Zayn through the window, who sat on a stool in the kitchen. After his nap, Zayn felt a lot better, and he was definitely on the mend.
"Try and enjoy tonight. I know Harry is worrying us, but l'm sure he'll come around if we have an intervention or something," Vincent smiled, moving across the garden to greet his pack.
"Your temperature has gone down," Louis said to Zayn as Liam slipped off his boots and returned to his mate's side.
"I know, I don't feel so feverish anymore" Zayn said, grabbing Liam's waist and pulling him close. "Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to breathe through my nose again."
Liam smiled, hugging him back with a distant stare.
"You okay?" Zayn thought.
"Yeah, just thinking about Harry"
"He's not coming to the bonfire, is he?"
"No. He's probably at-" Liam stopped when two people entered the kitchen, stumbling and laughing.
"Surprise" Harry said with an arm around Olivia's shoulders, grinning like he was up to no good.
Olivia took a large swig from the bottle in her hand, then tried to place it on the counter but missed. It smashed all over the floor, covering it cheap red wine.
Eirene came rushing in, hoping it wasn't her windows again and almost stood on the glass before Louis stopped her.
"What happened?" she asked, eyeing Olivia who laughed, rolling her head back and resting it on Harry.
Louis looked away, tensing his jaw as always.
"We're drunk, duh," Olivia giggled, pulling at Harry's head to kiss him when she noticed how uncomfortable Louis looked.
"Liam, can you grab me the dustpan and brush please?" Eirene asked, crouching to pick up the larger pieces of glass.
Liam rushed to the cupboards as Olivia pulled Harry through the kitchen and outside without saying another word.
"That's fine, we'll clean up your mess," Louis mocked, now feeling like crawling into his bed, hiding the fact that his mood had hit the ground faster than the bottle of alcohol.
"She's so rude," Eirene mumbled to herself as Zayn pulled over the hoover to pick up tiny shards of glass they might have missed.
"I can't wait until they break up," Lou sighed, taking the hoover from his ill Alpha. "You should put on a hat; it's chilly tonight."
"I'll be fine-" Zayn paused when Liam already had one for him and was pulling it over his ears.
"You guys are treating me like a five-year-old."
"Cause ya act like one," Lou sniggered and jumped back so Zayn couldn't shove him, but slipped on the wine and fell on his back, hitting his head on the stool. "Ow!"
Harry turned quickly, looking through the
doorway with blurred vision.
"Are you okay?" Zayn asked and hurried to pull him to his feet.
"Yeah, all cool. I meant to do that."
"Sure" Eirene grinned, grabbing frozen peas from the freezer. "Here. That was quite a heavy blow to your head."
Lou carefully wrapped the peas in a tea towel and placed them against his throbbing head. He turned to see if anyone from the garden saw. Of course, the one person he always tried to impress was watching him, though Harry did look concerned, and also seemed like he was about to ask something before Olivia pulled him away.
"Please, please, please let me push her into the bonfire" Lou begged.
"Lilith has had too much of an influence on you," Zayn said, turning to sneeze until his brain rattled against his skull.
"Olivia is more controlling than a werewolf" Liam said, watching Lou nod.
"Why doesn't Harry see that?"
"I don't know, but he's not in love with her. I don't know why he's with her." Eirene pulled on a thick coat and went to help Ares with the heaters.
"Micah said that he's wearing rose-tinted glasses, so he can't see the red warning signs like everyone else. The relationship is too new for him to realise that she's not right for him. Nobody ever is."
"Micah is so wise," Zayn said, rubbing his mates back when he started to fidget. "Are you not up for socialising tonight?"
Liam shook his head and replied, "Not really."
Zayn understood it was because of Olivia. His Godly powers naturally draw in humans who subconsciously idolise him, and it get's too much for Liam.
"Let's watch a film or something. It is pretty cold for me outside."
"Can I join?" Louis asked.
"Sure, let's set up a mini cinema in the living room."
Lou's eyes lit up, and he started raiding the cupboards with Liam for snacks.
Within ten minutes, they sat down in the living-room with dim lights and a scary film going through the opening credits. Liam was already hiding his face against Zayn, not enjoying how he was outvoted for a horror night.
Louis sank into a leather armchair, laughing at how Liam jumped at a burst of music, encouraging the title of the film to seem more frightening.
"I'm not gonna sleep tonight," Liam breathed, gripping Zayn's t-shirt.
"I'll be sleeping with the lights on," Lou admitted, grabbing a bowl of popcorn and almost choking when Harry stumbled into the room, followed by Olivia's high pitched screams of annoyance.
"Can we join?" she asked, pushing drunk Harry onto the couch and slamming the door behind her.
"No, but whatever," Louis whispered under his breath.
The atmosphere grew thick and dense, and it wasn't due to the tension from the film about a haunting, it was from the glaring contest between Olivia and the Beta.
Liam and Zayn looked at one another when
Lou stood up, avoiding Harry's eyes like they would turn him to stone.
"I'm going to bed. See you all tomorrow" He sulked out of the room, trying not to feel too upset. He has lived through Harry's relationships before, but this one felt like too much.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
The next morning Harry woke when something freezing landed on him, covering his mouth and nose. He gasped and fell off the side of the couch, rubbing his face with his forearms and staring at a pair of feet.
Ares stood over him with a jug, now empty because he poured the content over the human.
"What the hell were you thinking when you pulled last night's stunt?" Ares growled as
Harry slowly climbed to his feet, dazed and confused. "Bringing Olivia to a werewolf meet up is endangering us all. Bringing her here without telling anyone is bad enough, but inviting her to be around werewolves who don't know she is human was a stupid mistake. There are too many different supernatural beings masking her scent, that's why we can never smell her. Are you trying to out us?"
"No, no, of course not. She insisted-"
"The word no does exist Harry. Olivia doesn't control you."
"Ares, I'll take it from here," Vincent said, pulling on his guilty son's shoulder. He led Harry upstairs and towards his bedroom.
"Get a shower, take some paracetamol, and get some sleep. There's toast next to your bed if you're hungry." Vincent stopped outside the bedroom door and turned to leave, but Harry grabbed his arm.
"Am I a disappointment?" he whispered. Vincent's heart dropped when the tears welled up in his son's eyes.
"Don't you ever think that." He wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight. "You're going through some issues right now, and you're making some questionable decisions, but you will never be a disappointment to me. I just wish you would talk like we used to. Everyone in this house is here for you if, and when, you need us."
"I'm a burden," Harry said with a quivering lip.
"Why on earth do you think that?" Vincent couldn't hug him tight enough.
"I have no purpose anymore. I'm just the useless human, getting in the way all the time."
"You need to stop these thoughts, Harry. they're untrue, you hold a purpose, just like-"
"I don't" Harry pulled back, rubbing at the tears on his cheek. "Nobody cares. I just exist-"
"How, dare, you!" a voice yelled from down
the hall, and Louis stomped over with messy hair and dark circles under his eyes. "Nobody cares? Nobody cares!?"
"Lou-" Vincent said, but the Beta wolf hushed him.
"No, I'm fed up with this. Are you fucking blind Harry? I have been here for you every single second. I've tried so hard to include you and be here for you. You know how hard it is for me to be around you because you stole my heart and trampled all over it. Why can't you see that I'm right here? My friendship is right in front of you, and you brush me off like I'm not important to you, then you have the decency to say that nobody cares? Unbelievable. You really have changed." Lou turned and stomped back down the corridor, knowing he will regret his words. In the heat of the moment, he had to say it.
Harry was left speechless. Louis has never spoken to him that way, but everything he said was right, and deep down, Harry knew that. He has always known that.