Harry stuck extra close to Louis for the rest of the day and for most of the day after that. He made sure to be waiting for Louis outside of the classroom the moment Louis got out of class even though there weren’t any alphas in the school other than himself. He was extremely paranoid, and Louis found it a tad endearing that Harry cared that much. Niall tagged along with them still like always, rambling on to Louis about a footie match. Harry walked pressed close to Louis, his arm around Louis’ waist. He was too busy watching the people around them to talk.
However, when they reached their last class of the day, Harry sighed, “I won’t be able to meet you after this. I have another alpha meeting to go to.”
Louis frowned, and Niall took that as a hint to go ahead and go into the classroom so he could leave the two boys their space, “Again? You have a meeting again?”
“It’s not two days like the last one,” Harry promised. “I’ve just got to go check out right now and then I should be back by dinner.”
Still, the omega poked his lips out in a pout until Harry kissed him softly. Sighing, Louis placed a hand on Harry’s cheek, gazing up at the alpha, “I guess… sure you don’t want to take me with you?”
Like always, Harry took things far too seriously when it came to Louis’ safety, even if Louis was teasing, “I couldn’t risk putting you in danger like that. All those alphas… one alpha knowing about you is enough to make me lose sleep.”
Louis rolled his eyes, but he was running out of time to get into his classroom, so he simply hugged Harry one last time, “I know, I know, you’re a big worrying oaf. But I love you and I’m going to miss you. Who’s taking me home, or am I walking?”
Harry scoffed, fixing Louis’ hair that had been mussed during their hugging, “Zayn and Niall are taking you home of course. You all can do homework there or do whatever you all do when I’m gone.”
The final bell rang, and Harry’s nose scrunched. Louis kissed him one last time, standing on his toes to do so, and then he scurried into the classroom and plopped down next to Niall. He could still see Harry standing in the hall and looking a little lost, but Harry waved sadly and then disappeared off down the hall. Niall was watching Louis and saw as the omega’s face fell, and he reached over to poke him, “Cheer up, mate. Harry’s going to be back tonight, you don’t need to be with him all the time anyway.”
“Just because I don’t need to be doesn’t mean I don't want to be,” Louis sighed. “Run into one alpha in the grocery store and then I’m not allowed to go out with Harry ever.”
“Harry is going to meet with alphas!” Niall laughed, but the teacher shushed them and they had to quiet down for class.
When school finally ended, Zayn met them at the front doors, and he smirked at Louis as he and Niall walked up, “So what did you say to Harry to make him so guilty?”
“Wait, what?” Louis arched a brow, and Zayn held the door open for them to go out.
He didn’t respond until he was following along behind Louis and Niall, “Harry called me and asked me to make sure you were okay, like not upset. Told me he put his debit card in my car and that I should get you whatever you want.”
Louis smirked, “He is so whipped… all I did is pout a little and ask why I couldn’t come. I mean, yes, I’m sad, but Niall’s right. He’ll be back this evening and if I spend too much time with him we could possibly be at each other’s throats eventually. Although, I’m not turning down an opportunity for ice cream so let’s go get that.”
“It’s winter,” Zayn frowned.
“I don’t care,” Louis grinned, and then continued in a sing-song voice. “Whatever I want, Harry said.”
And Louis did get what he wanted, much to his and Niall’s joy. They returned home with hot fudge sundaes from a local ice cream parlor, and to pass the time they started on homework. But they could only kill so much time with the homework they had. Soon their ice cream was gone and their homework was finished, and yet Harry wasn’t supposed to be home for another two hours.
Louis flung himself down miserably onto Niall and Zayn’s bed, “What am I supposed to do now?”
The Irishman got up, walking over to the Xbox in the corner of Zayn’s room and turning it on, “We could… play Black Ops Zombies?”
“Sure, why not,” Louis sighed.
“Awesome, let me get Zayn,” Niall crowed, bolting from the room.
The blond eventually came triumphantly back into the room, leading Zayn behind him, and he passed out the controllers happily. Louis did enjoy the game, and he figured it would kill time until Harry returned, so he let Niall hand him the third player controller and waited as Niall set the game up. However, when they had to choose users, Louis purposely chose the one Niall always took.
“I get to be the user Ireland,” he declared.
“No way, sign out and give that back!” Niall demanded.
“Nope, I got it first,” Louis disagreed.
Zayn held up his hands, moving out of the way of their battle. The blond wolf tossed down his controller and lunged to try and grab Louis’ so he could sign the omega out. Louis twisted away, craning his arms as far as he could away from Niall. Niall was much bigger than Louis though, and he could easily stretch and grab at Louis’ arms.
“Give it!” Niall whined.
“No!” Louis squirmed, trying to roll away. He managed to worm his way out of Niall’s grip and made a dash for the door. Niall beat him there, holding his arms out to block Louis’ path.
“Gotcha,” Niall smirked, so Louis lowered his head and charged Niall.
He head-butted the wolf in the stomach, but head-butting also involved ramming his nose against Niall’s arm that flew up to try and shield himself. Louis dropped the controller then, stumbling backwards with a frown and reaching to touch his sore nose, “Ouch, you jerk-”
“You head-butted- oh shit,” Niall’s jaw dropped, and Zayn’s head snapped up towards Louis.
Louis felt it then, the wetness coming from his nose and dripping down over his lips and chin, most likely onto the floor. He looked at his hand to find the bright red substance, and then he all but screeched, “I’m bleeding! I have a bloody nose!”
“Calm down, calm down,” Zayn rushed to his aid, searching frantically until he spotted an old towel in the hamper. “I think Niall used this for his hair, put it on your nose while I get ice.”
“I gave Louis’ a bloody nose,” Niall croaked, his eyes wide and horrified. “I’m going to die.”
“I’m the one that head-butted you, why would I try to kill you?” Louis groaned, clutching the towel to his nose. “Gross, blood is on my mouth!”
“Not you,” Niall hissed. “Your boyfriend!”
“Nah. Harry won’t even find out, now can you help me to the bathroom so I can wash my chin and mouth?” Louis mumbled around the towel, and Niall immediately nodded and moved to help the younger lad.
*~*
Harry wanted to leave the moment he entered the alpha meeting. They were all idly talking amongst themselves, but when Harry entered the room they all turned to look at him. It was then that Harry saw the familiar blonde hair, the stubbly beard, and the muscled form. His blood boiled, and he strongly considered storming out before he caused a scene, but it wouldn’t be very alpha like if he left the meeting. So, he forced himself over to a chair as everyone looked away once more, and he sat down, trying not to glare at Kaleb.
Ignoring Kaleb was hard to do, however, when Kaleb pointed to Harry and called out over the low hum of talking, “Guys, he’s the one with the omega. Harry Styles.”
Harry froze, refusing to believe that Kaleb had just exposed Louis. Louis wasn’t his to talk about, no one else was supposed to know about Louis. The curly haired alpha was on his feet in an instant, snapping out, “But it’s none of your business, so let’s all just sit down and have a meeting. What the hell are we talking about this time?”
“Pack space, pack members,” the leader of the meetings said slowly. “You’ve made a new addition to your pack?”
“Yes, I have, and he will stay in my pack,” Harry said firmly, crossing his arms but refusing to sit down as everyone else sat. There were several alphas that were bigger than him, but if it came down to it he would fight all of them if they got near Louis. The mere thought of them taking Louis made him feel sick to his stomach.
“An omega?” the meeting leader, Harry thought he recalled his name being Daniel, pressed.
Harry was quiet, he didn’t want to tell them about Louis. But if the others thought that he was hiding secrets they could start a fight against him which would get all the other pack members involved, and he couldn’t do that. Sighing, he gave two quick nods of his head, eyeing all the other alphas to gauge their reactions. There was a lot of whispering, whispering that made his skin prickle, and he growled quietly, “He isn’t available. He is part of my pack, and-”
“He’s not bonded,” Kaleb interrupted. “Crazy, right?”
“Stop,” Harry snarled. “He will be eventually.”
“Very well, very well,” Daniel called out. “Everyone settle. Harry has found an omega, which is going to be very good for all of us. As you all know, omegas are known for producing more omegas. We’re going to hope that when this omega of Harry’s starts childbearing that there will be several omegas born. They can be distributed to the packs for raising.”
“No?” Harry said in alarm. “They’re going to stay with their family pack and leave if they decide they want to leave… you are not taking any of my future children.”
“Clearly we have someone here who is not willing to discuss pack members, so let’s move on to territory. Would anyone like to request more?” Daniel finally sighed, but he gave Harry a cold look.
Harry sat down in his chair so that he wouldn’t kick it over, quietly seething as he glared at the alphas around him. A few kept glancing at him, and Kaleb was full-out staring. Harry wanted nothing more than for the meeting to end. If the stupid alphas around him weren’t trying to take his omega they were trying to take his children that weren’t even born yet. He didn’t dare tell Louis, it would only worry him. Louis might refuse to bond if he knew that alphas were on their case like they were.
When the meeting finally ended, Harry got up and stormed straight out. He was so stressed and angry that his hands shook, and he glanced at all the other alphas heading towards their vehicles. There was a slight fear in the back of his mind that one was going to follow him home, but if that were to happen he knew Zayn would be waiting on the front porch with Louis tucked safely away inside the house, and there would be a battle right there in front of the pack house if needed.
But no one followed Harry as he drove the fifteen minutes home, and by the time he reached the pack house he wanted nothing more than to go in and cuddle with Louis. Louis had a talent at making him feel better, and he had missed the omega. All the other alphas didn’t care about Louis like Harry cared, they just wanted him for his omega status. Harry climbed from the car, sluggishly walking up the steps and opening the front door. Zayn froze where he was on the second to the last step, gaping in surprise at Harry, and then the smell hit the alpha.
It was Louis’ smell, but it was tainted in a coppery scent that made Harry’s stomach twist and his heart swell up into his throat. The trembling in his hands was back as he strode forward to grab at Zayn, “What happened? What happened, where is he, where’s Louis?”
Zayn pointed towards the hall bathroom, and he tried to touch Harry’s shoulder as he spoke, “That way, he’s fine but-”
Harry was already yanking away though, racing for the bathroom to find Niall holding a baggie of ice wrapped in a bloody rag to Louis’ face. The sweater Louis wore, Harry’s sweater, was covered in blood. Louis’ blood.
“Harry!” Louis’ eyes lit up, and Harry couldn’t see the lower half of his face but he assumed Louis had smiled. That did nothing to soothe the nausea he could feel, the growing panic at the sight of his hurt omega. Louis shouldn’t have been anything but healthy and happy.
“Oh my god,” Harry croaked. “What happened, he’s hurt, what happened to him?”
He nudged Niall out of the way, although Niall still held onto the ice and rag as he examined Harry’s anxious eyes, “It’s a nosebleed…”
“Fuck,” Harry whispered, stroking Louis’ hair and looking crushed. “Are you… are you okay, baby?”
“It’s just a nosebleed, not a fatal wound,” Louis giggled, his voice muffled by the rag.
“Please…” Harry tried to keep his gaze off of Louis’ blood covered sweater. “I need to know.”
“Yes, I’m alright,” Louis’ brow furrowed. Harry could tell by his expression that he’d be frowning. “Harry, what’s the matter?”
“You’re hurt,” Harry said miserably, kissing Louis’ forehead as he nudged Niall’s hand out of the way so he could take up rag duties. “I think… I think the blood stopped though, it doesn’t smell fresh.”
The alpha carefully removed the rag away from Louis’ face, dabbing gently at the blood smeared gruesomely on the omega’s cheeks. It was a sight Harry never wanted to see again. Louis’ fingers reached up to rub at the swollen bridge of his nose, and he winced, “That smarts a bit.”
Zayn appeared in the doorway behind them, and Harry turned away from Louis just long enough to get the rag wet before he snapped at the beta, “How in the hell did this happen?”
“It was me,” Louis said immediately. “We were just playing Black Ops Zombies and I got a little excited and accidentally whacked myself in the nose with the controller. Zayn and Niall have been playing doctor ever since.”
Harry had set to work gently wiping blood from Louis’ face with feather light touches. His voice was soft when he gently touched Louis’ hip, giving a careful tug on the sweater, “Can you take this off, lovely?”
Louis tugged off the sweater, grunting as it brushed over his sore nose, and then he stood still as Harry’s hands gently cupped his face so the alpha could inspect the damage. Harry kissed the bruising skin softly, and Louis hummed, “Thank you, that actually makes it feel better.”
“I don’t think it was broken…” Harry murmured softly. His face was still pained, and his chest still had a dull ache from his previous panicking, but Louis smell was already smelling cleaner and less tainted. Much more healthy and uninjured.
“How did the pack meeting go?” Zayn asked.
Harry pulled Louis carefully into his arms, resting his head atop the smaller lad’s, “It sucked. They all… they all know Zayn, so we’re going to have to take extra precautions. Long story short I’m probably never sleeping again. And Louis, Louis you need either me, Niall, or Zayn with you at all times, alright?”
“Wait, they know?” Niall gasped. “They know about Louis?”
“Yeah. Yeah they know,” Harry sighed.
The alpha felt Louis’ arms squeeze him tightly, and Louis craned his head back to kiss Harry’s chin, “Don’t stress about it Harry, they can’t come on pack territory easily. Let’s just go cuddle or something.”
Harry’s eyes fell on the bloodied jumper on the floor and then on the bloody rag in the sink. He shuddered, nodding his head, “Okay… okay, yeah. Zayn or Niall, could you maybe throw out the rag and the sweater? I don’t think the stains will ever come out.”
“Ah, that’s your sweater, I’m sorry,” Louis frowned. “I bet one of our mum’s could get out the stain.”
“I don’t want it anymore,” Harry shook his head. “Thank you, though.”
He tried to usher Louis from the bathroom so they could go cuddle, but Louis seemed determined to pick up the sweater, “You’re just going to throw it out?”
“Sweaters are replaceable,” Harry let Louis pick the bloody clothing up, but he gently took it from him with shaky hands and held it out to Zayn. Zayn took it, and turned to head upstairs with it to throw it out. Niall scurried after him, and Louis looked up at Harry in concern.
“Well yeah, but-”
“You’re not replaceable.”
Louis’ blushed at that, and the color in his cheeks made his bruised nose seem even worse, “Harry, love, it was just a nosebleed… I’m fine.”
“I didn’t like it,” Harry mumbled.
“Alright, let’s go cuddle,” Louis cooed, and he let Harry escort him back into their room where Harry stripped off his shirt as well so that he and Louis could be chest to chest without clothing between them. He can smell Louis’ clean, uninjured, and unmarked by alpha’s scent better. It’s the second time that Louis has let Harry hold him so that the alpha can calm down, and Harry feels so incredibly grateful.
Harry stroked hair off of Louis’ forehead, gazing into the omega’s blue eyes. He thinks they’re beautiful, “Hey… try to be careful when I’m not here to make sure you’re safe, okay? No more hitting your nose with Xbox controllers. I just… I got back from meeting with all those alphas who know about you now, and I could smell the blood the second I stepped into the house. I was so scared.”
“Just a nosebleed,” Louis reminded for the third time. “And I’m your omega, so no other alphas are going to bother us.”
Louis’ words do help Harry calm down in the slightest. Harry loves hearing Louis call himself Harry’s omega.
“I missed you,” Louis continued.
“I love you,” Harry kissed Louis softly then, ending the conversation other than Louis’ ‘I love you too’ against Harry’s lips.
They eventually put shirts back on to head upstairs for dinner, and Louis holds Harry’s hand under the table while Harry tells the members in the pack house how the meeting went. As Harry explained how the alphas had talked about wanting to make additions to their packs, all of the wolves at the table looked to Louis. Harry squeezed Louis hand gently, shaking his head, “No. He’s our member. They aren’t going to get him.”
The pack doesn’t seem very worried after that, and Harry felt less worried as well at the feeling of Louis’ hand in his. It’s made more than clear to Harry then just how much he needed Louis, and he’s determined to keep his omega away from other alpha’s and out of harm’s way.