The next morning, Louis woke up alone in Harry's bed. The spot where the curly-haired boy had once laid was cold, indicating that Harry was already long gone. Sunlight shone brightly through the open window, and a lazy smile tugged at Louis's lips; Harry always slept better with a light breeze from outside sneaking into the room.
And he always slept better with Louis beside him.
Louis groaned loudly as he stretched, then rolled out of bed. He had the day off from training after their assignment last night, but he had promised his father that he would check in at the recruiting center. Even with all of their alphas already training to fight, their numbers were dwindling; the army needed more betas and omegas to volunteer, even if it wasn't necessarily their required duty to the pack.
He didn't bother to change his clothes; he was still in his typical soldier's uniform, even if it was slightly wrinkled from sleeping in it. Without a second thought, he just pulled on his light jacket and headed out the door onto the already-bustling main street. He offered a few hellos and good mornings to some familiar faces as he made his way down the street, but before too long, he had arrived at his destination.
The recruiting center was a sad and scary place. Most people who volunteered for the army simply had nothing else to do, or no other talents to offer besides their bodies. Many werewolves lived for the approval and acceptance of their pack, and it made Louis upset to think that pure desperation and loneliness was the main motivation for joining their armed forces.
The lines were already long, spilling out the front door and looping around the outside of the building. Louis checked his watch, surprised to find that it was only just past nine in the morning. He skipped the line and entered the small building; fortunately, most people moved aside at once when they saw him approaching. His status as a well-ranked soldier and the son of the head alpha came with those kinds of perks.
"And what skills can you offer the army?" the officer at the main table was asking, acting a bit too cold and condescending for Louis's liking.
Louis fought the urge to roll his eyes. Officers loved to exert their power over the rest of the pack, even though most of them had gained their positions through family connections rather than any actual skills or accomplishments. The army needed the numbers, so it really didn't matter what kind of talents or abilities the recruits had. If they had already presented and could control their inner wolves, that was plenty for them to be useful in the war.
Then the boy at the front of the line started to speak, and Louis's senses flipped into high alert. His alpha growled protectively, and he started pushing toward the front, ignoring the glares that the other potential recruits shot his way.
"I've worked as a healer since I was twelve years old," the curly-haired boy was explaining. "I'm only sixteen, but I'm sure I'll present soon. Even so, my healing abilities have nothing to do with my wolf, so I have a lot to offer."
"He won't be volunteering for anything," Louis's voice boomed dominantly through the crowded room. Harry whirled around, his eyes widening in surprise as the older boy stalked angrily toward the table.
"Oh, Tomlinson. Are you his . . ?" the officer began, already eying the bare skin where Harry's mate mark might someday be displayed.
"It doesn't matter what I am to him," Louis kept his tone firm and professional, taking advantage of his status as a well-known soldier and the future head-alpha of the pack. "His extensive knowledge of healing is needed here in town. If he tries to come back and volunteer again, you will turn him away and inform me immediately," he ordered coldly.
"Louis! You can't --" With a single hard glare from Louis, Harry lost his voice, the words catching on the lump in his throat before he could speak them into existence.
"Understood?" Louis snapped at the officer. The man just nodded, scribbling down a note and sticking it to Harry's file. Without another word, Louis snatched Harry's arm and dragged him from the recruiting center, working hard to contain the red-hot anger still flickering dangerously inside of him.
"Why did you do that?" Harry exclaimed. As soon as they were outside of the building, he tore his arm out of Louis's grasp, glaring angrily at the older boy. "I don't need you to shelter me like I'm some helpless little kid!"
"Well, apparently you do! What in the world were you thinking?" Louis raged, tugging on the ends of his hair to keep himself from punching the brick side of the building. "You don't just go putting yourself on the front lines! Offering yourself up like fresh meat!"
"You did!" Harry pointed out. "You signed up for the army just weeks after you presented!"
Louis froze, gaping at the younger boy. "That was completely different, Harry. You're too young! You haven't even presented yet, and even when you do present --"
"I don't care! It doesn't matter when I present or what I present as!" Harry exploded, tears welling up in his eyes out of pure frustration. "I'm useless! My father hates me! At least if I die out there, he might finally be proud of me!"
Louis's face softened instantly, his rage melting into an overwhelming need to comfort the younger boy, and he couldn't stop himself from reaching for Harry. "Oh, H. I'm sorry. Come here, love, it's okay."
Despite his swelling anger, Harry went willingly, sinking into Louis's chest. Louis held him close, cradling Harry's head gently against his shoulder. Harry sighed, already starting to feel a bit calmer with Louis's comforting presence surrounding him.
"You play such an important role here, love," Louis soothed him, rubbing Harry's back as the younger boy hid his flushed face in Louis's jacket.
"Try telling my father that."
Louis sighed, squeezing Harry's waist supportively. "Yeah, well, he's one of the most 'alpha' alphas I've ever met. You are so, so talented, Harry, and you have so much to offer. The army is no place for someone like you."
"Wait, hold on." Harry pulled back, locking eyes with Louis. "'Someone like me'? You think you're more qualified to fight than me just because you're an alpha?" he accused.
Louis scrunched his nose in confusion. "No, of course not. You know damn well I don't believe in that ancient hierarchy bullshit."
"But if I do end up presenting as an alpha, you wouldn't hesitate to send me off to the front lines," Harry reasoned, tilting his head as he glared at the older boy. Louis opened his mouth to take back his poorly-worded statement, but Harry cut him off before he could. "No, stop. I don't even want to hear your stupid explanation. I can't even look at you right now."
"Harry, I didn't --" Louis reached for the younger boy, his head still spinning from Harry's sudden outburst.
"No, get away from me!" Harry shoved him away, and Louis stumbled back a few steps, caught off guard. Without wasting another second, he turned and stalked away from the recruiting center down the bustling main street.
"Harry, wait!"
"Don't follow me," Harry warned, shooting Louis another glare that was meant to be intimidating. Instead, all Louis could see was the hurt and fear shining in those green eyes.
Not wanting to go home and risk running into his father, Harry headed straight to the infirmary. Niall was in the process of mixing some sort of medication, grinding up green leaves with an oval-shaped stone. The Irish boy froze as soon as Harry appeared in the doorway, furrowing his brow in confusion.
"Hey, you don't work today," he commented casually. "Why are you . . .?"
Harry slammed the front door behind him, the loud bang vibrating through the otherwise empty room. Then he stormed into the building, barely acknowledging Niall's presence.
"Okay, whoa, slow down!" Niall exclaimed, turning around on his stool to face Harry. "What happened, mate? You look like you might pop a blood vessel."
"I hate Louis," Harry growled out, tugging on the ends of his hair with frustration. "I hate him! I hate him!"
Niall gaped at him -- sure, Louis and Harry had argued in the past, but never to this point. Harry rarely got this angry about anything, let alone something Louis had done. "Hey, stop. You don't hate him. What in the world happened?! I mean, honestly, it's only ten in the morning!"
Harry paused, his head already starting to clear up from his rage-induced haze."Well . . . I may have tried to sign up for the army?"
Niall's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "You what?! Harry, why would you do that? That's so dangerous, and besides, you love working here!"
"I know, I know!" Harry groaned, his tone bordering on defensive despite his embarrassment about his reckless actions. "But I just feel so useless sometimes, you know? Members of our pack are dying out there, and we're just here acting like everything is fine."
Niall shot him a look of disbelief. "Mate, you literally saved a soldier's life yesterday. He was hanging by a thread, and you pulled him back. I understand where you're coming from, but you're the furthest thing from useless."
Harry sighed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to ease his pounding headache. Then the front door swung open again, creaking ominously on its hinges. The two boys snapped their heads toward the source of the sound, both of them half-expecting Louis to storm into the infirmary.
"Oh, Jesus. Did Louis kill someone or something? I could hear you yelling all the way down the road." Zayn commented, studying Harry's face carefully.
Niall exhaled sharply, clearly relieved that he didn't have to deal with a rage-driven alpha so early in the morning. Harry just scrunched his nose, even more annoyed than before. "Why would this be about Louis?"
Zayn shrugged, offering a short explanation: "I don't think anybody else could get you so upset."
"What are you even doing here?" Niall asked, scanning Zayn's body for any apparent injuries. "You're not hurt. Shouldn't you be at training?"
"They gave everyone the day off today, even the soldiers who didn't go on the assignment last night. Most of the officers are at the border making sure security gets back to normal," Zayn explained. "I got bored."
Niall hummed his understanding. "Well, you won't be bored anymore. We get to witness the most unexpected argument of the century! I'm just glad we get to deal with the Harry side of it . . . poor Liam is probably serving as Louis's punching bag."
"I'm tired of feeling weak," Harry declared suddenly. "And Louis thinks I'm weak! I can see it in his face."
Niall was already shaking his head. "Louis definitely doesn't think you're weak. Just because he cares about you and doesn't want you hurt -- that doesn't mean he thinks you're weak."
"Then why does he act like I can't take care of myself? Like I can't make my own decisions?"
"Oh, come on, Haz. I don't want to defend him, but . . ." Niall paused, clearly trying to find the right words to express his take on the situation. "He can't really help it, can he?"
"Of course he can help it!" Harry snapped, unable to contain his overwhelming frustration with the whole situation. "He's a grown man, and he needs to learn to control himself. He can't keep treating me like a little kid!"
Zayn cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, he's not exactly treating you like a little kid, is he? He's treating you like you're his . . . well, uh, I don't know."
"His what?"
"Nevermind," Niall jumped in, shooting Zayn a subtle glare and changing the subject as quickly as it was brought up. "Do you want to help me with this medicine? It's a new one I'm working on, so I can show you how to make it."
Harry eyed his friends suspiciously, but he crossed the room to sit down beside Niall. Zayn dropped into an open chair behind the two healers, opening up a random book from the shelf and starting to read about ancient poisons and their antidotes.
"Okay, I already have ginger, chamomile, and some oil in the bowl. So you can start grinding those up before we add them my mixture," Niall directed, sliding a pile of plantain leaves across the table toward Harry. "Maybe you can get some of your anger out by pretending the leaves are Louis," he suggested.
"Did you really just tell him to pretend to grind on Louis?" Zayn interjected, looking up from his reading and raising his eyebrows.
"So what if I did?" Niall shot back, glancing back at Zayn over his shoulder with an amused look on his face. "He's doing pretty well with that direction, I'd say."
Harry didn't hesitate to shove Niall's shoulder, nearly knocking the Irish boy out of his chair. "I hope this medicine we're working on is an effective antidote, because I won't hesitate to poison your dinner."
Zayn threw his head back and laughed, while Niall gaped at Harry. "Remind me to never let you fight with Louis again. You're much nicer when you're not angry with him," the Irish boy pouted.
"And I'm sure he's not in the best mood right now either," Zayn added. "If Louis is even half as upset as you are about this argument, I'm genuinely worried for Liam's safety."
"I'm sure he doesn't even care," Harry grumbled, still trying to hide his hurt feelings with anger. "He's probably better off without me and my random emotional outbursts."
"Don't say that. You know that's the furthest thing from the truth," Niall chided him.
"Someone has to keep Louis in check," Zayn said simply. "And if you're planning on poisoning Niall, I'd say you need someone to keep you in check as well."