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Chapter Text

They came slowly at first. Only one a two a week, surrounding the Tomlinson territory line like vultures waiting for an animal to die. But, as the days stretched on, and the full moon loomed ever closer the numbers increased, mateless males showing up in packs of ten.

Most of them kept their distance, respectful of the new pack they had come to claim as their own, watching and waiting. But, some of them, unfortunately, were not so timid. From far and wide they had felt it happen, sensed it in the air; the Alpha was dead, and with no son to pass the duty on to, the Tomlinson pack would be leaderless until the next full moon, where these males would fight, some of them to the death, for the honor of Alpha.

The pack consisted of mostly females, but there was also one other sweet prize to be won; a single male omega.

*

"Come with me, Louis" Lottie pleaded "It won't be any fun without you."

The younger females in the pack had taken up the habit in recent weeks of going down to the river that marked the pack's eastern territory line and watching the males watch them. Lottie, Louis eldest sister had come every day begging him to go down with her.

Louis doesn't move from his perch on the window seat, stoney faced and silent as usual.

"You've been up here for weeks, the full moon is soon don't you want to see the potential alphas? It isn't healthy to sit inside all day staring out of that window."

Again she's met with silence, her pleading going unanswered. "Louis, this sulking isn't going to bring him back, he's gone, it's done."

"I don't want to hear this."

"He's dead."

"You think I don't know that better than anyone?" Louis snaps viciously.

Lottie takes a surprised step backwards but goes on anyway. "Markus is dead and there is nothing anyone can do to bring him back, Louis, but there are over a hundred males here, one of them will be out alpha whether we like it or not. Isn't it worth having a look instead of sitting in here feeling miserable?"

"I'm the only one that cared about Markus at all, he was our alpha, he died to save us and everybody's acting like he didn't even matter."

"It's been three weeks, Louis." Lottie said soothingly.

"So what?"

"So you really think you're helping your pack by staying locked up in your room staring out of a window for days on end? We're all worried sick. We've already lost our alpha, now we're losing our Louis?"

Louis looks away from his sister again, guilt riddled. "You aren't losing me, I'm just-"

"Just what? Tell me." Lottie's voice was earnest. "I just want to help you feel better, I've been going nuts without you around, I've been having to hang around the other girls, and you know I can't stand half of them."

Louis can't help the smirk that curves the corner of his mouth "How have they been treating you?"

"Terrible, I'd kick their asses if mom wouldn't slit my throat for wreaking havoc so close to a big event. I missed you so badly, Lou."

"I missed you too." It isn't a lie.

"Come down with me please." She begged "If it isn't fun we'll turn right around."

"Fine." he sighed finally.

--

The river was packed with bodies, most of them male. Licking their chops and eyeing the young females wantingly, Louis was immediately disgusted. Casting disapproving electric blue eyes over the whole scene.

Most of them were show offs, wanting to impress a potential mate, they play wrestled in the swift current of the river throwing each other around to show off their power. None of them would cut it as alpha, of this the omega was sure.

Wolf whistles followed the two siblings as they made their way downstream in their wolf forms, Lottie a pretty blonde wolf and Louis a beautiful tawny. They found a shaded spot and settled in to watch the practice games.

Louis rested his furry head on his paws, disinterest evident in his posture, it was no secret he wasn't enjoying watching the males toss each other around like rag dolls, but with Lottie's excitement rolling off her in waves he couldn't bring himself to ditch his sister who he'd been ignoring for weeks.

The pair watched as a large grey and black wolf circled a slightly smaller brown one. They snapped and snarled at each other in a slowly escalating grapple, before wrestling to the floor.

The grey wolf got the better of the brown, tossing him onto his back in a dominant gesture, making sure to shoot a look on the pack's side of the river, expression supremely pleased to find a few females with their eyes already on him. Both wolves moved out of the way to make room for the next match, and two more took their place.

The first time Louis sees him, he's just a flash of white, of teeth and fierce eyes.

His white coat glinted silver in the sunlight, and though he wasn't the oldest male present, he was nearly the biggest. His impressive stature mixed with this dominant air that seemed to follow him wherever he went brought every pack member's attention onto him.

He waded into the river, lean muscles contracting under fur. Lottie nudged her brother and giggled, "Still having doubts on whether our new alpha is here or not?" she teased.

Louis shrugged and continued to watch half dazed, as a large reddish brown male made his way toward the silver wolf in the middle of the swiftly moving river. They began to circle slowly, both searching for an opening, some place to strike, and the other wolves just minutes before filled with gossip and chatter, subsided into silence, no one daring to speak, even the wind in the trees seemed to grow silent.

The white wolf's fur stood on end, his lips curled back in the most furious of facial expressions, and through the silence a snarl rumbled out of his throat and into the air. For a split second a look of sheer terror clouded the features of the darker wolf, a terror beyond words, one of submission and fear, but before the red wolf could submit, as Louis sure he would have, the white wolf descended. Attacking without warning he tackled the red wolf, and they went down hard, sending a wave of water splashing onto either side of the river bank.

It didn't last long, and everyone present soon found out the red wolf though similar in size was no match. It ended with a yelp, and an audible 'pop' from the red wolf's leg, and they all watched as limping and whimpering he drug himself out of the water, and as far away from the white wolf as possible.

Raising to his feet, his chest heaving slightly from the fight, his coat dripping crystal droplets the white wolf turned his head and scanned the river bank on the female's side, searching until his eyes landed on the Tomlinson siblings.

The white wolf's eyes seemed to burrow into Louis' striking him dumb, and unable to speak or move he watched as the large wolf put himself into motion, trotting purposefully out of the river, and up toward the spot where Louis and Lottie both sat frozen, shaking the water out of his coat as he came.

"Oh my wolves." Louis vaguely hears Lottie breath next to him, as he felt his heart speed up and his pulse drum in his ears.

The white wolf moved with purpose, all the while his eyes never breaking their gaze with the omega, coming to a stop directly in front of him, his eyes like diamonds, and his voice warm and scratchy he spoke. "My name is Harry, and when I become the alpha of this pack, I will make you my omega."

Then as if he hadn't spoken he turned and made his way back into the river, out on the other side, and finally disappeared into the woods, leaving Louis speechless, and red faced.

Chapter Text

Louis felt the eyes of every wolf present on him. Some of them glared others just stared in shock, as he blinked rapidly and tried to snap himself out of whatever stupor the white wolf, Harry, had put on him. Louis wanted so badly to get out of there, to run, but his limbs refused to unbend.

He felt a comforting pull on his arm, and looked up to see Lottie, a reassuring smile on her lips. "Come on let's get out of here." she whispered.

That seemed to pull him out of his shock and onto his feet. As they exited the river bank, Louis kept his head high, eye's narrowed despite all the glares. He was determined not to let his pack make him feel embarrassed for a situation he had not asked for.
*
"Aren't you glad I dragged you down there today?" Lottie gloated, lounging cross legged in Louis' bed.

He stayed quiet from his seat back at the window.

"Hey," she called "don't be embarrassed, the rest of the pack was just jealous he didn't single them out."

"I'm not embarrassed."

"Sure you're not."

"I'm not."

She threw a pillow at him "You are, I know you well enough to see when you're mortified."

"It just took me by surprise is all." Louis maintained, stubborn as always. "Isn't it kind of sudden?"

Lottie rolled her eyes "That's how finding your mate works, Louis."

He shook his head "And how would you know? The only males you know are related to you."

"Mom told me," she shrugged "and besides it isn't like he's asking you to run off and be his mate tomorrow."

"It doesn't matter anyway." Louis sighed turning back to the window "I'm not interested."

*

"I heard what happened down by the river yesterday." Louis' mother, Jay beamed from her spot at the kitchen table as Louis came down the stairs the morning after the 'incident' with the white wolf, Harry.

"Oh wolves, you heard about that too?" Louis grumbled, pushing his fringe out of his eyes.

"Well, yes. I am your mother." She said, exasperated.

"Plus this pack is full of gossiping bitches." Louis pointed out, grumbling.

"Watch your mouth." Jay snapped "Don't you think it's kind of a big deal that the potential alpha has already chosen a mate? Of course the girls are going to be talking about it."

Louis pulled himself up onto the counter and crossed his legs Indian style, watching his mother who gazed at him with proud eyes, and weighed exactly how he would break it to her that he wouldn't be accepting Harry as his mate.

"I mean I guess it is a big deal but I-"

Jay cut him off "I always knew you'd be the next alpha's mate. My son," She stood, her chair scraping the tile floor as it was pushed out behind her, and reached out to brush Louis' cheek with her cold fingers. "you really are the best you know?"

"Mom," Louis said pushing Jay's hand away "listen, I'm not sure if, I mean- I know I don't want to be his mate."

Her blue eyes went wide "Well why the hell not? Louis, this is a big big honor." she said grabbing his face again.

"I know, mom I know, but I just- I barely know him, what if he's some freak. And he isn't even the alpha yet, there are hundreds of males out there." Louis looked down at his hands, then back up into his mother's eyes. "I just, I don't have a good feeling about him."

That wasn't completely true, in fact Louis wasn't even sure how he felt about Harry at all. Everything was moving so quickly he barely had any time to think, let alone be positive that he wanted to be some random male's mate. He wished more than anything to go back to a month ago, when it was just he and his pack, when Mark was still alive and it didn't feel like there was danger on all sides.

Jay rubbed his cheek gently with her thumb "You're being silly, you just aren't used to having males around, maybe if you got to know him, if you weren't so timid then you'd feel better."

"It doesn't feel right, mom, I-"

She cut him off "Just try." she begged "For me, please?"
So stubborn and set in her ways that she refused to even consider Louis' feelings. Jay didn't understand that he just wanted to forget the whole humiliating ordeal.
It made Louis want to blow up, to scream in her face, to snap and to snarl, but how could he when she looked at him with such love and pride? He knew the argument was lost, at least for now.
"I'm not making any promises." Louis sighed finally, slipping out from under Jay's hand again, and off the counter walking the few chilly steps across the tiled kitchen floor to the fridge.

He felt Jay's eyes on his back, glaring. "You're making a mistake." She warned.

Louis ignored it, pulling the fridge open, feeling his annoyance heat his face. "Why is there never any food in this house?" Louis fumed, his anger at the whole embarrassing situation flaring.

"Go hunt for yourself, since you're such a big boy now, Louis." She said bitingly matching Louis' anger.

"I would if the male's weren't scaring away all the game. This land's not made to take care of some many wolves at one time. The full moon couldn't come fast enough."

"I'm supposed to be getting a ride into town for supplies with Alice this afternoon. You'll just have to make due til' then." Jay said shrugging, moving away to sit back down at the kitchen table.

Boiling mad Louis slammed the fridge shut, and stormed out of the kitchen and through the front door. He took the porch steps two at a time, feeling the eyes of his pack mates all around.

The Tomlinson pack lived in tight quarters; about a dozen small homes crammed into a few acres of land out in the backwoods of northern California. Louis heard several of the old women whispering to each other, no doubt gossiping about him and the white wolf. Louis wished they would leave well enough alone, and forget the show at the river yesterday but of course that would never happen.

He felt his cheeks burn red as he took off into a full sprint towards the woods, not yet bothering to shift, feeling the wind rip through his wild un-brushed hair and wrinkled clothes, when something, something big, stopped him in my tracks.

Louis smelled him before he saw him, musk mixed with the undoubted scent of blood. He moved swiftly through the trees, hulking and bloody, a freshly killed doe held in his jaws.

Harry moved with purpose towards the omega, the doe dangling lifelessly from in between his formidable teeth. He stopped about a yard away, his eyes piercing like daggers racking up and down Louis' body.

His wolf form was even more giant through Louis' human eyes, and though he should've felt vulnerable, there was a strange comfort about the way the white wolf loomed in front of him, something protective about the way he stared.

Without breaking their gaze Harry lowered his head and rested the doe at Louis' feet, and it was as if he was communicating wordlessly; Harry had killed the doe for him.

Sensing that he had gotten what he wanted to convey across, he blinked once, and turned towards the forest, striding away back through the woods until he could no longer be seen between the gaps in the trees.

Louis looked down, dumbfounded at the doe at his feet, and then back at his pack mates who seemed even more interested in him now, a couple of the girls shooting Louis bitter glances.

Jay who had come outside at some point sensing the commotion stood grinning triumphantly on their porch.

Louis looked around at her in confusion, and she let out a laugh "He's courting you!" she called "It'd be rude not to eat it."

*

"He gave you what?" Lottie's nose scrunched in disgust.

"A dead deer." Louis grunted.

"It was a doe," Jay corrected "and it's symbolic, traditionally a male who wishes to court a mate hunts and delivers a kill at their feet. It's to show that he is a provider."

"It's kind of romantic when you think about it like that, Louis." Lottie grinned.

The three sat huddled in their tiny living room discussing Harry.

"It's not romantic, it's weird. Besides, I'm perfectly capable of providing for myself." Louis protested, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jay rolled her eyes "Stop being such a prude. Give him a chance. You're eighteen, it's time to start seriously considering pairing off."

"I need to find a mate to deliver food at my feet." Lottie pouted.

"You're welcome to have Harry." Louis offered.

"Lottie, please," Jay begged turning to her "talk some sense into your brother."

"You don't think I've been trying?" Lottie asked, laughing incredulously "He's impossible."

"What is it to either of you?" Louis snapped, annoyed by the way they were speaking like he wasn't there "I don't want to be this creep's mate, and I don't want all this attention from everybody."

That shut them both up for a while. "We care about you, Louis." Lottie whispered after a minute "We want what's best for you, and this is a really big deal. It just sucks seeing you throw away a good thing because you're scared."

"I'm not scared." Louis snapped again.

"You are." Jay said, reaching out to grab his hand. "After your dad died, I-"

"Mom, don't." Louis said shaking his head. "You bring him up every time I don't do exactly what you want me to and it isn't fair."

"Your dad would've wanted-" She started.

"How do you know what he would've wanted?" Louis' eyes glared daggers into hers, his frustration at the whole ugly situation rearing it's head "He's dead, he's been dead for years, don't speak for him."

Jay looked at Lottie for help. "Lou, how about you just give it some thought? The full moon is in three days and if by then Harry still hasn't completely blown you away, then tell him no. But will you promise me something?" She asked, eyes earnest.

"What?"

"That you won't turn him down because of your pride?"

--

"Louis!" Jay called out from down stairs. "There's someone here to see you."

Louis hadn't left the house in a whole day for fear of Harry showing up and embarrassing him again. He couldn't stand more whisper's from the girls, it made him sick.

"I'm not coming down." he called back.

"Get down here this instant!" Jay's voice rose shrilly.

Sitting up with a huff, and getting out of bed Louis crept down the stairs slowly. Jay stood at the foot of them, kneading her hands together an aura of thinly veiled panic about her.

"He's outside." She said giving Louis a nervous smile.

"Who is?"

"Harry!"

"What, why?"

"How am I supposed to know?" she snapped shooing Louis up the stairs "I'm gonna invite him in, go get dressed."

Looking down at his pajama clad figure he winced, turning around and running up the stairs. The bathroom mirror revealed complete terror. He looked like a raccoon, bags under his eyes and potato chip crumbles at the corners of his mouth.

Raking a brush through his hair, and yanking on a shirt, he momentarily remembered that he wasn't planning on accepting Harry as his mate, and that it wouldn't matter at all if he saw Louis in his pajamas looking like a slob. But there was something about the thought of the white wolf seeing him like this that made Louis feel sick to his stomach.

After making himself look little less like a monster, he ventured slowly down stairs again. "There he is." Jay said, not being able to mask the relief in her voice. It seemed that she wasn't completely comfortable having to entertain Harry alone.

Louis had never seen Harry in his human form before, and he registered begrudgingly how handsome the larger male was. He was leanly muscled like a swimmer, not bulky like his wolf form. His broad shoulders were bare and on his slim waist hung a pair of old shorts. His eyes were a silvery green, pale skinned and dark haired he regarded Louis with an emotion the smaller boy couldn't even begin to read.

"I brought another doe." Harry said bluntly. Voice so deep Louis thinks he can feel it in his own chest. "It's outside." He gestured towards the tiny kitchen window that overlooked the front of the house.

"Uh, that was nice of you?" Louis mumbled, frowning slightly.

"Wasn't it?" Jay grinned.

The omega shifted awkwardly from foot to foot staring down at his small hands, feeling Harry's eyes dig into him. "Stop staring!" Louis huffed finally, growing tired of the uncomfortable silence.

"Louis!" Jay scolded.

Harry's features brightened, his lips curling up at each end in a smile as he let out a soft chuckle that filled the kitchen. "I'm sorry I don't think I can help it."

Louis felt his face heat up "Shut up." he grumbled weakly.

That only made Harry's smile broaden. "Glad to see you're so talkative today, the last two times I've seen you, you haven't said a word."

"Like you gave me a chance to say anything." Louis bristled.

He shrugged, still smiling "I guess you're right."

"I just had the best idea!" Jay's voice chimed in breaking Louis' concentration away from Harry. "Tomorrow, the night before the full moon, we, the pack, should have a little gathering, where the males are invited."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Louis said, wary of inviting hundreds of males into the territory, and setting them loose on the pack.

"Why not?" Harry asked, disconcerting green eyes back on Louis.

"Things could get out of hands, the males outnumber us 5 to 1, if anything happens to one of the pack..."

"I wouldn't let that happen." His voice was reassuring.

"You can't be everywhere at once." Louis pointed out.

"I have my ways."

"We'll take it to the elders," Jay offered "see if they like the idea. I know the girls will."

*

The whole pack, and Harry, much to Louis' annoyance, stood crowded in the tiny home of Mae and John Chase, the eldest wolves in the Tomlinson pack. Most packs had elders who consulted with the alpha whenever there was a decision to be made.

"Please, please." Many of the girls begged, no doubt excited at the thought of being able to fraternize with the males.

The younger females in the pack had grown up without any males their age, besides Louis who Mae had predicted would be an omega at birth, no one was really surprised when he went into his first heat at 13. They lived in a mostly female environment, and many of Louis' pack mates saw this as their only chance at finding a mate. In a way he felt for them, Louis could understand the frustration of believing that he'd be mate-less forever, but he, unlike most of his pack could push that aside for the safety of them all.

"Well, I don't see why not." John spoke after a second.

A gasp of excitement erupted in the room followed by hushed whispers.

"But it's dangerous!" Louis pointed out, raising his voice so he could be heard over the chatter of the room "We're out numbered, inviting males we don't even know into our territory is a death wish-"

A strong arm snaked around Louis waist and pulled him in, cutting him off. Harry spoke "I'll help protect them, stand guard during the party." His voice swelled with authority, natural alpha voice dazing Louis slightly and making his skin feel hot and cold all over.

Harry hadn't even won the battle yet, and the pack was already treating him like the alpha. Louis had expected that kind of treatment from the girls, but even the elders fell all over themselves trying to please him. Louis shook himself out of whatever stupor the larger male's alpha voice had put on him and began to squirm in an attempt to get out of Harry's iron grasp "There are too many of them for even you to protect us against, and we don't even know you, how is it that you just expect us to trust you? I'm telling you it's too dangerous."

"Easy for you to say," one of Louis' pack mates chimed in, annoyance coloring her features. "You already have a mate the rest of us aren't so lucky."

"He isn't my mate!" Louis protested trying harder to push Harry away from him, but was quickly cut off by a stern voice.

"Bite your tongue!" Mae snapped "If he wishes to help then we shall let him."

Louis felt his neck heat up with anger as he finally managed to fight his way out of Harry's hold "We already lost an alpha because of a stupid mistake." Louis snarled looking around at his pack "Are we willing to lose another member of this pack because we took an unnecessary risk? If one of us dies it's on all of your heads!"

And then he was gone, storming out of the tiny dark house of the elders and back into the sun light.

"Louis wait up!" A male voice who could belong to no one except Harry called after him. He soon caught up, matching his strides. He was several inches taller than Louis' 5'9 frame and as he demonstrated with his iron grip earlier, several times stronger. "I think you're over reacting."

The omega ignored him, still stomping across the pack village in a pissed off rage. He moved to grab Louis' hand but was quickly batted away. "The girls deserve this, for most of them this is the only time they've ever even been around males the same age as them, right?"

"How do you know what they deserve?" Louis growled stopping in his tracks and turning to face Harry, blue eyes fierce "This pack is my family, I'd kill for them, I'd die for them. They're making a mistake by letting those wolves into our territory."

"You don't trust anyone do you." It was a statement not a question.

Louis answered anyway. "I used to trust my pack, but now they're being silly, and risking their lives for petty reasons, leaving themselves defenseless."

The white wolf shook his head, green eyes piercing "I'll protect them."

"Sorry to say it but, you aren't apart of this pack yet, and there's no telling if you'll ever be. You're overestimating yourself if you think you can fend off hundreds of wolves by yourself."

"You don't sound too sorry to say it, and you're being stupid if you think that I'd let anything happen to your pack," Harry's voice softened "or to you."

"You don't even know me." and it was true, "Besides my name what can you really say you know about me?"

"I know that you care about your pack. I know that when the alpha died it scared you. I know that you'd be willing to bleed for these people. And I know they'd be willing to do the same for you, Louis." He reached out to grab the smaller male's hand "You need to learn to trust your pack again."

"Don't tell me what I need." Louis said looking away from him for the first time.

Harry pulled him in swiftly, so fast he barely had time to react. "I know that you need to learn to let things go." Then his lips descended, fierce and hot, they crashed against Louis, filling him with a sensation he'd never felt before.

And then the feeling was gone, replaced by confusion and his hot breath on the omega's face. Louis stared up at him in shock, his eyes pierced the omega's soul like crystal green daggers. "Louis, will you be my mate?"

Chapter Text

"Will you be my mate?" His voice was husky with what Louis identified as want.

Something snapped in him, something feral and ancient, Louis felt it coarse through his veins as his heart beat kicked up a few notches. Louis wanted him, wanted him so fiercely it almost hurt. "Be my mate." Harry said again, this time softer, his body still clinging to Louis'.

Louis bit down on that want, forced it to the back of his throat and swallowed. He could never bend to this feeling, wouldn't allow himself be get caught up with this person he hardly knew. Harry was nothing more than a cocky punk who didn't care at all for Louis or his pack, an outsider. He was suddenly sick with the feeling of shame for believing that Harry actually cared even for a single second.

Louis shoved him away sharply, it seemed to snap Harry out of his weird trance, shock read all over his handsome features. "No." Louis almost shook with the effort it took to not go running back into his arms.

"No?" Harry's voice was confused, vulnerable, almost weak.

"No." Louis said again, trying his best to keep the resolve in his voice.

"Louis, I- we could. I mean," He trailed off.

"We nothing." Louis growled, putting all his strength into being as nasty as possible, fists clenched at his sides, teeth gritting with the effort "You and I will never be anything. You're an outsider, and even if you do become alpha I don't trust you. You don't care about me or this pack, and you can pretend all you want, but I see right through you!"

Hurt flashed across Harry's face, genuine and whole heartedly his green eyes seemed to cloud with confusion at the omega's sudden insults. "If you only gave me a chance, Louis I could show you that I do care." He took a step towards the smaller boy, Louis took two steps back. "I don't understand."

"Of course you don't, and you never will." Louis was grasping at straws now, with no real argument as to why he was rejecting Harry, he just wanted to cause as much pain as possible. To get in as many punches as he could muster so that maybe Harry would get the hint and leave him alone. "You don't have a pack, or a family, you have nothing to lose and you think you can just show up and run things, risk the pack's safety?"

"I wasn't trying- I don't even care about being the alpha. If it makes you reconsider I'd be happy with not participating in tomorrow night's battle. If you'll have me-"

"Stop!" Louis snapped growing tired, and feeling his resolve breaking "Just pick someone else okay? You can have your pick of the pack, they'd all be willing participants in whatever game you're trying to play, just leave me out of it."

"I- what game?" His voice was rising in volume, Louis had finally struck one too many nerves. "You're the one I want, and you're a fool if you can't see that. You can't pretend you didn't feel it when I kissed you."

"I'm not pretending." Louis said coldly, hoping his voice wouldn't falter.

Harry crossed the distance to Louis in an instant, and he was back in the alpha's iron embrace. His fingers were in Louis' hair, green eyes fierce, so close that Louis felt his heart beat. "You're a liar."

It took all of the omega's will power to push him away a second time, to turn on his heels and leave Harry standing there dumbstruck.

*

"You have to come." Jay stood in Louis' bedroom doorway, fully dressed for the get together that was set to take place before the battle for alpha at midnight. It was dusk, and even though Louis could not see it, he felt the full moon slowly rising.

The omega ignored her, rolling over and pulling the covers over his head. He had taken the denial of Harry's offer harder than he thought he would. In all honesty the rejection probably hit Louis harder than it did Harry. The image of Harry's hurt expression as the small boy stormed away from him yesterday flashed in front of Louis' eyes and he winced in self disgust. "Come on, Lou." Jay whined becoming impatient "I bought a new set of clothes for you and everything."

"I told you I wasn't going yesterday before you bought all that." he mumbled from his position under the covers.

"That's it." Jay growled, and then she was on him in a flash ripping the covers away. "I want you dressed and down stairs in 20 minutes or else!"

She stormed out, leaving a trail of curse words in her wake.

Louis didn't move, instead he stayed huddled in the fetal position in the middle of his bed, head whirling in thought. He couldn't go, couldn't face Harry, not because he was afraid that the white wolf would be angry with him for the terrible things he'd said, but for fear that he'd see him and Louis wouldn't be able to hold back the ache he had developed in his chest to be held by Harry. Or worse, he'd see Harry and he'd already be holding someone else. Just thinking about him so much as speaking to one of his pack mates filled Louis with a rage.

But besides Harry, besides all the love sick feelings that were swirling around in Louis' skull, there was this sick gnawing in his stomach he just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen at this party. How would the pack recover from another loss? Louis wasn't sure that it could.

Still wrapped like a burrito in his quilt, he heard the door swing open, but kept his eyes closed "Mom, okay I'll be down in a second."

"Get your butt, up mister!"

Louis sat up straight up. "Lottie!" he grinned.

She stood in her lavender dress, long blonde hair curling in ringlets down her back, grinning from ear to ear. "Get up, Lou. We've only got 15 minutes to make you gorgeous."

*

Louis stomach roiled with anxiety, as he stepped out of his house and into the pack's tiny village.

The sun had finally set, though the moon could not yet be seen through the trees he felt it's power hum from within him.

The territory had been decorated to the T by the girls. Lanterns hung everywhere setting the whole village a glow in soft light. The pack all stood around dressed in their best, and Louis had never seen them look so good.

The males slowly trickled in as if timid, conscience of their newness to the territory. But of course it did not take very long for them to mix into the crowd of females, and make their moves.

"Stop fidgeting, Louis you look amazing." The omega stopped pulling at the hem of his tight black button down and looked around at Lottie who was clad in a lavender gown.

"You do too, Lottie." Louis said honestly, feeling a jolt of affection for his little sister. She smiled, and cast her blue eyes across the sea of bodies that littered the village. "There's Harry." She whispered.

Someone had given him clothes to wear other than the raggedy short Jay had lent him. He stood tall in dark colored slacks and a white button down, almost awkwardly, surveying the crowd. As if sensing the pair's eyes on him, he looked around at them.

Louis felt his heart give a feeble ache, and fought the urge to go to him. Harry regarded the omega for a long time. He chanced a small wave, a barely there sign that he wasn't angry, that Louis still mattered even if he'd been cruel before.

"Go to him." Lottie whispered in Louis' ear, giving him a soft push "And remember what I said about that pride of yours. Don't let it ruin you."

*
Harry watched as Lottie nudged Louis a couple steps closer to him, and felt his pulse speed up.

Louis looked like heaven on earth. He floated towards Harry, the tight black fabric of his jeans clinging to his muscular hips and thighs in such a seductive way it almost couldn't be described. Eyes followed the omega as he moved gracefully across the village.

He came to a stop in front of Harry, and looked him dead in the eyes. Head tilting up slightly to maintain eye contact with the taller male "I fucked up." he said.

Harry smirked at his bluntness "You did?"

He nodded once. "I did, and I said things I didn't mean, and I made an ass of myself." He stopped for breath and looked down at his shoes "But you have to understand I'm just looking out for my pack, and for myself. This is new to me or whatever, and I- you just came on so strongly okay, and you pushed your way in and acted like you ran the pack, and it just. It bothered me, but I fucked up and I'm sorry. And I do trust yo-"

Harry cut him off with a kiss.

The kiss broke, leaving Louis gasping for breath, Harry stood there coolly, a smirk playing on his lips. "I guess my apology is accepted then?" Louis asked.

Harry laughed, pulling the smaller boy closer into his chest "Maybe if you dance with me."

Louis looked around quickly embarrassed, the girls for the first time since Harry started hanging around were not eyeing Louis jealously, they were all too busy entertaining the other males to care what the pair were doing. "Dance? There's no music."

The white wolf shrugged, already shifting from foot to foot, swaying Louis in his arms gently. "So."

"Sooo, this is really embarrassing!"

"You're too worried about what other people think." Harry mumbled pressing his nose into Louis soft golden brown hair, and continuing to sway in a small circle, taking the omega with him.

Sighing in defeat, Louis laid his head on the bigger male's shoulder and tried to block out the rest. The world, the pack, the fear that this party was a very bad idea, and the battle for alpha that was only hours away, Harry's scent that seemed to waft all around them helped distract him some.

"Are you nervous?" Louis whispered after a bit, not being able to shut up his racing mind.

"About?" Harry breathed. He of course was having no issue ignoring everybody else and relaxing.

"The battle for alpha."

"Oh," He shrugged "I dunno, not really. I was thinking maybe since it bothered you so much I wouldn't even bothered."

"But you have to." Louis said leaning back to look at him in the eye "No one else is fit, and the pack they're already expecting you to."

"I seriously can never read you, Louis. One second you hate the idea of me being the alpha, and the next you're all for it?"

"I told you I fucked up, okay." Louis whined clutching Harry's arm. "I always kind of just assumed you'd win alpha."

Harry grabbed the omega's chin gently, his eyes calculating "Are you sure?"

"Positive. If I thought anyone else could do it, trust me you'd already know."

"I don't doubt it." He said smirking, still swaying with Louis slowly.

The night seemed to pass in a blur of glowing lanterns, giggling girls, and Harry's sent. They'd danced for hours, well Harry danced, Louis clung to his chest allowing him to lead them around.

"I don't know a single thing about you, Harry." Louis said after another long minute of silence.

"What do you want to know?" He asked, nose still nuzzled in Louis' hair.

"Where'd you come from, why don't you have a pack?"

"I grew up in this area, but was orphaned at 15 after my pack's village burned down," he shrugged "I've been by myself since then."

"Wait..." Louis trailed off "You're from the Zev pack, the one they said was wiped out five years ago?"

He nodded, his usually crystal clear eyes clouding up.

"I'm sorry." Louis said weakly.

"For what? Don't be silly it wasn't your fault." He said.

"Not for that," Louis shook his head "but for what I said before about you not having a pack, about you being an outsider."

Harry shrugged, and just like that all was forgiven, every ill-word Louis had ever spoken to him, just like that was in the past. They dissolve back into a comfortable silence again.

"Can I ask you something?" Harry's voice was warm in Louis' ear, the smaller boy nodded and Harry continued. "What made you change your mind?"

Louis didn't really have an answer to that question, it just had. Or maybe in his heart of hearts he'd always known that eventually he'd cave and accept Harry, but his pride had just gotten in the way. "Lottie." he said honestly.

"Lottie?"

Louis nodded, head still buried in Harry's chest "She told me not to let my pride get in the way."

"I'm glad you listened." Harry said, his strong fingers tracing Louis' spine, as he sighed in contentment.

But the calm was cut short by a scream, a cry, a howl of fear, and Louis knew the noise like it was his own heart beat. It was Lottie.

Harry's head snapped up, his whole body stiffening instantly alert, he had heard it too.

"It's Lottie!" Louis gasped in shock, pushing himself free from Harry's grasp for the first time since the night began. "She's in trouble!"

The whole pack, and most of the males that still stood chatting in the village looked around at Harry for instructions, he was already the alpha here though there had been no fight yet.

"Wait here." He instructed calmly, turning away and dashing towards where the sound came from.

"No way!" the omega called after him, kicking off his shoes and hurrying to catch up.

Louis had to jog to match the white wolf's pace, he could tell by the look on Harry's face he was not happy about Louis' act of defiance, but when another deafening cry shook the trees, he held his tongue and began to run.

Louis' stomach knotted and unknotted with fear, but he didn't have time to think of all the terrible things that could be happening, Harry was shifting, changing into his wolf form, and the omega wasn't far behind.

His chest burning with the effort it took to keep pace with the larger male, the smell of blood, and Lottie's howling was the only thing that pushed him to continue, to run faster.

Then they saw them. A grey male stood over Lottie's convulsing body, blood dripping from his chops. "Lottie!" Louis cried out, as the grey wolf snapped his head in the intruder's direction.

The grey wolf had no time to react, Harry was on him in a flash of white, throwing him away from Lottie, who now lay still in an ever growing puddle of her own blood.

Louis went to her, pressing his tawny brown ear to her chest where a faint heartbeat could be heard. The wounds were extensive covering almost every part of her body, her blonde fur matted with blood. The puncture marks were that of an unprovoked attack, it didn't even look like she had tried fighting back.

The battle between Harry, and the grey wolf ended quickly, Louis heard a sickening snap, and looked up to see Harry's jaws around the other male's neck. He dropped him unceremoniously, and the grey wolf hit the ground with a thud.

"Is she okay?" He voice was hoarse.

The omega looked back down at his sister, she was still breathing, but only just. "She's still alive but we need to get her back."

Harry came over to the siblings, and studied Lottie's wounds. Louis felt tears prick his eyes, but fought them back as he watched Harry, as gently as possible, pick up the much smaller Lottie in his jaws.

*

Mae Chase pushed a strand of stray hair out of her eyes as she worked on Lottie who lay, still in her wolf form, on a bed in the Elder's small kitchen.

Harry had carried her the whole way, being sure not to injure her further. Had it not been for the terrible situation Louis probably would have thought his gentleness cute, but there was no time to dawdle over his new mate, Lottie was in trouble.

Mae continued to work over Lottie dressing her wounds, and wiping the blood away, the omega watched the whole scene unfold with worried eyes "She'll be alright." Mae reassured him, softly trying to shoo him out of the kitchen. "She just needs rest."

Louis shook his head, and stood firm though his voice was anything but "I'm not leaving."

He'd known this party was a mistake, had known that these males could not be trusted but no one listened and now his sister, his best friend had almost died. Louis had no one to be angry with but himself, he'd been just as caught up in the party and his new mate as all of his pack mates were, how could he blame them when he behaved no better? The thought that maybe if he'd been more stubborn, spoken up just a bit more Lottie would not be hurt flooded him, he could have, should have done more.

Harry stood a couple of feet behind the omega, back to the wall, watching everybody in his gentle calm way. He didn't try to speak, or make Louis feel better, he knew that no matter what he said he could not. Louis was inconsolable and the best thing to do for him was to stand back and wait for him to calm himself.

"Don't worry about Lottie, she will live. But now there is a battle to fight, you aren't helping her by standing around worrying." Mae soothed, reaching out to squeeze Louis' hand.

Quickly wiping a tear away, the omega felt his resolve break "I knew this was a bad idea, if I hadn't been so caught up-"

"Don't." Mae cut him off "It wasn't anybody's fault but the wolf who attacked Lottie, and Harry made sure he paid for that mistake." She cast her eyes back to Harry and gave him a warm smile. "The only thing we can do now is get to the river, and make sure that our new alpha is one who is worthy."

*

Just outside the Tomlinson territory, as the moon rose high dark in the night, and the wind whistled through the trees, the air thickened with tension and heat. The hundreds of males who seemed to itch with anticipation stood around. Many of the females in the pack, Louis noticed much to his chagrin had paired off, most of them cozying up to a male.

Lottie weighed heavily on Louis' heart, she hadn't deserved the attack, and she'd nearly been killed. What would've happened if they hadn't heard her cries? Louis Shook the thought out of his head.

Harry as always was calm as night, he gazed at his omega with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?" He questioned softly it was the first thing he'd said since they'd found Lottie.

Louis sighed and looked up at the glowing moon, and felt a wave of dread flood his every fiber. What if Harry got hurt? What if he wasn't as strong as Louis had envisioned him to be? He just seemed so without flaw, and the omega had never even bothered to question that someone else could even match let alone out do him. But now, standing next to the river in a crowd full of huge males, many of them with new mates to impress Louis' doubts surfaced.

Could he deal with both Lottie, and Harry being hurt in the same night?

"Hey." Harry said calmly snapping Louis out of his daze. "Don't worry."

"About what?" Louis asked weakly wondering if he could sense the omega's apprehension.

"Anything." Harry said pressing their foreheads together. "Never ever worry about anything ever again. I'll take care of everything. You trust me right?"

Biting his lip Louis nodded.

Harry gave him a wolfish grin "Then trust that I'll take care of this, that I'll make sure I don't get hurt so that I can come back to you."

Louis smiled half heartedly and tried to bite down on his fear.

John Chase, Mae's mate and fellow elder stepped into the middle of the group, and raised his head, letting out a long low guttural howl that was echoed by the rest of the wolves present.

When the howls died down, a long second of silence followed, then John spoke. "By the honor of the moon my pack and I gather here to hold a battle for alpha. If there are any males here who do not wish to compete tonight, I urge you to step aside, this battle will not be for the faint of heart." He looked around at the crowd, and Louis waited with baited breath to see if anyone would decide against fighting. None did.

John nodded once and spoke again "The rules are simple, if your blood is drawn, no matter how minor the wound, you are out. The last wolf standing shall be the undeniable alpha of this pack."

Then he stepped aside, and it was time to leave Harry, to retreat to a safer distance with the rest of the pack and watch the male he'd grown affection for either sink or swim.

The white wolf smiled at his omega reassuringly eyes revealing none of the anxiety Louis was sure simmered just below the surface. With one last long glance Louis let the crowd sweep him away from Harry.

The males stood in a large circle eyeing each other as a weird sense of calm fell. Harry looked as formidable as ever, hulking and bulky, his chest pushed out in pride, Louis' doubts lessened slightly as he gazed over at his new mate, "He can do this," Louis told himself, and he realized, with slight embarrassment that even if he couldn't that would be okay, Louis didn't need him to be the alpha, he just needed him.

"Did you accept him?" A soft voice whispered into Louis' ear. Turning, Louis smiled as he recognized his mother's red, almost foxy wolf form.

Nodding reluctantly, she grinned, but said no more. The battle was about to begin.

Harry struck first, so quickly that if anyone had blinked they would've missed it, the brown wolf wasn't hurt badly but his blood was visible, and so he was out. He came to sit with the pack and was given a loving look from one of the females.

After that it was a blur, Harry could barely be seen as he dashed from body to body, drawing blood so quickly that the other male's had no time to react.

A glorious figure of glimmering silver, Harry never seemed to slow his pace, once one wolf was hit his focus turned to the next target, and so it went until it was just him face to face with another male.

The wolf's dark fur bristled as he regarded Harry, crouching low to the grown both their teeth bared no sound could be heard. It was as if time had slowed nothing mattered in the whole world except these two males, and though no one said it we all knew that this would not end at first blood, someone was going to die.

And then they were on each other, so quickly that no one could be sure who struck first. Snarls of pain and anger emitted from the tangle of black of white, throwing one and another down with strong claws, and yanking back up with glistening teeth, until nobody was sure who was winning or losing. It ended with a crunch and a cry. Harry stood above the dark wolf, who lay still in either submission or in death. Harry's crystal green eyes glowing with power, his body heaving and blood spattered, he let out a howl, high and clear it signaled that we were without an alpha no longer.

Chapter Text

The howl was answered by the rest of the pack, long and low it swept all around them, it was the sound of grief for the leader they'd lost, but as it grew in intensity it became more joyous, a cry of gratitude for the male who'd beat out all others and risked his life for the honor of alpha.

Then they were all around Harry, the whole pack and even several of the newly mated males crowding around in a mess of fur and warmth all of them struggling to reach out and touch their new alpha, to praise him to show their allegiance.

He smelled of blood and sweat and testosterone. It radiated off of him in waves and filled Louis' nose, leaving him with a feeling he'd never felt before. Harry who seemed to have been caught up in all the attention finally focused his sights on his omega.

Crystal green eyes instantly filled with recognition, and he quickly nudged one of the pack aside to make room for Louis closer to him. He gave the smaller male a gentle nuzzle, and though he was covered almost entirely in blood the contact did not repulse Louis.

"I told you I'd be fine." Louis heard him whisper hotly into his ear following it up with a quick lick. His tongue felt white hot against Louis' skin and he felt the heat slowly moving further south. Is this what lust felt like?

As if reading Louis' mind, Harry smirked good-naturedly and gave the top of Louis' ear a gentle nip causing another heat wave to go rolling through his body.

The black wolf who Harry just minutes ago had finished in battle walked forward and swept into a low bow at the white wolf's feet, a show of submission. "I've found my mate here," He said keeping his eyes and his voice low "and though you've beat me I do not wish to leave her behind, so I ask you brother, alpha, I want to join your pack."

Harry spoke for the first time as the new leader, looking down at the cowering wolf at his feet, "Stand up brother." his voice was low but full of authority, and the dark wolf moved without hesitation. "You are welcome I will not push out those who are willing to stay and make a life here, that goes for anyone who chooses to stay." an audible sigh was heard from several of the girls, there had been no guarantee that Harry would let the other males join the pack even after they had found mates. Harry's voice grew in volume now "But if you have no more business here do not dawdle. Be gone by first light or suffer the consequences."

A chill of want spread through his body as he watched Harry speak with such authority. The alpha was so strikingly gentle to Louis, and yet so formidably powerful how could anyone feel anything for him but respect? Louis scolded himself silently for not believing in him before.

The males who Louis assumed had not succeeded in sweeping his pack mates off their feet, began to detach themselves from the group, many were injured but none as seriously as Louis had thought, slowly very slowly they retreated into the trees until the only thing that was left behind was there sent.

Then the pack ran, not in fear but in joy, all of them together, Jay, Mae and John Chase, the pack mates Louis'd grown up with since puppy-hood, and Harry, Louis' new mate leading the way through the river over rocks and under trees going as fast as their legs could take us.

*

The whole pack sat crammed into the elder's tiny living room hours later, out of wolf form and more comfortable the wounds had all been tended to and the male's faces wiped clean. They did not fit as easily as they had last time there was a pack meeting, now there were at least 10 new members all of them male and all of them mated. Harry stood at the front of the room, and every eye was on him waiting for instruction.

He stared right back, eyes far away in thought and for a long time he did not speak. And then all at once his eyes came back into focus "I suppose the first order of business is naming a beta." His eyes landed on the black wolf from before, now in his human form he was broad barrel chested and tall, and sat huddled close to Sophia who Louis assumed was his new mate. Harry beckoned him over, and the black wolf got to his feet.

"What is your name brother?" Harry spoke quietly to him.

The black wolf cleared his throat and spoke "Liam."

Harry nodded smiling in that way he always did, and turned back to address the pack. "I think it's only fitting that my beta be the man who gave me the beating of my life tonight."

Laughs echoed all around as Liam wiped the stoic look off of his face and replaced it with a smile. "I'd be honored."

Giving his shoulder a squeeze Liam, ambled back to Sophia who sat with a giant grin plastered across her face.

"You're all wondering, what's next." Harry shrugged and grinned "Well your guess is as good as mine. Like a lot of you I'm new to this pack, to the way things work so I'm going to need all the help I can get. Many of you have new mates, new lives ahead of you, and it's okay to be anxious I certainly am." His cast his green eyes in his omega's direction and smiled "But we'll get through it as a pack."

Wolf whistles and claps followed the end of his speech, and Louis watched as his tall frame made it's way over. Lottie was still on the forefront of the smaller boy's mind but there was nothing to be worried about anymore, she was safe, the lone males were gone, Harry was alpha, all was right.

Harry slipped his hands around Louis' waist, and pushed his nose into his omega's ear, swaying him like he had a the party only hours before, it all felt like a life time ago now. The sun would be rising soon, and having Harry's comforting embrace all around him was a reminder of how both emotionally and physically exhausted Louis truly was.

For the second time tonight Harry seemed to read Louis' mind, sweeping him out of the house unnoticed by any of his pack mates and out into the dark.

Louis leaned on him heavily as he was guided through the village and towards the house he shared with Lottie and Jay, the alpha's left arm thrown over Louis' slender shoulder, the omega's right arm clinging to his waist. "Are you alright?" Harry asked glancing down at the smaller boy as they walked.

"Fine." Louis mumbled "just tired, it's been a long day."

Nodding in agreement Harry stroked his shoulder lightly with his rough fingertips, sending a wave of chills down the omega's body, again that strong masculine scent of his perfuming the air around them. Without thinking Louis turned his head, pressing his face into the side of Harry's torso and breathed in deeply.

Harry stopped suddenly, dragging Louis to a halt alongside him. He turned the omega in his arms and stared down at Louis' face still tucked against his chest.

Louis chanced a look up at him, through his long dark eyelashes, silvery blue eyes glowing in the waning moon light making Harry's heart squeeze painfully.

They both seemed to lean in for a kiss at the same time. Their kiss was strong, hungry and as Harry's tongue parted the smaller male's lips Louis felt his brain buzz and his skin heat up. He'd never been drunk before but he was sure that the experience was similar.

Louis felt his eyes roll as Harry pulled him in closer. Giant hands reaching down past his slender waist to grope at the omega's ass, the evidence of both their arousal rubbing together through the front of their pants.

The sweet scent of his omega producing slick made Harry let out a rumbling growl of approval that vibrated both their chests. Unceremoniously Harry swept his mate up, the smaller male's legs around his waist, and he was moving, rushing towards the direction Louis vaguely recognized as his house, their lips still attached.

He took the porch steps quickly, their heated kiss never breaking except to take quick panting breaths. The front door as always stood unlocked, and the house was empty, Jay was still with the rest of the pack. "Where's your room?" Harry asked gruffly.

"Up stairs." Louis breathed out, his heart jumping in his chest as another wave of slick was produced.

Harry took the stairs three at a time his long legs having no issue, and when they went crashing into Louis room he kicked the door quickly shut behind them.

Louis was suddenly dropped onto his bed, and then Harry descended in a flurry of warm lips and molten body heat.

*

The weight of Harry's body both breathed new life into Louis, and took his breath away. The feeling of the alpha's mouth that held total control, their tongues tangling and untangling as he explored every inch, his large hands one curled in Louis' hair, the other clinging to his omega's hip was almost too much to bare. He broke his lips away from Louis', and moved to kiss down his slender neck, as the omega let out a strangled whimper of pleasure Harry bit down, nibbling away at the sensitive skin, just gently enough for it to not be painful but hard enough so that there was no doubt about who was in charge.

Kissing his way down to the smaller male's dainty collarbone and then even further south, his teeth scraping at golden over heated skin as he went. Louis' already bare chest heaved as Harry teased the omega's sensitive nipples with his tongue, and Louis swears he can feel Harry smirking against his skin before he sank his teeth in a little bit deeper and began sucking, surely leaving a mark. A groan escaped Louis' lips, his back arching without any instruction from his brain.

He wouldn't be able to handle the teasing much longer, so as the omega ran his nails through Harry's mas of hair and down the back of his neck, feeling the goosebumps rise on his skin he told him so "Please hurry." the omega whined desperately, choking to get words out as Harry continued to bite and suckle on his sensitive chest.

Harry looked up at his omega from his position still at his chest his eyes clouded with lust, his hot breath scorching Louis' golden skin. A tremor of want racked Louis' whole body as Harry laughed lightly "You're shaking."

"You're teasing." Louis moaned.

He ran a hand down the omega's thigh excruciatingly slow, all the while watching him with those eyes that seemed to see right through Louis "Why should I rush," his voice was husky and low "we have the rest of our lives don't we?"

When Harry's large digit found the smaller male's slick hole Louis' back arched, and he hissed in excitement "Please!"

Smirking again Harry kissed his way back up to Louis' lips and then down his jaw stopping short at his ear, now it wasn't his hand pressing at Louis' entrance. The blunt head of Harry's cock nudging at the sensitive flesh of Louis' hole. Harry gave his ear a soft lick, "You're lucky you finally gave in," he breathed "it wouldn't have been any fun if I had to take you by force." The last of his words were punctuated by the quick thrusting of his hips as he entered Louis in one slick push.

Louis let out a strangled cry of both pain and pleasure, both relief and anxiety. Harry gave his omega half a moment to adjust, moving with great care as Louis buried his face into Harry's fragrant neck and tried to block out the bad and focus on the good, on his alpha's scent and on the fact that the anticipation was over.

Slowly, very slowly Harry began to move faster and with more strength and the pain almost all at once faded away leaving Louis in nothing less than ecstasy. They clung to each other, arms thrown over one and other like if they let go even for a single second they'd both float away, and as the sun slowly rose suddenly setting the dark room ablaze in orange-gold light the only noise that could be heard was our harsh breathing and the rhythmic beating of our hearts.

*

The sun had risen fully now but the house was still quiet. Harry lay next to Louis, an arm thrown over his still naked torso, their bodies tangled in his lavender sheets. Harry's breathing shallow and light as if he was sleeping but his eyes remained open, watching. Louis' body still buzzing post-orgasm, the mark where his shoulder met his neck stinging slightly.

"Louis will you tell me something?" He asked finally.

He nodded still staring up at the pealing paint on his ceiling, "Sure."

Harry traced small circles on his omega's stomach tickling him slightly. "What happened to your last alpha?"

"He was shot by a human."

"A human? How did that happen?" Harry's eyes were searching.

Louis sighed and conjured up the memories he'd so violently suppressed. "One of my pack mates, Laura she'd gone into town on a supply run. We're taught from a young age to never speak to humans unless absolutely necessary, but the man wouldn't leave her alone."

He faltered, but cleared his throat and continued quickly. "A human, a man he followed her back to the village, I'm not sure if he saw her phase or if he'd just sensed danger in that weird way that humans do, but he brought his gun." He glanced over at Harry and he was still watching, eyes focused. "Luckily he was on his own, had there been more than one of them we probably would've lost more than just Mark."

Louis wallowed hard and fought back the tears "It was a lucky shot, right to the heart, and Mark fell dead in an instant but that human, that human paid for his luck tenfold, our pack made sure of that."

Harry reached over to stroke Louis' cheek, "You did the right thing, you all did."

"I sometimes still wonder about that guy and his family, what they thought when he never came home, what they would do if they knew that the last thing he saw before he died was our teeth at his throat."

*

Harry moved into his position as alpha with all the grace and beauty of a true leader. Patient and unshakable Louis fought every day, tooth and nail to not completely fall victim to his charm, though it was a slow going battle and he had waved the white flag in defeat many a time, bending to Harry's every word in a very un-Louis like manner.

In fact Harry wasn't the only one that was settling into place, the new couples seemed to mesh together so seamlessly that it was hard to believe that only a month ago everything had been different. All felt right except for one very important thing; Lottie.

Beautiful sweet Louis recovered from her wounds fine, but in all the drama that unfolded on the night of the full moon it hadn't occurred to Louis that Lottie was the only female in the pack that was still mate-less, she, for the very first time, was the odd man out, and though she pretended that this did not hurt her feelings Louis was sure that it ate at her.

"Louis, seriously I'm fine." She laughed lightly, pushing her heavy blonde bangs out of her eyes.

The omega turned the corner of his mouth down in subtle disbelief "You're my sister, you think I can't tell when you're lying?"

Lottie deflated, crumpling onto her bed, head pressed into the mattress "How many times do I have to tell you?" her voice came out muffled. "I'm fine."

"As many times as it takes for you to admit that it's bothering you."

She extracted her face from the mattress and looked at Louis earnestly "It does bother me okay, it sucks that I missed my chance, but what can I do? I love my pack and I'm happy. I'll be fine eventually."

"Are you sure? I just want to help." Two weeks ago it had been Lottie begging him to let her help, now their roles had been reversed.

"Positive." She said, her expression resolute.

So Louis let it slide, he wasn't helping matters by continually bringing it up, if Lottie was happy then how could he not be?

*
Louis' strong, golden brown legs lay stretched across Harry's lap as the mated pair sat in a heap near the river, several of the pack members lounging a few feet away. The role of alpha had been his for less than a month now, but he struggled to recall a time when Louis and the pack were not his own.

Louis arched his back, and the alpha watched with heat in his belly as the bones in the omega's rib cage spreed, and then shift back into their original position as he relaxed his taunt muscles. "You're really beautiful." Harry old him honestly.

A smirked bloomed over his pink mouth. "I know."

The alpha leaned over swiftly, planting a rough kiss on the smaller males slightly parted mouth. "And I love you."

The smirk remained on Louis' lips, his blue eyes peering up at his alpha from under thick dark eyelashes, a twinge of pink on his other wise golden colored cheeks "I know I know I know." then a whisper soft "I love you too." left his lips.

But the sweet moment didn't last, just as the pair had settled back into a comfortable silence a howl broke through the air. Then Liam came running, through the tress from across the river, followed closely behind by two other males who Harry recognized as Niall and Zayn.

They were no longer in their wolf forms, but it was easy to tell that they'd just come from a run, patrolling the village for any problems that might have arisen.

Liam as betta spoke first, his tone solemn, his lips mashed into a tight line "There's something I think you need to see, alpha."

"What's wrong?" Louis asked, hurrying to stand. Sticking his nose into every part of pack decision had always been his favorite past time, and now that he was mated to the alpha no one could tell him to butt out.

Liam looked around at the two males behind him for help, when they offered nothing he shrugged. "There's an issue I need to discuss with the alpha."

"Is someone in danger?" Louis' voice went up a pitch in indigence.

"Not any immediate danger no, but there might be some cause for concern." He looked around Louis and towards Harry, the fear in his eyes contrasting his cool words. There really was something wrong.

Harry took this as his cue to stand, moving around Louis."Where?" he grunted.

"Right this way." Liam said beckoning him forward.

"Stay here with the pack." Harry instructed firmly to Louis whose blue eyes looked worried.

"Yeah right." He scoffed making moves to follow.

"I'm not playing around." Harry's alpha voice immediately sent a shock of obedience into Louis, the words had come out harsher than Harry had meant them to but he knew it was the only way to get Louis to do as he said.

Then he turned away from him, following Liam as he phased, and leaving Louis with a mixture of hurt and confusion marring his pretty features.

*

Liam and the others lead the alpha to a large oak tree, it hung low to the grown, withering as it died. A large claw mark had shredded the tree's trunk, the smell of it's dying bark mixing with the scent of piss. Someone, an outsider had been marking here.

"It's an act of aggression isn't it," Liam asked "marking so close to another's territory?"

"It's much more than that, brother" Niall spoke up for the first time "it's an act of war."

*

Harry's rough fingers traced the bond mark on Louis' neck, as he laid in his bed faced away from the alpha in anger. "Louis, baby." he said softly, regret for the harsh tone he'd taken with his omega earlier evident in his voice.

Shifting further away from him, Louis consider yelling, pitching a complete fit but instead he decided that the best punishment was silence. "Don't treat me like this, Louis." He sighed "I just wanted to make sure that you're safe, I can't have you running after me every time Liam and I have something to take care of, it's dangerous."

Louis made a scoffing noise in the back of his throat and rolled his eyes despite the fact that Harry could not see. He itched to say something smart, but stuck to the plan and bit his tongue. Another sigh of frustration from the alpha, and in Louis' mind's eye watched him run his large hands through his dark hair. He was silent too for a long time, but Louis sensed his heavy gaze on him the whole way.

"I'm calling a pack meeting soon," Harry said finally "we found something that I need to talk to the pack about, I hope you'll come. It's important."

Louis winced he'd hit him right where it hurt; his curiosity. What had they found? It had to be big if Harry was calling a pack meeting over it. And Louis of course couldn't wait until said meeting to find out what it was. Deciding to call a truce, sooner than he really wanted to he bit his lip in defeat and grumbled. "What'd you find?"

"You'll have to wait until the pack meeting to find out," Harry said, and Louis felt the springs in his mattress shift as he stood. "since you're still angry at me and all."

"Wait, stay." Louis called turning over to face his alpha for the first time since he arrived back from the run with Liam and the other males.

Harry looked down at Louis knowing that he'd won this one. "You're not mad at me anymore?"

The omega grudgingly shook his head, aware that once again he'd been defeated by his mate. "No."

Harry gave him an almost bemused smirk, like he didn't know if he wanted to strangle the smaller boy or kiss him. "You really like to jerk me around don't you." He half laughed, shaking his head.

"You just make it so easy." Louis pouted, rolling onto his stomach and resting his head on his small hands.

Harry sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day, and sat back down next to Louis on the bed. He reached out to stroke his fingers through Louis' soft chestnut colored hair, and this time Louis let him without complaint. "So," Louis asked "what exactly did you and guys find?"

"It looks like some of the lone males who participated in the battle haven't exactly left the area yet." His voice didn't seem so worried, but Louis caught a flicker of concern in his eyes. "They haven't passed back into our territory yet, but Liam and some of the other males think they've formed a pack of their own..."

His voice trailed off, and Louis knew there was more he wasn't being told. Wrapping his arms around the alpha's waist, face burying into his stomach Louis wondered how bad this actually was "Don't worry," Louis breathed into his bare skin in an attempt to comfort him "how do we know it's even something to worry about yet?"

"Right." The alpha grunted, but there was no conviction behind it. "I guess now I better tell the rest of the pack."

*

Later, much later after the pack meeting was called to an end and Harry and most of the other males went out for a run around the territory line, the two Tomlinson siblings lay huddled together in Lottie's dark bedroom, under the covers, giggling as their cold toes chilled the other's feet like they did when they were pups.

"Oh my wolves, Louis, they're ice cubes get them the hell away from me!" Lottie cackled, as she squirmed her feet away from his.

"Your's aren't much better." he countered, giggling.

When the hysterics finally subsided and a long silence followed Louis could sense Lottie wanted to say something. "What is it?" he asked finally.

"How the fuck- how do you always know?" She asked.

He shrugged in the darkness "I just do, so spill."

She was quiet for a while again and then said "Do you really think the other pack, the rouges are dangerous?"

Then it dawned on him, Lottie had already been attacked by a rouge, she was afraid. "Don't worry about it," he said quickly in an effort to push the fear out of her mind "Harry and the males will take care of it, don't be afraid."

"It isn't that." She said "I mean how do we know they're being aggressive? What if they're just curious? Why do we have to run them off if they mean no harm?"

Louis was confused, "You heard Harry and Liam, they're marking too close to our territory, it is aggressive"

"Yeah but we don't know that for sure."

"What exactly are you getting at Lottie?"

"Maybe-" she faltered "I don't know maybe I could find a mate."

Louis sat up like a bolt, and looked over at her "Are you nuts? No possible way."

He watched her bite her lip softly "But, what if... We don't know if they mean any harm, and if they don't then I don't see why not."

Her eyes were sad, and as silly as Louis thought she was being about this whole thing he didn't have the heart to scold her anymore about it. Laying back down next to her he thought for a long time before he spoke again. "If they mean no harm then, I guess I give my blessing, Lottie."

*

"How'd the run go?" Louis whispered to Harry's figure as he hoisted himself over the windowsill and landed on his feet in Louis' dark room.

They'd been sleeping next to each other every night since they were mated, but lately because of the runs he and most of the other males had been going on just after sunset, he would come through the window instead of the front door in an effort not to wake Jay and Lottie.

"Fine- good." he whispered back too quickly, his green eyes alight as he pealed off his shorts and crawled under the covers next to Louis' warm body.

He wrapped a strong arm over Louis' naked torso and cuddled closer, his body still hot from his recent phasing. "Did you find anything new?" the smaller boy asked into the darkness.

Harry shook his head, nuzzling his nose into the crook of of Louis' neck next to his bond mark. "Don't worry, beautiful all is well."

Louis wasn't so sure he believed that. "I'm worried about Lottie." he admitted after a second.

"She has nothing to be afraid of," Harry spoke softly, running his fingers through Louis' tangled hair "we'll keep the rouges out of the territory and as far away from her and the rest of the pack as possible."

Louis considered again for the millionth time since Lottie had revealed to him that wasn't scared of the rogue pack, she wanted to find a mate in one, telling Harry his actual concerns, but decided against it yet again. Lottie was his sister, this was an issue he could deal with on his own, and he didn't need to plague the alpha with it when he already had so much to deal with. "She'll be fine." Louis agreed finally.

The omega felt Harry's his large hands roam across his body, as he planted gentle kisses on the smaller male's neck, shoulders, and chest. Louis listened to him breath, and took in his scent pushing Lottie out of his mind and focusing all of his attention on to Harry who seemed to be craving it so badly.

"I've missed you." Louis felt Harry breath hotly against his skin "I hate not being able to be here the way I used to be, but after we run the rogues away everything will go back to normal, Louis baby I promise."

The omega's skin blushed under his touch "Don't worry about it." he manage to choke out "You're the alpha it's your duty."

"My duty is to you first." Harry purred still kissing every inch of exposed skin that he could reach "Everything I do is for you, you love your pack and so I love them too."

Louis head swam as he felt him bite into his shoulder, and whimpered in pleasure as Harry's scotching hot tongue soothed over the mark.

"Haven't you missed me too?" Harry asked, situating his body firmly on top of his omega.

Not chancing the embarrassment of speaking for fear of what grotesque noise might escape Louis just nods, his mind not able to focus on anything but the feeling of his alpha's weight on his body, pinning him down.

Again another smirk "Then say it," Harry breathed "I wanna hear it."

"I missed you too." Louis gasped as Harry bit him again, this time higher up on his neck sending a wave of slick head between Louis' thighs.

"I thought so." He grunted into Louis' ear.

*

The sun was up now, but Harry wasn't. His even breathing filled Louis' bedroom in rhythm with his chest that rose and fell slowly. The omega watched him for a while, traced his features with a gentle thumb as he rested, and tried to figure out how he had fallen so desperately in love with someone he'd not even known for very long.

Brushing a strand of dark hair off of his face Louis sighed and finally found the motivation to rip himself out of bed. It had been a long winter, and now that spring had come.

Touching his small arched feet to the chilly hardwood floors, he quickly scooped up one of Harry's shirts that littered the floor in a mixture of his own things, and pulled it over his body. Cautiously standing in an effort not to wake the sleeping wolf next to him, he crept to the window.

It was early morning, and the sun had probably only been up for half an hour, no one in the pack ever ventured out of their homes this early, so when Louis caught a glimpse of a petite blonde wolf dashing through the trees and heading for the territory line, he had to blink a couple of extra times to make sure he had really seen it.

Where the hell was Lottie going? And then horror struck, as the weight of his realization settled on his chest, she was going to find the rouges. Up until that point he was sure that Lottie's mention of finding a mate in one of the rouges was just a fleeting thought, he had convinced himself that she didn't really mean it, but there was no denying now.

Louis chanced a hurried glance at Harry's still sleeping figure, a peaceful lump under the blanket. He'd been so exhausted lately running around with the other males, worrying about the rouges, he didn't need to be shaken awake by Louis, it was only little Lottie, surely he could catch up and talk some sense into her before she did anything stupid, that is if he moved quickly enough.

The omega didn't bother with pants, wouldn't need them. He was out of the window and phased completely before he even hit the ground.

Then he was off, tearing across the small village and after Lottie, hoping against hope that he would find her before the rogues did.

Chapter Text

Harry woke with a start, sitting bolt upright in Louis' tiny bed that was only just tall enough for him, a cold sweat dampening his skin. At first he was not sure what had startled him awake, mind still sleep atled and then he felt it; Louis' distress sharp and clear through their bond.

He tried to calm his flurry of thoughts and emotions, all of which pointed to the worst case scenario, as he quickly got out of bed. He was out of the room and into the hallway in a flash calling Louis' name out louder than he probably should have in the still half dark of the quiet house.

Harry pushed open the door to Jay's room and found his mate's mother sleeping peacefully on her side, facing the door. A quick check of the room revealed no Louis, so he backed out silently, figuring that there was no use in waking Jay and worrying her when she could do nothing.

Next was Lottie's room and Harry expected to find a similar scene, instead he found an empty bedroom. But not just empty of Lottie's presence, empty of all of her belongings as well. The drawers to her dresser and desk were pulled out and empty, closet door standing open and revealing nothing inside.

The alpha felt another fresh wave of panic from his bond with Louis and this time something even worse; pain. Louis was in pain. Harry's stomach roiled with rage and nausea at the relaxation.

Wasting no more time he was down the stairs and out of the house. Not a soul could be seen in the village, all of the sleepy little homes sitting quiet and dark on their plots of land, and in all of it Louis was not there.

A howl broke from his chest almost on it's own as he felt his body phase, the crunch of ribs as they shifted under his skin, the ripping of clothes as the seams stretched then burst from the force of the change. And before he was even wholly a wolf the males of his pack were there, phasing too in an answer to his call.

Liam's eyes were worried when Harry caught sight of them, and questioning glances were exchanged between the other males present, but the alpha didn't have time to explain, Louis was gone, and he had an itching suspicion that they had a traitor in their midst.

Harry easily caught his omega's scent, his senses heightened by his now canine form. "This way." he called to the other males, taking off.

"Lottie's scent is here too." Liam spoke from just to the left of Harry as they bounded quickly through trees. "Is she missing as well?"

The alpha didn't respond, not wanting to believe that the person Louis trusted so fiercely had the gull to betray him, it was possible that Lottie was also lead into a trap. He would not name her a traitor until he had no other choice.

*

"Lottie!" Louis called tentatively through the trees. The woods had thickened now and even though he'd grown up in these forests he couldn't help but be just a little afraid.

Every movement, every shift in the wind felt like danger. His fur stood on end as he tried desperately not to freak out and run back towards the territory and wake Harry and the rest of the pack.

Nausea invaded Louis stomach suddenly as the smell of piss, and wolves he did not recognize filled his nose. Where was Lottie, and why wasn't she responding to his calls? She couldn't be that far away.

The question was answered quickly when they surrounded him.

There was at least a half a dozen of them, all male and all at least twice Louis' size, he recognized some vaguely from the time before the full moon, but the rest held no memory at all.

They came from all sides materializing silently and without warning encircling the omega completely. But it wasn't just the sight of these unfamiliar males that stopped Louis dead, it was Lottie.

She stood just in front of him, her body also a part of the circle that cut him off from escape her blonde coat glinting in the mid-morning sun, completely relaxed. A large male who Louis somehow sensed was the leader of this group leaned close to her.

"Lottie." Louis squeaked out, desperately knowing that these males did in fact mean him harm.

But she gave no response, just smirk as she let the male next to her nuzzle authoritatively at her neck. She had betrayed him. Betrayed all of them.

Bile rose in his throat as the realization set in. Lottie, his best friend, his sister and the only person he thought without a doubt he could trust had run off to the enemy, and now she was looking him full in the face without an ounce of shame in her blue eyes.

"Lottie." he cried out this time desperately scared, as the males tightened the circle, thinking that maybe if he said her name enough she'd snap out of whatever was wrong with her and help him. "Please, Lott-" his voice caught in his throat as he fought a sob.

"Where's Harry to save you now?" The male closest to Lottie sneered.

"Yeah, where's your alpha when you need him most?" One of the other males joined in.

A round of soft jeering followed, "He's too pretty to kill." Louis heard another call, as he tried not to shake from fear.

The leader shook his head "Nah, no use in killing him, at least not until we take down Harry." A devilish grin glinted across his wolf features "You all should be thanking Lottie for leading him here otherwise we wouldn't have any leverage with the pack."

Louis' head reeled, Lottie had lead him purposely into a trap, and he had foolishly followed her into his, and possibly the whole pack's, demise. Suddenly he found himself more outraged than scared. "This was your plan all along?" he cried out at her, anger breaking his voice.

Lottie's face remained unchanged, no readable emotion, and he felt then from the depth of his soul that the Lottie he knew, the Lottie he'd grown up with, his sister was dead to him. And like wise he was as good as dead to her.

"How selfish could you be, you bitch!" Louis' vision blurred from the tears "I can't believe you would do this to me, to the pack, I'm your brother!"

"Some brother you are, rubbing your mate in my face." When she spoke her tone remained calm, though there was an edge there "You aren't any different from the rest of the pack, Louis."

Snickers sounded around them and Louis felt his face burn, the betrayal scorching him from the inside out. He opened his mouth to say something else, but words failed him, and he didn't have time to articulate anything anyway.

In a flash they were all on him.

*

The scent of blood caught in their nostrils stopping them all in their tracks. Metallic and thick it hung in the air all around them coating the back of their throat, as three wolves emerged from the forest, a small mass of tawny fur convulsing in the jaws of the biggest.

A silence built between the two groups of males, as they each sized each other up. The grey wolf who was the biggest and by the way he was standing it could be assumed that he was the leader eyed Harry blankly, the scruff of Louis' neck locked in his jaws, as he squirmed in an effort to free him.

Lottie was there too, standing directly next to the male who held her brother between his teeth.

"If you want to keep your life you'll let him go." The alpha's voice rung out in the silence like a bullhorn, and for a second he saw fear flash through the grey wolf as the other males in his pack shifted slightly, tensing.

"You don't scare us." The second wolf called back "If you want hum back so badly you can come over here and take him."

"Harry!" Louis cried out hoarsely "Harry, it's a trap, they're going to attack the girls! Go back to the village." Then the grey wolf tightened his hold on the smaller male's neck silencing him with a yelp.

But the damage was done as the realization flooded them all; the pack was in danger and the only wolves capable of protecting it were miles away.

"Go." Harry grunted to the males behind me.

They hesitated slightly, "Go." he repeated throwing a glance in their direction "Get back to the territory and protect the pack. Liam you're in charge until I return. Niall will be beta."

Liam's eyes regarded his alpha warily, but he knew better than to disobey, and in a flash they had turned on their heels, leaving Harry to face the two males and the traitor before me.

*

Searing pain starting from the puncture wounds on his neck and radiating down his spine took his breath away. But that was fine, Harry was here now and Louis had warned them, if the other males could get back in time maybe they could save the lives of the pack.

Everything felt very far away now, and unclear as he felt his eyes roll back into his head, his eyelids too heavy to keep open any longer. He was vaguely aware that he was still in danger but the flush of relief he'd felt after watching the other males retreat back towards the village and the presence of his mate seemed to numb his fear somehow.

"Don't make me repeat myself." Louis' clouded mind heard Harry snarl, and he knew the alpha was losing patience.

"You're all alone now." A closer male voice shot back "It's two against one, the odds aren't exactly in your favor-"

The male's voice was cut off by a howl of pain, and Louis' body hit the ground with a thud as the grey wolf finally released the smaller male from his jaws. Harry was fighting tooth and nail with the two males, and by the looks of it they were losing badly. Louis wasn't sure where Lottie was but he suddenly had a feeling that he'd never see her again. And as Harry's canines severed the spinal cord of the last wolf, Louis knew that his sister was gone, and everything was different now.

*

"Louis baby," Harry's voice was soothing but clear enough to shake the omega out of his stupor. Blinking back the blurriness finally he could focus on Harry's eyes, cloudy green and concerned.

The corners of his lips pulled up slightly at the sight of him, his silver fur glinting like diamonds in the glare of the sun that passed through the heavy trees. "How could you be smiling at a time like this?" He half laughed, his eyes still worried.

There was little strength left in Louis' slight body, but the fact the pack was still in danger pushed him to attempt to heft himself to his feet.

"Don't try and stand, Lou" He said quickly "you'll hurt yourself."

Ignoring and grunting with the effort, Louis drug hisself into a standing position, grunting from the effort. His legs felt like jello but the sense of urgency he felt steadied him, the pack was in danger and the alpha was standing over Louis with worried eyes when he should be back at the territory protecting the others. Louis wobbled slightly, but with gentle focus found his barring and stood up straight

"There's no time for that you have to get back to the pack, they're coming."

"Can you even walk?" Harry's voice was concerned, every fiber of his being longed to touch Louis, inspect every part of his frame, lick all of his wounds, but he knew the omega would not take kindly to that kind of treatment under the circumstances.

"Of course I can." Louis told him, hoping hw sounded more sure than he felt. "Go ahead without me, the pack needs you."

"I'm not going anywhere, you're my mate and my first priority, if you would quit being so stubborn and let me help you-"

Louis cut him off "I'm not a child!" his anger was boiling over now, Harry truly did not understand the gravity of the situation, what was Louis without his pack? He wouldn't be able to bare it if they suffered even a little for Louis' foolishness. When he spoke next his tone was softer, but scraping as he fought to bite back tears "You're the alpha and my pack, my family rely on you to protect them, go fucking protect them."

"Louis, but I- I can't just leave you like this." His tone was desperate now.

The smaller boy shook his head, resolute. "I'll catch up."

"Just let me help you." He begged

"Go, or I'll never forgive you." Louis would not be moved.

"Louis."

"Just let me catch my breath, go."

There was a second of hesitation as the white wolf stared down at his injured omega, a silent plea passing between them; be safe. Then Harry turned away from Louis and took off.

Louis took a deep steadying breath once Harry's figure was out of sight and tired to assess his own injuries, where exactly he was hurt and how badly was hard to tell under his dark fur. The wound on his neck where the wolf had been holding him was fairly deep but not as painful as it should've been, adrenaline numbed it some. Aside from a couple of other minor scraps and bruises he was relatively unharmed, but shaken to the core.

The run in with the males and Lottie scared him more than he cared to admit to even himself. The skill of battle was not something the omega had ever felt the need to call upon. Hunting he could do, he was an omega, but no less a wolf than any of his pack mates. A deer was no match for him, but there was little he could do against those bigger stronger wolves, and he hated that helpless feeling more than he could ever describe.

But there was not time to dwell, he had to get back to the territory. Taking his first steps on shaking legs, ears alert for any signs of danger, he wondered silently what exactly he'd do if there was another rogue male waiting in the wings.

And as that thought passed through his mind, almost as if on cue a large figure stepped out of the shadows, his teeth glinting in the high noon sun, "Well well well, look what I've found."

The omega froze, fur on end, dread coursing through his veins.

It was a rogue, he recognized him faintly from the time before the battle for alpha. He was huge, his bulk nearly eclipsing the sun, he loomed in front of Louis a sly expression of smugness mixed with something sinister on his face. "Looks like your alpha left you all alone, guess I'll get to play with you until he comes back."

Disgust boiled in Louis' stomach, and almost on it's own a growl escaped his throat.

The male tsked at Louis quietly as he began to circle "Aw c'mon," he crooned "maybe if you're real sweet I'll let you live."

Under regular circumstances the smaller male probably could've out run him, but noway could he manage that now. The only other option was instinctual and very clear; this male and his pack threatened Louis' family, his mate and his pack.

Louis' paws leave the ground in one high arching leap, strong back legs propelling him forward until he's on the much larger wolf, clenching his teeth into the side of the bigger male's neck and throwing his hopes into the wind that maybe that would be all it took to kill him.

His blood was metallic and satisfying as it slipped onto Louis' tongue, trickling out of the sides of his mouth in buckets and down his neck. The large wolf fell to the forest floor dying with his eyes still open.

Chapter Text

Louis half expected to run into more wolves, part of him even relished the idea of another fight but no other movement could be heard except his own as he ran through the thick trees on steady paws the wind ripping through his tawny fur.

As he drew closer to the territory line he saw that the village was empty. Not a soul could be seen as he slowed and crept quietly deeper into the territory over the rushing river that surrounded it and between the tiny pack houses that had stood strong in these woods since before his birth.

Judging by the stillness and the lack of carnage the rogues obviously hadn't attacked yet, but where was his pack?

The answer became obvious when he took a moment to think it through clearly; they were where the pack always went in times of confusion, the elder's home. Louis' wolf form did not leave his body easily. There was too much adrenalin in his system, making a smooth phase from wolf to human nearly impossible, but with all the willpower he had left he forced his bones into the change.

Standing to his full human height, he moved as quickly as he could possibly manage across the village and to the small home of the elders, pushing the door open, relief filling him as he took in his shaken but seemingly unscathed pack mates, and Harry of course at the head of it all.

Jay's voice was the first to reach him "Oh thank the wolves!" she cried, as she quickly got to her feet to greet her son. "Is it true? Is it really true that Lottie did this?" Jay had been agast when Harry had told the pack of her daughters treachery and the danger she had put them all in. Part of her knew she wouldn't believe it until Louis was the one to tell her.

The omega tucked his sobbing mother into his arms griefy washing over him all over again "She did." the confirmation was absolute and Jay let out a pained gasp of sorrow.

"How could she? I can't believe it." Jay sobbed

Louis remained silent, letting her cry as the rest of the pack came to huddle all around them sweeping them both into a warm embrace, it wasn't just Jay and Louis who felt the loss and betrayal from Lottie, it was all of them, the whole pack. Lottie was as good as blood, someone who they would have all happily given their lives for, to know that feeling was not mutual, that Lottie had given them all up for nothing more than the promise of her own happiness was like a knife in the back.

Harry approached slowly and the pack parted to make room, Mae pulling Jay away from Louis and giving her a gentle rub on her back. The alpha reached out to Louis but did not wrap him up in a hug like the omega expected. Instead he was held at arm's length and inspected fully from head to toe. Harry took in his omega's rough appearance from his blood soaked hair, to his wild blue eyes and the scent of other wolves on him. Silently the words flowed between the mated pair, Harry knew that Louis had killed another wolf, that he'd fought for his life and won and the grim realization of that seemed to sadden the alpha somehow.

Harry set him down after a minute and turned back to the patiently waiting pack. They looked both scared and resolved.

The alpha spoke first, all eyes on him "As I was telling you we've had a traitor among us for all this time. Lottie betrayed us all and now it seems we have a war on our hands. We're not sure how many, or when they'll attack but this we do know, but we do know that they're coming."

"I think you should say something too." Harry whispered to his omega.

Louis hesitated slightly then nodded and fought to find the right words, fought to convey all the emotions that he was feeling, and that the pack no doubt mirrored. Looking around at the pack he'd grown up with, at Jay, at his aunts and the elders, he felt it then that he could no longer stand by while his family and his mate were threatened. He'd killed another only hours before, severed his jugular and watched him die at his feet. Louis knew then, and in hindsight he'd always known that he was capable of anything. That he was powerful, though he did not always feel that way.

Finally, he set his jaw and spoke "My whole life I vowed that I would kill to protect my pack, I'd die to protect you all and in return you, my sisters, my pack mates, you vowed the same. But I never made good on that promise until today. I took the life of another wolf for the first this afternoon." the confession drew a surprised whisper from the pack. "He died because he threatened you all."

The omega's voice seemed to wane so he cleared his throat and continued "We've been through so much in the last couple of months. The loss of a leader, the gain of a new one. And now we come to find that someone we trusted lead the rogues to our doorstep. There isn't anything we have not or cannot over come if we are united. I think it's time we stop living in fear, I think it's time we take matters into our own hands."

"What are you suggesting exactly?" Mae asked softly from where she still held Jay in her soothing embrace.

"I'm suggesting that the girls, if they are willing of course, and I will help to fight off the rogues."

"You want us to fight males?" one of Louis' pack mates asked, fear etching lines in her otherwise pretty face.

"I want you to help take back what's ours. Make sure that we leave no doubt about what will become of those who threaten us. Aren't you tired of being afraid? We've spent these last few months waiting for someone to come along and protect us."

"And someone has, Harry and the new males."

"Harry and our new brothers are exactly what this pack needed, and maybe they can stop the rouges by themselves, but they shouldn't have to." Louis responded.

"Weren't you the one harping about taking unnecessary risks just a few weeks ago, what's changed?"

That was a good question, where had fearful Louis gone? That part of him had seemed to die with the wolf he'd killed earlier. "My sister is a traitor. My mate is the alpha, and refuse to continue to live in fear of anything or anyone."

"I won't have my mate fighting rogues, absolutely not." This time the outburst was from a male.

His mate, Marcia didn't seem to take kindly to that. "This is my home to protect just as much as it is yours," she snapped at her now impish mate, pretty dark brown eyes narrowing. "maybe even more so. I'm not going to stand by and let it be taken by a traitor."

"She's right." Jay said dabbing at her puffy eyes now. "This is our home too. We can't rely on others to protect us anymore."

"Harry, you can't possibly allow this." Yet another male joined in.

The alpha who had stood silent until that point blinked once contemplative, and then glanced over at his omega who had his chin pushed out definitely. Every bone in Harry's body screamed at him not to allow his mate to fight against males twice his size with years more experience, but the determined look in Louis' blue eyes squashed any doubt. "I think that any member of this pack who is willing to participate is very brave, and that I have no right to hold them back from that." he said finally.

There was a chorus of whispered agreement, the apprehension still evident in some of the female's eyes, but their mates knew better now than to contradict them or the alpha. "Only those of us strong enough to fight should go." Louis said "And a few of you should stay behind to keep those that can't fight safe."

Harry agreed, and the pack divided themselves up quickly, knowing that every second they wasted was a second that drew the rogues further into the territory, into their home.

A handful of the pack were left to protect the adolescent girls and a few pregnant mothers who could not hold their own in a fight against males.

"If it looks like we're losing," Harry said to the part of the pack that remained "Don't hesitate, run, keep yourselves and your children safe, do you understand?"

A tentative nod was his only answer. They were scared, so very afraid, but they were also resolute.

Those who chose to fight followed their alpha and his omega to the front door leading out into the war they refused to back down from, and pushed themselves into the change. The rib cracking, teeth gnashing, skin blistering change that showed their true form; a wolf, a wolf who would sacrifice life and limb to protect the things it loved.

*

The rogues were smart enough not to enter the territory fully, instead they stayed just beyond the borders, on the other side of the river. Twenty males with nothing but destruction on their minds.

Harry did not stop running when they came into view, didn't care that he was outnumbered and his pack mates had not yet caught up to him. He hurled himself across the river and into the fray of wolves, claws ripping, teeth bared at the ready. The war was on.

The rest of the pack came thundering after him in a loping fearsome gang of teeth and fur, male and female wolves alike with steely determination in their eye, following their omega leader into the fray after their alpha.

And for a while it was just Louis' anger keeping him afloat in a sea of males who wanted nothing more than to have his head. Just a flurry of outrage, of killing. Slowly though, as his sisters and new brothers entered the gauntlet of fighting that anger subsided into a duller emotion he could not identify. A mixture of wariness and worry. There was no doubt in his mind that eventually they'd push the rogues back far enough, that they'd win, but what would be the cost?

Louis out of the corner of his eyes caught a flash of falling silver wolf, two males on him dragging the alpha to the ground in a pile of razor sharp claws and teeth. The omega felt all the breath leave his lungs, and for one long moment he stood motionless as he watched in horror as Harry fought the two males at once, silvery white coat gleaming in blood and battle filth as he wrestled to get back to his feet.

Then suddenly Louis was in motion, launching himself into the scrimmage between Harry and the outsiders. The omega took one of the males off guard, using all the strength he possessed he drove his jaws into the scruff of the larger body and drug him away from Harry. He was quickly shaken loose and forced to roll away as the larger male rounded on him, furry in his eyes.

The smaller male showed no signs of fear as he and the rogue circled one and other, watching with keen blue eyes for an opening, a place to attack, a window to end the wolf. Louis was not bigger than this wolf, not stronger, but he was faster; quicker to the draw and like lightning he pounded catching the larger male off guard and forcing him back hind legs sprawling out behind him as his footing became unsure.

Again the omega drove his teeth into the rogue's neck, hearing a pop, feeling his teeth rip through tendons and flesh, tasting the warm metallic liquid seep into his mouth, and he did not let go until the body under him went limp in death.

The omega got to his feet just in time to see Harry finishing off the second wolf, their eyes meeting for a fraction of a second before they both raced off in other directions to dispatch of more rogues.

And then everything was a blur of killing. His pack all around him, his home on the line Louis thought of nothing else but protecting them, protecting what was his at all costs. Until suddenly and all at once there was nothing and nobody to fight anymore.

The rogues were slowly retreating, but the pack would not let them leave. They would pay with their lives for what they'd done to this pack, pay for not heeding their warning.

The tally of lives lost totaled to a sickening number, but thankfully it was none of theirs. The rogue pack was out matched not in numbers, but in passion. The Tomlinson pack had been fighting for their home, for their lives and most of all for their security. The rogues had no stakes in this besides revenge.

When it was all over, a calm seemed to fall. They stood around in grim silence, Louis and Harry, the strong fierce alpha and omega pairing and the rest of the pack, their fur drenched in more blood than any they'd seen in a lifetime, bodies heavy from fatigue and the lives they'd taken. It was over, but it almost seemed too good to accept. As the pack stood around just outside their territory, the forest floor littered with fallen wolves, they half expected another to shoot out from the shadows and attack. But none did.

Every member of the rogue pack, save for Lottie, Louis supposed was dead. Obliterated because they would not live and let live. Harry's grim eyes seemed to take it all in, soak it all up. Half, if not more of the dead were gone by his hand, what did the weight of all that feel like?

Louis watched him closely, trying to find any sense that he was hurting more than just physically. Was even Harry, the alpha who had proven time and again that he was more than capable of protecting them all not strong enough to live with the horror that came with war?

Liam was the first to break the silence, ripping all of them out of their dazed thoughts. "Let's go home." his voice was hollow but it flushed a bit of relief through the pack. The prospect of home, of warm beds and warm bodies, the comfort that came with knowing that we were safe now gave them the last bit of energy it took for their paws to carry them back towards home.

Harry turned his head, a quick smile gracing his wolf features, warmth in his emerald eyes, revealing that once again Loui had underestimated his mate. For Harry, all of this was already in the past.

*
Epilogue

Lottie was gone, no trace of her in the area and probably a thousand miles away, yet it felt as though she were just around the corner, lurking in the trees and waiting for her revenge. Harry considered going after her on his own, following her trail and making her pay for her betrayal with her life, but what would have been the use? There had been enough lives lost.

Pack life returned to normal, or as normal as it could be after all that they had gone through in the last few months. They were stronger now though, resolute. Fear no longer an ugly monster waiting in the shadows to rear it's ugly head once more.

Louis stood sway backed in the middle of his and Jay's small living room, blue eyes burrowing into Harry's, intense as always. "What's wrong?" Harry asks, fearing the answer.

"I'm sick." Louis said, pensively, small nimble fingers massaging the knot out of his lower back.

"What kind of sick, baby?" Harry asked, immediately panicked he's on his feet and crossing the distance to his omega in an instant. The smaller boy stayed silent for a long time, a look Harry can't read on his face. "What is it?"

"Pregnant sick."