Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Louis returned home he thought it was just like any other day.

He planned it that way. His days were monotonous, but calm. They came with a sense of tranquility he’d specifically sought out for himself. Sure, the last year or so had been a little different than the ones before them, but gradual change was acceptable.

The repetitiveness kept him in check. The reliability of pushing a rope swing and knowing it would return back to you. The careful tick of a clock, the second-hand counting a steady beat that was more dependable than anything else in life.

The problem was, on this specific day, it wasn’t the same.

He lived alone in a small cottage - well, not entirely alone. He had a cat that had adopted him one day when it walked into his house, sat itself down by the fireplace, and never left. Louis didn’t know quite how he’d ended up a cat parent but she did keep the rats out of his work room, so it was somewhat symbiotic.

And of course, there was also Wolfie.

His first thought upon smelling the foreign scent was concern for Wolfie, wondering if he was okay or if there was an intruder, but that thought was quickly replaced with something far more pressing.

It wasn’t just any smell filling all the corners of his cottage and clinging to the walls - it was an omega.

He hadn’t smelt one like this in years, not properly. Not one that wasn’t just a passing whiff in the wind when he was at the market in town and someone hadn’t quite used enough oil to fully block their natural pheromones from permeating and filling the street like they would if they were left natural.

Not this full-bodied, rich… intense collaboration of notes padding out his entire house.

Louis covered his nose with his elbow on instinct, even trying to pinch it closed in the fold and breathe through his mouth. He could tell the omega was distraught just from the slight sour taste of the smell, its emotions heightened.

He had no idea how it would have even found his cottage. He lived quite a ways out of his village, nearer the tree-line. It wasn’t close to any common trade routes, nor the parts of the forest his pack would visit when they’d shift.

That was on purpose. Solitude was the priority when he selected where he would build his home.

The other contributing factor was that it was ankle deep with snow outside, but he hadn’t seen any tracks leading to his front door, aside from his own and his animals.

How did the omega get here?

When he shut his front door behind him and turned the corner he was stunned to find a boy standing naked in the middle of his lounge.

Which was also his kitchen, dining room, bedroom, but thankfully not his bathroom. All of that was by the by.

His hair was curly and longer than his shoulders, his eyes wide and wet, brimming with tears but a piercing green. He was standing somewhat without shame, like he didn’t know he was bare, and he was fully locked in on Louis.

Before Louis could do anything he watched him positively crumple, almost comic if it weren’t so devastating, the way his limbs folded in on one another like they were nothing more than soft, rippling fabric.

He fell to his knees and crawled forward, half dragging himself and surely getting a burn from the rug but it didn’t seem to stop him.

The omega only paused when he reached Louis' feet, throwing himself at them and wailing, starting up a sob that he only seemed to have briefly stopped when Louis had entered the house.

Louis looked down for a few moments, completely puzzled, before eyeing a faint red mark around the top of his thigh. It was scar tissue, jagged, but long healed over.

It was at that moment Louis knew.

He stepped away without another word.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Chapter Text

One Year Earlier

It wasn’t usual that Louis was out these ways.

The sun was high in the sky and his inner wolf had begged to stretch its legs. It was a bit harder during the winter time - where he lived tended to pile high with snow and it was a chore to trudge through.

He usually spent the winter as indoors as he could manage, as did a lot of his pack. Hibernating, they would joke, but it essentially was. You’d stock up your food during the other seasons to ensure you could make it through without fresh produce.

Some vendors would stay open, selling or buying or trading what they could, but even getting into the village centre was a right mare if the weather had been bothersome.

So Louis stayed. Warm in his cottage - his store room filled with firewood and preserves and food to last him through the season, at least for the worst of it.

He’d come out today, though. Despite the winter chill the sun was melting some of the snow on the ground, so even though he’d absolutely come home smelling like a wet dog and covered in mud, it was better than feeling rabid and pacing his cottage with the itch to shift burning red hot under his skin.

Louis figured he maybe had a… slightly different connection to his wolf than other people did. He felt like it ruled him in some ways, especially in moments like these. Others would describe the chore of having to connect with their wolf and maintain that relationship, whereas Louis felt that he’d never been able to fully disconnect from it in the first place.

He knew objectively he and his wolf were one in the same, but battling his wolf's baser instincts always felt like an uphill battle, whereas others he’d talked to seemed to find it quite easy to offset and let their human emotions override.

That was how he ended up on a hill he didn’t often run through anymore. Generally he had a set area of the forest he liked to exercise in, and since he was close to the edge of their territory, he didn’t usually stray too much further than his plotted paths.

But, as usual, his alpha wolf pulled at him until he gave in. He didn’t know why it was insisting on here - it was just like any other part of their woodland area, landscape wise.

Maybe it was seeking to remind him of something. Too many days locked up in the cottage, some of them literally snowed in where the snow came up too high for him to even push the door open. Days spent lounging and reading and in silence. His wolf was restless.

As he darted on all fours between the roots and the worst bits of mud he did have to admit he instantly felt better. Stretching his hind legs, getting his heart pumping. There was probably something to that - exercising and shifting often improved his headspace when he didn’t properly register it might be a bit low.

Louis was mid run when he just managed to catch a small noise.

He slowed his gallop down to a trot, curious, mainly since most of the wild animals should be hiding away in their burrows as it was still quite cold. There were no fruits to pick off of the bushes, and the soil was frozen beneath the mud. Even the grass and leaves had all turned to mulch.

He heard it again, his snout turning towards where he thought it was coming from and twitching his ears to get a better idea.

The third time it sounded Louis could categorise it as a whimper. An animal in distress.

That could be risky, potentially. A wounded animal could mean danger. Something bigger than him, a bear perhaps. Or another wolf.

There wasn’t much out in the woods that wolves usually had to fear. Top of the food chain and all of that - a predator. Usually animals had to fear him, even though his pack had generally become more civilised than hunting in the woods.

They had a reasonably advanced agricultural system, or so Louis was told by people who passed through on their travels. Some packs were still out there, hunting in their woods to feed themselves, the way he supposed nature intended.

He’d still much rather not do the killing himself and leave that to the farmers.

Louis started to move tentatively towards where he’d heard the noise, moving slow and low to the ground.

In his wolf form he knew he wouldn’t blend in well against the bright white snow. He was a tawny brown, a bit lighter in colour than the other alphas he knew, and though he was a bit shorter in human form, given he was an alpha he was still pretty sizeable.

It still paid to be cautious though. He kept his limbs coiled and taut so he was ready to strike and defend himself if need be.

As he tiptoed closer he caught the rustling of some snow out of the corner of his eye, thoroughly inspecting the area of trees he’d found himself in before deciding there was no immediate threat.

Whatever it was seemed quite small. Something that would probably be more scared of him than vice versa.

He raised to his full height and trotted towards the snow, anticipating finding a bunny or something, before stopping short when he saw what looked to be a wolf snout poking out from under a layer of snow.

Louis rushed closer once he realised it was a wolf that was in danger, using his head and paws to push the snow off of it and uncovering a small, wet, weak looking wolf.

An omega, if he wasn’t mistaken. It was tiny enough to be.

Who was letting their omega out into the woods at a time like this? Unprotected?

All of the omegas he knew of in his pack were treated with the utmost respect and were all spoken for - if not by an alpha then by their family. They were too vulnerable to live a solitary life like Louis did.

He instantly stuck his nose in their neck, right at their scent gland. It was a bit uncouth to scent an omega in such a familiar way, but this was an emergency since it seemed like it was close to passing away.

It had barely even lifted its head when Louis uncovered it in the snow, but its green eyes tracked him, however half lidded they were.

When he took a big inhale, expecting to find out exactly who they were and how he could help them, he instead found… nothing. No scent.

Well, it smelled like a wolf. But there was no pack behind it. No secondary gender - or first for that matter. It just smelt like earth and wet dog and animal.

Could it be… just a wolf? Not a shifter, like himself and any other wolf he’d come across?

He knew they existed, of course, but they generally didn’t live near packs of shifters. Louis hadn’t even seen one before. But it seemed to be the only explanation as to why he couldn’t even smell a pack on the wolf, let alone any other information.

Louis shifted from paw to paw for a second, hesitating a little before starting to uncover the wolf a bit more from under the snow.

If this was just a normal wolf that didn’t shift then that made the situation a lot easier for him.

Had the wolf had been an omega like he’d initially thought, that would have been a whole situation. He would have had to take it back to their village, to the pack leaders, report it and be a witness in whatever proceedings happened after that.

Such as, if the wolf was from their village, he knew the potential omegas keepers - be it their family or their alpha - would have been put to trial for abandonment or at the very least endangerment.

Had the omega been from a neighbouring pack that would have been a whole thing too. Diplomacy, relationships, animosities.

It sounded all too much like the things Louis tried to avoid. He led a simplistic life for a reason, and getting all tied up in that seemed… complicated.

Not that he wouldn’t save the omega in question, of course, his alpha would never let him walk away, but if this was just a standard wolf that was a lot easier.

Take it home, warm it up by the fire, dry it down with some towels. Give it a bit of his stew he was planning on for dinner and send it on its way.

Simple.

He continued to uncover the rest of the wolf's body as quickly as he could, using his paws and his nose until he startled when the little wolf cried out in pain just as he got to its leg.

Louis jumped a little, looking at its face when it whimpered before going about it more carefully, his eyes widening when he saw the reason the poor wolf was laying pathetically on the ground and getting covered in snow.

Its leg was stuck in a bear trap.

The snow around it was red and bloody, and though it was a small trap, it was also a small wolf.

Fucking hell Louis thought to himself as he wondered what to do.

He knew he’d need his human hands to get the trap off of the wolf. He wasn’t sure he could even treat the wound - he was unable to tell the extent of it, just that it looked like it felt terrible. But he supposed the first move was to get it off and then see how the wolf feared.

This was getting increasingly unsimple, in Louis’ opinion, but one look at its pathetic wee face had him huffing out a grunt and reaching deep into the magic in his mind to shift into his human form.

It was worse than he had thought when he came into his body, shivering instantly at being literally starkers in the middle of a snowy forest.

“Holy shit,” Louis whispered, a chill rocking through him.

It was fine when he was a wolf, the layers of fur and fat and a body literally made to be outdoors protected him. But in his comparatively weaker human form - he was bloody fucking freezing.

So freezing that he felt like his bollocks might fall off.

“Alright, wolfie, this is probably gonna hurt, but let's get it done,” Louis warned the animal, patting its side as he crouched down and aimed to free the wolf as soon as possible.

Both for the benefit of the little wolf but also for himself, a bit selfishly. It was just that he was quite fond of keeping his balls attached to his body and not getting frostbite on them.

He inspected the trap before realising it was a simple release system, requiring him to press down on either side to open the jaws. He did just that, wincing when the wolf cried out in pain and he ever so gently tried to get its leg out of the teeth and free of the metal.

It wasn’t severed, which was a plus, still firmly attached. It was hard to see for all the blood, but Louis didn’t have time to inspect it thoroughly right now.

He needed to shift back into his wolf form and get this animal home.

The wolf seemed to be fading now that his leg was free, his eyes drooping shut. Louis knew that wasn’t a great sign, so while he was still human he manoeuvred the wolf onto his back before quickly shifting to his wolf with his cargo preloaded.

It was instantly more comfortable as soon as he shifted, his fur protecting him from the elements and the weight of the wolf becoming near nothing with his added strength. The shift also meant he could move a lot faster, heading straight back for his cottage so he could at least get the wolf comfortable, if the worst were to happen.

Louis carefully wound his way through the forest, mindful of his cargo and not wanting the wolf to fall off and suffer another blow but equally wanted to move with some speed.

The journey wasn’t too long, so once he was at his front door he gently let the wolf slide over his head and to the ground, shifting into his human form yet again so he could scoop him up in his arms and take him inside.

Thankfully the fire was still going, just needing a little stoke to get it roaring again so Louis headed straight for it, grabbing some towels on his way as well as his hides so he could set the wolf up in the warmth and dry him down.

Its breathing was shallow now, his eyes shut, but it was still alive.

Louis hoped he could bring it back - it would be sad to see an animal pass like this. He resolved to try his best and hope that was good enough.

Once he got the worst of the wetness out of its fur he set it up on the hide, not wanting to put it straight on the wood. He knew he’d have to see to its wound but wanted to medicate it first, so he headed for his stores and rummaged around for his laudanum.

Upon finding the pain relief he came back to near the fire, kneeling down next to the little wolf and quickly surveying it.

Laudanum tasted like shit. Louis knew from experience. It was bitter and far worse than any of the strongest alcoholic meads he’d ever tried. But swallowing something that tastes like shit was probably better than dying, so Louis reasoned the poor wolf would hopefully understand.

Maybe not, because it was just a half-dead animal, but still. It probably couldn’t get any worse than how it was feeling right now. What was a bit of a yucky taste compared to having your leg impaled?

He measured out a small amount, half of what he would have if he was in pain, then tilted the poor things muzzle up and pried its mouth open.

It looked dehydrated in its gums, its tongue bitten and raw and just overall in bad shape. The wolf was pliant, though, letting him do it - so he took a deep breath and tipped the medicine down its throat.

As soon as the wolf got a taste it whined loudly, which Louis supposed was a fair enough reaction. When he had to medicate himself he felt like doing the same, and even he couldn’t suppress the wince and smacking of his tongue when it hit his mouth. He laid its head back down and gave it a little pat, tutting softly to try and soothe it.

“It’s okay, Little Wolf. I know it’s yucky. It’s yucky for me too. But it’ll make you feel better. Then I can look at what’s going on with that leg of yours, yeah?” Louis murmured down to it as he patted the matted fur along its side.

He gave it a few more gentle pats before getting up and going to fetch some water to heat up so he could clean the wound, along with some cleaner rags to dress it, hoping that would be good enough to keep it clean since he didn’t think he had many other options.

If he took it to any of the healers in town he was sure he’d be laughed out of the surgery, and if he took it to a farmer they’d probably kill it to put it out of its misery.

Maybe that was the kinder option. Not watch it struggle to take ragged breaths, curled up on its side, so small even in his small cottage. It was barely bigger than the cat, who was silently judging him from her comfy seat near the window.

But when Louis looked down at the wolf again he just couldn’t bear it. At least not while it seemed to be clinging to life, however fraught that cling was.

“It’s alright, Wolfie. I’ll do my best. If not we’ll just load you up on the good stuff if you’re on your way out, yeah?” Louis murmured, figuring that would be the least he could do if the wolf took a turn for the worst.

It seemed to look at him then, like his eyes knew more than they possibly could, but Louis paid it no mind as he started to see its pupils dilate.

“There we are. That feel better?” Louis murmured to it, keeping up his pats as he felt the wolf's muscles start to relax under his hand, its breathing evening out. Louis hoped that was a good sign.

The wolf was warming up just a little too. By the time Louis decided to start his impromptu surgery the wolf seemed as high as a kite, which was probably for the best if he was going to poke and prod at an open wound.

“Okay, darling. This might hurt but hopefully you’re not going to notice,” Louis murmured as he started to gently dab the water he’d warmed on the fire near the cut, attempting to lightly clean it and assess the damage.

The wolf whined, and at that moment Louis considered the fact that this was an actual wild animal, not just a pack member in wolf form. It had no reason to trust Louis, to be able to work out why he was hurting it further.

Even though it was little, its bite would still pack a punch, if it were to turn around and snap at Louis for increasing his pain. He knew the cat would in a far less critical situation. She’d snapped at him for simply trying to tickle her tummy one too many times.

The wolf didn’t though. It stayed still, just making a yelp or a whine every so often under its breath, but never jerked or looked anything like it was going to nip or bite. It just lay there pliantly, letting Louis clean it up.

Louis was pretty relieved, to say the least. Both in that he could help it but also that he wasn’t getting bitten for the pleasure. He shifted him round slowly so he could look at the other side of the leg, the inside, and noted in this manoeuvre that this was a male wolf.

“Good to know, lovie. Won’t go putting bows on your head then,” Louis murmured once he’d clocked the anatomy, shifting him slowly so he could see just how bad it appeared.

He had no training, of course, but a thorough clean revealed some deep cuts that seemed particularly painful. The wolf was skinnier than it should be, matted, and generally unkempt.

As Louis began to dress the wound he wondered if maybe this wolf was a bit of a lone wolf, like himself. If it had been cast out from its own pack. If wild wolves who didn’t shift even operated like that. He supposed there had to be some reason that shifters like himself were biologically drawn towards their pack instincts.

Even if he wanted to be a lone wolf, he seemed far too small for it. And clearly wasn’t very adept at living in the forest by himself, if he got caught by a stationary trap.

Maybe Louis could teach him a thing or two.

He tied a neat knot on some fabric to fashion somewhat of a wrap around the little wolf's wound, hoping it could stem the blood so he wouldn’t lose much more, and ideally make it through the night.

Once he was done with that he gave the wolf a gentle once over, checking he didn’t have any other physical ailments but all he found was roughed up paw pads and a few mats that looked a bit tight, pulling at his skin.

If he survived the night then Louis would cut them out tomorrow. And give him a proper bath to get all that mud out of his fur.

“Alright, pup. That’s the best I can do for ya, for now,” Louis murmured to him, giving him another pat and pushing to his feet. The wolf was still breathing, eyes closed, but looking worlds more relaxed than when he’d found him.

He decided that putting some clothes on was maybe in order. And cooking his dinner, and making sure he had enough firewood to last the night, and feeding the cat. But after that he could focus on the wolf again, maybe shift just so he could share some body warmth with him.

Louis went about his evening, pausing every so often to make sure the wolf's chest was still rising and falling, bustling around his cottage and making sure everything was in order.

Once he was done he came closer to the wolf, looking him over carefully and making sure he seemed to be doing okay. He was still breathing steadily, seemingly having fallen asleep. Louis supposed that was a good sign - he seemed generally pretty weak so a sleep would help his body heal.

Louis had filled a bowl with water for him, planning on prioritising that when he woke up and hopefully getting some food inside of him too.

But for now he didn’t think there was much more that could be done. He blew out his candles, leaving only the light of the fire, and instead of hopping in his bed he started to arrange a few more blankets and hides on the floor near the fire so he could keep the pup company.

Once it was all arranged he got undressed and shifted his form, careful not to knock anything over because he was a bit big for the space, all things considered.

He then wandered over and tucked up behind the smaller wolf, wiggling closer and closer until he could snuggle against its colder back. He could do with being warmed from both sides - that being the fire on his front and Louis’ belly at his rear. Louis didn’t think that he’d be generating much of his own warmth given he barely had any fat on him and his fur was scraggly.

Louis huffed as he set his head down against his paws, settling in for the night and protecting the injured little wolf the best he could. He hoped he’d still be alive in the morning, but Louis wouldn’t bet anything important on it.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

In the middle of the night, Louis woke to silence. Too much silence, really, the insulating silence of snow outside. He blinked his eyes open, moderately surprised at how much he could see before remembering he’d shifted before he fell asleep.

He then remembered the little wolf curled up against his belly, and when he tipped his head to look at it, he realised why he’d woken up.

The wolf's big green eyes were on him. They seemed to have more life in them than they had before, but they were still wary. Not fearful though. Calm, maybe a little cautious. As if he didn’t realise he was hungry or dirty or in pain.

Louis gave him a little alpha grumble to settle him, wondering if that even worked on non-shifting wolves, before picking his head up to gently groom him on the top of his head and behind his ears, which were thankfully less coated in dirt.

He wondered if someone in the village would know more than he did about actual wolves, or if there was maybe something in the town library. Louis wanted to know if this wolf was really an ‘omega’ or if he was just small.

Then he may have a better idea of If he would respond to things like alpha grumbles, if Louis was making him feel protected by emitting the noise as was intended. It was hard to tell without him emitting any scents or pheromones. It was almost a bit uncanny, like there was just something slightly off about him.

Louis never realised how much he relied on his sense of smell to know how people were feeling.

He tracked his nose down the wolf's neck again, nuzzling and cobbing just a bit with his teeth before pressing in against where his scent gland would be, just for good measure. Maybe it was just really weak, since he seemed almost dead earlier. Louis had never been around a dying wolf so didn’t know if that happened but it seemed plausible.

There was still nothing there. Just the smell of fur and mud. Louis sighed out his nose and gave him another small lick, lowering his head before smoothly shifting to his human form.

It was the middle of the night but he figured since the wolf was awake he could do a little bit of tending to it.

First he stoked the fire, getting it going again from the pile of embers it had reduced to. He then came closer to the wolf and gently helped it tip its head up, holding its neck and encouraging it to drink some water from the bowl he’d set out.

It lapped slowly, cautiously, but Louis was willing to hold it through so it could start its rehydration journey. Once he seemed to tire of that Louis went to his kitchen to see what little morsels he could find for him.

He knew it was important to reintroduce food slowly so he wasn’t sick, so he fretted before deciding on some bread and honey, since if nothing else he always had an abundance of the stuff. Louis slathered some on before coming back over to the wolf, kneeling down next to it.

“Hey, Wolfie, darling. I know you’d prefer some meat but let's start small, okay? Just a little bit to fill your tummy ‘til morning. How does that sound?” Louis whispered, giving him some gentle pats on his head before coaxing it up. He rested it on his own knee, just to give him some support, before holding the food at his mouth.

He watched the wolf sniff it a few times before parting his lips, biting off a corner and chewing it slowly. He still seemed tired, but the hunger clearly overrode it as he worked his way through the slice. Louis hoped the sugar would be good for him, and the bread might line his belly.

Once he’d finished and Louis licked the honey off of his own fingers, he measured out some more laudanum - a quarter instead of a half this time since that seemed to send the poor wolf to the moon. He dosed him directly into his mouth, trying to get it closer to his throat so that he didn’t have to taste it as much and patted him through his whines.

“It’s alright, Wolfie. You’re being so brave,” Louis murmured to him, soothing him gently until it seemed to take effect and the wolf started to settle once more.

“There you are,” Louis mumbled, putting everything back in its place and stoking the fire one more time before shifting back into his wolf so he could cuddle Wolfie until morning broke.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

The next few days were quite hard.

Louis didn’t realise how much of a full time job caring for an injured animal was. He was worried about feeding him too much, or too little. Worried about his leg and how it seemed to be healing and if it was actually progressing or if he’d have an open wound forever.

He also worried that he was doing things wrong - were animals even allowed to have painkillers? Should he have taken the wolf to a farmer to have him put down because he wasn’t going to be able to recover in the first place? It all seemed like so much more responsibility than he’d initially thought it was going to be.

Not that he had much time to have a thought in the first place. In retrospect he couldn’t have done anything else - it’s not like he would have left the little wolf there to die just so he didn’t have to look after him.

Wolfie was spunky, though. From what Louis had been able to see of him. He started to show signs of personality the very next morning, no matter how weak his body was. When Louis got him in the bath to wash the mud off of him he’d licked all over Louis’ face whenever it was close enough to his tongue, which did make Louis giggle as he watched the brown and red water drain down the plug.

Whilst he combed his fur and cut the worst of the mats, the wolf had moved as pliantly as it could, even seeming to forget its injury. Up until he bumped it, of course, whining high and sweet about the affair and only seeming to settle down with some pets.

When Louis got him going on a stew he’d made the little wolf ate greedily, but Louis excused it. He knew how it felt to be ravenous like that, not knowing where you’d get your next meal. He just patted him through it, only moving him back when he thought he might choke.

He showed his attitude there by leaving a bit of parsnip in the bowl when he was done. Louis pointed it out to the wolf, who just looked at him blankly until he chuckled and took the bowl away. Clearly he wasn’t a fan of them, then.

At one point the wolf seemed to get a little antsy, and Louis couldn’t quite work out what the matter was before he realised he may need to relieve himself. He scoffed, not sure how he’d forgotten such a basic need in his care regimen, but simply picked the wolf up to take him outside.

The fresh snow was untouched, a soft blanket covering the entirety of the land and trees surrounding him. It would be cold on the little wolf's feet, but luckily - or unluckily - for him he couldn’t walk properly, so it was Louis who had to brave the stroll from the door to a few paces from the cottage. He cleared a bit of snow with his foot, discovering some dead grass, before setting him down on it carefully.

The wolf looked indignantly at him, so small and sweet despite his expression as Louis backed up a few paces. He was just a little brown spot on the otherwise white ground, all big eyed and wiggly.

“What? I’ll sort out something better for you in the future, poppet, but this’ll do for now,” Louis insisted to him.

The wolf continued to stare at him, shifting on his feet until Louis rolled his eyes and turned around.

“There, that better?” Louis asked him, wondering why he was even talking to the wolf in the first place. He talked to the cat, he supposed, but not in the same way. He supposed the pair of them communicated in their own ways, but it’s not like they could understand English.

Or maybe they did. Louis really did need to get a book about it.

Louis gave him a few more moments before turning back to him, making sure he’d gone before picking him back up.

“See? Was that so hard?” Louis cooed to him, holding him scooped up like you would a baby so he didn’t put pressure on his leg. He stroked his tummy softly, making a face at how prominent his ribs were as he took him back inside of the house and made him comfortable in his little pile of hides.

The next few days passed like they always did, time forever advancing, except this time Louis felt he had something to revolve around. Something to pay attention to - more of a purpose than he usually had.

With every moment that passed and every sleep and meal they had, the wolf seemed to improve. It was only a few days until he could stand himself up - not weight bearing at all on that back leg, but standing all the same. He could shuffle around the lounge - notably over to Louis if he was sitting on the sofa - but Louis didn’t like his chances if he sent him back out into the woods.

If anything, the little wolf seemed to be quite used to being indoors. Louis wondered if maybe he’d been kept as a pet, or something. Or perhaps it was just like that in full-wolf packs too - they cared for their smaller ones and only the bigger wolves went out to scavenge or hunt.

So it became routine. Caring for Wolfie, feeding him, redressing his wound, and then cuddling on the couch. As he was healing Louis would regularly shift and cuddle up to him to keep his back warm while he slept, and on the first night he decided Wolfie didn’t need the support he woke up to sad little whines and big green eyes staring up at him from beside the bed.

Of course Louis took pity on him and scooped him up onto his arms, gently lowering him onto the bed and cuddling up into him that way instead. It was better for Louis’ back, all things considered, and since Wolfie was so tiny it wasn’t like he took up that much space.

Eventually Louis started to see him as part of his small family. He wondered to himself if that was maybe a mistake, if he shouldn’t get so attached. He didn’t like to get attached to things. Getting attached just meant more things that could be taken away from him.

So one day, when Wolfie was just starting to bear weight on that back leg, Louis took him outside.

The snow had cleared - it was still very cold but it meant that it was a lot easier for the wolf to navigate around. Louis set him on the ground just near the door and he trotted over to where they’d decided he was to go to the bathroom - close enough to where Louis could see to it when he was tending to his garden.

Louis watched him before turning away when he saw him assume the position, but he properly turned, resting his hand on his doorknob and urging himself inside. If he just didn’t let the wolf back in, he would probably go back into the woods and live his life. Now that he was most healed.

He didn’t need Louis anymore, and what's more - he was a wild animal. He deserved to not be cooped up. He’d probably be happy to go back to his previous life. Stop being a prisoner.

He couldn’t force himself inside, though. He just stayed frozen in place, eyes closed, head resting against the wood of the door before he felt a soft pressure against his leg.

Wolfie had come back over and rubbed against him, not unlike how the cat did when she deigned to be affectionate with him. He sighed, rubbing his face and turning to face the wolf who just looked up at him with his dopey green eyes.

“Don’t you want to go back?” Louis questioned, pointing out at the woods just beyond his cottage. “Be a wolf instead of a pet? Go see your little wolf friends?”

The wolf just stared up at him though, only glancing over at the woods when it was pointed at before looking back at him. He shifted on his front legs, almost as if he was impatient before he nudged his head on him again. Giving Louis a bit of hurry up, if he wasn’t mistaken.

He sighed again, looking the wolf over before bending over to scoop him up in his arms, carrying him like a pup as he had done since he’d found him. Just to protect his sore leg, of course. No other reason.

“Fine. But there’s going to be some changes around here, Mister,” Louis informed him, giving him the sternest look he could muster as he brought him back indoors and shut the outside world behind them.

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Those changes were actually to Wolfie’s benefit, not that Louis would admit it to anyone. Lucky he didn’t keep much company or else they’d ask why he was spoiling this wolf so terribly.

The first change was Louis attaching a rope system to his front door handle - the idea behind it was so that Wolfie could let himself in and out when he needed to go to the bathroom. Louis went through some design work before introducing the concept to Wolfie, who seemed to pick it up pretty quickly.

Next up was fashioning him his own eating and drinking bowls - luckily enough Louis had some wood laying around so after a couple of days he’d carved and waxed to seal a nice pair. He got them on a small table so Wolfie wasn’t having to stoop too low, deciding it was probably better on his leg to keep his posture aligned.

Finally Louis made him a bed. It took quite a few days to get done, but it was something elevated off the cold floor. He fashioned a mattress much like his own, stuffed with straw and some cloth scraps he had laying around, then covered it in the hides Wolfie had been snuggling with.

Louis placed it at the end of his bed, near enough to the fire so he’d still get the warmth of it without sitting practically in the furnace like he was now.

Wolfie seemed to take to it immediately, cuddling himself up in the perfectly sized bed and snuggling in all pleased with himself. Or so Louis liked to imagine.

It wasn’t until he was woken in the middle of the night when he discovered he’d accidentally just made a step up to his own bed, Wolfie’s cot the exact right height to give him enough leverage to spring into Louis’ and get under his blankets, like he always wanted to.

Louis had thought that maybe making him his own would keep him out, and while he grumbled, he still lifted up the cover and let the little wolf snuggle in against him like he always did.

Maybe he couldn’t fix everything. But for Wolfie, it seemed worth it to try.

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Chapter Text

When the temperature started to rise and the plants got new leaves, Louis knew it was time to get back to his work.

Perhaps it was something seasonal, or something to do with Wolfie, but he could hardly bear the thought of facing his pack again after all these months away. He’d managed to survive the winter without needing to venture into town once, but unfortunately he was starting to run low on supplies - especially now he had three mouths to feed.

It wasn’t that he had any bad relationships with them or anything. It was just… he preferred his own company. Wolfie was growing on him - but that was different, just like the cat. It was other humans that he felt he didn’t quite mesh as well with.

Wolfie was tracking well. He had a little bit more fat on him - still lean but he was well fed enough to cover his bones and his fur had started to grow back into a healthy coat. He had a lot more pep in his step, and most importantly, the injury on his leg had seemed to close itself up.

He was clearly still reluctant to walk too much on it, but he could at least put it down and sit and stand like a normal wolf should. Louis thought sometimes he was maybe putting it on a bit, because on the last few nice days when they’d ventured outside, Wolfie had started bounding around in the new growth of the wildflowers without a care in the world.

Louis didn’t mind, though. He thought maybe it was like human injuries - some days were bad, other days were fine. The main thing was he was tracking towards recovery and it made Louis feel all warm in his chest. Until he realised it, of course, then he dismissed it as getting too attached.

The other thing that made him think it was probably time to pull his weight was Wolfie getting stung by one of the bees right on the end of his snout. Thankfully not on his nose directly, more on his lip, but by the noise he made you’d think he’d gotten his leg stuck in another trap.

Louis hadn’t had his adrenalin spike like that in an age, but when he shifted and bounded over to where Wolfie had wandered off further on Louis’ land and he saw it was just a sting, he huffed and shifted back to his human form to comfort him.

“Wolfie, come on darling. You gave me a fright,” Louis mumbled to him, but he gave in when the wolf kept whining and came closer, clearly looking for comfort. He scooped him up in the way he’d become accustomed to holding him, gently plucking the poor bee from his lip now that she’d passed after using her stinger.

“Were you just being curious? I think the poor girl just got a little scared, since you’re so big compared to her. They won’t hurt you if you’re not being rough with them, though,” Louis advised, pouting at the wolf and giving him a pet.

“Those girls - the bees - they’re very important to us Wolfie, so you must try not to scare them. They make honey, and beeswax. Then I can make jars of honey and candles to sell, so then we can get all the things we need to live. Do you understand?” Louis cooed to him, starting to walk him back to the house.

“They live over there, in their little bee houses. See? I paint them those bright colours so the girls can find their way home easier. So if you want to save your nose from being stung again you may wish to steer clear,” Louis added, giving Wolfie a pat as he continued to whimper a little pathetically in his arms.

“We’ll get some witch hazel on it and you’ll be right as rain, okay dove? If you can survive the bear trap, I think you’ll get through this,” Louis assured the wolf, taking him all the way back to their little cottage in his baby hold before giving him some medicine.

It seemed Wolfie learned his lesson, staying wary and well away from the hives, even when Louis went up to check on them now he was aware they were out foraging again.

The wolf didn’t mind joining him in his workshop though, but that was no surprise to Louis. He was so incredibly nosey in general so he pretty much expected the little wolf would be right there in his business - wanting to watch all the ins and outs of the process of making candles and jarring honey.

Louis found he actually quite enjoyed having him in there - someone to natter away to about his process and tell all of the tips he’d come across over the years. It made the days pass quickly, and before Louis knew it, he’d made enough jars and candles to make it worth a trip into the town centre.

On the morning he decided to head in; he got himself out of bed a bit earlier than he normally would, plodding around and getting himself dressed and ready to brave interacting with other humans again. He even tidied up his facial hair, trimming down the beard he’d grown over the winter until it was just a tidy smattering across his chin and upper lip.

Once he was fed and watered and so were the animals he turned to look at Wolfie, cocking his head to the side as he watched the little brown animal lick on his paws to clean them up, all finicky about it.

“Are you going to be a whiny little baby if I leave you alone for the day?” Louis asked him, as if he could reply. The wolf looked up at his words, staring somewhat blankly at him before he went back to licking his paws.

Louis found that whenever he went somewhere, Wolfie would follow. Aside from near the hives, of course. When Louis went there Wolfie preferred to just sit far away on the knolls, but always had his eye on him.

He knew he’d struggle with the walk into town with his injury still partially healing, but equally he didn’t want to leave him alone in the house because he just had a feeling he’d come back to a very displeased wolf.

He’d probably turn the cat against him and all.

Louis sighed and went rummaging, eventually finding a square of cloth he had laying about and started to fashion it over his shoulder and around his front. When he lived in the village when he was a boy he’d seen the mothers of the pack carry their babies in the same way, a sling.

He figured it would save Wolfie from hurting his leg, as well as keep him warm since they were still on the cooler side of springtime and the body heat would serve him well.

Once he’d made sure the knot was tight enough and he had it secure, he wandered over to Wolfie and gave him a few pets.

“We’ll head into town today, pup. But you’ve to be a good boy, yeah? I don’t know if you’ve met other humans before, but they might be interested in seeing ya. We’ll keep an eye on it though, because if you’re anything like me, you won’t like it all that much,” Louis advised him.

The little wolf perked his head up, tilting it when Louis scratched behind his ear and leaning in the way he always did. Louis then picked him up and got him swaddled into the wrap, adjusting it where necessary until he had a bundle of wolf tucked up against him, nice and securely.

Wolfie seemed content with it though, snuggling in happily and relaxing into the hold as Louis stroked his belly and looked him over to make sure he wasn’t suddenly going to bolt.

“Alright, lovey. Off we go then,” Louis murmured as he headed out to his workshop.

He collected his barrow where he’d preloaded all his wares the night before and wheeled it out, making sure he could handle both the load of his little stall as well as the wolf, but it seemed to be fine. It wasn’t like Wolfie weighed all that much anyway, and the journey was mostly flat aside from a few bumps.

Louis then started off on his journey, wheeling the cart and wandering along the beaten track towards the village centre.

It looked much the same as it always did come springtime. The trees were starting to get their leaves back and as they got closer to the village, the farming paddocks came into view. Baby sheep and cows were stumbling around, trying to find their balance on their new legs and trot after their mothers.

Louis smiled despite himself, always having had a soft spot for animals. Which is how he ended up with this one hanging from his neck, he supposed. Wolfie seemed to have fallen into a nap with the rhythmic bumps of the barrow rolling along the dirt track and Louis’ solid footsteps.

He was pretty cute, Louis had to admit. And now it seemed like he was staying, Louis supposed, he was allowed to admit it. Just to himself, of course, just quietly.

Eventually he reached the main square of the village and found an empty space to tuck himself into, smiling politely at some of the people he vaguely recognised as he started to set up his shop to show off his products.

If nothing else, he prided himself in his work. He spent lots of time and energy crafting his candles to ensure they were the best quality they could be, and he liked to think he kept the girls happy enough to make lovely sweet honey. He planted them all the wildflowers they could want, and in return he got a little bit of their wax and honey. It seemed respectful to him.

They were slightly more expensive wares, sure, but his village was reasonably well balanced in terms of economy. Everyone looked after one another, there were very few in extreme poverty, at least from what Louis saw.

Which meant he did reasonably well for himself. Well enough to keep himself afloat, and well enough that adding Wolfie’s mouth to feed wasn’t detrimental to his lifestyle. He had all he could ask for and that was good enough for him.

It was only after he’d served a few people when Wolfie started to stir, the village square getting a bit louder as it neared closer to lunch time and the vendors started selling ready-made foods.

The first sign was his little snout poking out from the cloth, sniffling at the new scents, so Louis laughed and scooped the cloth down enough that he could poke his little head out.

“Are you hungry, Little Wolf? Did your belly wake you up?” Louis asked him softly, scratching behind his ears and laughing as he sniffed some more, his nose clearly going wild with all the new scents and his brain catching up with the fact that they were in a very different setting.

Louis was about to start surveying if they could get something hot but equally close enough to his stall so he didn’t have to abandon it when a familiar face came into view.

Liam was maybe one of the only people in his life he’d call a friend. He was the same age as Louis and they’d grown up together in the village. Louis was a bit of a mischievous child and Liam was the complete opposite, but they seemed to work despite their clashing.

He also understood that to be Louis’ friend you had to take it as it came. As in, they could not see one another all winter, but when they caught up it would be just like they’d seen one another the day before.

Liam never judged Louis, and that’s what he liked. Low pressure, easy-going types of friendships.

“Lou!” Liam called out, picking up his pace to get closer and coming around the side of Louis’ barrow to pull him into a hug, partially squashing Wolfie in the process before Liam seemed to realise there was something between them when he started to wriggle.

“Oh!” Liam exclaimed, looking down and then looking at Louis in confusion. “Did you - wow. Is this- you found an omega?” Liam spluttered, clearly unable to hide his shock.

Louis let out a little snort at his friend clearly trying his best not to be rude but failing miserably. If Wolfie was his omega it would be a bit strange to be swaddling him around his neck. He wouldn’t put it past some of the more… traditional alphas, but he wasn’t like that.

If Louis had an omega he’d treat them just the same as he treated anyone, respect wise. They wouldn’t be a possession, or even worse - an employee. They’d be a partner.

“No, mate, I didn’t just find an omega in the depths of winter,” Louis scoffed, untucking Wolfie just a bit more so he was visible. “This here is a full wolf. I found him injured in the forest and fixed him up, and he’s kind of never left,” Louis explained, giving him a pat.

“Oh!” Liam responded, looking the wolf over quizzically and sniffing the air in what he presumably thought was a subtle manner. “You - I’ve never seen a full wolf in person before.”

“Nor had I,” Louis shrugged, scratching his ears. “Can scent him if you want. There’s nothing there. It’s very strange,” Louis offered as he tipped Wolfie’s head up in invitation.

Liam leant in until he was a respectful distance away, sniffing his neck and making a confused face about it all.

“That is strange,” Liam agreed. “So what? You have a pet wolf now?”

Louis looked Wolfie over as he considered if he was his pet or not, then chuckled. “I guess. Feels more like a companion. Keeps me company,” Louis shrugged.

Liam rolled his eyes, giving Louis a look. A sort of look that most people liked to give him, Louis had found, when he made decisions that didn’t necessarily align with what they thought he should do.

“You know, there’s plenty of omegas in town who would keep you company, Lou,” Liam suggested as Louis rolled his eyes right back at him.

“I’m aware,” Louis noted, waving his hand at him and absolutely not wanting to get into that conversation at all. “Anyway, what's new with you? Survived the winter?”

“Yes, yes. Everyone’s well. It’s funny you mention finding an omega in the middle of it, though,” Liam explained, a grin starting to dance across his lips.

“You never,” Louis responded, quickly looking at his neck to see if he had a bondmark but finding it as bare as it ever was. “Your family works too hard,” Louis added.

Liam was technically in line to become their pack alpha, all things considered. His grandfather was still in the role, but they all suspected in the next year or two the legacy would be passed on to his son - Liam’s father. Which meant Liam would be up next for the pleasure.

Louis couldn’t think of anything worse.

But it did mean that whoever Liam chose as his omega would be the pack omega - it was a role nearly as important as the alpha itself. Louis knew that his family and the workers closer to the centre of the pack were forever trying to find him the right omega - mostly from far off other packs to try and solidify alliances and strengthen relationships.

He just didn’t know they’d work through the winter for it. It was generally better suited to warmer weather, so the omegas in question could travel to be inspected and written correspondence was quicker to exchange.

“Funnily enough, he’s not anyone that was put forward,” Liam grinned, clearly very bubbly about his news. “Sometime towards the end of the season this poor little omega stumbled into town, looking pretty worse for wear. Of course he got brought to us so we could assess and I just… even though he looked like he was about to catch his death I’d never seen anyone more beautiful,” Liam gushed.

“Yeah?” Louis grinned, genuinely quite happy for his friend as he clapped him on the bicep. “Where is he then?”

“At home. I was just heading off to a meeting with my father and the counsel,” Liam explained. “I’d love for you to meet him sometime though, Lou. I really think you’d hit it off. He’s a lot like you in some ways,”

“In some ways?” Louis responded teasingly.

“Yeah, in some ways,” Liam said, clearly not willing to elaborate just to bother him and instead just giving him a smirk. “Next time you’re in town come over and we’ll sort out a time. Have you for dinner, maybe? Can even bring your pet if you like,”

Louis rolled his eyes at his cheek, pulling the fingers at him.

“Yeah, alright. Sounds good mate,” Louis agreed. He could have dinner with Liam and meet his new omega. That wasn’t too taxing. He’d probably be back in the next week or two to sell some more anyway.

“Great. I’ll see you soon, yeah?” Liam asked, already heading off to do whatever it was that second in line to pack alphas did. From Louis’ perspective it seemed to be a lot of meetings and decision making, which all sounded terribly dull.

“Yeah, see you soon mate,” Louis responded, looking down when Wolfie wiggled, somewhat impatiently.

“Oh sorry love, am I keeping ya? Were you gonna go over and ask for some of that food? With your thumbs and your money and your mouth that can speak English?” Louis teased Wolfie, just like he normally would, before looking up and around as he considered that he may look insane to an onlooker and immediately cutting it out.

He gently tipped Wolfie out of the sling so he could get a stretch in, making his way over to the nearest stand with some cooked meat with the wolf in tow.

After nibbling and making a few more sales, it seemed like the business for the day was starting to wind down and Louis was happy enough to pack everything away. He needed to go around and buy some supplies from the other vendors before they closed down too, so it was in his best interests.

Once he’d successfully done that - and once Wolfie had had a thorough sniff of the fountain in the middle of the square - they set off home.

Louis decided to keep Wolfie out of the sling for now and let him get a walk in, expecting him to make it clear when his leg was holding him back by rubbing on his legs, like he normally would. Louis led the way with his barrow and Wolfie trotted along pretty obediently beside him, every so often bounding over to the side of the track to look at what was going on in the paddocks.

The first time he darted, Louis was a little worried - what with wolves being a predator animal and all - but all he seemed to want to do was look at the sheep from a respectful distance and behind the paddock fence.

Louis sighed with relief, because it’s not like the sheep would even know that they were technically the prey of wolves. They’d be so used to them from the people in the village shifting into them that they wouldn’t blink an eye. Wolfie could have walked right up to them and bit them straight on the neck.

He was just curious, though, like he normally was, taking in all the sights and smells as they wandered.

It was closer to dusk when they hit the middle of their walk and Louis noticed he hadn’t heard the pitter patter of Wolfie’s feet in a moment or two. He looked back behind him, scanning the landscape and finding the wolf had scurried over to some flowers and was having the time of his life rolling around in them.

Louis tutted but he placed the barrow down for a moment, walking back towards him to see what the fuss was about and smiling at how sweet the sight of him was.

“You like these ones, Wolfie?” Louis asked him, squatting down next to him and rubbing his belly as he squirmed back and forth. Louis inspected what he’d found himself in and discovered it was some wild lavender. He didn’t grow it himself, but if Wolfie liked it this much maybe he could.

“Shall we take some and see if we can get it to grow?” Louis questioned, as if he would answer. He plucked some of the flowers and got a few of the roots too, hoping he could just pop them in and they’d take to his soil. If it grew on the side of the track he was sure he’d be able to get it to grow in his garden.

As he stood up and dusted his thighs off Wolfie did too, bounding up and down like a little kangaroo once or twice before making a small whine and lifting his back leg, looking pointedly at Louis.

“You can’t be acting like a bunny ‘cause you’re all excited then claiming your leg hurts, Wolfie, come on now,” Louis scoffed, wandering back to the barrow and placing the lavender safely inside of it before turning to the wolf.

He wondered if the wolf could tell how much he melted him. How easy it was for him to fold and do whatever he wanted. How he had him around his little finger.

Louis was just glad he was only a wolf, because if he were a human he’d have him bending over backwards for any little thing he wanted.

The thought of that was terrifying.

He bent over and scooped the wolf up, clearly much to his delight as he was tucked away into his sling again and snuggled in close on his back. Louis plucked a sprig of the lavender and popped it on the wolf's chest, just so he could keep sniffing it, before picking up the handles of his barrow and continuing on their journey home.

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Chapter Text

It wasn’t until Summer came that Wolfie and Louis got to meet Liam’s new omega. The timelines never seemed to work out before then. Whenever Louis came into town Liam always seemed to be head down in some sort of work - Louis got the impression something big and dramatic was happening, but he was staying right out of it.

But it meant a few months of near misses until finally they landed on a time that worked for them. Whatever was afoot seemed to be under control, at least for now, so Liam had suggested they all go for a swim at the river now that the temperatures were ticking upwards.

Louis wasn’t opposed, especially since it meant Wolfie could join in too instead of just sitting in Liam’s grand living room. Though he supposed Wolfie liked sitting around in his living room just fine, it seemed a bit more fun if they could all be wolves for a little bit and stretch their legs.

He’d also not taken Wolfie swimming, so it would be an interesting experience. He’d been down to the river of course, when Louis collected their water, but aside from a curious paw or two splashing at the surface, he’d never been in. Louis thought it would be more fun to show him if he shifted too - that way if he got into trouble he'd be much easier to rescue.

Louis wandered them both down to a spot he and Liam used to frequent when they were kids, reasonably secluded but close enough to the village that if any diplomatic incidents were to happen then Liam was easily reached. He then laid out the blanket he’d brought along with the supplies - he was always on honey duty, so accompanied it with some bread and butter for them to all nibble at.

He’d discovered Wolfie was quite into berries so he’d brought a handful of them too, and once everything was laid out nicely he made some kissy noises at Wolfie to get his attention since he’d wandered over to investigate some of the flowers as he was wont to do.

“Come here, darling,” Louis called, watching the wolf trot over to him as he leant back against his elbows and ran his eyes over how much better his gait was now his leg was mostly healed.

“Don’t stray too far now, hm? Don’t want you to get lost,” Louis cooed, reaching his hand out to pet Wolfie and smiling as he tucked into his side for a snuggle, kissing on his forehead a few times. He was more than used to giving him love and affection now, since Wolfie sought it almost every day. And would whine if Louis didn’t give in to him.

It wasn’t long until he heard the sound of footsteps against the brush, and when he turned to look at the clearing he saw Liam approaching with a gorgeous looking omega. He wasn’t much shorter than him but he was slighter in his frame, his skin a rich brown colour. He looked nervous, which Louis supposed was fair enough, since he didn’t know him from a bar of soap.

Louis pushed himself to his feet and pulled Liam into a hug to greet him, slapping his back a few times and then giving his omega a polite smile as they all exchanged greetings.

“This is Zayn. Z, this is Louis,” Liam introduced, but as Louis held out his hand to shake he noticed Zayn’s eyes were locked on Wolfie.

Wolfie was staring back at him too, stuck in place when normally he’d be begging for a pat or jumping around with excitement. It was strange.

“Do you-” Louis began, then trailed off when he realised what he was going to ask seemed weird. ‘Do you know him?’ as if Wolfie had this rich social life outside of his cottage. He knew that Wolfie had to be somewhere else before he found him, but he doubted that it was anywhere near shifters or humans.

Liam looked just as confused as Louis felt, looking between his partner and the wolf before Louis noticed he gave Zayn’s side a gentle prod to get his attention.

“Is that your omega?” Zayn asked Louis suddenly, almost like he was shocked out of his reverie by the thought.

Louis cocked his head to the side, shaking his head and moving to give Wolfie a scratch behind his ears - an action that would usually have his head tilting to the side and his eyes closing but he barely reacted.

“No, Wolfie is - he’s a full wolf, not a shifter,” Louis explained. “He’s - I found him injured and took him in, kind of lives with me now. Think he was too little to survive without his pack, you know? So he kind of adopted me as his servant.”

Zayn eyed Wolfie for just a few more long moments before looking at Louis. He seemed to realise how he was holding himself and blushed, covering his face and rubbing it before clearing his throat.

“Sorry, sorry. He just - he felt familiar. But I’ve not seen a full wolf before, I don’t think,” Zayn informed him, giving him a sheepish smile. “Lovely to meet you. Both of you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine. I was beginning to think Li would never find an omega that suited him. We’d have been pack-omegaless if you hadn’t shown up,” Louis smoothed over, running his eyes over Zayn again now that they were up close. He could see why Liam had taken a liking to him immediately.

“God, don’t remind me,” Zayn scoffed, but it seemed lighthearted. “I don’t know how I feel about that kind of responsibility. I just got here - not my fault I developed a crush on the alpha in line to the throne or whatever it is.”

“When the time comes you’ll be ready,” Liam assured him softly, kissing Zayn’s temple and then showing Louis his picnic basket. “Shall we tuck in? I’m starved. And Z is yet to taste your honey.”

“Sure, of course,” Louis nodded in agreement, sitting back down and eyeing Wolfie curiously. He wasn’t stanced up in any particular way - not aggressive nor submissive - he was just… still. Staring.

“Hungry, Little Wolf?” Louis asked him, gently pulling him into his side which got him to snap out of it and instead lick Louis’ face. “I hope you don't mind that I brought a different honey today. Infused with lavender. Wolfie’s really taken to it so I decided to give it a go. I think it tastes lush, and from what I can tell he does too, but I’m unsure if it’s a go for selling yet,” Louis explained.

He didn’t quite go into detail with just how much Wolfie seemed to like lavender. When he’d taken it home a few months ago he’d just become obsessed with it - to the point that Louis had taken to drying some and hanging it from his bed, putting it in his meals as a treat, all sorts. It seemed to really settle him. Louis was thankful he’d collected enough to have a steady supply growing in his garden.

“I’m up for trying it. Sounds delicious,” Liam encouraged with a smile, making sure Zayn was settled into a good spot before sitting down himself on his other side, unintentionally sandwiching him between himself and Louis like any good alpha would.

Over lunch they had some lovely conversations, mostly consisting of getting to know one another and what Zayn had been up to since he arrived at the village. Liam had some idle gossip about people he and Louis both knew, but nothing out of the ordinary. A few more people pregnant with pups, a few fights, all run of the mill stuff.

Louis didn’t mind that he didn't have his finger on the pulse of their community like Liam did. In fact, he liked it that way. It made life a whole lot simpler.

He learned a little bit more about Zayn - not wanting to pry on how he ended up in their village and he didn’t offer the information. That was fine though. Louis understood that sometimes you didn’t want to bring up your past.

Wolfie ate a good meal, Louis feeding him bits and bobs throughout and he took what he was offered. He properly gobbled his blueberries when Louis poured some into his cupped hand and licked his fingers clean of any honey. He seemed to fare well on a human diet, eating just what Louis did though he tried to give Wolfie a bit more meat when it was possible.

Once they were all full and properly relaxed in one another's company Louis hummed, having found himself laying on his back with his eyes shut as the sun was at the highest point in the sky.

“Do you guys wanna shift and go for a swim? I might sink though, think I ate too much,” Louis chuckled, rubbing his belly. He then rubbed Wolfie’s neck, since he was in a similar position, sunning himself just next to him on the blanket.

“Oh, well,” Liam started, giving a nervous laugh. The couple had shifted around a bit, Liam laying on his side with his head propped up as Zayn curled into him. Louis thought it was almost too hot to be cuddling like that, but maybe love overrode physical discomfort.

“Nah. Might stay human, but I’ll come in for a dip,” Liam shrugged, his tone strange enough that Louis cracked an eye open to look at him suspiciously. He was giving Louis his smile that he always put on when he was trying to be convincing, but it never worked.

They always swam in the river as wolves. The current was just a touch too strong to be enjoyable as a human - you always had to be swimming upstream if you didn’t want to get carried away. With the weight of your wolf you could simply stay in place and splash around, if that was your prerogative.

“You what?” Louis challenged, wondering if Liam was maybe just trying to wind him up.

Liam shrugged though, and it was at that moment Louis noticed Zayn had stilled and looked slightly concerned. Before Louis could process what that meant, Zayn spoke up.

“He’s being protective,” Zayn explained to Louis, huffing out a sigh and pursing his lips. “I can’t shift.”

“You… can’t shift? Like you’re not a shifter?” Louis asked quietly, looking at Zayn in a new light if he was actually just a full human.

“No - I am. I have,” Zayn replied, holding his wrist out towards Louis in offering. Shifters all had scent glands across their bodies - the most prominent being in the neck where they bonded, but they also had them in their wrists and their hips. The wrist was usually considered a polite way to share one's scent, given the neck and hips were a lot more intimate.

Louis eyed Liam curiously before he leant in and gave Zayn’s wrist a respectful sniff, instantly able to smell something similar to rosewater. A somewhat fragrant omega scent with a hint of something else, maybe like anise. But very clearly that of a shifter.

“Oh, yeah,” Louis commented, leaning back when he saw Liam start to posture just slightly at him. He knew he wouldn’t mean anything by it, but anything close to proper scenting would have an alpha posturing when it involved an omega they were courting. “Smells like you are.”

Zayn didn’t seem all that bothered about being smelt by Louis, or by Liam getting his hackles slightly raised.

“I am,” Zayn agreed. “But ever since I got here I can’t - I just can’t do it. The healer has no idea why either. I just - my wolf’s still in there, I can hear him, but he’s… I dunno. It’s really weird,” Zayn explained to Louis as he waved his hand around.

“But you’ve shifted before? It’s not like - like a childhood thing?” Louis asked carefully.

“No, yeah, I have, it’s just-” Zayn began, looking slightly troubled about the whole thing. “I can’t… actually remember anything before I got here? The healer thinks maybe I was feral in my human form, or something. Messed with my brain. But I know my wolf, know I’ve been him,” Zayn explained.

Louis looked him over in confusion, almost a bit concerned. He’d never heard of someone going feral as a human. Usually the whole point was it was your wolf taking over when your human side couldn’t cope. Your animal instinct - so naturally you’d shift to accompany that. Not stay human. He had no idea what a feral human would even do. They’d just look like some nutter who lived in the woods.

“That sounds… really hard Zayn. I’m sorry to hear that,” Louis empathised, cocking his head to the side and shooting Liam a warning look when he got his empathetic puppy eyes going. He hoped he’d keep his mouth shut about what he was privy to in Louis’ life.

“It’s okay,” Zayn shrugged, picking at his clothes distractedly. “I mean, it is what it is, right? I’m sure he’ll come back one day. I’m trying lots of stuff with the healer. She’s said it might just take time for him to find his way home, for the magic to settle itself,”

Louis nodded along, his hand finding Wolfie’s head without realising it, stroking his soft fur for some comfort.

“I’m sure he will when he’s ready. Our wolves are funny things, aren’t they?” Louis murmured, pursing his lips to the side. “Never quite know what to expect.”

Zayn nodded, finally looking over at him and giving him a soft smile. Louis took it as a win.

“They are, yeah. You guys go, though. I don’t even like swimming - wolf or not. I’ll keep the ants off of our food,” Zayn offered.

“You sure babe? I really don’t mind not shifting,” Liam offered, looking at him with the same level of concern as if someone had just told him Zayn would break in half at a single gust of wind.

“You know I don’t mind, love. Plus then I get to see the show,” Zayn insisted, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at how Liam would have to strip down lest he want to rip his clothes.

Liam grinned quite giddily at the prospect, leaning in to peck Zayn’s lips before his brows furrowed. “Don’t you look at Louis though,” Liam warned, another little alpha possessive quality coming to light as Zayn and Louis rolled their eyes in tandem.

“What? Can’t handle a little competition Payno? Scared I’m going to steal your O if he catches sight of my amazing arse?” Louis teased, sitting himself up and stripping off his shirt. Wolfie sat up too, clearly curious as to what was happening, tapping his paws back and forth.

Louis knew Wolfie liked it when he shifted. He had come to like it too - they were a lot more similar when he was in that form. The body language came easier, the little tells of how they were expressing themselves. It just made more sense.

“No,” Liam replied petulantly, pouting at Zayn until he reassured him with another kiss.

“Well come on then. Or else I will be stolen away. If Louis’ the only one that’s going to get naked, that is,” Zayn insisted, giving Liam a shove to get him going.

For all their teasing Zayn kept his eyes where they belonged, practically glued to Liam which was more than fine with Louis. He shifted as soon as his clothes were all off of him, shaking his fur out and stretching before watching in amusement as Wolfie started to bounce on the spot like the little jumping bean he was.

Louis wandered closer and subdued him with a gentle bite on the neck, just a playful action but Wolfie followed through and easily submitted, exposing his belly to him so Louis gave him a playful lick across the length of it. He nibbled teasingly under his arms, just tickling the wolf until he noticed his attention had been stolen by Liam shifting into his own wolf.

Since Liam came from the pack alpha lineage, his wolf was admittedly quite large. It was a light brown colour, autumnal in that respect but generally quite broad and powerful. Though Louis was also an alpha he was smaller in comparison, and lighter in colour. His fur was a bit more mismatched instead of the smooth consistent colour of Liam’s, his form a bit more lithe.

Louis didn’t mind, though. He liked his wolf. Sometimes his wolf felt more like the real him than his human self did.

Louis nudged Wolfie to get him to roll over, then gave him another nudge to get him closer to Liam so they could greet each other properly now Liam was in this form. He was curious to see how Wolfie would react, mainly since he was the only other wolf he’d seen since he’d found him in the winter.

Wolfie trotted tentatively closer, clearly slightly hesitant before stopping just in front of him. Louis didn’t quite expect it when Wolfie cocked his head to the side and exposed his neck, then flopped onto his side to partially expose his belly, not quite on his back but clearly still submitting.

Louis had seen Wolfie act how he’d expect a shifter to act once or twice, but he was still putting it down to the fact that actual wolves had to act like this as well. Seeing his submission to Liam wasn’t too strange, in that context, so he watched as Liam sniffed him over like any alpha leader would.

He started at his neck, clearly sniffing quite intently there before blowing out a little confused rumble, as if he didn’t know that he didn’t have a scent. He then methodically sniffed the rest of his body in more of a greeting fashion before eventually getting back to his head and licking a stripe between his ears, just on his forehead. A sign of acceptance.

Liam then sat back on his hind legs, flicking his head to gesture Wolfie to his feet again and tilting his head up to the sky to let Wolfie scent him, if he wanted to. If he even would.

Louis knew from their childhood that Liam’s scent was strong. It was tied to the land they lived on, the plants that naturally grew there. It was drawn from the strong trees that lined their territory with just a hint of the little purple flowers that seemed to sprout up no matter what you laid down on the ground, be it stone or waste, they still persevered.

Liam smelt like home more than anything else ever had to Louis.

Louis watched as Wolfie scrambled to his feet and wavered a little before pressing closer, sticking his snout in where Liam’s scent was, amongst the thicker layer of fur around his neck to protect the area.

He eyed Zayn curiously, but he seemed calm. Not as worked up as his mate got when someone was smelling him. But then again, it was less of an omega trait to be as possessive and territorial as alpha’s were.

Once Wolfie was done with his introduction he stepped back, spinning in a circle before lowering on his front legs and sticking his tail high in the air, swaying from side to side in an invitation to play.

Liam acted like he was far too cool to play with the wolf for all of two seconds before he assumed the same posture, growling at the omega playfully to get him to run before bounding after him.

Wolfie yipped excitedly that he had someone else to play with, Louis assumed, so he started to pick up his paws to wander over to the water before stopping when he felt a hand on his coat.

It obviously belonged to Zayn, but he was more just surprised at being pet. It hadn’t happened for a long time. Years, probably.

“Sorry,” Zayn apologised, retracting his hand. Louis let out a little huff, shaking his head and brushing himself against Zayn’s side to tell him it was okay, he didn’t mind.

Zayn picked his hand back up and gave him some pets, moving to stroke by his ears in a way only a shifter knew how. They all knew just how nice it felt to get in the right spot.

“You’ve a cool wolf, Lou. Patchy and that. Really unique,” Zayn complimented, Louis tipping his head into Zayn’s hand a bit heavier when he really got going. “I hope you get to see mine one day.”

Louis would pout if he had the lips to do it. Instead he turned his head away from the scratches and gave Zayn a reassuring lick on the cheek, wanting him to know he understood the sentiment.

When he turned back he found Wolfie in front of him, challenging him to play as well, growling low and somewhat pathetic in his throat.

Louis internally snorted in amusement whilst Zayn did it externally, but of course he was wrapped around his little finger, so he pretended to charge him once or twice before properly going for Wolfie to get him to bolt.

Omegas were generally a lot faster than alpha’s since they had a lot less to carry around, and since Wolfie was the size of the average omega he was pretty bloody fast too. Faster than Louis. The only trade off was he generally had more stamina, so when Wolfie got tired he’d managed to get him - eventually.

Wolfie was more than happy to run circles around him and Liam both, ecstatic to have two people to play off of and get their attention. It was good to work up their inner body heat too, making it all the more pleasant when they finally got closer to the river and dipped their paws in.

Louis watched as Wolfie was a bit hesitant, so he placed himself downstream from him so that if the current was too strong Wolfie would just bump into him. He nudged him along encouragingly, taking it slow after Liam just bounded in ahead of them.

Wolfie seemed to trust him, though, so followed him into the water, shaking his paws out as they got wet but seeming to relax into it after a while. Louis showed him how to dip his head under, catching him around his scruff when he forgot he needed to keep his feet planted and started to drift off.

There was a perfectly good lake nearby with a lot less current, but it was pretty popular. He and Liam had sort of bonded with this place too, but Louis considered maybe taking Wolfie to the lake some time might be a bit of a treat for him. Louis swore when they were younger, smaller wolves, the current wasn’t this bad but maybe even as small alphas they were bigger than Wolfie.

Once they were sufficiently wet and they’d splashed around a bit more, they dragged themselves out of the water, Louis having to nudge Wolfie’s behind since he seemed absolutely wrecked. It must have been the excitement of playing with two wolves, plus Louis would even admit swimming took it out of him.

He grabbed him by his scruff when he started to hop off his back leg, since it only seemed to get sore nowadays when they did something strenuous. Louis carried him over to where Zayn was sitting happily, plopping the wet little pile of fur down before flopping next to him.

“Aw. Little omega couldn’t keep up with the big boys, huh? Tired him out?” Zayn cooed, reaching for the towel Louis had brought for him since he wouldn’t dry off as fast as he and Liam could once they switched back.

Louis cocked his head to the side, giving Zayn a puzzled look as he watched him bundle Wolfie up in the towel and give him a little rub.

Wolfie, for his part, was loving it. He seemed more than happy to snuggle into the affection, wriggling around as he was towelled down.

Zayn caught Louis’ look and let out a little laugh, shrugging as he squeezed his paws with the cloth. “Sorry. Know he’s not really an omega. But he just looks like one,” Zayn explained, jumping as Liam shifted back into his human form and swiped his trousers to get back on.

“He really does act like one, too. It’d be so interesting to learn more about full wolves. Dad said we don’t barely have them around here anymore, so Wolfie must have come from somewhere quite far away,” Liam explained, flicking the water off of himself before sitting down again.

Louis shifted back at that, grabbing his trousers too and shaking his hands out to get used to being back in this body.

“You’re not going to steal him for your little research centre, Liam,” Louis chided.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Liam insisted, rolling his eyes and pinching one of Wolfie’s hind legs that he had in the air now Zayn was drying his belly. “I’m sure people have looked into wolves before.”

Louis hummed at the thought, nodding along because he believed it to be true too.

“Do you know if we have any books on them, Li? I’ve been meaning to get to the library and check, but haven’t quite gotten around to it,” Louis questioned.

Liam furrowed his brows, like if he just thought hard enough he could recollect every book in the library. Louis knew he spent barely any time in it at all, at least in their youth. He just thought he might have heard through conversation, since a pack alpha was kind of meant to be in the know.

“I’m not sure. I can ask, though? If there is, I can get it to you,” Liam promised.

Louis nodded, more than happy with that. It would be good to learn more about Wolfie. It probably would have been good to learn more about him a couple of months ago, but that was just how it went, he supposed.

Wolfie seemed to be going okay despite Louis’ lack of knowledge. After all, he’d found himself exhausted with a full tummy, laying on his back in the V of Zayn’s legs, eyes closed and relaxing in the sun.

Louis figured that was a far more pleasant state than where he’d found him, all things considered. Maybe that was enough.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Chapter Text

The air was dry, just on the edge of being cold enough to start the fire, so Louis had gone ahead and lit one that morning much to the delight of Wolfie and the cat. He’d done all his morning chores - tending to his garden and the bees and making sure they were starting to wind down as they got closer to the season's end.

Dry, crinkly leaves fell from the trees among gusts of wind, providing a bit of ambiance to the otherwise silent day. Wolfie seemed a little antsier than usual, but when Louis had set him outside to run it off he stuck close to him, even braving coming near the beehives which was a bit unlike him since he was so scared of being stung.

He hung around like a shadow all day, so it was no surprise to Louis that when he curled up on the sofa to read some more of his book about wolves, Wolfie curled up right next to him on the blanket and set his head on his lap.

Louis had taken to reading it aloud, like he was reading a nighttime story to a little pup. He felt some sort of need to fill the silence, something he’d never considered much before Wolfie got there. He used to be fine with it - enjoyed it, even. But now he’d find himself nattering away to the wolf like it was his job.

He couldn’t help but admit to himself now that he enjoyed the company. The companionship. He wouldn’t say anything to Liam but he was coming around to the idea that maybe it would be nice to have an omega, if this was how lovely Wolfie made him feel.

Though maybe the appeal in Wolfie was that he wasn’t a shifter. Maybe that’s why they got on so well. Louis never thought of himself as particularly hard to get along with but life had proved somewhat differently.

Aside from Liam he just… never clicked with anyone. Even as a little pup. He had friends, of course, but they were just ones he’d see at the school and occasionally in the fields where it was common for pups to play.

Then as he got a little older he was in a group by-proxy of Liam. He’d often considered the fact that if Liam weren’t in line for pack alpha they might not have had that little group at all - they were both as dorky as one another and he was pretty sure the other little wolves only put up with him because they were enamoured with the mystique of his lineage.

Then of course he turned eighteen and everything changed. But he preferred not to think about that part.

So perhaps his bond with Wolfie was a bond because of just that reason - Wolfie relied on him because he was a tiny little wolf who probably couldn’t even kill a mouse if he tried, and Louis projected his loneliness onto him. And Wolfie put up with it because he had a tiny animal brain and he didn’t care either way.

It was probably for the best.

“Oh, lookit this Wolfie. Apparently you’re a lesson in greed - a wolf kills more than he can possibly consume,” Louis read aloud with a little chuckle, flipping the book around to look at the back as if it would tell him something about who wrote it.

“This sounds like it was written by a full human, don’t you think? Then again, maybe you lot are going round killing all sorts. I doubt it though. And is anything ever really in excess? Maybe if you hunt an animal and can’t consume all of it, then another animal might get to have a feast off it once you’re done. There will always be some sort of benefit for someone else in something you’ve done your dash with,” Louis muttered.

His free hand was on Wolfie’s head, scratching lightly across it - making sure to focus between his eyes and behind his ears as his muzzle rested across his thigh. Wolfie’s eyes were attentive, if a bit lidded. Like he was actually listening.

Louis could kid himself that he was.

“Oh, oh. This is the bit we want Wolfie. ‘An Insight into the Structural Composition of the Common Wolf Hierarchy’,” Louis told him, flipping the page over to find the title of the next chapter.

He’d enjoyed reading some of the other chapters - it was all pretty basic stuff, just about what they looked like, where they lived, their diet and what not. There was nothing too dissimilar from when shifters were in their wolf form, so none of it came as a big surprise to Louis.

“The common wolf will tend to coexist within a pack. Though originally it was thought that natural wolves would carry similar structural hierarchies to that of the shifter wolf, this assumption has been disproven throughout observational case studies in the last quarter of the decade. Whilst shifters will commonly have a second gender - that of Alpha, Beta, or Omega, the natural wolf is simply that - either a male or female wolf,

“Their packs will consist of a breeding pair and their offspring. Generally small in size, they travel together until an offspring chooses to go out on their own - markedly for a better chance at acquiring more food during hunting opportunities, or to find a mate,”

“Is that what you were up to Wolfie? Looking for a bit more food or a bit more loving?” Louis asked him, looking down at the wolf and giggling in amusement at the idea. “If I had to guess it was probably loving, right? Little loverboy?”

“Occasionally unrelated wolves may join a pack, but this is largely subject to hunting conditions. Cooperation is essential within the common wolf pack - the stronger wolves protecting the weaker pack members. Each wolf plays a role - that of hunter, protector, provider, breeder,

“Wolves without packs - known as lone wolves - account for a minimal percentage of the common wolf population. Oftentimes these wolves leave their packs due to food scarcity or harassment. These wolves will generally try to enter another pack, or start their own if they find a suitable breeding mate,”

Louis dogeared the book and set it down, choosing to pick Wolfie up under his legs, much to the wolf’s delight when he found out he was going to get even more attention. He held him up in front of his face, smiling as he looked him over with his paws tucked up close to his chin.

“Well. I can’t imagine you were trying to start your own pack. Maybe they were mean to you because they were jealous of how sweet you are,” Louis told him, smiling when Wolfie licked his nose. He hitched him up and put his paws on his shoulders, pulling him into a hug and pressing his nose into his neck.

He supposed he’d gotten his answer. Wolfie wasn’t an omega. He was just a little male wolf who was maybe a bit too small for whatever reason. The farmers might be able to tell him more - malnutrition in his childhood or some sort of familial thing, but it didn’t matter all that much to Louis now.

His curiosity was sated. Wolfie was Wolfie. And now that the little bug had burrowed his way so deeply into the wood of Louis’ heart that he imagined there was a permanent hole there, unable to be filled by anything else.

Maybe he shouldn’t keep reading - he didn’t want to get to a chapter that told him about a wolf's lifespan if it was anything shorter than that of a shifter. Instead he patted Wolfie's furry back, taking a moment to appreciate this change of pace that actually seemed like it was for the better, unlike any other massive change that had happened to him before.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Despite Wolfie’s relaxation during their reading in the early afternoon, his antsy energy came back tenfold after Louis was done, to the point he was starting to mouth at the edge of his hides in his bed which he knew he wasn’t meant to do.

Louis wasn’t one for punishing him, though. He knew he just needed his energy redirected. He decided the best course of action was for them to both go for a quick run before the sun set and work up their appetite for dinner.

He was just hoping it meant Wolfie would sleep through the night.

Louis took Wolfie out the door, and before the little grub could try and sneak back inside again he started to strip off his human clothes, a move that caught Wolfie’s eye and made him pause on his tugs to the door handle ropes.

As soon as he shifted Wolfie started jumping around in excitement, pretending to nip at Louis’ neck in a playful manner and winding around under his legs, generally being a lot more excitable than any other time he’d been outside today.

Louis grumbled at him like he was all begrudging but when Wolfie was in the right place he gave him a playful nudge, sending him onto his side with a yip of complaint. He sprung right back up, posturing to challenge Louis to a playfight.

Of course Louis indulged, giving him a bit of a work up before grabbing him by the back of his scruff, holding him with his teeth so they could get away from Wolfie’s precious lavender bushes, lest they be squashed in the kerfuffle.

They resumed a bit of play until Louis gave in and let Wolfie pin him, pretending to submit and rolling on his side like Wolfie had been so ferocious he’d had no other choice.

Wolfie sprung about in joy once he’d managed to ‘pin’ Louis, biting his neck so that he was sure he’d won before letting out the silliest little howl Louis had ever heard. It was so sweet though, almost a keen, but definitely nowhere near threatening. He’d never heard him do it before, surprised to hear anything louder than his usual yips and whimpers come out of him.

If he was in his human form he would have laughed, but since he wasn’t, he gave a soft howl in response. Nothing anywhere near his full power - he knew as an alpha he could project his voice almost as far away as the village if he really needed to. It was more just to echo Wolfie and encourage him.

The wolf looked perplexed at him, ears twitching and Louis figured maybe Wolfie hadn’t heard him ‘speak’ in wolf either. He wondered if he even understood - that the bloke that gave him his meals and cuddled him and petted him was the same guy as this wolf. If his little brain could comprehend it.

Louis let out a small bark or two to display he could communicate verbally too, rolling himself onto his belly and staying low for now as he concocted a plan.

Wolfie seemed to satisfy his curiosity and his ears returned to normal, his posture shifting from confused to intrigued when Louis started to move his own into something more predatory, challenging Wolfie to a chase.

They’d often go on runs now that his leg was healed. Louis went quite easy on him in the early days, when his leg was still healing, thinking it was probably good for him to work it and not overdo it.

Now that it was properly healed - or at least as much as it was probably going to - Louis was surprised at how much speed Wolfie could get. Of course Louis always got him in the end, but lately the little bullet had been giving him a run for his money when he’d tear off in front of him.

Louis nipped at Wolfie’s hackles playfully, teeth catching on the back of his legs to get him up and into a position where he could take off in a run. Wolfie clearly accepted the proposal, sinking himself somewhat lower and getting more aerodynamic in the way he recalibrated his muscles.

After all of a second Louis gave Wolfie a warning growl, low and in the back of his throat. Wolfie looked back and gave him a cheeky yip before facing the forest again, wiggling in place, then taking off.

Now that he was back to what Louis could only assume was near enough his normal, he didn’t even have to give him headstarts. In fact, it was kind of important he didn’t give him head starts, if he actually wanted to keep track of him.

The little brown dot of fur zipped across the field at record pace, so Louis took after him, closing in on the distance but knowing he’d lose pace when they hit the treeline. The unpredictable nature of the ground at speed always slowed him down, the roots and the rocks and at the moment the fallen leaves made it harder to charge at full calibre.

Wolfie didn’t seem to have as much trouble - as he was lighter on his feet he barely disturbed the ground beneath him, seeming to fit through the gaps, over and under fallen branches with ease, making it through with almost comical simplicity. It was as if he didn’t have to slow down to look where he was going.

Louis wondered if maybe that was a full wolf thing too. He doubted the book would know about that.

He entered the trees in the same spot Wolfie did, still hot on his tail but behind him by a good amount of distance that was only going to grow the deeper they got. They’d never run into trouble with the packline before - the imaginary border separating his pack from the next one over that Louis could just feel deep in his bones when they got close to it.

Wolfie seemed to sense where it was and kept inside of it, which was perplexing to Louis. If he was that aware of when the energy shifted, how did he find himself here in the first place? Or was it that he’d been in the neighbouring packs territory and they hadn’t taken to him, so he was trying something new when he got snapped up in that bear trap?

That was another small niggle when they went running like this - Wolfie falling into a similar trap. Louis rarely saw them in this part of the forest though, and he thought that maybe when it had happened in the first place, Wolfie might have already been run down. Especially compared with how agile he was now.

He never took the exact same route twice, so Louis weaved through all the shrubs and trunks to keep pace with him, not following his nose like he would have in the past when he’d gone on his solitary runs. Louis reasoned it was good for him, though. Something new. Breaking his routine, just a bit.

What Louis didn’t expect though was for Wolfie to come to a sudden halt in the middle of a small clearing. He almost fell over him, having to skid to the side since he had gotten so much speed behind him and dig his paws into the mulchy leaves to come to a stop.

His first thought was Wolfie might be hurt, but at a glance he seemed fine, if not for his intense focus on a bit of the woods. Louis approached him cautiously, watching his body pulse with his intense, silent breaths.

Louis followed suit, locking in properly when Wolfie’s posture shifted just marginally towards defensive. He peered out into the forest, not seeing anything to cause alarm but he didn’t take his eyes off of it until he was close to Wolfie.

He nudged him with his muzzle questioningly, seeming to break the small wolf's reverie enough that he looked back at him. Wolfie then slunk underneath Louis’ body, dipping between his legs as if he wanted some protection from something.

There had to be something in the woods that Louis couldn’t see. He couldn’t imagine Wolfie would react like this to something innocuous, like a hare. It was something he felt threatened by.

Louis licked his head in reassurance, tipping his head down to do so and in that moment, just out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement.

It was a small distance away, but the snap of a twig sounded close enough that it could be a problem, if it wanted to be.

Wolfie cowered more, shrinking himself up against Louis.

He needed to get them out of there.

Louis turned to where he heard the noise and let out a loud, threatening growl that would surely deter anything smaller than him and sometimes things that were a bit bigger. If it was anything like a deer it would skitter off, but Louis heard no further noise.

It stayed put. That meant whatever it was was near them intentionally.

He didn’t like that.

Louis nudged Wolfie out from underneath him and steered him in the direction of home, away from whatever it was that lurked in the shadows. It took a few nudges and Louis practically walking over top of him towards the edge of the clearing until Wolfie took off again, this time more of a beeline as he followed his nose back to their cottage.

There was no more zipping or teasing in the chase - just determination and a straight line towards home. Wolfie didn’t move too far from Louis either, keeping his pace quick but reasonable. Louis didn’t miss the fact that this meant Wolfie was seeking his constant protection.

Louis knew he could handle whatever was out there. Knew that fact all too well, really. It was more just that Wolfie seemed uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure how skilled the little wolf would be if he needed to defend himself - though Louis would try his best to keep that from happening, you never knew if there were two somethings in the woods.

He reassured himself that realistically it was probably some big, clumsy deer or something that froze when he growled, and Wolfie got his hackles up about it because a deer would be much bigger than him.

The thought did little to calm his racing heart, and Louis couldn’t deny the wave of relief that came over him when they reached the edge of the treeline and came back into the fields near the cottage, watching as Wolfie zipped over to the collection of wildflowers he liked to frequent.

He supposed that meant he wasn’t too shook up. Louis slowed his pace and ambled over, watching Wolfie bounce sweetly amongst them and get himself covered in the last of the petals that were left. They’d pass, soon, and Louis hoped that Wolfie might understand that they’d come back for him in the spring.

The wolf’s eyes did drift over to the trees once or twice more, clearly thinking about what might have been in there, but Louis thought it wouldn’t do him much good to ruminate on it. Instead he gave Wolfie a few little nudges when the sun properly dipped behind the hills, wanting to get him inside before the bugs came out.

Once Louis had shifted back to his human form and got their food started he thought about how Wolfie had seemed antsy all day, glancing over at where he was laying in his bed, licking his chops after having gulped two whole bowls of water.

He wondered if maybe the presence in the woods had something to do with that. It seemed tangential, perhaps, but he had been hesitant to go outside all day. Louis decided to dismiss it - even if it was related there wasn’t anything he could or would do about it. Things like that often came to a head, if that was what was going to happen.

There was no need to press it.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Chapter Text

Harry didn’t know quite how he’d stood up.

One minute he was asleep, curled up next to the dwindling fire, tail tucked around his feet to keep them warm. Alpha had gone out to gather more firewood as it was a clear enough day and they were starting to run low this deep into winter.

Usually, Harry would like to go with him. He enjoyed getting out and about, smelling the world, seeing the sights, but today it was just a little bit too cold. It made his joints ache in his hind leg, and Alpha was so good at looking after him he could just tell he was a bit sore today. So Harry stayed home, snoozing the morning away.

Then when he woke - his body was too big for him. His mind felt small, and he felt fearful. He couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but when he came to move, he was too big for his bed. His bed that Alpha had made just for him that previously fit him perfectly.

He looked down and saw pale skin. His heart rate started to tick up as he lifted his paw and found a hand. And fingers. Ten of them, each able to move independently.

The fear of not being in his wolf form shocked him to his feet, getting to them on wobbly legs and looking down at ten toes. Ten perfectly formed human toes. He hadn’t seen his own in so long he forgot what they looked like.

Harry didn’t know when he started to cry but it felt like his chest was too tight, his body was too big and wrong, and it was all too overwhelming.

He definitely knew somewhere deep, deep down in his brain that he was a human. Or some of one, at some point. It seemed to be so far gone, he didn’t worry about it anymore, like it was something that just happened in the past and was no longer of any concern to him.

Living as a wolf was a lot easier, especially with his alpha taking care of him.

He had no idea how long he stood in place, tears rolling down his cheeks and onto his neck, unable to work out what to do before Alpha came home.

Harry jumped when the door opened, the noise sounding duller to his human ears and he sniffed the air to try and catch the smell like he normally would. As if it was ever not his alpha coming in. He’d never seen anyone else at the cottage other than Alpha.

When his scent drifted to Harry it smelt just slightly weaker than it normally did. He couldn’t remember being able to tell the difference between those things in his human form versus his wolf form, but realistically, he couldn’t remember all that much in the first place.

As soon as his alpha came into view it was like his own legs gave out, tired of holding himself up in such a foreign way and using muscles he didn’t remember he owned let alone how to control them.

All that his body was screaming for was comfort, his alpha, his protection, so he dragged himself across the floor to him. Alpha hadn’t moved yet, but maybe he was just as scared as Harry was. He hoped not. Alpha was meant to be brave.

He just wanted Alpha to make it all better.

Harry didn’t realise how hysterically he was crying until it kicked up a notch when Alpha stepped away from him. He felt like his heart was being ripped into shreds and maybe his stomach as well - all of his internal organs being shredded like they were prep for papier-mâché.

Maybe Alpha just wanted a wolf. He didn’t want a human. Harry was probably a bad human. He felt like he was, in some ways, but could place why when his mind felt somewhat like a sieve and no thoughts were sticking and everything was confusing.

He lay pathetically on the floor and closed his eyes, sobs wracking his body and jolting him until he felt some warmth.

A blanket.

Harry cracked his eyes open in just enough time to see that Alpha had draped one over him and was scooping him up into his arms. He felt like an old rotten carrot, bendy in all the wrong ways as he was carried over to the bed, Alpha’s bed - their bed, and laid down on top of it.

He could hear Alpha talking but he couldn’t make out what was being said. Someone had stuffed wool in his ears, maybe. Fluffy cotton. He stared at Alpha’s blue eyes like he had a million times before, seeing they were laced with concern but he couldn’t exactly pinpoint why.

Then they disappeared. It was both milliseconds and years in which he felt the next few sensations happening.

A pressure on his scent gland. His long forgotten point in his neck that he thought might have been amputated for all the good it served him over the last year. A gentle press, and then… euphoria.

All the tightness in his muscles melted. The anxiety he was feeling from shifting without knowing it, being in such a foreign body just melted away. The smell of Alpha’s scent surrounded him tenfold and he was drowning in it. He was at peace, though, willing to die from lack of air if this is what it felt like.

Alpha smelt like love. It was what Harry’s simplified wolf brain had associated it as. Love and care and understanding, so to be wrapped up in it so fulsomely had him drying his tears and settling, wondering what the worry was in the first place.

Sleep beckoned him, so he obeyed. It seemed simpler than trying to wade through any of the more complex thoughts that were threatening at the corners of his mind, waiting to infiltrate and terrorise him if it weren’t for Alpha’s scent holding them at bay.

Harry closed his eyes and gave in, sinking, sinking, sinking…

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Days passed like this. At least, Harry was pretty sure it was days. Sometimes he woke and it was dark, and sometimes it was light.

Sometimes his heart would go too fast and his lungs would be too small and his eyes too wet. Then Alpha would fix it, calm him, lay him down in his scent and put a stop to anything bad. Harry was very thankful for that, but couldn’t express it.

His mind lay dormant, cycling between terror and dissociation and love, until one day it didn’t.

One day it felt like a little bit of fog cleared. Just enough that Harry could process something more than what his wolf brain could.

Outside the window it was a brilliant white, the snow actively falling past the thin curtains Harry knew Louis had tailored and made himself. He was quite handy, Louis was. Knew how to work with fabric or wood or food. Harry didn’t think he knew how to do that stuff.

He was sitting on the couch next to Alpha, who was reading a book. His head was tucked in on Louis’ chest and his arm was around him, the hand on Harry’s body slowly rubbing up and down his upper arm.

Harry could see the words on the page in front of him but couldn’t quite decipher them. He knew they were words though, somewhere deep down inside of himself. He could read, he was pretty sure. And that was something wolves couldn’t do.

Louis flipped the page and there was a bigger word, a clearer one taking up a lot of the page nearer the top. Harry focussed all his energy on trying to decipher the squiggles, blinking rapidly until they started to ring a bell.

“Lunar,” Harry whispered, jumping when Alpha seemed to startle under his cheek.

“What was that, lovie?” Louis asked him quietly.

Harry knew he had hands. Knew he was in his human body, and his human body had hands, so once he found the connection to them he untucked one from under the blanket he was draped in and shakily brought it out into the open. He pointed at the word on the page, his finger resting on the paper just on top of it.

“Lunar,” he repeated, his voice croaky and hoarse, barely with any tone in it and more just breath.

Louis was quiet for a few moments before his hand squeezed his arm, giving it a firmer rub.

“You’re right, Little Wolf. That says Lunar,” Louis agreed.

Harry watched the book disappear and then Louis’ hand was tucked under his chin, tilting his head up. He went easily with the motion, blinking up and looking into Louis’ eyes.

“Are you in there, darling? Do you think you’re ready to come back yet?” Alpha asked him.

Harry wondered that himself. He was definitely in here somewhere. There was less cotton packing, slightly less anxiety. He felt steadier, like he was bobbing in the water instead of being hit against the rocks in a strong current.

“Maybe,” Harry whispered, clearing his throat as he stared up at Louis. Lovely, kind Louis. His alpha.

“There’s no rush,” Louis assured him. “We’ve all the time in the world. Slow and steady, okay? I’ve got you.”

Harry nodded, feeling the words more than properly hearing them. His alpha was looking after him. Scenting him to keep him calm, keeping him fed, putting wood on the fire. He was okay.

He’d be okay.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Harry came back to himself quicker after that conversation. He couldn’t fully comprehend it but he was starting to find his words again. His fingers started to follow through with what he wanted to do - holding a spoon to feed himself, for example, or tugging the blanket up when his shoulders got cold.

Louis didn’t pressure him any, but gradually Harry started to understand more. Instead of being in the current or on the waves he was now in a rescue boat, headed towards shore. Some things weren’t quite there, but enough of him was that he felt like he could maybe try to have an actual conversation with Louis.

They’d been having small ones. Almost like you would speak to a pup that you were teaching to converse. Simple concepts, simple words. But Harry thought he was maybe ready for more.

Some of the snow outside had melted but it lingered in the shadows, and the chill of it was still in the air. The fire must have gone out overnight but it was nice and warm under the blankets in bed. Plus the alpha next to him was radiating heat, so Harry shuffled closer to steal some from him.

“Morning,” Harry whispered, in case he was asleep. Harry got his answer by way of Louis tugging him closer to his body, wrapping him up in a cuddle and spooning him gently.

“Good morning, Wolfie,” Louis replied.

His morning voice was so gruff, Harry couldn’t get enough of it. It made him feel just as safe as his scent did.

“Do - ehm, you want to know my real name?” Harry asked, somewhat fumbling over his words. He felt like he was Wolfie too, but he wondered if Louis even considered he technically wasn’t.

Louis was quiet behind him, pressed up against his back, before he felt his head shift in a nod.

“Tell me,” Louis instructed.

“Harry,” Harry answered. He wasn’t sure if he had a last name. Or a pack name, or anything like that. He thought the more his mind cleared the more he’d remember, but all that seemed to come to him was his last year as a wolf with Louis.

“Harry,” Louis echoed, like he was trying it on for size. “What a lovely name,”

“Thanks,” Harry murmured back, the th morphing into a bit of an ‘f’ sound. “You’re Louis.”

“That I am,” Louis agreed. Harry felt the warm press of his hand against his tummy, the heat permeating through the sleep clothes Louis had presumably got him into. He was warm against his back too. Harry wasn’t sure if he’d cuddled like this before but it felt instinctive to seek the alpha’s warmth.

“I didn’t know. Until your friend. Until we went to town and saw him,” Harry managed to get out.

“Oh dear,” Louis chuckled softly, patting his hand on Harry’s tummy. “Sorry pup. Didn’t introduce myself. To be fair, didn’t think I needed to. Hardly had introductions with the cat either.”

“Princess knows. I think,” Harry answered somewhat sleepily.

“Princess?”

“The cat. Her name is Princess,” Harry insisted. That information felt true to him, but he couldn’t pinpoint where he’d gathered it from.

“Oh, righto,” Louis murmured, his breath tickling the back of Harry’s neck. He felt his hairs stand up in response, prickling and shivering just slightly. He wanted to turn and submit his neck, something primal clawing at him to do so, but he couldn’t quite land on why he felt that might be inappropriate right now.

“Wanna - talk. I feel more like Harry than Wolfie,” Harry murmured to him as his eyes traced over the woodgrain in the cottage walls. Sometimes when he was bored as a wolf he’d make stories up with them, creating characters that went through highs and lows all across the walls.

“We can talk, lovie. If you want to,” Louis agreed, then cleared his throat. “Just… take it easy. Listen to your body as much as you can, okay? There’s no rush.”

Harry nodded, happy to receive the sentiment and taking it to heart. He wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but he tried to keep it at the forefront of his mind.

“What… ehm. What happened? With me?” Harry asked quietly, figuring that was as good of a place to start as any to try and iron out his confusion.

Louis' stomach bulged against his back as he took in a deep breath, but Harry didn’t mind the pressure. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it. Something he did know was it was common for pack members to share affection like this. It was something omegas needed to survive, so he was able to listen to his body and feel it was calm in the current arrangement.

“Well. I’m not quite sure where to start,” Louis began, his fingers still brushing lightly over his stomach. “I think you’re… I think you might have been feral, Harry. Do you know what that means?”

Harry pursed his lips in thought, sifting through the papers that were scattered haphazardly in his brain and locating the one he was looking for.

“Crazy?” Harry offered, but it didn’t feel quite right.

“No, not crazy. Ehm. Sometimes when something happens in your life that’s too hard for your brain to cope with, so your wolf might take over for a bit. Or for a long while. The longer you’re in that state, the harder it is to come out. That’s why you might feel a little out of sorts,” Louis explained to him quietly.

That seemed to track, to Harry. He definitely felt out of sorts if nothing else.

“I do,” Harry agreed with a nod, finding it easier to communicate with Louis in these smaller words and sentences.

“Yeah, know you do. I’ve been trying to manage that by scenting you. I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but I didn’t have… I couldn’t ask you if that was okay, in the state you were in. But we couldn’t have you losing your breath so much and hurting your body either,” Louis murmured.

Harry couldn’t help but preen at the idea that his alpha was scenting him, and rolled over in Louis’ hold so they were belly to belly and tucking in under his chin, not quite scenting him but getting nearer his scent gland.

“S’okay. I like it,” Harry assured him. He wanted to say it provided him so much comfort, being surrounded by his alpha’s scent, but he couldn’t quite find the right words. He instead wrapped his arm around Louis’ waist and tucked in closer, smiling as Louis’ hand took to rubbing between his shoulder blades instead.

“That’s good, Omega,” Louis encouraged. “But there’s something more. Something else to your ferality that was different, and I’m not quite sure what it means.”

“What is it?” Harry asked. Louis’ chest rumbled just below him as he talked, his vocal cords vibrating against Harry’s forehead where he was tucked away.

“You - ehm. You didn’t have your scent at all. Not even faintly. And that doesn’t normally happen, at least not to my knowledge,” Louis explained slowly.

“Oh,” Harry responded. The news didn’t feel too shocking to him. “Think - think I remember that,”

“Yeah,” Louis murmured to him. “Makes sense now, your obsession with lavender. Think your wolf was trying to comfort the loss with replication.”

“I smell like lavender?”

“It’s your main note, yeah. Some other bits in there, but very strongly lavender,” Louis advised.

Harry wasn’t sure if he knew that or not, before… before whenever he started to exist. He felt like maybe he didn’t know that, upon reflection. It didn’t feel like knowledge he’d had.

“You smell like fireplace and the bed,” Harry announced. His words weren’t all there. His mind could picture it, the way Louis’ scent was sharp and crackly like the fireplace, a bit smokey at the top with stronger notes of cinnamon and nutmeg that coated the sheets.

Louis let out a gruff laugh, warming Harry’s chest as he kept him tucked up close.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Louis mumbled.

“Is,” Harry insisted. “How… how did I get here? I can’t… there’s nothing before I was a wolf.”

Louis took another deep breath, this time his chest and belly pressed against Harry’s. He imagined him like a bubble that wouldn’t pop because Harry was there to keep him together.

“I found you last year, in the forest. You were stuck under the snow in a bear trap. That’s why you have a scar on your thigh,” Louis explained quietly. “I brought you home and looked after you. I thought you might die, if I’m honest, you were very weak. But you pulled through.”

Harry furrowed his brow. How could he have ended up out there in the snow all by himself? Omegas were meant to be looked after. Did he have a pack who just left him for dead?

“Alone?” Harry asked, squirming around to get onto his back. He then reached under the covers, fighting with the heavy layer of blankets and not entirely winning.

“Yeah, alone. I’m a bit of a lone wolf, so I was alone, but you were alone too. It seemed like you’d been there a little while, or at least, you’d been living like that a while. You were very thin. I don’t think you’re much of a hunter,” Louis advised, then reached to find Harry’s hand under the blanket. “Are you trying to see your leg?”

Harry nodded, curious about this scar now that Louis mentioned it. He hadn’t taken it in, but it didn’t seem like a shock. Something his wolf remembered. He just couldn’t get his hands to work right to get his sleeping clothes off.

Thankfully Louis was there for him, easily tugging his trousers down and then lifting the sheets. The cool air hit Harry’s exposed skin and made him suck a sharp breath through his teeth.

“I’ll get up and get the fire going again in a minute, pup. Can look when it’s warmer if you like,” Louis offered, but Harry shook his head. He wanted to see while he was feeling as lucid as he’d felt in a long while, just in case it slipped through his grasp again.

He reached down and traced the jagged pink line with interest, feeling how it was raised from his skin and a bit haphazard. It didn’t hurt at all, but it was strange to know he only had a vague recollection of receiving it.

As soon as he was done looking he pulled at the blankets, getting Louis to lower them again and smiling as the alpha reached under the covers and pulled his clothes up for him once more. His fine motor skills were still not quite back, nor his strength, so it was a lot easier to have him do it.

“There’s nothing before that,” Harry told Louis quietly, starting to feel a little worry seep in. If Louis couldn’t fill in the blanks for him, then who could? Harry knew he was an adult - he could feel he wasn’t a kid. He definitely wasn’t a one year old, which was all he could remember, so he knew he existed before then. He just didn’t know anything about it.

“I think that can happen, sometimes,” Louis advised, but Harry could see how his brow was furrowed. Was he lying? “Try not to worry. I’m sure it will come back to you. You’ve only been out of your wolf for a few days, yeah? This will be a long process and there’s no need to try push it.”

“Okay, Alpha,” Harry hummed happily, tucking back into his side. That felt like enough revelations for now. He hoped his mind could keep a hold of all the information he just got. Or at least that Louis wouldn’t mind telling him again.

Harry pursed his lips to the side, looking up at the alpha and making the smallest little chirp in the back of his throat before baring his neck for him. “Scent?”

He felt Louis chuckle more than he heard it, shifting the bed with the motion as his hand came up to cup Harry’s chin.

“Sure, Omega. Whatever you need,” Louis agreed, and Harry was able to register all of a few seconds before he felt the dull pressure of Louis’ nose at his scent gland and the wonderful bliss of his scent curling around him.

That was enough thinking, for now. Falling into Alpha’s scent was a far more appealing option.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Chapter Text

By springtime, Harry felt like he was himself. At least, as much of himself as he could remember.

His fingers did exactly what they were told, along with his feet. He was able to walk around freely and get himself in and out of the bath, and even start to help Louis with the cooking and cleaning.

His mind, though. That was still a work in progress.

He felt like his human brain was fully back in the sense that he was able to exist and interact as one. He could read again, follow through on complex thoughts, express himself to Louis and temper his more primal instincts when they reared their head.

But there was a large piece missing - anything that happened before last winter. No matter how much better he got, absolutely no memories returned. Nothing of being a pup, nothing of his teen years. He and Louis estimated he must be somewhere in his early twenties, just from how he looked visually, but that was it.

Harry had a few absolute truths - like his name being Harry and he didn’t like parsnips and he had a scar on his leg - but he had little else.

It made him feel somewhat of a ghost, some days. Haunting Louis’ cottage as this shell of a person. He had no idea where his personality came from, why he acted the way he did, why he had the knowledge he had with little else supporting it. It was like there was a huge, unconquerable mountain between him and his previous life.

Sometimes it managed to get him down. But then Louis would appear and Harry could bear the empty feelings just a little bit easier.

If it weren’t for Louis he was sure he’d be dead. In more ways than one.

Louis saved him that first time around, when he’d been a wolf, but even more so in coming out of ferality. Harry only realised it a few weeks after that Louis had literally had to care for almost every need he had throughout that time.

He fed him and bathed him and took him to the bathroom. He was patient and understanding and forgiving as Harry fought with his own wolf to get a hold of his body again. It was long and tiresome but Louis stood by him the entire time.

Harry felt an immense amount of guilt for that.

When he was feral he’d come to accept Louis as his alpha. He didn’t think his wolf quite understood the circumstances - what with it seeming to only just understand they didn’t have a scent at the time.

It wasn’t even in a sexual, bonding sort of way either. Harry’s wolf had accepted Louis as his pack alpha. He can recall being excited any time Louis would shift because that’s when his wolf could recognise him as his alpha the most, overjoyed to have someone on the same wavelength.

So as Harry was coming out of the ferality he still had that stuck in his brain. Louis was his alpha, there to look after him. He was terribly clingy and demanding of him, living off of his scent and his touch until Harry could finally pull a critical thought together and realise the truth.

Louis was an alpha, but that didn’t mean he was his alpha. In fact, he’d been Louis’ pet for the better part of a year. Now he was stuck with this omega who had all these complex issues and he couldn’t even get rid of him because he’d be done for omega abandonment, or something.

Harry felt like he was taking advantage of Louis’ kindness but he didn’t know what to do about it. He didn’t know anything. He had no idea how to survive, how to even get to the village that Louis sometimes talked about. Even if he left Louis and tried to make it on his own he would struggle - which apparently he did even as a wolf, which was surely more attuned to survival than his weaker human form.

On top of all of that, selfishly, Harry didn’t want to leave. Louis was all he knew. He was comfort, and kind, and home. He was all he’d ever known, all he could remember, and he felt like he was losing a limb if he was without him for more than a few hours, let alone forever.

That made the whole affair even more complicated. Harry was stuck. Stuck in a tiny cottage with a very kind alpha he had a massive crush on, but also felt guilty for even being there in the first place.

It was a bit of a mess.

Harry got the impression that might be a theme in his life, just given the feeling didn’t feel all that foreign. And something weird had to have happened for him to lose his memories, so he was probably a magnet for trouble.

Nevertheless, the weather had cleared and Louis had deemed Harry well enough, so they were going to venture into the village for the first time since Harry shifted back into his human form.

He was a bit nervous, if he was honest. He hadn’t been around other people for a long time, as a person, but Louis told him they’d be beelining straight for Liam’s house so they’d probably not run into too many others.

Harry could remember Liam from when he was a wolf, but it was a bit muddy, sort of clouded in this animalistic simplicity that made it harder to discern. He could barely remember his omega either, aside from the fact he was nice to him but didn’t shift so Harry’s wolf had paid him no attention.

Louis had promised him they were both kind, though, and he hoped Liam might be able to gather some information about Harry’s condition. Or at least, his previous condition. Apart from the memory loss, he seemed to be doing okay otherwise, at least physically.

Harry was just buttoning up yet another borrowed shirt of Louis’ when he reappeared from his workroom, holding a small vial.

“So, when we go in today, we’re sort of… expected to wear this. I’m not sure if you’ll have heard of it. It’s a descenter - it masks your scent. It’s seen as… kind of polite to wear it in public, as scent is something quite personal,” Louis began as he stepped closer to him.

“You just dab a drop on your wrists and a drop on your scent glands on your neck, that usually does the trick. I just - well. I’ve been thinking that might make you feel a bit weird, since you went without your scent for so long. How do you think you’ll feel?” Louis offered, standing in front of him as Harry got his last button done up.

Somewhere in the recesses of his mind he considered that he knew this - that masking scent in public was a done thing. He must have done it before.

But doing it now - when he still felt like he’d just got his arms and maybe some of his torso up on the edge of the cliff that was clinging to sanity - was definitely a good question to ask.

Would it set him off? Would it make him plunge back into ferality? The thought of it was scary and he immediately wanted to refuse it, but held his tongue because he knew he should also be trying to assimilate to normal. Whatever that may be.

“Ehm. It makes me feel a bit scared, if I’m honest,” Harry said quietly. He cast his eyes downwards, his body telling him that was the wrong answer and Louis would be disappointed in him, even if Louis was always encouraging honesty.

“I thought so,” Louis answered, and Harry felt his hand come down on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright, pup. I just wanted to check.”

“If I’m honest I kind of hate doing it too. Makes my alpha feel weird. I’ll tell you what - why don’t we leave it off, but I’ll bring it with us. We’ll take those back trails I was talking about to Liam’s, then when we get there I’ll ask him if it’s okay if we’re full-scent.”

Harry looked up at the offer, trying to read Louis’ face to see if that was actually okay or if he was bothering him even further.

“Liam won't care. It’s just I don’t know if his omega will - since he won’t know our scents, so… you know. I’ll just be some strange alpha scent to him. Don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable in his own home,” Louis explained with a shrug.

“You smell nice, though,” Harry answered before he could help himself, smiling and biting on his bottom lip when he made Louis grin too.

“Well I’m glad you think so. Be awful for ya if you thought I stunk, being stuck in here,” Louis teased, pocketing the vial for now and looking Harry over. “I was also thinking - depending on how we go - we could swing by the fabric store and get some you like so I can whip you up some clothes that fit you better.”

“God, Louis. You don’t have to do that,” Harry muttered, covering his face in embarrassment as he stayed perched on the end of the bed. “You’re already doing so much for me.”

“Nonsense. It’s no bother,” Louis assured, reaching for Harry’s hands. Harry let him take them, allowing himself to be pulled to stand up in front of him. In his human form he was a little taller than Louis, which he found endlessly amusing the first time he realised it, teasing him about how an alpha should be taller than an omega.

Louis had tried to look put off about the teasing but clearly wasn’t very good at it, as he just kept breaking his frown into a grin, like he couldn’t control his face. It was one of the first times Harry could remember making him laugh on purpose.

“You’re still healing, Omega. We all need a little help when we’re healing.”

Harry sighed, nodding along because even though the sentiment was true and Louis repeated it to him often enough, he still felt guilty for it. He shouldn’t be Louis’ problem.

He wasn’t entirely sure just whose problem he should be, but that was by the by. In an ideal world he should be his own problem, but he was pretty sure omegas didn’t work like that.

What could he possibly have done to cause his family to abandon him? Or his alpha - if he even had one?

He was unmarked and unmated according to the lack of scar on his neck, so when he and Louis discussed it they felt it was unlikely to be the case that he’d left a partner and gone feral. Harry still held that lingering worry of what happened, then, the concept festering in the back of his brain.

Surely something of note had to have happened to cause his ferality, no? If not a partner then what? His family?

“Sure,” Harry answered, trying not to sound too much like a child in his reluctance to accept Louis was right. He squeezed Louis’ hands that were still holding his own before regretfully letting them go, reaching for the coat he’d been loaned and shrugging it onto his shoulders.

Harry was thankful for the fact that he and Louis could still touch. Not as much as when he was coming out of his feral state - maybe not even as much as when he was a wolf either, but it was still there.

Harry knew it was because if they didn’t, he’d fall into touch deprivation and be even harder to handle and he doubted Louis wanted that. He already had to look after him in so many ways, but sending him into omega drop would only make his life a million times more difficult.

So in bed at night, they would spoon. Throughout the day it was less - mostly what Harry would refer to as Louis ‘checking in’. A hand on his shoulder when he walked by him, another on his lower back if he was standing near Louis’ rudimentary kitchen counter. It did enough to settle the buzzing need for affection inside of Harry, enough to keep him on this side of consciousness.

But Harry knew it was the same sort of affection that was given to an omega family member. Maybe not the spooning specifically, but he felt that wasn’t unheard of. What was happening kept him steady but he wanted for more. More of Louis - his hands on him whenever he liked, his lips, his scent flooding his body again.

He couldn’t have it, though. Couldn’t ask. Because he was already getting more than he could ever ask for.

“Do you think you’re ready, pup? It’s a bit of a walk - more than we’ve done around the meadows and things. We can take breaks whenever you need to, just let me know. Don’t want your leg playing up,” Louis asked, shrugging on his own coat and grabbing a bag that seemed to be preloaded with some stuff - probably honey - before guiding Harry towards the door with a hand lingering by his side.

“I think so,” Harry nodded, pursing his lips as he followed along willingly. “I’m a little nervous though. Not for my leg, but just like - meeting someone new.”

Harry stepped out of the cottage after Louis, his fingertips lingering on the ropes that Louis hadn’t removed since Harry had returned to his human form. They served as a reminder, at least to Harry, of how different life was a few months ago.

“That’s understandable, love. I promise Li is so kind. I think you can probably guess I’m - a bit of a loner, aren’t I? Don’t keep much company. So I’m hardly going to keep bad company when I do, am I?” Louis explained, starting them off towards the main track.

Harry hadn’t stepped foot on it before.

They’d been on quite a few walks together as humans, mainly so that Harry could get his muscles moving and also explore where they lived with his human brain active as it was different from the instinct his wolf relied on.

There were also their visits deeper into the woods when Harry was finally brave enough to shift back to his wolf form, having got over the fear of maybe getting stuck again if he tried it.

The first time he tried was a big, tiring day, but it did settle him to reconnect and stop fearing his wolf. It was only a five minute shift, but the anxiety and tears before and after really took it out of him. He wasn’t sure, but he could guess Louis found it a little tough too.

He still remained somewhat hesitant to shift, even now, but Louis was always right there beside him. Encouraging him, supporting him. Helping him get back to himself. He always made it feel safer.

“And his omega, Zayn. He seems like a lovely guy. Only met him a few times but he’s… he seems really smart. Gentle, you know?” Louis finished, but something in there sparked something in Harry’s brain.

“Zayn?” Harry questioned.

“Yeah,” Louis answered, falling into step next to Harry as they started to trudge along the beaten dirt next to each other. He could feel Louis’ eyes on him, and when he glanced over he could see he had his brows knitted. “Actually, when you first met him you were a little weird. Do you think you know him?”

“I’m not sure,” Harry replied truthfully, looking away and up at the sky like it might tell him the answer. There was… something. A howl, something telling him he knew the name, but there was nothing to grab. “Weird how?”

“You were just like… still. He looked at you like he was shocked too, but kind of dismissed it since we all thought you were only a wolf. Maybe you guys do know one another,” Louis mused, then gasped loud enough that Harry jumped, not used to him exclaiming so dramatically.

“Omega - I just remembered. He can’t remember anything before he got here either. And he got here when you did - I didn’t even think, cause I thought you were a wolf, but - but maybe there is something there, maybe you two do know one another. Come from the same pack or something,” Louis noted excitedly, reaching for Harry’s hand.

Harry let him take it, trying to tamp the flush on his cheeks from the casual affection because he knew Louis wouldn’t be doing it in a way that Harry wished it was. He was just excited and needed to get his energy out.

“Maybe,” Harry answered somewhat airily, furrowing his brow as he tried to bang on the big wall that separated him from his past, asking about Zayn to no avail. “That would make sense.”

“It would. Maybe if we’re lucky he’s remembered something over the winter - or… or Liam’s looked into it, or something. He’s got the resources, you know? Being in the pack alpha family and all. Maybe we’ll get more than I thought we would out of this visit,” Louis encouraged.

Harry nodded, but there was something like worry still sticking in the pit of his tummy. It was the fear of the unknown, doubled down by the fact it was himself he didn’t know about. He tried to match Louis’ enthusiasm though, because it was the least he could do, but one question kept sticking in his brain.

“What if it’s something bad, though?” Harry couldn’t help but ask, not risking looking at Louis and instead peering out across the paddocks they’d come across, seeing the baby lambs try their best to get their legs under them.

Louis was quiet for a few moments before Harry felt him squeeze his hand.

“You’re right, darling. Sorry, I was being a bit cavalier. If it’s the case - if you’re both from the same place or situation - then.. yeah. Having two defenceless omegas wander into the territory with memory loss and stuck in form, there’s probably something strange going on,” Louis replied softly.

Harry sort of felt it in his bones, but having Louis confirm it aloud made his stomach drop. Louis agreed - he could be a bad person from a bad place. What if they found out he was awful and Louis cast him out because of it? He had no idea what he’d do.

“Tell you what, Wolfie. We’ll just see what comes to us. Maybe it’s completely unrelated, right? Or maybe they don’t know anything more than we do. We’ll just take it as it comes. Try not to worry yourself too much,” Louis said softly.

Harry couldn’t help but smile at the pet name, looking down at his slightly pigeon-toed feet as they wandered and feeling warm in his chest despite his ruminating thoughts. ‘We’ll take it as it comes’. That was Louis keeping him, right? In some capacity?

“Okay. We’ll just see what happens,” Harry agreed quietly, trying to hold Louis’ hand just casually enough that he might forget he was holding it and keep the grip until they got to Liam’s, wherever that was.

“Yeah. Good lad,” Louis encouraged, then gently nudged his shoulder and nodded at a bush on the side of the road. “See that there? That was the lavender you found when we first went on a walk after last winter. Could barely pull you away from the stuff,”

“Really?” Harry asked curiously, glancing over at it and trying to conjure a memory. It was vague, like most of his wolf ones were, shrouded in simplicity. He could more remember feelings than anything concrete.

“Yeah. I was worried you might charge the wee sheep, but you had no interest in that. Just wanted to watch them,” Louis explained, veering them off course and over to the bush. His hand was still in Harry’s, but he bent over to pluck a sprig, giving it a little sniff before pushing Harry’s long hair out of the way so he could tuck it behind his ear.

Harry couldn’t help himself from blushing because the gesture seemed romantic, but he couldn’t be sure.

“I wouldn’t hurt a sheep. They’re cute,” Harry defended, grasping for something to say in response so he wasn’t just pulling the most obvious love struck fool expression at Louis.

“I thought you were a full wolf, keep in mind,” Louis noted, then smiled warmly at him. “But yeah. Even when you were just Wolfie I thought it might be out of character for you to do,” Louis agreed, giving Harry a gentle tug to get back to the path.

Harry stumbled but followed after him, lightly touching the lavender to make sure it stayed in place and wasn’t likely to fall out.

He resolved to dry and press it as soon as he got home. It might be the most important sprig of lavender Louis had given him.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Upon arrival at Liam’s house, Harry couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock. It was the grandest place he could ever remember seeing.

He’d never speak ill of Louis’ cottage - the place he felt safest in the world - but this was very different. The building was still made of wood but it was easily much larger, on the edge of the town Harry was yet to see the centre of. They’d gone a back route to avoid people, which Harry was very appreciative of, but it did mean he didn’t have much to compare it to.

Harry supposed it made sense, what with Liam being in line to be pack alpha. It was just… he had a stone fence, and a proper enclosed garden that was a lot more manicured than Louis’, with outdoor furniture and even a little pond. It was like something Harry might have only heard of in one of Louis’ books.

There were two front doors, and a level on top of the first so Harry was pretty sure it would have stairs inside.

He wondered how Liam and Zayn didn’t get lost in there.

Louis approached the front door and knocked as Harry shifted to stand behind him, mainly because of nerves. He was still tethered by their hand hold, though, feeling quite grounded in the affection and keeping him on this side of freaking out.

Eventually a man Harry vaguely recognised answered the door, looking serious for all of a few moments before the expression melted into a grin, looking more like an excitable pup than the stern alpha of a second ago.

“Lou! What a surprise! Don’t normally see you so early in the season,” Liam grinned, leaning in for a hug before pausing when his eyes landed on Harry, quickly looking confused.

“Yeah. Him right there is why I’ve come to see you so early, lad,” Louis chuckled when he noticed Harry caught Liam’s attention. “Have you got a minute? Maybe an hour? Got lots to talk about.”

“Oh, of course,” Liam nodded, giving Harry a little smile as he followed through with his hug for Louis, just a quick one, before he held out his hand for Harry to shake.

“Hello, I’m Liam. Pleased to meet you,” Liam introduced politely, but it was clear he wanted to ask a million questions.

“I’m Harry,” Harry introduced, very reluctantly letting go of Louis’ hand to shake Liam’s. It was nothing like Louis’ at all - bigger, a bit rougher. Harry didn’t like it as much. “Ehm. Also I’m Wolfie?” he added hesitantly.

It was like watching a penny drop with the way Liam’s face changed, and Harry was finding his expressiveness quite endearing all things considered. It made it easier to follow what was going on.

“Oh shit,” Liam exclaimed, squeezing his hand a little tighter in recognition.

“Yeah, ‘oh shit’,” Louis agreed, giggling again.

“God, come in. Yeah. We have lots to talk about,” Liam agreed, starting to wave them inside before Louis stopped him with a tap on his chest.

“Listen mate, we’re full-scent right now. Is that going to be alright for Zayn?” Louis asked, Harry watching as Liam instantly nodded.

“Yeah, yeah. He’ll be fine,” Liam said with complete confidence, waving them in the threshold so Harry tiptoed quietly behind Louis, jumping again when Louis gasped even louder than he had on the path.

“You dirty fucking dog,” Louis scoffed, and when Harry glanced over Louis was pushing Liam’s head to the side to expose a bondmark on his neck, right over his scent gland. “I wondered why you were acting like he wouldn’t mind smelling some strange alpha in his house. You’ve only gone and bonded him!”

Harry watched the big lump of alpha turn bashful, shoving Louis away from him but not with much might.

“Yeah, like I said. Lots to talk about,” Liam insisted. “Get off of me, come to the lounge. Harry, do you like tea?”

“Oh, yes, I love tea,” Harry answered quietly, feeling just a little out of place because he’d not seen Louis be quite so boisterous before but it made him feel quite fond to see that side of him coming out. “If everyone else is having one,” he added quickly.

“Of course,” Liam smiled, waving them through a hallway - the house was big enough to have a hallway! - and passed some doors before he opened one of them and led them into a nice, warm space. Both in temperature and appearance.

The room itself was probably the size of Louis’ whole cottage, populated with a lot more options for seats and rugs and decorations, then off to the side there was a kitchen attached. A fire roared in the middle of it, massive but emitting enough heat that Harry could just tell it would heat the whole place if all the doors were left open.

“I bought some more honey for you, lad. Harry likes a teaspoon of it in his tea,” Louis informed Liam as he dug around in his bag and retrieved two big jars of the stuff.

“Lou,” Harry whined in embarrassment, not wanting him to make Liam make a fuss but Louis just winked at him and waved him off.

“We can accommodate that,” Liam smiled. “Zayn, darling, Louis’ popped by. With ehm - with Wolfie,” Liam announced, and Harry’s attention was drawn away from his skin crawling and to the omega sitting on the couch.

There was… something. Not the wave of complete remembrance Harry was secretly hoping for, but there wasn’t nothing. There was… the ghost of a memory. Something like a pull deep in his bones that said this was familiar, like when he’d been able to make Louis pancakes from memory, but nothing clearer than that.

Zayn was familiar for sure. And by the looks of it, Zayn felt the same way, given he was staring wide eyed back at Harry and not moving to greet him.

Harry jumped a tiny bit when he felt a pressure on his hip, his head whipping to the side but feeling relieved when it was just Louis’ hand.

“Go say hello, Omega,” Louis coaxed softly, giving him the slightest push to get him going. Harry barely noticed that Liam was paused in motion watching them too, but once Louis broke the spell he couldn’t help but rush towards Zayn, his stomach fizzing.

“Can I - Can-,” Harry stammered, raising his own wrist in offering and stifling a whine when Zayn lifted his in return. He pressed his nose against the skin and took a deep breath, the neurons in his brain lighting up with even more recognition at the smell. Rosewater. Cardamom. The slightest bit of anise.

He couldn’t help himself from lifting his other hand to cup the back of Zayn’s wrist and hold it there, scared he might take away the only thing he’d come across that was even remotely close to unlocking the door of his past life.

There was something else there that was foreign - most likely Liam’s scent from their bond, but it was still familiar. It was still something he knew, something from before.

But that’s all it was. He just knew he knew it. That was the only thing his stupid brain would give him.

He wasn’t sure when he started crying, but when he looked over, Zayn was as well, and Liam had conveniently appeared behind him to give him comfort.

Just as Harry started to feel spikes of jealousy there was a warm hand on his back, melting his muscles just a little bit out of their tense state. Louis had him. Just like Liam had Zayn.

“It’s okay, Omega. Let it out. You’re safe,” Louis murmured quietly, and his soft support broke what little resolve Harry had. He turned away from Zayn and into Louis' chest, breathing out a wobbly breath when he felt himself get tucked up immediately.

“I know his smell but I can’t remember him,” Harry finally managed to get out, clinging to Louis' shirt and pressing his nose into Louis’ neck to get more of the comforting scent he was letting out. It wasn’t quite a full scenting, but it was enough that Harry was chasing the comfort of it.

“Oh love,” Louis mumbled, his hand strong and firm as they stroked down his back, grounding him further. “I think he might be a bit the same.”

“God,” Harry mumbled in reply, suddenly mortified he was in a stranger's house, sobbing all over their sofa when he’d barely said hello. He used all his self control to take in a very deep breath, sniffing shakily and rubbing at his eyes before turning around.

“I’m so sorry,” Harry forced out, his voice wet and wobbly but he was trying his best. “This is so embarrassing,”

“No,” Zayn spoke up, the first thing he’d said since they’d arrived and it further solidified to Harry that he knew him. He knew that voice. “It’s not - I feel the same way. I feel the same.”

Harry felt his eyes well up again when he met Zayn’s warm brown ones, sniffing out a small whimper when Zayn reached his hand out for him. Harry took it wordlessly, twining their fingers together and biting the inside of his lip at how they fit in such a familiar way.

“Maybe I should explain some things? From the beginning? It might help if we’re all on the same page… I don’t have all the answers, but I might have some of them,” Liam offered as he held his mate close, and when Harry glanced at him he could see the concern in his expression. He wondered if Louis might look the same.

Then again, he wasn’t Louis’ mate.

Harry nodded, sort of understanding a little more how Louis felt earlier when they were on the path. Liam seemed like an alpha with answers. Some, at least, and even if it might be something unsettling, it was better than the void of nothingness.

Liam quickly reiterated for Harry how Zayn had happened into the village, the fact he couldn’t shift, the loose signs of ferality that clung to him even if he was somewhat lucid.

“That’s just how Harry was. When he was coming out of his wolf,” Louis interjected when Liam described exactly how Zayn had interacted with him initially. “Like he knew he was human, but he couldn’t quite get there. Like he was physically in human form but he still had his wolfs mind.”

“It felt like that,” Zayn nodded, cuddled right up into Liam’s side now, his hand still clutching Harry’s. The tears had managed to stop now. “Like I couldn’t… like every thought I had wouldn’t stick the same, and I couldn’t do… processed thoughts. Like I have to cut the vegetables to put them in the pot to cook to eat them. I couldn’t do steps like that, at the start. I barely remember though.”

Harry nodded enthusiastically in agreement, because he related to that tremendously.

“I only started to feel like I was me again when I could think like that properly. When my thoughts would stop falling out of my head,” Harry replied quietly, wanting Zayn to know he understood exactly how he felt.

Harry saw Liam looking at Louis for a few long moments before he returned back to his story.

“So obviously when Zayn turns up, we launch an investigation. An unaccompanied omega in a state like that? If it was on purpose the people responsible need to be tried for abuse and abandonment. We start trying to reach out to the other packs around here, but since it’s winter, it takes a while to get our messages there and back,

“Eventually we hear back from one of the ones to the south, and they say they’re unsure on who Z is, but they’d heard some other packs to the south of them had been having trouble with a transient pack. Led by rogues, apparently, but they didn’t know much more,

“So once it turns Spring and we can finally send for information, we get some of our own to travel down. Eventually they return with the news that the transient pack had disappeared, but one established pack had a rogue alpha in custody that they believed was part of the transient pack. He was apparently too feral to question, though, wouldn’t respond to them,

“So our most likely conclusion was that Zayn was maybe part of this transient, rogue led pack. And maybe that’s the case for you too, Harry. I’ve been keeping an ear out but haven’t heard much more… but now that things are moving again perhaps something else will come to light?” Liam finished, looking between them curiously.

“Moving again?” Louis questioned, his voice a rumble against Harry’s back. Cuddling with Louis on the couch was making it hard for Harry to entirely focus because it felt so good to get the affection off of the alpha at an unexpected time, but he was doing his damndest.

“Yeah. Well,” Liam said like it was obvious, gesturing at Harry. “Was it about a year or so when he came back to human form?”

Harry furrowed his brows, trying to recollect and remembering that Louis said he found him under a pile of snow. He turned to look at Louis, who had just the same thinking expression on his face.

“Yeah. It would have been actually. Around about,” Louis mused.

“And ehm - around the same time Z had his own revelation,” Liam explained, giving Zayn a nudge to share it himself.

“I can shift to my wolf again,” Zayn smiled, shy but clearly pleased about it.

“Oh, that’s amazing!” Louis responded, and Harry could almost feel his excitement. “I can’t wait to meet him. You must feel so much better.”

“I do, yeah. Thank you,” Zayn grinned, glancing at Liam and then giggling. “We thought it was pretty amazing too, hence the uh…” Zayn explained, then gestured at his bond mark on his neck.

“Oh!” Louis responded, giggling a little bit into Harry’s shoulder. Probably just since it was more convenient than lifting his hand. “Well. Congratulations on that too, I didn’t get a chance to say earlier.”

“Yeah, congratulations,” Harry echoed, giving Zayn’s hand a squeeze. Despite his lack of memory he felt pleased for Zayn, since from this brief interaction it seemed like they made a good couple.

“We appreciate it,” Liam answered, kissing Zayn’s temple softly. “We’d been thinking about it for a while, but Z felt like it wasn’t right if his wolf wasn’t fully present. So when he showed up… it was kind of a big day, all things considered.”

Louis nodded behind Harry, asking for a few more details out of curiosity before the conversation took a slight lull. Harry used the opportunity to ask something that had been on his mind since Liam had told them about what had happened when Zayn arrived.

“I don’t… remember what a rogue is, properly,” Harry half-asked, slightly directing it towards Louis. Liam took it as an excuse to slip out and make the teas he’d promised earlier, nodding over as he expected Louis could handle that one but Harry did notice he gave him a bit of a look.

“A wolf untethered to any pack land,” Louis explained, shifting so his arm came around Harry’s shoulders. That move wasn’t too unusual - if they were having a little cuddle on the sofa at home then that’s how they’d sit. Harry was just glad Louis was still providing him physical comfort because he was quite overwhelmed with all of his intense emotions.

“They might be feral, might not be, but they’re not tied anywhere. They could be lone or have others with them,

“They’d’ve broken their bond with the pack they were born into, usually, so some packs see them as a bit of a threat. They could mess up the natural order of hunting, or be preying on pack members, trying to recruit them and start a new pack. They’re not always acting with malice, though. It just depends,” Louis explained, his fingers lightly drawing up and down Harry’s arm.

Harry nodded along, considering that. Could he have been recruited by a rogue alpha into a transient pack of some sort? It didn’t seem like something he would do, but he didn’t really know his own circumstances.

“Right,” Harry murmured, nodding along to show Louis he was listening, but his brow was still furrowed in thought. “But if we were in - if Zayn and I were in a pack together, wouldn’t we have the same pack scent? Like you and Liam do?”

Harry knew enough to know that one's scent would carry that information. Scents held a lot more than just emotions in them - it would detail out someone's secondary gender, their status when they had it - like Liam - and also their pack. The pack scent was the most subtle, though. Just a small pinch amongst the rest of the bouquet.

“That’s a bright idea,” Louis praised, just as Liam walked through with a tray of four mugs.

“If I hadn't of bonded him and got rid of any other pack scent that might have lingered a couple of weeks ago,” Liam added somewhat dryly, settling the tray down and passing the mugs out.

“Oh, right,” Harry sighed, thanking Liam for the tea and having a little sip, smiling when he tasted his lavender honey in there.

“What if you smelt Harry, Li? You’ll still remember my old scent, right? You could see if there’s anything familiar?” Zayn suggested as he took his tea from him with his free hand, not letting go of Harry for seemingly anything.

Harry immediately felt Louis posture behind him at the suggestion, his muscles tensing seemingly involuntarily against part of his back and his arm around his shoulders worm tighter in its hold. Harry couldn’t help but preen at the possessive display, even if he was trying to convince himself every minute that Louis wasn’t his alpha.

Liam looked between the pair and let out a little laugh, shrugging.

“I could try, if you’re both comfortable with that,” Liam offered.

Harry stayed mum for a second, feeling Louis somewhat relax behind him, but only after a few conscious minutes.

“It’s Harry’s decision,” Louis answered, but his arm stayed rigid around Harry’s shoulders.

Harry knew they could probably all smell how smug he was at having an alpha put on such a display for him, so he tried to tamp it down as much as he could before nodding.

“Let’s try,” Harry agreed, mainly out of curiosity. Both for his past but also to see how Louis would act. He considered baiting him into performing possessively might not be the most truthful avenue to explore, but he figured he could always blame it on his dysregulated emotions from finding out so much information all at once.

Harry did check in though, quickly looking at Louis and receiving a nod of permission before he put his tea down so he could hold his wrist towards Liam. He held himself still as Liam leaned closer for a smell, thankfully not trying to scent Harry in any way and instead just taking deep breaths of his scent.

He could feel Louis behind him get tense again, his fingers now digging in where they were pressed against his chest.

God. What if he got slick from all this? That would be a nightmare.

“I can’t quite get it,” Liam sighed after a few lungfuls, letting out a sigh. “The pack part of your scent is almost non-existent - which makes sense after being away from it for so long. It’s too subtle. I could-” Liam began, glancing at Harry’s neck before clearly thinking better of even suggesting it.

Harry let out a surprised giggle, unable to stop himself from turning to look at Louis who was now glaring at Liam. He then met eyes with Zayn, sharing an amused expression at how the alphas were acting.

“If Zayn and Louis are comfortable with you smelling my neck, I don’t mind,” Harry offered, turning to see what Louis’ reaction might be.

He didn’t expect the low, possessive growl of a rumble that filled the air for all of a second or two before Louis coughed and cleared his throat.

“God, sorry. I don’t know why my alpha is being such a knothead,” Louis muttered, rubbing his face with the hand that wasn’t around Harry. “Of course, Haz. It would be good to know if Liam can get it.”

Harry stared wide eyed at Louis for a few seconds, clenching himself tight so he didn’t react too obviously to Louis’ growl but it had him wanting to bare his neck for him, get in his lap a little, find his knot. He couldn’t think like that - not ever, but especially not in Liam and Zayn’s home.

“Thank you,” Harry still responded, like he was looking for his alpha’s permission, before managing to rip his eyes away to look at Zayn. The other omega shrugged in amusement, eyes lit up and a bit sparkly like he could read both of their minds.

“I don’t care, go for it. I’m curious,” Zayn offered, waving his hand in invitation.

Harry then met Liam’s eyes, who looked like he was trying to solve a problem before softening a bit when he realised Harry was looking at him.

“It might be best if you… sit forward a bit, I don’t want to encroach,” Liam suggested, gesturing for him to come closer.

Harry nodded, gently disentangling himself from Louis’ arm around him so he could shift closer on the big sofa, his mind whirring with the fact that his moving meant that Liam was intimidated to lean into his space. The space Louis was surrounding him in.

Did he think Louis might react? His inner omega was swelling with pride, almost radiating it, enough that when he shifted and bared his neck a little the first thing Liam did when he got within range to scent his emotions was let out a puff of a laugh.

Harry immediately felt two firm hands grip on his hips, Louis’ fingers pressing into the scent glands that lay there as Liam respectfully leant over his mate and got his nose closer to Harry’s neck.

He stayed perfectly still to ensure their skin didn’t brush, not wanting to accidentally incite a proper scent, especially from someone with pack alpha lineage. He closed his eyes as Liam sniffed him, trying not to emit too many pheromones from the way Louis was touching him before Liam leant back with a bit more of a satisfied look.

“It’s so little, but, I think there might be something there. Going off of memory doesn’t help either,” Liam shrugged, pursing his lips. “I wouldn’t put money on it, but… there’s something familiar with how you used to smell, Z.”

Harry was trying to pay attention to Liam’s assessment but it was proving quite difficult given Louis had pulled him right back from the spot he’d shuffled into on the sofa, tucking him almost in his lap but not quite. He’d secured an arm across his middle like he didn’t want him to escape, and the other hand was crawling.

It started on his hip and then ran over his lower belly, pressing firmly before running back along over his clothes and then down his hip, to his thigh. Harry held his breath as it almost drifted to his crotch, almost half expecting Louis to grab him there in an animalistic show of possession but he seemed to recover at the last minute, diverting to the other hip and crossing his arms over his front.

The entire thing was extremely erotic, to Harry. He was clenching so tight so he didn’t let any slick out, lest anyone smell it, and concentrated on some deer antlers on the wall to try and will the threatening erection away.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Louis whispered into Harry’s ear, but he immediately shook his head.

“No, don’t be,” Harry reassured. He didn’t know the right words. To tell Louis that he wanted that, but he didn’t want him to feel obliged to have to do it, just since he was an omega who turned up on his doorstep one day.

He also didn’t want to do all that in front of Louis’ friends. Maybe his friends too, now? He felt like there had to be something there after all of this.

Harry wanted Louis to know his possessiveness was okay, so he moved to cover his hand and twine their fingers together, leaning back against him and tipping his neck just a bit so he was giving Louis a show of vulnerability, letting him know his neck was his in hopes to settle the alpha.

“So maybe we were from the same place, Zayn,” Harry responded, trying to distract the other two from how Louis had seemed to get a bit lost in his instincts and allow some space for him to crawl back to interacting in polite society.

“I remember your voice. And your scent. So I think we at least knew one another,” Zayn agreed, watching them with that same amused expression he had on earlier, clearly happy to play along like Louis wasn’t pressing his nose into Harry’s curls, just behind his ear like he was trying his hardest not to go for his scent gland.

“Yeah,” Harry nodded in agreement, curling his toes and doing his absolute best not to fall into instinct too. “Maybe we could get to know one another again? Louis said I might get bored when he comes into town with the candles and honey, so when - when he does that, maybe we could… see one another?”

“I’d like that,” Zayn smiled wider, looking at Liam happily. “We could stay in the town square, or you could come here, or we could - I quite like the library. And I can introduce you to some of my friends I’ve made, too. If you like.”

Harry turned to Louis to check in about all that, smiling when he saw he looked just a little bit distant, like he wasn’t one-hundred percent with them, but his eyes were locked completely on Harry’s.

“How does that sound, Lou?” Harry questioned quietly, giving his hand a squeeze.

“Sounds good Omega. That would be nice for you,” Louis managed to get out, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds and when he opened them he looked a little more with it.

“Can always come in a little more often, Lou. If you wanted. Even if just for Harry to get to know some of the pack,” Liam suggested lightly, almost hesitant if Harry were to pick a specific tone.

Louis was silent for a few moments before nodding, managing to tear his eyes from Harry.

“It’d be good for him, yeah. We’ll work on that,” Louis agreed, some air of reservation in his voice but Harry couldn’t pinpoint it. Aside from the fact that he knew Louis liked to keep to himself generally.

Harry wasn’t going to press it. Especially when Louis was clearly a little… unsettled. He wanted him to feel good, so kept leaning back into him, vowing to investigate why Louis was hesitant later. Maybe when his arms didn’t feel so good around his waist.

“Would you guys like to stay for lunch? I’ve got some meetings in the afternoon, but you’re more than welcome to stay with Zayn. If he’s not planning on a kip, that is,” Liam offered, poking Zayn’s side and making him squawk.

When Harry turned to check Louis’ eyes were already on him, so he gave a subtle nod and hoped Louis wanted to as well. Despite all that was going on his draw to Zayn was strong, and he’d feel a bit lost if they had to leave his company so soon.

“Thank you lad. Yeah, we’d love to stay,” Louis answered with a warm smile, his arms around Harry’s middle finally relaxing just a fraction. “Sorry for making it weird earlier. I’m not sure what came over me,”

“Our wolves do funny things,” Liam dismissed with a wave of his hand. “I know it's not personal. I’ll get the soup going for us, then you’ll have to tell us all about how Harry came back to his human form and how your winter has been.”

“Aw,” Louis cooed just at the memory. “Never seen anyone more confused. Poor love.”

As Liam got up and Zayn struck up a conversation with them, Harry relaxed into Louis’ hold. He felt overwhelmed but excited, a little lost and the tiniest bit horny, all sorts of things at once. The only thing that was keeping him grounded was Louis’ hold, and he was increasingly thankful for it.

If nothing else, he knew he had Louis.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Chapter Text

Harry was dreading the inevitability of this happening.

He’d felt out of sorts for a couple of days, just a little niggle on the peripheries of his brain. Sometimes it was a queasy stomach, sometimes it was a light headache. The day his suspicions grew stronger was when he experienced a hot flush.

Harry thought maybe it was just because the weather was getting warmer, but when he glanced over to see what Louis was doing in the flower bed, he noted he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

That’s when he accepted the fact that his heat was coming.

It was literally at the worst possible time, too. He and Louis were just… well they were almost… something was happening. Maybe. Something Harry had been very carefully curating and stepping around and investigating the ins and outs of.

He couldn’t just come out and ask Louis if he liked him, or if he just felt obligated to be nice to him because he’d adopted him as a pet sometime ago and he accidentally ended up a person. Harry didn’t want to put him in that position - having to reject him but probably still house him, lest he get in trouble.

Unfortunately for him, the pack at large would now know if Louis dropped Harry for whatever reason.

Ever since they’d gone to visit Liam and Zayn early in Spring they’d kept up with them like they mentioned, wandering into town with Louis’ barrow of wares every so often. What started out as every two weeks or so got more consistent, and they were now at the point where Louis didn’t need to stick to the pretense of selling for them to head in. It could just be to catch up with friends, which seemed to be foreign to Louis.

Harry sometimes wondered if he should feel somewhat guilty for making Louis socialise, but when it was happening, he did seem to enjoy it. Harry half wondered if his ‘lone wolf’ thing was to do with something else, not the actual want for isolation. It was just the fact they’d made friends outside of Zayn and Liam, and though Louis seemed tentative, he was never dismissive of it.

If anything, Harry was pretty sure he was secretly excited when someone would invite them over, or approach his stall just to say hello when he came into town.

So, those people for sure would know if Louis stopped housing him. And the first place Harry would go would be to Zayn and Liam’s, and he was pretty sure Louis wouldn’t like the shame of that.

That was more than enough reasons for Harry to stay quiet on his feelings. So they cuddled, had gentle touches, and despite the occasional possessive display from Louis, they never advanced past that.

Harry now feared they wouldn’t have a choice.

Yet another thing he was guilting Louis into doing for him. He could hardly demand he left his own cottage for the duration of Harry’s heat - nor could Harry have it out in the woods. He’d be far too vulnerable, and not to mention, it would be bloody uncomfortable.

The frustration built and bubbled inside of him as he tried to ignore all the physical signs of his heat’s approach until one day - he just broke. He’d worked himself into a proper sweat, there was a tug in his belly and another much lower down, and he couldn’t stand it anymore.

They were both in the cottage and Louis was in the middle of sewing him some nice summery shorts he’d just measured out. A slightly billowy pair, like some he’d seen another omega wearing in town. Louis had caught him admiring them and went to work on designing a pattern without a second thought.

Harry watched his nimble fingers work the needle in and out of the fabric, pulling it through one way and then the other. He was so focused, so concentrated. On something for Harry, like he always was.

It made Harry feel sick with shame, with guilt. That he was going to ask even more of him.

With a loud huff he got up from the sofa, not saying a word to Louis as he stalked towards the door and headed out. He was hoping for a summer breeze to help cool his unusually warm skin, but he didn’t have such luck.

The absence of relief grated him more, so he took off running, letting his unclothed feet carry him some distance away from the cottage. It felt good to thud against the ground, feel the grass on his toes and try to displace the growing heat as something that was just a direct result of exercise.

Eventually he reached a part of the meadows that surrounded Louis’ cottage before the treeline and stopped, panting and letting out a frustrated whine. He felt like crawling out of his skin. He ran his fingers through his hair and gave it a tug before sitting down in defeat, too hot to keep running any further.

He stripped off his shirt because he was getting ever warmer, whimpering when it barely changed anything, and starting to cry as he got his trousers and underwear off too because it was just too much to have anything touching his skin at this point. He quickly moved his shirt underneath him so the bugs didn’t get at his bum and curled his knees to his chest, burying his head in his arms as he sulked.

Harry knew it was childish and stupid to cry over his heat but it just felt like the straw that broke the camel's back. He didn’t know how else to process that he was always taking from Louis and felt like he was never giving.

He smelt Louis before he saw him, peering up from the safety of his arms when the air delivered its warning of his presence. He’d at least given him a few minutes alone, but Harry knew he obviously couldn’t leave him out here sobbing.

“Don’t come any closer,” Harry warned, holding his hand out palm up towards Louis, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. Harry knew if his scent got any stronger in his nose he’d be throwing himself at his feet and sticking his arse up in presentation and oh god - Louis didn’t deserve any of this.

“Okay, Omega,” Louis answered calmly. Harry watched him look around before taking a seat where he was, settling himself in criss-cross facing Harry at the respectful distance. “Wanna tell me what’s happening?”

“My heat’s starting,” Harry whined, the admission getting another sob out of him as he buried his head again, too scared to see Louis’ reaction.

“Oh, right,” Louis answered, silent for a few moments before clearing his throat. “What will be best for you? Would you like me to - I can stay in my workroom, if you need space. Or - I can get you to Z’s - Liam-” Louis started, clearly having to force himself to get the rest out. “Liam would protect you, keep you safe from other alphas. He’s - he can resist, as a pack alpha.”

Harry lifted his head at Louis’ words, his face crumpling even more when it seemed like Louis had no interest in helping him through his heat. That was even worse than Harry thinking he was going to guilt trip him into helping.

“I want you, Alpha,” Harry whined, too close to breaking to hold it in anymore. His emotions were wrapped up so tight he felt like he might burst, and something needed to give.

“I don’t want Liam and I don’t want you to go and sleep in the workshop. I want you to help me through it. To hold me and kiss me and knot me. But - but,” Harry stammered, taking a deep shaky breath so he could lay it all out on the table.

“But I’ve already taken so much from you. I take your food and your house and your warmth. I take your kindness and I’ve taken your solitude. All I do is take. You didn’t even - you just picked me up as an animal and you probably just felt like you had to, because you’re such a kind person with a good heart and you couldn’t see something die like that.

“Ever since I came back to my human form all I’ve done is depend on you. You’ve nursed me, Lou, you’ve saved my life - twice literally, and a million more times figuratively. I wouldn’t have survived without you. And now I’m asking even more of you, and you’ll probably do it because you feel obliged, but it’s too much - too much to ask of someone, of anyone.

“And I hate myself for it because - because I should have picked myself up and maybe - found myself an alpha in town, or something, so you didn’t have to look after me anymore because you shouldn’t have to, but I can’t, because I’m so selfish in the fact that I can only ever see my alpha as you,” Harry stammered, gesticulating wildly with his hands before pushing his hair back from his forehead.

Harry took a deep breath and shoved his head back in his arms, wishing he could hide himself away and maybe burrow into the ground and set up a new life down there.

“Is that all?” Louis asked him softly after the silence lingered, so Harry raised his head and narrowed his eyes once he saw the pull of a smile on Louis' lips. Mainly because he was feeling exasperated and petulant and it sounded like Louis was making fun of him.

“No. I can’t remember anything from before a year ago, I have no idea who I am and it makes me feel like a ghost of a person. I can’t even remember what my heats are like, what I do, how I act - if I’ve even spent one with an alpha, if I’m a virgin. It’s scary and you’re the only person I trust in the whole world,

“And I’m getting my heat in the height of summer so I’m already bloody hot, and the bees keep flying over from their bee houses because I smell like a flower and I’m probably going to get stung again, because that’s one thing I do remember from being a wolf, even if everything else is a blur,” Harry whined, properly pouting now as he eyed Louis.

He let the silence hang again, before speaking up.

“Is that all?” Louis asked again, this time clearly finding it harder to hide his amusement.

Harry narrowed his eyes further, deciding if he was airing all his grievances he may as well add in this last one.

“You added parsnip to the roast vegetables last night and they were yucky,” Harry sniffed, turning his nose up.

That last one set Louis off properly in a giggle, one of the really cute ones where he covered his mouth like he needed to hide it.

Harry wished he could push that hand away to see his smile.

“Can I talk now?” Louis asked him, leaning back on his hands.

The distance between them was just a little bit awkward, but it was for Harry’s sanity. The long grass rustled a little bit, clearly trying to convince Harry he should at least hear Louis’ side of the story. Even if it would be a let down.

“Okay,” Harry sulked, wiping his eyes with his thumbs then his cheeks with his palms, trying to get a hold of himself for his inevitable rejection.

“I love you, Harry,” Louis informed him.

That was not at all where Harry expected him to start.

“You what?” Harry responded, staring at Louis all bug-eyed.

“I love you. Now shush. Let me get this out,” Louis insisted, clearing his throat.

“You’re right, in some ways. When I found you as a wolf, I did pick you up and bring you home because I couldn’t bear to think I’d seen an animal injured and not helped it. So I brought you back, cleaned you up, and once you were mostly fixed - I tried to set you free.

“I don’t know if you’ll remember but I took you outside and gestured you to run off into the woods, never to be seen again. Then you just stared at me like I was fucking stupid. Which I was, right, but I was trying to give this ‘wild animal’ his freedom back.

“So you didn’t go. And you wormed your way right into my heart. Princess never did that - but maybe that’s because she’s a bit of a bitch - but you did. You… even before I knew you were a shifter you healed something in me, H. You were my companion. You made me happy when I hadn’t realised I had been keeping myself sad.

“I’ve never - I never told you what I’m about to say, but I’m hoping if I do tell you it might help you make a bit more sense of everything. I’ve… when I was in my late teens, something happened to me and I went feral. For a couple of years. I went rogue, disconnected from the pack and went off into the woods.

“When I came back, Liam was the one to save me and nurse me. And I felt exactly how you feel. Well, maybe not exactly - never had a crush on the lad, a real shame for him - but I’ve felt that guilt of receiving care. Of feeling like you can’t do anything for yourself and being a burden.

“And he’d tell me all the time - ‘You’d do the same for me’ and ‘It’s not a problem’ - every time he had to help me bathe, feed me, support me when I’d regress a bit, since me brain was so fucked ‘cause it had been such a long time since I was human. But I never believed any of it until it came to you.

“Nothing I’ve ever done for you - except for that very first moment - has been done out of guilt or obligation. It’s been done out of love and genuine care. Anything I ever do for you will come from that. Never because I’m… because I’m worried I’ll get thrown in prison for neglecting an omega, or because I’m all begrudged about it, but because I love you.

“And I love you because you’ve taught me so much. I set myself up here, all by myself, to get out of Liam’s hair. Away from the pack I’d betrayed. Because I thought it was better than hanging around where people would feel guilted into being nice to me.

“But you showed me none of that support ever came from that lens. Because it’s never felt that way with you, darling. You’ve taught me that. That’s not the only reason I love you, just one of the smallest ones, but I needed you to know.”

Harry sat completely stunned, soaking in Louis’ words and trying to sort them out in his head.

He really shouldn’t have started with the love confession, because it made everything else immediately a bit fuzzier. He did his best to stay on track though, furrowing his brow when he learned that Louis himself had been feral. The rest that followed was reassuring, but harder to believe.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Harry whispered, feeling overwhelmed. “You love me? You’re not… looking after me out of duty or guilt?”

“Oh god, no. No my darling. I’m not - I don’t know how honourable you think I am, but if I didn’t - well. This might make me sound bad, but if I didn’t feel as strongly about you as I do, I would have brought you into town for Liam to sort out, however they handle abandoned omegas. I’m not sure,” Louis admitted, averting his eyes.

“Then why hasn’t - why haven’t you told me? Before now?” Harry pressed, still wondering if Louis was maybe making this all up to make him feel better.

Louis gave him a somewhat wild look, cocking his head to the side.

“Make a move on an omega who is depending on me? Who might feel pressured to agree in case they end up sent away? Love, I’d never. I never ever want you to feel uncomfortable,” Louis explained. “Even now. If you’re not ready to spend your heat with someone then we’ll work it out, I can sort anything you need.”

Harry shook his head, his heart growing in size about Louis being so chivalrous when a lot of other, much worse alphas might have taken advantage of the whole situation.

“Can you come and cuddle me please?” Harry asked in a small whimper, reaching out for Louis who reacted immediately.

“Of course,” Louis noted, shifting to his hands and knees so he could crawl the few metres separating them, settling in close to Harry and wrapping an arm around his waist. He pulled him in tight, kissing the side of his head. “Fuck, you smell divine, darling.”

Harry blushed, leaning in against Louis and feeling a pulse of need rush through him at being so close to his alpha.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Harry mumbled, feeling Louis bristle at the honorific. “So you wouldn’t - I mean, there’s a lot I want to talk to you about what you just said, but I’m so foggy and I just need - you wouldn’t mind helping me?”

“I’d be honoured, Harry. Truly,” Louis answered. “I’d love to help you. I just need you to… are you able to tell me what you’re comfortable with? While you’re still present?”

“Anything,” Harry said honestly, pausing slightly before turning his head to press his nose into Louis’ neck. “Maybe don’t bond me. But - I - well. Whatever you’re comfortable with. Whatever you can offer. I just - I really need you.”

“Christ, okay,” Louis murmured, pulling Harry closer, up into his lap. Harry could feel the bulge of his cock pressing firm against his thigh, causing him to spill slick right onto Louis’ trousers. “So you’d be okay if I kiss you? If I use my hands to help you? Knot you?”

“Yes, yes, please,” Harry answered eagerly, wrapping his arms around Louis in a tight grip and grabbing the back of his shirt. “I need it, Alpha. Need you. All of you.”

“God, okay, yeah - just,” Louis stammered, and Harry felt warm hands on his hips, moving him around until he was straddling over Louis cock, getting them chest to chest. The alignment of his hole over it made him moan, even if there was still fabric separating them, immediately getting soaked.

“You - fuck. You’re so wet. You’re going to drive me to ferality again,” Louis whispered to him, biting Harry’s shoulder and reaching down between them. “Can I get in you? That’ll - that’ll give us a minute, satisfy our wolves enough to talk.”

“Please,” Harry whined, feeling like he was slipping already and he wanted a few more moments with Louis before he properly fell. It was a little overwhelming, a tiny bit scary because it felt a lot more similar to his wolf brain, which still managed to spike a bit of fear in him - just some sort of hangover from his ferality.

It felt like he wasn’t in control. He wasn’t sure if he liked it.

Just as a wave of panic started to rise, Louis finally managed to work his cock out from his trousers and line it up with Harry’s slick hole. At the presence of an alpha cock Harry cried out, immediately shifting to press down on it and get it inside of him as soon as he could.

As Louis’ cock filled him up he shuddered, his body unwinding and feeling calm for what felt like the first time in days. He felt a little floaty, but still present, mostly just satiated. It was definitely a stretch and a little bit of a burn, but his body was made to take it so it adjusted quite naturally.

“That feel better, pup?” Louis asked Harry softly, Harry nodding at him before he’d finished the sentence. He realised at some point he’d closed his eyes, so blinked them open, remembering they were still just in the middle of the field when it came into view.

He blushed, covering his face as he looked around, as if anyone was ever out here aside from himself and Louis. He of course didn’t see anyone, but still. He had Louis’ cock inside of him, out in the open.

It felt primal.

“Feels so much better. Like I can think again,” Harry responded once he got a hold of himself, pushing his hair back from his face and looking at Louis properly. He could feel one of his hands stroking over his arse cheek, wet from the slick he was smearing across it.

“Good,” Louis soothed, moving to coat his hips with his slick too, really just getting it spread around since Harry felt like he was leaking like a faucet.

When he looked down he realised he hadn’t even got a glimpse of Louis’ cock, he was still fully dressed, and Harry was just sitting naked in his lap. His own cock was hard and throbbing between them, making him blush as he instinctively moved to cover it with his hands.

“Getting shy with me, Omega?” Louis asked him softly, still looking somewhat amused as his hand came up to Harry’s jaw. “It’s okay. I’m going to look after you, yeah? Give you a little kiss?”

“Please Lou,” Harry murmured, tilting his head with Louis’ hand and letting himself be guided to kiss his alpha.

As soon as their lips touched he let out a soft noise, having spent hours upon hours dreaming of this moment. He thought about it most often in bed or on the sofa, staring at Louis’ lips while he talked and wondering what his short little scruffy hairs would feel like tickling his upper lip.

In his fantasies Louis’ cock wasn’t necessarily inside him already, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and all that.

Harry pressed in a bit closer, humming when Louis pried his lips apart and eagerly lapping against his tongue when it came to explore. He tasted how he smelt - warm, sweet with cinnamon and nutmeg. Like home.

“That’s a boy,” Louis praised when their lips came apart, shifting to start kissing on Harry’s jaw and then down his neck. “You’re doing so well. You’re going to be so good, angel,”

“Louis,” Harry moaned the minute Louis’ lips got near his scent gland, feeling his hole start to clench around Louis’ cock and start to milk it some, Louis’ possessive hand on his arse gripping tighter in turn.

“Fuck,” Louis muttered somewhat brokenly, kissing just over the spot on Harry’s neck that was most sensitive before sucking a deeper kiss there, making Harry’s hole flutter wildly. “You milking me, darling? You’re such a natural at this. Doing all the right things to get your Alpha’s knot, hey?”

Harry flushed up some more, reaching to grip at Louis’ shirt, anything with purchase like if he gripped hard enough he wouldn’t lose his mind.

“Do you like it?” Harry asked him curiously, trying to concentrate on the action a bit more, really clenching himself around Louis in a motion that came pretty naturally.

Louis nodded, sucking on his scent gland then licking it over, covering Harry’s neck in his spit possessively so he’d smell like him for weeks - at this rate at least.

“Best thing I’ve ever felt. I need to have you, Omega. Properly. Going to take you off my cock so I can get you properly presented on your knees for me, okay? Be the safest way to knot you if you haven’t had it before,” Louis explained quietly in between his coating licks.

“Okay,” Harry agreed, gripping at Louis’ shirt. “Out here?”

“Mmm. I can’t - do you want to go inside?”

Harry shook his head, still tentatively covering his own cock with his hands despite all the intimacy.

“No. I need you, Lou,” Harry whispered back, almost shivering with how badly he wanted Louis’ knot. Nothing else mattered anymore. Not now he was promised what he needed the most in the world.

“Good omega,” Louis praised, gently tapping Harry’s wrists. “Can you show me this first?”

Harry hesitated for a second, still feeling embarrassed for some reason, before peeling his hands back from where they were cupping so his cock was once again exposed for anyone to see.

“So perfect,” Louis praised, running the back of his finger up the length of it and making it twitch wildly at the light touch. “So pretty. I’m going to give it a lot of love later, okay my darling?”

Harry nodded again, smiling to himself at the compliments and feeling bashful despite everything else going on.

“Do you need to say anything else before you sink into your heat, Harry? Anything else I can do to keep you safe?” Louis asked him quietly.

Harry fought off the looming fog that threatened him, really racking his brain to make sure he hadn’t left anything he needed to say unsaid. Anything he’d run into during his heat, anything Louis could do that would make him uncomfortable.

There was nothing he could conjure up. He trusted Louis more than anyone in the world, even himself, and he knew he’d look after him.

He started to shake his head before gasping, pressing his hand to Louis’ chest as he went to shift them.

“I love you too,” Harry said, realising he hadn’t said it to him earlier.

He felt like he’d won the ultimate prize when he saw that specific grin spread across Louis’ face, trying to memorise every single detail of it so he could recall it at any time he liked.

“I love you more,” Louis argued softly, leaning in for a slightly messier kiss and holding the back of Harry’s neck to keep him in place. “Now bear with me, darling. Just need to set you up.”

Harry whined when Louis pulled out of him, expecting the sensation but not how devastating it would feel compared to the satisfaction of being full in the first place. His hands were everywhere though, and Harry tried his best to help as he was shifted and moved and rolled over until his knees were on his abandoned clothes and his arse was up in the air, his body melting down naturally into the position.

He could feel his slick hole was completely exposed, clenching around nothing and the slight summer breeze he’d longed for earlier came to caress across his wet skin.

“Alpha, Alpha, need you,” Harry chanted quietly, desperately, able to hear Louis was shedding his clothes but it wasn’t anywhere near fast enough in his opinion.

“I’m here, darling. God, if I don’t actually come first just from the sight of you,” Louis muttered, and no more than a second or two later did Harry feel Louis’ tongue right against his hole.

The action shocked Harry, enough to make him gasp and shoot his hand out to grab some of the tallest blades of grass in his fist. He’d not heard of people doing that during sex. Or maybe he had, and didn’t remember. Either way it was terribly surprising.

After a millisecond of adjusting Harry realised it felt amazing, so he pressed back against Louis’ tongue as he cleaned up the slick that seemed to be never-ending. Harry felt him lick diligently over his hole, then down over his balls, all over his perineum and cheeks and thighs before biting on his bum.

It wasn’t a proper mating bite, but it was still quite primal. He could tell Louis was starting to slip into his instincts too, making him feel more at peace. If they were both succumbing to their wolves predispositions then they’d be on the same wavelength.

“Please, Alpha,” Harry begged, whining when Louis shuffled forward some more and started to kiss up the small of his back, licking possessively and covering him in his scent.

“I have you. You’re mine,” Louis answered in between licks, getting a hand around under Harry’s hips to lift him slightly and adjust where he was so they could line up. “You ready?”

“Yes,” Harry answered clearly, gasping when he felt the blunt tip of Louis’ cock press against his arse. Not near his hole, not quite, but he smeared it across the slick, wet skin anyway and growled at the drag.

“Say you’re mine,” Louis insisted, voice slightly darker now. The arm under his hips shifted and his hand came over Harry’s cock, grabbing it not in the way that he was going to stroke it, but instead scooping it as much as he could alongside his balls into his grip and holding them tight.

Possessive. A hold that said his body belonged to his alpha now.

Harry felt like he could come just from that.

“I’m yours, Alpha. Always have been,” Harry answered easily, bowing his back more when he felt Louis’ hips press forward again, trying to line them up seeing as he was apparently reluctant to use his hand to do it.

His cock snagged the rim of Harry’s hole and made him gush again, the teasing making him even wetter and whinier as desperate noises started to leak out from the back of his throat.

Finally, finally Louis’ cock lined up correctly and pressed inside of him, filling him to the brim once more and as he sunk himself inside, Harry was pleased to feel the start of his knot swelling at the base of his cock already, the thought overwhelming him so much he felt himself start to come, almost out of nowhere.

“Alpha, oh my god,” Harry cried out, trying to let him know but the hand on his cock just squeezed him tighter as he shot ropes against the grass beneath them and got Louis’ hand messy.

“Such a good boy,” Louis praised, pressing in as deep as he possibly could manage until Harry could swear he felt him in his stomach. “That’s it, Omega. Sound so pretty when you come.”

Harry whined and moaned himself through it, not realising he was clenching so tight around Louis he could hardly move before releasing his grip somewhat once the intensity of his orgasm had passed.

Louis let go of his still hard cock, leaning even further forward so he melted against Harry’s back, and his messy hand trailed up Harry’s torso in a wet line before he gripped the front of his neck, his thumb pressing right against his scent gland and smearing his own come against it.

“Right now it’s your come I’m rubbing here, but in a couple of days when I can bear having my cock outside of your hole, I’m going to come right here on your neck. I’m going to claim you, H. Make sure you’re still full of me, but you’re covered in me too. Your neck, your hips. I won’t bond you this time but you’re still going to be mine,” Louis whispered in his ear.

“Oh my god,” Harry whined, feeling his cock twitch with interest and his hole start to flutter again. “Please, please do that. I want to be yours.”

“You are mine, darling. All mine. Going to fuck you now, yeah? Knot you up?”

“Please,” Harry begged, asking for it but still gasping when he felt Louis pull his hips out and push back inside of him. He moaned unabashedly, eyes rolling back in his head at the stretch and whining as Louis started to set a pace.

At first it was steady - solid, but steady. It quickly grew in speed and Harry could barely catch himself before the next pound into him. Both of his hands were holding the grass now, trying his best to bear down and give Louis some resistance so he didn’t shift too far.

The fact they were out in the open was far beyond him now. The conversations about what they are, what they might be, where their relationship stands - that was all gone. All Harry could manage to think about was how amazing his alpha’s cock felt when it was fucking into him and making him moan with each thrust.

As with everything he did, it was like Louis was an expert, and Harry barely noticed when he started to come again and his cock leaked where it hung between his legs. It made him feel amazing of course, but it was like his body could sense this was just the lead up. Entrees, still hungry for the main course of being knotted.

He could feel Louis smear some of his come against his hips this time, pressing in against the scent glands there before sliding his hand along and pressing on Harrys’ lower belly, like he wanted to feel himself fucking in and out.

Harry didn’t mind. He didn’t mind anything at the moment. The only thing he would mind is if they had to stop for any reason.

As Louis drew closer Harry felt him bite across his back, a bit rougher than the one on his bum but it was clear to him he was trying to avoid sinking his teeth in at his neck and bonding them for life. It felt good - little sharp bits of pain interspersed with the overwhelming pleasure.

Louis’ knot was starting to swell to the point it was harder for him to thrust, so thick it caught on Harry’s hole every time he moved. It was just this side of bearable, the only reprieve from it when Harry slicked up extra wet as Louis let out a carnal low growl.

“Gonna knot you, O,” Louis warned, pushing Harry down on the back of his neck to pin him in place, gripping firmly to keep him from shifting.

Harry moaned in response, desperate and begging to let Louis know he wanted it. Needed it.

The slight shift in angle meant that Louis was hitting that amazing spot inside of him that sent sparks out with every thrust he managed, only getting more intense when Louis’ cock got trapped inside of him and thrusted in small but wild motions against it before he felt his knot pop.

Everything went quiet.

Harry felt like he was lost in his own mind. The pain he considered he might feel the split second before his knot popped wasn’t present at all. Just lovely, lovely bliss. Warm sun on his cheek and satisfaction in his belly.

A high he’d never felt before. It felt never ending.

When he came to, he was somehow on his side, his cheek cushioned by Louis’ bicep. He could feel him pressed against his back, his other hand running along his belly and hips nice and slowly.

Harry went to shift to see him, gasping when he felt the tug of his knot still in his hole and letting out the smallest whine when Louis growled in an aroused way.

The alpha was licking repetitively over his scent gland, claiming him in the only way he could without a permanent bite.

“Let go, omega. I’m going to look after you,” Louis whispered. “Fall under. I’ll keep you safe.”

“Love you,” Harry answered quietly, gasping and arching when the simplest touch of Louis’ hand circling his cock made him come, just from the combination of that as well as the pressure his knot was causing in his hole. He knew he had so many more left in him, the beauty of almost unlimited orgasms when he was sitting on a knot, but it still felt special.

Afterall, Louis was the one giving them to him.

“Inside?” Harry asked once he caught his breath again, knowing he was slipping into his heat properly now.

“Soon,” Louis answered, biting Harry’s shoulder harshly as Harry felt him come inside of him again, filling him with even more come and keeping him plugged so it couldn’t escape. “When it’s down.”

“‘Kay,” Harry answered, satisfied enough with that as he glanced out across the knolls, smiling at how the wildflowers waved in the breeze. “Fill me. All of it.”

“Working on it, O,” Louis huffed out in a small laugh. “Be good now.”

“Always,” Harry answered airly, tipping his head back enough to get a kiss from Louis. The angle was awkward but it was enough to send him properly under, a soft breath escaping his lips as everything got increasingly fuzzy and his brain shifted gears.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

A few days later, Harry woke up with a deep pull in his tummy. He instinctively reached down between his legs, finding himself sticky, sweaty, and undeniably hard.

He blinked his eyes open, finding it was daytime - maybe the afternoon - and the cottage was flooded with golden light. He looked down at his body and was shocked to see the state of it, almost feeling like it wasn’t his for a second.

It was definitely dirty. Covered in come and slick, for sure. The slight damp sensation on his back and under his arms told him he was sweaty too, but none of that was what he was focussed on.

The sheer amount of bruises that littered him were insane. They were mostly concentrated lower on his body - all around his hips and narrowly avoiding his scent glands. The inside of his thighs, the inside of his forearm near his wrist scent gland but not quite on it.

There was a dull throb that told him his bum was covered as well, his back, and when he lifted his hand to press and tucked his chin at an unflattering angle, he would be confident hazarding a guess they were littered around his neck and shoulders too.

Though there was a tiny amount of dull ache - realistically his entire body felt that way too - he mainly felt smug. Satisfied.

Those were marks from his alpha. Who was so wild with how he wanted to claim Harry he had to bite all around the areas he could so he could resist the urge to bond him for life. Respecting his wishes but also feeling so taken he had to do something.

The thought made his hole throb.

Harry spread his legs, shifting slowly because he could tell Louis was asleep beside him and didn’t want to wake him.

He could remember a little bit from over the past days. At least more than he could of his past. It was just fits and spurts - mainly memories from when they were having sex, little vignettes that made him blush.

So he knew that Louis had been working tirelessly to keep him satisfied. Now that he was back in his head a bit more he could surely handle one by himself.

Harry reached down between his legs and pressed curiously at a dark bruise before sliding his fingers to his own hole, whimpering when he felt how sensitive it was. It still felt a little wet - maybe from whenever they last went. He swiped his fingers experimentally against it and felt them get slick, bringing them up to see it was in fact Louis’ come, not his own slick that was leaking out.

He must be so full of it still, his omega instincts keeping it inside him as best he could.

The thought tugged at his cock so he shifted once more, trying to work up the bravery to get his fingers inside of himself when he felt Louis stir next to him.

“Omega,” Louis muttered sleepily, rolling onto his side and immediately reaching for Harry’s cock, feeling its status and then humming in acknowledgment. “Knot or fingers?”

Harry blushed, turning his head to the side to look at Louis’ sleepy face. He looked exhausted, but he was still so handsome. They’d clearly both kicked the blankets and sheets down to the end of the bed, the windows open since it was so warm, so the rest of his body was on display to see.

He’d of course seen him naked before all of this - they lived together - but it was never so on purpose. Never where he could look and not pretend to avert his eyes. Louis was laying on his side so Harry could admire the dip of his waist, the strength in his thighs. The smatter of hair on his chest.

His cock that was still massive even if it was soft, hanging to the side. Harry wondered what it looked like hard, wanting to catalogue it even if he’d probably had it tens of times by this point. He was desperate to know what it looked like when he was in his right mind.

“Ehm - hello,” Harry managed to get out, wanting to let Louis know he was starting to break out of his heat but not sure how to go about it.

Louis’ eyes popped open in surprise, the blue of them looking blinding for some reason. Maybe it was how the light was catching them.

“Oh! Hello pup. You back?” Louis asked, letting go of his cock and instead wrapping his hand in his waist to pull him up against him.

“Mostly,” Harry answered, giggling then gesturing down. “Not fully over, obviously. But I’m… present, yeah.”

“That’s good. Missed you,” Louis answered, kissing his temple. Harry giggled again, the natural affection like that feeling foreign and familiar at the same time.

“You’ve had me in this bed for days,” Harry deflected.

“Oh, trust me. I know all about that,” Louis teased, seemingly instinctively moving his hand down to thumb at Harry’s hip scent gland. “But I missed you that could talk about anything other than my knot. Don’t get me wrong, it was very endearing, but I like when I can see the greens of your eyes.”

Harry blushed up and covered his face with his hands, squirming and shifting his legs up to try and hide his cock too before whining when he felt how sore the muscles were. “Shush,” he complained.

“Unfortunately for you, I think I’ll be unable to stop talking about the best few days of my life for the foreseeable future,” Louis teased, tugging him closer so he could hide away in his body.

“You’re ridiculous,” Harry complained, letting out a small sigh in between his giggles and shifting uncomfortably at how the arousal prodded at his brain, begging him to do something about it.

“Maybe,” Louis allowed, kissing his forehead again. “Want me to help you, darling? Might be the last one or two now, if you’re back with me.”

Harry nodded against the pillow, smiling as Louis’ hand stroked down his thigh. “My hole hurts though,” he whispered.

“No wonder. Poor wee thing. It’ll have to take a holiday to recover from what I’ve put it through,” Louis explained to him, sounding just the slightest bit smug. “I’ve picked up a trick or two. We can see if they work outside of your heat, how about that?”

Harry nodded, not quite sure what that entailed but happy to find out. It wasn’t like he’d had all that much time to experiment with his own body, living in such close quarters with Louis. The only time he’d even managed to get off was when he knew Louis would be out for a good amount of time and he begged off to stay in.

That was usually just a quick pull to sort himself out, trying not to get too slick lest Louis got back and smelt it in the air.

He supposed it would be different now. Louis might like to come back from gardening or the workshop and smell that Harry was slick.

The thought made him shiver, and he looked down Louis’ body again and hesitantly reached for his cock without touching it, fingers hovering.

“Can you - do you want to? As well?” Harry asked quietly, then gasped as Louis pressed forward and he felt the soft heat of it against his hip.

“Be my pleasure to join you, darling,” Louis agreed. “Want to give me a little snog? You’re such a good kisser.”

“Am I?” Harry asked, biting his bottom lip before lowering his hand onto Louis’ still mostly soft cock, collecting it up so he could wrap his hand around it properly. He didn’t tug, though, just felt the weight of it.

“Absolutely. Reckon you’ll be even better when you’re lucid,” Louis encouraged, leaning in to capture his lips.

Harry was more than happy to fall into it, knowing they both desperately needed to brush their teeth but he could barely notice. Getting to kiss Louis was such a treat. His lips felt red and puffy and raw so he could only imagine they’d been kissing a lot, but it was so good to be more aware of it.

The other delight was apparently feeling Louis’ cock get hard in his hand. He kind of forgot he was holding it at first, far too focussed on the kiss and what Louis’ mouth tasted like until he felt him start to get fat in his hand. It was surreal, almost, the way it grew and grew and got so much firmer.

Harry wanted to do this all the time. Feel him go from soft to hard. Maybe even in his mouth, at some point.

“It’s so big,” Harry whispered against Louis’ lips once it stopped growing, moving his other hand to hold it and slowly rolling on his side so he could press his own cock up against Louis. It was smaller, of course - he was an omega - but it only served to make him feel more turned on to see his alpha’s cock against his own.

“That’ll go straight to my head, Omega,” Louis teased.

Harry shrugged, leaning in for more kisses. “Wouldn’t be a bad thing,” he decided.

“Could you maybe - can I -” Harry began, unsure how to word it. “Could you do something?”

“You can literally ask anything of me, angel,” Louis offered openly, eyelids fluttering just in the slightest when Harry experimentally stroked his cock.

“Maybe you could - I don’t know if you remember at the start, but you said ehm - you said something about claiming me with your come? That might - I’d still - unless you were just in the moment,” Harry stammered before Louis cut him off with a kiss.

“I’d love nothing more than that. Fuck,” Louis murmured, kissing him a few more enthusiastic times before Harry’s hand that was on Louis’ cock got surrounded. “Do you want to help me? Or want me to do it myself?”

“Help you,” Harry answered easily, grinning when Louis started using Harry’s hand to stroke himself steadily. “Just tell me what to do,”

“Just relax, Omega. I’ve found it doesn't take too much at all if you’re in the room,” Louis answered, moving to tuck his head and lick Harry’s scent gland. “Smelling like you do. Tasting like you do. I don’t know how I’m ever meant to stop now that I’ve started.”

Harry giggled, looking down between them at Louis’ cock with interest as he helped jerk him off. “I must smell foul. I feel so sticky.”

Louis shook his head immediately, giving Harry a tiny nip to tell him off. “Smell divine. Smell like me, like us,” he explained, letting out a small groan. “I’ll run you a bath after this though, will make you feel better. Once I’ve scented you enough that a bath won’t get it all off.”

Harry hummed happily at the promise of a bath, knowing sinking into some warm water would make his muscles feel so much better.

“You’re so possessive,” Harry mused, looking between Louis’ blissful face and his thick cock. He reached down with his other hand, experimentally cupping his balls and giving them a soft squeeze. They were bigger than his own, fuller. They were a nice weight in his hand and Louis seemed to enjoy him touching them, so he kept it up.

“Do you not like it?” Louis asked him softly, pulling back to press their foreheads together.

“I love it,” Harry answered honestly. “I just didn’t expect it, I guess. Seemed like a Liam thing.”

“Don’t bloody talk about him when my dick is hard, please darling,” Louis teased, giggling as he kissed his lips softly. “Always felt possessive over you. Think you've been my omega for longer than we’ve both known it.”

“I think so too,” Harry whispered back, humming in interest when Louis made them squeeze the very starts of his knot before smearing Harry’s palm over his tip.

“Can’t believe this fits inside of me,” Harry added, giggling when Louis’ cock twitched in his grasp.

“Nor can I. You’ve got the tightest little hole imaginable. Even after all this carry-on. Fuck, I can’t wait to have sex with you when its not your heat. Can work you up for hours,” Louis gushed, getting carried away with himself and making them stroke him faster.

“Yeah? Do you think I’d like that?” Harry asked curiously, squirming at the thought.

“It’d be fun to find out,” Louis giggled, then groaned. “Would you mind laying back for me, pretty?”

Harry nodded, flopping onto his back as Louis shifted up and onto his knees, stroking himself while Harry got himself propped up on his elbows. He then tilted his head back, baring it completely for Louis so he had the most room to aim for.

“How are you feeling? Want me to touch you?” Louis offered, eyes running over Harry’s body so he subtly spread his legs for the view, shifting into completely submissive body language.

“Not yet,” Harry responded. He tilted his head up for a moment and leaned forward, flicking his eyes up to Louis before pressing a kiss on his tip. He knew it was something people did - sucking their alpha’s cock - but he wasn’t trying to learn now. He just wanted to acknowledge it and let Louis know he loved it.

He tried a little suck despite himself, just on the pink tip of it and hummed at the taste. His come was salty but there was the underlying thread of his scent, too, making it far more pleasant.

“Oh. You taste so nice, Alpha,” Harry complimented. He licked across the tip, noticing Louis was holding it in place instead of stroking it like he was before. “Is this okay?”

“More than,” Louis managed to grit out, his jaw clenched. “Fuck. Gonna - H, if you keep that up I’m gonna come.”

Harry moaned happily at the thought, moving to kitten lick just over Louis’ slit since that’s what he seemed to be enjoying the most. As soon as he wrapped his lips around to suck on him he made a surprised noise when his come shot out against his tongue, his lips parting as Louis dragged his cock down his chin and onto his neck.

He felt the warmth of it coat him in stripes, definitely getting in his long hair and on the bed but he figured both were so far gone already it hardly mattered.

Louis looked brilliant when he came - strong and capable, but still soft and his Louis. He looked stunning, and as Harry licked his lips and swallowed what was inside his mouth he felt much the same as Louis had expressed earlier.

He wasn’t sure how they were meant to stop now they’d started.

Harry tilted his head even more when Louis gripped his throat, his thumb pressing possessively into his scent gland and rubbing his come against it to scent him.

Harry felt it almost like he was emitting pheromones in a normal scenting, the high of it starting to rush through him as his cock throbbed between his legs.

He didn’t make a move to fix it though, letting himself be thoroughly coated before Louis’ hand lifted up. It went down to his hips, spreading his come there too so it was sure to seep into his own scent for the next few weeks. Anyone that came near him would be able to smell Louis on him.

“What do you need, Omega?” Louis asked him softly once he seemed to come out of his marking trance, seemingly satisfied with how much of himself he could smell on Harry now.

“Just - soft. Something soft,” Harry replied, watching Louis shift down the bed and between his legs.

“We can do soft,” Louis nodded, settling on his stomach before gently licking Harry’s balls. Harry whined quietly, not expecting it but they were the least sensitive of anything down there, so he quickly settled as Louis licked over them and gave them gentle sucks, taking his time with each one.

He then licked up the creases where his thighs met his crotch, moaning to himself and sucking greedily before he got up to his cock.

Louis pressed slow kisses up the underside of it before pressing a kiss to the tip, much the same as Harry had done to him. He then swirled his tongue around, giving it a loud suck before kissing back down him.

As he went further south he spread Harry’s legs, much to his delight, his hole clenching even though he knew he wouldn’t want to take anything inside again.

Louis' final kiss was right against it before he started licking with his tongue again, just like he had at the very start. Harry felt his cheeks get red and he covered his face, squirming and making sweet little noises before the pressure built enough for him to start making a mess on his belly.

It was nothing compared to the ground shocking, earth shattering orgasms he’d had at the start, but it was still lovely. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle one of the big ones when he was this tired.

“Good omega,” Louis praised, instantly moving up to lick his come off his belly and clean him up, much to Harry’s surprise.

“Lou!” he giggled, gently pressing at his head. “What are you playing at?”

Louis smirked, licking through the small puddle that sat between his ribs and swallowed all self satisfactorily. “You like watching me lick your come up, baby. You like tasting it with me too.”

“Really?” Harry asked, shocked that Louis would say it so blatantly but not shocked enough that it didn’t feel correct. “Really really,” Louis insisted. He licked up the last of it and crawled up Harry’s body, his soft cock brushing against Harry’s belly as he did. Before he knew it he was being met in a kiss, finding that yes - it did feel good to lick his own come off of Louis’ tongue and taste him mingled in with Louis’ spit.

He had no idea he was so filthy.

“Oh my god,” Harry giggled when he pulled away, giving Louis a weak shove.

“Was I wrong?” Louis asked teasingly, falling beside Harry and pulling him in close for a cuddle. Harry sighed as he felt his cock start to soften for what felt like the first time in days. It felt like relief.

“No,” Harry mumbled, reaching to pinch his nipple in retaliation. “Don’t be smug.”

“Never, my love,” Louis replied, giggling a little that showed he definitely was. “Now give me five minutes and I’ll get a bath going for you, okay? Get some food and drink in you too. I just need to catch my breath.”

“Of course,” Harry responded, leaning in closer to him and pressing his nose into his neck. “There’s no rush, Alpha.”

“Yeah, no rush,” Louis nodded in agreement. Harry felt his hand come up to the back of his head and stroke his curls, the movement calming him almost completely. If he wasn’t careful they both might fall back asleep. “Love you.”

Harry beamed at the admission, almost having forgotten that confessional. And the rest. He really needed to get to the bottom of all that. But it could wait for the bath.

“Love you too,” he gushed softly.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

They made it to the bath - eventually. There might have been another nap and maybe one more orgasm before Louis found the energy to get up, closer to dusk. The sun setting had served to make the air a lot cooler, so the idea of a warm bath was actually quite appealing.

Louis had got Harry set up with some fruit in bed, a little bit of honey on bread as well just so he could get some energy back, as well as copious amounts of water. Harry then watched him start to fill the tub with water warmed from the oven, wandering back and forth, back and forth.

He still felt a little guilty but not as much as before, since Louis had claimed him so blatantly. Harry wondered if maybe he should have let Louis bond him. He wanted it, but talking everything through first was probably a good idea.

Eventually the bath was full and Louis came to help Harry to his feet - his legs quite wobbly - and over into the tub. Harry convinced Louis to join him, so he found himself snuggled up with Louis and in absolute bliss as the warm water soothed his achy muscles.

Louis dragged some soap carefully over the both of them, and eventually Harry started to feel a little bit more like a functioning member of society and less of a primal sex crazed wolf.

His mind started to wander. To how this all started, what Louis had said, what he could remember of it before he properly succumbed to his heat in the middle of the meadow. How Louis loved him, how he didn’t feel guilt or obligation to him in the way Harry suspected he might.

How somehow it might all work out.

“Do you remember stuff from before you were feral?” Harry asked softly, almost regretting breaking the soft silence in the room but he had a few questions burning. This one was as good of a place to start as any.

“I do,” Louis replied, sounding a little hesitant. “That’s why I found it strange that you didn’t. But like I said, yours was different in general. Like, I know I still had my scent.”

Harry nodded, letting out a little sigh and looking at Louis hand moving slowly over his stomach under the water, wondering if he was allowed to press or not.

“How come you didn’t tell me you’d been feral before now?” Harry responded, dragging his fingertips over Louis’ other hand that sat on the rim of the bathtub, tracing the veins on it.

“Few reasons,” Louis responded, almost like that was all he’d say before he cleared his throat. “One being it wouldn’t have made much difference when you were recovering. Like you said, your mind… everything falls out. It might not of stuck.”

“I’m also… I’m not very good at, ehm… letting people in, I guess. Telling them stuff like that,” Louis explained.

Harry pursed his lips in thought, tipping his head back against Louis’ shoulder to look at the side of his face. He could see his jaw was clenched, so he tipped just a bit more to kiss his cheek, figuring he was allowed now. He saw Louis smile a little, turning his head like he wasn’t quite sure that just happened and kissing Harry’s lips anyway.

“If you want to try, I’m happy to listen. You’ve dealt with all my bullshit, so… figure it’s a fair exchange, isn’t it?” Harry offered, closing his eyes so Louis didn’t feel any pressure but staying tucked up on his shoulder.

“Hardly ‘dealt’ with,” Louis murmured, sinking them both a little lower so he could rest his head on the lip of the bath, clearly considering Harry’s words. He thought so long that Harry thought he might pass up the offer, before he cleared his throat to speak again.

“I ehm - when I was a little pup, I was… a bit of a dork. A loner, I guess you could say. I never really got on with the others? They all seemed to bond so easily, but I always felt on the outside. I think in some ways it was down to my connection to my wolf - I felt more like I was him sometimes, than him being a part of me.

“The other kids could sense that. It was sort of seen as… a bit backwards? To be so ruled by your wolf? I remember once, in the school we have in town, I got so frustrated at a result for a maths test that I accidentally shifted - ripped me clothes and knocked the desks over. They teased me to hell and back about how I couldn’t control myself, how I was a feral and a rogue, all that.

“Liam was always there, of course. Don’t know how a pup can be born with the temperament of a leader, but he was. Always the mediator. Deescalating, representing both sides, being kind and gentle but firm. He’s the only reason I have good memories as a kid, he was my only real friend.”

Harry listened carefully, giving Louis the space to speak and nodding softly when he paused, cracking an eye open to look at him.

“I can imagine Liam doing that,” Harry encouraged gently, not sure if Louis would continue.

“Yeah. Suppose he’s still like that now. Don’t see him with other people much, though,” Louis shrugged, picking at a part of the porcelain that was slightly chipped. “I don’t - I’m going to tell you this, but I… well, I can’t control what you think of me. I hope you don’t - ugh,” Louis tempered, lifting his hand to wipe his face.

Harry furrowed his brow, rolling just slightly onto his side so he could look at Louis properly, gently grabbing his wrist so he could move his hand from his face and make eye contact.

“It’s your past, Lou. It’s made you who you are. I’m not going to - just tell me, yeah? I can hardly judge when I have no idea what I’ve done,” Harry murmured to him. He looked between his eyes for permission before pressing a soft kiss on his lips and rolling fully so they were stomach to stomach.

He tucked away in Louis’ neck, not wanting him to feel too much pressure but internally bracing himself for what might come out of his mouth.

It sounded serious.

Harry felt like he had a set of internal morals but he was still discovering them, what he really thought was right or wrong based on his instincts. He couldn’t imagine Louis doing anything against them, so it couldn’t be that bad, surely.

He could smell Louis’ stress so he very lightly kissed his scent mark, not wanting to distract him but more just use his omega scent to bring him some calm. It was the least he could do, all things considered.

“You still might want to judge,” Louis mumbled, but let out a sigh of defeat when Harry kissed his neck.

“Alright, so - in the last few years of school I was a little… naughty. Liam had to be good and studious, of course, since he’s to be pack alpha, so we kind of… drifted a bit? I stopped trying in our classes and used to just straight up ditch school, go fuck around in the woods as my wolf, whatever.

“Then one day when I was out, I ran too close to the border of our pack and decided fuck it, you know? So I went past it and ended up running into these kids around my age at the time. They were ditching too, and they like… they talked to me, you know?”

“Like actually talked to me. We started hanging out, meeting near our borders, and they - you know. It was like the first time I’d ever felt properly accepted, right? And they smoked herbs and stole mead from their parents and it was just… fun. Proper fun.”

Harry felt like he had a pit in his stomach. He wasn’t entirely sure where the story was going, but the way Louis was framing it he wasn’t entirely sure if he would like the direction it took. Instead of saying anything he took Louis’ hand, winding their fingers together and giving it a reassuring squeeze to let him know to keep going.

“Then one night we - well, it was me and two of the others. Penelope - an omega, and Arnold, who was a beta. I think the rest of the little group were busy. We were just hanging out, like we usually did. We had a spot near… near where I found you, up that way. To the South. There’s a cave we used to call ‘The Den’ so we were just sitting there, talking shit, smoking, the usual.

“And then out of nowhere a wolf appears, right? A big alpha. I figure maybe it’s someone from their pack - a parent, maybe, mad they’re out so late. But then he shifts and grabs Pen, holding her round her neck, looking - I’ll never forget the look in his eyes, like he was crazy.

“At this point I know - I mean, I’d never really felt all that alpha since I always compared myself to Liam, but I knew I had to do something. So I ask him what he’s up to, right, and he says he’s going to take Pen for his own pack since he was - I won’t repeat it, but he was being vile.

“I just saw red, H. Even the way he was holding her, I just - snapped. I shifted on instinct, leapt at him, didn’t give him a chance to shift before I was biting his torso and… and ripping,” Louis recalled, his voice getting shakier as he recounted it.

Harry was biting his bottom lip hard, thinking of Louis being in that situation where there was probably no winning outcome. He wound his arms firmly around him, letting him know he was still here and kissed his neck softly once more.

“I remember biting his neck, too. Pen had… when I got him she had fallen to the ground, so I knew she was safe, and I… I should have stopped. But I didn’t. I bit his neck hard enough that his head damn near snapped off. And so I just… was dealing with that, the fact there was blood all round my muzzle, that I’d just killed someone, what my new friends would think of me, and when I glanced up Pen wasn’t even looking at me.

“She was looking at Arnie. Who - there’d been another alpha. I didn’t know, I hadn’t heard, since he was in his wolf. It was almost like he’d been invisible and just appeared. Like magic. But he had Arnie’s neck in his jaws. Almost like he was waiting for me to look. I always think… I think he was avenging his mate, that I killed. Or they were both just feral, I dunno. But he snapped his neck in front of us.

“Didn’t even - just left his body laying there. It sort of… broke me? That I picked Pen, and it meant Arnie died, and… and that I killed someone. Even if he was rogue, even if he was threatening an omega. I still ended his life.

“I don’t remember much after that. I made sure Pen got home safe, getting her to her house, and the minute she stepped through the door I just took off running. Something settled over me, my wolf took over and I let it because it was the only way I felt sane.

“And then it was just… a blur. I barely remember it now, now that I’m out of my ferality. But it was… I was out there for a good two or three years, H. Living on the land. Doing God knows what to God knows who. I know I didn’t kill any other shifters, or humans, but I… was an animal, through and though.

“Eventually I came to my senses somewhat when I just happened to stumble back here, into our pack territory. Followed my nose to Liam’s door and… and that’s sort of the story,” Louis explained, really getting on a roll before sounding like he was shutting himself up, realising what he’d just revealed to Harry.

Harry was stunned silent, the story worse than he could have thought. Louis, his Louis, had killed someone. Even if they were feral, or rogue, or threatening. He’d killed someone. It just didn’t seem to align with the kind man he knew who took him in and fed him honey and hand crafted him a bed.

“I understand if you think differently of me, now. It’s - it’s awful. I hate that it happened. I hate the whole - trust me, H, you can’t think any less of me than I do of myself. But if you - I can take you to Liam’s, you know. If you need to leave. I understand,” Louis added, starting to spiral enough that Harry was able to catch himself, shaking his head slowly.

“No, no. Hey, hang on a second,” Harry replied, pulling his head up to look at the alpha. He had red eyes now, his face wet even though he’d not dunked his head under the water and his chin was quivering with the attempt to hold back his emotions.

“Stop trying to pawn me off on Liam,” Harry teased lightly, holding his breath to see if it would land and letting out a relieved sigh when Louis gave him a pathetic little smile of amusement.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted some space. For now or forever,” Louis responded, looking away from Harry’s eyes.

“I don’t,” Harry insisted, realising it was true as he was saying it. “That’s - I’m so sorry you were put in that situation, Lou. That’s… it’s horrendous. The whole thing is horrendous. But I don’t… think less of you for it. You were faced with an impossible decision.”

Louis shrugged and looked away, a small puff of breath passing by his lips.

“I should have done something more. Protected them both. Not - I should have defended her but not… not killed that guy,” Louis responded.

Harry pressed his lips in a line, considering it before leaning forward to peck Louis’ cheek.

“You acted in the moment, Lou. You did what you thought was right, you relied on instinct,” Harry responded with a small shrug. “Do you - have you seen Penelope since you’ve been - back?”

Louis shook his head, and Harry could see him biting the inside of his cheek.

“No. I haven’t - I mean, I haven’t even talked about it to anyone. Not even to Li. You’re the first one I’ve told,” Louis admitted quietly, running his tongue over his teeth.

Harry widened his eyes, searching over Louis’ face.

“Li doesn’t know?”

“Well, I think he knows. Like I think he’s put two and two together, because he would have heard about it. The whole pack will have, since it was a neighbouring pack and they were rogues. But it just never… we never talked about it, no.”

“So you’ve been keeping it inside all this time?” Harry asked, feeling his heart break. He didn’t know much about this kind of thing but he knew that it was something that was probably best talked through, said aloud to even just start to process.

Louis nodded before letting out a little apologetic smile, then a dry chuckle.

“Suppose so. It’s - I mean, it’s my burden to bear, innit? My mistake, my… my problem.”

“Oh Lou,” Harry mumbled, shifting around and sloshing the water until he could loop his arms around his neck and give him a proper hug, wishing they weren’t in the bath tub so he could console him properly.

“This doesn’t change anything for me. I still love you. I’m still so happy we did this, and I’m so happy you found me and kept me and everything like that. Even if you… that doesn't have to be just your burden to bear now, does it? I want to help you carry it, if you’ll let me.”

“You don’t have to say that, Omega,” Louis responded, but Harry was happy to feel his arms come around his waist regardless. “I’m doing okay.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Harry mumbled, pulling back once more to look him square in the eyes. “If this - and I mean, I know we’re still yet to talk about us, but if this is going to be… if we’re going to be together, which I would like very much, I want us to be equals. Partners. I know enough about myself to know that’s what I want. And that means holding your baggage like you hold mine.”

Harry watched Louis smile in spite of himself, giving him a kiss on the cheek to encourage the alpha along in indulging in the moment.

“I would like that. A lot,” Louis agreed, wrapping his arms around Harry tighter. “You might be the best thing that’s happened to me, Omega.”

It sounded like it took him a lot to admit that piece of information, so Harry just nodded, turning his head to kiss his temple a few times.

“You’re definitely the best thing that’s happened to me,” Harry answered, nuzzling in closer. “Even if I could remember my past I think I’d still say that’s true. You’re the best person I could have asked for to find me.”

“You wouldn’t rather I’d shipped you off to Liam?” Louis asked, almost sounding serious but when Harry caught a glimpse of his face he saw he was trying to stave off his cheeky smile.

“Stop trying to pawn me off to Liam, I told you,” Harry whined, half-heartedly splashing Louis with the now luke-warm water. “You’re stuck with me now. At least for the next few weeks. Absolutely reek of you.”

Louis smiled smugly, his scent positively brimming with pride which made Harry roll his eyes even though he was feeling so very fond.

“Yeah you do,” Louis answered. “Tell you what. Lets get you out of this tub, I’ll remake the bed, then we can have a good long sleep, yeah? We’ll sort out everything else in the morning.”

Harry nodded, just starting to notice it wasn’t piping hot anymore.

“Sounds good to me, Alpha,” Harry, pushing himself to sit up and straddle Louis’ lap instead, looking him over. “We’ve got time.”

“For you? All the time in the world, darling.”

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Chapter Text

Harry didn’t think he’d been in a carriage before.

It was endlessly fascinating. The way they rocked and swayed across the dirt paths, how the wood creaked. The world passing them by outside.

Shifting into their wolves and running to the next town over would have been much faster, but apparently that’s not how they were meant to do it, when they were riding with ‘royalty’, as it were.

Plus it would be terribly inconvenient to try and get their bags saddled on their wolves. Not to mention they’d look ridiculous once they’d done it.

Representation of their pack was needed and the honour fell upon Liam, since apparently his father was busy and it was ‘good practice’ for him to start negotiating those kinds of talks on his own.

Harry didn’t care much about all of that, though. He was similar to Louis - those sorts of government things didn’t interest him, and if anything, they stressed him out. Whenever Liam got to talking about them he felt like his eyes glazed over and his brain went foggy.

He did wonder if Louis was somehow subtly scenting him during those moments, but was equally convinced it could just be because the stories were somehow so dull and so stressful simultaneously that it caused a fight or flight response in his body.

But as soon as Harry heard where Liam and Zayn were taking a trip he wormed his way in, very subtly, to getting himself and Louis an invite.

After Harry’s heat everything seemed to slot into place. There were no more walls, no more reservations between them. It was almost like everything was meant to be.

They talked through being in a relationship, what that looked like for them. It was a little tough for Harry, just in the sense that he felt he had to start from scratch, but he found most of the answers came to him when he really thought about it.

He felt like he was in a place where he could move on from the fact he couldn’t remember his past - fretting over it didn’t do him any good, and his time was better spent turning his attention towards his future. His future with Louis, in the cottage, and what he could make of his life now he was presented with what was essentially a clean slate.

After helping Louis with a few of his clothes and eventually getting the hang of it, he discovered he quite liked sewing and designing. Louis taught him the basics of a few different things - starting off with blankets and moving to shirts and trousers - and after a while Louis would joke that the apprentice surpassed the master when Harry started experimenting.

Over the last few months he’d even taken a few things to town, seeing if people would take a liking to them alongside Louis’ honey and candles and he was met with some success. Especially amongst the omegas, who seemed to enjoy his unique designs.

It made Harry feel good. Earning his keep, contributing, keeping his hands busy. Like he wasn’t Louis’ pet - he was his partner.

Part of being his partner was supporting Louis in telling Liam what had fractured him so deeply. Being there for him when he cried again, and when Liam cried too, making them all a bit soggy when Liam revealed he knew about the incident at the Den but not how Louis felt in their childhood.

Liam had noticed he was withdrawn, bless him, but never to the extent that Louis described it.

As the pragmatic alphas they are, they’d then laid it all out on the table for inspection, Liam offering a different perspective to what Louis interpreted as isolation. There were some people that Liam agreed were awful, but some that had been genuine for them.

Liam reminded Louis of some things that seemed to have gone out of his brain with Louis’ long case of ferality, mutual friends of theirs and events that Louis hadn’t recalled since he’d spent so long shoving his past into one small, lonely little box.

By the end of that day they were all so emotionally exhausted - omegas included - that Louis and Harry stayed the night in Liam’s big house since it was too dark to wander home.

Princess gave them a good telling off, but Harry felt it was worth it. Louis seemed to have turned over a new leaf, after that discussion. Thinking about his past differently and even going with Liam to see some of the aforementioned friends and realising they actually did get on.

That his isolation of the last few years could have been avoided. That no-one in the pack hates him, or blames him, or even really knew it was him that had killed a rogue. And, as Liam said, even if they knew they probably wouldn’t fault him for it.

Once when they were at the village pub - where Harry tried mead for the first time in his memory - someone had brought it up. The specific incident Louis was involved in all those years ago. It made sense at the time, within the topic of discussion, but Harry froze. Louis did too, his hand ever so tight on Harry’s thigh, until the person who brought it up mentioned they were glad at least one of the rogues ‘got what they deserved’ in that scenario.

Louis breathed just a bit easier after that.

Some days were still hard, of course, but Harry didn’t mind. He liked that he was Louis’ safe space, just the same as he was his own. Seeing Louis break down his own internal walls of guilt and shame and come out the other side of it being a happier person was inspiring to Harry, and made him feel even more in love with the alpha.

As if he could feel it any stronger.

So that brought them to being in this carriage. One of the last things Louis felt was hanging over him - seeing what became of Penelope.

At first he’d been resistant, but after a while of discussing it he eventually came around to the idea, after the reassurance from Harry (and Liam and Zayn) that she most likely didn’t hate his guts.

While Liam and Zayn were going to tend to diplomatic business, Louis and Harry were going to see if they could track Penelope down.

Harry felt like Louis was in a good place to accept whatever the outcome of this meeting may be. All the possibilities - she might not want to see him, even if she didn’t hate him. She might invite them in for tea. She might cry, she might be numb, she might even be gone from the pack completely.

Louis seemed open minded to any of those options. Calm, even, Harry would venture to say. He was doing the same as Harry now, in the seat next to him - staring out the window and watching the trees.

He had that same air of tranquility about him that was commonplace these days, his gaze steady and his jaw relaxed. Harry reached over and tangled his fingers amongst Louis’, smiling to himself when Louis turned to catch his eye, giving him a grin in return.

Harry’s hand was squeezed three times before they melted into the hold, tethering them together.

He was happy for Louis. Hoped this would lead to some sort of catharsis for him. Even if he couldn’t receive the same for himself it was nice to have it for his partner - Harry could even convince himself that living vicariously through Louis would enable him to find his own sense of comfort and acceptance about his past - or lack thereof.

It wasn’t foolproof - but it was worth a shot. Especially if the byproduct of it all was Louis getting some relief.

So as the carriage rattled along the road Harry knew they were drawing ever closer to something. Something that would help, something that was going to prod at a wound. He just hoped that it would help mend it instead of making it worse.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Once they’d been dropped at their quarters for where they’d stay for the evening, they went their separate ways. Liam and Zayn off to start their meet and greets - much to Zayn’s chagrin - and Louis and Harry off to find the mysterious Penelope.

Well, she was mysterious to Harry. He’d only heard a little bit about her outside of what Harry had dubbed ‘the incident’ in his own brain. Louis spoke once or twice of the little friend group but it was clear it was all covered with a storm-cloud, even if he was recalling happier times.

It was easier than Louis had expected to find his way around and lead them to a well-to-do cottage, given he’d spent days explaining to Harry that he’d probably not even remember and it would be a futile effort even trying.

Harry stood with him, holding his hand even if Louis’ grip felt like he was going to cut off his circulation. They did some deep breathing before Louis worked up his courage, approached the front door, and knocked.

It was quiet for a few moments before an older beta woman appeared, looking confusedly at them until Louis asked after Penelope.

All their stress outside the cottage was for nowt, as they soon discovered Penelope had gotten married and moved into a house with her alpha almost a year ago. The woman fussed around for a moment before finding a scrap of paper to draw the directions to her new house on, telling them just where to head at least three times to make sure they didn’t get lost.

This village was a bit bigger than the one Louis and Harry lived in, so even if she was being a bit clucky the directions were warmly received.

So they set on their way again. This time, since they knew for sure that Penelope would be at the end of the walk, Harry could feel just a bit of nerves from Louis. He wondered what he was thinking, how he was processing it.

His mind was an interesting place to Harry, all things considered. He found that he liked to dig into Louis’ thought processes, intrigued by the way he ticked. He’d often find himself laying on their bed or helping with the candles in the workshop pressing for more information on why Louis thought something, how he spun everything out.

At first Harry thought it might be annoying, but it didn’t seem to be the case. Louis indulged him, and after a while, he was pretty sure that Louis even felt flattered by his constant poking and prodding.

That’s what Harry decided anyway.

As they approached a slightly less flash cottage Harry could just feel that it was the right one, something settling in his bones as he pressed just a bit closer to Louis for the moment, squeezing his hand tightly.

“You got this, Alpha,” Harry whispered, kissing his cheek and smiling when Louis stopped in his tracks to pull him even closer and press a kiss on his lips.

“Thanks, darling,” Louis replied, smooching his cheek seemingly for good measure before giving him a little tug to get moving again.

They went through the same routine - the hesitancy, the worry, the nerves, the knock - until a soft looking omega woman opened the door, eyes bright in a way that made Harry consider that maybe he was expecting to see a ghost of a person.

She looked inquisitive at the sight of them, eyes darting between them in the way someone does when they’re looking at strangers before she lingered on Louis and Harry saw it start to sink in. Her face hardened before it bloomed into something much sadder, the edges of her smile turning down at the corners.

“Hi, Pen,” Louis said softly, and Harry watched as her lip wobbled as she tried to smile some, her eyes shiny. They darted to Harry, looking for connection.

“Can I hug him?” she asked Harry quickly, her voice as wobbly as her lip. Harry couldn’t even process why she was asking before he realised she thought they were bonded and it might set him off, so he quickly nodded and let go of Louis’ hand, almost pushing him forward towards her.

“Of course,” Harry insisted, looking at Louis for reassurance that it was okay but he was already opening his arms.

Penelope fell into them with a sob, her arms looping around Louis’ body and gripping at his shirt desperately as she pressed her face into his chest. Harry observed him curling around her, absently intrigued at how Louis looked with an omega that was smaller than him, unlike himself.

He looked strong, protecting. He held her in a confident manner, a way that seemed solid and reassuring. Harry loved that aspect of his boyfriend, for sure, but he also liked that he got to see the softer, sweeter inside of him that was maybe a bit more real.

“I thought you were dead too,” Penelope cried, gripping Louis even tighter like he may disappear into the apparition she maybe thought he was.

“Oh,” Louis responded, stroking her back slowly, comfortingly. “I’m sorry.”

Penelope shook her head, crying some more and Harry watched them wrack her body. He wanted to comfort her too, feeling some sort of omega kinship, but he didn’t interfere - he figured it was probably just what she needed to do to process this moment.

Louis seemed to understand that as well, so he just held her, and Harry pretended like he didn’t see that Louis' face was wet as well. He didn’t seem to like indulging in a cry as much as Harry did.

Penelope seemed to pull herself together, taking deep breaths and wiping her face as she slowly straightened herself up, clearing her throat.

“God, I’m sorry. Where are my manners? Do you have time to come in for tea?” she asked the pair of them, her eyes positively red.

“No, don’t - don’t apologise,” Louis replied, placing a hand on her shoulder now she’d stepped away and Harry could tell he was giving it a gentle squeeze. “It’s a lot. We have time, but only if that’s okay with you… and your alpha?” Louis questioned, just covering for whether they were a more traditional couple or not.

“Oh she won’t mind, she’s just at work,” Penelope waved off, wiping her face again and giggling a bit. “Do you remember Sarah?”

Harry watched Louis think for a few moments before recognition dawned on him, nodding a bit and smiling his cheeky smile.

“Yeah? That makes a lot of sense for the pair of ya,” Louis responded, bordering on teasing.

Penelope swatted at his arm, giggling herself and sniffing as she continued to dry her face. “Piss off,” she mumbled, and Harry could see a blush rising high on her cheeks. “Come in, come in. What’s your name, darling? Sorry. I’m being so rude.”

Harry watched as Penelope gently touched his own arm and started to guide them into her house. He looked around, very intrigued by all the little trinkets around the place, little porcelain figures alongside more practical things like bowls and vases. Some were painted, some weren’t, but it all seemed very artsy.

“You’re not being rude at all. I know this is - it’s big,” Harry shrugged, trying to give her a reassuring smile. “I’m Harry.”

“Nice to meet you, Harry. I’m Penelope - Pen, if you like,” she welcomed, leading them through to a quaint little common area and inviting them to sit down at the dining room table. “Let me get a brew going before I end up crying some more.”

Harry let out a little giggle, sitting down on one of the seats and watching Louis do the same, reaching his hand out for him. He’d sorted the tear tracks on his face and was now just looking open. A little worried, a dash of insecure nerves, but mostly okay.

“It’s alright. I’m crying to him all the time. He’s well used to it,” Harry responded, patting Louis’ thigh softly.

“Used to freak him out, back in the day. He’d go all bug eyed like he’d never seen someone have a sniffle before,” Penelope insisted as she put the kettle on their stove, then came to lean on the counter to look at the pair of them.

“Now, where have you been?” she asked him, not unkindly, but it was clearly something burning in her.

Louis let out an awkward laugh, looking away from her before looking back and fussing with his hair with his free hand.

“Lots of places, I suppose you could say,” Louis shrugged, clearly not knowing where to start with it all.

“Did you… go feral?” she pressed softly, head cocked to the side.

Harry was shocked at how forward she was, but Louis didn’t seem to be surprised.

“Yeah, I did, yeah,” he answered quietly. Somewhat reserved.

“I’m not surprised,” Penelope replied, heading back to the kettle when it whistled at her. “We - some of us, we went over to your village, looking for you. Got an audience with the son of your pack leader and all, since they said he was your friend. He said he’d not seen you either.”

“He thought maybe you’d gone feral too. He could feel you’d disconnected from the pack. We thought maybe you… went after the other one,” she spoke softly, pouring the hot water into a teapot large enough for three, an eccentric design on the outside. She brought it over to the table with some matching teacups, setting them down before she went back to look through her cupboards.

Harry felt Louis squirm, looking over at him and able to tell just at a glance that he was uncomfortable. Unsure, maybe. He squeezed his hand, trying to be reassuring.

“I don’t think - I mean, I might have, but it’s hard to… remember what your wolf was thinking. When you’re feral that is. It's more on instinct,” Louis said, sounding hesitant.

“Right,” Penelope nodded, opening a tin and inspecting the inside before starting to set some biscuits down on a plate, glancing over at Louis and seeming to pick up on his reservations. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did, you know.”

That revelation seemed to hit Louis harder than Harry thought it would, his eyes widening.

“No?”

Penelope gave him a look like he was crazy, putting the tin away and then coming to settle at the table while the tea steeped, gesturing for them to take a biscuit but keeping her attention on Louis.

“Of course not,” Penelope shook her head, reaching to touch Louis’ arm on the opposite side from Harry. “He killed our friend, Lou.”

“But I… killed his friend,” Louis answered quietly.

“Because his friend was trying to abduct me,” Penelope countered, cocking his head to the side. “To do god knows what with me. You saved me.”

“I should have saved you both, though,” Louis added. The same argument Harry had heard him repeat, both when he was being told and when Louis told Liam and Zayn.

“What were you going to do, clone yourself?” Penelope responded, reaching for his hand instead and giving it a squeeze. “Louis. You were always a little bit of that stereotype of a daft alpha, but I didn’t think you were this big of one.

“What happened was awful. It was something that never should have happened. I felt a lot of guilt, for a long time - why did I survive instead of Arnie? Watching his parents bury him, seeing the rest of us grow up and knowing Arnie wouldn’t. But it’s - you reacted to the immediate danger you saw - that guy grabbing me. You couldn’t have done anything for Arnie by the time you saw him.

“And you were a kid, darling. You made a choice in the moment and that’s how… that’s how life went. I really don’t think you could have done anything differently, or at least differently in a way where myself and Arnie both ended up okay. We were outnumbered.”

Harry shifted his chair a little closer as Louis started to cry, moving so he could get his arm around his waist and hold him, just to let him know he was here with him but not trying to distract from anything Penelope was saying, because he was pretty sure Louis needed this.

“But don’t you hate me? For letting Arnie die? For… for traumatising you, killing that guy?” Louis stammered.

“No,” Penelope answered assuredly, shaking her head. “No. You didn’t let Arnie die. Arnie was murdered in front of us. And as for that guy… well maybe it makes me a bad person to think this, but I’m relieved you killed him. Whenever I think about what my fate might have been otherwise… I dunno.”

“Maybe there’s something in how we’re part wolf, I sometimes think. How we’re half proper animals, primal animals. I know logically I shouldn’t… think a solution to a problem like that is death, but then my omega… she feels it was just. If we were full wolves and there was a challenge like that, it would have ended the same way.

“I don’t blame you for anything, Lou. I’m so thankful for you. You saved my life. I wish you - I understand completely why your wolf took over, why you went feral - but I only wish you could have been here to mourn Arnie with us. It might have helped. But we can - we still can, if you want? I visit his grave a few times every year and redo the flowers, sit with him for a bit. Maybe you can come with me next time?”

Harry watched Louis’ face curiously, his eyes searching for any proof he could find one Penelope that she was bluffing or lying. Harry could tell she wasn’t, though. He’d only known her for all of a few minutes but he could already sense she was being so honest with him and not just telling him what he needed to hear.

Even if he did need to hear it.

“I’d like that,” Louis responded, nodding softly. His chin creased up with the pressure of trying not to let his bottom lip wobble and Penelope seemed to sense it, getting up from her chair and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“Good,” Penelope replied, rubbing his back like he was the omega that needed comforting. “And I’m sure the rest of them would love to see you. We’re all grown up now. Still might get a little crazy on the mead but it’s at the pub instead of in the woods now.”

Louis let out a wet laugh, hiding his face in her shoulder. “They don’t hate me either?”

“No-one hates you, knot-head,” Penelope scoffed, turning her head to look at Harry and roll her eyes, as if to say ‘is this guy for real?’. “This is what happens when we let alphas think too much for themselves.”

Harry giggled into his hand, quite delighted by the Penelope character now he was getting to know her a bit better. She seemed like the type of person he might get along with. Probably Zayn too - he’d like how cheeky she is.

“God forbid I think people don’t like me for killing someone,” Louis muttered, but it seemed to be in good humour.

Penelope snorted, rolling her eyes as she sat back down and started to pour some tea into their cups.

“Sure, when you put it that way, I suppose. You’re ignoring the nuance, though,” she replied, giving him another look. “Now, I demand that you catch me up on what’s been happening since I last saw you. Unless you’ve got any other hills to die on?”

“I’m sure I can find another hill if I try hard enough,” Louis responded, glancing over at Harry and giving him a slightly soggy smile. Harry watched as he grabbed the back of his chair and dragged him closer, enough so they were thigh to thigh and Louis could wrap his arm around his shoulders protectively.

“I’m sure you could too,” Penelope replied wryly, looking between the pair. “Start with this. I’m sensing Harry is the one that’s fixed you up and made your brain work again.”

“He really has,” Louis responded, looking at Harry admiringly. Harry grinned, blushing at the attention and the praise and leaning in when Louis’ hand came up and carded through his long hair. “More than he’ll ever know.”

“Shush,” Harry mumbled, pretending to shove at Louis’ chest but it wasn’t very hard. “You did it yourself.”

“Maybe,” Louis shrugged. “But I wouldn’t have done it at all if you weren’t there,” Louis cooed, leaning in to kiss his cheek as Penelope made a retching noise and stuck her finger in her mouth, making them both laugh.

“No, please, tell me more about how revoltingly in love you both are. It’s really not disgusting at all,” Penelope added, but it was clear there was fondness in her tone and this type of banter was just how she and Louis used to communicate.

“Well it all started one day when I was out in the woods,” Louis began, and Harry settled in close, almost like he was the one about to hear the story for the first time. It excited him enough - to hear their tale told through Louis’ eyes.

As Louis explained he seemed to settle more, his scent - though blocked a bit by the neutralisers - returning to what it normally was. This settled Harry, enough that he could relax as well and just listen to the rhythm of Louis’ voice, interspersed with Penelope’s questions.

He knew more time was needed, but this seemed to be a good step for Louis. And what was a good step for Louis, was a good step for Harry, in his books.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

The next morning, feeling just a little bit seedy, Harry found himself on the carriage once more surrounded by his similarly afflicted friends and partner.

They’d stayed at Penelope's well into the afternoon, both of them catching one another up on their lives and going over what had happened to them and their friends. There were a few more tears, but nothing too taxing, and when Penelope’s partner Sarah had arrived home from work there seemed to be a whole new wave of enthusiasm from Louis - once he was met with a positive reception.

After spending even more time talking with the girls it was decided they should go to the pub for dinner and a drink, so Harry and Louis rounded up Liam and Zayn - thankfully having just finished their engagements - and Penelope and Sarah rounded up whoever they could find from their old social group.

Dinner and a drink turned into multiple drinks - hence the slightly queasy energy in the carriage - and they eventually stumbled back to the inn they were staying over at an hour Harry didn’t think he’d seen with his own eyes, usually tucked up asleep in bed well before it.

Not one person there met Louis with anything other than love and care, and it warmed Harry’s heart to see him be received with such open arms. He knew it was a tough and tricky subject to navigate, and while he didn’t blame Louis for handling it in the way he did, he almost felt somewhat sad for the fact he’d not reached out to them sooner.

He could have had this love and support earlier. Not ostracised himself from society, beat himself up for something that he needn’t of, at least in the eyes of his friends.

But then he might not have met Harry.

He felt selfish for having the thought, but it was true. Maybe Louis wouldn’t have run through that part of the woods on that specific day, if he’d had his friends to hang out with. His brain might have worked differently. And then Harry might have just died in that bear trap with seemingly no-one to remember him, even himself.

Watching Louis’ catharsis had him feeling somewhat achy for his own which would probably never come. He couldn’t confront his past if he didn’t know it. Harry thought maybe he’d prodded this particular part of Louis’ for some sort of vicarious want within himself - a bit of a selfish need for Louis to act where he couldn’t.

He knew he had to accept the hand he’d been dealt, but some days were easier than others.

It wasn’t all bad, though. As he watched Louis cheersing and drinking far too much last night, surrounded by people who cared for him, there was no space in Harry’s heart for him to feel bitter. He was happy for Louis. His partner. The man he loved more than anything in this world.

There was just that little part of his brain that wondered if he’d ever feel the same.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

Chapter Text

It was the fringes of winter when their lives changed once more.

The snow had melted into the ground, the soil soaking it up and using it to reawaken the plants. It was still cold, for sure, but not as cold as it had been previously. Everything was thawing and shaking off its chills.

Louis and Harry had ventured into the town centre, much earlier in the season than he ever had prior. He didn’t even have any honey to sell yet. It was purely social.

Louis never thought he’d see the day where that happened. Popping into town just to chat, just to see some people. That people would want to see him, that he’d ever feel like they truly did and weren't lying.

It had happened, though. There was something in the way his perspective on it all had changed, like he’d taken off the opposite of rose tinted-glasses. Maybe dimly tinted? A dark, dreary colour at the very least.

He put it down to Harry, but Harry would always bat it back to him. He thought maybe it was something to do with the pair of them. Some sort of fate - intertwining of their lives so they could make each other the best versions of themselves they could possibly be.

Harry did that for him, at least. Allowed him to confront his demons. Both the more tangible ones alongside the deeper rooted emotional issues. He could only hope that he’d done even a fraction for Harry as he’d done for him.

They’d found themselves at the pub. A place Louis once stayed well away from, lest he saw anyone from his past, and now a place they found themselves at a good half of the time they were in town, the other half primarily at Liam’s house.

Louis was actually glad he’d gotten on board with re-entering society, because he’d hate to see Harry without it. The lad was a social butterfly, making friends all over the place. He was just easy to talk to, amicable, trust-worthy. Quite charming.

Not hard on the eyes either, but if anyone got even an inch too close to appreciating Harry in that kind of way, Louis couldn’t help but intervene. Sue him, maybe he was a bit of a knothead. He’d admit that was definitely the case when it came to being possessive of Harry.

It would have seemed cruel to keep him from all of this when he was such a socialite. So much so that Louis was considering relocating them, just a bit closer to the village so Harry was able to be a bit more independent. It would be a big step, moving the bees and all his things, but ultimately it would be worth it if it made Harry happier.

Louis knew there was a step before that though - making Harry his mate. Bonding him. Biting him right on his pretty neck.

It had been a thought in his mind ever since Harry had come out of ferality. Maybe just slightly before, when he was in his human form but barely there - Louis hated to admit it but that particular want was based solely on how beautiful he was.

Thankfully as he came around to having his brain work he only got more attractive, more beautiful. Harry was an intelligent, thoughtful lad and Louis had spent months trying to hold himself back from making a move, wanting to do what was right.

But it never meant he didn’t want him. Every time he’d lean in and press his nose against Harry’s spot to scent him he would think about it. A flash through his mind, what if I sunk my teeth in. His alpha begged him, but Louis resisted, however hard it was to do.

That was something to be discussed. Agreed upon, consented to. He may have acted like an animal in his past, but he was damned if he was going to do it again. Especially to someone so important.

Their friends teased them about it, all in good faith. Especially Liam and Zayn - asking when they could start planning the bonding celebration. Louis would watch for Harry’s reaction and then laugh, waving them off as Harry would turn and giggle into his shoulder.

“Soon,” Louis would promise.

It was just a matter of waiting for the right time, now. The right moment. Maybe during Harry’s next heat, or if Louis’ rut came about. It had been a few years, so he was probably due.

Either way it seemed like it was close. Like both he and Harry were ready - not that they’d discussed it.

They probably should.

But it was hardly going to be at the pub, surrounded by their friends as they tucked into a nice warm meal. The fire was roaring and the wood of the room creaked along with it, filled with people from the town enjoying a similar experience to them.

Louis felt settled. Maybe for the first time in his life. At peace. Warm, content, in love.

That changed when the group was mid-conversation and mid-meal as a man Louis had never seen approached the table, his grin wide in his mouth and his brown hair looking like it had been swept in the wind.

“Boy, am I glad to see you two! Been looking all over for ya,” the man spoke, looking over the table. Louis tracked his eyeline, seeing he appeared to be talking to both Zayn and Harry, but the pair of omegas looked just as confused as each other.

“Us?” Harry asked quietly, pointing at himself and Zayn with a limp finger.

“Yeah! Of course!” the man replied. He had an accent - something foreign, but not foreign in the way he was a pack or two away. Foreign in the way you might have to cross a body of water to find where he came from.

Louis slipped his arm around Harry for some comfort, knowing sometimes it was still a bit hard for him that he had no memory of his past. Being confronted with it like this, in front of his friends, probably didn’t feel amazing.

“I’m sorry - I had - we had uh… we don’t remember our past very well. Can I ask who you are?” Harry questioned politely.

Louis exchanged a look with Liam, just assessing what he thought of it, but he wasn’t posturing in any certain way. It seemed he agreed with Louis - this man wasn’t an immediate physical threat. He’d not caught his scent yet, but he seemed harmless enough.

“Oh! Yes, of course. My mistake,” he noted, looking around before asking the table next to them, very politely, if he could borrow an empty chair from them. Once they agreed he pulled it around and straddled it back-to-front, his chest pressing against the back rest as he faced the four of them, clearly settling in.

Louis wasn’t sure if they’d invited him, but he was obviously taking the opportunity nevertheless.

“I’m Niall. I’m the witch who freed you,” Niall introduced, giving them a winning grin.

The table was silent for a few moments, absorbing what this Niall character had said and what that could possibly even mean.

Zayn’s brain seemed to work the fastest.

“Freed us?”

“Well - yeah. Freed ya’s,” Niall reiterated, furrowing his brow. “Don’t you remember?”

“We don’t remember anything before two years ago. When we arrived here. Stuck in our forms,” Zayn responded, his tone quite sharp. For an omega he could definitely come across quite firm and direct when he wanted to, almost a bit scathing and intimidating.

Louis was glad he’d never been on the receiving end of it.

Niall looked somewhat confused before sighing, rubbing his face.

“I was worried that would happen,” Niall scoffed, like it was some minor inconvenience and not the bane of Louis’ partner's existence. “Always have that problem. My mixing and measuring - my High Priestess was always telling me I needed to be more accurate. In fact, there was one time where she-”

“What can you tell us about our past?” Harry interjected, clearly not having much time for Niall’s joviality or story-telling. Louis couldn’t blame him.

Louis didn’t know much about witches aside from the fact they existed. They lived among the full humans more of than not, in their villages, blending in. They were probably closer to shifters like himself in the sense they were born of something different - the magic would run in their veins - but they didn’t have the same call to live in nature as wolves did.

“Well, I could tell you lots of stuff,” Niall shrugged, pursing his lips. “Don’t think it’s my place though.”

Zayn rolled his eyes at that, letting out a tiny growl that had Liam flinching. Louis understood - his alpha wolf thought he was doing something wrong and not protecting his omega well enough, but it was hard to protect from frustration.

“So you - what? Can’t tell us anything? Even what you freed us from?” Zayn questioned, his eyes laser focused on the poor witch.

“Oh! I can tell you that, absolutely,” Niall agreed, smiling like he wasn’t phased at being growled at by wolves.

The group paused, waiting for him to go on, and when he didn’t Harry let out a frustrated puff of a whine.

“So tell us then!” Harry demanded, waving his hand in circles to try and encourage him.

“Ohh… You wanna know right now? Right! Okay,” Niall nodded, looking up at the ceiling as he tried to recall, pinching his bottom lip. “Hm. Well, maybe I should start - maybe I should work backwards, or somewhat forwards? It’s hard to say.”

“Oh my god,” Harry muttered under his breath, bristling in frustration at how unclear the man was being.

“So! I’m a witch - but you have to learn how to be one, where I come from. Be born of it, but also study the craft. And part of that is going on your ‘travels’. So about… eh, roughly two or so years ago? I went on mine.

“It’s sort of viewed as an opportunity for a witch to stretch their metaphorical wings, so to speak. Go around and practice how you can apply magic in real life, meet new people, find yourself. Real coming-of-age kind of thing.

“Anyway, I… well, I’d just gotten over here, a bit further south than we are now, and I met you two,” Niall began, waving his hands around as he spoke and then gesturing to Harry and Zayn.

“And boy, were you a couple of wildcards. Could have convinced me you were shifters for foxes instead of wolves with how sly you were. Deadly duo, weren’t ya?” Niall grinned, then made a face when he clearly remembered that they couldn’t remember, shaking his head and continuing on.

“In any case, we were at a pub, much like this one, when you two tried to fleece me of all I own! Now you’re both gorgeous and very convincing, but a man like me has to keep a hold of his herbs and spices lest he need to cast a spell, right? You two weren’t having it in the slightest!” Niall laughed, like it was all so amusing.

“We were trying to rob you?” Harry asked incredulously, clearly dumb-founded that he’d do something like that in the first place.

“Yeah!” Niall crowed like it was such fun, waving his hand. “I don’t take it personally. I’m a prime candidate. Traveller, nice, susceptible to being wooed. Should have known, pair of omegas like you trying it on with old Nialler. In any case, you had me distracted with your big green eyes,” Niall continued, pointing at Harry.

“While you went for my bag! Great operation, really. Lucky I had a protection spell on it so you couldn’t get your sneaky little hands in there. Caught you red handed - literally. That’s the fun of the spell. The thief’s palms turn red and they can’t wipe it off for a whole day,” Niall proclaimed excitedly. “You see, it’s to do with the cochineal, you just mix a bit in when you’re casting and-”

“And then what?” Zayn interrupted, clearly voicing what they were thinking as they were all coming to realise Niall’s stories took many a twist and roundabout before coming back to where they were meant to be going.

“Oh! Well then I asked why you were stealing my bag, of course, since there wasn’t much of use to two shifters since I like to rely on my wiles a bit and don’t carry much money, and you two explained you’d come across a spell to break another one and you wanted to cast it.

“So you know, kind old me, I offer to help ya. Two shifters caught up in a pickle. Sounds perfect for my travels, just the kind of thing the High Priestess would talk about back home. Great growth opportunity! So I ask ya’s what’s going on and… you really were in a pickle.

“A really big pickle. Almost too big for me to sort by myself. But the Mórrígan love a trier, don’t they? So I start having a looksee, evaluating what you had going on,” Niall explained, drumming his fingers against the table in thought.

“What did you look at? What do you mean?” Harry asked more pointedly. He sounded desperate, to Louis’ ears, so he gently fitted his hand a bit firmer around his waist and gave him a squeeze to let him know it was okay. They’d get their answer eventually.

He hoped.

“You two were caught up in a spell. A big one. Your pack alpha was also born of a witch. He’s a shifter and a spellcaster. He’d recruit members and then bind them to him magically, making it so you couldn’t leave even if you wanted to. So I was looking at your… it’s hard to explain to those who aren’t witches, but it’s… it’s like your aura. I could see what spells you’re bound by, it sort of halos around you,” Niall shrugged.

“In any case, this bloke, he seems like a right piece of work. So I offer my services, since you two seemed lovely - aside from the whole trickery and thievery part - and we go back to the inn I’m staying at.

“You two tell me the spell you’d found which wouldn’t have worked in a million years! So lucky you found me! So I mix up a few things, consult some of my books, put a bit of this and a bit of that together and there we have it! A potion! A mighty fine one, if I say so myself,” Niall announced, clapping his hands before furrowing his brows. “Well, perhaps not. Doesn’t seem it worked as intended.”

“What was intended?” Liam asked this time.

“Well… their ability to leave the pack, go rogue themselves,” Niall began, tapping his finger to his other hand as he started to count. “So breaking that spell. That was the biggest part. Then to give them a clean slate, wipe their memory of the previous five or so years, since that was how long they’d been in that pack instead of their birth pack.

“But you were meant to regain your memories within a year, like, nice and slowly and gradually so you didn’t get overwhelmed,” Niall explained, furrowing his brow. “Did that not happen?”

“No,” Zayn replied, almost petulantly. “And it still hasn’t happened. Everything is gone. All we remember is two winters ago until now, and even then - that first winter I barely remember anything, since I was feral.”

“Feral?” Niall questioned, almost innocently.

“Oh dear,” Louis mumbled, seeing how it had possibly gone wrong if Niall’s knowledge of shifters was so limited.

“Wolves can go feral if they - if something is too overwhelming, or stressful, it can trigger a regression to a more primal, animal state,” Liam explained to him informatively, calm like he always was even though Louis could see the edge of something concerned sneaking in.

“Oh, right, right. You shifters are strange. That must be it! It must have messed with my magic. Your shifter magic… maybe that skews it. You’d have to ask your old pack alpha. Suspect you wouldn’t want to, though, didn’t seem too fond of him,” Niall shrugged, pursing his lips. “So you really can’t remember anything?”

“I was stuck as a wolf for an entire year. I’d be lucky to remember anything even if you hadn't wiped it all!” Harry complained, a bit of a whine sneaking into his voice. He was borderline distressed - Louis could smell it on him, even under his de-scenter.

“Hey, you asked for it to be wiped,” Niall shrugged, frowning as he looked between them and let out a little sigh, rubbing his face. “Guess I shouldn’t have been so proud of myself when I went home. I told the Priestess and all, bragging about how well I did.”

“Well surely you noticed? When you cast it upon us? I would have looked deranged and he would have turned into a wolf,” Zayn accused, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, well, I wasn’t actually there when it happened,” Niall explained, looking between them all. “I cast it with a delay of a day or two. You explained you needed to get as far away as possible from it all, so I suspect you were travelling when it settled in.”

“Oh my god,” Harry whispered, covering his face with his hands. “Anything could have happened to us. That’s why I was just wandering alone.”

Louis tucked him into his side, not quite knowing what he could say to make him feel better, but he kissed his head on top of his curls to see if that might help even just a smidge.

“I think you two reasoned that was better than the alternative,” Niall said with a bit more care in his voice, looking between them with concern before glancing upwards again, clearly thinking. “Tell you what. I’ll mix you up something to undo the memory loss and we’ll see if that does the trick, how about that?”

“We’ll see?” Louis asked, eyebrows raised in question. Niall seemed to be a bit cavalier - casting spells on whims apparently, and his earlier comments about his measuring being off didn’t fill Louis with much confidence.

“Well, magic always goes that way. You can never be entirely sure something will work the way you want it to. She has a mind of her own,” Niall shrugged, as though it were obvious. “Memory stuff is easy though, like I said, breaking the bond was the hardest part.”

“Yes please. Mix something up,” Zayn responded, sounding more sure than he had the entire conversation.

Louis looked to Harry, seeing there was concern on his face. His eyebrows were knotted in the middle and it was almost like steam was coming out of his ears, but no words came out.

“You okay, Omega?” Louis whispered to him quietly, leaning closer to kiss behind his ear, just above his scent gland.

Harry nodded slowly, blinking a few times before squeezing his eyes shut like that would help him think better.

“Can you - is it quick? Or?” Harry asked as Niall nodded along.

“Yeah! Won’t take too much at all to cast,” Niall grinned, then looked around. “Might not want to do it in the pub though,” he reasoned.

“We can go back to our house,” Liam offered, checking in with Zayn the same way Louis was checking in with Harry. Zayn seemed a lot more on board, more than keen to find out, but Louis could feel the hesitancy that was rolling off of Harry.

As the group rounded themselves up and settled their bill, they then spilled out into the village square and Liam started to lead the charge, with Zayn at his side. Niall seemed to get the impression Harry and Louis needed a moment, so he skipped to catch up with Liam while Louis held back to speak to his omega.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, darling. We can - if it’s not the right time, you can say no, and we can try to find another witch if you ever do feel ready. Get his contact details, or - you know, they say they live with the humans, so we could go to one of their villages, anything you -” Louis rambled along before Harry poked his side.

“You’re doing it again,” Harry teased quietly, lacing their fingers together as Louis sighed when he realised he was trying to solve problems before Harry had even voiced them, a habit of his.

“I am. Sorry,” Louis murmured, leaning in to kiss the side of his head. “What are you thinking, my darling?”

Harry was quiet for a little longer, the only sound was their shoes crunching over the cobble stones and eventually the dirt as they turned off towards where the more densely populated housing was.

“I think I want to do it,” Harry decided with a small nod of his head, looking ahead at the three of them before turning to Louis, but not like he was seeking approval. More like he was looking for his opinion.

“Even if it’s bad. And like - it seems like it might be bad. Niall said we were trying to rob him, and we were in a rogue pack. We might have - I might have done bad things. But I think I’d rather know than forever wonder ‘what if?’, you know?”

Louis nodded, cocking his head to the side as he considered it. He wondered what his life might be like - if the fact he’d killed someone was wiped from his memory, never to be thought about again.

In some ways he thought it might be nice - a free conscience. No memories of it at all.

But then he’d never know he did it - never know what he was capable of, what he had to temper this wolf - how to be a better person than the version of Louis who did that. He could of course have had some personal growth without committing murder, but he couldn’t change that now.

He thought he’d rather know, all things considered. It might be a blissful life to live in ignorance, but it wouldn’t have made him the man he is today.

“That makes sense,” Louis nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. “I think that’s very brave of you, my love.”

Harry flushed up, making Louis smile a bit delightedly because any time he got him blushing like that he found him so endearing.

“Hardly brave. Selfish, maybe. Silly?” Harry offered.

Louis shook his head because he didn’t see it that way.

“Don’t think so. Wanting to know yourself better isn’t selfish or silly. It’s… something that frustrates you, that blank spot of your past. Even if it will hurt, maybe, it’ll be - I think you’ll be better for it, H. Right?”

Harry nodded, pursing his lips together.

“I hope so,” Harry said quietly. “I just hope it isn’t too bad.”

Louis swung his hand gently. “I’ll still be here if it is.”

“You will?” Harry asked, like he was glad Louis had brought it up.

“Of course,” Louis responded, tugging him closer. “No matter what. You could have been… I dunno. I don’t think it's likely, but you could have been a terrible person and I’d still be here. I love you for who you are now, not what happened in your past. Don’t forget you do the same for me.”

“We’re as bad as one another for forgiving each other's mistakes, I think,” Harry said with a small giggle, turning to face Louis when they stopped on the path in Liam’s front lawn, leaning in to peck his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Wolfie,” Louis smiled sweetly, giving him a few more pecks for good measure. Once the door was unlocked he gently ushered Harry inside, feeling a small amount of nerves low in his gut but knowing this was something he had to stand by Harry doing, just trust that he was making the best decision for himself.

They’d decided that - in their partnership. They were equals. Harry advocated for himself, and Louis supported him. Not some archaic model of subservient omega and domineering alpha.

Niall was quick to mix together some different ingredients from his bag, taking a few things from Liam and Zayn’s kitchen to really perfect it and nattering on to all of them as he did so. Louis wondered if that was part of being a witch, talking your ear off, or if that was a Niall speciality.

Either way he produced two identical looking potions, a purplish liquid he’d poured equal amounts of into two mugs for Harry and Zayn.

“Now you guys drink that, and I’ll say the spell, and it should take immediate effect,” Niall instructed, ushering them over to the sofa. Louis took a seat next to Harry, him and Zayn in the middle, with Liam on the other side and Niall stood watching them and waiting for his cue.

Louis observed as Harry settled himself in, taking a deep breath before reaching for the mug. He laced his other hand in Zayn’s, then looked over at Louis. Louis met his eyes, giving him a reassuring smile and then squeezing his thigh as if to say ‘you’ve got this’ without opening his mouth.

The pair of them drank the liquid, Harry making a bit of a face about it as Niall started to mumble under his breath. It wasn’t in English, Louis wondered if it was maybe the language of where he came from, but either way it was clear the minute he stopped that it had taken effect.

Harry gasped loudly as Zayn just widened his eyes, looking at each other like they couldn’t be distracted for anything. Louis gently took the mug from Harry as Liam did the same for Zayn, watching the pair of them with bated breath as the room hummed with something new he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Oh,” Harry whispered before his face crumpled, immediately diving in closer to Zayn and wrapping his arms around him. Louis was pleased that Harry was able to seek comfort in Zayn, and he just kept supportively rubbing his thigh and monitoring his scent to make sure he didn’t get too distressed.

Selfishly he wondered what Harry remembered, how it felt for it to all come rushing back. He didn’t know if it would be good things, or bad, or a mix of all of them. He tried to consider how he’d feel if he suddenly remembered his whole life at once - how that would even work.

Would Harry be different now? Would his previous experiences change him? It would be a new learning curve, if nothing else, but it kind of always had been with Harry.

“Did that work lads?” Niall asked as he dusted his hands off, as if it weren’t obvious by the way both omegas were in tears. Though Louis supposed maybe they could be crying that it didn’t work, even if that made less sense.

“Yes,” Harry sniffed out, picking his head up from Zayn’s shoulder and wiping under his eye. “Yes, it did. Thank you.”

“Brilliant,” Niall grinned, picking up his bag. “Well, I’ll be off then. This part isn’t really my forte - all the emotions and that. I just like the spells,” Niall shrugged, clapping Liam on the shoulder as he started to head for the door.

“I’ll be at the Inn for the next day or so if you need me! For spell stuff, that is,” Niall called, grabbing his baker boy hat from the coat stand and starting to whistle as he let himself out of the front door.

Louis watched him go with a somewhat perplexed expression, wondering if all of that really happened or if Niall was a figment of his imagination, but he decided he had more pressing issues at hand when Harry let out another little sob, making his heart twist in sympathy.

“You’re okay,” Louis said to Harry quietly, slowly stroking his thigh up and down. “You’re safe. Me and Li have got you both, don’t worry.”

Harry whipped his head to look at him, his eyes looking a brilliant green where they contrasted with the bloodshot red in them from his crying. He still looked beautiful, Louis thought, even so.

It was almost like he was surprised at where he was, that Louis was there, so he cocked his head and pursed his lips as he tried to work out how to word it.

“Do you still remember - ehm - recently? As well as the past now?” Louis asked. He paused on rubbing Harry’s leg, suddenly worried that if he didn’t remember his recent past then he’d wonder why this weird alpha was touching him and he hardly wanted that to be how they got reintroduced.

Harry nodded hesitantly, reaching out towards Louis with his spare hand but keeping a death grip on Zayn’s with the other one.

“I do. I remember you Lou, it’s okay,” Harry whispered, letting out a small hiccup.

“God, don’t console me,” Louis muttered, squeezing his hand back and shuffling closer, allowing himself a moment of pleased selfishness that he didn’t have to rebuild his connection with Harry before properly focusing in. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Harry bit on his bottom lip for a few moments, looking to Zayn and having a conversation with him with their eyes. It was something subtle, a small shift, but they looked at one another differently. With more understanding, more depth. More connection.

Louis thought he looked a little older too. Not in any physical sense, just the way his muscles sat on his face. Some were slightly more tense now, his body language holding himself just a touch different. It was uncanny - like he was playing a different role of himself.

“I-” Harry began, then cleared his throat. “We-,” he tried again, looking at Zayn and letting out another little sob as he tried to find his words.

“It’s alright, baby. Take your time,” Louis assured him, looking over to check in with Liam. He was comforting Zayn, too, but he looked concerned. More so than he’d seen him in a while.

“Why don’t Liam and I go make some tea in the kitchen, and you two just… feel it for a moment. There’s no rush, yeah? We’re here for you. Would that feel better or feel worse, us being in the other room?” Louis offered, sensing their slight overwhelm.

Harry looked back at him, almost apologetic, which gave Louis his answer before he even opened his mouth.

“I’ve got it, darling. Take your time,” Louis assured him, pressing to stand and pulling Harry’s hand up to his mouth as he did so, kissing the back of his palm.

Louis gave Liam a small nudge to get him up too, able to tell he didn’t want to leave his bondmate when he was this distressed but he could see Zayn and Harry’s need to connect over their shared experience.

Liam eventually got up and joined him, wandering to the kitchen and shutting the door to give everyone a bit of privacy. Louis didn’t expect Liam to be as worked up as he was, almost feeling like he had to talk him down, but eventually they agreed they should give the pair some more time than it took to make a cup of tea, if that’s what they needed.

If anything that Niall said was true, it sounded like they had a lot to sort through.

After a quick delivery of the warm beverages and a little explanation and confirmation of Louis’ proposed plan, he and Liam retired to the ‘formal’ lounge so the omegas could talk through whatever they needed to. The relief of receiving some time was clear on both their faces, so Louis felt pleased he’d made the right assessment.

The afternoon dragged on, long and slow, Liam and Louis trying not to fret and attempting to keep their minds busy by reading, but Louis couldn’t focus. The questions about Harry’s past plagued him when he’d not given the topic much thought at all, beforehand. When it seemed like some sort of inaccessible fantasy.

Now it was real and he’d seen just the minor ways it affected Harry; he was overwhelmingly curious. Almost desperate to know.

The clock seemed to move slower than it ever had, but eventually there was a timid knock at the door. A tired looking Harry pushed it open, looking between them as Louis sat up straight, ready and at attention for anything he might need.

“You two can come back, now. We’re ready,” Harry said softly.

Louis couldn’t get over how much more mature he sounded - it wasn’t like he sounded immature before, he just sounded… more knowledgeable. Like he’d lived more life. He supposed in a way he had, and it was just given back to him.

“Sure, love,” Louis responded, hopping up and almost instinctively skipping closer to hold him. He held back though, hesitant that Harry might still need space, but that thought was quickly wiped when Harry reached for his hand.

“You can still act the same, Lou. It’s okay,” Harry murmured to him, leaning in to give him a kiss. “I haven’t suddenly remembered I’m a dickhead or something,.”

Louis smiled softly, squeezing his hand. “Yeah, we already knew that one, didn’t we?” he teased, grinning even wider when Harry made one of his loud, unexpected laughs that seemed to shock him as much as everyone else.

“Don’t be mean to me. I’ve had a big day,” Harry pouted as they walked through the hallway, but he was unable to hold back his giggles as he pushed Louis down into the sofa and cuddled up, almost in his lap.

“My poor baby. I know,” Louis cooed, winding his arms around him and kissing his neck, watching Liam embrace Zayn in a similar fashion, both alpha’s clearly feeling more settled now their omega’s had stopped crying.

Their faces were still red, though. A bit worn. Louis wondered if they might have to stay the night since he’d hardly want Harry to have to walk home when he was probably extremely exhausted already.

“Do you want to start?” Zayn prompted Harry softly once they’d all got themselves comfy again on Liam’s big, ornate couch.

Harry shrugged, then nodded, sniffling a bit and wiping his face as he prepared himself to tell his story.

“Z and I are from different birth packs, so he’ll have to tell you about his own one, but ehm – I remember my birth pack now. It’s… if we’re where I think we are, I’m from much further south than here. And they were - I don’t even know where to start. They were lovely, they were fine,” Harry assured him, sort of like he was reassuring Louis, like he anticipated he was expecting the worst.

Which Louis was, in some ways. Assuming the worst and hoping that it was better than that. He was relieved to hear the first thing out of his mouth was positive.

“And when I was… younger. A teenager. I was - well, Lou, I think- God, this is all so messy,” Harry huffed, wiping his face again. “I thought I’d worked out what to say.”

“Just take your time, Wolfie. There’s no rush,” Louis assured him, sliding an arm around his middle and giving his side a squeeze. He eyed Liam to make sure he wasn’t rushing him either, but thankfully found his face looking patient and accepting of what might come.

“Thank you,” Harry mumbled, clearing his throat. “So when I was - yeah, a teenager. I was… taken from my pack. By an alpha - the alpha Niall talked about. And ehm - Lou, the uh, the pack you and your friends - the one you killed. It was that pack. Maybe a year after you did that.”

“The one you killed - he was the pack alpha originally, but when I got taken, it had transferred to his brother, since they were both of magic and shifter blood. It would have been the brother there that night, Lou, the one that ehm - killed your friend. The same man who took me - and Zayn, a few months beforehand.”

“They always said it was easier to get teenagers, you know. We’re ‘looking for trouble’, apparently. He was… awful. I don’t - there’s a lot of things I remember, that we both remember, that were… not good.”

“Like… like Niall said. Stealing. But ehm, there was worse than that. He’d use us as bait, try to make us seduce people to join the pack, and bring him strong alphas. We’d trade strong… strong drugs, too, stronger than laudanum, ones that ruin people because they get so addictive. He’d do loans too, for gamblers and addicts, and make the alphas in the pack rough up people who were indebted to him.”

“That’s why we’d travel, why he kept us transient. We were never in a place too long - just rolling through different villages, different towns - human ones too, the bigger ones where you can go unnoticed and thrive in the underbelly of it all.”

“It was… really dark. Awful. Z and I only had one another, and thankfully he didn’t mind us keeping pretty close. But one day we overheard them talking about the magic that bound us to him and it all… kind of made more sense? Because we’d tried to run so many times but it was like we physically couldn’t stray too far from him.”

“So we ehm - so what Niall said was true, yeah. We knew we had to break the spell. And now that I remember - that we remember - it was absolutely, one hundred percent worth it to almost die in the woods than be stuck with him,” Harry finished off, really getting himself going for a while there but winding it to a stop almost abruptly.

“We uh- understand if this changes things,” Harry said quietly, looking between Louis and Liam hesitantly.

“Yeah, Li. Ehm - I know that your family really prides itself on uh, it’s reputation. And none of - I mean, we can get into it more, but Harry and I were involved in some really awful stuff,” Zayn added timidly, looking more scared than Louis had seen him.

Liam immediately shook his head, cupping Zayn’s cheek to give him a peck.

“You’re my omega, darling. We’re bonded. Even if we weren’t, you’re still my O. There’s nothing that could change that,” Liam assured him, sounding quite sure about it. “Please don’t fret.”

Zayn nodded, and it was almost like Louis could see the relief wash over him. It made him more aware of how Harry was still sitting tensely, looking right at him, waiting for the same.

The recognition shocked him into action, squeezing Harry tighter and kissing right on his curls. “Baby, you could literally tell me you’ve done anything and I’d still be here. I hardly have a leg to stand on, do I? Even if I did, I’d still be here.”

“It was really bad stuff, Lou,” Harry warned, side eyeing him a bit.

Louis shrugged, pressing his thumb into Harry’s hip, on his scent gland in a bit of a possessive display to let him know he was still wholeheartedly his.

“The only thing I feel towards that my darling is that I’m sorry you had to go through it,” Louis told him. “And we can - work through that stuff, however you like. All that talking you make me do, you can do that too, right? But I’ll be there talking it through with ya.”

“I sent -” Harry started abruptly, then looked at Zayn for some confidence, swallowing thickly before setting his shoulders. “I did something quite bad, just before we lost our memories.”

Louis could smell his nerves, so pulled Harry even closer, if it were possible.

“Get it out there then, lovie. You’ll feel better for it,” Louis encouraged quietly.

Harry shut his eyes, taking a deep breath in through his nose and letting it out slowly.

“I tried to kill our alpha. We thought I had, really, until we remembered Liam talking about how another pack had him imprisoned. It has to be him. Richie, right?” Harry asked Liam softly.

Liam nodded, a bit slower this time, more hesitant. “I’d have to check but that name does sound correct.”

Harry bit his bottom lip, looking at Zayn. “It wasn’t - it was out of self-defense, kind of, well - it’s hard to say.

“After Niall did his work we went back to where we were staying, with Richie and the rest of the pack. We were only small, like, about five of us. And we… we… well. Our plan was to just grab our few belongings and sneak off.

“So we got our things and tried to slip out the door, but Ritchie stopped us. He was so disgusting - always drunk, if it was after 6pm. Sweaty, red faced. He stood in front of the door, blocking us from leaving.

“He was taunting us, saying we could never leave. But then he - that aura thing Niall was talking about, he must have noticed that his spell was broken, or something, because he looked all dazed and then he - he got so angry.

“He started yelling at us, hit- hitting us, trying to push us back in the room where we were staying. I knew he was going to lock us in there so he could get us rebound and under his spell again - his curse. We fought back a bit, so then he started chanting, like - casting, I can only assume.

“And we were - we were so close, you know? To our freedom. So I looked around - we were in the hall of some inn, and ehm - there was a small marble figurine on the table. I barely thought about it before I grabbed it and smacked him over the head with it.

“It stopped him from casting, definitely. Knocked him out. He was on the floor. Bleeding. I thought I killed him. At that moment I wanted to kill him, seeing him like that. Vulnerable. I hoped he was dead.

“So I… hit him again. On the head. I threw the figurine at his stupid, ugly face. Then Z touched my arm and it was like I came back to myself. I felt like I’d… gone somewhere. Somewhere full of rage, like I couldn’t think of anything else.

“The original plan was for us to go back to my pack, as it was closer to where we were, then help Zayn get to his once we’d settled - but I felt too ashamed to return to my family after what I’d done. So we decided to head to Zayn’s. He’s from further up here. We tried so hard to get there in time but… we must have been here instead, when it set in.”

Louis was quiet for a few moments, just processing what Harry had said and how it was sitting with him. How it should sit with him, how it was ‘meant to’ and how it actually was in reality.

Hearing the words come out of his mouth, Louis knew the appropriate reaction should have been disgust - rejection. You’re not meant to empathise with people who are violent, people who do harm to other people. The objective moral code dictated it.

But Louis had lived with the aftermath of his own violence. He wondered if it desensitised him, maybe. Or if it just offered a different, more nuanced perspective.

Harry had acted in self-defence. Louis thought that was true enough. Even if he wasn’t in immediate physical danger, that didn’t mean that he’d not spent years living in it. When he looked at Harry he didn’t see anyone any different than he did before his admission. He was still Harry - his Wolfie.

And that was when it clicked.

If he didn’t see a monster in Harry, then why did he see one in himself?

Their circumstances were linked, not identical but similar acts under differing moments. Louis’ was quick - over in less than five minutes - but the fall out was over years and years. The self-loathing, the guilt, the shame.

In opposition, it sounded like Harry’s built up over years, but was over and forcibly forgotten within a day or two.

In Louis’ eyes it didn’t make Harry evil to want his oppressor to pay penance. To feel like he wanted retribution, even if just for a second. To want to end a life that had made his own so difficult.

If he could so easily forgive and pardon Harry of his crime, then how could he hold himself in metaphorical chains for his own?

Louis looked between Harry’s eyes for a few moments before leaning in, giving him a soft, reassuring kiss because his words were escaping him and he wanted to let him know that it was okay, that everything would be alright.

That he could hold forgiveness for Harry just the same as Harry held it for him.

“You resorting to violence against someone who was your tyrant doesn’t change the fact that you’re a good person. I know what it’s like to hold that conflict, that… the black and white of ‘I did something bad, so I’m evil now’,” Louis said quietly, trying to find the right words.

“But it’s not - I know, it’s ironic coming from me, but it’s not - that was survival, H. I don’t want you to feel how I’ve felt for the last few years.”

“I did it in cold blood, Lou. He wasn’t attacking anyone when I did it,” Harry stressed.

“But he’d kept you and Z and whoever else for years, love. You wanting him to pay penance for that, that’s not evil, that’s - that’s just how you felt,” Louis murmured to him. “You know how you feel about what I’ve done? That’s how I feel about what you’ve done, my love.”

Harry was silent for a long few moments, his bottom lip quivering a bit before he tipped his head and hid it in Louis’ neck, letting out a little sob and crawling into his lap as much as he could.

Louis held him close, rubbing his back slowly and glancing over at Zayn and Liam. They were watching the pair of them wearily, Zayn looking a bit worn out and stressed all at once and Liam seeming a bit worried too.

He figured they might need their own private conversation, just like he felt he and Harry had to have.

“Do you guys mind if we pop into the spare room? I just - don’t want to walk him home right now, when he’s in a state like this,” Louis asked the pair of them quietly.

Liam seemed to take a second before he kicked into gear, nodding quickly and giving Louis that tight smile that he did when he was trying to be reassuring even if the circumstances were making it a bit hard.

“Of course, mate. No rush. Stay for dinner, or the night if you need. It’s really fine,” Liam insisted, and Louis watched as he rubbed Zayn’s side. “We probably need to have some time too.”

“I don’t want to go too far from Zayn,” Harry blubbered out, letting out a small whine and reaching out blindly behind him for Zayn’s hand until the other omega caught it.

“Course not, darling. Do you want to go in the spare room or stay out here with Zayn for a bit more?” Louis said, eyeing the other two cautiously but they both returned his look with nods.

Zayn shuffled a little bit closer to Harry, nudging in a bit so he could get closer to his ear and wrapping his arm around him to comfort him. Even though he started to whisper quietly, Louis still heard it since they were pressed so close.

“Go talk to Lou, you know you need to. I need to talk to Li too. I’ll be right here, and you’ll be right in there for me, yeah? Like we promised?” Zayn murmured into Harry’s ear.

Harry nodded slowly, taking in a big gasp of breath to try and steady himself. He did a few more before pulling his head out of Louis’ hold, twisting his body to give Zayn a firm hug and whisper back at him, this time out of Louis’ earshot. It didn’t worry him, though.

If anything it got him thinking about how the pair of them felt, having potentially lost one another in their ferality. How they didn’t even know they’d been missing one another, until now. How close they must have been when they were sharing their trauma together.

They were already close before they got their memories back, but Louis could imagine it would be tenfold now they knew their shared past.

“Okay, lets go talk,” Harry huffed out quietly after he pulled away from Zayn, looking at Louis with a determined face before pushing himself to his feet.

He helped Louis up with a clasped hand, leading them both to the spare room before flopping himself on the bed dramatically, big sigh included. He looked exhausted, troubled. Like he needed to sleep for a year but wouldn’t be able to with all the thoughts running through his head.

He still looked beautiful, despite it.

Louis admired him for a moment before shutting the door behind himself and crawling onto the bed, laying on his side so he could look Harry over before tugging him closer by a hand around his middle.

“Shall we start at the beginning, my love?” Louis offered, eyes cataloguing Harry’s face.

Harry nodded, giving Louis a wet smile before clearing his throat, opening his mouth and drawing a big breath in to start his story.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.

It took them three days to leave Liam and Zayn’s house, in the end.

Well, Louis left once or twice to feed Princess and check on the bees, but aside from that. They stayed put as Zayn and Harry put the pieces of their lives back together, one weirdly shaped memory at a time.

Harry described it to him in the best way he could - it was like he’d been given access to a room that had been locked for years. He still knew the things that were in there in theory, but it was like he was walking around, picking up covers and storage boxes and discovering memories that he’d always had.

It was big. There was a lot of sleeping, a lot of talking. A lot of time given for Zayn and Harry to work through things together and plans to be made.

It was decided that in the spring they’d go to each of the omegas birth packs - reunite them with their families after all these years.

Louis could foresee those coming with their own challenges, but he knew it was the right thing to do. They’d not seen them in years, now. Even though both of the omegas assured their alphas they wouldn’t want to live there again, despite it all, Louis couldn’t help but worry.

He tried not to let that seed of worry grow, for now. It would be weeks until it happened in any case.

After hours and hours of work, they were all exhausted. Emotionally, for sure. Harry and Zayn both had some sort of physical tiredness too, a bit of a groggy air that only seemed to be lifting now.

Harry had whispered to him earlier this morning that he wanted to return home to their cottage. He said he felt physically strong enough to make the walk again, now, and that he also needed a break from the intensity of it all.

As much as he’d been seeking solace in Zayn, he reminded him of all that had happened. He explained it like needing to turn his brain off for a little while - just be with Princess in front of their fire and sewing some of the projects he’d been working on before they’d left.

(They’d discovered Harry had been a bit of a seamstress prior to his memory loss, too. Louis felt justified in that he wasn’t just some sort of prodigy sewer, and instead had years of practice behind his hands. His mother had taught him when he was younger, and before he was taken he’d been doing the same thing - designing and making his own clothes for himself, his family, and for some of his village.)

Louis had promised him they could head back just after breakfast, and explained as much to Liam and Zayn over their dining table.

It turned out Zayn was feeling the same way - both of the omegas were a little too worried to say it and not wanting the other to feel rejected when they’d so quickly become each other's safe space. After a few tears of relief and understanding it was all settled - Louis and Harry would head home.

With the promise to return after a few days, of course. Louis felt like they might be making that trip even more often than they had been last year, with all the new revelations.

So, wander home they did. They’d just gotten to Louis cottage, and as he was surveying the state of his garden and how they might need a little tending too after the few days' absence, Harry turned to him.

“Can you take me to where you found me?” Harry asked him softly, touching his arm like he thought he was asking for too much.

Louis stood himself up straight from where he was bending over to inspect if there was a weed in the garden bed, facing Harry properly and cupping his cheeks.

“Do you feel up to it? It’s a bit of a run, even in your wolf,” Louis asked him quietly.

They’d never gone back there. Louis hadn’t strayed anywhere near that part of the forest ever since that day, rather introducing Harry to the parts of the trees he knew a lot better when they would be wolves together.

Harry had never asked, either. Since he was able to shift again.

Harry nodded, looking a bit more innocent than he had over the last couple of days. Like his old self. His cheeks were rosy from the walk, the tip of his nose the same. Louis wanted to kiss him.

So he did.

Harry giggled against his mouth, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around him firmly.

“I’m sure. I just - want to see. I think it will be cathartic, kind of. Maybe. Maybe it won’t feel any different. But it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?” Harry decided.

Louis shrugged, thumbing his cheeks as they spoke.

“Sure, my love. I don’t see the harm in trying,” Louis nodded, planting one more big, wet kiss on his lips before stepping back so he could start to strip out of his clothes, even if it was freezing outside.

It would be almost the same temperature inside, so there was hardly any reason to move.

“I love you, Lou,” Harry told him earnestly as he shucked his own clothes off. He got stuck in his trousers, having to hop around a few times before he could be free of them, making Louis laugh at the state of him.

“I love you too, my Wolfie boy,” Louis assured him.

He shifted as soon as he was free of his confines, shaking his coat out to fluff it and feel a bit warmer, shifting into a stretch to adjust to his different muscles before he was interrupted by Harry burrowing under his belly in the arch he created.

Louis internally rolled his eyes, standing up straight and looking under himself at Harry’s cheeky wolf face, licking directly on his snout before nudging him out so they could get going.

The journey was more uphill than their normal plot of land, a bit tougher and a bit slower in general because Louis was leading the charge and not Harry, who was always faster than him. Louis wanted to get it right, though, trying to be methodical about finding the spot when it had been just over two years.

His heart was thrumming and his muscles burning in that satisfying way when he finally found the clearing he was pretty sure he was looking for, waiting to ensure Harry was at his side before looking around and nosing carefully at the mulchy leaves and earth.

He followed his nose for a few moments before he finally came across the rusty bear trap - closed in the way they’d left it so no other animal could get caught inside of it. It was clear the person who had set the trap had never come back for it, given the state of its decay.

Louis pointed with his nose for Harry to investigate if he wanted to, watching the smaller wolf carefully tiptoe and sniff around it, then look around the clearing a bit more and overall just be inquisitive.

He wondered what he thought. If it gave him some catharsis, if it didn’t. If it was just another thing. Louis couldn’t quite place it, but he was sure he’d tell him later.

Harry then came back over to Louis, jumping in front of him in place once or twice before leaning in to cob at Louis neck, just over his scent gland. He then flopped himself to the ground in front of him in complete submission, belly up and head tilted back, neck fully bare.

Neck so fully bare that Louis’ alpha was struck with the urge to bond him.

Harry had to know now, especially that he had all his memories back, what that specific pose implied. Even when Harry submitted to him in his wolf when they’d play fought in the past it was never with his neck like that, not really.

The particular pose he was in was reserved for bonding. How people used to do it back in the day, before they discovered they could bond one another in a more refined, ‘decent’ way as humans.

Louis walked over top of him, licking his belly before giving his neck a lick. He nudged Harry’s head, needing him to make eye contact to see if that was really what he was offering. If he wanted him to bond him right here, right now.

Harry tilted his head ever so slightly, wriggling around in place and letting out some sweet little whines that were just begging his alpha to do it. To sink his teeth in. He even nodded, something a bit out of character in their wolf form but it was enough that Louis knew human Harry was consenting too, that he wanted this in all of his forms.

Louis did too. He’d wanted it for longer than he could remember.

And it felt only right to do it in wolf form, the way nature intended. The way he and Harry connected with their wolves was much different to the average shifter, especially with their shared experiences of being feral and feeling driven by them.

Which is why Louis nodded back and nudged Harry’s head back up, encouraging him back into the position. He nosed around in his neck, taking his time to find where his scent was sweetest and licking over that spot a few times, just to prime him.

Louis then took a deep breath and bit Harry’s neck, sinking his teeth in through the layer of fur and skin, breaking through and feeling a rush unlike anything else once he made contact with his scent gland.

It felt like every time he’d smoked herbs and drunk mead put together, then times by the highest number he could count. He felt out of his mind, lavender flooding his senses and his whole body feeling alight.

Harry squirmed beneath him but Louis felt strong, letting his instinct fully take over to inform him of when he was able to let go, when the bond would have taken properly. He was too distracted, anyway, feeling the essence of Harry leak into every pore and fibre he had.

It felt carnal, animalistic. It also felt overwhelming like love and the right thing to do.

He pulled his teeth out after a moment, smoothing licks over the wound he knew would heal within a day or two, something to do with their wolf magic that went right over Louis’ head. It felt right to do, though, and it wasn’t as though Harry was bleeding all that much.

Instead he looked how Louis felt - content. A bit out of his body, for sure, his eyes glazed and his body limp. But he looked happy.

Louis felt happy, too.

I love you suddenly passed through his mind, but in Harry’s voice, somewhere nearer the back of his head where he was pretty sure he never really thought from. He jumped, like Harry had somehow spoken in his wolf, enough to shock Harry into tilting his head up to look at him.

You heard that? Harry’s voice came again, only shocking Louis slightly less.

Yes? Louis tried to send back, watching Harry’s eyes widen with shock as he scrambled around in place.

Say it back Harry insisted, tipping up to nudge his nose against Louis’ chest, nipping a bit at him.

I love you too Louis pushed out towards him, sort of thinking it in Harry’s direction. It seemed to work, because Harry squirmed all delightedly beneath him, wiggling around like the happiest little bug.

I love you I love you I love you Harry chanted in his brain. Thank you, I love you!

I love you too, my Omega. My little wolf. My Wolfie Louis promised. Forever and ever.

Forever Harry agreed.

Louis thought that would be the easiest promise he could hope to keep.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁☾.