me, him, and the moon ☾ l.s.

twenty four - you make me strong

"They're coming! They've breached the outer walls!"

Louis leapt out of bed, rushing across the room to the open window. The main street had descended into complete chaos. He couldn't see any enemy soldiers on the roads -- only frantic members of their own pack -- but if the other pack armies had moved past the walls, it wouldn't take long for them to try to take complete control of the town.

An explosion rattled the entire house, and Louis slammed the window shut, the glass rattling loudly on impact. "Fuck! How could this have happened?" he cursed angrily, turning back toward the bed and tugging on the ends of his hair. His head spun with questions, but he knew that he had to find Liam and Zayn and the rest of their unit. If they didn't secure the perimeter, the whole town would burn to the ground in a matter of hours, if not minutes.

"Lou?" Harry's eyes were wide, and he was hurriedly pulling on a pair of pants, hopping and stumbling in a way that would normally be incredibly endearing. "What's going on?"

"The other packs broke through the outer walls," Louis reported, repeating what he had heard and observed outside. "I don't know how, but the war is here."

As if reading his alpha's mind, Harry responded instantly, "You need to find Liam and Zayn." He dropped to his knees to dig his emergency medical bag out from under the bed, digging through it quickly to survey his supplies and mumbling inaudibly under his breath as he did.

And without another word exchanged between them, Louis knew exactly what his omega was thinking. He didn't like it one bit.

"Harry, you're going to stay inside," he ordered, rushing to put on his own protective gear.

The younger boy was already grabbing his jacket from the hook by the door, shooting Louis an annoyed glare. "No, I'm going to go to the infirmary," he argued stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest and stopping to stand in the doorway of their bedroom.

Louis mirrored the other boy's body language, crossing his own arms and staring back at his mate. "Harry, the streets are literally a warzone. You're not taking a single step out that door."

Harry held his ground. "Niall worked the first shift this morning. He'll need my help."

"Harry --"

"I'm going to be useful, Lou, if it's the last thing I do. I can help!"

Louis's chest tightened at his mate's poor choice of words. "Harry --"

"I'm going."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Louis cursed, his jaw clenched with frustration and stress. He took firm hold of Harry's arm and yanked him down the stairs into the entryway, opening the front door just a crack to peer out into the chaotic street. "My life would've been so much easier if I had found an omega who actually bloody listened to me."

Harry just squeezed his hand. "You love me."

For a split second, Louis's face softened. He tugged Harry to his chest and kissed him hard. "I love you," he agreed, the words tumbling straight into Harry's mouth. "Now let's go."

He tugged Harry out the door, and the omega's eyes widened. A thick fog of dust and debris hung over the entire street. People were running in all directions, shouting incoherently above the noise. Harry brought his hands up to cover his ears as Louis led them expertly through the chaos toward the infirmary, keeping a strong hold on Harry's arm the whole time.

"Why are they doing this?" Harry shouted, his voice barely audible over the sound of screaming.

"Because our pack is smaller and weaker than theirs, and they're hungry for power," Louis threw back over his shoulder. Through the thick smoke, he caught sight of Liam standing just across the street, and he shouted to the other alpha, "Liam! Where are we gathering?"