me, him, and the moon ☾ l.s.

twenty nine - . . . as we know it

"Explain this," the Head Alpha demanded, his face cold and hard as stone.

"I . . . um, well, I --" Harry rambled, panic instantly swirling up inside of him. His voice caught in his throat as he tried to explain, the words in his mind melting into a meaningless puddle of incoherency under the Alpha's piercing gaze.

Niall cleared his throat, wrapping his fingers around Harry's wrist and tugging him back a step, protectively creating space between Harry and Louis's father. "He was just --"

"Not you," the Alpha snapped, his angry eyes never leaving Harry's fear-stricken face. "I want to hear it from the witch himself."

The word itself burned a hole in Harry's throat, and he swallowed hard, dropping his gaze to the side. He cleared his throat, stammering out unconvincingly, "I-I'm not --"

"We'll see what the pack has to say about that." The Alpha turned on his heel without another word, calling out, "Follow me. Come quietly, or you'll make things worse for yourself, witch."

Harry's entire body trembled as he followed Louis's father through the nearly-empty streets, with Niall still gripping his wrist tightly. "You need to get out of here," the beta said under his breath, his voice distant even as he spoke directly into Harry's ear. "Now. I'll distract him, and you run."

Harry shook his head. He could see the main square up ahead, already packed with people as they waited for the armies to return. "I'm not running. I can't . . . it'll just make things worse. They'll hunt me down."

He was living his worst nightmare. He forced himself to push through his panic, and he glanced down the street as they passed by, catching sight of the small house at the end of the road. If his very last memory was of his and Louis's home, however briefly they had shared it together, Harry could die happy. The windows were dark and gloomy, though, and his heart shattered.

"Harry, they could kill you. If you turn yourself in like this, I won't be able to --"

"I don't want you to. I don't need you to protect me," he said firmly. "Either they banish me, or they kill me, right here and right now." He locked eyes with his best friend as they entered the crowded square. "No matter what happens, tell Louis I love him. I mean, he knows, but . . . I want him to hear it one last time."

"Harry, no --" Niall was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Don't. If you fight, they'll punish you right along with me." His green eyes were wide and pleading as the Head Alpha tugged him away from Niall, pulling him into the center of the square. "Promise me, Niall. Promise me!"

Niall nodded, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill over. "I promise," he called out, raising his voice to be heard over the confused chatter of the crowd. "I'll make sure he knows."

Harry bit his trembling lower lip, but he nodded, a grateful expression on his face. He was terrified, but he was also relieved. Normally, they would have tossed him into a cell while the pack gathered for a "trial," but all of the remaining pack members already loitered around the main square waiting for the armies to return. As scared as he was to face this alone, Harry couldn't help feeling silently thankful that this nightmare would be resolved before Louis returned -- if the alpha was here, he would only get himself hurt on Harry's behalf.

By the time Louis returned, Harry would either be dead or long gone.

Harry could hear Louis's father addressing the crowd, recounting the scene he had just witnessed to an astonished pack, but the world felt far away. He felt like an outsider looking in, even as his quaking body swayed under the heavy gazes that weighed down on his back.