I'll Be Loving You

Chapter 6: Always

Louis clutched Harry's arm closer to his side. He wanted to melt into the alpha and stay in their little bubble, leaving Nick on the other side of the door. It wasn't so much fear now as it was dread. He knew whatever happened, however civil, it wouldn't be pleasant. Nick was too stubborn to let things be, Harry was too loving to give up, and Louis... he didn't know what he was.

His hand on the doorknob, Harry turned to look at Louis. "Are you ready?"

Louis uncurled his arm from around the alpha's and swallowed. "Yeah, I'm good." His hands had begun to shake slightly, but he steadied them against the fabric of his jeans.

"I won't let him touch you," Harry whispered. He pressed a fleeting kiss to Louis' forehead and pulled the door open.

There stood Nick, his body leaning against the doorframe. At the sight of the omega, his lips quirked up in a bloodcurdling smile. "Happy to see I kept my promise?"

Louis felt frozen, as if all of his limbs were locked into place. He wanted to scream in anger, or maybe cry of frustration, but he couldn't seem to do either. After a few seconds, Harry gently nudged him.

"I.. no," he mumbled. That was all he could muster, but it seemed to be enough to ignite an ugly fire behind Nick's eyes.

"We'll have to work on that."

Harry seemed to sense the danger in the silence stretching across the room, so he swiftly stepped in front of Louis and gestured for Nick to step inside. He was ever the picture of politeness, even if the tension in his muscles suggested otherwise. "Do you think we could talk in the living room?"

Nick shook his head and stayed outside. "I think it would be better if we spoke out here."

Suspicion lined the features in Harry's face, but he didn't seem eager to cause any more trouble than was absolutely necessary. "Alright," he sighed reluctantly. His arm never leaving Louis' waist, he walked over to a particularly large tree and leaned against the bark. "What exactly is it that you want?"

Nick shrugged. "That's easy: Louis."

"And you know I'm not just handing him over. Knowing you're not just going to walk away from here with Louis in tow, I'm asking again. What do you want?"

Nick's eyes narrowed every so slightly, but his posture didn't change otherwise. "I don't think you understand, Styles. Louis is leaving with me, one way or another. You have three options: 1) Fight me for him, 2) Start a pack war over him, 3) Hand him over without any trouble. It seems to be a pretty simple dilemma to me."

Louis wanted to ask why (after everything) Nick was being so insistent about taking him, but he already knew the answer. Once the shame of having driven away an omega from the pack sunk in, Nick had probably torn the whole pack apart looking for Louis' pack house. Regaining his lost omega wasn't a matter of love; it was a matter of pride.

"There aren't any diplomatic measures you'd be willing to try first? No negotiations you'd be willing to make?" Harry knew the answer before he asked the question, but a fight between pack alphas was something one normally tried to avoid at all costs.

"Not if it means I'm walking away without the omega you've strapped to your side," Nick sneered.

Harry growled in response, his hand unconsciously tightening around Louis' waist. "Fine. But we don't need this escalating to a pack war: this is solely a fight between you and I."

"Alright, but that means you," Nick said, turning towards Louis, "can't intervene. No matter what."

He didn't like the sound of that, but he knew he had to agree. As much as he knew it would be hell to stand back and watch, that was the only way that they could keep this from blowing out of proportion. So he found himself nodding, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. He had to trust Harry would be okay, and he'd have to steel his own bones.