My One and Only Alpha

Chapter 6

Under the harsh scrutiny of the nearby pack members, Louis elongated his neck as regally as he could and sauntered to the path Zayn had pointed him to. Maybe if Louis exuded five times more confidence than he actually had, nobody would notice him shaking like a leaf.
Once he was on the path, though, Louis became helplessly confused. It divided into a plethora of separate ones of ambiguous destinations and he stopped in his tracks, trying to survey his surroundings and get a decent sense of direction. Each path led to different parts of the village, and all he knew was he was looking for a wigwam—and he wasn’t entirely sure what a ‘wigwam’ even was. He cursed at himself in frustration for not asking Zayn to extrapolate when he’d had the chance.
Instead of breaking down and sitting on the ground in defeat like he wanted to, Louis swallowed his pride and approached the closest pack member he saw. The obviously Omega boy was serenely sat outside of his teepee, singing with heart as he beat upon a bongo in his lap, and Louis had to actively try not to dance. The boy was beautiful; golden yellow hair, a short frame like his own, and copious amounts of beaded jewelry that created music of its own every time he struck his drum.
The boy’s eyes were closed in peaceful concentration, and Louis hated to interrupt, but he had an emergency on his hands—or so he classified it. He cleared his throat once, twice, three times before the Omega was broken from his groove, blue eyes blinking rapidly at Louis’ unfamiliar form.
“Who are you?” the Chehalis wolf asked before shaking his head and removing the drum from between his thighs, standing up to properly regard his fellow Omega. “Wrong. I already kind of know, and that’s not how we greet each other, anyway. I’m called Peeta. Peeta Mellark.”
“A pleasure, Peeta. I’m Louis,” Louis responded politely, unable to jump right into his issues before at least striking up introductions.
Peeta smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around Louis, holding him close and rocking them side to side in a slow dance. Louis only tensed for a second before sighing in content and nuzzling back into the Omega boy, happy that he’d already made at least one friend here at Chehalis.
Omegas, as a general principle, automatically took to each other, and they liked to stay close. They predominately needed Alphas, of course, but sometimes the brutes could be relentless, and Omegas were easy to overwhelm. So as a result, they regularly sought each other’s soft and peaceful auras to surround themselves with, but Louis was still surprised this Omega had taken to him so instantly.
Louis and Peeta embraced and scented each other for a satisfying amount of time to both before eventually pulling back and basking in friendly eye contact.
“You can tell me all about yourself at a later time; I know you must be weary from your travels. I’d heard Zayn was with you, but if the mating I’m smelling right now is coming from him and Niall like I think it is, then I know why he isn’t anymore,” Peeta said with a lopsided grin, scratching at his cleft chin as he privately pined over his own mate.
“You’re right about everything there,” Louis chuckled before announcing his current predicament, thinking this an opportune time to bring it up. “I stopped your beautiful drumming because I was hoping you could tell me how to get to the Healer’s teepee. I’m supposed to find a wigwam, but I don’t even know what it is.”
Peeta blushed from the compliment to his music and cooed at Louis’ hopeless expression, booping him on the nose like an older brother. “Don’t you ever worry, Louis. You’re safe here, and I’ll always help you with anything you need. You’re looking for Jadedra. She went with her mate Perinar to get supplies a while ago, but they should have returned by now. Come on, I’ll take you there,” he offered with an outstretched hand, looking forward to getting away from his teepee for a bit. He’d been frightfully bored on his day off.
“You’re amazing, thank you,” Louis gladly sighed, taking hold of Peeta’s given hand and intertwining their fingers as they walked to this mysterious Jadedra.
During their stroll, Louis happily told Peeta everything he could possibly need to know about where he’d come from, and why he was at Chehalis now. Peeta gasped and laughed at all the right times, and he was about to flood Louis with questions when they heard a voice call out from somewhere behind them.
“Peeta,” said the calm but firm tone of an unknown female. “Who is that?”
Both boys turned around at once and Louis held in his gasp, making quick note of all her foreboding traits. The girl carried a gorgeous bow that stood almost too tall to use efficiently—but Louis was sure she managed it just fine—and she had a long braid hanging down in front of her left shoulder. Her breasts were covered by layers upon layers of beaded necklaces that probably all had significant meanings, and Louis hadn’t been here long enough to know, but he really wanted to. Around her toned waist was a short skirt and a sharp stone axe that was propped up in a holder, tied just above her hips. I may actually have problems if she ever fights me.
She had a hard-lined but attractive face, and judging by her scent, Louis recognized her as Alpha straight away. She was probably Peeta’s mate as well, so Louis let go of the boy’s hand and backed up a few paces out of respect.
“Katniss!” Peeta exclaimed, skipping to the girl and jumping into her arms. She caught him effortlessly and stoked his back, still regarding Louis suspiciously with narrowed hawk eyes. “Louis, this is my mate, Katniss,” the Omega declared, peppering her face with kisses because he’d missed her more than he’d been able to handle. “Kat, this is Louis. He’s new here; Zayn brought him. Be nice.”
“Oh, the new wolf, that’s right. I’m sorry, I’d forgotten all about that. It’s nice to meet you, Louis. Forgive me for the abrasive behavior, my rut is close and I’ve been a bit…aggressive...this past week,” she said as she pulled Louis into a group hug and pointedly scented his neck, showing the Omega that he was fully permitted to be around them from here on out.
Louis could cry from all the acceptance he’s been shown so far; it was beyond his wildest dreams, and he would be indescribably depressed if he ever woke up. “I appreciate that so much, Katniss. You and Peeta have already made me feel at home, and I’ve only been here for an hour,” he said sincerely with a heart weighed down by gratitude and relief.
“Chehalis accepts Omegas, Louis. You are all beautiful creatures in your own way, no matter what. You’re very outspoken from what I heard a minute ago, and our Pack Alpha is probably going to fight with you a lot...but don’t worry—he’ll actually like it,” Katniss chuckled cryptically, giving Louis a loaded wink before directing her attention to Peeta. “Baby deer, I smelled your scent mixed with something I didn’t recognize, and that’s why I came, but I still have things to do before I’m done for the day. I love you, little bean, and I’ll come home to you tonight, okay?”
“Okay, my love,” Peeta sighed in a dreamy voice, the undertone of reluctance reaching their ears without question.
Katniss allowed herself one more designated moment of affection and reeled her mate in close, lightly nipping at his bond mark to stake her claim—an understandably natural reaction for an Alpha who had felt threatened—and patting at the soft skin below his full hips.
Peeta moaned softly and then whined in complaint when Katniss pulled away, instinctively trying to follow the comforting touch of his mate. She shook her head and retreated the same way she’d come, smirking at her mate over her shoulder before disappearing from sight.
Sighing as though he’d been personally wronged, Peeta turned and gave Louis a shy smile, the pair falling into step together again and resuming their journey. “Sorry about that. She really has been watching me extremely closely this week. My heat always comes directly after her rut ends, so it’s always a crazy time for us. Oh well, you know how it is,” he laughed flippantly, his nerves bundling in his stomach because he didn’t normally talk about such private matters.
“I don’t have a mate,” Louis informed to say he didn’t in fact ‘know how it was,’ giving a nonchalant shrug when Peeta’s expression plummeted with sympathy.
“Is he—”
“Not dead, no,” Louis assured at once, moving his bag strap away from his neck and displaying the blank and unmarked skin where a bite would be if he’d been mated. “See? Never had one.”
“Oh, okay. Well, you know how heats are, at least,” Peeta reiterated, his earlier concerns ebbed away from Louis’ assurance.
“Actually, I don’t,” Louis corrected once more, almost laughing at Peeta’s mortified face this time around. “I haven’t had one in seven years, and I never had that many to begin with. I can remember them a little, but it’s difficult to. They're like a distant dream,” he mused, the only things he could recall being feverish skin and an aching hole. Heats were a daze; they felt like eternity when you were stuck in one, but after you came out of it, the details were hard to remember.
“Louis!” Peeta cried, jumping in front of Louis and grabbing onto his shoulders, consequently halting them both. “Why has this happened?”
Louis squirmed—should he tell the truth? That he’s been taking suppressants for the last seven years and blatantly lying to his entire pack, including everyone he’s met since then? That he’s nothing but a big, fat, stupid, lying Omega, who doesn’t even deserve the heats he’s been repressing? Maybe someday, but certainly not on the first day.
“Don’t know. Don’t worry about me, please. I may be a little defective, but I do lots of things to make up for it,” Louis said with an easygoing smile, patting the top of Peeta’s head and resuming his stride, causing the other Omega to step out of the way and follow along. 
“Okay, if you’re sure. And I don’t think you’re defective, Lou,” Peeta asserted passionately, as though he’d known him for years and had this knowledge.
“Thanks, love,” Louis snorted, holding back the endless list of reasons he had for why he was defective as all fuck. “Wait, hang on. Earlier—when you said—how did you know I preferred male Alphas? How did you possibly figure that?” he inquired, finally internalizing the ‘did he’ question Niall had begun to ask.
“Oh, I uh...just feel things. Oh, look, we’re here!” Peeta announced suspiciously cheerfully, veering off the path to the exact garden-surrounded teepee Zayn had described.
Just then, an especially short and thin Omega girl with big brown eyes and long black hair popped her head out of the teepee beside Jadedra’s like a gopher. Louis barely got time to process her presence before she was sprinting toward him.
“Louiiiiis!” she cried, springing into his arms and tightly wrapping her bony limbs around his body. Louis was completely stunned (as anyone would be in his position), and he couldn’t think of a single response for this shocking turn of events, but he did his best to reciprocate the embrace with the same fervor the girl was harnessing.
“Camila!” her presumed Alpha mate chastised, hurrying to collect the girl from the immobilized newcomer she’d latched onto. “Sorry about that, she’s been waiting a long time for today,” the female Alpha excused, taking in a breath to let out a string of similar apologies when Camila used the time for herself.
“Lauranna, it’s him! He’s here!” the wily Omega shouted incredulously, giving Louis a rough and wet kiss on the cheek.
Lauranna was finally able to get her arms snaked around her mate’s waist and she pried her off with great difficulty, setting her down and firmly holding her in place. “I know, baby, I know,” she cooed, looking to the newcomer and holding a hand out for him to grasp, grinning when he choppily did. “I’m Lauranna, but you can—and please do—call me Lauran. This is my mate, Camila. She is our pack’s Seer, and she’s been ranting about your arrival for oh say...three years now? You’ll have to excuse her enthusiasm. To her, you’re like an old friend,” she explained, running her hands up and down Camila’s jittery arms.
By this point amid the commotion, Jadedra and Perinar had emerged from their home, hair equally mussed and faces flushed like they’d either just woken up, or…
Jadedra was a doll-like beauty with high cheekbones and wide brown eyes that closely resembled those of a deer—and Camila’s. She was wearing a thin hide dress that looked to be inside-out and one strap relentlessly slipped off her shoulder, making her resort to pushing it back up every ten seconds, but she didn’t seem to mind the inconvenience.
Her Alpha mate, Perinar, was proudly naked, her thick and curly blonde hair framing her face like a lion. She had a striking face with a sharp nose and intense blue eyes, but a kind and warm smile, and Louis was lulled by her presence.
Louis was still just as speechless as he’d been before, so Jadedra took her turn to speak first. “Wonderful to meet you, Louis. I’m Jadedra, but please call me Jade. And this is Perinar, but she hates it when anyone besides me calls her that. Call her Perrie. We have heard much about you, but I’m sure that’s a weird thing to hear from strangers, so…I’m sorry for our overbearing behaviors,” she said with an innocent shrug, opening her arms in a silent question.
Louis composed himself with a cough and gladly accepted her hug, squeezing shortly and then stepping away. “I’m really sorry, Chehalis wolves. I’ve been on my own for three years as I guess you already know, and I’m afraid I’ve forgotten how to socialize. You’ll have to give me some time,” he said in embarrassment, hoping his new friends would understand.
“As an Alpha, I must say I am appalled that any of my kin would forcefully remove an Omega from the safety of his pack. If it were up to me, I’d have Rixon swinging by his neck from a tree. Feel free to come by anytime you’d like. The sun is going to set soon and I need to be awake when it goes down, so I’m going back to…bed. Have a good night, Louis,” Perrie quipped personably, that greeting/farewell being her first and last words of the meeting, promptly heading back into her teepee and passionately kissing Jade’s lips on the way.
While these introductions had been transpiring, Peeta and Camila had been quietly whispering in excitement to each other, and Louis’ temptation to be involved got the best of him as he walked up to confront them. “This is how you knew I preferred males, isn’t it Peeta? It was Camila,” he guessed, grinning at Peeta’s shocked and obviously guilty face.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Peeta lilted in a dramatic recovery, feigning an innocence they all knew he didn’t have and causing an eruption of giggles.
Now that he thought about it, if Camila knew that much, she was also likely to know other details about him that shouldn’t ever be revealed, and Louis made a mental note to ask her about it later. He hoped she hadn’t already told everyone about his...herbal medicines, or that could cause problems.
Lauranna then departed with a last wave to the group and a kiss for her mate, leaving Jade, Peeta, and Camila to show Louis to an infamous wigwam. The structure happened to be decently close in distance to the girls’ teepees, which was a huge relief to Louis, because now he knew he had friends that wouldn’t ever be too far away.
Peeta announced that he was too tired to continue for tonight, and he gave a long kiss to Louis’ cheek before flitting off toward his home. The remaining girls, Camila and Jadedra, began clearing out the knick-knacks and got to work cleaning his new living space for him. No matter how much Louis tried to refuse the help, they only insisted he had been working hard enough and that it was time for him to finally relax. Honestly, he couldn’t deny there was truth to that.
A wigwam, for the record, turned out to be a dome-shaped living arrangement constructed of wood, covered with large slabs of tree bark and woven mats, and was a size only one wolf could consistently thrive in. Louis much preferred these to the stone houses he had grown up in, though, stuffy or not. He briefly wondered what the Chehalis wolves did when it rained, but he sooner realized he didn’t care. He’d gladly lie all night in the pouring rain before he’d take one step back into Siksika.
When things were properly arranged to his convenience, he was gifted with some common household items: new clothing, two beautiful fur hides to sleep in, and some pottery bowls for eating and gathering water with respectively. He thanked the girls profusely and was about to take that nap they kept suggesting to him when Zayn suddenly entered his house, reeking strongly and deliciously of recent mating.
Camila and Jade bowed in his presence and scurried out, promising Louis they’d spend time together when they got the chance. When they were out of his house, Zayn smiled and sat down heavily, yawning in exhaustion before looking to Louis with a hint of sadness etched on his face. “When did you make that last mark on your leg?” he asked suddenly before he convinced himself not to. “I was with you the entire time, and I never smelled blood.”
Louis wiggled a bit where he sat and scratched his head to have something to do. “Well, it was the second night. I pretended to sleep in my wolf so you would stay in your human form, and when you were completely asleep, I shifted and did it—because your senses were weaker, and you wouldn’t notice anything. And then I changed back and went to sleep. I know, I’m sorry. It doesn’t make you a bad Alpha; I was very sneaky about it. I can’t not, you understand. It keeps me sane, but I know nobody would approve,” Louis rapidly explained, a tiny bit heartbroken over Zayn’s distraught expression.
“I really wish you wouldn’t, but it’s obviously not my call to make. You truly are unlike any Omega I’ve ever met,” the Beta commented redundantly, shaking his head and running his hand down his tired face.
“Yeah, I get that frequently if you can believe,” Louis muttered with a bemused smile, raising an eyebrow at the Alpha when he made no announcements of any kind. “I know that’s not the reason you’re here…”
“No, it’s not, sorry. For everything. Niall was impossible to leave like that, and after I knotted him, I was about to fall asleep, but I was instructed to come tell you Harry wants to see you,” Zayn recounted, looking somewhat sympathetic to have to break the news, but mostly just annoyed he had to do it at all.
“Now?” Louis squeaked in genuine fear, his face paling as the blood all rushed to his racing heart.
“‘Fraid so, Lou. Harry wants to speak to you about pack duties. I asked him if it could wait, but seeing as how he came to tell me this while I was still locked inside my mate, I’m assuming it can’t wait, no,” Zayn muttered in palpable irritation, wishing he hadn’t had to pull out of Niall before drifting off to the land of dreams. Falling asleep would be downright tedious now.
“Well, where do I find him?” Louis asked bravely as though nothing was worrisome, trying not to let his fear speak for itself. He was a strong ass Omega, wasn’t he? He should be able to handle anything—even Harry. That’s a joke.
“His quarters are directly in the center of the village—which is why I’ve come to take you there because it’s a bit confusing to explain. Listen, try not to be so nervous. He’s intimidating at first glance, but try to remember all the things I’ve told you about him,” Zayn soothed, standing with a grunt and holding a hand out to Louis.
Before Louis could clasp the hand and be helped off his bedding, Zayn quickly retracted his arm and jumped back to the corner of Louis’ house. “What—“
“Sorry, Louis. It almost slipped my mind, but I can’t touch you right now. Probably not for a while. I shouldn’t have even come in, Niall is currently...traumatized,” Zayn grumbled in exasperation, scoffing when he glanced Louis’ contrite expression. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, Louis. It’s not your fault. He’ll be just fine. Just gotta give it a few days.”
Louis sighed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, a common action he uses under pressure. “Well, I’m still sorry. He seemed so upset,” he reasoned, biting his lip in thought—would Niall really get over it?
“Upset is his middle name. You two might end up being close friends, maybe even in the same family, just watch. You’re actually scarily similar, but let’s just take it one day at a time for now,” Zayn laughed, exiting the claimed wigwam and waiting for Louis to emerge.
 
---
 
They walked through the village en route to the center, and the more Louis saw, the more he liked. His new friends had clearly gone and spread the word, because this time he was seeing more Chehalis wolves smiling at him, rather than eyeing him warily like before. He was grateful for this, and he constantly showed it by grinning hugely at everyone he could, making himself appear likeable without any spoken words.
They eventually made it to the heart of Chehalis and stopped at the front of Harry’s oversized teepee. Whatever was going on inside, it was gorgeous to look at, amazing artworks covering every inch of its exterior, and a warmth Louis could feel all the way from where he was. To get to live here…with him. That would be…that Omega will be lucky.
Louis could feel his heartbeat in the bottom of his feet when Zayn yipped outside Harry’s home to alert the Pack Alpha they’d arrived, and that crushing punch of dread grew outstandingly worse when Harry appeared and silently motioned for Louis to come inside. With a departing look of sympathy, Zayn left Louis alone, damning him to enter the structure and try to hold his own in front of the superior Pack Alpha. Louis took a deep breath and brushed past the awaiting Alpha, watching as he briskly returned to the middle of his home and plopped down on his expansive and unfairly fluffy sleeping area.
The inside of the Pack Alpha’s home was far less extravagant than Louis would have expected. Rixon’s quarters had been filled to the brim with all kinds of riches, and he’d had at least three of everything. Harry’s was far more modest, except for the colourful jewelry that was overflowing a bowl by the entrance, each likely made for him by different members of the pack. Aside from that, though, everything to notice were the necessities a house needed, and Louis had to admire the fact that Harry didn’t like luxury—could he be any more attractive?
As previously mentioned, in the middle of the floor was Harry himself, sinking into his bedding surrounded by furry skins and soft quilts, gazing at Louis closely and thoughtfully. The unwavering inspection of him made the Omega feel as though his entire existence was being evaluated. No matter how many seconds ticked by, Harry continued to stroke his chin and look Louis up and down, smiling slightly as if considering something.
Unable to handle the grating silence any longer, Louis spoke out: “Is there something you want?” he asked only semi-politely (not politely at all).
The Alpha’s gaze—that the Omega could have sworn had been fixated on his hips—piercingly flew up to his eyes, and Harry’s lips slowly turned from a soft smile into a devious smirk. “You’ve got an attitude,” he drawled in an impressively deep voice that Louis instantly adored.
Louis had, for the most part, only heard Harry’s harsh snapping and yelling before, which was indeed attractive in its own right, but this low rumble of his talking voice was a whole other monster. He was halfway through a detailed mental fantasy of said voice in his ear, telling him to do unspeakable things, when he realized where he was and rushed back to reality, just in time to hear it again.
“How do you possess the throat of an Alpha?” Harry asked, who had been nonstop thinking of this since he had heard it.
“I trained myself,” Louis replied haughtily, casually shrugging of his shoulders as though it hadn’t taken an arduous seven years to establish.
“It was very...impressive,” Harry noted, an exception obvious to follow from his tone. “But above all, incredibly disrespectful.”
“I told Zayn not to bring me here in the first place,” Louis retorted, crossing his arms and staring off to the side so he stood a chance at maintaining his composure.
Harry raised a calculated eyebrow, leaning his weight onto his hands behind him and crossing one ankle over the other. “And why would you tell him that?” he purred, having a shameful amount of fun tormenting this Omega’s pressure points.
“Because!” Louis huffed in irate frustration, flailing his arms dubiously like a bird. “Because I’m a crap Omega who can’t stop challenging my superiors, and no Alpha will ever like me because of it. I’m tolerable at best when I try my absolute hardest, but I’ve never been anywhere I’m wanted. I’m used to it like that, I just hate dealing with disappointment,” he grumbled, hastily crossing his arms again when he became uncomfortable with an exposed chest.
Harry seemed to consider this for a while and he began to idly braid his long curly hair, humming every few moments and pursing his beautifully-shaped lips. “That’s because they look at you as an Omega. If I chose to categorize you as an Omega, I’m sorry, but you wouldn’t even be tolerable,” he said at last with a hint of mirth in his voice.
Louis rolled his eyes and rubbed at his lids with the heels of his palms. “Thanks, Alpha. That was very kind of you. Is that all?” he griped, peeking through his fingers at the Alpha with the finished braid and the slightly parted lips. Not now, Louis.
“No, of course not. Come sit, Louis,” Harry requested, patting the fur next to him to suggest where exactly he was to sit.
“You can’t be serious!” Louis exclaimed with a choke, eyes wider than the moon in protest. “Only the Alpha’s mate can be allowed near his bed; it’s entirely too presumptuous for any other Omega,” he asserted nervously, shifting his weight between his two restless feet.
“Says who? Whose authority is higher than mine? You’re not an Omega anyway, remember? Don’t make me ask again; now sit,” Harry commanded, erasing all memory of the polite invitation.
Louis would have kept fighting, but Harry’s expression left no room for compromise, so he carefully sat next to the alluring Pack Alpha, his back rigid as a sheet of ice.
“I’m not going to bite you, you know. Not even if you wanted me to. So, you can relax,” Harry lightly teased, denying the urge to reach out and touch him because this Omega would probably have a horrendously negative reaction for him if he did.
Louis tried his best to relax, but it was particularly difficult when the voice he was so fond of was suddenly a lot closer. Nor did he need to be reminded he wouldn’t be bitten. This was all so ridiculous, because he’d never cared about stuff like that before, but for some reason coming from Harry, it felt like an insult. “Yeah, I get it, thanks,” he bit, running his hands through his shaggy hair in badly controlled vexation.
Harry furrowed his eyebrows at the snide remark when the Omega wasn’t looking, but he otherwise ignored it. Omegas, apparently even this one, were notoriously mystifying creatures. “Okay. So, Louis, you’re going to kick and scream at me if I put you in gathering duties with the other Omegas, aren’t you?”
“WHAT! You’ve gotta be kidding me! Do you have any idea what I can do—what I’ve done? You seriously think I’m best suited for picking berries, you just told me you didn’t consider me an Omega, I can show you a thing or two—”
“Yeah, I thought so,” Harry interrupted, chuckling at Louis’ accurately predicted outburst. “Unfortunately, I’m going to give it to you anyway,” he said, holding up a hand and continuing before Louis could start yelling again. “For four days of the week. The other three you will be on guard and warrior duty patrolling with my Alphas, protecting our tribe from threats of rogues, and eradicating any that fall within our territory. And possibly a bit beyond that. Does that sound doable to you? I hope it does, because you don’t actually have a choice,” he added with an air of finality, not looking the least bit negotiable.
Louis bit back every heated and nasty response he had on his tongue and settled for logic: “Why have the four days in the first place?” he asked with a strained calmness, turning his gaze to watch Harry’s phenomenal eyes wander up to the funnel top of his home in thought.
“Mmm...because you’re an Omega. Technically. You may not seem like one, but no matter what, you will never be an Alpha. I said I wouldn’t treat you like or consider you an Omega, but you still need to fulfill some of your natural duties. I need you to try and get in touch with your true instincts, and regardless...three days running around killing rogues should be quite enough for you. Consider yourself lucky I’m allowing it at all; it’s never before been done in the history of this pack,” he stressed, eyes sliding sideways just in time to catch Louis frantically looking away before he was caught.
“But I’m not even of this pack! Why apply the rules to me when you won’t accept me?” Louis challenged, thinking it a reasonable concern, but Harry evidently didn’t see it that way. The Pack Alpha geared up to heavily scold the Omega, and Louis cringed in trepidation, but at the last second, he huffed and looked off to the side instead.
The Alpha seemed to be debating and choosing his words carefully, and when he finally turned back to look at Louis, the temper had fled from his face. “Louis, what did you get banished for?” he asked condescendingly. “No excuses; I couldn’t care less. The charges.”
Louis felt his skin flush under the pressure, but he held his ground, grudgingly upending some of his more criminal activities because he couldn’t lie to this Alpha if he wanted to—believe him, he wanted to. “Insubordination, misconduct, tardiness and unreliability, theft, frequent altercations, assault, disrespect, improper use of gardening tools, trespassing, slandering the Pack Alpha, slandering the Pack Elder, slandering the entire fucking council, and... arson,” he listed with a grimace as he looked into Harry’s mismatched eyes, noticing an unreadable glint he couldn’t quite pinpoint, but it didn’t seem altogether negative.
“Exactly. Once we’ve gone an extended period of time without the occurrence of any of those actions, then I shall give you my mark. Forgive me if I request a trial period, you can understand my hesitation. And I apologize for when I told you it would never happen earlier today. I was angry,” Harry explained, chuckling at the little “oh” that formed on Louis’ face. “You know, some of those charges on you are the same thing.”
Louis gave a short, emotionless laugh. “Yeah, well, I expect Rixon just got off on reciting a longer list,” he said bitterly.
“Hmm...that will be all for now, Louis. I’ll have Peeta lead you to work early tomorrow morning. Be awake when the sun is, and I hope you find some enjoyment in your job,” Harry said as he stood from his bedding and moved to the entrance, holding the flap open for Louis to pass through.
Louis went to exit the Alpha’s home, but he suddenly stopped next to Harry before he made it all the way out. “Harry...” he began, heart beating alarmingly fast from the close contact.
“Yes?” Harry responded huskily, Louis feeling the breath of the word dance across his neck. He closed his eyes and bared his neck slightly for his Alpha before grasping what he had just done and quickly disguising it with a poorly executed coughing fit.
With a quick glance for the Omega’s state of mind, Louis found that Harry’s face showed no reaction to his momentary lapse of control. Pure luck. He then gathered the courage needed and looked right into Harry’s eyes for the countless time today to state his case. “I may not seem like it, because that’s just me, but I truly am grateful to you for taking me in at all. I need you to know that. I’m not a prize to be won, and your generosity to me despite that hasn’t slipped my notice. So, I just wanted to say thank you,” he professed vulnerably, holding his little heart in his hands and praying the Alpha wouldn’t break it.
The corners of Harry’s lips just barely turned up before he was lightly shooing Louis out of his home. “Just don’t make me regret it,” was the last thing Louis heard before he was left by himself outside of the Pack Alpha’s teepee. Feeling gracious and motivated to show Harry just how much he would never regret it, Louis skipped back to his wigwam to finally get the sleep he’s been needing for three long years.