My One and Only Alpha

Chapter 19

The moment they reached the Chehalis territory line, the group was forced to endure both Harry and Louis’ kins’ bombardment of fervent concern and overflow of demanding inquisitions. The pair had to talk them all off the edge of panic first before they could finally convince them they didn’t know much yet either. Louis all but dragged Joéna and Norman straight to his home, forcefully shoving them, Rashan, Mishella, and Harry into it, and then shouted at everyone else around to take a hike until they were done.
Louis’ omkin shared looks of dismay, but backed off nevertheless, knowing he would fill them in when he had the patience and knowledge to. Parsel basically assaulted Draco anyway, and the two just barely got back to their home before they were mating. In fact, all the reunited mates rushed to their teepees to knot together, and Niall was left to shuffle back home with Zayn as they awaited their two favourite wolves to include them in whatever the hell was going on.
Might as well mate while they were waiting, right?
 
~~~
 
“Talk,” Louis snapped at his seated parents as he paced back and forth, throwing dirty looks to the gorgeous Rashan every few moments. Harry tried to approach his fuming mate, but Louis roughly shoved at his chest to keep him away. He was utterly unappeasable.
Joéna deeply sighed into her hands, and Norman wrapped his arms around her waist for support. “Louis, I don’t even know how to start this,” she groaned, looking to her mate to see if he had any ideas.
“How about the beginning,” Louis suggested impatiently, his joy and happiness having washed away to unleash his frustration.
“I’ll start,” Mishella piped, the female Alpha walking over to sit next to Jo and Norman and formulate the right wording.
Harry was finally able to catch Louis while he was distracted, and he gently forced him into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around him and pressing him against his side whether he liked it or not. Louis grumbled but accepted the terms, never once taking his eyes off Mishella.
“Louis…I need you to know the day you were born, when I looked into your eyes, I saw your future. I saw your destiny, and knew it was far from our pack. It was a rare future indeed, but I knew if we kept you away from it, you would never know inner peace,” she began, waiting for Louis to respond. When the Omega did nothing but stare, she continued: “Rixon and your father had to devise a way to get Norman to Chehalis where I knew your fate was set, so you would have at least one parent waiting for you on the other side. Rixon’s council never would have let him leave for such a ‘minuscule thing’ because he was one of their most prized and skilled warriors, so Norman had to be removed. Your mother couldn’t go—Norman was the only one that would make it all the way to this territory. He intentionally stole things from the Keep until he was caught, and Rixon removed his mark—”
“Wait, then why was Rixon such an asshole? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Louis demanded, getting a little ahead of himself but he couldn’t stop the question.
“Because, Louis…nobody is supposed to know their own personal future. And besides, you never would have left both your parents by your own will at the age of seventeen. Rixon constantly pushed you and made sure you hated him so you would consider anywhere else better than your home. Rixon loved you very much, Louis; it was the hardest thing he ever had to do. But you’d never have left as early otherwise, and we had to get you here. No matter what, you would have ended up here…so we tried to make it as soon as possible. To make you happy as soon as possible.”
“That’s where it all went wrong,” Norman remarked, running his hand through his hair and pulling apart the tangles. “I had traveled to Chehalis and was accepted because Mishella had gotten in contact with Janya, the Seer before Camila, to explain what was happening. He ended up already knowing, and when it was revealed to Desmond that his Chaska was my son’s true mate, the late Pack Alpha, Anneya, Janya, and I planned everything meticulously, and Desmond gave me his mark—”
“Wait just a fucking second,” Harry interceded for the first time, eyes shining with disbelieving shock. “You knew? My parents knew? This whole time? You knew who I would become to you?” he gasped, undecided on how he felt about all that secrecy. Norman nodded, one side of his mouth turning up sheepishly and Harry continued: “So…when you saved my life—”
“I saved you for many reasons, Harry. Not only because you would be my son’s mate, or that you were the Chaska, but because I loved you as my own. Because I was loyal and indebted to Desmond. Because this was my pack. Because I had spent fourteen years of your life watching over you,” Norman explained, his fierce love for Harry and Chehalis practically written in the air before him.
“What do you mean saved?” Louis inquired impatiently, still a bit lost at their perplexing back and forth of sentences.
“I wouldn’t be here today if Norman hadn’t found me after my parents were killed during the invasion and defeated the lower ranking rogues that were trying to finish me off. Norman was the one to chase Roman and Cassian off—he broke down most of their defenses. He fought for me like the God of War’s vengeful spirit that night...it’s why I added him to my council in the first place,” Harry recounted in wonderment, piecing things together and accepting it quickly so the proceedings of the talk could move on.
“Yes, and you couldn’t know your future either, Harry. That’s why your parents never told you. Then Janya was killed in the invasion, and Camila wasn’t privy to any of this. She had no idea who I was, or she would have said something by now,” Norman guessed, a casual shrug tacking itself to the end of that assumption. “Now the only people that know are the ones in this room.”
“So, the invasion is where everything went wrong?” Louis clarified, that particular phrase having not been extrapolated yet.
“Oh… No, regarding you, your banishment was. We thought fate would lead you directly to Chehalis—realistically, it should only have taken you about half a month to arrive. But it took an unprecedented three years longer. I was worried sick because you hadn’t shown up yet, and nobody knew where you were for a very long time. We only knew you were alive,” he explained, straining not to think about the many frantic letters he and his mate had sent to each other during those troubling times.
“That’s because I didn’t go straight south. I went east first, and I guess I made a huge circle, I’m not sure. I stayed in certain areas for long periods of time and zig-zagged my way through the wilderness until Zayn found me,” Louis said, beginning to comprehend a portion of what he was being told.
“Our plan originally was for Rixon to banish you when you were ready, so that you would be safe to travel alone,” Joéna began, unable to stop her sniffles from following every couple of words she spoke. “He knew you were making suppressants—so did I—and he knew you were training. And when he deemed you strong enough to fend for yourself, he sent you away. But I thought I would be seeing you soon. And I didn’t,” she sobbed, wracked with more guilt than she could ever cure for seeing her son off to face the worst three years of his life.
That’s why Rixon never stopped me, Louis realized, resisting the urge to snap his fingers in understanding. “But wait, why didn’t you take me as a puppy? Why make me wait seventeen years?” he pointed out, thinking that he was going to be impressed if these wolves had an answer for everything.
“Because you would have died in the Chehalis invasion,” Mishella informed, her voice affirming she was absolutely confident in that. “And you would have grown up far more depressed without your mother, as opposed to your father. And Joéna never would have made it here alive—”
“For fucks sake,” Louis griped in a higher-pitched voice than he usually has. “Fine. It had to happen. But why didn’t Norman tell me when I got here?” he interrogated, determined to find a crack in their logic and put the fault on them.
“Ah,” Norman began, “because I had to wait until you were mated. Your destiny was finding your mate in a faraway land. You and Harry had to bond before it was finalized, and I wanted you to have the support he gives to you and for you to be happy before I let you know. It took three extra years already… You have no idea how relieved I was when you finally got here. And then you and Harry took a little longer than I thought you would to bond each other,” he explained with a snort, recalling the shameless flirting and arguing they’d indulged in whilst denying their real feelings.
“Louis was stubborn,” Harry supplied.
“What! Are you fucking kidding? I was pining over you. For months!” Louis viciously retorted, giving Harry an incredulous glare and raising a hand to slap him.
“Okay, we were both stubborn,” Harry amended at once, brushing his lips over his mate’s cheek and pushing his wrist back down to prevent the sudden attack.
“And then, my son, of course I was going to sit you down and explain everything,” Norman continued, his face turning sour as he had to think about why he hadn’t. “I had actually planned to do it the day after I ended up…getting that letter from Joéna about the invasion instead—”
“Which, by the way,” Mishella interrupted, “I didn’t see until thirty minutes before it happened. I had to flee because I knew Rashan and Jo would cross my path in the forest, and I needed to get here as well.”
“Why do you need to be here?” Louis asked suspiciously, quickly gulping and rushing to fix the rude bluntness of that question. “I mean, no offense, I’m just asking…”
“I can’t tell you that,” Mishella said, shrugging her shoulders apologetically. Louis narrowed his eyes at her but didn’t question it further. For now…
“So anyway—” Norman continued as though that interruption hadn’t occurred, “— Once you knew, we were going to travel to Siksika together to get Joéna and come back. Rixon was also going to formally apologize for all those years of…abuse, apparently, but instead, I got the letter, and you know the rest.”
“Okay, let me recap this shit,” Louis snapped, closing his eyes and massaging his forehead as he put everything in order. “Everyone knew Harry and I would be mates the day I was born; my father had to leave to meet me in Chehalis when I got here; Rixon had to humiliate me my whole life so I would hate him, and then he sent me away, but I took too long and ended up arriving three years late… And I was going to get the full story, and run to Siksika to get my mom, and make Rixon grovel at my feet for twenty minutes, but now Siksika’s been destroyed and all my childhood friends murdered? Am I getting all of that right?” he asked, trying hard not to think of Stanley lying dead on the ground somewhere. He was a smart wolf…surely, he’d gotten out, right?
“We’re not sure who all has died yet,” Mishella said sadly, a deep sigh adding tangible weight to her words. “But more or less, you’ve got it.”
“No, I don’t,” Louis argued, “because why go through all that trouble for me in the first place? For one Omega? Why make everything so difficult just so one wolf could find happiness? I was angry at my life, but I was chugging along,” he said, glad they did, sure, but not seeing why it had been so crucial.
“You don’t understand, Louis. This would have happened with or without our interference. It was destiny, and that can’t be avoided. Maybe there were a thousand better ways we could have done it, but we tried to make the best plan to get you here the quickest if it was always going to happen anyway,” Mishella informed the slowly understanding Louis, smirking as she brought the other key factor under discussion. “And besides…do you really think it’s just you? What about Harry? He never would have been satisfied in his life either. He needed you just as much as you needed him, or you both would have been damned to loneliness for your whole lives until you eventually found each other. And we didn’t want you waiting. You deserved to have each other—it was your birthright,” she added softly, grinning when the couple snapped into comprehension.
Louis stiffened as it all pieced together in his head, and Harry’s embrace got impossibly tighter, both wolves clinging to each other like a pair of sloths. When the Omega met his mate’s loving gaze, he knew Harry understood the importance too.
They fiercely crashed their lips together and fell backward onto their bedding, desperately undressing and tangling their limbs together. They never noticed how their company had begun quickly rushing out to give them privacy as they mated; never heard the, ‘We’ll talk later’s; never saw anyone beyond themselves.
The only things they could hope to perceive were the sensual caresses they gave to one another’s skin, and the beautiful moans of pleasure they heard from each other’s mouth as they passionately made love through the night, proclaiming their endless devotion to the stars.   
 
***
The truth had been out for two weeks now, and Louis finally managed to get back into the swing of things. It still hit him like a rock sometimes and he would barge into his parents’ teepee to check if his mother was really there. She always was, though, and she would sit him down and frantically apologize, murmuring words of love until he calmed down.
Louis had spoken with the newly-promoted warrior, Rashan, over the last few days extensively. Mostly about what Rixon was like, and if the former Beta had any particular stories to share. Rashan would always tear up a little, but the Omega was able to learn some fascinating things he’d never have found out otherwise.
Louis never would have imagined himself thinking this, but he was deeply morose about never getting to know the Alpha like he should have. Rixon hadn’t ever been able to say the things he’d always wanted to, and their relationship had been cut off before any bridges could have been mended. Louis knows what it was like for himself, but he has no idea what it must have been like for Rixon, and he was grateful beyond words that he now has his family because of Rixon’s difficult sacrifice.
Mishella and Camila could now be seen together more often than not, swapping their cryptic ministrations back and forth and practicing the ways of sight together. The Chehalis Seer had been brought up to speed and was furious with herself for never realizing such key things, but Mishella constantly reminded her that she was never supposed to, and the Omega was working on accepting that fact.
Lauranna was getting a little antsy from her mate always spending so much time with another Alpha, and she frequently staked her claim with a bite whenever she happened upon their hushed whispering. Mishella understood, though, and worked on keeping a little bit more distance to satisfy her fellow Alpha.
Niall had cried for five hours straight when he’d heard the story and officially met Joéna. All of Louis and Harry’s brothers and sisters were relieved that the Gods had been on their side and everyone had returned safely, and now only good things littered the future—apart from the rogues, of course.
Louis and Niall spent a large portion of their days cuddling and slacking off from work while Katniss was busy with Draco. Niall was around three moon cycles pregnant now, with Louis at two, and they frequently asked one another if they were showing yet, turning every which way as the other examined their stomach. Unfortunately, neither had their bumps yet, it would still be a while before they fully popped, but in their unreasonable opinion, it never hurt to check. And check again.
Kurt and Jax were closer than ever, and when Daven and Chibs started gravitating toward one another as well, Niall and Louis placed a bet on how long it would be before they all mated together. Louis hadn’t really ever known this, but if two or more couples spent enough time together, they would eventually form a sort of ‘subpack’ as it was named. He had mentioned to Niall that he would likely never desire to be in one of these subpacks, but Niall had only giggled and remarked he suspected they already were.
To emphasize this, Harry and Zayn were increasingly affectionate toward the other, regularly holding hands and sharing kisses. The Omegas pretended not to notice because they wanted to watch it unfold naturally, but sometimes they would have to strain to hide their squees.
It was apparent that however this would end up progressing, they had already unknowingly formed a very strong subpack, and the four wolves were growing inseparable, sleeping together at night multiple times out of the week. Which happened to be right now. Louis thought he was the only one awake in the pile of wolves and he sighed in bliss, a small giggle escaping his mouth to be surrounded by so much warmth.
“What is it, babe?” asked a groggy but obviously awake Zayn. “Shit, I mean Louis. Sorry, I don’t know where that came from,” he excused, yawning into his fist and clearing his throat.
“It's okay, Alpha…I mean Zayn. I mean Beta Zayn, I mean—” His quiet stammering was interrupted by a low chuckle from his mate against the back of his neck, and Niall’s indelicate snorts of laughter against his chest. “Gods, is nobody asleep?” he accused, blushing furiously.
“Wewe’s asleep,” Niall snickered, the bunny’s preposterously loud snores of course reaching through and making themselves known. Louis heaved a frustrated sigh so Niall strained his neck to plant his lips on Louis’ to shut him up, and he was glad it worked. Louis returned it eagerly and his huff morphed into a breath of relief as they shuffled back together, all former stress magically gone.
“Go to sleep, mates,” Harry softly addressed the wolves, nudging up against his Omega’s back.
Zayn ran his knuckles down Niall’s arm, tenderly brushed Louis’ hair off his face, and then reached for Harry’s hand, interlocking their fingers over their Omegas and smushing them all closer together. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”