A Howl In The Night ✔ » l.s

23

Harry was cleaning his room when he stumbled across an old box that had been hidden at the bottom of his cabinet. Inside, there were various photographs of him as a baby, his baby clothes and even snips of his hair. Then there was a seashell-shaped pendant attached to a thin chain—a necklace he hadn't seen before.

Mindlessly, Harry put the necklace around his neck and continued to rumage through the box until it fell on a very old picture of him as a baby in the arms of a middle-aged, dark-haired woman.

She was beautiful. Harry never really knew who his mother was or what she looked like, but the picture sufficed his musings about who he must've gotten his eyes from, or his dark chocolate curls for that matter. He smiled wistfully as he looked at his mother, a person Benedict never failed to remind him that he'd killed. A beautiful Omega who lost her life when Harry came into this world.

That was a terrible gamble of lives, obviously.

With a sigh, he tucked the picture into his pocket and continued rummaging through his dust-covered possessions, trying desperately to cling onto whatever piece of the past he could find.

*

Louis was back in the damned office where their second meeting with David would take place. Liam sat beside him, looking as miserable as he did. Clearly, neither of the two had gotten any sleep last night.

Louis remembered lying in bed with Harry as the boy told him about his day as usual, how he'd went to the library and then down to the garden, only for David Scarlet to approach him. Louis snapped his head to the side so fast his head actually spun, asking Harry to tell him what happened quite aggressively.

"Chill out Lou. He was annoying and airheaded, that's it." Harry had tried to calm him down, cupping the Alpha's face with his soft hands.

"Sorry. I just—I get worried." Louis managed through gritted teeth, though his expression softened when it fell upon Harry's beautiful, emerald eyes.

"Of course you do," Harry teased, tapping the Alpha's nose with a finger. "Goodnight Lou."

"Goodnight, love."

And then Harry sneakily turned around to peck his cheek before turning his back on him, muffled giggles emitting from his lips. Louis smiled bashfully before wrapping an arm around Harry's waist and leaving a trail of light kisses across Harry's shoulder blades. Harry wriggled around, claiming he was easily tickled, before deciding to simply face him instead since Louis wouldn't stop kissing his back.

"Time to sleep," Harry had scolded him lightly before closing his eyes.

Louis watched as Harry slowly drifted off to sleep, his cherry lips slowly parting open, the rise and fall of his chest slowing down. Like he did every night, Louis would lean in and plant a firm kiss on the boy's forehead before quietly whispering those three words, half hoping that Harry would hear it anyway.

Now, though, his lack of sleep was taking a toll on him. He couldn't think straight, body controlled by his emotions rather than his mind. He hoped that if he needed to punch someone today, he'd be able to punch just fine.

Not long after, David finally decided to join them. Formal greetings were exchanged as the knight took a seat across Louis and Liam, near the head of the table where Benedict sat.

Commander Joel began talking about the Forts and the their lack of men and resources, to which David simply nodded mindlessly to.

"As I'm sure you know, I have an army of a knights at my disposal. Surely, this would be enough to replace the Troopers in the Forts?" David said.