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Chapter Text

“I have sight of the omega, over.” 

Harry tries to keep his voice low so as not to spook the young man he can see through the trees, who seems to be eating berries of some sort. He knows the response through the radio will make a noise, so he turns the volume right down and holds it close to his ear to try and muffle it.

“Roger that, can you reach him? Over,” Zayn responds, crackly but clear. Zayn is back at the base near the cars, leaving Harry and the rest of the search team to complete the footwork while he keeps things organised. 

“Maybe,” Harry says quietly. “If I’m quiet and take things slow, I might be able to get around him and approach him from behind. I’m OK to use reasonable force, right? Over.” Harry read all the supporting information before they started the search and knows it was previously agreed by the family that they could tackle and restrain as necessary, but it's always worth double-checking in case the situation has changed.

“Affirmative,” Zayn replies. “Just be careful. Family says he’s single and doesn’t have any alpha friends, so minimal alpha contact. He may well be skittish. Over.”

Harry nods. “Received and understood,” he murmurs. “Let’s move to channel three. I don’t want other radio traffic to spook him.” 

Zayn confirms, and Harry switches the radio over to the new channel. They confirm they can hear each other and agree that there will be no messages from Zayn to avoid making unnecessary noise. 

Harry attaches the radio back into the holster on his belt, keeping his eye on the omega all the while, takes a deep breath, and starts his slow approach through the scrubby forest, watching carefully as he creeps in a circle through the trees surrounding the small clearing. 

The omega is quite a petite guy, probably fairly short, Harry thinks, with brown, messy hair and high cheekbones. He’s wearing a football shirt, shorts, and trainers. Harry remembers reading in the briefing document that he’d been coming home from football practice when he’d had the accident. 

There seems to be a stitched wound and some bruising on the side of his forehead and down his cheek, presumably from the head injury mentioned in the report. Harry can’t see him fully from here, but he can certainly see enough to know one thing – he’s beautiful. 

Harry knows he probably shouldn’t be thinking that, but he’s experienced enough that he’s confident the observation won’t affect his ability to rescue the lovely young man in front of him. He chuckles slightly and shakes his head.

Maybe his friend Niall is right; if he’s starting to fancy their search targets, maybe he really does need to get laid. 

Once he’s behind the omega, who’s still focused on picking up berries from the forest floor and eating them, he adjusts his rucksack, tightening the straps in case there’s any need to run, and starts to move towards the target.

Harry’s pleased with himself as he gets closer; the omega is so engrossed in what he’s doing that he hasn’t noticed him yet. It’s a horrible cliché that it’s a branch snapping under Harry’s foot that finally alerts the gorgeous man to his presence, and he suddenly sits up straight, head whipping around with a sharp look.

His eyes are bright blue, and Harry holds his breath, trying not to move but well aware that the omega can easily see him now he’s so close, only a few steps away. The omega scrambles up, and for a second Harry thinks things are going to be OK because the man smiles brightly, looking pleased to see Harry. 

For a fleeting moment, Harry thinks maybe this Louis guy isn’t feral after all and is just lost and glad to be found. But then there’s an unmistakably feral whine, high and loud, and the gorgeous omega drops to a sort of crouch.

Harry realises too late what’s happening, and by the time the words “he’s going to run” have registered in his mind, he’s grabbing at air. The omega is quick, and all Harry can see is his back disappearing into the trees.

“Shit,” he grates and starts to run after him. As he jumps over fallen branches and scrub, keeping pace with the surprisingly fast omega, Harry grabs the radio from his belt and tersely tells Zayn what’s happening. He’s out of breath and trying to keep up, so he doesn’t really hear the response, but he’s confident Zayn will be sending other searchers in their direction to try and head the man off.

Unfortunately, Louis the omega seems to have other ideas. It’s only a few seconds after Harry has been annoyingly distracted by the omega’s discarded t-shirt – smelling so delicious that Harry’s cock actually starts to get hard – that he nearly topples over a sheer drop as he bursts out of the trees and sees the river bubbling away in front of him. 

He skids to a stop and looks around frantically, and there, smiling up at him from the water, is Louis. He whines again, louder this time, and then turns to swim away. 

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit,” Harry mutters. He has no choice but to follow. He can’t just jump into the river with all his kit, as it will weigh him down far too much, so he quickly decides to follow the bank, hoping he can keep pace with the current. He can see the bare-chested omega swimming up ahead of him, and luckily the current isn’t so strong that he’s getting too far away.

At some point, he loses sight around a bend, and when he runs to catch up, the omega is nowhere to be seen. He briefly panics that he’s lost him, but then notices wet, muddy footprints leading away from the bank and back into the trees. 

He hears a howl of sorts, high and raspy, and as he passes the first big tree back from the river, he gets a waft of the strongest, most delicious vanilla scent he’s ever smelt.

It’s so strong that it must have been left deliberately, and Harry takes a second to sniff around the tree. It’s been scent-marked, without a doubt, and the smell is making Harry’s mouth water and his cock twitch again. He frowns, and then a realisation dawns, which makes his stomach sink.

Louis thinks this is a mating chase. The whining, the running away, the discarded clothes, the howl, the scenting of the trees – it all adds up. Harry groans. “Fuck. For fuck's sake.” 

He takes a few seconds to compose himself. One good thing about the obviously feral omega thinking it’s a chase is that at least he won’t try and actually escape. He’ll stay near, wanting the alpha to catch him after a suitably infuriating period of cat and mouse. So Harry takes a few deep breaths and grabs the radio again.

“Team leader one to base, you receiving me, Zayn?” he says into the radio, and Zayn confirms. “Our target appears to be safe, but I think he believes he and I are involved in a mating chase. Over.” 

He can hear the deep groan at the other end of the radio as Zayn starts to respond. “Damn it. Received and understood, Harry,” Zayn says resignedly. “You think he’ll respond badly to the rest of the team trying to get to him? Over.” 

Harry mulls this over for a few seconds. “I don’t think it’s worth the risk, mate,” he says quietly. Louis seems to have accepted that Harry is chasing him, and by the howl and the scenting, he seems to be welcoming the idea. If other alphas turn up now, there’s a distinct possibility that the feral omega will panic and properly try and escape, which could lead to injury for him and the searchers. 

Louis wants to be caught, and Harry doesn’t have many choices. “Stand them down, Zee,” he says calmly. “If omega Louis Tomlinson wants alpha Harry Styles to catch him, then I guess that’s what I’ll have to do.”

There are a few beats of silence at the other end, and Harry can imagine Zayn’s pained expression as he decides how to respond. Mating chases with feral omegas aren’t unheard of – in fact, Harry’s team has had several of exactly this type in recent history. The problem isn’t catching the omega (because the omega wants to be caught); the problem is that the omega wants to be mated when they are caught, and that’s something that the search alphas really shouldn’t do.

“Is he in heat, over?” Zayn asks.

Legally, the team, which has omegas as well as alphas, can engage in knotting where absolutely necessary to protect and rescue a missing person, but it’s generally frowned upon and only really used when there’s a feral heat or rut involved.

Harry grunts. “I’m not sure, but he smells like he might be.” He takes another lungful of the scent around the tree and forgets he’s still holding the speak button down on the radio as he lets out a deep, rumbling alpha growl. 

“That good, huh?” Zayn says, and although it’s obviously supposed to be flippant, Harry can hear the concern in his tone. “Just– just be careful, OK, Harry? You know how difficult these cases can get if there’s knotting involved. But we need to get him home safe, so, I guess, just do what you have to do.” 

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

This omega, Louis, is really giving Harry a hard time. 

Harry’s fit and prides himself on his stamina, but the omega is quick and clever, and Harry’s annoyed himself for tiring. But it’s not just the chase itself, it’s the scenting and the omega cries that are playing with Harry’s head in a way he hasn’t experienced before.

Louis is constantly whining and howling as they’re running, and he occasionally stops or hides, letting Harry get just about close enough to smell his delicious pre-heat slick before purring as Harry approaches. The purring seems to be messing with Harry’s mind the most.

His alpha is raging in his chest, and he’s finding it increasingly difficult to keep it under control. The regular scenting of trees and boulders isn’t helping, and the puffs of the most incredible scent, of vanilla ice cream with a hint of cinnamon, that Louis sends out before he runs off again are driving him crazy.

His alpha is so forceful that his human mind is fuzzy, almost as if it’s muffled and restrained behind the roaring inner wolf.

Catch. Mark. Fuck.

Harry shakes his head to clear it, trying to calm his alpha after the latest near miss with a now frantic omega, who’s clearly leaking slick and whose heat is obviously taking over his body. This time, before he ran again, Louis let Harry get so close he managed to grab an ankle before the omega scrambled away, purring and whining, turning onto all fours as Harry’s grip on him slipped. 

The back of his shorts are soaking, and Harry’s alpha is clawing inside him, trying to get to the omega. The human part of Harry’s brain is trying to shout warnings – he’s getting in too deep and he’s losing control – but the alpha is winning the fight.

Mark. Fuck. Knot.

Harry’s growling almost constantly now as he gives chase again, and the tiredness seems to evaporate now his alpha is more in control. His whole mind and body are focused on catching the omega running from him through the forest. 

Louis looks back regularly to check Harry is near, and Harry knows he’s adjusting his speed to keep Harry close. Instinctively, Harry knows the omega will submit to him soon; he just needs to keep chasing, keep showing the omega what a strong and virile alpha he is. The omega will be his; he just needs to be patient for a little longer. 

The smell that hits him as he bursts into a circular clearing makes his alpha roar. It’s so strong and so overwhelming that Harry’s mind becomes overtaken with it. His only thought is to find Louis and fuck him. 

Fuck. Knot. Claim.  

And then Harry sees him. In the middle of the clearing, the beautiful omega stands, chest heaving with ragged breaths, mouth open, and eyes wild. Little whines and purrs come from him as Harry slowly approaches, stalking the omega like prey. 

Just as Harry reaches him, the omega makes to dart away again, but Harry’s alpha has had enough of the chase. He leaps forward and grabs Louis with both hands around his waist. Before Louis can wriggle away, Harry is pulling him down to the ground, forcing him down face-first onto the grassy ground of the clearing.

The omega whines and wriggles beneath him, but Harry is too strong and heavy, and his alpha exults at the triumph. Feeling the omega beneath him sends him into a frenzy of want and need, and he quickly pulls at Louis’ sticky shorts to get them down, to give him access to that wet, slick-covered hole his alpha desires.

The omega is now pliant, whining contentedly and lifting his bum, trying to present as more slick runs down his thighs. Harry keeps one hand on the back of the omega’s neck while he slips two fingers into the sopping hole with the other, and he growls low as the omega keens with arousal. 

He fucks his fingers in and out roughly, revelling in the tight heat, before pulling them out and rubbing the slick all over Louis’ back and bum, covering the omega in the scent that’s driving his alpha wild. He licks back up where he’s spread the slick, biting and sucking marks into the omega’s beautifully soft skin and grunting, his alpha satisfied when he finishes a deep red mark, before starting on a new piece of skin.

His fingers are back in the omega, who is writhing, desperate and whimpering beneath him. Harry’s alpha knows that all the omega needs is his big, thick knot, but he wants to make him cry with desperation before he gives it to him.

This time, when he pulls his fingers out, he spreads the slick over his own face, licking and sucking at his fingers before shoving them back into Louis’ hole, making the omega keen again. He cannot get enough of the omega’s noises, and once his alpha is happy that the omega is crying and begging enough, he relents, lining up his massive, rock-hard cock with the wet hole.

His knot is half formed – the desire for this omega is stronger than anything he’s ever experienced – and as he pushes his cock inside, it feels like everything his alpha could ever need. The omega relaxes under him, purring and whimpering as the cock splits him open. The stretch must be painful because he’s so tight, Harry thinks vaguely, but the omega seems to be completely lost in pleasure.

Harry starts to fuck him hard and deep, every thrust shoving the omega forward with its ferocity. Harry grabs the omega’s hips to keep him in place and kneels up, lifting Louis’ body with him. From this position, Harry can fuck harder and faster, and his alpha is fully in control now. There is no Harry left, only instinct.

Knot. Claim. Bond.

He continues to fuck the omega as he leans forward, placing Louis’ knees back on the ground and blanketing the smaller man’s back with his chest so that he can bite and lick at the omega’s neck. The bonding patch is so clear and soft, and Harry’s alpha knows that his omega needs to bond. Needs to be his.

“Mine.” The word is a growl, but it's loud, and the omega beneath him arches his back and whines in response, not just accepting his alpha’s claim but begging for it without words. Harry places his teeth over the virgin bonding spot as his knot starts to expand, and he fucks the rapidly growing base into Louis a few more times, stretching that hole while his teeth just rest on the soft skin at his neck.

Louis keens again as the knot pops and locks them together, and Harry’s alpha rejoices. He sinks his teeth in, deep into the bonding spot, and holds them there while the omega comes violently, spasming and convulsing under him as his own pleasure peaks, his orgasm raging through him as his cock spurts hot come into his omega.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Harry’s human mind came back to him about five hours ago, and he’s spent that time alternating between cursing himself and his alpha and fucking the life out of the heat-ridden feral omega who is currently purring and sleepy, nestled to his chest and locked on his knot.

Harry has fucked up. Knotting the omega in the manner he did was bad enough – they are permitted to knot when necessary, but the aggressive and out of control way he did was bound to cause repercussions in itself. 

But his alpha didn’t stop there, did it? Oh no, his alpha decided to unlawfully bond Louis, which means that Harry is now undoubtedly going to be arrested.

Bonding an omega without explicit consent is akin to assault in terms of seriousness and sentencing, and it’s quite possible Harry could go to prison if Louis decides to press charges once he comes back to himself. And honestly, Harry couldn’t blame him if he did.

Louis wriggles on his knot, and he can feel himself judder and pump more come into the omega. He hopes to God that there is still enough residual birth control drug in the omega’s system to stop him from getting pregnant – neither of them need that complication on top of everything else.

His alpha reacts to the idea of a pregnancy with a low grunt, and Harry instinctively puts his hand to Louis’ tummy and presses. He can feel the outline of his big cock inside the omega, and it makes his alpha preen internally. Stupid fucking wolf , Harry thinks. 

He’s enormously ashamed of himself, and the only reason he carried on knotting Louis is that he knows the physical and emotional impact on a bonded omega if their alpha abandons them during heat is extreme. For once, giving his alpha what he wants is the right thing to do.

But he can’t stop hating himself and his alpha. He whines a little as he runs through what happened in his head, his alpha still rejoicing, but his human mind is feeling sick with the knowledge of what he’s done. He bonded Louis, a total stranger, without his consent.

His out-of-control wolf has turned him into the sort of alpha Harry hates. The lowest of the low. Scum.  

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

The following morning, when Harry is woken by the warm sun on his face in the hollowed-out tree they’d sheltered in, he realises Louis’ scent has changed. The omega still seems to be feral – not able to communicate in anything other than whines and purrs – but he appears to be out of heat and content as long as he’s nuzzled into Harry.

A pool of dread forms in Harry’s stomach as he wraps an arm around the naked omega and pulls him into his side to keep him calm, while he grabs for his discarded trousers with his free hand. He manages to find the two-way radio and takes a deep breath before pressing the call button.

“Team leader one to base. Zayn, you there? Over.”

There’s a few seconds of silence before the radio crackles and Zayn’s voice appears, sounding relieved. “Harry, fuck, I’ve been so worried. You OK? You got the omega? Is he still in heat?” Radio etiquette seems to have been forgotten, which would normally make Harry roll his eyes, but he’s too devastated to think about anything other than what he’s about to tell his colleague and friend.

“I’m fine, Zee. Louis is safe and with me, but, uh, there’s been a problem.” He grimaces. He’s the only one who’s caused a problem, and he hates himself for being scared to face it. 

“What’s happened?” Zayn’s voice is full of concern, and Harry sighs and rubs his face. Louis, who’s been gazing at him adoringly the whole time, whines a little and fidgets so that he can place a soft hand on Harry’s bare chest. It makes Harry feel even worse. The omega is trying to comfort him.

“Louis went into full heat, and I, um, my alpha.” He pauses, breathing deeply as if the words take effort to push out. “My alpha went crazy, Zayn. Never experienced anything like it before. By the time I caught Louis, I was pretty much feral myself. I knotted him and...” He’s silent for a long moment as the reality of his situation crashes in on him.

“Harry, you’re scaring me. What happened?” Zayn’s fear brings Harry to his senses. He has no choice now – he needs to own his mistake and deal with the consequences.

“I bonded him.”

The silence that follows is excruciating, and Harry can guess that Zayn is frantically trying to come to terms with what Harry has just told him. And probably, knowing his friend, trying to work out how to make things easier for Harry.

“OK,” Zayn finally says over the hissing line. “OK. Shit. OK.”

“Well, thanks for that wisdom,” Harry says, trying for a light tone but failing. His whole body feels heavy with the guilt of what he’s done. He has an urge to hurt himself – to punish himself in some way – and the only thing that’s stopping him is the omega curled into his side, gently petting his bare chest.

Harry realises that Louis is softly scenting him, sending out little waves of his beautiful scent. The omega may not be himself right now, but his omega knows Harry is distressed. His omega is soft and caring, probably much like the human side too.

What has he done?

He knows the bond will fade or that Louis can get the bond removed through surgery and drugs, but it’s an uncomfortable process that can impact an omega’s health if handled badly. Most omegas who are unlawfully bonded recover fully, but not without an impact on their lives.

Harry has never lost control before, and he still doesn’t understand what happened. His reaction to Louis was so out of character – he’s a virile alpha, yes, who’s been incredibly attracted to omegas before and even dealt with feral omegas in heat on a number of occasions, but he’s never experienced one who’s set their sights on him like Louis did.

He’s never experienced a chase, and he wonders now if the intensity of it was the thing that tipped him out of control. He squeezes Louis to him again as he sighs, looking into the gorgeous blue eyes of the purring omega in his arms. None of this is Louis’ fault, and even if it was the chase that made his alpha take over, he’s not going to use that as an excuse.

“Listen, Zee, I know you’re probably trying to think of ways to protect me right now,” he says into the radio, which has been quiet for a couple of minutes. “But I don’t want you to do that. I fucked up, and I deserve to be punished for it. For the moment, let’s focus on getting Louis somewhere safe, and once we have, I’m going to face the consequences of what I’ve done.”

“God, Haz,” Zayn replies, and Harry can hear the break in his voice even over the hissing radio channel. “OK, yeah. I’m so– God. It’ll be OK, yeah? I’ll send a team to get you two, and, I don’t know, we’ll work something out.”

Harry sighs. They won’t work something out, he knows. Life as he knew it is about to change, and it’s entirely his fault.

Harry confirms back and sets the radio down, wrapping both arms around Louis’ nakedness to shield him a little from the team that will appear soon to take them both away to face whatever challenges come next. 

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

When the team tried to prise Louis away from Harry, the omega had become so distressed that the team leader – an ex-army alpha who looked like a psychopath but was actually a massive softie – decided to let Harry travel in the back of the car with him to keep him calm.

Louis is nuzzling into Harry’s neck, scenting him over and over, and Harry can tell through the bond that the omega is worried and upset at all the manhandling. So he strokes Louis’ back and soothes him; it's the least he can do to at least give the man some comfort in his feral state.

The team gets them settled into Louis’ room at the Feral Recovery Centre and leaves them to it, seemingly ignoring Harry’s horrible actions and the unlawful bonding. They must have seen the bloody mark on the omega’s neck, but none of them chose to mention it. Harry is sitting on the bed in the corner with a now-clothed, sleepy Louis curled up in his lap when Zayn comes in.

His friend looks at him and Louis grimly. “You sure that’s wise, Haz?” he asks seriously, jutting his chin towards the omega in Harry’s arms. 

Harry shrugs. “He gets really distressed when anyone tries to separate us, and let’s face it, the damage is done, so I thought I could at least comfort him.” 

Zayn sighs and nods, sitting at the end of the bed and giving Harry a mournful look. “Listen, I tried to explain the extenuating circumstances, but...” He looks up, and Harry can see that his friend’s eyes are a little wet. “The police are on their way, and you’ve been suspended pending an investigation.” 

Harry was expecting both, but the words still sting. He takes a deep breath to try and quell the emotion in his chest, and Louis stirs and whines in his lap, stretching up sleepily to lap at his neck. The kitten licks send little shivers of pleasure down Harry’s spine. At any other time the feeling would be incredibly distracting, but Harry’s life is falling apart, and he can get little comfort from it.

“We’ve persuaded them not to take you into custody, vouched for you being no danger and all that. So you’ll be put under arrest, but then you can go home until Louis here decides if he wants to press charges,” Zayn says, his voice monotone, as if reciting information off a page. 

Harry lets out a relieved breath when he hears he can go home and feels slightly less desperate and despondent because of it. There’s a knock at the door, and the office manager pops her head around it, whispering that the police are here.

Thankfully, Louis has succumbed to sleep, and Harry is able to extract himself and carefully tuck him into the bed with one of the body cushions provided tucked around Louis’ back. He scents the cushion thoroughly in the hope of keeping the omega calm for a while. It won’t keep him happy for long if he remains feral, but at least now he’s out of heat and in the safety of the recovery centre, where the staff can help bring him round.

Harry’s alpha is writhing in his chest about having to leave the omega he bonded, but Harry knows he doesn’t have any choice. He can only hope Louis comes around properly soon and his human mind can take control. 

The thought of Louis’ human mind realising what Harry has done to him doesn’t fill him with anything other than sick shame, but at least Louis will be well again, and that’s the most important thing.

Harry pauses at the door and looks back at the peacefully sleeping omega. He doesn’t even know the man, knows nothing at all about his human side, and yet Harry feels so connected to him that he finds it physically difficult to walk away. He knows it's only the bond – his alpha is incredibly angry and frustrated right now – but somehow it feels like more than that.

He shakes his head as Zayn pats him on the shoulder, and they slowly make their way out to face the two police officers awaiting him in the corridor.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

The officers were relatively sympathetic to his predicament, both being alphas, so the arrest and paperwork were done in a sombre mood, but without too much fuss. Harry’s back in his flat, alone, having had to practically shove Zayn out of the door to get rid of him.

He knows he probably should have let Zayn stay and order pizza for them both, but right now he just wants to be alone to wallow for a bit. His alpha is causing him all sorts of discomfort – he feels like it wants to burst out of his skin to get back to Louis, and all he can do is try and calm it.

He smokes a joint, which won’t help matters if any of his neighbours rat him out to the police, but he’s too exhausted and stressed to care. It helps a little, and the large glass of red he pours himself helps a little more. 

The next few days pass in a similar state. Harry self-medicates with wine, weed, and junk food to try and keep his alpha calm and stop his human mind from spiralling about what might happen when Louis recovers. 

The bond is a constant itch that Harry can’t scratch. He can feel the omega’s distress through it, even though it’s muddled and chaotic because Louis seems to still be feral. The emotion disrupts Harry’s sleep and causes his alpha to be constantly on edge. Harry feels on the verge of losing control of it the day Zayn drops round to see him.

“He’s still feral,” his friend answers when Harry asks how Louis is. “He’s had family and friends around, and the doctors are trying everything, but he’s kind of gone in on himself and is refusing to even look at anyone at this moment. They’re not sure what to do.”

Harry’s mind fills with self-hatred yet again as he thinks of Louis, helpless and feral, without his alpha. He shakes himself. He is not Louis’ alpha, even though both of their inner wolves currently believe otherwise. 

“What can I do?” he asks Zayn desperately, and his friend just looks at him sadly.

“There’s nothing you can do, H. I’m so sorry. Hopefully he will come out of it soon, and then at least you’ll know what he wants to do.”

When Zayn leaves later that afternoon, Harry feels like the bond is hurting even more, and even though it’s muddled, he can’t concentrate on anything other than the distress he feels through it. 

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Another day passes, and Harry is in a haze of self-loathing and barely maintaining control of his alpha. He’s staring at the TV, not taking in what’s on the screen, and when his phone rings, he startles. He’s not expecting anyone to call, and he already spoke to his sister today. It’s the boss of the facility’s number, and Harry runs a stressed hand through his hair, expecting bad news.

“Dom,” he says as he answers the call, then braces himself for whatever his boss is going to growl down the phone at him.

“Harry,” the big alpha says. “We have a problem.” Dom has always been a man of few words, but Harry knows to wait it out, so he does just that and stays quiet. “Louis Tomlinson, the omega you unlawfully bonded,” he says with a touch of disdain, and Harry flinches but can’t really blame him. “He’s still feral, showing no signs of coming out of it. Theory from the docs is it’s because of the bond. Need you to come and help bring him back.”

Well, shit.

Harry takes a few seconds to process Dom’s curt words, and he’s barely able to stop his alpha simply running out the door to the recovery centre to get to Louis. Even his human mind seems to be obsessing on the fact that Louis needs him. He tries to calm himself.

“But I’m suspended, Dom,” he says as calmly as he can manage.

“You are, yes. And believe me, we are not going to be paying you as an employee for this. Thought you might appreciate an opportunity to redeem yourself a little by helping the omega you unlawfully bonded.” The disdain is clear this time and leaves Harry with no doubt as to how his boss feels about his situation.

He sighs deeply. He has other questions, but it all feels a little pointless. It’s not like he’s going to say no to taking care of the omega he’s been miserable and obsessing about for four fucking days. “What time do you need me?” he asks quietly.

“Get here as soon as you can. Lad hasn’t eaten for four days; docs say he’s starting to get pretty unwell.” 

Harry's stomach sinks in horror at the thought of his omega wasting away because of his actions. 

Not his omega. Fuck.

He mumbles something about getting there soon and ends the call. His alpha will barely let him gather any stuff, but he forces it down while he rushes to pack an overnight bag. He doesn’t know how long he’ll be needed, but he doesn’t intend to run away at the first opportunity either. He wants to help Louis – to get him better. To make some sort of amends.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

They let him go straight through to Louis’ room when he arrives, but Harry doesn’t miss the murmured conversations and sharp looks as he passes through the centre. When he pushes the door to Louis’ room open, he’s shoved back into the wall with an “oof” as the omega launches himself at him, clinging to him like a monkey and furiously scenting his neck.

The doctors nod encouragingly, so Harry doesn’t protest; instead, he carefully carries the whimpering omega over to the large bed that is pushed up against the wall to allow omegas to create nests in corners if they need to, and arranges him on his lap so that they can scent each other properly. The doctors stay in the room for a while, but once they seem happy that Louis is calmer and his blood pressure and heart rate have calmed down, they leave them to it. 

A middle-aged omega nurse, who Harry knows is Jenny from his previous visits to the centre, comes in and asks Harry to try and get Louis to eat, small amounts, a little at a time, so as to not overwhelm his painfully empty stomach. She leaves some simple food, and Harry pulls the tray over to them.

“You need to eat, Louis,” he tries, but the omega just snuggles deeper into his chest and turns away from the food. “Omega,” Harry says, not using his alpha voice but in a firm tone. “Look at me.”

Louis wines but obeys, pulling his face out from Harry’s neck and looking up at him, an exaggerated pout on his pink lips. Harry is hopelessly endeared but determined to stick to the objective.

“Here,” he says, pointing at the tray. “Eat.” 

Louis looks at the tray, then back at him. A hint of cheekiness crosses his face, and he drops his hands to his sides as if they’re useless. He bats his eyelashes up at Harry and opens his mouth, letting his tongue loll out a little as if asking to be fed. Harry rolls his eyes. He should be annoyed, but he isn't; he’s just even more endeared by the beautiful omega’s silent sass.

“OK, OK,” he says, picking up a peach slice and bringing it to Louis’ mouth. The omega sniffs at it, and then a sultry look crosses his face. Harry doesn’t have time to prepare himself for Louis’ warm, wet mouth lowering down the peach slice, and all he can do is watch, rapt. Louis looks up at him through his eyelashes as he chews, and as soon as he swallows, he takes Harry’s frozen hand in his smaller one and licks at Harry’s peach-juice-covered fingers.

Harry has to hold back a groan at the sight and the feeling of the omega’s mouth and tongue licking and sucking his digits. Louis looks infuriatingly pleased with himself, and Harry can’t help but pick up another slice, his alpha deciding this is exactly what a good alpha should be doing for his sexy little omega. 

Louis repeats the performance with even more commitment, whining a little when Harry eventually pulls his hand away, trying to clear his head. He watches as something changes on the omega’s face, and he can feel the change of mood through the bond. Louis seems to realise just how hungry he is because suddenly he’s grabbing at the plate and pushing it to Harry demandingly, a small frown on his gorgeous face.

Harry feeds him until the plate is empty, and Louis stops being a minx, focusing instead on eating every morsel. He’s still whining for more food, so Harry presses the intercom and asks for another plate. Jenny comes back looking incredibly pleased.

“Oh, well done, Harry,” she says fondly, squeezing Harry’s arm as he tries to get Louis to sit on his own on the bed. “I said to the doctors that it was the bond making him so unhappy. Honestly, they all overthink things so much, these silly alphas. Took an omega like me to point out that you’d both be pining for each other through the bond!” 

She’s being kind and seems so pleased, but Harry just feels even worse at her words. This is all his fault. He looks at her, and her expression softens. 

“Oh, love,” she says, patting him on the cheek gently. “You made a mistake. Your alpha took over and you couldn’t control it, right?” Harry nods dejectedly. “Well, that was a fuck-up, no doubt,” the nurse says gravely, “but it doesn’t make you a bad person, love. The best you can do is look after your omega and bring him back to his family and friends. And hopefully, he’ll be able to see what a great person you are, despite the mistake.”

Jenny leaves, and Harry goes back to feeding his omega. He’s given up even trying to stop his alpha thinking of Louis as his and resigns himself to sorting out that particular issue once Louis is recovering properly.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Over the next 24 hours, there are more and more moments when Louis seems to be coming back to himself. Harry watches as the omega’s eyes clear for a few moments, and he looks confused and wary, staring at Harry as if trying to work out what is going on before the wolf in him takes over again.

The doctors at the centre spent quite some time, while Louis slept wrapped around Harry like a koala, explaining exactly what the recovery from a feral state might look like. So Harry knows that Louis is likely to have regular moments of lucidity that will increase in duration as time goes on, but he could very well slip back into the feral state suddenly and without warning, particularly if he experiences heightened emotions. 

Keep telling him he’s safe, keep saying his name, stay calm, they told him. They drummed a script into Harry that he needs to say to Louis whenever the omega shows any sign of coming back:

Hi Louis, I’m Harry. You’ve been feral for a while. You’re safe, Louis. I’m here to take care of you, so please don’t worry. You’re in a feral rehabilitation centre. Your family and friends can’t wait for you to come back to them. There’s nothing to worry about, Louis; you are safe.

Harry has it memorised and says it over and over when Louis’s eyes seem to sharpen and his body flinches away from Harry. He’s pleased, in one way, that Louis is starting to come out of his feral state, and yet in another, more visceral way, he’s anxious about what will happen once Louis realises what Harry has done to him.

Louis starts whining, high and raspy, and his scent changes from sleepy to aroused. He’s eyeing Harry from under his lashes and licking his lips, and although Harry knows he should look away, he can’t. His alpha is mesmerised by this beautiful omega, and Louis seems intent on seducing him.

Louis crawls towards him on the bed and settles in his lap, and despite knowing he can’t do anything with Louis now, not after everything that’s happened, Harry can’t resist letting him straddle his thighs, gripping his hips firmly in his big hands.

Louis grinds down, his slick leaking through the joggers Harry managed to persuade him to put on earlier and wetting Harry’s jeans. Harry groans. It’s torture having this fucking gorgeous omega writhing and rubbing his slick wet ass over his groin, knowing the very last thing he should do is fuck him, despite what Harry’s alpha might be screaming in his head.

Louis wraps his arms around Harry’s neck and kisses him, deep and messy and so fucking hot that Harry’s cock aches in his jeans. He’s fully hard now, and he doesn’t know whether to push Louis off or enjoy this for a little longer. 

The doctors told him this would happen. They warned him that Louis would likely be seductive and that although some touching and kissing were fine, good even, to keep the omega calm, Harry mustn’t do anything else. 

He knew that already, of course; he’s not stupid. He’s essentially a criminal, someone who’s been accused of unlawful bonding, and the only reason he’s in this room is that Louis needs him here. The fact that Louis needs him here is entirely his own fault too, because if he hadn’t bitten Louis; if he hadn’t let his knothead alpha take control, none of them would be in this mess.

But they are, and Harry has to deal with the consequences and suck it up. He’s about to gently push Louis back, away from his aching cock, when the omega stiffens in his hold. When he leans back, Louis seems frozen on his lap, looking at him with wide, frightened eyes. 

“What– Who are you?” Louis croaks, panic etched onto his face.

Harry takes a breath to calm himself. “Hi Louis, I’m Harry. You’ve been feral for a while. You’re safe, Louis. I’m here to take care of you, so please don’t worry.” The words seem to start to sink in because Louis scrambles backwards, almost falling off the bed in the process. 

Harry grabs him to keep him safe, and he whimpers and wriggles away to the other end of the bed, pressing himself up to the wall. Harry’s stomach drops at the omega’s distress. “You’re in a feral rehabilitation centre. Your family and friends can’t wait for you to come back to them. There’s nothing to worry about, Louis; you are safe.”

Louis breathes heavily, his chest heaving with anxiety, and all Harry can do is repeat the words softly, making sure his body language is as open and non-threatening as possible. After a while, Louis seems to really take in the words, and a frown appears on his beautiful face.

“Feral?” he asks, still huddled into the corner. 

Harry nods. “Yes, you had a car accident and hit your head. Unfortunately, it sent you feral for a while. But you’re safe now, Louis.” The doctors’ advice is on repeat in Harry’s head: Keep telling him he’s safe, keep saying his name, stay calm. 

Louis nods distractedly and looks down at the bed and then around the plain room. He reaches up to his neck and rubs the bonding mark as if it itches, and Harry’s breath hitches at the strange, tickling sensation he feels in his own bonding patch as a result. Harry holds his breath while the omega’s hand stills on his neck and his eyes widen.

“I’ve been bitten?” he says, and it’s half question, half statement. Harry doesn’t know what to say, so he just nods dumbly, tears pricking his eyes. “How– I don’t understand!” Louis is getting more distressed now, rubbing at the bite and making it sore. He’ll make it bleed again if he carries on, and Harry’s alpha is roaring at him to scent the omega to calm him, hold his wrists, and stop him from hurting himself.

As Louis gets more distressed, he starts to cry and rock back and forth, and Harry reaches out to him, wanting to pat and soothe. Louis cries out and scrambles away, trying to make himself as tiny as possible in the corner. He hides his face against the wall and whines. 

Harry’s alpha is too distressed for Harry to just sit there, so he edges towards Louis on the bed, resting a gentle hand on the omega’s back and rubbing softly. There’s a strange low moan, and before Harry knows it, Louis is shuffling towards him, arse first, until he’s in a presenting position.

Harry blinks a few times to try and clear the haze of scent that the omega is sending out and has to physically wrest himself away before his alpha makes him do something with that ass that everyone would regret. Louis whines as Harry moves away and looks back at him, all traces of the human side gone again.

Harry sighs, Louis is back to feral, and Harry is in for a painful and incredibly frustrating few hours as the omega tries everything to seduce the alpha he’s bonded to. Harry supposes pain and frustration are the least he deserves, so he braces himself as he lets Louis climb back into his lap, smelling like the best and worst thing that has ever happened to him.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Louis comes in and out of lucidity several times, and each time, he’s confused at first, and then realisation starts to hit him, and he slips back into feral. At one point, Harry tries to leave while Louis is sleeping to nip home and get more clothes, but he doesn’t make it as far as his car before the centre’s staff are calling him back in to soothe a frantic omega.

In the end, he phones Niall and asks him to use his spare key to grab him a few things, and his friend delivers a bag to the centre. The doctors aren’t particularly happy about Harry being in there all the time with the omega he unlawfully bonded, but they all agree it’s still in Louis’ best interests at this point.

Louis has been his human self for a full ten minutes this time, and Harry has been calmly answering his questions about what happened, how he was eventually caught, and how he ended up in the centre. The question he’s been dreading comes eventually, in a way Harry wasn’t expecting.

“My omega,” Louis says softly, hesitantly. “It thinks you're my alpha. I can feel the draw to you. I’ve never felt this before.” Harry swallows thickly and grimaces, and he knows he’s been unable to keep the guilt and shame from his face. “Was it you?” Louis asks in a whisper. “Did you bond me?”

He can’t lie now – this is it; this is the point when he needs to face what he’s done. “Yes,” he says quietly, not meeting Louis’ eyes across the space between them on the bed. “I’m so sorry, Louis. The chase made my alpha take over, and I lost myself for a while. I cannot tell you how sorry I am.”

Louis’ face dissolves into an expression of pain and confusion, and Harry can feel his omega’s horror through the bond. He feels it right to his bones. He hangs his head as the omega pants, as if he can’t get his breath. When he looks up, the omega is back, and human Louis is gone again.

Harry feels a tear roll down his face as the omega crawls into his lap again, huffing and purring and scenting him, comforting his alpha as if Harry is the one who needs support. 

Harry’s never hated himself more.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

The next time Louis comes round, he moves to angry pretty quickly. Harry tries to calm him, but it's no good.

“Get out,” Louis growls, low and devastated. “Leave me alone. I don’t want you here.”

Harry’s alpha is desperate to stay, and so is Harry, but he knows he can’t. It’s the first time Louis has asked him to leave while lucid, and he has to respect it. He nods sadly, mumbling more apologies as he grabs his bag and quietly leaves the room.

It takes nearly an hour before he’s called back this time. On the advice of the doctors, he didn’t go home, expecting Louis to go back to being feral sooner or later. It’s a good sign that he stayed with the doctors for that amount of time, talking to them and answering their questions, but when Harry’s bonding patch starts to ache, followed quickly by shooting pains, he knows Louis is feral again and desperate for his alpha’s presence.

It falls into a pattern of sorts, and it's miserable for both of them. Harry soothes and calms the feral omega until Louis comes back to them, and he immediately shouts at Harry to leave. Harry does every time, and the doctors and nurses try to keep Louis lucid by talking to him and showing him pictures of his family.

Before long, Harry is called back to help when Louis seemingly inevitably slips back into a feral state. 

“We think you need to stay with him, even when he’s lucid,” Dr Kaminski tells him while Louis is yet again asleep in his lap. “We are worried about how much time he’s spending feral – there’s a danger he will never fully recover unless we can keep his human mind awake. It seems he only comes around when you are here.”

“But he doesn’t want me near him when he’s back,” Harry says, his gut painful with the awfulness of the situation. 

“That’s true, but we’ll stay with you this time to explain to Louis that he needs you until he’s permanently back. Hopefully, that will persuade him to let you stay.”

Harry nods, in no position to disagree and willing to do anything to help the sleepy omega in his arms.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

It took a couple of attempts by the doctors – twice Louis refused and became so angry that Harry was forced to leave until Louis slipped back into feral – but they eventually persuaded Louis that it is in his own best interests for Harry to stay with him until he fully recovers.

The pattern is just as miserable but less stressful now. Louis is lucid for longer and longer, and although he all but ignores Harry while he is and refuses to talk to anyone but the centre staff, he seems to be improving rapidly. 

It’s late, past midnight, Harry thinks, but he’s too tired to grab his phone to check. The staff set up a fold-down bed in the room for him – while Louis is in his right mind, there’s no way they can share a bed any more – so he’s trying to relax and maybe grab some sleep.

Harry has hardly been sleeping, and his appetite is almost nonexistent. He’s really only eating to stave off hunger pangs, and even then, with no enjoyment. He can’t sleep when Louis is feral because he’s so worried he’ll become lucid suddenly and be angry at Harry for holding him. 

So he’s been staying awake while Louis is feral, and he can’t sleep while Louis is himself because he can feel the animosity coming from the omega in waves. Harry’s exhausted and feels sick most of the time, but he doesn’t complain. 

Louis is facing him for once, curled up in his own bed, looking cosy and peaceful, which Harry’s alpha at least approves of. He’s asleep, Harry thinks, although his breathing isn’t quite that slow, calm rhythm that the omega reaches when he’s deeply under. Harry sighs ruefully as he watches the omega breathe – he never imagined he’d be so in tune with a person who hates him as much as Louis does.

“You should have eaten the dinner they brought.”

At first, Harry wonders if he’s imagined the words. They were quiet, and Louis hasn’t moved or opened his eyes. He shifts on his uncomfortable bed so that he can see Louis a little more clearly in the gloom from across the room. 

“You’ll get ill if you don’t eat. And I know you don’t sleep either.”

Harry sees his mouth moving this time, so he knows he’s not imagining the voice in some kind of exhaustion-fuelled hallucination. He isn’t sure how to respond. It’s the first thing Louis has said to him since he’s been aware of the full situation that hasn’t been hateful, and Harry really doesn’t want to fuck this small reprieve up. “I’m OK,” he says quietly. “I just want you to get better.”

There’s a sigh, and Louis’ eyes open slowly. Even in the dim light, they shine a brilliant blue, and Harry gets lost in their gaze for a long moment. He’s not sure, but he feels like the look Louis is giving him is calculating rather than disgusted. It’s an improvement he will gladly take.

“I just wish you hadn’t done it,” Louis says in a whisper, and Harry’s heart sinks, a nauseous feeling rising in his throat.

“I wish that too, so much, Louis. I’m so sorry.” It’s all he can think of to say. Louis deserves much more, but the problem is the only explanation is the truth – that Harry’s alpha took over and Harry couldn’t control it – and he’s tired of hearing himself say it like it’s a good enough reason. It’s not, and he knows it. So all he can do is tell Louis how sorry he is and hope that the omega believes it.

“Yes. I suppose you are,” Louis says, sighing and pulling his arm out from the covers. He tucks his hand under his face, and a pang of adoration runs through Harry at the sight of this beautiful omega looking at him with such sadness. “Are you– Who are you exactly, Harry?” 

The question hangs in the air, and Harry’s not sure how to answer it. He’s nobody, that’s who. Nobody important anyway. “I’m just a search and rescue guy,” is what he comes up with, and Louis frowns, looking dissatisfied with the answer. Harry forces himself to say more, because that’s what the omega seems to want. “I’m just a guy, Louis, nothing special or important. I go to work, I go home, I eat, I sleep. Not much to tell.”

There’s some rustling as Louis sits up, and the blankets pool at his waist. The dim light from the observation window into the corridor falls on his bare chest, where the cursive tattoo lies across his collarbones. It is what it is . It’s a good summary, Harry thinks. 

“Family, friends?” Louis asks, and Harry can tell he’s trying to keep his tone light for some reason.

Harry sits up himself and leans back against the wall, rolling his head so he’s looking at Louis across the room. “I have a sister. We lost our parents when we were both young, rattled around in the care system until we were old enough to get out. We lived together for a while, but she met her now husband and got herself a decent job, and, well, we don’t see each other as much any more. We talk a lot, though. She’s great.” He glances at Louis again to try and assess his reaction, and the omega just nods, as if waiting to hear more.

“I’m sorry about your parents,” Louis says, frowning. “What about a social life?”

“Listen, Louis,” Harry starts carefully. “I’ll tell you anything and everything you want to know, but I’m just curious. Why are you asking all this?” 

“Because I can’t sleep, Harry,” Louis says, a touch of frustration in his tone. “And I’m stuck in here with you, and it's stressful being angry at you all the time. So if I’ve got to be stuck in here with the person who I’m forced to be bonded to, I feel like I at least want to know who I’m dealing with.”

Harry takes a deep breath and nods. It’s fair enough, he thinks, and he’ll do whatever Louis wants him to do. He’s about to start talking again when Louis clears his throat.

“And,” he says, looking away from Harry, almost as if embarrassed. “I dunno. I feel like maybe you’re not the monster you might seem to be based on what you did. Which is confusing.”

Harry feels a spark of hope flare in his chest. It’s not much, but he wants to grab hold of whatever crumbs of anything other than hatred Louis throws his way. He sits up straighter in his bed and proceeds to regale Louis with the story of his pathetically boring life, involving one best mate, Niall, and his boss Zayn, who for some reason seems determined to also be his friend.

There’s not that much to tell really, and he’s embarrassed by how sad and small his life sounds, but Louis still looks vaguely interested, so he carries on, figuring the omega will tell him to shut up if he starts to get bored.

“It’s why I got into the search and rescue thing, to be honest,” he says, hoping to make himself sound a tiny bit more interesting. “I never did that well at school, but I like to think I’m smart, and I’m good at problem-solving. Plus, I wanted to do something that helped people, and there aren’t many options without qualifications. So I joined the search and rescue team, did the training, and here I am.”

“Do you only search for feral people, or for anyone missing?” Louis asks curiously, and Harry launches into a fairly long explanation about the sorts of varied cases he gets to deal with on a weekly basis. Eventually, Louis starts to look a bit distracted, so Harry shuts up. There’s a long silence where Harry just watches the beautiful omega, and Louis stares absently at his own bent knees, picking at the duvet covering them.

“What about you?” Harry ventures cautiously. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me anything, of course. In fact, you probably don’t want to, like, share anything about your life with me. After everything. And that’s fine; I don’t expect you to. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

Harry’s heart is crashing at the thought of messing up this fragile truce they’ve reached, but when he braves a look at Louis, the omega is smiling slightly – just a slight upturn of his mouth – and he doesn’t look angry at all.

When he starts to speak, Louis doesn’t look at Harry, but he does tell him about his close family, his many siblings, his beloved mum, and his group of omega friends. He smiles a lot when he talks about them all, and Harry’s heart does little flips whenever the omega glances over at him with that soft, fond look. The look isn’t for Harry, he knows; it’s for Louis’ loved ones, but it still makes Harry’s alpha content for the first time in over a week. 

Harry isn’t sure if he deserves any respite from his misery, but he’s so tired and weak that he can’t help but let himself enjoy it. Just for a while. Just for tonight.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

They sleep eventually, and although Harry has the best sleep he’s had all week, when he wakes up the following morning, he’s feeling out of sorts. It’s different from the exhaustion and weakness from the last few days, and he can’t quite place the feeling. Worrying he’s coming down with something and he might transfer it to Louis, he mentions it to the doctors when they next visit.

Louis is lucid most of the time now, only occasionally slipping back into feral and only for fairly short periods. The omega watches, frowning, as Dr Kaminski examines Harry. Before she can tell Harry anything though, Louis whines, and Harry looks at him sharply as he scrambles across the bed and latches himself onto Harry, straddling his lap.

He’s feral again, and it seems to have happened suddenly. Harry gives the doctor a slightly alarmed look, and she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “I was about to say I was wondering if you might be approaching your rut, Harry,” she says in a resigned tone. “But I think Louis has just confirmed it.”

Shit.

As soon as the doctor voices it, Harry knows it’s true. He hadn’t considered it because he’s usually pretty regular and isn’t due one for a couple of weeks, but the doctor explains that it’s probably the bond and his extended contact with what his alpha sees as his omega that has brought it on. It makes sense, Harry supposes, but he’s really worried about what it means.

“Let me go chat to the other doctors,” she says, frowning as Louis growls at her warningly. “I really don’t think it’s appropriate that you stay with Louis for your rut.”

“Right, no,” Harry says immediately, trying to ignore his alpha that’s already telling him to knot Louis here and now, even though he’s only in mild pre-rut. 

Dr Kaminski gets up and leaves hurriedly, and Harry has to just sit and wait, stroking Louis and letting the omega scent him furiously and wriggle in his lap. It takes all of Harry’s willpower not to slip his hands down to Louis’ ass, which he knows is wet with slick from the fucking delicious smell and the damp patch the omega is leaving on his joggers.

It’s only a few minutes later when Dr Kaminski comes back with another male doctor. Dr Kaminski is an alpha, but the man with her, Dr Reid, is an omega. As they enter, Louis stiffens in Harry’s hold and turns sharply towards them.

Harry is taken aback when Louis jumps and spins in one movement, his back now to Harry, his bum pushing back into him. He’s in a sort of crouch facing the doctors, and although Harry can’t see his face, the growling and snarling that comes from the omega on his lap tells him exactly what’s happening.

The doctors both look alarmed, and Harry leans to the side to look at Louis and sees him baring his teeth angrily, eyes fixed on Dr Reid. He’s obviously warning the other omega off, and Harry really does not know how to handle this situation. 

Dr Kaminski takes control and quickly tells the other doctor to leave and send in a beta nurse to try and calm the situation. He does so hurriedly, and the beta nurse who comes in looks just as worried as they all seem to feel when he surveys the situation.

“We need to get you out of here,” Dr Kaminski says quietly to Harry, and although it makes his alpha want to roar at her, his human mind knows she’s right. “Paul here can help hold Louis while we get you away. I’d like you to stay in the centre until we give you the all-clear to leave. I’m hoping that once you’re out of the room, Louis will calm down.”

Harry’s really not so sure if that’s going to work. Louis has stopped growling now that there are no other omegas in the room, but he’s still crouched as if ready to pounce, and he’s whining and whimpering anxiously at the staff, his arms stretched back around Harry protectively.

The long minute or so it takes to prise Louis away from Harry is one of the most horrible things Harry’s alpha has ever had to go through. Louis is frantic – almost screaming with distress at being physically taken away from the man he sees as his alpha – and Harry can’t stop himself crying when he finally leaves the room.

He can hear Louis’ desperate cries even as he forces himself to walk away, down the corridor and into the waiting room they’d told him to go to. He paces, unable to sit and wait calmly, his alpha roaring in his chest and his pre-rut haze getting worse alarmingly quickly. The panic from Louis he feels through the bond is making his heart race and his alpha even harder to control.

He doesn’t know what to do if he goes into rut before they’ve given him the all-clear to leave, but he can’t leave yet – even if he didn’t care what the doctors said, his alpha won’t let him.

So he waits and paces and tries to stop crying and to breathe and keep his human mind in control. He has no idea how long it’s been – it’s felt like hours, but it’s probably only twenty minutes or so – before Dr Kaminski rushes into the room, looking flustered and worried.

“You need to come back,” she says, her expression telling Harry that she wishes she was saying anything but this. “Louis is out of control. He’s trying to hurt anyone who gets near him, and unless we sedate him, we can’t calm him down. And I don’t want to sedate him because, honestly, I have no idea what that will do to his progress. He’s, ah–” She pauses and looks warily at Harry, who’s breathing heavily, his pre-rut so strong now he’s having to physically brace himself not to throw the other alpha out of his way to get to Louis. “He’s trying to hurt himself.”

And that’s enough. Harry can’t hold his alpha back at the thought of his omega hurting himself. He growls into the doctor’s face, and she doesn’t flinch, obviously expecting the reaction. She steps aside, thankfully, because Harry would have used force to get past her if necessary at this point, and he runs back to Louis’ room.

When he bursts in, the nurse trying to get near Louis and calm him down immediately steps back to allow him access, and Harry whimpers at what he sees. Louis is in the corner on the bed, and he’s banging his head against the wall hard, scratching at the skin on his arms as he does it.

“Omega!” Harry cries, and Louis immediately stops what he’s doing, his eyes going dark as he launches himself at Harry from across the bed. He clings to Harry, arms and legs wrapped around him, and Harry stretches his neck to give the omega access to his scent gland. Louis grunts and whines and scents, and Harry sits down on the bed and lets him. 

He only realises a few minutes later, when they’re both calmer and when the embrace and scenting are softer and less frantic, that they are alone again in the room. Harry’s full rut is nearly here; he can feel it, and he’s amazed by how quickly it came on. He usually gets a few days of pre-rut beforehand, but it’s been only a few hours.

He glances up at the observation window into the corridor and sees Dr Kaminski looking at them grimly. She gestures to the buzzer on the wall, and Harry nods, acknowledging that he will press it if anything goes wrong. With that, the doctor nods sharply, appears to sigh heavily, and lowers the blinds, giving them privacy to ride out Harry’s rut.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Harry tries so hard to remain in control. He doesn’t want to fuck Louis while the omega is feral. It just feels so wrong, after everything that’s happened, for Louis’ human side not to consent to all of this. He can’t hold his alpha completely at bay now he’s in rut, though, so he’s forced to at least let the omega suck him and get him off.

Louis whines and whimpers at being denied his knot, and the self-control it takes for Harry to stop himself when Louis presents, slick-wet ass high in the air on the bed, is physically painful. Instead, Harry wanks furiously at the sight, but the orgasm isn’t satisfying enough to placate his raging alpha. He’s writhing in pain on the bed, trying to wank to keep himself from grabbing the omega, when Louis’ voice cuts through his rut-haze. 

“Alpha, let me help you.” 

The five words are enough to bring a few moments of awareness back to Harry, and he looks sharply at Louis. He’s back; he’s not feral any more. Louis nods seriously. “I’m me, and yes, I know what I’m saying. My omega here,” he taps his chest ruefully, “is insisting in no uncertain terms that I need to help my bonded alpha through his rut. And since I don’t want to go feral again, I guess I need to listen to it.”

The words take longer than they should to register, but when they eventually do, Harry has one last fight with his alpha to let his human side speak. “You– You sure, Lou?” The shortened name probably isn’t appropriate, Harry thinks, but he can’t get many words out around his out-of-control alpha, so it will have to do.

“I’m sure,” Louis says, smiling slightly. “We’ll deal with the consequences after, I guess.” He shrugs lightly and slowly moves to straddle Harry’s lap. “Now come on, Alpha,” he says, sultry and smirking. “Give me that knot like you want to.”

Harry’s alpha can’t be held back any longer, and he emits a long, low growl as he paws at Louis’ clothes to get them off. The omega obliges, stripping quickly and helping Harry, now clumsy with rut, to get his own clothes off. They lie down, and Harry immediately blankets Louis with his body.

His alpha is desperate to mark Louis and claim him as his own. It’s been denied for days now, and Harry revels in the freedom he has to reconnect with his omega. He bites and sucks love bites down Louis’ neck, and the urge to sink his teeth into the bond mark again to deepen the bond is almost irresistible. Thankfully, there’s enough lucidity peeking through the rut haze to stop himself, and he carries on down, sucking on Louis’ nipples and making the omega arch at the sensation.

Harry’s been with plenty of omegas through his ruts – a few partners, a few friends just helping him out – but this is the first time his alpha has been so totally focused on the omega. Usually, his alpha is only interested in fucking and knotting, his hormones making him more selfish than he would normally be.

Louis writhes and pants under him, pliant and willing, and Harry wants to make him dumb with arousal and pleasure. He continues a path of marks down Louis’ body and when he reaches the omega’s hips, he holds him down, pressing him into the bed and sucking at his hip bone hard.

Louis whines, high and needy, and for a moment Harry’s human mind cuts through, anxious. He glances up, worried that Louis has gone feral again, but the omega is looking down at him, clear-eyed with pupils blown. “Don’t stop,” Louis whispers, and it’s enough for Harry to let his alpha take over again.

He returns to his mission to mark all over Louis’ body, focusing on his hips for a while until the omega is begging for something more and Harry’s cock is so painful that he can’t wait much longer. He pushes Louis’ legs up and hovers his mouth over the omega’s exposed hole, smirking up at him, before leaning down to lap up the slick leaking from him. 

He sucks and licks in and around Louis’ hole ferociously, the taste of the slick sparking pure want and heady pleasure throughout his body. Louis arches so beautifully that Harry growls roughly and kneels up, his face dripping with saliva and delicious slick.

He smears the sloppy mixture over his face and rubs his wet palm over Louis’ stomach to spread their combined scents, and then grabs a pillow and pushes it under Louis’ bum to raise his hips up to the level of Harry’s leaking dick. 

He knows Louis is back on the birth control and that they are both clean because they were checked when they came to the centre. “Bare?” he grates out, words getting harder and harder to achieve now his human mind is so overwhelmed by his alpha.

“Yesss,” Louis hisses with a sultry smile. “Fuck me, Alpha.”

Harry groans and starts to press his aching cock into the omega’s warm, wet hole, and for the first time in a long time, his alpha feels happy, as if it’s grinning with glee inside him. 

Harry hadn’t allowed himself to think about how tight and warm Louis had felt around him after the chase, but now, with the bond making their connection incredibly intense and with Louis’ hole gripping his cock as if he never wants to let it go, Harry and his alpha are in heaven. 

The rut has fully taken hold, but somehow Harry remains fully conscious, if not fully in control, and he relaxes into it finally, letting his alpha take the lead without further resistance. He starts to thrust into Louis deep and hard, and the omega whines and grunts, clearly still conscious but letting his omega react instinctively. 

Harry leans forward so that he can reach Louis' mouth, and they kiss messily, Louis moaning at the taste of his own slick on Harry’s tongue. In this position, Harry doesn’t pull out far, choosing to keep the omega full and only move a couple of inches in and out. 

Each time he bottoms out, Louis whimpers, and it’s a sound Harry wants to hear over and over. His knot is already forming, the rut haze making him incredibly turned on, and he wonders if he’s ever felt pleasure this acutely before. 

Through the bond, even though he doesn’t have his own bite on his neck, Harry can feel some of Louis’ pleasure too, and it’s on the verge of overwhelming. 

“Knot,” Harry grunts, fucking harshly into Louis, who wraps his supple legs around Harry’s waist and pulls him in. “My omega,” he grates, and the whine that Louis lets out is enough to send Harry over the edge. 

His knot pops harshly, instantly locking them together, and Louis cries out in pain and pleasure, coming up his tummy between their bodies.

Harry’s alpha is insistent on tending to the bond mark, and Harry can’t stop it, not when he’s still coming inside Louis’ tight heat. Harry licks and nibbles at the healing bite, and each time he does, Louis shudders, his beautiful body undulating with the intensity of it. 

It’s as if Harry’s alpha wants to keep Louis knotted forever. Each time they still, panting and slowly relaxing, Harry seems to rear again, thrusting sharply and filling Louis with more come. It takes nearly thirty minutes before they can separate, and even then, Harry is ready to go again almost immediately. 

“You’re going to be the death of me, Alpha,” Louis says, and Harry looks at him worriedly. He’s dumb with rut but still entirely focused on the omega, and the thought of Louis being unhappy makes Harry’s alpha want to whine. But Louis is smirking at him, and as he clambers to straddle Harry’s hips on the bed, he lets out a little giggle. “But what a way to go, eh?”

Harry grabs his hips and growls happily as the omega grinds on his already rock-hard cock. 

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Harry’s rut lasted about thirty-six hours, the shortest one he’s ever had. He remembers most of it, although there are definitely moments that are very hazy when his alpha completely took over. 

He lies awake, stroking Louis’ back as the omega curls into him, and he can’t help wondering what this all means in terms of their situation. 

“I can tell you’re awake,” Louis says quietly into his chest. “And before you ask, I don’t know either.”

Harry pauses his movements and raises his head so he can look at Louis, but the omega keeps his face nuzzled into Harry’s pec. “Don’t know what?” he asks tentatively. 

“Where we go from here.” 

The words hang between them for a long moment. Harry isn’t sure how to respond to that, so he asks the question that’s bouncing around his head and worrying him. “Was I– was it OK? I mean, I wasn’t too rough or anything?” 

He knows his alpha would never hurt Louis, but there are bits of the rut that aren’t clear enough for him to be absolutely sure. 

Louis chuckles and looks up at him, finally meeting his eyes. “You were fine, Harry. More than fine. If I’m honest, the whole experience was incredible. Which makes everything even more confusing.”

Harry breathes out a sigh of relief and starts to stroke Louis’ back again, still feeling so clingy from his rut that he can’t stop touching his beautiful omega. “Were you, um, feral at all, do you know?” he asks. 

There were times he vaguely remembers Louis being particularly wild, and the memory of the omega riding him with wild eyes and a determined look, teeth gritted and focused on getting Harry’s knot, is so vivid it makes his spent cock fatten a little. 

“A couple of times, I think. But I was here for most of it. Which is lucky since I needed to be on my toes to stop you biting me again.”

Harry sits up abruptly, his jaw dropping in horror, and Louis chuckles as he’s unceremoniously shoved off Harry’s chest in the process. 

“Don’t panic, Alpha,” Louis soothes, sitting up and placing a gentle hand on Harry’s chest over his heart. “You asked, I said no, you behaved. All I mean is if I’d been feral, I probably would have bared my neck for you and bitten you back. My omega is extremely attached to you, you know.”

Harry's heart is thrashing, first because for an awful moment he thought he’d been a scumbag again, and now because Louis is talking about their connection in a way that isn’t entirely negative. And Harry doesn’t know what to do or say so as to not fuck this up. 

He’s still fuzzy from rut, but both his human and alpha minds know one thing with absolute certainty: they want Louis. Harry can’t imagine losing him, but knows full well that it’s very possible he will. 

“My alpha is attached to you, too. And me. I mean, I am too. Attached. To you.” He shakes his head and rolls his eyes at himself, at his inability to say anything properly. 

“Are you indeed?” Louis says curiously. There’s a long silence while they stare at each other. “I’m going to need some time, Harry,” Louis eventually says. “I’m still angry at what you did. And liking you doesn’t make my long-held beliefs disappear, you know? I believe alphas who unlawfully bond omegas deserve the maximum punishment possible.” 

Harry nods sadly. “Of course. You may not believe this, but I think that too. I did an awful thing to you, Louis, and being sorry doesn’t make that disappear either.”

Louis purses his lips and frowns. He studies Harry for longer than is comfortable, and Harry squirms in his stare. 

Then the omega sighs and shrugs. “Like I said, I need time.” Abruptly, Louis gets up off the bed. He’s still naked, and Harry can't stop his eyes from drinking in his gorgeous body, covered in their combined fluids and smelling like he belongs to Harry. Louis turns back and holds out a hand. “My omega needs us to clean each other. Let’s shower,” he says softly, and Harry scrambles up to obey immediately, his alpha feeling the exact same instinct. 

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

The rut seems to have done Louis some good, and over the next few days they have longer and longer periods apart to test how well Louis is recovering and to check he doesn’t turn feral again when Harry leaves.

Harry’s been sent away this time, as the doctors want to test if distance makes any difference to Louis’ state. They asked him to stay at least a few miles away, so he finds a cafe and nurses a coffee until he gets the call from the clinic to go back.

As he drives back to the centre, he can’t help but feel sad that his time with Louis is ending. It’s a confusing mix of emotions, none of them good. He’s worried about his own future but resigned to the consequences, whatever they may be. He’s incredibly sad that he probably won’t see Louis again, and yet relieved that the omega seems to be better and can get on with his life.

The feelings he gets through the bond, although not precise, don’t seem to have faded at all, and although he can still feel confusion when he’s with Louis, he also knows that Louis is getting stronger and less fragile as time passes. And that’s a good thing. 

It’s just... it doesn’t feel like a good thing sometimes. Harry pulls into a space in the car park and sits for a few moments, letting himself remember what it felt like to have Louis in his arms, soothing him and petting his gorgeous, soft body. An ache of longing spreads through his stomach as he lets himself remember how Louis felt writhing under him, his tight heat around Harry’s knot.

He shakes himself out of it and forces himself from the car. As he rounds the corner of the corridor near Louis’ room, he sees three people come out of it. Two police officers, one alpha and one beta, and a suited woman who Harry is pretty sure is an omega. He guesses she’s a lawyer.

The alpha police officer is one of the men who took his statement the night they’d got to the centre, and he nods curtly to Harry on their way past. Harry sighs and rubs his face tiredly. He knew Louis must be speaking to people by now about whether to press charges, but seeing it with his own eyes makes the whole thing feel frighteningly real.

He knocks gently on the door and hears Louis call for him to come in. The omega is sitting on the chair by the bed, gazing out of the window, and he turns as Harry enters. Harry doesn’t say anything, just sits on his fold-down bed and looks at his feet.

“I presume you saw them, then,” Louis says, and Harry glances up at him and nods. “They think I should press charges.”

“You should,” Harry says quietly, but without hesitation. Louis let’s out a noise that sounds like a huff of frustration, and Harry looks over at him. “You should, Louis. I deserve it. What I did to you was wrong, no matter what my excuses might be.”

The look Louis is giving him is hard to read, but through the bond, Harry can feel frustration and more than a little annoyance. But there’s something else too, and Harry can’t place it. It feels like Louis is waiting for something. Waiting for Harry to say or do something, but Harry doesn’t know what it is. He wishes he did.

“I don’t know,” Louis eventually says. “They’re probably right. You’re probably right. Unlawfully bonding someone shouldn’t go unpunished.”

Harry nods. Much as the words sting like slaps, Louis is right, and Harry would have argued if he’d said anything different. They sit in silence for a while and Harry avoids Louis’ gaze, until Dr Kaminski eventually breaks the awkwardness by coming in.

“So, it seems Louis is in good shape!” she says cheerfully, smiling kindly at each of them in turn. “I think you’ll be good to go home, Louis, if you feel happy to?” 

Harry watches as Louis considers and is surprised he doesn’t accept immediately. “Can I go in the morning?” he says eventually, and the doctor glances over at Harry, matching his own confused look.

“Of course,” she says carefully. “And, uh, would you like to spend the night alone or...” She trails off and looks pointedly from Louis to Harry, raising her eyebrows in question.

“I’d like Harry to stay, if that’s OK,” Louis says quietly, looking directly at the doctor as if avoiding Harry’s eyes. “My omega feels a little panic at being separated, probably because of the bond,” he continues, clearing his throat. “I think it’d be less abrupt this way.”

The doctor nods, seeming to accept this explanation, and she doesn’t bother asking Harry whether he’s OK to stay another night. Harry figures that he forfeited the right to this sort of choice when he force-bonded Louis.

When the doctor leaves, Harry doesn’t know what to do or how to behave. He and his alpha are both grateful and relieved to have a little longer with their omega, but he can’t quite understand why Louis wants him there. The bond is only half formed – Louis would need to bite Harry to complete it – so Harry can only pick up general emotions through it rather than specifics, and it’s probably even more confusing than being able to feel nothing.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Louis says firmly after a long silence. “We have one more night. I just want to talk about anything other than this fucking bite and what it fucking means. And I want a cuddle. My omega needs it. But that doesn’t mean anything, Harry, OK? You need to understand that me needing your alpha to hold me doesn’t mean I’m not going to press charges. You got that?” 

He’s firm and sure and slightly irritable, and Harry couldn’t adore him more. Harry nods furiously. “Yes, completely. Got it one hundred percent,” he says and breathes out a sigh as some of the tension leaves the omega. 

A small smile appears on Louis’ lips. “Well, I’m not cuddling on that shitty bed.” He nods  towards Harry. “Get over here,” he says, tapping the bigger bed, “and sit up against the wall, so I can sit in your lap. I want you to cuddle me and scent me, and do that thing where you rub my back, like you did when I was feral.”

Harry doesn’t question the fact that Louis has memories from when he was feral, choosing quiet obedience instead. He positions himself as Louis instructed, and the omega immediately crawls into his lap, sitting sideways and resting his head in the crook of Harry’s neck.

He immediately starts lapping at Harry’s scent gland, and Harry pushes out waves of thick scent. The kitten licks make Harry want to rumble, but he tries his best to hold it in. He succeeds on the whole, and when the odd chuff or tiny rumble escapes, Louis seems to wriggle in his hold and press closer to him.

They sit like this for hours, talking about nothing and anything other than the awful situation they’re in, until eventually they start to get sleepy. Harry waits for Louis to give him instructions, but when he’s told to get into the bed and spoon the omega, he does so immediately, feeling happier than he in any way deserves to.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

“There’s this website about how to remove a bond,” Harry says as he puts the last of his clothes into his bag, while Louis sits on the bed watching him with a blank stare. “I’ve written it down.” Harry passes Louis the scrap of paper, and he takes it without looking at it. “Apparently it doesn’t always work, and there’s some nasty-sounding side effects that you need to check over before you decide. But this way you have a chance to remove it – well, remove me – completely rather than having to suffer the discomfort of it for years.”

He’s rambling a bit, trying to fill the awkward silence between them and put off having to leave. Bond removal can be either painful or ineffective for omegas, and as much as he wants Louis’ suffering to end quickly, he’s worried about it too.

“Will it hurt you if I get it removed?” Louis asks quietly, and Harry shrugs.

“Probably yeah, but that’s OK. This isn’t about me, Lou.” Harry looks at the omega for a long moment and hates seeing the sorrowful look on his beautiful face. His alpha is scratching at him, knowing he’s about to leave and unwilling to accept it, but Harry is prepared to suffer whatever is needed to make sure Louis is OK. “I’ll be fine, Lou, honestly. The bond will either be removed or fade, and you should do whatever you have to do with the charges. I understand.”

He’s trying to sound sure and confident and fine, and he thinks he achieves it, but Louis still looks so worried, and he’s not sure how to make it better. He just needs to leave, he thinks. Louis needs space and time with his family, and Harry needs to sit and wait for whatever punishment comes his way. 

If he’s lucky, the sentence won’t be too harsh. He’ll probably need to think about another career, as they’ll never let him search and rescue again after all this, but he’ll work something out. And once the bond is removed, they can both move on, Harry can do his time, and Louis will be OK.

His alpha is torn between being happy at the thought of Louis being OK and being furious and desperate at the thought of the bond being removed, and Harry has to admit to himself that his human mind feels exactly the same way.

He hands Louis a hoodie, which he’s scented heavily, and picks up Louis’ t-shirt from the bed, resisting the urge to fill his lungs with the omega’s delicious scent. Louis isn’t as restrained and brings Harry’s hoodie to his nose, sniffing a little before sighing and bunching the garment up in his tense hands.

They’ve been advised to give each other a scented garment to take away with them, just to lessen the shock of abrupt separation, and Louis seemed keen on this idea. Harry’s alpha is very slightly mollified by the idea of Louis having something scented by him, and Harry can’t deny that taking something of Louis’ away with him is definitely helping him avoid total panic.

He carefully folds the t-shirt and puts it in his bag before slinging the bag over his shoulder. Then he heads for the door, fighting his alpha all the way. He opens it and is about to leave when he hears Louis let out a small whimper behind him. He turns, ready to leap back and comfort his omega, and only stops himself at the last second. He has to physically prevent himself from moving.

Louis is looking at him with tears in his eyes. “The bond,” he says, and takes a deep breath before continuing. “Just. Just take care, Harry, OK? Look after yourself. Yeah?”

It seems important to Louis somehow, and Harry isn’t sure why the omega is worried about him when this entire mess is his fault. But he has to leave, and he can see Louis wants him to be OK, so he puts on his best reassuring smile. “I will, Lou. Promise. You worry about getting yourself sorted.” 

Louis nods, sniffling a little and turning away to stare at the wall. Harry keeps his cheerful expression set until he’s out of the door and down the corridor; he keeps a carefully neutral expression as he heads out through the centre and says goodbye to the nurses at the nurses station, and only when he’s in the car does he allow himself to break down.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

It had taken Louis several days stuck with Harry in that damned room before he’d realised that the despair and self-hatred he’d been feeling wasn’t his own.

Once he’d worked out that the bond was enabling him to feel Harry’s emotions, his anger towards the alpha who’d bitten him without consent started to lessen. It was a strange feeling, wanting to be angry at someone because what they did was unforgivable while at the same time feeling that person’s sorrow and remorse viscerally.

And of course, there’s his omega, which even now is desperate to soothe his distressed alpha, despite having not seen Harry for several days.

When Harry had left that day, his demeanour was calm and carefully positive, as if he accepted his fate and was at peace with it. And it would have been convincing if Louis hadn’t been able to feel Harry’s alpha desperately reaching for him through the bond, clawing to hold him, soothe him, and claim him again.

Louis had forced himself not to react, to accept Harry’s human responses and let the man leave without further fuss, but it had been physically painful to do so.

It’s nice to be back at his flat, with his family and friends around him, fussing over him and caring for him, but he’s been miserable the whole time because all he can feel is Harry’s sorrow through the bond.

He can hear his sister in the kitchen making breakfast, and he knows if he doesn’t get up she’ll come and fuss over him in bed. He’s not in the mood for sibling hassling, so he forces himself to get up and go to the bathroom. 

They have breakfast, and Lottie tries to get him to talk about whether he’s going to press charges, but Louis can’t focus, and it's the last thing he wants to think about right now. He has a meeting with the police and his lawyer in two days, and he knows he’ll be expected to make a decision, but he’s so torn he doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to.

Once Lottie has given up and is frustratedly cleaning up the breakfast dishes, Louis heads into his lounge and digs out his phone. Zayn had given him his number the day he’d left the centre, saying to get in touch if there was anything he could do for Louis.

It was a sweet gesture considering Zayn is one of Harry’s friends, and Louis didn’t think it had any agenda other than genuine concern for his wellbeing. Louis had thought about using it to check up on Harry more times than he could count over the last few days, but he’d managed to talk himself out of it.

But now, all Louis can think about is the despair coming through the bond, and if he has any chance of moving on with a clear head, he needs to know Harry is at least looking after himself. So he dials the number. 

“Hello?” Zayn’s tone sounds questioning, and Louis remembers he didn’t give the man his number.

“Zayn, hi. It’s Louis.” There’s a slight intake of breath on the end of the line and a hum. “I– This probably isn’t really appropriate, but I was wondering, um, how Harry is?”

He hears a sigh. “Louis, hi. Wasn’t expecting to hear from you, to be honest. You doing OK?”

“Yeah, as well as can be expected, I suppose. It’s hard, you know. With the bond and everything. That’s kind of why I was wondering about Harry..." He trails off and hopes Zayn doesn’t avoid the question.

“Yeah, I can imagine. I’m really sorry, Louis, about everything. But you know that already.” There’s a few beats of silence, and Louis’ frustration and worry rise at not getting an answer. He’s about to ask again when Zayn speaks. "Harry's... well, he says he’s fine. But I don’t know.” Zayn pauses again, and let’s out another long breath. “This really isn’t your problem though, Louis.”

Louis wants to growl with annoyance but keeps himself calm. “I know, you’re right, it’s not, but my omega really needs to know, Zayn. I know it must be weird, and I hate putting you in an uncomfortable position, but please, just tell me how he is.”

“OK, OK. I don’t think he’s as fine as he says he is,” Zayn says, seemingly accepting Louis’ plea. “He hasn’t left his flat since he got home, and I’m not convinced he’s eating unless me and Niall are there forcing him to. But look, he’ll get through it. Please, just try and focus on yourself; it’s what Harry wants you to do, you know?”

Louis nods, knowing in his heart and through the bond that, despite what Harry might be telling his friends, he’s not OK. But Zayn’s right, that’s the thing. Louis needs to focus on himself, and Harry did bring this on with his actions. He’s suffering, yes, but Louis is suffering just as much.

“I will,” he says quietly. “I just needed to know, that’s all. Thank you, Zayn.” Zayn hums in response. “Can you just tell him, from me, that he needs to eat and, er, look after himself?” 

Zayn chuckles slightly incredulously on the other end of the call, and when he speaks, he sounds surprised. “I will, yeah. Take care of yourself too, OK, Louis?”

They say their goodbyes, and Louis ends the call. When he sees Lottie in the doorway of the lounge, frowning in a “what the fuck was that?” kind of way, Louis resigns himself to a long discussion with his sister and to finally voicing what’s been going on in his head for the last few days.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Louis wakes up in a panic two days later, and for a few moments he can’t work out why. 

The talk with Lottie had actually been really helpful, and since getting all of his confusing feelings off his chest, he’s been able to push the bond’s steady stream of Harry’s emotions down a little, at least enough to think straight.

What he’s realised is that it’s not just his omega that’s pining for its alpha. Louis really misses Harry, and despite everything that’s happened, he desperately yearns for time with the alpha again. 

On the other hand, though, he’s increasingly angry about the situation that he finds himself in – that Harry put him in – and he wants Harry to be suitably punished for it because that’s what should happen to alphas who unlawfully bond omegas; they should suffer the consequences.

So, although he feels a little calmer and a little more clear-headed after the talk, he still can’t decide what to actually do about the charges or about his feelings towards Harry.

It’s early, 5:30 a.m., but the panic Louis feels is only getting worse, and there’s no way he can go back to sleep. He wonders if he had some bad dream he can’t remember, but as he allows himself to really sit with the anxiety, he realises something is very different.

He can’t feel any emotion coming through the bond any more. It’s empty, and the void it’s left is worse than feeling the waves of sadness. There’s a heavy feeling in his chest, and he instinctively knows that something is wrong. He doesn’t know how he knows it, but he’s utterly sure of it.

Something is wrong with his alpha.

He grabs for his phone and dials Zayn’s number, cursing himself for not taking Harry’s when the alpha had offered it during their last hours together. Zayn eventually picks up and sounds sleepy.

“Zayn, its Louis. There’s something wrong with Harry,” he says urgently and continues before Zayn has a chance to respond. “I can feel it, Zayn. There’s something wrong; you need to check on him.”

“OK, stay calm,” the alpha says, still sounding a little sleepy. “What exactly can you feel through the bond?”

“You’re wasting time, Zayn,” Louis groans. “Please, I can just feel that something bad has happened. Please, Zayn!”

His anxiety seems to spur Zayn into action, and Louis can hear the man getting out of bed and standing up. Louis tries to calm his breathing as Zayn reassures him that he’ll call Harry immediately. Louis insists that if Harry doesn’t pick up, Zayn needs to go and check on him, and the alpha agrees, seemingly tuning into Louis’ increasing concern. 

They end the call, Zayn promising to be back in touch as soon as he’s managed to get hold of Harry, and Louis tries to lie down and relax.  

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Zayn hasn’t called back. It’s been five hours, almost to the minute, and Louis is becoming increasingly frantic with worry. He hasn’t wanted to call anyone because he wants to keep his phone free in case Zayn calls, and watching TV has done nothing to take his mind off things.

He’s pacing, which is a stupid and entirely futile exercise, but for some reason he can’t seem to stop. His phone has buzzed a few times with messages from his sisters or friends, and every time he grabs it, heart in his mouth, hoping for news.

And every time it’s not news, the feeling in the pit of his stomach worsens.

There’s still a horrible void through the bond; the absence of any form of emotion through it is sending Louis crazy. It almost feels like grief – like he’s lost his alpha – but Louis doesn’t want to seriously entertain that idea and all that it might mean.

It’s nearly midday when the phone eventually rings, and the sight of Zayn’s contact on his screen makes him feel sick with relief and worry. 

“Zayn,” he breathes. “Tell me he’s OK?”

“Um, well, it’s complicated.” Zayn sounds exhausted and sad, and Louis’ heart thrashes. “He’s in hospital.”

“What? Shit. Why? What happened, Zayn?” Louis tries not to panic. Harry’s obviously alive, and he needs to give Zayn time to explain without bombarding him. He whines a little, unable to stop his omega from reacting.

“He dropped.” 

It takes Louis a few seconds to process what Zayn has just said, and even then he doesn’t quite understand. Harry dropped? 

“How– I don’t understand,” Louis says, unable to form the swirling questions he has in his mind. “Why did this happen?”

There’s a heavy sigh. “I don’t know, to be honest. We know Harry was extremely stressed, and from the tests they’ve run, it seems he wasn’t eating or drinking enough at all.” There’s a sound like Zayn rubbing a hand over his face. “I know alpha drops can happen, but they’re really rare. They said something about trauma. I don't know; it’s all been pretty stressful here, so I didn’t properly take it in.”

There’s a long silence, and Louis tries to work out what his human mind actually wants to do. His omega is practically screaming at him to go to his alpha and comfort him, but he needs to think straight. 

Zayn clears his throat. “Listen, I really hate to ask this of you, but...” He trails off and makes an uncomfortable huffing noise. “The doctors can’t bring him round, and they say he really should have come out of it by now. The only thing they can think is that maybe if his bonded omega was around...” He trails off again, and what he’s asking finally sinks in.

Louis’ omega is almost out of control now, and his pacing has become jagged, jerky movements to try and stop himself bolting out of the door. He knows he can’t refuse.

“Tell me which hospital and ward. I’ll be there as quickly as I can,” he says as calmly as he can manage. He puts his phone on speaker and types the instructions into his notes app before ending the call and dashing into his room to grab a hoodie.

His omega is so insistent that he doesn’t stop to take anything else with him, just checks he has his phone and his keys, and runs to jump into the replacement hire car that his insurance company arranged after the accident.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

He gets a bit lost in the sprawling hospital, and he’s actually crying a bit by the time he eventually finds Zayn sitting outside a private room just off a much larger ward. He blames his omega for the dramatics, but his human mind is just as upset if he’s honest with himself.

Zayn gets up and instinctively goes to hug him, before realising just before he does that it’s probably not appropriate. He murmurs a "sorry," but Louis just lets out a little sob and grabs him into a hug anyway. Zayn pats his back awkwardly.

“The docs are in there with him at the moment, checking his vitals or something,” Zayn says quietly, still patting Louis’ back. They part, and Louis sniffles a bit. “They said to let them know when you arrive, so... you OK if I do that?”

Louis nods and straightens his back, gulping in breaths to calm himself and face what he’s about to do. Zayn nods back and knocks softly on the door. When it opens, a severe-looking woman, a beta, Louis thinks, answers, and they murmur quietly to each other.

She peers out of the door before emerging and holding out her hand to Louis. “Doctor Williams,” she says briskly. “You must be Louis. Harry’s omega, I understand?”

Louis looks from the doctor to an uncomfortable-looking Zayn. “Not exactly,” he says, and the doctor looks concerned. “But I’m bonded to him,” he says hurriedly, pulling down his t-shirt neck to show the woman his now-healed bondmark.

She nods, relieved. “Good, good. I don’t know how much Mr Malik here has explained, but Harry dropped. Alpha drops are very unusual and generally only result from severe trauma or forced separation from a bonded mate,” she says, looking seriously at Louis. “Mr Malik tells me that Harry is going through a stressful time and that he’s been away from you?”

Louis nods, his heart sounding loud in his chest as he tries to process the doctor’s words. His omega wants to push past the woman and get to his alpha.

“OK, well, I don’t need to know about your relationship issues, but the main problem is we can’t seem to get your Harry out of his drop, which is a bit of a worry.” She’s blunt and posh, and Louis finds he quite likes her for some reason. He also expects that she’s the sort of doctor who says ‘bit of a worry’ when it really means ‘life and death situation’, but he tries to put that thought out of his mind. 

“So when Mr Malik told us about you, we thought bringing you here might do the trick. Alpha drops aren’t therapeutic like omega ones, you see – in fact, they can put quite a strain on an alpha’s heart and immune system, so we could really do with your help. You’ll need to do whatever it is you’d normally do to comfort him, and if you can go heavy on the scenting and touch, that would be marvellous.”

She makes it all sound rather simple, but the truth is Louis doesn’t really know Harry, and he has no idea what someone would “normally” do to comfort him. He trails after the doctor into the room and decides that his omega will hopefully know what’s best.

Harry is pale and out cold on the bed. There’s a drip going into one arm, presumably to get him hydrated, and the sticky pads of various censors litter his bare chest. He has deep grey rings under his eyes, and even in the few days since Louis last saw him, he’s become thinner. He looks beautiful though, and Louis’ omega wants nothing else but to crawl into his lap.

As his gaze wanders over Harry’s body, he notices a piece of material on the pillow near his face and suddenly realises it’s the t-shirt he gave Harry, drenched in his scent, when they parted. He feels his eyes widen, and he glances at Dr Williams as he reaches out to touch the t-shirt.

“He was gripping it so tightly when they brought him in that we figured the scent on it was important. Yours, I presume?” she asks quietly, and Louis can only nod in response. The thought of Harry dropping, clinging to his t-shirt in desperation, is almost too much to bear.

There’s another doctor in the room, and Louis recognises him as an omega. He has to hold in a hiss at the man’s presence, hovering over his alpha, and he only just manages it. He looks to Harry again, unsure how to start and worried he might dislodge the cannula or the censors.

The omega doctor looks at him sympathetically. “Here,” he says softly. “Come this side. You can climb into the bed here without disturbing any of the equipment.”

Louis nods dumbly, grateful for the omega’s understanding, and does as he says. As soon as he’s clambered onto the bed and nestled between Harry’s lax arm and his side, his omega starts to scent the alpha, obsessively licking and nipping at the scent glands on his neck and sending out strong waves of his omega scent.

The doctors quietly file out of the room, and then they are alone. Louis puts his arm across Harry’s torso and strokes him gently, as if trying to get his blood flowing a bit, while continually whimpering and scenting. 

He’s not sure whether what he’s doing is right or whether it will work, but he lets his omega take the lead and follows his instincts.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Over the next couple of hours, Harry’s heart rate steadies, and he shows some signs of stirring, and the doctors seem happy at the progress. They bring Louis toast and a cup of tea so he can stay entwined with Harry on the bed, which is fine because Louis knows his omega would go crazy if they tried to get him to move.

The time has been worrying and stressful, listening out and watching Harry like a hawk for any sign of recovery, but at the same time he hasn’t felt this right in such a long time. His omega is exactly where it wants to be, and it’s completely confident in what it’s doing to bring Harry back.

He’s nuzzled into Harry’s neck, almost in his lap on the bed, when Harry starts to move under him. A clumsy hand moves up behind him, resting with a thump on his lower back. Louis freezes and waits for anything else, pulling his head out of the crook of Harry’s neck to look at him.

There’s nothing else for a minute or so, until the hand on his lower back starts to stroke jerkily up and down. Louis watches intently as Harry’s eyelids start to flutter, and his breathing picks up. 

Louis sends out a thick wave of his scent to keep his alpha calm while he comes round, and it seems to do the trick because Harry’s breathing evens out and his eyes slowly open. Louis stays quiet, giving the alpha a few moments to get his bearings. Harry looks at him softly, his expression hazy and so fond it makes Louis want to whine.

“Hey,” Harry croaks, smiling and running his hand up and down Louis’ back. Louis returns the smile.

“Hey,” he answers, and before realisation and panic can set in, he continues. “You’re in hospital, Harry. You, ah, you dropped, and they asked me to come here to help you come out of it.” 

He can see the range of emotions that flit across Harry’s face as he starts to take in where he is and what Louis has just told him. Louis continues to send out scent waves to try and ground the alpha a little. 

“I dropped?” he finally asks incredulously. “What the fuck? Alphas don’t drop unless–” He stops abruptly and looks at Louis, and then, as if realising he’s touching him and shouldn’t be, he removes his hand from Louis’ back and tries to shuffle away. “Shit, sorry. I didn’t– I don’t know what–”

“Harry,” Louis says firmly, cutting off his panicked ramble. “I’m here because I want to be, OK? I’ve been cuddling you and scenting you for two hours, and quite honestly, it’s about time you returned the favour.” He smirks and wriggles into Harry’s side a bit, trying to get him to put his arm back around him. 

His omega needs some reassurance that the alpha is OK, that’s all. Louis doesn’t need the cuddle himself, absolutely not. 

Harry looks at him cautiously and slowly brings his arm back down, wrapping it hesitantly around Louis’ back. “This OK?” he whispers, as if talking too loudly might scare Louis away.

Louis smiles and nuzzles into Harry’s chest. “Yes,” he whispers back. 

“I should call the doctors; they said to let them know when you come round,” he says after a few minutes of just lying and cuddling. He figures Harry needs time to process, but his omega is also very keen to make sure Harry is actually healthy. Harry murmurs his agreement, and Louis reaches up and presses the call button that’s hanging on a lead from the head of the bed.

It’s a nurse who comes in first, and once he realises Harry is awake, he immediately pops back out to find the doctor. Dr Williams bustles in a few minutes later and is jovial while she and the nurse check the monitors and look into Harry’s eyes with a small light. They work around Louis, who’s still pressed to Harry’s side, and he’s grateful because Harry doesn’t seem to want to let him go. Even if he did, Louis’ omega is a very stubborn thing, apparently, and would definitely refuse to move.

Dr Williams seems pleased with Harry’s stats, and they quickly take some blood to carry out a few tests. “Right, well, I’d like to keep you in overnight, Harry, just to make sure you’re not going to drop again, but as long as these bloods come back OK, I think you should be able to go home tomorrow.” She turns to Louis, looking at him seriously. “It would be very helpful if you could stay too, Louis. I understand that it might be asking a lot. I get the impression your, er, situation,” she emphasises the word and looks between the two men, “is complicated, but Harry needs to avoid stress and if you leave now there’s a distinct risk that Harry might fall back into a drop, and–”

“I’ll stay,” Louis says firmly, interrupting the doctor. “It’s fine. My omega won’t let me leave anyway.” He tries for flippant, and the doctor smiles, but when he glances at Harry, the alpha is frowning worriedly. 

They talk for a little longer, the doctor giving a full account of what symptoms Harry needs to look out for over the next few days and what to do if they happen, and then she leaves them alone again. Harry is quiet, simply resting his head back against the pillows and sighing. He doesn’t take his arm from around Louis for even a second.

“Role reversal, hey?” Louis says, and Harry moves his head to look down at him. 

“What d’you mean?” 

“Well, last time we were stuck in a medical facility together, it was because you couldn’t leave in case I went feral. Now I can’t leave in case you drop.” He meant it to be jokey, to make light of their unusual situation, but the wave of anxiety he feels through the bond tells him Harry doesn’t think this is at all funny. 

Louis goes to sit up, and just as he does, Harry removes his arm from Louis for the first time since he laid it there and covers his face with his hands. “God, I am so sorry, Lou,” Harry groans, muffled into his hands. “I can’t believe I am still causing you problems.”

Louis tuts and gently pulls Harry’s hands away from his face. “Hey, no,” he says, looking deep into Harry’s sorrowful eyes. “I’m here because I want to help. I knew there was something wrong when I stopped feeling your sadness through the bond. I was so worried I woke Zayn up at an obscene time in the morning to check on you. My omega, and I, won’t be happy until you’re fully better.” 

“The bond– Wait, you rang Zayn?” Harry’s looking at him wide-eyed, and Louis realises Harry doesn’t know anything about how or why he was found. Louis sits up and crosses his legs on the bed, maintaining contact with the alpha with a hand on his thigh. 

“Yes, I did. I was worried, and my omega was going crazy, not knowing why the bond had gone quiet. And my human mind was worried too.” 

Harry gazes at him with something approaching wonder, and Louis smiles fondly at him. He’s about to say more when there’s a soft knock at the door.

“OK to come in?” Zayn checks, hesitating at the threshold of the room. 

“Perfect timing, actually,” Louis replies, waving for him to come in. Zayn sits in the visitor's chair, and they chat for a while, Zayn recounting the events of the morning that for Louis feels like days in the past. 

When Zayn hadn’t got an answer to his multiple calls and texts to Harry, he’d become increasingly worried, and Louis’ call had made him concerned enough to throw on some clothes and drive over to Harry’s.

Thankfully, Zayn and Harry’s friend Niall had been so concerned about Harry in the days prior that Zayn had insisted on having another spare key, and when he let himself into the flat, he found Harry on the floor near the sink in the kitchen, out cold. When Zayn hadn’t been able to rouse him, he’d called an ambulance, and here they were.

“And then you wouldn’t come out of it,” Zayn says in a slightly forced, bored tone, shifting in his seat so that one leg hooks over the arm. “So the docs asked me to call Louis and see if having him around helped.” 

“And you weren’t at all worried, were you, Zayn? You were super chill about the whole thing,” Louis says with a smirk, and Harry chuckles softly and squeezes Louis to him. 

Zayn rolls his eyes and looks away from them. “I was fucking petrified, truth be told,” he admits quietly, and their smiles drop. “I knew you weren’t looking after yourself, Haz, but Jesus. I thought you might at least be drinking and eating something when Ni and I weren’t around.” He sounds annoyed, and Harry huffs out a breath.

“M’sorry,” he murmurs, looking embarrassed and ashamed. “I didn’t mean to cause everyone so much trouble.”

Zayn immediately starts exasperatedly arguing that Harry should have told him before, and Louis watches Harry carefully, noting his increasing anxiety through the bond and on his face. He leans in and whispers into Harry’s ear, telling him his omega needs him to be calm. 

“Your omega?” Harry says sharply, and Zayn goes quiet with a huff as he realises no one is listening to him. 

Louis nods. “I’ve been through a lot over the past couple of weeks, Harry,” he says. “And my omega is really tired of dealing with all of this. It just wants your alpha to be content. I don’t know how, but that’s what it wants.”

They are all quiet for a while as Harry strokes Louis’ back and scents him, trying to soothe him. Louis lets him, leaning his head to the side, so that Harry can reach his scent gland and his bondmark. Harry huffs and growls gently as he snuffles around Louis’ neck, and the waves of contentment Louis feels at the action are incredibly relaxing.

“Maybe,” Zayn says quietly, “you two should try and work things out, you know? For the sake of your omega, Louis.” He looks at Louis pointedly. “Seems to me that it’s in both your interests for you to try and find your way through all this.” He gets up from the visitor’s chair and heads to the door. “I’m not done telling you off, Harry Styles,” he says, pointing at Harry from the door grumpily, and Harry huffs a laugh.

“I know, I know,” Harry replies. “And I’ll let you; I know I deserve it. Thanks so much, Zee.”

Zayn rolls his eyes for what feels like the hundredth time. “You’re welcome, you idiot,” he mumbles, shaking his head as he closes the door behind him, leaving Louis alone with the man his omega has completely, unreservedly attached itself to.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

They don’t manage to properly talk for a while because some hospital staff arrive with a second bed for Louis to sleep on. Louis’ omega is so disgusted with the idea of sleeping anywhere other than curled into Harry that Louis almost tells them to take it away again. 

Harry seems to feel the same way if the scowl he gives the inanimate piece of furniture is anything to go by. They wait while the staff sort things out, then sit, still entwined but in awkward silence for a few long minutes once they’re alone again. 

“I don’t know what to say,” Harry says eventually, breaking the tension. “I want to apologise for everything, but I don’t know if that’s what you want from me.”

Louis studies the alpha for few seconds, and a thought hits him. “Was it the waiting?” he asks, and Harry looks confused. “Was it waiting to hear whether I was going to press charges that sent you into such a spiral?”

Harry shakes his head. “No, Lou, none of this is your fault; I won’t have that.” He puts his head back on the pillow and closes his eyes. “It was horrible, waiting, I won’t lie, but I felt like I deserved it all. All the waiting, the worrying, the guilt – it was punishment, you know? For what I did.” Louis stays quiet while Harry seems to gather his thoughts. “And I probably should have told Ni and Zayn how awful I was feeling, but it just felt like this was how things should be. But instead, I just caused everyone problems. Again.”

Louis growls at the self-pity, but it’s high and soft, and it makes Harry smile. He rolls his eyes and punches Harry’s chest playfully. “Maybe you were right,” Louis says thoughtfully, plucking distractedly at the hospital gown covering Harry’s chest. “Maybe it was a punishment.” Harry sighs and nods, and his arms loosen their hold on Louis a little.

Louis sits up and turns to face the alpha. “And maybe that punishment fits the crime well enough.” Harry looks at him, sad but curious, not understanding the point Louis is trying to make. “Harry, maybe you’ve had enough punishment for what you did. Maybe it’s time to start moving on.”

Harry’s eyes widen as realisation of Louis’ implication dawns. “Are you saying–” He stops and gawps, and Louis wants to grab his face and kiss him, but figures that’s probably not appropriate quite yet.

“I’m saying that I’m not going to press charges. And I’m saying that when we are out of here, I’d like you to take me out on a date. Somewhere nice. And I want those little square cakes, the French ones.”

He can immediately tell that Harry has no idea what he’s talking about, but the alpha’s growing joy that he feels through the bond is so visceral that he lets it pass with a giggle.

“Fuck,” Harry says, awed. Then his expression drops back into worry. “Are you sure? I mean, I feel like maybe you should press charges, you know? Like, I probab–”

“Alpha,” Louis says firmly, cutting off Harry’s spiralling and making the man’s breath hitch at the name. “Can you just agree to the bloody date, please? Or I might just make use of that bed over there tonight.”

The growl Harry emits is instant and instinctive, and he reaches out for Louis possessively. Louis’ omega is extremely pleased. 

“OK, OK, a date it is, Omega,” Harry rumbles, gravelly and emotional, and Louis simply grins smugly and settles back into Harry’s side.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

Louis: when are we having our date?

Harry and Louis had swapped numbers when Harry had been discharged from the hospital, and Harry had promised to arrange the date in the next few days. It’s been three days since then, and although they are messaging constantly and have had quite a few calls, Louis is getting impatient.

Harry: Soon, promise. Just want to make it perfect. 

Louis rolls his eyes and presses the call button, and Harry picks up almost instantly.

“Hey Lou,” he says, deep and soft, and Louis can hear the smile in his voice. “Niall’s here at the moment, so ignore him if he’s a twat, OK?”

Louis hears a scoff in the background and chuckles. He’d met Niall briefly at the hospital during evening visiting hours and had warmed to the Irish beta immediately. He’s funny and kind and was just as annoyed at Harry for his stupidity as Zayn had been – and even more vocal about it. 

“Niall’s getting a date with you, and I’m not,” Louis says, as petulantly as he can, and Harry groans. 

“This is definitely not a date. Our date will be romantic and fun. Niall’s annoying and eating all my food while he tells me to eat more.”

There’s a commotion on the end of the line, and Niall’s voice shouts, “That is a complete lie; don’t listen to the knothead!” in the background. Harry tells him to fuck off, and Louis can’t help giggling at the pair of them.

“So, tomorrow then? For our date?” Louis asks hopefully, and Harry lets out a breath and is silent for a moment. Louis would be starting to get worried about Harry’s feelings for him were it not for the bond, which reminds him on a regular basis just how strongly Harry wants his omega back.

Their three days apart have been easier than the previous separation because things are good between them, and they’re talking regularly. Plus, Louis has been surrounded by his family, who seem to be insistent about at least one of them spending time with him every day, and his friends, who are fussing far too much for Louis’ liking. 

But Harry’s alpha and Louis’ omega are being at least semi-patient about the whole thing now, which is an improvement on the constant itch under his skin that the bond was causing before. Even so, Louis can feel himself getting twitchy.

“Not tomorrow; I’ve got to go into work and talk about my future and stuff,” Harry says, sounding defeated. “I want our date to be when we’re both in good moods.”

“He’s stalling because he’s worried you’ll realise what an idiot he is!” Niall calls from somewhere close, and Louis giggles again. 

“Fair enough about tomorrow,” Louis says consolingly. He knows Harry is worried about his future after everything, and it’s definitely playing on his mind. “But I’m getting impatient, Harry. Once you know what’s happening with work, I expect a date to be arranged. Got it?”

Harry chuckles, and Louis feels a burst of warmth through the bond from the alpha. “Got it, Omega,” he growls. “Anything you say.”

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

The meeting with the Search and Rescue team had gone surprisingly well, according to Harry. He’s still suspended from carrying out actual searches for the moment but can return to work in a coordination role, replacing Zayn at mission control. Zayn seems happy enough; the role swap is welcome for a bit of variety, apparently.

The bosses had decided that after a respectable period, Harry can return to searching for alphas and betas, but that future omega searches would have to be supervised at all times. Harry seems happy with the compromise and relieved that his chosen career isn’t ruined by his mistake.

Louis didn’t say it at the time, but he’s utterly convinced that Harry will never make the same mistake again anyway. Mainly because if Louis gets his way, Harry won’t ever want another omega.

It's been five days since they left the hospital, though, and Harry still hasn’t arranged the date. Louis knows why, even understands to a degree, but it doesn’t stop him feeling grumpy about it. 

He’s sitting in his lounge watching his phone, having decided he’s just going to wait Harry out, refusing to message him until the alpha does. It’s stupid, and he’ll probably give in soon anyway, but he’s irritated.

Louis knows Harry is hesitant for two reasons. Firstly, because the alpha wants the date to be perfect, so he’s most likely planning something totally over the top, and secondly because he’s not fully convinced he deserves the forgiveness Louis has given him.

The irony is, Louis can only persuade him he’s truly forgiven and that they can move on from this if they actually start spending time together. 

He huffs and, on the spur of the moment, decides to take matters into his own hands. If the mountain won’t come to Mohammed, then Louis will sort out the date himself. 

It’s a couple of hours later, with several missed calls and increasingly concerned messages from Harry left unread, when Louis turns up at Harry’s flat. Thankfully, Zayn is a pushover and spilled Harry’s address the moment Louis told him his plan. Louis knows Harry’s at home because he met Niall on his way out of the building, who let him in through the security door and shouted gleeful encouragement when he saw Louis’ picnic basket and cool box.

He knocks on the flat door, and Harry opens it, looking soft and tired. He’s wearing an old pair of joggers that Louis sort of wants to kneel down and nuzzle into, and a band tee that's seen better days. His hair is a mess, like he’s been running his hands through it.

“Lou!” he exclaims and grabs Louis into a tight embrace. “I’ve been so worried; why haven’t you answered my messages?”

Louis squeezes him and then leans back, arms slung around the alpha’s neck. He puts on a chastising frown. “Because I’m fed up with waiting for my date,” he says, pushing his bottom lip out into an exaggerated pout. “So I’ve sorted it out myself. We are going on a picnic. Put something less ‘homeless person chic’ on and let’s go.”

Harry makes a disgruntled face and growls a bit. “I was sorting it out for tomorrow!” he whines, and Louis rolls his eyes and extricates himself from the hug, patting Harry on the chest as he wanders into the kitchen area. 

"Yes, Alpha, ‘course you were,” he says dismissively, making Harry growl a bit more. 

“I was! Look, I bought those cakes you talked about,” Harry says, moving to the counter and waving at some boxes piled up next to the fridge. There’s six fairly large boxes, and Louis’ eyes widen.

“Bloody hell, Harry, how many did you get?” He laughs, and the alpha looks immediately embarrassed. 

“I didn’t know which ones you liked, so I got a box of each – lemon, chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. And then yesterday I walked past a posh bakery on the way back from work, and they had even nicer-looking ones, so I got two boxes of those as well.”

Louis is already opening a box curiously and pulls out a delicious-looking, delicately decorated French Fancy. He bites into it, and the creamy lemon sweetness makes him moan with pleasure. He turns when Harry lets out a dark rumble, his pupils dilated at the noise Louis made.

Louis smirks at the effect he’s had but eats the rest of the cake without making any more suggestive noises. If they carry on like this, they will both end up getting very distracted, and Louis’ effort in preparing a delicious picnic will go to waste.

“Come on,” he urges Harry. “Chop chop, go get changed. It’s a lovely day for once.”

Harry nods, smiling fondly, and hurries into another room, presumably his bedroom, to get himself sorted. Louis wanders around the flat, eating another French fancy – chocolate this time – as he goes and holding his hand under it so he doesn’t drop any crumbs. 

Harry’s flat is tidy and clean, but not obsessively so. It’s lived-in and cosy, with nice furnishings and things like cushions and throws, which Louis would normally associate with betas or omegas. Even though they had a bad start to their relationship, it’s obvious that Harry isn’t a typical knothead alpha. Even when Louis was still furious with the man, he could tell that much.

There are photos of a beautiful dark-haired woman, a beta if Louis’ secondary gender radar is on point, who has the same dimples as Harry. His sister, Gemma, presumably. There’s a much older photo of a young couple with what looks to be Harry and Gemma when they were little. Louis resolves to find out as much as he can about Harry on their date, but what he already knows is enough to make him feel full of warmth for the alpha.

There’s a smattering of “Get Well Soon” cards, presumably from after his stay in hospital, and although he knows he’s being nosy, he can’t help picking one up and having a read. It’s from Niall. The card itself has a pretty ugly, garish cover, but the words make Louis’ breath hitch.

“Haz. 

Thought I’d lost you there for a sec. Don’t ever do that to me again you massive tool. 

I can’t imagine how shitty my life would be without my best mate, who’s always there to cheer me up and set me right when I’m being a twat. I don’t want to find out either, so stop being a prick and take care of yourself. 

Love ya. Ni. xxx”

Louis swallows down the emotional lump in his throat at the fondness emanating from the card and sighs. Everything he sees and hears about Harry confirms what he already senses and what his omega seems to have known all along. That Harry is a wonderful, caring man who loves fiercely and who’s loved back just as strongly. He’s definitely not your typical alpha.

Harry comes out of his bedroom wearing a pair of jeans that hug his pert ass and long legs gorgeously, and the t-shirt he’s wearing is tight, brightly coloured, and wide necked. He looks stunning, his curly hair a little less messy and trailing over his forehead. He doesn’t dress much like a typical alpha either, Louis thinks, and Louis is delighted about that.

“God, you look lovely,” Louis says rather breathily, and Harry flushes a little and chuckles. 

“I should be saying that to you,” he says, approaching Louis and carefully placing his hands on Louis’ hips. “You do, by the way. Look lovely. And you smell lovely too. You always look and smell lovely, of course, but today…” He trails off and widens his eyes, leaning down slowly to tuck his nose into Louis’ neck.

Louis lets himself be scented for a while and almost loses himself in it, having missed the alpha a lot over the last week. He’s pressed into Harry’s hold and whimpers a little, his own nose nuzzled into Harry’s neck, when he realises he’s slicking up.

“Fuck, Harry,” he says as he pulls back, eliciting a disgruntled groan from the alpha. “We’d better go on this picnic before we get any more distracted.” He grins, and Harry takes a deep breath and nods, smiling ruefully.

They head out, and Louis leads them to the big park near Harry’s flat. He’s already decided which spot they are going to set themselves up at, and thankfully it’s empty when they get there. It’s near the lake but set back in a small copse of trees, giving them at least a little privacy from other people.

They eat sandwiches and talk about family and friends, about work, and their social lives, and with every passing moment, Louis feels more and more attached to the alpha he’s already connected to. He wonders fleetingly if it’s just the impact of the bond, but he quickly dismisses the thought. Harry is interesting, kind, funny, and one of the hottest men he’s ever seen. 

Louis likes him very much. It’s more than 'like', actually. He may not be ready to say the words quite yet, but there’s some pretty strong feelings surging through him, and he can’t ignore them. Importantly, Louis’ human side feels just as strongly about Harry as his inner wolf does. 

“So, how are you feeling about everything now things are settling down?” Louis asks after Harry finishes telling him more detail about the compromises made at work. They’re lying side by side, both up on their elbows, chatting. The backs of their hands are brushing as Harry moves his up and down as if stroking, and Louis enjoys the little sparks radiating out at the touch.

Harry makes a face. “OK, I guess. I still can’t help feeling like I’ve got off a bit lightly for what I did, though.” Louis’ about to argue when Harry turns to him and he looks so serious, Louis decides to let him finish. “I want you to know, Lou, that I will always feel terrible for what I did. I am so grateful that you’ve forgiven me, but I don’t want you to think I take it lightly.”

Louis sits up so they’re facing each other, both resting on one elbow and really close to each other. The alpha’s thick scent is spiking slightly with an anxiety Louis is now familiar with. “I know you don’t,” Louis says, placing his free hand over Harry’s heart. “And I appreciate that; I really do, Harry. But I don’t want you to beat yourself up forever, not when I’ve forgiven you. I want us to get to know each other without that hanging over us, you know?”

Harry nods and looks down at the hand on his chest. Louis can feel his heart beating, quick and strong. “I’ll try not to,” Harry says quietly, raising his eyes to meet Louis’. “I’d like that too.”

Louis leans forward so that their mouths are millimetres apart and looks at Harry through his lashes. He smiles, and Harry’s pupils dilate a little when Louis pushes out a wave of his vanilla scent.. When their lips meet, it’s like the first time – it sort of is their first time really, Louis thinks, because kisses while feral or in heat or rut don’t really count when it comes to real, heartfelt emotions.

The kiss is soft at first – the feeling of Harry’s plush lips against his is heavenly – but it quickly becomes heated. Harry starts to take control in exactly the way Louis craves, licking into his mouth and leaning over him to pin him to the picnic blanket. 

Their bodies meet, chest to chest and groin to groin, and Louis moans into Harry’s mouth as the alpha lets out a low growl of desire. With the hand that isn’t holding himself up, Harry explores Louis’ skin, pushing up under his t-shirt so that his warm palm sits across Louis’ tummy. 

He squeezes and rubs as his tongue explores Louis’ mouth, and they pant, out of breath, when they eventually break apart. 

“Fuck,” Harry says in a low rumble. Louis giggles and pulls him back down into another, even more heated kiss.

It’s Harry that eventually breaks them apart, putting some distance between them, and Louis has to resist the urge to let out a needy omega whine when he does. Instead, he pouts exaggeratedly, and if he’d been standing, he probably would have stamped a foot. “Why are you over there?” he asks petulantly as Harry sits up and shuffles away.

Harry chuckles and looks at him with blown pupils, his hair a dishevelled mess of curls from where Louis has been dragging his fingers through it. “Because if we carry on like that, my alpha is going to want to knot you right here in public, and that’s not a great idea bearing in mind my recent history of losing control.”

Louis rolls his eyes and sits up. “Nothing wrong with a bit of outdoor fucking,” he says, only half-joking. He watches for a while as Harry starts to put the leftover food into tubs. “You know,” Louis says carefully, “you don’t need to keep handling me with kid gloves, Harry. I want this just as much as you do. And I’m not fragile or anything. Quite like being thrown around...” He trails off at the look that Harry is giving him. It’s filled with so much dark want that it takes Louis’ breath away momentarily. It’s gone before Louis can really comment on it.

Harry shakes himself and tuts. “I’m sure you do, Omega,” he says, low and croaky as he turns away, avoiding eye contact. “But I don’t know if we’re in that place yet.”

Harry gets up and starts to pack the tubs into the cool box Louis brought, scraping off the plates and piling them back into the picnic basket. Louis gets up too and moves over to the alpha, gently stopping him and making him turn so they’re facing each other.

“What do you mean we’re not in that place?” he asks seriously, and Harry shakes his head, his curls falling onto his forehead.

“I just–” the alpha stops and pulls at his lips, trying to find the right words. “I’ve never wanted anyone like I want you, Lou,” he says, looking pained. “But I want to do this right. Our start was all wrong, and this time around I want to treat you like you deserve. Because you deserve the world, Omega.”

Louis is torn between melting at the words and feeling irritated at not knowing exactly what Harry means. Is he saying he doesn’t want to fuck him? Before he can ask, though, Harry has grabbed the blanket and is packing it into the picnic basket and gathering everything up.

“Come on,” Harry says briskly, “it’s getting chilly; we’d better get you home.” The alpha starts walking, and all Louis can do is scowl at his back as he jogs to catch up.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

By the time they are back at Louis’ flat, Louis has established that Harry definitely does want to fuck him (which he already knew through the bond but wanted to hear the alpha say it), but wants to date a bit first. Louis is not at all in agreement with this approach, but the alpha seems determined that they are going to start afresh, which in his stubborn mind means no sex before at least two more proper dates.

Louis whines and uses all his omega flirtation to try and persuade the alpha that there’s no need, but Harry is resolute. Eventually, Louis gets huffy and irritable and decides that maybe it's better if he takes his mood home. He’s not cross with Harry as such – how can he be, really, when the alpha is being so fucking adorable? – but he’s getting there, so he figures some time apart is probably best right now.

“Can I kiss you, Omega?” Harry asks politely as Louis opens the door to his building. 

Louis rolls his eyes. “You don’t have to keep fucking asking, Harry,” he says, and he almost laughs as Harry frowns at him seriously. “God, OK, OK. Yes, you can kiss me, Alpha.” Harry immediately moves forward and puts a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him forward into a searingly hot kiss.

It doesn’t last half as long as Louis would have liked, but even so, by the time Harry releases him, Louis definitely has slick forming in his boxers. 

“I’ll message later with arrangements for our next date,” Harry says, low and aroused, and Louis feels his suppressed desire through the bond. “You free Wednesday evening?”

Wednesday is three days away, and Louis almost wants to scream in frustration. At this rate, it’ll be days and days before he gets to ride Harry’s knot, and his omega is thoroughly annoyed at the whole thing. He holds back his dissatisfied eye roll and nods, forcing a smile despite his exasperation.

When he gets into his flat, he practically throws the cool-box down in a huff and only just stops himself from doing the same with the picnic basket. He doesn’t want a basket full of broken crockery as well as extreme sexual frustration to deal with.

Harry messages him about half an hour later, saying he’s home and thanking him for the wonderful date, and Louis doesn’t respond, still grumpy. 

He just wants Harry to fuck him; that’s not that much to ask, surely? They’re already half bonded, Louis has forgiven him, and they’re heading for something more than casual; they both know it.

So why can’t they just fuck? 

Louis tries to see it from Harry’s point of view; he really does. He understands that Harry still feels guilt about what happened and therefore wants the new beginning of their relationship to feel meaningful and full of respect, and his less impulsive side loves that about Harry. 

But he really wants to be fucked like Harry did that first time, or when he was in rut.

Louis has started to remember elements from when he was feral, and he has vivid memories of fleeting moments of the first time Harry knotted him, out there in the woods. Harry was almost feral himself, and Louis’ pretty sure it was the most exciting and pleasurable sex he’s ever had. He wishes he could remember more of it.

And when Harry was in rut it was similar, although Louis is convinced that even then Harry was holding his alpha back a little, too paranoid to do anything to hurt Louis.

What Louis really wants, more than anything, is for Harry to truly let go – to let his alpha ravish Louis the way it really wants to. Louis wants to be fucked so hard and so rough he’ll hardly be able to walk for days.

He has a shower to try and calm himself, trying to ignore the buzz of emotions he’s getting through the bond. During the date, the bond seemed to jump back into life – after so many days apart, the strength of the connection seemed to have dulled slightly. It wasn’t noticeable until today, when Louis suddenly started feeling things acutely again.

He can feel some sort of dissatisfaction through it right now, causing an itch on the bonding patch, and he ruefully shakes his head and rolls his eyes. At least it feels like Harry is as uncomfortable as he is. 

It doesn’t help with the annoyance towards the alpha, though. There’s no need for them both to feel like this when Louis is practically laying himself out on a plate to the alpha for his consumption. It’s not like Louis hasn’t been obvious about it. He couldn’t have been more obvious, really.

Irritation rises in him even more when he starts to feel very clear sexual frustration through the bond. And then, a couple of minutes later, there’s something else. Arousal. 

There’s a few moments of a sharper emotion – guilt, maybe? – and then a hint of desperation before a sweeping wave of pleasure. It’s fleeting, but definitely there. Louis stills and focuses on the bond, and after another couple of similar pleasure waves, Louis works out exactly what’s going on. He grabs his phone.

Louis: Are you bloody wanking? 

He knows it's a childish message to send, but he’s so annoyed with this pigheaded alpha, who instead of letting his bonded omega ride his knot is probably lying on his bed trying to get off at the thought of it. Louis knows he’s being impulsive and grumpy, but this is the final straw. His phone buzzes.

Harry: No. Why would you ask that?

The waves of pleasure through the bond have abruptly stopped, and now he can feel frustration, tinged with guilt. Harry’s feeling caught out. 

Louis growls, and it’s annoyingly unthreatening, but he does it again anyway to try and relieve some of the pent-up irritation. He doesn’t bother answering the message, wanting to let Harry stew for a bit, so he puts the kettle on to make tea. The arousal through the bond is getting stronger again, but now instead of waves of pleasure, there are waves of something verging on shame. 

It all just feels like such a waste of their time and energy. His alpha was about to wank at the thought of fucking Louis, and even if he had got himself off, he wouldn’t have popped his knot because he wouldn’t be inside Louis, and Louis wants that knot all for himself anyway, and it’s so fucking annoying. 

Before the kettle has finished boiling, Louis’ patience has given out. He’s had enough. 

He grabs his coat and keys from the hall and hops around, pulling his trainers on. There’s a message buzz from his phone, and he grabs it up, thinking it might be Harry. It’s his mum checking in. He spoke to her yesterday, and he only hesitates for a moment before deciding to ignore it and call her later.

Right now, he’s too focused on one thing. He needs to get fucked by his alpha, and he’s not giving up until he gets what he wants.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

It’s dark now and colder, but the Tube would probably take longer than walking with the various waits and a change, so he decides to head over to Harry’s on foot. He jogs part of the way – a couple of waves of mild pleasure roll through him as during the journey, and he’s determined to reach his alpha before he starts getting himself off properly. 

He wants Harry to save all that arousal for him.

The security door to the block of flats is ajar, thankfully, so he runs up to Harry’s floor and hammers on the door. Harry answers looking flustered, and as Louis barges in, he notes that Harry has obviously pulled on some joggers and a t-shirt to answer the door. The joggers have a distinct tent at the groin.

“You were bloody wanking!” he grates, irritated and defiant, his fists clasped at his sides. 

Harry looks mortified. “Shit,” he says, and Louis wonders if the embarrassment is going to soften the alpha’s cock at all. It doesn’t. “How did you know? Through the bond?”

“Yes, through the bloody bond,” Louis says, and he stomps towards Harry, trapping him against the end of the sofa with his much smaller body. Harry doesn’t resist but looks increasingly like he might either whine or come at any point.

“God, Lou, I’m so sorry,” he mumbles, embarrassment making him flush a dusty pink.

“Are you now?” Louis says, prodding Harry’s chest gently. He pushes out his bottom lip into a pout he hopes is adorable and looks up at Harry through his lashes. “I can think of various ways you can make it up to me, Alpha.”

Louis presses himself into Harry and can feel the hard line of the alpha’s cock against his pelvis. Harry can’t seem to stop the low growl that emanates from his chest, and his hands go instinctively to Louis’ hips, pulling at them to remove any inch of space between their bodies.

Louis smiles coyly and pushes himself forward, hard enough that the alpha is caught off balance and falls back over the end of the sofa with an ‘oof’. He lands on his back on the cushions, arms flailing but with a big goofy grin on his face, and Louis doesn’t give him a chance to get his bearings before he’s jumping on top, straddling the man’s hips.

Louis can feel Harry’s cock under him, and he grinds onto it, open-mouthed and gazing down at the alpha. Harry’s growls are getting louder, and his hands return to Louis’ hips. It seems the alpha can’t decide whether to stop him from moving or encourage the squirming.

“Lou– fuck. Louis, we can’t,” he manages to groan, but even as he says it, Louis writhes again, making sure to undulate his body and keep sultry eye contact. 

“Shhhhh, Alpha,” Louis says softly, fluttering his eyes and rocking his hips back and forth slowly. Harry’s pupils are blown, and he’s looking up at Louis with an awed, adoring expression. Louis’ pretty sure he’s won this particular contest already. “You want it; I want it. I’m not feral, I’m not in heat, and this isn’t my omega talking. It’s me. I want you. Please. Stop holding back and fuck me. Fuck me like you did when I was feral, like you did in rut.”

Harry’s eyes widen, and his breath quickens noticeably. The desire through the bond is so strong that Louis feels almost overwhelmed by it, in an incredibly addictive way. 

Harry’s expression changes then, suddenly morphing into a grimace of anxiety. Louis stills at the sight and at the spike of fear from the bond. He tilts his head and reaches out a hand to cup Harry’s face.

“What is it, Alpha?” he asks, softening his tone and stilling his hips. “I don’t get it; what are you so afraid of?” 

Harry frowns and bites at his lip, his hands still resting on Louis’ hips and his cock still hard. 

“What if I hurt you?” he finally says, and it’s so quiet and so fearful that it breaks Louis’ heart a little. 

Louis looks at him for a long moment. “Harry, ask your alpha: would it ever hurt me?” 

There’s a long pause as Harry frowns and looks thoughtful, like he’s having some sort of internal conversation. Louis thinks he probably is, in a way. Eventually, his expression changes to one of determination, and he looks up at Louis seriously. 

“It wouldn’t, not ever. It gets furious at the thought of you being hurt,” Harry says, and finally Louis can see the alpha start to relax.

“Thought so,” Louis says smugly, grinning. He pulls his T-shirt off roughly and sits down hard on Harry’s cock. “Now, are you going to knot me or what?” He grinds again, and Harry groans, the grip on Louis’ hips tightening so much that Louis’ convinced there’ll be finger marks in the morning. Hopefully there’ll be plenty of other marks, too.

Louis leans down and digs his nose into Harry’s neck, lapping at him, and the alpha grunts and thrusts upwards, unable to hold back any longer. Louis squeaks a little as Harry suddenly sits up and grabs him, manoeuvring them off the sofa and lifting Louis easily as he stands.

He wraps his legs and arms around Harry securely, smiling into the alpha’s neck as he’s carried to Harry’s bedroom. Harry’s quiet now, not speaking, just grunting and snuffling at Louis, carrying him so carefully, like he’s precious cargo, but at the same time pulling at his bum so that he’s pressing into the thick cock under him.

When they reach the bed, Harry lays him out, unfastening Louis’ locked hands from behind his own neck and holding his wrists. “Omega,” he growls, pushing Louis’ arms to either side of his head on the pillow and pinning him with his strong body. “My alpha wants to take over. You sure you want that?”

Louis preens. He finally has Harry willing to let himself go, to let his inner wolf take control and do all the things his omega and Harry’s alpha really crave. 

“Yes,” he says, clear and sure. “And I want to bond you back.” 

Harry’s eyes go big and wide, and there’s a loud rumble in his chest. “Yeah?” he says, in awe.

“Yeah,” Louis replies, smiling and wriggling as much as he can under Harry’s weight. “Want you to mark me and fuck me and knot me, and when you do, I’m gonna bite your neck, and you’re gonna bite me again.”

He makes sure there is no room for doubt in his tone, and Harry’s expression is so excited and awestruck that he knows he doesn’t need to convince him further.

“Yeah,” Harry says, dumb with overwhelm, his alpha almost fully taken over now. “Gonna take really good care of you, Omega. Gonna knot you and bond you. Mine. ” The last word is a growl, low and aggressive, and it makes Louis arch his back at the alpha voice. 

And then Harry’s mouth is on him, licking a long stripe up from his shoulder, across the bond mark to his ear. He nuzzles in and licks obsessively, scenting Louis so that he’s drenched in it, so much so that it makes him feel fuzzy. Harry stops licking long enough to suck the patch right next to the bond mark and bite down, not hard enough to break the skin but hard enough to leave a vivid mark there.

Louis is being marked and claimed, and he couldn’t be happier about it.

Harry sucks and bites all around Louis’ neck and shoulders, intent on marking the omega everywhere and grunting all the while. He’s fully alpha now, not feral, but taken over by his wolf to the extent that his words are blunt and grunted out.

“Need your alpha’s knot, huh, baby?” he asks, giving Louis a breather from the marking. Louis whines, high and needy, and Harry hums and nods smugly as his mouth trails lower. He sucks one of Louis’ nipples into his mouth, and Louis writhes and arches, the pain and pleasure a heady mix. He’s dripping wet with slick, and his cock is hard and leaking in his boxers. 

Harry growls as he gets closer to the waistband of Louis’ jeans, and the alpha impatiently paws at the belt and flies to get them off. Louis reaches down to help, and before he knows it, his jeans are being unceremoniously tugged off his legs, his boxers taken with them. He’s finally naked, and he’s about to object to Harry’s clothes when the alpha strips. 

He’s so quick that Louis can barely enjoy the sight before Harry is back on him, groaning as their naked bodies meet, hot skin to hot skin. Louis whimpers as he feels the slick leak out of him onto Harry’s bed, and the alpha shimmies downwards, hands travelling down his body as his mouth latches onto an unmarked patch of skin at Louis’ hip.

Harry’s fingers press into his wet crack, pushing at his hole without breaching it. Louis wants to beg for more but holds back, pride keeping him from going full desperate omega.

“You want my fingers, Omega?” Harry growls, pressing around his rim, teasing. “Want to feel full of me? Come on, baby, tell me.”

“Need you,” Louis manages between whines. “Need you inside me, please.”

“Jesus, fuck. Shit, Lou.” Harry pushes two fingers into Louis, meeting no resistance and pressing in as deep as he can in one thrust. Louis keens, the feeling so good, but not enough all at once. “You smell so fucking– God, fuck. Omega.” 

Harry’s biting again, marking and pushing in with his fingers so deep it hurts in the best way. Louis takes it all, revelling in the marking and the growing pleasure spreading through his body. 

"Please" is the only word he can push out around the shudders of arousal Harry is causing.

“I’ll give you what you need, baby,” Harry growls. “Gonna taste you, then I’ll fill your little hole. You just lie there like a good omega and fucking take it.”

Harry pushes Louis’ thighs up so that his knees are up on his chest and surveys him for a few seconds. The alpha’s eyes are so dark, almost no green left around blown pupils, and Louis lies still, his omega instinctively letting his alpha see all of him, bare and vulnerable. He’s never felt so safe and treasured, while at the same time so desired.

Harry shuffles down the bed and lowers himself with a moan, the smell of Louis’ slick obviously so much stronger now he’s so exposed. The first touch of Harry’s tongue around his taint is electrifying, and Louis can only writhe and moan as Harry gets more frantic, biting occasionally and licking broad stripes up from his hole, over his balls, and then up his cock, again and again.

When Harry’s tongue presses inside him a few moments later, Louis can’t hold back any more. The coursing pleasure peaks, and he comes up his stomach, his orgasm uncontrollable. 

Harry keeps pushing his tongue inside Louis until his orgasm is just starting to fade, and then he starts to lick again, over his clenching hole and up to the come covering his stomach. He laps at it, rumbling deep as he cleans Louis’ stomach.

The action sends spasms of aftershocks through Louis, who is slack-mouthed and pliant, his spent cock still twitching with every lap of his alpha’s rough tongue and his body trembling with slow waves of contented pleasure.

“Taste so fucking good, Omega,” Harry mutters as he keeps licking. Louis is surprised at how turned on he still is by his alpha’s pheromone-driven treatment, but he needs a moment to calm. He pulls at Harry until the alpha blankets him with his body again, and they kiss, deep and messy.

Louis can taste himself on Harry’s tongue, and it makes him moan and whine, licking into his alpha’s mouth almost frantically. Their bodies are sticky with Louis’ come and slick, and it feels so right that it’s almost like being feral again, but this time Louis can enjoy it with a sharp mind as well as his body.

Harry is first to pull away, but not before pressing his pulsating, rock-hard cock between Louis’ ass cheeks and thrusting a few times. The copious slick eases its path, and Louis tries to arch so that it catches on his rim. 

Harry chuckles. “Impatient,” he growls, kneeling up and grabbing Louis’ hips again to take control of his movements. “You’ll get my knot, baby,” he says, “when I’m done making you desperate for it.”

The alpha reaches down and crooks his fingers between Louis’ cheeks, gathering up a handful of the copious slick that’s dripping out of his hole. Louis watches, heavy-lidded and panting, as Harry grabs his glorious cock in one hand and pumps it, spreading the slick all over it and then reaching down to his balls to coat them too. 

He shuffles forward and lines up with Louis’ dick, and when he takes them both in his hands and starts to spread it all over both of them, Louis whole body tenses with sensitivity and pleasure. Harry lies down and presses their bodies together, his hand still slowly pumping both of their cocks between them, the glide easy because of Louis’ slick. 

After a while of kissing and licking long stripes up Louis’ neck, he reaches down to gather more from around Louis’ hole and continues to cover them in it, smearing it across Louis’ nipples and pulling at them, making him whine. Louis absolutely revels in Harry’s fascination with his slick, and the animalistic way the alpha wants to smother them both in it.

He slides two fingers back inside Louis and crooks them before pulling them out and lifting his dripping hand to his own neck. He pauses as he looks down at Louis, eyes wild and dark, and he slowly smothers his bonding spot with Louis’ slick.

“Want you to taste both of us when you bite me, Omega,” he growls, and Louis loses his breath at the intensity of the words and the desire he feels for his alpha’s knot and to complete the bond. “Fuck, your slick, Lou.” Harry groans, with an almost pained expression. “So fucking good.”

Harry leans down again, and Louis wraps himself around the alpha with intent, legs and arms gripping him and pulling him down into a searingly hot kiss. They grind against each other, and Louis thinks he can feel the growing base of Harry’s cock against his own. 

Suddenly, Harry kneels up again and slaps at Louis’ thigh. “Present for me, Omega,” he grunts, and Louis scrambles to obey, allowing his omega to exult in the instinctive action. He’s up on his knees, his face and shoulders pressed into the bed in a few seconds, and he can feel the slick dripping down his thighs.

Harry growls, deep and rumbling, and grabs Louis’ cheeks, pulling them apart and sliding two fingers inside with no resistance. Louis wriggles to try and get them further in, but Harry slaps his ass sharply. “Still, Omega,” he says, barely sounding like Harry any more.

Louis knows he’s not in rut or feral, but the dominance of Harry’s alpha is sending Louis into a frenzy of want. He needs his alpha’s knot.

When Harry finally slides his big cock into Louis’ dripping hole, all Louis can do is keen. He takes every inch, and the burn is so real and so heady it makes his whole body shudder. No alpha has ever made him feel like this before – the bond heightens everything; their shared arousal somehow magnified by the connection. 

For a fleeting moment, Louis wonders how much more intense the sex will get when they complete the bond. And then all thought is gone when Harry bottoms out with a grunt. Louis thinks he’s going to get a second to adjust, but Harry is focused on only one thing now: fucking his omega.

He starts to move instantly, pushing Louis up the bed a little right from the start, pounding into him deep and fast. Louis’ breath is gone, and it’s so good he can’t even make a noise, just taking what Harry is giving him, eyes closed and cock leaking under him.

He’s already close but wants to come on Harry’s knot while his alpha is biting him, and he’s returning the favour. He reaches down to grab his own cock, squeezing at the base while being rammed into, to try and stave off the inevitable.

“Alpha,” he manages, and Harry slows enough to allow Louis to speak. “So close.” It’s all he can get out, but Harry seems to understand, whether through the bond or just instinctively. 

He pulls out and kneels up again, lifting Louis by the hips and flipping him over onto his back, with only a little help from the omega. Louis barely has time to breathe before Harry’s cock is back inside him, pumping and thrusting almost as fast as before.

With this angle, Louis’ prostate is pressed with every thrust, and he knows he won’t last long. By the size of the base of Harry’s cock that’s stretching Louis over and over, neither will the alpha.

Now they’re face to face, Harry gazes down at Louis, keeping eye contact and leaning down to kiss and nip at his neck obsessively. His eyes are completely blown, and Louis knows his own must be in a similar state. 

“Gonna knot you,” Harry grates, and Louis nods in place of a response. The alpha rests his weight on top of Louis, still pressing deep into his body, and arranges them so that their faces are next to each other and they can reach each other’s bonding spots. “Sure?” he asks, and Louis knows he needs a response.

“Sure,” he says, without a hint of doubt.

Harry moans and rabbits his hips a couple more times before he stills, and his huge knot expands inside Louis. The pleasure coursing through Louis is multiplied tenfold when he feels Harry’s teeth at his still sensitive bitemark, and he covers Harry’s bonding spot with his own.

As Harry comes in long spurts inside Louis, they sink their teeth into each other’s skin in unison. The sensation is like electricity coursing through his body, and Louis comes, tasting Harry’s blood and his own slick. His body is tensing and thrumming with the most incredible, overwhelming pleasure as he messes up their chests with his second release. 

His vision whites out, and all he can think or feel is Harry. Harry fills him and surrounds him –  consumes him – Harry is part of him now. They feel each other’s pleasure and each other’s pain. 

They are bonded. They are mates.

They are one.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺ ˖ ⋆

Chapter Text

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

“Fucking minx,” Harry grates, breathing hard as he tries to gain on Louis. 

He jumps over fallen branches and scrub, and internally curses at how fast his omega really is. He’d kind of forgotten after all this time. He’s out of breath, which is actually a godsend because Louis keeps discarding items of clothing, and if he were a weaker man, he’d be distracted by them.

Instead, he scoops them up as he runs (he’s now gripping a cap, a hoodie, and a t-shirt) and holds them to his mouth and nose. They smell so delicious that Harry’s cock starts to react even through his exertion. 

He won’t fall for the same trick twice though, even if it has been a while, and when he bursts out of the trees onto the ledge above the river, he stops himself in plenty of time, not risking toppling over the edge.

He grins at the sight in front of him. Last time they were here, feral Louis had jumped into the cold water and swam downstream, his pre-heat probably keeping him from feeling the cold too much. This time Louis isn’t anywhere near his heat, so Harry isn’t surprised but is amused to see the omega running along the bank instead.

Harry follows happily, tired but with adrenalin pumping through him. And his alpha is loving every second. He can see his bare chested omega scampering up ahead of him, his movements quick and sure. 

They’ve retraced their route several times together to make sure Louis knows it well enough not to hurt himself, and it had been surprising how much Louis remembered despite it being a while ago and considering his feral state at the time.

Just like last time, Harry loses sight of Louis around a bend, and when he puts on a burst of speed to catch up, the omega is nowhere to be seen. He doesn’t panic this time – the grin is plastered to his face, and he takes a moment to catch his breath. He hears that gorgeous raspy howl, and it spurs him back into action. As he passes the first big tree back from the river, he gets a waft of his beautiful omega’s vanilla scent that’s so strong he nearly blacks out at it.

He’d forgotten about the tree, but Louis obviously remembered. Harry takes a second to sniff around it, thoroughly investigating his omega’s marking. The smell is making Harry’s mouth water and his cock twitch again in his boxers. He looks down at his feet and sees some crumpled clothes discarded at the base of the tree.

Louis’ shorts. And a pair of white lace panties, soaked through with slick.

“Fuck,” he moans out. “For fuck's sake.” 

He takes a few seconds to compose himself – he knows Louis will stay near, wanting the alpha to catch him after a suitably infuriating teasing period. So Harry takes a few deep breaths with the panties to his nose and mouth, the smell of his omega giving him an energy boost so visceral he feels like he’ll burst with it.

Suddenly, the memory of this moment two years ago and the words he spoke down the radio to Zayn spring into his mind: “If omega Louis Tomlinson wants alpha Harry Styles to catch him, then I guess that’s what I’ll have to do.”

He takes another lungful of the scent on the panties and let’s out a deep, rumbling alpha growl before grinning wide and setting off again to catch his omega.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆

Harry had forgotten what a fucking tease Louis was during the chase. He’s whining and howling while they’re running, and he occasionally stops or hides, letting Harry get just about close enough to smell him before purring as Harry approaches. And as always, it’s the purring that messes with Harry’s head the most.

His alpha rages in his chest, but this time there’s no panic about keeping it under control. His omega can handle Harry’s alpha just fine, so Harry relaxes into it. The regular scenting of trees and boulders is helping, and the puffs of the most incredible scent – his omega’s distinctive vanilla ice cream with a hint of cinnamon – are keeping him more than motivated.

Catch. Mark. Fuck.

Harry laughs, and he knows it's slightly manic, but his alpha is having so much fun that Harry can’t help the joy building in him as he gets nearer to his omega, who’s clearly leaking slick and aroused. This time, Louis lets Harry get close enough to grab his wrist before the omega writhes and scrambles away, purring and whining. Harry can see a huge grin on Louis’ face.

Louis’ round, pert bum jiggles as he bounces up again and darts away, and Harry groans and adjusts himself as he realises that his omega is dripping wet – so much so that his ass and thighs glisten in the sun that’s shining through the trees.

Mark. Fuck. Knot.

Harry’s growling almost constantly now as he gives chase again, tiredness replaced with pure, instinctive want, and his whole mind focused on catching the omega running from him through the forest. 

They’re approaching the clearing, and Harry’s alpha knows this is it – this is the moment he gets to subdue his omega and have him. The smell that hits him as he bursts into the circular clearing makes him roar in his alpha voice. His only thought is to fuck his beautiful Louis. 

Fuck. Knot. Claim.  

And there he is. In the middle of the clearing, the beautiful omega stands, naked, chest heaving with ragged breaths, mouth open, and eyes full of mirth. Little whines and purrs come from him as Harry slowly approaches, stalking the omega like prey. 

Louis doesn’t try to dart away this time, but Harry’s alpha is in the heat of the chase anyway, so he leaps forward and grabs Louis with both hands around the omega’s waist. Louis lets out the most gorgeous of giggles, and then Harry is pulling him down to the ground, turning him and forcing him down face-first into the grassy ground of the clearing.

Harry’s alpha exults at the triumph as he nips and licks at Louis’ bond mark, growling filth into his omega’s ear as he slides three fingers into his wet, warm hole. 

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺ ˖ ⋆

“Shit,” Harry groans as both of their phone alarms go off simultaneously.

They’re lying entwined on the grass in the clearing, Louis still locked on Harry’s knot. The omega wriggles and presses back, and Harry groans and thrusts slightly, pumping yet more come into him.

“Stop that you little shit,” he grumbles, and Louis turns and laughs, the back of his hand pressed to his mouth and his eyes alight with mischief. Harry tries to look stern. “We have to go; do you realise what time it is?” 

“Sorry, sorry,” Louis giggles, looking not very sorry at all. “I’ll stop. If you can just think about naked grannies or something, so your knot goes down, then we can be off.”

Harry tuts, mock-affronted, and secretly does try and think of naked grannies, and not his fucking delectable omega spooned into him covered in his own come. He needs to not think about filling him up with pups, either, because honestly, he’ll be ready for round two if he goes down that route. His alpha is a right pain in the ass when they need to be somewhere.

“Stop worrying,” Louis says, twisting and running a thumb across Harry’s frown lines. “It’s not like they’re going to start without us.” 

Harry supposes that’s true.

It takes another ten minutes for Harry’s knot to deflate enough for them to separate, and another 5 minutes to get themselves cleaned up with the wipes in Harry’s backpack and at least reasonably presentable. 

When they get back to the car, however, Zayn, Niall, and Lottie are waiting for them, and two of them are far from impressed.

“Fucks sake, Lou,” his sister berates him, “we’re going to have no time to get ready at this rate. You said eleven, and it's half past now!”

Zayn joins in, and Louis ignores them both, smiling happily and sliding into the front seat of the car before anyone can argue, even though he’s smaller than the other guys. Harry just smiles fondly while Zayn complains.

“So, how was the chase?” Niall grins as they round the car to get in the back. 

“Fucking amazing,” Harry breathes, still a bit hazy with post-orgasm contentment. “No idea why more people don’t uphold that particular tradition. Might do it every year, huh, Lou?” He raises his voice as he gets into the car so that Louis can hear. Niall squeezes in next to him, and they shuffle over to make room for Zayn. 

"Yeah, why not? An anniversary treat. You guys can come along every year to give us a lift home.”

Zayn scoffs from Niall’s other side. “Fuck off, I only agreed to this because it’s a special day. Next year, you can publicly fuck on your own.” 

Niall snorts a laugh, and Lottie groans loudly from the driver’s seat as she starts the engine.

“Right,” she says, looking sideways at her dishevelled brother. “Time to get you two ready. You both need to work on looking and smelling slightly less like you’ve just had sex.”

“But we have just had the most amazing sex, Lotts,” Harry says, leaning forward to grin at his soon-to-be sister-in-law, who puts her hands over her ears and whines “No, no, no, no, I don’t wanna hear it” in a high-pitched voice before reversing out of the parking space.

“Only you two would have a chase on the morning of your wedding day,” Zayn grumbles. “No one does that any more.” 

Harry shrugs. “Felt appropriate,” he says, grinning, and when Zayn rolls his eyes and Niall chuckles, Harry feels nothing but warm happiness in his own mind and emanating from his omega through their bond. 

He reaches a hand over the side of the passenger seat and finds Louis’ shoulder to give it a squeeze. Louis grabs the hand and kisses it, kitten-licking his fingers a bit and purring contentedly. Harry sighs happily, not bothering to retrieve his hand and resting his head on the window, watching the trees go by as they drive back to the hotel. 

The hotel where, in a couple of hours, he’ll marry the only omega he’ll ever want or need.

His Louis.

⋆˖⁺‧☽ ◯ ☾‧⁺˖⋆