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“How are you feeling?”
Harry sighed heavily, rubbing his temple. It was always the same question. “I’m feeling good, Paul.” He slowly paced the room, as he always did when he talked to his former legal guardian.
“There was a werewolf over in California last week.”
However, though it was always the same question, it was always immediately followed by a complete change of subject. Harry knew Paul was concerned for him, and that he had been on edge since the attack, but damn if he would actually let on that he had been affected by it.
It had been three weeks since Harry had been struck by the Kitsune on the side of the road in Gold Canyon. The claw marks on his chest were mostly healed, though the scars were still pink and puffy, having yet to fade in to white lines. They hardly ever bothered him unless he was doing something strenuous, during which they would sometimes feel tight.
“Do you think you could wire me some money?” Harry asked when there was a lull in the conversation. He heard a scoff.
“You can’t go make some?”
“Paul…” Harry whined.
“Fine, but you’re soon going to have to start putting money back in to this account-“
Paul’s voice briefly cut out.
“Sorry, Paul, seems I’ve got a beep.”
“Now listen here-“
“Talk to you later!” Harry hung up and waited until his ringer sounded, playing a jolly Irish jig. He answered the call and placed the phone back up by his ear.
“Hey, you!” He said brightly, a smile splitting on to his face. He wandered out on to the deck, in to the cooling Arizona air. The sun was setting, painting the sky red and orange.
“Hey!” Niall’s cheerful voice sang.
Harry felt warmth spread through his chest at the sound of the blonds’ voice. It was the same every time Niall called him, or when he woke up next to him in the morning. It triggered a happiness in Harry that he hadn’t been privileged to feel in ages. Niall was like serotonin for his brain.
“Why are you calling me? You’re not off shift for another two hours!” Harry exclaimed, leaning back against the sun-warmed glass of the patio door.
“They let me go early tonight. Not much going on ‘round here.” He could hear movement in the background, and some laughter.
“Alright! I’ll come and get you.” Harry turned around and made his way in to the house again, locking the door behind him.
“No, no, I’m fine! I was just going to walk.”
Harry sighed. “Niall, we discussed this. I’d really rather pick you up.”
Since the ‘incident’ as he so fondly referred to it, Harry had been extra cautious. He knew he was being a bit of a prude, but the attack had altered his perception of ‘safety’. He found himself double-checking the locks on the doors and windows, he always checked that the alarm system was armed, and he certainly didn’t like Niall being out alone after sunset. Bad things always lurked in the dark. After two Kitsune in a town at the same time, anything was possible.
There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Harry held his breath. He hadn’t been around nearly long enough to start making rules, but he hoped that Niall would agree with his request.
The silence was short-lived.
“I understand, Harry. I’ll wait here, alright?”
Harry exhaled. “Thanks, Niall. Just let me put a shirt on and I’ll be right along.”
He heard a whistle through the phone. “I don’t know, I really think I’d prefer you topless.”
Harry chuckled. “I’ve been a bad influence on you.”
———
Harry pulled in to the Red Sage parking lot ten minutes later, the Mustang’s headlights shining on Niall’s slim figure. He was standing with one of the girls he worked with while she had a cigarette. He waved goodnight to her and jogged over to the car, sliding smoothly in to the seat next to Harry.
“Hey, you,” Harry greeted again, smiling brightly at his new passenger.
Without a word, Niall leaned over the center console and pecked him on the lips.
Following the night Harry was attacked; Niall had continued to tiptoe around him. He was afraid to touch Harry, fearing that he’d hurt him or that he’d cross some sort of line. In return, Harry hesitated to become too comfortable with Niall, not quite knowing where they stood with each other. Harry had initially turned Niall down, knowing that he was leaving town. However, being trapped in Niall’s house while he healed, he hadn’t been sure if the offer still stood.
Harry began to test the waters, pulling Niall in to his arms, and pressing kisses to his forehead. The blond never resisted, though he never reciprocated either. One night when Harry was getting ready for bed, he tackled Niall on to the couch and demanded he make the choice for both of them. It had turned out to be a horrible idea in that it reopened two out of the three wounds on Harry’s chest, but he got his point across and Niall certainly responded with fervor.
A week later they had vigorously consummated their new relationship and Harry had tried not to think about when it would all inevitably end.
Back in the car, Harry chased Niall’s lips when he pulled away, sliding his right hand in to his blond hair. He felt Niall smile in to the kiss.
“Stop, you’re making a scene,” he hissed, pushing Harry back a bit.
“Mm, but you know how crazy your polo and khakis make me,” Harry grinned, nipping Niall’s bottom lip.
“Stop it!” Niall shoved him off, sitting back in his seat and attaching his seat belt. “I was thinking maybe we could go out for some drinks tonight! I know that you don’t know many people that I work with, but they’re all meeting at the pub down town.”
Harry pulled out on to the road, getting the car up to a legal speed. He reached over and linked his fingers with Niall’s.
“Nah, I don’t really fancy it.”
Niall frowned at on-coming traffic. “Oh… Well, maybe you and I could go for a late dinner-“
Harry cut in. “I was thinking we could maybe just go home and, you know, spend some time together.” Harry said slowly, stroking the back of Niall’s hand with his thumb.
Niall’s head whipped around, eyebrows raised. “Oh! Oh, okay. I like that idea, too.”
———
They didn’t bother taking things to the bedroom when they got back to the house, Niall pulling Harry down on top of him on the couch. The brunette straddled his hips and pulled at his polo, desperate to get his hands on his skin.
“You’re eager,” Niall giggled against his lips.
“Too much time on my hands during the day,” Harry replied, successfully removing the shirt when the blond raised his arms.
Niall gasped and arched his back as Harry attacked his neck with his lips and teeth. He placed a hand on the back of his neck and let the brunette get to work on him. “You know,” he began. “There was this guy at the restaurant tonight.”
Harry continued what he was doing, not paying any mind to what the blond was saying. One thing he had noticed since being with Niall was that he tended to get chatty at the most inappropriate of times. Harry sucked a spot high on his neck.
“He asked me all these questions… Said he’d come to town looking for someone. I don’t know, I really think he was hitting on me.“
“Babe.” Harry pulled away, sitting back on Niall’s thighs.
The blond looked up at him, expression rather innocent. “What?”
“You do realize what we’re doing, right?” Harry asked casually.
Niall nodded. “We’re going to have sex.”
Harry teasingly pinched his nose. “Gold star for you, pal. Now perhaps don’t talk about men you met at work tonight, all right? Can’t say it does much for my state of arousal.”
“Sorry! Sorry… Carry on.”
Harry began to rock his hips against Niall’s, earning pleasurable sounds from the blonds’ throat. Niall was as vocal in bed as he was in every day life and Harry enjoyed it. He saw it as a game, seeing how loud the blond could go. The week before, they’d caused the neighbor’s dog to start barking.
Harry shifted himself down a bit and reached for the button and zipper on Niall’s beige uniform pants. He made quick work of them and stroked the very obvious erection through the fabric of his briefs.
“Oh, God!” Niall shivered, involuntarily thrusting his hips upward. His legs were trapped between Harry’s thighs, limiting his movement.
Harry began to tug Niall’s trousers down.
“Why do I have to be naked first?” The Irishman grinned, reaching for the hem of Harry’s shirt. Harry paused his actions and let him raise it over his head, lifting his arms to help him take it off. When it was tossed to the floor, he went to return to his former duties but was stopped by a hand on his chest.
Niall gently traced the path of the still-healing scars, his eyebrows knitted. Harry couldn’t feel his touch on top of the scar tissue, but the warm weight of his fingers was soothing.
“I never get used to these,” Niall mumbled, sitting up so he could kiss the marred skin.
“If it weren’t for these, I’d be miles away from you right now. You should thank them,” Harry chuckled, pressing his lips to the top of Niall’s head.
“That’s a morbid thought.” Niall flopped back on the couch cushions once more. “Just promise me you won’t stop for a wee on the side of the road again?”
Harry swallowed back his guilt as Niall unknowingly spoke of the lie he’d told him. “Yes, sir.”
“Now, too much serious talk.” Niall unbuttoned Harry’s trousers and slid his zipper down. “I want you to fuck me.”
Harry smirked and leaned forward towards Niall’s ear. “You do?” He breathed, earning a shiver from the smaller man beneath him.
“Mm,” Niall practically moaned. “Until I can’t walk.”
Definitely a bad influence.
———
The doorbell rang when they were in the shower.
“Ignore it,” Niall mumbled, kissing the corner of Harry’s mouth.
“Niall, no one ever comes to see us!” Harry replied, prying the blonds’ vulture hands off of his body.
“Exactly! It can’t be all that important.”
“On the contrary. Who would be ringing our doorbell, especially this late at night? It’s obviously something worth checking out.”
Niall pouted as Harry slipped out of the shower stall. Being the shameless exhibitionist that he was, he wrapped himself in a towel and jogged to the front door before the visitor gave up and left. When he swung open the door, he was greeted by the one person he was least expecting: brown hair, a cinnamon tan, pale blue eyes and a toothy grin with abnormally predominant canines.
“Lou?”
“Come on, Hazza, you didn’t have to dress up just for me!” Louis teased, his familiar light voice an instant comfort to Harry. The sight of his brother felt a bit like relief.
Before Harry could make a retort, however, Louis zeroed in on the scars on his chest. His eyes widened, and he instinctively reached out to touch the marks. As a reflex Harry pulled himself back out of Louis’ reach. He didn’t like the thought of anyone but Niall touching them.
“Sorry,” Louis mumbled, still unable to take his eyes off of them. “Paul told me you’d gotten hurt but I never expected that!”
“What are you doing here, Lou?” Harry asked, getting right to the point. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but you couldn’t have called? How did you even find me?”
“I wanted to surprise you. I just finished up with the lead I was following in Iowa. I would have come sooner, but I know you would have bashed my head in if I had just up and left what I was working on. When Paul gave me a residential address, I was surprised. I figured you’d be holed up in some shitty motel room somewhere. I’ve seen some of the places you’ve stayed in the past and this is definitely a step up.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Come inside.” He held the door open and Louis stepped in, eyeing the kitchen skeptically.
Harry couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. Louis was a large chunk of his life - his hunter life. He couldn’t just turn his brother away, but he was also jeopardizing the life he had suddenly found with Niall. His two worlds were colliding.
Harry had met Louis when Paul took him in after he lost his family. He was fifteen, and Louis was eighteen. Harry had wanted nothing to do with anyone for the first little while, and had spent his time in his small bedroom, reading and re-reading his sister’s words scrawled in her journal, the only thing he’d managed to grab the night a demon set fire to his life and his family.
It was Louis who eventually coaxed Harry out, being honest with him about what had happened to his own family: his single mother had died by the hand of the same demon when Louis was just a baby. Paul had raised him, teaching him how to be a hunter so that one day he could avenge her.
After that, Harry and Louis grew together like two vines, Louis taking Harry under his wing. They worked together to become better hunters, Harry sharing Louis’ long-time goal of tracking down and destroying the demon that hurt them. They set out as a team initially, and then split up to get more done. They always kept in touch, though, and they always met back at Paul’s when their guardian would scream through the phone to get their bony backsides back home.
“So it was a Kitsune?” Louis asked, rifling through a recipe book.
Harry cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah.”
“It’s surprising that there were two, right? I mean that is rare to have two Kitsune in one small town like this. Of course they knew each other, but how risky is that? They’d need twice the nourishment-“
“Louis, can we not talk about this?” Harry whispered rather loudly. “I sort of live with someone-“
“What? You’ve shacked up with someone?” Louis tossed the book on to the counter top beside him, directing his full attention to his brother.
Harry sighed. “In so many words, yes. And I haven’t exactly told him anything yet.”
“Told me what?”
Harry stiffened as Niall’s voice sounded from behind him. He spun around, forcing a smile on to his face. “Hey! Um - Louis! I haven’t told you about Louis!” Harry pulled Lou in for a one-armed hug. Niall’s hair was still wet, though he had opted for a pair of plaid sleep pants over the towel option that Harry had decided on. “Louis, this is Niall. Niall, this is Louis. Um, Louis is a… photographer. He’s working with the same magazine I am. We go way back.”
“Gosh, Hazza, when Paul said you were taking some time off in Arizona, I didn’t realize it was because you were playing house!” Louis snickered, eyeing Niall. “Nice to see you again, blondie.”
Harry stiffened. Again?
“Likewise. You’re the creep from the restaurant tonight.” Niall smirked. “Though I thought you said you were a geologist?”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck-
“I am!” Louis exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Though photography is my day job. Geology is more of a hobby, really. You must have hobbies, right?”
Niall raised an eyebrow. “I play the guitar.”
“And I study rocks. It’s a crazy world, innit? Goodness, am I hungry…”
———
Niall offered to make a late night snack, as Louis had been on the road for the better part of the last few days living on service station rations. Harry had gotten dressed in something more decent and pulled Louis out on to the deck for some privacy.
“Did you get any further in Iowa?” Harry asked, nursing a beer.
Louis was silent for a moment, looking up at the night sky. The stars were bright as always. “Not nearly as far as I wanted to. It’s a lot of the same, really. You know how it is with Big Red: by the time the omens appear, he’s long gone. I’m always one step behind him until I can accurately predict cattle mutilations, I suppose.” Louis joked humorlessly.
Big Red. Harry had been against nicknaming their number one target. The demon’s name was Eusebius and it would only ever be Eusebius to Harry. By attaching a quick name to him, it generalized him. It somehow lowered his threat level, mixing him in with all of the other demons and creatures the two boys had ever gone up against.
However, Louis saw it under an entirely different light. He often nicknamed monsters and demons as a coping mechanism. It helped him to feel power over them if he familiarized them with silly names and insults.
Big Red was so named because the demon in question bore red eyes in whatever body he chose to inhabit. Harry had seen the eyes in action the night that his whole world had been ripped out from under him. Eusebius had looked him dead in the eyes and smiled as flames licked at the feet of his host body, right before he escaped in a trail of black smoke.
Harry shook his head to rid himself of the images flickering in his mind.
“I did manage to lasso some of his followers, though. They were useless as usual, but I gathered that he’s planning something. He has a goal that he’s working towards. He hasn’t preyed on anymore families lately, though, which is a bonus I suppose.” Louis sighed.
“We’ll get him,” Harry said simply, downing another mouthful of alcohol.
“Will we?” Louis asked, just as the sliding glass door opened behind them.
Harry turned and smiled as Niall walked over with a plate full of sandwiches. He took the plate from his love and set it between him and Louis. Niall bent forward and Harry met him halfway with a small kiss.
“You going to join us?” The brunette asked. Niall shook his head.
“I’m going to head to bed. You two look like you have some catching up to do.” Niall smiled and walked back inside, sliding the door shut behind him. It seemed odd to Harry that Niall’s smile hadn’t quite reached his eyes.
“He seems lovely, Haz,” Louis said quietly, biting in to a turkey sandwich.
“He is.” Harry agreed. He proceeded to tell Louis how he had met Niall on his first night in town and how he had kept going back to the restaurant to see him. “It felt so exciting to me. It still feels exciting. There’s something special about him. I… I even told him about my family.”
“You what?” Louis exclaimed, turning a hard gaze on him.
Harry felt his cheeks get hot. “I told him! It was the anniversary, you know, and… And I was feeling it. And he poured me a shot and asked what was on my mind and I told him. And it felt good, Lou. It felt… liberating. Like a bit of the burden is shared between us now.”
Louis nodded along, though he said nothing. Harry sensed tension in the air. He wondered how Louis must feel, turning up in town to find Harry living with someone. He didn’t know Harry to be the clingy type, and Harry typically wasn’t. He’d never had a boyfriend, and that’s what Louis was used to. He knew Hunter-Harry, and Hunter-Harry was a loner. He knew better than to make ties with anyone, or start relationships. There was no room for that in the life that they lived.
“So when are you getting back on the road?” Louis asked suddenly, licking mayonnaise off of his thumb.
Harry hesitated. And there it was, the question of the night. “I don’t… I don’t know?”
“You can’t be serious, Harry.” Louis wiped his hands on his trousers and turned his body so that he was facing his brother. “What are you even doing here?” His tone was sharp.
Harry found himself shrinking away. Though the two of them sometimes shared the same maturity level, Louis was still older than Harry was and he looked up to him as any younger brother would. He wanted Louis to be proud of him. “I don’t know, Lou-“
“Don’t ‘I-don’t-know-Lou’ me! This isn’t really a choice that you can make. There is never a choice. We have a job! Do you think I’d be living this way if I didn’t need to? Do you think I’d spend my days on the roads and my nights in shitty motel rooms if I had the choice?”
“I get it!” Harry cut in gruffly. He slammed his beer bottle down on the deck. “I like it here, Lou. For once I feel happy. I haven’t felt like this since… well, you know how long it’s been. I feel like maybe the world isn’t just a black hole filled with monsters. It’s like I’ve been offered a second chance – a way out-“
“There is never a way out of this life, Harry. There are little vacations from reality, but you can never escape what we do. Even if we stopped hunting, we would become the hunted. Our family names are part of hell’s hit list and they have been for centuries. The only way out is a bullet to the head, and even then the outcome is questionable.”
Harry was silent. He thought of the last few weeks. He’d kept up with news, and Paul had updated him on any running leads in the area, however, for that short period of time Harry simply hadn’t cared. He’d adapted seamlessly in to Niall’s life, and the blond had made plenty of room for him. It was astonishingly easy for him to turn his back on his lifestyle and begin a new one, and there would always be another hunter out there to pick up the slack he left behind.
He heard Louis sigh. “Look, I know that I must sound like a raging bitch right now, but-“
“I think I’m just going to head to bed.” Harry lifted himself on to his feet and grabbed their empty bottles and the plate of half-eaten sandwiches.
Louis wasn’t done with their conversation.
“So what about our parents then, Haz? What about Gem, hmm? You’re just going to look past the fact that they were all murdered by a demon and that you have the chance to avenge them? Instead you’re going to play doting husband to some guy you met a month ago? You’re not just giving up on me, Harry, you’re giving up on them. Not to mention the fact that you are putting Niall in more danger than you realize.”
Harry took a deep breath, biting back the words he desperately wanted to say. He could feel his heart ache in his chest. Louis knew the words that would hurt him the most. “There’s a blanket on the back of the couch. I know it’s not much, but it’s comfortable.”
Louis stayed sitting outside on the deck as Harry made his way inside and deposited his things in the kitchen. He wandered in to Niall’s, and now his, bedroom. He stripped and slid under the covers. Niall was on him almost immediately.
“Everything alright?” He whispered, kissing Harry’s jaw as he tucked himself in to his side.
“Mm,” Harry replied, sliding his arm around him. “Louis and I like to bicker.”
Niall nodded. “Is he staying here tonight?”
“Yeah,” Harry sighed. “He’s on the sofa. I hope you don’t mind, it’s just that he’s been driving, and-“
“You don’t have to explain yourself, Harry,” Niall cut him off. “You’re a generous person.”
Harry smiled and gestured for Niall to snuggle closer. The blond wiggled so he was pressed to his side, laying his head on his collarbone as Harry wrapped his arm around him. Niall threw his own arm across Harry’s stomach; nuzzling his neck affectionately and planting a small butterfly kiss on his skin.
Harry liked their quiet moments. He remembered his parents having them, when they would take a minute and just hold each other, whether it be in the kitchen while his mother was cooking, or while sitting in the chair swing on their front porch. Harry had witnessed wordless affection, but he’d never known he was capable of something so open. Him and Niall were definitely passionate, but they also had those times, like late at night in bed, when they just cherished each other’s company. Perhaps it was because they had both been alone for so long.
“Goodnight,” Harry said softly, tracing circles on Niall’s hipbone.
All he got in response was a manly grunt as Niall drifted off.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry knew that the game he was playing wouldn’t last forever. As much as he hated it, Louis was right. He would have no choice but to go back to his real life, however he was going to hold off as long as he possibly could. He knew it was unfair to Louis, to just abandon him like that. It was as equally unfair to Niall, who knew absolutely nothing about Harry’s double life. It was cruel, but Harry was too selfish to jeopardize the little piece of paradise he had found.
———
Louis didn’t stick around for long. Following the measly breakfast of eggs on toast that Harry made for everyone, he made a quick getaway. Harry walked him out to his SUV, wondering how he was going to mend the small tiff they were in before his brother drove away.
“This thing still getting good mileage?” He asked rather pitifully. Louis turned to look at him, eyebrow raised.
“You’re asking me about fuel efficiency?” He asked, folding his arms across his chest.
“I suppose I am…” Harry scratched the back of his head.
An uncomfortable silence hung between them. All Harry wanted was to be back on even ground with Louis, but he didn’t know the words to say.
After a moment, Louis clapped his hand on to the back of Harry’s neck, giving him a friendly shake. “You had sex on that couch I slept on last night, didn’t you?” He asked seriously.
Harry’s eyes went wide. He was unable to stop the laugh that escaped him. “There is a very large possibility that that did happen, yes.”
Louis rolled his eyes and the tension in the air evaporated. “That’s completely disgusting.”
“I want you to call me, Lou. Like, every night,” Harry said, sobering slightly.
“Hazza,” Louis sighed.
“Or a text message. I want to know where you are, what you’re hunting… I want to know everything. The minute you need me, I’ll be there. But until then, I… I want to stay here with Niall. And I want you to accept that decision.” Harry looked his brother in the eyes, holding his breath. “I want you to be happy for me.”
Louis’ eyes turned sympathetic. “Harry, I’m sorry for what I said to you last night. I’m sorry and I want you to know that I am happy. I’m a little confused, but I’m happy. Your spirit seems so much brighter than it has ever been, I can agree with that. And I think that, given the circumstances, your mum and dad would have wanted you to find these little moments of peace, even if it’s only for a short while.”
“Thanks, Lou,” Harry breathed, pulling the shorter boy in for a strong hug.
“Just be careful. Don’t let your guard down, and look after that kid in there. He may not be a part of this life, but one wrong move and he could be. You don’t want that, and neither do I.”
Harry nodded and Louis pulled away, crossing around to the driver’s side door and climbing in to the vehicle. Harry leaned in the passenger-side window as the engine fired up. “Every night, Lou. I want to hear from you.”
“Yes, dear!” Louis adjusted his rear view mirror, and pulled away from the curb. Harry stared after the vehicle until it took a corner and was out of sight.
———
Things carried on as usual for Niall and Harry. Summer slowly faded in to fall, though it was hard to tell with the Arizona climate. The days were hot, the nights cool, and the days flew by without incident. Harry continued to spin his web of lies around Niall, who was none the wiser.
One night, nearly a month after Louis had made his impromptu appearance, Harry awoke from a dead sleep, sitting right up in bed. His heart was racing, and he was drenched in cold sweat. He’d been having a nightmare, though as soon as he’d been pulled from it, he’d forgotten it. It had left an impression on him, though.
Niall stirred beside him. “Is everything alright?” He asked sleepily. He struggled himself in to a sitting position, hooking his chin over Harry’s shoulder and wrapping an arm around his clammy back.
“Yeah, it’s… It was just a nightmare, I think.” Harry took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
Niall slowly coaxed him back down on to the bed. For once he made Harry be the little spoon as he pressed himself to his back, carding his fingers through his damp hair. Harry felt his limbs become like jell-o as he instantly relaxed.
“I’ve noticed that you have a lot of nightmares,” the blond mumbled, kissing the back of Harry’s neck. “It’s scary sometimes, waking up to you thrashing about.”
Harry frowned. Until that point, he hadn’t been aware of his disturbing Niall. “I’m sorry,” he croaked. “I didn’t realize… I’ve had night terrors since I was a child.” It wasn’t far from the truth. His mother used to come to his side when he awoke in the middle of the night. Later, it had been Louis to his rescue even though by that point he’d been almost a full-grown adult. He’d appreciated the comfort. “Just… Just talk to me… about anything. Say useless things. It helps me get my mind off of it.”
It took Niall a minute to start speaking, no doubt thinking of something interesting to say. “You know I’ve lived in Arizona for over a year now and I’ve never seen the Grand Canyon?”
Harry smiled softly in to his pillow. “Really?”
“Yeah! I’ve always wanted to, though.”
Harry chuckled. “Why don’t we go then?”
“Really?” He heard Niall’s voice jump a few octaves.
“Of course! What’s stopping us?”
“I have Saturday off… We could head up for the day-“
Harry rolled over in Niall’s arms and silenced him with his lips. Niall was getting far too excited for three o’clock in the morning. He pulled away. “Or you could take Sunday off and we could make it a weekend. Take our time getting there, stay over night, just you and me in a hotel room…” Harry mumbled against his lips.
He heard Niall swallow. “Yeah, you know I think I like your idea better.”
“I knew you’d see it my way.”
They drifted off shortly after, Harry taking back his role as big spoon. Niall hardly minded, relaxing in to his arms like he always did. Harry’s nightmare was forgotten.
———
A couple nights later, Harry and Niall were seated out on the deck. They had made a combined decision to finally purchase an outdoor lounge chair for their small patio, even though it was September, and were curled up in it, wrapped in a blanket and looking at the stars.
“You’re warm,” Niall sighed, snuggling further in to the blanket and Harry.
“We’re both warm,” Harry replied.
“This is probably going to completely ruin the moment, but… are we together?” Niall asked.
Harry frowned. “What?”
Niall’s entire body tensed. “Nothing, it’s stupid-“
“No, it’s not stupid. I just… It sort of surprised me.” Harry mentally slapped himself for entirely wrong answer to Niall’s question. “What brought this on?”
“Well, you know how girls are. My co-workers like to tease me about you. They were there when my boyfriend left, and have been there consistently for the year that I spent bitter and alone.” Niall continued without a breath. “And now… They like to ask me about you and make jokes. And… and I just wondered what to call you. Because I think they realize that… You know, that we aren’t just friends. So I wondered if you considered us to be together.”
Harry pressed his lips against Niall’s temple. He hesitated for only a minute before he gave Niall an answer, even though he knew it was the wrong one. “Of course we’re together.”
“No, but, like… together together? Are we… are we boyfriends?” Niall craned his neck to look Harry in the eyes.
Harry pondered the word. It was a bit of a new concept for him. “Would you like us to be?”
Niall smiled. He was practically glowing, and Harry thought he looked beautiful. “Yeah. I think I would.”
The moment died, unfortunately, when Harry’s phone started to ring. Niall sighed and shifted away from him, knowing exactly who it was.
“Hey, Lou!” Harry answered, stumbling to his feet and wandering in to the house for some privacy.
“Light of my life, fire of my loins,” Louis replied, a smile in his voice.
“Easy there,” Harry laughed, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “Anything new since yesterday?”
“Well, actually yes. I’m closing in on a nest up here in Seattle.” Louis’ voice crackled through the connection.
Seattle. Seattle was quite north for vampire activity. They normally stayed in the southern states. He never understood why, considering they couldn’t even feel temperature, but it had simply always been that way. He’d grown up knowing that vampires nested in the south.
“Lou, are you sure you can do that? How many in the family?” Harry fidgeted.
“I’ve counted maybe five? Not too many. I can do this, it isn’t my first fang fiesta,” Louis chuckled, though Harry could hear the strain in his voice.
“I can come to you, Lou. It would take maybe a day and night. You can sit tight and wait for me, we can take them out together-“
“Don’t worry about me, Haz.” Louis cut him off, his voice dropping. “I’m not uprooting you for a simple little take down. Couple of pints of dead man’s blood, a few dates with the ol’ machete… I can do this. I’m heading in at first light tomorrow morning.”
Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. He knew that Louis was good at what he did, but he couldn’t help feeling like a sitting duck. It had been that way for weeks, ever since Louis had started keeping him updated on his movements. He’d had to listen, time after time, hoping that his brother wasn’t walking in to his own funeral again and again.
“I’ll still be expecting your calls, alright?” Harry mumbled.
“Yes, mum,” Louis teased. His voice dropped again. “I love you, Haz.”
“Love you too, mate.”
Harry jumped when he felt arms encircle his neck as he hung up his phone. Niall rested his chin on top of his head. “How’s Louis, then?” He asked.
“Louis is good! He’s in Washington, actually. They’ve got some great national parks up there.”
“Mm that’s nice. Let’s go to bed.” Niall tugged him up out of his chair and dragged him out of the kitchen towards the bedroom.
“You are full of wonderful ideas, Irish.”
———
The entire next day, Harry was on edge. Niall left for work after lunch, which didn’t help his nerves at all. He paced the house continuously, and even went for a run while the sun was still scorching the earth. He called Paul, checking in to see if he had heard from Louis, but Paul had no news. No one had any news. Harry’s phone was silent.
He made a quick run to the small store on the next street over, grabbing some junk food for his emotional eating habit that he sometimes fell back on. For the rest of the evening he drowned his sorrows in chips and soda and watched a Golden Girls marathon on television. He finally fell in to a fitful sleep around half ten.
His phone ringing from the kitchen startled him awake. He practically fell off the sofa and stumbled over to it, answering it without looking at the caller ID.
“Lou?” He gasped, breathing heavily.
There was a short pause. “Uh, no it’s Niall.”
Harry winced. “Oh, sorry. Um, I just… I answered in a hurry and-“
“Don’t worry about it! I was just wondering where you were. I know you don’t like me walking home alone – “
“You’re off already?” Harry asked, looking towards the clock on the stove. It was half eleven. “Right. Okay, just give me a moment and I’ll be right there!”
He hung up and checked his phone for missed text messages. There were none. He dialed Paul.
“Hullo?” The Irishman answered.
“Have you heard from Louis yet tonight?”
“Well hello to you too, Styles. And the answer is no, I haven’t heard a peep from him.” Paul sounded as if he was eating.
“Paul, he was going in to a nest today. He should have finished the job by now; you know that. You take out vamps during the day while they’re dormant-“
“I realize that, you little shit,” Paul snapped. “I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you have.”
Harry tugged at his hair, pacing the kitchen. “Something is wrong.”
Harry’s heart was in his throat as he drove to the restaurant. Terrible images plagued his mind of Louis being ambushed, drained, or even worse turned. He was a young fit man and also a hunter. The irony was too good for some vamps to pass up. There were a lot of hunters that were spared and turned, destined to be hunted and killed by their own peers. Harry had already lost a friend to blood suckers, he wasn’t going to lose another.
Paul called him back as he was pulling in to the familiar paved parking lot.
“I can’t get him, Harry.”
“Paul…” Harry whispered, slamming his free hand against the steering wheel. “What are we going to do? Maybe he’s just resting, or-“
“Harry,” Paul said sternly. “I traced the GPS on Louis’ phone.”
“And?” Harry asked, close to hysterics.
“As far as I know, he’s still there. Louis is still in the nest.”
Harry felt his world fall out from under him. He hung up on Paul, unable to say anything more. He wasn’t afforded much time to adjust, however, before Niall was sliding in to the passenger seat, a bright smile on his face.
“Hey! Took you long enough.” He leaned forward for a kiss. When Harry didn’t respond to it, he pulled back frowning. “Is there something wrong?”
“What? No! No… Of course not.” Harry’s voice was weak. No amount of swallowing could get rid of the lump in his throat.
“I got someone to cover my shift on Sunday! We can leave tomorrow night if you want,” Niall said excitedly, fastening himself in.
“What?” Harry asked.
“The Grand Canyon.” Niall looked pained. “You haven’t forgotten already, have you?”
Harry gave himself a mental slap. “Right, sorry. I remember.”
He put the car in gear and began the trip home. It was silent, Niall obviously sensing that he wasn’t in a chatty mood. Harry wanted desperately to confide in him. He wanted to tell him what was bothering him; what mayhem was plaguing his mind. Looking over at him then, he didn’t want to keep lying to him. He cared for Niall deeply, probably even loved him.
Yes. He loved him. It had been almost two months and he had fallen hard for the Irish boy. Harry had never been so reckless with his feelings. He didn’t know why it was so different with Niall, though suddenly it didn’t really matter all that much because all of that was about to change. In a heartbeat the rug had been pulled from under him, throwing Harry’s life in to turmoil once more.
By the time they made it home, Harry had made up his mind on what he had to do. He needed to go rescue Louis.
His heart was heavy as he followed Niall in to the house. They got ready for bed in silence, Harry practically shaking as he slid out of his clothes. Just as Niall was about to crawl in to bed, Harry reached out and grabbed him, pulling him close. He traced his jaw with his finger and breathed him in, pressing his lips to his. It was soft and slow, just like the first time they’d kissed outside on the deck those weeks ago.
Niall wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck as the two found their way to the bed. Harry pressed him in to the mattress, lips traveling down his throat and lingering on his collarbone. His hands explored every inch of the body laid out beneath him, mapping it to memory.
“Harry,” Niall gasped, arching his back as the brunette’s lips traveled down to one of his nipples. Harry rocked his hips in to Niall’s and the blond groaned. “Look at me.”
Harry continued what he was doing, ignoring Niall’s request. He traced patterns on his hipbones, knowing that Niall was ticklish there. As if on cue, the boy squirmed away from his touch. Harry smiled sadly, the lump in his throat thickening.
He loved being with Niall. He loved driving around with him, watching television with him, drinking under the stars with him… But more importantly he loved touching him, and watching him come undone, knowing that he was the cause of it. Harry was addicted to the feeling of Niall’s skin, to the sound of his voice when it would drop a couple of octaves and growl in to his ear. He loved the way they fit together, when Niall would tuck his head under his chin, his cheek against his heart.
Harry was brought back down to earth at the feeling of Niall’s hands grabbing his face and guiding him back up to his lips. As they kissed, Harry felt the levee inside of him break, a couple of tears spilling on to his cheeks. He was unable to stop the desperate noise in his throat as he took Niall’s bottom lip between his teeth. He buried his head in Niall’s neck, inhaling his scent and trying to stop his heart from exploding.
“Harry?” Niall mumbled, running his fingers through his chocolate curls. “Harry, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me. This isn’t like you.”
“I’m sorry,” Harry whispered, pressing butterfly kisses to Niall’s skin. “I’m alright. I just need you right now.”
Niall rolled them so that he had Harry pinned to the bed. He looked concerned as he saw Harry’s bloodshot eyes, and he reached down to wipe away one of his tear tracks. “You’ll tell me what’s bothering you later, then?” He asked.
Harry nodded, unable to look Niall in the eye as he lied to him one last time.
The sex was agonizingly slow, and they were both shaking by the time they found their release. It was lips and teeth and hands and fingers and skin sliding against skin. It was one of the most powerful things either of them had ever experienced. It left them breathless and sated, wrapped in each other’s arms in the center of the bed, cooling bodies exposed to the chilly desert air drifting through the open window.
———
Harry awoke suddenly hours later with echoes of a nightmare in his mind, and for a moment he didn’t know where he was. He panicked until he felt Niall’s familiar presence beside him. Luckily the blond had shifted away from him in his sleep, allowing Harry to slip out of bed without disturbing him.
He dressed as quickly as his stiff muscles would allow, and grabbed his duffle out of the closet. He’d stored it there as soon as he’d been able to retrieve it from the car after Niall fixed him up. He hid it out of the blondes’ view, as it contained his best guns and some of his knives, as well as supplies for his most used rituals. It was a comfort knowing it was in the house with them in case Harry needed it.
He wandered around the house, gathering the bits and pieces of his life from the past two months. He took his music from the living room stereo, and his favorite tea from the cupboard in the kitchen. He slowly erased himself from the house, until there was nothing left of whom he was while he was living there.
He was sliding in to his boots when the hallway light came on. Harry’s heart began to slam against his rib cage.
“Harry?” Niall’s sleepy voice called out. He rounded the corner and looked at the scene; Harry suited up to leave, with his bag on the kitchen table full of his things. Niall processed what he was seeing, slowly piecing it together in his drowsy haze. “Where are you going?”
Harry took a deep breath and turned to face the shorter boy. He crossed his arms over his chest defensively and leaned against the countertop. “Niall-“
He never got a chance to finish.
“You’re leaving, then?” Niall said sharply, sliding his hand along the wall until he found the light switch. The kitchen was flooded with light, causing both of them to squint. “I never took you for the cowardly type, I’ll be honest.”
Harry sighed. This was going to be a train wreck. “Niall, something came up and I have to go. I’m needed elsewhere.”
“I can’t imagine why a travel writer would be called out in the middle of the night. Surely it isn’t that serious of a job.” Niall was spitting his words, barely taking breaths. “Is it Louis? Are you going to Louis? If you are just be honest with me. I’ve been through this all before, I can handle it.“
“Niall, I have to go,” Harry forced, beginning to zip up his bag.
“So that’s it, then?” Niall came closer. “Thought you’d fuck me one last time as a memento and then hit the road?”
“Niall-“
“No, Harry.” Niall stopped when he was right in his face. “You’re not allowed to just do this. I’m not going to go through this again without an explanation. I told you what happened to me because somehow I trusted you enough with my sob story. So you don’t get to turn around and use it against-“ Harry watched as Niall’s eyes suddenly shifted downward, catching the glint of Harry’s shotgun from within his bag.
He then watched the color drain from Niall’s face.
“Oh my God,” the blond choked. He turned and pulled the bag open wider, revealing several more guns. He backed away, never tearing his eyes off of the weapons in the bag. “Why do you have so many guns?”
Any sheltering Harry had wanted to do went flying out the window. There was no getting out of it now. “Let… let me explain.”
“You’re not a writer at all, are you?” Niall asked; his mind racing as he quickly came to his own conclusions. He continued to retreat until he was pressed against the kitchen wall. “Who are you?” He finally met Harry’s eyes, though he immediately looked away. Then, he asked the question that broke Harry’s heart: “Are you going to hurt me?”
The brunette could see the fear blossoming in his boyfriend’s eyes. The way he looked at him was as if he didn’t know him. As if Harry were a stranger to him. Harry put his hands up. “I’m not going to hurt you, Niall. I would never hurt you. I just need you to listen.” Harry crept closer, though Niall moved further away.
“Stay away from me!” He hissed, moving so that the kitchen table was between them. When Harry took another step towards him, Niall darted from the kitchen, racing down the hall. Harry followed him, the door to their bedroom slamming in his face just as he reached it.
“Niall, please,” Harry pleaded, resting his forehead against the door.
“Get out of my house!” Niall’s voice was thick with emotion. “Whoever you are, just leave.”
“I’m not going to do that, Niall,” Harry turned and slid down the door until he was seated on the carpet. He knew he had to leave, but he wasn’t about to walk out of Niall’s life when the blond was in such a state. He had to remedy the situation if he was going to leave with any peace of mind.
A couple moments passed without a word. Harry heard Niall crumple to the floor on the other side of the door.
“God, I let you kiss me… touch me.” Niall’s muffled voice cried. “I slept with you, made myself vulnerable to you. Is your name even Harry?”
Harry let Niall talk himself through his initial reactions. Of all the scenarios Harry had played out in his mind of Niall finding out about his job, he’d never wanted it to end in Niall barricading himself in their room with Harry on the other side of the door, pleading with him. He’d wanted it to happen on his own terms, but instead it had all happened too fast for Harry to avoid the disaster it had become.
Niall was scared of him. Niall felt betrayed, and disgusted with Harry and himself. Everything he’d known for the previous two months were suddenly all a lie to him, and it would take a lot to change his mind. Harry had to try and convince him that he’d been his honest self since the beginning, and that the Harry that Niall knew was the same Harry that was sitting outside of his door.
“Niall,” Harry began slowly. “Know that I am exactly the same person that you knew me to be before tonight. My profession is just a bit… different. I’m not a writer. I lied to you about that, and I’m sorry. But you’ve got to believe me when I say that there was no way I could have been honest with you.”
“You’ve been living in my house for two months and you’ve been lying to me!” Niall practically growled. “You know, this is why I told myself I’d never do this again. I told myself I would know better, but here I am, living out the same scenario-“
“Niall!” Harry cut him off sharply. He knew being firm was the only way to get through to the boy. “Everything I gave you in these past two months was one hundred percent me. My feelings, my emotions – those were all completely honest. I was myself around you, I just never told you what I did for a living. I couldn’t!”
“What is it that you do? Do you hurt people?” Niall’s voice still sounded broken.
Harry rubbed his face. “I don’t hurt people. I’ve never purposely hurt another human being. I… “ Harry took a deep breath, his heart in his throat. “I’m a hunter.”
There was silence on the other side of the door, so Harry took that as his cue to continue. “I travel the country and hunt things. Bad things.”
He heard a snort. “You honestly want me to believe that you’re a hunter and that you do that for a living? That you sit in the bush with an orange jacket on and shoot animals?”
Harry barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. It wasn’t going well at all. “Wild animals aren’t the most dangerous creatures in the world, Niall. There are other things, darker things, which need to be taken care of. There are those of us that make it our job to get rid of them, so that they don’t harm other people. I was born in to this, born in to a family of hunters.”
He could hear Niall scoff angrily. “I asked for you to be honest with me, not make me out a fool. How messed up do you have to be to actually think I would believe this-“
“I hunt demons.” Harry blurted, becoming exasperated. “Creatures from hell. Ghosts. Werewolves. Vampires. Shape shifters. All of the things that you could ever imagine in your worst nightmares are real and they waltz around the earth destroying it little by little.”
More silence. Then: “Get the fuck out of my house.”
“No!” Harry bellowed. He was getting frustrated, and time was ticking away. Time that was much better spent on the road headed toward Seattle. Harry had one more idea up his sleeve to make Niall understand. Something he was sensitive about “This isn’t some sort of joke! You wanted my honesty so here it is: do you remember the night I showed up at your door bleeding?”
When he didn’t get an answer, Harry asked again. “Do you?”
“Yes,” Niall’s voice had dropped. It was unfair, but Harry knew that that chain of events had scarred Niall considerably.
“It wasn’t a wild animal that attacked me that night on the side of the road. A Kitsune ambushed me, made me think it was a wounded man. It attacked, and struck me down. They are creatures created from foxes, which prey on humans for sustenance. The only reason I was even in Gold Canyon to begin with was because something was attacking people and I had to take care of it.”
Niall was ever silent from inside their bedroom.
“I didn’t know that there were two of them, and so I was caught off guard.”
“This…” Niall stuttered out. “This is completely ridiculous.” Niall’s tone had changed from angry denial to what sounded like him desperately trying to convince himself that what Harry was saying wasn’t true. Harry knew he was getting somewhere. “How can any of this be true? This is fiction. I read books about this sort of thing.”
“You don’t have to accept it all at once. You don’t have to embrace it. I just want you to know that I never wanted to lie to you, but that there was also no way I could tell you any of this. And I need you to know that from the first time I laid eyes on you I thought you were incredible and that every day after that I felt guilt for not being honest with you. If my circumstances had been any different, I would have scooped you up and never let you go. As it is I still strung you along, and I am so sorry for that. I got selfish, because you made me so happy.”
“Harry.” Niall’s voice was small. “I sort of hate you right now.”
Harry actually chuckled. “I hate me a little bit too.”
“This is fucked up,” Niall continued.
“It is, innit?”
There was another moment of silence between them, in which Harry listened to Niall shuffle against the door at his back, no doubt sitting in a similar position to Harry’s. Harry felt good about what he’d said. He felt that he couldn’t have made a better argument. Niall would still be hurt, but hopefully he’d understand in time. He’d eventually get over it, just as he’d moved on after his boyfriend left.
“I need to go, Niall,” Harry tried again, sensing that the other boy had calmed considerably. “I… I have to be on the road.”
“You… What? You’re still going to leave? Even after telling me all of this?” Niall’s voice was pleading.
Harry sighed, slowly rising to his feet. “You don’t know how good it feels to have told you everything, but Lou needs me. He needs my help.”
“So Louis… Louis is a hunter as well?” Niall asked.
“Yeah, and he’s gotten himself in to some trouble in Seattle. It’s… It’s not looking good. I’m sorry, again. I’m sorry for doing this to you, and for hurting you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” Harry backed away from the door, heading down the hallway back towards the kitchen.
He heard a slight struggle coming from behind the closed door of the bedroom. All at once it was ripped open, revealing a disheveled looking Niall. His hair was mussed and his eyes were bloodshot, though he had long since stopped crying.
“Wait!” He breathed, stepping out in to the hallway. “I want to go with you!”
Harry’s heart dropped in to his stomach, his blood running cold. “What?”
Niall closed the distance between them rather hesitantly. He folded his arms across his chest. “I can come with you. I can pack up some things and we can take off. We can do this together-“
“Do you even understand what you’re saying?” Harry almost shouted, triggering a very obvious flinch from Niall. “This isn’t some fun little road trip! This isn’t a little getaway to put your feet up and relax. I am a hunter. I was trained for this for years.” Harry clenched his hands in to fists at his sides.
“You want to know what is waiting for me up in Seattle? Vampires, Niall. Col creatures with sharp teeth that have the sole purpose of ripping out our throats. They took Louis, and now I have to go find them and chop all of their heads off! God, I don’t… I don’t even know if Louis is still alive.” Harry’s face felt hot. He exhaled, trying to steady himself. When he spoke again his voice was softer. “I’m not risking your safety. It’s better that you stay here. You have a life here.”
It was Niall’s turn to snap, and snap he did. “Really? I have a life? What kind of life do I have here, Harry? I have a big empty house that I can barely afford, and a job pouring beer for a bunch of rich no good golfers in town for a weekend… Some life that is, eh? I’ve been left once before, you know that. I didn’t even get a say in the matter; he just never came home.” Niall’s accent had thickened, as it did when he was upset, to the point where Harry had to pay close attention to understand what he was saying.
“I’m not letting you walk out of my life. I don’t care what it takes, or what I have to do. I’m not going to get swept under the rug again. This is my choice.”
“This is hardly your choice!” Harry countered. “You still can’t fully grasp what this all means. You could die if you come with me, and I can’t… I can’t be responsible for that. Not again.”
Niall visibly swallowed, eyes softening at Harry’s words. “I may not understand it all yet, but I know that you are important to me, and I also know that neither of us wants to be alone again. Whatever happens, I’ll deal with it. And I know that I’m burdening you, but I also believe that you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me.”
“You believe that? Even after the hell I put you through tonight? The lie we’ve been living?”
Niall nodded. “I do.”
Harry visibly deflated. He itched to reach out and touch Niall, but he wasn’t sure he was allowed to. Not yet.
What followed was a bit of a staring contest between the two of them.
Harry didn’t want Niall anywhere near his lifestyle. He didn’t even want him sitting in a hotel room while he was out slaying demons. He wanted to know that Niall was tucked safely in his home in the middle of a small town, alone but alive.
On the other hand, the idea of a companion on the road was tempting. He imagined having someone beside him in the passenger seat, playing air guitar to his rock albums as they traveled down deserted highways at three in the morning. Going to bed at night with a warm body next to him, instead of a cold mattress… He could hold Niall whenever he wanted, kiss him and touch him and just be with him. Niall was right: neither of them would ever have to be alone again.
“Harry…” Niall pleaded, the fight almost completely gone from him.
Harry took a chance and pulled Niall in to his arms, desperately hoping that he wouldn’t come to regret his decision.
———
On the outskirts of Seattle, Washington, a party was going down in an abandoned industrial park. Behind the walls of an old steel mill, a group of wild and rowdy beings were indulging in their spoils of the day. Loud music was pumping as the girls draped themselves over the boys, giving in to their insatiable desire for each other.
In the corner of the room, a young man with cinnamon skin was waking up.
“Nice of you to join us, pretty boy.”
Louis blinked wearily, his head searing with pain as he peered around the dimly lit room. He could feel blood dried on to the side of his face from a head wound. His wrists were bound behind him, tethering him to the wooden support beam at his back. His body ached.
“You feeling alright, little pixie?”
A shadow moved over Louis and he mustered up a glare for the being towering over him. He was tall and gangly, with black shaggy hair. With his worn band t-shirt and leather jacket, he looked like some sort of rock star reject. He was eerily pale – inhumanely – and his irises were light grey. He practically oozed sex.
“Fuck you,” Louis hissed, falling in to a coughing fit. His throat was bone dry.
“Well that isn’t very nice, is it boys?” The taller man looked over his shoulder at the other men sitting on the couches. There was a unanimous murmur.
“What do you want with me?” Louis continued to choke. “Just finish the job already, you filthy bloodsucker.”
The vampire reached down and backhanded him across the face. One of Louis’ teeth accidentally split his lip open during the quick assault, filling his mouth with blood. He grimaced and spit it out beside him, running his tongue over his wound and trying not to wince at the stinging pain.
“Watch your mouth, hunter. Surely you can see that the odds aren’t in your favor.”
Louis surveyed the room. There were four male vampires in total, who looked as if they ran the whole operation. There were accompanying females, but they seemed less focused on the task and more focused on pleasure. He’d met vampires in the past, but they had never been as sexual as the ones he was currently experiencing. He’d heard that the younger they were, the hungrier they were for more than just blood. They were a little bit reckless and extremely horny. It was clear the females were newborns.
The vamp in front of him, though, was calm, and focused solely on him. He was decidedly the Alpha of the nest.
“Come on, baby.” A pretty girl with long blond hair waltzed over to the two of them, her hips swaying side to side. She clung to the vamp’s arm, pressing herself in to his side. “I want to have him. He’d be so much fun!” She grinned at Louis, her fangs catching the light from one of the candles nearby.
The Alpha wrenched his arm away from the girl and squatted so he was at Louis’ eye level. “What do you say, Louis? Want to join the club? It’s free to get in, you just have to drink a little something for the initiation.”
“I know how vampires are made, you bastard. And I would rather die a thousand times than spend my life being one of you-“
Louis was hit again, this time on the other side of his face. He groaned, his neck no longer able to keep his head up.
“You’re a smart ass, you know that?” The man stood and stretched. “And my name is Hector. Learn it.”
“Didn’t you know it’s not good to play with your food?” Louis continued, his tone teasing. He wasn’t afraid of these creatures, not really. He hardly ever let himself be scared of anything. Paul was all he knew growing up, and he was a little rough around the edges. He’d taught Louis to be fearless in the face of the demons and spirits he hunted. Then when Harry had arrived, he’d been thrust in to the role of surrogate big brother and had made a promise to himself to be the strong one, though he quickly realized that Harry was more than capable of holding his own.
Hector was in his face again. He took a fistful of his hair and wrenched his head back, looking in to his eyes. “I’m not planning on ripping out your jugular, doll face. I am going to drag you in to your own eternal damnation kicking and screaming, but not before I play host to your little friend who’s coming to your rescue.”
Louis stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I found this little gem amongst your things in a bush outside.” The vampire reached in to the pocket of his leather jacket and retrieved Louis’ phone. He scrolled through it, and then turned the screen to face him. On it was Harry’s contact sheet, with a picture of the two of them in New Orleans and all of his information.
“Who’s Harry? He’s been calling and messaging you an awful lot. Says he’s on his way. He’s a hunter too, isn’t he? Eh, Louis?”
Louis was silent.
“That’s what I thought. I think I’m going to wait it out, throw a little party when Harry gets here. Then I can welcome you in to the family and you can be the one to drain him. I don’t care how close you are to someone, when the call for blood is strong enough, nothing else matters.”
Screams erupted from another part of the building and Louis was left alone. He watched as a girl no older than eighteen was dragged in to the room, putting up a weak fight against the vamp that had her around the middle. Louis himself struggled against his restraints, knowing what was coming.
The girl was thrown on to one of the sofas and held down. She writhed and screamed as she was surrounded. Louis’ heart slammed against his rib cage as he was forced to watch each vamp take their turn drinking from her, her pleas falling on deaf ears. Within minutes her cries were permanently silenced, while the heavy metal music played on.
———
Niall moved fast. All of his worldly possessions fit in to a single bag, clothes, picture frames and all. The only other item he had was his guitar, which fit snugly in to it’s own case.
“Do you have a suit?” Harry asked, standing in the doorway of their former bedroom.
Niall looked up, brows furrowed. “Yeah, why?”
Harry scratched the back of his head. “You’re, uh… you’re probably going to need it eventually.”
“Isn’t it going to be awkward traveling around with a suit bag in the car? It’s just extra baggage… Do you plan on having fancy meals every Sunday or something?” Niall continued to rifle through his drawers.
“Just trust me.”
As Niall took his guitar out to the Mustang, Harry wandered the house, turning off all of the lights one by one and checking for anything worth taking with them. In the end he stood in the dark living room, observing the four walls around him one last time.
He thought of the previous two months, and knew that he would miss the house and all of the memories that it held. They were the first good memories he’d made in years.
Harry grabbed Niall’s duffel on his way out and locked the door behind him. He didn’t need walls to hang pictures on, or a sofa or a bed. He had Niall, and that was enough to make a thousand new memories, no matter where they ended up on the long road ahead of them.
Niall was in the passenger seat when Harry got to the curb. The blond was already fighting to stay awake, and Harry knew that he wouldn’t last long. He fired up his baby and pulled out on to the street, taking the familiar route back to the freeway. The two boys said their goodbyes to Gold Canyon.
By the time they were a few miles up the freeway, Niall was fast asleep, head resting against the window. Harry rolled his own window down to keep alert, and turned on some soft music.
‘We’re coming, Lou,’ he thought to himself. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to find when I get there, but you better be in one piece.’