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The day Louis smelt a new Alpha at his school, he felt all his senses go into high alert. He’d never experienced that kind of feeling before, because, of course, the only alpha he’d ever scented was the one he was mated with, and he was confused and a little unhappy with the intoxicating and uncomfortable smell.
That wasn’t the main problem, though. The main problem was that Harry, his mate, didn’t want to admit that he also was disturbed by another dominant figure in their school. He was doing a pretty bad job at hiding it and his behavior was off, ever since the day Zayn arrived.
For example, he would always walk Louis to his classes and pay extra attention to his emotions if Zayn was in his class.
The bond between them was strong, so Louis was always distracted by Harry’s emotions during Maths. That was bad, because Louis was already shit at maths without Harry disturbing him.
Another thing that changed is that Harry would nuzzle Louis all the fucking time to scent him. It was good, Louis would definitely not complain about that (his inner omega was fucking glowing with the special attention), but the behavior was abnormal for Harry. He wasn’t normally that possessive.
The epitome was when in the first week Zayn was there, they were walking together to the cafeteria, Harry’s arm draped over Louis’ shoulder, and he growled. The noise itself made all the students - betas - around them shake and widen their eyes, but the worst reaction came from Louis. He missed a step, went face-down onto the ground, his whole body covered with goosebumps, and the impossible need to submit.
“Harry!” The brave voice that came to rescue Louis was from Eleanor, his best friend. She was afraid, of course, as she never heard the powerful growl of an alpha, but her best friend was on the ground in what was looking like a drop, something they read in ancient books but never actually saw it happen. And Harry was looking at the end of the corridor, his teeth bared at... at Zayn.
“Harry! Wake up!” she almost screamed, afraid to touch Louis and enrage the alpha, but worried all the same.
At that, Harry’s eyes went back to the normal soft and green, blinking like he just woke up, and automatically looked at Louis on the ground.
He took a second but suddenly he was right beside Louis, gathering him in his arms and looking terrified of what just happened.
“Louis, love, I’m so, so sorry.” He cradled Louis face against his scent gland, worried sick. Louis clearly wasn’t used to that kind of behavior from Harry, he only ever growled or made animalistic sounds like that when he was in rut or Louis was in heat. It was so unusual that the only way Louis’ inner omega could react to the sound, was by dropping.
He goddamn dropped in the middle of the fucking school. Harry was enraged at himself. He looked around for the first time and found a lot of scared eyes looking at them. He turned to Eleanor and sighed. “El, can you please warn the school that I’m going to take Louis home?” She turned her eyes from Louis breathing Harry’s neck in, nodding firmly.
“What do I say? They’ll be so pissed…” she questioned, doubtful, knowing very well that wasn’t actually allowed.
“Say that we had an alpha/omega issue. They can’t say anything to that.” Harry replied firmly, getting up with Louis, his omega standing up with wobbly feet. Harry kissed the crown of his head, not knowing how he would make this up to Louis.
Eleanor walked off, asking Harry to send her a text later telling her if Louis was okay. Harry marched out of school, ignoring all the eyes on him, and he could feel the presence of Zayn somewhere on his left, the smell of him following Harry all the way out of the gates of the school.
When Harry arrived home with Louis snoring softly in his arms, he went directly to his room, trying to not make too many sounds because he didn’t want his mum to hear them. He didn’t know how to start explaining the situation to her, too ashamed of what he’d done. He laid Louis down, sitting by his side and trying to calm his clenching heart.
“Louis, love, can you wake up for me?” He murmured against Louis ear, watching his omega instantly stir awake and open his drowsy eyes.
“Alpha” was the word that Harry heard from Louis mumble and his heart clenched again.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to do that, I was completely out of it,” he whispered, watching Louis’ blue eyes. He felt his omega’s hand caress his cheek and closed his eyes at the gesture.
“It’s okay. I just wasn’t prepared for that. I reacted too strongly, I think. I’m not used to that out of nowhere.”
Harry bit his lip, ashamed, feeling his neck start to burn with the feeling.
“Sorry for submitting in the middle of school,” Louis whispered, his own cheeks getting the rosy tinge.
Harry inhaled, not wanting to think about that. It wasn’t Louis fault, it was his own.
“It wasn’t your fault, Lou. I made you drop and I’m sorry that I made you do that in the middle of the school where you were exposed for everybody to see.” Louis promptly sat up, opening his arms, but the only thing Harry could do was manhandle Louis to sit on his lap instead, embracing him protectively and burying his nose in the bond mark on Louis throat, making the omega shiver with the contact.
“It’s okay. Just, please, try not to do it again, okay? Not out of our beds or in a place full of people,” Louis murmured, petting Harry’s curls softly, warm and safe there.
“I’m sorry. Zayn makes me uncomfortable, I need to lay low around him.” Harry’s voice was muffled by Louis’ skin, the omega only nodding his agreement. Harry really needed to calm down around the other alpha.
“I’m yours, Haz, we’ve been bonded for forever and Zayn’s a nice guy, he won’t harm me or disrespect me, he’s friends with Niall and Liam, right? You know them, they wouldn’t be friends with a dickhead either.” Louis assured his alpha, laying kisses on his forehead and smiling gently, because Harry didn’t seem to want to stop scenting their bond mark.
“I know, you’re right.” He finally looked back to Louis’ eyes, sharing a smile, bending down a little to close the space between their mouths, sharing a kiss between soft smiles.
“I love you,” Louis said.
And through their bond Louis could feel all the love Harry felt back for him.
XxX
So Harry kept his word and started to lay low around Zayn in school. He stopped being all over Louis all the time and Louis was really proud of the improvement, even though he could still feel the alpha’s discomfort through their bond.
The days passed and everything was calm. Harry even attempted becoming friends with Zayn, sometimes talking with him, Niall, and Liam in the hallways. Louis would be walking next to Eleanor and only smiled at them briefly before going to class. It was good, maybe that was all the Alpha needed: some time to get used to the situation of sharing the place with another alpha.
The problem was, Harry was comfortable with sharing the school with Zayn, but he still didn’t want his omega anywhere near the other alpha, so it was a kind of a bummer when Louis wanted to talk to Liam and Niall and he couldn’t, because Zayn would always be with them.
That day Harry was especially calm, Louis couldn’t feel the normal awareness he always felt through their bond and that was fucking great because the omega was pretty sure he had a great class next.
“Bye, Lou!” Eleanor yelled, going into her class.
Louis was going crazy trying to find his timetable. He couldn’t remember his next (probably great) class to save his life, and he was already late. He felt all the air leave his body, though, when he bumped into another person in his frenetic walk. “Fuckety fuck, I’m so sorry,” he said quickly, picking up his book that had fallen from his hand.
“It’s okay,” he heard Zayn’ voice before smelling him, and he looked up, seeing the man hand him a paper.
His timetable!
“Damn it, you little bitch,” he murmured under his breath, taking the paper and opening it to see his next class. “Geometry, of course, fuck my life,” he cursed loudly and it was only when he heard a laugh above him that he remembered, right, he was not alone. “Sorry.” He was not sorry, but whatever.
“It’s okay. Have a nice day, Louis. Send Harry my cheers,” he simply said before walking around him and away, leaving a puzzled Louis behind.
Fuck that, he didn’t have the time to understand what just happened. He had some brain cells to burn in geometry.
After class was over, he went to the school gates to wait for Harry. He saw the alpha coming his way not much later as he said his goodbye to his friends and smiled at Louis.
“Hi, love, how was cl...” he interrupted himself the moment he got close enough to hug Louis, cringing away from the omega and putting a hand over his nose. His eyes immediately watered and Louis was left dumbfounded, with his arms still opened waiting for his alpha’s hug. What the actual fuck?
“Harry? What the hell?” He asked loudly, feeling small. Harry was still looking at him like he had killed his cat.
“You smell like Zayn,” he said, breathing through his mouth, his jaw set tight.
“What?!” He ducked his head to smell himself, not feeling anything but his own scent mixed with Harry’s. “Are you crazy?” He looked at his alpha again, this time angry and hurt. He stepped close to him, decided and closed his arms around the taller boy’s waist. Louis was having none of that.
“Louis, seriously, it’s...” Harry didn’t hug back, making Louis whine high in his throat, his inner omega starting to feel unwanted. He didn’t give Harry the time to react, though, because suddenly he was off of him and walking away. He decided to go home before he started crying in the front of the school.
He could hear Harry’s footsteps right behind him, but the wave of feelings the omega was sending through their bond was enough for the alpha to know he shouldn’t intervene.
When he finally got home, Jay was with Ernest in the living room. She looked at Louis, surprised to see him home so early. “Hey, Louis, what...”
He didn’t stop for his mother though, going straight to his room.
“Harry? What’s...?” Jay began to ask.
Louis closed his door and went to his bed, cuddling his duvet and closing his eyes firmly. Not much later, his door opened and closed. A new weight of the bed warned him that Harry had sat down beside him.
“Go away,” Louis said, his voice unwavering, but his body went stiff when he heard the low rumble in his alpha’s throat, obviously not liking Louis’ wish.
“Louis,” he called, but Louis only ignored him, trying to block out the annoyance he could feel from Harry.
“Omega.” At that, Louis whined. It was a low blow and Harry knew it, the omega opened his eyes and looked up at his alpha, still hurt but unable to ignore him.
“You smell like another alpha and I wasn’t prepared for that,” Harry said simply, making Louis recoil again. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He put his hand in Louis’ hair to pet him. He bent down and nuzzled Louis’ face, scenting him. With that little affection, Louis was already feeling better, but he couldn’t shake off the lingering bad feelings. As if Harry could sense it (he could, probably), he nosed his way to Louis neck, biting down on his bond mark, Louis’ pheromones immediately going into overdrive, leaving him pliant and soft.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Harry said, once he took his teeth off the omega’s neck, licking the mark to heal it.
“Don’t be jealous, Haz,” Louis murmured, cuddling into Harry’s stomach instead of the duvet, feeling sleepy and sated. “I bumped into him,” Louis explained, sighing tiredly. He could sleep easily if Harry stayed there with him.
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m working on it.” Harry’s hands wandered through Louis’ soft hair, the only scent coming from him was the one Harry loved the most. “Sleep now, baby. I’m gonna be here when you wake up.” And Louis didn’t need to be told twice.
xxx
The biggest problem in a society full of betas is that Alphas and Omegas, or Scenters if you’d rather, couldn’t have certain unorthodox attitudes. In history, when an A and an O mated, they’d usually move in together. It wasn’t really a good idea to separate bonded couples, as it was actually hard for them to be apart, but Louis and Harry were extremely rare, and never in a million years would Louis’ mother let him move out of his home at age 14. So they had to live their lives like a normal beta couple. It kind of sucked, but they could wait until they were 18 to get what they wanted. There was only one more year to go.
Omegas were even rarer than Alphas. Most of the alphas out there were dormant, because they never had and probably never will be awakened by an omega. They lived as betas, married betas, and had beta babies. That way, the Scenters every generation would become even rarer.
Nowadays, nobody could exactly pinpoint the exact moment that betas started to become a majority. It didn’t bug most people because it wasn’t actually a big deal – evolution and all that jazz.
Another thing that sucked big time was omega pregnancies. As said, there weren’t many omegas out there and male omegas were so rare that Louis can bet he’s one of a few. You could probably count them on the fingers of one hand.
So, Louis, a guy, could get pregnant. He dreaded even thinking about it. He couldn’t imagine himself parading with a pregnant belly around the city. It would probably be an abomination.
Harry, though, wanted more than anything to get Louis pregnant in the future, to have a lot of pups running around.
Louis didn’t know how he could ever say no to his alpha, but the day would come. He knew it.
xxx
Words fall short in a small city, and even shorter in a small school. Zayn came to learn that the worst way.
Someone that sat on the silent table on his first day at school saw him bumping into Louis, which probably triggered the memory of him calling the small omega a twink. That person told another person, who told another person, who told another person, and now Harry was coming his way, his eyes dark with anger.
Goddammit. Fucking hell. Zayn should start learning how to shut his mouth, he was so good at not talking.
“Harry!”
Suddenly, when Harry was a few footsteps away from Zayn, Louis stood in front of the alpha making him stop dead in his tracks. Niall and Liam came not much after, putting their bodies in between both of the alphas bravely.
Louis’ mate was snarling viciously, his teeth bared and aiming for death, Louis was terrified of this side of Harry he didn’t know.
“Harry, I don’t care about what he said about me, it was his first day,” the omega implored, putting both of his hands on his alpha’s chest. He was afraid for himself, if he was being honest. He didn’t know how Liam and Niall were standing up for themselves. Harry wouldn't hurt Louis anyhow, but Niall and Liam weren't safe from that faith.
Harry’s face started to come back to normal little by little, his demeanour slowly calming until he was left blinking and confused.
“Oh my god, I can’t do this,” he said and turned on his heels, going back the way he came. He didn’t glance back at Louis or Zayn.
Louis stayed behind, with his hand on his chest to try to calm his frenetic heart. He never thought he would see his sweet, loving and kind alpha so aggressive. But apparently, it wasn’t a surprise for anyone around him that Harry would react in such a strong way with anything involving Louis.
Okay, Louis could see why betas became the majority, fucking natural selection. Alphas fucking sucked when they acted like alphas. But Louis can’t say he’d be much better if he saw another omega around his territory. Omegas, in history books, are known for being much more territorial and protective of their surroundings, he would also probably suck ass if put to the test.
Louis looked at Niall and Liam, both rooted in place like Louis, when Zayn was huffing under his breath, his demeanour still stiff and dominant. He probably didn’t even know the pheromones he was emitting, but it was fucking suffocating Louis.
“Zayn, too much,” Louis warned, covering his nose with his sweater. The scent was making him dizzy and uncomfortable, his body rejecting the smell that wasn’t from his alpha alone.
“Sorry, it’s just...” Zayn started but left it unfinished, probably trying to recover from the scare of almost being attacked by a fuming Harry.
“Yeah... that made me almost shit my pants,” Niall said, and Louis had to laugh, shaking his head. The crowd around them was starting to dissipate, people going back to what they were doing, but the four of them stayed put.
“I saw death, I swear to fucking god,” Zayn shared, letting his back rest against the lockers and bending down, his hair falling down his face. “He was going to kill me, I don’t think I have any strength in me to fight back.”
Liam patted his back, a comforting smile playing on his face.
The only thing Louis could do is huff. “Don’t ever call me a twink again, I’ll personally kill you.”
Zayn’s eyes widened and looked at Louis, an apology ready on his tongue, but Louis laughed it off. “I’m joking. I don’t care, really.”
“So... what now?” Niall looked at Louis for guidance and Louis arched his brow, looking behind himself jokingly, as if he was searching for someone who had the answer to that.
“I don’t fucking know, I’ve never seen him act that way,” he wheezed out, annoyed that he even had to at all. “He’s probably outside waiting for me, he wouldn’t leave me alone in school with Zayn,” he shrugged.
This time Zayn was the one to huff, rolling his eyes.
“Mated Scenters suck. No offense.” Liam murmured before remembering Louis was there.
“None taken. Glad we’re almost extinct.” Louis laughed it off, taking the backpack he left on the floor when the bell rang, warning the school day is over. “Also glad we’re all walking out with our throats intact. See you on Monday,” he waves at them while walking away, ready to go home and talk to Harry about the scene he made.
xXx
It didn’t actually work the way Louis thought it would, like it always played out. They would talk, Harry would say he’s sorry and Louis would hug him, they’d make out or maybe have sex if they were alone at home.
Harry didn’t look at Louis all the way home, even though he was holding his hand firmly, not letting go for anything. He guided them to the Styles residency, opening the door and not saying a word. Louis was alone before he could even shrug his coat off, a big question mark haunting his face. Was Harry pissed at him? What did he do? That could only be a joke.
v“Are you fucking mad at me?” Louis hissed as soon as he stepped in Harry’s room, the alpha’s back facing him from where he was sitting at his desk. He didn’t give Louis the privilege of an answer.
“Harry! I’m not messing around. I’m about to snap at you.” He was not joking, the smell in the room was suffocating even Harry. He could feel Louis all around him, making his inner alpha go into overdrive.
“Louis, stop,” Harry warned, closing his eyes and holding his breath.
“You stop! Why are you mad at me? I didn’t do anything!”
“You didn’t?” Harry was the one to snap, getting up from the chair he was sitting on, which landed on the floor with a bang, scaring the shit out of Louis. “You defended him, instead of staying by my side!” he accused, pointing his finger at Louis. Louis was brave enough to bat it away, making Harry’s eyes go from light green to a darker shade.
“Stop acting like a madman! Who the fuck are you?” Louis growled. The sound that had never left his throat before made both his and Harry’s eyes widen comically.
“Did you... Did you just growled at me?” he asked a tad too late, because Louis was already turning away, his hand holding his throat.
“I don’t know, I think so?” he turned back to Harry, almost as if asking for reassurance. His inner omega was confused as fuck. “Now I’m going crazy, for fuck’s sake,” he murmured, letting himself sit at Harry’s bed. “Suddenly it makes sense why mated couples are so rare nowadays, doesn’t it?” Louis asked bitterly, almost whining the question, all strength leaving his body.
“Yes. It does,” Harry answered, and Louis recoiled, his eyes finally giving up on being dry.
They stay silent for a long while after that, both with their own loud thoughts taking control of their minds.
Harry was the first one to break it, “I’ve been thinking about everything, and I really don’t know what else I can do to help it”, he confessed, sighing.
“Me neither. We’re bonded, we’re together, I’m yours. Still, you act like a fucking monster in every opportunity you have.” He doesn’t hold back his words, knowing too well that taking it lightly would not do them any good. Harry scared him and made him worry for his own safety earlier. He didn’t like it and if he could never experience such feeling again, he would be happy.
“I think we need help. I think we need to do research, and ask for advice…” suggested Harry. Louis agreed promptly, smiling softly at Harry for the first time since the incident. The alpha did the same.
He wandered over to Louis, sitting beside the omega and kissing his temple, making the omega smile bigger. Then, Harry’s breath hits his ear, making him shiver. “Don’t ever growl at me again. It’s hot, but it made my alpha almost lose it,” he warned, his voice serious and low, the raspy tone to it making Louis roll his eyes to the back of his head, opening his lips invitingly. Harry growls at the sight, laying Louis down and getting above him.
They were both glad this was one of the days they were all alone to do whatever they wanted to.