Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Absolutely not.”

Louis huffs in his seat, crossing his arms. “And why not?“

“You know the only way to take over the pack, you need a mate, Louis,” his father reiterates, as if Louis could forget. 

“Yes, but I don’t have a mate. Why can’t I take over now and find a mate when I feel like it?”

Louis’ father, James, rolls his eyes. “And by when you feel like it, you mean never?”

Louis smiles, nodding. “Exactly.”

“Absolutely not,” James sighs, rubbing his hand over his face. “You know we need an heir in order t-“

“ To keep the pack alive , yes, yes. I know this, father. But that doesn’t mean I’m not fit to lead our pack in the meantime! Mum did it just fine until you came along.”

James sighs again, shaking his head. Louis knows he’s being difficult, but he has reason to be. He doesn’t want an alpha, not right now at least. He just doesn’t understand why he can’t just lead the pack, alphaless, like his mother did until James came along. His mother did a good job, a great job even, of running it. But suddenly he’s not allowed the same luxury because he “never plans on getting a mate” and he “can’t just be an independent omega who doesn’t need an alpha forever.”

Really, it’s bullshit. 

“Can we at least let me try and see me lead the pack single? Is that too much to ask, father?”

James rubs his temples, closing his eyes as he tries to refocus. “I’ll talk to the council.”

Louis smiles. It’s a win in his book. 

-

It’s not a win in his book. 

The council, old pricks with a stick shoved up their collective ass, agreed to letting Louis rule single. At first, he was thrilled. 

Then came the rest of the verdict. 

“I’m supposed to find an alpha within the year,” Louis grumbles, chucking an apple he had in his hand across the room. 

“It could be worse,” Zayn tries, dodging the apple.

“How could it be worse? I’m going to be mated in a year’s time! I’m only 23, Z. I have my whole life ahead of me! I don’t want to be tied down!”

“They never said anything about being mated, and being ‘ tied down’ isn’t what being mated is all about. It’s about going through life together with someone who’ll always be on your side.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Liam,” Louis accuses, huffing. 

“He is my mate, Lou. Besides, at least they aren’t setting you up with anyone. You get to pick your own mate!”

Louis huffs again, clearly not wanting to hear that. Instead of responding, he chucks a grape at the wall. He hates being told what to do. He’s always hated it, does exactly the opposite of what he’s been told to do in retaliation. Of course, Zayn would see a brighter side. He’s not being forced into an arranged courtship, at least. But the whole thing is just ridiculous. Why wasn’t Louis awarded the same terms as the previous Pack Omega?

“Throwing grapes at the wall isn’t going to solve anything,” Zayn rolls his eyes. 

Just for that, Louis throws a grape at him, the grape hitting him right in his dumb face. “I need to come up with some way to get out of this.”

Zayn steals a grape and throws it at Louis, missing his face and hitting him in the chest. “You could come up with some kind of contest. Like, make an alpha win you over with a little competition.”

Louis perks up, smiling devilishly at Zayn. “That’s a perfect idea!”

Zayn’s eyes widened, shaking his head. “That was a joke, you seriously can’t be considering it.”

Louis claps his hands together. “Oh, Zaynie, I’m already coming up with the competitions.”

-

“Louis?” 

Louis looks up from his desk, seeing who is coming to disturb him. He’s been Pack Omega for all of 45 seconds and he’s already getting interrupted. 

“Harry?“ It comes off more as a question than a statement, cursing to himself that he’s not coming off as a strong, independent omega who definitely doesn’t need an alpha. 

Harry looks bashful, looking down at his shoes with his hands behind his back. He looks up, making direct eye contact with Louis. Louis squirms. “May I come in?”

Louis wants to say no, to say he has things to do as Pack Omega that take greater importance than talking to the alpha who’s come to barge in on him working. Instead of that, he nods, setting down his pen on the desk and motions for Harry to come further into the room. The alpha smiles as he steps closer to the omega, eager to please, as it seems. “What can I help you with?”

“I just wanted to say congratulations on becoming Pack Omega,” Harry beams. “I’m sure you’ll do just as great as your mum. The council was right in letting you take charge.”

A short laugh escapes Louis’ lips, shaking his head. Of course, the council hadn’t told the pack that there is a stipulation to him becoming Pack Omega, but that’s neither here nor there. He is still trying to come up with his little trials for the alphas to compete for his heart. But he can’t exactly let the alpha in on that, now can he?

“Yes, well, I did come from the best. My mum was a fantastic Pack Omega. I can only hope I can follow in her footsteps.”

Harry nods. “I’m sure you will.”

Louis’ lips form a straight line, he has things to do and he doesn’t want to be rude. It seems like Harry just wants to come in for a chat, and if there isn’t an issue, then Louis doesn’t see why he’s still here. “Was there something that needed my attention, Harry?”

“Oh!” Harry fumbles, pulling his hands from around his back to display a bouquet of flowers. Sunflowers, to be exact. “I wanted to bring you these, as a token of gratitude for your leadership. They remind me of you, so it’s only fitting that I give them to you,” He seems proud of the bouquet, gesturing to it like it’s a new car. 

Flowers. Nobody except his siblings have given him flowers before. Harry walks up to his desk, placing the bouquet on the surface before backing away. “Thank you, Harry. That was very kind of you.”

Harry looks down again and back up, a smile taking over his features. “Anything for the Pack Omega.” The statement doesn’t make Louis blush, it doesn’t. 

He’s waiting to be dismissed now, Louis knows that, and he revels in the fact that Harry’s smile falters just a tad after a long moment of silence. Louis waits one second longer before nodding. “You’re dismissed.”

Harry bows, backing up a few steps before sending Louis some finger guns. He turns around and walks out the door, closing it behind him. Once the door has shut, Louis lets out a long sigh. 

This is exactly why he needs this competition to work the way it should. He shouldn’t get butterflies from alphas giving him flowers. That simply won’t do. 

-

“The Trials of Tommo!” Louis yells in front of a group of about fifteen alphas. 

It’s been about a month since Louis has found out that he has to find an alpha, and he has made work to coming up with a competition of nearly impossible tasks to find his worthy alpha. The twist? There won’t be a winner, and Louis will just have to rule until he finds an alpha the old fashioned way like his mother did. It’s a win win, really. Louis gets to make alphas look dumb, and he doesn’t have to get mate yet. 

Nothing could go wrong. 

“Louis, this is a bad idea,” Zayn whispers, looking at the group in front of them. “They’re not gonna like this.”

“Hush,” Louis turns from Zayn back to the potential alphas, smiling. “We called you all here because you are the best of the best alphas in the pack. That, and you’re all of legal consenting age and you agreed to be here. But, semantics aside, welcome to the Trials of Tommo!”

“That’s the dumbest name I’ve ever heard,” one of the alphas, Jack, mumbles. 

“Just for that, you can leave, Jack. This is a serious competition,” Louis schools his features to look serious, giving Jack a dirty look. 

Jack raises his hands, stepping back. Good. He can deal with that. 

“Today is the first of five trials. Each one to prove you’re the best alpha for me. Whoever wins the most trials gets to be my mate.” He hears a general grumble from the group, which Louis takes as agreement. He continues, “For today’s trial, your task is to open the jar of pickles in front of you. I like a strong alpha, so a jar of pickles should prove your strength.”

The group of alphas look to the jars in front of them, each inspecting their respective jar. The secret Louis didn’t tell them is he hot glued each jar shut, so the jar is impossible to open. Zayn looks to him with a grimace as the alphas begin to try and open the jars. The alphas begin to try and open the jars, but clearly fail as they try harder to open the jars. 

“Louis, you’re being mean,” Zayn says as he watches all the alphas struggle to open the jar. 

“This isn’t being mean. I just want someone who’s strong. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Can we run the cap under water?” Another alpha this time, Luke, asks.

“Now, how would they prove your strength? That’s using a crutch and you can’t show weakness next to your Pack Omega.”

Luke furrows his brows, resuming trying to open the jar. He’s unsuccessful, as most of the alphas are. They’re all getting huffy after about five more minutes of not being able to open the jars. Half of them have given up, crossing their arms like petulant children not getting their way. 

Louis’ eyes gleam as he watches his plan unfold perfectly. It’s just what he wanted, none of the alphas are able to open the jar. 

That is, until one of the alphas, Harry, hurls his jar to the ground, shattering it. Harry, for his part, doesn’t look like he’s mad enough to do such a thing. He looks like he won, smiling and crossing his arms over his chest proudly. Like he found the loophole. 

This fucker. 

Louis sputters. “You can’t do that!“

“You didn’t say how to open the jar,” Harry says smugly.

The alphas that hadn’t stopped trying to get the jar open have stopped now, all looking to Harry in awe. Harry found the loophole, a loophole Louis hadn't anticipated. 

“That’s cheating!”

“Technically, he is right, Lou,” Zayn looks like he’s seconds away from laughing, not even feeling bad for doing so. 

“Shut up! You were supposed to open the jar using the lid! Not fucking sending it to the ground!”

“He got the jar open, Louis. In an unconventional way, sure. But it’s open nonetheless,” Zayn can’t hide his laughter anymore, giggles spilling from behind his hand. 

Louis gapes at Zayn, because he does have a point. No matter how much it pisses Louis off, the point is the stupid jar of pickles is now open. In a mess on the ground, no less. Someone completed the impossible first trial. And now someone has to clean up the mess that it made. 

Fuck.

-

Louis paces in his room as Liam and Zayn watch on. The first trial was a disaster, that much was obvious. Someone wasn’t supposed to win it, but fucking Harry and his stupid alpha strength ruined it for him. 

“Lou, you could just choose a mate like a normal person,” Liam tries. 

“I say this with all the love in my heart, but since when has Louis been a normal person?” Zayn quips.

“I take offense to that,” Louis says from where he’s pacing. 

“Meant it with all the love, babes.”

“Maybe I don’t want to pick a mate like a normal person, Li,” Louis says, ignoring Zayn completely. “Maybe I’m secretly getting off on putting dumb alphas through this. No offense.”

“None taken,” Liam sighs, shaking his head. “I’m just saying, it could be easier if you just pick someone.”

Louis groans. “That’s the point of the trials! To find a worthy mate and someone who can lead with me. Someone who won’t undermine me and think just because they’re an alpha means they get to rule everything.”

“And I’m sure they’re out there. I just think the trials are a little… much.”

Louis stops pacing, looking at Liam. “Liam, how is opening a jar of pickles much?”

“You hot glued them shut! You made it impossible for someone to open it the conventional way.”

“And?”

“ And you knew there wouldn’t be a winner. If it weren’t for Harry smashing the jar, we would’ve been there for hours!”

“I would’ve cut it off after another fifteen minutes,” Louis says to the ground, looking down. He doesn’t like logic poking holes in his trials. 

“The point is you’re sabotaging your own trials.”

“And what if I am!” Louis yells, stomping his foot for good measure. “I don’t need an alpha to rule alongside me now. Not yet at least. My mum did a great job before my father came around. Why is everyone acting like just because I don’t want a mate means I am unfit to lead?!” Louis huffs, crossing his arms across his chest and sitting on his bed. “You’re both dismissed.”

Liam and Zayn don’t waste any time in trying to leave, knowing that Louis needs time to calm down. Zayn looks at Liam, shaking his head. “You should’ve stayed quiet.”

“Love, I think we need to intervene.”

Zayn stops short, looking around to make sure nobody was within earshot. “Oh, do tell.”

-

Louis clears his throat, getting the group of alphas attention. Beside him are his youngest siblings, Ernest and Doris. They squirm as they wait for Louis to begin speaking, obviously wanting to go off and play. But they’re integral to today’s trial.

“Welcome back!” Louis smiles as he looks over the alphas. The group has gotten a little smaller, a couple of people deciding it’s not worth the time to go through the Trials of Tommo. No worry, though, since Louis didn’t want a mate anyway. “Today we are joined by my littlest siblings, Ernest and Doris. Can you guys say hi to the guys?” Ernest and Doris wave hello to the alphas, Doris hiding behind Louis. 

“Why are they here?” Jack asks, and, God, why couldn’t Jack be one of the alphas that left?

“I’m about to explain that, Jack, so please, be quiet,” Louis claps his hands. “I love kids. Want lots of pups meself. You have five minutes to wrangle these two. Oh,” Louis smiles, “they’ve had a lot of sugar. Good luck.”

At the word, Ernest and Doris start running around and Louis starts the timer. The look of the alphas faces are priceless, obviously not expecting to try and control two sugar high kids. All of them, except Harry. 

Every alpha except Harry is shouting, yelling commands at the two six year olds. His siblings ignore their commands, yelling back at the group. He has to give it to his brother and sister, they’re not making it easy on these alphas. Time is ticking down, and they only have a couple minutes left before Louis can call off his siblings. 

What he’s not prepared is for Harry pulling candy out of his pocket, causing the twins to stop screaming. They walk towards Harry with wonder in their eyes, reaching out for the candy bars.

“Do you guys like chocolate?” Harry asks as the twins get closer. They both nod. “You guys can have them, but you guys need to be quiet now. Can you do that for me?”

The twins nod again, and Harry hands off the chocolate bars to each of the kids. Louis’ mouth drops, looking down at his timer. A minute left, he did this with a minute left. Harry smiles a toothy grin over to Louis, and Louis scowls. 

“That’s cheating.”

“It’s not cheating if I happened to have candy on me,” Harry shrugs. 

Louis grumbles, about to call over his brother and sister when Doris starts to cry. Both Louis and Harry go over to her, crouching down to her level. “Hey, Dory. It’s okay, no need to cry.” Doris blubbers, making grabby hands to Louis. He immediately picks her up, bouncing her on his hip. “Dory, can you tell me what’s wrong?”

Through tears, Doris tells Louis that the chocolate has nuts in them, and she hates nuts. Louis can’t help but feel for his sister, and he starts to feel bad that he dragged her into his dumb trials. 

“Hey, Dory?” Harry says, standing back up to his full height and, Jesus, he’s tall. “I’m sorry the chocolate has nuts in them. Do you want me to go get you another?”

Doris shakes her head, hiding her face in Louis’ neck. Louis coos at her, rubbing her back and rocking her back and forth. Harry furrows his brows, trying to think of something. His face reminds him of an angry frog, and Louis has to surprise the urge to laugh while his sister is distraught. 

Ernest runs up to Harry, grabbing on his arm and pointing to his sister. Harry doesn’t even think before picking him up and holding him close to Doris so he can comfort her. Louis’ heart melts a tad watching Harry with his youngest siblings before he shakes himself out of it. He’s not supposed to be endeared by the alpha. This is the exact opposite of what he’s supposed to feel. 

“How about,” Harry starts, adjusting Ernest on his hip, “with your brother’s permission, I can take you guys for ice cream?”

Doris’ head pops up at the mention of ice cream, eyes widening as she nods excitedly. She twists her way out of Louis’ arms and into Harry’s free arm, and, fuck, his muscles while holding his siblings. He’s seen Harry chuck a jar of pickles, but now holding both twins like it’s nothing? 

Be still his beating heart. 

Louis is shaken out of his thoughts with a loud please, drawn out e and everything, coming from his brother and sister. Harry is also giving him a rather good puppy dog look, one that can rival Liam’s on a good day. And how could he say no to the twins? And Harry?

“Fine, but I’m coming with,” Louis tells them before dismissing the rest of the alphas. It’s clear who the winner is here today, even if there wasn’t supposed to be a winner.

Fuck Harry. 

(And if Louis finds himself laughing with Harry at the local ice cream parlor, with Harry making a mess of himself just for the enjoyment of his younger siblings, then nobody needs to know how his heart turns into a puddle of goo. Nobody also needs to know that Louis is becoming attached to the alpha.

Really, fuck Harry.)

-

“How are the trials?” His father asks over dinner one night after the second trial. 

Louis stabs his food, mean mugging his mashed potatoes. “It’s awful. They’re supposed to be impossible but one alpha keeps winning.”

“You know, it’s not a bad thing to have a mate.”

James is looking at Louis when he looks over, and Louis sighs. “I know.”

“Your mother didn’t want me at first, you know.”

Louis shakes his head in disbelief. “Mum said that she accepted the courtship the first time you asked.”

James tilts his head before taking a bite of his food. “She was a strong willed omega, just like you are. She didn’t take crap from anyone. That’s what I loved about her, and made me want her to be mine. She didn’t want an alpha, because she thought the rules were dumb. So they allowed her to rule after a lot of fuss, and eventually I asked her to court.”

“And she said no to you?”

James nodded. “It took at least ten times to convince her I wasn’t trying to oppress her, and, in the end, she said yes. And now we have seven beautiful children and you’re set to take over the pack,” he sighs. “I wish she could have seen what you’re pulling. Something straight out of her arsenal.”

Louis smiles, memories of his mum making him a little misty eyed. “She’d be proud of me, yeah?”

“She was always proud of you,” James confirms. 

-

Louis has an evil glint in his eye as he looks over the smaller group of potential alphas. They went from fifteen to twelve to now nine, which is perfectly fine with Louis. The less alphas, the better, in his professional opinion. 

“Welcome to the third Trial of Tommo! Today is an easy one.”

“Doubt it,” Zayn mutters from behind him. 

Louis sends him a dirty look before looking back to the alphas. “I love theatre. Always been a big drama person. One of the best plays of all time is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In front of you is the balcony scene from that play. I expect you to be able to recite the scene from memory. You have an hour.”

Jack, looking displeased, picks up the packet and looks through it. “This is 6 pages.”

“And?” Louis tilts his head to the side, faux innocence on his face. 

“You expect us to memorize a 6 page scene for this dumb trial?”

“I’ve memorized scripts bigger than your dick, Jack. I think you can handle six pages.”

Jack opens his mouth to respond but is interrupted by -

“But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Louis is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief, that thou his maid art far more than he.”

Louis’ smug look on his face quickly drops as he looks over to see Harry, who hasn’t even picked up the script, begin to perfectly recite the scene. He can hear Zayn snicker from behind him, and the other alphas watch in amazement as Harry continues. 

“Be not his maid, since he is envious; his vestal livery is but sick and green and none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady, O, it is my love! O, that he knew he were!” Harry covers his heart with his hand, going down on one knee. “He speaks yet he says nothing: what of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold, 'tis not to me he speaks: Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, having some business, do entreat his eyes to twinkle in their spheres till they return.”

“Harry, how did you-“

“What if his eyes were there, they in his head? The brightness of his cheek would shame those stars, As daylight doth a lamp; his eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how he leans his cheek upon his hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!”

“Harry…” Louis tries again, but Harry continues. 

“He speaks! O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head,” Harry gets up, walking over to Louis. He grabs his hand as he continues, “As is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air.”

“You really don’t have to continue-“

“Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?” Harry says with a smirk, leaning down to kiss the top of Louis’ hand.

“You can stop,” Louis says firmly, pulling his hand out of Harry’s grip. “You’re dismissed, Harold.” His mind is racing with how the hell Harry was able to recite the scene without even looking at the script. Something isn’t right. 

Something most definitely isn’t right. 

Harry doesn’t wipe the smug look off his face as he walks away, waving to the rest of the group. The rest of the alphas look to the Pack Omega, confused as to what happened and where to go from there. He dismisses them, feeling his face heat up at the interaction. He doesn’t stomp out of there, because he’s an adult, but he does scream into his pillow once he gets home. 

-

Louis huffs, leaning against the wall as he watches Harry from a distance. He came over on an invite from his father, as James wants to see the man who keeps winning the trials. Currently, Harry is playing with his youngest twin siblings, the two pups climbing all over Harry as he talks with Phoebe and Daisy about whatever they’re currently fixated on. Everything about the scene looks natural, like it was meant to happen. The smile on Harry’s face isn’t forced, laughing as Doris climbs to his shoulders. 

He’s blending into his family so well, and Louis doesn’t know if he likes it. 

“He’s a good boy, Louis,” James says, startling Louis from his revere.

“Yeah, well, I don’t like him.”

James chuckles, shaking his head. “He’s winning your trials, no? You should be happy that there’s a clear winner. Especially with someone who obviously loves your family.”

Louis gnaws on his bottom lip. “There isn’t supposed to be a winner. I’m almost convinced he’s cheating.”

“Louis,” James starts, walking over to Louis and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Your mother would be happy that someone like Harry is winning. Someone who obviously cares for family and for the pack. He’s proved himself so far, what is holding you back from seeing Harry could be good for you?”

“I don’t want an alpha, father,” Louis says simply, schooling his features to be neutral. “I want to be like mum and rule by myself. I don’t need an alpha to be a good leader.”

James releases a slow breath, nodding. “Your mother was a good leader, with or without an alpha. And you are a tremendous leader so far. You’d be lucky to end up with an alpha like Harry.”

With that, James leaves Louis with his thoughts. Louis doesn’t notice his absence until he turns around to speak, only to find he’s alone. He sighs, watching as Phoebe braids Harry’s hair back. Finding himself smiling, he shakes himself out of the stupor as Daisy approaches him. 

“What did father want?” Daisy asks, hugging her brother. 

Louis hugs back. “Nothing, bug. Don’t worry about it.”

You’d be lucky to end up with an alpha like Harry . 

The words repeat in his head over and over again. And yeah, maybe he would be lucky. 

-

So, yeah, maybe Harry does have a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He’s winning the trials, and that means he’s currently on track to win over Louis’ heart. He saw how Louis was looking at him the other day when he was at the pack house, and his heart soars at the thought of finally getting to be with Louis. 

His head is in the clouds, and that’s the only reason why he doesn’t see Jack in his path until he’s quite literally running into him. 

“Sorry, mate,” Harry says, backing up a bit before trying to continue on his way home. 

Except he feels a hand on his arm and suddenly he’s being pulled towards a wall. His back hits the bricks roughly as Jack crowds Harry, hands on his arms to keep Harry from moving. 

“I know what you’re doing,” Jack says, voice low.

“I haven’t a clue what you mean,” Harry replies, struggling to get his arms out of Jack’s grasp. 

“I know you’ve got an in on these dumbass trials, Styles. You’re not that slick.”

Harry laughs, looking down to Jack. He’s not as tall as the other alphas in their pack, which is probably why he’s a bit of an asshole. That, and he’s just not fun to be around. “I still haven’t a clue what you mean, Jack. I’m winning these games fair and square.”

“You think you’re hot shit, huh, Harry?” Jack pushes up against him, trying to make himself bigger. “This is all going to blow up in your face and I’ll make sure I have front row seats to it.”

Jack pulls away dramatically before winding up to slap Harry in the face. He makes contact, the sound making a loud smack! for anyone to hear. Jack looks around, making sure there’s nobody to stop him before he tries to attack Harry again. But this time, someone saves him.

Liam pulls Jack away from Harry, arms locked around Jack’s so he doesn’t try and hurt anyone else. “Let me at him!” Jack shouts, flailing in Liam’s grasp. 

“Mate, this isn’t a dick measuring contest,” Liam says as he pushes Jack away. “Go home, Jack. Or I’ll tell the Pack Omega what you’ve done.”

Jack looks beyond pissed, but he listens to Liam, throwing them both the bird before trudging off to wherever he lives. Liam turns to Harry. “Sorry, H. I got here as soon as I could.”

Harry, holding his face from the slap, sighs. “It’ll be okay, yeah?”

Liam nods. “It’ll be okay.”

-

The fourth trial goes off with little fanfare. Mostly due to the fact maths is involved. 

“Today’s trial is an easy one,” Louis starts, smiling at the small group of alphas. 

“That’s what you said about the last one,” Jack mutters, rolling his eyes. 

Louis gives him a pointed look before continuing, “I hate budgeting. I need an alpha who’s good with numbers. In front of you is a sudoku. You have 30 minutes to complete.”

“What does this have to do with budgeting? Or maths?” Jack asks, picking up his sudoku puzzle and pencil. 

“I can’t ever figure out a sudoku puzzle, so if you can complete it, you’re better at it than me,” Louis shrugs. “Your time starts now, by the way.”

Quickly, the seven remaining alphas scramble to their paper and puzzle. Most look confused at the format, prompting one of them to ask how it works. Louis suppresses a smile as he explains the game, already seeing that this one won’t fail him. Once he’s done explaining, five minutes have passed. The looks on the alphas’ faces are collectively confused. Assuming most of them haven’t seen this before, nobody should be able to finish in 30 minutes. 

Except, fifteen minutes in, a paper is dangled in front of Louis’ face. 

“I finished,” Harry announces smugly, waving the paper in Louis’ face. 

Louis snatches the paper out of his hands, grabbing the answer page he had hidden to compare Harry’s answers to the actual answers. And, God dammit.

He won again. 

“Fuck you,” Louis grumbles, crossing his arms across his chest. “How the hell did you manage this?”

“What? Like it was hard?” Harry quips, giving him a dumb smile. 

Louis’ heart doesn’t contract when he sees it, it simply doesn’t. 

The other alphas continue to work, but it doesn’t matter now, Louis thinks. Harry finished the puzzle, something he didn’t really think he could do. He’s been underestimating Harry this whole competition, he really needs to step up his game for the last trial. 

Something he knows Harry won’t be able to do.

-

“What do you know about Harry Styles?” Louis asks as he sits down at a table at the local coffee shop. 

“Well, hello to you, too, Louis. My day is wonderful, thanks for asking,” Niall rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Hello, Niall. What do you know about Harry Styles?”

“Getting straight to the point, aren’t we?” Niall chuckles, leaning forward. “Uh, Harry Styles. He’s 21, son of Desmond and Anne, but he doesn’t really talk to his father. And Anne is mated to Robin. He has an older sister, Gemma. Wants a whole brood of pups. Loves long walks on the beach, feeling the sand between his toes. He loves your bum.”

“Niall!” Louis slaps his hand over Niall’s mouth, giving him a serious look. “I need weaknesses, things I can use against him.”

Niall licks Louis’ hand, furrowing his eyebrows as Louis pulls his hand away. “He’s clumsy. He doesn’t have a whole lot of weaknesses besides the fact he’s super clumsy. I heard he broke a jar of pickles during the first trial, is that true?”

Louis nods, sighing. Niall is the be all, end all of knowing people in the pack. Anything you need to know about someone, Niall will most likely know it. Which is great when Louis needs the ins and outs on what’s happening in the pack. All the gossip? Goes straight to Niall. 

“Niall, I need him to lose somehow. He has a chip on his shoulder from winning four of the trials, I can’t have him winning the last one.”

Niall thinks for a moment, snapping his fingers and motioning for Louis to come towards him. He whispers his idea into Louis’ ear, causing Louis to slowly start to smile. 

He’s got his plan, all thanks to Niall.  

-

They’re at an ice skating rink for the fifth and final trial. The group of fifteen alphas has dwindled down to five, and, unfortunately, Jack is still here. So is Harry, but that’s not as unfortunate as Jack being here and still in the competition. 

“Hello!” Louis waves to the alphas to get their attention. He’s currently sitting on a bench as he tightens his skates on his feet. “Welcome to the last Trial of Tommo!” 

There’s light cheering, mostly unenthusiastic from the five of them. They all have skates in their hands, and the only one who looks scared is Harry. 

Good, he should be. 

“Today you’re here to show your grace on the ice,” Louis begins, standing up. “I love going ice skating, and I need a good partner for when I go. All you have to do is skate around the rink without falling or holding onto the sides.”

“That’s it?” Jack snickers, looking to the rest of the alphas. “You’ve put us through all these stupid trials this past month for us to skate around the rink? This is the grand finale?”

Louis acts as if he’s pondering what Jack just said before shrugging. “If you have such an issue, why are you still here?”

Jack scoffs. “This is dumb, Tomlinson. We all know we’re only here because you’re too dumb to rule on your own. All omegas are born to do are birth pups and play housewives while us alphas go out and protect the pack.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question,” Louis grumbles, trying to remain calm. “If you’re going to be like that, you can leave.”

“And what? I wouldn’t be surprised if someone was cheating at this! This is so freaking dumb.”

Something unreadable crosses over Harry’s face, and Louis chooses to ignore it in favor of telling off Jack. 

“Honestly, Jack, why are you still here? You’ve complained about every single trial I’ve done and for what? You’re still here trying to vy to be my mate. I don’t even want you, Jack. You’re an arrogant asshat who can't control his knot!” Louis yells, chest heaving. He takes a moment to collect himself before saying, “Please do us all a favor and leave.”

Jack’s face scrunches up in anger, looking to the rest of the alphas for support. None of them make eye contact with him. Frustrated, Jack throws the skates in his hand to the ground before stomping away. The other alphas look awkward as Jack throws his hissy fit, not wanting to be like him. 

Which, good. Jack’s a bit of a jackass. 

Louis takes a deep breath before continuing, “There’s no time limit to this one. All you have to do is skate around the rink without support.”

With that, Louis motions for everyone to put their skates on. Harry, out of the remaining alphas, looks beyond terrified of the aspect of going out and skating. After he puts on his skates, Harry stands to his full height and begins to wobble. 

“He’s clumsy,” he remembers Niall telling him. “He doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses besides the fact he’s super clumsy.”

Louis tries not to smile as he watches Harry wobble his way to the ice, glad that, for once, his plan is going accordingly. He doesn’t even care if the other three alphas manage to skate perfectly around the rink. All he cares about is Harry not winning this trial. 

Harry makes it onto the ice on shaky knees, gripping to the sides for dear life. It’s obvious to anyone that Harry isn’t a seasoned skater, and Louis almost feels bad about making this the last trial. He turns to look where Liam and Zayn are on the benches next to the opening of the rink, both having matching scared expressions on their faces. Weird. Why do they look scared?

Louis goes out onto the ice moments after Harry does, gliding on the ice with practiced ease. The other three alphas are making it around the rink with no problem. He looks to the other three, smiling when he hears Harry falling onto the ice, yelping as he does so. 

Zayn and Liam make their way out to help Harry get up, the two whispering something to him as Harry gets up. Harry, red faced and embarrassed, sneers, “You guys said this would be easy!”

Louis stops, turning around to look at Harry. “What did you say?”

Zayn looks like he’s been caught, Liam’s not even looking at Louis. “He didn’t say anything.”

“No,” Louis skates towards the trio. “It sounds like he said that you guys said it would be easy.”

Harry slips out of Liam’s grasp, only to fall in front of Louis a moment later. “This isn’t as easy as you make it look, Louis.”

“It’s not, takes years of practice, Harry,” he says, not even looking at the alpha as he points an accusing finger to his friends. “You’ve been helping him, haven’t you?” When Zayn nor Liam speak, Louis drops his hand. “You have!”

“Listen, Louis,” Zayn starts. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“You’ve sabotaged my competition!” Louis accuses. 

“You sabotaged it first!” Liam yells back. “You made it impossible for any alpha to win. You obstructed your own competition so we just even the playing field.”

“It was Liam’s idea!” Zayn tries. “He’s the one who thought of it, not me.”

“Oh, don’t give him that!” Liam pushes Zayn lightly. “You were just as eager to disrupt the competition as I was.”

“Can someone help me up? Please?” Harry, who’s still laying on the ice, looks between the three friends, hand raised in the air. None of the three move. 

“So what if I sabotaged my own competition! I don’t need an alpha! I’ve been doing fine on my own without one and I certainly don’t need friends meddling with what is supposed to be a fair set of trials,” Louis huffs. 

“Uh, can we go home now?” One of the three remaining alphas asks, clearly unamused with how this competition turned out. 

“Yeah, you can all go home. These trials are over and there is no winner.”

Louis skates off, fuming as he gets his skates off and his shoes back on. He stomps out of the rink, pissed beyond compare. 

He can’t believe Harry cheated. He can't believe he’s hurt by it. 

Fuck alphas. 

-

There’s a knock at his door, but Louis doesn’t respond to it. He’s curled up in his bed, staring at the wall. He can't believe his friends would help an alpha cheat. He knows, objectively, that he shouldn’t have purposely sabotaged his own trials. But he doesn’t want an alpha. He wants to be able to lead on his own like his mum did. 

The door to Louis’ room opens, and he doesn’t have to look to know it’s his father. 

“I heard the trials are over,” James says, sitting down on the bed next to Louis. 

“Yes, they are,” Louis sighs.

“Who won?”

Louis turns over to look at his father. “Nobody. I called it off. That Styles guy cheated.”

James hums. He looks to Louis, patting his leg. “So, that’s it?”

“Yeah, I guess. Nobody else won any of the trials, and Harry cheated so he can’t win.”

“Why can’t he win?” James asks. 

“Because he cheated, father. I can’t have an alpha who will undermine me to get ahead.”

“No other reason? Just that he cheated?” 

Louis shakes his head. “He can’t be my mate. I don’t want a mate.”

“Harry doesn’t seem like a bad guy, Louis. He’s good with the pups, he went through these ridiculous trials just to get your attention, and he did so without complaint. What’s not to love about him? He’d be lucky to have you as his omega and you to have him as your alpha.”

Louis sighs, looking down. “I don’t want to disappoint mum.”

“Louis, your mum would be so proud of you for finding an alpha who goes along with your antics. She was always proud of you, even when you drove us mad,” James chuckles. “Maybe you should hear him out. Talk to Harry and see why he did what he did. It might be worth hearing.”

James opens his arms, inviting Louis in for a hug, which Louis immediately grants. They embrace for a long moment, James rubbing his back and rocking them back and forth. 

“I love you, you know?” James says as they pull away. 

Louis smiles, already feeling lighter. “Yeah, I love you, too.”

-

Harry is waiting for him at the coffee shop when Louis arrives, making Louis stutter in his steps. His hair, long and curly, is pulled back into a bun with little pieces of hair framing his face. His finger is circling the rim of his coffee mug, eyebrows furrowed as he concentrates on the table pattern. The sight makes Louis’ heart ache for a moment. 

After getting his tea, Louis walks over to the table, setting his mug down and clearing his throat. “Is this seat taken?”

Harry shakes his head, motioning for Louis to sit down. He does, wrapping his hands around his mug as he leans on the table. It’s awkward, because they haven’t seen each other since the last trial. And while normally, that wouldn’t be weird, the way things were left has put them both on edge. 

“So, you cheated,” Louis starts after taking a sip of his tea.

Harry nods. “I cheated.”

“Why?”

That’s the whole thing that Louis has been confused about. Why did Harry cheat? Sure, it’s not that serious, but the point of the trials is to find a suitable mate. Even if Louis purposely rigged them to make it so there wouldn’t be a winner, it still doesn’t change the fact that Harry did cheat. 

“There’s no way to say this without sounding like a total and utter knothead, but I’ve had a crush on you for the longest time. When it was announced that you were trying to find an alpha, and you were doing those games, I saw it as an opportunity to convince you that I was the right one,” Harry isn’t looking at Louis, rather his hands. He’s nervous, he can tell. “I didn’t cheat on the first trial. That was just a happenstance. But Zayn and Liam came to me after the first one and told me what the next trials would be.”

“So the first trial? Why did you throw the jar?” Louis questions, brows knitted together as he listens. 

Harry laughs. “I hate pickles. I didn’t know until Liam told me that the jar was hot glued shut. Smart of you.”

“So, what about the candy bars?”

“Zayn told me the twins’ favorite candies, and I thought I got both without nuts. The ice cream thing was on the fly.”

Louis picks at the skin around his thumb as he speaks, “You knew the balcony scene without missing a beat.”

“Hours of practice. Really, you should’ve given us more than an hour,” Harry jokes. “And I’ve done a million sudoku puzzles at this point, I’d rather kill a man than look at another one.”

Louis laughs lightly, shaking his head. “So you cheated on three of my trials, and ice skating isn’t your thing?”

Harry shakes his head. “Nope, never has been. I’m great on the ground, but I’m not nearly as graceful on the ice.”

They lapse into a silence, both taking a sip of their respective drinks. Louis steals a glance at Harry, who’s already looking at him. Something happens to his heart, the way it beats speeds up with being caught, and Louis curses himself for being bewitched by the alpha. Harry has a smirk on his lips, and the omega wants to wipe it off his face. 

“Why don’t you want an alpha, Louis?” Harry asks after another sip of his coffee. The tone of the question isn’t accusing, just curious. 

For the first time, Louis is stumped. He opens his mouth with his usual retort that he doesn’t need an alpha, but the words fall on his lips when he realizes the wording. Why doesn’t he want an alpha? Louis thinks to himself, trying to find a way to answer the question. 

“I don’t know,” Louis eventually answers honestly, feeling small. “I don’t need an alpha, but I don’t know why I don’t want one.”

One of Harry’s hands comes out to encapsulate Louis’ own, squeezing them gently. “I'm sorry I cheated, it was a moment of weakness and I should’ve been able to prove myself without the extra help,” he retracts his hand. “I hope you can forgive me and we can move past this.”

You’d be lucky to end up with an alpha like Harry, James’ words ring through Louis’ head and it dawns on him. 

Harry, despite cheating, proved himself to be the best alpha out there for him. He showed great strength by breaking the jar. He’s caring and quick on his feet to comfort anyone like he did with his sister. He’s willing to memorize an entire scene from a play written hundreds of years ago just to impress him. He can do a fucking sudoku puzzle, something Louis never understood. And, while not being the most graceful, he persevered through the ice skating, nevermind he fell a lot . 

Harry’s been the alpha hiding in front of his face the whole time, and Louis’ only just now realized it. 

“I do forgive you,” Louis starts, unwrapping his hands from his mug and reaching out to grab Harry’s. “How would you like to go out on a date with me, Mr. Trials Winner?”

Harry laughs, ducking his head down before looking up at Louis. “I’d like that.”

-

In the end, the council wins and Louis gets an alpha. But he gets more than just a mate. He gets a partner in crime, someone who treats him as an equal, someone who doesn’t mind taking the blame, someone who doesn’t undermine him and make him feel small. He gets someone he can laugh with, spend hours of his day with and never grow tired of. He gets someone hot, someone that all the omegas fawn over and someone that Louis knows that he only has eyes for one omega. 

He gets Harry freaking Styles, and Louis will never get tired of saying that. 

At the announcement of their courtship, Louis can't stop stealing looks at Harry. He bounces in his spot as he waits for his father to finish so he and Harry can finally have some alone time. Harry isn’t any better, squeezing Louis’ hand at any opportunity. They’re both eager to go off on their own, haven’t not been allowed to be alone in a room together since agreeing to court each other. 

James looks to Louis, and he almost forgets he has to speak at this thing. 

“Thank you to all for coming. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with Harry, and I hope you all come to love him as I have,” Louis says to the pack, who responds with cheers. 

Not much long after, they’re allowed to leave and they’re both giddy to be alone. It takes no time before they’re alone in a room with no chaperone, and Harry looks to Louis like he’s hung the stars in the sky. 

“Thank you,” Harry says, cupping Louis’ face and rubbing his thumb over his cheek. 

“What for?” Louis giggles.

Harry leans down and brings their lips together in their first kiss, a first of many, Louis hopes. “For being mine.”

Louis knows that, somewhere, his mum is looking down on them, smiling as her baby boy has finally found an alpha perfect for him. 

And, yeah, he is lucky to have an alpha like Harry.