Desperately wanting to give Luke his full attention, Louis tried to block out the memories of today's theory lesson but it was nearly impossible. Harry has been so different. So quiet and less annoying, less pushy. He had avoided any kind of eye contact and didn't say one single word to him, which was new and very welcomed. But it was just odd and Louis didn't trust the peace.

"We have so many kittens at the shelter. It's cruel how people just carelessly give them away or abandon them. They're so young and defenceless and they left them to die" Luke told him about his day at the animal rescue shelter in a sullen voice.

"If you get a pet you should be sure you can and want to take care of it. No half-arsed bullshit. I just don't get it" Louis found himself getting back into the conversation, banishing green eyes from his mind with as much willpower as he could muster up.

"Sometimes I find myself in a huge conflict with my mind and my heart. My mind tells me these people at least bought the kittens and brought them home for a while and then gave them away and we found them or brought them directly to us. Like this, they didn't die sooner because no one wanted them. But my heart disagrees and can't understand how you can ... I'm just so grateful that I'm able to help them and make sure they're fine and even find a new home. A better one" Luke talked so passionately about his job it made Louis smile happily, warming his heart. He was so happy for his best friend. He had finally found his place.

"I just know you're gonna make sure every single cat will get the best home" Louis felt himself smile so dopily.

"As best as I can but I'm just glad the most special cat has already found their home" Luke giggled adorably.

"You're such an idiot" Louis rolled his eyes at him endeared.

"Don't act like you don't like it, Kitty" Luke winked idiotically.

"So, I'm a kitty to you, mh? Have you gotten a kitty kink I don't know about?" Louis rested his chin on his hands.

As expected, Luke's whole demeanour changed and his cheeks flushed bright red. "No, no kitty kink".

"Too bad. Looks like I won't fuck you with my ears out then" Louis leaned back in his chair, keeping his voice low in the restaurant.

A quiet whimper left Luke's mouth. "Why does that actually sound kinda hot? How do you do that?".

"Make everything sound hot or keep my cat ears out when I'm about to shake your world?" Louis hooked teasingly.

"Both?" Luke blushed even more, squirming in his seat a bit.

"Well, I can control which parts of my body transform at any given time. So, if I wanted to transform while being buried inside of you that wouldn't be much of a problem" Louis licked his lips and saw Luke watching that movement closely. "The second one is a given, it's natural talent".

"Definitely," Luke said obviously flustered.

Taking a quick glance around the restaurant, Louis was relieved that no one seemed to have picked up on their antics. And if then they politely ignored it. Maybe they should be equally as polite and leave while they had some dignity left. Besides, the evening wasn't over. There was more on the plate for tonight.

That's why Louis waved the waiter over and asked for the bill. Like the gentleman he was, he paid for both of them before they put on their coats and left the restaurant. The July air played with their hair and Louis inhaled deeply, trying to clear his mind for a bit longer.

Chatting a bit more civilized, the two of them went over to the cinema and walked inside. Louis bought their tickets and led Luke into the right hall. Side by side, they sat down and waited for the ads to start showing. With his hand on Luke's thigh, they ended up talking about Louis' day at the academy.

"There has been another attack but fortunately, the girl was saved. I just don't understand why this is happening" Louis told him.

"It doesn't sound like one single alpha though, don't you think?" Luke mused hesitantly.

"Yeah, I've thought about that too. This screams Aidan for me. Probably his friends as well. I just don't understand why. Why now and why random people? What is going on back there? And do Niall and Harry know more about this?" Louis let his mind run free, not meaning to voice his last thought out loud.

"If Harrison is not stopping this then he wants it to happen. He always hated humans and doesn't care about this town. Maybe he wants war but ... does he not know the town has guardians and he won't fight humans?" Luke frowned more and more with each word. "Or is that his plan after all?".

"To fight me?" Louis concluded logically. "Wouldn't be surprised".

"Why is he not attacking you directly then if that's his plan? Why make such a huge show out of killing innocent people?" Luke just didn't see how any of this made sense.

"Well, humans mean nothing to him. He wants them all dead and Aidan always shared that opinion. It's fun for them. Just a little killing spree before the big jump" Louis connected the dots.

"Do you really think so? Do you really think he does all this to get to you?" Luke questioned horrified.

"Not just me. Harry too. And his mother and sister. They left. They're Harrison's family and betrayed him. He won't just take that. It'll look bad on him in front of the pack when his own family can get away with disobeying him. He is planning something big. I can feel it and I'm the tiniest bit scared of what it could mean for all of us, in the end," Louis voiced his theory and his fears to him.

"Hey" Luke grabbed his hand, making them lock eyes. "You have a great team around you and every single one of them is ready to fight for you. Fight for Harry even. You're not alone in this. Other guardians can even join you if it's too much ... What I'm trying to say is you don't have to fight this battle alone. Harrison lost so many wolves that he has mostly alphas left, ignorant ones who think they're invincible but they never learned to actually fight. They never thought they might need it. You have the upper hand here".

"I just don't want any of my friends getting in danger because of me. I could never forgive myself if ..." Louis fell silent.

"I know. I understand. But, Louis. There is nothing you have to worry about. We got you. All of us. I'm always right here" Luke assured him smilingly.

And Louis knew he was right but the guilt from a certain incident was still gnawing on him and he was terrified it could happen again.

"What is it, Louis?" Luke noticed that something was wrong.

"Harry already got hurt because of me once. I can't let that happen again. I can't. He's my ..." Louis trailed off, realising he hasn't told Luke about that detail yet.

"He's your what, Louis?" Luke hooked so softly that it physically hurt him.

"My soulmate" Louis breathed out quietly. "He's my soulmate if I want it or not. If I like him or not. I'm supposed to keep him safe and not put him in danger. I need to protect him. From Harrison".

Looking blankly at him, Luke took a deep breath. "You need to give yourself a break, Louis. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. It's not good for you. You will break under so much pressure. And okay, he's your soulmate but he can fight his own battles. He is his own person, Louis".

"He's not ready yet" Louis contradicted him weakly.

"He isn't or you're not?" Luke saw right through him.

"I just don't want him to get hurt" Louis mumbled very quietly, having a hard time even admitting as much.

Wordlessly, Luke pulled him into a hug, stroking his back gently. Immediately, Louis relaxed and exhaled a long breath into Luke's chest. He was thankful to have Luke in his life and that he was always there for him but he just knew something would change now. Luke knowing about the soulmate thing would change things. For werewolves, this was a big deal, after all. Not for him though.

Fortunately, the big screen lit up and the ads started before they could analyse Louis' confession. Sitting back up straight, they focused on the screen and endured the ads before the movie finally started. During the movie they scooted closer again and cuddled up together, which made Louis think maybe things wouldn't change and he was wrong. Maybe Luke didn't care that he had a soulmate.

The movie in itself was great as far as Louis could judge but he still wasn't used to movies in general. He had watched his fair share of movies since he lived in Domumley but he would never take it for granted. Nothing ever was. Not for him.

For some reason, they didn't kiss once during the movie and on their way back home through the dark they weren't touching in any way. When they crossed the park, Louis reached out and wrapped his arm around Luke's shoulders out of reflex and Luke let him. He presumably knew Louis was just making sure he was safe and no one could suddenly attack him.

As planned, they ended up at Luke's place. As soon as they stepped inside Luke sniffed the air and crinkled his nose. "Everyone is home".

"Everyone? As in ...".

"Yes, everyone. Including your soulmate" Luke nudged him, his voice mocking and playful.

"You won't let me live that one down, mh?" Louis shook his head amusedly. "Why did I ever tell you?!".

"Because you can't lie for shit and I can always sense if something is up. Simple as that" Luke shrugged unfazed.

"Can you sense what I'm feeling right now?" Louis asked in a low voice, slowly approaching him like a predator its prey.

"I might have an idea" Luke's eyes darkened.

"Upstairs".

Clumsily, they staggered up the stairs and almost fell into Luke's room and onto his bed. Quickly, they got rid of each other's clothes and started humping the other like freaking animals. There was a tension in the air between them that has never been there and Louis couldn't put his finger on it but right now he didn't want to. He didn't care. All he wanted was right there and wanted him just as much.

Grazing Luke's body with his teeth and his tongue, Louis left two purple bruises behind, marking him up and making him squirm. Needing his mind to shut up right now, he licked over Luke's tip and took him into his mouth, bopping his head up and down. When he could feel Luke getting closer to the edge Louis stopped what he was doing and leaned over him, snogging the hell out of him.

"Louis" Luke whined pleadingly, rutting their hips together.

"I got you" Louis nibbled on his bottom lip.

Releasing Luke's lip, Louis grabbed for a condom and opened it while stroking himself into full hardness. He put it on and lined himself up with Luke's entrance, teasing him with his tip. When Luke rocked his hips down on him Louis pushed directly in, feeling Luke's body adjusting around his length perfectly. Joining their lips in another sloppy kiss, Louis started thrusting his hips back and forth at an already fast pace, making Luke moan out in pleasure into his mouth. At this moment, Louis was grateful Luke had the only bedroom upstairs in their two-story flat. Like this, they had a bit more privacy and curious ears couldn't hear them so easily.

Crazily turned on, their thrusts become stronger and sloppier and their erratic pants mingled with their moans, filling the room with obscene noises and slapping skin-on-skin sounds. Still, somehow none of them was even close like they normally would be by now. Something felt so off but Louis couldn't grasp it. A feeling inside of him taking over his senses and he knew Luke was feeling the same. Louis could see it clearly written on his face and he couldn't have that. This was supposed to be a great moment full of pleasure and filled with lust and no overthinking and weird tensions.

Throwing Luke's legs over his shoulders and leaning closer to his face, Louis changed his angle and thrusted harder into him and that seemed to do the trick. He hit Luke's prostate dead-on every time and could see him getting closer to his high. Luckily, Louis felt that familiar tingly feeling in his stomach as well and knew he was close. Thrusting even harder, Louis pushed both of them over the edge, biting lightly down on Luke's shoulder to keep any loud noises inside. He fucked them through their orgasms and stilled inside of Luke afterwards, giving him time to come down before pulling out of him and cleaning them up. Lifting the covers, they crawled underneath and snuggled up without another word. There was nothing left to say and they both knew it.

For hours Louis tried to fall asleep but it was in vain. Sleep wouldn't come over him tonight. Carefully, he untangled himself from Luke and stood up. As silently as possible, he put on his clothes and left the room. Even quieter, Louis sneaked out of the door and into the cold of night. With spinning thoughts, he wandered through the dark, trying to figure out what the hell was happening with him and why everything was so weird.

Looking up after an eternity, Louis realised his feet had brought him back to the forest. He was standing right at the border between Domumley and the pack's territory. Before he could question that, he heard some rustling sounds on his left and whirled around. And there he was. Aidan. Right now, he was pinning a woman against a wall with his claws out and Louis saw red.

"Ey, hands off, Aidan!".

Summoning light through both of his hands, he approached Aidan, who dropped the woman to the ground and faced him with an evil smirk on his face. Louis only shot him an ice-cold glare.

"Look who we have here. Little Louis. Got yourself some new features, mh? Impressive" Aidan mocked him like he always did.

"I wouldn't mess with me right now" Louis warned him angrily.

"Oh, I'm so scared" Aidan taunted him degradingly.

In a flash, Aidan sprinted towards him but Louis was prepared. He shot a bolt of light at him, making him crash to the ground in pain. But that didn't seem to faze him. He was back on his feet in seconds and attacked him again but Louis blocked every single one of them, powering Aidan out until he was left panting rapidly.

"Are you giving up?" Louis towered over him powerfully.

"Never" Aidan faked dominance but was defeated.

"What are you up to? Why are you doing this? What is Harrison's plan?" Louis asked him agitatedly, a glowing hand hovering right over Aidan's face threateningly.

"You'd love to know that" Aidan laughed drained.

"Cut your crap and listen carefully. Tell Harrison to stop whatever he is doing or he will regret it. He has no idea what is coming his way. He can't win" Louis picked him up by his collar.

"You don't know a thing, human" Aidan spat unapologetically.

"That's your best insult? That's pretty pathetic, don't you think?" Harry's voice startled both of them, causing Louis to drop Aidan back to the ground painfully.

"The lost son coming to defend the human. Funny how the tables have turned. Didn't you use that exact insult, you traitor?" Aidan snarled at Harry.

"I did" Harry admitted in a weird voice. He almost sounded ashamed but maybe Louis was imagining things now. "But I learned. Something you never will. Now do as he told you to".

"You're gonna regret this. Both of you" Aidan glared at them but headed off right back into the dark woods.

An awkward silence fell over them and Louis didn't know what to say. This has been bizarre and unexpected. Ignoring Harry, Louis ran back to the injured woman and exhaled in relief when he saw she was mostly okay and most importantly, alive. He helped her up on her feet and steadied her by the waist, throwing her arm around his shoulders.

"Do you need help?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Could you steady her other side so I can open a portal to the hospital? Claw wounds need medical care" Louis accepted his help gratefully, trying to act as neutral as possible.

Immediately, Harry was on his side and steadied the injured woman. Quickly, Louis opened a white portal to the hospital and guided them through it. With determined steps, they brought her inside and right into the emergency department. Shortly, they summed up what happened so that the doctors knew what to do. The city council wouldn't be happy but at least, she would survive.

"So" Louis cleared his throat uncomfortably, feeling the awkward silence between them suffocating him. "Thanks. For your help".

"No problem" Harry retorted nasally.

Louis eyed him a bit closer and realised he was breathing through his mouth only. Wolves only did that when they smelled something they didn't like or someone around them went into heat or rut too early and wanted to control themselves. So, this meant Harry could definitely still smell Luke on him. He hadn't thought of that. And gradually didn't care. It was none of his business.

"I guess I should tell Aurelio what happened" Louis scratched his neck, not knowing what to do or how to act. "But first, I'm gonna send you home".

"You don't need to do that. I can walk home ...".

"In the middle of the night? Through the dark? With Aidan out there? Yeah, definitely not. Not on my watch" Louis pictured the most horrible scenarios in his mind, paling when he realised what he had said. "I mean ... um ... We don't want Bella to cut my head off if you get hurt, do we?".

Louis cringed at his own words but surprisingly, Harry actually blushed lightly and tried to cover it up. "Err ... thank you, Louis".

"It's no big deal" Louis really tried to act all collected and unbothered but it wasn't working. What was wrong with him today?

Clearing his throat yet again and totally obvious, Louis averted his eyes from him and flicked his wrist once, opening another portal outside of the hospital. Rooted to their spots, both boys didn't move and Louis felt his insides starting to panic. What was going on?

"Um ... I'm gonna ... yeah" Harry stepped closer to the portal.

"Yeah ... get home safely and ..." Louis felt so awkward.

"I'm gonna tell Luke where you went, so that he doesn't think ... um ... yeah ..." Harry's face twisted comically.

"Thanks" Louis coughed embarrassed and didn't know why he felt so weird about Harry talking to Luke about this.

Without another awkward word, Harry walked through the portal and was gone. Closing it behind him, Louis let out a long breath and tried to calm his mind and his heart. Opening his own portal, Louis left for his own home, deciding to talk to Aurelio in the morning when he was awake. For now, Louis needed rest but just knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Harry's POV

Loud music was booming through the room and did nothing to his throbbing head. In desperate tries to ease up this painful aching, he kept rubbing his temples but it only seemed to make it worse. He took another huge gulp of his sixth drink and enjoyed the burn in his throat. That was something he would have needed more in the pack. The possibility to get drunk, to get knackered. But sadly, he was a wolf and getting drunk wasn't in the cards. His inner werewolf healing was already working against the alcohol's effect on his body, which was annoying when you wanted to forget.

And oh boy, did Harry want to forget. He wanted to erase the entire present situation from his mind and rip reappearing pictures from his brain. Ordering a seventh drink, he hoped he might be able to suppress the thought of Louis. Louis and their soulmate bond. Louis and Luke. Louis with the smell of Luke all over him. Louis bathed in the scent of Luke and sex.

But most importantly, Harry tried to drown his guilt in alcohol. After talking to Maribel and thinking back to what Àmbar had tried to tell him after he was attacked he felt absolutely horrible and so ashamed of himself. He hasn't even noticed what he has been doing to Louis, too selfish to care about anyone else than himself. The moment he had realised what he had done he had felt sick to the stomach but Maribel has been so supportive and understanding even though there was nothing to understand. He has been wrong.

Since his talk with Maribel, he had thought back about every moment with Louis he could remember. Not just since he has shown up in his life again. No, also back in the pack even though there weren't many because he had coldly ignored his existence. Nonetheless, he could clearly remember Louis' eyes. The hurt look in them every time they crossed ways and he dismissed him. So much pain in these beautiful blue eyes. He didn't deserve him as his soulmate. He really screwed up and there was no way to fix this or ever make up for it. That's what he had understood, finally.

Looking back at everything made him feel worse and worse every time. Louis had told him to back off, told him he was pushing too much, told him this was unfixable but he didn't listen. And even when he had apologised for Harry getting hurt although it wasn't his fault and Harry knew Louis was feeling like he failed he ...

Shit! Not even in that pure moment he had thought about Louis enough to keep his mouth shut. No, he pestered him again with being soulmates and being meant to be and all that crap. Of course, Louis hated him. Harry hated himself now. Since they've met again he has been so ignorant and pushy and selfish. There was no way Louis could ever forgive him.

Never because that wasn't even the worst. Nothing could ever erase their last encounter before Louis had left the pack. Nothing could ever obliterate his thoughtless and cruel words. And nothing could ever wipe out the horrifying truth that Harry had meant it at that moment. He has been sick of Louis' complaining and all the trouble he caused his father, all the stress. Harry had been so blinded by his own unimportant issues like being a beta that he had completely dismissed Louis' entire situation. He hadn't even considered all the pain he was constantly in, emotionally and physically. Nothing could ever extinguish this huge cleft between them. A fissure so deep and dark and burning with hatred that no bridge could ever be built to reunite the two sides. It was hopeless.

Before he could down his eight drink he felt someone sitting down next to him at the counter of the bar. Uninterested, Harry glanced over at the new person and was met with a handsome guy offering him a smile. He was quite fit and definitely attractive and so not his type. That guy was definitely taller than him and had broad shoulders and dark brown eyes with curly hair. Objectively a catch and apparently, he was very keen on making Harry talk.

"Hi, I'm Liron".

"Harry".

From then on, they chatted about basic stuff but it had a flirty undertone the entire time and Harry knew what he wanted. He knew all about these brief touches and flirty compliments. Until now he has just never been on the receiving end of it. He has always been the one leading the flirting and dictating the outcome of the night. Of course, differently than right now because the pack flirted in different ways than humans but still. It was similar.

"It's getting a bit crowded, don't ya think? How about we move this to my place, H?" Liron leaned closer to whisper into his ear sexily.

A shiver ran down Harry's spine at the clear indication of what would follow if he agreed. His throat went dry and a tingling rushed through his body but did he really want this? Could he?

"Sounds nice" Harry licked his lip nervously.

Liron started grinning in satisfaction and led them outside. The whole way to Liron's place was packed with Harry's running thoughts. He knew he wanted this but he was nervous and a little bit scared. He has never done this before. With a guy, of course. He had had his fair share of fun times with wolves back at the back as soon as he had turned eighteen but all of them had been women. And no, he wasn't into them. But he had tried to be the wolf his father wanted him to be. A leader who would marry a woman and take over the pack. He had locked his inner self up and hid it away. That inner self desperately tried to come out right now and was begging him to enjoy this as long as it lasted.

Inside the flat, Liron directly started snogging him and Harry just followed his lead and decided he would do just that the whole time. Letting Liron lead him because he had no idea what he was doing. That's how he ended up on his knees with the guy's dick down his throat, gagging on it. He sucked the hell out of Liron's dick and hoped it kinda felt good for his first blowjob.

Apparently, it did feel great because Liron had to stop him and threw him on the bed before he would come too soon. They were totally naked in seconds and Harry grew nervous again when Liron started to lean down and closer to his rim. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be able to cover his nerves as good as he had hoped.

"You're still with me, right?" Liron looked up with him, lightly concerned and that relaxed Harry the tiniest bit, so he nodded in confirmation. "Bottom okay with you?".

"Yeah" Harry breathed out around a shudder. He always wanted to bottom. He knew this was it for him and with being partly Omega it made so much sense now.

Staring up at the ceiling, Harry let Liron open him up. He had expected the incoming pain but not that he kind of liked the burn of the stretch. Even when Liron pushed his dick inside he only winced a tiny bit in pain, a pain he seemed to like. Everything from then on was a bliss to him. The pleasure overcoming him was amazing and he felt like he was coming for hours. But he didn't like the empty feeling afterwards. He also knew now that he did it once he had to do it again and soon. This has been life-changing.

He and Liron exchanged numbers when they were clean and clothed again, agreeing to meet up sometime. Well, the home number of Luke's parents because he didn't have a phone himself.

With a light limb, Harry made his way home. His entire being was begging for someone to cuddle him but that wasn't part of a random hook-up. No aftercare and Harry didn't really want Liron to share that kind of intimacy with him anyway, which was weird because he had that guy's dick in his bum but a cuddle was too much. He couldn't explain it but that was how he felt.

Walking into the flat, Harry was met with an almost dark room. The only light was coming from the kitchen. Curiously, he sneaked over there and peeked inside. Luke was standing by the fridge, making himself a sandwich. Before Harry could back away Luke seemed to sense him. Or smell him. They locked eyes and he felt like he had to come inside now and talk to him.

"Hey" Harry waved awkwardly at him.

"Fun night?" Luke eyed him with a playful grin on his face.

"Like you?" Harry countered way too defensive.

"You should be able to smell that I didn't leave the house today" Luke replied in an odd voice but with no edge to it.

"Sorry. I don't know why I ... Yes, I had a good night. I needed that after every ... Yeah ..." Harry wasn't sure what he could tell him and what he wanted to tell him. They weren't friends. Not really.

"It's fine. I get it" Luke's eyes only showed genuine understanding.

Harry wasn't sure what Luke meant. It sounded like it had a deeper meaning that Harry didn't understand. "Yeah ... So ...".

"I'm gonna head to my room and eat this. Feel free to take the second one" Luke pointed at the two sandwiches he had made.

"Thanks" Harry thanked him awkwardly.

With a tight-lipped smile, Luke went past him but stopped in his tracks when he reached the hallway, turning back around to him. "And thank you again for helping Louis with Aidan and that woman. He was ... Thank you, Harry".

Harry only nodded at him in acceptance and let him leave, thinking back about their talk this morning. It has been a bit weird to tell Luke where Louis had disappeared to, assuring him Louis didn't leave overnight without a reason. Although Louis had been outside before he could even ... It didn't matter. Luke had been thankful. And Harry had felt strange. Louis' scent has been all over Luke but it had an odd hint of something to it. An edge of something sour. Something different than before. And Harry had felt sick for even noticing that change. He had smelt them on each other far too many times for his liking.

Not tonight though and that did something to his stomach that he ignored because he was the one with another guy's scent all over him. Harry could smell it and only wanted a long shower. But he wasn't that lucky. His mother and his sister entered the kitchen before he could run off. He could immediately see how they recognised the smell on him but tried to brush it off. Odd.

"It's late. We have been a bit worried about you, Dear" his mother came over to him.

"I'm sorry. I forgot the time. Wasn't really thinking" Harry apologised genuinely. He never meant to worry her.

"Yeah, definitely not" Abby marked nastily.

"Abs, come on. Give me a break" Harry whined embarrassed.

"I didn't say anything" Abby only smirked at him.

"Anything you wanna talk about, Love?" Bella tilted her head aside in question, her voice oh-so gentle. As if he was a baby.

"Nothing new, no. Still the same old. My soulmate hates me and is with someone else. I ruined every chance we ever had and didn't realise that I only made it worse with every new try and now he doesn't want me in his life and I deserve that. Every piece of his hatred. Everything. We will never be anything and I'm trying to live with that" Harry sat down at the tiny kitchen table no one used.

"Is that really the way to deal with this though?" Abby hooked without any judgement in her voice, only concern.

"I don't know, okay? But what am I supposed to do? He doesn't want me and for a good reason," Harry was getting riled up. "Besides, he has Luke. Why can't I have ... someone?".

"Is someone enough though? Isn't this a bit fast? Why don't you take it slow?" Bella sat down next to him.

"Why should I? Time can't help me get my soulmate. My destiny. Fate can't fix my mistakes" he sighed out guiltily.

"I know it's hard for you, Sweetheart" his mother petted his hair. "I know you always wanted babies and now you hoped he ...".

"No, I don't ... shit, was I really that bad?" Harry's head snapped at her so fast, seeing only the truth reflected in her face. Groaning, he hid his face behind his hands. "Damn it. I was really bad. I really only thought about myself and my selfish and stupid childhood wishes and dreams. Not once did I think about him".

"Your wishes weren't stupid. Wanting kids isn't stupid but maybe you need to ...".

"The only thing I need to do is back off" Harry cut his mother off yet again. "That's all he wanted from me. To leave him alone. And I will. We're teammates now for the time being. I will strictly treat him as part of my team and nothing more. I will respect his wish this time and disappear from his life as soon as I can. When we saved our pack. That's what he wants. Who am I to hurt my soulmate?".

"Harry" Abby exhaled heavily, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I know you wanna respect him now but don't give up. You're soulmates. It means something. And maybe you're only meant to be friends one day but isn't that better than living a life without your soulmate in it?".

"Maybe but he doesn't want to be my friend. He told me that clearly and I will accept that" Harry stood up, taking the sandwich and heading for the kitchen door. "Thanks for your advice and your understanding and your support but I need to do this. For him. I hurt him enough. I have to do this right. He deserves it".

"If you want this" Bella shared a meaningful look with her daughter before offering him an encouraging smile.

A squeak on the stairs startled him a bit but looking in that direction he saw and sensed no one. Couldn't even smell anything, so he ignored it and faced his family again. "I want this. For Louis".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Does Luke care about the soulmate thing? Did something change between them?

What is Harrison's plan?

Harry plans on leaving when the pack is saved. For Louis. Is that the right decision?