the eclipse [sequel] ☾ l.s.

six - hunting trip

Louis reached for Harry instinctively as he woke up, frowning when he found the space beside him in bed empty and cold. He sat up quickly, trying to shake off any remaining sleepiness as he looked around. Where had Harry run off to this time?

The door to the cave was partially open, the gentle pitter patter of rain echoing off of the stone walls. He rubbed his eyes, groaning almost inaudibly as he stretched. Searching for Harry didn't take more than a minute -- the omega was sitting cross-legged just outside of the mouth of the cave, his back to Louis.

The alpha climbed off of their mattress, cursing under his breath when he tripped on Harry's muddy shoes, which the younger boy always left strewn about haphazardly beside their bed. A horribly annoying habit that Louis only found endearing because it was Harry.

It couldn't be anywhere past five in the morning, if the morning chill gave him any clue. Before he began the dangerous trek across the cave, during which he could only pray he didn't rouse any of the other boys from sleep, Louis grabbed one of their blankets from their bed, knowing how easily Harry got cold.

Sure enough, the omega was shivering, goosebumps already raised on the back of his neck. Louis wondered how long he had been sitting out there alone.

He wrapped the covers around his own shoulders before sitting down behind Harry, spreading his legs around the younger boy's body so that he could wrap his arms and the blanket around him. He pressed his warm lips against the back of Harry's neck, and the omega leaned back against his chest without a word exchanged between them.

"What's wrong, angel?" he murmured eventually, scooting forward a few inches to rest his chin on Harry's shoulder. He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Nothing," Harry mumbled in response, his voice so quiet that the gentle taps of the raindrops nearly drowned it out.

"Clearly something's bothering you," Louis prodded, his thumb tracing encouraging circles on the omega's hip. "It's my father, isn't it?"

Harry didn't reply, and that was the only answer Louis really needed.

"I'm not going to let him touch you, H. You know that," he assured Harry. "Even when I speak to him next week, I'm going to keep him as far away from you as possible."

"I know."

"Then what? What else?"

"I just don't understand what he wants," Harry said, his tone still hushed as though he couldn't bring himself to disrupt the peaceful rainy morning unfolding around them. "I-I don't . . . I don't know." His words were thick with emotions that Louis couldn't quite unravel.

"What is it, baby?" he urged gently. He nuzzled his face into the crook of Harry's neck, the tip of his nose brushing over the omega's mate mark. "I can feel how upset you are, Haz, but I need to know why. Tell me what you're thinking."

Harry sighed, whispering shakily, "I just . . . I don't understand why he hates me so much."

Louis's heart shattered. "Oh, baby. It's not you he hates. You know that."

"But being a witch is part of me. My abilities are part of me," Harry protested quietly. "I don't understand why he can't just accept me."

"I don't understand it either, but it doesn't matter. You don't need his approval or his acceptance, and neither do I."

Harry sighed again, then shifted in Louis's arms, turning sideways to tuck his cold nose into the alpha's neck. Louis just held him close, one hand on his omega's thigh and the other on the back of his neck, his thumb tracing steadily over the soft skin. In an easy silence, they watched the sun rise up over the horizon.