the eclipse [sequel] ☾ l.s.

nineteen - hold on to my heart

Guilt crashed over Louis in tsunami waves. He was the worst alpha on the face of the planet. He felt sick as he truly took in Harry's appearance for the first time -- the dark bags under his dulled eyes, the purple bruises on his pale cheeks, the slight tremble of his hands. He was much thinner than when Louis last saw him; almost bony.

Harry had been taken against his will, and he hadn't lifted a finger to find him.

Harry had been taken from him, and he had let this crazy woman manipulate him.

Louis snarled furiously when he processed the situation. Fueled by overwhelming guilt and rage, he threw a solid elbow to the guard holding him. The middle-aged beta stumbled, cursing as he spat blood onto the ground, and it only took one more hit to knock him fully unconscious. With his hands cuffed together, Louis took out four soldiers in a matter of seconds. He had his sights set on the fifth.

"Stop!"

It wasn't the command that made Louis pause his movements. It was the heartbreaking cry of pain that followed.

Harry.

He froze, and he didn't fight when the soldiers still standing regained control of his bound arms. At least three of them had hands on his shoulders and wrists, and he had to suppress a smirk. If keeping him in check took three of this pack's guard, it wouldn't take much to get him and Harry out of there.

"This is so wonderful," the woman smirked. She tightened her grip on Harry's arm, her thumb pressing into an already-formed, greenish-purple bruise. Harry bit his lip so hard that he tasted blood, determined not to give her the satisfaction.

"Don't touch him," the alpha growled, his blue eyes flashing dark. "If you hurt him, you'll have me to deal with."

Harry was so strong. Louis felt sick to his stomach.

"Now that I have both pieces to the puzzle, everything will be much better." She shoved Harry backwards, and the omega stumbled, falling into the two soldiers standing behind him. "Don't you think, darling?"

Harry pressed his lips together into a fine line, his eyes trained on the ground in front of him. He refused to look at Louis, and the terrifying realization hit Louis all at once: that even with Harry standing ten feet in front of him, he couldn't feel him. Their bond was weak.

He was still an expert in all things Harry, though. He could see the tension in Harry's shoulders, the stubbornness in his mate's beaten form. As frail as he looked, Harry was far from broken.

"Answer me," she said sharply. When Harry still stayed silent and unmoving, she gestured to a guard. "Why don't you give him a quick example? Maybe he'll rethink misbehaving."

Louis grunted when one of the guards kneed him hard in the stomach, clenching his hands into fists to keep himself from knocking some more heads together. He watched Harry's head snap up, his face twisting with guilt and worry.

"No, stop! Let him go!" the omega pleaded, fighting against the men that held him. "It's me that you want -- leave him be!"

"Oh, darling," the woman said, her voice sickly sweet -- pleased to have gotten a reaction out of him. "We've been here before. I know that cooperation isn't your strongest suit." She leaned in, her lips next to Harry's ear, and her next words made Harry shudder. "Now I have leverage."

He lit up with a newfound energy, his eyes flashing with terror as he cried out, "No, leave him alone! Please, just let him go! He doesn't have anything to do with this! You have to let him go, please, don't --"

The guards forced him down onto his knees, but he kept shouting; begging for Louis's freedom, not his own. He didn't stop fighting until the witch pushed his head down into a bowed position, his matted curls dangling over his tear-stained cheeks as he sobbed quietly.