twenty three - the return

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Harry startled awake, his voice catching in the back of his throat. He blinked a few times, trying to croak out Louis's name in a rasp.

He froze when he realized that he wasn't in the cell anymore. He remembered seeing Liam, and he remembered Louis half-carrying his father's slumped figure, other than that . . . a confused whimper escaped his sore throat.

"Louis," he called out into the eerie silence. "Louis!"

The room around him balanced the worst line between familiar and unfamiliar. It was almost an exact replica of Harry's bedroom in his father's house, a small closet and window just beside the bed. The walls were painted a few shades darker, though, and the room was nearly empty.

Far too empty. Where was . . ?

Louis rushed in right then, his brow knitted together with concern. "Baby, baby, shh," he cooed, crawling into bed beside Harry without even a blink of hesitation. "I'm right here. It's okay, I'm right here."

With a muffled whine, Harry cuddled into the older boy's side, letting Louis tuck the covers back around his trembling body. The memories were starting to come back. They were foggy, but they were there: images of the forest, one tree blending into the next, his vision shifting in and out of focus.

"What happened?" he asked. "I remember leaving. I remember escaping. You were holding me, but then . . . but then, I . . ?"

"You dropped again -- well, you passed out. I don't know if it was an emotional drop or just all of that physical exhaustion catching up to you." He tucked a stray curl back into place, his blue eyes swimming with concern. "The nurses checked on you while you were asleep, and you're a bit malnourished. They gave me vitamins that you're supposed to take, some pills and an herbal mix that should help your levels."

"Look at you," Harry tried to joke. The rough crack of his voice didn't help. "All medical. I thought that was my job."

Louis frowned down at him despite his attempt at humor. He smoothed a hand over Harry's head, his touch more reassuring than his words. "You're safe," he promised. "We're safe."

Harry swallowed hard. He kept his eyes trained on Louis's chest. It was nearly impossible to feel safe in a room that looked exactly like his teenage bedroom, the place he escaped and hid after a nightly reprimand from his father. It was nearly impossible to feel safe when, just outside of the window, an entire pack of wolves still hated him for who he was.

"Safe?" he echoed. "We'll never be safe, Louis -- I'll never be safe, not --"

"We're leaving," Louis cut in abruptly. "I almost didn't wait until you woke up, but Niall wanted the older healers to give you a once-over before we left."

"Left?" Harry repeated, still a bit groggy. "Left where? Where are we going?"

"We're going home. We're going back to the cave."

"What?"

"I'm not going to let you live in a place where you aren't accepted. I was being naive bringing us back here. I knew that the pack wouldn't accept you, but . . . I thought you would be safe. It's my fault that you got dragged into this mess, and I won't stay here where she could come back at any moment looking for you." Louis blew out a frustrated breath, shaking his head as he added, "And if she did come here looking for you, there's a good chance that my father and his pack would offer you up like a fucking peace treaty. Again."

It was the first time Harry had ever heard Louis refer to the Sons as his father's pack, as separate from himself.

"Wh-What if she --"

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