Broken Soul (Larry Stylinson) Alpha/Omega

Chapter 20

Louis didn't know when, but at some point while scenting Harry, he fell asleep and didn't wake up until later that evening to an empty bed with Liam standing at the foot of it with his eyes wide open.

"What am I getting back to?"

Feeling disoriented, Louis checked his surroundings, not seeing any proof that Harry had been there other than the wrinkled sheets next to him and his intense scent. He didn't expect Harry to stay, but somewhere deep inside, he was a bit disappointed.

"Uh, I fell asleep?"

Liam blinked. "Well, yeah. I can see that."

Swallowing, Louis pushed himself into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard. "It's a long story," he explained. "You'll probably want to sit down."

Liam didn't waste a second taking a seat on the mattress at Louis' feet. "I thought you were mad at him? Tell me how it went from that to the whole room smelling of your mixed scents."

"I was mad at him," Louis clarified. "Until he came here uninvited and told me he didn't spend his rut with Nathalie."

Liam blinked. "Wait, what?"

"And he didn't only tell me, he also proved it by letting me scent him, and guess what? His scent was stronger than ever, and there was no trace of another scent."

"Hold on," Liam said, furrowing his brows. "Are you saying those rumors were false?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"But how did he explain everything that added up? It wasn't like people were saying all those things without proof," Liam argued.

Pulling his knees to his stomach, Louis wrapped his arms around his legs. "It's still a mystery how Nathalie knew exactly when he would go into rut and get out of it, but he explained the short rut. He also said he's never slept with her and that she's been lying about it the whole time."

"Damn," Liam gaped, clearly shocked. "I didn't expect that."

Louis bit his lip. "I always knew she was lying about some things since she said she was the receiver of Harry's glances and sex pheromones, but yeah, that was a surprise for me too."

Liam hummed, pursing his lips. "So, how did Harry end up in your sheets?"

A choked sound escaped Louis' lips as he stared at Liam. "What?"

"Your sheets," Liam repeated, nodding towards the wrinkled sheets next to Louis. "They reek of his scent mixed with an omega's, whom I assume is you. How do you explain that?"

Louis stared at the wrinkled sheets as if forcing Harry's scent to go away. "We ended up scent-marking each other," he confessed, not meeting Liam's gaze. "It's uh... kind of a thing now."

Liam quirked his brows. "A thing?"

"Yeah," Louis confirmed, still refusing to make eye contact. "We're officially... scenting partners."

"Scenting partners?" Liam emphasized, furrowing his brows. "As in, you're going to scent each other whenever you want to?"

Louis nodded, moving his arms to hug his legs closer to his chest.

Liam seemed skeptical. "Is that a good idea?"

If it hadn't been a constant thought in Louis' mind since he and Harry scent-marked each other in the scrub, he would have been opposed to it, but when Harry brought it up outside the pub only to deny it on Monday, Louis had changed his mind because he had been disappointed that Harry didn't remember. Evidently, it didn't last long since he was informed of Harry spending his rut with Nathalie shortly after, but when Harry brought it up earlier and also confessed that Louis wasn't one of many but the reason he was scenting other omegas, Louis didn't see a reason why it wouldn't be a good idea. He no longer felt sick at the thought of scenting Harry, and he knew Harry wouldn't make him drop again.