Wild Side [h.s au]

Chapter 8

Harry

David sighs deeply as he takes in my angry expression, pursing his lips. "Alright, what's wrong now?" He reaches for the cigar tucked behind his ear, placing the tip in his mouth.

"Sir, the twins from Vortex," I start. "They need to leave now. They've been exposed and you know what that means."

"Yes, I do," he says and I smirk. "It means you'll do everything they stay protected and to maintain peace."

My smirk falters, my eyebrows pulling together. "Oh, I get it. You're shitting me, aren't you? Yeah, that's it," I say, pointing a finger at him. "Good one. Hilarious."

His face remains neutral while he lights the cigar. "I'm dead serious."

I inhale deeply, drawing my palm over my face in exasperation. "Sir, I don't even know--"

"Don't."

"Dad!" I shout, surprising both him and myself. "Why are they here? You know how I feel about Vortex, yet you seem like you don't care. Ruthless killers, all of them." I gulp, trying to steady my breathing, not wanting to trigger any flashbacks.

"Listen to me, Harry," he says and I visibly cringe at his usage of my name. "I know it's hard for you, I know what are you going through every day, but you'll have to trust me. Of course I care about you, but it's been two years and I thought you'd be over it by now. Those kids won't harm anyone, I'm sure of it."

"You don't know what I'm going through, nobody does!" I snap, shutting my eyes for a few moments to gain composure. My chest tightens at the thought of my past. "How can you trust them?"

"I trusted their father," he replies, running his hand through his dirty blonde hair. "They are staying, Har-- son, as long as they want. I have a debt to pay, besides, we always need soldiers. You know we have a lack of men."

"Father? What-- you know what, I don't care." I huff, lifting my hands. "If anything happens to this base because of them, it will be your fault and I won't hesitate to make sure you pay for your mistake," I say harshly, looking him in the eyes. "That's a promise, dad."

"As you should, son," he tells me, puffing out a smoke. I'd say he even looks proud. "I always taught you to be righteous for a reason." He circles around his desk and walks toward me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "You know, whenever you're ready, I'll--"

"No," I interject, knowing what he was about to offer. "I'll never be ready." I step back, his hand falling off my shoulder. "I'll go back to my duties now, sir."

I catch a tiny glimmer of sadness in his eyes before he nods. "You may go, soldier."

I exit the office with a slam of the door, my boots stomping on the floor with each step that I take, my fists knotted at my sides. I have an urge to punch the shit out of the bag in my training room to let off some steam. When I reach the place where I have left Elena and Alex, I see them laughing with the soldiers that were supposed to watch over them. Then the twins fist bump each other, wiggling their fingers as they pull their hands away. I sigh heavily, rolling my eyes.

"So, when are we leaving?" Elena asks me as she crosses her arms and leans against the wall, failing at hiding her smile. She knows. Great.

"You two," I address the two soldiers, "leave." They nod immediately and do as I instructed, my gaze shifting on the twins that are impossible to get rid of. "You. Go to your room and stay there for a few hours. Don't worry about anyone attacking you, Louis and Niall will take care of it," I tell Alex, noticing his surprised expression as he glances at his sister. "And you," I look at Elena, slightly narrowing my eyes at her, "follow me."