Provoked

Chapter 1

Harry is so cold and distant in this, im so sorry guys

"Louis!" A familiar voice reached Louis' ear on his ascent of the packhouse steps. He pauses to catch Niall before the other Omega crashes into him.

"What's wrong?" Louis had managed not to stumble in the slightest when his oldest friend collided with him, the exceptionally graceful smile in place on his lips. He is the pack Alpha's mate and there was never an excuse for expressing his true feelings outside their privacy.

Niall did not take a moment to catch his breath or right his dishevelled state. He'd clearly come from the woods judging by his hastily dressed manner. "Have you heard?"

Louis could not help but sigh. He nodded tersely and motioned for Niall to follow him into the packhouse where they'd be away from prying ears. Their pack's common gathering home is the most remarkable of all the cabins, and home to the mated Alpha couple. It symbolised their commitment to the pack as a whole, and that their attention was always at the mercy of any brother or sister with a problem. The door shut soundly behind them as Louis observed that no other was within hearing range.

"I heard." Louis sagged against the door in defeat. This dilemma has been brought to his ear many a time in the past week, ever since the Council announced that the age of legal mating will be lowered to a scandalous limit of sixteen. "Everyone wants me to do the same thing."

"Count me as one of them." Niall looked at his companion in earnest, his blazing sapphire eyes narrowed on Louis. "Talk to him, Lou. You have to."

Not only is Louis' Alpha a domineering, condescending dominant with no personal growth of pleasant mannerisms, but he is also a diligent member of the Council heading this obscene venture. Harry Styles, Alpha to one of the oldest bloodlines made purely of the dominant breed only and one with a temper that struck fear in everyone is not someone Louis chose to converse with frequently.

They mated out of necessity when Louis was barely out of his pup years at seventeen and Harry was in need of someone to care for his pack while he dealt with wretched political ordeals. Rarely did they remain in each other's company outside of the hours they shared asleep or when a problem within their brethren grew too pressing for just Louis' control. Harry would listen with blank, dead eyes as his Omega informed him of any such obstacle before going out to handle it himself in swift brutality.

Harry is one whom was always taken heed of for he was the definition of any lower Alpha's nightmare. This world had hardened him as it did with umpteen others and none could be brought out of such gruesome states of mind. One learns to deal in blood and tragedy before anything tame.

"I will talk to him." Louis shuddered at the thought. He has no idea if Harry had a hand in the passing of this law and whether or not the Alpha will pay him any mind.

"Lowering the age that one can mate will only end badly." Niall reiterates bluntly. "There are too many packs with forced and arranged matings still as tradition."

"I know." Louis almost didn't restrain the sharpness in his words; he had been given away without a second thought by his parents in lieu of a forced Bonding. "I will do my best, Ni. I promise."

Of course Louis would not rest until this outrageous decision was taken under reconsideration. He may be terrified of his Alpha's barking tone and deathly manner but there is much more to this than his fear. He sent his friend off with an embrace and reinstituted promise before turning to the staircase that led to the second floor, home to their bedroom and Harry's study. Several shallow breaths grazed the twitching muscle of his lungs before Louis got to the top of twenty-three steps and dared to glance at the Alpha's study door that has been shut soundly for two days: a sign that demanded no visitors. Louis held the air in his torso when he tapped his knuckles against the solid oak barrier, wincing at the immediate echo of a frustrated growl that answers him.