Chapter Text
Louis is an omega. It wasn't common that a male omega was born into a family, but Louis was everything but common. Where omegas were stereotypically really submissive and well behaved, Louis was quite sassy and strong headed. His personality was more like alphas, which caused confusion in their village. Even the oldest and strongest alphas thought that he was an alpha as well.
Since his scent was omegas, he was assumed to be bonded with one. Louis' family played along with it as alphas were treated better than omegas. After a while, their village learned the truth though, as one day Louis went into a heat in the middle of the streets. He was lucky that he wasn't raped on the spot.
When the truth came out, he was immediately expected to get a nice alpha to bond with, to carry many pups and stay at home. Louis, however, didn't want this. Why should he have to sacrifice his freedom just to fit into the crowd?
His stubbornness made his mother's life harder. It wasn't watched approvingly upon to stay unbonded over the age of twenty - if you were an omega. Louis was turning twenty in just a few months, meaning that the pressure to find an alpha was almost overwhelming.
He had been on his fair share of dates, all of them which had turned into a horror story. While one couldn't keep their hands off the boy's bum, another had problems with giving him a chance to speak. He had just sat there and listened as the alpha proudly explained how strong and handsome he was. When in reality, he looked like a sad excuse of a toilet brush.
So yeah, the dating experiences weren't motivating Louis to find an alpha. He told his mother as much, to which she said: "You'll know when you find the one. You just have to keep looking." Yeah, a nice thought. The only problem was that Louis didn't want to look or search or even think about it. He just wanted to live his life, work and not worry about the future.
_
"Lou?" Lottie hums from where she is sitting next to Louis. She waits for her brother to move his attention away from the tv before she continues. "Do you think that I'll find an alpha?"
If she didn't have before, she definitely had Louis' full attention now. "Why are you asking this Lots? Of course, you'll find an alpha," he says confidently. "I would loose my hope in all people if you didn't."
"I don't know... I just feel like everyone has a mate already," she says pouting lightly. "I mean, Stella just found her mate! And she is my age."
"Okay, and what does that have to do with anything?" Louis asks softly. "I mean, I'm almost twenty and I'm not freaking out over it." Maybe he wasn't the best example, but who cares?
"You're like the only person I know that doesn't want to find a mate, so you don't count," Lottie says rolling his eyes.
"Excuse me, but I want to find a mate at some point. I just don't have the energy to actively search one," Louis defends himself. "I don't see the point at mating at so young age anyways."
"You just think that you're too good for everyone," Lottie hums matter-of-factly. "Maybe you should consider on getting a pet instead? I'm sure that everyone would be more than pleased with you if you did," she says jokingly.
Lottie was the only one in their family who found the whole 'find an alpha' panic surrounding Louis ridiculous. Along with Louis of course. "Ah, yes, of course," Louis says nodding. "What animal would you suggest? A cat perhaps?"
Lottie bursts into laughing and leans her head against Louis' shoulder. "Never change?" She whispers almost pleadingly. "I don't care what anyone says, just don't change."
Louis smiles and wraps his arm around his little sister. She was only seventeen, still young and naive. Surprisingly smart at her age, but still so young. "Don't worry Lots, I wouldn't dare to even try," he says softly.
"I would cut off your balls if you tried," she threatens, not really sounding intimidating.
"I would expect nothing less from you," Louis smiles and kisses her hair. "Now shut up, my show is on."
Lottie huffs at that but stays quiet. Together the siblings watch the show in comfortable silence, excluding the times' something funny happens and one of them points it out. These moments were normal to them, silently watching tv and just enjoying each others company. Often they had their younger siblings with them, but today they were either in school or at the grocery store with their mum. Their father was a part of their villages council that was in contact with the pack's leader. He was more often than not at work, so the times that he was at home, the whole family spent time together.
Tonight would be one of those nights. Dan would have few days off from his council duties, so the days and nights would be spent playing board games and drinking tea. Yes, the Tomlinson-Deakin family was kind of addicted to tea. Louis had learned the habit of drinking from her mother, who had learned it from hers. And because Louis drank tea, his younger siblings did too. Dan used to have some difficulties with getting used to the drink instead of coffee, but after sixteen years of living with Johannah, he is used to it.
The night rolled around quickly and soon enough the whole family was gathered around the kitchen table. Johannah had prepared their favourite meal in the celebration of having everyone home. Through the meal the family makes small talk, none of them pointing out how Dan seemed to be bothered by something.
Eventually, when they are all finished with their meals, Jay opens her mouth. "Honey, is everything okay? You have been so quiet," she asks softly.
Dan looks up from his plate and sighs. "I planned that I would've told this later but I guess that it doesn't matter when I tell you."
"Tell us what?" Louis asks furrowing his eyebrows. "Why do you sound so serious? It can't be that bad."
"Our pack is in danger," Dan says bluntly, looking at his family. Silence falls upon the room, no one daring to say anything. And even if they did, they had no idea what to say. There hadn't been any wars or conflicts in centuries, so the thought of one being close was unbelievable.
"What do you mean in danger?" Jay asks quietly, breaking the silence.
"Our leader got a call from the Cao pack. They warned us that an army of rogues was coming toward us," Dan answers while running his hand through his hair. "Apparently, they have already attacked the Corden pack and some intel tells us that we are the next target. Why they didn't attack the Cao pack, no one knows."
"There is something else," Louis whispers. "You wouldn't be this quiet or sad if that was it," he points out. "So spill it."
Their father's eyes turn sad as he looks at his family. He stays quiet for few moments until he just says it, "Every alpha over the age of eighteen has to stand up and protect our pack."
They let the information to sink in. Dan was an alpha and definitely over the age of eighteen, which meant that he had to fight. He had to go to the war and protect their pack till death.
"No," Louis was the first one to react. "No way, no," he shakes his head furiously. "You can't go!"
"Louis-" Jay tries to cut him off with a heartbreaking look on her face. She had already accepted that there was nothing to do about it. It was the pack leaders order.
"No I'm not letting you go," Louis says frowning.
"Dad I don't want you to go," Lottie says with tears in her eyes. "Please?"
"I'm sorry," Dan says with tears in his eyes. It was of course hard to leave his family, everyone knew it. "I should go find my stuff."
That sentence seemed to wake Jay up from her thoughts. "Now? When do you have to go?" She asks, clearly afraid of the answer.
"We start training tomorrow morning," Dan says and clears his throat. "I love every single one of you. I will come to say good night to all of you, okay?" He says keeping his voice light. "I should get to packing." And with that, he stands up and walks out of the room.
"We can't let him go," Louis says immediately. "Mum we have to stop him!"
"Sweetie, you know that we can't," Jay says with a sad smile. "He can't go against the pack leaders orders. And you know your father, he wouldn't stand back and let others do the job."
"We'll make him! There has to be something that we can do!" Louis was getting louder by the second. He might be almost twenty and considered as an adult, but he was still scared of losing his family.
"Mommy? Are we going to loose daddy?" Daisy asks quietly, blinking up to Jay. She was only five, she didn't understand why everyone was being so sad.
"No sweetie, daddy is just going away for a while," Jay softly to the little girl, who calms down from the words. Louis wishes that he could be as naive as her.
"Where are you going, Louis?" She asks when Louis stands up from his seat.
Louis looks straight to his mother, "I'll go to talk some sense into him," he says before walking away. He could hear Lottie's voice but he couldn't make up the words. Maybe it was for the best, he didn't need another reason for crying.
He finds his father from his parents' room. Dan is standing in front of the closet where they keep all the memories and all things that are too precious to throw away. Louis stops to the doorway and looks at the scene in front of him for a moment, trying to come up with the right words. He breaks few minutes in though since he spots a familiar object.
"Dad, you can't go!" Louis yells to his father as he watches him pull out his sword.
"Louis, you know that I have to. It's the pack leaders orders," Dan says calmly. "I need you to promise me that you'll take care of the family if I die."
"So what? You'll just give up?" Louis asks shocked, stepping further into the room. "You have a family!"
"Of course not. I am just willing to die for my family's safety." Dan says and turns around. "I am sorry Louis, but I need to do this."
Louis couldn't take it anymore, so without a word, he turns around and runs out of the room. He runs straight outside and into the garden. The garden was one of his favourite places in the whole world. It was where he took his first steps, where Dan proposed his mother, where he played with his sisters till the late hours of the night.
He doesn't start crying until he is sitting against one of the cherry trees by the path. He pulls his thighs against his chest and hides his face to his knees. He hated everything. He hated the rogues who were the reason his father was going away. He hated his pack leader who demanded his father to fight. He hated himself for being an omega and unable to take his father's place.
I am willing to die for my family's safety, was playing in his head over and over again in repeat.
Suddenly it all hits him. He comes up with a plan. Louis lifts his head up and wipes away from his tears. He wouldn't cry anymore.
I am willing to die for my family's safety.
Louis says out loud, "So am I."