Chapter Text
What Harry didn’t expect was to see his friend’s face turn pale and Liam to choke out, “Who told you?”
Harry blinked at his friend, throat suddenly dry. What was Liam talking about?
“Huh?” he managed to ask.
Liam took a deep breath, opened his mouth to say something and then froze in his tracks, his eyes on the silver necklace that hung around Harry’s neck.
Harry normally buttoned his school uniform up to his neck to hide the accessory but he had been in a rush that morning and had left the top few buttons undone. He hadn’t thought it to be a big deal but the way Liam was staring at the necklace made Harry feel as if he should cover it up.
“Where did…who’s…?” Liam trailed off, eyes raking over the necklace.
Harry’s hand moved, without conscious thought on his part, to shield the silver ornament from his friend’s piercing gaze.
“I…” he began to explain but Liam clapped a hand over his mouth, leaning closer to hiss, “Not here! They’ll be listening! Remember that abandoned factory we snuck into for Halloween a couple of years ago?”
Harry blinked and nodded, utterly confused by this point.
“Good”, Liam nodded to himself, as if he were making up his mind about something, “Meet me there in an hour. We’ll talk then”.
Liam’s eyes held some unrecognisable emotion but before Harry could ask him if he was okay, the brown-eyed boy got up from the lunch table, grabbed his bag and walked off.
Harry stared after him, completely baffled. Neither him nor Liam ever skipped classes! A part of him wanted to ignore his friend’s strange behaviour and go to his next class instead but another part of him, the part that had kept him up at night wondering about werewolves, knew he had to find out what was going on.
He wasn’t sure how the lad was connected to everything but he clearly had more knowledge about what was going on than Harry did! If Jay and Zayn weren’t going to tell him, he’d get it out of Liam.
_____________________________________
Harry had thought he was doing a good job of sneaking out of the school gates until an accented voice called out his name.
He tried to calm his racing heart and not look obviously guilty as he turned around to see Niall Horan, a kid who was in his chemistry class, running up to him.
“Where are you off to then, Harry? Don’t you have English next?” the blonde asked, an effortless smile on his face.
Harry was slightly taken aback. Sure, he had seen Niall around school before but they had never spoken. The only reason Harry even knew his name was because Niall was on the school’s swimming team and had won them Nationals last year. Since Harry didn’t have any such outstanding achievements, he hadn’t expected Niall to know his name let alone, his timetable!
Yet here he was, staring at Harry with an expectant look on his face. He didn’t look as if he were going to tell a teacher about Harry’s first attempt at truancy. In fact, he just looked genuinely curious as to where his classmate could be wandering off to an hour before school finished.
“Um…I have this…thing I need to do”, Harry cursed himself for being such a horrible liar but Niall just tilted his head, a small frown creasing his face.
“With who?” the blonde asked and, at Harry’s surprised look, added, “I’ve been in the same school as you since we were ten, Harry. I know you don’t usually skive off classes so who’s convinced you to do it today?”
Harry’s mouth fell open. He wasn’t sure what he was more surprised at- the fact that Niall had been in his primary school and Harry hadn’t noticed or the fact that Niall had been paying enough attention to him to realise he was normally a model student.
“Um…” Harry mumbled, before relenting with a sigh. He sucked at lying!
“My friend, Liam”.
Niall’s eyes, which had been filled with amusement up until this point, suddenly hardened.
“Liam Payne?” he asked, making Liam’s last name sound as if it were the worst of insults.
“Uh…yeah?”.
Harry wasn’t sure why but he felt as if that had been the wrong answer to give.
Niall’s face tightened but he also looked confused, as if he were trying to figure out a puzzle…until his eyes fell on the silver necklace that was still around Harry’s neck. What was it with everyone and that necklace today?
Harry reached up to cover it with his hand again but suddenly, Niall was taking a step back from him and dropping to his knees.
“What are you doing?” Harry asked, bewildered, glancing around to make sure no one else was witnessing the strange scene, “I don’t know you very well but if you’re about to serenade me or something, I’m going to have to tell you to-”
His words cut off on a gasp when Niall looked back up at him with glowing, golden eyes.
“Y..you’re a-”
“Werewolf”, Niall finished the sentence for him with a nod, slowly getting up and brushing the dust off his jeans “I’m sorry for…I’m one of the younger members of the pack so my instincts kick in when I interact with someone who’s higher up the hierarchy than me”.
Harry wasn’t stupid. Not by a long shot. It’s just that none of the words Niall was saying made any sense.
“Fuck! Am I a secret werewolf or something? Is that why Jay came to see me and then Zayn? I thought you had to be bitten to get turned into…shit! Was urbanmyths.com lying to me?!” Harry was panicking but in his defence, this seemed to be the only logical explanation for all the weirdness that was going on today.
Niall actually had the audacity to cackle at Harry’s misery.
“Niall!” Harry whined, possibly minutes away from a full-blown panic attack.
“Sorry! Sorry”, the blonde wheezed out, finally regaining control over his laughter, “That was just too funny, lad! Who uses urbanmyths.com as a reliable source of information? Seriously, you would’ve had better luck using Wikipedia!”
Harry glared at Niall but he was worrying too much for it to be effective.
“So I’m not a…” Harry mumbled, hesitantly.
Niall shook his head.
“If you were a Were, you couldn’t have silver directly touching your skin without causing some serious burns”.
The blonde nodded towards the necklace and, okay, Harry’s skin was not burning away. Right. So scratch that theory then. Except now, he was back to square one and had no fucking clue what was going on in his life!
“Look, Harry”, Niall spoke before he could voice his frustrations out loud, “Please don’t ask me to explain. It’s not my place to do it”.
“So everyone keeps saying”, Harry muttered.
Niall chuckled a little at that before continuing.
“You’re not a werewolf but you are pack and pack members protect each other. Which is why I’m going to tell you to stay away from Payne”.
Harry raised an eyebrow at that.
“Liam’s been my best friend for years. Since we were-”
“Ten years old, I know”, Niall interrupted, “And you’ve never found that suspicious? That he just showed up out of the blue and managed to gain your friendship on his very first day at a new school?”
“His parents got divorced and his Mum remarried. He moved here with his Dad and sisters for a fresh start”, Harry repeated what Liam had told him years ago, “It’s not a big deal. People move all the time. It’s normal”.
“Yeah? And you think it’s also normal to have no other friends?” Niall questioned, his eyes boring into Harry’s, “Is it normal that he hangs out with you every single weekend since you met?”
Harry frowned. Sure, Liam didn’t have many…okay, any friends other than him but the guy was shy! It was rude of Niall to call him out on it.
Before Harry could make his views known though, Niall spoke again.
“Think, Harry!” he sounded close to exasperation, “What else happened when you were ten? Right before Liam showed up?”
Harry opened his mouth, about to demand that Niall should stop fooling around and just tell him when it suddenly hit him.
“Louis”, he whispered, thinking of how he had met the grey wolf in the woods that summer, a few weeks before school started up again and Liam transferred here from Wolverhampton.
Niall smiled at him as if he were proud of him for finally getting there.
“Is Liam…?” Harry frowned, his thoughts going back to lunch when Liam had placed a hand over his mouth without getting burnt, “He’s not a werewolf”.
It wasn’t a question but Niall answered anyway.
“Far from it”, the blonde scoffed, “The Payne family used to work for the Werewolf Senate a couple of generations ago. The Senate trained them to help protect the human population against feral Weres but somewhere along the way, the Paynes decided that any werewolf-human interactions should just not be allowed. They claimed it was only a matter of time before a Were’s control snapped, as if we were some kind of animal that relied on instinct alone. The Senate disagreed with their view so the Paynes took matters into their own hands. They call themselves the Protectors now and they show up wherever they think werewolves are causing humans problems. And if they see us interacting with a human who’s underage, well…let’s just say Papa Payne will be getting a new rug”.
Harry’s mouth fell open because…what?! Was Niall seriously trying to imply that Liam Payne, the boy who was terrified of spoons, could ruthlessly kill a werewolf just for talking to a human under the age of sixteen?
“Think about it, Harry”, Niall continued, sensing Harry’s disbelief, “The Paynes showed up right after you met Louis and he realised you were his…fuck! Uh, never mind that”.
Niall blushed and muttered something under his breath before continuing, “Point is, they showed up out of nowhere and Payne just happens to conveniently trip over your lego tower and then offers to help you rebuild it, securing your friendship. Nothing planned about that, eh?”
“How did you know he…?”
“Because I’ve been fucking watching you, Harry!” Niall waved his arms wildly, as if that would emphasise the point he was trying to make, “I’m one of the pack members who have been assigned to protect you ever since Payne first came into town. The Alpha transferred me out of my old school and sent me here. She was worried he’d try to hurt you”.
“Look, I appreciate you trying to help but Liam would never hurt me”, Harry stated confidently.
Niall huffed out a breath.
“Not before today, maybe”, he finally said, choosing his words carefully, “I’ve been watching him and his family. So have the rest of the pack. Until today, they thought you were just a human the pack had an interest in. They had no idea why but any interest from a werewolf pack puts them on high alert. Payne’s job was probably to protect you against the big bad wolves but now…he saw your necklace, didn’t he?”
Harry was confused but he nodded and Niall grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed.
“Now, he knows you’re not just an oblivious human. He’s figured out that you know about werewolves and that you’ve met at least one and that…” he trailed off, glancing at Harry’s necklace.
“And what, Niall?” Harry was losing his temper,his voice growing louder as he vented, “What’s the big secret? Why do people keep telling me half-truths and giving out cryptic clues? You’re standing here, claiming that I’m going to get hurt without giving me a rational reason to believe you! Please tell me what’s going on”.
Niall looked torn between acquiescing to Harry’s demand and sticking to his guns. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, shaking his head, apologetically.
“It’s not my place”, he mumbled.
“Fine”, Harry took a deep breath, trying not to let his anger show, though he was doing a miserable job of it. “If you won’t tell me then I have no reason to listen to you”.
“You have to!” Niall’s eyes widened, as if the possibility of Harry going against his advice hadn’t crossed his mind, “You’re pack! I’m trying to protect you!”
“I’m not a werewolf”, Harry huffed back, “So how could I possibly be a part of your pack?”
Niall looked torn again and Harry turned away, cursing himself for wasting time talking to the blonde.
“Fucking hell!” Niall muttered behind him and Harry tried his best to ignore the rapid footsteps that were catching up with him as he stalked away, “Harry! Listen to me…just…don’t go. For Louis”.
The name caused Harry’s steps to falter slightly. Niall knew Louis. Perhaps he should have figured that out, considering they were both werewolves but it was one thing to suspect and another to actually know.
“Why would Louis care if I met with Liam?” Harry asked, coming to a stop against his better judgement.
“Because he’s a Payne! Now that they’ve found out about how you’re his-” Niall cut himself off quickly, changing tracks yet again, “Louis made me promise I’d protect you from Payne or die trying. I can’t lie to him when he asks me where you are and I assure you, he will come after you. If him and Payne run into each other, it’s not going to end well”.
“He’d try to hurt Liam?”
Niall’s blue gaze caught his, strangely serious.
“One of them will definitely get hurt. Payne can be just as dangerous when he wants to be”.
Harry gave a borderline hysterical laugh though nothing about the topic under discussion was funny. In fact, he was struggling not to faint at the thought of Liam hurting someone. Hurting the grey wolf who Harry still spent his nights dreaming about.
“Just…tell Louis to stay away. Liam won’t hurt me”, Harry finally said but his confidence at his own prediction was starting to weaken.
Until today, Harry hadn’t known Liam knew anything about werewolves. It was only natural for him to question just how much Liam had kept from him; just how much Liam had lied; just how far Liam was willing to go to make his father proud.
“Louis won’t listen to me”, Niall’s frustration shone through his words, “When it comes to you, he won’t listen to anyone! Not even the Alpha. He’s locked up right now because of his rut but if he thinks you’re in danger, he’ll find a way to break out. None of us will be able to stop him”.
“You make absolutely zero sense! You think he’s going to show up in front of Liam who, according to you, hurts werewolves that speak to humans?” Harry’s own voice was getting louder as his annoyance grew.
“Yes!” Niall exclaimed, “Louis’ an idiot when it comes to you! That’s exactly what he’ll do!”
“Which brings me back to my initial question. Why does Louis care so much about me?” Harry started walking again, not expecting an answer.
“Because you’re mates!” Niall shouted back, breathing a sigh of relief when Harry stopped walking and turned around. He bit his lip the moment he realised what he’d said.
“Fuck!” he muttered, “I’m going to be put on laundry duty for months for telling you that”.
“Mates”, Harry repeated the word, his face pale and uncertain, “What does that…how is…huh?”
Niall sighed, as if resigned to his own fate.
“Right. Well, may as well tell you all I know now. Not that I know all that much. I haven’t found my mate yet so…”
Niall cleared his throat, getting back on topic.
“You and Louis Tomlinson are mates. He’s the future Alpha of the Tomlinson pack. The necklace is his way of letting other Weres know that you’re his but it’ll also protect you until you’re old enough to be claimed by him. As long as you’re wearing that necklace, you carry Louis’ scent on you, which both keeps him calm and stops other werewolves from coming near you. Other than our pack, of course”.
Harry knew his mouth had fallen open. At this point, he didn’t particularly care as his mind was preoccupied with trying to make sense of everything Niall was saying. He was the mate of an Alpha werewolf?! How had this become his life?
Harry felt his breathing getting shallower. Then, Niall was right in front of his face, inches away but careful not to touch him as he repeated, “Listen to me, Harry. You’ve got to understand this. Louis would never hurt you, no matter what Payne or anyone else says. None of us would. We physically can’t! You’re pack and no one in the pack would be stupid enough to challenge the future Alpha’s mate”.
Harry might have nodded but he was too busy focusing on not fainting to notice.
“The pack’s been keeping an eye on you ever since Louis told the Alpha about you being human. It’s not that rare for a werewolf to have a human mate, apparently. Mind you, I was shocked when I first found out but he talks about you like you hung the moon or something! Wouldn’t shut up for a month about you saving that goal during the footie team’s practice match”.
Harry started to wonder just how long Louis Tomlinson had been watching him for. He had only helped Liam practice football once and that had been during the weekend in his own backyard. His thoughts went back to the claw marks on the oak tree. Had Harry seen Louis and not recognised him in his human form? Surely he would have! Those electric blue eyes had haunted his dreams for years. No, he hadn’t seen Louis because Louis didn’t want to be seen. At least, not yet.
“Payne knows enough about us to understand what the necklace means”, Niall continued, oblivious to Harry’s epiphany, “He knows a werewolf’s placed a temporary claim on you and you’ve got another thing coming if you think he’s gonna let that claim become permanent. It stands against everything he’s ever been taught”.
“Wh..what do you mean?” Harry stammered, feeling as if the world he once knew was crashing down and burning around him.
“I mean, Protectors are completely fine when werewolves mate with our own kind but when a human comes into the equation, they suddenly ignore Were rights. They can’t legally keep a werewolf away from his or her mate but, until a human reaches the age of consent, a Were can’t claim their mate either. Protectors generally manage to convince, negotiate or blackmail human mates until they agree to reject the werewolf who wishes to claim them. Who cares if a Were never loves again, right? That’s none of their concern”, Niall’s voice had turned bitter by the end of his speech and Harry really couldn’t blame him.
It sounded like a horrible thing for anyone to do but he was still having difficulty associating the monsters Niall was describing to puppy-eyed Liam! Surely, the pack had made some kind of mistake? Liam couldn’t be a Protector!
“Sometimes”, Niall added, his voice a whisper now, “Sometimes they even kill the particularly stubborn werewolves. Especially if the human refuses to reject their mate. Protectors don’t understand how the mate bond works or maybe they just don’t care”.
Harry knew his face had turned even paler and that his eyes were wide.
“The Alpha knew that as soon as the Paynes moved into town and you started hanging out with their son, you had to be protected. She decided the best form of protection was to keep you oblivious to the bond”.
“Bond?” Harry’s voice was barely a whisper, his mind struggling to take in so much information at once.
“The mate bond”, Niall explained, “When you first met Louis, didn’t you feel something deep inside? A compulsion of sorts to be near him? To comfort him?”
Harry couldn’t disagree.
Niall nodded and continued, “He feels the same way. It’s more than just a crush. It’s a bond werewolves only ever feel with one person in their lifetime. It’s special”.
He sounded almost wistful for a moment before he became serious again.
“I only told you this, Harry, because you need to understand how important it is to stay away from Payne. You might think he’s a friend but for Protectors, duty comes first. It’s in his blood. The Alpha told us not to tell you about the bond until you were sixteen because she didn’t want Liam to find out until you were of age and able to make your own decision. She didn’t want to give him time to poison your mind against Louis and the pack”, Niall finished.
Harry shook his head, slowly, unable and unwilling to understand what he had just heard.
“Liam’s not like that”, he insisted, “He wouldn’t do something like that to me. He wouldn’t hurt me”.
“Can you be sure of that, Harry?”, Niall asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft, “How well do you really know Liam Payne, the Protector?”
Unbidden, Harry’s mind reminded him that Liam normally wouldn’t ask him to skip class or meet him in an abandoned building. Shit!
Niall must have seen the dawning realisation on Harry’s face for he repeated, “Stay away from Payne, Harry. He might not physically hurt you but I guarantee he wouldn’t think twice about hurting Louis if he comes near you. It’s your call to make but it’s not just you it affects”.
Harry watched the blonde boy turn around and walk back into school. He sat there, just outside the school gates and thought about all he had heard. He thought about Jay and Zayn and Niall and Liam. But, most of all, he thought about Louis. His mate.