Chapter Text
He didn’t know where he was.
He didn’t know why he was running, or where he was going.
He needed to run.
Branches whizzing past him, whipping him. His gait trembled, bare feet bleeding, the world tilting dangerously on his axis. A horrifying, continuous noise permeated the air, caught between a growl and a wail, and he couldn’t even tell where it was coming from. Was it him? Was it the unknown?
Twigs broke, crunching deafeningly under heavy footfalls chasing him. Harsh voices grated on his ears, fuelling the pounding of his heart as fear seeped into every pore.
Splashes of navy and charcoal, murky and blurred, were all he could register, seeing but not seeing . He couldn’t breathe enough air into his lungs, when all he felt was familiar pain. Like a gaping wound was being further ripped apart by cruel claws, right in the middle of his chest, shooting up like laser-thin flames that singed, right from his neck to his entire body, rendering him weak. He had to run. He didn't know why, but he had to .
Away from the noise, the voices, the pain.
He needed to run.
It was like coming out of a dream, but never quite escaping the clutches of unconsciousness; grey-rimmed vision and ears filled with water. Or blood. He didn't know anymore.
He needed to run.
And then, a sharp pinch to his neck. He stumbled. The navy and grey blur morphed into pitch black as his eyes fell shut, so heavy , so impossible to keep open. The ground fell from beneath his feet as he hit it hard. The voices were closer and he was paralysed.
If this was death, maybe it was time, maybe it would finally free him from the cavernous emptiness in his chest.
The last conscious thought ricocheting in his head remained, need to run, need to run, need to run.
*************************************
Louis needed to run.
Or at least, he needed to be on his drive to work like yesterday, he thought, all while hopping on one foot to tug the shoe onto the other. He was hoping with all his might that he would miraculously snag all five greenlights en route; he simply couldn’t afford to be late to work. He didn’t think his excuse of ‘omegas deserve their beauty sleep’ would fly too well either.
Before he could rush out of the door, he gave himself a quick glance in the long mirror in the hallway as he patted his pockets to check if he had taken his phone and ID card for work. Huffing, he flicked away a stray piece of fringe, resigning to the fact that he simply would have to go in looking a little dishevelled. At least as an Omega Social Care Worker, he wasn’t required to wear a uniform or stuffy suits to work, which was a slight blessing because he refused to give time to something as mundane as ironing clothes. The only requirement was ‘all black and plain, simple clothes, please’, to seem approachable and non-intimidating to the residents, which was just fine by him.
With a slight nod, Louis picked up his bag and left his flat, quickly making his way downstairs. He cursed as he noticed the time on the dash of his car, jamming his keys in, muttering ‘ shit shit shit ’ to himself as he pulled out of the parking spot. He called out a ‘Hey Lydia!’ when he spotted his neighbour on her daily dog walk, because he might have been running late, but he certainly was not rude. She waved back to him, and he only had the time to smile back before he was driving away and to his workplace as fast as he could while still within speed limits.
Because the last thing he needed today was to get pulled over or get a speeding ticket.
Maybe the traffic gods were with him that morning anyway, because he managed to make it to Phoenix with five minutes to spare. As he pulled up to an empty spot, he gazed at the large establishment and lush gardens that were beyond the wired fencing; this sight had grown familiar over the last two years. Louis refused to call it a dream job, because he firmly believed that the dream job was a mythical concept that only served capitalism, but this was as close as it would get, and it did not make him wake up in sheer dread every morning.
Phoenix was a rehabilitation centre that provided care and support for feral alphas and omegas. The centre rescued feral alphas and omegas and offered therapeutic services and varying levels of care as required, during which time they would stay at the centre, and eventually would move on to a lower-level care team or to their foster family system. Louis always thought that the name Phoenix was fitting; the place allowed alphas and omegas to come back from their worst, to have a second chance at life, as if being reborn into a more healed version of themselves from their feral selves. As an Omega Carer, his duties comprised of building and maintaining relationships with the residents, spending quality time with them, slowly helping them overcome their ferality, and providing the necessary bond and trust they needed to recover. He did all this in tandem with mental health specialists and multidisciplinary professionals to ensure their recovery.
So yeah, it may not be a dream job, but it was a job he was passionate about – having always been driven to help others – and that was enough for him.
Speed walking up to the gate, he tapped his card against the system, unlocking it and letting himself in, smiling a little sheepishly at the guard stationed inside. The only time he detested the sprawling gardens that lined the main building was when he had to nearly sprint to make it on time. He considered it a victory when he managed to make his way inside without breaking into a sweat.
“No time to chat, Pez, though I’ll catch up with you later!” he told the blonde beta as he hurriedly clocked in at the reception, and she waved him off with a laugh and a knowing smile.
Louis had very much planned on making a beeline towards his office space that he shared with Niall, hoping that he could sneak into the daily morning meeting without anyone raising brows at his slight tardiness. He needed to run.
Instead, he ran, quite literally, into Niall, who was strolling about far too casually for someone who also had to be at the meeting a minute ago. He didn’t even need to see the omega; the soft scent of fresh lavender told him that the solid arm that steadied him around his middle indeed belonged to his dear friend and colleague.
“Mate, you’re late,” Niall commented idly after righting him, sipping on his coffee leisurely.
Louis eyed him sceptically. “Thanks, I had no idea,” he replied drily, earning an easy chortle from him. “Though, you’re one to talk; shouldn’t you be in the meeting?”
Niall sipped his coffee some more, shrugging. “Nah. Grimshaw sent out a last-minute mail informing that just the heads needed to attend this one. Something about having other priorities to tend to today. So we’ve got Leigh representing us today, and she’ll catch us up on the handover.”
Louis let out a sigh of relief. “Fuck, it would’ve been good to know that before I nearly sped through a red light to get here. What priorities was he talking about, do you know?”
“Kind of? We’ve got a new ‘un in today, and I think there’s some legal stuff that Grimshaw’s trying to work out.”
At that, Louis’ brows rose in interest. “New resident? Already causing Grimshaw trouble with legal shit? Damn.”
“Yeah. An Alpha. They found him yesterday, think he’s in containment currently-”
“We’ve got an interesting case, lads. Have you heard of what he did yet?” a new voice cut Niall off. Louis looked over his shoulder, eyes landing on Aiden, who was grinning like he knew something he shouldn’t.
Niall barely suppressed an eye roll, making the corners of Louis’ lips twitch up.
“No, Aiden. What did he do?” Louis asked in a bored tone. Aiden’s eyes had a glint to them, as he dropped his voice to answer.
“Word is that he killed his partner and went, like, insane, apparently.”
Louis stared at him, not knowing how to answer for a second. His shock only seemed to add to Aiden’s giddiness at knowing such a juicy detail.
“Um, wow. Well. Fascinating case, for sure,” Louis replied belatedly, eloquence nowhere to be found.
“Right? No wonder Nick’s scrambling to sort shit out. Anyway, I’ll see you guys around, I gotta get me a tall non-fat latte with caramel drizzle or my head’s not gonna be screwed on right for the day.”
“Bye, Aiden,” Niall called out faux enthusiastically, face dropping dramatically once Aiden had walked away. Louis giggled at him, relating to their mutual dislike of the dramatic beta, before his words played in his head again.
“Is that true? Did the new resident kill his partner? Do y’know?”
“Louis,” Niall deadpanned, “it's fucking Aiden. Since when do you believe a word that comes out of his mouth? I’m surprised that his arsehole isn’t where his mouth is, because that’s how much shit that comes out of it.”
Louis barked out a laugh. He could always trust Niall to give it to him straight.
“…and to answer your question, no. Don’t know who he can cite his source to be other than his own lame arse, but. I heard from Vinny boy that apparently, yes, the alpha’s partner was killed. But not by the alpha himself. He was a mere witness. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.”
“Huh. Okay. Fuck, that’s still intense.”
“Yeah. S’pose we’ll know more soon from the handover, maybe?”
“Mhmm, yeah, we would,” Louis mumbled distractedly, curiosity piqued. “Or I could go find out for myself.”
Niall stared at him for a beat, sipping from his cup extra slowly. “You’re gonna go into the containment zone, aren’t you.”
“You know me so well,” Louis stated, clapping his friend’s shoulder warmly. Niall shook his head at him, albeit fondly.
“Alright. Let me know what you find out at lunch, okay?”
“Yeah, course. See you, lad.”
Niall called out a ‘see you later’, leaving Louis with nothing to do but make his way over to the facility’s containment zone. It was the area of the centre where feral alphas and omegas were first brought to after being rescued. It was separate from the rest of the rooms and areas of the centre, and was primarily used for initial observations, administering soothers, and gauging what kind of support plan could be drawn up. Typically, few people accessed it when someone was being secured there during their containment phase, as the feral scenters could often be unpredictable and aggressive. However, this did not stop Louis.
Using his card to unlock the heavy door, Louis quietly let himself in. A few staff members were mulling around, uniformed betas that were authorized to administer soothers, a few security men in case things went wrong, a psychologist, and Vincent- the alpha in charge of the carers. Great.
Unfortunately, Vincent spotted him before he had a chance to get a glimpse of the feral alpha through the large one-way observation window to the room that contained residents who were just brought in.
“Tomlinson!”
Vincent’s initial surprise at seeing him there morphed into something that resembled a sneer. “What’s an omega doing in the containment zone before the feral man is even given his shot?”
Immediately, Louis was irked, yet he drew closer to Vincent, who was eyeing him with an air of superiority.
“Oh yeah, because we omegas are all helpless little creatures that faint at the sight of some violence and aggression,” he bit out, wrinkling his nose at the pungent scent that emanated from the alpha. “Don’t be sexist, Vince.”
Vincent raised his beefy hands in mock surrender, square face contorting into a wince. “Hey, just looking out for you Tomlinson, didn’t mean no harm, I swear.”
Louis did not buy it wholly, but he shrugged it off. It wasn’t too often that alphas that worked at Phoenix held such conservative views; they did work in a care sector that practically demanded open-mindedness and respect. Or maybe most alphas were just good at keeping shitty takes to themselves at work. But it was very much possible to have rotten eggs in an otherwise perfectly good carton, and Vincent could be one at times.
It was then that Louis was close enough to finally take a good look into the room. And there he was, the feral alpha. Sat at the single desk in the middle of an otherwise vacant, sterile-looking room. The harsh white lights illuminated his unkempt, long, matted curls and thick beard that hid his face. The pristine environment of the containment room made his dirty, tattered clothes seem even more out of place, almost wild.
Louis barely tore his eyes away from the man as he asked Vincent, “What’s his name?”
“Harry. Alpha. Found at the outskirts of Delamere, where he seemed to have set up camp of sorts.”
Louis nodded absently, eyes running over Harry in scrutiny. He was sat on the metal chair rather stoically, face slightly obstructed in the way that he hung his head. Even then, Louis could make out his lips pressed into a thin line, and the pinch between his brows told him that Harry was glaring at the ground. He was closed off, quite literally – all crossed arms and hunched over.
All typical signs of projected anger and defensiveness from a feral alpha.
But then Louis looked closer, stepping closer towards the glass. His gaze lingered on the way Harry had wound his arms tightly around himself, nails of each hand digging into his skin firmly, trembling with the pressure of it. And the way he was twitching in a way nearly imperceptible to a casual looker. And his tense shoulders and back moving with his rapid breaths.
Louis wondered, then, if he was more wary than angry.
“He seems scary, eh?” Vincent’s gruff voice cut through his observation. “Looks like a tough nut to crack.”
Louis tried incredibly hard to not roll his eyes. “Did you think working with traumatized and often grieving feral alphas and omegas would be like stealing candy from a baby, Vincent?” he sniped regardless. He cocked his head at Harry again. “What makes you say that, anyway?”
“He looks like he could rip you apart. Look at him … the look on his face …”
Louis stared at Vincent, nonplussed. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s pretty much all the alphas and even the omegas sometimes that we bring in here. And you were making fun of me, an omega, about feeling threatened.”
Vincent clicked his tongue, annoyed. “I’m not threatened. He just looks murderous. After what happened to him, I wouldn’t blame him.”
Louis shook his head. “He seems … scared.”
Vincent only let out a hum in response. He moved forward to click the little button that would activate the mic that fed into the room. “Harry.”
Harry flinched at the singular word that crackled through the speakers, letting out a low growl that had tiny shivers go up Louis’ spine.
Vincent gave Louis a look before speaking again. “You are at Phoenix support centre for feral alphas and omegas. We are here to help.”
This time, a louder growl crackled through the speakers, and the hairs on Louis’ skin were standing up in milliseconds. But other than that, not a single word was uttered by the alpha, neither in anger nor confusion.
“Do you think he’s mute?” Louis asked.
“No idea. Not necessarily, but it’s too soon to say. It would make things trickier, though, progress wise. So far, he hasn’t verbalized in response to any of our attempts at communication.”
Louis frowned. “Well. What’s the plan then?”
“Usual course of action. We give him the shot. We don’t know how he will act – he could be very aggressive when we try to approach him. He also does not seem to be responding much, so the soother could weaken his defences a bit, get him to talk, maybe.”
Louis sighed. He didn’t enjoy the idea of soothers too much - they were a drug injected into the alphas or omegas to make them more tame and malleable. In his opinion, there were a lot of times they could’ve done without administering it; some extra patience and persistent communication and effort could’ve gone a long way in establishing trust, but he didn’t run the place, so.
“I suppose we can give it a try,” he answered half-heartedly.
At Vincent’s silent nod of order, the uniformed betas, with the soothers ready at hand, slowly moved towards the door. The air was tense as they unlocked the door and slowly shuffled inside, not wanting to set the alpha off if they could help it. Louis watched, bottom lip caught between his teeth. Harry had gone utterly still.
Of course, it was blind optimism, each time, that administering the soother would go over with minimal chaos and fights breaking out.
No sooner than when one of the betas had reached within two feet of Harry, a ferocious growl had ripped itself through his throat, making Louis’ knees buckle slightly. Before he could even register what was going on, a loud ‘thwack’ rang through the air. He heard a loud clatter of metal hitting the ground with force before he even realized that Harry had flung the chair at the window, which had then fallen back to the ground after crashing into the fibreglass.
It was chaos. And Louis only half took in the next minute, frozen in place, mouth dry.
'Fuck, back up, back up!!'
'SHIT!!'
'He's attacking, fall back now- oh holy FUCK-'
Shouts, from the betas who were half cowering, half still trying to approach Harry.
The heavy metal table being pushed over with frightening strength, drawing out panicked screams from the betas.
*CLANG*
The harsh sound of the table hitting the ground rang in Louis’ ears.
All the while, deep, angry growls pierced the air, as Harry paced forwards a few steps menacingly.
Louis should’ve been more scared than he was feeling at that moment. And he was; Harry’s wild face had been twisted into cruel aggression, mouth open in primal scream after scream. He appeared so much larger than he was, as he kicked the chair in the direction of the scrambling betas. Feral alphas tapping into their animalistic energy was always enough to make any omega tremble.
And yet, one simple observation made him pause.
Harry, as terrifying as he looked, grunting and yelping till the betas backed away and exited the containment room, had made no actual move to attack any of them. He had thrown things around, he had exuded aggression, and he had been threatening enough to get the betas to leave him alone. But he hadn’t charged towards them, hadn’t touched a single hair on them, really. Hell, he hadn’t even made a mere motion of trying to attack them. Which was rather unlike alphas when feeling provoked. Louis could attest to it, having witnessed many fights and initiation phases gone south.
He was almost sure that he was right about his hunch; Harry seemed scared . He’d acted on defence instead of going into a more predictable attack mode.
And sure enough, once the betas were safely inside, and catching their breaths, Louis shook himself out of his alpha ferality-induced stupor. For a second, he didn’t spot Harry. Taking a few cautious steps towards the window, he stopped abruptly when he finally caught sight of him.
He had pushed himself up against the furthest corner of the room, sitting curled up on the ground. He looked nothing like the ferocious alpha that he had been a minute ago. He had his arms around his knees that he had drawn up to his chest, head buried between them. Louis’ heart broke a little when he noticed the way Harry seemed to try and pull his limbs even closer to his body, like he was trying to make himself smaller, maybe disappear a little.
When he cast a sideways look at Vincent, the alpha was staring at the sight before him, perplexed. The silence that followed the cacophony of the attack was deafening, and it was Louis that broke it a little meekly.
“Well. That went well.”
A dry laugh escaped Vincent. “‘S the usual, innit, boys? Not our first rodeo. We move on to the next step.”
Louis racked his brain for a second. He hadn’t been part of a good deal of containment zone phases, mostly because he was often advised to keep out for ‘his own good’, but he’d stubbornly been part of enough initiations, that he knew what came next.
“You’re going to restrain him?”
“What else?” Vincent asked, a touch patronizing. “This is the standard protocol we follow, except in cases where the scenter cooperates, or at least seems receptive to communication. But we don’t seem to be getting through to Harry here, and if he has to be moved, even if not today, he’s going to need the soother anyway. And we’re going to need restraints for that.”
“But … restraints are for when all other lesser restrictive methods have failed,” Louis objected. Vincent crossed his arms, giving him a challenging smile.
“And do you happen to have an alternative, Tomlinson?”
Louis barely thought before he was answering. “As a matter of fact, I do. I’m going to go in.”
The way Vincent blanched at that was at least a little funny to him, thick brows knitting together. “What do you mean ‘you’re going in’?? He is aggressive right now. What do you think you’re going to achieve?”
“He is scared ,” Louis corrected, “There is no reason as to why I shouldn’t give it a shot meself. He doesn’t need the restraints just yet.”
“You cannot- this is a dangerous idea, Louis!”
“It does not say anywhere that I can’t, actually, so. I’m gonna go in,” Louis declared with a tone of finality. Vincent did not seem to be in agreement, but he couldn’t fight him, because he was right and was breaking no rule.
Louis took a deep breath, pushing down the flutters of nerves. He turned to the betas, who were also staring at him in mild apprehension. “Stay on guard, lads. You don’t have to accompany me – come in only if I shout for help, got it?”
Several mumbles of agreement were heard. With another deep exhale, and one final glance at a still crouching Harry through the window, he moved towards the door. Ever so slowly, he twisted it open, taking a tentative step inside.
Harry had once again gone dead still. He flinched as Louis clicked the door shut behind him softly. Now that he was inside, he could hear Harry’s loud, ragged breathing. And, beyond anything, he found his nostrils being invaded by a sharp scent reeking of pain and anger- a dark chocolate scent that was rich and heady, but that currently smelt burnt. He knew he was right.
Not wanting to further spook the alpha, Louis kept his steps slow, calm and audible enough so that he wouldn’t take Harry by surprise. Two steps taken away from the door had the beginnings of a low growl emanating from Harry. Louis paused, ignoring the way it had his omega on high alert.
“Harry?” he uttered, voice soft, as he took a few more tentative steps.
In response, a guttural growl filled the room, echoing against the bare walls, as Harry continued to grunt and growl with his head still buried between his arms. It was terrifying, ferocious, ricocheting around the room and in his head. Despite Louis’ determination to not be affected, his omega trembled at the sound, and a high, stressed keen left his lips as he involuntarily slid down the wall to his knees.
And he wasn’t sure what caused it, but the relentless growling ceased, quieting to low rumbles. Still menacing, but less harsh. Louis took a moment to suck in deep breaths. He felt a little silly as he then started shuffling forwards on his knees, but he kept at it.
“Harry, hey,” he tried again, voice dropping to a calm, silvery tone, inherently soothing. Omega voices were not always effective in the way alpha voices were; they tended to be most effective on family, partners, or children. But it was always worth a try.
Harry was shaking like a leaf now, his rumbles sounding more distressed than agitated. Louis’ omega almost couldn’t stand to see an alpha in such distress. He moved towards him bit by bit, approaching him like he was a spooked creature that had escaped the wild. The resemblance was uncanny.
When he was roughly five feet away from Harry, he was stopped from getting any closer by a warning growl. So he sat, on his haunches, with his hands held out to show he meant no harm. “I’m not here to hurt you. I won’t get any closer if you don’t want me to … you’re safe.”
No response came from Harry, other than panting breaths and quiet grunts.
Feeling emboldened by the fact that Harry had made no move to scare him off viciously, much less attack him, Louis continued speaking to him in the same tone. “I just want to talk, Harry. Nothing else, okay? The betas that came in did not want to hurt you. None of us do.”
When Harry made no move to stop him, Louis shuffled just a little closer. “I know you’re scared. This room isn’t so nice, huh? Neither is being brought in somewhere against your will, I know. But-”
Harry’s nails were surely leaving moon-shaped indents on his arms. Louis hadn’t ever come across an alpha that seemed as vulnerable as Harry did at this moment, and that only deepened the urge to soothe him.
“— this is a safe place. We are here to help you. I’m here to help you.”
The next moment, Louis found himself transfixed, stilling mid-shuffle as Harry slowly lifted his head and met his stare dead on. Piercing green eyes bored into him- a little dull, a little lifeless, yet intense all the same- pinning him in place.
A helpless gasp fell from Louis.
He didn't know what part of his spiel had made the alpha meet his eyes, but he found himself drawn into unwavering eye contact that seemed to weigh multitudes. He watched him back unblinkingly.
Not even a hint of response came from Harry; not a word, nor a nod, not a twitch of his lips. Nothing. But to Louis, Harry even just meeting his eyes felt like immense progress, and he was thrilled.
After a long moment, Louis whispered, “Let us help you.”
Harry didn’t say anything. Just blinked at him, then dropped his head again, breaking the intense eye contact. But the scent in the air had shifted, not by much, but to something less distressed. It had Louis letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“I’m going to leave now, Harry, alright? We don’t want you in this, frankly, shit room, so we’re going to try and move you to a much more comfortable space of your own, okay? No one is going to hurt you, I promise.”
A quiet snuffle reached his ears, and he had no choice but to take that as a response.
Just as slowly as he had made his way in, Louis got up to his feet, and backed out of the room. Only when he had closed the door behind him did he take in a deep breath. And was met by several pairs of eyes staring at him, utterly at a loss for words.
“Alright, lads?” Louis asked a little shakily, with a laugh, feeling self-conscious.
“I don’t know what magic you worked on him, Tomlinson, but I can’t believe you made it out in one piece,” Vincent replied, still looking bewildered. And that made Louis smug, to have taken the alpha in charge by surprise.
“Not magic, Vince. Just some good 'ol communication and empathy. Feral alphas are still human, y’know?”
“And you’re sure that he’s not going to rip someone’s throat out when we try to move him? Without giving him soothers?”
“I don’t know that for sure, but I think trying to force something on him is only going to set him off again,” Louis said, scratching his chin in thought. “Be patient with him. He might not be responsive, but I think he’s definitely registering what we say on some level. Just … be gentle.”
Vincent sighed. “You better be right, Louis. Not following protocol is a risk to take.”
“Not following protocol is what got him to calm down, innit? What happened to 'person-centred care'?”
Vincent didn’t have a reply for that. Louis bit back a self-assured smirk.
“I take it you’ve got this from here, right?” he asked, clapping his hand and addressing the room at large. Vincent nodded, albeit looking a little annoyed. Good.
“See yous later! I’ve got to go have a chat with Nick if he’s free, but if you need anything … let me know.”
And he had to say, leaving a room filled with people that had been stunned into silence because of him, was a powerful feeling. Louis didn’t like to gloat, but there were just some instances in life it was well deserved.
***********************
Luckily for him, Nick had just about wrapped up his meeting when he had rung him to check if he was free. So without wasting a minute, he was stood in front of the grand oak door with a plaque that read: N ick Grimshaw, Head Psychiatrist . He knocked on the door sharply, letting himself in when he heard Nick beckoning him in.
“Hello, Mr Grimshaw.”
“Tomlinson!” Nick exclaimed, looking away from his screen with a smile, “And how many times have I told you to drop the formality, honestly.”
Louis grinned, expecting the reaction, and always getting a kick out of it.
“Not enough times then, I’d say.”
“Incorrigible, aren’t you? If you weren’t one of my best employees …”
“Yeah, yeah,” Louis waved him off, dismissing his joking intimidation. “I’m here to talk about our new resident? Harry?”
Nick gestured to him to sit down, and he sat down. “Harry, yes. Harry Styles.” He then peered at Louis from just above his glasses. “Assigning yourself to the new client, are we, Tomlinson? Y'know that's my job right?”
“Oh, come off it, Grimshaw. Just curious.”
“And why’s that?”
Louis sighed, a little on the edge of exasperated. “Just cause, well, I met him earlier. Just wanted to find out more.”
“Oh I’ve heard all about your little shining moment. Word travels fast here, as you know,” Nick teased, and for a moment, Louis was worried he was about to get shit for overstepping. But then the alpha smiled easily. “You did well with him. Where would we be without your tact and resourcefulness, eh?”
“Uh, thanks, I guess?” Louis replied, awkwardness lacing his voice. “So … can I know more?”
“We don’t know tons about him yet, but sure,” Nick shrugged. “So Harry Styles … hmm, let’s see his file, as sparse as it is … okay, yes. So Phoenix rescue team found him last night … well technically early this morning, I suppose, roughly 2 am.”
Louis nodded, listening keenly.
“He was found at the edge of Delamere forest. Our men were scouting the area because there had been reports of minor incidents … small theft cases, petty fights, intimidation. Nothing serious, but still. The villagers nearby seemed to think the alpha in question was feral.”
“What happened to him?” Louis asked, already having heard bits of the story, but needing confirmation.
Nick frowned. “As far as we can gather, he was a witness to his mate, an omega, being murdered. He was stabbed, and died before the parameds got there. Police found no apparent motive for the attack either.”
Louis felt his heart clench a little. This wasn’t new information to him, but seeing the state Harry was in and now knowing what happened, made him feel so much for the alpha.
“They’ve got security camera footage from the night, and therefore footage of the killer breaking in. Harry arrived home after the break-in and the stabbing, so it’s clear he isn’t the one who killed his omega. Though they also have footage of the killer exiting the house, there’s no conclusive leads or witnesses after that, so …”
“It ended up being a cold case?” Louis asked, gauging as much from Nick’s face.
“Yeah,” Nick sighed. “The killer was masked. They did not pick up a scent either. The police carried the investigation on for a while, but had to close it when it led nowhere. Of course, the only witness, Harry, was not at their disposal either.”
“W-what … what happened to him after he witnessed the attack?”
Nick rubbed his face tiredly. “You can imagine it, Louis. The last record of Harry is in the footage, running out of his house screaming and crying. He looked like he’d lost his mind even in the few seconds of the footage, is what the officer I spoke to told me. It’s safe to guess that he spiralled into ferality that very night. I mean … wouldn’t anyone, if they saw their mate bleeding out, and knowing they were too late to help?”
Louis swallowed harshly, mental images of Harry screaming over a faceless omega bleeding out onto the carpet staining his mind. He tried in vain to shake it off.
“God that’s … I can’t even imagine,” he said, voice hollow, still thinking of the way Harry had been trembling in the room.
“Yeah … it’s a brutal one,” Nick agreed, tapping his pen against the desk lightly.
“How long was he missing for, then?”
“Hmm … about six months, roughly.”
“Jesus. Think I’d bet that the fights and thefts were led by survival instinct,” Louis mused.
“Oh. Yeah. I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s very possible,” Nick agreed.
“Anything else that you can share with me?” he prodded, testing his luck.
“Not really. The police wouldn’t disclose much else. Not much immediate family as far as we know, no previous history of mental health diagnoses, no major illnesses … so unless you want to know his height and eye colour, got nothing much left to share, Louis.”
Louis shook his head. He didn’t need to know his eye colour – he had been a little struck by the deep green of them anyway. Still, he was satisfied with having gotten more insight into the rather intriguing new resident.
Nick and Louis lapsed into a momentary silence, while Louis racked his brain for a way to voice what he was thinking of.
Finally, he cleared his throat. “Did he seem a little … different to you? Like … he seems to be exhibiting feral traits a little differently.”
Nick seemed to be considering it. “Sure, a little. It’s too soon to state that for sure, though. He was in containment, which is certainly not the most comforting environment. It’s his first day here, too, so a lot is going on which could be altering and affecting the way he’s behaving right now.”
Louis hummed in agreement.
“But … I’m going to meet him later, make some observations, try and speak to him a bit. Only then can I have a more concrete conclusion, y’know what I mean?”
“Yeah, of course. Just wanted to know what you thought.”
“I shouldn’t be encouraging you and your curiosity, Louis,” Nick said, already reverting to typing away on his keyboard; a sign that this conversation was drawing to an end, “But given your success with him today, I’ll allow it.”
Louis smiled secretly, pleased. “Thanks for filling me in this early, Dr Grimshaw.”
“ Nick, ” Nick hissed, shaking his head exasperatedly, making Louis snort. “Now, I’ve got another meeting in ten, so I cannot entertain you anymore, I’m afraid.”
“I’ve got to get going anyway. Thanks for the chat, Nick,” said Louis, standing up from his chair and grinning at Nick, shooing him away in mock annoyance.
If he had thought that finding out more about Harry would scratch the itch of curiosity, he was dead wrong. For the rest of the day, his mind remained stuck on Harry. As he was in meetings, as he was catching up with Niall over the lunch break, as he was doing his daily sessions with his clients.
And the odd thing was, he had heard about multiple horror stories across his time at Phoenix – it was literally part of the job – but this was different. Something about hearing Harry’s story, something about seeing the dead look in his eyes and the tremble that seemed to be rooted in him, something about the way he seemed to carry grief like a hundred-tonne pendant hung around his neck hit him harder than usual.
Maybe he was just having a day , he thought idly.
Though that night, when he finally collapsed into bed after a long day at work, he still couldn’t shake off Harry’s jaded eyes that burned despite lacking soul, or the spine-tingling growls that were dipped in pain. It lingered like smoke; untouchable, penetrating into every bit of him.