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The Risen is Louis Tomlinson’s crowning achievement.
Born the oldest son into a Catholic family, Tomlinson divorced the ideology at 15 and joined a group of naturalists deep in the woods. It wasn’t his original creation, only inherited from another alpha whose name was lost to history, but he created what it is today.
The burning question amongst outsiders across the globe is exactly that: what is The Risen?
Some theories call it a sex cult, a money-laundering cover, a paedophilic sex trafficking ring. Critics with little understanding of the natural way of life come together to find ways to explain the simple and natural way of life that Tomlinson and his followers have adopted.
Six years after the first journalist set foot on the territory buried deep in the Ten Mile Range, answers have finally been made public. Behind the speculation and storytelling headlines of a cult, is simply a community of people who live differently than most members of the public and have received nearly a decade of backlash in response.
--
Harry kneels at Louis’ feet as he reads the words he’d written aloud, feeling the way his Alpha cards his fingers through his hair. It’s gentle, soothing and soft and lulling him into a sleepy trance. Everyone in the community sits on folding chairs just in front of the state Harry now finds familiar.
Louis runs a hand down his face as his signal to stop reading. He sets the papers down in front of him and places his hands palm down on his thighs, eyes trained on Louis as he takes over.
“Outsiders have questioned us for years. Never understanding that I have been brought here to bring us all to the true path that life has in store for us. A life of belonging, of community, of love and wholeness.”
Through the bond, Harry can feel the passion in how Louis speaks. Their bond had only grown in strength in the weeks since he came home - the beautiful term Louis used to describe him joining the community. Every time he finds a new way to experience their bond - through Louis’ passion, his joy, his concern, his lust - he only finds himself feeling an even deeper attachment to his Alpha and his community.
His family.
It grows every day in how strongly he feels it through Louis and experiences it for himself.
Even before he’d felt the passion, the truth, that Louis had for the people of the community. Being a part of it feels entirely different, a kind of hypnotic joy he isn’t sure he could ever fully describe.
“Together I know, wholeheartedly, that there is no room for question about your belonging. About your wholeness and belonging. That lack of questioning allows you to be whole, to be free from the worries that these outsiders have tried to force on us for years. Their refusal to see the joy, the bond, the simple yet beautiful pleasures of our life have left them blind to this incredible life we lead.”
Louis continues his sermon as he paces across the stage, eyes meeting Harry’s with a small smile every time he comes near. Harry is entirely hypnotized by him, by the way he moves and commands the stage, demanding the full attention of every single person in the room.
The alphas start their chant first. Here we belong.
The omegas join in next, Harry following suit, “I belong to you. ” The mated omegas look to their alphas as they speak and Louis looks directly at him.
The entire group comes together, next.
“Together, we are more ourselves,” Louis says as his next cue for the group to join.
The community above all else.
“Together, there is purpose.”
I am loved, I belong, I am whole.
“Together, we are free from the burdens of the outside.”
I am free from harm, from fear, from feeling alone.
“Together.”
Together.
--
Everyone clears out from the Community hall quickly, all moving towards the dining hall for dinner time gathering. Harry works to arrange the flowers he’d finished pressing in the days previous into neat bouquets to join the rest of the arrangements on the walls as he waits for Louis to finish speaking with a few members of the community individually. Stealing a few glances, Harry fonds over how he interacts with his newfound family, especially with the children. The way he kneels down to their height to greet them, a soft and genuine smile always stretches across his face as he listens to them speak.
Louis catches him staring and smiles, excusing himself from the family he’d been talking to and approaching him, instead.
Harry makes quick work of picking out the prettiest of the flowers from the few dozen that he’d pressed. He wants to make sure they’re nice enough to match the others. Each arrangement, a carefully selected assortment of flowers with meanings unique to each omega, represented their coming home. The ceremony of joining the family, of finding their belonging. Harry’s bouquet is made entirely of white lotus, mixing in with the other white and pale pastels of other flower types beside it.
“Will you tell me what these mean, now?”Harry arranges the flowers in the same way the others have been laid out, pressed into a neat arrangement with a lilac bow tied around the stems.
Louis wraps his arms around his waist from behind, pressing a kiss to his neck. Harry leans back into the touch, breathing in the warm and sweet scent of his Alpha. “Lotus flowers grow in the mud. They bloom each morning just in the right conditions and then, when not in the best conditions, they wilt.” Harry looks at the flowers again, taking a deep breath. “You, my sweet boy, were so unhappy in your life. Left to wilt under conditions never meant for you. And yet here, even in the short time you were with us as a guest, bloomed so brightly with us.”
A pause stretches between them as Harry looks at the flowers in his hands, a fondness spreading through his chest.
“How do you do it?”
“What?”
“You’re so deeply thoughtful about everything. How do you do it?”
Louis gives a half-grin, spinning the omega in his arms around to face him and placing a chaste kiss against his lips. “With such a beautiful muse, how can I not be?”
“I love you.”
Once he has the flowers arranged how he wants them, Louis takes them from him and hangs them on the hook beside the others. They blend in beautifully, permanently marking his place, his home, amongst the community.
“We should celebrate,” Louis says as he kisses Harry’s hands again.
“What do you have in mind?”
Louis smiles, kissing Harry’s knuckles and running little circles on the palms of his hands with his thumb. “Just want to play with you a little, darling. You’ll be good for me?” Harry’s eyes go wide, looking around at the empty gathering hall around them.
“Of course, Alpha.”
“My good boy.”
Harry feels his face get warm with the praise, feels his cock twitch with interest and impatience, but he doesn’t have time to focus on it before he’s following his Alpha back to the stage, climbing the three steps of height and being guided to the center. Louis strides over to the same podium Harry has seen him speak at dozens of times, now, but this time he picks it up, carrying it to the far right side of the stage, and sets it down delicately.
On each side of the stage are five large mirrors, giving the illusion that the space is larger than it is, reflections angled so they don’t bounce off of each other but instead reflect light and openness. Louis catches him watching him from the reflection in the mirror and smiles before he turns on his heel and comes back to him.
Louis wraps his arms around him from behind once again, front teeth nipping at his mark on his neck and drawing a gasp from Harry. Harry had heard of alphas opening their mate’s marks before, usually in times of distress, but he had never realized how incredible it felt. The smallest little nip of teeth over the new, sensitive mark on his neck could make him weak in the knees, pliant and willing to do anything for his Alpha.
“Already eager for it, love?”
“Always for you, Alpha.”
Louis makes quick work of pulling his shirt over his head. Harry’s eyes go wide as his Alpha’s hands make their way to the waistband of his pants, slowly pushing them down over his hips. He’s already hard, his cock standing free once it’s freed from his pants. He flushes red as Louis steps away to fold up the clothes and set them to the side, the stark contrast between the Alpha being fully clothed and him standing, fully naked.
“Alpha - we… here?”
“Do you trust me, omega?” Louis rubs a thumb in feather-light circles around his right nipple as he asks the question and Harry’s mind goes blank.
“I trust you.”
Louis takes his time touching every part of Harry’s body until he feels dizzy with it. He leans back against Louis, back to his chest, and lets himself zone out as the Alpha whispers into his ear and touches him in all the places that make his mind feel fuzzy. His Alpha finally wraps a hand around his cock just as he shoves two of his fingers in his mouth. He sucks on them,
“Love how responsive you are for me, omega. How I barely have to touch you and you’re already wet and gagging for it.” Louis flicks his thumbs over each of his nipples one last time and Harry shivers with the sensation, feeling slick already gathered between his cheeks. “Let’s get you settled.” He guides Harry with a hand on his hip back to the side of the stage. Louis pushes him gently until he’s leaning over the podium, eyes wide as he looks over himself quickly, then looks back to Louis. Louis uses his feet to nudge Harry’s legs apart so he’s standing wide, then guides his arms so he’s using his forearms to support his own weight. It’s a perfect angle that doesn’t twinge his back or his knees, just enough that he’s comfortable enough to stay still.
Yet, he can feel his face burning at the idea of seeing himself like this, completely naked and spread out, cheeks and chest flushed deep red, while Louis stands behind him fully dressed. The only signs of the Alpha’s arousal are the bulge in his own pants and the intoxicating change in his scent, sharper, easier to get lost in.
“I want you to watch yourself fall apart,” Louis’ voice bounces off of the walls in the empty hall. It sends a shiver up his spine, cock twitching against his thigh. “I want you to see how well you do for me.” He looks himself over in the mirror more closely this time, face and chest already flushed and hair already tousled. Then Louis runs his fingers across Harry’s hole, covering them in slick, just a light and teasing pressure that has Harry’s heart pounding wildly in his chest. Louis makes eye contact with him in the mirror just as he presses a single finger past his rim and Harry gasps, legs spreading further apart on instinct.
“Stay still, love.” Louis tsks, using his foot to push Harry back into the position he put him in. “Look how desperate you are for it already. One finger in that pretty little hole of yours and you’re already falling apart.”
The second finger somehow takes him by surprise as Louis presses the digit past his rim, joining the first. “Alpha,” He squeaks, breathless. Louis trails little love bites across his neck and shoulders, soothing over the sting of the soft bite with a kiss. “Please.”
“Please what, darling? I told you I’m going to play with you. Are you being greedy?” Harry chokes out a sob and a moan at the same time, Louis’ fingers stretching him open and fucking him too slow and just enough all the same.
Louis presses a third finger in beside the first two and Harry falls flat against the tilted, smooth surface of the podium, cheek against the smooth wood and fingers gripping the edges tightly. Louis grabs his hair with his free hand, yanking just hard enough to pull his head up, forcing him to look at himself again.
“You said you’d be my good boy, didn’t you darling?”
“Yes, yes, yes, Alpha, I’m sorry,” He whines, feeling Louis’ fingers rubbing small and unrelenting circles against his prostate. He can hear his own moans and whimpers echoing in the emptiness around them and it only makes his face burn hotter with the embarrassment of it.
“Look at yourself, omega. Look how beautiful you are when you let me take care of you.”
“Alpha-” Louis takes his hand from Harry’s hair and wraps his hand around his throat instead, thumb pressing hard into his bondmark and harry nearly screams.
“Look how pliant you go for me, sweet boy. You’d do anything for me to let you come right now, wouldn’t you?”
“Alpha please -” Louis’ fingers around his throat aren’t enough to stop him from breathing but somehow he feels dizzy with it, drunk on how easily his Alpha can make bend to his will.
“Say your mantras and I’ll let you come.”
“I belong to you,” He pants out. Louis’ fingers are relentless inside of him, a constant press right against his prostate that makes him see spots. He can hear his own whimpers and moans echoing off of the walls around him and it sends another wave of heat and pleasure through him.
“Community above everything,” He can barely focus on anything other than the feeling of Louis touching him, of the heat and tightness in his muscles. His eyes fall shut and he feels himself slipping down again, but forces his posture back straight.
“Close, baby. Try again. Look at me.”
“Community above -- above all else.”
“Good boy. Two more.” Louis snakes his hand around his waist, wrapping a loose fist around his cock and toying with it. Harry’s knees are shaky, breaths coming out in a choppy mixture of pants and moans.
“Alpha, please, I can’t -”
“You can, darling. Look at me. Repeat after me.” He nods, tears falling from the corners of his eyes as he opens them and stares up into the bright blue of his Alpha’s eyes. “I am loved, I belong, I am whole.” Louis’ voice is so steady, so sure, so intoxicating.
“I am loved, I belong, I am whole,” He whimpers again as Louis’ fingers continue moving inside of him as he speaks.
“Again.”
“ Alpha,” He wants to cry.
“Again, Harry. Be good for me.”
“I am loved, I belong, I am whole.” His words run together as he speaks, voice barely above a whisper.
“Last one, baby. Repeat after me: I am free from harm, from fear, from feeling alone.”
“I am free from harm, from fear, from feeling alone,” Louis emphasizes each fragment with a flick of his wrist over Harry’s cock. His legs are shaking with desperation, mewls and gasps falling out of his mouth.
“Come for me,” Louis whispers into his ear, voice an octave lower than his usual voice, and Harry can’t do anything but listen. He comes with a shout, feeling his body go lax and Louis’ arm tighten around his waist to keep him standing. “My good boy. So good for me, always the best boy.”
Harry feels whole as Louis lifts him back to standing, pressing little kisses into the skin of his neck and shoulders and his face. Louis’ eyes are so blue, even through the wide blown pupils of his arousal.
“Alpha… let me.”
“I told you I was just going to play with you, love. I can have you all to myself tonight, if you like.”
“I like,” He says, grinning.
Harry wakes up the next morning and feels the soreness of the bruises on his hip bones from the day before. He presses into them softly, a gentle reminder. Louis’ side of the bed is messy and empty, sheets disheveled and pillows scattered every which way. He climbs out of bed slowly, feeling the ache go through his muscles before he stretches them out.
Then, he makes up the bed and goes to the living room to greet his Alpha.
“Good morning, Alpha.”
“Good morning, sweet boy. Do you feel alright?” He smiles and nods, going straight for the kettle on the stove and switching it on. “Get yourself ready for a lesson today. I’ll do a bit of work, then you can join me and some community members later. Wear something appropriate for some outdoor walking. It’s an adventure.”
“Okay. I’d like that.”
He showers, brushes his teeth, and dresses quickly. Borrowing a pair of Louis’ jeans and one of his long sleeve shirts tucked into the pants. The sun is out in full force, a rare treat for the nearing winter season. He toes on his sneakers and walks back to the kitchen onto to see Louis still reading and taking notes, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.
The Alpha turns to him and smiles once, and then his attention is back on the book in front of him.
Harry takes his kneeling pillow from it’s spot beside the counter and brings it closer to his Alpha, eyes raking over him for some kind of approval or disapproval as he sets it down right at his feet and kneels. Louis reaches down and cards his fingers through his hair for a moment, a clear mark of his approval, but that’s the only thing he gets.
Impatience pulls at him as he sits, kneeling, waiting.
Louis and the community taught him the art of stillness, of allowing himself to be without thinking of what comes next. Louis sits just above him, close enough to touch but kept away by his command to kneel and wait, attention buried into whatever is written in the book in front of him. Harry steals fleeting glances when he thinks the Alpha isn’t looking, but mostly he lets himself stare out of the window.
Louis taught him that impatience takes away the peace that the community gives him.
The sky is painted with oranges and pinks as the sun rises above the mountains that surround them. It’s a pretty picture, a reminder of the present moment. He hears Louis’ voice in his head telling him to be still, to allow himself to be in the moment instead of getting lost in his head.
So he kneels and he waits.
The adventure, as Louis called it, is exploring a cave system that Harry had not been aware was on the property. The mouth of the cave is massive, lit up only a few feet even from the bright mid day sun before it gets dark enough Harry can’t tell what goes beyond.
“This is one of my favorite walks to take people on. I think you’ll all enjoy it, but if you are nervous and prefer to sit this one out, you may go home.” Louis’ eyes rake over all thirteen of the people joining them and no one speaks up to leave, so they progress inside.
Louis gives him a flashlight as they walk inside that matches the one he’s holding. “You’ll walk up front with me, so you can help me light the place up.”
Harry grins, satisfaction with having a purpose flowing through him.
They walk deeper into the cave than Harry thought they would. Louis points some pieces out, mentions some rock types and formations that Harry thinks he’s heard of from cave diving books in the past.
“This is what I have taken to calling the grand room. It’s the biggest room we’ve found in this cave system and it’s where we will be today for lessons. Please, sit. In a circle, close to one another.”
Louis launches into his sermon as soon as they sit. He’s just as intoxicating to watch even in the dim barely-there light of the flashlights, even when he’s not walking from side to side of a stage. His passion when he talks about love and acceptance and safety and belonging reels Harry in and holds him there, keeps him full of that feeling of safety and belonging that he’s never felt in any way before.
“Now, I want to show you all something,” Louis says, taking the flashlight from Harry’s hand and switching it off. Then, he switches off the one in his own hand as well. “In ten minutes, you will start to hallucinate,” Louis starts. Harry can feel his hand in his, warm and comforting. He can hear the breaths of the people around him, can smell their scents and feel their presence in the room, but he sees nothing. The blackness in the room is terrifying, a true nothingness he’s never felt in any other way. “Your brain will make up images to help you flee what it perceives as danger. Even if I have a flashlight just here and there is no danger, your mind believes you need to see things that aren’t there to survive.”
Harry has no concept of time in the darkness.
Louis’ hand holding his is the only thing that grounds him in that moment.
He keeps his eyes open, but he can’t tell the difference between them being open and closed. He brings a hand closer to his face, holding it out in front of himself and feels a flurry of nervousness when he can’t even see the outline of it right in front of him.
Instead of allowing himself to panic, he focuses on his breathing. He can feel the calm radiating off of Louis and he savors it, squeezing his hand a little tighter and trying to feel the calm for himself, too.
It doesn’t take long before he starts seeing little white spots dancing across his vision, then streaks of color. The spots and streaks slowly shift into the outline of what he thinks the room looked like before Louis turned the lights off. It makes another spark of nervousness jolt through him as he feels like he sees the outline of a backlit tunnel just a few feet away from them. He turns his head and he thinks he sees the path they came from, a small little break in the rocks that he’d had to turn his body sideways to squeeze through.
Louis turns the light back on and they’re still all sat together, knees nearly touching. Harry can’t be sure how much time has passed and he has no idea how Louis knows how much time has passed, but he feels unsettled. Nervous. “If you’d like to share what you saw, please do.” Louis goes around the circle, then, inviting everyone to share their experiences. Harry watches all of them, eyes wide with the shock of it. “I started to see a ladder. Like it was right in front of me. I almost reached out to touch it,” Aiden, one of the newer alphas to the pack, says, eyebrows furrowed.
“I thought I saw a hallway with a glowing light at the end of it,” His mate says.
Most of the other answers are the same, echoing some form of escape. A way out, even if they’re entirely safe and all know that the true exit is only a short walk from where they’re sitting.
“Outside of here,” Louis starts, taking a moment to allow everyone to look around, “Outside of our family, our minds are in a constant state of thinking we are in danger. That there is always a threat. Threat of not paying rent on time, losing our jobs, losing our homes, our friends, anything.” Harry nods, swallowing a lump in his throat he hadn’t realized was there. His chest feels tight. “That constant threat, even if we don’t feel it as a threat as we’re experiencing it, forces our brains to make things up to help you find safety from that danger.” He hears a few of the people sitting with them take deep breaths, taking in the information all the same. “Making up things like two days of a weekend being enough of a reprieve, making up a reality where going entirely against our bodies with fake chemicals to suppress our instincts is the best method. Forcing a reality where omegas go against their very nature and try to live independently, a lonely and painful existence.”
Louis looks right at Harry as he says that, a sad smile on his face. Harry feels his stomach do a flip, thinking of all the years he’d wasted doing exactly what Louis said. All the years he spent being afraid and trying to seek that safety. The safety he found in Louis.
He hears Louis telling the rest of his story, but he can’t bring himself to pay as much attention as he wants to. Guilt crawls deep inside of him, making his stomach turn and his head hurt.
He takes a few steadying breaths as Louis reaches out a hand to help him stand. He takes his Alpha’s hand and steadies himself on his feet, not letting go even once they’re walking. Louis leads them back out of the cave, experience clearly guiding him as he warns them to duck under some low hanging rocks and makes sharp turns and curves that Harry never would have remembered.
“I want you all to remember the ease you feel here and consider how simple it is to follow your instincts. To let go of the fear in the darkness.”
Everyone says their goodbyes, at that, making the trek back to town. He and Louis linger, alone, in the mouth of the cave for a few minutes. “You seemed like you weren’t feeling well at the end there, sweetheart. Are you alright?”
“I just,” He pauses. “I wasted so long feeling exactly like you said. Years of my life wasted to feeling like that.”
Louis pulls him into a tight hug and Harry rests his head on Louis’ shoulder where his scent is the strongest. It grounds him, keeps him from letting the tears fall from his eyes that are so desperate to fall. “Do you feel that way anymore?”
“No. Everything’s the opposite with you.”
“Then there’s no reason to be upset with yourself for the past. Look to the future.”
That settles something inside of Harry.
Harry overbaked pies, as always. He drops off the last of the six apple pies he’d made to the families that claimed them and makes his way home for the evening. The walk is short and his back feels tight from being bent over in front of an oven all day, but the walk calms him. Lets him collect his thoughts from the day.
“Harry!” A girl’s voice calls. “Hi,” She smiles, slightly out of breath from running to catch him.
“Oh, hi, Alice. How are you?”
“I was talking to my mom and she wouldn’t tell me about the mating ceremony. But I want to know. Will you tell me?”
Harry’s eyes go wide, looking over the sixteen-year-old girl in front of him. “You have years before you have to worry about bonding. What’s got your curiosity sparked now?” She goes quiet for a second and Harry has an idea of what might have brought on the conversation. “Who is it? There are a lot of nice alpha boys in town, aren’t there?”
Her blush grows deeper on her face. “Well, yes. We… he… I want to bond with him. Soon. So I want to know what to expect. It was just before my birthday when you had your ceremony, so I wasn’t allowed to watch. And the next pairing Alpha decides won’t be for months! Until Andrew turns nineteen.” Harry nods. He’s listened to Louis talk about what alpha he wanted to pick for Andrew for weeks, but he keeps that to himself. “And if Jus- I mean, my alpha and I - tell him we want to bond I think he’ll let us.”
“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t remember a lot about my mating ceremony. I was pretty deep in heat by the time it happened. I remember Louis saying very kind things to me, and I remember he had to help me get to the gathering hall. I can’t remember why, exactly, but I imagine it just wasn’t safe to walk by myself.” He smiles at the memory, even if it’s fuzzy. Louis has told him time and time again about how sweet it had been, about how they were so consumed by each other that they almost didn’t make it to the gathering hall. “He said he used his voice on me a few times, to keep me from feeling the pain that some parts of… the ceremony bring.”
“Taking a knot, you mean.” Harry sputters, tries to cover it with a cough.
“Okay, what happened to being shy a few minutes ago?”
She gives a bashful smile.
“I know this might be a lot. But can you talk to the Alpha? Maybe… maybe if he hears it coming from you it might make it easier for him to say yes.”
“You want me to vouch for this mystery alpha to bond you?”
“Alpha always talks about how we should trust our instincts right? I love him. So much. I trust myself to know that.” Harry exhales a long sigh and nods.
“Alright. I’ll mention it.”
He comes home to Louis sitting at the kitchen table, glasses perched on his nose, as he reads one of the more worn books from his library. The spine is cracked and creased, pages well worn and well-loved from use. He’s seen Louis read it over and over, always looking equally as enraptured in it each time.
“Hi, Alpha,” He says just as he turns a page to not interrupt his thought. Louis looks up immediately, a smile taking the place of the concentrated look on his face. “Alice is -”
“Going to try and convince me to let her bond with Justice, right?” Harry's eyebrows furrow. “Her poor mother has been in a tizzy about her babygirl being grown-up for months. And it’s my job to look after my people, especially my omegas.” Harry nods, a smile spreading across his face. “I’ll let them. They both seem very good for each other.”
“Are teenage omegas supposed to know that knotting is part of bonding?”
“Did you not?”
“Maybe I was too sheltered or something. I didn’t learn about that ‘til college.”
“Another reason I love you.”
“She did make me think about… some things, from the ceremony. I know we’ve talked about it, but I want to know more.” Louis guides them both to the couch, letting Harry straddle his lap again and face him. He hums, an encouragement to go on. “You haven’t told me about using your alpha voice on me. I know you do during sex sometimes. But I always remember that. I don’t remember it from our bonding.”
“There are a few times it’s customary in the ceremony. To help you not remember that knotting and bonding kind of hurts a little at first, especially the first time. So I tell you that everything you feel is pleasure, that there is no pain, that you are safe and loved and comfortable.” Harry just watches his Alpha’s face, but he sees nothing but sincerity. Louis runs his hands over Harry’s sides, rubbing little circles with his fingers. “Then I tell you that you are mine forever and I am yours. That you will be safe to listen to me and trust in me forever.”
“So you… used your voice to get me to believe everything you say?” Louis looks at him for a moment, but there’s no concern in his face. It’s the same loving, caring expression that makes Harry’s stomach erupt with butterflies.
“I did, yes. It’s customary. At the end of the ceremony, the alpha uses their voice to tell their omega that we will never betray you, never wrong you, and never lead you astray. Omegas are naturally insecure creatures. Always nervous that something will go wrong. Making that promise to you that you now believe unconditionally and unconsciously takes that pain away from you.” He places a kiss on each of Harry’s knuckles. “And that promise comes with you knowing you can always believe everything I say. I’ve never lied to you, and I never will.”
Harry smiles. “Okay, Alpha.”
Days pass much the same, after that. It’s a peaceful rhythm that keeps him grounded, the relief of knowing what is to come each day.
He does his chores, goes to Louis’ lessons, and stays home with Louis whenever he can. The morning lesson comes to an end just as Harry’s daily duties begin. He starts in the fields, picking up baskets of crops that others had picked and set aside for him to pick what he needs before being taken elsewhere. He picks up three baskets at a time, carrots, potatoes, onions, and sets off on the fifteen-minute walk back to the kitchen.
He’s out of breath and his muscles are straining when he makes it to the top of the hill that leads back into town.
“Hey, Harry,” An alpha half jogs to catch up to him. “How are you doing?”
“Hi, Maxwell. It’s good to see you.” He can’t really see him behind the baskets in his arms that cover up most of his field of vision, but the sentiment still stands.
“Let me carry that.” Harry wants to oppose, but the ache in his shoulders from hours of doing the same job over the last week makes it easy to hand the basket over to the alpha instead. “I wanted to see how you’re adjusting. I imagine it’s been weird.”
“Louis is taking really good care of me. It really hasn’t been much of an adjustment at all.” The alpha almost looks disappointed in his answer, an almost awkward pause stretching over them as they keep walking towards the kitchen. “Did you need something? As much as I appreciate you carrying that for me, I’m assuming that’s not why you came over here.”
“Well I just wanted to ask you about that article you wrote. You’re very talented. Of course. But - you really believe that? Everything you wrote?”
Harry furrows his eyebrows. He’d written it in the days following his heat, when he always thought his mind was the most clear and his thoughts felt the most genuine. Louis had stayed with him, making sure he was taken care of in the post heat sensitivity, but he hadn’t influenced anything. His presence had been a comfort more than an influence.
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t have written it, otherwise.” They get to the kitchen and the alpha sets down the baskets on the steel preparation counter. Harry makes quick work of dumping everything into the sink full of water and plant wash that he’d prepared before he went to pick up the crops.
“Just didn’t really seem that way before your ceremony.” Harry tries to see what he’s getting at. He tries to think of anything that Maxwell might have done to make him break his beliefs in the community, that might have led him into feeling excluded or unloved or left behind by the rest of them. “I mean. I’ve just been thinking about that night, about what led up to it and -”
“Maybe Louis would be better to talk to about this. I’m sure these doubts you're having are just impulsive. And if a conversation with Louis doesn’t fix it, maybe leaving the community would do you good.”
Maxwell lingers for a moment, his face twisted into something Harry can’t read. Then he turns and leaves without another word.
--
Harry is exhausted when he climbs the stairs into Louis’ apartment at the end of the night. He hadn’t thought that kitchen duty would be as exhausting as it has been - but he hadn’t considered gathering the supplies, the cooking, and the cleaning that went on behind the scenes of just serving the food.
“Lou?” He calls into a dark and empty apartment. A frown teases at his mouth as he turns on a few of the lights. “Alpha?”
A note on the counter lets him know he’ll be home before the end of the night. Harry strips his day clothes off and tosses them into the pile of laundry he’s been putting off doing until he’s not working the kitchen anymore. He pulls on the little black shorts that he wears to bed most nights and curls up into bed on Louis’ side.
He can’t sleep without Louis there, but his scent does enough to help him feel grounded enough.
He stays in that comfortable place just between awake and asleep for a while, just letting himself think about everything and nothing all at once. He thinks he might have fallen completely asleep at some point without realizing it because it feels like no time at all before he hears the door opening and the sounds of Louis walking through the apartment.
“Alpha?” He calls, not moving from the bed. He hears Louis’ footsteps first, then the door opens.
“Oh, my love,” Louis makes quick work of stripping off his own clothes down to his underwear before he climbs into bed just beside Harry. “You look exhausted. Go back to sleep.”
“No, don’t want to. Missed you.” Louis kisses him and wraps him into a cuddle and Harry turns and rests his head on his shoulder. “Just a long day,” He says, sighing softly but content surrounded by Louis’ scent. “Two more days of kitchen duty, then I won’t be so tired.”
“You do it so well. Everyone raves over your cooking.”
Harry preens under the praise, taking another breath of his alpha’s scent. He lets himself get lost in it for a while, feelings the way Louis’ fingers trail over his skin. It’s an innocent touch, but Louis’ scent is intoxicating. He lets himself fall into the feeling.
“You need me, baby?” Harry’s cheeks grow hot at how easily Louis can read him. He feels slick between his thighs and warmth spreading over his entire body as Louis’ touches change from the soft, featherlight chaste touches to the spots he knows make him breathless. Fingers across his lips, down his neck, flicking over his chest and his nipples, tracing down his stomach to the hem of his shorts.
“Alpha,” Harry pants out. Louis makes quick work of pulling Harry’s shorts off, hands smoothing over the skin of his thighs, his sides, his chest.
“Alpha,” He whimpers. “Want you.”
“Patience, sweet boy,” Louis whispers into his ear. “Let me take care of you.”
He’s slick enough he doesn’t need to be stretched, but Louis presses two fingers past his rim, scissoring and stretching him out with almost clinical precision. He avoids touching his prostate, but Harry wriggles his hips as much as he can, a weak attempt to chase his own pleasure. “Stay still,” Louis commands, timbre of his alpha voice cutting through and making Harry’s entire body go lax and pliant. “Love how pliant you get for me, sweet boy. How well you take my fingers, how good you always look split open on my cock.” Harry makes a noise that he can’t be sure if a whimper or a desperate mumble, but Louis pays him no mind. “Poor sweet omega can’t think about anything except being spl
He thinks Louis might be nearing his rut. His scent is intoxicating, more than usual, sending waves of dizzy through Harry’s mind until all he can think is Alpha, Alpha, Alpha.
The stretch of Louis’ cock is a familiar ache. He exhales with relief through it, body going lax as his Alpha bottoms out and stills himself for a moment.
He doesn’t waste any time before he pulls almost all the way back out and slams his hips back to Harry’s with a quick, harsh thrust. Louis’ pace was always brutal, relentless and fast and enough to knock Harry’s breath right out of him.
Every time Louis fucks him, he’s certain he’s the most turned-on that he’s ever been. He loses himself to the feeling, grabbing at Louis’ shoulders desperately. “ Alpha, Alpha, Alpha ,” He whines, nails digging into Louis’ skin. He can feel the beginnings of Louis’ knot tugging at his rim with each thrust, catching just slightly as it gets bigger.
His mind drifts to getting pregnant, to carrying Louis’ babies and serving his true purpose for his alpha and that nearly sends him over the edge. Louis wraps a hand around his cock, squeezing tightly at the base of it to stave off his orgasm. He nearly screams at the feeling, his entire body trembling.
“Do you know them, baby? Or need me to help?” Harry blinks his eyes open, corners of his eyes wet with tears. The moans and whimpers that fell from his mouth didn’t even sound like him, echoing off of the walls and filling the space between Louis’ little grunts.
“I belong to you,” He whimpers, the mantra a comforting truth. All he can feel is how deeply he belongs to Louis, surrounded by him in every way he possibly can be. Louis smiles before he presses a kiss to Harry’s neck. “The community above all else,” He feels his orgasm building deep in his stomach as Louis wraps a hand around his leaking cock, thumb toying with the tip. His legs are shaking, an electric mix of almost too much and just enough. “I am loved, I belong, I am whole.” Louis licks over the bondmark on his neck, sending a shiver down his back and through his entire body. “I am free from harm, from fear, from feeling alone.” His alpha bites down into the mark as he finally pushes his knot inside of him, and Harry comes hard over his stomach with a yell, going limp in Louis’ arms.
It’s the same feeling of floating, of feeling so whole and free and loved that Louis gives him. It’s addicting, a feeling he never wants to let go of.
It takes a moment before he can make out what Louis is saying. “Did so good, my sweet omega. Darling boy. Sleep now.”
That’s all he needs.
“Darling,” Harry wakes to Louis’ voice in his ear. “Wake up, sweet boy.”
“Mm,” He stretches himself out, rolling his shoulders and sitting up slowly. “Time’s it?”
“Sorry my love, it’s the middle of the night. Our family needs us.”
Harry blinks again, feeling more awake than he had before. “Is everyone okay?”
“Someone just needs our help and they will be.”
He pulls on Louis’ shirt from the day before, buttoning it high enough to cover all of the marks the Alpha had left on him. Then he steps into a clean pair of the usual loose, comfortable pants he wears each day. Louis is dressed by the time he turns around, brushing his hair back with his fingers.
Louis guides him downstairs with a hand on his back. He always feels a little like jello in his limbs after he gets knotted - a little too sensitive and needy - but Louis takes care of him. Always takes the best care of him.
When they get to the bottom of the stairs, people are already filing in. Louis guides him to his place, his comfortable little pillow he always kneels on during Louis’ sermons. He settles easy, holding on to Louis’ touch for a few moments longer, and then he just watches.
Once the last family is inside and the doors have closed behind them, Louis greets everyone. The children sit closest to the front and all of their eyes look tired, half hooded and barely awake, but still paying Louis the attention he deserves.
“Thank you all for coming,” Louis’ voice sounds concerned, a soft lilt to it that Harry rarely hears. “I brought you all here to call on the community for a moment of support. Maxwell has not been feeling well. He found himself questioning his strength in the community, found himself questioning his wholeness, and it left him physically unwell.”
The room fills with concerned chatter and Harry watches with wide eyes as Maxwell sits in the center of the room, sweat beading down his forehead and hands resting on his stomach, knuckles white with pain. Two omegas sit on either side of him, one holding a cool, wet cloth to his forehead and another just holding his hands as if to distract him.
“We know our emotional wellbeing, our spiritual health, directly informs our physical health. Let us call on the community to help Maxwell strengthen his spiritual health.”
They all sit in a large group around the alpha.
“Maxwell, please use this space to share anything you may be feeling that could be impacting your spiritual health. Let us heal you.”
He mumbles out something too quiet for the group to hear, but the omega beside him translates. “Afraid of being excluded.”
The entire community erupts into chants and phrases of how loved Maxwell is, of how his contributions to the community have gone so far above any of them, that he is needed and desired.
“Afraid of doing something wrong,” The omega beside him translates again.
Harry has never known the community to ostracize someone for doing something wrong. He stares at Maxwell, knowing the conversation they’d had, the messages the alpha was trying to spread to him and to who knows who else, and yet everyone is gathered to help him feel better. Harry wants him to feel better. Wants his mind healed so his body can heal, too.
Everyone sits with him for a few hours, until Maxwell is no longer clutching his stomach in pain and almost looks like he might be on the verge of falling asleep.
“I would like you to lead our mantras tonight, Maxwell. If you feel well enough.”
I belong to the Community.
Community above all else.
I am loved, I belong, I am whole.
I am free from harm, from fear, from feeling alone.
The ceremony ends and Louis says a few private words to Maxwell, leaving Harry kneeling in his place as he does. The community doesn’t linger much with the late hour and the clear tiredness in all of their faces, so before long, he’s alone with his Alpha once again.
Louis leads him back upstairs with a hand on his back. Harry feels sick, guilt and sadness and confusion and fear coursing through him all at once.
“Will Maxwell be alright?”
“Of course, darling. Holistic healing. Heart, mind, body, soul.” Louis presses kisses along his neck between each word. It nearly takes the thought out of Harry’s mind, the barely-there worry that he couldn’t manage to get out of his head during the ceremony. Louis had been so firm on taking out the plate to Maxwell. That specific plate, only delivered by him, first, and before everyone else. He swallows hard as the thought settles deeper into his mind. The thought of Louis poisoning one of them - one of their Community - makes him feel sick.
Would Louis do that?
“Did you take that food today to Maxwell?”
Louis doesn’t answer him for a moment, instead shrugs his coat off of his shoulders to signal Harry to unbutton his shirt. He makes quick work of each button, slipping it out of the clasp and revealing the white tank top just beneath. “I did. He was already not feeling well and I wanted to use it as an ice breaker to sit with him and ask about his commitment to our community.”
Harry blinks, watching his Alpha move.
“Was it something in the food?” The moment the words are out of his mouth he regrets them. Louis has only ever wanted to help him, to help his community. The anxiety clawing at his stomach saying something is wrong makes him feel sick. He knows Louis can feel his fear through their bond and it’s one of the few moments he wishes he couldn’t.
The thought of burdening him with something so unnecessary makes his stomach twist again.
“No, sweet omega. You did nothing wrong.”
“I- think I might have.” Louis tilts his head slightly, but his face looks more curious than angry.
“Let me be the judge of that, then. What’s happened?”
He swallows hard, crawling into Louis’ lap to straddle him and rest his forehead on his alpha’s shoulder. It’s easier to admit what he’s done without having to look at him. “Maxwell came to talk to me. I think - he was trying to convince me that something is wrong. I think it got to me. I’m feeling all of this anxiety that I haven’t felt since before I was with you.” Louis doesn’t respond right away and Harry can’t help but nervously fill the silence. “I didn’t even think to tell you about it. I told Maxwell to go talk to you about his worries, but I should have told you, too.” Louis keeps rubbing circles on his back, gentle and grounding.
“You are still so new to our community. It’s not expected that you will do everything perfectly right away. You’ve been such a model member for everyone, but it’s expected that you would have some growing pains.”
“You’re not mad?”
“No. It’s taken care of, everything is fine. Let’s go to bed. I’ll open your bond for your mantras tonight. I worry for your health, my love. You need to keep your own mind and soul healthy. This worry will do you no good.”
Louis takes his hand and leads him to their bedroom, guides him to lay down and wraps him up into a tight cuddle. Harry focuses on his breathing, focuses on the feeling of Louis’ heartbeat against his back, of his breath against his neck, of the heat of his body pressed against his.
“You’re so tense, omega.”
“I’m sorry,” Harry feels tears well up in his eyes. “I just can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Relax,” Louis says, a timbre in his voice that makes Harry go limp, unable to do anything but comply.
Louis bites down on the bondmark right at the junction of his neck, sending waves of peace through his entire body. He thinks he hears himself saying his mantras out loud, feels the way his lips move around the words, feels the way the weight of the words settles him.
Whole. Loved. Safe. Home.
He feels his eyes close, but he doesn’t sleep. Just lets himself rest, surrounded by the warm embrace of Louis’ scent and the feeling of being home.
“How do you feel, my love?” Floaty, Harry thinks. His eyes feel out of focus and his body lax and sated. A whole-body relaxation he’s never felt before Louis. His Alpha laughs softly under his breath, pressing a kiss to Harry’s hands. “I’m happy to hear that, sweet boy. You do not need to worry. Let me take your worries. Trust in your community, in your belonging to me, to the community, to us.”
He hadn’t realized he was thinking out loud. But he nods, anyway, mind blissfully empty. “Yes, Alpha.”
---
It doesn’t take as long as Harry thought it would for the next journalist to show up asking questions.
“Do you know Matthew Dinnadge?”
“Yeah. He works for the same company I worked for.”
“He’s on his way here. I imagine with plans to interview you.”
“Oh.” Harry blinks, looking over his Alpha in search of any kind of expression, anything to give away how he feels about it. They hadn’t talked much about the stories, about the press and the news coverage that came as a result of his article. Harry hadn’t paid it much attention, too immersed in his work and with taking care of his home and his family, but thinking about it all at once sends a spark of nervousness through him. “Should I talk to him?”
“I think it will do you well. Maybe he’ll believe your story more than my side. Omega social bonds, yeah?” Harry nods. “I think you might even be able to show him around, help him see what all we have to offer. Help him see the truth.”
So, he greets Matt at the foot of the trails two hours later, just as he’s walking onto their property. He’s nervous, thinking about how much Louis trusts him. How much he wants to please him. “Harry! I was just coming to look for you.” His slow walk turns into something more like a half jog, eyes scanning over him as he approaches. “Harry, wow. You look… you look good. How have you been?”
“Hey, Matt. Good to see you!” Matt wraps him into a friendly hug. “Good, yeah. Really good. I know this is probably weird to have the script flipped like this.”
“Yeah. Leonard nearly dropped dead when your resignation came through with that article. Blew up online though, man. Seems to have made the cult enthusiasts only feel better in their beliefs and half of everyone else seems convinced it’s just a commune.”
“And what do you think?”
“I’m here, so I guess I don’t have much of an opinion just yet.” They walk for a while, Harry pointing out buildings to him that he remembers Louis showing him when he was first seeing it all. “So. You got mated?” He asks, eyebrows quirked. Harry smiles, walking along the same trails Louis walked with him only a few months earlier and trying to go back to the feeling of seeing it all for the first time.
“It definitely wasn’t planned that way. Love’s a little weird, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.” There’s a pause between them. Matt’s face goes soft for a second as he looks at him, eyebrows tilted down and face contorted into a slight frown. “But it’s good? Are you safe? Happy?”
“Yes. It’s great, I’m absolutely safe, and I’m extremely happy.” That seems to satisfy him. At least enough to stop looking so concerned. “Why don’t you stay with us for a while? Maybe you’ll find some things that I didn’t. Or maybe you’ll just get a few weeks vacation on Leondard’s dime.” He sees it now, how easy it was. How little it takes to reel someone in. “You can ask all the questions you want, see things for yourself.”
Matt looks at him, studying him for a moment. Then, he shrugs. “Yeah, alright.”