Back at the academy, Harry was chatting to Niall on his way into the classroom. He had barely slept the night, too busy plotting his plan to make Louis see fate didn't mess up with them. They were soulmates and Harry had to sacrifice his true inner wolf for that. He couldn't just stand back and watch Louis throw his only chance of having a family out of the window. If their prophecies both mentioned it they had to be meant to be.

"Are you really sure this is a good idea? Didn't Àmbar ask you just yesterday to give him time?" Niall voiced some doubts.

"Time for what? We're soulmates, Nialler. He needs to accept that. He can't change it anyway" Harry shrugged unbothered.

"So you're gonna force the two of you to fall in love or what is the plan?" Niall cocked an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

"It's not forcing when it's fate anyway. I'm just speeding it up" Harry tapped Niall's forehead lightly.

"You do know that the guy hates you?" Niall had to ruin his good mood with his pessimism.

"He doesn't hate me ...".

"He told you he doesn't want you in his life, H" Niall reminded him and what exactly was his point?

"He was just angry, like he usually is. That's something I have to live with from now on. See? He's way better off than me. I'm the decent soulmate" Harry skipped up the stairs to class.

"I think we have two completely different understandings of the word decent" Niall marked spiteful.

"What the hell do you mean?" Harry groaned annoyed.

"Are you listening to yourself? Your plan is to just throw your soulmate bond at the poor guy, Harry! That is not the way to get him to like you. You won't get a family like that. Not with him" Niall looked unusually unsettled, which only confused Harry even more. "Why do you even want that with him? Apart from fate telling you you're tied to each other in some way. Not necessarily romantic, remember that. You don't even know him".

"I know he gets angry all the time, can't be serious and tends to use sarcasm as his way of communication and always has a sassy remark for everything" Harry showed him he knew Louis.

"Wow, that's what you think of him?" Niall stared at him with a weird expression on his face.

"Because it's true. You see it every day ...".

"Did you not listen to anything Àmbar told you? Or did you choose to completely dismiss that and be an idiot?" Niall cut him off, visibly fed up with him for some unknown reason.

"I know what she said and I get that. He doesn't want to be a failure. No one wants that. That's why I'm helping him accept the truth. Like this, he won't fail me as a soulmate" Harry showed his best friend that he did understand her and had good intentions.

"Are you for real?" Niall looked anything but happy.

"Of course" Harry knitted his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Whatever. Let's get to class" Niall shook his head, mumbling to himself. "God save Louis".

"Niall, what ...?".

"Nialler!" Maribel exclaimed as soon as they entered the room.

"Belle, hey" Niall hugged her tightly.

And what? When did that happen? Since when were they so close? It was nice to see that Niall got accepted into the group but it was also weird that Harry hasn't been part of that process.

On his way to his seat by the window, Harry glanced around the room and saw that they were the last to arrive. He also noticed that Louis was here but in his cat form, sitting on his desk with Zayn resting his head on his hands right in front of him, probably talking through their minds. Like this, Harry could study Louis' cat form a bit closer. He was mostly black but had some white spots on his paws and his chest and one on his ear and Harry wondered why. He also wondered if his fur was as soft as it looked and almost growled when Zayn actually started petting him and Louis quietly purred at that gesture. Why was that happening?

Before he could do anything about Louis and Zayn's closeness a blonde woman came into the room. Harry had never seen her before but then again, there were at least three teachers he didn't know yet. She was probably one of them.

"Aurelio has some important meeting to attend, so he can't come in today. I'm taking his place. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Kida and mainly teach magic history because that's my thing. Not today though" the woman introduced herself. "Today we need to talk about what's happening in the present".

"What do you mean? What happened?" Zayn frowned immediately, sounding alarmed and dropping his hand.

"It seems like some werewolves were attacking innocent people over the last two weeks. It has only today come to our attention when a girl was found dead with obvious evidence that she was killed by a wolf. An alpha" Kida informed them devastatingly.

"That's barbaric!" Maribel exclaimed enraged.

"Why are they doing this? Do we know that?" Liam asked horrified. Harry and Niall exchanged a tense look.

"No, we have no idea if there is a motive or not but we need to find out what they're planning or it could lead to worse events. The city council is angry and that's never good" Kida sighed out shakily.

"What is the city council?" Niall asked embarrassed.

"The city council consists of politicians and representatives of the people of Domumley. We're in constant exchange with them and have our own representatives of the magic world among them. It keeps our peace steady and we make all decisions together because we work together. Most of the time, they're glad we exist but that doesn't count for the species that count themselves out. Like the wolves or the vampires and obviously, the dark wizards" Kida explained to them what they needed to know.

"So, we work for them?" Niall tried to understand.

"In a way, yes. We're some kind of magic police. They come to us when something happens that they can't handle and we keep the people safe. It secures transparency on both sides and no misunderstandings that could lead to war. Not every country in the world is that advanced, sadly" Kida expounded a bit further. "The council makes sure magic is allowed and accepted among all humans. It was never a secret. Humans grow up with it and learn that it's normal. Like this, we can all live together in peace".

"And now that some wolves decided to attack humans it threatens our peace" Niall nodded along in understanding.

"Exactly. The council was wary of your pack for a long time. There was barely any communication between them and us for decades, which isn't normal here. Now they've gone too far. We have to find out what they're planning before this could end in war. No one wants a war against the wolves" Kida entrusted them with the main issue at hand, making Harry swallow at the mere thought.

"Least of all us" he mumbled to himself.

"We'll make sure this stops".

Harry wasn't so sure of this. If some of their alphas were really attacking innocent people out of the blue then this was bigger than they could ever imagine. The alphas in the pack never acted without permission, direct or indirect. Apart from one exception but that has been years ago. Nowadays, his father always knew what everyone was up to and stopped actions he didn't approve of. That he wasn't stopping this was louder than a million words.

"Do you think he is doing this because of us? Some kind of revenge for leaving the pack?" Niall asked him in a whisper.

"I'm not sure but I don't think so. Although it's odd that he didn't come after us yet. It's all so weird" Harry answered equally as quiet but he caught Louis watching them suspiciously. Right, cats have good ears. That probably counted for him as well.

The rest of the lesson went completely past him and at the end, he just blindly followed the other guys without knowing where they were heading. Niall was right next to him but kept talking to Maribel and Aria. Zayn was ahead with Àmbar and Louis was sitting on his shoulder, still as a cat. Looked like he really loved to be a cat at all times. Not weird at all.

After crossing a bridge, Harry realised where they were heading. The beach. He hasn't been here since they had come to Domumley. The sight was breathtaking. The ocean looked endless and oh-so deep and beautifully fascinating. But no one else seemed to share his opinion. They were all sitting down in a circle, just chatting. Apart from Louis. He was facing the ocean, now sitting next to Zayn instead of on his shoulder. His tail was swinging slowly and he looked totally relaxed.

Just watching him made Harry question if Louis would even turn back into a human at all today. If not, he couldn't go through with his plan. Like this, they couldn't talk. He wasn't Zayn or the other guys. He couldn't talk to Louis through his mind. Maybe never. But maybe their soulmate bond would make it possible someday. He needed it to be that day today.

"No, that's actually a thing. It's pretty common in the human world" he heard Aria's voice and realised he should pay attention.

"Did you hear that? They have parks with ... what we're they called? Rollercoasters and waterslides and a merry-go-round. It's an object that spins around its own ...".

"And what is their purpose?" Harry didn't understand why Niall was so excited.

"It's for fun, H" Niall told him as if he were stupid.

"You don't look convinced. Maybe we need to take you to an amusement park one day and show you how fun it is" Aria suggested nonchalantly.

"Sounds like a plan" Àmbar grinned excitedly.

"Now we only need to find a day where we don't need to solve a mystery or fight demons or protect someone. Easy peasy" Liam noted way too sarcastic. Was he okay?

"Meow" came a sound from next to Zayn, making them all laugh.

"That was the sassiest meow I've ever heard in my entire life" Zayn cackled exhilarated.

"Care to share your thoughts with the class?" Maribel smirked down at Louis challengingly but he only shook his head.

"Such a stubborn cat" Aria giggled livelily.

"A cat Liam apparently spent a lot of time with. He sounds exactly like him" Àmbar added jokingly.

"No way!" Zayn gasped as if he had realised something. "Those were Louis' words, right?".

"Can I not be sarcastic on my own?" Liam huffed poutily.

"Sometimes but not like that" Zayn softened immediately.

"So, he told you what to say or what?" Maribel was barely able to keep it together.

"Some secrets stay secrets forever" Liam sealed his lips with an invisible sip and key.

"Oh god," Niall burst out laughing like crazy.

While his 'friends' were all laughing Harry felt Louis' eyes on him. As soon as he looked at him Louis made a subtle head movement and started walking away. When Harry only blinked dumbly Louis looked back at him and beckoned him to follow him. Flabbergasted, Harry followed the black cat away from the rest of the group until they had reached the shore. Looking into those big blue eyes, Harry could watch closely how Louis turned back into a person, offering him a hesitant smile.

"Thanks for ..." Louis started but then fell silent, clearing his throat. "Um ... I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I never wanted you to get hurt, no matter how I feel about you. If we didn't argue I would have noticed the demons earlier. So, I'm sorry".

"You don't need to be sorry. I'm used to our arguments and it was my decision to step in. Nothing you could have done about it" Harry reassured him that they were fine, shocked that Louis even apologised. He didn't think Louis was someone to ever admit that he might have done something wrong.

"I could have acted differently and not abandoned you at Àmbar's place like an asshole. I never meant to disappear. It just happened. I was so angry and then I felt horrible for the entire argument and the way I treated you. And I f ... " Louis cut himself off, his eyes big with horror. "What I was trying to say was that I'm sorry for what I said. I hurt you on purpose and that's so unlike me that I don't recognise myself. I meant every word but I could have worded it differently and handled it better and ...".

"It's completely fine, Louis" Harry interrupted his rambling. "I get it. It was your revenge for what I said to you and I deserved it. Now we both hurt each other and can move on. We're even".

"That's what you think this was about?" Louis stared at him.

"Of course. It's obvious you didn't mean it. You can't. We're soulmates. You and I are supposed to be in each other's lives. We were born to get along and bond and be each other's ...".

"No, don't even start this. I told you I don't care about this. It means nothing to me" Louis spoke over him and walked away.

"How can you say that? We can't ignore fate after it made us sacrifice part of our lives, ourselves before we were even born ...".

"What did you have to sacrifice? You had a great life in the pack" Louis snorted in disbelief, almost mockingly.

"I ...".

"I did not want an answer" Louis stopped him from answering. "I don't care what fate has to say about us. I make my own decisions. My first was to kick you out of my life and I stick with it".

"But we're meant to be together, Louis" Harry called after him desperately, feeling his world crumble right in front of his eyes.

"No, we're not" Louis turned back around to him. "Soulmates do not equal romantic partners, Harry. You don't even know anything about me. We can't have a normal conversation without arguing. That's not what love is. You see me as someone I'm not and only want us to be something because you know we're soulmates. Get that out of your head. Soulmates can hate each other. That's the case here. Accept it, Harry".

Lost for words, Harry was fish-mouthing and tears were already on their way. "I ... We ... It's not ...".

"Fuck, out of the way!" Louis cursed and pushed him to the side, making him fall into the soft sand.

Before he could yell at Louis for pushing him he saw Louis transforming and his wings appearing. He formed pure light between his hands and shot it at something. A demon. One like the demons in the pixie woods. Realisation dawned on him. That's why Louis had pushed him. Out of the way of the attack. He had done that to protect him, to save him. Even though they were arguing.

"Come on" Louis helped him back up on his feet, grabbing his wrist and pulling him all the way back to their friends. "We have a problem, guys".

More demons were coming out of nowhere. Not only the harmless ones but also the more dangerous ones. On cue, his friends all transformed and got ready to fight. The people around seemed to notice what was going on and started to panic.

"Can you try to get them all away from here?" Aria addressed Niall and Harry stressed.

"Sure thing" Niall gave her a thumbs up. "Come on, H".

Together with his best friend, he tried to usher the people away from the fight scene at the beach. Calming them down wasn't really possible but they did as told and ran away as quickly as possible while the guardians were fighting in the background. Filled with worry, he turned back around and tried to make out what was happening. It seemed like his friends were winning easily but not everyone had left the beach yet, which made it a lot harder.

Without thinking about it, Harry ran back down and tried to get the remaining people to leave. What he didn't consider though was getting attacked himself. When he was rescuing a young girl one demon came right at him, claws and poisonous tail out in full swing. Right now, he really wished he had a suit and a weapon to defend himself but he was defenceless. His attacker didn't care one bit.

But before the demon could sink his claws into him a blinding wall appeared between him and the demon, turning the demon into ashes. The wall turned into a dome around him, that he could touch but not cross. He was locked inside, unable to reach from the outside. Save from intruders.

"What ...?".

"Stay right there, okay? Nothing can happen to you" Louis appeared in his vision, the glow of his hands subsiding. "Oh, and thanks for saving that girl, Harry".

Without waiting for an answer, Louis flew back to his friends and fought off the remaining demons, killing all of them effortlessly. It was all too much for Harry. Louis had saved him and kept him protected while fighting like a real hero. His heart was beating abnormally fast in his chest and he couldn't help himself from leaning against the wall of the light dome, watching Louis in action.

Only a few minutes later the fight was over and no demon was left. The dome around him disappeared and immediately, Harry ran over to the others, hearing Niall behind him. Instead of looking happy and proud of themselves, they looked ... almost numb.

"Guys, you were amazing" Harry praised them honestly.

"Thanks" Aria tried to smile but failed.

"What is it? You don't look like you just won a fight" Niall frowned befuddled, concern swinging in his voice.

"It's hard to explain but something felt off," Liam told them, still seemingly lost in his thoughts.

"Louis?" Harry tried carefully.

"He's right, Harry" Louis actually looked at him. "Something was off and I can still feel it. This isn't over".

Dying of exhaustion, Harry fell to the ground, panting heavily. Laughingly, Isaac was leaning over him with a crooked smile on his face. Groaning to himself, Harry covered his face with his arms.

"Already giving up?" Isaac sounded way too amused.

"I'm dying" Harry wailed dramatically.

"If you can be dramatic you're not dying yet, which means you still have energy left for more fighting. Get up, you drama queen" Isaac motioned for him to stand up, chuckling to himself. "Your little beta friend is not complaining".

"I'm not little!" Niall screamed offended.

"Now you sound like Louis" Isaac snorted entertained.

And Harry really tried but he couldn't help himself. "How is he? Today, I mean".

"He was fine" Isaac let him know without asking questions. "If you wanna be as good as him you need to stand up".

Defeated, Harry scrambled back onto his feet and picked up his fake sword, getting into position. While Niall was training with Mikayla, Isaac tried to get the best out of Harry. After the last two recent incidents, Harry was more motivated than before to learn how to defend himself without his werewolf features because they had turned out to be useless against demons. He couldn't depend on Louis saving his ass from now on, like down at the beach.

That's why he gave his best although he felt like his lungs were giving in and in the end, he managed to get through another hour of fight training. Isaac even praised him afterwards for his good work and that felt really amazing. Praise was nice for once.

"Fuck, I can't feel my legs. Only every single bone in my body" Niall moaned loudly, cracking his back to prove a point.

"Same, mate. But it was worth it. He said we did a good job. Is proud of us. Feels nice" Harry felt sentimental suddenly.

Niall smiled understandingly at him but didn't get to speak because Liam and Maribel came walking toward them. "Hey, guys. Done with training for the day?".

"Yep and ready to go" Niall jumped on his spot.

"Go? Where?" Harry asked befuddled.

"Liam and I are heading down to the bakery near the bookshop. I wanted to look for a job, remember?" Niall let him know jittery.

"I remember. Fuck, I wanted to do the same. Completely slipped my mind due to all the Louis drama lately" Harry slapped his own forehead. He wanted to support his family with a job.

"Self-made drama, mate. And you know it" Niall patted his shoulder exaggeratedly. "Anyway, we're off. See you, guys".

"Wanna hang out? I have way too much free time lately" Maribel asked shier than Harry has ever seen her.

"Sure but would you mind if we go to mine? My Mum is waiting for me. I told her I'd come home right after training and I don't have a phone to text her. Not that she has one but ... yeah" Harry scratched his neck awkwardly.

"Yours is fine. Lead the way".

On the way to his place, the two of them chatted lively about lots of things. She was really easy to get along with and Harry was happy that at least someone included him in their group.

"Mum, I'm home!" Harry called out when he entered the house.

"Hi, Darling. Oh, you brought a friend" Bella welcomed them.

"Hello, Mrs. Styles. I'm Maribel. Nice to meet you" Maribel introduced herself, reaching her hand out for Harry's mother.

"The pleasure is mine, dear. Please, call me Bella" Bella pulled her into a loose hug instead. "Are you hungry?".

"Starving".

Only five minutes later, he was sitting at the dining table with Maribel, his mother and his sister. Luke and his family were out, apparently with Louis and Zayn and that didn't bother him at all. No, not in the slightest. He hoped they had fun, just not too much.

Apart from that, Harry loved to see how well Maribel got along with his family. Something felt right for once and maybe life would get better and easier for him now. Maybe ...

"Where are you with your thoughts, Darling?" Bella startled him.

"What do you think? He's thinking about Louis, what else" Abby made fun of her brother, causing Maribel to tense up oddly.

"I was not thinking about Louis! Thank you very much" Harry huffed indignantly.

"You were not picturing your future together because you're soulmates?" Abby mocked him playfully.

"He wasn't, right?" Maribel spoke up squeakily. "Because Louis doesn't want that".

"Thanks for the reminder" Harry grumbled moodily.

"Sorry but it's true and you know it. You had enough arguments to remember that. He told you clearly ...".

"He will come around. He has to. We're meant to be" Harry rushed out, cutting her off desperately.

"Saying that doesn't make it any more true or easier on him. It only makes it worse and pushes him further away from you" Maribel stood her ground, Abby and Bella only watching them.

"But he can't hide from the truth forever. We were born to be together. We're meant to be more than friends and have babies and live happily ...".

"Are you listening to yourself?" she cut him off in horror. "Did you tell him all that?".

"Of course" Harry confirmed proudly. "Except for the babies".

"I really understand why he is mad at you. You're going too far. It's too much" Maribel shook her head in disbelief.

"What is too much? Tell me" Harry was getting so angry, briefly seeing Maribel glancing at his family. "They can listen. Just tell me what you mean".

"Okay, I wanted to talk to you about this anyway. Alone but who cares?!" Maribel braced herself, facing him determined. "What I mean is that you're pushing too much, Harry. Have you ever thought about how Louis is dealing with the whole soulmate topic? Have you ever put yourself in his place?".

"Of course, I ...".

"No, you didn't or you would have stopped" Maribel didn't wanna hear it. "I'm not saying this to be mean or hurt you but you need to stop. You're putting so much pressure on the poor guy and he has been through enough. He doesn't need to be reminded that you're his soulmate every day and face your expectations on top of that. Think about how he feels. How he felt for eighteen years. He has been mistreated, abused and bullied by your pack for eighteen years. He has been told he's a disgrace, a failure, a weak human being, absolutely worthless. And you were involved in this. You two don't have a good past and eighteen years full of abuse don't just disappear because suddenly your 'abuser' is your soulmate".

It was deadly silent at the table. Harry wanted to disappear. He wanted the ground to swallow him. He felt horrible right now.

"I know others were worse than you but my point still stands. Give him time to get used to your presence and the whole situation. Don't suffocate him with this soulmate thing. If you're meant to be more than friends you will be, in time, but not like this. You can't force these things and believe me, you don't want that. You don't know anything about him. Get to know him first. He is amazing. I know you have a wrong picture of him in your mind, which makes this entire thing even weirder. Because why would you wanna be with someone you don't even like personality vice? Only because fate said so? Without having genuine feelings for him? He really deserves better than that. He deserves someone who really loves him for himself, freely and willingly. Desperately and truly. You get what I'm trying to say?" Maribel continued softly.

Harry nodded hesitantly. "I think I do. I never meant to make him feel bad with my words. I only said these things ...".

"I know, H. And it's okay" Maribel smiled at him. "But hearing that all the time doesn't make it better. I know that feeling".

"You do?" Harry sniffled guiltily.

"Yeah, I know how it feels when you get told you're meant to be something or born to be a certain kind of way. It's all with good intentions and is supposed to help you but it doesn't. Hearing this all the time doesn't make that feeling go away. The feeling that something is wrong with you because you can't feel it. You don't see it" Maribel confessed shakily.

"I'm sorry you feel this way" Harry squeezed her hand.

"It's fine. I'm fine, most of the time" Maribel assured him quickly.

"Who ... who makes you feel that way?" he needed to know.

"Every single teacher at the academy?!" she laughed dryly. "They mean good but hearing how I was born to be a guardian and meant to be great is not helping me feel like I'm close to that. Sometimes I just don't feel it. The whole magic thing. But I guess that's kind of my family's fault. In a way, at least".

"In which way, Darling?" Bella asked emotionally.

"Even though we live in a world with magic my parents were never big on fairytales or belief. They kept me away from it my entire life to keep me grounded or whatever. I had to grow up pretty early and practically raised my two brothers on my own. My parents were never there. I always wondered how I deserved this. No supportive family. I was good enough to take care of my brothers but not good enough to get their attention" Maribel let them in on her story. "Well, I got it when they realised I'm not into guys. Not a nice day. I moved out pretty quickly after that. With sixteen. It was hard to finish school with work on the side but I managed somehow. I even became a nurse due to some miracle but then the guardian thing happened and I was told my aunt was a guardian and now I am one and was born for this but I don't feel it. Not every day. Now I can't work as a nurse due to training and ended up back at the bar like all these years ago as a waitress. Was it worth it? I'm not sure".

This entire time she kept her voice steady and emotionless but Harry was able to see through her mask. She was struggling, a lot and kept her walls up to not get hurt again. Her jokes and way of talking to the others were a protection shield. A shield she had built around her fragile heart. From now on Harry swore to himself to always be here for her, if asked or not.

"Thank you for telling me this. I appreciate it and will keep it between us" Harry promised her.

"The others know the summed-up version but I don't wanna be a burden. They have enough on their hands and I feel like ... they're all closer anyway. I don't know" Maribel tried to come off as unbothered but it was obvious it was bothering her.

Harry signalled his family to leave them alone and they directly understood and left the room. Carefully, he took her hand and caressed it gently. "The guys love you, Belle. All of them".

"I know. It's just ..." she trailed off, exhaling deeply. "Look at them. Louis and Zayn are Animellas. They're special. Àmbar and Aria have each other and no one comes close to that. Àmbar always believed in magic and was proven right. For her, adjusting was never the problem and she helps Aria when she struggles. Zayn grew up in the academy and helps Liam when he feels out of his element. And then there is me. Who do I have? I know it's not on purpose but I feel like an outsider a lot. And with my best friend on earth, it's tricky. I feel like I'm putting her in danger, simply by knowing me. Who says the evil guys won't go after her? We're vulnerable through our family and friends, loved ones. I don't wanna lose anyone. I couldn't handle the blame, the guilt".

"From now on you have me. Forever. I promise" Harry pulled her into a tight hug. "And I'm sure the others will be there for you if you ask. They have your back".

"I know" Maribel breathed into his chest shakily. "I'm just used to being bullied for who I am and it made me careful and closed-off. It's a habit I can't break. That's why I understand so good. He's just like me in that case".

"That's something I didn't see and I feel so stupid. Thank you for opening my eyes. Your honesty was badly needed" Harry thanked her wholeheartedly.

"Hell yes, it was. You were about to force him into a relationship with you although you think wrongly about him. You still think he is angry all the time and moody and snappy, which he really isn't. Only around you. I've never seen him so angry before. You have a talent for that" Maribel giggled and let go of him.

"Guess that's true. Fuck, I was so selfish. I can see that now" Harry was so disappointed in himself. "I'm gonna back off".

"Give him time and become part of the team first. Get to know him and maybe you can become friends. Whatever happens then is up to you, both of you" Maribel advised him softly.

"I will. It would be nice to be on the receiving end of his kindness for once. That's my new goal. Make him hate me a bit less" Harry thought back about Louis interacting with Àmbar and Zayn and the way he treated everyone else, even strangers.

"Improvement. You realised he is kind" Maribel chuckled amused.

"I really feel like an idiot. I'm gonna tone it down a notch and let things happen naturally. Let's see what's gonna happen" Harry opted to be optimistic.

"If you find yourself horny as hell again and he shares your needs, please don't fuck when we're home" Abby crept back into the room, making Maribel laugh out loud.

"Will you ever let me live this down?" Harry groaned totally embarrassed and just knew Maribel would ask.

"No, never" Abby cackled evilly and left again.

"So, you're desperate for his dick, huh?" Maribel smirked smugly.

"I'm not" Harry turned crimson. "It was just ... a part of me saying hello that I didn't know existed".

"Now I'm confused" Maribel looked so lost.

"Without Louis as my soulmate I would have been an omega but to possibly be with him I became a beta. Since newest, I also know I'm still partly omega. I have traits that only come through when Louis is around. Things I've wanted my entire life and could have but only with him. Exclusively him" Harry opened up to her.

"Oh" Maribel's eyes grew up. "Shit, with him you could have babies? For real? Now I understand why you were so desperate and persistent. Fucking hell".

"Yeah, but it was wrong and I'm glad I haven't told him. This would have freaked him out. Right?" Harry shuddered heavily.

"Probably but just because ... yeah. It's a lot of pressure...".

"Exactly and now that I've realised I've been wrong I'm happy I kept this to myself. For now. I need to let that dream go. I mean, I always wanted babies and was so focused on getting them with Louis that I completely ignored that we're nothing. That was so fucked up. If that ever happens it will be a gift, the cherry on top and not the sole reason we're anything. I have to remind myself of that from now on" Harry talked more to himself than her.

Wanting Louis to have biological kids was wrong. Wanting him as his soulmate just because he misinterpreted soulmates was wrong. Wanting him because he might love him could be right. One day.  

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How did Maribel manage to get through to Harry?

Did he really understand now?