Together with Aria, Àmbar and Zayn, Louis was patrolling through the main park of Domumley. According to an unknown and anonymous source, one of the escaped wolves has been seen running around in this park half an hour ago. Now they had the mission to check out if he was still here and if he was dangerous or not. A rogue alpha in a human park was never a good idea. Especially not recently with everything that was going on.

Splitting up in pairs, they searched the entire park but came out empty-handed. There was no trace of a wolf anywhere and no one has seen anything. It was like a hard punch to the gut. At least, to Louis. It felt like his missions all tended to go wrong lately. Maybe he was only being overdramatic. He knew he had that tendency.

"Did you find anything?" Àmbar asked him after another ten minutes of wandering around aimlessly.

"No, you?" Louis replied despondently.

"Nothing. Not a single paw print or anything" she let him know.

"We should head back. Meet at the bridge?".

"We're on our way".

Stepping onto the stone bridge, Louis leaned over the stone railing and looked at his reflection on the river's surface. "They're here in a few minutes".

"Maybe you can use that time to tell me what's bothering you" Aria leaned against the side of the bridge right next to him.

"Nothing is really bothering me. I just had a lot of free time yesterday to overthink. About everything that happened the last two days. And even before that and I ..." Louis took a deep breath, carding with his hand through his messy hair. "I feel like I overreacted yesterday with my self-guilt trip. The whole 'I deserve the pain' thing was a bit over the top and I know that. It was how I felt at that moment but looking back at it, I feel pathetic".

"You don't have to. It was sad and devastating to hear that you felt that way but we understood. We all did" Aria reassured him softly.

"Maybe but it was out of line and a bit too much. I just felt stupid for letting him get to me like this. For making me feel like I had to prove myself. I knew he was doing that and I jumped right into it head-first. I could have handled it better ...".

"None of that, Louis" Aria interrupted his overthinking. "I admit, it was a bit much but if you feel or felt that way it's totally legit and justified. You feel what you feel and that's it. No judgement".

"I swear, you're the best" Louis smiled at her with a teary laugh.

"Thanks" Aria winked at him, making him forget how shy she could be around other people. "But is that everything?".

"Isn't that enough?" Louis pulled a funny face at her.

"Oh, it is" Aria laughed at him. "But you seem thoughtful".

"Yesterday I had an interesting talk with Sean and it kept me up all night. My mind won't shut up and I can't unsee certain things. Now I'm terrified to go back to the academy and see ..." Louis bit his tongue lightly to shut himself up.

"Harry?" Aria guessed easily, so Louis only nodded in defeat. "What was your talk about? I thought you two were mostly fine".

"We are, in a way. We don't argue anymore and I don't feel like I hate him. I'm over that but ... it's still weird and there is so much bad tension between us. And a lot of hesitation. We're not friends but I think maybe we need to be for the team to work. I just don't really know how. Especially now that he isn't forcing things anymore and backed off. How do I get us to a better place? How can we possibly become friends without the soulmate thing hanging above us the entire time?" Louis let his mind run free.

"Maybe if you two focused solely on yourselves and nothing around you" Àmbar's voice came from behind him. Aria and he turned around and spotted her and Zayn flying over to them.

"In which way?" Louis watched them coming down in front of them, landing on the bridge.

"The soulmate thing is constantly in your head and I guess, he isn't doing any better. You both need to let it go and get to know each other away from that. I know that's not only up to you but it's the only way. If you keep mentioning or talking about it there is too much pressure on you and whatever bond you could have. Ignore fate for now and see for yourselves what you could be" Àmbar advised him wisely. That's why he loved her.

"Maybe I can suggest that to him somehow, someday. Hopefully, he is willing to do that. I would love for the tension to go away and see who he is now and so he can see who I am" Louis mused doubtfully. "If we do this I need to get rid of the images in my head. It wouldn't be fair to him. To myself. To anyone really".

"What images are we talking about? Wet dreams?" Àmbar asked like the idiot she was, making Aria giggle into her hand.

"I hate you" Louis shot her an unimpressed look. "No, like I told Aria already I was with Sean yesterday and we talked about this entire thing and he ... he tried to help me see why we're soulmates or why it is so freaking important apparently. He showed me many different versions of the two of us in other universes. It was a lot".

"Different versions?".

"Other universes?".

"In how many were you two a couple?".

"Really, Joey? That's your question?" Louis raised an eyebrow at his soul twin but he only smirked at him. "In millions".

"Soulmates indeed".

"Were there any non-romantic ones?" Aria hooked nosily.

"Yeah, five but I didn't see all of them. Even in those we were kind of involved somewhere along the line. Only that the fuck-up was too much to be repaired. Except for one. In one we were nothing. You can imagine how I felt" Louis answered honestly.

"Were we in any of these universes?" Àmbar checked curiously.

"In every single one of them, one way or another. Zayn was always by my side and in some, we were more than friends but only in those where Harry fucked up too much" Louis told them but ended up laughing at the ridiculousness of this situation.

"So, second choice, mh? I can live with that" Zayn grinned brightly at him.

"You're an idiot" Louis poked his tongue out at him.

"And you're destined to be tied to your werewolf. Did you see all your sappy moments together? All the I love you's and kisses and ... Oh my god, tell me you did not see yourself do it" Zayn's face morphed into something close to madly crazy.

"God, no! I did not see that. Not really. I guess I've seen at least one moment before it happened but it was all harmless and way too cute and emotional and ..." Louis made a gagging noise to demonstrate what he meant.

"So, you're disgustingly cute in millions of universes and we were unlucky enough to get this version of you? How unfair" Àmbar noted cheekily.

"Be like that. Then I won't tell you about yourself and that pretty girlfriend of yours in other worlds" Louis shot back sassily.

"You've seen us?" Aria's ears perked up now.

"I did, yeah. You were always around and always together. You're never not a thing. Not as far as I could see. And you're always the better version of Harry and me. The smarter version. I can admit as much" Louis revealed to her without a problem. He had loved to spot that detail in every new universe.

"Sounds about right. We're so smarter than you" Àmbar hugged her girlfriend from behind, hands around her waist.

"Obviously" Louis snorted sarcastically.

"Besides them, was there anything you took with you from that experience? Be honest with us, Tommy" Zayn asked gently.

"Actually ..." Louis was about to be honest about how he had felt seeing them be in love in dozens of other worlds but a shrill shriek out of the woods cut him off.

Only a second later, they were surrounded by demons, third-class and second-class ones. A few too many for only four guardians but if they approached this right they could get out of this without a scratch. But that was unlikely.

Fortunately, Zayn and Àmbar were still in transformation and could directly attack the demons. Aria and Louis followed only a few seconds later after suiting up and letting their wings appear. Each one of them took over a handful of demons and sent them back to hell. The third-class demons were killed easily but the second-class demons were stubborn today.

Right now, Louis was facing down two second-class demons with poisonous tails and axe in hand. Although that wasn't a hand. It was a clawed paw, bigger than Louis' face. Creating a shield to protect his face, Louis tried to burn them down but they used their axes to block his attacks. That was a clever move. Too clever for simple demons. Something was off here. They came off as way more trained than they should be.

"Àmbar!" Aria exclaimed somewhere close to him and that cut right through his concentration and focus.

With an ill-considered movement, Louis spared the scene behind him a quick glance and saw Àmbar lying on the ground of the park, injured and unconscious. Aria was furiously keeping the demons away from her woman but they were too strong. His quick glance took him too long and was one of his worst decisions ever made. While he was distracted the two demons around took their chance.

Before he could react, he was thrown to the ground and the shield around his head vanished. He was down and defenceless and the demons used that to their advantage. With their tails, they aimed at him together. Channelling his last-remaining energy, Louis formed a weak protective shield between his hands and it kept one of the two demons away from him, bouncing off and falling to the ground.

The second demon, however, was able to get right past the shield and cut through Louis' suit with his tail and one of his claws traced his cheek, making him yelp in pain and fear for his life. His powers gave in and he could only watch the demon starting a second attack. This time to end this. End him.

A frustrated scream echoed through the park and sent a wave of shock through Louis' entire body. Only a second later, the demon in front of him froze and shattered into pieces. The air around Louis grew cold and icy and he shivered all over. Right at the brink of too much, it stopped altogether but Louis still felt cold, only for a totally different reason. He could feel blood on the top of his head.

"Louis, oh god".

Even light-headed, Louis could recognise Zayn's voice. He was obviously panicking, his voice ten times higher and squeakier than normal. And everything in him wanted to comfort Zayn and tell him it was alright but Louis couldn't feel his body anymore. He felt numb and cold and was getting really tired, his eyes closing on their own but he tried to keep them open to see Zayn.

He hardly felt how Zayn picked him up and then the world around him turned blurry and his head felt fuzzy. At one point, Louis heard hushed voices around him and noticed how he was laid down somewhere but he couldn't say where he was. Through all of this, he could swear he heard Harry's voice calling his name.

A burning pain shot through his body and it felt like something was burning him inside out. Still, he tried not to scream and endure the pain. Something inside of him told him to relax. Maybe it was on the outside. He couldn't tell. His mind wasn't working properly. He was drifting in and out of an unconscious state until he finally gave up and gave into the heavy feeling of tiredness. He needed sleep.

Blinking his eyes open, Louis was blinded by a bright light on the ceiling. He narrowed his eyes and squinted around the room he was in. It was the nurse's office in the academy. He was back.

"Louis? Oh god, you're awake" a voice sounded relieved and happy to see that he was awake apparently. Louis couldn't relate.

Shutting his eyes close again, Louis grumbled unintelligible stuff until he re-opened his eyes. "What happened?".

"What's the last thing you can remember?" a female voice asked him. Louis turned towards her and recognised Amelia. She was a member of the magic council and Kida's wife. But also the nurse because she had the strongest healing powers around.

"We were at the park, looking for a wolf but found nothing. At one point, we got attacked by demons. Too many demons. An unlikely amount of demons to randomly pop off. We were outnumbered and still tried to fight them. Àmbar got hurt and that distracted me and gave the demons the chance to attack me unguarded. I mean, I was close to losing anyway but still. They took their chance and knocked me down. I remember pain and blood and a sudden freezing cold. Everything else is blurry" Louis tried to remember but his head hurt like a bitch.

"That was Zayn. He had an energy boost out of rage and fear. I guess seeing you and Àmbar down triggered him. He killed every single demon and brought you here with Aria. You were barely conscious and your wounds were deep but not too deep for me. You still have a few scratches and bruises that will scar but I can make them disappear if you want" Amelia informed him shortly.

"No, I keep the battle scars" Louis attempted a joke but failed.

"Our strong warrior" Amelia took the piss playfully.

"Lia, can I ask you who was with you when I woke up? No one's here but I swear I heard someone else. It wasn't you" Louis felt the need to ask because he was scared he was going crazy.

"Harry was here but he left to inform Zayn that you're awake. Zayn has been worried shitless and scared he froze you too. He didn't but you know him. Worryhead" Amelia let him know.

"Yeah, he really is but um ... Harry was here? Why?" Louis couldn't help himself. It was strange that it wasn't Zayn, again.

"The moment you came back and we saw that you were hurt we brought you here. The moment he saw you were hurt and how bad he freaked out. He was deadly worried and was driving me crazy with it. He started crying in panic when you fell asleep before it was safe. Niall tried to calm him down but it was in vain. I had to let him stay until you woke up" Amelia enlightened him softly.

"That ... Woah, okay" Louis was lost for words.

"Yeah, he was really worried. It was annoying but also really adorable. I'm sure he is still worried shitless. I can sense him outside pacing up and down. I can tell him to leave, you know" she started to walk towards the door.

"No" Louis found himself saying. "I wanna see him".

"Okay but no stress. You need to rest for now. I'll be back in twenty minutes" Amelia warned him like a real doctor.

"Yes, madam" Louis saluted idiotically.

Amelia only shook her head at him before she left the room. There were some quiet whispers heard and then Harry peaked his head inside the room, looking like a deer caught in headlights. In something that almost looked like reverence, he came over to him but stopped way too many inches away from Louis, hesitant.

"Hey" Louis studied his shy posture.

Harry's head snapped up and he stared at him in shock. "Hey".

"I um ... I heard ... Amelia told me ... " Louis stumbled over his words helplessly, feeling the awkwardness rising in the room.

"I'm sorry if I crossed a line today" Harry blurted out, pale and with big eyes. "I know I had no right to stay here but I was so worried".

"It's fine. I'm not mad or angry at you" Louis had to let him know.

"No?" Harry finally looked at him for real.

Louis only shook his head. "How could I? You were worried about me after I got hurt. That's hardly a reason to get mad".

"I thought because we're not friends or anything ...".

"And that's my fault," Louis said more to himself but knew Harry had heard him. "I made you feel like caring about me is wrong. Just because we're not ... I'm sorry, Harry".

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Louis" Harry frowned cutely. "I am sorry because that's on me. Like everything else".

"Harry ...".

"No, Louis. Please, let me talk. Only for a minute" Harry stepped a bit closer but stopped abruptly. Louis bit his bottom lip to keep quiet and only beckoned him to continue. "Louis, I wanna apologise again. I know I already did and ... Back then, it wasn't enough. I wasn't fully aware of what I was apologising for. Not entirely, to be honest. By now, I had time to reflect on everything and I realised how much I hurt you with my ignorance and my words later on and I'm so sorry. I feel horrible and I'm ashamed".

This was too much. He couldn't just lie here and let Harry look so broken. Although he knew it wasn't a good idea, Louis pushed himself up and tried to reposition himself into a sitting position. Of course, Harry immediately panicked but Louis did it anyway.

"Louis, what are you ...?".

"Harry, look at me" Louis talked over him, somehow sitting by now but almost falling forward. Out of instinct, he reached out and grabbed for Harry's wrist to keep him steady in his spot. "Woah, definitely still dizzy".

"I got you," Harry said so quietly Louis almost missed it.

"You do" Louis looked up at him with a smile, his hands still gripping onto Harry's wrist but now on purpose. "Harry, you don't need to apologise again. Really. It'sfine".

"No, it isn't, Louis. It never will be" Harry contradicted him, freeing his wrists from Louis' hands and taking them into his own instead, making Louis blush lightly. "My entire pack hurt you for so long and then I just show up here in your new life and demand a place in it as if I had a right to be in your life. And then I threw that soulmate thing on you mercilessly without taking your feelings into account or even my own. All because of the way I grew up but that is no excuse. I'm so sorry for everything, Louis. I will never be able to forget our moment at Sean's place. All of your memories ... they made me feel horrible. I saw the way Sean looked at me that day. He was disappointed, maybe even disgusted that I treated you like that and he is right about that. He has every right to judge me. I'm judging myself for what I did".

"I get that. I really do but you don't need to. It's in the past. We need to move on" Louis squeezed Harry's hand.

"I can't. Seeing what you went through ... through your eyes ... I mean, I knew but I didn't know and I'm so sorry. Endlessly sorry. I will never be able to forgive myself and move on. I'm ashamed of myself for the way I treated you. I feel so bad" Harry hung his head low, his by now longer hair falling into his face.

"I won't lie. A part of me is glad you feel bad because that means you realised we can't just forget about it. I can never forget it. But ..." Louis pulled him closer by their joined hands. "I forgive you, Harry".

"What? How?" Harry's eyes met his in pure shock. Louis could see the answer to these questions right there.

"I don't wanna be angry anymore. Hate and anger are two emotions I don't wanna feel anymore. It's not good for me. Or you. We're part of the same team. We don't need to fight all the time, argue, hate or resent each other. We can move on and let it rest. For the team" Louis looked deep into his eyes to make sure he really understood what he was saying. "For us. We won't get rid of each other, so why not try to get along somehow?".

"Yeah, I'd love that" Harry breathed out. "Thank you, Louis".

"No big deal" Louis waved the matter off, retreating his hands.

"A very big deal" Harry insisted quietly.

Right at that moment, Amelia came back into the room to check on him and make sure he was fine and could leave soon. Harry stayed the entire time but they didn't talk anymore. No words felt right and there was nothing left to say. They wanted to leave the past in the past and move on. Whatever that meant for them.

"Are you all ready?" Logan looked at every single one of them.

"As ready as we can be" Maribel retorted cheekily.

"And remember, be as careful and subtle as you can be as well. We don't know for sure if he knows we know about this. If he does he also knows what we're trying to do. Which could mean a sneak attack on the way there or back. Please, be careful" Aurelio warned them yet another time in a strong voice, worry dripping from it.

"We promise but we have to try everything to unlock that memory Sean can't access. It could be the key to everything" Aria assured him, throwing an arm around Sean's shoulders.

Sean, Louis and Harry had talked to the other guardians about the black cloud and locked-up memory of Josiah two hours ago because they wanted a second opinion. In the end, they've decided to tell Aurelio about this and come up with a plan. Two hours later, they were ready to go to Famumria and visit Sean's father, another seer who was way more powerful and might be able to help them with this. There had to be a way to unlock it.

"Maybe even the key to his downfall. It has to be important if he has it locked away. Only another seer could have done that. We need to find that person and find out why they would help him" Sean noted determined.

"If that person is still alive" Niall threw in doubtfully. "That seer could be dead. Who says they helped him willingly?".

"Fair point but Josiah is not someone to kill magical people for no reason. Firstly, he always tries to play with their minds and find their weakness to make them work for him, if only for a moment" Logan pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Does it matter now? Our mission for today is Sean's father. We should really go. The trip takes us around two hours" Louis tapped an invisible clock on his wrist pointedly.

"He's right. We should leave" Zayn agreed with him.

"How are we even getting there?" Harry piped in cluelessly.

"By bus and train because you two can't fly" Àmbar let them know neutrally and immediately Louis could see something crossing Harry's face. An emotion he couldn't place.

"That's why the two hours" Maribel clicked with her tongue.

"Then go without us. You don't need us anyway. We're pretty useless and can't ...".

"No, you're part of the team. Of course, you're coming with us" Louis cut Harry off, not liking his way of thinking. "It's no big deal to take the train. Gives us all time to ...".

"Bond" Liam finished his sentence cutely.

"Or come up with a strategy?" Maribel cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Or just rest because we had a hectic few days" Aria looked at both of them with a meaningful expression on her face.

Ignoring Harry's eyes on him, Louis watched his friends bicker over what he had meant. To be honest, Louis had no idea where he was going with that sentence. He has been freaking out inside over talking normally to Harry. It was still so new and a bit strange. But it felt good and somehow he couldn't stop himself from always glancing at him and wanting to make sure he was alright.

"Guys" Aurelio clapped into his hands, successfully stopping their bickering. "Save this for the ride. You should go now".

"Before you kill each other without even being on that train" Logan added funnily, making no sense at all.

"You're not funny at all".

"Why are we not travelling with a portal?" Niall asked when they were outside the academy.

"Because they need to know the place we wanna go to by heart" Liam answered informatively.

"For now" Maribel added quickly. "One day they will be able to portalize us everywhere without a detailed destination in mind".

"They?".

"Zayn, Àmbar and Louis" Maribel replied neutrally.

"And what about the rest of you?" Harry hooked interested.

"Well, we're human guardians and have different abilities than them. We could learn that as well but with some kind of crystal and it's hard to learn. Magical-born people possess this ability naturally and only need to train it. Just like telepathy. It comes naturally to them but we have to actively learn it because originally we normal mundane guardians were only meant to 'borrow' the powers of the four elements. Work with them in a way, you know?" Maribel went into full magic history teacher mode.

"So, human guardians always have the same powers? Always connected to the four elements?" Niall repeated to get it right.

"Exactly" Maribel nodded in confirmation.

"And over time we were able to learn some of the fairies' and witches' magic" Liam added for further explanation. "And magic is always developing. It's never fully understood and explored. There is always something we don't know yet. Magic is alive".

"Kind of like fate, in a way. Just don't think about it too much or it will drive you crazy" Zayn warned them with a chuckle present in his voice. Louis could confirm that statement.

"Why would that drive anyone crazy? Something intangible and immaterial being alive and kinda watching over us? Not scary at all" Niall snorted sarcastically, making everyone laugh.

"And here comes the bus" Aria averted their attention back onto the road and the vehicle in front of them.

"Wait, you have to pay for it, right? I don't have any money here" Harry realised when they were stepping inside.

"I got you covered. Don't worry" Louis smiled at him before paying for both of their bus tickets.

"You didn't have to, Louis" Harry bashfully took the ticket.

"No big deal" Louis waved him off and he really needed to stop saying that. It kept reminding him of their last conversation.

Because there were nine of them they split up into little groups and pairs. Now Louis was sitting next to Zayn with Niall and Harry sitting opposite them and Àmbar and Aria were sitting close to them with Liam, Sean and Maribel close by.

Train rides always made him and Zayn sleepy. That's how Zayn ended up half-asleep with his head resting on Louis' shoulder and Louis' head leaning on top of Zayn's head, glancing out the bus window. Like this, he could see Niall and Harry silently watching the city and landscapes rushing past them in awe. It was kind of endearing and adorable and Louis really needed to get his shit together. Watching them like this was creepy.

Their ride on the train out of the city to Famumria looked identical. The same groups, the same seating arrangements. But this time they all dozed off a bit until they had reached their destination. All together, they got off the train and gathered around the exit of the train station to reform and get a sense of orientation. Well, as good as that was possible in a town none of them has ever been. Not even Sean, who hasn't seen his father in years. He had told them they didn't have the greatest relationship. His father was difficult.

But due to his seer abilities, Sean was able to find out where the group would be heading in the future, so that's the route they took. Walking through the city, Louis looked around and took everything in. It was even bigger than Domumley and he could feel the magic everywhere. The people looked mostly content and didn't bat an eye at them, which was practical. They wanted to stay unnoticed for as long as possible. A fight in an unknown city was the last thing they needed right now.

Apparently, that was exactly what they were getting though. As soon as they had reached the little cabin of Sean's father a bit offside of the big city they could sense that something was wrong. Running towards it, they pushed the door open and were hit with the strong smell of heavy smoke. The place was lit up by a huge fire and you could barely see anything. Apart from the shadows of at least fifteen second-class demons and one really big one. To their horror, it was definitely a first-class demon and that demon was in control of the other demons and the raging fire.

"That has to be Fuocomon. He is a fire demon and very powerful. I read about him because of his powers and m-mine" Àmbar coughed out but ended up almost choking on her words.

"We need to get out of here. Let's fight them outside" Louis rushed them back outside.

"Where we can breathe" Maribel still found the breath to add.

"Seriously? Now?" Niall glared at her.

"Especially now. The more danger the more annoying she gets and the more jokes she fires at us" Zayn threw her an odd look.

"Not the best choice of words right now but okay" Aria commented while suiting up in sync with the others.

"Zayn, Liam. Try to dim the fire. We take care of the demons for as long as we can" Àmbar instructed them, bracing herself.

"Can you fight him off?" Liam pointed with his head at the fire demon leaving the cabin and coming towards them.

"No, fighting fire with fire gets you nowhere" Àmbar shook her head, sounding scared now.

"He doesn't look like he is planning on attacking himself" Niall observed him closely because he was just standing there, watching them talk and plan their attack.

"He doesn't have to" Àmbar said simply, meaning the other fifteen second-class demons were enough to take them out if they didn't come up with a very good plan. Or help would appear magically.

As if he knew they were done and had no plan, an actual smirk made its way onto the fire demon's face and he laughed evilly, his voice dark and low and threatening. "Get them all".

And okay, for a second Louis had forgotten the higher demons could talk and had actual personalities in their own way. He didn't have time to think about this though. Fast as lightning, the other demons started to attack them, weaponed up with swords and axes and poisonous tails ready to infect them. And no, Louis wasn't keen on going through this again. That's why he flew high into the air and aimed his powers right at their tails, cutting off at least seven of them in one go. After the latest attack, he had revisited his second-class demon training to be better prepared when they were outnumbered, just like today.

From up here, he could see Zayn and Liam combining their powers and extinguishing the fire completely, which was odd. They shouldn't be able to do that. It shouldn't work as long as Fuocomon was still here. Except ... he let it happen ... but why?

Louis' attention was brought back down to his friends when he heard Harry fighting off a demon all by himself with a sword although he wasn't that good at sword fighting yet. In a flash, Louis flew down to him and attacked the demon from the side before it could see it coming. The demon turned to ashes and the sword fell to the ground right in front of him.

"Thanks".

"No big deal".

God, damn it. Not the time. Louis really had to focus right now. On something different than Harry or saving Harry or protecting Harry from the other demons. But his mind and heart didn't listen to him. And just like that, he fought off every demon that even dared to come close to Harry with Harry watching him and helping as good as he could. Like this, they killed four more demons together. Damn it.

Foucomon seemed to find this entire thing amusing, creating a ring of fire around them but also between them and the other demons. Zayn tried to ice it but it didn't work. Liam tried to extinguish it but it also didn't work. Foucomon was too strong.

"You can't defeat me" he laughed like a maniac.

"What do you want?" Maribel balled her hands into fists.

"I have what I want" he smirked smugly.

"Where's my father?" Sean shouted at him in question.

"Dead" Foucomon said like it was nothing. "I took him out before he could betray my master by helping you, little guardians".

Sean's eyes grew big in realisation. "My father did it".

Before anyone could react to this, Fuocomon spoke up again. "Yes, and he knows what you're up to. He sent me to take care of this and burn down everything. I'd love to get rid of you too but I have more important matters at hand. Have fun with my minions".

They watched in horror as Fuocomon disappeared in a blaze of blinding fire. The ring of fire around them vanished and the remaining demons took this moment of surprise to attack them again. Completely unprepared, they were all thrown to the ground. Before they could lung at them though they heard distant howls approaching them, startling the demons. Out of nowhere, five big wolves were jumping at the demons and tearing them to pieces. Out of all the scenarios Louis could have come up with for today this wasn't one of them. Saved by werewolves.

When all demons were dead they got back onto their feet. Sean ran immediately into the burnt-down cabin and no one stopped him. Four of the wolves left as quickly as they had shown up but the fifth one faced them. They watched how he shifted into human form. It was a brunette man with green eyes and an open smile, probably around their age and not intimidating at all.

"Andrew!".

"Zayn!".

Completely perplexed, Louis watched them crash into a tight hug as if they were old friends. Taking into account that they apparently knew each other maybe they were and no one knew about that. Luckily, he wasn't the only one who was confused. Everyone was, but Harry looked right out horrified. Or was he shocked?

"Andrew?" Harry blinked frozen.

Breaking the hug, the unknown guy named Andrew turned around to Harry and his eyes grew big. "Is this you, Harry?".

"It's me".

"Fuck, I didn't expect to see you here. Or ever again for that matter. Wow, look at you. You're all grown up and look just like your mother" Andrew seemed to struggle to grasp the situation.

"Is anyone else confused or is it just me?" Maribel raised her hand to get someone's attention.

"Nah, me too" Àmbar stuffed her hands into the pockets of her pants after suiting down.

"Let me clear this up. I'm Andrew and I'm Harry's cousin".

"Oh".

"Yeah, oh" Andrew chuckled lightly. "We heard that old O'Kelly's cabin was on fire and that someone was fighting demons. I just knew it had to be you, guys. You're the only guardians around".

"Sometimes I forget that we're not just Domumley's guardians," Niall remarked.

"You're Harry's cousin? Then why are you here and not ...?".

"We were never part of the Styles' pack" Andrew cut Maribel's question off to explain. "My Mum Addison married a human and like this, she was out of the pack. I was born and raised here just like all the other werewolves of Famumria. We once visited Bella and that's the first and last time I've seen Harry. We weren't really welcomed but well, who cares?!".

"I can relate to that" Louis noted understandingly.

"Louis, right?" Andrew faced him now.

"Yeah, you know me?" Louis was taken by surprise.

"I remember you. Back then I offered Harrison to let you stay with us because I knew he didn't want you there but he didn't like that idea any better. He is a strange man. No offence, Harry" Andrew let him know nonchalantly.

"None taken" Harry watched them closely.

"Huh, I didn't know about that. Of course not. Any chance of a better life was taken and hidden from me. Typical Harrison" Louis retorted bitterly.

"I'm sorry".

"There was nothing you could have done" Louis shrugged curtly. "Anyway, how do you know Zayn?".

"He never told you?" Andrew gasped dramatically.

"No, he never mentioned you" Liam looked anything but happy.

"We met at the academy" Zayn took over now. "It was a few years ago. Andrew attended the academy to learn how to control his wolf powers and abilities. You know, the transformation and other stuff. One day we ran into each other and just clicked. He was the first kind of friend I ever had until he had to leave again".

"Ey, I'm still your friend. I text you regularly" Andrew pouted.

"How could I forget about that?!" Zayn rolled his eyes at him.

"Lovely you two" Maribel snorted snarkily.

"Guys, where is Aria?" Niall noticed that she was missing.

"Inside with Sean. She went after him to make sure he is alright and help with whatever he is looking for" Àmbar told them.

"Oh yeah, we had a mission".

"That went down in total flames".

"Oh, come on".

"I'm kinda curious now" Niall addressed Andrew again. "When we're not here who protects the city?".

"We are. The wolves" Andrew answered simply.

"Really? You protect the humans from demons?" Louis couldn't believe it. "That's amazing. I'm not used to ... you know".

"I get it. The pack back in your city is different from ours. We don't live in the woods. We live amongst humans in flats or houses and go to school or uni and have normal jobs. We live side by side and sometimes serve as the magic police. Just like you, guys. Only without the magic powers" Andrew revealed to them.

"That would be unthinkable ...".

"Does this mean your pack also doesn't care about interracial relationships? I mean, between humans and werewolves?" Niall hooked spellbound.

"Not at all. It's very common actually. There is no big difference between us. Everyone can date whoever they want. Humans ...".

"So, you also don't care about which gender you're born with?" Niall interrupted him amazed. "It doesn't matter if you're an alpha or beta or omega? You're all equal and can mate with anyone?".

"Yes?" Andrew looked so lost.

"Sorry, that just wasn't normal in our pack. Alphas were the only tolerable ones. Everyone else was used and put down and ... yeah" Niall explained himself awkwardly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. And yes, everyone is equal here. I'm an alpha but I'm not better than my friends who aren't. I'm also not better than humans or any other creature walking this earth" Andrew let them in on their dynamics.

"Wow".

"Damn it, I could have lived with smart werewolves the entire time? Lucky me" Louis blurted out before he could stop himself.

"We're very smart" Andrew pulled a funny face.

"I meant, werewolves who aren't judgemental and abusive and full of themselves. Nice to see that's possible. Too bad I didn't know that sooner" Louis cringed at his own words. His brain-to-mouth filter really wasn't working today. He hated himself.

"Guys" Sean came running out of the house. "I found nothing. He left nothing behind to help my case. I'm not surprised my father was the one who locked up the memory and manipulated my powers but ... it's still heavy and hard to digest".

"I'm sorry about your father" Liam showed genuine sympathy.

"I'm not. I should be sad but I'm not. We didn't have a real relationship anyway. I knew he was dodgy but now I know how bad it really was" Sean pressed his lips into a thin line. "And I have a new task on hand now. I need to unlock the full capacity of my powers and find that memory".

"And we will help you as good as we can" Aria promised him.

"If you need anything from us, we're always right here" Andrew offered him friendly.

"Thanks".

"Wow, helpful and selfless wolves. Today is a miracle" Louis regretted his comment as soon as the words were out.

To his horror, he could see Harry's eyes filling with tears before he ran off. Cursing under his breath, Louis ran after him and caught up with him rather quickly. He reached for his wrist to stop him but let go as soon as Harry was facing him.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to say that or any of the things I said in the last minutes. I didn't mean them. It was just the past pain talking through me, which is no excuse but I can't take it back" Louis explained himself desperately.

"It's fine, Louis. I get it. We were horrible to you and seeing how different other wolf packs are ...".

"No, no, no" Louis stopped him right there, stepping closer. "I said we need to leave the past behind and that also counts for me and my stupid comments. I forgave you and I need to act like it".

"You did. You were amazing today. These few comments don't change that, Louis" Harry wasn't meeting his eyes.

"They do because they were mean and out of place. We made up and that means ...".

"What does it mean, Louis?" Harry locked eyes with him now. "I don't know what it's supposed to mean. We're a team now, right?".

"Yes, we are and we were good together today" Louis had to admit. "But we can do better".

"I don't understand" Harry frowned cutely.

"How about we officially start over and give each other a real second chance?" Louis suggested to him. "Let's do something together. Just the two of us. To get to know each other for real. See who the other person really is and maybe become friends".

"You'd want that? Be my friend?" Harry looked so out of it.

"Yes, I'd love that" Louis swallowed dryly, too close to him.

Out of nowhere, Harry started beaming with his cute dimples out and sparkles in his eyes. A second later, Louis had a handful of Harry in his arms and a mouthful of Harry's hair in his mouth because he was hugging him. Still hesitant and careful but happy. After the first moment of shock, Louis hugged him back and just knew the others were watching them and wondering what was going on down there. Louis himself had no idea.

"I'd love to be your friend, Louis".

Letting out a heavy sigh into Harry's hair, Louis closed his eyes and hugged him closer. "Me too, Harry".

-----------------------------------------------------------------

So, Sean's dad hid that memory from him. What are they gonna do now?

We met Andrew. Thoughts?

Louis and Harry wanna try to be friends for real now. Is it gonna work?