Wei Ying woke up in his human form, lying on a large bed, while his body felt like it was being tightly restrained.
As soon as he opened his eyes he could see that he wasn't alone. Someone was standing next to him, pouring an endless stream of spiritual energy into him that chilled his entire body. He could only imagine how much healing his body had been infused with to still feel so cold.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying said croakily. His throat felt parched as he coaxed out the name. "Lan Zhan, what are you wearing?"
Lan Zhan was still dressed entirely in white, but now his outfit included a long leather jacket held together by straps and buckles, a white mask that hid the lower half of his face, and white leather gloves. If Wei Ying didn't know it was Lan Zhan, he would have been confused by the silent figure who stood with arms outstretched over his body, weaving cords of thin blue energy into a rope that pressed against his body and held him into what was essentially a cocoon.
When Lan Zhan didn't respond, Wei Ying tried to speak again, "Lan Zhan, stop that. You'll tire yourself out. I don't need it."
He was at a disadvantage since he was completely under the control of someone else's spiritual energy. But, he didn't try to struggle against the binds, even though with any other shifter he might have. As beautiful as the rope of blue strings were, he knew enough about the Ice Wolves of Gusu to know how dangerous they were. These cords could heal with their pulsing, vibrating energy, but they could also rip him into ribbons with only the twitch of a few fingers.
"Lie still," Lan Zhan finally responded. When he spoke it was in a soft voice, as if he was afraid of being overheard in a room where there were only the two of them. "The more you struggle, the tighter the strings will become, and that could be extremely dangerous."
Wei Ying tried not to flinch as more cords were added, and the chill of Lan Zhan's energy continued to flood his meridians like ice water.
"Why are you the one healing me? Doesn't the Stone Wolves have their own healers? Why aren't they in here instead?" The questions were rapidly asked as Wei Ying worked to keep his breathing calm.
Lan Zhan was silent again as he worked. Wei Ying focused on the half of his face that he could see, as beautiful golden eyes flickered their gaze to his and then looked away again.
"It was just a broken arm," Wei Ying pointed out quietly when Lan Zhan didn't speak. "It would have healed on its own."
Lan Zhan's only response to that was to curl his gloved fingers into a fist. Immediately the strings of spiritual energy released their hold and disappeared inside a flash of bright light.
Wei Ying took a deep breath that filled his lungs as the chill faded. He took a mental catalogue of his well-being and realized that he had never felt better in his life. From the top of his head to the tips of his toes, his entire body vibrated with power.
"The Qinghe Iotas healed your front leg. I wanted to heal other parts of you. So, after they left, I coaxed you into shifting for me," Lan Zhan said quietly, as he met Wei Ying's gaze again with a look that seemed both apologetic and stubborn.
Wei Ying thought about what he must look like from Lan Zhan's point of view. It had been two years since they last saw each other and the months hadn't been Wei Ying's favorites. He hadn't been starving, but there were days and weeks when he hadn't eaten well. Just as there were injuries that he suffered in his travels between the lesser packs that he either hadn't the time or the energy to waste on healing properly. To Lan Zhan, he must seem like a disaster.
Wei Ying groaned in embarrassment, and tried to bury his face into the side of his pillow.
"Tiān na!" he wailed. "You're too much, Lan Zhan!"
"It was not too much. You didn't have more time and I knew that I could help," Lan Zhan said. "The Qinghe Alpha values physical strength."
He reached down to unearth Wei Ying from the pillow. Although his movement was insistent, he was still gentle as he prodded and pulled Wei Ying to sit up in the bed.
"It has already been six hours after the Iotas worked on your injury, and you've been healing since then. Since you're required to stand before the Qinghe Alpha, you need to be at your strongest," he said.
Wei Ying's gaze focussed on Lan Zhan's light amber eyes again and he found himself struggling not to tease him. When they had met in the cave, Lan Zhan had seemed reserved. This Lan Zhan was a mix of stubbornness and confidence. But it was still the Lan Zhan that he recognized, who had sat with him from early morning to late evening for twelve days inside a cold dark cave, and had fed him fruits and water. Two years hadn't changed that.
"Alright, what did I miss? A lot can happen in a few hours when you're like me," Wei Ying said with a smile.
Lan Zhan shifted his position so that he stood perfectly straight, with his hands tucked tightly to each side. He looked like a cì kè in his white outfit, his half-mask, and his white gloves, but when he spoke, his words were more like a soldier giving a report to a superior officer.
"Four hours ago the Blood Wolves sent a representative to meet with the Qinghe Alpha since the Sena is now behind the barricades of the Unclean Realm. The Qishan Alpha is demanding that you meet with him as you will have conversed with representatives of all the major packs. The Blood Wolves refuse to be the exception. The Alpha of the Stone Wolves will speak with you first, but in order to keep the peace, he will then permit you to go with them. It has already been negotiated."
"You're fucking joking," Wei Ying growled in disgust. "Meeting a handful of wolves from each of the major packs is not the same as being ordered to meet with the Alpha of a pack. That man has a hard-on for me the size of his pack territory, and he'll use whatever excuses he can think of to get me into Qishan. Everyone said that Nie Mingjue could be trusted. Why is he handing me over like he has the right to decide who I meet with?"
Lan Zhan's calm expression barely changed, but Wei Ying saw the twitch of muscles at the corners of those golden eyes, as if the guardian had flinched at his question.
Before Lan Zhan could respond, or Wei Ying could apologize, there came a series of sharp knocks on the bedroom door. Lan Zhan hastily looked at the door before he took a couple steps away from Wei Ying's side and turned to face whoever was waiting to enter. His stance changed again, from standing at attention, to snapping out a perfect military salute, and ended on parade rest.
For a few seconds too long, Wei Ying just stared at him in fascination. It wasn't until he heard a quiet chuckle and the sound of clinking metal, that he shifted his attention to the intruder.
The young man at the door looked to be the same age as him and Lan Zhan. He was dressed in grey camouflage fatigues and combat boots, and in his hand he flipped a butterfly knife over and over using various tricks that blurred together into one constant motion. If Lan Zhan looked like a trained assassin, this young man looked very much like an army brat. He wore the uniform but he didn't have the same respect for his training that Lan Zhan had.
"I mean you're breathtaking, and I want a portrait of your face, but nobody who has ever seen you in this form would mistake you for a woman, would they? My brother is going to be extremely disappointed!"
His voice was light and cheerful, and the sound of it immediately made Wei Ying want to laugh.
Wei Ying smiled at him before saying, "If you're asking if I was born a male, then yes. I identify as male in both forms, despite the rumors."
"It isn't only rumors. It's the Law of the Bond. The Sena is a she-wolf who chooses the most Alpha of all male wolves as her mate. Your existence is coded into every wolf-shifter's DNA. But I love anomalies! They make life more interesting. What is beauty and grace if not a divergence from the mundanity of the average human form. People are boringly mediocre."
He strode over to Wei Ying's bed as a cacophony of heavy boot thuds and the constant clinking of metal sounds. Only when he stood at Lan Zhan's side did he finally stop flicking the knife, and instead, tapped it across his pursed lip like a folded fan.
"Dianxia. Sena. Tianzi. Wuxian. Your name is respected in every pack, and I finally get to meet you myself. I am Nie Huaisang, the Beta of the Qinghe Stone Wolves," he said.
"How are you their Beta?" Wei Ying asked. He didn't usually need to question a wolf's position in the pack, but nothing about Nie Huaisang so far gave off second-in-command vibes.
Nie Huaisang laughed as if Wei Ying's confusion was funny. "Don't let the uniform fool you. It's at the request of my brother, the Alpha. Any other day I avoid combat training and hide in my studio and paint. Today I'm being a good boy and doing as I'm told."
His mischievous hazel eyes held Wei Ying's gaze before he winked. "What? We can't all be strong and muscular. Some of us have talents in other areas. Look at the Ice Wolves. They're all so gorgeous, it makes my teeth ache. But nobody is fooled by their beauty. I for one am glad that they're our allies against the Blood Wolves, instead of experiencing their Chord Assassination spiritual technique in action."
Wei Ying looked at the silent Ice Wolf that stood beside Nie Huaisang.
He had never seen Lan Zhan or any of the Ice Wolves in a fight circle, but he had heard of their talent. He had to agree that as ethereal and as calm as Lan Zhan appeared, everything about the shifter warned of danger. The Ice Wolves were known to train both their wolf and their human forms equally so that no matter what happened in battle, they were never at a disadvantage.
Another huff of laughter from Nie Huaisang caught Wei Ying's attention, and once again, he had to tear his gaze away from Lan Zhan to look at the other shifter.
"Cold jade statues," Nie Huaisang said with a mournful shake of his head. He raised his folded butterfly knife to the corner of his mouth as if to hide a secret from Lan Zhan. "Is it just me or do they all seem the same to you? I can never tell the difference between any of them, especially when they're dressed for combat."
He smiled and began to flip his knife through various tricks again. "Speaking of which. My brother sent me here to find you. There's a selection of uniforms in the closet for you. Get dressed please. Dà-gē is one of those strong, muscular men I was just talking about. You don't want him coming in here to drag you from the bed. Or, hmmm, maybe you do want to feel his fingers wrapped around your legs?"
Wei Ying opened his mouth to retort but before he could, he saw a flash of movement as Lan Zhan turned his full attention to the Beta, crowding slightly into the other man's space. Nie Huaisang immediately stopped flicking his knife and faced the Epsilon. The sudden tense silence made Wei Ying frown.
"Be more respectful," Lan Zhan breathed between clenched teeth.
Nie Huisang raised his knife with the blade pointed just under Lan Zhan's chin. He smiled again but his tone was also terse when he spoke. "I didn't mean it disrespectfully. But my brother is an Alpha, and he's both strong and powerful, which are two requirements of the Xiandu. Of course I want the Sena to like him, on the small chance that he recognizes his mate."
Lan Zhan didn't relax. If anything he glared even harder at Nie Huaisang. Which made Nie Huaisang's fingers tighten around the handle of his knife.
"I know why I'm here," Nie Huaisang said slowly. "But why are you in here, Ice Wolf?"
Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan again. It was on the tip of his tongue to defend him by saying, he didn't trust your Theta to heal me so he did it himself, but before his mouth could properly taste the words, Lan Zhan spoke.
"Your brother is not the only one here in the Unclean Realm who wanted to speak with the Sena," he said.
Nie Huaisang gave Lan Zhan another searching look before they both simultaneously turned to face Wei Ying. It was almost coordinated, and it took Wei Ying by surprise. Although he knew that Lan Zhan was a guardian, he was so well trained as a warrior that his movements could easily have rivalled Nie Huaisang's status as a second-in-command of his own pack.
"True. The Gusu Beta is here, and actually, that's something I've always wondered about," Nie Huaisang mused aloud as he flicked his knife into a fold again, and tapped it against his chin. "As the Sena you recognize the scent of your true mate. When you accept the bond mark, that mate will become the leader of all the packs. But can you already tell? What if your mate is not an Alpha yet? What if, hypothetically, your mate is standing before you as a Beta who hasn't earned the right to lead the pack yet. Can you still tell by scent that it's your mate?"
Wei Ying laughed at how cagey he sounded and how uncomfortable he looked just asking the question.
"Relax, Beta," Wei Ying teased him. "It's not that cut-and-dry. Yes, I can tell by scent who I'm attracted to and who would be a good match. Just like you can tell when you meet someone you like, that you have good chemistry with that person. But my mate is an Alpha, and until the Alpha pheromone gets added to their scent, they are only a possibility. I like whoever I like now, whether they are male or female. I'm not in a rush to be bonded."
At eighteen years old, neither of the two wolves were in any danger of being accidentally sniffed by Wei Ying since they were both capable of heavily suppressing their scents in the large room. Still, Nie Huaisang looked like he wanted to collapse in relief, while Lan Zhan took a subtle step away from the Beta.
Wei Ying kept his attention focused almost entirely on Nie Huaisang's reaction. He could understand it. If he was a Beta in the presence of an asena like himself, he would be wary too. Especially, if as he suspected, Nie Huaisang had no intentions of ever becoming the Alpha of any pack.
"Good talk!" Nie Huaisang said as he reached over to pat Wei Ying's knees through the thin grey sheets that were doing nothing to make Wei Ying any warmer. "Thank you for allowing me to chat your ears off. I'll go and tell my brother that you'll be out to meet him soon."
He almost ran out of the room in his need to escape, and Wei Ying wondered what could have caused the haste.
That is a very strange person, Wei Ying decided. But instead of voicing the thought aloud, Wei Ying looked over to where Lan Zhan was again standing more at ease with his hands behind his back. All of his attention redirected to the calm golden eyes that looked back at him.
Lan Zhan is still upset, Wei Ying realized, but since he didn't want to be questioned on how he knew that, he didn't say it aloud either.
"Lan Zhan, do you also need to leave?" Wei Ying asked instead.
"Would you like me to go?"
Wei Ying shook his head.
"Then I'll stay," Lan Zhan said simply.
He walked over to the closet at the other side of the room while Wei Ying untangled himself from the sheets and stood up. Lan Zhan returned holding a bundle of grey camouflage.
"Put these on," he instructed. "You'll be less distracting to the warriors if you're dressed like one."
Wei Ying grinned as he took the change of clothes.
"You think I'm distracting," he said offhandedly, while he quickly removed his own black outfit and handed them over.
Lan Zhan silently glared at him before he pointed out, "You're the Sena. The ruler of the moon. The most powerful shifter in existence. You are an army and a weapon, all on your own. You were born to stand out."
Wei Ying laughed.
"And right now, I'm distracting you from your duties," he teased with a smile. "It's okay, Lan Zhan. You can admit it. Of all the wolves to end up dragging himself to your pack territory and hide in a cave, you can't believe it was me. You find me completely —"
"Shameless," Lan Zhan said dryly, as he began to walk to the door.
Wei Ying laughed again.
At the door, Lan Zhan handed off Wei Ying's clothes, and had a brief, muffled conversation, with someone standing on the other side. He returned to Wei Ying's side just as Wei Ying was tucking the plain grey t-shirt into the camouflage cargo pants.
"I don't have the correct shoes. Do you think the Alpha will mind?" Wei Ying asked as he looked down at his feet.
Lan Zhan moved one arm from behind his back and held out a pair of tan combat boots to him.
Wei Ying gasped in mock outrage. "Lan Zhan, did you just steal one of the Stone Wolf's shoes from off his feet?"
"Nie Changming. One of the war generals," Lan Zhan clarified. "He's waiting at the door. You're more important than a Zeta."
"Lan Zhan, you're really great," Wei Ying said with a grin.
Once he was fully dressed and satisfied, he copied Lan Zhan's resting stance with his legs slightly apart. Instead of one hand at his back, he held both hands behind. Careful to keep his head perfectly still while staring straight ahead, he raised his eyes and met Lan Zhan's gaze.
"How do I look?" Wei Ying asked quietly.
Bright golden eyes roamed from the top of his black hair to the tips of his combat boots with meticulous attention. Wei Ying felt his cheeks warm in embarrassment from the intense scrutiny, but since he had initiated it, he could only endure it.
"Passable," Lan Zhan finally said. Then after a brief pause, "My pack's uniform would have been better. Your physique is more suitable for stealth than brute force. And white suits your coloring more. Besides, it would remind Nie Mingjue that until he passes the test, you're not his mate."
And suddenly, staring at him in fascination at those words, Wei Ying felt the most intense urge to step into Lan Zhan's space and press his forehead to the dip in Lan Zhan's collarbone.
He almost did it too. He barely stopped himself from closing the distance between them to inhale Lan Zhan's scent from its source.
The surprise of it made him suck in a sharp breath of air. He had been a lone wolf for long enough now that the idea of belonging to a pack again, of wearing their colors, hunting prey, and spending hours laughing and playing and tussling together, was extremely appealing to Wei Ying. Mostly though, it was the idea of doing all of that as part of Lan Zhan's pack that made his chest ache a little.
If Lan Zhan is so great, what are the rest of the Ice Wolves of Gusu like? Wei Ying wondered.
Instead of following that thought, he laughed softly and said, "Lan Zhan, I'm not anybody's mate yet. I've met a lot of Alphas, who have dressed me in their clothes, and made a show of welcoming me into the pack. It's more for their ego, and a way to show me off like a prize, than to make me feel comfortable."
"Nie Mingjue is not like that," Lan Zhan responded firmly. "I told you. He is an Alpha who is friends with the Beta of Gusu, and he has never treated him like anything less than an equal and a brother."
The ache in Wei Ying's chest hurt just that little bit more at Lan Zhan's words.
"Sounds to me like that has more to do with their lifelong friendship than anything else," Wei Ying scoffed. "Maybe who I should be preparing to meet is this Beta who can hold such a high regard from an Alpha. I'm becoming really curious about the Ice Wolves of Gusu and your pack leaders."
Lan Zhan visibly stiffened at Wei Ying's words.
His expression remained calm but everything about him, from the twitch of his fingers at his side, to the slight sway in his stance as if he had received an unexpected blow, was suddenly a little more tense than before. Even his subtle sandalwood scent got sharp enough to scratch at the back of Wei Ying's throat.
Bitterness mingled with the taste of Lan Zhan's irritation in Wei Ying's mouth.
Wei Ying was suddenly, very vividly, reminded of sitting across a table from his pack-sister in Langya while the man she loved focussed all his attention on the Sena. And she had pulled her hand away, just as Lan Zhan was pulling away now.
"What?" Wei Ying asked into the silence that had fallen between them. "You don't want me to meet the rest of your pack? Of course not. You think I'm good enough for the Qinghe Alpha, but I'm not good enough for your adored Gusu Beta. It's all fun and games, until somebody remembers how easy it is for me to lure your pack away. It's better to throw me at someone else to keep me from looking in your direction. Isn't that right?"
"That is not —" Lan Zhan began to say as he took a step towards Wei Ying.
But Wei Ying interrupted him with a shake of his head, and hastily waved Lan Zhan's protest away.
"It's fine, Lan Zhan!" he snapped. "You said it yourself. I am an army and a weapon, and I'm very powerful. There's a war coming, and everybody wants to get their hands on the one thing that will ensure that their pack wins. But that's all I am. It's a damn pity that in the end the poor Alpha will be stuck with me as his mate, instead of a Luna to fuck at night and give him pups."
He tried to sidestep Lan Zhan to walk to the door, but Lan Zhan didn't let him. Instead, Lan Zhan reached for one of his arms and tugged him back around until they were again facing each other. They were nearly the same height. Only about two or three inches prevented Wei Ying from glaring directly at the storm brewing in Lan Zhan's beautiful wolf-colored eyes.
"You are more than any Luna. You are the Sena. What's more, asenas are so very rare, and you are the only male Sena in existence. All the Alphas in this world combined, would not deserve you." Lan Zhan's voice was steady and insistent, as if there was only truth in his words. "Everything about you is precious and invaluable. You are extraordinary."
And Wei Ying got that urge again, to wrap himself up in Lan Zhan's scent, in Lan Zhan's space, and just be safe.
Instead, he ducked his head, and pouted, and stared at his feet as he tried to get the ache in his chest to release its grip.
"Lan Zhan, you're too much," he protested grumpily when he could finally breathe again. "Why do you have to say things like that? Are you trying to turn me into a puddle before I go out to meet the Alpha of the Stone Wolves? You said that man could tear me apart with his jaw —"
"I did not say that."
"— so why are you trying to make me cry before I meet him?" Wei Ying asked.
He looked up at Lan Zhan's face again. The Ice Wolf's expression was back to being serene, as if a second ago he wasn't saying words that Wei Ying was afraid to even hear.
"Let me go to meet him then," Wei Ying said quietly. "Hopefully he's as good a person as you say he is. I trust you Lan Zhan. I trust your judgement in other people more than my bias towards Alphas."
Lan Zhan nodded, but before Wei Ying could look away he took a step back, and bowed at the waist.
"I said too much just now. I'm sorry," he apologized in his low, soothing voice. "I am less than the Qinghe Zeta, less than the Gusu Beta, less than you Wuxian. The Sena decides who becomes Xiandu. Only your opinion on the Alphas around you is valid, not mine."
"Stop that right now!" Wei Ying said with a laugh. He wanted to wrap his arms around Lan Zhan and hold on tight, but he didn't think Lan Zhan would let him. "We're friends! You said we were friends no matter what I look like. You spent two weeks in a cave reassuring me of that. Now it's too late! You're my friend already, and that means you're not less than me or anybody else you just referred to."
He poked and prodded at Lan Zhan until they were properly facing each other again before he said, "Don't ever do that again. It's not necessary between us. You can say what you need to, and I can say what I need to, and neither of us will get upset about it for too long. Agree?"
"Mn," Lan Zhan said calmly.
Wei Ying couldn't tell if he meant yes, or if they were just agreeing to disagree, and that made Wei Ying want to laugh again. Lan Zhan had said Wei Ying was extraordinary, but for Wei Ying, it was Lan Zhan that was truly fascinating to be around.
He didn't have time to dwell on it though. The Qinghe Alpha had already been left waiting for long enough.
Instead, Wei Ying walked towards the door and pulled it open. He expected to find a shifter guarding the room. What he saw were four large grey wolves standing nearby, who simultaneously turned to look at him.
Wei Ying recognized Huaisang as the youngest in the group. Next to him was his Epsilon. The other two were war generals, who stood closer to the door, between their Beta and the Sena.
Wei Ying executed a perfect military salute in greeting to all of them.
"Thank you for your patience," he said. "Sorry I took so long."
In response, the two war generals moved in tandem to flank Wei Ying. Since wolves couldn't communicate to shifters who were in human form, Wei Ying looked down at each of them and wondered if he was expected to shift into his wolf form as well. But, before he could come to a decision, Huaisang and the guardian began to walk down the hallway. Taking the cue, Wei Ying followed along with the wolves at his sides.
Outside, on the training grounds in the early light of day, a mix of wolves and shifters fought each other in pairs or teams.
Most of the warriors were either the varying shades of grey fur, dusted with brown, black, or white, that were the markings of the Stone Wolves or they were soldiers dressed in the grey camouflage uniform. Every few yards though, Wei Ying caught a flash of white that snagged his attention for a few seconds, and he found himself pausing to watch as the opponents sparred.
Off to one side of the grounds, three men formed a small group and were sparring with each other in a three-way match. They each wore a different pack's uniform.
The tallest man was the most muscular and his grey t-shirt clung to the curves and the lines of his torso as he staved off one opponent while dodging the attacks of another.
The second was dressed all in white and he was also the swiftest. He moved with the grace and speed of a dancer, but each time one of his blows landed they were solid enough to make the recipient stagger and groan.
The third man wore pants and a buttoned down shirt in crisp khaki, as if he had never had any intentions of finding himself in the midst of a fight. He stumbled and fell down the most, but when he chose his moments to strike it was always with the most satisfied smirk at stealing the advantage.
Wei Ying and the two Zetas stopped a safe distance away to watch as the trio fought with styles that were as different as the packs they belonged to.
"Stop!" The Alpha shouted some time later when he finally noticed Wei Ying waiting. "Damn it! Where is Huaisang? Didi, come over here!"
At his words, Wei Ying looked around and only then realized that he had lost the majority of his entourage. The war generals had somehow left his side without him noticing and Huaisang and the guardian were halfway across the grounds, surrounded by a ring of wolves as they all interacted with each other.
The only person with him still was Lan Zhan. Wei Ying turned to look over his shoulder at him but Lan Zhan wasn't looking in his direction. Instead Lan Zhan stared silently at the Ice Wolf who had previously been battling with the Qinghe Alpha.
Shifters didn't communicate in human form, but somehow the two figures in white seemed to be having a telepathic conversation.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying almost silently whispered. "What's wrong?"
Still not meeting Wei Ying's eyes, Lan Zhan shook his head at his Beta.
Wei Ying quickly turned around to look at the other Ice Wolf, hoping to get an explanation of why Lan Zhan's golden eyes reflected so much worry, even when all they were doing was standing still.
Like many of the other Ice Wolves on the training ground, the Gusu Beta was dressed identical to Lan Zhan. In fact, everything about him was nearly identical to Lan Zhan. They were nearly the same height, with the same shade of hair color that was styled in exactly the same way. Even the shape of the other man's face behind the white half-mask was the same. Though, the longer Wei Ying stared at him was the more he realized that the other man was likely about four or five years older.
The starkest difference was their eyes. While Lan Zhan's eyes were an unnaturally bright golden color, the Gusu Beta had light brown eyes that crinkled at the corners as he looked at Wei Ying.
"Dianxia, it is an honor to meet you," he said in a voice that was similar to the smooth tenor of Lan Zhan's voice, but tinged with unmistakable amusement. "Unfortunately, I'll have to beg for your forgiveness. I can't stay to talk. I have some business to discuss with my packmates."
He turned to the Qinghe Alpha before Wei Ying could do much more than nod, and gave the bulkier man a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Da-ge, enjoy your run. We can discuss strategies when you get back."
In response, Nie Mingjue glared at him like a thundercloud about to burst.
At his other side, the Gold Wolf tactfully cleared his throat, and then took a small step back when the thunderous glare shifted in his direction.
"I shouldn't even be standing here," the shorter man said quietly. "Don't give me that look, Da-ge. My father would drag me away by my ears if he caught me standing so close to the Sena. He would say that I'm not worthy to even look at his shoes, much less raise my eyes to an asena."
He was an Omega. Wei Ying could tell from the second he looked at him that this Gold Wolf ranked the lowest in his pack. It was so rare to see Omegas outside of their pack because they were generally not strong enough to fend for themselves. Most Omegas were prisoners of battle, or runaways that were kicked from their pack or had left in shame. This Omega was neither ashamed nor weak. Judging from his comment about his father, it seemed to be a position that he was born into.
"You little fuckers," Nie Mingjue growled.
Both of his friends laughed at his discomfort. Neither of them seemed at all swayed by the annoyance in his tone or the fact that as an Alpha he could easily demand their compliance while they visited his pack's territory.
Instead, they both sharply saluted Wei Ying in perfect synchrony. Then, with a few brief words of goodbye to Nie Mingjue, they left, taking Lan Zhan with them.
"I didn't even catch either of their names," Wei Ying realized aloud when they were far enough away that it was too late to ask.
Nie Mingjue huffed. "After I've wrung both their necks this evening, it won't even matter."
Wei Ying laughed. Nie Mingjue was turning out to be more grumpy and less overbearing than expected.
"Alpha, are you afraid of me?" Wei Ying asked.
He took a teasing step towards the larger man. Nie Mingjue held his ground but he looked away, and Wei Ying's grin got even wider.
Wei Ying pointed a finger at himself. "Me? Am I that scary?"
"Not scary, Sena," Nie Mingjue said. "Huaisang, my annoying little brother, left out some key information when he reported back. You've caught me at a disadvantage."
Wei Ying shrugged and said, "Every shifter feels slighted in some way when they meet me. I try not to feel too offended."
"That's not it," Nie Mingjue growled, this time with more exasperation than annoyance. "I'm not angry with you or frightened by who you are, Wei Wuxian."
"Then what didn't Huaisang warn you about?" Wei Ying asked.
Nie Mingjue's gaze slowly slid to Wei Ying's mouth and seemed to linger there before he inhaled softly and said, "I was expecting a Luna, not a warrior. I provided you with the uniform of every rank within my pack and believed that you would choose one to match an Alpha. I didn't for a minute consider that you would be respectful of my rank amongst my men."
"But you're dressed as a warrior too, and you're out here training with them," Wei Ying pointed out. His mind drifted to the memory of Lan Zhan holding out the selection of clothes, but he ignored the feelings that evoked. "It's less distracting to your men if I'm also dressed like one of them."
"Exactly," Nie Mingjue said quietly. "Of course you would understand."
He took another deep, shaky breath as his gaze dropped from Wei Ying's eyes to his lips again. This time he stared at the base of Wei Ying's throat and at the side of Wei Ying's neck, and his pupils seemed to dilate, making his hazel eyes appear darker.
"The reports I received from my scouts were not wrong. You do smell really fucking good. Like fire and tears." He slowly shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "I've never met anyone like you before. You're like a bomb in human form. Like gunpowder waiting for someone to strike a match. It's intoxicating. How are you even doing that?"
Wei Ying smiled and countered instead, "How could you be my mate if you didn't find my scent intoxicating? You're an Alpha, and power is alluring to you or you wouldn't have fought your pack warriors to earn the right to lead them."
"So this is the test?" Nie Mingjue asked.
Wei Ying shook his head.