Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"You're not in your right mind, shen wenlang!" The horror filled in his eyes as he watched the alpha with the same menacing smirk walk slowly to him. His steps slow and deliberate. Sheng shaoyou could no longer stand up again, the drug in his system has started affecting him, to the point that his heart thumped loud, breath shortened and skin tremble.

"You're right, Sheng. I am in fact not in my right mind." He laughs, so dark and deep which makes the alpha's skin crawl. Shen wenlang wasn't sane. This was not the wenlang he knew. This was a broken alpha on the verge of going feral. Shaoyou knew that more than anyone else, he had just gone through all of it a few weeks back when hua yong acted like he was abducted. But that was just an act, this is real.

"You started this. Hua yong did this all for you. You." He emphasized as he kneeled down, yanked shaoyou by his hair to look into his eyes. Shaoyou felt his entire body freeze. The drug suppressed his pheromones, his senses, basically everything that an s class alpha had. He was no better than a regular omega in this situation. Maybe even worse. Shen wenlang sneers bitterly, now holding his chin.

"You caused this. So you must take responsibility, right?" Wenlang was far too gone. His mate seeking syndrome won, driving him to the edge of insanity. And shaoyou knew he had no way out of it. He was the target.

"Shen wenlang! Step out it! This isn't right." He tried, futile. All he got was a bitter chuckle.

"I played the part of a wingman for that lunatic so that he could have you. When he finally did, he threw away all our years of friendship and took my mate away from me? My mate and my child away from me!" Wenlang's voice grew louder, his grip tightened.

"it's only right that you give me my mate and my child back, Sheng shaoyou." He pushed the alpha down on the floor, tearing open his shirt. His nose immediately dived for the scent gland. Even if it wasn't Gao tu, wenlang craved for that scent.

Shaoyou's pheromones do not soothe wenlang, not even a bit, instead it fuels his anger further. The alpha is reminded again how cruelly he was snatched away from his mate, Gao tu. The sage scented omega that was the center of wenlang's world even though he never expressed it in words properly. Gao tu was his anchor in life, his support system. He didn't even care if Gao tu betrayed him by hiding his identity,it didn't matter anymore. He just wanted Gao tu back, back in his arms.

Maybe if wenlang had more time, he could've won Gao tu over again. He could've mended their relationship which had broken even before it started, all because wenlang was unaware, ignorant, he accepts that it's his fault but redeeming anything he had done wasn't even an option for him. All because his fate was already decided by someone else, like it always was since his childhood. People did as they pleased without ever taking his feelings into account. It was like his own life wasn't in his hands anymore.

"Hua yong, he thinks nothing can stop him just because he is an enigma. He is wrong." Wenlang snarls, his fingers gripping on the alpha's hair, rough. Shaoyou can't even make out wenlang's face in the dark, but even without looking he could tell it was dark and void. "He underestimates everyone too much. He might be an enigma, but he is still human after all. No human can break free from walls made of iron, you know." He laughs a little, mocking.

Shaoyou doesn't understand much of it, but it seemed like wenlang had trapped hua yong too, the unstoppable enigma was trapped which meant the doom was certain. Nothing can stop wenlang now.

"He started all of this. 15 years ago. I became a pawn in his game. A bloody cupid! I did everything he asked me to, he thought it was because of the debt, that's how he viewed our friendship of 30 years." He chuckles bitterly. Shaoyou can make out that the betrayal from hua yong was a grave one, one that could break their years of friendship.

"And he took my mate away from me? The only person who I could call my own. The only person who truly understood me. The one who is carrying my child." The sentences were heavy, they were true. The sheer weight of all those deeds laid on shaoyou now. He was the root of everything, wasn't he? Even though he never knew any of it. It did start with him, didn't it?

"He has to pay me back." That was a declaration from an alpha whose ego had been shattered beyond repair and shaoyou hated how he understood the fellow alpha. He was the same when he found out he had been dominated by an enigma and deceived for months, toyed with and betrayed.

"Wenlang, I know everything that happened to you was wrong. And I am sorry for everything I have done. But this is wrong. Gao tu wouldn't want this." He tried to reason with the feral alpha. That was his last chance. Nothing else could get him out of this situation. Not when such a strong drug is in his system, suppressing his whole strength that he couldn't even push wenlang away.

"Shut up! Don't talk like you know him." That was harsh, the anger pulsed in his veins. His grip loosened from the alpha's hair. Then suddenly he ripped the shirt apart.

Shaoyou's heart almost stopped when wenlang forced his pants down, his scent gland burned as waves of iris attacked him. He tried with all his remaining strength to push the alpha away but everything was in vain. Wenlang didn't budge.

The alpha stared down at his chest and paused for a moment, and somehow a glimmer of hope grew in shaoyou, maybe wenlang was disgusted by an alpha under him and that he would finally stop?

His hope was crushed as the alpha's teeth grazed his collarbone, rough and painful. Wenlang's palms roamed his body, again rough, his calloused hands left marks everywhere on his body, as if they were trying to draw something. Shaoyou whimpered in pain, his hands constantly trying to push him away.

He paused when a hand landed on his member over his underwear, wenlang was not going to stop. The thought drained the blood out of his face, shaoyou was crying. Never in his life did he think he would be in this situation. Even at that hotel with hua yong, he knew what was happening and even though his mind never reciprocated anything, his body did and he had spent the night with the enigma. But this is different. Wenlang was trying to break him.

"Not very impressive for an s class alpha." Wenlang mocks again, not a glint of remorse or hesitation. The alpha was too far gone in his game of revenge. Nothing mattered.

"Wenlang...... please stop." He tried just to be ignored by wenlang again.

Moments later his underwear came off, he was completely bare under the alpha, trembling with each touch.

He hated how his body reacted, everytime wenlang would touch him, his body reacted in ways that he felt disgusted with himself. His breath stopped when the alpha fingered at his rim, somehow he was producing slick, a condition that often happened after that night with hua yong.

'I hate you, hua yong.'

Tears streamed down his cheeks, meek sobs escaped as he accepted his destiny. This was truly happening. After this night shaoyou might not even be able to face himself.

Wenlang took his time preparing the alpha, as though he were preparing an omega in heat. His mind flashed him with images of Gao tu from that night in the storeroom. The memories that he once forgot, now displaying in his brain. When he looked down, he saw Gao tu, the same one from that night. Soft and delicate under him.

Shaoyou heard him unbuckle his belt and pull the zipper down. He didn't dare to look down.

Shaoyou bit his tongue as the alpha entered him, slowly and carefully. The tears stung his eyes as he shut them so tight.

The alpha moved slowly at first and then picked up his pace. His thursts were rough and powerful, slamming down on shaoyou making him jerk. Shaoyou could only sob, his voice gave up.

"I love you, Gao tu." Wenlang whispered but shaoyou heard him. More tears built up.

Wenlang quickened his pace, slamming hard and fast. Each second of it agonized shaoyou. He was about to lose consciousness.

The alpha leaned down, grazing his teeth near the gland, taking in the scent. Although it didn't soothe him, it somehow became bearable now.

"Wenlang no!" Shaoyou screamed as the alpha's canines dug on his skin right at the mating gland. His entire body convulsed with the sensation. Pain and shame. An s class alpha is not supposed to be marked.

"You're mine, Gao tu." Wenlang whispered again, this time calm and soft. With another thurst, he popped the knot inside shaoyou, he screamed again, going unheard again. Wenlang flipped them pulled shaoyou closer to his chest.

When the warmth spreads inside him, shaoyou's world blacks out. The last thing he remembers is the stabbing pain behind his neck, wenlang's knot locked deep inside him, sitting heavy and his own burnt orange enveloping the room entangling with the iris. With more tears streaming down, shaoyou finally blacks out.

_____

When the blinding lights fall on his face, shaoyou jerks awake. He quickly scans the room and finds it empty. The sunlight beamed through the window, too bright. Just as panic settles in again, shaoyou's body goes limp when he tries to stand up.

"Fuck." When he somehow manages to hold himself up, he feels liquid flow down his thighs, instantly the horrors return to his mind. That was the proof that it did happen, it wasn't a bad dream, it was reality. He had been ruined by wenlang, an alpha.

On reaching the bathroom, he collapses beside the toilet and let's his guts out.

His neck throbbed again, he slightly touched the mark, it burned. An alpha mark was not supposed to be there. His body hated it.

.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shaoyou honestly wasn't even paying attention, his instincts just wanted to free himself. When the voice echoed, he froze. Wenlang was right there, on the sofa with a glass of wine, eyes dark like the night before.

"Did you really think I would let you go?" Wenlang stood up, walked slowly towards the alpha who was trembling, his body strength had not returned yet so fighting wenlang wouldn't be a possibility. As shaoyou attempted to reach for the door, wenlang crushed the glass under his palms, the shards of glass piercing his skin drawing blood. Within seconds he was before shaoyou, dragging him back to the bedroom.

"This is not a game, Sheng shaoyou." The alpha roughly throws shaoyou on the bed. "This is my revenge. You can't escape from me." He declared. Iris suddenly blooming in waves, suffocating the room. The mating mark stung making shaoyou cower his head low in submission.

"There's time for hua yong to wake up. Until I find Gao tu, you are my hostage."

"Don't even think about leaving this place. I will break your legs if I have to." Wenlang let's go of the alpha and walks out of the room and locks it from outside.

Shaoyou can't help but break down again. This was truly happening. His body no longer cooperated with him, his strength was gone. He even lost control over his own pheromones.

From what he heard, hua yong must be heavily drugged and unconscious at the moment. And even if he wakes up, he might not be able to escape from wenlang. After all as wenlang said, he was still human. Something hua yong never accepted, he always felt entitled to everything just because he is an enigma. The same way he had betrayed shaoyou in the name of love, dominated him shattered his pride. Wenlang was not different. But the alpha had been driven mad by his own instincts that were toyed by hua yong and Gao tu. The said omega left an alpha at his worst, feral and untamed.

But what was shaoyou's fault? How did he land in the midst of this turmoil?

_____

"Eat." A tray of food, rice, boiled chicken, salad and a juice. Wenlang doesn't leave the room, he just stands there staring outside the window. Shaoyou doesn't complicate things because he was genuinely starving and he has to eat to survive. He doesn't know when wenlang's mind could change and things get worse. He has to get out of there, that's the goal.

"Hua yong will wake up in a week. Till then you must stay here. And after that if I find Gao tu, you can leave." Wenlang doesn't look at him, but somehow the words sound gentle. Shaoyou's heart burns, suddenly the food feels like poison. What did wenlang mean? That shaoyou was just a pawn? Just a thing to toy with?

"You marked me." His voice felt heavy. Wenlang suddenly turns to him, a look of surprise on his face. Did he not realise?

"Don't play games with me, how can an alpha mark another alpha?" Wenlang was genuinely shoked. Shaoyou chuckled, dropping his chopsticks. He turned to wenlang, watched as the alpha's face filled with confusion.

"You marked me, wenlang! How will you erase that?" He screamed, pushing tray down. Wenlang went silent.

"I....." He couldn't believe it. He marked shaoyou? How was that possible, how can an alpha mark another alpha? That's not possible right?

"An alpha can't be marked." He paused. It was true, biologically an alpha can't be marked by another alpha just the way an omega can't be marked by another omega. How did he mark shaoyou?

Shaoyou slowly stood on his feet, walked towards the alpha. Took his hand placed it on his mark. Instantly shaoyou's body trembled slightly. Wenlang snatched his hand away in disbelief. He indeed marked shaoyou. The alpha stumbled a few steps back and immediately left the room.

'i marked him?' wenlang paced around the living room in frustration. He marked an alpha, an s class alpha like him. That wasn't his intention. All he wanted was to make hua yong feel betrayal like he did. He regretted last night, in his rut dazed mind, he did the worst thing imaginable. But it was already too late to reverse that. So he thought he would just keep shaoyou hostage till he finds Gao tu. But he marked him? That changes everything.

A permanent mark can only be removed by doing a organ removal. That would mean Sheng shaoyou would lose his alpha status biologically.

Everything spiralled in front of him. It was too much too suddenly. Without a word wenlang stormed out of the house, not bothering to lock the door. He needed to get out, get away from shaoyou before he does something he will regret even more. How did he end up here? Where did everything go wrong?

Last night was a mistake. A grave mistake. Wenlang's instincts had taken over. In the beginning he just wanted to trap shaoyou so that he could blackmail hua yong but then his mind played games with him. His body obeyed the alpha within him. And when he woke up, the damage was already done. He had broken shaoyou. An alpha, snatched his pride away and crushed it into a million pieces.

_____

"Why didn't you leave?" Wenlang looked worse than this morning, his knuckles were bleeding, hair a complete mess and iris so bitter that smelled rotten. Shaoyou was there, sitting on the couch, curled up as though he were protecting the remaining pride he had left. The alpha was staring outside the big glass windows, tears in his eyes.

"What will I do by leaving?" Wenlang hated how helpless the alpha sounded, his voice barely a whisper. This was not the Sheng shaoyou he knew, the alpha had been a dignified gentleman that carried himself with grace, his personality radiated power and professionalism. But now everything was gone, only fear and pain remained. Wenlang truly broke him.

Wenlang doesn't respond to that, he walks past shaoyou into the bedroom. It was the same since morning, scattered food on the bed, broken glass on the floor, smell or alcohol.

"Leave." Wenlang tossed a key on the couch, a car key, some new clothes, one of his own unused suit. Shaoyou briefly looked up, the tears finally gone from his face. He locked eyes with wenlang, and the alpha froze. Shaoyou's eyes held so much pain. And wenlang was the reason for it.

"Report me to the police after I find Gao tu and bring him back." He said and attempted to leave the room. "Do you really think he would stick to you after he finds out what you did?" Shaoyou chuckled and watched as the alpha's face changed again, this time more regretful. Wenlang already knew Gao tu wouldn't. But that didn't mean that he would give up on finding Gao tu, he had to make sure the omega was safe.

"That's my problem. Stay out of it. I will force out everything from hua yong after he wakes up. What he does after that is not my problem." Wenlang knew hua yong would not go easy on him. Definitely not after what he did to shaoyou. He is ready to face all of it, but before that he has to bring Gao tu back.

"And what about me?" The question lands like a bullet. What about shaoyou? Wenlang would probably be killed by hua yong, or maybe damaged physically and behind bars, Gao tu would be back to where he belonged, hua yong would still be in power. So what about shaoyou?

"Mating marks can be removed via several treatments without getting the gland removed. I will make sure you get that removed." Wenlang doesn't even know if that was really possible. He knew many countries have been trying to come up with solutions for that problem, and maybe some have been successful.

"You betray me for months, making me believe that hua yong was an omega. Toy with my feelings. Making me beg like a dog for my father's medicine. Use me for revenge and then just discard me like waste?" Shaoyou laughs aloud.

"You had plenty of chances to tell me the truth about hua yong, right?" Shaoyou didn't break the eye contact. It was true, wenlang had many chances to reveal the truth, but all he did was enjoy watching shaoyou being played around by hua yong. The cunning enigma had shaoyou wrapped around his fingers, making everything seems believable. And God knows how far he would've gone. That night at the hotel was the prime example of how messed up everything truly was.

"Do you think I could've survived if I did that?" Wenlang hated his own answer. Was he really so inferior to hua yong just because biologically hua yong had advantages? Where was his own morality?

"You're surviving now. You have trapped hua yong, an enigma." Shaoyou sneered. That was true, wenlang did manage to trap the enigma, though under the effect of drugs and tranquilisers. But hua yong was indeed in his grasp now. So why was he so scared back then? Following every word the enigma said.

That wasn't fear, it was his friendship. His duty towards friendship. But in the end hua yong never cared. All that mattered to him was himself and shaoyou.

"Gao tu isn't here, not because of hua yong or anyone else but because of you. Because you are a coward, shen wenlang." Shaoyou's words crush the alpha's heart. Everything he says is true, and wenlang hates that fact.

"Hua yong is not superior to you because he is an enigma. You are not below him just because you are an alpha. The truth is you're a coward." Shaoyou repeats this time bolder. Shaoyou doesn't wait longer, he takes the keys and leaves the house.

_____

"Starving to death will not happen to you, shen wenlang. You're an alpha. You won't die just from starvation." The bedroom door opens softly, there was shaoyou drawing the curtains to let the sunlight in. He was dressed in his usual suit, poised and dripping professionalism. Wenlang couldn't even properly open his eyes. He had no energy left.

'how many days has it been?' he wondered. But first of all, why was shaoyou here again?

"Get up and eat." Wenlang doesn't even realise when shaoyou leaves the room and enters again, this time with a tray of food, congee, fruits and a glass of water. Soon he is being forced to sit up, he groans as his muscles ache, throat clench from thirst. Shaoyou forces down the water. Only after that wenlang could fully open his eyes and breathe normally again.

"Eat now. It's been three days." Shaoyou says again and takes a seat on the bed. Wenlang stared at him for a good whole minute, truly confused but his stomach growled and he finally gave in to his body's demands. Three days? Wenlang initially didn't plan on starving to death, he just took a whole bottle of sleeping tablets and slept.

"Your employees almost filed a search warrant." Shaoyou informs, nothing about him seemed different. He was the same. And it confused wenlang more. Why wasn't he reported to the police already? Why wasn't hua yong here at to kill him? He hasn't been giving commands to the people that are guarding the iron cell that contained hua yong, probably by now they should've already left and hua yong must be free?

"Why the hell are you here?" Wenlang's voice is broken, his nodules hurt every time he spoke. Shaoyou briefly looks at him and then looks away.

"You marked me. I need your scent." Shaoyou says, his voice soft, as if he didn't hate the sound of that. He probably did. Wenlang was sure he did. Wenlang nods and then continues to feed himself. Then his phone rang.

Through his blurry vision he saw that he had 30 missed calls from those people. He quickly kept the food down and dialed the number.

"I will be there soon." He said, the call was brief, no explanations, no reasons. Wenlang cut the call and stood up, he almost tripped but continued walking towards the bathroom.

After a while he came out, somewhat presentable. He didn't wear his usual suits, instead wore a hoodie and sweat pants. He picked a car key from the key stand.

"Going to meet hua yong?" Shaoyou knew wenlang was going there, yet he asked. The alpha nodded again, refusing to look into shaoyou's eyes. "With no weapons?" Shaoyou knew better than anyone how strong hua yong actually was. From the look of it, wenlang was ready to accept his wrath as punishment for what he did. So shaoyou should be satisfied right?

"The iron cell is enough, I will just ask him a few questions and nothing else."

"Do you think he will answer?" Shaoyou knew hua yong would. Nothing mattered more than him to hua yong. The enigma would probably say everything he knew immediately just so he could be free and come to shaoyou. Hua yong had no care anyone else. Not for that omega or the child within him.

"He has to." Wenlang felt small under the calm alpha's presence. Just what did shaoyou want now? Why was he here? Why did he care if wenlang died or not?

"He will. And then what? You will go to Gao tu?" Shaoyou now stood up and approached the alpha. Wenlang subconsciously took a few steps back. "Yes." He answered but he wasn't so sure anymore. That was the initial plan, to make hua yong spill Gao tu's whereabouts and then he would go himself to fetch the omega and bring him back immediately. But now the situation had changed, shaoyou was in the picture, and somehow the alpha was refusing to back down. What did shaoyou want?

Shaoyou doesn't pry further, he just nods and exits the house. Wenlang sighs and locks the door. Shaoyou doesn't follow him, instead he just leaves.

_____

"You know what's gonna happen after I am out of here, right?" Hua yong still carried that smirk, he wasn't threatened in the slightest. Wenlang watched him through the CCTV, the enigma's hands and feet were tied with iron chains so he couldn't move. But even after all those bondage, he didn't cower his head.

"I don't care about that. Tell me where Gao tu is? Or should I say where you sent him?" Wenlang questioned and watched as the enigma chuckled.

"You could've done this differently wenlang. I would've told you eventually. You wasted your efforts and most importantly you dragged my shaoyou into this silly game of yours." Hua yong's expressions grew dark. Wenlang wasn't fazed, he can't be.

"You didn't tell me back when you had a chance."

"I wanted to make you beg a little." Hua yong said with the most sinister smile. Not a glint of remorse. Truly hua yong was a devil. It was wenlang who stupidly thought that their friendship meant something. That 30 years finally made the enigma care for him. It didn't. Hua yong was still the devil he knew.

"I don't know where he is. I handed him over to your mother, ying yi." Hua yong said.

Mother? Hua yong was in contact with his mother? His dead mother? Wenlang felt his head throb from pain. What did hua yong mean?

"Ohh sorry I never told you. Your mother is alive, wenlang. He contacted me about 15 years ago. He was the one who told me to bring Gao tu to him. So I did. About where he took them, I have no idea." Hua yong said that as if it was the most casual thing. Wenlang whole world crumbled piece by piece. His mother was alive? Hua yong knew that? And he never told him?

"So let me out of here now, wenlang. I have had enough of this silly game of yours." Hua yong's voice dominated everyone in the room except wenlang.

The alpha couldn't believe anything anymore. His mother was alive and in contact with hua yong for 15 years. And he is the one who took Gao tu away. Once again fate played with him. His past haunted him again.

"Wenlang!" Hua yong called again because the alpha went silent. "Let me out of here." He screamed again.

The alpha wordlessly walked out of the CCTV room.

_____

"So did he tell you where he is?" Wenlang is greeted by shaoyou again in his house, the alpha was no longer in his suit, instead one of his silk pajamas, wearing an apron and standing behind the kitchen counter with a knife and some vegetables.

Wenlang could no longer even care as to why shaoyou was still here. The weight of everything was dragging him to the ground. He doesn't say anything and just walks inside. He tosses his car keys on the couch and immediately opens his wine drawer, takes out a bottle of rum, struggles to open it a little, he immediately takes a big gulp after it finally opens.

Shaoyou silently watches as the alpha in front of him as he gulps down every last drop of that rum, and then shatter the bottle on the floor. Suddenly the alpha looks at him, eyes full of sorrow and many more unreadable emotions. "Get out. Leave me alone." His voice is stern but shaoyou knows that's a plea and not a threat. Wenlang rumages for another bottle of rum.

"Stop it."

Wenlang paused. He lets out a chuckle. Broken.

"Do you think by drowning yourself in alcohol would make Gao tu magically appear?" Wenlang laughs again, this time a bit sarcastic.

Shaoyou snatches the bottle away from the alpha and puts it back inside the drawer. He walks past wenlang and then appears with a broomstick and casually sweeps the glass shards off the floor.

"I can't understand what he saw in you that drove him to such madness." Wenlang says. He never understood why hua yong was particularly interested in shaoyou considering the fact that they had never interacted before. Shaoyou wasn't extraordinary, he was a regular alpha who had a good career. Shaoyou also wasn't the innocent type, he was known to be a outgoing alpha that had many casual relationships, one night stands and even contract relationships. So what drew hua yong to shaoyou?

Shaoyou doesn't respond. For a fact he didn't even know why. He never knew why the enigma pursued him. He had never knowingly interacted with hua yong. He didn't even believe in enigma's existence, he thought those were ancient tales. He also recently discovered hua yong's true identity.

"Hua yong handed Gao tu to my mother. And now he doesn't know where they are." Wenlang finally replies to the first question. The alpha stopped, turned back to face wenlang who was smiling bitterly. Mother? Wenlang's mother was dead. Everyone in the country knew that. The famous general ying was dead.

"Surprised? I was too." Wenlang was laughing. He no longer understood anything. Everything felt like a big joke and he was the clown.

"Apparently they were in contact for 15 years. And not once he told me that my own mother was alive. That my mother escaped prison and that he contacted hua yong rather than his own son." Wenlang laughs out loud like a maniac.

Shaoyou goes silent. He had no words left to say. What was he gonna say? What could anyone say in this situation? Nothing.

"And now my mate and my unborn child are with my mother who I thought was dead!" Wenlang lost it. He held his stomach as he laughed hard.

The alpha went silent again. He looked up at shaoyou once, then looked away. He didn't expect anything. He knew he didn't deserve any pity. He was a monster, he deserved it. He deserved the betrayal. Betrayal from his friend, his mate and now his own mother who truly never cared for him. Not 18 years ago, and not now.

Wenlang's mother was known to be selfish and he truly was. He left his son with shen yu who was worse than a devil. He grew up believing his mother had died in the prison. Even when he was alive, he never loved wenlang. He only loved shen yu, or maybe not even him. Now this same mother had snatched away his mate and child.

"You still have to find him."

Wenlang locks eyes with shaoyou and somehow feels like alpha cared. No matter how crazy and unbelievable that sounded, he felt that care. But why would he care about him? Him out of everyone shouldn't be empathising with wenlang, not after what wenlang did to him.

"Even if I find him now, would that change anything?" Wenlang wasn't sure anymore. What if he does find Gao tu but then what? Would Gao tu actually come back to him? And how would he react to this ridiculous mess he has created in the span of a week, marking a s class alpha.

"That's for him to decide but you must bring him back." Shaoyou's words gave him the littlest of hope.

"I contacted a foreign research company about the mark removal, they said they have a laser treatment that will get rid of the mark painlessly without any side affects. I booked an appointment with their top researcher, he is coming to the country next week. I will send you the address. And I will pay for it." Wenlang slides a card towards shaoyou, a business card of the said company. Shaoyou picks it up and scans the little information written on it.

"You can start the treatment right away. They said it will take only a few months to heal and then your pheromones will be back to normal." Wenlang walks past the alpha into his bedroom, not bothering to ask anything else. He didn't even know if shaoyou was sleeping over or not. Judging by his pajamas, he probably was. Honestly wenlang didn't care anymore.

As he laid on the bed, he hears a few crackling sound of cutlery being put away and light switches being turned off and finally he hears the guest room door shut so that meant shaoyou stayed.

_____

Just like shaoyou said, wenlang began searching for the omega, he hired private investigators, formed a whole team to search every nook and cranny of the neighbouring countries, even the smallest villages and towns. Soon a week passed by and nothing was found, not even a trace of Gao tu.

When he found out that Gao tu was with his mother, wenlang already expected the search to be hard, after all his mother was excellent at hiding. But nonetheless he wasn't going to give up. Hua yong was still in his trap. He planned to release him but soon retracted from that idea because he knew the enigma wouldn't hesitate to ruin everything once again.

Apart from the search and hua yong, one strange thing was happening. Sheng shaoyou. The alpha planted himself into wenlang's house and refused to leave, he said it was because of the mating mark. But things became more strange as the alpha started being domestic. He would often cook for wenlang, take care of the broken glass bottles, he would even wake wenlang up for work. Everything about that was weird and unsettling.

Another strange thing that kept happening was the scent. That orange rum scent that once disgusted wenlang slowly felt soothing now. Whenever he would come back home, he yearned for that scent. He blamed it on the mark. But was it truly just that?

The thing about the police report vanished. He brought it up multiple times but shaoyou never went to the police. So wenlang assumed maybe he had other plans for him. Revenge was a complicated game. Maybe shaoyou had much more planned for him. All he could do was wait for it.

Then the day came when the treatment was to be discussed with shaoyou. The alpha left early that morning to the said location. Wenlang withdrew from work that day, preferred to stay home. He was also supposed to release hua yong from captivity today. When he gave the command on the phone, he felt his chest tighten. He instructed them to give him tranquiliser shots that would most probably put him to sleep for 2 more days.

"You released hua yong?" Shaoyou stormed in with rage. He nodded. "And you didn't even tell me?" Shaoyou was really furious. He had the right to be.

"I can't keep him any longer. Soon the police would've found out and his family too. Don't worry he won't be awake for 2 more days." As if that changes anything. It doesn't. The moment hua yong wakes up, hell will consume them.

"Whatever mess you have with hua yong is none of my business." Wenlang feels his voice die down as he says that. He tries to sound like he really doesn't care. When in fact he does. He knows what hua yong is capable of. And he also knows the possibilities. He will probably keep shaoyou chained now. The enigma would crush any freedom shaoyou has. He also knew what awaited for him. Once hua yong finds out about the mating mark and that unfortunate night, he might even kill wenlang.

"None of your business?! Shen wenlang, don't forget that I am in this situation because of you." He yanks the alpha by his collar, his eyes red with rage. Wenlang doesn't even defend himself. Because it was true. Wenlang did this. From the start, he lured shaoyou to the devil called hua yong.

Shaoyou let's go of the alpha and runs his fingers through his nicely done hair. His breath gets heavier, he feels like suffocating. Wenlang senses it so subconsciously he lets out calm iris.

"Hua yong will lock me up. He will keep me on a leash like a dog!" Shaoyou bangs his fist on the glass wall.

"I am sorry." Wenlang didn't even know what he was apologising for. For that night? Or for everything he has done till now? Starting from deceiving the alpha to finally marking him?

"You're not sorry, wenlang. You're not!" He screams again, this time with tears pooling in his eyes. He slowly succumbed to the floor drawing his knees closer to his chest.

"I don't deserve this." Shaoyou chuckled bitterly. He didn't. Out of everyone involved, he was the one who had no fault in any of this. Yet he was taking the biggest fall out of everyone. That's not fair.

He sobs pathetically. Wenlang doesn't budge, he stands there like a fool watching the alpha break, not having any courage to comfort him.

"Save me, wenlang. This is your last chance at redeeming yourself. Save me from hua yong. Save me from that hell." Shaoyou's eyes were determined, he was begging. Wenlang froze, those eyes held so much fear and uncertainty. The same eyes that once screamed confidence were now begging.

"I....." Wenlang hesitates, because deep down he knew he had no chance against an enigma, a biologically superior being. But when he looks at shaoyou, how broken he was, a part of him wants to believe he can save shaoyou, atleast him. He couldn't save anyone else, he couldn't even save himself but he must save shaoyou.

"I will. I promise you."

_____

Two days pass by in a whim. A clue about Gao tu reached him. Gao tu last boarded a train from country v to country u. After that the traces were gone but still that was huge clue. So wenlang directed his team to country u.

As two days passed, the sleeping enigma had finally woke up. All wenlang could do now was wait for him. Wait for the enigma to reach him. Shaoyou was at his house, with him. The alpha refused when wenlang suggested him to hide. He had his own plans that he didn't tell wenlang yet.

"I know I shouldn't be talking about this right now but I got to know that you didn't go for the removal treatment yesterday. Why? Because of hua yong?" Wenlang couldn't keep that question buried for any longer, so he finally asked it. Shaoyou fiddled with the hem of shirt but remained silent.

"This is not the time to be talking about this." He reminded that a much bigger storm was coming for them. Wenlang nodded and waited. Waited and waited. Each second went by slow, agonizingly slow. Panic grew louder.

Then finally the storm came, banging on the door. He didn't for anyone to open it, instead he broke it open. His enigma eyes were dark and purple but when he spotted shaoyou, he immediately reached him.

"Mr Sheng! Are you alright?" He sounded desperate, worried even. He waited for a response but it never came, instead he was greeted with a totally unexpected scene. Shaoyou slowly walked backwards and hide behind wenlang.

"Mr Sheng?" Hua yong looked visibly confused. And just then he realised that shaoyou was not chained up or anything. When wenlang said that he had taken shaoyou hostage, he expected something much worse but this was totally opposite of what he expected.

Then the scent reached him, a mixture of iris and orange. He yanked the alpha towards him and turned him over. His eyes landed on his neck, a bite mark. And iris bloomed from it. His eyes grew instantly dark. Within seconds wenlang was on the floor writhing in pain. They didn't even see when the enigma moved. Wenlang coughed out blood and clutched his stomach.

"Wenlang!" Shaoyou shrieked, instinctually he reached for the alpha but was stopped by hua yong's powerful pheromones. "You betrayed me, Mr Sheng." Hua yong's eyes were purple again. He slowly approached the alpha now.

"Stay away from him, hua yong!" That was wenlang, barely standing. Shaoyou froze entirely. He felt shivers run down his spine as the enigma took slow deliberate steps towards him.

"How could you, Sheng shaoyou?" His voice was deeper than usual. All the pheromones forced shaoyou to cower his head low. "Did you think only you could betray me?" Shaoyou still managed to speak.

"You think only you can toy with me as you liked and I would stay still. You're wrong hua yong." Shaoyou watched as hua yong stopped.

"You played me, hua yong. I don't love you, hua yong. In fact I hate you." Hua yong's pheromones suddenly disappeared and eyes turned back to normal.

"You can't...." Hua yong couldn't believe those words. This was exactly what he dreaded. Shaoyou hating him was the end of his world.

"I hate you, hua yong. I fucking loathe your existence." Shaoyou screamed out loud and watched as hua yong crumbled. A strange satisfaction settled in his heart. This was what he wanted. He wanted hua yong to feel betrayed just like he did. For now hua yong believes shaoyou intentionally slept with wenlang and obtained that mark.

Taking the chance, wenlang pushed the enigma away and stood between him and shaoyou, like a barrier. Because now they didn't know what hua yong might do. And just wenlang promised, he must save shaoyou this time.

"Shen wenlang!" Hua yong wasn't fazed at the slightest. He regained his composure again. Waves of orchid landed on wenlang.

Targeted pheromones. Hua yong was truly attempting to kill wenlang with his pheromones while making sure shaoyou wasn't affected.

But then the unthinkable happened before his eyes, shaoyou stepped forward from behind and stood before wenlang. "Stop this, hua yong!" He screamed as he tried his best to protect wenlang. He let his own pheromones out and try to make a barrier.

"Return back to me, Mr Sheng."

"Never!" Shaoyou screamed back. His knees grew weaker. The pheromones were too overpowering. But he couldn't back down. He couldn't see wenlang die. He just couldn't.

"Ah!" He gasped in pain, and then clutched his abdomen. Hua yong caught that and retreated his pheromones. Sheng shaoyou hurriedly traced his finger down his pants and when he drew it back up, they were stained in blood. Horror filled his eyes.

Hua yong stood there dumbfounded, so did wenlang.

"Our baby, wenlang!" He suddenly exclaimed as another wave of pain crossed him. Wenlang's eyes widened, mouth hung open.

'baby?'

The ground beneath their feet slipped away. Shen wenlang forgot everything for a moment. Was this the reason why shaoyou refused to get the removal treatment?

The alpha groaned in pain again, this time much worse. Instinctively wenlang suddenly picked him up in his arms and stormed out of the house through the broken door. His heart thumped loud and fast. An unknown force drove him.

And hua yong was left alone , standing there in disbelief. What did shaoyou mean? A baby? Wenlang and his baby?

____

"Why didn't you tell me?" Wenlang doesn't dare to look up.

"Because it wasn't the right time. We had to escape hua yong first." Shaoyou responded. The alpha looked calm, unusually calm. Sheng shaoyou bled because of the excessive exposure to pheromones. Everything else was fine. The baby was fine. The doctor also mentioned that shaoyou's womb was weak and hence he would need the father's pheromones constantly to have a healthy pregnancy.

But the bigger question was how was shaoyou, an alpha, pregnant?

The doctor gave the explanation already, it sounded unrealistic. Because of the earlier exposure to hua yong's pheromones, shaoyou's body was already going through transitions, after that night at the hotel, as hua yong knotted the alpha, the womb was formed. And ever since it developed to a fully functioning one. But the baby was not hua yong's. It was wenlang's.

"I.......I will arrange for an abortion." Saying that wenlang stood up to leave shaoyou alone. He had no idea what the alpha was feeling. Disgust? Probably. How can an alpha accept a child in their womb? That was instinctually impossible.

"Who said I am getting rid of this baby?" Shaoyou's words halted the alpha on his tracks, he looked back in pure confusion and guilt.

"How can you accept this, shaoyou? You're an alpha." Wenlang didn't mean to say that, he really didn't.

"I know." Shaoyou gently caressed his abdomen where the baby rested. A gentle smile on his face.

"But I want this child." Shaoyou confessed. It twisted wenlang's heart a little, and he couldn't understand why.

The whole world was slipping out of his hands. Wenlang lost his mate, his friend and his own dignity. Everything slipped away, except shaoyou. The one he broke, the one he ruined yet he was still here, standing beside him. Wenlang couldn't understand why.

"How can you want this child? This child was formed from rape!" As brutal at that sounded, it was true. This child was conceived by force. Shaoyou didn't consent to this.

"I don't know why you're doing this but this is wrong. You're supposed to punish me, shaoyou!"

"I am punishing you." Shaoyou locked eyes with wenlang. For a brief moment everything stopped. The hospital chatter vanished, wenlang felt captivated by the alpha in front of him. Shaoyou looked fragile somehow. And a neet to protect that fragility grew in him.

"Are you willing to accept any punishment I give you?"

"Yes! I will. You can kill me it you want. Or send me to jail. But I can't keep living like this knowing that I ruined your life, shaoyou." Wenlang wasn't as strong as he displayed himself to be. He was weak, because he was kind. The type of kindness people misunderstood. But shaoyou knew him. Surprisingly within just a few months shaoyou understood him.

"Then forget Gao tu and accept me as your mate and raise this child together with me, as a family."

"What?" Wenlang couldn't believe his own ears. What did shaoyou just suggest? Together as a family?

"Forget him wenlang, he is gone. And even if he appears, hold my hand and our child's."

Was this really the Sheng shaoyou he knew? The proud alpha?

"That's not a punishment." Wenlang mumbled.

"It doesn't matter............. I am giving you a chance, shen wenlang. Forget Gao tu and live your life with me, for me and this child."

Shaoyou knew he was asking for a lot. He knows how dedicated wenlang is for Gao tu, he also knows their love was deep. But he didn't know why he couldn't accept it.

Gao tu wasn't just wenlang's memory, he was a piece of wenlang's heart, he still is. A love so great that shaoyou envied him. All he ever got in his own life was selfish love and then obsession from hua yong. He deserved better didn't he?

He wasn't forgiving wenlang. He never will. Sending him to jail wasn't a real punishment, because he knew wenlang wouldn't last long in a jail, he would just end himself and that will be it. His revenge has to be everlasting. Only way to make that happen will be to plant himself in wenlang's heart and throw out Gao tu. Force the alpha to be dedicated to him instead and to their child.

____

Hua yong didn't back down immediately. They knew he never will. Everyday he would show up to torment wenlang and plead shaoyou. He even went as far as to discuss an abortion for shaoyou. The alpha kept ignoring him.

Somehow life went ahead, through the mess something good was blossoming. The baby in shaoyou's womb grew, healthy and happy. 6 months passed by, wenlang went back to his work. Shaoyou took a break. Their lives settled down, faster than they expected. A routine was established. They began living together, because the baby needed wenlang's pheromones. The mark removal treatment was long forgotten. Wenlang withdrew his search for Gao tu.

Though at the surface everything seemed normal, deep down wenlang still craved for Gao tu. His inner alpha still recognised Gao tu as his mate and not shaoyou. Sometimes his gland would throb, reminding him that his mate wasn't here. Shaoyou knew about it. He knew all of it and he hated every second of it.

Every night wenlang would leave the bed when his gland pained. He would scroll through the photos of Gao tu.

"What are you doing?!" Wenlang shrieked when he felt shaoyou's hands slip inside his underwear and land right on his girth. When he lifted the blanket away, he saw shaoyou inches away from his member.

"Making you mine." Shaoyou said before he took out wenlang's dick and stroked him. Wenlang gasped, his hands fisted the bed sheet. Shaoyou watched intently as the alpha under him writhed, trying so hard to keep his hands to himself. This was a first. Wenlang has not initiated any physical contact in the last six months, all they did was sleeping on the same bed because of the pheromones.

"Stop." Wenlang mumbled.

Shaoyou positioned himself lower, adjusted his mouth and slowly swallowed the alpha. Wenlang's fingers gripped shaoyou's hair.

He licked the head of his penis with his tongue, swirling it around and then took him deep into his mouth till it touched the back of his neck. Wenlang almost thrusted into his mouth but restrained himself at the last minute. Somehow shaoyou was disappointed. So he began to quicken his pace, using his palms to stroke the portion he couldn't fit in his mouth. Wenlang was a mess. He was voting down on his lips, holding onto shaoyou's hair for dear life.

"Fuck!" He pulled shaoyou away, ropes of cum landed on his face and hair. Wenlang heaved loudly.

When he opened his eyes, he saw shaoyou licking his cum stained fingers. To say that wenlang almost pissed himself was a understatement. Blood surged to his member and he was hard.

"What are you trying to do?" Wenlang knew what he was indeed trying to do but he didn't understand why.

"I don't know. You tell me, what am I trying to do?" Shaoyou took wenlang's hand and placed it on his own hardness and instantly moaned.

'fuck, that's hot.'

"Fuck me, wenlang. I need you." Wenlang swore he almost cummed again, shaoyou sounded so sensual, so needy.

Soon the alpha was pinned down on the bed, his clothes coming off one by one until nothing remained. Shaoyou's body was changing, he was more delicate now. His curves accentuated his body, his breasts were beginning to grow and he had a curve in his stomach where the baby rested. Wenlang didn't know why but that made his heart swell with a unknown feeling.

"Are you sure, you won't regret it?" Wenlang didn't touch him yet.

"I won't. I want you, wenlang." Shaoyou ensured again. Wenlang didn't wait longer.

"Ahh, fuck!" Shaoyou was a moaning mess. Being pounded by the alpha, shaoyou entire body trembled with each thurst. Wenlang was no different. Shaoyou was incredibly hot. The way his voice sounded as he fucked him, his hair bouncing and tears streamed down in pure pleasure.

"You were meant to be under a man, Sheng shaoyou." Wenlang gritted his teeth when shaoyou tightened around him. The slick that shaoyou was naturally producing smelled sweet and addicting.

"Not any man. Just you." Shaoyou knew how to rile up a man. Wenlang paused for a brief second, then pounded hard and fast inside the alpha that he made him scream.

"Can I knot you?" Even at the heat of the moment, wenlang bothered to ask. Shaoyou could no longer speak so he just nodded. Wenlang's knot connected deep inside. Soon the alpha released inside him and shaoyou on his own bare stomach.

When they finally got down from the high, they locked eyes. So many emotions ran through. But they couldn't utter a word. This was a dangerous territory. Wenlang felt many things he couldn't name yet and shaoyou was sure of his but didn't have the guts to say them yet. So they leaned in for a kiss. Their first kiss.

______

"He looks like you." Shaoyou softly touches the baby's cheek. The baby squirms making him chuckle. He was so tiny and seemed kinda angry, just like wenlang.

"Can you really judge that right now? To me he looks like an angry red bun." Wenlang looks at the baby warmly. When he says that, shaoyou playfully hits his arm. They both burst out laughing. Really the baby looked like an angry streamed bun. He didn't open his eyes yet.

An alpha. His scent was a soft mixture of iris and orange, the perfect combination. The birth wasn't easy. Sheng shaoyou bled a lot, even before reaching the hospital. He passed out during the delivery a couple times. He also bled a lot after the delivery causing him to go into a temporary coma.

The alpha remained unconscious for three days, every second of which tormented wenlang gravely. That feeling returned, the fear of losing his mate, again.

Their relationship was still complicated. They did live together, even though shaoyou never said anything, wenlang assumed it was for the baby's sake. He didn't have any idea what shaoyou would decide now that the baby was here. From what it seemed like, shaoyou definitely wasn't planning to cut wenlang out of the baby's life, that was a relief but beyond that wenlang had no idea what the alpha would do now.

"Shen shulang."

"What?" Wenlang was too busy in his thoughts. "His name. Shen shulang. We will call him Sheng at home." Shaoyou repeats, this time with a bright smile.

Shen? Shaoyou was gonna name him shen?

"You'll be our sunshine, shulang." He cooed at the baby sleeping in his embrace. Wenlang for a moment was mesmerized by the scene unfolding in front of him. It was truly beautiful. Shaoyou embraced the baby so happily, the happiness radiated so far.

"Shen shulang." Wenlang repeats. Finally a smile appeared on his face, a genuine smile, no longer strained and unsure. This happiness was genuine.

___

*Two years later*

"Do you want a blueberry or a strawberry,Sheng?" Sheng pointed immediately to the strawberry, his favourite. Shaoyou smiled and handed him the strawberry.

"Dada!" Sheng happily exclaimed when wenlang appeared, in his usual suit ready to leave for the day. "Good morning, Sheng!" He greeted his son with a wide smile, caressed his cheek and ruffled his hair. Then he went to the kitchen, gave a soft peck on shaoyou's cheek.

"Good luck for today." Shaoyou said as he served wenlang's breakfast, something different today. Noodles with beef broth, a glass of milk and some eggs. "You'll need extra energy today." Shaoyou added. Wenlang just nodded with a small laugh.

Today wenlang will pay back his debt to hua yong. It took two years to arrange the money but finally he did it. Today would mark the day he would be completely free from hua yong.

Hua yong didn't back down even after two years. First he made several plans to woo shaoyou. When that didn't work, he attempted to kidnap the alpha and keep him locked up. That also didn't happen. When the baby was born, hua yong almost went feral. Wenlang had to involve the armed forces to keep shaoyou and his son safe.

Hua yong eventually gave up, but not entirely. He was still causing trouble. The root was that debt. Something that still bonded them to hua yong. But today that will end.

"Don't cause too much trouble for mama, okay?"

Sheng nodded with a big smile making his parents giggle. He was truly a good child.

____

"Sheng?! Are you okay?" Shaoyou kneels down on the floor, scoops Sheng in his arms. Just now Sheng tripped into some other child and fell. Shaoyou frantically searched for any injuries. All he could find was a small scratch on the boys knee.

"I am so sorry, my child bumped into yours......" The other parents paused when he shaoyou.

"Gao tu?" Shaoyou's eyes widened.

Gao tu. He was here.

"Mama?" The other child came running to Gao tu and hugged his leg. When shaoyou's eyes fell on the child, his heartbeat stopped, the child was an exact copy of wenlang just like Sheng was. This was Gao tu's child, the one he ran away with.

"Shaoyou, Sheng! Are you two okay?" A very worried alpha ran to the pair and without even glancing at Gao tu or the child, he knelt down to examine the pair. When he found nothing, he got confused. Then he looked up.

"Gao tu?"

..

"He is my son, right?" Wenlang already knew the answer, anyone could tell that child was wenlang's. The resemblance was uncanny. No amount of lies could conceal that. As they now sat inside a cafe, facing each other, everything felt strange. The kids were playing, not aware of the possibility that they were infact brothers.

Shaoyou kept his eyes down, not wanting to look at Gao tu who unironically looked the same. Also he looked weak, deprived. And that annoyed shaoyou because he knew wenlang was always fell for that. He has seen it before, wenlang's care for Gao tu.

Right now he couldn't tell what was going inside the alpha's mind. This was not supposed to happen, they closed that chapter the day their baby was born. Wenlang promised he wouldn't look for Gao tu. And he really didn't. But this was unexpected. Gao tu appeared on his own.

"Yes. He is yours." Gao tu didn't attempt to give any excuses, for a fact he knew it wouldn't work.

"Where have you been? Is my mother still in contact with you?" Wenlang honestly didn't know what to ask.

He saw Gao tu being slightly taken aback. Of course wenlang knew.

"We recently moved back to country p because qing got married and I got a job here." Gao tu seemed tensed.

"What's his name?" Wenlang glanced at the children playing together. Shaoyou noticed how wenlang's eyes softened as he watched the children be in their own world, giggling together.

"Gao lele." Of course Gao tu wouldn't give him wenlang's name. It was reasonable too since he didn't want anything to do with wenlang.

Shaoyou could see Gao tu had many questions but he hesitated to ask. Definitely he must be curious. Where did another child come from? Why did he call wenlang dada? The omega was too scared to ask.

"That's my son, Shen shulang." Wenlang cleared the confusion, although that part was already established even before hearing the answer. Anyone could tell shulang was wenlang's son.

Shaoyou waited for the alpha to mention him but he never did instead wenlang asked about his mother. Shaoyou could no longer focus on that conversation. Why wasn't wenlang mentioning their relationship? Their bond? Their marriage?

From what he heard, wenlang's mother had been providing everything for Gao tu and the child. Recently Gao tu became independent again and has rented an apartment near the xxxxx city in country p where lele went to school. Not anything fancy, but he was stable now.

When they became silent again, shaoyou noticed how Gao tu yearned to talk more, he wasn't initiating much but deep down he wanted to talk to wenlang more.

"Mama, I am hungry!" Then Sheng came running to shaoyou and demanded to be fed. Shaoyou didn't miss how Gao tu's face changed, a look of disbelief, confusion.

"Would you like some pudding, honey?" Shaoyou turned to his son, picked him up on his lap and lifted a spoon up to his mouth. Sheng happily swallowed the pudding.

"Dada! Give me yours too!" Sheng demanded. Naturally wenlang's attention went to Sheng, he took a spoon from his own food and fed it to Sheng.

Gao tu just sat there, speechless. When his own son came running to him, he gave him the pudding he ordered. For a few minutes as the children ate, they remained in silence.

"I am sleepy." Sheng said with a yawn. Shaoyou pinched the boy's nose softly and slowly stood up.

"I will be in the car. Come back soon, or else we will be late for dinner." Shaoyou didn't spare Gao tu another glance, throughout the conversation he didn't even exchange a word with the omega. Wenlang nodded.

"I got married, Gao tu." When shaoyou and Sheng finally left, wenlang revealed the big truth. And just like he expected Gao tu was shocked. Definitely he didn't expect that out of everything.

"I married Sheng shaoyou, shulang is our son." Another unexpected thing. Gao tu seemed visibly stunned now.

"We got married last year." Gao tu just nodded. He honestly didn't know how to respond. What was he supposed to say? Wasn't he the one who left? Did he expect wenlang to keep yearning for him?

Gao tu did find out that wenlang suffered from mate seeking syndrome when he ran now, hua yong gave him updates about the alpha. He also knew wenlang was searching for him. It did feel strange when suddenly after six months after he ran away, everything stopped. Wenlang stopped searching for him and hua yong's updates stopped. He assumed wenlang gave up eventually. But he didn't expect wenlang to move so far ahead in his life to the point of marriage and children.

"What happened to hua yong?" Gao tu didn't really care for that. He wanted to ask something else.

"He gave up eventually. After our marriage, he moved from here." Wenlang replied.

"Are you married, Gao tu?"

"No." Gao tu hated how unfazed the alpha was. He was calm, too calm. Where did that raging alpha go? Wenlang wasn't like this.

"Does lele know about his father?"

'his father? You're his father.'

"No." Gao tu became silent again.

"Do you plan on telling him?" Wenlang knew he had no place in their life. He wasn't trying to secure any either, his place was with shaoyou and shulang, his family.

"Do you think I can?" Gao tu didn't mean to sound sarcastic but he did.

"It depends on you, Gao tu. I would gladly take responsibility of lele. After all he is also my son. If you need help with anything, I will do whatever I can." That's not what Gao tu wanted to hear.

"I need some time to think about everything." That's all Gao tu managed to say. He wanted to say so much more. He wanted answers to so many questions. Starting from Sheng shaoyou, why was sheng shaoyou married to wenlang? How did that even happen? And more importantly, why did wenlang give up on him so easily? Why did wenlang just forget him?

" I understand. Take your time." Wenlang slide a card towards Gao tu, it contained his number. It was a family card.

'The shen family' that card said and contained both wenlang and shaoyou's number. Their was also a small family picture of them at the corner, the three of them.

___

"So?" Shaoyou finally broke the awkward silence in the car. Sheng was fast asleep in the back seat. They were driving back to their mansion and after wenlang exited the cafe, he remained silent. It was understandable. Meeting Gao tu here was totally unexpected.

"He said he needs time to think about everything."

Think about what exactly? Shaoyou felt irritated. Why did Gao tu appear at such a moment in their life? Everything was going so well. Both them were finally at a good place in their life. So why did Gao tu suddenly appear to break that peace?

"Don't be worried. Whatever he does, I will always be with you. I left my past, shaoyou. Nothing matters to me other than you and Sheng."

Shaoyou's heart softened. Those were the words he yearned to hear. Wenlang wasn't unsure anymore.

"I love you." Shaoyou's head turned immediately to the alpha.

It was the first time wenlang ever said that. The alpha knew wenlang loved him but he never heard it from him directly.

"I love you too." Shaoyou replied. Everything was fine. Everything was going to be okay after all.

..

The arrangement was decided. Gao tu decided not to involve wenlang in his life or lele's. The omega quietly stepped down without creating any chaos. The omega understood that he no longer had a place in wenlang's heart. Wenlang belonged to shaoyou now.

So he left quietly. Wenlang accepted his decision. There was nothing else he could do. He did convince Gao tu to let him pay for lele's college once he grows up to which Gao tu agreed at last. Wenlang knew he couldn't be a father to lele without upsetting anyone. He accepted that.

Even when they parted ways again, shaoyou didn't speak to Gao tu. He couldn't bring himself to open that chapter again. It was closed for good.