Lan Wangji woke at his usual time, his dick frustratingly hard as he had been every morning since he first encountered 'Mo Xuanyu'. His body was restless, used to a much more regimented approach to both exercise and sex than what had happened for the past few weeks. His mind was also overly active during the night, continuing to sort through the bits of information and dead-end leads he'd found over the past few weeks of hunting 'Mo Xuanyu'.
Finding out he was the Yiling Laozu, only to have the one open connection point cut off when he'd pushed too hard. He sighed, ignoring his erection as he had the other mornings as well. It was a point of pride that he would not masturbate alone in his bed. The Yiling Laozu had caused the situation, and he would be the one to take responsibility for it.
Lan Zhan was unused to feeling tired before the day had even begun. But he was not a man who allowed himself to break his routine just because things weren't going his way.
He levered himself out of bed. He would do an hour of yoga, then spend the rest of the morning in his office looking through every piece of information he had on the Jiangs.
"Wangji," Lan Xichen began as he stepped into Lan Wangji's office shortly after breakfast and pulled the door closed behind him. "I was hoping we could speak privately?"
Lan Wangji looked down at the stack of papers he'd received from the courier he'd sent to Yiling, and reluctantly set them aside.
"Of course, Xiongzhang."
In front of others, Lan Wangji referred to his brother as Xichen, but in private he acknowledged his brother as he had when they were children.
"I know you are handling the investigation into Su She's death. But we are getting some questions from the other families about why you don't want to combine efforts to hunt down the Yiling Laozu. He is a threat to us all. It seems like a good thing to work together. Maybe it would help build more trust between the families."
"We do not need help dealing with this situation," Lan Wangji replied calmly.
"They only want to help. They have offered to help us go through any video footage, to compare with their own. It might help identify someone who was in the different locations. They also have asked to help with analyzing any emails or phones that Su She might have used, in case there was a reason he was targeted."
Lan Wangji raised an eyebrow. "Someone has asked you for access to Su She's phone? And our internal surveillance footage?"
Lan Xichen gave a slight grimace. "I know it sounds rather extreme. And - under normal circumstances - we would never consider divulging such things. But the situation with the Yiling Laozu is escalating. And there really isn't much to be seen from the footage at the club. We're careful not to conduct illegal activities on the premises. And you said yourself that Su She wasn't involved in anything other than supervising the club floor. If they can find a way to access the information on the phone, it could show if he had been contacted or not."
"Hm," Lan Wangji said. "And would they be providing the phones for Jin Zixun and Wen Zhuliu as well for us to examine? Along with the footage from any location they had been on the day of their deaths?"
Lan Xichen looked surprised. "It's well-known that we don't have much on the side of technology expertise. The Jin provided the video footage from the outside of one of their brothels, just before the crash."
"I see. And who has been requesting Su She's phone?" Lan Wangji asked.
"My contact inside the Jin," Lan Xichen said. "He gave me his word that he would not share anything he found on Su She's phone or in the video footage with anyone else."
Lan Wangji looked at his brother, searching for any sign that his brother had the slightest idea of the implications of his request. Lan Xichen looked at him earnestly, with no hint of deception.
"Wangji, I understand your hesitation," Lan Xichen began.
"Do you?" Lan Wangji asked, his voice with a slightly harder edge than he usually used with his brother.
It was no surprise that someone was sniffing around trying to get Su She's phone, given the evidence it had on it. The request for the club surveillance footage was more concerning. It might mean that they knew about Mo Xuanyu. If what he suspected was true, then the man was the person who had been responsible for getting the Jiang heirs out before the massacre. That would make him very high up in the organization.
Someone other than Nie Huaisang might recognize his face, if they had access to the video footage. Lan Wangji had not even told his own brother about Mo Xuanyu. But somehow, someone outside the family had gotten wind of it. It hadn't been in Su She's texts, but there had been phone calls from Su She's phone.
Lan Xichen responded to Lan Wangji's question, even though it had been a rhetorical one.
"Of course. Our families have not always seen eye to eye with the others. But times are changing. We could use this series of unfortunate events to build a closer relationship with the others. And there is the matter of taking out the Yiling Laozu. There is already talk about how dangerous he is, going after all four families. It is making the organizations lose face."
"Su She was killed because he was a security risk," Lan Wangji said.
Lan Xichen paused. "You know who killed him?"
"Yes."
Lan Xichen looked surprised, then confused. "But they did not clear it with you, beforehand. You were unaware when it was first reported."
Lan Wangji inclined his head, acknowledging his brother's concern. "I will deal with disciplining him for acting without orders. But the evidence was clear, and time sensitive. I was not available for discussion on the matter."
"So it was a member of your crew?" Lan Xichen asked.
"He is mine." Lan Wangji's tone signaled an end to the discussion. He appreciated his brother's input, but - in the end - Lan Wangji was the Dragon Head.
The Yiling Laozu had taken his collar, knowing what it signified. No one else had the right to discipline the omega. Lan Wangji would make sure that was fully understood.
Lan Xichen looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "You do not want it to get out that we had a security situation."
"Mn. No matter how close you are with your contact, this is Lan business only."
"Of course. I would not disclose something like this. I will simply say that we have already handled the situation, and that the rumors were false that it was related to the Yiling Laozu."
"I understand that the Nie guard was also not related," Lan Wangji said, avoiding a direct confirmation of Lan Xichen's summary of their conversation.
Lan Xichen's eyebrows raised, his expression a mix of surprise and… regret? "You spoke with Mingjue?"
"Mm. And Nie Huaisang."
"I see. Just…," Lan Xichen's expression faltered. "I don't need to warn you to be careful. You are always careful."
Lan Wangji's eyes narrowed. "You don't trust the Nie?"
Lan Xichen shrugged. "I have no evidence. But I received a warning that they might be considering more… aggressive moves into our overlapping areas of businesses."
Lan Wangji wondered if there was any relation between the vague warning and the Jin trying to get the locations of the Lan warehouses.
"If you get any evidence, I want to see it," Lan Wangji said.
"Of course, Wangji. I'm glad you to hear that you've taken care of the Su She situation so quickly. I should have known you would not need help," Lan Xichen said, his eyes warm with pride.
It was always a relief that Lan Xichen didn't begrudge Lan Wangji being chosen as Dragon Head of their organization. If anything, his elder brother had seemed relieved.
But someone was trying to manipulate Lan Xichen. Or, perhaps, to test to see if he was Dragon Head or not. Either was dangerous. Once he had found Mo Xuanyu, Lan Wangji's next order of business would be to take care of the Jin contact.
As his brother was heading out, Lan Wangji looked down to see a text on his personal cell phone. It was from an unknown number, and appeared to be an invitation to join a live stream of some sort. He was about to delete it, assuming it was just a phishing scam, when he received a text from the same number.
But this time, it was a photo.
Lan Wangji's hand tightened on the phone. He recognized the jawline. He recognized the throat. He recognized the fucking shirt . And he recognized the room.
At first, he thought maybe the omega had taken the picture in Lan Zhan's own room. Except he would have noticed any sign that the bed had been slept in, and there would have been residual scent left behind on the sheets and pillows. So the photo must have been taken from another room, but after the Yiling Laozu had taken his shirt.
Realization hit, and Lan Zhan found himself growling at the brazenness of the man. The Yiling Laozu, knowing Lan Zhan and half the city was hunting for him, had spent the fucking night hiding in the same hotel Lan Zhan was in.
Lan Zhan's fists clenched, a heady mix of both anger and arousal making his whole body feel hot and strung tight like a piano wire. It only fed his determination to find the man, to run him to ground to pin him beneath him, to…
Another text came from the same number.
I was right next door all night and you never even noticed
Lan Wangji thought about the taunting smirk the Yiling Laozu often wore, imagined the omega sitting in the bed, listening to Lan Zhan as he came back, searched the room for him. How the omega had been wearing Lan Zhan's shirt marked with Lan Zhan's scent sleeping in a bed one thin wall away. The audacity made him furious. He looked down at his lap, baring his teeth at the sight of his dick straining urgently against the confines of his trousers.
He felt out of control, barely able to recognize himself with the way his blood burned so hotly for this one person, how the man consumed all of Lan Zhan's waking thoughts. Lan Zhan called the number, only to receive a message that the number was currently not in service. It must have been from a spoofed number, so he had no way of responding.
His phone buzzed with another text from the fake number.
Stay away from the Jiang siblings
Only seconds later, Lan Zhan received an email notification that his reservation for his stay at Lotus Cove Resort had been canceled. Annoyance flared through him at the highhandedness of the act, which was not eliminated when he received another text from the spoofed number.
If you want to see me, join the meeting in 3 days
Lan Wangji stared at the link. It could be a trap. It could be that he would click on the ink only to find he had given the Yiling Patriarch access to his phone, just as foolishly as Wen Chao had.
He considered the risks and benefits. He could forward the link to his email, and open it in the laptop he'd used for Su She's phone. He wondered what the Yiling Patriarch was wanting to show him or tell him that could not be discussed sooner.
But his determination to find the man was now set firmly in stone. The Yiling Laozu would learn what it meant to taunt the Dragon Head of the Lan triad.
Lan Wangji was looking through his Uncle's notes on the Jiang, and paused when he noticed the name of one of the earlier Jiang enforcers. Wei Changze. He frowned. The name was familiar.
He looked back through the papers he'd seen from the Yiling municipal archives. There was an article about the murder of a Wei Changze and a woman Cangse Sanren, who was believed to have been an assassin. Yiling was a smallery city, so the murder was somewhat unusual in its gruesomeness, but there were no folllow-up articles on any sort of an investigation.
That was somewhat odd.
And the name of the enforcer just before the Jiang massacre had gone by the name of Wei Wuxian. There was no other information about him. But the character for 'Wei' was the same as it had been for Wei Changze.
Lan Wangji had assumed they were just another family that was loyal to the Jiang, but it looked like Wei Changze had left the syndicate, years before mentions of Wei Wuxian began. Which was… unusual.
Lan Wangji frowned. It was a tie to both Yiling and a tie to the Jiang. One of the first concrete ones he had found. Was the Yiling Laozu Wei Wuxian? It would explain his skills, if he had been the lead Jiang enforcer.
But it seemed odd that a man would have left his son behind if he took the risk of stepping out of a Triad. Usually, it only resulted in the family that was left behind being killed in particularly painful and punitive ways.
The death notice of Wei Changze didn't make mention of a child, though, so perhaps it was just a coincidence and there was no actual connection. Lan Wangji pulled out the folder that had the notes from the Yiling orphanage around the time of the murder. There was no child with the surname Wei nor Cangse in the records. He looked through the copies of the headmaster's notes from the time.
Someone had reported seeing a child hanging around the market, begging for food. The child had told the person that their name was Wei Ying, and didn't know where his parents were.
An administrator from the orphanage was sent out to collect the child, but there was no record of the child ever being found.
If Wei Ying were alive, he would be of a similar age as the Yiling Patriarch. He would have been young to be an enforcer, but Lan Wangji had also been young. And if he'd been trained since the age of three, it would be entirely possible.
A child raised by Jiang Fengmian with the sole purpose of serving his family would be exactly the sort of person he would entrust to see his children to safety. If Wei Ying had evidence that the Wen had been responsible for the Jiang massacre, which many believed to be true, then it would also explain his focus on Wen Chao.
"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji said, tasting the name on his tongue. The restlessness in his blood seemed to settle for the first time in weeks. "Found you."
Since Wei Ying didn't exist in any of the systems, knowing his real name didn't get him any closer to knowing the man's location. Wei Wuxian had been a ghost, and Wei Ying even moreso.
Lan Wangji sat at his desk, closing his eyes in focused concentration. There was always more than one way to hunt a specific prey, once you understood them. If Wei Ying was trying to protect the Jiang siblings, he would not be close to them, and would try to avoid drawing attention to them. He would probably not be happy that Lan Wangji had booked a room at their hotel, but it was too late to change that course of action.
No, going to the Jiang was not likely to get him closer to finding Wei Ying.
But hunting Wen Chao, would.
Lan Wangji's lips curved. Wen Chao was the opposite of a ghost. He was loud and brash and extremely easy to keep tabs on. It was no secret that Wen Ruohan had not allowed Wen Chao to attend the Nie gala due to the man's concerns for his son's safety. Wen Chao was basically confined to Nightless City until the Yiling Laozu was caught and killed.
Which meant that Wei Ying would be heading to Nightless City as well. All Lan Wangji had to do was follow Wen Chao, and he would find Wei Ying.
Since Wei Ying had been able to find his other reservation so easily, Lan Wangji decided he would be more careful this time. There would be no online reservation or credit card transaction to track. He pulled out a pen and a clean sheet of paper, methodically making a list of the steps he would take and the materials he would need.
He called his driver, giving him a set of instructions, and told him to be ready to leave first thing in the morning. Lan Wangji would finish up his business at the club, and then head to Nightless City and wait for Wei Ying to make his move on Wen Chao.
Wei Ying was not the only one who excelled at what he did.
It was later that evening when Lan Wangji received a call from the main floor.
'Sir. Sorry to disturb you. There is a woman here to see you," the security guard said.
Lan Wangji frowned. People did not see him without an appointment. And if they tried, they were turned away without having someone bother him about it.
"She says she's here about the omega you are looking for," the guard said, sensing Lan Wangji's displeasure.
"Name?" Lan Wangji asked, though he had a feeling he knew who it was.
"She didn't give it, but she said you recently booked a night in her hotel, though the reservation was subsequently cancelled."
"Mn," Lan Wangji said, walking to the door. "Tell Jiang Yanli I will meet with her. Lead her to the meeting room."
Lan Wangji walked down to the main floor, just in time to see one of his men leading a petite woman dressed in a dark purple suit and black high heels being led into the meeting room. Her hair was tied up into a neat bun, and her back was straight and she could have been entering a business meeting, not the den of a notorious crimelord.
All he really knew about Jiang Fengmian's daughter was that - like her brother - she was a beta, and had been largely kept out of the criminal side of the Jiang operations. He wondered how she had even known where to find him, much less why she had come.
He walked into the room and dismissed the guards. Her expression was determined rather than fearful or wary as her eyes locked on him.
"Hanguang-Jun," she said, bowing in polite greeting. The bow she gave was one given to an equal, not a deferential one. Lan Wangji returned it.
"Jiang Yanli. Sit," he said, gesturing to one of the three chairs surrounding the rosewood meeting table.
"Why are you here?" he asked, not wasting time with pleasantries.
"You made a reservation at one of my hotels. A reservation that was almost immediately cancelled by a third party."
Lan Wangji raised an eyebrow. Surely this was not about a cancelled reservation.
"This was shortly after a member of your organization was found murdered, and rumors stated that the Yiling Laozu was behind it. I also heard that you had a… guest, of sorts, at the Nie gala."
"I do not engage in gossip with hotel managers." Lan Wangji let his voice take on a cold edge of warning. The Jiang had no place interfering in Lan business.
Jiang Yanli's hand curled into a fist, and temper flared in her eyes, though she quickly tamped it down. "You are expecting a shipment from Taiwan containing certain artifacts in three days' time. Those artifacts were procured by men who used to do business with my father."
"You are rebuilding the Jiang syndicate," he said.
She shook her head. "No. My father died in part because he was trying to get our family out of the business. I will not dishonor him in that way. But I will also do whatever I can to protect my brother."
"Jiang Cheng is of no interest to me," Lan Wangji said, dismissively
"My other brother. The one you are looking for. The one who cancelled your reservation when you used us to try to threaten him."
If she thought simply booking a hotel room constituted a threat, then her father had sheltered her more than Lan Wangji had imagined possible. But that didn't mean she didn't know anything. The trick would be getting her to tell him.
"You consider Wei Ying your brother?" he asked, keeping his face expressionless.
It was a calculated play. If Wei Wuxian was in fact Wei Ying, it would be a name she already knew. Lan Wangji wasn't divulging anything. If Wei Ying was just an orphan that had died on the streets years ago, then the name would mean nothing. The slight widening of her eyes told her his guess had been correct.
"Wei Ying is my little brother in all the ways that mattered. He saved my life, and my other brother's. Unfortunately, A-Cheng is… emotional. When it comes to A-Xia- Wei Ying."
He arched a brow. "I am aware that Wei Ying is Wei Wuxian."
Jiang Yanli blinked in surprise. "Sorry, it's just… A-Xian has never shown any interest in an alpha before. I hadn't expected…,," she cut herself off, then gave a short nod. "If you know him well enough for him to have told you that, then you also know that he is reckless. He sent us information that the Jin had hired someone to eliminate me, and were trying to blame it on one of your men. A-Xian will always protect me. He killed the man they hired, but he was not sure why the Jin had set their sights on me after so much time. He reached out to A-Cheng, but A-Cheng did not react well to the unexpected news. I don't have a way to speak with A-Xian. I think you do."
The knowledge that Wei Ying had never shown interest in an alpha before wasn't exactly a surprise, but it still sent a deep coil of possessive satisfaction through Lan Wangji's core. Wei Ying was his.
Lan Wangji considered the rest of her words. If she was wanting to reach out to Wei Ying, then there was a chance that Wei Ying would return to the Jiang, despite his lack of official standing outside the criminal underworld. Lan Wangji did not like the thought of the man belonging to someone else.
"Why would the former top enforcer for the Jiang be unreachable by you?"
Jiang Yanli closed her eyes briefly, but not before Lan Wangji could read the pain and frustration there.
"A-Cheng did not handle our parents' deaths well. He lashed out at Wei Ying, telling him it was his fault, that he should have been able to prevent it. He told him he was casting him out from the Jiang, and not to contact us again. He was wrong. He regrets it, but he had been so jarred by A-Xian's call that it put him back in that headspace again."
A dark flare of anger surged in Lan Wangji's gut. "An enforcer must follow the leader's orders. If he had refused, he would have been killed by your father, or in the massacre. He was also likely behind the mysterious donation that kept you solvent."
Jiang Yanli's lips trembled, then firmed into a thin line. "This is why I am now the head of the Jiang family. My brother has no say in these decisions. He is aware he was wrong, but he keeps… letting his emotions run away with him."
"You cannot have Wei Ying back," Lan Wangji said coldly. "Wei Ying no longer belongs to the Jiang."
Jiang Yanli studied Lan Wangji carefully. "A-Xian is not a plaything for you. The Jiang family is not as powerful as we once were. But that does not mean I am without resources."
In other circumstances, it would have been amusing to see someone in Jiang Yanli's position actually believe they could threaten him. But in the current context, Lan Zhan was not amused. The Jiang did not deserve Wei Ying. If they tried to take him back, Lan Zhan would finish what the Wen started.
"Wei Ying is being hunted by the Wen, Jin, and Nie. The Lan are in a position to protect him. The Jiang are not." Lan Wangji let his alpha scent bleed from him, the possessive and demanding edges of it sharp in the small room.
Jiang Yanli did not drop her eyes. "Give me your word you will keep him safe. That you will not discard him like you do all the others."
Lan Wangji felt his anger sharpen. Jiang Yanli was in no position to be telling him what to do. Wei Ying did not belong to her or her family. His orginal plan had been to simply fuck 'Mo Xuanyu' out of his system. But that was before he knew that the man was the Yiling Laozu. Even if Lan Wangji's fixation on the omega faded after he finally got him in his bed, he wanted the man in his organization. And he was not going to let any other syndicate take him. Wei Ying was his.
"I will protect Wei Ying." It wasn't the answer she probably wanted, but it was all he was willing to offer. The only reason he said anything at all was because he knew she held sway with Wei Ying, and didn't want her to try to interfere.
Jiang Yanli studied him for a moment more. Lan Wangji might not like her family, but he acknowledged that it was rare for a beta to be able to meet his gaze for this long. After a moment, she nodded.
"Please let Wei Ying know that I am engaged to Jin Zixuan. It is being kept secret for now, due to the investigation that came with Jin Zixun's death. They want to keep the hotels safe. Jin Zixuan swears the order did not come from his father, but A-Xian is good at figuring these things out if he has all the pieces."
Lan Wangji considered the information about Jiang Yanli's engagement. It opened up several other possibilities about the hit that had been ordered. "I will tell Wei Ying."
"Thank you. And please, if you see him, tell him I miss him. He can always come to me. He doesn't need to go through A-Cheng to protect me like Father used to do."
Lan Wangji did not respond to that. He was not sure he wanted Wei Ying to renew his ties to the Jiang.
"My men will show you out," was all he said as he rose, bowed politely, then left.
He would finish his packing, then retire for the evening. Tomorrow he would head to Nightless City to find Wei Ying. But it would be for the Lan, not the Jiang.
Lan Wangji stepped onto the yacht, nodding to the three guards as well as the Lan operative who would be driving the boat. It was the first time he had seen it. One of the oligarchs who had been arrested in the Jin human trafficking scandal had left it moored near Caiyi town. The authorities had not seized it, but the owner was extremely unlikely to ever be in a position to reclaim it. Yesterday, Lan Zhan had ordered it be made ready. It had been thoroughly disinfected, and all of the furniture and personal items removed and replaced.
The river was a route that was much less monitored than the trains, airports, and highways. The yacht was on the smaller side, but it had a 'master's cabin' which had been fitted with a large bed. It also had smaller rooms for a crew of 4, a kitchen, and a lounge area. It would ensure that Lan Wangji and his men did not appear in any hotel booking system, nor any street cameras.
Lan Wangji would have complete privacy with Wei Ying, once he found him. The thought had his blood heating as he walked down the steps into the spacious master stateroom. It had been set up just as he requested. The walls had been soundproofed from the previous owner. Lan Zhan had ordered a large, king-sized bed to be placed in the center of the room. It had a steel frame, with D-rings on the headboard and footboard in various locations. There was an ensuite bathroom, complete with both tub and shower.
Lan Wangji set down the two bags he had brought with him. One contained clothing for himself, as well as several changes of clothes for Wei Ying. The other contained equipment. He opened the latter, transferring the four lengths of soft, coiled rope to a backpack, along with a canister of nitrous oxide, a knife, and condoms.
The rest of the bag's contents were placed in one of the bedside tables, for easy reach.
He then unpacked the clothing, hanging it in the wardrobe and placing other items in the drawers of the dresser. His men had already stocked the room with water, towels and fresh bedding. He heard the engine start, and glanced at his watch. They would be departing Caiyi right on schedule.
When the room was arranged to his satisfaction, Lan Wangji sat down on the white leather sofa and pulled up his laptop. It had every piece of information his organization had on the Wen, Nightless City, and Wen Chao. He compressed his lips together as he acknowledged to himself that Wei Ying likely had much more information at his disposal than Lan Wangji had. A situation that would be rectified when Lan Wangji made him part of his organization.
Still, Lan Wangji had been a successful enforcer in the past, even without the type of intel that could be garnered from hacking directly into the target's systems. He studied the maps of the city, where there were the most street cameras, the largest civilian population centers, and the distance to potential escape routes. By the time they reached Nightless City, Lan Wangji would have narrowed down the places to begin his hunt.
Lan Wangji sat in the back seat of the stretch limousine that one of his men had arranged to have meet them when they docked in Nightless City. It was a cash transaction, ensuring no paper trail. He had closed the dividing window, but would open it if he needed to redirect the man. The dark tinted windows prevented anyone from being able to see inside as they moved through the city streets to the location he had chosen as the most likely. It was an abandoned subway station, close to one of the night clubs Wen Chao was known to frequent.
He had his backpack with him, fully equipped. If he was forced to divert his attention from Wei Ying once he caught him, he would not make the mistake of doing so without incapacitating him first.
But his equipment would only come in helpful if he was successful in catching Wei Ying.
It annoyed him that the three most likely targets were at least an hour apart, with traffic. Not to mention the chance that Wei Ying might have chosen a location that Lan Wangji didn't even know about, or had different optimization criteria. He would know within seconds of the livestream starting if he had guessed correctly.
When the appointed time arrived, Lan Wangji pressed the link on his laptop. He had purchased a SIM card for it that would allow him to watch the video on a larger screen but still be mobile.
He let out an annoyed breath at the small box that said he would need to wait for the 'host' to let him in and start the live stream. The minutes ticked by.
Wei Ying was late.
Undisciplined. Lan Wangji's jaw clenched in irritation, but there was nothing he could do. Finally, a spinning circle appeared letting him know the livestream was starting. As soon as the camera came into focus, Lan Wangji cursed.
He'd chosen the wrong location. Wei Ying was in a warehouse. It was either the one on the western side of the city, near the railroad tracks, or it was the one on the eastern side, by the river.
They were in opposite directions from each other. Lan Wangji decided a fifty percent chance was better than a zero percent chance, which was what he had if he stayed where he was.
He pressed the intercom to speak with the driver..
"Head to the warehouse district in the northwest part of the city by the railroad. Stick to the route I gave you."
If Wei Ying ended up being in the other location, he would have one of his men who was guarding the yacht move to follow him until Lan Zhan could get there.
"Let's get started, shall we? " Wei Ying asked, looking directly into the camera. He was close enough that all Lan Zhan could see was his face - partially covered by the silver upper half-mask he was wearing - and a black hoodie. "I have someone here who you all probably know."
The video immediately changed feeds to one that focused on Wen Chao, who was gagged and bound to a straight-backed chair and glaring daggers at Wei Ying. Lan Wangji felt contempt at the stupidity of the Wen alpha. He did not realize he was already dead.
"Wen Chao. Where are your manners? Say hello to our guests."
"Oh, sorry. That's right. I forgot to take this off. " Wei Ying removed the gag from Wen Chao's mouth, which was immediately followed by a long string of curses and threats.
Wei Ying's smile was cold and dark as he walked slowly around the man. Lan Zhan felt the heat pool in his groin at the deadly grace of the omega. This was a man in complete control, about to take out the son of one of the most dangerous crimelords in all of China. The tight black jeans he wore hugged his legs, though the sweatshirt covered his hips.
" Wen Chao. I think of all the people involved, you are the one who is the least informed about the consequences of your actions ," Wei Ying said, leaning down to speak directly in the man's ear, causing the sweatshirt to ride up enough to show the lower curve of his ass.
Lan Wangji shifted his legs further apart as he watched Wei Ying work. He hoped Wei Ying took his time with the man, so Lan Wangji would get there before he finished.
" You don't seem to recognize me ," Wei Ying said, smiling with all teeth. " I'm hurt. You seemed so interested in me back at the club in Gusu a week ago ."
Lan Wangji could see the moment Wen Chao figured out who Wei Ying was. At least, part of who he was.
"You're Lan Wangji's omega ?" Wen Chao scoffed, causing Lan Zhan's grip to tighten on his laptop.
Wei Ying slid the tip of the blade of his knife along Wen Chao's throat, enough to give the threat but not enough to break the skin.
"Ah. ChaoChao. I don't belong to the Lan. If you had waited a few days when you attacked the Jiang, we would have had a chance to meet in person way back then ."
Lan Wangji's eyes narrowed. Wei Ying had taken his collar. He belonged to Lan Zhan. Lan Wangji was going to ensure he made his point when he saw the man again. Wei Ying was talking again, but Lan Wangji was more focused on his movements when Wei Ying reached down to the hem of his shirt and pulled it off over his head.
The camera was behind him, giving Lan Wangji a clear view of the purple lotus tattoo on his back, the only blemish on the smooth skin that covered the toned muscles of the Jiang enforcer's back. Lan Wangji took in the details of the omega, the way the sinuous muscles across Wei Ying's back tapered into a narrow vee at the base of his spine. The jeans were tight and low, showing the two dimples just above the waist band, and hugging the lush curve of his backside.
Arousal began to pool low in his belly, and he could feel his dick begin to thicken inside the silk of his boxers. He adjusted himself, as the fabric began to strain. Lan Wangji was less interested in the words being spoken as Wei Ying moved with lightning quick grace to grip Wen Chao's jaw, bending forward in a way that had Lan Zhan's hand sliding down to lightly grip the rapidly growing bulge between his thighs.
Lan Wangji's lips parted as he watched Wei Ying slide his knife in Wen Chao's mouth, tilting the blade at an angle, leaving a long, deep cut along the man's tongue. The bluster in Wen Chao's expression was gone now, replaced by raw fear as he finally realized fully who Wei Ying was. Lan Wangji felt his lips lift in satisfaction. He had not forgotten the way Wen Chao had tried to touch what wasn't his.
The fact that the alpha was about to die slowly, possibly in pieces, soothed part of the dark possessiveness inside him even as it made it grow. He wanted to be in the room with Wei Ying, wanted to be able to smell the fear that was undoubtedly pouring off Wen Chao.
He wanted to fuck Wei Ying as Wen Chao watched while he bled out.
He wanted to make sure that no one else was able to track and catch the Yiling Laozu.
"You were messy ," Wei Ying said, drawing the knife slowly out. He released the man's jaw with an abrupt flick and stepped back. "You didn't take care of the loose ends. It turns out that I am a very dangerous loose end to leave unattended ."
"You're… Wei Wuxian !"
The fact that it had taken Wen Chao this long to figure it out when he was the one who carried out the massacre on the Jiang made Lan Wangji internally roll his eyes.
Wei Ying smiled darkly, stretching his arms over his head, and Lan Wangji stopped breathing, his dick now fully hard.
Wei YIng was a fucking tease. Lan Zhan couldn't wait to feel that skin under his fingers, to have Wei Ying's body under his. He cursed himself for not having recognized it immediately, the very first time Wei Ying had entered his club. The deadly, predatory grace. The way he'd looked at Lan Wangji without fear, taunting him in his own fucking club.
Lan Wangji's dick was leaking, causing the silk of his boxers to cling to it as it strained against the fabric of his pants. He glanced over his backpack, thinking of the ropes contained within. He would make sure Wei Ying could not run away from him this time.
He had woken up hard and breathless every morning since the first time he'd met the omega. He had been so close at the Nie gala, but Wei Ying had escaped him a second time. Lan Zhan had never gone this long without sex, and his balls were full and heavy, aching for release. But he wasn't interested in jerking off in the car. What he wanted was to feel Wei Ying, hot and tight around the girth of his cock. The next time he came, it was going to be buried deep inside Wei Ying.
The thought made his dick even harder. Yes. He would fuck Wei Ying twice for every day he'd made him wait.
Wen Chao was doing some very unimaginative groveling and begging, but Lan Wangji's focus was only on Wei Ying. Lan Wangji had seen other Lan enforcers work when he was younger and still in training. He had never seen one on par with Wei Ying, the way he was able to break Wen Chao down both physically and mentally.
He had been wasted on the Jiang.
Wen Chao's face went white as Wei Ying showed him what appeared to be photos from the Jiang massacre. "How did you… how did you get those? "
"You gave them to me. You're a stupid motherfucker. Keeping everything on your phone. So horny and drunk you don't even notice when someone hacks into it and downloads all your information. "
That caught Lan Wangji's attention. He wondered what else was on those files. It was part of the reason his family kept very little online. But if the Wen were this careless about something as major as their complicity in the Jiang situation, there was probably a lot more. Wen Chao's level of panic seemed to fit with that.
But then the man said something that made Wei Ying freeze.
" All this for Jiang Fengmian? All this to avenge the man who killed your parents ?"
It was something Lan Wangji had wondered about when he was reading the Jiang file. One day, Wei Changze was their top enforcer, the next, he was gone from any discussion of the Jiang. His death was only something Lan Wangji had discovered when he began his search for Wei Ying. Even Jin Zixun's death had been more remarked upon by the lead families, and he was nowhere near as core to the Jin operations as Wei Changze seemed to have been to the Jiang.
"What did Fengmian tell you, that he took you in and made you his right hand just out of charity ? And you believed it? Which one of us is the idiot now, Wei Wuxian! Jiang Fengmian killed your parents, then took you in because he owned you. He couldn't have your father, so he took you instead. And you fell right in line, like a good little soldier. Working for the man who murdured your parents and made you into his slave. Pathetic ."
"You're lying ," Wei Ying said, his voice cold but his hand trembled. "You're wrong. Jiang Fengmian would never do that. "
Lan Wangji pressed the button on the intercom. "Drive faster."
Lan Wangji belatedly realized that there was more than one type of danger that could befall Wei Ying. Wen Chao was no match for the omega physically. But he was vicious, and knew where to strike if a weakness was revealed, the way Wei Ying's had just been.
Unlike Lan Zhan, Wei Ying's emotions were easy to read on his expressive face. In the current situation, that was a liability. Wen Chao's words had struck home.
A small part of Lan Zhan was glad, because the chance of Wei Ying returning fully to the Jiang had now almost vanished. He could see that the seed of doubt had been planted in Wei Ying's mind. There would likely never be a way to prove Wen Chao's claim, but the words had dug their hooks into Wei Ying's mind.
But what Lan Zhan was worried about was how reckless this news would make the already impulsive man. Wen Ruohan had been keeping much tighter tabs on his men, particularly his sons, since the Su She killing was leaked. Wei Ying was skilled, but he had nearly been caught both times Lan Wangji had seen him.
Lan Zhan's face hardened in determination. No one else was going to lay hands on Wei Ying. Lan Wangji would cut anyone down if they tried. But that meant he had to get there. Wei Ying was visibly wrestling with his control. He was unlikely to take as much time as he might previously have been planning in killing Wen Chao. That might actually be in Wei Ying's favor, even if it would be less satisfying for the enforcer. The faster he finished the job and got out of Nightless City, the better.
" The only way you could know something like that was if your daddy told you. And I've been through all the files he has, on every crime family and every political figure or business leader in China. "
Lan Wangji's attention was caught by that statement. He was not arrogant enough to assume there was nothing on the Lan in those files. If Wei Ying was going to follow his prior patterns of operations, he was likely to release the information to the authorities after he'd carried out the hit. It was one more reason he had to get to Wei Ying before anyone else did, or before the man escaped.
It seemed as though every time he interacted with Wei Ying, the number of reasons he had to capture him doubled.
Wen Chao's claim that Wen Ruohan had been planning on recruiting Wei Wuxian did not really surprise him, either. If Lan Wangji had known of Wei Wuxian's background and skills, he would have tried as well. It was good that Wen Ruohan had done the one thing that would ensure he never had a chance at winning over Wei Ying. Lan Wangji would be more careful.
Wei Ying leaned down again, whispering in a stage voice in the man's ear. " I'm very good at killing people, you know ."
It was… incredibly attractive. Lan Wangji's eyes narrowed in rapt attention as he watched Wei Ying truly go to work. His blade slashed over and over, both brutal and precise. Lingchi was an art that required practice. If the cuts were too deep, the blood loss was too rapid and the victim died too quickly. The placement of them needed to be just right, to maximize pain without the person losing consciousness or bleeding out before you wanted them to.
In the distance, a boat horn sounded, and Lan Wangji realized he had made the wrong call again. Wei Ying was in the other warehouse. He quickly redirected the driver, but they were now an hour away, maybe even two. Traffic had worsened with the evening rush, and even the side roads were clogged.
Wen Chao screamed and begged and cried, but Wei Ying did not respond as he methodically cut his flesh to ribbons. Lan Wangji watched the rate of the man's work, and knew they would not be at the warehouse in time.
Wen Chao was dead and the cameras went dark twenty minutes before they arrived.
Lan Wangji fought to keep his temper in check. It was not unsurprising that his men had not been able to find Wei Ying. He had told them to monitor the warehouse and follow anyone who exited it. They had seen no one.
Yet when Lan Wangji arrived, the warehouse was empty except for Wen Chao's body. There were signs that the shower in the back office had been used but - other than that - there was nothing left behind.
Lan Wangji's two men at the docks had also kept an eye for any boats leaving the area, but - so far - there had been nothing.
Wei Wuxian would only have chosen this warehouse if he had been planning to leave by the river. So where was he? Lan Zhan had climbed the rusty metal stairs that led to the warehouse roof. He stood on top of the building, scanning the surrounding area for any sign of where Wei Ying could have gone. Time was growing short. It wouldn't be much longer before Wen Chao's disappearance was noticed, and the search began. Wen Ruohan wouldn't wait, given what had been happening.
There wasn't much in the area. It was mostly warehouses, used to store cargo for the ships. There was a gas station, a pawn shop, a convenience store, and a couple of bars. Lan Wangji's gaze lingered on the bars. It would be beyond foolish to go drinking when you'd just killed the son of the man who ruled this town with an iron fist. Wei Ying had likely escaped, and Lan Wangji's men just hadn't noticed yet.
Still. There was a chance. Lan Wangji had seen the way Wen Chao's words had affected Wei Ying. And the omega had seemed fond of alcohol when he'd been at the club. Lan Wangji called his driver, and asked him to bring the limo around. He sent his other men back to the docks to help search the ships there, in case Wei Ying had decided to sneak into the cargo hold of the next ship that was planned to depart.
He was just turning onto the street where the two bars he'd seen were when his phone rang. It was a number he didn't recognize, and his pulse kicked up a notch.
"Who is this?" He asked.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying's slurred voice came through along with the sound of glasses clinking and distant voices. "Lan Zhan. I don't know what to do."
Lan Zhan froze. Several strong emotions collided in Lan Zhan's mind at hearing Wei Ying's voice say those words.
Wei Ying knew his name. His real name, along with whatever information he had gotten about the Lan from Wen Ruohan's files. Wei Ying was a threat to not just him, personally, but also his organization.
But there also was a surge of possessive protectiveness. Wei Ying had called him, rather than anyone else. He had not reached out to the Jiangs, or whoever he was currently working with. He had called Lan Zhan when he needed someone.
That was not enough to quell the anger that also flooded through him, though. Wei Ying had evidently made the incredibly poor decision to go get drunk when he should be getting the fuck out of Nightless City. Did he have no sense of self preservation at all? Lan Wangji had rules about drinking, and he knew his men had informed Wei Ying about it.
Wei Ying needed to know that Lan Zhan had information on Wei Ying as well. Wei Ying also needed to learn that there were consequences for treating himself so recklessly and disobeying the rules. The Jiang seemed to have given Wei Ying a sense that his safety was irrelevant. Lan Wangji would work to make sure that misconception was corrected.
"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan replied, disapprovingly. "You have been drinking. "
Wei Ying let out a soft breath in response to Lan Zhan's use of his real name that pleased Lan Zhan more than it should have.
" Yeah ," Wei Ying admitted, followed by the sound of him swallowing down what was likely another shot.
"No more drinking," Lan Zhan said, his tone hard.
The sound of Wei Ying's laughter made Lan Zhan's fingers itch to have the man in his grasp. " Ah, Lan Zhan! I'm not in your club. I'm not wearing your collar. I can drink as much as I fucking want to ."
Whether he was currently wearing the collar or not didn't matter, it was the fact he had taken it. This was something Lan Wangji was going to take great pleasure in enforcing proper discipline on in the immediate future.
Another voice came over the phone, much closer than the background voices in the room, causing Lan Wangji's temper to flare.
"Your boyfriend giving you a hard time, sweet thing ? You've been sittin' here all by yourself for almost half an hour. You look like you could use some company ."
Lan Wangji looked out the window, glad to see they were almost to the street where the two bars were. He was going to rip this alpha apart if his hands were on Wei Ying when Lan Zhan got there.
" Not yours ," Wei Ying slurred. His response only slightly appeased the cold anger inside Lan Wangji
"Who is speaking to you," Lan Zhan asked.
Wei Ying snickered. " Ah, don't be jealous. He's just offering to buy me another drink ."
" No more drinking, Wei Ying ," Lan Zhan repeated harshly. " You need to get out of there ."
"I can handle myself, " Wei Ying said, sounding annoyed.
Lan Zhan felt his jaw clench. Wei Ying obviously could not handle himself, if he was sitting in a bar getting intoxicated when he should be escaping. Wasn't escaping what the man was always so good at doing? Lan Wangji was not going to let Wen Ruohan get his hands on the Yiling Laozu. Especially not when the man was in a mentally vulnerable state. Wei Ying had reached out to Lan Zhan, not anyone else.
Wei Ying was his.
"Why don't you hang up with your boyfriend and you and I can go find a private place to get better acquainted ?" The alpha said.
Lan Wangji was going to cut the man into very small pieces if he laid a hand on Wei Ying. He opened his mouth to tell Wei Ying to meet him outside, but the call cut off. Lan Wangji felt his anger harden into something cold and dark at the thought that Wei Ying had disconnected to go have some drunken hookup with a random alpha after accepting his token, after all the taunting, after Jiang Yanli had told him Wei Ying had never been interested in any other alpha.
Lan Wangji's car pulled up across the street from the bar when a man walked out, dressed in baggy, ripped jeans and a familiar black hoodie. Despite the baseball cap pulled low and the face mask, Lan Wangji knew in his bones it was Wei Ying. He was opening the car door before he even had time to think, fully prepared to rip the throat out of the other alpha if the man was taking Wei Ying somewhere.
But the omega was alone.
Lan Wangji felt some of the red haze killing intent of his anger ebb away.
He watched Wei Ying for a moment, noticing the loose-limbed way he was walking, with the slightest sway that gave away the degree of his inebriation. The coiled, focused movements Lan Wangji had witnessed when Wei Wuxian had executed Wen Chao were made sloppy by the alcohol.
Lan Wangji's lips tightened in disapproval. Wei Ying had been informed of the rules Lan Wangji had against drinking. He had taken Lan Wangji's token. Yet here he was, not just drinking, but drinking to excess. The alpha's hands flexed in anticipation of showing Wei Ying the consequences of violating his rules. If Wei Ying needed alcohol to distract him, then - perhaps in these circumstances - Lan Wangji would allow it. But the only alpha that Wei Ying would be intoxicated in front of would be him.
And it would not be deep within enemy territory, with the body of a major crimelord's son tied to a chair in a pool of his own blood, waiting to be discovered.
Lan Wangji didn't take his eyes off Wei Ying as he reached back into the car for his bag. After two failures, he knew better than to underestimate him, even in his current state. He silently closed the door behind him and began shadowing the omega from across the street. His hunter's instincts, which had been at a low simmer since he'd first seen 'Mo Xuanyu' back in his club, surged to the forefront. He moved soundlessly behind the cars parked there, ducking fluildly down when Wei Ying seemed to slow or began to turn around to scan the street.
Lan Wangji's lips curved up fractionally. Wei Ying knew someone was following him, even in his current condition. Lan Wangji continued forward, increasing his speed when Wei Ying ducked sharply down into a narrow alley.
He approached the entrance to the alley carefully, ignoring the fact that he could feel the weight of his semi-aroused cock shift heavily with each step. There would be time for that later. At the moment, he needed to focus. The Yiling Laozu hadn't survived this long by being careless. The wind picked up, swirling into the narrow gap between the buildings. Lan Wangji scanned the area. There was a broken window that Wei Ying could have gone through. Two doors that may or may not be locked. And three dumpsters that would provide space to hide between.
Lan Wangji drew his knife. He had no intention of harming Wei Ying, but he also didn't want to get gutted because he was careless. Just because Wei Ying had called him didn't mean he was expecting Lan Zhan to show up in the alley.
Lan Wangji decided to clear the dumpsters first. They were old and rusted, so opening them would have made too much noise. If Wei Ying was still in the alley, he would have to be between them. He moved quickly, leaping onto the lid of the middle dumpster. Wei Ying was waiting. The man had his knife also out, and he sprung out from his hiding place, spinning to face Lan Zhan as Lan Zhan leapt down.
Wei Ying danced back, though his movements were not nearly as fast as they had been back in the Nie gallery.
"Knives out this time, Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying asked, gesturing with his own blade, though he did not attack.
The scent of lotus and spice hit him full force, making his mind blur for a moment as he realized it was the first time he was scenting Wei Ying without any blockers. He must have washed them off when he was washing off Wen Chao's blood.
The thought of the other alpha's scent having touched Wei Ying's skin made his hand grip the knife more tightly, even as the memory of Wei Ying slicing the man cut by cut made his arousal burn even hotter.
"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan said, eyeing him for a moment, watching to see if Wei Ying would make the first move or leave it to him. He could smell the arousal on the omega, but there was not even the smallest trace of fear in his scent. Lan Zhan wondered if that would be true if Wei Ying knew exactly who he was within the Lan triad. Anyone who had ever raised a blade against him in the past was dead. "You left your friend at the bar behind."
Wei Ying watched him just as closely, looking steady enough on his feet that Lan Zhan wondered if he had misjudged the amount the man had drunk.
"Not my type," Wei Ying said, moving quickly back from Lan Zhan's next feint.
"Mn," Lan Zhan said, feeling oddly gratified at the statement. "I'm surprised he didn't press his luck when he saw you leave."
"Eh. I told him I'd cut his hand off if he touched me. He was smart enough to believe me."
Lan Zhan moved again, driving his blade in a fluid arc with the aim of blocking Wei Ying's and disarming him.
"Wei Ying did not tell me not to touch him."
Wei Ying moved quickly enough to avoid being disarmed, but not quick enough to avoid being pushed just slightly off balance. Lan Wangji didn't hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity, moving forward instantly and knocking Wei Ying's knife hand up before gripping him by his wrists and slamming him hard against the brick wall. He kept Wei Ying's wrists pinned on either side of his head against the rough surface.
"Drop your knife," Lan Wangji said, tightening his grip on Wei Wuxian's wrists as he pressed his body tight against him, pinning him fully to the wall. Wei Ying's eyes were glazed, his pupils rapidly dilating as he looked up at Lan Wangji.
Wei Ying smirked, lifting his chin as he tried to break Lan Zhan's iron grip.
"Fuck you, Lan Zhan," Wei Ying gasped, his words slurring slightly as he strained against Lan Zhan's hold, arching his back to press against the wall for leverage. The honey-sweet tones of his scent grew stronger, and darker as it edged more deeply into arousal. It made Lan Wangji want to taste it.
He remembered how the omega's eyes had dilated back in the club when he'd fisted his hands into Wei Ying's hair, forcing him to arch back. Wei Ying had liked to be held down by someone with the skill and strength to do so. Lan Zhan was more than up to the job.
"No. Fuck Wei Ying," Lan Wangji shifted his grip to press into the pressure points forcing Wei Ying to drop his blade. Lan Wangji wondered, in the back of his mind, if he would be able to win a fight against Wei Ying if the omega was truly trying to attack, sober or not.
The fact that he wasn't sure only made his dick harder. He tightened his grip on Wei Ying, grinding his erection against the answering hardness of Wei Ying's arousal. This time, he was not letting the man get away.
"The collar?" Lan Zhan asked, his voice coming out in a low, dangerous tone.
Wei Ying blinked his eyes hazy as though not quite processing Lan Zhan's words. Lan Zhan shifted his hips to slide one leg between Wei Ying's.
"What?" Wei Ying asked, beginning to instinctively rock his hips on Lan Wangji's muscled thigh.
"Collar."
Wei Ying blinked again, he gave him a weaponized, taunting smile that made Lan Zhan want to fuck him so hard.
"Mmm. Does Lan er-gege want to mark me as his?" he asked, leaning forward to trace his lips along the hinge of Lan Zhan's jaw as he spoke. Lan Zhan could smell the alcohol on his breath. "You think you can do a better job than the alcohol in making me forget that bullshit Wen Chao fucking said?"
Lan Zhan paused, hearing the truth in Wei Ying's voice that was not quite concealed by the taunting tone. He would first make sure Wei Ying didn't end up in one of Wen Ruohan's interrogation rooms. Then he would take care of Wei Ying. If Wei Ying needed to not be able to think, Lan Zhan would be diligent in making that happen.
"If I let go of your hands, will Wei Ying behave?" Lan Zhan asked.
Wei Ying tilted his head to the side and laughed. "Lan Zhan! Don't ask questions you already know the answer to. When do I ever behave?"
"Shameless," Lan Wangji bit out, feeling his dick swell even more.
He did not know what was wrong with him, why having an omega taunt him and disrespect him made his dick so painfully hard, made him want to fuck him over and over until Wei Ying was too tired to run his fucking mouth.
But there was no time for that at the moment. Wen Chao's body was going to be discovered soon. The city would be on lockdown. There were no street cameras in this part of town, but that didn't mean Wen Ruohan wouldn't think to look there. It was a 20-30 minute drive to where the boat was docked, given traffic and avoiding street cameras. They needed to leave. If Lan Wangji was caught near the body of Wen Chao, it would be a massive war between the two Triads. The Jin would definitely side with the Wen, and even the Nie might, given the degree of provocation this would be interpreted as, if it appeared that Lan Wangji had killed Wen Chao.
Losing patience, he shifted his grip to hold both of Wei Ying's wrists in one hand, then rapidly spun him around to face the wall. With his free hand, he jabbed two fingers in rapid-fire precision into five pressure points in Wei Ying's body, temporarily immobilizing him. It was a body-locking technique that was taught to all the enforcers in the organization. It wouldn't hold for more than five or ten minutes, but it was long enough to get Wei Ying into the back of the stretch limousine.
"Ah, fuck! Lan Zhan, what'd you do to me?" Wei Ying said.
Lan Wangji let him gently down to the ground, then walked over to where Wei Ying had been hiding and found his bag. Lan Wangji opened it, searching it quickly until he found what he was looking for.
"You brought it with you," Lan Zhan said, pulling out the choker.
He brought the bag over, setting it down next to his own before crouching down and clasping the choker around Wei Ying's neck, adjusting it so it fit snugly.
Wei Ying's eyes were wide and glassy. Normally, Lan Zhan hated being around people who were drunk. It made them annoyingly loud and sloppy, wasting Lan Zhan's time. The sight of the Yiling Laozu looking up at him, slightly dazed and completely at his mercy, set something dark and possessive fizzing in his blood.
No one else was allowed to see Wei Ying like this.
He needed to get Wei Ying to his car. Into his boat. Back to his room. Anyone could look down this alley, could see Wei Ying, flushed and hard with arousal, eyes glazed with alcohol, and Lan Zhan would have to kill them for looking.
"I have a boat waiting to take Wei Ying back to Gusu with me." He leaned forward sliding his hand up Wei Ying's firm thigh to palm over the half-hard bulge of his dick. "I'm going to tie you up and fuck you in my car. Then I'm going to take you to my bed and fuck you twice for every day you made me wait."
Wei Ying's scent of arousal spiked sharply, and the man closed his eyes on a groan.
"Shit, Lan Zhan," he slurred. "I can't even move. The fuck did you do to me?"
"Pressure points," Lan Zhan said, tersely, scooping Wei Ying up and tossing him over his shoulder, one arm braced behind the man's knees, holding their bags, the other gripping Wei Ying's ass. "Lan body lock."
"Fucking caveman move. The hell, you're just going to carry me off and fuck me somewhere?"
His driver had pulled the car up right in front of the entrance to the alley, and had the door held open. Lan Wangji could feel Wei Ying's erection pressing hard against his shoulder, the scent of arousal heady and thick. He glared at his driver, warning him to stay away. The man stepped back, his brows arching in surprise at the uncharacteristic display, but Lan Wangji did not care, as long as the man understood he was not to not touch Wei Ying in any way.
"Mn," Lan Wangji confirmed as he carried Wei Ying, tossing the bags into the floor before laying Wei Ying down on the bench seat in the back. The driver closed the door behind them, rapidly walking around to get into the driver's seat and take them to the docks where the boat was waiting.
It would be smarter to wait until they were safely on board, but Lan Wangji admitted to himself that it was beyond his limits to do so. He considered it an immense testament to his willpower that he hadn't simply fucked Wei Ying in the alley, up against the dirty brick wall, Wen Ruohan be damned.
"So desperate, Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying asked, wearing the smirk that always made Lan Wangji's temper flare and his dick grow impossibly harder at the same time.
"Wei Ying knew what he was doing," Lan Wangji bit out.
He quickly removed Wei Yings boots, socks, jeans and underwear, letting his large hands linger on the slender curve of Wei Ying's ankles. Wei Ying watched him with heavy-lidded silver eyes, his dick hard and leaking against his stomach.
"What was I doing that made Lan Zhan so impulsive ?" Wei Ying asked with fake innocence, tracking Lan Zhan's every movement. "Wanting to fuck in the back of a car. I'm not even wearing one of your fuck boy uniforms. Really, Lan Zhan. How undisciplined of you!"
Lan Wangji growled as Wei Ying laughed. Gods, he was going to fuck Wei Ying for days. The scent of their arousal filled the back of the car, making Lan Wangji mind go hazy, as though he was the one who had been drinking.
"The photos. My collar. My shirt. " Lan Zhan could name a thousand things. The way Wei Ying moved, his smile, the infuriating things he said. "Wen Chao."
He wished he could take his time, but the hold would wear off soon, and Lan Wangji wanted to make sure they were far away from Wen Ruohan's reach before he let Wei Ying go in his current condition. He pulled off Wei Ying's sweatshirt, adding it to the pile of discarded clothing, leaving him naked except for Lan Zhan's collar.
The sight made something dark and hungry inside him unfurl. He slid a finger under the band, loving the way the white leather contrasted with the golden hue of Wei Ying's skin. He could feel Wei Ying's pulse leap beneath his touch, and saw his pink lips part on a short gasp.
Reluctantly, Lan Zhan removed his hand and lifted up two lengths of rope. Wei Ying's gaze latched onto them, his eyes darkening at the sight.
"I guess I should have expected that," Wei Ying said, watching with rapt attention as Lan Zhan wrapped the lengths of rope around each of Wei Ying's wrists. "You going to bring me back and tie me to your bedposts, Lan Zhan?"
"Yes," Lan Zhan bit out, ignoring the subsequent laugh his response elicited from the omega.
He tied Wei Ying's wrists securely to the grab bar on the ceiling by one of the side doors, careful to leave enough slack for mobility, but not enough that the man could free himself.
The position stretched Wei Ying's hands above his head in a way that would prevent him from getting much leverage to break the bar free. It would not be impossible to break free from, but it would take longer than handcuffs.
He quickly began coiling the rope around each of Wei Ying's ankles. He didn't have a place to secure them, so they served no purpose at the moment, but it was easier to bind a man who was incapaciated. The bed he was taking him to had sufficient anchor points, and he would secure the ropes properly once they arrived at the boat. In the car, Lan Zhan would just have to find other ways to keep Wei Ying's legs occupied. As long as Wei Ying's arms were bound, he wasn't going anywhere.
He could see Wei Ying's fingers beginning to move. The body lock was already wearing off, but the man was making no attempt to escape.
Lan Zhan's dick was straining painfully against his pants, and he quickly undid his fly, shoving his pants down just far enough to pull his dick out. Wei Ying watched him hungrily, his gaze locked on where Lan Zhan's thick shaft bobbed free from the elastic of his white silk boxers when he pushed them down.
"Fuck," Wei Ying said, letting his head fall back, the cords in his neck straining. "Fuck, you smell so good, Lan Zhan."
Wei Ying shifted his legs apart, and Lan Wangji took it for the invitation it was, settling between them.
Lan Wangji looked down at Wei Ying laid out beneath him, bound by his ropes, and wearing his collar. He let his gaze slide along the lean lines of Wei Ying's torso, the way the dark, flat nipples were already tightly budded with arousal. He remembered how sensitive Wei Ying's nipples had been back at his club.
He rubbed the pad of his thumb across one nub, cataloguing the way Wei Ying's body arched in response and the choked out sound that was torn from his throat.
"Don't hold it back," Lan Zhan said, pinching the other nipple as he slid forward, his cock brushing against the wet heat between Wei Ying's thighs. "The back is soundproofed when the separation glass is closed."
Wei Ying's arms strained against the ropes. "Do it, Lan Zhan. Fuck, just… I need to not think. Make me not think right now."
The rawness of Wei Ying's voice made something catch in Lan Zhan's chest. He couldn't fix what Jiang Fengmian had or hadn't done all those years ago. But he could make sure Wei Ying didn't have space to think about it at the current moment.
He slid his hand down between Wei Ying's thighs, feeling the hot, moist heat he was looking for. He pulled back, lifting his weight enough to be able to flip Wei Ying over beneath him, setting him on his knees. The ropes that bound his hands were long enough to make the new position work, and Wei Ying braced his hands against the side of the car.
Lan Zhan's dick was dripping steadily, his balls hanging heavily, full after so long with no release. He would not last long. Wei Ying looked back over his shoulder at him, and arched his spine to accentuate the curve of his ass and the narrow taper of his waist.
Lan Wangji shuddered, breathing through his mouth to try to fight for control as the scent of Wei Ying's arousal made him dizzy.
"You need a written invitation, Lan Zhan? I thought you knew how to fuck your omegas. Or are you just all talk?"
Lan Zhan pushed three fingers in the tight, wet heat of Wei Ying's body, his brain unable to form words.
"I don't… ugh… want your fucking fingers. Or do I need to go back to the bar and find someone else who can fuck me until I can't think of anything else?"
Lan Zhan's hands were around Wei Ying's waist, his hips driving forward, pressing in, before Lan Zhan could even process what he was doing.
"Oh, fuck!" Wei Ying said, bracing his head against his forearms as Lan Zhan pushed relentlessly into him, an unbelievably tight, hot slide, until he was buried to the hilt.
"Wei Ying," he managed. All he could think about were words like 'tight. hot. wet. mine.'
Lan Zhan had had sex before. It was part of his schedule to maintain his overall physical discipline.
There was nothing disciplined about the way he felt in that moment, feeling Wei Ying clench around him, moving beneath him. He pulled out, feeling the hot drag of his cock against Wei Ying's inner walls, then slammed his hips forward again. His body felt outside of his own control, his teeth bared in a silent snarl at the thought of anyone else ever seeing Wei Ying like this, ever touching him in this way.
"Mine," he grated out. He meant that singular word on a visceral level that was totally unfamiliar to him, beyond his control.
"Yours," Wei Ying slurred, whether from arousal or the alcohol, it didn't matter. The words were spoken, etching themselves into Lan Zhan's bones.
"Mark your words, Wei Ying," Lan Zhan said, snapping his hips ruthlessly forward over and over, thrusting into Wei Ying. He looked down, watching his dick slide in and out. He wanted more. Deeper. He grabbed the cheeks of Wei Ying's lush, heart-shaped ass and spread them apart, allowing him to get even deeper.
"Ah, fuck. Lan Zhan!' Wei Ying cried out, braced against the car wall as Lan Zhan pounded into him at a hard, staccato pace that left them no space to breathe.
He wanted to get as much of his body as possible inside Wei Ying. He wanted to fill him up and pin him down and keep him tied to his bed where he would always know where he was, until the madness in his blood was finally sated.
The evening sunlight filtered through the tinted windows and glistened off Wei Ying's golden skin, the shadows of the muscles in his back moving in an undulating rhythm with every thrust of Lan Zhan's hips.
It was beautiful, the way his body moved as though it were made to receive Lan Zhan. Wei Ying was beautiful.
He griped Wei Ying's hips harder, his fingers digging in as he fucked him with even more force. Lan Zhan's dick was impossibly hard and oversensitized. The friction was exquisite as he drove into Wei Ying over and over, reveling in the mindless words spiling from the omega's lips. He felt his balls draw up, the warning tightness of impending orgasm as his knot began to swell.
The thought of finally being able to spill his seed inside Wei Ying, to mark him from the inside, made him feel almost unhinged. He would fuck Wei Ying until he came, then he would keep fucking him, rubbing his cum into Wei Ying's body deep inside where it couldn't be washed away.
"Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying arched back, and Lan Wangji could feel his orgasm ripple through his body, clenching around his cock. Wei Ying shuddered and went limp and pliant, his eyes sliding closed, his face slack.
He was completely at Lan Zhan's mercy.
Lan Zhan fucked him hard, faster, knowing he had only moments before his knot swelled and made any further movement impossible. He pulled Wei Ying's hips up higher, using his arm strength to pull the loose-limbed body into his own as he thrust up. It was a heady feeling of complete control.
Lan Zhan grit his teeth, wanting to drag it out longer, but he couldn't. His muscles locked up and he began to cum, feeling wave after wave spill out of him, into Wei Ying. He hazily realized he hadn't used any of the condoms he'd been so careful to pack.
Stupid. Careless.
It made him want to just fuck Wei Ying more, to fuck into him again and feel the wetness of his seed as proof that he had been there before, sliding hot and wet around his cock. He wanted to cum inside Wei Ying until there wasn't space for anything else, where it would leak out any time he moved as a constant reminder that he belonged to Lan Zhan, had been filled by Lan Zhan.
None of it made sense.
His arms were shaking as he held himself up to keep from crushing Wei Ying as he fought to get at least his breathing under control. He looked down at Wei Ying, watching the omega's breaths slowly even out as he waited for his knot to go down. Wei Ying's face appeared different in sleep. Younger, without the sharp edges and taunting smile that drove Lan Zhan crazy. But still so beautiful.
Usually, when he was done fucking one of his omegas, he couldn't wait to get them out of his guest room. He never felt any urge to spend more time with them. Any minor arousal that had built during sex was immediately forgotten.
It wasn't like this. It had never been like this. Lan Zhan wanted his knot to go down, but only so he could fuck Wei Ying again, properly this time, in his bed, with Wei Ying's silver eyes free from the haze of the alcohol.
What was happening to him?
It was another twenty minutes before he could pull out without hurting them both, but Wei Ying slept on, the alcohol and exhaustion winning out. Lan Zhan reached down and gently moved a stray lock of Wei Ying's hair that had slid down over his left eye. Wei Ying had asked Lan Zhan to make it so he couldn't think. He had given him that.
Lan Wangji pulled up his pants, but only wrapped Wei Ying in a blanket he'd brought for this purpose. There was no point in dressing the man when he was going to just be naked again and bound to Lan Zhan's bed in a matter of moments, but he would not allow any of his men to see Wei Ying naked.
He picked up his own bag, but hesitated with Wei Ying's. If Wei Ying had an accomplice, it was possible they had a way to track him. He would have his driver bring Wei Ying's belongings to the club, but he would send it via a different route. He would not bring it on the boat with them.
Lan Zhan picked up Wei Ying and carried him to the yacht, glad that his driver seemed to have known to send word ahead to his men to stop searching the other ships and be ready to depart. Wei Ying was bound securely to his bed before the ship had left the doc.
Whatever was going to happen next, they had escaped Wen Ruohan's grasp. He wanted to shower, but he was not comfortable letting Wei Ying out of his sight. He could already feel his dick stirring at the sight of the man tied to his bed, wearing only his collar.
He began unbuttoning his shirt. Something drew his attention, and he looked up to see Wei Ying watching him from the bed, silver eyes locked on his.
Wei Ying smirked, looking up at the knots as he fisted his hands on the rope, testing their hold. Once again, Lan Wangji had been careful to keep them loose enough to allow mobility. Just not enough that Wei Ying could reach the knots and untie them.
"Lan Zhan. I thought you were exaggerating." Wei Ying looked directly at Lan Zhan in a way that made the alpha accelerate how quickly he was removing his clothes.
"Mm. Wei Ying needs to learn the consequences of his actions. And you owe me some answers."
Wei Ying tilted his head to the side and grinned, but his eyes were dark with challenge. "Then why don't you try to show me, er-gege. See if you can make me answer all your questions."
Despite the strength of the rope and the skill of the knots with which they were tied, Lan Zhan suddenly felt unsure about his ability to keep Wei Ying where he wanted him.