Always you...

3. Call it anything you want..

Yibo took Zhan's hand in his and pulled the man to the centre, holding both their hands above the water. "Yibo!", Zhan shouted, trying to pry open Yibo's fingers but the man refused to let go of him. "I am ready when you are", Yibo said softly to Jian Min and stared at the floating, purple lotus. He refused to look up at Zhan because he knew he would see Zhan crying and that sight hurt Yibo more than anything else in the world. "Not everyone is lucky enough to have a mate like you, A-Zhan. Today if Xiao Feng and A-Liu were alive, they would have smiled at you and would've been proud of your mate", Jian Min's words were extremely kind and Yibo was thankful for them but his mate still kept shouting. "Stop him, Xuan!! Rong!! Are you going to let him do this? You are putting your Alpha in danger...Hedi, atleast you say something. Please stop this." Zhan begged and pleaded but no one came forth, instead Zhan saw the eyes of his packmates shining with pride and admiration. "You are so fucking stupid, Wang Yibo!", Zhan cursed harshly and Jian Min asked Yibo to extend his right hand.

A cut was made on the outstretched palm and Jian Min joined their hands again, the blood coating Zhan's hand as Jian Min spoke in the ancient language, tying Yibo's life to Zhan. "Pull your hands back", Jian Min instructed and as their hands separated the golden thread thrummed to life, the bright light blinding. The lotus under their hands glowed a bright purple, symbolising Yibo's complete devotion and Zhan's tears rolled down his cheeks as his eyes met Yibo's. A weird ache in his heart had Yibo breathing heavy and when the pain subsided, Yibo let out a harsh exhale and his eyes widened in wonder. He could feel it. Their connection. It felt as if his heart had been tied up by a thread and weirdly it felt as if Zhan was inside his head. "I..I feel it", he said panting and Zhan was by his side the next instant, cupping his cheeks as Yibo's legs lost their strength. "Yibo? Are you okay?" Zhan asked holding him close and Yibo smiled. "How do you feel?", Zhan asked worried and Yibo burrowed his face in Zhan's chest saying, "Perfect." Indeed, he was. Feeling Zhan's heartbeat as if it was his own, the sensation of being so completely Zhan's was perfect. A smile was on his lips and all too soon dark spots came into his vision until his surroundings turned completely black.

Later that evening, Yibo woke up feeling a light caress on his head and when his eyes opened, he saw Zhan sitting in front of him. "Hey", Zhan greeted softly and Yibo smiled, humming in content. "Dad, can you see me now?", came his son's small voice and Yibo nodded a yes. He sat up, feeling a little drained but the sensation he felt now was worth everything. He pulled Yuan into his arms and the boy wound his little arms around his waist. "You have been sleeping for so long. A-Yuan and firecracker were worried", the child mumbled against his chest and Yibo kissed his head. "Sorry, bud. Daddy is awake now." Yibo's eyes turned to his mate but Zhan left the room without a word and it hurt. "Should I put you to bed, little Yuan?", Yibo asked and Yuan nodded with excitement. "Can you read me that dinosaur story?", he asked with an adorable pout and Yibo smiled. "Anything for you, pumpkin."
It was after two stories that Yuan finally went to sleep and making sure his son was comfortable and calling Wang An to watch over Yuan, Yibo decided to hunt his mate down. His Omega was hiding from him and it pissed Yibo off. He searched around the house and surprisingly found Zhan in their room, already in bed. Yibo shut the door behind him and tore the blankets away from Zhan's body, growling when Zhan ignored him. "So you won't even speak to me now?", Yibo spoke coldly and his anger spiked even more when Zhan refused to respond to him. It was a moment later that he heard a faint sniffle and when Zhan's form shook in a silent cry, Yibo's heart went cold. "Zhan-Zhan? Baby?", he turned Zhan to him and found his firecracker crying bitterly. Yibo gathered his Omega in his arms and Zhan's arms wound around his neck as he cried his heart out. "You are s-so stupid, Yibo", Zhan whispered clutching onto him and Yibo brought Zhan's face to his neck, letting his scent wash over Zhan.

"Can you smell how happy I am, Zhan? How fucking smug my wolf is right now? It feels almost as good as when I marked you as mine." His fiesty Alpha sniffled against him and Yibo kept talking. "I said it before, bond or no bond I will die without you. Why are you so surprised, Zhan-Zhan?" He placed another kiss on Zhan's head as he felt Zhan's cries calming down. "You know, they say true mates can't live without each other. When one dies, the other follows. I know we aren't true mates but I will tie you to myself every fucking way possible, baby. Call it love, call it madness, call it anything you want...but you are my life, Zhan. I am a twisted fucker and I want to follow you in death too." Fingers curled into Yibo's shirt and Zhan's tears soaked the fabric but Yibo just smiled, hoping his words would make Zhan see the truth. "You have no fucking idea how eager I was to do this. When you told me about breaking the tie with Yubin, my first thought was that now I can fully have what is mine. The right to love you, to hold you, to protect you, to die with you, it's all mine. All mine." The hold on him slackened and Yibo's heart pounded as he waited for Zhan to say something. For a minute, his mate just stared at Yibo and then Zhan placed his soft lips onto Yibo's. The kiss was soft, lingering and Yibo's hands dug into Zhan's waist as he pulled the man in his lap. "Please, don't be angry at me", Yibo begged and found Zhan placing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. "You are the best thing that has happened to me, Wang Yibo. I love you. You can never leave me." "I am not going to leave you. Not for anything in this world", Yibo vowed and a soft expression came on Zhan's face. "Yeah. I am seeing that now. How does it feel? I have heard it can be painful", Zhan asked combing through Yibo's dark hair and Yibo leaned into the touch, letting his smile break through. "It's not painful. It feels like you are here and here", Yibo pointed to his heart and then to his head and Zhan wiped his tears away. "Yubin told me that after a few weeks he grew used to it. It didn't hurt anymore." Zhan's words were soft but jealousy twisted Yibo's gut when he thought of Yubin feeling the same way as he did now. "Yubin is like a brother to me, Yibo." Like always his firecracker had guessed what was going through his head and Yibo brushed their noses together.

"I think it's a good thing", Yibo said softly that night, feeling content with Zhan's warm body so perfectly wrapped around him and Zhan's brows furrowed. "Now I know that you will take your safety seriously. My life is in your hands now, literally and figuratively." Yibo smiled, feeling giddy and Zhan just stared at him with a strange look on his face. "What?", he asked and Zhan let out a deep sigh. "You are the first person I have seen smiling like a clown after getting life-bound to someone. You aren't even a little weirded out by all this?" "To be honest, no. It is kind of nice your ancestors came up with this. Now, I have an excuse to keep you by my side twenty four hours a day. Is there something else that will bring us even closer? Maybe something like if you go five steps away from me, I start dying?" His cheeky response got him a flick on the forehead. "Stop talking nonsense. Tell me honestly, are you feeling okay?", Zhan asked him again and Yibo nodded. "I feel fine. I swear." "If it starts feeling weird let me know. We can always get it-" "Finish that sentence and your ass will be as red as your cherry mouth." A low growl rumbled out of him and Yibo's eyes flashed golden communicating his anger. The mere thought of not being Zhan's protector was putting both Yibo and his wolf in a foul mood. "Fine. I won't suggest it any longer. So grumpy all the time." Yibo growled playfully at that and Zhan's fingers glided across his chest, making Yibo shudder with pleasure. The light, sensual touches were everything out of Yibo's dreams and his mouth dried seeing the wanton look on Zhan's face. "I am a poor little Omega. Will you protect me, my Alpha?" The teasing words and that husky voice went straight to Yibo's dick and he pinned Zhan under him for the second time that night. "Hell yes! You are all mine." He pulled Zhan's mouth to his in a searing kiss and feasted on his mate all night long.

"I have seen you make that face the tenth time this morning. What's up?", Xuan asked and Yibo schooled his expression. "Too late. I already saw that 'I came so hard I forgot my name' look on your face. So, sex as Zhan's protector is even better, huh?" Yibo scowled at his enforcer at the words and he must have looked scary because Xuan shut up. The Head Enforcer was a fool if he thought Yibo will say a word about his intimate life. Xuan was too imaginative and the last thing Yibo wanted was his cousin to picture his firecracker naked. He didn't care that Xuan was mated and deeply in love with Song Jiyang. He couldn't share his mate with anyone. The sight of Zhan in all his glory was only for Yibo. Although, he had admitted it to his firecracker that being his protector had its perks. Even in the sex department. A smile came on his lips and a sense of calm came over him feeling that his Zhan was okay. If anything happened, Yibo would be the first to find out and Yibo's worries eased a little with that fact. "Anyways, coming to the issue at hand, Han Yi and the others have been asking if they can have the Alpha conference here in Lan territory." Yibo's eyes caught his enforcer's and the man explained the matter further. "When the Omega in the Zhuo pack was attacked many people turned to Han Yi blaming him. Wu An has been blaming the Chengs and Tianyu and Wang Talu are not on good terms. No one is ready to step into the other Alpha's territory thinking they will be attacked. Talu suggested that we have the conference here. The Alphas respect and fear you enough to not stir any trouble." Yibo heard the words and decided that the idea did hold some merit. The Lans liked their privacy but the matter of the Omega deaths was a serious one. "Fine. Arrange something at the periphery of the Lan territory. Make sure there are clear boundaries. I don't want any of those Alphas sniffing around like they own my place." The Enforcer nodded and Yibo went over the recent death that had happened near the area. The killer was getting bolder and more reckless as the days passed and Yibo wanted the shifter gone before he came near his wolves.