Mistaken Love And Hate

6. Unforgiving Bonds

The night hung heavy in the air, thick with silence as Wei Wuxian stood in the dimly lit hallway of the Lan estate. He had just finished preparing for bed when the door creaked open with a force that spoke of reckless abandon. Lan Wangji staggered in, his usually immaculate composure shattered. The faint scent of alcohol clung to him, mingling with something else—something sharper, tinged with frustration and sorrow. His gaze, glassy and unfocused, flickered toward Wei Wuxian but never fully landed.

"Wangji?" Wei Wuxian's voice, usually warm and steady, was filled with an unexpected concern. He hadn't seen his ward like this in years—drunk, unkempt, lost in a sea of emotions.

Wangji didn't respond. He leaned against the doorframe, his body swaying slightly, jaw clenched in a grimace as though holding something back. Wei Wuxian stepped forward instinctively, though uncertainty gnawed at him.

"Let me help you," he said, his voice gentle but insistent, as he moved to steady Wangji's shoulders.

But Wangji recoiled sharply, his cold voice biting through the stillness. "Don't. I don't need your help."

The words stung, but Wei Wuxian, after years of enduring harsher words and colder silence, merely nodded, suppressing the ache in his chest. "You're drunk. You need to rest. Please, just sit down, and I'll get you some water."

Wangji's eyes flared with a sudden, almost violent bitterness. "Why do you care?" His voice, thick with alcohol, trembled. "Why pretend? You've always acted like you cared, but it's all just a lie, isn't it?"

Wei Wuxian's breath hitched, the accusation cutting deeper than he cared to admit. He had endured more than his fair share of resentment from Wangji over the years, but this... this felt different. "It's not a lie," he whispered, though his words felt weak against the storm in Wangji's eyes.

"Really?" Wangji's voice wavered between anger and something darker. "You've always been here, pretending to be something you're not. You've never belonged. Not here, not with us. You've only ever taken his place... his place that you never deserved."

Wei Wuxian stepped back, his pulse quickening, his mind racing. He wanted to explain, to clarify everything that had been misunderstood, but the words caught in his throat. His thoughts were a whirlwind, a tangle of memories and regrets, and the years of quiet, unspoken love that had shaped his existence in the shadows of Lan Wangji's cold stare.

Instead of speaking, he only said, "You've had too much to drink. We can talk about this in the morning, when you're sober."

But Wangji wasn't done. His voice dropped to a softer, quieter tone. "Why did you stay? Why didn't you leave when he died?" His words, vulnerable in a way Wei Wuxian had never expected, hung in the air between them.

Wei Wuxian's heart twisted painfully in his chest. He looked at Wangji, seeing the raw pain hidden behind his walls of anger, and answered quietly, "Because you needed someone. And no matter how much you hate me, I couldn't leave you. I couldn't abandon you, not when you were still just a child."

The silence that followed was thick, heavy with unspoken truths. For a moment, neither of them moved, the weight of their shared history pressing down on them, suffocating in its intensity. And then, without warning, Wangji's hand shot out, grabbing Wei Wuxian's wrist with surprising force. His pheromones flooded the air—sharp, possessive—and for a brief moment, Wei Wuxian's world tilted, his body responding to the alpha's presence, despite the bitterness in his heart.

"Don't lie to me," Wangji's voice was rough, his words trembling. "Don't pretend this is about me."

Wei Wuxian's body flushed with heat, a sudden, overwhelming rush of instinct rising in him. His eyes glazed, his grip tightening on his own control as the pheromones battled for dominance. The quiet, unspoken tension between them became a palpable force, the air thickening, pulling them closer with a gravity that neither could resist.

Wangji's eyes narrowed, his breath shallow. There was no room for reasoning, no more pretense. He leaned in, his lips finding Wei Wuxian's in a kiss that was neither gentle nor forgiving. The world around them faded, leaving only the pulse of their bond and the jagged edge of unspoken desire.

Wei Wuxian wanted to pull away, to resist, to remind Wangji of the distance between them. But his body betrayed him, and his senses swam in the overwhelming tide of pheromones. It was as if something ancient and untamable inside him had awakened, responding to the dominance of the alpha before him.

Wangji's hands were rough, insistent as they tore at Wei Wuxian's clothes, the sound of fabric ripping mingling with the sharp breaths between them. His touch was bruising, marking, and yet Wei Wuxian could not bring himself to stop him. It wasn't just the heat, the pheromones clouding his thoughts—it was the years of waiting, of longing, of quiet love and sacrifice that had led to this moment.

Still, he fought. He tried to hold on to the shred of control, to keep some semblance of distance between them. But Wangji was relentless, his every movement forcing Wei Wuxian further into submission.

In the end, Wei Wuxian surrendered—not because he wanted to, but because something in him had always known that the bond between them was inevitable. Even as Wangji's teeth sank into his neck, marking him, Wei Wuxian couldn't bring himself to pull away. His body, aching and willing, followed the pull of the bond, his instincts obeying the unspoken command.

***

The next morning, Wei Wuxian awoke with a weight in his chest, his mind a fog of confusion and regret. The events of the previous night were burned into his memory, sharp and clear. He sat up slowly, feeling the lingering presence of the bond—the mark that now resided on his skin as both a reminder and a punishment.

Across the room, Lan Wangji sat by the window, his back rigid, his face a mask of indifference. He didn't look at Wei Wuxian when he spoke.

"We need to talk," Wei Wuxian said, his voice fragile.

Wangji's eyes flickered to him for a brief moment before turning away. "There's nothing to talk about."

Wei Wuxian's heart clenched. "Last night—"

"It was a mistake," Wangji interrupted, his tone biting and final. He turned to face Wei Wuxian, and the coldness in his eyes sent a shiver through him. "It shouldn't have happened."

Wei Wuxian nodded, his throat tight with unspoken hurt. "If that's how you feel, then fine. But we can't pretend it didn't happen. My mark is here now. You are my alpha."

Wangji's expression hardened, his jaw tightening. "It was a mistake."

Wei Wuxian's voice shook, but he pressed on. "How do you expect me to deal with the bond now?"

"I, Lan Wangji, reject the bond with Wei Wuxian," Wangji said, his voice cold and unyielding.

The words hit Wei Wuxian like a physical blow, and he felt the bond between them snap with a painful recoil. The pain surged through him, sharp and consuming, leaving him breathless. He doubled over, clutching his chest, but Wangji's face remained impassive, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"This is what you deserve," Wangji said, his voice laced with cold satisfaction.

Wei Wuxian, trembling, gathered himself and stood. Without another word, he turned and left the room, the weight of Wangji's rejection heavy on his shoulders. But what Wangji didn't know, what he failed to realize, was that while the mark might fade, the bond they had forged in that moment could never truly be broken. It had already been sealed—woven into their very fates, whether they acknowledged it or not.