Work Text:
Distantly, a baby’s cry.
It’s so loud and piercing, echoing off the walls.
Even when the baby was whisked away, the noise rang in Wei Ying’s ears. His body tingled with numbness as he struggled to look through the haze. Bare thighs. His? Stained with the splattering of blood and whatever else. Some kind of fluids. As if by habit, Wei Ying searched for his stomach.
Longing.
Something is missing.
His eyebrows furrowed. His stomach was slightly curved. Still missing. Then, things seem to click into place. The baby. The crying.
But all that was left was silence.
There were eyes on him still. When he reached up to wipe the wetness clouding his vision, a man came into focus. Sat across from him, his brother, Jiang Cheng wallowed in his own bubble. A thin piece of clothing clung to his hips and Wei Ying could not counter the number of bruises over his body with two hands. He noticed Wei Ying looking back at him and shifted his gaze to the floor.
“They… took the baby.” Wei Ying whispered. His voice was hoarse, straining, like he had screamed a thousand years. His fingers curled into fists over his own bare stomach. The cold had finally settled in. Empty and bare.
“Yeah.” Jiang Cheng replied. “Are you…?”
“I’m okay.” Wei Ying lied through his teeth. By now, it was second nature.
How long had it been now? Enough for the first few assaults, enough to carry a baby to term. What would they even do with the baby? His… His baby. Wei Ying’s fingers trembled. Would they hurt his baby? If they did, there was no way he wouldn’t kill them too…!
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
A familiar face swam in his mind. A smooth porcelain face, golden eyes twinkling under the sunlight, long smooth locks of dark hair. The intoxicating scent of sandalwood. It had been so long, he almost forgot what it smelt like. He clung to the memory, reaching out, grasping.
Lan Zhan.
His alpha, his soulmate, his forever.
He searched for the bonding mark on his neck. It was still there, though cracked and faded. His body belonged to him, after all, and another trying to take what was rightfully someone else’s made his stomach heave and his eyes water. They had been young, mated, and desperately in love. Perhaps soon, they would’ve had a family of their own.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
Instead, everything was ripped away from him. His home burned; his family slaughtered like lambs. All he had was…
Jiang Cheng’s feet shuffled against the stone-cold floor. He could tell he wanted to say something but the words were lost. They had run out of ways to soothe each other. There was nothing left to be said. The other being there was both a blessing and a curse. A gift for the safety of their own sanity. The crushing reality of seeing each other in ways they wish they never had.
Day and night blended into each other. Another day, another meal, another pill. When they were too delirious to swallow, it came in a needle. The sharp sting cut through the drowsiness, making Wei Ying squirm and Jiang Cheng hiss. By now, they needed it. Jiang Cheng had seen what happened when Wei Ying refused to take the pills, spat them out clamped his mouth shut.
The itch. Such a horrible, shaking itch.
It was enough to make anyone give in.
They could recognise Wen Chao’s footsteps from a mile away. The weight of his feet rumbled with a different sound to the heels of Wang Lingjiao, who tossed them food and occasionally administered their doses. Neither of them had seen Wen Chao since the baby was born, or at least, so they could remember.
“The baby…!” Wei Ying gasped upon seeing him, against his better judgement. “What did you… What did you do with the baby?”
Wen Chao clicked his tongue and slammed the door shut.
“Wei Ying!” Jiang Cheng exclaimed.
“What did I do with the baby? Ha! It hardly matters to you anymore now does it, you worthless piece of shit.” Wen Chao taunted, striding towards Wei Ying. He grabbed him by the hair, jostling him towards him and leaning in close to his face.
Wei Ying grit his teeth, jerking away from him. It only served to make Wen Chao grab him harder. Wei Ying took a deep breath. “Give me my baby back!”
At that, Wen Chao shoved him to the floor.
“Shut up!” He yelled. He grabbed one of Wei Ying’s thighs as his head hit the floor, yanking it aside so he could nestle between his now spread legs.
Lately, Wei Ying had ceased fighting back against it. While he was drugged, there was nothing much he could do anyway. However, the desire to see his baby again had inspired a newfound vigour inside him. He would do anything. Wen Chao would not stand between him and his baby, even if he was the other father.
“I want to see my baby!” He continued to whine and kick. “It’s my baby, you can’t take my baby away from me! My baby, my baby, my baby!”
“What the fuck did I say to you? Shut up!” Wen Chao yelled again.
“My baby!”
Jiang Cheng, who had turned his gaze away, knowing what was about to happen to his brother once more, finally spoke up. “Wei Ying, please stop it.”
“See? Even your brother is telling you to shut up.” Wen Chao said.
Wei Ying let out a pitiful sob. He hadn’t even realised he was crying until he could feel the tears puddling under his cheek. His hormones had been a mess ever since he realised that he was pregnant. Even now, after the birth, everything was muddled up in his head. He didn’t want to cry. Truly. But he missed his baby so much. His baby.
“He took my baby Jiang Cheng; he took my baby.” Wei Ying whimpered.
“I know.” Jiang Cheng replied.
Wen Chao let out a frustrated huff. He tossed Wei Ying’s thighs away from him and rose to his feet, giving his trembling body a swift kick in the side so he cried out. He reached into the bag he had brought in the room with him, pulling out a needle. Wei Ying’s eyes widened, realising that soon, all of his fight and energy would be sapped from him.
“If you can’t behave yourself, I’ll just have to make you stop fucking squirming.” Wen Chao said, moving back towards him. He watched as Wei Ying made a desperate attempt to shuffle away, even though his wrists were bound and his body screamed for him to stop.
“Don’t…!” Jiang Cheng shouted. “Leave him! He just wants to see the baby!”
“Shut the fuck up, you! Do you think I’m stupid or something?” Wen Chao bit back.
Jiang Cheng wanted to yell back at him but he knew when to hold his tongue. If he said anything now, it would only be worse for Wei Ying. He could only dutifully turn his head away, even as he heard him cry at the needle being pressed in. All he could do was give him dignity in this tough situation they were in.
“It’d be better for everyone if you just shut up and took what was given to you, like a good omega bitch.” Wen Chao shook his head. He pulled the needle free and watched as Wei Ying slumped in a heap.
He was conscious, breathing steadily, but unable to move his limbs. All he could do was stare forwards. Still like a doll, and just as fragile. Wen Chao frowned at him, kicking him again so he rolled onto his side, facing Jiang Cheng.
“See? It’s no fun when I have to do that but I have to punish you somehow.” Wen Chao said. It was then that he followed Wei Ying’s stagnant gaze over to his brother. Jiang Cheng still sat there, unwilling to look, unwilling to speak. A sick idea creeped in.
Wen Chao dropped his bag and walked over to Jiang Cheng. He grabbed him by his hair and forced him to look at him. Jiang Cheng writhed under his gaze; he could feel his eyes on every inch of his body. The mixing of their alpha scents was nothing short of repulsive. Jiang Cheng wanted nothing more than to spit in his face. He had done enough.
He and Wei Ying deserved so much better than this. More than once he’d had to sit there while Wen Chao brutalised his brother, inside and out, knocking him up with a child and then ripping it away from him. Jiang Cheng had been a virgin when he was taken, his chastity reserved for his future mate, whomever it may be, just like any good alpha. All that had been thrown out the window as soon as he had been stripped bare by that fucking Wang Lingjiao. Her mocking laughter as she and Wen Chao dosed him, unable to fight back and his cock hard as she took him inside of her.
She knew better than to shove anything in his face, however. Jiang Cheng had a working set of teeth that no muscle relaxant would calm. Wei Ying however, had not been so lucky in Wen Chao’s hands.
“How about you then, will you play nice or am I going to have to sedate you as well?” Wen Chao asked, jerking Jiang Cheng back to reality.
Jiang Cheng clenched his fists, glaring at his captor. Wen Chao had never paid too much attention to him beyond giving him his first pills and the occasional beating. He had been the one to oversee and laugh when he forced him upon Wei Ying’s body amidst one of his heats, but luckily Wei Ying had been so delirious that he did not remember. Jiang Cheng would die with that shame, that he had ever touched his brother like that. He supposed Wen Chao’s disinterest came in the fact that they were both alphas, it was a natural animosity.
“Not going to talk for me?” Wen Chao continued to taunt. He slapped Jiang Cheng hard across the face. “We’ll soon change that.”
Another beating? Jiang Cheng hissed and spat blood at Wen Chao’s feet, making him grimace. He could handle it; this had happened before. Anything to draw the attention away from Wei Ying. The two of them hadn’t always gotten along but it didn’t change the fact that they had grown up together and it was an alpha’s duty to protect and care for omegas, even ones as unruly as Wei Ying.
When Wen Chao’s hand slid from his jaw down to his bare chest, Jiang Cheng braced himself for some kind of impact. Yet, it never came. Wen Chao’s slimy hands just kept caressing him, a thumb brushing over his nipple that made him flinch, creeping down his stomach. It was dangerously close to areas that Wen Chao had never touched prior to this moment.
“Don’t touch me like that.” Jiang Cheng said, doing his best to pull away from his wandering hands. “Just hit me and get it over with, you sadistic fuck.”
A part of him wished he never said it. Wen Chao’s face immediately darkened and the hand in his hair slammed him down against the ground. Jiang Cheng yelped; his face pressed against the cold floor. Wen Chao manoeuvred his body, pulling his hips into the air and leaving his chest and face flat. Jiang Cheng cursed his bound hands, tied behind his back, and refused to think about the degrading position he had been bent into. What now?
He made the mistake of glancing over at Wei Ying. Worry danced in his silver eyes. He was using all of his strength to shake his head. A miniscule movement, but one that spoke for a hundred words. He couldn’t turn away from what was happening.
“You see him lookin’ at you, don’t you?” Wen Chao said, leaning in close to Jiang Cheng’s ear. His grip tightened in his hair and he moved up to press his body up against Jiang Cheng’s backside. “Do not think for a second that this is about you, you little brat. I couldn’t give a fuck about you. I just want him to see you suffer.”
The words cut deep. Jiang Cheng’s heart hammered in his chest. At the feel of Wen Chao’s greedy hands roving over his ass, he thrashed as hard as he could. This couldn’t be happening! It couldn’t! Alphas were not supposed to be subjected to these sorts of things, especially not at the hands of other alphas.
“Fuck you.” Jiang Cheng breathed.
Wen Chao only laughed. He laughed as he tore away the only piece of clothing left on his body and he laughed as Jiang Cheng’s face burned with embarrassment. But it would be a struggle until the end, Jiang Cheng was going to make sure of that. He kicked and squirmed, only to be hit and pushed back down again, to be grabbed by his legs and pulled back.
The malnutrition really killed his energy. Jiang Cheng quickly found himself growing tired. He could only fidget in protest when Wen Chao spread his ass with his thumb, exposing him, before making a show of spitting on his hole. Jiang Cheng pressed his face further against the floor, as if he could bury his way in and hide from the world. He would do anything to be anywhere but here, in this moment.
“I will do as you say.” Wen Chao said. He didn’t hold back in pushing two fingers inside of Jiang Cheng. “I will fuck you.”
Jiang Cheng groaned at the intrusion. It stung. He had never felt anything like it. The fingers wiggled past the knuckles, slipping all the way inside. His body wasn’t designed for this. It didn’t lubricate like an omega’s did. Alphas were not meant to be fucked. Every push and pull of Wen Chao’s fingers stirred his insides. It took everything for Jiang Cheng not heave, though there would be nothing for him to bring up. In a way he was grateful, for the last thing he needed right now was to be bathing in his own vomit.
When the fingers slipped back out of him, Jiang Cheng made a final effort to crawl away. It had to end here. There was no way he could go any further. It was impossible, he couldn’t fit inside him. He was not designed for this. Wen Chao only pulled him back again, and this time he felt something hot and hard grinding up against his slightly stretched hole.
“You feel that, you little shit? That’s how deep inside you I’m going to go.” Wen Chao taunted, sliding his cock up through the crack to rub into Jiang Cheng’s back. Jiang Cheng’s teeth clenched. He heard and felt another glob of spit.
He couldn’t hold back a cry when Wen Chao finally pressed his cock inside his hole. It had to be forced in, Jiang Cheng’s body resisting with all its might. Jiang Cheng even did his best to close his legs, to try and force him out, but Wen Chao only spread him again and kept sinking in.
Wei Ying was still looking at him. Not that he had another choice, of course. When Jiang Cheng’s eyes accidentally met his, he could see tears bubbling in Wei Ying’s eyes. He was crying for him, for his brother, and for the violation he was being forced to witness.
Jiang Cheng couldn’t take it. The humiliation was too much, especially as Wen Chao managed to sink all the way inside him. His thighs felt damp and he didn’t know if it was from the drying spit or whether there was blood. Truthfully, he didn’t want to know. He could only cry and whimper, like a pathetic child, as every inch of alpha pride he had was trampled on.
“Fuck, you’re so tight.” Wen Chao hissed. He rolled his hips to give a short thrust inside him. A grin spread over his face as he reached for Jiang Cheng’s hair again, pulling his head up so his noises would be unfiltered. “Tell me, how does it feel? To be an alpha and know that a superior alpha is fucking you? What, did you think you were above this? Did you think you couldn’t be used like this? A hole is still a hole, and I’m going to tear you up from the inside while your brother watches.”
Tears rolled down Jiang Cheng’s cheeks. It was shameful to cry, but he couldn’t help himself. The sobs just kept coming with every thrust. Wen Chao fucked into him hard and deep, uncaring of the pain that shot up his spine every time he did.
“F-Fuck you!” He managed to choke out again, though any threatening tone was lost. His voice was broken and shaky. Wen Chao laughed at him once more.
Wen Chao pounded into him faster, curling his hair around his fist and yanking Jiang Cheng’s body further up. This was a fate worse than death. Jiang Cheng squeezed his eyes shut. If he couldn’t see, then he wouldn’t have to know that Wei Ying was watching. How could he possibly ever be the alpha that protected him, that looked out for him, after he saw him like this? Beaten and used like a whore by another alpha. He was nothing, he was filthy. This act alone had doomed him to a life of loneliness. If he was ever freed from this place, no mate would ever want him.
Unfortunately, he could tell when Wen Chao was nearing his peak. His grunts got higher; his thrusts sloppier. Jiang Cheng’s thighs shook as the daunting reality came upon him. Was he going to cum inside him? Was he going to force his knot in? He couldn’t take it. His hole already hurt, stinging from the onslaught of the foreign object.
“You’re so…fucking… worthless!” Wen Chao said between heavy breaths. “Let’s show him what a… disgusting excuse for an alpha you are…!”
The last thing Jiang Cheng expected was to be hauled up by his throat. Panic flickered in his eyes. His back pressed against Wen Chao’s chest and his legs spread obscenely wide. What a sight he must be presenting to Wei Ying. He did not dare look at him. Wen Chao gave a few more short thrusts before stilling. Jiang Cheng scrambled as best he could but was helpless to the hand tight around his throat.
No, no, no.
This couldn’t be happening.
Wen Chao’s cock began to expand, his knot pushing in. Jiang Cheng cried out until he couldn’t any longer. It was ripping him apart. He couldn’t take it. It was going to tear him in two! There was no way, there was no way. Yet somehow, despite his sobs, the knot settled inside him and floods of cum entered his body.
“Look at you, taking another alpha’s knot. Fuck! Might as well call yourself an omega bitch now.” Wen Chao said.
Jiang Cheng whimpered. He hoped that Wen Chao tightened his hand around hit throat until he lost consciousness. He didn’t want to be alive for this, to experience this any longer. When he peeked out, he saw Wei Ying again. He trembled violently, even despite his sedative. Jiang Cheng had always thought of his dignity, turning away when he was assaulted, but he couldn’t pay him the same courtesy. He couldn’t stop looking at the cum and blood seeping out from within him and the tears raining down his red, debauched face. This wasn’t the brother he knew. He didn’t deserve to be treated like this and it was all his fault. If he had just behaved, this wouldn’t be happening.
Just when Jiang Cheng thought things couldn’t get any worse, a hand wrapped around his limp cock.
“Since you’re a little breeding bitch now, you should start enjoying yourself.” Wen Chao said.
“No, no, no, no, no…” Jiang Cheng had resorted to begging. He told himself he would never but he was desperate. He didn’t want this; he didn’t want this more than anything. His whole face burned with the mortification. He even let out a pitiable: “Please.”
“Accept it.” Wen Chao replied, caring little for his pleas and laughing at him.
His hand worked Jiang Cheng’s cock with enthusiasm. Jiang Cheng sobbed as his body betrayed him, growing hard in his palm. He was still seated on Wen Chao’s cock, knowing better than to try and move when he had his knot inside him. A mantra of begging spilled from his lips despite himself, tears hot on his cheeks.
It took a while, but Wen Chao reached his goal. Jiang Cheng wept and screamed through his disgraceful climax. He wanted to die. He wanted to crawl in a hole and die. There was going to be no facing the world now.
Kill me, he thought.
“There, look at that. You came with an alpha’s knot inside you. How does it feel, huh?” Wen Chao jeered.
He couldn’t answer him.
It felt like hours (though only minutes) until Wen Chao finally pulled out of him, uncaring and ungentle. He pushed Jiang Cheng to the floor in disgust and did not bother to say anything else to either of them as he left the room, taking his bag with him. The door slammed shut and the brothers were left in silence.
Jiang Cheng shifted and dared to reach a shaky hand between his legs to swipe some of the pink fluid where the cum and blood had intermingled. This time he couldn’t hold back and he vomited into the waste bucket in the corner of the room until his throat couldn’t take it anymore.
He curled himself into a ball, facing away from the paralysed Wei Ying. Everything had been taken away from him now, he had nothing left. All he wanted was death.
It took a while before Wei Ying was finally able to move again. He broke through even though his body felt heavy. He needed to see Jiang Cheng. Slowly, he pushed himself up and wiped the tears that were drying on his cheeks. Then, he made haste in crawling over to Jiang Cheng. It was all his fault that this had happened to him.
“J…Jiang Cheng!” He rasped.
Jiang Cheng looked up and quickly rubbed at his eyes when he saw Wei Ying coming towards him. Wei Ying already saw him sticky and degraded, he didn’t need to see him crying afterwards too. He was an alpha, he had to be strong, even if he didn’t feel like it anymore.
“Don’t push yourself, idiot,” he scolded.
Wei Ying did his best to smile at him. It was a little shaky and a mockery of the grins he used to light the room with before all this happened. He reached out to wrap his arms around Jiang Cheng’s neck and rest his forehead on his shoulder. It made Jiang Cheng jump and his urge to push him away set in, but he fought it. Wei Ying needed this. A part of him needed this as well.
So, he wrapped an arm around his waist, the two of them settling in a pitiful embrace.
“I’m sorry, Jiang Cheng. I shouldn’t have said anything to antagonise him. He should have never hurt you like that. I’m sorry.” Wei Ying said. He rubbed small circles with his fingers on Jiang Cheng’s back. “But it’s… going to be okay. I made it through it and you will too.”
“It’s not the same!” Jiang Cheng exclaimed, pulling back a bit from Wei Ying and meeting his gaze. His pathetic excuse for a smile. “You’re an omega! It’s just… the natural way of things, that alphas want to…” He took a deep breath. “But I’m an alpha! Alphas don’t… they don’t do that sort of thing to other alphas. It shouldn’t… I can never…”
His throat throbbed as he tried to swallow down the lump there. Even hearing himself say it out loud made his chest hurt. He couldn’t go on like this.
“Don’t be selfish.” Wei Ying’s voice was sharp. “It isn’t natural, none of this is natural. I was… I am mated still. A-And Lan Zhan is definitely still waiting for me. But how will I ever tell him what happened here? It hurts me too, you know. We… We will get through it, okay?”
Jiang Cheng couldn’t stop the tears from falling once more. He leaned his face against Wei Ying’s hair and sobbed. Wei Ying rubbed his back and waited for him to get it all out.
“…Okay.” Jiang Cheng eventually said.
A bucket was left for the two men to clean themselves up with as well as a set of raggedy clothes each. The water was cold but Jiang Cheng could not be more grateful to scrub away the traces of filth left behind on his body. Wei Ying was less motivated, making slow progress as he mumbled things about his stolen child.
It was hard to bite back the pleading for his baby whenever Wen Chao showed up. Only punishment would come but he wanted to see the child so badly. Though, one day his prayers were answered. The sound of a baby’s cry could be heard on the other side of the door so Wei Ying watched in nervous anticipation.
Sure enough, Wang Lingjiao opened the door, a baby bawling in her arms. She kicked the door shut and made great strides towards Wei Ying.
“Here.” Wang Lingjiao said, shoving the baby in his arms. “He won’t shut up no matter what I do. I’m sick of it.”
In an instant, she was gone again.
Wei Ying looked down at the baby in his arms. So, his baby was a little boy. He cradled him, his own tears bubbling in his eyes. His baby. His beautiful baby boy. The more he embraced him, the quieter the boy’s sobs became until he was completely silent. Big familiar eyes stared up at him. Wei Ying couldn’t help but admire just how much his son reminded him of himself.
“Jiang Cheng.” Wei Ying said, making his brother look over at him. “Come here. Come see him.”
Jiang Cheng shuffled over to peer over Wei Ying’s shoulder and get a good look at the baby in his arms. He squirmed and babbled, his little delicate fingers reaching up towards them.
“Isn’t he beautiful?” Wei Ying sighed.
“…Yeah.” Jiang Cheng replied.
His son had not come from pleasant circumstances, but that was not his fault. He could never take it out on a helpless child, even if he loathed his other father with all his being. Wei Ying ran his fingers through the small patch of dark hair on his head and smiled. This was still his son. He had given birth to him.
“Do you think they’ve given him a name?” Wei Ying said to Jiang Cheng. If they had, they hadn’t told him what it was. He’d only just found out that his baby was a boy. “Ah, I suppose it doesn’t matter. He’s my son, I’ll give him one.” Truthfully, he was mostly just relieved to see that his baby still lived. When they refused to answer him or let him see him, he had feared the worst. He rubbed his thumb lightly against his son’s cheek. “Sizhui.”
“Wei Sizhui?” Jiang Cheng asked.
Wei Ying shook his head. “Lan Sizhui.”
Jiang Cheng’s breath hitched and he drew his gaze away from the child to look at Wei Ying.
“We won’t be here forever, Jiang Cheng. I won’t let us die here.” Wei Ying continued. “We’ll get out of here and we’re taking Lan Sizhui with us. And… if Lan Zhan will still have me, after all this, if he hasn’t moved on then… We will raise him as our own. Wen Chao and his mistress will be put away. We’ll… get better.”
It sounded too good to be true. Jiang Cheng worried that the drugs were starting to affect his sanity. They had been here for such a long time already; it must have been over a year. Any hope they had to getting out had been slowly chipped away at. Their struggles only led to further punishment.
“You sound like you have a plan.” Jiang Cheng said.
Wei Ying was quiet for a moment, staring down at Lan Sizhui.
“It’s risky but… anything is worth it if it means I can take my son away from here,” he said. “There’s a moment right after his… knot is finished, where he lets his guard down. It’s been getting longer and longer lately. I think he thinks he’s numbed us. There’s enough time for me to land a hit on him. Then we’d just have to pin him down and take his keys, I know he keeps them on him. With two of us, we could do it. Then it’s just making a break for it.”
“What about…?” Jiang Cheng gestured to Lan Sizhui.
“I… have to trust that they won’t hurt him once we’re out. We go straight to the police and they’ll find him. A DNA test will prove he’s mine, they’ll let me have him.” Wei Ying replied.
Jiang Cheng nodded slowly. “It’s… very risky.”
“I know. But we have to take risks if we want to get out of here.” Wei Ying said.
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“What can they do to us that’d be worse than what they’ve already done?”
“I guess.”
Wei Ying looked solemnly at his brother. “We’ll make something work.”
“Okay.” Jiang Cheng said.
Wei Ying only had a mere hours to spend with Lan Sizhui before he was taken away again. He was reluctant to part, growing rather accustomed to holding the sweet child in his arms. However, he knew that if he stood any chance of getting away from this place, he had to be obedient. As soon as the baby was gone, Wei Ying back to being bound and tied just like Jiang Cheng.
Another pill, another sleepless night.
It was some time before Wen Chao came back with hands like snakes. Wei Ying wondered if he actually had some consideration for his body post-birth after all. He returned with a hunger though, wasting little time in pinning Wei Ying down to the floor and tearing at his clothes.
“I’ve waited too long.” Wen Chao commented as he leant in to take a deep inhale of Wei Ying’s sweet honey scent. Wei Ying couldn’t hold back from squirming under him when his face nestled too close to the crook of his neck. That’s where his bonding mark lay, where his strongest scent permeated.
Wei Ying turned his head away from him, sparing a glance at Jiang Cheng across from him. He gave him the smallest nod, hoping that he understood. Jiang Cheng pressed his lips tightly and nodded back. He turned away, sparing Wei Ying his dignity once more.
You can handle this, you’ve made your way through it before, Wei Ying told himself. Wen Chao’s clammy hands ran over his body, sliding over his chest, down his abdomen, and carefully avoiding his cock in favour of spreading his legs. If he squeezed his eyes hard enough shut, he could imagine he was somewhere else. All he had to do was bear with it long enough to attack him later. This would be the last time, the final time.
He would be home; Lan Zhan would be there waiting for him. They would find a place to live and start a family. They would have a happily ever after. He wanted to believe it so bad.
Wen Chao knows how to stimulate his body. He rubbed and teased, pinching at his nipples and grinding his hard cock against his bare thigh until his body unwittingly responds to the touch from an alpha. The longer he stayed here, the easier it became for him to not immediately reject someone other than Lan Zhan. Wei Ying never wanted to admit though.
There was little time to waste. Wen Chao’s fingers pushed through the slick he produced to worm their way inside him. Wei Ying hissed and shuffled on the floor. It never got any better. Two fingers became three and Wei Ying wished nothing more than to block out the obscene, wet noises that were made with every shift of his fingers.
He had never hated being an omega, even despite the way society looked down on him. Male omegas were rare and Wei Ying counted his blessings for being special. He had been gifted with the ability to bear children for the man he loved and ever since he was young, he knew he had been destined for great things, to push back against the stereotypes of his alignment. Yet, all it took was one man to crush all of that. Wen Chao beat him down until he was nothing, used him until he felt hollow. He could put on his best smile to keep Jiang Cheng placated but he couldn’t deny the emptiness that kept him awake at night.
Even now, with Wen Chao’s sweat drying on his skin, it was hard to keep himself motivated. His plan was a long shot. All he had to cling to was the thought of Lan Sizhui. His son. Now, his whole world.
The fingers were yanked out of him.
“Aren’t you going to struggle more? What happened to the Wei Ying that put up a good fight, huh?” Wen Chao said.
Wei Ying glared at him. “Shouldn’t you be happy? Congratulations! You’ve broken me.”
Wen Chao laughed hysterically and grabbed Wei Ying’s thighs. His fingertips left small purpling bruises with the hard grip. He pulled Wei Ying closer, sliding him across the floor.
“You know your place finally, do you? This is the way omegas should be,” he mused. He positioned his cock at Wei Ying’s wet hole and slowly began to sink in with a long groan. “Good boy. Lucky for you then, Jiaojiao wants another child. You know who’s going to give it to her, don’t you?”
He wouldn’t get pregnant again, he couldn’t. Wei Ying swallowed roughly and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn’t stop the whine from escaping his lips when Wen Chao finally managed to press all the way inside him.
Too deep. Too full. Pressing places that he didn’t want to be pressed.
Wei Ying took a deep breath. Grin and bear it. For Lan Sizhui. For your freedom and family.
With every thrust inside, Wei Ying felt his stomach twist. It never got easier. His body responded more eagerly, but his mind never got used to it. It still made him want to twitch and convulse.
Wen Chao’s degrading words became nothing but a faded whisper as he tried to dull out what was happening to him. He was somewhere else.
The thrusts got harder and more erratic, making it more and more difficult for Wei Ying to focus on something else. He was barely even aware of his own pathetic noises that slipped out every now and again. Sometimes Wen Chao’s thrusts hit a spot that made him feel good, that sent tingles up his spine, and he had to swallow down the bile.
“Your brother can’t even look at you anymore, that’s how filthy you’ve become.” Wen Chao’s words suddenly cut through his haze. Wei Ying shook his head. He didn’t need any further reminders that he and Jiang Cheng were in this together.
It felt like an eternity that Wen Chao was pounding into him. It would end soon, Wei Ying kept telling himself, then it would be time to strike. As Wen Chao’s thrusts began to stutter, Wei Ying could already feel his knot pushing inside him. His whole body throbbed with the sensation of Wen Chao’s seed pouring into him.
Just like he had done with Jiang Cheng, Wen Chao made a small effort to pump his cock, regretfully hard, until he came onto his stomach with a small sob. It didn’t take too long to reach that point and Wei Ying sniffled.
Perhaps he was a fool for thinking that even if Lan Zhan was waiting for him, he would even want him back after this. It would all come out in the court of law what Wen Chao had done to him. He was disgraced, ruined, sullied by another alpha. He wouldn’t blame Lan Zhan for not wanting him anymore after that, especially if he knew that right now, he wasn’t putting up much of a fight. But it was fine, he could raise Lan Sizhui on his own if he needed to.
“There we go. See? Isn’t it so much better when you’re good?” Wen Chao said. He ran his fingers through the mess Wei Ying had made on his stomach and then jammed them in his mouth until he gagged around them.
Wen Chao eventually pulled his fingers see and sat back on his haunches, still connected to Wei Ying by his knot. He let out a long exhale. Wei Ying took the time to glance over at Jiang Cheng again and Jiang Cheng dared to look back. Silent communication.
After a little while, Wen Chao began to pull out. Now was the time.
As soon as his cock popped free, Wei Ying kicked him harder in the chest, briefly winding him. Adrenaline ran havoc through his veins and he lifted his bound hands to strike Wen Chao across the face.
“You…!” Wen Chao hissed, catching some of the blood leaking from his nose.
“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Ying yelled and his brother leapt to his feet.
Jiang Cheng rushed towards Wen Chao, heart hammering in his chest, landing a hit of his own. Wen Chao hissed and grabbed Jiang Cheng by the ties binding his wrists, using them as a leverage pull him forwards and strike him. Jiang Cheng hit the floor with a deafening thud and he groaned. It must have been the malnutrition that made him so dizzy, he just wasn’t as strong as he used to be. He struggled to regain himself, lapsing every time he tried to pull himself up.
Wei Ying watched in horror as Jiang Cheng was struck down and he barrelled his whole body towards Wen Chao but he too was grabbed, albeit by wrapping his hand around his neck. He let out a choked gasp as he struggled in his hold, kicking and scrambling to drag his hands from his throat.
“You two are so insolent!” Wen Chao yelled. “Fucking little brats, I’ll show you!”
He slammed Wei Ying against the wall and let go, letting him drop to his knees, gasping for breath. Wei Ying felt his vision blur, the whole room spinning around him. They really were weak, weren’t they? Starved, beaten, raped. It was showing its effects. He could still see Jiang Cheng scrambling out the corner of his eye. What was going to happen to them?
Lan Sizhui, Lan Zhan, Jiang Cheng. Forgive me, Wei Ying thought.
It was then that something struck him in the back of the head. He hit the floor.
All was dark.
“Wei Ying!” Jiang Cheng screamed.
A stuttering silence.
Wen Chao’s breaths were heavy. “Fuck. Shit! Shit!”
Jiang Cheng didn’t have time to make out what it was that Wen Chao held in his hand, but he could see the splattering of red. Time slowed, swayed, focused itself on the body laying on the floor. Jiang Cheng’s stomach sank.
In seconds, Wen Chao was up, he was out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Jiang Cheng was left with a still body.
He crept closer to Wei Ying, his vision still blurring in and out of focus. This wasn’t how this was supposed go. They had underestimated just how weak they were now, compared to before.
“Wei Ying…?” He called out again.
His knees scraped through the blood spill. There was so much.
Oh God.
His silver eyes were blown wide, staring off into nothing. Jiang Cheng’s hands shook violently as he reached out to touch him, wrists still bound.
There was so much.
“Hey...” Jiang Cheng’s voice was a whisper. “Wake up.”
He was swallowing knives. This couldn’t be happening, this wasn’t real. Who did he have but Wei Ying? And he was… he was…
Jiang Cheng searched desperately for a pulse upon his cooling skin. Nothing. Emptiness. There was…
Nothing.
It took some shuffling but Jiang Cheng managed to shuffle his body up onto his lap. What was he even doing? Hot tears began to run in streams down his face, dripping onto Wei Ying’s pale cheeks. His hands caressed him with a gentleness he’d reserved for years. His one and only brother, the man he swore to protect ever since they got into this dreadful situation. The tears quickly turned into sobs and soon he was crying like a child, bawling as he rocked Wei Ying’s lifeless body.
“WEI YING!” He wailed into the night.
When he finally recovered, he stared down at him one last time. He used the last pieces of his energy to close Wei Ying’s eyes. He owed him that, at least.
It was torture, sitting in that room with Wei Ying’s decaying body. Jiang Cheng eventually rest him back down on the floor and dressed him. What would he do? He couldn’t stay here. There had to be justice for Wei Ying. The room had a chill it never had before, like all the heat had been sapped away alongside him.
Upon the movement, Jiang Cheng noticed that the restraints around his wrists had been loosened. It must have happened during the struggle, when Wen Chao had grabbed them. He wanted to vomit just at the thought of him. All this time, he thought nothing could be worse than what he’d already done. To think that he would go as far as to kill one of them…
There were two sets of footsteps the next time he heard them. Given that he’d seen what he did to Wei Ying, did that mean he would silence him next? The prospect wasn’t as scary as it should be. Being alone here wasn’t a life worth living.
Wen Chao emerged in the room, a dark expression on his face. Wang Lingjiao stood behind him, her dress muddied, a shovel in her blistered hands. It was jarring against her shiny heels and gold hairpin. Wen Chao completely ignored Jiang Cheng, not sparing him a second look as he walked over to Wei Ying’s body. When he reached down to grab him, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help screaming out.
“NO! Leave him! L-Leave him alone, you sick fuck!” He shrieked.
Wen Chao glanced his way, clicking his tongue. He paid no mind, continuing to lift Wei Ying’s body into his arms.
“No, no, no, no!” Jiang Cheng continued, scrambling towards Wei Ying as fast as he could but he was soon kicked down by Wang Lingjiao’s heel. “You’re sick! You’re both sick!”
The footsteps faded away as they left with Wei Ying.
Jiang Cheng pushed himself back up and noticed that the door was left slightly ajar. A lapse in judgement. They had forgotten. His heartbeat echoed in his throat.
For Wei Ying, he thought, I have to get out of here.
He managed to get onto his feet, though wobbly. He raced for the door, pushing it open and ascending the stairs. As he moved, he tried to keep as quiet as possible, watching the floorboards as he padded swiftly through the house. It didn’t take too much strength to break free from the weakened restraints.
The front door was unlocked.
He could get out.
He was going to get out.
Alone.
Wei Ying, he thought. The fresh air feels so good.
Wen Chao’s house was raided. They discovered Wei Ying’s body buried in the garden, covered in dirt, and Lan Sizhui crying in the upstairs bedroom. Both Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao were taken in and questioned. The court proved to be long and tiring. Jiang Cheng was not adapting well to being back in reality. Everything set him on edge, always jumping and snapping at people.
There were many parts of the whole ordeal that were rough, that were hard to choke out, especially when he had to look at Wen Chao’s smug expression in the courtroom. Easily one of the worst parts, however, was facing Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan, who had just found out his husband, his soulmate, had been beaten and raped for two years and then murdered.
There was nothing that Jiang Cheng could say to him that would help. They both mourned Wei Ying. He knew that Lan Zhan must wish that Jiang Cheng had died instead of him and sometimes, Jiang Cheng found himself thinking the same thing. What did he have, after all? Deep-seated anger and an itch for anything that would get him high.
Eventually, he had to face him. In his arms, he held Lan Sizhui. He had been given the birth name Wen Yuan, at least that was what was written on his birth certificate. However, that would never be him.
“Get him tested if you wish but he is… his.” Jiang Cheng said, showing Lan Zhan the little boy. “I know. I was there when he gave birth to him.”
Lan Zhan’s expression remained solemn, even as he looked down at the child. “Then…”
“Yeah.” Jiang Cheng replied before he could finish. They both knew what it meant. “He called him Sizhui. Lan Sizhui.” Lan Zhan swallowed roughly. “We thought we would… go together. He wanted to raise him with you.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Lan Zhan’s words were cold.
It hurt. It hurt them both.
Jiang Cheng glanced down at Lan Sizhui. “I just… thought you should know.”
In the end, despite his initial outlook, Lan Zhan ended up signing the papers to adopt Lan Sizhui and raise him as his own.
“Baba.” The young, seven-year-old Lan Sizhui said as he sat beside Lan Zhan, peering over his shoulder at the photograph he held in his hand. “Tell me again about dad.”
Lan Zhan took a deep breath. His thumbs gently caressed the photo of him and Wei Ying, age twenty and carefree, smiling on their wedding day. It seemed so long ago now, a distant memory. With each of Lan Sizhui’s birthdays, it was a bleak reminder that another year had passed since Wei Ying died. The house was too quiet, it should have been filled with children by now, and Wei Ying’s boisterous laughter as he chased them around.
“Wei Ying was…” Lan Zhan began. He had to close his eyes and take another breath. “Unlike anyone I had ever met.”
The story by now was old and worn, but Lan Sizhui liked to listen dutifully each time anyway. He would rest his cheek against Lan Zhan’s arm and smile. It stung, sometimes, to see Wei Ying in his cheerful little face. He had to be strong. For him. He was a parent and he had a responsibility.
Lan Sizhui was quiet for a moment as the story ended. Then he looked up at his father.
“Are you sure we can’t go see jiujiu this weekend? For my birthday?” He asked.
Lan Zhan had explained the situation to his son a thousand times, but he supposed he was still a child. One day, he would have to find out the truth about his birth and what happened to his birth father. He ran his fingers carefully through his hair and met his gaze.
“It’s a sad time for Uncle Cheng,” he explained. “Jiujiu takes care of him so nothing bad happens. Next week.”
Lan Sizhui sighed and leaned into Lan Zhan’s touch. “Okay.”
“Mmn.”
Lan Zhan wrapped his arm around Lan Sizhui, pulling him up into his lap and holding him. He was the last thing he had left of Wei Ying. His shining light.
Even in this quiet house, he would never let go of that light.