Lotus and Scandalwood

Chapter 1

He should have been more attentive.  With the pounding music and strobing lights, nobody noticed when pairs of hands dragged Jiang Cheng out and into the secluded dark alley behind. Those same hands clasped over his mouth, preventing him from asking for any sort of  help. Rough hands were roaming everywhere, squeezing and groping. Jiang Cheng wanted to fight back, scream, and do anything to make them stop. But he succumbed to his instincts, the smell the alpha was giving out leaving him trembling on the cold, hard floor. His skin felt too hot, and he could feel something wet seeping from his pants. He couldn’t be going into heat, could he? He had taken suppressants earlier...

A hand brushed against his erection, causing Jiang Cheng to shiver. Fingers made quick work of unzipping and pulling down his pants, leaving him exposed to the cool night air.

“You really are a pretty omega,” the alpha sneered. He gripped Jiang Cheng’s thighs, making bruises on the pale skin. As much as Jiang Cheng struggled, the domineering alpha held him down, muffling his cries with lips. A hand went down into his underwear, wrapping around his already leaking erection. However, before the alpha could go further, a tall figure moved swiftly behind him, and the alpha was aggressively yanked off him.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing,” The alpha swore, turning to face the other figure.

“Don’t touch my omega,”The other figure growled warningly, and Jiang Cheng could smell the aggression pouring off him. The voice was oddly familiar, but in his frightened and dazed state, he couldn’t make anything out of it. The smell of sandalwood and green tea enveloped him, it smelled soothing and like home. It smelled like home. But there was a bitter tang to it, an aggressive tone.

Jiang Cheng didn’t see anything, but a few yells and thumps later, warm, strong hands were helping him up. Jiang Cheng found himself staring into golden eyes. Lan Zhan... The name floated around in his mind.While Jiang Cheng was too stunned to do anything, Lan Zhan helped him to pull up his underwear and pants. That was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out.

~

Lan Zhan really didn’t mean to be late. But as he rushed to the restaurant he was supposed to meet his brother at, a few barely audible whimpers sounded from the alley he passed. He stopped in his tracks, straining his ears. The telltale scent of an omega’s arousal shoved itself up his nose. The smell was pungent, and Lan Zhan could feel himself getting dizzy from the smell. Among it, the scent of sweet lotus and spices was overflowing. Lan Zhan didn’t know what drove him, but before he knew it, he was running down the only to find an alpha on top of the omega, the scent of the omega’s fear nauseating. He grabbed the fat old man and pulled him off the omega, who seemed too stunned to do anything. The only one who would smell like that is Jiang Cheng. The thought of Jiang Cheng being raped by some random alpha had his blood boiling. The other alpha tried to catch him off guard and swung a fist at him, but Lan Zhan caught that fist and returned in with his own.

The other alpha stood up relatively quickly, and barreled at him, impressively fast considering his size. But Lan Zhan was faster. Lan Zhan swiftly avoided him, dove low and sent him careening into the filthy ground with a hard kick to the gut.That, it seemed, was enough to incapacitate him. The alpha didn’t rise, but turned over and spat obscene words at the other before passing out.

He helped Jiang Cheng up, the male still staring off into blank space, not seeming to care when Lan Zhan pulled his pants up. Lan Zhan didn't expect him to pass out. Jiang Cheng waas like a little brother to him, if not more. He didn't want to leave him vulnerable . Most people assume just because he was quiet and emotionless most of the time meant that he didn’t feel anything.
Sending a quick text to his brother, he carried Jiang Cheng to his car.

Although it was more convenient to bring him into a hotel, Lan Zhan didn’t Jiang Cheng to be outside for too long. As they drove, Lan Zhan wondered why Jiang Cheng was alone. At a club, well known to be a hunting ground for alphas, not to mention. He would have to ask/interrogate Wei Ying.

Finally, he reached his apartment. As soon as he opened the door, he dropped all his bags and went to the bathroom, changing Jiang Cheng out of those filthy clothes immediately. Lan Zhan considered washing him, but he could do that in the morning. Setting Jiang Cheng down with unexpected gentleness, he went to the bathroom to take a shower himself. After drying his hair, he came out of the bathroom, greeted by the sight of Jiang Cheng sitting up on the bed, clutching the sheet and looking at him with wide eyes.

“Jiang Cheng...You’re awake. How are you feeling?” Lan Zhan asked worriedly. When no response came, Lan Zhan knew it was because the omega’s instincts were still reeling from the shock. Lan Zhan slowly approached Jiang Cheng, and sat down beside him. Showing no indication of what he was about to do next, Jiang Cheng suddenly reached over and buried his face into Lan Zhan’s chest, his hands weakly grabbing around Lan Zhan’s larger figure. Lan Zhan in return wrapped his arms around the omega, cooing softly. A few moments passed with them enveloped in each other, when a hoarse whisper reached Lan Zhan’s ears, “Thank you… I thought I was done for,” Rubbing the back of Jiang Cheng’s head, he replied, “ Please don’t ever do  that again.” Jiang Cheng’s small figure shook with a chuckle, before a muttered, “ Possessive alpha bastard” came. They released each other, as stormy grey met shimmering gold.

“ You should go to sleep, it's late,” Lan Zhan murmured when he caught a stifling yawn escaping the omega’s mouth.

“We should sleep. I know you have been staying up very late these days,” Jiang Cheng retorted.

“Mn,”

Lan Zhan got off the bed to the light switch, as he could hear the rustling of fabric as Jiang Cheng settled into the sheets. He went back to the bed as soon as the room went dark, slipping under the sheets. Silver moonlight creeped through the thin curtains, casting the room in a glow. While Lan Zhan stayed in the same position throughout, Jiang Cheng tossed and turned, stirring up the sheets. Soon, Lan Zhan could feel himself getting sleepy, despite being accustomed to sleeping late every night. A pair of arms wrapped around his torso from behind, as Jiang Cheng’s legs tangled with his.

“What are you doing?”

“Mmmm cuddling? It's cold and you are as warm as a furnace” Jiang Cheng whispered. Lan Zhan could only hold him tight, drifting off into his dreams.