Chapter Text
Lan Qiren arches one eyebrow as Lan Wangji kneels on a mat, head bowed and eyes staring at the floor before him.
"Uncle, I have chosen my intended mate," Lan Wangji says. "I wish to be granted permission to court them."
"I am not your Sect Leader, Wangji. If you wish to discuss the matter of your future mating as the second son of this sect, this conversation should be held with him."
Lan Wangji's scent thickens briefly before dying down. Lan Qiren takes a sip of his tea to calm his nausea.
It has been over two years since Lan Wangji has presented and still the glands at his throat spew an overload of pheromones as his body adapts to his new presentation. There is a faint sheen of sweat at his temple where the last vestiges of his rut are present but not a hindrance to his tasks as the second young master. Had his knuckles not been white and the veins protruding, Lan Qiren would have found his restraint commendable.
It took his own brother some handful of years before he could master his own Alpha impulses. In the end, his impeccable control had been lost once he found his One.
Regardless, he still reeks, and a part of Lan Qiren who registers Lan Wangji as his last pup mourns that he's growing up so quickly.
"Father is in seclusion. There are none I would have chosen to discuss this subject matter with."
Lan Wangji looks up at him, eyes stubborn.
Immediately, Lan Qiren fears the worst. He is grateful that Lan Wangji has made friends during his involvement within their sect's study program, truly . He will accept them as his nephew's future mate even if they are… peculiar and aggravating in nature. Nie Huaisang would be adequate if he balanced his scholarly desires with the needs of his sect and was not sloppy with his cultivation. Wei Wuxian could be decent had he been adequately trained instead of left to fumble through his impulses by his overindulgent Sect Leader. But he imagines having to barter Jiang Fengmian for his ward and the following months – years – of having to be in the proximity of not one but two rutting Alpha mates with high cultivation in his home and the thought alone is enough to make him faint of heart. If they were in any way similar to what Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen had been like at the beginning of their courtship – the destruction would be endless. His woes are cut short when Lan Wangji speaks up again.
"The mate I have chosen is the Jiang heir," Lan Wangji states easily, as if mating the second pup of the most fearsome Omega of Lan Qiren's generation was as simple as a non cultivator union. An Omega who will surely flay any of her children's suitors if they are not to her standards.
Jiang Wanyin is smart, a dedicated student and the one with the most potential to carry Yunmeng Jiang to further avenues, and only marred by the follies of youth. He is prone to the mischief of his martial brother but understands the difference between disrespect and self enjoyment. He is beautiful and deadly as revered by his maternal family.
He would be ideal, were he not viciously guarded by his family from marital pursuits.
"Wangji," Lan Qiren starts after some time once his shock dims, "do you understand what you are asking for?"
Lan Wangji nods once.
"You are certain of this?"
"Mn," he stares past his uncle's shoulder, "will accept no one else."
Lan Qiren watches his nephew. He strokes his beard then sips his tea.
"And if he denies your advances? Takes another as his mate? Bears their pups?"
Lan Wangji stills. His countenance darkens, and for a moment, Lan Qiren is nineteen again seeing his feral brother rut into his bloodied wife in front of all the Lan elders and the corpse that was once his teacher.
"Jiang Wanyin will have me or none at all."
He purses his lips then places his cup down. "I see." Lan Qiren stands and leaves to the back of his room.
Lan Wangji watches him go to the bookcase where a collection of rudimentary level books on how to care for wind instruments sit on a middle shelf. His uncle plucks them off one by one, revealing a shallow box with Gusu Lan engravings hidden behind it. With his free hand, he pulls out sachets of loose tea leaves with smells ranging from near odorless to that of oolong and osmanthus. By the time Lan Qiren has placed the books back and hidden the box, there are eight in total taken to Lan Wangji and placed in his open hands.
Fertility tea. Heat inducers. The characters are handwritten and burned atop its respective pouch, familiar in a way Wangji has seen from missives and letters shared to his family from other clan members within Cloud Recess, all cloaked to smell and taste like their intended copy. It would surely be enough to fool even a veteran Yu poison master.
"You have two types of teas in your possession. One is to be taken by the object of your affections to induce a heat and the other must be ingested to increase one's own fertility. Taken concurrently, they will encourage a higher chance of a successful impregnation," Lan Qiren says cupping Lan Wangji's hands before leaving him to sit back in his spot. "Since you've approached me with the intention of being a pair no matter the cost, I take it you understand the weight of this task and its repercussions if you are caught… The Jiang Clan are fiercely protective of their Omega pup; Chief Cultivator Wen is considered fortuitous for only having lost his youngest son after Wen Chao's forced bonding attempt." He narrows his eyes, and with a firm voice tells Lan Wangji, "neither I nor Xichen will protect you if you fail."
"Thank you, Uncle. I will not disappoint you." Lan Wangji tucks the tea into his sleeve and bows his head deeply in acknowledgement, his hair a dark curtain over his back and cheeks.
He thinks of Jiang Wanyin. Pictures his life spent beside the soft heart and sharp face of his beloved. Of his shy, almost demure-like reactions whenever he is bestowed with Lan Wangji's stilted adoration. Imagines being the recipient of the worst of his temper, resembling the fearsome lightning storms that leave devastation in its wake. Jiang Wanyin is most beautiful when he is shown love. He would be a doting mother, strict when the situation calls for it as needed when raising Yunmeng-Gusu children. He deserves to be pampered. Spoiled.
Bred .
He thinks of the sounds Jiang Wanyin will make when Lan Wangji feasts on his spit-slicked, wet cunt. It's not fair that Lan Wangji has only managed a small taste – the soaked undergarments from Jiang Wanyin's heats during his stay in Cloud Recess are akin to crumbs for a starving man. When Lan Wangji fucks into him for the first time, he wants to feel Jiang Wanyin's folds flutter around his cock as it reshapes his insides – until his womb readily drinks in his seed. He wants to hear Jiang Wanyin weep in sweet agony as his rim clings to Lan Wangji's knot while their babies feed from his milk-heavy breasts.
His heart beats against his ribs like the whipping winds of Gusu Lan's winters. His teeth ache, mouth empty where it should be latched onto Jiang Wanyin's mating gland. His scent once again bleeds into the room at his excitement.
Lan Qiren cannot hide his disgust quickly enough. He covers his nose and mouth with a lightly perfumed cloth to repel the onslaught of Alpha pheromones and waves Lan Wangji away with clear dismissal. He does not mention penning Lan Wangji's decree of courtship, too overwhelmed by the stench of young love, but Lan Wangji trusts that his uncle will have it ready to be sent out by tomorrow's daybreak.
Lan Wangji leaves with little embarrassment, the whites of his robes swishing behind him as he steps out onto the mountain. Near the cluster of flowers underneath his uncle's windowsill are the bunnies Wei Ying gave him, though now multiplied from spring births. They follow him with each step down the winding paths towards his own quarters.
With careful fingers, he smooths over the ribbon on his forehead.
Restraint
, Lan Wangji reminds himself. He will have his mate in his arms soon enough.