Wei Ying could see the venom in Xue Yang's eyes, could see the resentment, the madness. Xue Yang aimed for the throat. If he would've been successful, Wei Ying might've been lying in a pool of his own blood, the same way as Xiao Xingchen. 

Fortunately, Xue Yang missed. Biting down on Wei Ying's shoulder instead. Wei Ying growled, bucking and twisting beneath Xue Yang in a bid to escape. The bite burned like wildfire as blood oozed out of his shoulder, forcing Wei Ying's fangs to appear and eyes to glow lilac - channeling his supernatural strength.

Wei Ying bit back, almost as fierce and maddening as Xue Yang. In a split second, he snapped against Xue Yang's left arm, leaving him with a nasty taste of blood in his mouth. Despite the bite doing little to no harm, Xue Yang growled from the pain, giving Wei Ying an opportunity to fight back.

Wei Ying knew he had to do something, anything - and fast, to defend himself. So, with no other option, he clawed at Xue Yang's face and kneed the werewolf in the stomach. But no matter what he did, Xue Yang remained unaffected while chuckling at Wei Ying's helplessness. 

As Xue Yang bared his teeth, about to strike for a second time, Lan Zhan came, hauling him off Wei Ying and tossing him against the spiked fence. As he fell to the ground, a spike nudged into his stomach, breaking off from the fence. Xue Yang hissed and groaned, clutching against his stomach. The stab definitely did some damage.

"Are you hurt?" Lan Zhan questioned, panic in his voice.

Wei Ying nodded, "I'm fine." 

A lie that didn't go past Lan Zhan's eyes as he scanned Wei Ying's bloody shoulder. Lan Zhan's brows knitted, a growl slipping out of his mouth. And with his fangs dropped so low, piercing his lower lip, he looked almost demonic, sending a tingling chill down Wei Ying's spine.

Loud crashes came from the kitchen, snapping them both out of each other's attention.

Xichen and Mingjue were still inside. Unfortunately, Song Lan, who was also there, pinning Mingjue by the neck against the wall and punching him relentlessly in the face. Helpless, Mingjue could only take the hit as his hands wobbled by his side, both of them broken. 

Two against one. It shouldn't have been much of a fight. But Song Lan was older than the two, more skilled, more powerful, and he had killed countless alphas in his lifetime.

Xichen gritted his teeth, staggering off the floor from where Song Lan had knocked him out minutes ago. Face drenched in blood, he hauled Song Lan off Mingjue. Clenching his fist, Xichen threw forward with a force that knocked Song Lan backward. Song Lan choked, but quickly caught himself where they continued fighting, hand in hand. 

"Go help your brother!" Wei Ying yelled as more crashes of broken chairs and porcelain plates came from the kitchen. 

Although Lan Zhan's feet wavered from where he stood, eyes drifting toward the kitchen door and Xue Yang. It was clear - no matter how badly he wanted to; he wasn't leaving Wei Ying to fend for himself. 

"No," he replied, withdrawing his claws. "I must protect you."

When Xue Yang regained himself, he stood up. Teeth stained red. He pointed his finger and laughed at the two werewolves. "Is that the best you got?" Xue Yang said, his eyes covered in unshed tears. It was hard to tell if they were from the pain in his stomach or Xiao Xingchen's death. "Pathetic, both of you! Mark my words, before the night's up -"

"Ugh, can you just shut the fuck up already?" Wei Ying interrupted. "All you do is whine."

Lan Zhan, "Wei Ying, that's enough. Now is not the time -"

Lan Zhan's breath hitched and Wei Ying stood, frozen on the spot. Inside the kitchen, an agonizing outcry came from Xichen. They all heard it. What happened, none of them knew. But Wei Ying shuddered, an icy coldness running down his spine. He could hear the cries of terror, could smell the blood that came along with it.

Xue Yang eyed the panic look on Lan Zhan and Wei Ying's faces, laughing once again. And in a split second, he charged forward at a maddening speed. A snarl on his face and bitterness in his eyes.

Xue Yang aimed for Wei Ying. A powerful punch, crackling against the young werewolf's throat, sending him stumbling a few feet backward. Wei Ying growled before striking back, clawing across Xue Yang's face, piercing in his flesh deeply. However, when the adrenaline wore off, Wei Ying started choking on his blood. He staggered again, gripping onto his throat for oxygen. 

In seconds, Lan Zhan pounced upon Xue Yang before he was about to attack Wei Ying again. The two collided, tumbling on the ground, where they clawed at each other. As Lan Zhan bit down on his shoulder, once, twice, thrice. Each time aiming for the throat, but missing. Xue Yang snapped, flipping him over, and clawed at Lan Zhan's face. 

Wei Ying watched, lips quivering. Regaining his strength, he staggered over to where Xue Yang had Lan Zhan pinned beneath him, slamming his head against the dirt until Lan Zhan's face turned unrecognizable. 

As Wei Ying was about to strike from behind, Song Lan bolted out from the house, grabbing hold of Wei Ying and tossing him against a nearby tree, where he landed with a crash. 

Seeing Song Lan approaching, Wei Ying groaned, hissing, struggling to get up. Fortunately, Xichen staggered behind Song Lan before the older werewolf could get to Wei Ying and grabbed hold of him by the neck, dragging Song Lan back inside the house. 

The ache in Wei Ying's throat throbbed more than the bite on his shoulder, and his wobbling feet refused to stand on their own. Useless, that's how he felt. All his life, Wei Ying had been beaten down and laughed at. Being a werewolf changed nothing. Maybe Xue Yang was right; he was truly pathetic.

When Wei Ying heard Lan Zhan choked, his attention shifted back toward the two werewolves shuffling on the ground. Only then did Wei Ying notice Xue Yang gaining the upper hand in the fight.

An odd scene, seeing Lan Zhan barely had any fight left in him, as they clawed at each other like two wild beasts. Wei Ying knew he needed to protect Lan Zhan, so he ignored the pain, forcing himself off the ground. 

Life would've been much easier if he were still human. 

Wei Ying attacked from behind, clawing Xue Yang on the back. When Xue Yang roared, withdrawing his hold on Lan Zhan, it was then did Wei Ying gasp, startled to see a missing right eye from the older werewolf. 

No longer sane or human, Xue Yang looked animalistic. As Wei Ying's fist came up, it was clear he couldn't stand a chance against a man who had nothing to lose. Before he could strike, Xue Yang fisted his palm and growled. Bones cracked, forcing a scream from Wei Ying as his knees buckled, sending him plummeting to the floor.

Xue Yang chuckled, blood seeping past his lips, preparing himself for a final blow. As Wei Ying gritted his teeth, stifling out the pain, In a blink of an eye, Xue Yang's head snapped forth, aiming for Wei Ying's chest, fangs ready to tear his heart out. 

However, in that split second, from the corner, Lan Zhan mustered enough strength, shoving Wei Ying away, only to take his place instead. As Xue Yang bit down, sinking his fangs against Lan Zhan's chest, Lan Zhan's mouth stretched open, but no words came. 

One teardrop escaped Wei Ying's eye as he staggered in his steps. "No," he whispered. But it was too late.

Wei Ying's eyes caught Lan Zhan's own, and they gazed at each other. The light in Lan Zhan's eyes vanished as he dropped to the floor, a faint smile on his lips and the look of defeat in his eyes forcing a blood-curdling scream past Wei Ying's lips. 

Wei Ying's body began trembling, his teeth chattered, his feet wobbled, and tears welled up inside his eyes. Xue Yang laughed, a burst of mocking laughter that riled Wei Ying's stomach. And when he drove toward Xue Yang, Wei Ying punched him in the face. Not hard enough to cause damage, but enough to send the werewolf launching several feet away. 

Suddenly, Wei Ying felt blinded - trapped inside his tears, not knowing what to do as he cradled the motionless body in his arms and bawled, blending his cries with the fierce midnight wind. "Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying begged. "Lan Zhan?! Wake up! - Please! Wake up."

Wei Ying screamed, Lan Zhan wasn't moving, wasn't breathing. He couldn't hear a heartbeat. Wei Ying found himself in a sudden wave of sadness that he could not escape from. It made him feel hollow on the inside.

"Lan Zhan," he sobbed.

Wei Ying continued listening, silently begging for something - anything that could prove Lan Zhan wasn't gone. But nothing happened. The wind seemed to have moved away, and the silence grew, stifling Wei Ying. 

Then, out of the blue, a faint beat flowed past his ears, granting Wei Ying his last hope. Lan Zhan wasn't dead! A thought crossed Wei Ying's mind. Lan Zhan was still unmarked. A half of a whole. The soulmate bite would give him the strength to survive. It has to. 

It was now or never. So with trembling fingers, Wei Ying touched Lan Zhan's neck. Whipping away both mixture of blood and dirt, he bit down. Wei Ying wasn't sure what to expect, but having a whole unknown world opened up for him wasn't a thought that crossed his mind.

Being connected to one's true half felt surreal, sending an electrifying sensation to rock through Wei Ying's body, forcing his eyes to glow a dazzling lilac - the brightness could surely blind a common human. Wei Ying felt complete. Nothing no longer mattered. And perhaps nothing did, because when he pulled away from Lan Zhan's neck, nothing happened. 

So, Wei Ying listened some more until the quiet beat of Lan Zhan's heart slowly faded away until it was no more. "Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying whispered. "Lan Zhan?!" 

Wei Ying couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't feel. How could it be possible that Lan Zhan was no more? Weren't the two of them supposed to grow old together? Lan Zhan promised, didn't he? If Lan Zhan was no longer by his side, what does it matter if he lived or died? 

Overwhelmed with grief, Wei Ying welcomed the creeping resentment and rage to feed at his emptiness. And as he stood up, and stared up in the sky toward a river of stars that still flew by alone, Wei Ying vowed; Lan Zhan's death shall not go in vain. Before the night ends, Xue Yang must die. And afterward, come morning light, Wei Ying would join Lan Zhan, where they'll both be safe and sound in the afterlife.

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