It took Xie Lian a long time after Hua Cheng had left so abruptly to snap out of his frozen state, but he eventually leaned back against the side of the pool, and forced his mind to calm down.
There had obviously been a misunderstanding, nothing that couldn't be talked about, he told himself and managed to relax a bit more. The reason why Hua Cheng had left, must have been because he'd smelled the terror in Xie Lian's scent, and he'd drawn the wrong conclusion that Xie Lian was scared of him . That was easy to solve, Xie Lian just had to explain himself to Hua Cheng. He wasn't worried about that.
He was worried about something else instead.
Now that he wasn't in the situation anymore, it seemed almost stupid to him to feel so much fear at the mere… desire to bond. Xie Lian knew where the fear came from, after all his parents had been a prime example of how such a bond could go very wrong. It was true that bonding only worked between an alpha and an omega who trusted each other completely. But just because they trusted each other completely at one point, didn't mean they'd trust each other for the rest of their lives. It was true that a bond helped to understand the feelings of the other person, and therefore improved the total understanding of each other significantly.
However, as with his parent's case, sometimes people stopped wanting to understand, stopped caring to the extent they used to, and were still bound by the bond. It was for life after all, and once a pair had bonded, there was nothing short of death that could sever the ties the bond created. So what if one fell out of love with the person they were bonded to? They were still forced to make it work. A bond couldn't be cut, and it was impossible to create a second one. It was rare that bonded mates drifted apart, but it wasn't unheard of.
In his parents' case, they had made it work. It took more effort for his mother, because she was the one who had eventually grown tired of his father. Xie Lian knew that his mother had felt guilty because of it, and worked extra hard to not let anyone notice her moments of depression, but Xie Lian had always been observant, and he'd noticed exactly how her mental health had deteriorated over time, because there was no way to retract the bond. He didn't think his father would have noticed, if the bond hadn't existed, but he pretended not to have noticed either way. In the end, they had acted out the part of a happy marriage, for many reasons; for the sake of their people, for Xie Lian's sake, for the sake of keeping a polished and perfect image… Xie Lian understood the reasoning very well. It was exactly why the concept of the bond terrified him as much as it did.
But when Hua Cheng had gotten so close to his neck, Xie Lian just… couldn't help but want this bond between them. Which was especially scary because they hadn't been close for more than a week. It was such a short amount of time, and still Xie Lian's instincts had told him he wanted-
It was a tough thing to come to terms with, having his mind betrayed by his instincts like this, but Xie Lian figured he'd have to figure out how to deal with it. He certainly didn't want to push Hua Cheng away.
Xie Lian kept mulling over the issue for quite a while, but eventually gave up, and decided the most important thing right now should be to find Hua Cheng, and explain his reaction.
After he'd dressed himself in one of the light robes Hua Cheng had gifted to him, he ventured into the garden, but couldn't find the king anywhere. So he walked into the main house, and looked around all over the first floor, but he still couldn't find him. Xie Lian doubted that Hua Cheng had gone up to the third floor, and he'd never been on the second one, so he wasn't sure if his invasion would be appreciated there.
Xie Lian had just decided to go there anyway, because he needed to clear things between them, when he heard people outside, and looked out of the window.
"This is such a strange hour for His Majesty to request my services. The sun has just barely started setting", said someone Xie Lian had never seen before. Though, it didn't take a genius to figure out he must've been from the harem, given his clothes, and the way he carried himself.
Xie Lian belatedly identified the person next to him as Feng Xin, who grunted noncommittally.
The two stepped inside the house then, and out of Xie Lian's sight, though he did hear them walking up the stairs.
For a few moments, Xie Lian couldn't do anything but stare ahead blankly, his mind feeling utterly numb.
Hua Cheng had requested for the services of a concubine…?
It shouldn't be strange, and he shouldn't feel upset, but he couldn't help himself. Hadn't it just been yesterday that Hua Cheng had told him he preferred spending time with Xie Lian? Had he misunderstood something? Was it because earlier in the bath, Hua Cheng had wanted-... and Xie Lian had reacted with straight out terror? Was that the reason? Xie Lian understood that alphas had certain urges, but surely he couldn't have misjudged Hua Cheng so severely? The king really didn't strike him as the sort of person who would just-
Xie Lian's thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang, followed by loud, aggressive growling, which was followed by the sounds of a commotion breaking out. Though it ended as suddenly as it had started, Xie Lian was making his way into the entrance area already, in case his help was needed.
However, the moment he stepped into the entrance area, he already heard people coming downstairs, and instinctively hid underneath the staircase, pressing himself against the wall. He felt ridiculous for doing so as soon as he'd done it, and was about to shake his head at himself and get out of there, to meet whoever was coming down, but he stopped short, and stayed put, when the words that were being said finally registered. As well as who was speaking.
"Why did His Majesty call for me when he didn't even want to see me?", asked the same concubine that had just walked up there a few moments ago, in a rather nasty tone.
"It wasn't His Majesty that called for you, but a subordinate", Feng Xin answered.
"Still… he didn't have to attack me. He could've just sent me away. I'm bleeding! Do you see the mess he made of me?", the unfamiliar voice raged.
"You'll live", Feng Xin replied, and sounded rather annoyed. "The wounds aren't that bad."
"He went for my neck!", the concubine complained loudly.
"And we blocked him. If he really wanted to hurt you, we wouldn't have been able to do that. So stop complaining, I'm bringing you to the infirmary."
The concubine huffed.
"So scary. Who's that 'gege' he kept calling for anyway?"
"That's none of your business."
"Whoever it is, he's not gonna have a good time with His Majesty being in that sort of state", the concubine huffed again, and then Feng Xin closed the door behind them, leaving Xie Lian alone in the entrance area.
His mind was running a mile a minute after having heard this conversation. So Hua Cheng hadn't actually called for the concubine himself. Yin Yu had probably done it in an attempt to help the king. If a concubine was called to help the king, and the king was so out of it that he even attacked said concubine, going so far as to go for the neck as well… then the only logical conclusion was that Hua Cheng's rut had started.
Hua Cheng wasn't an aggressive person by nature, Xie Lian was convinced of that, and he'd never attack his own servants, not with a clear head. If his instincts had taken over his actions however, everything made sense, even the fact that he'd left Xie Lian in the bath so abruptly earlier. Even his strange behaviour before that could be explained by it. He'd probably thought that the rut would only start later tonight, or possibly tomorrow, but had underestimated how Xie Lian's presence as an omega could influence it.
As for Hua Cheng specifically calling for his gege… Xie Lian felt bad for having taken so long to sort his thoughts out. He should've come here earlier.
With his mind made up, he briskly walked up the stairs. Once at the top, it was obvious where the king's bedroom was. Two people were guarding the door, one of which was General XuanZhen. He didn't hesitate to walk towards them.
"You shouldn't be here", General XuanZhen hissed as soon as he saw him.
"Oho? If it isn't Senior General Xie Lian. It's an honour to finally meet you in person", the other guard said.
"Senior General Pei, with all due respect, this isn't the time for introductions", General XuanZhen kept hissing.
Senior General Pei's sigh was full of regret.
"That is true. I will have to ask you to leave His Majesty's chambers. You may wait downstairs until someone can escort you back to your own quarte-"
"I'm not leaving", Xie Lian interrupted the Senior General with a firm voice, who just raised an eyebrow, probably in surprise.
"That's not up to you. Don't forget your place."
"I'm not. But right now, my place is inside that room", Xie Lian contered, before his brain caught up to bring the implications of that sentence to the forefront of his mind, and he blushed scarlet.
"Hoho", Senior General Pei voiced, looking somewhat impressed, while General XuanZhen just looked disgusted.
None of them had the chance to comment however, because at this moment loud snarling could be heard from within the room. Xie Lian couldn't explain why, but it sounded heartbreaking.
"Let me in", Xie Lian requested, even though his blush hadn't gone down yet.
Suddenly the door started rattling, and the growling inside the room took on a note of desperation, before the rattling stopped as soon as it started, and the noises grew a bit more distant.
"We have the order to keep everyone out", General XuanZhen refused, though Senior General Pei gave him a calculating look.
"I'm assuming you're the 'gege' His Majesty keeps mentioning. If you really think you can handle him, by all means go ahead."
General XuanZhen gave Senior General Pei a disbelieving look, but didn't attempt to stop Xie Lian again when he walked in front of the door.
"Should we keep the door unlocked while you're inside?", Senior General Pei asked.
"No, lock it again, once I'm in. I can handle it. It's better for him to hear the lock and feel the security that comes with it. Not locking it would unnecessarily stress him in this state."
"As you wish", Senior General Pei said, and only then did Xie Lian open the door carefully.
The growling started up again immediately, a warning which Xie Lian ignored. He stepped in, and closed the door behind him. A moment later the click of the lock could be heard.
The growling intensified, but now that he saw the state Hua Cheng was really in, Xie Lian's heart went out to him.
The king was on the opposite end of the room, crouching on the floor, and looking like a wild fox that had been backed into a corner. His whole body was shaking, and while Xie Lian couldn't be sure of the reason, he had a feeling it was because of the effort it took Hua Cheng from restraining himself not to jump him. Despite his position on the floor, the king didn't actually look pitiful, but more like he would lash out at any second. The look in his eye was fierce, and his face looked determined to stay put.
Xie Lian felt even more guilty for letting his fear seep into his scent earlier. Which was why he made a point of not concealing his scent right now, to prove to Hua Cheng that he really wasn't scared of him. But he knew it would take more than that. He knew Hua Cheng was incredibly strong, there was no doubt about it, but he also knew that, no matter how strong an alpha was, their instincts were overpowering, and didn't run on logic.
Which was why Xie Lian slowly went down to kneel on the floor as well. Alpha's tended not to like looking up at others, and Xie Lian figured that was true for Hua Cheng as well, especially in this situation.
Hua Cheng kept growling, but it didn't intensify, which Xie Lian counted as a win. He only hesitated a moment before he started crawling towards the king very slowly.
"San Lang", Xie Lian called softly, when he'd crossed half of the distance.
Hua Cheng didn't react to that name at all, which caused Xie Lian to rethink his strategy.
He didn't know how intense ruts could be for alphas, but he'd heard that the first two of the three days were the worst ones, that alphas could turn feral, and do things they'd never do in their normal, conscious state. He'd heard that they could turn absolutely ruthless and selfish, but he'd also heard that they could turn incredibly protective of either their territory, or people they were close to.
Since Hua Cheng had given him reason to think that he was rather protective of Xie Lian, for whatever reason, he decided to put it to the test, and acted based on previous experiences.
Which was why Xie Lian laid down on the floor slowly, and pretended to shiver. The sun had mostly set by now, so it had indeed grown quite a bit colder already, and it wasn't too much of a stretch.
"San Lang… I'm cold", he said, and rolled onto his side, before pulling his knees up to his chest.
The growling stopped, but Hua Cheng still kept himself backed against the wall. His determination was visibly slipping however, and he started to look torn instead. Which meant his new strategy was working.
"San Lang… you promised to keep me warm", he whined pathetically, and saw the king stilling. His hands twitched in a last attempt at restraint, but just a second later, he pounced on Xie Lian.