Someone like you..

11. Unmask your scent...

"You have been giving away fake smiles all morning. What made so you happy that you are beaming like the sun came out?" The question was not worth answering so, Xiao Zhan just turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. A hand tugged at his arm suddenly and Zhan found himself plastered against the wall with Wang Yibo staring down at him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?", Zhan hissed, pushing Yibo away but stopped when he saw Yibo looking at him strangely. The Alpha had given him the "drop dead" stares before but something in this look caused Zhan's hackles to rise. He ceased his struggles, waiting for the Alpha to make the next move but what happened next surprised him. Wang Yibo dropped his head to Zhan's neck and took a long breath. Zhan stood frozen at the Alpha's actions, not sure of what was happening. Was Yibo trying to scent him? A fist slammed next to his head and Zhan growled low in response. He saw Yibo pull back with a frustrated look on his face and Zhan spoke coldly. "You done?" The Alpha just stared hard at him as if peeking into Zhan's soul making Zhan uncomfortable. He pushed at Yibo's chest again but Yibo clearly was stronger than him. Zhan was fast on his legs but with Wang Yibo trapping him against the wall, it wasn't easy to run away. He just frowned at the man calming down enough to ask, "What do you want?"  "I want to know what you smell like." The answer came without any hesitation and Zhan eyed Yibo as if he had grown two heads. "You do realise what a strange request that is, don't you?" The Alpha didn't care and " I am not requesting" was his only response. The man was so infuriating. Zhan was only in Wang Yibo's presence for mere minutes but the man had managed to rile him up with just breathing next to him. He pushed Yibo with all the strength he could muster and the result? He was backed into the wall harder with Yibo's thigh wedged between his legs. Zhan was not stupid enough to think the man didn't know what he was doing. "Back off, Yibo. I am not up for these cheap games. Stop it." "Let me scent you once." The guy was sounding like a broken record now. Was this guy out of his mind? "Me not letting you scent me is not to challenge you, Wang Yibo. I just don't want to unmask my scent. Let go", Zhan tried to keep his words simple to make the man before him understand but Yibo had different ideas.

"Did you hide yourself from your ex too? Is that why he left?" Zhan struggled hard against Yibo and Yibo invaded his space more and more until there was no distance between them. "Aren't you bothered by me mating with En Jie?", whispered Yibo in his ear and Zhan shuddered under the sensation. Yibo was getting under his skin but no matter how much Zhan liked it, it had to stop."Yibo, this isn't right. You are going to get bound to En Jie. I won't get involved with someone else's man." Zhan turned away when Yibo's face closer. Zhan knew this was wrong and also knew how dangerously close he was to succumbing to his own wants. He wanted Yibo too much. He stood there debating with himself and could not think of anything but like an angel came Zhuocheng to his rescue.  "What the hell is happening here?" Zhan looked over to Zhuocheng and smiled in relief. He was about to call his brother when Wang Yibo whispered next to his ear. "This isn't over, Zhan." With that warning, Wang Yibo moved away from him and after fixing his clothes left Xiao Zhan and Zhuocheng in the corridor. Xiao Zhan had not yet recovered from Yibo's actions and missed what Zhuocheng said to him. "What did you say?" Zhan asked when he came to his senses only to hear sharp words directed to him. "I will say this only once, Zhan. Stay away from Wang Yibo. Whatever is going on between the two of you, end it." The Alpha in him growled at being ordered around but Zhan didn't say anything because Zhuocheng's words made sense.

Zhan didn't have a way to explain what was going on and anything he said would only raise more questions. He nodded his head to ease Zhuocheng because he had no desire to get involved with Wang Yibo. Whatever was going on between them, it was going to end today.
For the rest of the party, Zhan tried to enjoy himself and didn't look Wang Yibo's way. He laughed, ate his fill and annoyed Zhuocheng as much as he could. When the time came for the announcement and Wang Yibo and En Jie were being congratulated, Zhan was busy enjoying the glazed donuts he loved, not even sparing the couple a glance. The event turned out to be better than he had expected and when Zhan went home that night, he was feeling more like himself.

He woke up the next day and smiled first thing in the morning. There were no more problems and Zhan could finally go back to his life. He read the few mails his clients had left him while having breakfast and responded to the few shelters in their area that were asking for more protection. It was a fairly normal day and Zhan was humming in the kitchen when his phone rang.
Seeing the unknown number displayed he received the call with a frown on his face. "Hey,Who is it?", he said right away and for a moment no one spoke on the other end.
" Zhan-Zhan?",came the soft voice and without another word Zhan hung up the phone. Blocking the number, Zhan went about his day. He wondered how Chuyue got his number but then he remembered the guy had 'friends' in the pack. When they were together, Chuyue had been an attentive boyfriend and was liked by the pack. It wasn't surprising that many had stayed in touch with him but it did annoy Zhan that someone from his pack was betraying him. His fall out with Peng Chuyue wasn't a secret and everyone knew Zhan didn't want anything to do with his ex anymore. Not sparing another thought to the man, Zhan buried himself in work thinking that Chuyue will come to his senses soon.

Three days later, Zhan was working on a design when Yubin came to him saying that Aunt Luo was asking for him. Wrapping up the work, Zhan left the house with Yubin wondering what was the matter. "Did you hear anything?", he questioned Yubin but his protector just shook his head, clearly as clueless as Zhan about the matter. Zhan went to the Alpha's house only to be led to the backyard. He saw Aunt Luo sitting alone and took a deep breath. A face to face with Aunt Luo was never a good thing for Zhan. Yubin wanted to follow him but Zhan refused, he couldn't risk Aunt Luo saying that he was treating her as a threat because it had happened before. "Aunt Luo." His greetings were acknowledged and Zhan took a seat before her giving her a small smile. "You might not know Zhan but Wang Yibo has decided that by the end of this month he and En Jie will have their mating ceremony." Zhan was genuinely blind sided by the new information. Weren't they saying that the mating ceremony would happen when En Jie and Yibo understood each other better? "I didn't know,Aunty. Zhuocheng might have forgotten to tell me about it."
"He didn't forget. I told him he didn't have to include you in the discussion. I know how busy you are with your work. I can't burden my nephew with trifles." Her words weren't true and both of them knew that. She tried her best to keep Zhan away from pack matters. She hated it when Zhan took lead in the issues because she thought it would get in his head. She was afraid that Zhan might challenge Zhuocheng for the pack one day. Zhan had no intention of doing it and saying the words over and over again was tiresome. "So why are you telling me now?", Zhan queried. "Your friend,that party planner....I forgot her name. The one that planned my anniversary party, En Jie wants her to plan her ceremony. Tell her we will pay her double." 'It's impossible.' Zhan didn't say this out loud of course. A resolute "no" was on his lips but he didn't say anything. There was no chance in hell Chun Hua would help En Jie. Years ago, at the Alpha pair's anniversary party Chun Hua had witnessed first hand how En Jie gave Zhan a cold shoulder. Zhan had avoided her questions the entire night and at last she had asked Zhuocheng about it who spilled it all. That was the last time,Chun Hua came onto the pack territory in En Jie's presence. She was a no-nonsense type of a person and had made it clear she didn't like En Jie. If Zhan went to convince Chun Hua, he might come back with a black eye. That was for sure. "I will let her know about the event. She is usually handling matters abroad but I will see what I can do." Zhan made sure to keep his tone even because this was a sensitive matter. He couldn't refuse but agreeing would be even worse. He didn't want to be blamed if something went wrong at En Jie's mating ceremony. His aunt wasn't pleased to hear the news but Zhan couldn't risk this. Chun Hua was good at holding grudges and she would take this project just to ruin it, all for her own satisfaction. He left his Aunt's place thinking how will he talk Chun Hua out of messing En Jie's party up.