Wild Creatures

Chapter 136

There was a secret healing hidden in the domesticity of normal life, the routine that is necessary as much as soothing, when it came to the dealing of coping with trauma.

Saturday morning woke Wei Ying with howling winds and torrential rain battering the glass windows of the manor, but he felt safe within Lan Zhan's arms. It was still dark outside and he knew he had woken up too early because of Lan Zhan's care yesterday, which had resulted in him sleeping during the day.

To be fair to himself, it wasn't everyday one was attacked by a volatile vampire eager to feast on him, and if there was one thing Wei Ying should be feeling, it was proudness that he had dealt with Vladimir, all by himself.

The truth was, he wasn't sure how he was feeling.

And if he wanted to be okay in his head, he had to start tackling his thoughts, which resembled a basket of knitting wool after a litter of kittens had finished playing with it.

"Why is Wei Ying awake?" Lan Zhan asks him gently.

"I probably slept too much," Wei Ying yawns, stretching.

Lan Zhan was so accommodating, releasing his body only to allow that action, before tightening his hold once more.

If Wei Ying was honest, it was what he needed right now.

"The problem isn't with my body," he tries to explain. "It's up here." He taps the side of his head.

"Wei Ying has a very nice body," Lan Zhan agrees, kissing his forehead. "Tell me?" His attempt to make Wei Ying smile works, if briefly.

Wei Ying thinks back to yesterday, when his grandmother told him to be honest with Lan Zhan, to let him worry, to let him have free reign over his feelings. After all, part of being in a relationship meant being able to talk about themselves, what they were going through, and he didn't have to presume what or how Lan Zhan was going to feel; they could deal with the entirety of this together.

"I was really scared yesterday," he admits. It's really hard for him to say that, and he hopes his grandmother is proud of him for doing this.

Lan Zhan rolls onto his back, taking Wei Ying with him, his one hand cradling the back of Wei Ying's head, while the other one is wrapped tightly around his waist. Thick blankets cocoon them from the rest of the world, keeping them warm and safe.

"Wei Ying was very brave," Lan Zhan murmurs, keeping his anger towards Vladimir in check for now. Wei Ying doesn't need that part of him.

"I didn't feel very brave. I knew I had to stop him, and there was no way I was gonna let him take me."

"Your quick thinking helped, otherwise..." No. He wasn't going to go there. He refused.

"But my love, it was kind of cathartic. Not while it was happening for sure, but now? Looking back on it, like, it makes me feel so much more confident, you know what I mean?" Wei Ying kisses the soft skin just above Lan Zhan's neckline. "Okay, it was slightly more realistic than I'd want a training exercise to be, but it worked. I feel like, even if a hundred feral vampires were to attack us right now, I'd be able to take them, no sweat."

Lan Zhan isn't sure what to say about that.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." That at least, is his sincere wish.

He's still feeling raw about yesterday, and he knows that were Baoshan Sanren to lock him inside a room alone with Vladimir, it might still not be enough to quench his blood lust. Simply ripping that waste of space limb from limb would not be satisfying enough.

"Sweetheart, you're growling." Wei Ying whispers, resting his palms on Lan Zhan's chest only enough so he can look into Lan Zhan's eyes.

Golden orbs like melted amber shine back at him, a mix of residual anger and relief, tinged with contrition.