Ai-Xin put down her phone, the talk show cutting off partway through the outro. "You two... wow. My little brother is rewriting history before our very eyes." Her head snapped to where Kand-Lei was passed out on the couch. "I thought he was a bit small to be an alpha! It all makes sense now!"
The smaller of the twins glanced at Kand-Lei as well, "Maybe you should take him to bed didi, it's an important day tomorrow, you both need lots of rest."
Darcy looked at Kand-Lei, feeling his own eyelids drooping. He nodded slowly, staggering to his feet. Both his alpha sisters stood up, sensing that he was too tired to do much.
Ai-Xin picked up Kand-Lei with ease, holding him with one arm as she grabbed his duffle bag.
Feng, the older twin by three minutes, lifted up Darcy like he was a sack of potatoes, slinging him unceremoniously over her shoulder. He yelped, hitting her shoulder. "A-Feng! Put me down, I can go myself!"
Zhi Ling, his beta sister and the younger twin, shushed him as she picked up his bags, "Don't wake him up with your complaining. Just let your big sisters take care of everything ok?"
Their funny procession proceeded rapidly through the house, outstripping the faint laughter coming from where their parents were still sitting in the lounge room. Kand-Lei didn't stir once, still breathing evenly when Ai-Xin laid him on the bed with skilful efficiency.
Darcy glared at her. "Why are you so good at that jie?"
Ai-Xin smirked. "I seem to remember having a cheeky little brother who pretended to be asleep when he couldn't be bothered walking into the house from the car. I've had practice."
Darcy flushed, averting his eyes as he shooed the three of them out of the room. "Night." He shut the door on their giggles, half smiling when they called their goodnights through the door.
Jacket discarded on the floor, he crawled under the covers next to Kand-Lei, shivering a bit as the sheets warmed slowly to his skin. The chaotic energy left behind by his sisters lingered, combining with the warm and steady presence of his parents to envelop him in the feeling of home.
Darcy smiled as he tugged the covers higher over the two of them, resting his cheek against Kand-Lei's back as he drifted off to sleep.
...
A loud knock on the door was their awakening the next morning. It reverberated through the large space that could only be called a room in technicalities due the sheer size of it. Darcy groaned in response, eliciting the reply of the person at the door opening it and barging into the room.
"Qin-di, get your arse out of bed! You have a press conference to prepare for!"
This shouting woke up somebody, unfortunately the wrong person for the wrong reasons.
When Kand-Lei heard that loud, deep voice, he immediately yelped before running into the adjoining bathroom, trembling hands locking the door as his knees tried their best to buckle. He he tucked himself in the far corner, hands pressed over his ears as he waited for shouts that meant fear was justified, the thuds that indicated overturned furniture and thrown objects.
He could barely see the tiles in front of him, panic obscuring his vision into hazy impressions of once solid objects.
A soft tapping at the door caused his head to jerk up. He warily lowered his hands, was this some cruel new tactic?
"Kelpie? Are you ok?"
That sweet voice, the one that sounded like the warm sunlight on his skin, that wasn't the voice he remembered. Not the deep and scornful one that was quick to point out any fault or minor annoyance.
He rubbed his ring finger, who's was that voice?
"Lei-di, it's okay. You can come out. I'm here."
Kand-Lei felt it click in his panic addled brain, cutting through the haze.
"...Darcy?"
"Yes, come out, please Kelpie. I'm worried." There was a strain of desperation in his tone as he rested his forehead against the door.
The soft click of the lock was heard a few moments later and Darcy straightened hurriedly.
Slowly, the door eased open, revealing Kand-Lei's hunched form. His eyes swept the room several times before he stepped out and into Darcy's embrace.
"Sorry. I thought that... that *he*... I'm sorry."
Darcy stroked his hair, the other arm supporting his back. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you never have to see that bastard ever again." His grip tightened slightly. "And you have nothing to apologise for, you've done nothing wrong."
**Darcy whispered many comforting words before Kand-Lei felt ready to go to the dining room for breakfast.**
The moment they stepped into the room one of the diners stood up from their chair and rushed over. He scrambled to bow as deeply as he could without falling over, swaying slightly as he quickly blurted out his apology, "I'm deeply sorry future-brother-in-law! It wasn't my intention to scare you but I did so anyway, I will strive to do better in the future."
Kand-Lei looked around at the rest of Darcy's family, sitting calmly at the surprisingly modest table. He awkwardly patted the shoulder of the man in front of him.
"Please get up... uh..."
The man straightened like a catapult. "Oh! I'm Mannon Lee Lezhira, Qin-di's older brother." Kand-Lei nodded slowly, the corner of his mouth twitching. "You can just call me Manny though, or Manny-Lee."
"Manny-Lee! Sit down already, can't you see you're making him uncomfortable?" Came another new voice, this one soft and sweet. Kand-Lei was surprised to see a cute omega girl sitting at the table. She smiled dazzlingly at him when they made eye contact.
"Hello there, I'm this idiot's girlfriend, Zen. Nice to meet you Kand-Lei."
"Nice to meet you as well." Kand-Lei stumbled over his words a bit, startled that she already knew his name.
He moved towards the remaining two empty seats at the table, intending to finally sit down. They were, of course, intercepted by the twins who were dying to introduce themselves.
"Hello Xiao-Lei! We're Qin-di's older sisters! I'm Bai Feng and-"
"I'm Bai Zhi Ling."
"We're twins but I'm technically older-"
"By three minutes. *I'm* the only beta among the five of us."
"Does he really need to know that? Or care?"
"I was just making conversation-"
"You were trying to make yourself seem special-"
Kand-Lei looked between the two, the shorter beta woman, Zhi Ling, had straight black hair and was quite petite. Both women were very beautiful, with Feng standing half a head taller than Zhi Ling. Her alpha given height was the only thing she had going for her in that respect however, she was lanky and didn't appear very strong unlike the majority of her gender. Her hair was also straight but more of a mushroomy brown, something between her mumma's grey and her mum's brown- practically black shade.
His eyes drifted over the table, Darcy's parents were sitting directly across from them and looked the same as the last time he saw them, with maybe a slightly tired air about them. Mannon who was to their left looked like a carbon copy of his mumma. With short, curly, silver hair and a tall nose that set him appart from his siblings, his cheek even dimpled in the same way when he smiled.
Ai-Xin on their other side stood out the most. Most of her hair was ebony black, shoulder length with a natural curl to it. But there were several layers within it and each layer was a progressively lighter shade of blue, giving the impression of waves every time she moved her head. However, the most strikingly different thing about her were those golden eyes. Every other family member at the table had some variation of blue as an eye colour, yet hers still shone a defiant gold.
He slipped past the twins and into an empty seat, landing himself next to Zen with a space for Darcy at his side. He wasn't sure he would survive sitting next to one of Darcy's sisters.
Zen was, true to her name, by far the calmest presence at the table. While the siblings bickered and joked in loud voices, she strived to make conversation with Kand-Lei.
Once the meal was over and the dishes were cleared, Mannon took charge of the room.
"So, we are gathered here this morning to give you two a crash course on press conferences."
27:
Kand-Lei readjusted his jacket for the... well he had lost count of how many times, but it was enough that Darcy felt the need to place a steadying hand on his arm. Brushing gentle fingers over his wrist as if to assure him that everything would be ok.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he exhaled. Trying to shake the nerves out of his arms.
The two were standing in a small room, people dressed in black clothes and headsets rushing in every direction. Darcy fended off the makeup artist for the fourth time, insisting that they were both fine.
The harsh, fluorescent lighting and general chatter was nothing compared to the camera flashes and roaring of reporters and news anchors outside.
Kand-Lei once again mentally went over all the tips and tricks that Darcy's siblings had given them before departing. Be confident but not arrogant, succinct but not short, don't let you emotions cloud your thoughts, if the crowd gets too much, look at a spot slightly above or to the side.
"Don't forget to breathe, I think that's one they forgot."
Kand-Lei glanced up at Darcy with a quick smile. "Was I saying that out loud?"
"Very quietly."
"Oops." He chuckled, a touch of tension easing as he straightened his shoulders.
"Sirs, if you would please proceed to the main room? It's time."
Kand-Lei was pulled back slightly by something when he reached the door to the small room. He looked back to see his hand entwined with a familiar one.
He paused, waiting for Darcy to join him by his side. He pushed open the door and immediately regretted everything, the bright flashes from cameras were bad enough, coupled with the deafening roar of questions and comments everything became overwhelming. His feet carried him forward nonetheless, operating on muscle memory more than anything else.
Darcy tried his best to ignore the crowd as he led them to their seats at the head of the group, raised on a platform above the hoard of restless reporters.
They settled in their seats and someone tried to silence the crowd.
Lapel mics had already been attached to their clothes and hooked up to the sound system. Darcy cleared his throat, "Silence please. We cannot answer your questions amongst all this noise."
The noise gradually died down, reporters eagerly raising their hands in the hopes that they would be the first chosen to have their question answered.
Kand-Lei pointed to a woman in the front row. She immediately sprung to her feet, asking the question on everyone's mind. "Is it really true? You, Kand-Lei Neh-Lin and Darcy Bai-Lezhira are fated mates?"
Kand-Lei sighed, only the first question and he was already annoyed. "You got both of our names wrong, but yes. It is true that Darcy and I are fated mates."
Animated chatter spread like wildfire through the large hall, one reporter shot to his feet to call over the noise, "If it is true then show us the mark of fate!"
Darcy leaned back in his chair, "I think it would be quite indecent to take my shirt off on international television, don't you?"
Kand-Lei adjusted his cuff, waiting for the noise to die down again. He fixed his eyes on an empty spot somewhere behind the crowd, trying his best to pay attention to the reporter that Darcy picked.
He shouldn't have bothered.
"Are you both normal omegas?"
Darcy huffed, giving the reporter an icy smile. "As opposed to what?" Before the reporter could respond with something undoubtedly asinine he stated, "There is nothing odd or strange about either me or Kand-Lei. Next question."
"How long have you known?" Called one from the back, waving his hat to grab their attention.
Kand-Lei counted on his fingers, mentally going through recent events. "Eight days. We've known each other for ten. Somehow the world found out only a day after we did."
Darcy nodded, mentally checking his answer against Kand-Lei's. Ten days had felt like months or even longer.
"How did you meet?" Called a voice from somewhere near the middle.
Darcy was startled into a chuckle, quickly covering his mouth as he peered sidelong at Kand-Lei who was also smiling.
"Well, he was wandering around at night,"
"And I just happened to pass by his residence,"
"Of course at that particular moment I was engaged in climbing the fence of my ancestral home,"
"And just as he fell I managed to break his fall, with my body."
"Yeah I fell on top of him, definitely not my most graceful move."
Several reporters snickered.
"I guess it wasn't as bad as it sounds because here we sit. He took me out to dinner so I forgave him." Kand-Lei leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand, staring at Darcy. "Quite a spectacular first meeting."
Darcy returned his stare, "Indeed, I wouldn't have it any other way."
"What about Mr Bai's fiancee?!"
"Fiancee? Where did you hear that?"
"From the man's mouth himself! The Biweekly Telegram did an exclusive interview with him."
"I'm afraid to inform you that you have been lied to. I have no betrothed and anyone who tells you otherwise has some kind of agenda."
"Well someone begs to differ, I'm told that it was organised by your parents?"
"I fear I know who you are referring to, and I assure you, in no uncertain terms, I have no fiancee. Not by verbal agreement nor in the eyes of the law."
Kand-Lei patted his arm comfortingly, "It's true. He doesn't. Next question."
"Then what about your husband, or well, ex-husband? I am to believe that only a week after getting divorced you found your fated mate? What bullshit is that?"
Kand-Lei froze. His eyes widening as his hands clenched his legs, nails biting into his thighs. He quickly scanned the crowd, eyes coming to rest on a horribly familiar silhouette. His breathing quickened as his eyes met the man's.
A terrible premonition crept spider-like up his spine, sending tremors throughout his body. Darcy sensed the beginnings of this change, turning in his chair to look at his mate.
Sweat dripped from Kand-Lei's temple, his hands clenched tighter, making the knuckles go white as his eyes searched desperately for an escape.
28:
Darcy's head whipped around, searching the crowd for the speaker. Murmurs swept through the reporters as they watched the reactions of the two on stage.
Kand-Lei felt every gaze needling into him with malicious precision. Each pair of eyes dissecting him as they catalogued every sign of distress with loud scratches of pen on paper and disorienting flashes of the camera, his shoulders hunched forward unconsciously as he gripped his temples, trying to shut out the world.
Darcy stepped in front of him, glaring at all the camera wielding reporters, daring them to take another shot. He barked out sharply, "Who said that? Which news outlet are you from?"
A man near the back rose to his feet. "Me. From Fuck Off publishing house."
Several titters spread before one jounalist jumped to his feet, pointing an accusing finger; "That man's not a journalist!"
"No, but I have seen him somewhere before!"
"Wait- isn't that-"
"That's the ex husband isn't it?"
"How did he get in here when he's not even press?!"
Darcy growled into his lapel mic, "Security! Get this thing out if here."
The man glared at Darcy, the air now saturated with his burnt flesh scent. "So you're the other little shit then?"
"I suggest you stop now sir. Before I do something I regret."
The man laughed, the sound as pleasant as nails on a chalkboard, he stared directly at Kand-Lei. "I'm not the one you should be worried about, isn't that right *Kelly*. Did you miss me? Do you remember..."
Kand-Lei curled in tighter, digging his fingers into his ears to block out the sound. He was hyperventilating, eyes filled with tears as he searched for an escape route. The only thought in his mind being; *get out, run, he's here*.
He jerked when Darcy softly brushed his arm, blocking his vision so that the only thing he could see was Darcy. Just Darcy.
A soft, sunny scent wrapped around him, driving away the stench of burning flesh with the vibrancy of ripe tomatoes. He began breathing slower, inhaling deeply to properly smell the scent that was so soothing. His hands fell away from his ears, inch by inch. The man was still screaming as he was being dragged away, but strangely enough... Kand-Lei couldn't hear a word he said. He was half aware that a name was being repeated over and over but nothing registered in his mind. He slipped his hand into Darcy's outstretched one, completely hypnotised by those midnight ocean eyes. Not a word was spoken as they walked off the stage and out of the venue, only one canera shutter clicked, no flash, only one photograph of that moment. Yet it left an impression on each and every person present in that room. Not a soul there doubted that those two were something special. Whispers of fake news died on the lips of those who witnessed that scene that day. The only articles that surfaced were those strongly advocating for their relationship, and hate pieces directed at exposing the crimes of Kand-Lei's ex husband. The same, singular image featuring prominently in each article.
...
Darcy didn't lead Kand-Lei back to that small room where PR representatives and others waited to lecture them on their handling of the situation. Instead he dumped both of their mics just outside the conference hall and guided him outside.
As sunlight filtered through the snow adorned branches, brushing over their cheeks, warming patches of skin, Kand-Lei inhaled.
The biting air cut through the last of the tremors that plagued him, stilling his hands as he rested his head on Darcy's shoulder. He closed his eyes, allowing the memory of that man to flow away like driftwood in a stream.
He hugged the slightly taller man tightly, "Thank you. Thank you for... thank you." He kept whispering those words over and over, shivering slightly from the cold.
Darcy remained steady, rubbing his back with warm hands.
They pulled back a bit to gaze into one another's eyes, grounding themselves in the moment. Kand-Lei's gaze slipped past Darcy's face, his attention caught by something behind him. He squinted, eyes locked on whatever he had seen. When the bubble of confused scrutiny popped, leaving only recognition in its wake, he eased out of Darcy's embrace and walked forward, coming to rest by a low hanging branch. He reached out gentle hands to cup it, like he was touching a delicate, carved jade.
"Darcy... look."
Darcy shuffled over, peering at where his mate pointed.
There, nestled amongst the glittering snow and ice, was a tiny waxy green leaf bud. In a nature defying act, the birch tree was pushing out new leaves in the middle of winter. They huddled around that small spark of green, admiring it's resilience.
As Kand-Lei gradually tilted his head to face the sun, hundreds of tiny green sparkles filled his vision, shimmering with frost and melted snow. A sparkle reflected in his own eyes, the sun revealing a supernova of colours in his deep-space black hair.
He released the breath he held and felt the sun melt the weight off of his shoulders.
Darcy took his hand, twining their radish pink fingers together. He gazed at Kand-Lei for a moment before murmuring, "I was right."
"About what?"
"You look most radiant when allowed to glitter in the sun, it brings out the light in your eyes and the colours in your hair."
He laughed, leaning against Darcy comfortably, sharing in his warmth.
Side by side, they gazed up at that jade green haze, at hope and resilience made tangible.
29:
The small house was quiet, peaceful.
Three security personnel were stationed in a small hut-like structure at the entrance to the property, ensuring that the peace was not disturbed.
Inside the quaint, rustic, main building, a fire blazed merrily behind the firescreen; popping and crackling in time to some unknowable, arcane melody. Kand-Lei sat in front of it, eyes glazed over as he watched sparks dance through the air, bright and wonderful but fleeting.
He picked absently at the fringe of the carpet, listening to the sounds of Darcy busying himself in the kitchen.
A few moments later, a mug was set beside him. Steam danced towards the ceiling, twisting and flipping and turning its way relentlessly upward. Dissipating before it could get too far.
He traced the rim of the ceramic.
"Did you know we are biologically different from our ancestors?"
Darcy glanced up from his mug, slightly startled but mostly intrigued. "Oh?"
"Yeah... certain individuals had the ability to transform into another shape, and the way our brains worked was different too. They've just recently found some remains that confirm many theories, we used to be closer to animals, much closer. And we thought in such ways too, especially in regards to the bond." Darcy leaned forward, settling onto a small pile of cushions as his throne, enraptured by the tale. "It used to be a primal mating drive, thousands of times stronger than anything people feel nowadays. Just a whiff of the other's scent was enough to drive their mate into a frenzy. At some point in our evolution we developed less intense instincts to the point that fated mates can have platonic relationships with each other. Like a fire, evolution burned us from a roaring bonfire down to smouldering coals." He reached for the fire poker. "There are still sparks," he stabbed a pile of coals, eliciting a shower of sparks. "But they require more effort to be seen, heard, and felt."
He stared at the flickering light for a while.
"They say the flame that burns the brightest and hottest is the first to go out. A few logs, left by themselves, will burn up in a few hours. But coals, coals can last the whole night under a blanket of ashes."
Darcy gazed into the fire, eyes unfocused as he nodded slowly.
"Are there any other differences? Between us today and our ancestors?"
Kand-Lei nodded. "There was this one particular thing, called a heat or rut. It has been mentioned many times in historical texts but we aren't sure what exactly it is. The most popular theory is that it was similar to the lunar ember that alphas and omegas experience, but thousands of times more intense, to the point where people forget not only themselves but also what they did during it."
Darcy rubbed his arms, tucking his feet under a pillow to warm up, "So kind of like getting blackout drunk, but as a regular thing you couldn't control? I'm glad we evolved past that."
Kand-Lei sipped his tea, still gazing into the fire. "They used things called suppressants to lessen the effects, scientists think that might have been what caused the beginnings of our evolution. Constant exposure to external inhibitors that alter the body's ecosystem then rendering certain parts unneeded. So we adapted and evolved, becoming less reliant on such things because our bodies start producing the same effects naturally. At least, that is the current theory."
Darcy sipped his tea, hands cradling the cup to absorb its heat. The steam drifting into his eyes made him blink away the pensive mist that covered them. "...huh.. Evolution is pretty wild..."
"Mm."
They huddled closer to the fire, flickering light barely illuminating troubled expressions. One traced the patterned threads of the carpet while the other finger-combed his hair.
"Something doesn't feel right." His hands stilled, no longer combing. "Maybe it's being in a new house... but... I just can't shake the feeling that something is off."
Kand-Lei nodded, bringing his mug to rest in his lap. "There is... a weight in the air." A hand empathetically tapped on his chest. "Sort of like a suffocating feeling."
Silence reigned momentarily, only broken by the sudden sound of rain hitting window panes. It was sharp and jarring. Most of it was sleet, nasty and stinging if you got caught in it... as it stood, the two were quite happy to remain indoors and weather out the storm.
The guards as well, they retreated to their hut to shelter from the rain. One man, the one on patrol, merely pulled up his hood and kept making his rounds of the property.
Silver lashed eyelids drooped as the storm only got heavier, low bearing clouds emptying themselves on the land with gusto.
"Tired?"
"...yeh."
Kand-Lei pulled him to his feet. They made their way upstairs, stumbling occasionally in the dark stair well. When the door was opened, Darcy darted under the covers, quick as a cat chasing a sun-warmed lizard. Kand-Lei was not far behind, snuggling close under the big duvet.
Sleep came quickly to the both of them, enshrouding their consciousnesses gently with a starry veil.
...
Outside, the storm only worsened, sleet turned to hail which battered leaves and heads alike. The guard on patrol quickly made his way back to the hut for shelter.
In the silence between moments, covered by the violence of the storm, boots carried a shadowy figure in the direction of the residence.
The figure was tall, shrouded in black garments that concealed their identity. Only eyes burning with hatred could be made out through the layers of fabric.
A chill descended over the property which had nothing to do with the weather, an inexplicable fear turning dreams to nightmares. Neither Kand–Lei nor Darcy slept easily, tossing and turning and fidgeting, their subconsciousnesses fearful of what lay beyond the stone walls. The guards fidgeted in their small hut, each feeling their instincts flare, wanting to run wildly into the storm.
Steadily, the figure approached.