Yan Wuhen suddenly clenched the air, and the spirit mate chain materialized, solid and gleaming as he gripped it tight.
"Ack—!" Ningyan choked as his body abruptly halted, the force snapping tight around his neck.
It couldn't break it, but the pressure was suffocating, dizziness creeping in fast.
Surprised murmurs rippled through the chamber.
Wuhen watched him with a pleased grin before finally releasing the chain.
Ningyan dropped back onto his feet as it vanished, coughing hard as he rubbed his neck, ignoring the stunned stares around him.
He stumbled backward only to collide with Wuhen, who was already there, wrapping his arms around his body.
Ningyan coughed hoarsely, fingers still at his throat. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"I would never," Wuhen whispered against his ear.
Then he let go, only to seize Ningyan's arm and drag him out of the chamber and into the hall.
Ningyan was unsteady, breathing hard, still rubbing his neck. "No... no, let go of me. I do not want to go to your personal chamber."
"Why?" Wuhen said calmly. "We're going there to relax. You danced a lot tonight. You need rest."
Ningyan was stupid. He was a full-blown BL reader. They were not going to Wuhen's personal chamber to relax or exchange bedtime stories.
He wanted to scream, but his neck still ached, and Wuhen wouldn't loosen his grip.
Then, noticing Ningyan's unsteady steps, Wuhen suddenly stopped and released his arm.
Ningyan blinked in surprise and immediately tried to run for his life.
He didn't make it two steps.
Wuhen was faster. He grabbed Ningyan, lifted him as if he weighed nothing, and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Ningyan let out a hoarse scream. "No... no, let me go! This is so humiliating!" He kicked and flailed, heels thudding uselessly against Wuhen's chest and back.
Then...
Smack.
A powerful slap landed squarely on his ass, the shock shooting straight through his soul. His entire body froze as the sting burned, even through the layers of cloth.
His eyes widened. His limbs went still.
"Eh?" He blinked slowly.
…Did he just get spanked?
On his ass?
He swallowed hard, not daring to move, because his body was already reacting, his cock hardening shamelessly from a single slap to his clothed backside.
Tears welled in his eyes.
Am I a whore?
"Le... Let me down!" he begged as they passed the guards.
The guards bowed deeply in reverence to the Nine-Tailed Fox Prince, none daring to look too closely at the figure in his arms.
Wuhen's lips twitched. His hand hovered, then settled at Ningyan's lower back, before delivering a softer smack that still made Ningyan gasp.
"You struggle too much, Yan'er," Wuhen murmured.
Ningyan went still at once. His body betrayed him far too easily, every muscle locking.
Wuhen's chambers were vast, drenched in red and gold, lined with blades, relics, and weapons that whispered of blood and conquest. Everything about the room declared its owner's power.
He set Ningyan down on the bed with a gentle thud.
Ningyan barely had time to draw breath before Wuhen was there again, looming above him.
Fox-eyes burned red-gold in the dim light, pupils sharp. His lips parted, exposing sharp canines, his tails swaying slowly.
"Stay," he whispered.
Ningyan pressed back into the mattress, his heart pounding wildly.
It was always easy to read scenes like this. They were juicy, intoxicating. And Wuhen was devastatingly hot right now, the very definition of sensual.
But Ningyan didn't want one irresistibly hot nine-tailed fox to ruin his plans.
"I want to leave," he croaked.
Though, unwelcome desire stirred traitorously within him, disrupting his focus. He hated it. He hated that his body reacted even as his mind screamed retreat.
"Why?" Wuhen asked suddenly, his clawed fingers brushing Ningyan's hair aside, the touch almost reverent. "Do I disgust you?"
Ningyan's lashes trembled at the careful, heated touch. "You… kidnapped me."
The words came out weaker than he intended as Wuhen's knee slid between his legs with ease, settling there.
Ningyan sucked in a sharp breath as heat pooled low in his abdomen, his pulse roaring in his ears.
"But you're much happier than you were in the Phoenix Clan, are you not?" Wuhen murmured, his eyes never leaving his face.
Ningyan gritted his teeth. "Is that why you're taking advantage of me? Honestly, I was already free the moment I escaped from you in the tavern. You should have let me go. I could have found my way."
He pushed himself upright, pressing his hands into the bed to steady himself but Wuhen moved closer, pinning his hands at the sides of Ningyan's hips.
"You could have found your way?" He chuckled, cocking his head to the side, his eyes widening as if Ningyan had told a joke.
The expression made Ningyan frown deeply.
"Beloved, you could have died of starvation, or beaten to death for stealing food and clothes, or killed by human hunters. You are already so frail, so isolated from a world far harsher than you imagine…"
He grabbed Ningyan's chin roughly. Ningyan snapped his head away, but Wuhen caught him again, his grip tightening, forcing him to look straight into his eyes.
"The world is more cruel than anything you've been through, my sweet Yan'er," Wuhen murmured. "You are only safe with me. I will give you everything, anything you want. But I will also take everything and anything that I want."
He grinned wildly, sending shivers racing down Ningyan's spine. "A deal for a deal."
Wuhen brushed his nose against Ningyan's, watching as Ningyan sucked in a trembling breath. "Remember?"
Ningyan met his gaze, his fist twisted tight in the bedsheets. "Fuck you," he hissed.
Yan Wuhen's grin widened. "There's that scent." He brushed his nose against Ningyan's again. "That fear and suppressed desire. I'll pull it out."
And with that, he crashed his lips onto Ningyan's, sealing their mouths together.