The Ruination of Shen Wenlang

The apartment smelled like a goddamn war zone. Ozone, copper, and the thick, suffocating musk of the Enigma's claim hung in the air like a shroud. Wenlang was still on the kitchen floor, his fingers clawing at the hardwood, his breath coming in jagged, pathetic hitches.

He felt like his skin was on fire. The mark on his neck—a deep, violet brand—was throbbing in time with his heart.

"Get up," Hua Yong barked, standing over him like a fucking god. "I'm not telling you again. You look like a heap of trash."

"Go... fuck... yourself," Wenlang rasped, but before he could even spit the words out, a heavy, frantic pounding shook the front door.

"Shen! Boss! Open this fucking door or I'm kicking it in!"

Wenlang's heart hit his ribs like a sledgehammer. Zhao. His right hand. The man who saw him as an untouchable god.

"Stay. Exactly. Where. You. Are," Hua Yong hissed, a dark, wicked glint in his eyes. He didn't hide Wenlang. He didn't pull him up. He walked to the door and flung it open.

Zhao practically fell into the room, his gun drawn, his eyes wild. "Where the hell is he? If you've touched him, you piece of—"

Zhao stopped dead.

The scent of the room hit him first—the smell of a sovereign Enigma claiming an Alpha. It was a biological slap in the face. Then, he saw Wenlang.

His Boss. The S-Tier Alpha of the Shen Corporation. Slumped on the floor in a ruined shirt, his neck covered in blood and that glowing, violet mark screaming from his throat.

"Boss?" Zhao's voice was a horrified, broken whisper. The gun slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor. "What... what did this monster do to you?"

Wenlang didn't look up. He closed his eyes, his head dropping back against the cabinet in pure, unadulterated shame. "Zhao... get out. Just... fucking leave."

"I'm not leaving you with this animal!" Zhao roared, lunging toward Hua Yong.

Hua Yong didn't even blink. He released a focused, lethal burst of his pheromones. Zhao hit his knees two feet away, gasping for air as his own Alpha biology turned against him, forcing him to bow.

"Look at him, Zhao," Hua Yong said, his voice smooth and cold. He stepped over and grabbed Wenlang by the hair, forcing his head up so Zhao could see every inch of the mark. "Look at your 'King.' He doesn't smell like a leader anymore, does he? He smells like me."

"Stop it," Wenlang groaned, tears of fury and shame stinging his eyes. "Hua Yong, stop."

"He's mine now," Hua Yong continued, running a thumb over the fresh, bloody mark. "And you're going to go back to the office and tell everyone that Shen Wenlang has found his master. Now get the fuck out before I decide to mark you, too."

Zhao was shaking, sobbing with a mixture of rage and pity. He looked at Wenlang—the man he'd followed for a decade—and saw nothing but a broken pet. Without another word, he scrambled to his feet and fled, the door slamming shut behind him with a finality that felt like a coffin lid.

"There," Hua Yong said, pulling Wenlang to his feet by the collar. "The secret is out. Now, let's go show the rest of the world."

~~~~~~~~~~

The drive to the Alpha club was a fucking blur of self-loathing. Hua Yong had forced Wenlang into a blood-red velvet suit, the silver collar around his neck hidden only by the high lapels.

"If you think I'm going in there, you're fucking delusional," Wenlang spat as the car pulled up to the curb.

"You're going in because the bond says you are," Hua Yong replied, checking his watch. "And because I want to see the look on Kang's face when he realizes he can't even stand in the same room as you anymore."

They stepped out, and the air immediately changed. The paparazzi and security guards froze. The scent coming off the two of them was a goddamn natural disaster.

The interior of The Vault was a den of Alphas. Usually, Wenlang was the apex predator here. Tonight, he was the prey.

As they walked in, the room went silent. Then, the whispers started.

"Is that... is that a collar?"

"Holy shit, Shen's been claimed. Look at the neck."

Kang, Wenlang's biggest rival, stepped out from the bar with a smirk that reached from ear to ear. "Well, well. If it isn't the Alpha of Alphas. Or should I say... the Enigma's little bitch? How's the leash feel, Shen? Does it chafe?"

The room erupted in mocking laughter.

Wenlang's vision went red. He lunged forward, his fingers curling into claws, but the silver chain attached to his collar snapped taut, jerking his head back with a brutal crack.

"Easy, Alpha," Hua Yong whispered, his voice dark and satisfied.

"Let me go!" Wenlang roared, thrashing against the chain. "Let me kill this fucking piece of shit!"

"In a second," Hua Yong said. He stepped toward Kang, his eyes glowing with that bruised violet light. "Kang, you've got a big mouth for someone whose company I just bought out ten minutes ago."

"What the fuck?" Kang's smirk vanished.

"I own your debt. And I own him," Hua Yong said, gesturing to Wenlang. "Which means you're the lowest-ranking piece of shit in this room. Now, apologize to my Alpha."

"To a pet?" Kang spat. "Go fuck yourself."

Hua Yong moved faster than a heartbeat. He slammed Kang into the marble bar, glass shattering everywhere. He grabbed Kang's head and smashed it against the stone, again and again, until the rival Alpha was a bloody, senseless heap.

"I said," Hua Yong roared, his voice shaking the goddamn walls, "apologize! He is the only Alpha who matters because he's the only one strong enough to survive me!"

The silence was absolute. Fifty Alphas stood shivering, their instincts screaming at them to run.

Wenlang stood there, chest heaving, blood on his velvet suit, looking at the carnage. He hated Hua Yong with every fiber of his being, but as he looked at the terrified faces of his peers, he felt a sick, dark surge of triumph.

He wasn't just an Alpha anymore. He was something much more dangerous.

"Let's go," Hua Yong said, jerking the chain. "I'm bored with these gnats."

As they walked out, Wenlang felt the mark on his neck throb. The world knew. He was ruined. He was claimed. And he was fucking, truly lost.