Ever since presenting as an omega at the age of fifteen, Xie Lian had been insecure about his scent because it’s not sweet or flowery like the typical omega. His scent is sharp and tangy; it sours when he feels threatened or angry or upset, leading others to be wary of him. But as the only child of the Xianle pack’s Head Alpha and Omega, others treated Xie Lian respectfully as default.
He knows most of them weren’t genuine.
Xie Lian doesn’t have many close friends, which he is fine with. Feng Xin and Mu Qing seek him out most days to do fun activities between their pack duties. Another omega from a recent pack merging, Shi Qingxuan, seems to have taken a liking to Xie Lian as well.
Still, even in front of the few he can trust, Xie Lian chooses to never let it show how others’ indifference towards him as a person affects his self-esteem.
Another thing Xie Lian despises: pompous-ass, self-entitled alphas who think they deserve whatever they want just because they’re at the top of the hierarchy. They think that if they show interest in anybody, that wolf should be grateful. After all, alphas have the highest probability of conceiving with any wolf. And since omegas are proven to be the most fertile, it’s most common for alphas to court omegas.
But Xie Lian refuses to settle for a knothead who has no other character traits outside of acting like a dumb alpha.
Take San Lang, an unsuspecting and mellow wolf who is more than capable of fulfilling his simple wants and needs, imprinting on Xie Lian since he first joined the pack from another territory, at the age of seventeen. Xie Lian is two years older than this strange wolf but San Lang is still nearly the same height as him.
San Lang has beautiful, thick raven hair that falls in waves. The distinct form of a widow’s peak, two sharp eyes - one dark onyx, the other tinted scarlet - that convey a thousand expressions with their movements alone. Xie Lian thinks he has a baby face in general, yet he keeps growing.
Xie Lian would’ve kept his distance because he’s not the most social wolf apart from customary appearances as the future Head Omega. But since San Lang is chosen to help build more log cabins to house the new pack-mates (which Xie Lian plays a large role in designing) San Lang follows the omega around like a large puppy, carrying out his every order with curious eyes and a clever tongue.
It doesn’t make sense. Why isn’t San Lang retracting back as if he had smelled something awfully foul? That’s what everyone else does, and it’s what Xie Lian has gotten used to.
Even more, San Lang has taken it upon himself to incessantly call Xie Lian “gege” and engage him in meaningless conversation. San Lang even asked if Xie Lian wanted to hunt with him. Xie Lian, an omega, hunting with this wolf he hardly knows anything about, who doesn’t have a scent besides muted pine-??
Strangely, San Lang is about to turn eighteen and still has yet to present. He’s predicted to be a beta, something he happily tells Xie Lian. At least the kid isn’t setting himself up for disappointment.
Now it makes sense. If San Lang can’t smell Xie Lian that well due to the fact he hasn’t presented, it explains why he hasn’t regarded Xie Lian with any sort of disgust.
When Xie Lian agrees to go hunting with San Lang (the kid is really effective at persuasion when he uses his damn puppy eyes), imagine his surprise when San Lang immediately bolts in one direction in search of an elk he smelled from acres away, which he successfully kills and drags to Xie Lian’s feet.
“How did you-?“ Xie Lian asks after shifting into human form. He immediately covers himself up with one of the robes they brought in a sack. San Lang shifts as well. The right side of his face is streaked with blood, bringing out the scarlet hue of his eye.
Xie Lian resolutely doesn’t let his gaze travel south. The peek of a wide, muscled chest has him shoving over the other robe in haste.
“I have a very sensitive nose,” Sang Lang explains. He shrugs on the robe, then nudges the dead carcass closer to Xie Lian, his expression anticipating.
The omega naturally bends down to acknowledge the kill.
On the outside, he voices his praise for the younger wolf. Because he was looking down, gently closing the elk’s eyes, Xie Lian misses San Lang’s pleased smirk.
On the inside, Xie Lian is flabbergasted. Not only is San Lang’s ability to smell incredibly impressive, better than three-fourths of the alphas in the pack, but it means San Lang has been able to smell Xie Lian this whole time.
Xie Lian brings it up a few days later.
“San Lang, what do I smell like?” he asks while the other chops wood. They are in the forest again, providing the standard furnishing for the new cabins which includes pre-cut firewood.
“Huh? Why are you asking all of a sudden?” San Lang questions back, his forehead gleaming with perspiration. He pushes a few strands of hair out of his face, the rest tied back into a high ponytail. San Lang waits a few moments, then pauses chopping to stare directly at Xie Lian, tilting his head.
“W-well,” Xie Lian starts. “Not many people like my scent. They say I smell like smoke, or rotten meat.”
San Lang forcefully drops his axe after hearing this, which Xie Lian begins to protest at. But seeing the younger wolf slowly over, the omega falls silent.
When San Lang stands right in front of Xie Lian, he inhales deeply. After exhaling, he inhales again, nostrils flaring.
“That’s not true,” San Lang concludes. He frowns while looking down at Xie Lian-
Taller than me!? Xie Lian internally shouts. How!? The audacity-
San Lang continues, speaking in a soft tone.
“You smell like…like sitting by the fireplace on a cold winter’s night. And like the warm porridge you carry with you when traveling in the snow. It’s…almost milky. Sweet, even. Cozy.”
Xie Lian’s cheeks heat up after every comparison San Lang makes. The taller wolf barrels on, eyes zeroing in on Xie Lian’s angelic features.
“…it’s easy to tell when something bothers you because your scent will turn bitter, like when you actually taste vanilla by itself. But it’s not bad at all,” San Lang finishes, pupils dilated. He seems to be taken aback by his own forwardness. He awkwardly clears his throat before stepping back.
“O-oh,” Xie Lian says dumbly, looking down in embarrassment. “I see.”
“I like your scent, gege,” San Lang admits.
Neither of them say anything after that. But the prolonged eye constant seems to say more than enough-
Which Xie Lian can’t decipher! It doesn’t help that San Lang suddenly scampers back to chopping wood, the tips of his ears suspiciously red. Perhaps it’s just from the cold, Xie Lian can’t tell. Who knew a wolf as kind and dutiful as San Lang would just plop himself right in Xie Lian’s (metaphorical!) lap !??
San Lang’s nose twitches, noticing how the omega’s scent blooms into something akin to ripe coconut.
He bites his tongue in self-restraint.
