Dawn broke soft and gold over the White Jade Sect, but the warmth of the sun did nothing to thaw the chill in the air.
The courtyard where the attack had happened was already repaired — White Jade disciples worked fast, their movements quiet, eyes averted. News of the intrusion had not been announced to the sect at large. That silence, Ruo Han knew, was deliberate.
Lan Xiyue stood at his side as they were summoned to the Main Hall. His posture was composed, but the bond — still raw from the night before — whispered the truth to Ruo Han: tension, protectiveness, and an undercurrent of something warmer, unguarded.
Inside the Main Hall, the Sect Master sat upon the raised dais, robes of snow-silk pooling like frost around him. Elder Qian stood to one side, hands clasped behind his back, eyes sharp.
Sect Master: "You were attacked within the inner grounds. Describe what happened."
Lan Xiyue spoke first — his account precise, measured, leaving no room for fault in their defenses. But when the Sect Master's gaze shifted to Ruo Han, it was searching.
Sect Master: "And during this… did anything unusual occur?"
Ruo Han froze for a fraction of a second. The bond pulsed in his chest — a reminder, a warning, a temptation. They could hide it. No one needed to know. But the Sect Master was not a man easily deceived, and bonds between alphas and omegas, especially soul-deep ones, were rare. Precious. Dangerous.
Lan Xiyue's voice was calm when he said,
"No. Nothing unusual."
It was a lie. A clean, deliberate one.
The Sect Master studied him, then Ruo Han, before finally nodding.
"Very well. Elder Qian — increase the patrols. And see that our guests remain… under watch."
Dismissed, they left the hall in silence. Only when they reached the quiet of the plum blossom courtyard did Ruo Han speak, his voice low.
"Why didn't you tell him?"
Lan Xiyue's gaze didn't waver.
"Because if the Sect knows, they will try to use it. Or break it."
The bond hummed in agreement, as if it too understood the danger.
In the distance, a bell tolled. Somewhere beyond the walls, Scarlet Sun Sect would be planning their next move. And now, between Lan Xiyue and Ruo Han, there was no going back — only forward, deeper into the shadowed path the bond had opened.