Chapter Text
For all the trepidation that filled the throne room today, the frigid air certainly wasn’t still. In fact, it was alive with whispers–shuffling from one foot to another, sneers loudly thrown at the only human who dared remain in the room. Shang Qinghua, that same human, bore it all with a smile, a shaky expression that only betrayed her own nervousness and none of the brilliant mind that lay in wait behind it. But that was fine, she preferred it this way, really. Let them underestimate her, it made her job easier. Well, most days it did, anyway.
Today, however, was not one of those days.
Councilmember Lei, perfectly and consciously within earshot, whispered snidely to their left. “I’m amazed she’s still scuttling around here, to be honest.”
“You’re very brave,” the Councilman Cui laughed. “You know how our Queen dotes on her little omega.”
“It’s fact, not bravery. Once the nominees arrive, our queen will finally have some quality flesh to pick from.” Councilmember Lei flicked one long braid over their shoulder and whispered through a smirk. “Besides, doting or not, any pet would be discarded when a new master enters the home.”
Shang Qinghua’s expression didn’t crack a bit upon hearing these words. She only pretended not to hear and let the idiots have their fun. In the end, Shang Qinghua would be the sole voice in Mobei-Jun’s ear when it came time to discuss wages and perks. She could get her revenge then, behind the scenes.
Yup, behind the scenes. In the shadows. Like she always did.
A moment later, the air in the throne room went a little more still and much more frigid. The omega wrapped her morose thoughts in a neat little package and set them aside for later. Her personal melancholy could wait, because Shang Qinghua’s breathing reason for enduring it all had just walked through the door.
From some distant corner, an attendant to court called out and the room finally fell into a hush.
“The Head of the Mobei Clan, Queen of the Northern Desert, Mobei-Jun.”
That nervous calm was broken with those words. As Mobei-Jun took her place on the throne, Shang Qinghua, too, fixed herself in the position appropriate to her status–the nondescript, tidy little writing desk just beside the throne of her Queen.
This was her place. Inkbrush in hand, Shang Qinghua studied each demon as they approached and resigned herself to her work for the day.
“Ready when you are, my queen.”
“Mmn.” Mobei-Jun huffed. “This will take all day.”
Shang Qinghua smiled softly to herself and muttered, “I’m afraid so.”
݁˖ . ₊ ⋆꙳•❅*‧.✧˖°.‧*❆ ⊹ ₊⋆˖ .
The vast halls of the Northern Palace flickered with life once more as the throne room emptied and the crowds trickled out to complete their work. Shang Qinghua was among them but she walked alone. Swerving between cloistered groups of demons that both technically reported to but habitually dismissed her, she made her way to a distant wall to catch her breath.
Shang Qinghua was well accustomed to the bustling crowds of the Northern Palace by now. After so many years as Mobei-Jun’s resident busybody, she was less sensitive to the general stink of unknown–potentially threatening–alphas, but it was oddly unbearable today. Shang Qinghua wasn’t willing to give those rude councilmembers too much credit, but her head was absolutely fucking killing her and she needed a break.
The faint chill in the stone wall at her back soothed the ache in her bones; even distantly calming the spike of anxiety that had begun to foul her sweet scent.
When she saw Mobei-Jun out of the corner of her eye, Shang Qinghua sagged against the wall and tilted her head to better admire her Queen. From across that tender distance, faint conversation carried on the wind.
But the words that spilled shattered Shang Qinghua’s composure.
Every other voice faded into nothing.
An older official, Councilwoman Yu spoke plainly to Mobei-Jun. “Has the omega been informed?”
“Nearly.” The Queen sighed, “She has yet to respond to my proposals.”
That hall outside the throne room was full and busy, but Shang Qinghua saw none of it. In her mind, in every sense, Mobei-Jun was the only one there, and her words rang through the corridor in a tormenting echo.
What… Who? Who was the omega they were talking about? Hello?! There was only one omega in the whole fucking North Mobei-fucking-Jun spent any time with! And she sure as fuck never received any proposals!
The older demon shook her head. “I humbly advise Your Majesty to secure her mate before the rest of the council gets any ideas.”
Mobei-Jun bristled and a grimace twisted her face. “There’s no need. Whoever else they offer, I’ll cut them down.” She spoke through gritted teeth and the air around her crackled with dark energy. “You all can be advised of that.”
With a flick of her cape, Mobei-Jun parted from the growing crowd of spectators and marched straight toward Shang Qinghua. She barked a single command–“We’re leaving”–and swept her little advisor up by the collar of her robes. In a blink, the bright lights of the hall were extinguished by one of Mobei-Jun’s portals and replaced by the soft glow of a candlelit room.
One heartbeat cooled, eased as it was by the dark and familiar surroundings. Another thrummed, terrified and broken by those same trappings.
Shang Qinghua, still reeling, was plopped unceremoniously onto a plush divan. When Mobei-Jun fell heavily onto its other side, that little advisor was helpless to be pulled along until their hips were flush and Shang Qinghua could feel the furious rumble of her Queen’s chest beneath her cheek.
“My queen,” she croaked, “I, uh, please, let me find you something to–”
“Stay.”
“AH!” Shang Qinghua squeaked as a heavy hand came down on her head and pinned her face even closer. “But I–”
“Stay, Qinghua.” Mobei-Jun sighed, and Shang Qinghua had just enough mind to notice that it faintly echoed the same weary sound she’d overheard before. When Mobei-Jun spoke again, it was even gentler. “Stay just like this.”
As that same heated ache overtook her joints, Shang Qinghua shivered and shut her eyes, wordlessly pleading with no one at all.
“With me.”
Mobei-Jun hummed and her claws raked softly through feathered hair.
݁˖ . ₊ ⋆꙳•❅*‧.✧˖°.‧*❆ ⊹ ₊⋆˖ .
Life as the only human–the only human omega–in the Northern Desert wasn’t completely unfair. Really, Shang Qinghua didn’t have much to complain about, at least when it came to her anatomy. Demons already had a poor understanding of humans, so as a special perk, she could bend the rules as it suited her when it came to the specifics of her “condition.”
If she couldn’t stomach the raw, bloody meat Mobei-Jun would offer her after a hunt, well that was only because she was a fragile omega. Please, my queen, isn’t there something more mild–and preferably cooked–for this lowly servant to eat? If she overworked herself and desperately needed a few vacation days, well those were the days her heat spontaneously and conveniently came on. Please, my queen, give this lowly servant just three days of seclusion and she will return to your side as chipper and focused as ever!
And if Shang Qinghua ever couldn’t bear the sour pheromones of haughty, disdainful alphas–if Mobei-Jun’s own scent overpowered her senses and made Shang Qinghua’s knees go weak–well, those times she called in sick weren’t a total lie. Shang Qinghua, thankfully, hadn’t ever fallen into her heat while in the North, but those few close calls had become more frequent recently.
But that was all fine. Shang Qinghua could handle it. She had already been scheming and spying for Mobei-Jun for years now. What was a little white lie here and there to spare herself the trouble?
Besides, she could get away with her little white lies, easy. None of the demons in this cannon fodder court gave Shang Qinghua more than a second glance. That is, with the exception of one in particular.
Mobei-Jun was, as she was in so many ways, different.
When Shang Qinghua felt faint or overburdened by the angry pheromones other alphas felt so free to tout, Mobei-Jun always caught on, sometimes before the human herself. Her sharp, icy eyes would seek Shang Qinghua in the crowd, at her side, across a vast and bustling hall. She would lay a single hand on the crown of Shang Qinghua’s head and that terrible, wonderful, foreboding scent of mint and spice and…worry would flood the omega’s senses like a calming wave.
Each time this happened, Shang Qinghua would look up and meet that wordless gaze. Mobei-Jun rarely ever said a word under normal circumstances; but at precious times like this, her perfect lips would part and she would lean in until the dark fall of her hair shielded them both completely from the outside world.
“Shang Qinghua,” she would murmur, “tell me what’s wrong.”
No, Shang Qinghua didn’t have much to complain about as the only human omega in Mobei-Jun’s court. But moments like this made up the worst part.
Could Mobei-Jun see how those words affected her? Her senses were just as sharp as Shang Qinghua’s, if not moreso. Could she smell the way her nearness was a comfort? Did she sense, in that frigid air between them, the warm fall of breath as Shang Qinghua’s breathing slowed to a patient crawl?
Could she scent–could she feel–the way Shang Qinghua’s body reacted to hers? Like two halves of a mountain pass yearning in obstinate soil. Like the brilliant light of the moon illuminating the rushing waves of the sea, lapping and churning and fighting to steal their way closer.
Shang Qinghua had no idea what Mobei-Jun could parse from moments like this. Frankly, she was a little too busy to give it much thought.
Above all, Shang Qinghua feared that one day her cultivation wouldn’t be enough to stave off those humiliating, baser urges. Her nearness with Mobei-Jun, as professional and cold as it could be, always managed to disturb a deep-rooted neediness in Shang Qinghua’s core. An old, battered sense of desperation that had followed her into this second life, was ignited day after day in the slightest touch of one cold hand to her own.
In the deepest, most secret corners of her soul, Shang Qinghua wanted nothing more than to let that spark grow bigger, swelling inside until the brightest flames of it reached her fingertips, shooting out from the ends of her hair and the tips of her toes until it warmed that cool skin pressed tightly to her own. She longed for the ache in her hips to be matched and answered in equal need, stroked and rocked and forced into tender submission by a pair of fierce hands while icy, hungry eyes looked down and watched her come undone.
But that was all nonsense. Hahaha. What the fuck was she thinking? This was Mobei-Jun. The indomitable–and oddly sex-reluctant–Demon Queen of the whole Northern Desert.
And Shang Qinghua. Well. She was just Shang Qinghua. The busy, anxious, and indescribably horny little omega who followed her queen wherever she went.
Whenever her heat did finally decide to come on, Shang Qinghua was happy enough to keep these inconsequential imaginings to herself. She could keep all the Mental Mobei-Juns she needed, locked safely in her shameful and heartbreaking little spank bank.
Shang Qinghua just didn’t think she’d need them so soon.
“We don’t have a session in court tomorrow.” Mobei-Jun’s voice seeped out like silk slipping over an armrest. Shang Qinghua was still pressed against her from their seat on the divan, and she could feel those clawed fingers idly twirling the stray hairs by her ear.
“No, we don’t.” Shang Qinghua replied. “But I think the council wants to hold an emergency meeting. Not sure for what, though. Sorry, my queen.”
“Don’t apologize.”
“Okay.”
This was the deepest part of Mobei-Jun’s private rooms, the place reserved for none other than Shang Qinghua and the queen herself. The two often spent their evenings here, with Shang Qinghua idly recounting the day’s events and finishing up the last of her paperwork while Mobei-Jun watched on from her place laid out in bed or sprawled across the divan.
Shang Qinghua felt most at ease here in this private place; hidden from the rest of the palace by bolts of concealing silk and tapestries, illuminated only by the dim night pearls tucked into alcoves along the wall. Mobei-Jun’s scent was strongest here, and it wrapped around the tired little advisor like a shawl of the finest fur, familiar and sweet. But, still, the privacy afforded by those silks and shadows was as dangerous as it was soothing.
That advisor–that overworked and starved for touch little omega–only had to turn her head by the barest degree to catch a pair of frosted eyes leering at her from the inviting darkness of the bed. Shang Qinghua could feel her queen’s gaze pressing heavier on her with each moment that flickered by.
Whatever thoughts passed through Mobei-Jun’s mind as she held her chin in hand, as she draped one arm over her hip where the wide curve of her shapely thighs melted into fine, tempting bedcovers, Shang Qinghua had no clue about them. Mobei-Jun’s inner robes would fall open to reveal the milky swell of her chest, the slight hitch in breath as their eyes finally met, but not a word would be spoken.
More than once, when Shang Qinghua felt especially vulnerable to the minty, spicy scent that could only belong to her queen, she caught the faintest twitch by Mobei-Jun’s hips. Deep blue silk and hazy air being the only barrier to the lofty pillar Shang Qinghua knew lay beneath.
“Are you well?” Mobei-Jun rumbled out and paused her winding hands to turn Shang Qinghua’s face toward her own. “You look peaked.”
Shang Qinghua slapped her blushing face. “Ah! Yes, I’m alright my queen. I’ve just been feeling a little…uh, feverish lately. I might need to take some time off for seclusion soon. But don’t worry. I’ll leave instructions for the staff while I’m away.”
The cool, familiar air in the room went tight with something like apprehension. Pulled so close to Mobei-Jun, Shang Qinghua knew immediately it was her queen’s scent that had broken the spell. Her pheromones had changed so quickly, going bright with the unique blend of emotion that could only belong to one Demon Queen.
Mobei-Jun nearly growled, but the hand she laid on Shang Qinghua’s cheek was still tender. “Why go away? If it’s your heat, you can rest here in the palace. I will guarantee you are safe.”
“Ah, haha, my queen, I’m not really worried about my safety.”
Above her, Shang Qinghua watched that delicate brow crinkle. Mobei-Jun’s voice dropped lower and the omega felt her own scent go frantic. “What?”
“I just mean–Ah, it’s really not a question of safety, my queen. Please don’t let me be an inconvenience. I just…”
In the most disregarded corners of her heart, what frightened Shang Qinghua most was not the cannon fodder court of demons who might descend once this fragile, human omega went into heat. In truth, it was the demon she clung to most that was her greatest source of worry.
“An inconvenience.” Mobei-Jun sneered. Her black-tipped claws snatched Shang Qinghua by the chin and commanded her gaze. “Tell me who calls you an inconvenience and I will tear them apart in front of you.”
Shang Qinghua wanted more than anything to be frightened. But the dizziness and heated thrumming in her head only swelled, and every nerve in her hips twitched with the longing for sensation. When her scent collided with Mobei-Jun’s, it should have been a dangerous clash, an ill-fated dance between predator and prey. Instead, it was sweet, it was harmonious–it was like two halves of an ethereal song rising in pitch to complete one ruinous melody.
Mobei-Jun’s overpowering instinct to possess; Shang Qinghua’s incessant want to be claimed. Their scents, their spirits… Their bodies all but resonated with the same note.
Caught as she was, forced to see it, Shang Qinghua witnessed the precise moment when Mobei-Jun realized the same.
Mobei-Jun moved in closer, the sharp points of her teeth just barely scraping the plump edge of a warm lip. “You’ll stay in the North for your seclusion, Shang Qinghua.”
“My queen,” she whined, “I can’t–”
“You’ll stay.” The alpha growled and the tip of her tongue traced the curve of the omega’s mouth. “You will call on me when the time comes.”
“Hah… My queen.”
Shang Qinghua’s hand flew without a thought and came to clutch feebly at Mobei-Jun’s wrist. But the alpha only moved lower still, until her cool cheek was nestled against warm, honeyed skin. Those teeth grazed the edge of the omega’s scent gland, hardly preparing her for the slow drag of the alpha’s tongue.
“Ahh…”
“Tell me you’ll stay, Shang Qinghua.”
“I… I–hahhh…”
“Say it.”
Mobei-Jun’s teeth were hardly pressed deep enough to leave a mark, but all at once, Shang Qinghua knew two things.
One logical half of her instincts was screaming for her to leave, to flee in the night and suffer her heat on some distant, secluded mountain peak. Then, she would only need to face the consequences of Mobei-Jun’s ire after the fact and wait patiently for the next time her own body betrayed her again.
And yet, the fiercer side of her instincts, the half driven by greed and want and soul-crushing loneliness, almost pulled Mobei-Jun closer to sink her teeth as deep as they would go. The fragile tie of a mating bite wouldn’t be the material and grounding connection that she needed, but Shang Qinghua could make it work, if only to sate the unanswered heat between them.
Words left her before she could resign herself to the responsible choice.
Shang Qinghua whispered, “Yes, my queen. I’ll stay.”
The tension in the air came undone with a breath. Shang Qinghua shivered as Mobei-Jun’s hand came down to squeeze her waist, trailing the soft line of the omega’s thigh as she pulled it across her own.
“Mmn.” Mobei-Jun hummed and her lips closed around a sticky patch of warm skin. “With me.”
“Yes, my queen.”
Shang Qinghua shivered as the alpha continued to trace the column of her throat, her words hardly stopping the press of seeking, thirsty lips.
“With you.”