The sound of his phone woke him up.
He must have fallen asleep. He got up and picked up the phone lying on the coffee table.
"Jia Tian."
"Are you home?"
"Yes."
"Can I come over? It's important."
"Alright, I'll wait for you."
He returned to the sofa, where Mu Yang was stretching.
"My brother is coming."
"Do you want me to go to the other room or take a walk?"
"I'd rather you stayed with me, if that's okay."
"Of course," the werewolf replied with a smile.
---
Jia Hao opened the door for his brother, who, upon seeing the werewolf standing in the living room, smiled and walked in toward him.
"I'm Jia Tian," he said, introducing himself and extending his hand, which Mu Yang shook.
They sat down on the sofa, and Jia Tian began to speak.
"Sorry to bother you, but as I said on the phone, this is urgent."
Jia Hao nodded and waited for him to continue.
"Mom and Dad came to my office a little while ago…" he paused, looking at his brother. "They asked me to remove you from the family registry and to disinherit you. I refused and told them they were making a mistake, but I'm afraid my words didn't change their minds. I'm sorry. They were awful."
Jia Hao gave him a small smile. "Thank you for speaking up for me. Don't worry. It's alright."
"No, it's not alright. They're making the biggest mistake of their lives, and I'm deeply disappointed in them."
Jia Hao looked at him, surprised. Jia Tian had never spoken so harshly about their parents.
"Tell me, brother, is it because Mu Yang was here that you didn't want me to visit these past few days?"
Jia Hao nodded.
His brother placed a hand over his. "Were you afraid I'd act like our parents?"
Jia Hao didn't answer.
"I'm sorry you thought that. I care about you, and I only want you to be happy. When you wouldn't let me come see you, I asked Anthony about it, just to make sure you were really okay. He told me what happened. I'm proud of you, Jia Hao."
Then he turned to the werewolf. "He also told me about you—I hope you don't mind. And I hope, most of all, that we'll have the chance to get to know each other better."
"I'd be honored," Mu Yang replied.
"I'm ashamed and sorry for our parents' behavior. I hope this won't damage our relationship moving forward."
"You have nothing to apologize for. What happened has nothing to do with you."
Jia Tian nodded gratefully. An alarm went off on his phone and he stood up.
"I have to go, or I won't make it home before dawn. I'm sorry to leave in such a rush, but I really needed to talk to you."
"Thank you for coming, and for what you did—and said," Jia Hao replied, standing up as well, followed by Mu Yang.
"No need to thank me. I'm your older brother." He walked to the door. "Take care. We'll talk soon."
Then he turned to the werewolf with a nod. "I wish you a swift recovery," and left.
When Jia Hao turned around, Mu Yang wrapped him in an embrace.
The vampire buried his face in his neck and breathed in his scent.
He closed his eyes and let the tension that had kept his muscles tight finally fade away.