That got both Lin Yu's and Kaelen's attention.
Wei pulled out a small notebook—modern, Lin Yu noticed with a jolt, with a ballpoint pen attached. "I've been documenting anomalies. Places where the world just... glitches. Areas that don't exist fully, NPCs who repeat the same dialogue, plot holes that manifest as actual holes in reality." He flipped through pages covered in cramped handwriting. "It started small. But over the past six months, it's gotten worse. And it accelerated dramatically when you arrived."
"So I'm making it worse?"
"Or you're the key to fixing it," Wei said. "Look, in every transmigration story, the transmigrator has some kind of purpose, right? Some mission or quest. What if yours is to complete the story? To finish what you started?"
Lin Yu's mind raced back to his laptop, to the half-finished manuscript. "I was only on Chapter 47. There were supposed to be at least 200 chapters. I hadn't even introduced all the main characters yet."
"Then maybe you need to introduce them," Wei said. "Live the story instead of writing it. Make the connections, complete the arcs—"
"Absolutely not." Kaelen's voice cut through the discussion like a blade. "My mate is not going to be used as some kind of reality-fixing tool."
"I'm not YOUR mate," Lin Yu said automatically.
"Yes, you are." Kaelen moved closer, and Lin Yu found himself backed against the stone wall. "I don't understand all this talk of other worlds and stories. But I know what I scent, what I feel. You're mine. And I protect what's mine."
This close, Lin Yu could see the flecks of blue in Kaelen's silver eyes, could feel the heat radiating from him.
"You don't even know me," Lin Yu said softly.
"I know you saved my life when you could have run. I know you risked your freedom for a stranger. I know—" Kaelen's hand came up, carefully, to cup Lin Yu's cheek. "I know my wolf recognized you the moment I saw you. That's enough."
"That's insane."
"Welcome to the beast world," Wei muttered. "Where fate and instinct trump logic every time."
A loud crash overhead made them all freeze.
"Search every building!" Ember's voice echoed down from somewhere above. "He can't have gone far. And if anyone is hiding him, they'll answer to me personally."
"We need to move," Wei said urgently. "This chamber connects to the underground tunnels. We can lose them in the network."
"Wait." Lin Yu grabbed Wei's arm. "You said you've been here two years. The phoenix guards—won't they recognize you?"
Wei's smile was bitter. "They would if they remembered I existed. That's the fun part about being an unwritten character in someone else's story. I'm background noise. Completely forgettable." He pulled his hood back up. "It's actually pretty useful for sneaking around."
"But you remember yourself?"
"Yeah. Lucky me." Wei moved toward a section of wall that looked solid but apparently wasn't. "Come on. We can discuss existential crises later."
Kalean leaned on Lin Yu's,close enough that their shoulders brushed. "I'm coming with you."
"That's a terrible idea," Lin Yu said. "You're wanted. The bounty on your head—"
"Is irrelevant compared to keeping my mate safe."
"Would you stop calling me that?"
"No."
Wei pushed on the wall, and a section revealing a tunnel darkness. "After you, lovebirds."
"We're not—" Lin Yu started.
Another crash, closer this time.
"Arguing later"Wei said.
The passage was narrow, forcing them to move single file. Wei led with a small light crystal.
"So," Lin Yu said, because silence made him nervous, "how exactly did you get Kaelen out of the healing wing?"
"I didn't," Wei said. "He walked out on his own about an hour after they brought him in. Apparently phoenix healing magic works really well on wolves. Who knew?"
"The healers tried to stop me," Kaelen added. "I convinced them otherwise."
"By 'convinced,' he means he growled at them until they got out of his way," Wei translated. "Then he spent the next few hours demanding to know where you were. It was actually kind of romantic"
"I could smell him," Kaelen said. "Even through the medicine and the phoenix fire magic. His scent was everywhere in that place, like he'd been searching for me."
Lin Yu had been searching for him. Or at least, trying to figure out if he was alive. That didn't mean—
"Look, I appreciate the whole protective mate thing," Lin Yu said. "But you don't actually know me. For all you know, I could be terrible. I could have weird habits or snore or—"
"Do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Snore."
"I—that's not the point!"
Behind him, Kaelen chuckled. "You're nervous."
"Of course I'm nervous! I've been awake in this world for less than a day, I've already been captured, escaped, rescued, imprisoned again, and now I'm running through underground tunnels while being hunted by a phoenix prince!"
"And you're handling it remarkably well," Wei said. "Most people would have had a complete breakdown by now. Hell, I spent my first week here crying in a corner."
"I might still do that."
"Fair enough."
The tunnel branched. Wei took them left without hesitation.
"Where does this lead?" Lin Yu asked.
"Neutral territory. The tunnels connect all the major clan areas—they're ancient, from before the clans divided the land. Most people have forgotten they exist."
"But you know about them."
"I've had two years to explore," Wei said."When you're background noise, you can go places without being questioned."
They walked in silence for a few more minutes. In Lin Yu's mind,The world collapsing. Kaelen thinking they were true mates. Ember keeping him prisoner in a gilded cage.
"Wei," Lin Yu said slowly. "When you said the world is collapsing—what exactly did you mean?"
Wei stopped walking. In the crystal's light, his expression was grim. "You ever see a video game glitch? Where textures don't load right, or NPCs get stuck in walls?"
"Yeah..."
"It's like that. But with reality." Wei started walking again. "Three months ago, I found a village that just... ended. Houses became two-dimensional halfway through. People living there didn't notice—they just walked around the missing parts like they'd always been there. And when I came back a week later, the whole village was gone. Not destroyed. Just... erased."
A chill ran down Lin Yu's spine. "How many places like that?"
"Seven that I've found. Probably more I haven't." Wei glanced back at him. "And they're all clustered around the main story locations. Places where important plot points were supposed to happen."
"But I only wrote 47 chapters."
"Exactly. The world built itself from your outline, your notes, your ideas. But without the complete story, it's unstable. Like a building with half a foundation." Wei's voice dropped. "I think that's why you're here. The world pulled you in to finish what you started."
"That's—"
"Impossible?" Wei laughed. "You're talking to a guy who spent two years as an NPC in someone else's story. Impossible seems to be relative here."
Kaelen's hand suddenly landed on Lin Yu's shoulder, pulling him to a stop. "Quiet."
They all froze.
Ahead, the tunnel opened into a larger chamber. And echoing from it were voices.
"—can't believe the Prince is this obsessed with one breeding male."
"You didn't see him. The Phoenix Prince looked ready to burn down the entire city."
"Over a male? That's not like Lord Ember."
The voices were moving closer.
Wei cursed silently and pointed to a narrow side passage, barely visible in the dim light. They squeezed into it just as two phoenix guards walked past, their own light crystals bright .
The guards passed without noticing them.
"Too close," Wei breathed once they were gone.
"We can't keep running forever," Kaelen said. "Eventually, they'll find us."
"Then what do you suggest?" Lin Yu asked.
Kaelen said know a place. Safe. Hidden. But—" He hesitated. "It's in Wolf Tribe territory."
"The place where you're wanted for execution?" Lin Yu said. "That Wolf Tribe territory?"
"The very same."
"Great plan"
"My former pack—the ones who survived—have been hiding in the northern forests. They'd protect you. Protect us."
"And get themselves killed for harboring you," Lin Yu pointed out.
"Maybe." Kaelen's jaw set stubbornly. "But it's better than staying here. The Phoenix Prince won't stop searching. And if he catches you..." He didn't finish the sentence.
Lin Yu looked at Wei. "What do you think?"
"I think," Wei said slowly, "that the wolf territories are where some of the worst reality glitches have been happening. If you're going to fix this world, you'll need to go there eventually anyway."
"Why the wolf territories specifically?"
"Because that's where your protagonist was supposed to go next in the story," Wei said. "Chapter 48 through 60 were all set in the Northern Wolf Lands. Where Shen Yue was supposed to meet his second destined mate and—" He paused. "And where the Exiled General was supposed to die."
The words hung in the air.
Kaelen stiffened. "Die?"
Lin Yu had forgotten that detail. In his outline, Kaelen had been a tragic figure—powerful and principled, but ultimately doomed. He was supposed to sacrifice himself saving the protagonist from an ambush, his death being the catalyst for Shen Yue's transformation from naive male to hardened survivor.
"You were supposed to die in Chapter 60," Lin Yu said quietly. "I hadn't figured out the exact details yet, but that was the plan."
Kaelen processed this information with surprising calm. "And now?"
"Now I don't know," Lin Yu admitted. "The story's already changed. You were supposed to die in that forest clearing from silver poisoning. I saved you. Everything after that is... unwritten."
"So I could still die."
"Or you could live. Or—" Lin Yu gestured helplessly. "I don't know how any of this works!"
"Then we figure it out," Kaelen said.
"You're taking the 'you're a fictional character' thing surprisingly well," Wei observed.
Kaelen shrugged. "I've survived three years being hunted by the most powerful wolf in the realm. Finding out I'm in someone's story barely makes the top ten strangest things that have happened to me." His eyes found Lin Yu's. "Besides, fictional or not, what I feel is real. That's enough."
Something in Lin Yu's chest tightened at those words.
"Okay," he said. "Okay. Wolf territory. But we need a plan better than 'walk in and hope for the best.'"
"I might have an idea about that," Wei said. "But you're not going to like it."
"Why wouldn't I like it?"
Wei smiled grimly. "Because it involves you pretending to be exactly what everyone thinks you are—a valuable breeding male. And using that to our advantage."
"Absolutely not."
"Hear me out—"
A sound interrupted them. Distant but growing closer. Not footsteps this time.
Howling.
Multiple wolves, their voices echoing through the tunnels.
"They brought trackers," Kaelen said, voice tight. "They'll follow our scent."
"Can you hide our scent?" Lin Yu asked Wei desperately.
"Do I look like I have magical scent-masking abilities?" Wei shot back. "I'm an accidental transmigrator with no special powers! The most impressive thing I can do is fade into backgrounds!"
The howling grew louder.