Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“She took one,” Xiao Dan stated between clenched teeth.
The silence that followed seemed heavier than before, as if all the air had flown away rather than face his boiling wrath.
Ming Yu shifted where she sat, her hands lying in her lap. “There’s no wound. It’s the strangest thing. But he had plenty of other wounds.”
“Has he been conscious at all since returning home?”
Ming Yu shook her head while Kai spoke up. “He passed out when I was picking him up. He argued right until he lost consciousness that he wanted to remain in the woods to help protect you.”
Xiao Dan nodded once as his eyes locked on the Huli’s unconscious form. His slender body was stretched out, with his head resting on the pillows. His eight tails ran the length of the bed and flowed over the edge to the floor. Everything about him looked so fragile that Xiao Dan alternated between wanting to gather him up in his arms and not wanting to touch him out of fear of causing him more pain.
Kai reached out a hand, and Ming Yu took it, allowing the dragon to help her to her feet. Mei Lian jumped in to help gather up the soiled cloths and the bowl of pink-stained water.
“The best thing we can do for Huli is to let him rest and allow his own healing magic to do its work,” Ming Yu murmured. She paused in front of Xiao Dan, took his hand, and squeezed it.
“Your fox is tough,” Mei Lian added, her shoulder pressed to Ming Yu’s as if she wasn’t willing to be too far from her new mate. “This little thing won’t stop him. Not for a second. In time, he’s going to be on his feet and following you around, calling out for his Zhang-ge.”
He tried to nod, but he couldn’t. It was taking all his energy to hold himself still while the others looked on. Ming Yu released his hand and shooed the rest of the clan away, leaving him alone with Huli. Only when the door closed behind him did he fall to his knees next to his bed.
Leaning forward, he rested his head on the pillow next to Huli’s and pressed in as close as he could, letting his damp fur tickle the tip of his nose. Gone was the scent of blood, replaced with a faint hint of roses and some other herbs that Ming Yu had put in the water to wash him. It was nice, but wrong. In the past few days, he’d grown accustomed to smelling his own soaps on Huli’s skin and even his fur.
“What were you doing chasing after Min by yourself? Why didn’t you call for me or anyone else in the clan?” Xiao Dan whispered.
The thought had been nagging in the darkest shadows of his mind since Kai had come to him to say that he’d sensed Min in the area and that Huli had gone after her.
Had he felt like he didn’t have time to alert someone else? Was he afraid of losing her if he paused to find help?
Or had it been something else? Like being afraid that the Zhang clan would blame him for bringing this threat to their door. Didn’t he trust the others to help him hunt for Min?
He’d failed Huli.
It was like a fishbone lodged in his throat. He’d failed his mate. Huli should have felt that he could come to Xiao Dan or any of the Zhang clan for help. He should have felt confident that he could raise an alarm, and they would all come racing to his side.
But for some reason, he didn’t and Xiao Dan was sure it was his fault.
With his eyes squeezed shut, Xiao Dan rocked his head back and forth, nuzzling Huli’s fur, wishing his beautiful fox would wake up to reassure him he was going to be okay.
“Huli, please heal. Your gege is so worried about you,” Xiao Dan whispered as the tears he’d been holding in slipped free and streaked down his cheeks to soak into his pillow and Huli’s fur. “I love you, Huli. You are my sweet and perfect fox. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you. We’ve waited so long to be together. You’re not allowed to leave me now.”
A tiny whimper escaped the fox, and Xiao Dan sat up, staring at Huli. There had been no change in his breathing, but it looked as if there was a new tightness around his eyes, as if his brow was furrowing in concentration or pain. Could Huli hear him?
He dipped his head and peppered his fox with light, soft kisses. “Shhh, love. I’m here. I’m safe. Min didn’t lay a finger on me. Not a scratch.”
His words were enough to remove the tiny wrinkle on Huli’s brow, and the tension flowed out of his body.