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)
“Huli, be careful! Don’t get too far from me,” Xiao Dan called after him, but Huli couldn’t risk glancing over his shoulder at his mate. He needed to keep those brief glimpses of white in sight.
“Yes, Little Fox. Don’t wander too far from your protector.”
A low growl rumbled up Huli’s throat, and he clenched his teeth. He hated when she called him that. It had been Xiao Dan’s nickname for him during his early years. She wasn’t allowed to use that name. He raced forward.
Their running through the woods had taken them to a deep valley where the sides around them rose steeply and were covered in fallen leaves and branches, making it hard to escape. Huli stopped too sharply at the top. His body weight carried him past the rim, forcing him to slide and tumble to the bottom of the valley.
Huli jumped to his feet and searched the area to find that he was alone. There was no sign of Min, and he’d even outrun his mate.
As the thought crossed his mind, bright-white fur cut through the darkness. Min strolled along the top of the valley above him, her tails dancing behind her.
“Oh, no. Look at poor Huli. Lost his mate,” she taunted. “So determined to keep him from knowing the truth. You didn’t even bother to watch where you were running. Is his love for you really that fragile?”
“No. It’s not,” Xiao Dan stated, less than a meter away from Min. The white fox yelped and attempted to jump away from him as he swung his sword. Even from his angle at the bottom of the valley, Huli could see the tip of the blade slice her side as she tumbled into the valley.
Before she even stopped falling, Huli pounced on her, his sharp teeth sinking into fur and flesh at her throat. Blood coated his mouth and Min’s screams filled his ears. Yet, as he tried to give her a neck-snapping shake, Min planted her feet into his ribs and shoved free.
The white fox faced off against Huli for a couple of seconds, then darted to the other side of the valley, putting more distance between Huli and Xiao Dan. As she reached the top of the hill, Mei Lian stepped out from behind a tree, a spear held in both hands and leveled right at Min’s chest. Min dug all her feet into the soft earth to halt her sprint. She changed directions, searching for an escape route, but one by one, the Zhang clan stepped out around the side of the ridge, blocking her exits and forcing her into the valley to face Huli and Xiao Dan, who had now descended to stand beside his mate.
“No!” she snarled.
Huli chuckled. “You would almost think we planned this.”
“Did you really think you could hold the truth about Huli’s personality over his head?” Yichen called out.
“We know he’s selfish,” Xiang said.
“And lazy,” Junjie added.
“And that he’d sacrifice all of us if it meant getting an extra five minutes of alone time with Xiao Dan,” Chen stated.
Huli huffed. “They’re enjoying this too much.”
“I’ve always known all those things about him,” Xiao Dan interjected, shooting a warm smile at his fox mate. “And I still love him with everything I am. Nothing you can say would ever change that.”
Thank the gods he was covered in fur, because it felt like his face was on fire. How could Xiao Dan say those things where everyone could hear him? He wasn’t worthy of this vampire. It didn’t matter how many tails he had. Eight? Nine? A hundred? Not enough to prove his worth.
He’d just have to kill Min.
Huli lowered his head and flattened his ears as he stalked away from Xiao Dan, approaching his prey. Min’s tails flicked restlessly behind her, her gaze darting from the vampires watching above them and Huli as he crept closer.
“Is this how you finally beat me? With an entire clan of vampires?” Min mocked.
“They are there to make sure you can’t escape,” Huli growled.
“Your fight is with us,” Xiao Dan finished.
The white fox huffed. “Two against one? Hardly seems fair.”
Xiao Dan pulled his sword from his sheath and slashed it through the empty air. “You were the one who was foolish enough to attack my mate and my clan. No one touches my mate or my family.”
As Min stared at Xiao Dan, Huli leaped at Min, tackling her to the ground. They rolled through the fallen leaves, broken branches, and stagnant pools of cold water. A horrendous noise rose out of the valley, a cacophony of screams and barks. They kicked, clawed, and bit at each other, tearing flesh where they could.
At last, Huli flew away from her, freeing himself from the tangle of teeth and tails. The second he was away, Xiao Dan stepped in, swinging his sword. Min was forced to shift into her human form. She blocked the vampire’s sword with her own magically conjured blade. Metal clanged and sparks flew up, briefly lighting the darkness.