Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
A familiar scent made Leo’s nose twitch, but it was more than enough warning that he was about to receive a visitor.
“Whiskey, neat. And put it on his tab,” Sage ordered from the bartender, getting the large round man with the balding head moving from where he’d been propped up against the side of the bar, watching the news on the small TV hanging from the ceiling in the far corner.
“Not on my tab,” Leo growled. “Pay with your own money.”
The tall, thin woman plopped onto the stool beside him and poked his arm with her pointy elbow. “Stingy.”
“Whatever.” Leo picked up his glass and drained the last of the cheap whiskey he’d been nursing. As the bartender brought over the glass he’d poured for Sage, Leo held up his empty glass and gave it a shake, ordering yet another. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you think? I was looking for you. Why else would I come in here?”
“Searching for a date,” he sneered, lifting his eyes to take in her shorts and black tank top. Her hair was a strange gray-brown and very thin. She kept it cut short, but no matter the season, it stood up around her head as if it possessed a static charge or she were a human dandelion.
A loud cackle erupted from her, and she rocked on her stool. “Here? I don’t think so.”
Despite her loud words, no one present bothered to argue with her. They all knew they weren’t receiving any roses on The Bachelorette. In fact, everyone seemed to be rather diligently ignoring them.
“What do you want?” he demanded as the bartender replenished his glass and picked up the card Sage had slapped on the counter.
Sage dropped her jovial attitude and hunched on her stool, matching his demeanor as she leaned closer. “Did the vamps take the bait?”
Leo rolled his eyes and snatched up his own glass. “The kid wasn’t bait, but yes, they took him to their place. He’s their problem now.”
“Then what’s with your sour mood? Are you afraid they’re going to snack on him? He’s such a tiny thing. He couldn’t be a full meal for even one of them, and you said there’s an entire clan hiding out.”
For a second, all Leo could do was stare openmouthed at her. There was a reason cat shifters were solitary creatures, and it started with the fact that every last one of them rubbed him the wrong way. The sad part was that Sage was the most tolerable of the ones he knew, and right now, he itched to smash his glass against the side of her skull.
“I wouldn’t have handed the boy over to them if I thought they’d use him as food,” he snarled.
“So, the kid got a new home. At the very least, a decent temporary one.”
More than decent. Leo had spent several months with the Zhang clan, wandering through winding halls and watching their interactions. They bickered, teased, and fought as much as the average family, but there was no missing that they were also very close. They watched out for each other. Protected one another.
The dynamic didn’t change when new mates joined them. Moon, Rei, and Kai were folded into the clan as if they were meant to be there. One big happy family.
And now the kid was included. Leo knew it without needing to see it. Junjie had the biggest, softest heart. The vampire might be cold and dead, but there was no one warmer in all the world. He was going to wrap that little boy up in so much love and happiness that he’d forget all about how he’d lost his birth parents.
No, he wasn’t envious.
Not even a tiny fucking bit.
“I’m sure the kid is going to be fine,” Leo murmured, talking mostly to himself. “It’s a shame we couldn’t find another cat to take him in. There’s no one to teach him the things he’s going to need to know about himself when the time comes. Bastet1 knows the vampires can’t explain shifting to him.”
A harsh noise left the back of Sage’s throat, almost as if she were hacking up a hairball. “Another cat? Really? You thought that was even possible?” She laughed while Leo finished the last of his drink. It was tempting to order yet another, but he wanted to be able to walk out of here when he was done with this annoying conversation. The alcohol was already going to his head, smoothing the harsh edges of the world and mellowing out the ache in his chest he refused to examine too closely.
“Idiot,” Sage muttered as her laughter died off. She finished her drink and waved for the bartender to pour her another. “Even if you could find a cat who wasn’t utterly useless and irresponsible, it’s likely they want kids of their own. You can’t bring someone else’s kitten into your litter. That’s bad fucking luck. You’re asking for one of your own to be killed off.”