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)
“To start: information. We know nothing about cat shifters. I want to tell Erik about his own kind when he gets older.”
With a shrug, Leo resumed his lounge on the soft grass. “Oh, that’s easy. We’re all about the same. We’re very solitary, independent, utterly feckless, and irresponsible.” Junjie’s frown returned with a vengeance. Leo powered on with renewed enthusiasm. “We don’t have clans or packs. We don’t hang out or even give a shi-shoot about each other.”
“Wonderful.” The vampire’s tone made it clear that it was anything but wonderful. He sat and placed the child between his legs, allowing him to play in the grass with the sticks and flowers he’d collected.
“It’s rare that we take mates. Most of the time, we just stumble across another cat shifter, fu—”
“I don’t think Erik needs to hear about this side of his kind at such a young age,” Junjie snapped, his words trembling. His hands flew up to hover close to the boy’s ears, as if he meant to cover them if he couldn’t stop Leo.
Leo threw his head back and cackled. He barely heard Junjie’s irritated huff. Leaning on his elbow, he smirked at the vampire. “Well, our time together might be fleeting, but I promise you it’s always a night that you’ll never forget. I could give you a taste.”
“No, thank you. I don’t make any judgments about your lifestyle. It simply doesn’t fit mine.” He gathered Erik up in his arms and stood. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to get Erik something to eat. It would be helpful if you returned another time and told us more about cat shifters so we could be better prepared for Erik’s future.” He turned to the house and Leo climbed to his feet, but Junjie seemed to pause and glance over his shoulder. “Particularly ahead of our eventual return to China.”
It was as though the air had been sucked out of Leo’s lungs.
Return to China…
Those words shouldn’t have been the shock they were. It made sense that they’d all return home after Yichen rejoined the clan and they eliminated the fae. But Junjie…gone…
“Yeah. Uh…yeah, I can stop by. When I have a free moment.”
He forced himself to shift into his cat form and darted up the nearest tree to stop his wandering tongue. He ran from tree limb to tree limb, leaping and running, not stopping until he was on the other side of the wall that surrounded the Zhang grounds.
But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t escape these clingy, heavy feelings of worthlessness. He needed to stop returning to the Zhang clan.
1 Mao – cat
Chapter 6
Zhang Junjie
Asqueal that did not come from the child in his arms turned Junjie away from the front door. A black SUV belonging to the Variks had pulled into the driveway, and he was preparing to meet their guests. Xiao Dan had invited them over to share information regarding the fae and to plan a strategy for dealing with them and Jiang Chong. This was not a time for distractions.
An answering laugh came from Erik when they spotted Mei Lian “sneaking” up on them. She curled her fingers like a witch about to snatch up a baby. Erik’s giggles filled the air as she tickled his round belly.
“He’s mine! All mine for the afternoon!” She cackled, pulling the little boy out of Junjie’s arms. He had to fight the urge to tighten his hold on the child, letting him slip away into another set of loving and safe arms.
“What are you talking about?”
“Shixiong said I don’t have to attend the meeting. Just a bunch of boring planning. I thought I would take Erik to play with some new toys I ordered for him.”
Junjie bit his tongue. The two-year-old had an entire room dedicated to toys. It was going to cost them a fortune to ship them to China when it was time to leave.
Oh, unless they could get Kai to move the toys the same way he’d moved his hoard. That could be an option.
But the important thing was, they were spoiling Erik terribly. Junjie didn’t dare chastise Meimei, because he was the worst of all.
Erik had been living with them for over a week, and he now had a closet filled with clothes and a room overflowing with toys. He also had a small bed set up in the room across the hall from Junjie, but more often than not, he ended up sleeping in Junjie’s bed.
It wasn’t his fault!
How was he supposed to say no to those enormous eyes and that sweet baby giggle?
Impossible. Simply impossible.
“Are you sure you don’t want to be in the meeting?” Junjie called out as she walked down the hallway.
She snorted. “Planning? Strategy? Ugh. No, thank you. Just tell me where to be and who to kill. That’s enough for me. I’d much rather play with this adorable man.”