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)
But Moon surprised him with another thought. “I know cats are typically loners, but this is what it means to be in a clan. Enjoy.”
As Rei laughed at Huli’s expression as he bit into a breakfast sandwich and Kai offered Rei some creamer for his coffee, Leo had to admit he liked this a lot. More than he ever would have expected.
Chapter 15
Zhang Junjie
Junjie followed the whispers toward Erik’s room. The little boy was supposed to be helping Ming Yu with her baking while he ran an errand with Yichen, but he swore he could hear Erik’s giggles coming from his room.
As he drew closer, he picked out the sound of Leo’s hushed voice giving instructions to the child. Junjie bit his lower lip to hold in any noises as he crept to the open door and peered inside.
Leo and Erik were near the entrance to the room, on their hands and knees, with their backs to him. Leo held perfectly still, and Erik’s behind was in the air, wiggling as if he couldn’t contain his excitement.
“When we’re hunting, we have to be very quiet and sneak up on our prey very slowly. Like this.” Leo edged closer to the stuffed rabbit placed in the center of the room, not making a sound.
He paused, looked over his shoulder, and motioned for Erik to follow his lead. The giggling two-year-old inched forward with a soft shuffling noise as his clothes rubbed against the carpet.
“When we get close to our prey, we pounce, not letting them escape.”
Leo illustrated by leaping onto the fluffy white bunny. He wrapped his arms around the toy and rolled onto his back, holding the rabbit to his stomach.
Erik let out a loud roar and launched himself at Leo, landing across his stomach and the bunny. Leo let out a fake cry of fear and Junjie could no longer hold in his laughter. The scene was too adorable.
“Oh, no! There’s a spy!” Leo shouted. “Go pounce on Jun-Jun!”
Erik pushed to his feet and lifted his hands into the air, his fingers curled into makeshift claws as he ran to Junjie. Before he reached the vampire, the little boy jumped toward Junjie as if he were pouncing on him.
Junjie bent and caught him under the arms, lifting him high above his head. Bright laughter filled room and squeezed his tender heart. Junjie pulled him in close and pressed kisses to his neck, earning more squeals of laughter. After that quick break, he set Erik on his feet again.
Erik didn’t hesitate to spin and hurry to where Leo was leaning up on one elbow, the fluffy bunny toy resting in front of him. Erik pounced on the bunny, making adorable growling noises, but as he settled on the floor next to Leo, he wrapped his arms around the doll, cuddling it.
“I had no idea that pouncing lessons needed to start so young,” Junjie said as he lingered in the open doorway.
Leo flashed him a broad grin. “If you can walk, you can pounce.”
Junjie lowered his eyes to Erik as he petted the rabbit’s extra-long ears and pressed a kiss to his pink nose. “Your protégé doesn’t appear to be a ruthless killer just yet, though.”
“Yeah.” Leo huffed a laugh. “A well-fed cat doesn’t tend to be a vicious hunter.” He reached out and tickled Erik’s belly, wringing more giggles from the boy. “And Jun-Jun keeps us very well fed, doesn’t he? We’re turning into lazy kitty cats.”
The idea had a certain amount of appeal. Junjie couldn’t say that he minded having two happy, well-fed, lazy cats in his house if they were Leo and Erik.
“Did you get your errand completed without a problem?”
Junjie nodded as he stepped farther into the room and sat near Leo and Erik on the floor. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.”
Leo brushed off his apology with an easy wave of his hand. “Xiao Dan said you’d be back soon. Besides, this one was making quite the mess with the flour while helping Ming Yu. I thought I’d take him off her hands for a bit and get him cleaned up.”
“Since you’re here, would you mind telling me more about cat shifters?” Junjie prodded.
Erik pushed to his feet and wandered across the room to his toy chest, where he started searching for a particular item.
“Yeah. Sure.” Leo ran a hand through his hair, brushing it from his forehead. His smile didn’t waver, but there was a cautiousness that tensed the lines around his eyes. It was something Junjie was growing accustomed to seeing. The cat shifter was trying to be forthright and honest with him, but there was no fighting a lifetime of guarded behavior. “Was there something specific you had in mind?”
“How old were you when you shifted for the first time?”
The lines disappeared from his face, and Leo let out a soft breath. “Sixteen…mmm…maybe seventeen. I think. Well, that was when I completely shifted. I was fifteen when I partially shifted for the first time.” His grin turned into a smirk, and Leo leaned his shoulder against the bed while turning to face Junjie. “I’d gotten into a fight at school with some kids who were bullying me.” He rubbed the side of his nose, and his eyes darted away from Junjie as if in embarrassment. “I might have been a bit of a runt in school and thought if I ran my mouth, it would help to make up for my lack of size.”