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)
Shijie swept out of the room, her head held high after making that declaration, Mei Lian following close on her heels. It was clear that no matter what Leo said now, she had decided that he was one of them and belonged under their roof, despite the secrets he’d kept.
Xiao Dan coughed softly, lifting his hand to his mouth to hide his smile and doing a poor job of it. “Yes. Well. Jiang Chong is gone for now. I’m relieved to find that Moon’s and Kai’s warning spells are still working, even if we can’t see him right away.”
“He doesn’t plan to kill you all,” Leo blurted out. He stared at Junjie, his expression growing pained. “Only Jun-Jun. He…I ran into him after I stormed away. He said that he wants to reclaim the clan and take you back to China, where you’ll become the ruling power there. I’m assuming he means that he’ll become the ruling power. But he plans to kill Jun-Jun because he’s the one he blames for nearly dying all those years ago.”
“Fuck him. Not gonna happen,” Moon grumbled.
Kai shoved to his feet, towering over all of them. “No one is going to harm Junjie.”
Warmth spread from the tips of Junjie’s ears, down across his face, and to his chest. His clan—his family—loved and protected him. There was no greater feeling in the world.
His gaze shifted to Leo, who was watching him with worried eyes. Having a clan was something Leo knew nothing about, but Junjie wanted to change that. He wanted Leo to be with him always so that he could enjoy that same love and safety.
“It doesn’t matter what Jiang Chong’s intention is. He will have to kill all of us to get to Junjie. We will not bow to him ever again,” Xiao Dan said.
Chapter 25
Zhang Junjie
The meeting ended after that declaration, and Junjie led Leo to his bedroom, where it looked like someone from his clan had attempted to straighten up the mess he’d made. Some sensible part of his brain recognized that Leo was covered in blood. He needed a shower and a change of clothes.
The rest of Junjie’s brain had tromped off to commiserate with his battered heart, leaving him to operate on autopilot.
While Leo was in the shower, Junjie returned to his bedroom to gather some clothes for him to wear. He slid open a drawer and his heart skipped. Beside a neat stack of his T-shirts was a folded pile of Leo’s clothes. Over the past month, Leo had been coming and going from their home so often that Junjie had washed a pile of the cat’s clothes with his own. He’d placed them in the drawer so Leo could find them later but had forgotten about them in all the chaos they’d gone through recently.
Junjie took the change of clothes and sat on the edge of his bed, the garments clenched in both hands. Emotions swirled inside of him, forming a great vortex. He was overwhelmed. He told himself that he should be relieved that Leo was alive and okay. But every time he attempted to tamp all his emotions down, they slipped away from him.
“Well, that was a horrible shower.”
Leo’s sudden announcement had Junjie’s head snapping up. How long had he been sitting there staring at the clothes? Leo now stood in the open bathroom doorway, his wet hair slicked back and a fluffy white towel wrapped around his waist.
“I’m sorry?” Junjie said, still trying to empty the clutter from his brain.
“You should be. I spent that entire shower hoping you’d join me.” The smirk lifting one corner of his mouth made it obvious he was trying to be funny, but laughing was not one of the things Junjie was feeling.
Leo strolled across the room and Junjie’s eyes locked on the spot where Jiang Chong’s sword had gone through his chest. The wound was gone and there was a faint red line in its place. Even that was fading as he watched the rise and fall of his chest, leaving his skin flawless.
“Are you truly okay?” Junjie asked.
The cat picked up one of Junjie’s hands and pressed it to the red line. “Completely healed, inside and out. No wound. No pain. All gone.”
“Can…can I ask…”
“You can ask me anything you want, and I promise to tell you the truth.”
“How many lives do you have left?”
Leo’s smirk became a soft smile as he leaned in to whisper into his ear. “Six.” He straightened and gave an embarrassed shrug. “I was reckless when I was young. Reckless and stupid.”
Six.
That was a good number. A very good number. Just hearing it made the knot of tension in the center of his chest ease. He could breathe easier.
“But no more stupid and reckless,” Leo declared. He put a hand under Junjie’s chin, tipping it up to meet his stern gaze. “I am cherishing each of my remaining lives because that’s time I get to spend with you. Assuming you still want me.”