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 branch snapped, and Leo froze, his eyes narrowing. That noise had not come from Junjie. His ears flattened to his head, and he hissed at the other two vampires who were trekking through the woods with Junjie. He didn’t much care for either of them. Mei Lian constantly wanted to pick him up and smoosh her face into his but complained when she found cat hair on her many plushies.
And then there was Chen, who didn’t want him in the house or even on their property. That was before he’d revealed his true identity to Junjie. This was the same vampire who seemed to possess a great deal of ire toward Huli. The man was an animal hater. That was all there was to it.
Junjie paused and turned his head in Leo’s direction. “Are you going to follow me all night, or is there a reason for you being here?” he whispered.
Leo rolled his eyes. Of course Junjie knew he was there. Why had he ever thought he could sneak past this man?
He shifted as he jumped from his perch so that booted feet touched the ground close to Junjie. With a smirk, he crossed to the vampire without making a sound. “I thought I’d see what you were up to this evening. I didn’t expect it to be wandering through fae-infested woods.”
Maybe he was trying to make it sound like they’d just crossed paths, but he’d in fact sneaked into the SUV Junjie had ridden in.
Judging by Junjie’s expression, his nonchalance did not fool the vampire. He likely knew Leo had been in the vehicle the entire time.
“You should have remained behind. It’s dangerous,” Junjie said.
Leo sidled a step closer. “Are you worried about me?”
The vampire looked away and resumed walking through the woods, stepping over a fallen log. He held the branch of a bush as he passed by it, waiting for Leo to join him so that he wouldn’t risk making a noise.
“You know, I have been running circles around the fae for months now with no problems. They can’t catch me.”
“Have they honestly tried to?”
Leo shrugged one shoulder. Probably not. He was beneath their notice. Until recently, all their focus had been on the humans and the vampires who’d been causing them problems.
“You need to be more careful. I was going to ask for your help, but…”
When Junjie’s words drifted off to nothing, Leo hurried a couple of steps ahead of Junjie, forcing the vampire to meet his gaze. “What? What did you want to ask me?”
A frown formed on Junjie’s lips, and Leo wanted to kiss it away. This man shouldn’t be frowning. He was sparkling starlight and champagne bubbles.
“The fae have been doing more in the woods during the day. We think they’re preparing for another ritual that will expand the woods and destroy more human cities, but we can’t investigate it because of the sun.”
“You need me to spy on the fae,” Leo filled in.
“Mn. We’ve asked Huli and Kai to help, but there’s so much ground to cover.”
“I’ll help you.” The words were out of Leo’s mouth before he could even think to stop them.
When the hell had he ever volunteered for anything?
Fuck, he was pretty sure he’d volunteer to stand before a firing squad if Junjie asked him. As long as it got him to stop frowning.
It also didn’t hurt that the vampire had adopted a kitten into his clan without a single moment of hesitation.
“I’ve changed my mind. This is a bad idea.” Junjie twisted, slipping away from him, but Leo was undaunted. No one could escape him.
He moved quickly and silently, even on human feet, getting in front of Junjie despite the vampire’s smooth efforts to escape him.
“Tell me. What’s wrong?”
Someone cleared their throat, and they turned to see Chen glaring at them from a few yards away. His expression spoke loudly— Quit fucking around.
Junjie sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t want to involve you. The fae are now targeting shifters and witches. Hunting them. I don’t want to give the fae more of a reason to come after you.”
Leo grinned as he reached up and brushed some hair off Junjie’s shoulder. The vampire had been letting it grow longer so that it was falling below his shoulders and hanging in his eyes. It looked so silky and soft; Leo was dying to run his fingers through it. He hadn’t thought too much of it until Yichen had shown up with his long hair hanging down his back. Now he was obsessed with the idea of Junjie growing his hair that long so Leo could wrap his hands in it and cover his face with it.
“Oh, I know all about the fae’s efforts to kill shifters. They attacked a dive bar not too far from your place. Declared war on the wolves drinking there.”