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)
This time, it was Leo’s turn to tip his head toward Junjie and squint at him as if he were attempting to peer beneath all the layers to read what was written on his soul. “You don’t actually enjoy the fighting and combat, do you?”
“What? Of course I do!” Junjie gasped.
“No, you don’t,” Chen chimed in behind them, making Junjie and Leo jump.
Junjie’s head whipped around, and he almost knocked his forehead into Leo’s in his rush to see that Chen and Mei Lian had caught up.
“I do!” he repeated.
“No, you don’t,” Meimei argued. “Everyone knows it. You’re good at it, but you don’t enjoy it like the rest of us do. The only thing you like is fighting with Xiang, because he’s an annoying asshole and you like making him eat his words.”
“We all enjoy that,” Chen muttered as he came to walk on the other side of Junjie. “How are you feeling? Are you still bleeding?”
Junjie shook his head, glad to be moving on from his supposed dislike of combat and fighting. “The bleeding stopped when we started for the car. I’m fine. I…” He stopped and swallowed hard, not wanting to continue when Leo could hear him. He didn’t want to make the shifter feel uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong?” Leo demanded. He halted and reached for Junjie’s shirt as if he meant to pull it up and inspect the wounds on his chest.
“No, it’s fine,” he said, snagging his hand to stop him.
“You need to feed,” Chen announced with all the tact he’d come to expect from the vampire. It was a wonder that Moon hadn’t tried to strangle his mate long before now.
“Yes,” he hissed at Chen. With a look, he attempted to convince Chen to keep his mouth shut, but the vampire was too dense to read the nonverbal signals he was being sent or he didn’t care. Either was possible.
“Oh!” Leo released his shirt like it had caught fire in his hand. “Um. Sorry.”
“There’s nothing for you to apologize for.”
Thankfully, the SUV they’d parked at the side of the rutted and broken road came into view and appeared to be untouched. Mei Lian jogged ahead with her spear clenched in one fist as she checked over the vehicle.
“I don’t need much. Enough to stave off the craving and clear my head,” Junjie continued. “Once we are at the manor, I’ll shower and go hunt for a meal.”
Instead of offering his blood to help Junjie, Chen frowned. “Do you think you can wait until we reach the manor?”
Junjie’s heart stumbled as he listened to Chen’s words. “I…I guess. What’s wrong?”
“We found some interesting things on the elves we can’t make sense of. We need to get them to Rei. Mei Lian texted the other team to report that we are heading home, but she hasn’t received a reply from them.” Chen hesitated, his lips parted as if he had more to say, but the words weren’t coming out.
“What?”
“More fae are close by,” Leo finished for him.
“You can hear them?” Junjie asked.
“Nope. Just an uncomfortable tingling sensation. Think of it as a cat’s sixth sense. It’s never steered me wrong. And right now, it’s saying that we’re not out of danger.” Leo leaned forward so he could look at Chen on the other side of Junjie. “Can he feed from me? That way, you and Mei Lian remain at full strength if we run into trouble?”
“What? I can’t do that!” Junjie wheezed in horror even as a thrill of excitement pulsed within him. While part of him might be against the idea of feeding from Leo, most of him was completely on board with the idea. He might have even allowed himself a fantasy or two featuring a very naked Leo underneath him as he sank his fangs deep inside of him.
But that was a fantasy!
This was real life.
Friends didn’t bite friends. They weren’t food.
Family was different. His clan mates had shared their blood with each other frequently, usually as a stop-gap measure until they could hunt.
“It’s not a good idea,” Chen murmured.
That wasn’t a no.
“Neither is him feeding from you or Mei Lian, leaving one of you weaker when you might be needed in a fight. We all know I’m not good in a fight, so I can afford to lose a bit. Like a pint, right?” Leo turned to look at Junjie, his smile crooked and nervous. “You wouldn’t need more than that, right?”
“I wouldn’t dare to take even that much. I won’t take a drop.”
“But feeding from me now means that there are three vampires at full strength to take on the fae instead of two.”
An irritated groan rose from Mei Lian. “The car is good. Chen drives and I got shotgun. Jun-Jun is in the back with Leo, taking a quick bite so that I’m not the only one fighting the fae if they come after us.” Junjie started to argue with her, but he stopped when she pointed her spear at him. “He’s offering. Take it.”