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)
“Hopefully, the gods will take pity on you.”
Brisk footsteps echoed through the hall a second before Bel appeared in the open doorway, followed by his two shifter mates, River and Wyatt. Bel seemed to be his usual frazzled self with his wild hair of loose curls that were completely incongruent with his neat bow tie with tiny yellow lightning bolts on a dark navy background. The wolves were more informally dressed in T-shirts and jeans. Both were even barefoot. That was something he noticed Leo seemed to enjoy. The first sign of the cat shifter growing comfortable in the Zhang manor was that he eschewed anything on his feet.
Even little Erik was the same. Every chance the child got, he was pulling off his shoes, socks, and slippers.
“Junjie!”
“Hello, Bel, River, Wyatt. I’m sorry to come over unannounced. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“No! No! No!” Bel answered with a wave of his hands.
“Your timing is perfect. Bel needed a break from work,” Wyatt said, causing Bel to throw him a disgruntled look.
“I’ll let you guys talk. Shout if you need me for anything,” Winter interjected and quickly left the room, closing the door behind him.
Bel motioned for Junjie to sit in one of the chairs. He took the sofa with his mates on either side of him. “What can I do for you? Is everything good with your clan?”
The warm feeling he received at Winter’s questions about Erik continued to swell. Their concern for his clan was so very touching. Leaving behind a vampire clan who had become such good friends was going to be hard when they returned home to China.
“Everyone is good. Thank you.”
River bounced on the couch cushions. “Winter and Fox told us you’d adopted a cat shifter. We can’t wait to meet him. Has he tried shifting yet?”
Junjie struggled to hold on to his smile while the panic in his chest rose. “Leo says he’s too young for that. Cat shifters don’t usually shift until their late teens to early twenties.”
Wyatt grunted. “That’s not too far off from wolf shifters. We’re usually in our teens.”
With a scoot to the edge of his seat, Junjie moved closer to the trio. “That’s what I’ve come to talk to you about. Shifters, I mean.”
“Sure,” River replied with a grin. “We’re happy to help anyway we can.”
“Can you change a shifter into a vampire?”
As soon as the words were off Junjie’s lips, all three faces fell. River cuddled closer to Bel, and Wyatt reached out to wrap an arm around both men. Bel’s eyes were wide and took on a haunted feel, as he slowly shook his head.
“No. You can’t. It’s…it’s impossible…and very dangerous to even attempt it.”
“What?” Junjie croaked. It was as if a hand had reached inside of his chest and squeezed his heart, threatening to turn it to dust. “But…but why? Are you sure? What if—”
“No!” Bel snapped. He turned to River and hugged the slender shifter, pulling him in as close as he could get without climbing into Bel’s lap.
“I’m assuming you’re asking for the cat shifter, Leo,” Wyatt said, drawing Junjie’s heart-broken gaze over to him. Junjie could only nod. His throat was raw and tight, making it impossible to sneak out any words. “A few years ago, the local wolf pack attacked our home. River suffered horrible injuries and was near death. He was losing blood too fast and couldn’t heal. We were forced to give him some vampire blood to speed up the healing. As a result, River went berserk. It took almost the entire clan to hold him down, and he was still weak from his injury. If he’d have gotten loose, he would have killed the entire clan.”
A tiny whimper slipped out of River, and he shuddered in Bel’s arms. The vampire pressed kisses to his head and cheeks, soothing him.
“A short time later, he regained his sanity and finished healing. However, Bel and I believe that if we’d attempted to actually change him into a vampire, he would never have recovered his sanity. He would have gone on killing until he was finally stopped. There was nothing of River in that monster when it had control of him.”
“Our blood and powers aren’t compatible,” Bel stated in a low, rough voice. Still holding River, Bel looked over at Junjie. “Have you tried drinking from Leo yet?”
“Twice,” Junjie whispered. “The first time, I…I suffered an injury during a fight with the fae, and Leo offered me his blood as we ran.”
“And?”
“It’s not like human or vampire blood. I didn’t take much, but it was like I’d become intoxicated on it.”
“The same thing happened to me,” Bel admitted with a small, crooked smile that didn’t reach his sad blue eyes. “Vampires have no problem taking in shifter blood, but it’s toxic in reverse. Thankfully, shifters seem to live extremely long lives. We don’t have to worry—”