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“Of course I do! That’s not the point!”

Moon pressed another kiss to the corner of Chen’s mouth. “Think of Huli as Plan A for finding Yichen. Let him do some digging. If he flakes or fails, we’ll still have Plan B, C, D, Z to fall back on.”

“Let that creature risk his neck,” Chen grumbled.

“Ah-Cheng,” Moon whispered, and the most magical thing happened. The vampire relaxed. A flush touched his cheeks, and his eyes hooded. Yep, that was the best magic word in all the world. So good he had to say it again. “Ah-Cheng, be nice. Maybe he’s not as bad as you think. We had an enjoyable conversation, and he helped with the wards. Now he’s trying to find your didi.”

“The only reason he’s helping is to get closer to Shixiong,” Chen argued, though it lacked his earlier fire.

Moon laughed and wrapped his arms around Chen’s neck, snuggling close. “Yeah, because you’ve never had ulterior motives.”

“What? No—I—have you?”

Moon nuzzled his face into Chen’s neck, enjoying how the vampire hugged him. “Fuck yes, I have. And I will freely admit that I will do all sorts of dirty, underhanded, deceitful things to keep you in my arms.”

“Shameless.”

“For my Ah-Cheng.”

A soft, happy sound escaped the vampire as he tugged Moon toward the house. “Come, time to go inside.”

Moon dragged his feet. “Wait! I need to activate the wards.”

“Later. You need to eat first before you bleed all over the walls. And I need more of these snuggles. My heart has not yet recovered from seeing you talking to a huli jing.”

Moon chuckled. He was happy to give his vampire some snuggles.

And he prayed Huli would come through for them.

Chapter 27

Chen Bo Cheng

One month later…

Huli was still not back.

Whatever mistrust and dislike Chen harbored for the huli jing was shoved to the shadows of his mind and heart when he looked at his shixiong. No matter how Xiao Dan tried to hide it, he was worried about the fox spirit. As the days ticked by, the fear for the creature’s life grew more intense, and for very good reason.

Something had changed with the fae, and not in a good way.

For the past month, humans were dying by the scores or simply disappearing. No one went into the woods now and expected to return. Along the fringes of the forest land, the police and forestry service had discovered countless bodies horribly mutilated. Those were the bodies the fae were returning to the humans as a warning.

So many more vanished and had yet to resurface. Not just from the wooded areas. People reported family members missing from their own homes. Or they were last seen leaving for work, but they never reached their place of employment.

According to the news, the count of missing humans had reached forty-seven. Meanwhile, two hundred and sixty-three bodies had been uncovered near the forest land.

Humans were in a state of perpetual panic. They had yet to realize that the deaths were not from a roving mob of mass murderers, but the fae. There was no communication from the fae; they had issued no demands.

The state governor had sent in the police and the national guard. Not one of them had returned.

For now, all nature preserves and parks were closed and guarded by men armed with assault rifles. The government urged people to stay in their homes and go out for emergencies only. Doors and windows remained locked. Security systems were upgraded. Not that any of those things could stop the fae if they wanted into a person’s home.

One thing was obvious—the fae had launched its initial attack on the humans. This felt like more than a warning. Chen was inclined to say this was only the opening volley. A test to see how humans would react.

In all the chaos and death, they had sent a lone huli jing into the woods to find their didi. Of course, Huli’s magic was powerful, and the spirit was sneaky. His odds of survival were far better than that of a human or even an entire army of humans, but it was still incredibly dangerous. And the longer he was gone, the more likely it was that he hadn’t survived.

The growing doubt was eating away at Xiao Dan’s heart.

As much as Chen didn’t like Huli, it was more important that his shixiong wasn’t hurting.

Chen slipped outside and followed the stone path at the back of their property to the koi pond. The night air had shed the worst of the day’s heat and a soft breeze stirred the leaves, carrying with it the scent of honeysuckle. As he’d expected, Xiao Dan was standing near the pond, but his eyes stared toward the distant wall as he waited for a glimpse of orange fox tails.

“Shixiong?” Chen said, but the vampire didn’t move. Chen stepped closer, gentling his voice when he prodded, “Da-ge?”