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“Moon?”

“Something crossed my perimeter wards,” he whispered. “I’m not sure what.”

“Huli!” Xiao Dan gasped and flew out of the room before anyone could say another word.

Had the fox spirit returned at last?

Chapter 28

Moon Mullins

Moon attempted to zoom out of the house after Xiao Dan, but he couldn’t quite zoom as fast as a vampire. He was only a few seconds behind him, along with pretty much everyone else in the house.

They stood in the backyard, straining to listen. Moon refused to believe the fae had lured them all outside. The wards hadn’t sounded an alarm. It was more that he’d felt a small nudge as something slipped under, like a rabbit burrowing and wiggling under a farmer’s fence to get to the carrot patch.

A sharp, pained bark cut through the silence and Xiao Dan was running again toward the back of the property. They all followed to see a large fox limping through the trees, his many tails dragging on the ground. Blood matted his bright orange, white, and black fur.

As Xiao Dan dropped to his knees, Huli collapsed into his arms and shifted into his human form. Except for the tails. He was a slender, naked human with black hair and nine tails that were trying to wrap about Xiao Dan.

“Huli! Oh God, Huli! I’m so sorry we sent you to the fae. I’m so sorry!” Xiao Dan cried, cradling the fox spirit in his arms. He dropped his head to Huli’s forehead and hugged him tight.

Huli placed his hand against Xiao Dan’s chest and pushed. When Xiao Dan pulled away, Huli grinned up at him, despite his face being pale and streaked with blood. “I found him.”

“What?” Xiao Dan choked out, fingers tightening on Huli’s arm.

The fox spirit tipped his head up and twisted around this way and that until he finally located Moon. “I did it.” His voice was louder this time. “I found Yichen. I even know how you can save him.”

“Fuck, yes!” Moon shouted. He dropped to his knees next to Huli and pressed a kiss to his filthy, sweaty hair. “Great job! I knew you could do it.”

The fox spirit smiled, preening under the praise. Xiao Dan called a brief halt to the celebration, announcing that Huli needed to be taken inside so they could properly care for his wounds.

Chen helped Moon to his feet while Ming Yu moved closer to Xiao Dan to help him with Huli. With a fresh cry of joy, Moon launched himself into Chen’s arms. At last, they had a solid lead on how to reach Yichen. Not only that, Huli’s report was proof that the vampire was still alive.

Moon tightened his arms on his lover as a fine trembling swept through Chen’s entire body. The relief had to be overwhelming. A century of waiting, of never knowing whether he was alive or dead. Clinging to hope while always fearing the worst.

“We’re one step closer to getting him back,” Moon whispered into Chen’s ear. “We will bring him home. I swear it.”

“Thank you. Moon…I—” Chen’s voice cracked, and his arms tightened. “I would never have been able to do this without you. King Ash would have killed me long before I ever set eyes on my didi again.”

“I’ll always be here for you.” He separated from Chen enough to steal a hard, quick kiss. “Now, why don’t you go in with Xiao Dan and see if you can get some details on what he saw? I’ll keep your guests occupied.”

Chen managed a quick nod, then hurried after his shixiong and Ming Yu.

The moment he was alone, Sky and Fox sidled up next to him.

“So…you and Chen seem to be pretty close,” Sky drawled.

Fox huffed and poked the necromancer in the shoulder. “Save the romance for later. He had tails, Moon! Lots of them! Like fox tails!”

Moon smirked at Fox. “Jealous?”

“Yeah. Kinda. Maybe.” Fox straightened, his eyes still wide as saucers. “But who wouldn’t be? They’re cool. And real, right? I saw him as a fox for only a second before he shifted. And that was way faster than I’ve ever seen any shifter change.”

“That’s because he’s not a shifter.”

“I don’t understand,” Wyatt interjected, as he walked over to their little crowd with Winter and Aiden. “He’s not a shifter?”

Moon shook his head. “The way I had it explained to me is that shifters are humans who can shift into an animal, but you were born human. Huli was reborn as a fox spirit. A spirit in the body of a fox. He changes into a human to amuse himself. Not for our benefit. That was also the first time I’ve seen him looking like that, so I’m guessing that’s how he usually appears for Xiao Dan.”

“Fascinating,” Aiden murmured. “It’s a shame Bel wasn’t here to see him. His scientific brain would love to spend time with Huli.”