Page 49

But the word “impulse” seemed to be a poor description.

Even now, an hour after the kiss they’d shared in the kitchen, Chen felt no more relief. His skin crawled with the need to find Moon, to smell his unique scent and feel the warmth of his body pressed to his own. The room was too quiet without his laugh. He wanted to kiss him as a thank-you for the times he’d come to the defense of his clan against his friends. People Moon viewed as his brothers.

“It’s not our place to interfere in this personal matter,” Xiao Dan stated, directing a warning glare at Junjie and Xiang. “Just know that we want your happiness and we are glad to have Moon’s help.”

“Yeah, he’s a good guy,” Xiang said.

“Definitely. Funny and a superb cook,” Mei Lian chimed in. “I could get interested in food again with him around.”

“Thank you,” Chen mumbled, his ears burning. Never in his very long life had he expected to have this kind of conversation with his family. But then, he’d never expected to have someone like Moon walk into his life.

Speaking of Moon, where in the world was he? What was taking so long to bring in some spell supplies from the car?

Not that he thought that was what they were doing at all.

No, Moon was right. His friends needed to have a private word with him about his sudden disappearance and the vampires he was defending.

Unless that wasn’t what he was doing at all. What if the kiss and the flirting were all a ploy to get Chen to lower his guard? Right this second, Moon could be escaping with his companions, eager to be free of him and all his uptight grumpiness and annoying fae problems.

Why would someone as effervescent and luminous as Moon want anything to do with him?

That was the thing that didn’t make any sense. Not that Chen was attracted to him. Every life Moon touched was inexplicably drawn to him because he was that friendly and engaging. All of his brothers liked Moon. Why should Chen be any different?

No, the problem was that there was no reason for Moon to like Chen.

The same instinct in his chest that demanded Chen hold on to him even after they stopped kissing was now screaming for him to march out of the house. To find Moon. To hold him and keep him from the witches who probably thought Chen wasn’t good enough for Moon.

Wrong.

This was all wrong.

Moon was not like this. The blood witch was straightforward and honest. He’d defended the Zhang clan. If he wanted to leave, Moon would look him in the eye and say the words. He wouldn’t slither away like some snake weaving its way through the shadows.

“Shidi?” Xiao Dan’s voice cut through the black thoughts clouding his mind. “Is something wrong?”

Chen grabbed on to the one other dark thought circling his brain. Stuffing down his worries about Moon, Chen narrowed his eyes at Xiao Dan. “He followed us to the US.”

There was no need to explain who Chen was talking about. They’d all seen him when they were attempting to capture Winter Varik while he was invisible. The huli jing was in the United States, and that felt almost as dangerous as the fae problem.

“Yes.” Xiao Dan sighed.

“Why? How?” Ming Yu demanded.

“I…I told him where we were going,” Xiao Dan admitted, hanging his head.

“What?” Xiang and Junjie exploded at the same time.

“I don’t understand. Why would you tell him? You had to know that he would follow us. Follow you,” Chen pressed.

Xiao Dan nodded. “I know. He noticed us preparing our home for our departure and demanded I tell him where we were going. I was afraid that if I lied to him and our trip took longer than we expected, he might cause problems for the people who lived at the bottom of the mountain.”

No, Xiao Dan was worried that the huli jing would wreak havoc on any people living within a hundred kilometers of their home as he frantically searched for Xiao Dan.

“Shixiong,” Chen began, then stopped, trying to find the right words and coming up with nothing.

“I know,” Xiao Dan whispered.

“Do you? The huli jing is obsessed with you. He has been for centuries,” Chen snapped, giving up on a more tactful approach. “That spirit is dangerous. It has threatened anyone who gets too close to you. Even your own clan mates.”

“Unless you have been keeping secrets from me, it has been a long time since he’s done that,” Xiao Dan countered. His gaze flitted over each of them before returning to Chen.

“It places zero value on human life. The spirit’s actions go against the very precepts of our sect,” Xiang said.

Chen leaned forward, pressing his hands to the top of the table as he held Xiao Dan’s gaze. “Shixiong, the huli jing is dangerous.”