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And if not, this will at least keep him from trying to invent something deadly to destroy all the fae everywhere.But Junjie didn’t dare say those thoughts out loud.

“If he tries to take a sample of my blood again, I’m turning him into a pincushion with those damn syringes,” Winter threatened.

Aiden waved off his words. “I’m sure he won’t need to.”

“In the meantime, the Zhang clan will begin some nighttime investigations to match our daytime efforts. Our clan has a great deal of experience sneaking through the woods at night. The fae will not escape us,” Xiao Dan announced. “Rei, do you think it will be worthwhile for us to return to the fae stronghold where we last battled?”

The elf sat up from how he’d been slumped against Yichen, seeming to shake himself from his dark thoughts. “Trin never lived there after he came through the doorway, preferring to keep a safe distance between himself and my parents. He has another stronghold somewhere close by. I’m sure the old castle constructed by my parents has either been demolished in a fit of rage, or he’s gone to the trouble of setting traps there if we return looking for him.”

“I’ll have Marcus send you the latest intelligence and maps we have of recent fae movements,” Ronan offered.

“Kill Trin, and the fae will have no one left to lead them. I think the remaining survivors will leave earth and return to their realm,” Rei stated.

“Kill Jiang Chong, and our clan will be safe at last,” Xiang added.

That was it. That was the plan. The hope. The dream.

Free the world of the fae and get their revenge for stealing Yichen a century ago. Destroy Jiang Chong as justice for all the pain he put them through and the lives he stole from their clan.

But the first step was finding both men.

That would not be a simple task.

Chapter 8

Leo St. George

What the hell was wrong with him?

Yes, he’d agreed to come visit Junjie at a later date so they could talk more about his kind, allowing him to share that critical information with the kid when he got older.

Except this “later date” was only a few days after their last encounter, and they weren’t at the Zhang manor. Nope. He was secretly following Junjie through the woods. He’d seen a group of them leave the manor and he’d stupidly followed, wanting to know what Junjie was up to. Except he hadn’t expected it to be a late-night hike, where he knew the fae were lurking. It was as though Leo had a death wish.

No. It was as though he were addicted to Junjie, and it wasn’t just about the belly rubs.

Well, of course not.

One only had to take a look at the man to see how perfect he was. Large, beautiful brown eyes that watched with such gentleness and understanding. Pale-pink lips that begged silently for kisses, always poised to break into a soft smile. Hisentire body was slender and powerful, his movements were all grace and balance. His soul radiated patience and kindness.

But that didn’t mean Junjie needed to be protected and coddled. He’d watched Junjie practicing martial arts with his clan mates, and the vampire was as swift and skilled as the rest of them. He was as lethal as any cat hunting his prey. If Leo didn’t know better, he would have said thatJunjiewas a cat shifter.

The icing on the cake was when Junjie was with little Erik. No one in the world was more patient, loving, or understanding with a child than Junjie. Every moment Leo could watch Junjie with the boy melted him into a useless puddle of goo. The vampire shone like a star fallen from the heavens, and Leo wanted to snatch him up before anyone else could.

It was after midnight and the worst of the day’s heat was long gone, dipping to something far more comfortable while he prowled about in his cat fur. The wind was light, stirring the leaves enough to mask any noises he might make as he bounded from tree limb to tree limb, following Junjie. Long gone were the fireflies and even the frogs had silenced their croaking with the fast approach of the end of summer. In the blink of an eye, the leaves would turn from green to gold. Frost would gild the long strands of grass, warning of the thick blankets of snow that would cover everything.

Somewhere along the way, he’d begun to imagine his winter nights stretched out in front of a flickering fire as Junjie stroked his fur and he read a book, but those early plans were floating away like dandelion fluff carried off on the morning breeze. Junjie was probably planning to spend the winter at his home in China, where he would now read books to Erik rather than stroking Leo’s fur.

A branch snapped, and Leo froze, his eyes narrowing. That noise had not come from Junjie. His ears flattened to his head,and he hissed at the other two vampires who were trekking through the woods with Junjie. He didn’t much care for either of them. Mei Lian constantly wanted to pick him up and smoosh her face into his but complained when she found cat hair on her many plushies.

And then there was Chen, who didn’t want him in the house or even on their property. That was before he’d revealed his true identity to Junjie. This was the same vampire who seemed to possess a great deal of ire toward Huli. The man was an animal hater. That was all there was to it.

Junjie paused and turned his head in Leo’s direction. “Are you going to follow me all night, or is there a reason for you being here?” he whispered.

Leo rolled his eyes. Of course Junjie knew he was there. Why had he ever thought he could sneak past this man?

He shifted as he jumped from his perch so that booted feet touched the ground close to Junjie. With a smirk, he crossed to the vampire without making a sound. “I thought I’d see what you were up to this evening. I didn’t expect it to be wandering through fae-infested woods.”

Maybe he was trying to make it sound like they’d just crossed paths, but he’d in fact sneaked into the SUV Junjie had ridden in.