Page 16 of Two Thousand Shadows (Kings of Chaos #4)

Chapter 15

Zhang Junjie

J unjie followed the whispers toward Erik’s room. The little boy was supposed to be helping Ming Yu with her baking while he ran an errand with Yichen, but he swore he could hear Erik’s giggles coming from his room.

As he drew closer, he picked out the sound of Leo’s hushed voice giving instructions to the child. Junjie bit his lower lip to hold in any noises as he crept to the open door and peered inside.

Leo and Erik were near the entrance to the room, on their hands and knees, with their backs to him. Leo held perfectly still, and Erik’s behind was in the air, wiggling as if he couldn’t contain his excitement.

“When we’re hunting, we have to be very quiet and sneak up on our prey very slowly. Like this.” Leo edged closer to the stuffed rabbit placed in the center of the room, not making a sound.

He paused, looked over his shoulder, and motioned for Erik to follow his lead. The giggling two-year-old inched forward with a soft shuffling noise as his clothes rubbed against the carpet.

“When we get close to our prey, we pounce, not letting them escape.”

Leo illustrated by leaping onto the fluffy white bunny. He wrapped his arms around the toy and rolled onto his back, holding the rabbit to his stomach.

Erik let out a loud roar and launched himself at Leo, landing across his stomach and the bunny. Leo let out a fake cry of fear and Junjie could no longer hold in his laughter. The scene was too adorable.

“Oh, no! There’s a spy!” Leo shouted. “Go pounce on Jun-Jun!”

Erik pushed to his feet and lifted his hands into the air, his fingers curled into makeshift claws as he ran to Junjie. Before he reached the vampire, the little boy jumped toward Junjie as if he were pouncing on him.

Junjie bent and caught him under the arms, lifting him high above his head. Bright laughter filled room and squeezed his tender heart. Junjie pulled him in close and pressed kisses to his neck, earning more squeals of laughter. After that quick break, he set Erik on his feet again.

Erik didn’t hesitate to spin and hurry to where Leo was leaning up on one elbow, the fluffy bunny toy resting in front of him. Erik pounced on the bunny, making adorable growling noises, but as he settled on the floor next to Leo, he wrapped his arms around the doll, cuddling it.

“I had no idea that pouncing lessons needed to start so young,” Junjie said as he lingered in the open doorway.

Leo flashed him a broad grin. “If you can walk, you can pounce.”

Junjie lowered his eyes to Erik as he petted the rabbit’s extra-long ears and pressed a kiss to his pink nose. “Your protégé doesn’t appear to be a ruthless killer just yet, though.”

“Yeah.” Leo huffed a laugh. “A well-fed cat doesn’t tend to be a vicious hunter.” He reached out and tickled Erik’s belly, wringing more giggles from the boy. “And Jun-Jun keeps us very well fed, doesn’t he? We’re turning into lazy kitty cats.”

The idea had a certain amount of appeal. Junjie couldn’t say that he minded having two happy, well-fed, lazy cats in his house if they were Leo and Erik.

“Did you get your errand completed without a problem?”

Junjie nodded as he stepped farther into the room and sat near Leo and Erik on the floor. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.”

Leo brushed off his apology with an easy wave of his hand. “Xiao Dan said you’d be back soon. Besides, this one was making quite the mess with the flour while helping Ming Yu. I thought I’d take him off her hands for a bit and get him cleaned up.”

“Since you’re here, would you mind telling me more about cat shifters?” Junjie prodded.

Erik pushed to his feet and wandered across the room to his toy chest, where he started searching for a particular item.

“Yeah. Sure.” Leo ran a hand through his hair, brushing it from his forehead. His smile didn’t waver, but there was a cautiousness that tensed the lines around his eyes. It was something Junjie was growing accustomed to seeing. The cat shifter was trying to be forthright and honest with him, but there was no fighting a lifetime of guarded behavior. “Was there something specific you had in mind?”

“How old were you when you shifted for the first time?”

The lines disappeared from his face, and Leo let out a soft breath. “Sixteen… mmm …maybe seventeen. I think. Well, that was when I completely shifted. I was fifteen when I partially shifted for the first time.” His grin turned into a smirk, and Leo leaned his shoulder against the bed while turning to face Junjie. “I’d gotten into a fight at school with some kids who were bullying me.” He rubbed the side of his nose, and his eyes darted away from Junjie as if in embarrassment. “I might have been a bit of a runt in school and thought if I ran my mouth, it would help to make up for my lack of size.”

Junjie fought to control his expression. His heart swelled for young Leo. The man was barely 175 centimeters now, so he could easily imagine a scrappy and thin boy with wild auburn hair and a mouth that didn’t quit.

“Just as the fight was starting, I sprouted fangs and claws that were not human. I ran to the woods before my tail came in.” He clicked his tongue. “I ended up hiding there for the rest of the day. My parents found me in the woods as it got dark. I was covered in dirt and leaves. My dad thought the whole incident was hilarious. My mom was less than amused.”

“Were you in trouble?”

“Nah. Nothing I couldn’t talk my way out of.”

“I believe that.”

Leo winked at him. “The fangs and claws were gone when my parents found me, but it took another day for me to get rid of the tail. They ended up homeschooling me that entire year until I could fully control my shifting. We couldn’t afford another accident. When I returned to finish schooling, we’d moved to a different district.”

Junjie hesitated, but finally pushed the question out. “Your parents? They’re both cat shifters?”

Leo nodded. “Yep. I grew up in a kind of weird household. My parents weren’t married and if an adult asked them, they’d say they were just friends with benefits.” That last part, Leo leaned toward Junjie to whisper, as if Erik could understand that term. “But I was their third kid together, and a late-in-life baby, too. My siblings are way older than me. They lived together, but then they’d also take turns disappearing for a few days, claiming they ‘just needed a break from this family thing.’” Leo even made the quote signs with his fingers while rolling his eyes. “It was all bullshiii—hogwash. They loved each other and enjoyed having a family together, but they’d also been raised to be independent, free spirits.”

“They panicked at the idea of being tied down but secretly loved it,” Junjie supplied.

“Yes! Exactly.” Leo groaned and rolled his eyes again. “But they loved me and taught me how to be a cat, even if it was a little demented at times.”

“Are they…” Junjie’s words drifted off, not wanting to stir up old pain for Leo.

“They’re still alive and kickin’. Last I heard, they were up in Canada. I haven’t seen them since I left the house at nineteen, which was a year later than they wanted.” Leo shrugged and grinned. “But I’m a lazy cat. They were excellent teachers, though. Made a lot of the cat things feel easy.”

“Was it hard to learn to shift?”

“Nope. Not at all. When your body is ready for the shift, instincts kick in. Mine was already getting close when I had that partial shift. The fight kicked my teenage hormones and survival instincts into overdrive. Later, safe in my own home, my dad spent a lot of time with me, shifting back and forth. My mom didn’t shift as much, but she has the prettiest tortoiseshell coat. My dad is a tuxedo black and white cat.”

“Neither of your parents was orange and white like you?”

Leo shook his head. “Nah. I was just grateful I didn’t end up an all-black cat. There are still some people that have some crazy superstitions about black cats.”

There was a crash on the other side of the room as Erik pulled two large plastic cars out of his bin and dropped them on the floor. He seemed happily lost in his own world, playing with his toys and content to have Leo and Junjie nearby.

“We won’t know what color Erik’s cat will be until he changes for the first time, right?” Junjie inquired.

“Pretty much.” Leo glanced over his shoulder at Erik, and his smile softened. “I think he’d be an adorable calico, but he could be a sleek black cat or even one of those with the leopard-like spots.”

“He’s going to be perfect no matter what his cat looks like when he shifts,” Junjie announced with complete confidence. “I…just worry.”

“About?”

“What if we’re not enough when it comes time for him to shift? I don’t want him to be frustrated or get hurt trying to shift too early. What if?—”

Leo’s low chuckles cut off Junjie’s sentence and drew his gaze away from the child to the shifter’s handsome face. A piece of hair had fallen in front of his eyes and Junjie had to twist his fingers together in his lap to keep from reaching out to move it.

“You’re so cute and sweet sometimes, it’s a wonder that I don’t get a cavity from being near you,” Leo purred. “All you need to do is tell him that he’s a cat shifter and remind him that one day he’s going to shift. When the time is right, his body will know what to do.”

But that didn’t feel like enough. The words balanced on the tip of his tongue.

Come to China with us. Be there to guide Erik as he grows into a young man.

Don’t leave me…

He couldn’t say any of that. They barely knew each other. Sure, Leo knew far more about him after spending months spying on him in his cat form, but that didn’t count. There was no way he could ask Leo to move away from the place he called home.

Besides, deep down, he knew his desire to have Leo accompany them wasn’t purely for Erik’s sake. He wasn’t ready to let the cat go. He wanted to show him his home and his world. There were so many things he wanted to discover about Leo. They needed more time together. Years. Decades. Centuries, if possible.

Leo sat up straight, his legs bent in front of him and his body moving a tad closer to Junjie. “I wouldn’t worry too much. You’ve got Huli with you. I’m sure shifting is shifting. I wouldn’t be surprised if seeing the fox spirit change from fox to human helps Erik along when he gets older.”

That earned a frown. He’d forgotten about the huli jing.

“While I don’t have a problem with Huli, I don’t know that he’s the best influence and teacher for a young boy,” Junjie hedged.

In return, Leo leaned in closer, the arm he was partially supporting his weight on bumping into Junjie’s and staying pressed against his. Leo tipped his face up toward Junjie, and the most wicked grin spread across those soft, plush lips. His voice dipped so very low, seeming to caress the inside of his ears in the most tantalizing manner. “Are you saying that I’m a good influence?”

“You have your moments,” Junije murmured.

“How about we make this one of those moments where I’m not a very good influence?”

A tiny voice in his head screamed that this was a bad idea. This was not the time or place, but it felt like forever since he’d last kissed Leo. His entire body moved closer without him commanding it to, as if he were magically drawn to Leo and he couldn’t stop himself.

Just one kiss.

What harm would it do?

One small, brief?—

“Gege, car!” A bright-red plastic car suddenly appeared right before his eyes, stopping mere centimeters from crashing into his nose. He jerked, his heart leaping into his throat. A gasp broke from Leo as he jolted upright and away from Junjie.

It appeared his brain needed an extra couple of seconds to register that he hadn’t even heard Erik’s approach from the toy chest. He blinked, his eyes focusing on the smiling two-year-old who was dragging the large bunny by the ear in one hand and holding one of his favorite toy cars in the other.

“You little stinker!” Leo snatched up the child and cradled him in his arms while blowing raspberries against his neck and cheeks. “Did you get jealous? Are you not willing to share your precious gege with me?” With each question, he tickled Erik more, wringing wild laughter from the boy.

After nearly a full minute, Leo put Erik on his feet only to have the child collapse in Junjie’s lap. The car had been lost in the initial struggle, and the rabbit was also forgotten. It didn’t matter. Erik rested his flushed cheek on Junjie’s chest and wrapped his fingers in Junjie’s shirt.

“My gege!” he shouted at Leo, but there was a wide grin on his face as if he were expecting Leo to attack him again as “punishment.”

“Oh, really?” Leo picked up the rabbit that rested between them and wedged it into Erik’s lap, causing more giggles. He scooted closer and wrapped one arm across Junjie’s back, drawing them in close so that they were touching from shoulder to thigh. “Well, you need to learn to share, but I’ve never met a cat or kitten who could take from me what I wanted.”

Erik lifted his head from where it rested on Junjie’s chest. He pointed at Junjie and proclaimed, “My gege.” He pointed at Leo. “My kitty mao.”

Leo’s lips twitched as he looked at Junjie. “Kitty mao?”

Junjie shrugged. “Learning a language is always a work in progress.”

“Fine. I’ll be a kitty mao.” Leo dipped his head and placed a quick kiss right behind Junjie’s ear before resting his head on Junjie’s shoulder.

This. Junjie wanted this forever.

He just had to find a way to preserve it. To convince Leo to travel across the ocean with them.