Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Huli stretched out on the cool grass next to Erik and draped several of his tails over the child, wringing more giggles out of him. To his surprise, Erik was incredibly gentle with his tails, petting them with extreme care.
“Soft tails. Pretty Gege tails soft.”
“Thank you. They are quite soft. Will you have a soft, fluffy tail when you get older?”
Erik bobbed his head vigorously. “Tail like Mao Gege.” He pointed to the house, where Leo was likely lurking.
“Yes, Leo has a nice tail for a cat.” It didn’t compare to his own tails, but there was nothing the shifter could do about that. He was sure a good kid like Erik was going to be blessed with a silky and fluffy tail.
“Who would have guessed that you would go soft on a human?”
Min’s voice invaded their happy little scene, raising all of Huli’s hackles. His head snapped up, and he bared his teeth in a low, deep growl the moment he spotted the white fox sitting in another tree on the other side of the garden. If he hadn’t been so wrapped up in entertaining Erik and reveling in his praise for his tails, he would have sensed her approach.
A soft, frightened whimper escaped Erik and Huli wrapped the child up in all his tails, hiding him from Min’s view.
“Don’t come another step closer. This human is none of your business.”
“How about this trade: give me the boy, and I’ll let you keep the vampire and his soul? That’s more than a fair deal for the knowledge I gave you over the years.”
“No! You get neither! Leave here, or I will rip off all of your tails!”
The words were barely out of his mouth when a horrendous roar rent the air and shook the house. Erik’s whimpers turned into frightened cries. Huli chanced a look into the house to see a large Bengal tiger racing toward them, followed by Junjie and several other Zhang clan members.
Leo stopped beside Huli and roared again at Min, flashing enormous fangs. As Junjie stepped outside, Huli picked Erik up with two of his tails and lightly tossed the boy into his arms.
With Erik tucked away, he leaped across the pond to Min’s tree. Leo was right behind as they chased Min across the Zhang property and over the wall. It was tempting to keep pursuing her, but Erik’s cries seemed to tug on Leo, holding him back. The giant cat let out a final angry huff at the wall where Min had disappeared before turning to the house. Huli followed him to the garden where Junjie was still fiercely holding Erik as he continued to sob. The rest of the clan gathered around him, whispering reassurances.
As Leo entered the garden, he shifted into his human form and ran his hand along Erik’s shaking body.
“Shhh…it’s okay. Kitty Gege is bad kitty. I’m so sorry for scaring you. Everything is okay now. Me and Huli scared the other fox away.”
Huli shifted into his human form as well and waggled his fingers at Erik as the child lifted his head from Junjie’s shoulder to look at Leo and Huli. His crying stopped, and he reached for Leo. He transitioned from the vampire to the shifter, recovered from his scare.
With a relieved sigh, Huli turned to Xiao Dan, ready to demand to know where he’d been hiding. But he didn’t have the chance.
Junjie threw himself at Huli, wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug while a fractured sob broke from his throat. “Thank you so much for protecting Erik. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to him. He’s our whole world.”
Huli froze, his hands held out to his sides while the vampire clutched him like a boa constrictor seizing its prey. He stared over Junjie’s shoulder at Xiao Dan and soundlessly mouthed, Help me, but his evil mate just smiled.
Not one of the other clan members had ever hugged him. Junjie, though, had been the first to stick up for him besides Xiao Dan.
After swallowing hard, Huli patted Junjie on the back twice. “There, there. Erik is safe. Everyone here will always keep him safe. No one will ever get near the little boy.”
Junjie sniffed and released Huli at last. He hurried to Leo and Erik to coo and cuddle their precious kitten.
But Huli wasn’t free yet. The rest of the clan came to him one by one to pat him on the shoulder and offer supportive words. Ming Yu even pressed a kiss to his cheek and promised to make him some pork rib soup. His favorite! She knew what his favorite meal was.
The second he was alone with Xiao Dan, Huli had no words. Even Xiang and Chen had said nice things to him without even a hint of sarcasm.
“I’m so proud of you,” Xiao Dan whispered.