Page 93 of Two Thousand Shadows

And no one was allowed to touch his family.

With nothing more than a thought and a touch of magic, Leo shifted into an enormous Bengal tiger. In a heartbeat, the entire world becamemore. Through his tiger eyes, the dark forest was brighter, smells were sharper, and sounds reached him from greater distances. In his human form, his senses were enhanced, more than a normal human, but nowhere near as strong as when he was in his cat form.

He prowled closer to Junjie, bumping his head against his mate’s thigh before rubbing the entire length of his body along Junjie’s leg. His mate’s scent was so strong now—a hypnotic blend of plum blossoms, freshly laundered linen, and sandalwood incense. All the things that made him think of home and love.

Of course, Jun-Jun now had Leo’s scent on him because the vampire was his alone.

A low chuckle preceded some excellent head scratches. Leo chuffed. Jun-Jun always knew the best spots to scratch.

“I think you need to save the scenting of your territory for later,” Junjie chided playfully.

He was right, but Leo couldn’t help himself. He circled Junjie just the once and sat next to his lover. Huli bounded over and Leo blinked at the larger-than-average fox. He’d always thought his nine tails were what made him appear bigger, but the fox standing in front of him was only slightly smaller than his own stature.

“Kai is having trouble with the wizards. Shall we go help him?” Huli’s voice was brimming with excitement and mischief, which was all the enticement Leo needed.

Leo turned his face up toward Junjie, his heart squeezing at the soft smile that greeted him.

“Yes, please help Kai. We’ll focus on stopping the wizards first and then help the others against the fae army,” Junjie said.

That was all he needed to hear. His mate would be right behind him.

Leo and Huli darted from the thick line of trees. Waist-high grasses that had browned under the summer sun covered the field. The rich scent of dried leaves, damp earth, and death teased his nose. He split off from the crazy fox and hunkered low so that his chest grazed the dirt as he stalked the fae wizards that circled a section of the stream. The clang and scrape of metal on metal nearly drowned out the burble of the water as he rushed around rocks and along its banks. The closer he got to his target, the more Leo’s heart hammered in his chest and his breathing quickened to short pants.

Moon’s dead army and the shiny white dragon were doing an excellent job of keeping the wizards occupied. The massivelizard darted overhead like a pissed-off hummingbird, pausing only to claw and scratch at the glowing blue magical barrier that surrounded the six wizards. Moon’s dead warriors hammered on the shield as well but made no progress at getting inside.

He peered into the protective bubble while still hidden in the grasses and behind Moon’s zombies to watch the wizards. There were three on each side of the stream. Their long, colorful robes with voluminous sleeves reminded him of something he might see in a D&D drawing of a wizard. The only things missing were the long, white beards and the pointy hats. Each held a long staff topped with a different color glowing crystal.

Magic crackled and snapped in the air, but it didn’t seem to affect the dragon, as their spells bounced off his scales. However, either the dragon or the wizards were stirring up the wind and turning the black clouds into bubbling tar. Lightning danced behind the clouds, shooting across the sky, and the thunder rumbled after it. The electric charge was building and that couldn’t be a good thing. He needed to act now if they were going to save the humans from more devastation.

The last spell had swept east, destroying major cities such as Boston and Providence. Even as far north as Montreal. They were speculating that the next spell would go west. Hartford was on the chopping block, but were these wizards now strong enough to wipe out places like New York and Philadelphia? They couldn’t take that chance.

Leo sniffed and bumped the blue wall where it met the ground. It felt solid. He followed it around to where the stream cut through the center of the field. If he’d been in his human form, he would have snickered. The bottom of the barrier stopped just at the top of the water.

Staying low, Leo slipped into the water and swam under the blue dome. The sounds of the fighting were muffled as he surfaced above the water within the dome. A tiny whimperreached him, and he glanced back to see Huli pacing along the bank, whining at the water while his triangular ears were pinned to his round head. Leo rolled his eyes, and the fox jumped into the stream. When he surfaced beside Leo and scrambled up onto the bank, all of his fur was soaked and sticking to his slender frame. Huli had lost of his fluffiness, making him appear to be an overgrown orange greyhound with too many tails.

Leo chuffed in amusement, but a sharp gasp cut it off. He looked up to find that a wizard had spotted them. The jig was up.

A roar erupted from his throat, startling the rest of the wizards before he leaped at the nearest one in sky-blue robes. The elf tried to block Leo with his staff, but it didn’t stop the massive tiger as they tumbled to the ground in a heap. The poor creature felt like a sack of bones. Leo’s stomach roiled, and he clung to an image of the first time he’d seen Erik. The child had been sitting alone on the couch in that empty house, his round cheeks streaked with dirt and tears, appearing so utterly lost and fragile, his entire world shattered because of these monsters. With that rising rage, Leo had no trouble ripping the wizard’s throat out with his teeth.

More panicked screams rose from within the bubble, and Leo glanced over his shoulder to see the jiuweihu pouncing on a wizard and breaking his neck. His tails snapped behind him with what could have been glee or malice. With Huli, it was hard to tell the difference.

Leo stared at the elf he’d killed, the light extinguished from his green eyes. He wasn’t a killer. He wasn’t even much of a hunter in his cat form. A lazy feline, Leo preferred his meals served in a bowl with a side of chin scratches.

But these monsters wanted to kill his mate and his sweet boy, Erik. They had killed countless humans. No way was he letting them steal the family he’d just found.

A sharp electric snap and crackle filled the air. Leo lifted his eyes, blood dripping from his fangs, to find that the spell holding the dome in place had broken. Kai landed in the field with a ground-shakingthudwhile Moon’s zombie army poured into the circle held by the wizards. Leo leaped aside to not get trampled by the hoard. The rest of the team was a step behind them. Leo paused for a moment to watch Junjie as he fought with two short swords. His every movement was a graceful dance of death. With each turn and slash, another elf fell dead. And he did it to protect the clan. Leo could do the same.

Not that he was so awfully needed.

The dragon was doing a marvelous job of snatching up the remaining fae wizards in his teeth or stomping them under his feet.

“Ahhh!” Moon screamed.

Leo jumped across the stream to where the vampires had gathered around Moon as he hopped, while shaking his hands.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Moon swore, the words blurring into each other.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Chen had his hands extended to Moon as if he wanted to pull the necromancer into his arms but was afraid to touch him.

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