Page 20 of Two Thousand Shadows

“My father was the younger brother of the man who would be my shifu. He went out into the world to make a name for himself. Along the way, he fathered a child. I don’t know if he and my mother were ever married. He died a few years after my birth. My mother didn’t want me, so she left me with the Zhang clan, since they were my only other relatives. I was only ten when I came to live with the Zhangs. Alone, possibly a bastard, and generally unwanted. Shifu showed me what it was to be loved, what it meant to belong to a family. Erik deserves that as well.”

Leo crossed his legs in front of him, a boulder sinking into the pit of his stomach. His heart broke for young Junjie and all that he’d suffered. No question, Erik was in the right place. He would find the love and support he needed to grow up healthy and happy.

Then why did he still feel like shit? There was no way he could do all the things Erik would need. He was one man in a tiny studio apartment that he rarely ever saw. He took odd jobs here and there to pay the bills. There was no difference between him and every other cat shifter out there—he looked out for himself, and that was it.

So why did that make him feel so very low?

“We’re happy to add Erik to our clan, but we still need you.”

Leo’s head snapped up at Junjie’s words and his heart raced with new life. “Really? What could you need from me?”

“To start: information. We know nothing about cat shifters. I want to tell Erik about his own kind when he gets older.”

With a shrug, Leo resumed his lounge on the soft grass. “Oh, that’s easy. We’re all about the same. We’re very solitary, independent, utterly feckless, and irresponsible.” Junjie’s frownreturned with a vengeance. Leo powered on with renewed enthusiasm. “We don’t have clans or packs. We don’t hang out or even give a shi-shoot about each other.”

“Wonderful.” The vampire’s tone made it clear that it was anything but wonderful. He sat and placed the child between his legs, allowing him to play in the grass with the sticks and flowers he’d collected.

“It’s rare that we take mates. Most of the time, we just stumble across another cat shifter, fu?—”

“I don’t think Erik needs to hear about this side of his kind at such a young age,” Junjie snapped, his words trembling. His hands flew up to hover close to the boy’s ears, as if he meant to cover them if he couldn’t stop Leo.

Leo threw his head back and cackled. He barely heard Junjie’s irritated huff. Leaning on his elbow, he smirked at the vampire. “Well, our time together might be fleeting, but I promise you it’s always a night that you’ll never forget. I could give you a taste.”

“No, thank you. I don’t make any judgments about your lifestyle. It simply doesn’t fit mine.” He gathered Erik up in his arms and stood. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to get Erik something to eat. It would be helpful if you returned another time and told us more about cat shifters so we could be better prepared for Erik’s future.” He turned to the house and Leo climbed to his feet, but Junjie seemed to pause and glance over his shoulder. “Particularly ahead of our eventual return to China.”

It was as though the air had been sucked out of Leo’s lungs.

Return to China…

Those words shouldn’t have been the shock they were. It made sense that they’d all return home after Yichen rejoined the clan and they eliminated the fae. But Junjie…gone…

“Yeah. Uh…yeah, I can stop by. When I have a free moment.”

He forced himself to shift into his cat form and darted up the nearest tree to stop his wandering tongue. He ran from tree limb to tree limb, leaping and running, not stopping until he was on the other side of the wall that surrounded the Zhang grounds.

But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t escape these clingy, heavy feelings of worthlessness. He needed to stop returning to the Zhang clan.

1 Mao – cat

Chapter 6

Zhang Junjie

Asqueal that didnotcome from the child in his arms turned Junjie away from the front door. A black SUV belonging to the Variks had pulled into the driveway, and he was preparing to meet their guests. Xiao Dan had invited them over to share information regarding the fae and to plan a strategy for dealing with them and Jiang Chong. This was not a time for distractions.

An answering laugh came from Erik when they spotted Mei Lian “sneaking” up on them. She curled her fingers like a witch about to snatch up a baby. Erik’s giggles filled the air as she tickled his round belly.

“He’s mine! All mine for the afternoon!” She cackled, pulling the little boy out of Junjie’s arms. He had to fight the urge to tighten his hold on the child, letting him slip away into another set of loving and safe arms.

“What are you talking about?”

“Shixiong said I don’t have to attend the meeting. Just a bunch of boring planning. I thought I would take Erik to play with some new toys I ordered for him.”

Junjie bit his tongue. The two-year-old had an entire room dedicated to toys. It was going to cost them a fortune to ship them to China when it was time to leave.

Oh, unless they could get Kai to move the toys the same way he’d moved his hoard. That could be an option.

But the important thing was, they were spoiling Erik terribly. Junjie didn’t dare chastise Meimei, because he was the worst of all.

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