Page 79 of Two Thousand Shadows

Maybe not as much at Junjie as he had been. Xiao Dan had worked his magic, and Leo’s heart broke for the vampire saddled with such a horrific gift. Part of him wanted to run inside the house and gather Junjie up in his arms, make any promise he had to so the vampire wouldn’t be afraid for his life.

He was still a little mad at Junjie for imprisoning him rather than trying harder to explain what was happening.

He was a lot mad at himself for not trying harder to understand Junjie’s emotional turmoil.

And yeah, he was peeved at Xiao Dan for telling him this information and making it so that he couldn’t be righteously mad at Junjie any longer.

What the hell was he supposed to do? An adult would return and sit down for a long talk with Junjie. There were things he needed to know.

Ugh. Adult. Talking. Two things he wasn’t good at in the least. It would be easier if he returned and kissed the vampire silly. But as appealing as that sounded, it wouldn’t fix anything.

Plus, he’d just made a huge scene storming out of there. How would it look if he turned right around and forgave Junjie for everything?

With a heavy sigh, Leo folded his arms over his chest and leaned one shoulder against a tree. The problem was that he’d gotten all worked up, and he wanted to wallow in being angry for a bit longer. But that wasn’t happening. Now all he wanted was to find his Jun-Jun and make sure he was okay. Xiao Dan would make sure he didn’t do anything else rash, but Leo wouldn’t stop worrying until he saw it for himself.

Movement caught out of the corner of his eye had his head snapping to the left. His sensitive hearing hadn’t picked up the approach of any person or animal, but then Huli was quite good at moving without making a sound when he wanted to be stealthy. He half expected to see the fox sneaking up on him, preparing to pounce.

Instead, he made out the ghostly outline of the one person he didn’t want to see—Jiang Chong.

Leo gasped and stumbled away from the tree. It was too late to pretend that he didn’t see him. They were staring at each other now, even though Jiang Chong remained within the dead realm. If he shifted and ran, he could get inside the manor grounds before Jiang Chong caught him. Maybe.

As he was debating his next step, the vampire tilted his head to the side as if he were also weighing his options. In the end, he held up both hands to show that he wasn’t holding a weapon. Did that mean he wanted to talk?

With his heart lodged in his throat, Leo took a tiny step back, moving away from the tree, and nodded at the vampire.

A vertical slit formed in the air and the darkness shifted, becoming deep for a moment as Jiang Chong stepped into the living realm. Leo took two more steps, maintaining several feet of distance between them. Vampires were fast, but he could shift into his cat form in the blink of an eye. As a house cat, he was fast and nimble, making him almost impossible to catch.

“Devious, isn’t he?” Jiang Chong purred as the opening between worlds closed behind him. Leo’s eyes slipped over the vampire. He was everything one might expect a vampire to be. Pale-white skin almost to the point of possessing a blue tint, brown eyes that appeared nearly black, sharp features, and sleek black hair. His clothes were modern while also possessing an old, foreign feel to them. But where Hollywood had made vampires sexy, everything about Jiang Chong screamed danger.

“Who’s devious?” Every hair on Leo’s body stood on end and every muscle was tensed. One wrong move, one twitch from Jiang Chong, and he was gone. There was nothing he could say that was more important than getting to the Zhang clan with a warning that he was near.

“Zhang Xiao Dan.” His tone was so casual and nonchalant, like the vampire hadn’t a care in all the world. “He has always been quite good at presenting himself as a caring soul, the voice of reason, but, at his heart, he is a manipulator. He is skilled at convincing others to do his bidding, whether or not they wish to.”

“I’ve noticed.”

It seemed safer to play along since the vampire wanted to talk. Any information was useful, and it was always better to learn as much about your enemy as possible if you wanted to take him down. And considering how terrified Junjie was of Jiang Chong, Leo wanted this monster dead.

“You have to be cautious around him and his wheedling ways.”

Leo offered the vampire a stiff smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m sure he learned much from his master.”

Jiang Chong’s gaze became like a razorblade, sharp and ready to slice off a layer of Leo’s flesh. “I have no quarrel with you, shifter. This is your one warning to stay out of my way. This is my clan, and I mean to reclaim it. When they accept me as their master once again, I will take them to China and leave this realm to the fae. That is our agreement.”

“You don’t intend to slaughter them?”

A harsh, stilted laugh broke like shards of glass from Jiang Chong’s throat, leaving Leo inwardly flinching. “What would be the point of that? How can they do my bidding and serve me as I reestablish my power within China if they are all dead?”

Of course, the Zhang clan intended to fight Jiang Chong with everything they had. They would rather die than submit to his rule. But what about Erik? Would a threat to the little boy change how far they were willing to go to get free of this madman?

“Though…” Jiang Chong drawled, a tiny smirk forming on his pale thin lips. “There is one who must die.”

Fuck! Did he know about the kitten?

“He nearly killed me once. An example must be made of him, so the others don’t get the same idea that they have a chance of escaping.”

“Junjie,” Leo whispered, unable to stop his lover’s name from slipping from his lips.

Jiang Chong clenched and bared his teeth in a hiss. “Yes! The bastard child who had no business learning the arts of the Sword of the Heavenly Garden sect. Once I get rid of him, the rest of the clan will fall in line. They’ve become far too soft over the years.” Jiang Chong paused, and his expression grew speculative, while a wintry smile returned to his lips. “The clan could use a cat shifter with your skills. Your presence in your cat form isunassuming and nonthreatening. You can get in places other can’t during the daylight hours and gather valuable information about our enemies. With the power of an entire vampiric clan at your back, you could go far in this world. Rule the humans instead of hiding among them.”

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