1. Zhang Junjie

Chapter 1

Zhang Junjie

August 31, 2023

Zhang Clan Manor, Connecticut

T he cat.

The cat wasn’t a real cat.

He was a human. Or a shifter. Or maybe…a cat spirit? The same way Huli was a fox spirit. But did those exist?

Junjie thought his brain was going to explode any second now as he stared at the naked man lying on his bed, just barely covered by one of his white robes. Yiguo wasn’t a common house cat that he’d given some food and belly scratches.

Oh, gods! He’d scratched this man’s belly!

Think . He needed to think clearly, and not about the questionable things he may or may not have done to or around this cat…person.

“Who are you?” Junjie demanded in a trembling voice.

“I already told you. I’m Yi?—”

Junjie held up one hand while keeping his eyes squeezed shut. “Don’t say it. I named you Yiguo because I thought you were a feral cat without a home. You are not that. What is your real name, and why are you here?”

“Jun-Jun,” he purred, and Junjie’s head snapped up, eyes blazing as he glared at the stranger.

“Do not call me that. You have not earned the right to speak to me in such a familiar tone.”

A devilish grin spread across the cat-man’s lips, making Junjie’s heart speed up, but he told himself it was out of rage. Not because the man was ridiculously sexy.

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am very sure. What happened between us during the past several months occurred under false pretenses. I thought you were a simple cat, and not…not…” Junjie’s words drifted off as he waved a desperate hand in the man’s direction. “Now, I demand you to tell me who you are and what you want this instant, or I shall summon the rest of my clan. I don’t give a damn if you are naked.”

A heavy sigh escaped the stranger’s lips, and he sat up on the bed, throwing his legs over the side so he could better face Junjie. Thankfully, the robe that was resting across his lap remained, covering all the important bits. Junjie could do without those distractions.

“My name is Leo. Leo St. George. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Is this what you do? Go around, begging food off unsuspecting people and laughing at them behind their backs because they don’t realize you’re a shifter?”

“No.” Leo paused and scrunched up his face. “Okay, maybe a little. Usually, I pop by a place, get a nibble, and move on. I’ve never stayed at a place as long as I’ve stayed at yours. It’s just that the food you offered was so good, and you’re so handsome. Why wouldn’t I want to stay close to you?”

Junjie narrowed his eyes at the man. He would not be sweet-talked. “So, you’re a freeloader.”

“Sometimes. You didn’t seem to mind when you thought I was a cat.”

“That’s because a cat is a helpless creature and needs our help.”

Leo lifted one eyebrow and smirked. “Cats are not helpless. They’re skilled hunters and predators.”

“Then you’re lazy.”

“Precisely.”

Junjie threw up his hands. Maybe it would be best if he went to find Xiao Dan or Chen to help him with Yiguo. No, Leo . Leo St. George.

He must be losing his mind. Wasn’t it bad enough that they were still in danger from the fae, and now Jiang Chong had returned to make their lives a nightmare? Did he need a lazy cat shifter in his life causing problems? He lifted a hand and pressed his fingers to his eyes, praying to Shifu for strength.

“Sorry,” Leo murmured, and he sounded remorseful. “Normally, I don’t hang out with a single family like this. When I saw this interesting place being built, I came back to see who was moving in.”

“After that, you returned for the food.”

“True. And the belly?—”

“Please, stop talking about the belly scratches.” Junjie dropped his hand from his eyes and glared at Leo, who seemed like he was still trying to tuck away his grin so that his expression matched his remorseful tone.

“You all turned out to be vampires who added a witch and an elf. A fox spirit was hanging about. You appeared to know what was going on with the fae, so I stuck around for information.” Leo pressed his hand to his chest. “It’s not my fault that you and your companions became so damn interesting.”

Junjie sighed. Talking to Leo was draining the last of his will to live. Maybe it wasn’t entirely Leo’s fault that he’d remained close. His life had become interesting in the past several months. Too interesting, in fact. He was very much looking forward to returning to China, where his life would be a lot less interesting.

The fastest way to getting a less-interesting life was to help Leo with the problem he’d mentioned when he first appeared. Hopefully, it was something they could tackle quickly, and he could return his full attention to the problems of the fae and Jiang Chong.

Junjie paced his room, hoping none of his clan mates had overheard any of this insanity. He’d have to come clean about Leo and his true nature, but couldn’t they have a few hours of peace and quiet after their fight with the fae and Jiang Chong? “Let’s put aside the fact that you’ve spent the past several months deceiving me.”

“That would be great.”

He threw Leo a quelling glare. “You mentioned something about having a problem and needing my help. What’s wrong?”

“Yes! I need your help!” Leo jumped to his feet and Junjie squeezed his eyes shut, not trusting Leo to keep his private region covered with his robe. A firm hand grabbed his and Junjie gasped, lurching back to pull free.

“Don’t!”

“Mr. Zhang.” Leo’s voice was filled with a mix of amusement and exasperation. While the address was formal and proper, it felt wrong coming from Leo’s lips. He didn’t know this man. Not properly. But Leo was also Yiguo. They’d spent countless hours together since the Zhang clan had moved to the United States.

“Junjie is fine,” he bit out. He opened one eye and then the other when he found Leo was still covered up.

“I won’t hurt you. What sense is that? You’ve taken care of me for months now, and I need your help. I’d like to think of us as friends.”

“We’re a long way off from being friends. We’re strangers. In fact, I’m a stranger who has been lied to.”

Leo huffed, a frown tugging at his lips. The friendly, easygoing attitude fell away for the first time. “Look, I wouldn’t have revealed myself to you if I wasn’t desperate. I probably wouldn’t have stuck around as long as I have, but I’m in a bad spot. Things are not going well for your clan at the moment. I get it, and you have my sympathy. The world is pretty shitty for a lot of people right now, thanks to the fae. The key difference between your clan and the humans and even my kind is that you’re holding your own.”

Fuck.

He had a point.

It was just that Junjie had already had a long night, and he wasn’t in the best mindset for surprises.

After taking a deep, steadying breath, Junjie nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry my temper has been short. What can I do to help you?”

“I need you to come with me.”

“Where?”

“It’s not too far. About twenty miles. Not a big deal. But it’s best if we go now while the fae are in such turmoil.” He reached for Junjie’s hand again and Junjie jerked away from him.

“Twenty miles? Out there?” He pointed at the big window on the wall that faced the rear garden. “The sun is rising. It’s too dangerous to go out there now. I’m a vampire !”

“That’s why we need to leave right this second. If we go now, we should be back in time for you to get safely away from the sun.”

“ Should be? ” This cat-man was going to get him killed. Vampires didn’t live as long as he had by playing it fast and loose with the sun. The rising and setting of the sun weren’t things that could be fudged. “Can this wait until the sun sets? We won’t be in a rush. The fae will be sorting out the mess we made for several days, at the very least.”

“We can’t wait. I’ve put this off for far too long.”

“What needs to be done?”

“Someone needs to be rescued. Someone…who’s like me.”

“Cat shifter?”

Leo nodded. “There are so very few of us in the world, Junjie. The number is growing smaller by the day because of the fae. Please, I can’t lose another one.”

Junjie wished he could say that he debated his next decision, but he didn’t. There was no way he was going to allow the fae to wipe an entire species from the earth. Not when they could do something about it.

“I need to tell the others. Get help.”

“No. Just you.” Leo’s eyes darted away from his as he continued. “It’s safer that way.” He felt like Leo was hiding something big from him, or at least not telling him the entire truth.

Junjie almost rolled his eyes at himself at that thought. As if Leo had told him the truth about anything. He’d hidden everything until he’d become trapped in a corner and had been left with no other option.

“It can’t be only me. It won’t be safe for anyone that way. How about I ask for Xiang and Kai to come with us? The sun can’t hurt Xiang, and I’m sure Kai will provide all the protection we might need.”

Leo’s smooth brow furrowed, and his upper lip curled. “The dragon,” he mumbled.

“That’s my final offer. I want to help you, but I won’t go alone with the sun so close to the horizon.” Leo also hadn’t bothered to describe who they were rescuing or who was holding his fellow pack mate hostage. There was no way in hell he was going with Leo without some kind of backup.

“Fine. Xiang and Kai will be fine.”

That settled, Junjie crossed to his door, intending to head to Xiang’s quarters to request his help. He glanced over his shoulder to tell Leo that he should find something in his closet to wear, but the man was gone. Something soft and furry brushed against his leg and he looked down to see Yiguo… grrrr … Leo squeeze through the opening in the door and trot along the hall as if he owned the place.

This cat was going to be the death of him.

Biting his tongue, Junjie followed the cat through the winding hall, their footfalls silent. There was no point in disturbing the rest of the clan until he knew how to tell them he’d welcomed an unknown shifter into their midst. That was going to be just fantastic. Chen was going to explode. He had never cared for Junjie’s pets.

When they reached Xiang’s door, Junjie knocked, but the interior of the room sounded too empty. Had Kai taken Xiang away to his hoard? That was great. How was he supposed to talk to Xiang now? Could a phone signal even reach the hoard?

He was about to step away from the door and go in search of Rei and Yichen. His clan mate was as vulnerable to the sun, but the elf wasn’t. Maybe he could give them the edge they needed.

Yet, he didn’t get more than a step from the door. There was the soft shuffle of movement a second before the door jumped open. Kai stood in front of him, a questioning look on his handsome face. His normally styled hair was mussed, though, giving vivid proof of what he’d dragged Kai from. That was going to put him in a wonderful mood. “Junjie? Is something wrong?”

He never got the chance to answer. Leo meowed and slipped between Kai’s legs to enter the room.

“Ah. The cat,” Kai continued. He retreated a step and motioned for Junjie to enter. “I take it he came clean with you?”

And that was another thing…

Junjie threw the dragon a warning scowl as he entered Xiang and Kai’s room. How could the dragon know Leo was a shifter and not tell them about it?

“Who came clean about what?” Xiang inquired.

Thankfully, Leo saved him from needing to answer. In the blink of an eye, he shifted into an auburn-haired man with a sprinkling of freckles across his nose, bright-green eyes, and clothes.

The asshole was wearing clothes.

“You can shift without being naked?” Junjie shouted, the words slipping out as the filter in his brain was still trying to kick in.

Xiang screeched and jumped up on his bed, pulling a knife—from where, only the ancestors knew—to point it at Leo. “He can shift? Wait! Did you see him naked?”

Just let the floor open up and swallow me whole.

“I thought shifters couldn’t change and not be naked. Bel Varik’s wolves always have to bring their clothes with them,” Junjie argued.

Leo grinned at Xiang and scratched his head with his left hand. “Yeah, I thought naked would be a good icebreaker with Junjie. I was afraid of the dragon snapping things off if I tried that again.”

“Smart decision. And not being able to shift with clothes is a wolf-shifter problem,” Kai said as he crossed to where Xiang was standing on the bed. He wrapped his fingers around the hand holding the blade and got him to lower it. “There’s no need for that, my precious one. He’s not a danger to you or your family.”

“What?” Xiang demanded, refusing to move his eyes a centimeter from where Leo was standing.

“Yiguo’s real name is Leo St. George, and he’s a cat shifter or a cat spirit. I don’t know. All I know is that he’s not an actual house cat, and he needs our help.”

“What?” Xiang repeated.

Junjie almost sighed. Information was not entering Xiang’s brain. It was too overloaded.

“Cat shifter would be the best description, but not quite like the wolf shifters,” Leo chimed in. He tipped his head toward Junjie. “I’ve got way more skills than those dogs.”

“The main point you should remember is that your mate knew he wasn’t a cat.” Junjie pointed at Kai, who stared at him with his mouth hanging open as if he couldn’t believe Junjie had betrayed him like that.

“Are you shitting me? You knew? When?” Xiang demanded.

“From the moment I saw him. I didn’t say anything at first because I thought you knew. When I realized you didn’t, I thought it best to wait and see how it played out. The cat isn’t stronger than me. I knew I could protect you and your clan.”

“Kai!”

“Rei and Huli knew it too,” Kai blurted out.

Whoosh! Just like that, Rei and Huli were thrown in front of the oncoming bus.

“What?” Xiang was near shrieking levels. That was going to bring the rest of his clan running to their room, which was exactly what Junjie didn’t want. They’d all been through too much tonight. He wanted to take care of Leo’s request now and have a long talk with his clan mates the next evening, when everyone was well rested.

“Xiang, we can argue later about who knew what. The sun is going to rise soon, and I need your help with something.”

Those words flipped a switch inside of Xiang. He hopped from where he’d been standing on the bed and closed the distance between them so he could put his hand on Junjie’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong? What can I do?”

“Leo said that one of his pack mates is in danger and needs our help, but we have to go now while the fae are in disarray. The sun will be up in a couple of hours. I can’t do this alone.”

“The place where he’s hiding is about twenty miles from here. I can take you there,” Leo chimed in.

Xiang’s fingers tightened, biting into flesh, but even though it was mildly painful, there was something comforting in it. Xiang’s sledgehammer approach to everything was so very familiar. He’d been like this prior to becoming a vampire and hadn’t changed in more than two thousand years. “There’s no way we’d let you out of this house alone.”

“Just remember, cat,” Kai cut in, his eyes glowing bright gold as his pupils became slender vertical slits, “I will be there. If I believe there is any threat to my mate or my family, I will send them home in the blink of an eye and I will eat you in a single bite.”

Leo’s smile wavered, and he nodded once to Kai. “Got it. Don’t fuck over the vampires. That was never my plan, anyway.”

That might be true, but Junjie wasn’t so na?ve that he believed Leo didn’t have some kind of scheme in mind. He simply had to figure out what it was before it got him or his clan in trouble.