5. Leo St. George

Chapter 5

Leo St. George

L eo flattened himself across a tree limb while in his cat form, his eyes fixed on the rear of the Zhang manor. Lights glowed in the interior, and more were blinking on throughout the garden, creating a warm and welcoming illusion.

Come in. You’re home. This is where you belong.

At least, that was what it seemed to whisper to him, but it was all a lie. This wasn’t home, and he didn’t belong here.

No, he was more like a cuckoo bird than a cat, hiding one of his own kind within the nest of vampires.

Or some nonsense like that.

The truth of the matter was that jealousy was eating him from the inside out. He was green with it. That helpless kitten was undoubtedly receiving plenty of cuddles and laughs from Junjie. Cuddles and belly rubs that should have been his alone.

Not that he would begrudge the orphan all the love and affection he could receive. He’d lost his parents and home. Meanwhile, his own kind, out of fear and superstition, couldn’t be bothered to take him in. Vampires were far less cold blooded about the child’s fate.

Maybe he worried about the kid, too. This was Leo’s third visit in a week, though he never dared to venture any closer to the house than this tree, which was closest to one of the walls. It allowed him to beat a hasty retreat over the wall and out of reach if a resident spotted him.

The sun had set a few minutes earlier, and he was hoping to glimpse Junjie when he took the boy out for a walk through the garden. The little guy loved to help feed the koi that swam through the man-made pond and under the curved bridge.

“You’re an asshole.”

Leo hissed and jumped up from where he lounged at the sudden voice below him. He looked down to find that weird fox shifter sitting beneath the tree, his many tails spread behind him. He’d heard some of the fairy tales about fox spirits and jiuweihu, but he’d never believed they existed. But then, there were a lot of things that were possible after meeting the Zhang clan.

“What are you talking about? It’s not like the kid was my flesh and blood. I was trying to find him a good home.” Ire and guilt sharpened Leo’s voice and left his hair standing on end. His spine arched, and he bared his fangs at the fox.

Huli leaped up and braced his front two paws on the tree trunk, stretching toward the cat. His triangular ears flattered against his head and his sharp teeth seemed to grow as his lips pulled back. “That’s not what I mean. All of Xiao Dan’s attention is on the baby now. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for him? How hard I’ve worked to win his affection just to have you throw a baby between us because you can’t take care of it? I’m supposed to be his baby. No one else. Just me .”

“Huli.”

Both of them jerked their heads in the direction of the firm, deep voice that drifted across the yard from the house. Xiao Dan was standing on the bridge wearing a pair of dark slacks and a soft, thin sweater despite the lingering heat of the day.

The fox spirit needed no additional coaxing. He shoved off the tree and bounded over to where the vampire was waiting for him, as if he were an overgrown Tigger with too many tails. On the final bounce, the huli jing shifted into a human with chestnut-brown hair and large green eyes. The top of his head barely reached Xiao Dan’s shoulder. Huli’s bright smile beamed at the vampire as if he were the one and only thing that mattered in all of his world.

Xiao Dan threaded their fingers together, but before they walked off, he stared at the tree where Leo remained hidden behind a wall of thick, green leaves. There was no way Xiao Dan should be able to see him, but Leo swore he could feel those piercing, nearly black eyes slicing through him. Leo hunkered low, trying to make himself smaller.

Yet, as Leo prepared to run, Xiao Dan lowered his gaze to Huli and looked at him so warmly, not saying a single word to Leo. They walked off together, hand in hand, moving to one of the other gardens. As they disappeared from sight, the back door slid open and Junjie appeared with the little boy cradled in one arm and the canister of fish food in the other hand. Today, the child was wearing a pair of blue shorts and a red T-shirt with a cartoon character on it. The shirt rode up on his rounded belly and Leo relaxed on the tree limb as he watched them approach the pond. Every time he saw them, there were such happy expressions on their faces. He understood all too well Huli’s jealousy of the boy.

The only difference was that the child’s open joy warmed all the places deep inside of Leo that had grown cold and numb with time. This was his favorite time of the entire day.

As they got close to the water, Junjie kneeled and set the boy on his feet. The child held up his left hand for Junjie to take so they could walk hand in hand to the water’s edge. The koi spotted the approach of Junjie and the boy and rushed to where they were standing, their mouths poking out of the water, opening and closing as they begged for food. A high-pitched squeal and giggle rang out.

“Gege! Fish!”

“Yes, they’re happy to see you.”

“Food! Food!”

Junjie nodded and opened the fish pellet container with his thumb, keeping a tight hold on the boy to make sure he didn’t tumble headfirst into the water. “Yes, they want you to give them their dinner.”

“ Mn . Dinner.”

Leo struggled not to chuckle as Junjie poured some food into the boy’s tiny hand. The kid flung it out into the water and squealed as the fish splashed and jumped to snap up the pellets. This went on for several rounds until all the fish were fed.

Junjie closed up the container of food and left it beside the bank of the pond. He stood and led the child across the bridge and into the grassy area under the trees, drawing closer and closer to where Leo was hiding. The cat fought the urge to move, potentially giving away his location.

When they were a safe distance from the water, Junjie released the little boy’s hand, allowing him to wander through the grass. He appeared unbothered by the growing darkness, but then the child of cat shifters would have already developed superior night vision.

“Are you going to come down or stay lurking up there?” Junjie inquired without even gazing up into the trees.

Caught.

There wasn’t much point in hiding any longer.

Leo leaped from his perch and shifted into a human before his feet even touched the ground. He’d opted for a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt rather than being naked like he had during their first real meeting. Junjie didn’t seem in the mood for his silliness. The vampire didn’t act cold toward him, just cautious.

“Hey.”

“This is your third visit in a week,” Junjie murmured as he sat on the grass near where the child was gathering up some sticks.

Leo swallowed hard and rubbed a hand through his messy hair. “You knew?”

“We always know when someone has entered the boundaries of our home.”

Well, that was both creepy and reassuring. It also proved that he wasn’t as stealthy as he’d hoped. Each time he’d watched the two of them during their nightly fish feeding, Junjie had been aware of his presence.

“Gege! Gege, ’ticks.” The little boy hurried on chubby legs and held up a handful of sticks in front of Junjie’s face.

“Those are lovely sticks. Would you like me to hold them for you?”

The boy nodded and handed them over before wandering off to search for more interesting things.

“Gege? You’re teaching him Chinese?” Leo blurted out without letting his brain catch up with his mouth.

Junjie’s eyes narrowed on him, and Leo took a step back. “You gave a child to a Chinese family. Is it surprising to discover that he’s learning some words and phrases?”

He held up his hands and waved them. “No. No. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. I guess I was surprised that he picked it up so quickly.”

The tiny lines of tension around Junjie’s eyes disappeared and his shoulders lowered. “He has learned only a few words. Gege and jiejie are the two most common. Oh, and?—”

The boy raced over to them and stopped with wide eyes locked on Leo. He stared for a second; then his mouth spread into a grin. With his empty hand, he pointed at Leo. “Mao!”? 1

Junjie lifted his hand to cover his own mouth, but Leo caught the hint of a smile as the vampire fought to clear his throat. “Yes, you’re right. That’s Leo. He’s a mao.”

Leo cocked his head at the two of them. “What?”

“Cat. Mao means cat.”

Leo smirked. “He is a smart little guy.”

Just as fast, the boy lost all interest in Leo and turned to Junjie, handing him a tiny purple flower. “For Gege.”

“Thank you.”

Leo sat on the ground close to Junjie and braced his hands behind him, leaning back so he could watch both the vampire and the kitten.

“He seems to have settled in,” he observed, his tone still guarded.

Junjie nodded, his eyes drifting away from the boy to the sticks and flower he was holding in his hands. “ Mn . He’s very resilient despite what he’s been through. He’s woken twice with nightmares, calling for his mother, but Su Ming Yu has soothed him, and he returns to me afterward. We’ve been able to establish a nice routine for him so that he’s able to be awake during some of the daylight hours and some of the night hours.”

“You…” Leo paused and rubbed his jaw with one knuckle. “You…don’t sound too pissed at me for dumping this kid in your lap.”

“Could you have taken care of him? Fed him? Clothed him? Held him when he woke crying from a nightmare he didn’t understand?”

“Jeez! Fu-fuuudggge no!” Leo exclaimed, correcting himself at the very last second. “I told you earlier that I can barely take care of myself. Every time I looked at him, all I could think about was how I was going to screw him up. He deserves a better shot at life than what I can provide.”

The thought of trying to raise the little boy was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat. His fight-or-flight instincts were hardcore triggered. He longed to shift and run up the nearest tree.

Junjie nodded and lifted his eyes to watch the toddler as he wandered the open green space without a care in the world. “Why did you pick me?”

“I didn’t pick just you. I picked your entire clan. There was no one else that I knew who is a healthy, caring, responsible family unit.” Leo stopped and let out a deep sigh. “And to be honest, we didn’t want to wait long to get him settled. The fae are lurking everywhere, knocking off shifters and witches left and right. The kid needed somewhere safe. We thought about giving him over to a human orphanage?—”

Junjie’s head snapped around so quickly Leo nearly jumped out of his skin. “You would hand a full-blooded shifter child over to the humans? Isn’t that dangerous?”

Leo put up both hands while suppressing the urge to back away. “Thought about it. Simply thought about it. But we all agreed it was a bad idea. There’s a good chance he won’t present any outward signs of being a shifter until he’s in his late teens or early twenties, but there are always some who are early bloomers. He could even partially shift as early as five or six.”

Junjie’s eyes widened and his pale-pink lips parted, forming the most lickable O. “He could partially shift?”

“It’s rare, but possible.”

The vampire put aside the flower and sticks the child had given him and pushed to his feet. He walked over to where the little boy had ambled and scooped him up, swinging his feet into the air and wringing fresh giggles out of him. Yet, when Junjie turned toward Leo, there was no mistaking the worry marring his handsome face.

“What’s wrong?” the cat shifter inquired.

“There’s so much we don’t know about him. We won’t be able to answer the questions he’s going to have later in life about his own kind or himself. We won’t be able to guide him when he’s learning to shift.”

Leo waved a hand at him. “Don’t worry about that. Instincts take over, and it happens naturally.”

Junjie was not soothed. If anything, his glare became more intense. “I don’t even know his name.”

The cat winced and lowered his eyes to the grass. “I didn’t know his parents personally. Didn’t even know anyone had given birth to a kitten in the past few years. I wasn’t there when he was discovered, but I poked around the place later. There was a backpack with the name ‘Erik’ stitched into the material. I don’t know if that was his name or maybe his father’s, but that’s all I got.”

With the child still in his arms, Junjie shifted how he was cradled so the vampire could look into his eyes. “Erik? Is your name Erik?”

A giggle rose, and he clapped his hands. But that response could as easily have been from the ride in his arms rather than Junjie’s words.

“Okay. From now on, you’ll be Erik. Erik Zhang.”

Leo sat up straighter, rising to his knees as if to keep his heart in his chest when it attempted to leap toward Junjie. “You’re going to keep him?”

“Yes. The clan discussed it, and while we are concerned about protecting him as we deal with Jiang Chong and the fae, it’s more important that he is in a loving, supportive home after losing his parents.” Junjie’s arms tightened on Erik and he pressed his cheek to the top of his head, but his eyes no longer met Leo’s. “I know what it’s like to lose a parent and to have no one in the world who wants you.”

“Jun-Jun…” Leo whispered; his heart squeezed so tight he was afraid it was about to be pulverized to dust. How could this man ever be alone? To him, it was as if he were made to be loved by all who met him.

“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 frown returned 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