7. Zhang Junjie

Chapter 7

Zhang Junjie

“ W as it the same?” Chen demanded the moment Xiao Dan released Junjie and allowed him to return to his seat.

Junjie nodded. “It was. The darkness, the cold, the ability to see and hear you, but you can’t see or hear me. The only thing missing were the spirits, but Winter stated that’s likely because no one has died on our grounds in a very long time.”

“While we’re waiting for Winter to finish checking over your manor, we can share what we’ve learned about the fae recently,” Aiden said. “They have been doing more small attacks in suburbs surrounding Hartford, and there has been an increase in elves hunting in the forests.”

“But this time, their focus isn’t solely on humans. They’ve been targeting shifters and witches,” Ronan continued.

Moon shot to his feet. “No!”

Junjie’s hands squeezed into tight fists as he thought of Moon’s friends and coven brothers Sky, Redstone, and Maddox. The earth witches, Redstone and Maddox, had been fearful of the fae’s arrival, while the necromancer, Sky, had thought he would slip under the fae’s notice thanks to his unique brand of magic.

Chen put his hand into Moon’s, and the young vampire dragged it up to his chest. “Why don’t you call them right now?” Chen suggested. “If they need to move to the manor, we can make room for them.”

His mate had barely finished speaking when Moon was out of the room, his cell phone pressed to his ear.

But what about Leo?

The cat shifter had made it clear that he could take care of himself—reveled in his independence and self-reliance, even. Yet, that didn’t mean he couldn’t use someone watching his back and offering him a haven. A place where he didn’t have to worry about the fae finding him.

Unfortunately, Junjie didn’t know how to contact him. The cat was too independent, providing him with no way of reaching him if there was a problem.

“Do we know if they’re preparing to do another ritual spell to expand the reach of the forest?” Rei asked.

“It looks like it,” Aiden said with a single nod. “We believe their goal is to wipe out human cities to the west this time.”

The elf scrubbed a hand across his face. “Which would, of course, increase the power of the fae. Fewer humans. More nature. But it would also require more magical energy from the fae realm to maintain. If Trin pursues this course, he’ll be killing our people and the humans. No one wins.”

“The problem we’ve been having is that there are signs the fae have been more active during the day than at night,” Ronan explained.

Xiao Dan reached for his teacup but didn’t take a drink from it, as if he’d gotten lost in thought. “To hide it from us, since we can’t easily monitor them with the sun up.”

“We have access to some shifters, but…” Aiden’s voice drifted off to nothing and a new chill gripped Junjie by the throat.

“What?” Xiang snapped. “River? Wyatt?”

“Wyatt suffered an injury during the last tracking mission.” Ronan picked up the story when Aiden seemed unable to continue. “He’s almost recovered now.”

“But Bel is not taking it well,” Fox chimed in.

“Why would he?” Yichen demanded. “He’s already lost his house. Then he nearly loses a mate. Fuck the world. I’d go atomic.”

“That’s what we’re afraid of.” Aiden sighed, his shoulders slumped. “Bel is a scientist. Right now, his mates are keeping a close watch on him to make sure he doesn’t sneak off to make anything frightening.”

“Like the goo,” Fox added.

“Yes, I think I’ve heard about the goo,” Chen said after clearing his throat. They’d all quietly discussed the substance Bel had invented that melted people. As much as they wanted to be rid of the fae, something like the goo felt too horrible and dangerous.

“We have more daytime resources available,” Chen volunteered. He turned his gaze to Xiao Dan and smirked. “Huli enjoys spying on the fae and outsmarting them.”

“True. I will speak to him about it,” Shixiong agreed.

“I can also help,” Kai offered.

Xiang huffed and folded his arms over his chest. He wouldn’t be able to accompany his mate for the action since he would be stuck protecting his clan at home during the day.

“Not to be too nosy or anything,” Ronan drawled, scratching his jaw with one finger. “But you’re a dragon and practically a god, right?”

“Yes, that is correct,” Kai agreed with a prim bow of his head.

Junjie almost rolled his eyes. This was the same “godlike” creature who’d nearly lost his shit a few days ago when Meimei had shown him the social media filter that put a nonexistent chicken on his head.

“Can’t you use your magic to destroy the fae for us?” Ronan continued.

“It’s not quite so simple.” Kai seemed to deflate. He wrapped an arm around his mate’s waist as if he needed reassurance from Xiang. “I cannot differentiate between the fae other than Rei. That is only because I have spent time with Rei and gotten to know his particular magic signature. The rest are a mass of creatures with magic very different from my own. I couldn’t even pick out Trin. Killing the fae with my magic would mean killing them all, and Xiang has pointed out that it would be wrong of me to do that.”

“It’s beginning to feel less wrong to me,” Rei muttered under his breath.

“No, it’s wrong,” Yichen growled while glaring at his elf mate. “You would regret it later. Plus, I don’t want to risk you getting caught up in that ‘killing them all,’ even if Kai can pick you out of the crowd.”

A slow smile spread across Rei’s lips. “Vampire by marriage, remember?”

“ Mn ,” Yichen hummed as he leaned in for a kiss.

“Actually, he is feeling more vampire than fae to me because of Yichen’s regular feeding from Rei,” Kai interjected before Yichen could seal their lips together.

“You can sense that?” Xiang asked, but it was almost drowned out by Chen’s horrified cry.

“What? You swore you were going to stop that! It’s dangerous!”

Yichen dropped his face into Rei’s neck and moaned. “It was just a little love bite.”

“Wu Yichen!” Chen snapped.

Their didi lifted his head and glared at Chen. “Don’t judge! How long could you go between bites of your mate?” Chen’s mouth shut with an audible click of his teeth and bright color painted his cheeks. Yichen smirked at him. “That’s what I thought.”

Ronan and Aiden looked as if they were struggling not to laugh while Xiao Dan pinched the bridge of his nose. This clan was more than a handful and only growing worse with the addition of every new mate. Not that the mates didn’t bring many benefits to the clan, but they also made the new lovers reckless. That was not a good thing when they faced threats from the fae and Jiang Chong.

“Yichen,” Xiao Dan began slowly. “You know we don’t want to interfere with your time with your mate, but we are at war with a deadly opponent. If you become injured in battle and are separated temporarily from the one person who can supply you blood…”

Yichen extracted himself from Rei, jumped to his feet, and bowed deeply to Xiao Dan. “Forgive me, Shixiong. I was being selfish, not thinking about what is best for my clan and my mate.”

Rei leaped from the sofa as well and mimicked Yichen’s bow. “It’s my fault too, Xiao Dan. I shouldn’t have tempted?—”

He stopped talking the moment Xiao Dan held up a hand. “It’s okay. I get the picture. Just, please, refrain until after we can deal with the fae. We must consider everyone’s safety.”

“I think I may be able to get Leo to help Kai and Huli in their spying on the fae,” Junjie suggested to help move them away from more personal matters.

“Leo? Is he another shifter?” Ronan inquired.

Junjie nodded and smiled at the vampire king. “A cat shifter.”

“A very shifty cat shifter,” Xiang added.

“Really? A cat shifter? I’ve never heard of them,” Fox murmured.

“Neither have I,” Aiden whispered.

“I’ve seen a few, and those were over in Europe,” Ronan stated. “They are incredibly rare. Especially a pure-blooded one. Most would have only one shifter parent. Those offspring lacked the ability to shift and would usually pick up a few supernatural traits, like a slightly extended lifespan or superior night vision. Nothing to catch the attention of the humans.”

Junjie wanted to remind Xiang that they didn’t know Leo or his kind very well. It wasn’t right for them to pass judgment, even if Xiang seemed correct in assessment of the man who’d pretended to be a cat in order to get free meals and belly rubs.

But all of that was forgotten when the sounds of Erik’s cries reached his sensitive ears. He balled his hands into fists, fighting the urge to jump to his feet and find out what was wrong. It didn’t matter how he reminded himself that Meimei could handle this. Everything was fine.

Except it wasn’t.

Those weren’t Erik’s hungry cries or his frustrated cries or even his tired cries.

No, something had scared him and was continuing to scare him.

Junjie sat still for another three whole seconds before he jumped to his feet. It sounded as if Erik’s cries were growing louder. Was he more frightened, or was Meimei carrying him to Junjie?

“Shixiong—”

“It’s okay, Jun-Jun. Go see if Mei Lian needs your help.”

He glanced at Fox, Ronan, and Aiden, who could all hear the crying child. They had curious expressions on their faces, but were too polite to ask how the Zhang clan had suddenly gained a child. He bowed his head to them and turned to leave, but Meimei zipped into the doorway holding a red-faced Erik. Bright tears streaked his chubby cheeks.

“Sorry, Junjie,” she exhaled. “I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s okay, Meimei. I’ve got him.” Junjie didn’t even need to speak. Erik took one look at him and stretched his arms out to Junjie, hands opening and closing as if that action alone could pull Junjie closer. He sucked in a few ragged breaths and wrapped himself around Junjie as much as he could the moment he landed in Junjie’s arms.

“It’s okay, Xiao Ping Guo. I have you now. Nothing is going to get you,” he cooed in the boy’s ear.

Mei Lian stepped close and rubbed the top of his head. “It was the strangest thing. We were playing in the TV room with some blocks and he paused to stare at the wall as if he were watching something. As I was trying to figure out if he was seeing a bug or a shadow, he burst out into these horrible tears. It was breaking my heart. Nothing I did could get him to stop.”

“I think I’m the reason for his scare.”

The voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Mei Lian was moving before the person stopped speaking. She whirled and scooped up a nearby lamp, pulling the plug free from the socket with a single jerk. One foot planted on the arm of a chair, she raised the lamp above her head, preparing to bring it down on the would-be attacker’s head. Her brain clearly hadn’t registered that she was staring at Winter Varik.

Thankfully, Xiao Dan acted faster.

“Mei Lian, stop!” he shouted, soaring to his feet as well.

Mei Lian froze, still balanced on one foot on the chair, the lamp held high. She blinked and horror filled her face. “Oh, shit! Winter!”

“Holy cow!” Moon echoed from the doorway, his phone still pressed to his ear. “I gotta call you back. Meimei is about to clock Winter with a lamp.”

“Meimei!” Ming Yu snapped.

“Okay! I won’t hit him.” She hopped from the chair and returned the lamp to its table. Her cheeks flushed bright red as Winter rose from his defensive crouch and lowered his arms from his head.

“Way to make friends, babe,” Fox teased.

Ronan lifted one hand above his head. “So, I have questions.”

“Yeah, me too,” Winter chimed in.

“This is Erik. The fae killed his parents. They were also cat shifters like Leo. We have agreed to take him in. He is now a member of the Zhang clan,” Junjie explained, while his arms automatically tightened around the child, squeezing him so that he felt safe.

“You have two very rare cat shifters linked to your clan now,” Aiden observed softly. “How very lucky!”

“Erik is a very special little boy.” Winter eased closer to the child. Erik lifted his head to stare at Winter and gave a whimper of discomfort. His chubby hands twisted in Junjie’s shirt, and he squirmed as if trying to get closer to him. Junjie comforted him with a kiss to the side of his head. “He can see me,” Winter continued in a whisper.

“That’s not a hard thing. I can see you too,” Fox grumbled.

“No, he means when he’s in the dead realm,” Junjie corrected. “That’s why Erik started crying with Meimei. He saw you in there.”

“Exactly.”

Junjie shifted Erik in his arms so that he could look into the boy’s teary blue eyes. His face was less flushed now, but his brown hair was sticking up in every direction. “Hi. Everything is okay now. I’ve got you.”

“Gege,” Erik mumbled. His fists didn’t loosen in the front of Junjie’s shirt, and he gave Winter quite a bit of skeptical side-eye as if he didn’t know what to think of the strange man in the dark hoodie.

“Gege is here.” He tipped his head toward Winter. “Did you see this man earlier? Did he scare you?”

Erik slowly turned his head, taking a peek at Winter only to dive back into Junjie’s chest, his face pressed into his neck. But he could still feel a tiny nod.

“I’m sorry, Erik. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Winter said in a gentle voice. “Can we still be friends?”

Erik didn’t budge.

“Winter, try this.”

Junjie didn’t need to see what Ming Yu was handing him, but he could hear the scrape of a ceramic plate on the table.

“Erik? Would you like a cookie? Ming Yu?—”

“Jiejie,” Ming Yu corrected in a whisper.

“Jiejie said you like these.”

Erik turned his head on Junjie’s chest and stared at Winter for a couple of seconds before finally sneaking a hand out to take the cookie.

“What do we say?” Junjie prodded.

“Tank yooo.”

“Good boy.” Junjie pressed another kiss to the top of his head, his heart swelling.

Instead of handing him to Mei Lian, Junjie was content to return to his seat with Erik in his lap. Mei Lian slipped around the room to squeeze into the seat directly next to Ming Yu, wrapping both of her arms around one of Ming Yu’s. The other woman blushed and whispered something to Mei Lian that made her laugh.

Junjie lifted his gaze at the sound of a soft sigh escaping Aiden. An expression of joy and envy filled his handsome face.

“When I met my boys for the first time, Winter was already older than him. I never got to see or hold them as babies,” Aiden explained.

Ronan wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Longing for the pitter-patter of little feet through the mansion?”

“Maybe,” Aiden murmured. He seemed to wallow in dreams and wishes for another moment before shaking his head and straightening in his chair. “But not right now.” He turned his attention to Xiao Dan. “Are you planning to take him to China with you?”

“Yes. His family is dead, and the cat shifters cannot take him in. He will return to China with us,” Xiao Dan answered firmly, chasing away any fears that the clan might be reluctant to have a human child growing up among them.

Aiden clapped his hands on his knees. “Good. Winter, can you help them?”

“I can get a birth certificate, social security card, and adoption papers all drawn up for you in a few weeks, so you won’t have any trouble traveling with him.” He paused and his lips twisted as he gazed at the boy. “If you want a Chinese passport, that will be more complicated. However, I got a guy who I think can manage it.”

“Excellent. Thank you for your help,” Xiao Dan said.

“No problem. Least I could do after scaring the small fry.” He held up a finger. “Speaking of which, I checked out most of the rooms and saw nothing to show that Jiang Chong has been in here. Right now, if Jiang Chong can get past all the magic barriers you have set up outside, I think your best warning systems are going to be him”—he pointed at Kai—“and him.” He moved that finger over to Erik. “Kai has dragon magic, but I can’t guess why a kid can see me.”

Fox snorted. “Really? You can’t?”

“What?”

The former witch threw up his hands and laughed. “He’s a cat shifter. You’ve got to know the old wives’ tale that cats can see the dead. People say that’s why they’re always staring at empty space and meowing at the wall when nothing’s there. They see dead people.”

“But I thought that was all bullshi—nonsense,” Winter corrected himself at the last second.

Fox dropped his hands and glowered at his mate. “You come up with a better explanation as to why a kid can see you in the dead realm.”

“Jun-Jun, has Leo ever mentioned something like that to you?” Chen inquired.

He frowned, arms reflexively tightening on Erik. “No, but Leo hasn’t been forthcoming about the gifts of his kind. However, he has agreed to continue to visit and share more information so we can answer Erik’s questions when he gets older. I will ask him about seeing the dead realm. I will also ask if he would help Huli and Kai with their investigations during the day.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t hold my breath on either of those counts. He seems pretty selfish and useless to me,” Xiang grumbled. As much as Junjie wanted to argue with Xiang, he couldn’t.

Leo’s actions so far had been pretty self-centered, but he’d never minded because he’d never needed or wanted anything from Leo other than some companionship. Junjie had wanted a friend to keep him from feeling lonely and Leo had wanted food. It had been a good arrangement.

But now his clan and Erik needed more from him. If Leo couldn’t step up and think of someone other than himself, maybe it was time to cut ties for the sake of his family and the boy in his arms.

“Sadly, I can’t see Winter when he is in the dead realm like Erik,” Kai admitted. “What I can pick up is a ripple of magic just before an opening is formed between the realms. As long as Winter, or even Jiang Chong, is only observing, there is no way for me to know either is close.”

“I know you were hoping for some secret to detect when Jiang Chong is near but unseen,” Winter began, but he was already shaking his head. “I’m sorry to say that I have nothing for you. In all my years, I’ve never run across anyone who can sense it. Not even Fox. He can shield me from ghosts when we are near, but he has never been able to tell when I’m close to him while in the dead realm. As far as I know, Erik is the first living creature who has ever seen me.”

“Thank you, Winter. Do you know of any way for someone, who has been dragged to the dead realm and abandoned, to escape?” A slight waver entered Xiao Dan’s voice, and he appeared to pale as he spoke.

“No, but if that ever happens to anyone in your clan, call me immediately. I’ll come to wherever they are. As long as they stay in one place, I should have no trouble locating them and bringing them out.” Winter turned his gaze on Junjie, his expression hardening. “No one is getting trapped in the dead realm. I swear it.”

“I think this is a problem for Bel,” Aiden suddenly announced, snapping every eye back to him. “He needs something to focus on, and this is perfect. With his science, he might come up with a solution.”

And if not, this will at least keep him from trying to invent something deadly to destroy all the fae everywhere. But Junjie didn’t dare say those thoughts out loud.

“If he tries to take a sample of my blood again, I’m turning him into a pincushion with those damn syringes,” Winter threatened.

Aiden waved off his words. “I’m sure he won’t need to.”

“In the meantime, the Zhang clan will begin some nighttime investigations to match our daytime efforts. Our clan has a great deal of experience sneaking through the woods at night. The fae will not escape us,” Xiao Dan announced. “Rei, do you think it will be worthwhile for us to return to the fae stronghold where we last battled?”

The elf sat up from how he’d been slumped against Yichen, seeming to shake himself from his dark thoughts. “Trin never lived there after he came through the doorway, preferring to keep a safe distance between himself and my parents. He has another stronghold somewhere close by. I’m sure the old castle constructed by my parents has either been demolished in a fit of rage, or he’s gone to the trouble of setting traps there if we return looking for him.”

“I’ll have Marcus send you the latest intelligence and maps we have of recent fae movements,” Ronan offered.

“Kill Trin, and the fae will have no one left to lead them. I think the remaining survivors will leave earth and return to their realm,” Rei stated.

“Kill Jiang Chong, and our clan will be safe at last,” Xiang added.

That was it. That was the plan. The hope. The dream.

Free the world of the fae and get their revenge for stealing Yichen a century ago. Destroy Jiang Chong as justice for all the pain he put them through and the lives he stole from their clan.

But the first step was finding both men.

That would not be a simple task.