Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“Shixiong, can I offer my blood?” Junjie asked.
The eldest vampire shook his head. “He doesn’t need more blood.” Xiao Dan shifted Fox in his arms, holding him out to Winter. “Talk to him. Call him from the darkness and remind him what he has to live for.”
Winter nodded, gathering Fox close as tears continued to stream down his face and clog his voice. “Please, Fox. Come back to me. I need you. There is so much more we need to do together. We promised to spend the next several hundred years together. You…you still have to let me stick cheese doodles on your new fangs. It’s only fair,” he choked out with a forced laugh.
Bel reached past his brother and threaded his fingers through Fox’s soaked hair. “Fight, Fox. You’re a Varik now, and we’re fighters. You can’t leave us.”
Winter leaned in and pressed a feather-light kiss to Fox’s blood-stained lips. “I love you, Fox, with everything that I am. Come back to me.”
The words still hung in the air when Winter’s head jerked up. Xiang leaned in closer to see that Fox’s eyelids fluttered and his lips moved.
“What?” Winter choked out.
“Leave…my fangs…alone,” Fox whispered a little bit louder.
A shout of relief went up, and a sob broke from Winter as he hugged his new vampire boyfriend tight. He was alive…for a vampire.
“Celebrate later!” Xiao Dan snapped. “Chen, carry Fox to the cars. Junjie, help Winter. He’s lost too much blood. We will take you to the Varik manor and sort things out there the moment we are safe.”
Xiang helped Winter climb to his feet and stepped away, inspecting the dragon at his side. There was something large and black cradled in his arms.
“What are you holding?”
Kai glanced at the creature, the lines on his face easing. “I found this one on my way to you. He was hurt and dying, but he was still very desperate to get to someone.”
The sleek black bundle shifted, and a head popped up. A long, hooked beak opened, letting out a rather pathetic cry. Bel swung around and rushed to their sides.
“Ozzie!” he cried, his face crumbling into tears. “I’m so sorry. I lost you in the chaos.” With a trembling hand, he reached out and stroked the slick, black feathers on his head. “My sweet friend.”
“His wing was broken, but I mended it. He will need a couple of days of rest before he can fly,” Kai explained as he handed the raven over to Bel.
The vampire nodded as he settled the bird in his arms, cuddling him as close as possible. His knees buckled, but Wyatt was there to wrap an arm across Bel’s back, holding him up. He pressed a kiss to Bel’s temple and lifted his gaze to Kai. “Thank you for saving him. Ozzie is part of our family. He means a lot to Bel.”
The wolf on the other side of Bel shifted into his human form and Xiang blinked at River, who was now snuggled against Bel’s other side and cooing at the raven like it was their baby.
Their family complete, they walked to where they left the vehicles. Kai might have waved his hand in Wyatt’s and River’s direction, wrapping them in clean jeans and T-shirts. Xiang shot him a questioning look. The dragon wrinkled his nose and turned his face away from Xiang as he said, “You’re not allowed to look at other naked men.”
It didn’t matter that River and Wyatt were mated to another vampire or that they were hopelessly in love with each other. A bubble of laughter rose from Xiang’s lips, but it died off when Bel and the wolves paused to stare at the burned-out shell of a house near the end of the block.
“Our home,” Bel whispered.
Wyatt tightened his arm on Bel’s waist, pulling him in close, while River rested his head on Bel’s slumped shoulder.
“The only thing that matters is that we’re still together. It’s just a house,” Wyatt reassured him.
“We’ll rebuild. We’ll rebuild a hundred times if we have to. No one is taking our home from us,” River added, brushing a kiss to Bel’s cheek. “Winter and Fox will rebuild next to us, too.”
Xiang’s heart sank when they gazed at the house next Bel’s that was almost as burned as theirs. The Variks had suffered some serious blows today, but they were all still alive.
“The Zhang clan would be honored to assist you in any way that we can,” Xiang offered.
Bel, River, and Wyatt smiled at him and Kai. “Thank you,” Bel replied in a rough voice. “It’s nice to have friends we can rely on.”
Wyatt ushered them over to the waiting cars, and they headed to the Varik manor. Even though they were all safe and Fox seemed to be healing from his transformation, Xiang couldn’t bring himself to release his hold on Kai’s arm.