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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.
Was there a chance he could lose his dragon the way Winter nearly lost his Fox?
Chapter 19
Kai
Something was wrong with Xiang.
Upon arriving at the grand Varik manor with its great white façade and windows of golden light, noise and chaos surrounded them. Winter, Chen, Moon, and another vampire named Aiden took Fox to a private room while the rest of them strolled into a lovely library. Some of the Variks bickered. Others shouted.
Xiao Dan worked to restore the peace and get them to discuss the attack as well as what had happened to the displaced shifters. Through it all, Xiang remained standing with his arms folded over his chest and his expression bleak.
No, this could not continue. His vampire could not keep this expression on his face.
As the night wore on, Xiao Dan declared he wished to remain with the Variks to ensure their safety after the attack, but someone needed to return to the Zhang clan home to protect it and Su Ming Yu.
“We will do it!” Kai announced, his loud voice cutting through the room as soon as Xiao Dan stopped speaking. “Xiang and I will fly to the clan home and protect it. We will also keep Xiang’s jiejie safe.”
A hand landed on his arm and squeezed. Kai shifted his stance to see Xiang staring at him with a wrinkled brow and wide eyes. “What? We will?”
“Mn,” he grunted. “We must return to your home.”
His primary intention wasn’t so much to protect it, though. He had layered his own magic over the spells Moon had woven into the walls, adding an even heavier barrier. The fae would have even more trouble entering the grounds, and they definitely couldn’t do it without alerting him. No, the point of returning was to remove this worried expression from Xiang’s face, and to do that, they needed more privacy than could be found in this motley collection of bloodsuckers.
“Oh. Okay,” Xiao Dan agreed with a blink.
Kai didn’t bother to linger another moment. He took Xiang by the hand and led the vampire out of the house. As soon as they were away from the structure, he shifted and lifted Xiang onto his back. They zipped across the short distance from the Variks to the Zhang home, where Ming Yu stood in the open doorway to greet them as soon as they landed.
“Xiang, is Fox going to be okay?” she inquired, grabbing Xiang’s hands in hers.
“He will recover. He’s received blood from both Winter and Shixiong. Chen is with him now. Fox’s love for Winter combined with the ancient blood of the Zhang clan will put him right.” Xiang leaned forward and brushed a kiss to her cheek.
A sigh of relief slipped out between her lips and her slim shoulders drooped. “Good.”
“We have returned to protect you and the clan home while the others remain with the Variks throughout the day,” Kai volunteered. Ming Yu flashed him a bright smile, but his words earned him yet another questioning look from Xiang.
