Page 98 of Two Thousand Blades

Was. A. Man.

“You…you…” Junjie pointed a shaking finger at him while he tried to think of something to say.

“I’m surprised you’re struggling this much. You’ve got a fox shifter running about this place and now a dragon. Though I’ll admit I was expecting that elf to give me away within days of him showing up, but for some reason he kept his mouth shut,” Yiguo continued.

“What?” Junjie’s voice cracked. “Rei knows you’re not just a common house cat?”

“Sure. So do that fox you call Huli and the dragon.”

Junjie’s head whipped around to stare openmouthed at the door. His brothers’ mates knew Yiguo was a shifter, and they’d said nothing. What the fucking hell?

Part of him longed to march out of his bedroom and track the new clan members, give them a piece of his mind, but first he needed to deal with Yiguo. Or whatever his real name was. His family would get theirs later.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Junjie closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath to steady his frazzled nerves. At the very least, Yiguo had done an amazing job of making him forget about Jiang Chong.

“Look, normally I don’t have trouble accepting the other races.” Junjie dropped his hand and opened his eyes, only for his gaze to fall right on Yiguo’s impressive genitals yet again. That was not helpful in having rational conversation. He jumped from his dresser, ripped open the drawer, and pulled out the first bit of fabric he saw. It was only when he’d flung it across the room that he noticed that he’d thrown a white underrobe across Yiguo’s lap. Whatever. It served the purpose for now. “However, usually when I meet a shifter for the first time, I know it’s a shifter. They don’t pretend to be an animal for several months and then end up naked on your bed!”

Still grinning, Yiguo rubbed one hand through his shaggy auburn-brown hair. “Yeah, sorry about that. Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“Well, you are a very attractive man, and I got to see you naked a couple of times. I thought it was only fair…”

Junjie held up one hand, stopping him before he could continue. He wasn’t ready to think about all of that. Learning that Yiguo was a cat shifter was about the limit of what his brain could handle.

“If it helps, you’re one of about five people I’ve told in my entire life about what I am.” Junjie lifted his eyes to find that the man’s smile had dimmed. “Not much of a social creature, and it’s damn hard to find the right people to trust with this kind of secret.”

“Not social? Could have fooled me,” Junjie muttered, and Yiguo brightened.

“Well, yeah. You always brought out the good stuff. Fresh fish. None of that canned or dry cat food. Seriously, that shit is disgusting. Plus, you give the best belly rubs.” As he spoke, one hand strayed down his chest to his stomach. Junjie’s eyes couldn’t help but follow that slow, enticing path.

At least until it dipped below the edge of his robe and Junjie ripped his eyes up. The tips of his ears were so hot they could have lit a candle.

“Yes, yes. Fine. Fine. I fed you,” Junjie snapped, desperate to crawl out of this endless hole of awkwardness. “But why did you decide to reveal yourself now? And to me? You’ve been carrying on this charade for months with no problems.”

For the first time since Yiguo had changed into a human, his grin and teasing fled his face, leaving him looking worried and maybe even a little scared.

“I have a problem, and you’re the one person I trust to help me with it. Please, Junjie. You’re the only one I can turn to.”