Mated in Mist (Talon Pack #3)(10)

Walker nodded then leaned against the bed. She was up on one elbow, giving her side a break. “I’m glad we found you when we did, though I’m sure as hell sorry we couldn’t save your brother.”

A sharp lance to her heart.

“He was my twin.”

Walker cursed under his breath. “I’m sorry, Leah. Damn sorry. I’m a triplet myself. I have connections, bonds to the Pack and to my siblings, but there’s something different about how it is with me, Kameron, and Brandon. So, f*ck, Leah. I’m sorry.”

There were three of them that looked like Walker? The Talons were a lucky Pack. Though it was Ryder that kept coming back to her mind. She pushed it out again, knowing it wasn’t worth it. She would be leaving soon, running again. Wouldn’t she?

“I’m sorry, as well,” a voice said from the doorway. Ryder’s voice.

She turned quickly and winced when she pulled on her stitches.

Ryder came to her side, a frown on his face. “Did you hurt yourself?” His nostrils flared. “I don’t smell fresh blood, so that’s good.”

Walker let out a snort. “Big brother over here is a little overprotective it seems. Your stitches are fine, and I would guess if I gave you a pool of water and let you chant or spell, you’d be able to finish healing at least the main parts. Right?”

She pulled her gaze from Ryder’s deep blue eyes and nodded at Walker. “Yes, usually. I can’t heal mortal wounds or anything too critical, but I can do some healing. Nothing like you can with your bonds to the Pack.”

“Can you heal others?” Ryder asked.

Her powers flared, as if they were a separate part of her, reaching out for him. She couldn’t quite understand it, nor was she sure she wanted to.

“Sometimes,” she said finally. “It depends on the wound and my power reserves.” She let out a sigh. “I haven’t had much in the way of power for a long time.” That was an understatement, but she wasn’t ready to tell them everything. Though something within her told her that she could trust these two, trust the Alpha and those with them, as well. She just wasn’t ready to reveal her past. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready.

“I’m a healer more than a fighter, though. I know some of the other elemental witches out there feel the opposite, but I don’t like fighting.” She winced. “Sorry for coming at you with the scissors. I…I didn’t wake up all there.”

Walker shook his head. “If you hadn’t fought back after waking up in a room with three strange men, I would have been truly surprised.”

Ryder shrugged. “You didn’t hurt us. We’re good.”

“Well, thank you.”

“You need more water?” Ryder asked.

She nodded slightly, and Ryder immediately turned away from her and grabbed a large metal bowl from one of the cabinets and filled it with water. “Warm, cold, or hot matter? And is it okay in metal? Or do you need glass or stone or something?”

She smiled despite the fact that her mind was going in a thousand different directions. “Metals and water temperature don’t affect my powers. But thank you for being so considerate.” This was one weird conversation, and she was being too polite, but she didn’t have her footing. She’d do what she could to survive.

She always did.

Walker helped her sit up, and she didn’t miss the way Ryder’s eyes narrowed at his brother’s hand on her elbow. She ignored it and took the bowl from Ryder’s hands. Their fingers brushed, and she sucked in a breath. She ignored that, as well.

When she sat the bowl between her legs on the bed, the two men watched her with fascination as she immersed her hands, chanting under her breath. She wouldn’t be able to fully heal the gunshot wound as she didn’t have that kind of power, but she could speed along her recovery.

It would also help if she could place her whole body within water, submerging the wound and her head, but that would have to wait. For now, she let the magic of her people wash over her, reminding her that she had something more than breath to fight with.

When she was finished, her side ached only slightly, more like a dull throb now, and both men had wide eyes. She smiled softly and lifted her hands out of the bowl. Water slid over her skin until it absorbed into her greedy reservoirs of magic.

She’d always loved to watch that happen. Roland used to make it dance along his skin and hers to make her laugh when things were dark.

Now, she wasn’t sure she could do it herself, not when it would only remind her of happier times. Though thinking of the dark as happy only depressed her so she ignored it and nodded in thanks to the two Talon wolves who watched over her.

Walker took the bowl away in silence as Ryder studied her face.

“Are you feeling better now?” he asked.

She nodded. “Immensely. Thank you.” She turned to Walker as he removed her IV. “Thank you both.” She swallowed hard. “I will be forever grateful to you for healing me.” She pressed her lips together. “I’d like to see my brother if that’s okay.” She let out a shuddering breath. “And then I’ll get out of your hair so you can focus on what you were doing before I fell into your lives.”

“You’re not leaving yet,” Gideon said from the doorway.

She stiffened and looked at the Alpha wolf to her right. These damn brothers kept startling her. She’d have to be better at noticing when they were near, though they were wolves, and she didn’t have the extra senses they did.