“The hell?” Zee and Gage ask in unison as they appear in the room, but I don’t even bother glancing their way.
Ella steps closer, just as I lean forward, brushing my lips against Roslyn’s forehead, feeling her skim warming back to normal. I almost sag in relief.
“Her wound is almost healed,” Ella says, sounding just as astonished as I feel.
I finally tear my eyes away from Roslyn’s face, trying to ignore how damn good it feels to have her still suckling the blood from my hand, and turn to look down at her side.
Ella tugs the knife free, having to put forth effort since the skin has already started closing around it. My eyes widen in disbelief as the wound seals shut almost immediately.
“Fucking shit,” Gage says under his breath.
“We don’t even heal that fast,” Zee adds, stating the damn obvious.
“What the hell is in your blood?” Sierra muses, coming closer.
I look at Roslyn, frowning as she slowly pulls her lips away. I immediately miss the contact as a soft sigh passes her lips, and she drifts off into what seems like a peaceful sleep, never once opening her eyes even though I want to demand she does.
“It’s not like this is the first time someone has drank my blood,” I say distractedly, wiping the remnants of red from her lips. “This sure as shit hasn’t ever happened.”
Roslyn subconsciously moves into my touch, and I stroke her cheek. I’m as confused as I am relieved.
“Thad, I think we need to talk,” Gage says quietly, but I don’t look away from the girl who stupidly stood between me and a psycho killer. It’ll be a miracle if I don’t spank her perky little ass when she wakes up.
“So talk.” My tone is riddled with distraction, but it doesn’t deter him.
“Away from her.”
I snort derisively. “If you think I’m leaving her, then you’re as dumb as I used to think.”
I’m fairly sure I hear him roll his eyes.
“Thad, she might be able to hear us right now.”
“We can dust her memories,” Ella points out. “If Sierra’s venom didn’t take, it’s not like we have any other choice.”
This time, I do look up. “The venom had to have worked. She wouldn’t have healed so quickly. Maybe she’s not thrashing around in agony because she’s unconscious.”
Sierra quickly shakes her head to refute that. “There’s no way she’d be unconscious through it. The pain wouldn’t knock her out; it would torture her by keeping her awake. And again, your blood would be disgusting.” She sighs while running a hand through her hair. “Thad, the venom didn’t work. The only way it couldn’t work is if she’s already immortal. Or at least destined to be immortal. The only time I’ve heard of venom working against an immortal are the creature gods. Such as in Kane’s case, for example. But other than that, bitten venom is useless on other fey.”
That’s almost laughable. Roslyn is beautiful, sure, but she’s not heading toward immortality. The girl is too fucking sweet to know anything about our world.
“She’s on her own. She’s lived in foster care, yet no strange reports were ever made. She’d have to be unaware of our world,
considering how young she was when she went into the system. There’s no way she’s immortal.”
My argument is met with several scrutinizing gazes, but Gage is the only one with the balls to vocalize his thoughts.
“The mauling, Thad. Her foster father was abusive—you said so yourself. And he was killed in the woods pretty damn viciously. We already know the hybrid werewolf-slash-witch can shift even though she’s not immortal. We also know that she’s very strong, and that she’s in the area. And she’s been feeding off immortals.”
A growl rumbles in the room, and it takes me a second to realize it’s me.
“You seriously think she’s killing people? You think she’s running around and brutalizing bodies the way we saw? Then you haven’t spent one second with her the way I have. The girl fucking blushes when I flirt with her. She’s not a heartless killer.”
He starts to speak, but Ella beats him to it. “Call Dice and Karma. They were on their way back. His mom apparently doesn’t want to be found, because he can’t get any leads on her. Let’s have Karma take a look at her.”
Zee hesitantly pulls out his phone. “I’ll send a picture to Kane. We’ll see if Reese identifies her as his wolf witch.”
The second I leap to my feet, Ella is immediately cutting me off from Zee. “Stop, Thad. If you believe she’s really not the hybrid, then it won’t matter if he sends a picture. I have spent time with her. I’m totally with you on the fact she’s genuinely, adorably sweet, and there’s no way she’s the beast slaughtering her way through the woods at random.”