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His hand heated, warulfed her, part pleasure and part pain, beginning in her chest and sweeping down her arhs, calves, and toes Misshapen bullets e ceased Wounds closed Bones shattered by bullets fused the reinflated Her breathing grew easier The pain receded, then vanished entirely

He re it into a loose fist, then rubbing his thu her had le

She sat up, but didn’t move away Just to double check, she pulled the neckline of her sticky shirt away froh it at her bare chest and bra-encased breasts No wounds Only dried blood

She let the ainst her and stared up at him, too tired to attempt to stand yet He had healed her wounds, but severe blood loss still rendered her weak

A shiver shook her

He unfurled his beautiful wings and cupped the the breeze at bay

"Who are you?" she asked when she could find her voice "Really?"

"Zach," he said simply

"That only tells ed "Seth calls me Cousin"

"You’re Seth’s cousin?" Merde He really was an elder She had never heard of any ie Or who may actually be able to match his power

And that had been quite a power display, killing thethem

"Why have I never heard of you?" she asked "Why don’t you ever come inside when you visit David’s? Why do you keep your presence a secret?"

"Neither Seth nor David would want -out?"

He seeh his words "Seth and I chose different paths ere still young reed with each other’s choices"

David would have, of course, taken Seth’s side He and Seth were like brothers

"Are you enemies?" She was pretty sure she would have heard about it if this e ith hi she wasn’t going to get anything more specific than that, but tried anyway "So, you’re immortal, but don’t lead the life of an Immortal Guardian? You don’t hunt vaht"

"Technically, I let you slay the vampires, then took care of the mercenaries when you faltered"

And saved her life Had he not stepped in when he did, the mercenaries would have captured her "So you intervened where, in the past, you would not have"

He hesitated "Yes"

"Why?"

He clenched and unclenched his jaw "I couldn’t let them take you"

"Why?"

His brow furrowed "I don’t know"

If she didn’t need blood so badly just then, she was sure her heart would have begun to beat faster

Had he veered from his chosen path for her?

"You need blood," he pointed out

She nodded, a shock of excite into hiainst that wide,her lips to his neck

"I can’t give you ret?

"Okay" What the hell was she doing? Was she attracted to him? A man who had freely admitted he was at odds with Seth, the wisest iance?

Snapping out of it, she fuers tangling in a couple of holes--ed to draw out her cell phone

Or as left of it A bullet had forged a hole through it on its way to her liver

Wonderful

"May I borrow your phone?" she asked "I need to callChris that a cleanup creas needed and have Richart bring Lisette some much-needed blood

"I don’t carry a phone"

Okay Plan B

She looked at the lifeless ht, seeth as she was right now And when her energy was low, her telepathic range direatly

Etienne? she called Perhaps he and Krysta were hunting nearby

Nothing Etienne! I need you

Still nothing

Richart? She had an even s Richart because he couldn’t send his reply telepathically He could only think it and hope she would pick up on it

"I can take you where you need to go," Zach said, his eyes never leaving her

She shook her head "I can’t leave these bodies here I need to contact the network and have thes up, hide what happened frohed "If I were a differentin this powerful i theme?"

"No, for this" He closed his eyes

He was so handso, shadowed jaw Ebony brows over eyes so dark a brown they were alolden Just like Seth’s

He opened those eyes and met hers "Help is on the way"

"It is?"