Page 23 of Fangs
My brain had no answer to that.
So, I kept letting my power out as slowly as possible to keep him from noticing. I’d never purposefully healed a wound slowly before. It hurt, but I couldn’t tell if it was from holding back most of my power or if I was still exhausted from the river. It seemed to take a long time, and my nose started bleeding halfway through, soaking into his shirt where my face was pressed against his chest, but finally, the wound closed without him noticing. I withdrew my hand and let my eyes close in relief.
Stupid.
I couldn’t tell if my brain meant me or him, but either way, it was probably right.
5
Ididn’t realize I’d fallen asleep until Lee startled me awake when he whistled loudly. An answering whistle sounded, but the rocky ceiling of the cave was spinning, and I couldn’t keep my eyelids open.
“What the fuck? Are you bleeding?” I heard Lee demand, his voice distorted.
“I’m gonna kill you,” a new voice growled.
“Wolf, later!” a feminine voice snapped.
“I swear she was not bleeding an hour ago,” Lee said.
“Where the fuck are her clothes?”
“She went fuckin’ charging into the river! I had to get her into something dry!”
Hands maneuvered me onto my back, and I tried to focus, but I couldn’t get my eyes to open. I shook with full body chills and cool fingers pressed against my nose and face.
“Looks like it was just a bloody nose, but she’s burning up,” a low voice said.
“She’s been burning up for fuckin’ hours. I tried cooling her down with some snowpacks.”
“We need to get her back to the cabin as fast as possible.”
“Wrap her in that blanket. I’ll ride the horse with her.”
Even with my eyes closed, the room spun as they bundled me like an infant. The next thing I knew, I was on a horse, galloping through the woods. I tried to focus on who held me, but everything faded away.
I opened my eyes as Wolf carried me to the cabin fireplace while sharply barking orders. His lips pressed together in a flat line, and his eyes flashed as he unwrapped the damp, muddy blanket around me. I shivered hard, my teeth chattering, and barely remembered to cling to the collar of Lee’s shirt, ensuring it stayed closed. Kai appeared with a fresh blanket, and the two of them wrapped it around me while Tuck hovered behind them.
“What happened?” Kai asked.
“She jumped in the river,” Wolf snarled. “They were at the bolthole.”
“Where are the others?” Tuck frowned.
“Coming on foot.”
“Was freezing to death part of your genius escape plan?” Kai asked me, but I ignored him.
“Is that her blood?” Tuck gestured to my face.
“Sable said it was from her nose, but it stopped. She’s fuckin’ burning up.”
Kai reached out to me, and I flinched away. He withdrew his hand, eyes narrowing.
“I’m just tryin’ to check your temperature,” he said.
I closed my eyes. Something happened, but I couldn’t quite remember what it was. Something about a cave?—
A hand pressed against my forehead, and I jumped.
