Walker tilted his head, looking so much like a wolf it startled her. “I don’t know about that. And if that’s what you’re thinking, perhaps you need to meet better people.”
Instead of commenting on that, she went back to something he’d said earlier. “I’m a water witch.” She gestured with the mug she was still holding. “So thank you for the water. You’re helping more than you know.” Belatedly, she worried that he’d take the water away from her, afraid of her powers like so many others had been. It wasn’t that she was ultra powerful, but that she’d come from…him. Come from a place that wasn’t meant to be.
But Walker didn’t know that.
Nor did he take her water away. Instead, he filled her cup again and checked her IV bag. “I don’t know as I’ve met a water witch before,” he said smoothly. “I probably have, but they’re rare, aren’t they?”
She shook her head. “We’re not as rare as air or spirit witches, but we’re not as prevalent as earth and fire ones. We’re sort of just…in the middle I guess.”
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, fuck, 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.