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“She’s going to make it because she’s stronger than you and I combined, right?” he asked firmly. The empathy in his eyes only made the burning worse. He, too, knew what it was like to lose someone you loved.

Wait, love? No.

I peered down at the pale beauty beneath me. “She is.”

“Then get that look off your face and hold her.”

Did I mention that Sloan could be a real asshole?

He, Kris, Rose—the lot of them were nuisances when I was troubled. But I needed to hear it.

His straightforward command brought clarity. It set my head right. And with a deep breath, I regained my calm and brought the sleeping beauty into my arms, holding her close as her body visibly relaxed. Her breathing slowed, then stopped altogether.

Any other person would be terrified to see the person they’d been bent on saving stop breathing. But for me, it brought overwhelming relief. Her heart still pumped, the pound of her pulse still lifted along her neck, and her body still perspired.

She wasn’t dead. She was back. She would mend. Her body would heal, and already had when my eyes swept down to where the arrow cut into her.

It wasn’t clear why we could pierce our ears and the holes remain, but not injuries made to the main areas of our bodies. But magic existed, and that didn’t make a lick of sense to a true scientist. Not even after seeing what magic-users could do.

If I could hazard a guess, it likely had something to do with the composition of some parts of our skin and tissue. Probably because we left something inside the piercing. Most of what was pierced was cartilage.

Whatever the case, I was thankful for the quick regeneration when her chest mended and any evidence of the offending arrow-caused injury was gone. I prayed for the first time in my life, grateful she was spared.

“Phil?”

Closing my eyes, I licked my lips and then stared down at the gorgeous hazel eyes of my partner. “Welcome back, engel.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, breathing out. “I’m back.”

To my surprise, V took gentle hold of my face, her warm palms sliding over the shadow of my beard, caressing it. Before I could ask why she had, her mouth covered mine in full view of the other men, and the little vampire hunter kissed me like we were the only two people there.

22

How To Say Sorry

THE FIRST THING I SAWcoming out of a deep abyss of pain was Phillip’s gorgeous face.