Page 94 of Siren’s Secret

“Fuck,” he muttered.

“What?” Jarred couldn’t help but ask.

“She’s tough,” Ilijas muttered. “There’s too much lalwe root in her system. I think all that rain saved her.” His eyes opened and met Jarred’s. “I’m not sure if this was a botched kidnapping or assassination attempt.”

Chapter 48 – Marc

Marc followed Ilijas’s instruction and quickly stripped. He used the same soap and washed himself thoroughly, even when he wanted to hurry. The last thing they needed was more poison near Wayla because he didn’t wash himself properly.

There was a towel and a pair of sports shorts that looked suspiciously like something the angel would wear waiting for him when he got out of the shower. Well, fuck, better than traipsing around in a towel.

By the time he stepped into the living room, the whole place was brimming with bodies and Sinister was directing the traffic.

“Sim and Yash are setting up a room for Wayla at home,” he told Marc as soon as he saw him exit the bathroom. “She’s moving in.”

No question, no negation, it was decided. Not that Marc had any objections. If she had been with them, none of this would have happened in the first place.

“What about them?” Xuan asked, hooking a thumb at Wayla’s roommates. Before anyone could answer, Irishen blew in like an ice storm, white hair messy and shirt rumpled. He crashed on his knees next to Wayla.

“Mate!”

Jarred clasped his shoulder, stopping the male from reaching her and interfering with Ilijas’s healing. “She’s unconscious—poisoned—but stable,” he hurried to explain.

Irishen’s eyes flashed a brilliant white and frost crept up his throat.

“Who did this?”

Jarred shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”

Sinister called back to him. “Grant and Justin are looking for any traces. We are moving Wayla into the Powerhouse.”

Marc expected Irishen to argue, but he nodded. “The girls can take over my place. I doubt Salis’s room will hold all of them and my place is better warded.” He said it absently, like it was equally given that he was going where Wayla was and that his place would be empty.

Mates.

Marc still had a hard time digesting that part. Except that it was painfully clear in the way he and Jarred hovered around Wayla. He bit his lip and grunted.

“You got this?” he asked Sinister, who nodded.

“Go.”

Marc didn’t wait another second before marching over and dropping right next to Ilijas. His sparkle looked too still. At least last time, even if she had been in pain, there had been some life in her. This time, she was eerily still.

“Anything I can do?”

Ilijas didn’t answer, but Jarred and Irishen shared a glance.

“Later,” Irishen eventually said to Jarred, who turned to look at Marc.

“Just stay close. I—we think… you know, fuck it. Just stay close.”

“Eloquent,” Ilijas murmured quietly, still focused on Wayla.

“Is she…” Marc couldn’t quite voice his question out loud.

“She’ll be fine,” Ilijas said. “She’s a fucking powerhouse.” He chuckled and opened his eyes, leaning back. “Pun fully intended. That would have been a fatal dose to a lesser being. She’ll sleep for a day or two, but she’ll be fine.”

“You sure? Her bond still feels… weird.”