Chapter 20 Two Protectors
2080 Words
Chapter 20
Two Protectors
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Louise
A small room slowly came into focus—a hospital room with light grey walls. I could faintly make out the tiny holes and grooves in the white roof panels as the fog of sleep lifted. I realised I was not alone. I could hear two—no three—different sleep-heavy breaths. And they weren’t familiar—not Jo, Raine, or Mum.
I attempted to roll to my left, but a dull ache radiated across my stomach, startling me. Did they operate on me? My hands trembled as I reached for the edge of the blanket and pulled it back. I was dressed in a well-worn pair of dusty pink pyjamas. As I lifted the top, I saw a large white bandage covering most of my stomach. I couldn’t see what was underneath, but I already knew.
Everything’s gone! Tears welled in my eyes. I knew this had been planned, but it had happened sooner than expected, and no matter how much I tried to convince myself it was for the best, the sorrow flowed. My womanhood is gone! My heart shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. How will a mate accept me now?
Sniffling, I pulled the blanket back over me and stared at the bright white ceiling. It’s all gone!
“Louise, you’re awake…”
Blinking back the tears, I turned to the left to see the last person I had expected sitting beside me. His hair was dishevelled, and he wore crumpled blue scrubs.
“Joseph…?” My voice came out husky and dry, which I was thankful for as it covered the shock. “Why?” Why don’t I smell him?
“You’ve been asleep for hours…” He pushed himself back from the bed by his forearms and shook the sleep from his body. He yawned and then dropped his hands. “I think I was asleep almost as long. How are you feeling?”
I stared at him questioningly. The last time I saw him, I was on the ground, bleeding everywhere. He had freaked out and had been told to leave. Yet here he was, not exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed… but he was here. And a part of me was thankful. But why was he here?
“I-I,” I stammered, still struggling with my dry mouth. “I don’t know…”
His eyes softened towards me. “Are you in any pain? Do you need me to get Doc?”
“Can’t you see the poor girl needs a drink!”
“Tyrone?” I whipped my head to the opposite side to see him leaning over me with a paper cup and straw.
“Louise, do you need a drink?” He slid the straw into the liquid and held it before me.
A snarl from Joseph made Tyrone shudder, but he continued to offer the drink.
I licked my lips. He wasn’t wrong. I had no idea why he was here, too. Then I remembered hearing Doc Anderson say his name before I passed out. Did he bring me to the hospital?
“Yes… please,” I attempted to push myself up against the bedhead, but a twang of pain froze me.
Sensing my discomfort, Joseph grabbed the bed control from the wall and handed it to me. “This might help.”
I could swear I saw that smug smirk in the corner of his lips as I took the controller from his hand. It vanished the second my fingers brushed his palm. A strange tingle passed between us. And his usual grimace didn’t follow.
What’s going on? Inhaling a skipped breath, I turned away from him and focused on adjusting the bed.
“You lost your voice?” He asked with a hint of a chuckle in his.
Swallowing another dry mouthful of air, I ignored him and lifted the top of the bed slowly, trying to avoid the pain from the disapproving stitches.
Once I was up, Tyrone handed me the cup. “Doc left a bottle of electrolytes for you…” He smiled sweetly, making his cheeks more prominent. He was rather handsome, but he always had been. “I mind-linked the doc… He should be here soon.”
I drank the drink without complaint, ignoring the bitter taste. It was needed. I could feel my throat relaxing. “Thanks, Tye… I appreciate it.”
I went to hand him back the cup when Joseph intervened and took it. “Let me get Louise another one…”
“Sure,” Tyrone replied, dropping back into his seat. “I’m just trying to help.”
Why the hell was Joseph being so friendly? I wondered, watching him pour the liquid into the cup. As he turned around to hand it to me, I noticed Kingston curled up in a row of chairs beside the door.
Joseph saw where my gaze was focused and then laughed. “Yeah, Kingston has this magical ability to sleep just about anywhere… and through everything.”
Had they spent the entire night here with me? “Thanks for the drink,” I replied in a low voice. I drank the drink, returned the cup to Joseph, and laid back against the mattress. I had hardly done anything, yet I was ready to go back to sleep. But my mind continued to question Joseph’s presence. And his kiss… The way it felt before…
Pushing those thoughts from my mind, I faced him. He returned to his seat beside me, resting his hands just inches from mine. We locked eyes, and the urge to ask why completely vanished. My mind went blank. There was nothing. My head started floating. What pain meds does Doc Anderson have me on?
The door opened, knocking Kingston to the floor.
“What that hell,” he grumbled, hastily finding his feet. He shook his head and regained his wits. “Man, how long was I asleep for?”
“I swear, Kingston, you can sleep through a hurricane.” Doc Anderson chuckled, shaking his head. He closed the door behind him. “I’ve been in and out of this room many times, and that was the first time you stirred.”
“Yeah, I’ve been told I can sleep through almost anything.” Kingston snorted as he ruffled his hair. He pointed at the door. “Anyway, I’m going to get a coffee.”
“Grab me one, too,” Joseph asked over his shoulder.
“Will do,” he turned to me. “Would you like one, Louise?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“Okay, well, I’ll be back.”
After Kingston had left, Doc Anderson stepped up to the end of my bed. He smiled softly, bringing a sense of comfort to the room. “Louise, how are you feeling?”
“Umm,” I glanced at my audience and then back to him. “It hurts.”
“Give her something, Unc – I mean Doc,” Joseph demanded as he stood and faced him. “She’s in pain… And she shouldn’t be!”
“Joseph,” Doc Anderson glared at him. A wave of something invisible passed between them. “Wait outside. I need to speak to the patient in private.”
“But, you know I can’t!” Joseph argued. I watched as his shoulders tensed and his eyes narrowed. “I have to–”
“Joseph, I understand, but–” Doc Anderson closed the gap between them. They shared a mind link for the remainder of the conversation before the hot-blooded Alpha backed down.
“Hey Louise,” Tyrone interrupted. “This might be a good time for me to leave. I’m going to suss out something to eat in this place... and give you some space.”
I watched him as he stood. Everyone in the world is acting so strange!
Tyrone patted my bed, brushing my hand with his, and I was suddenly back in my body. “Do you want anything?”
Joseph’s growl rumbled in the room. It made Tyrone shudder, but his face remained calm. I ignore it. Joseph was still the same hot-headed person he had been the second we met.
“N-no thanks, Tye,” I smiled weakly up at Tyrone, blocking the sight of Joseph from my view.
“Leave!” Doc Anderson demanded Joseph in a tone that made the room suddenly tense enough to slice with a knife.
Joseph continued to communicate with him via the mind link.
“I’ll be back,” with a wink, Tyrone left the room, Joseph watching after him.
When he was gone, Joseph shared another look with the doctor before coming to my bedside. He reached down to grab my hand, and I instinctively pulled away.
A little hurt by my reaction, he stood back. His voice took on a dark undertone. “I’ll be waiting outside. If you need anything, call out for me.”
He left in a huff, leaving me and Doc Anderson alone.
“Now that’s dealt with,” Doc Anderson gestured at my stomach. “Let’s have a look at your stitches.”
“Okay,” I grabbed the bed remote. “Would you like me to lay flat?”
He nodded as he opened his medical bag. “That would be great.”
“Have you seen my mum?” I asked as I adjusted the bed flat. I winced as I moved my hips a little. “I was hoping to see her...” Not Joseph or Tyrone! Or Kingston, for that matter.
“She was here an hour before you woke up. But now she’s with the Gammas, grabbing lunch, I think.” He continued to shuffle through his bag. “She realised you were in good hands.” He stood beside me, flexing his gloved hands. “Now, let’s have a look at those stitches.”
I stared at the doctor in confusion. Did he mean that Joseph and Tyrone had watched over me while I slept? Why did they care all of a sudden?
He pulled the blanket down to my hips. “There doesn’t appear to be much bleeding.”
“Doc,” I sighed, digging my hands into the bed, fighting back tears. “Are they all gone?”
He lifted my pyjama’s top to just above the bandage. “Your cancer...? We got what we could find…”
“No…” I shook my head as the tears flowed. “Not that. Oww,” I felt pressure as he removed the bandage. A stinging sensation raced across my skin.
“Your ovaries?” His voice became solemn. “Yes...”
I wiped the tears away and then met his pitiful glance. “Everything?”
“We got everything,” he returned to the wound and started poking at the stitches.
“Ouch!” I seethed as he stood back. “That’s tender!”
“It will be for a while, “he admitted. “And because your wolf is still a good year or so away, it may take a little longer to heal completely.” He turned from me and grabbed something out of his medical bag. “After I bandage it, I will give you a sedative that should relax you and give your body time to heal.”
“Okay...” I watched him replace the bandage. But I couldn’t bring myself to look at the stitches. By the time he gave me the sedative, my eyes were burning from the tears.
“Everything will be all right.” He soothed, tucking the blanket down around me. He had taken on a fatherly manner. “You rest, and we’ll discuss this later.”
“Mum?” I asked as my head grew heavy. “I shhh-” my words slurred.
But he knew what I was about to ask. “She’s on her way back now...”
The door opened, and Joseph returned, his figure blurred by my foggy sight. “Yes, Mrs Carpenter, she was awake when I left…”
Mum stepped in behind him. “That’s a good sign, young Alpha…”
I could picture her bowing at him and instantly rolled my eyes but smiled slightly. Oh, Mum, you’re at it again…
I allowed the sedative to take control now that I knew she was here, and the room faded out.
- Writer
