Caitlyn's Perspective
Talon hadn’t showed up in the next couple of days.
Every time the door was pushed opened, I hoped it to be Talon but got disappointed once again. It was either the nurse or my doctor.
Pouting my lips, I took my phone from the bedside table.
I had already dialed his phone number. It just took one more press on the screen to call him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
"You were so worried about me when I woke up. And now you won’t show up at all after finding your pup is all right?" I couldn’t help but blame him in my mind.
Just as I was imagining things, my finger accidentally pressed the call button. And sadness soon painted over my chest when my call went straight to his voicemail.
"Is he spending time with the woman that Leona and I saw him with last time?"
"He's probably spending time with her, and all those worries that I saw in his eyes when I woke up...." I gently raked my tummy, talking to the baby. "…are for you, not me. He was worried about me last time because he was afraid that something bad might happen to you."
He didn’t cared about me at all, I thought to myself.
Still, knowing that drowning myself in sadness would do me and the baby no good, I decided to go to Bard’s ward.
Bard hadn’t come to himself. The doctor said that it may take a long time before he woke up. Or he may not wake up at all.
"Huh? What’s going on?" I muttered when I found the lead of EKG had fallen off from Bard's arm.
I rushed over to put it back on his arm and breathed a sigh of relief.
"C-Caitlyn?" A weak voice sounded from behind me when I was about to leave.
"Bard?" I couldn’t believe my ears as I slowly turned around, only to find his eyes opened and mouth moving. “You’re finally awake!!”
I couldn’t help but shout out of joy, rushing over to hug him, the one who protected me in the attack.
"Thank the Moon Goddess you're all right, Caitlyn," he said after sizing me up and down.
"Wait here! I'll call your nurse," I said walking to the door when Leona walked in with a damp towel in hand.
"C-Caitlyn.... I-I," Leona stammered, her cheeks burning red and she couldn’t even look straight into my eyes.
"What are you doing here, Leona?" I lowered my voice, surprised to see her here and dragging her towards the nurse station.
“I-I… Oh, I came to check on you here.” It seemed that she thought of something, “Talon had told me everything. He asked me to tell your father that you and I are on a vacation together, so that he wouldn’t get worried about you.”
"First of all, thank you for everything. But can you explain this?” While waiting outside for the nurse checking on Bard, I pointed at the towel in Leona’s hand. “You sure there’s nothing going on between you and Bard?"
"Absolutely nothing!" Leona hid the towel behind her immediately. "I swear to the Moon Goddess! Nothing's going on between Bard and me. I barely knew him before the accident. But I do want to take care of him because he saved you, my best friend."
"So, you don't like him?" I quipped.
"Well, it's undeniable that Beta Bard is good-looking and sexy," she said, playing shyly with her hair.
“Look at you. You’re a totally…” Just as I was about to make fun of her, the nurse went out from the ward.
"How’s Beta Bard doing?" Leona asked with concern before I even opened my mouth.
“He’s doing pretty good for now. All his vitals are stable. It’s a miracle that he came to himself so quickly after getting so severely hurt.” The nurse exclaimed in disbelief. “But he does need some more rest before full recovery.”
“Thank you so much!” Leona was overjoyed, with tears in her eyes.
"And I thought you're just doing this to return Bard the favor for saving me? Why are you acting like his girlfriend?" I whispered to Leona as the nurse left.
"Do you feel like driking or eating anything, Beta Bard?" Ignoring me, Leona walked straight towards Bard’s bed.
“Not now, thank you, Miss…?” Bard shook his head with a shy smile.
“Leona. My name is Leona. You can just call me by my name,” Leona replied immediately, “I’ve been taking care of you for a couple of days. Thank Moon Goddess that you’re finally awake.”
"Thank you for everything, Leona. I actually felt a nice and caring miss around even when I was in a coma," Bard said politely, gazing at Leona affectionately.
The two looked like they might just start kissing each other. I had to say something to save myself out of this awkard situation.
"Hey,” I cleared my throat, “how about going camping this weekend? Being in nature will help Bard recover."
"I like that. You?" Bard turned to Leona.
"It's okay with me too."
The weekend soon arrived.
In the camping ground, Bard went to set up a bonfire as Leona and I were making other preparations.
"Promise me that this will be a wholesome camping trip," I grinned at Leona, who was humming in a pleasant mood.
"Stop Caitlyn! Bard might hear you. He may think that I'm an easy girl!" Leona flashed a warning look.
"What are we gossiping about?" Bard suddenly popped behind us.
“Nothing.” Leona shook her head and tossed a marshmallow in his mouth. "Nothing that would interest you."
With that, she shoved another one to Bard until his mouth was pulled and started to cough.
“Here.” I handed a bottle of water to him. Our hands touched when he took it from me.
Then a chill ran down my spine and a familiar scent greeted my nose.
It was Talon.
Turning around slowly, I found Talon standing behind me with a sour look.
"T-Talon?" I greeted, looking down to avoid his gaze.
“What are you doing here? Are you and Bard are supposed to rest to recover?” Talon demanded in a cold voice.
"Miss Caitlyn and I are both perfectly fine now, Alpha," Bard spoke out in my defense.
"I can see that. Since you've made a full recovery, why don’t you go back to serve your duty as my beta?" Talon scoffed.
"Okay, that's enough! What's wrong with you, Talon? Why are you being mean and harsh? I was the one who asked Bard to go camping with us! If you’re not okay with it, just bring it on me." I rolled my eyes at him.
"You were gone for days, and now you finally come back, just to start a fight? What an asshole," I muttered.
Talon frowned. Obviously, he heard me cursing him, but chose to act like he didn't.
"Bard, I need you in the pack now. Come back with me now," Talon ordered, walking out.
Bard flashed an apologetic smile and ran after his unreasonable Alpha, leaving Leona and me looking at each other speechlessly.