RISE OF THE WARRIOR QUEEN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN-1

KAIA'S POV

The walk to the hospital with Gareth was the longest fifteen minutes of my life. Every few steps, I felt him looking at me, like he was waiting for me to say something. But I didn’t. I was tired of the games, tired of pretending like things between us were still normal when they clearly weren't.

The hospital doors slid open with a quiet whoosh as we stepped inside. I led the way down the white, polished hallways, past the nurses’ station, until we reached the room where Silver was being kept.

I opened the door—and paused.

Silver was already sitting on the bed. He looked different. Fresh. His long hair was messy, still a little damp from a shower. He wore a pair of fresh jeans and sneakers, clearly from the bag I brought him earlier from Everett. They fit him well, even if the jeans looked slightly tight around the thighs. But what made me smile was the shirt.

He wasn’t wearing it.

He was holding a white button-up in his hands, his brows furrowed in frustration as he tried to maneuver it over the fresh bandages on his shoulder.

He grunted softly. “Damn it… You have got to be kidding me..."

I couldn’t help it—I cracked a smile. A real one.

“Need help over there, Sir?” I asked, stepping inside.

Silver looked up at the sound of my voice, and his lips curved into a weak smirk.

“Would it make me look like an incompetent brat if I said yes?” he asked with a raised brow.

I grinned. “Maybe.”

Silver groaned playfully and rubbed his hands over his face. “I hate this.”

I actually laughed. A soft, genuine sound I hadn’t made in days. I walked over to him, taking the shirt gently from his hands.

“Here. Let me,” I offered.

But before I could help him slip his arm through the sleeve, a sharp voice resounded in the room.

“What are you doing?”

I turned, still holding the shirt in my hands, and saw Gareth standing just inside the door, his eyes narrowed at us.

Silver and I looked at him in confusion.

“What?” I asked, my voice calm but confused at the same time.

Gareth didn’t answer me. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose like I was giving him a headache. Then he turned his gaze on Silver.

“Listen, I don’t know what you’re trying to do,” he said coldly. “Or what your true mission is in this pack. But I won’t let it happen.”

I blinked, and my hands slowly lowered to my sides, the shirt still dangling between my fingers.

Silver raised an eyebrow. “Mission?”

“I don’t play games with strangers,” Gareth said, his voice clipped. “Especially not ones who show up unconscious with no memory and suddenly get special treatment.”

I opened my mouth, ready to ask him what the hell that was supposed to mean, but before I could speak, the door opened again.

Dr. Grayson stepped in with a clipboard in his hand. “Sorry to keep you waiting, kids,” he said, but then stopped mid-step when he saw the tension in the room. His eyes flicked from Gareth to me, then to Silver.

“…Everything okay?” he asked slowly.

Gareth and I were locked in a silent stare, but it was Silver who spoke.

“Everything’s fine,” Silver said smoothly, even giving the doctor a small smile. “Just a little miscommunication, that's all.”

Dr. Grayson didn’t look convinced, but he nodded anyway and came further into the room. He checked Silver’s chart, flipping a page.

“So…” he said carefully, “Kaia, are the papers signed? Is our young guest good to leave?”

I sighed and crossed my arms. “Ask Gareth.”

Dr. Grayson looked even more confused now. His gaze slid over to Gareth.

“Alpha?”

Gareth nodded once, his jaw tight. “They’re signed,” he said. “But I’ll only hand them over after I ask him a few questions.”