Chapter 223 The new doctor

Chapter 223: Chapter 223 The new doctor

_Rowena’s POV_

My breath came in ragged gasps as I pushed myself up onto my elbows, my pulse hammering wildly in my ears.

The man sitting on the ground beside me let out a low, breathy chuckle, casually dusting off the sleeves of his tailored coat. When he turned his head to check on me, I caught a full view of his face.

He was strikingly handsome, with sculpted features, beautiful blue eyes, and a light scar running vertically down the left side of his jawline, a mark that somehow added a rugged, dangerous edge to his handsome look.

Even sitting in the dust on the ground, he radiated a powerful overwhelming aura that made my skin prickle. It was a commanding presence that felt eerily similar to Alaric’s own dominant Alpha energy, yet there was a relaxed, confident charm behind it that was entirely his own.

"That was a little too close for comfort," he said, his voice a deep baritone as an easy smile touched his lips. "Are you alright?"

I swallowed, forcing my rapidly beating heart to settle down as I nodded. "I’m... I’m fine. Thanks to you. You moved ridiculously fast."

"Occupational hazard. I am used to dealing with sudden, chaotic emergencies," he replied easily, standing up in one graceful movement. He extended a hand down toward me, his palm lined with light calluses. "I’m Kyle, by the way."

"Rowena," I said, reaching out to take his hand.

I tried to put my weight on my feet to stand up, but the second my left heel touched the pavement, a harsh, white-hot flash of agony shot straight up my ankle. My knee instantly buckled beneath me.

I had twisted my foot severely when we tumbled together across the ground to avoid the speeding SUV.

Before my knees could hit the ground, Kyle moved with lightning fast reflexes. He caught me smoothly around the waist, taking my full weight without staggering a single inch.

"Whoa there," Kyle murmured softly, his eyes locking onto mine with a reassuring look that held no trace of panic. "Don’t force it. Your ankle is already swelling up pretty badly under that leather boot, I guess.”

"I can walk," I insisted, trying to regain my balance and feeling slightly uncomfortable with the sudden physical closeness. "It’s just a light sprain. If I just take it slow—"

"Are you an engineer?" Kyle cut me off with a small, amused smirk, completely ignoring my stubborn protest. "Because as a doctor, I can tell you right now that putting weight on a severe sprain will tear the surrounding delicate ligaments. And I don’t let my patients make their injuries worse on my watch. Whether wolf or not, you’re injured, Rowena.”

Before I could utter another single word of objection, Kyle slid one strong arm behind my back and swept his other arm beneath my knees, lifting me effortlessly into a firm secure bridal carry.

My breath hitched in complete surprise. I instinctively grabbed his broad shoulder for balance, my cheeks warming slightly at the sheer audacity of this complete stranger carrying me across a public street.

I was used to taking care of myself, fixing my own problems, and handling my own physical pain, or Alaric doing them, so being carried like a helpless damsel at least by a stranger felt entirely unnatural and awkward.

Yet, despite my internal discomfort, the intense, throbbing pain in my left foot was far too visible for me to fight him on it. I let out a defeated, resigned sigh and allowed him to carry me back up the wide steps toward the main glass entrance of the hospital.

"So, you’re a doctor?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the awkwardness of the situation as we passed through the sliding doors into the main lobby.

"Recently relocated from the Northridge territory," Kyle explained casually, stepping around a busy group of nurses without missing a single beat. "I was running the main trauma and emergency surgical center over in Calif City until last week. The chief director here brought me in to oversee their high risk surgical department starting today."

"Ah. So you’re the new hotshot recruit everyone is talking about," I noted, a small smirk returning to my face despite the throbbing pain radiating up my leg. I’d unfortunately heard of him even if I didn’t care. Some nurses had mentioned him.

"Something like that," Kyle chuckled softly, looking down at me with an easy expression that seemed entirely untroubled by the medical security guards surrounding the area.

We turned the corner into the VIP waiting corridor, heading straight toward Kristy’s private recovery suite.

Standing right outside the double doors was Alaric. He was surrounded by four royal pack guards, he looked a bit dishelved, his phone held tightly in his right hand as if he were just about to dial someone’s number. Without being told, I knew he was about to call me.

The exact second Alaric turned his head and saw us coming down the hallway, he froze dead in his tracks.

His dark eyes locked onto Kyle’s strong arms wrapped firmly around my body, then darted quickly to my flushed face, and finally settled on Kyle’s easy, confident posture.

In a fraction of a second, the calm, composed Alpha King completely vanished.

A dark, terrifying look fell over Alaric’s handsome face, his brows pulling down into a furious frown.

The air in the hallway instantly grew ice cold, and suffocating as his Alpha aura flared up in pure hostility.

Gabriel and the surrounding pack guards instinctively took a fast step back, their eyes widening as they sensed the sudden, dangerous shift in their Alpha’s deadly mood.

"Rowena," Alaric spoke, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying growl that vibrated straight through the floorboards and made the benches tremble a bit. "What happened?"

Kyle didn’t flinch under the suffocating pressure of Alaric’s deadly glare. He simply stopped a few feet away, holding my weight as effortlessly as before, his eyes meeting the Alpha King’s lethal stare with a completely calm, unbothered, and easy smile.