Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Talia pressed her hand against her mouth, and she didn’t blink as they brought Liam toward their bench with Travis meeting them halfway and running with them out of the field line while asking Liam questions to assess his condition.
Keith was quick to send the substitute player in, and Travis was checking on Liam’s leg as soon as medics kept the stretcher on the ground.
“How is he?”, Keith asked with concern obvious in his voice.
“I don’t think it’s broken, but a nasty bruise is forming… Damn it! It’s swelling already!” Travis looked up at Keith. “I want to send him for an x-ray…”
Keith cursed under his breath. The game just started, and he lost his fastest runner. But no matter how fast Liam was, those two were waiting to intercept him. It was obvious that the other team was aware of Liam’s importance as the fastest player, and they were aiming to take him out of the game as soon as possible.
“No.”, Liam objected. “I want to play. Put some ice on it and give me painkillers. My wolf will heal it in no time. I’ve had worse.”
Keith and Travis exchanged glances, but Liam was determined to go back into the game.
“If in ten minutes there is no improvement, you are going to the hospital.”, Travis said and waved at Talia. “Come and help to hold the ice…”
Talia was happy that she can be useful.
Travis sprayed an anesthetic on Liam’s bruised leg and explained, “This will numb you up, and ice will prevent the swelling… take these also…” He gave two capsules to Liam. “Stay still and I will check on you in ten minutes.”
“Flip the ice on every minute or so…”, Travis instructed Talia and then he went to scribble something in his notepad.
Lulu and a few substitute players who were standing around Liam to hear about his condition also turned to watch the game.
Talia observed that both Keith and Travis were serious and focused on their tasks and she glanced at Liam who was sitting on the stretcher and watching the game with a frown on his face.
It seemed that everyone had a task they were passionate about, and Talia hoped that one day she will also have something that sets her spirit ablaze. At this point, Talia’s focus was on surviving and gaining independence, and she believed that once she takes care of the basics, she will find her passion as well.
Talia flipped the ice and looked at Liam who was now smiling at her.
“There is no need to be so gentle.”, he said. “The doctor numbed me up good and I don’t feel a thing.”
“But the numbing will go away and if I hurt you now, you will feel it later.”, Talia responded.
Liam shook his head while thinking how Talia is a kind girl..
By the time anesthesia wears off, his werewolf healing will take care of the injury. As long as it’s not a torn muscle or a broken bone, he will be good as new in a few hours even without any treatment. As a werewolf herself, Talia should know that. But then… Liam didn’t hate how Talia treated him with care.
Liam perked up when he realized that everyone was focused on the game, and this was his opportunity for some one-on-one time with Talia.
“I didn’t get a chance to ask, where did you disappear last night? We were dancing and Dawn pulled me to the side and then an epic fight erupted. I was trying to find you, but you were nowhere to be found. We were worried that you got swept away in the scuffle, but you were not among injured so…”, his voice trailed, obviously waiting for Talia to explain what happened.
“I’m not sure.”, Talia responded honestly. “I drank too much. I remember dancing, and the next scene is me waking up in the morning with a nasty hangover.”
She heard Dayson mentioning carrying and spanking, but that didn’t make sense, so Talia dismissed it. In any case, Talia didn’t want to think about Dayson.
“That bad, eh?”, Liam asked with a chuckle. If he knew that Talia was wasted so badly, he would stick to her closely, and maybe she would wake up in his bed. Ah, the possibilities!
Talia switched hands because other than cooling Liam’s injury, her hand was also getting cold to the point of being uncomfortable. Talia didn’t have a metabolism of a werewolf that would keep her warm, and even with furry gloves, her fingers were exposed and cold.
Liam noticed Talia balling her free hand into a fist repeatedly and he took her hand between his and blew softly. “Let me warm you up.”
Talia looked at Liam who was treating her hand like a precious treasure and her breath hitched. She was not used to such a gentle treatment.
They were on the playing field, with hundreds of people in visual range, yet at that moment, the atmosphere between Talia and Liam became very intimate, like it’s just the two of them.
The heat in Talia’s cheeks told her that she was blushing profusely. “There is no need.”
“I insist…”, Liam said while increasing his hold on Talia’s hand so that she can’t pull it out. “You are tending to my injury. The least I can do is to make sure you don’t freeze…” And then he blew into her hand again.
Talia was not sure where to look so she decided to stare at his tattoos.
At a certain point, Travis checked on Liam’s injury and after pressing some areas on Liam’s leg, Travis cleared him as good to return to the game.
Travis was bandaging Liam’s leg and Liam held Talia’s hand the whole time.
“You can let go of her hand, Liam.”, Travis said with a chuckle.
“She is the team spirit. I’m feeding off her energy.”, Liam said matter-of-factly.
Travis shook his head and smiled. He could see that Liam was shameless, but it was only holding hands, so he didn’t want to meddle.
Liam stood up and tried stepping on his foot before confirming that he is fine.
“Good luck.”, Talia told Liam and he grabbed her hand. Before she could react, Liam twisted her wrist and kissed the back of her palm (over the furry glove).
“Thank you for supporting me. My next goal will be for you.”, Liam said to Talia with a grin, and he winked before going to stand next to Keith at the field line and wait for the referee to call him to enter the game.
“Thank you for your help.”, Travis said to Talia while keeping things back into his medical suitcase.
“I’m glad I could help.” And she was glad it was over. The hand holding was awkward.
…
…
The crowd erupted in screams when Liam scored a goal for the Shadow Fang team, and shortly after that, the first halftime was over with the result being a tie.
A game consisted of two halftimes, each thirty minutes long, and there was a ten minutes-long break between halftimes.
Two bulky guys brought a massive cooler that was filled with ice and various beverages.
All players dashed for the cooler to get a drink, and Talia observed them from the bench, happy that she survived the first halftime without the need to do cartwheels or anything excessive. But she noticed that the girl in the blue dress cheered for the opposite team enthusiastically and Talia thought that maybe she needs to up her game. Somehow.