The ambulance arrived ten minutes later, and by that time, Rio had regained much of his consciousness. Weirdly enough, he kept peering at Ezra with a strange look in his eyes. Ezra couldn't quite describe what that look was, though.
The emergency workers pulled out a stretcher and loaded the annoyingly unconscious Rio onto it. As the person who was supposed to accompany him, Ezra had no choice but to join him in the back.
Before climbing in, he hesitated.
Ezra handed the EpiPen to them. "This is enough, right? You guys can take him to the hospital."
The male nurse gave him a weird look. "Sure, but aren't you accompanying your friend?"
"I…"
The eyes of the onlookers focused on him. Sighing, Ezra realized he had no other option but to get in.
He sat on the uncomfortable wooden stool, glancing at the eyesore lying on the stretcher.
Rio Velveta was looking his way again. This time, there was a smile on his face.
"I thought you would walk away. What made you decide to save me?"
"I must have gone crazy because of too much sun exposure. Or else, why would I save you?"
He subtly noticed Rio's smile disappearing.
"Who asked you to save me? These onlookers would have done a fine job without your help."
"Yeah, right."
Ezra refused to look his way after that. Taking out his phone, he subtly snapped a photo and sent it to Mateo.
'This maggot is annoying me so much. Can we just go back in time and kill him?'
The reply came within a second.
'There is no medicine for regret, my friend. You saved him like a knight in shining armor, and now you have to face the torture that is to follow.'
Mateo even attached a small GIF of a cat dancing on someone's grave.
'Oh, my uncle is asking me to help him out in his store.'
'You ass! You're deserting me!'
'My ass? Check out your ass. It's as flat as my tire.'
Ezra chuckled softly.
'Well, your tits are bigger than Gina's.'
'Ahhhh! Don't talk about my sensitive tits!' Mateo sent back with a fire emoji.
Ezra couldn't control his laughter.
The two male emergency responders gave him a dirty look.
"Sorry… my friend is crazy," he whispered, chuckling to himself.
He lowered his head and continued chatting with that crazy mofo.
The city hospital was quite close to the park, so it didn't take long for them to reach there. The place had four floors. The first two floors dealt with humans, while the top two were for werewolves. Since many members of the pack were accomplished doctors and the pack needed their support, this hospital had been established for that reason. Plus, they got to stay close to their pack.
It was a win-win for both the town and the pack.
Rio was rolled up to the fourth floor, where he was administered even more medicine for his allergic reaction.
Ezra, on the other hand, had nothing to do. He played around with his phone and even took a walk around the place. It was filled with old pack members he was familiar with, along with a few Velveta pack members as well. Weirdly enough, they all seemed very peaceful here.
No one fought each other.
It was kind of a safe spot, just like their school.
"Excuse me. Sir, excuse me."
A young nurse ran after him.
Ezra pointed to himself doubtfully. "Me?"
"Yes, you came with your friend, right? We have administered medicine to him. He is currently sleeping. Oh, when he wakes up, he might be slightly dazed. It's completely normal. Don't worry about it."
"So, the maggot lived. Good to know," he mumbled under his breath.
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing." He smiled slightly.
The nurse's expression distorted slightly.
"You can accompany him if you want."
"No, I want to leave."
"Sir, we can't allow you to. Until his legal guardian comes along, we need someone to stay with him. It's just so that we can get your consent in case of an emergency."
Ezra's brows furrowed deeply.
"I thought you said he was out of the woods."
"He is, for now. He needs to be under observation for two days. Just… please stay with him for a while until his father gets here. Please."
Ezra sighed.
He really couldn't say no to a woman.
He nodded and walked back to the patient's room.
Rio was already out of it and completely unconscious. Ezra sat beside him on a small, uncomfortable stool.
'Why do I have to sit here? It's boring… Wait… this is also community service, right? I am in servitude to this guy… yeah, yeah. I don't have to clean up trash. Maybe this isn't a bad thing after all.'
He grinned like a Cheshire cat and put his leg on the bed.
"Say, Rio, why are you like a maggot?"
He gently kicked his leg under the sheet.
Rio didn't move at all.
"Who knows? Maybe you grew up eating trash. Maybe that's why you're like a maggot. Always trying to feast on someone else's leftovers. It's so disrespectful, man."
He kicked him again.
The privacy screen was pulled open, and a nurse walked in, glaring at him. She pushed his legs off the bed.
"Stop kicking the patient."
Ezra peered at her. He didn't recognize her at all. That could only mean she was one of Rio's pack members.
"What? Protective of your future alpha?"
The young woman simply glared at him.
"Well, you have to be VERY thankful because your future alpha is alive because of MOI. So, I can keep my foot wherever I want."
He placed his foot back on the bed, kicking Rio's leg out of the way.
The nurse gritted her teeth and walked away.
'Velveta pack is so annoying. Maybe they're all like this maggot.'
Ezra had nothing to do but play with his phone, but even that was interrupted by the low-battery signal.
He shut his phone down and sat there, sighing.
'It's annoying…'
He peered at Rio's face.
'It's all because of you, bastard, and here you are sleeping here so peacefully.'
Suddenly, a villainous thought arose in his mind.
He hurried out into the hallway and went to the doctor's board. He picked up the marker and ran back into the room.
Peering at Rio's fatigued face, he grinned widely.
"Hehe, it's time for a makeover… I'll make you look so handsome that even your own father might not recognize you."
He started scribbling all over Rio's face.
The marker was slightly dried up after he drew one side of the mustache.
"This thing is shit."
He licked the tip.
The sour taste immediately threw him off guard.
"Why the hell did I even lick it… fuck."
He extended his tongue, trying to get a good look at the spot where the marker had left behind a stain.
When all of a sudden, a hand gripped his tongue.
Eyes wide open, Ezra peered down.
Rio's green eyes shone slightly.
"Your tongue's longue… how long…" he mumbled with a giddy smirk.
Ezra hurriedly pushed his hand away and wiped at his tongue.
"Why do you care how long it is?"
Rio was probably high from all the medicine. He still had a delirious look on his face as he tried to grab Ezra's tongue again.
"Tongue… long, very long…"
Ezra pushed his hand away.
'Wait. This is my chance. He is fucking silly and high. I can get some good blackmail material out of him.'
He pulled out his phone and started recording him.
"Hey, Rio, look here. Show everyone your handsome face."
He pulled Rio's chin up and made him face the camera.
Rio just grinned cutely.
Ezra froze.
'Did I just think he was cute? This maggot is cute? Fuck no!'
He let go of Rio's chin and continued drawing on his face.
Rio was surprisingly very obedient.
This threw Ezra off guard slightly.
By the end, his artwork looked spectacular. Rio was left with a huge eye patch, an ugly mustache, and a few moles drawn across his cheeks.
"There, what a beauty. Hehe…"
Rio glanced his way with a cheerful smile.
"Yes…"
Ezra took a few more embarrassing photos with him and sent them to Mateo.
The phone rang instantly.
"Dude, you are a genius. Do you want me to print these and post them around the campus?"
"Yeah, that could work… but everyone will think he is cute?"
Once again, Ezra was completely stunned by his own words.
He slapped his mouth.
"Just put it off. This is our blackmail material."
Mateo groaned.
"You're no fun."
"Oh yeah, the last time you pulled a prank, this guy ended up in a hospital half dead. Mateo, let's tone our revenge plan down a notch."
"Boohoo…"
His best friend cut the call.
Sighing, Ezra peered at Rio's hilarious face. A small chuckle escaped his lips.
"You do not look that annoying like this. Maybe you should start painting your face like a mime. Maybe I will have a good impression of you then."
Rio just blinked his green eyes at him.
"Hmmm…"
Right then, the door banged open.
A tall blond man walked in with a deep frown. The air around him was so strong and intimidating that Ezra immediately stiffened.
His light green eyes focused on him.
"What did you do to him?" he growled.
Ezra froze.
The intimidating air of an alpha completely held him in place. He could barely even breathe. Even so, he gritted his teeth and forced his expression to remain calm.
"Your son got stung by a bee. Why are you glaring at me? In fact, I saved his ass."
Alpha Velveta growled even louder.
The force holding him down intensified.
Ezra gasped softly, gripping the bed frame.
'I can't show my weakness. I can't show my weakness!'
A warm hand suddenly touched his palm.
That overwhelming force disappeared in just a second.
Rio deliriously smiled at him.
"My savior~"