Amon turned to her and snarled. “I wasn’t talking to you. You need to butt out of this conversation.”
I was about to say something, but she beat me to it. Luka lifted her head high and said, “Sir, this is my house, and that is my husband. If you can’t be polite, you can get out.”
Amon smirked and shook his head. Then he turned back towards me.
“It is your duty to protect the clan. Instead of protecting the clan, you potentially lead more danger to us because of her. We didn’t have these kinds of problems before she came along. Plus, you can’t protect the clan if you’re lying in bed with bullet holes in you.”
I gave my brother what I considered to be a death stare. In my coldest voice, I said, “I know what my duties are. In our clan, we all take care of each other. Perhaps you have forgotten that part since you seem to only want to take care of yourself and your own selfish interests.”
“I do have the interests of the clan at heart, which is why I think you should step down from your position. Your marriage to this woman has clearly clouded your judgment. At this point, I would do a much better job as the leader.”
Amon must have seen the puzzled look on Luka’s face out of the corner of his eye. An evil smile spread across his face.
“She doesn’t know, does she?” he asked. “You have told her your entire identity, have you? Naughty boy. Husbands and wives are always supposed to be completely honest with each other. Since you haven’t bothered to tell her, I will do the honors for you.”
Amon turned to face Luka. He bowed to her, greatly exaggerating his movements. “Your husband is the leader, the king, so to speak, of our clan of bear shifters. As such, you are the queen, so to speak.” Amon was taking great delight in telling Luka this news, especially after seeing the color drain from her face.
Luka looked at me over Amon’s shoulder. She was waiting for me to confirm this information as the truth in the situation. I closed my eyes and nodded. I did not want to see the look of anger and hurt that I knew would cross her face because I didn’t see fit to trust her with this important piece of information.
Amon, however, was more than delighted to see these expressions. He went on. “He has a responsibility to produce good heirs and to protect the best interests of the clan. Since you’ve come along, he has put both of these priorities in jeopardy.”
He smiled broadly. I could see the gleam in his eyes. “I can see that you guys have a lot to talk about. I’ll just see my way out.”
Before leaving, Amon looked at me and said, “Good luck, brother. You have yourself a wildcat here, and she seems to be pretty mad.” Then, chuckling, he left. I heard the door shut behind him.
Luka stood there, staring at me for a moment. She was crying. She had held it in so Amon wouldn’t see how hurt she was, but the second that he left, the flood gates opened. It broke my heart to see her so upset, especially since I knew that I had caused it.
She slowly turned away from me.
“Luka, I…”
She held up her hand, forcing me to swallow my words. She didn’t want to hear anything that I had to say right then, and I couldn’t blame her. In a way, I had lied to her. She asked me if there was anything else important that she needed to know. I had told her there wasn’t.
I was so stupid. I don’t know why I didn’t tell her. I knew she would find out, sooner or later, just like I knew that she would find out that I was a shifter, sooner or later. Both times, when she found out my true identity, it had been a slap in the face.
Groaning, I could only hope that she would forgive me and trust me. However, I knew that if I were in her shoes, I would have a hard time with both of those concepts, especially trust. She was my wife and had a right to know everything.
I tried to sit up so I could go outside. I had an idea she went to the pond because it seemed to be her place of peace. However, as soon as I tried, the pain in my side exploded as though a grenade went off inside of me. I’m pretty sure that I tore at least one of my stitches open.
All I could do was lay back down on the bed and pray that she would come back to me and give me another chance. I would never survive without her.
I felt a tear form at the corner of my eye, and it slowly dripped down my cheek. Another tear soon followed.
After about half an hour, I heaved a huge sigh of relief as I heard the cabin door open and shut. I heard her footsteps grow louder as she came in my direction, then, she was standing in the doorway of the bedroom.
“Luka, I’m sorry,” I blurted out before she could say anything. “Before you rightfully annihilate me, I need your help. I tried to come after you when you walked out, and I think I may have busted open a couple of stitches.”
She growled at me in frustration and rushed to my side. She could see that the bandage had already turned bright red from the blood.
“Don’t move. I’ll be right back,” she ordered.
She went into the other room, and I could hear her talking on the phone to Dr. Ursa. She came back into the room and undressed the wound. She took a couple of pictures of the wound and sent them to the doctor. Three of the stitches in the middle had been torn.
I could hear Dr. Ursa’s groans through the phone. She said that she would be there soon. In the meantime, she told Luka to give me a pain pill and to put pressure on the wound to keep it from bleeding.
Luka went into the bathroom to get my meds and came back with the water. I knew she didn’t hate me then because she tenderly held my head up so I could take a drink of the water without choking on it.
Then, she put some gauze on the wound, putting pressure on it to slow the bleeding.