I started to speak again, but Luka said we would talk after the doctor was gone. That was comforting. Maybe. Either she didn’t think I would need a doctor after she got done ripping me a new one, or she didn’t want any witnesses to my upcoming death.
The doctor bustled in soon after. She was wearing the dress she always carried in her black bag, so she didn’t walk in on patients while she was naked.
“We really need to get some of these smart kids to make clothes that can stretch and shrink with our bodies when we change form,” she said.
She checked on the hole in my side. She tsked at me, shaking her head. This time, she used the equivalent of super glue to close the hole up. That way, if I did something completely stupid again, like trying to jump out of bed, it wouldn’t rip my skin as much.
Besides the ripped stitches, the injuries were healing nicely. She said I would be able to get out of bed in a couple of days if I would just lay there and give myself time to heal.
She turned to Luka. “I give you permission to use leather straps and handcuffs to tie him into the bed if he refuses to stay on his own free will.”
“Can I beat him some, too, if he won’t listen to me?” she joked.
The doctor said that as long as Luka didn’t leave any marks, she saw no problem with a beating.
“I sincerely hope you guys are joking.”
They both turned and looked at me and gave me stink eyes. I could feel myself shrinking inward. These were two women I didn’t want to upset.
Luka walked the doctor to the door.
Then, she walked back into the bedroom, stared at me with her arms folded, and said, “Talk.”
15
Luka
After the doctor had assured me that Gage was going to be fine, and she left, the anger flooded through me again. I couldn’t remember another time in my entire life when I had been so angry.
I went back into the bedroom, and I crossed my arms over my chest. Through clenched teeth, I managed to get out one word, “Talk.”
Gage seemed to shrink into himself. I wasn’t the type of person to rant and rave, but I guess he didn’t have a chance to know that yet.
Taking a deep breath, he said, “I don’t blame you for being mad. I should’ve told you. I guess I thought that it wasn’t that big a deal. The big deal was that I am a bear shifter. I guess I didn’t think it was important that I also was considered a clan leader. That’s actually why I had to leave the army. My father died, and as his eldest son, it was left up to me to take his place.”
As he tried to explain himself, I stood there, clenching and unclenching my fists. Every muscle in my body was so tense that I felt as though my tendons were going to start popping. My body shook.
I unclenched my jaw long enough to reply to his story. “I’m not buying what you’re selling. Yesterday, I asked you if there was anything else important I should know. You could have and should have told me the truth, then. Instead you lied to me and told me there were no other secrets that you have been hiding from me. Today, I have to find out from your brother that you are the clan leader. Don’t you think that this is information I should’ve had all along?”
“Yes. I’m so sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me.” He sounded pitiful, but I was not ready to let him off the hook yet.
“Is this what the conflict is about between you and your brother?”
Gage nodded. “He thinks that he ought to be the leader. He announced his desire to be leader after I told the clan about our marriage. He used the excuse that by marrying a human, I would weaken the bloodlines. However, it’s essential to marry outside the bloodline sometimes. If not, we all end up marrying our siblings and cousins.”
I nodded because that part made sense to me. “I want you to know that I still love you, and I will always love you. Right now, though, I am hurt and angry, so I’m going to go outside for a breath of fresh air to try to calm down. And I want to make one thing abundantly clear—you had better not ever lie to me or keep any kind of important information from me again. No matter how much I love you, I cannot be in a relationship where I don’t trust my partner, and my partner doesn't trust me.”
He looked as though I had punched him in the gut as I delivered my ultimatum. I loved him more than I loved life itself, but I couldn’t live with someone who practiced deception, even if it was a deception by omittance. To me, a lie is a lie. There would never be another for me, besides Gage, as he was my heart and soul. This was tearing me up inside.
I had to go and think. Or not think. Just breathe. I didn’t know what I needed. I just knew that I couldn’t stay there in the same room with him right now. I had to get away for a little while.
“Don’t you even think about trying to get out of that bed,” I growled at him.
I was pretty sure that he knew better than to disobey that order.
I turned around as calmly as I could, and I walked outside. I really wanted to throw a temper tantrum like I used to do when I was a child. I wanted to slam the door as hard as I possibly could, but somehow, I managed to control myself, and I closed the door very gently.
As I walk to the pond, I work hard to control my breathing.