Page 21 of Hart's Redemption

Good. Serves him right.

Dr. Lyons pulled up a holographic scanner to check my vitals as I leaned against the exam table. I didn’t dare sit or do anything as idiotic as relax. One slip is all it would take for me to lose control. I held onto what remained of my composure with a white-knuckle grip and silently worried if the table could take the same pressure.

After a couple of awkward seconds, she cleared her throat. “We’ll keep this quick as I’d rather you rest after your evening at the reserve. So, um… how do you feel?”

I dug my fingers into the metal frame and felt it give. “Doctor, as you are likely aware, Lycan Detectives cannot lie. As such, if you want answers, you will need to be more precise withyour questions. How I feel is an exceptionally broad query with a multitude of answers, most of which I’m not particularly inclined to share at the moment.” Those same feelings of anger, betrayal, intense love, and total despair bubbled like acid inside. I quickly snapped my mouth shut before they could find their way out.

Dr. Lyons swallowed, looking visibly shaken, and returned her gaze to the charts. From there, the questions became exceedingly professional. I answered each one in as few words as possible and focused intently on not damaging the table any further than I already had. At last the questions wound down, and I could see the end in sight. I should have known it was too good to last.

She gave an exasperated sigh and set her notes down. The data tab blinked once, then went dark. “I don’t understand, Detective Hart. He saved your life.Twice. That man out there moved mountains to ensure your proper care. In the three months you’ve been here, he’s scarcely left your side. If it weren’t for the bond, you wouldn’t be alive at all.”

I pulled my shirt straight and pushed off from the exam table, ensuring I kept the damage I’d wrought obscured. “Are we done?”

Anger flashed in her eyes. “No, we are not.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Then, are you driving towards a point?”

She threw both of her hands up. “Why wouldn’t you want him in here?”

“That’s my prerogative.” I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough that the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth. In moments it disappeared.

“He’s your partner. You’re bonded mates. I know humans aren’t capable of completing the bond, but you’re not human anymore.”

“I’m well aware that I’m no longer human,” I deadpanned, pouring every ounce of willpower I had into restraining my rampant emotions.

She frowned at the interruption, but refused to back down. “Now that you’re a lycan, the instinct to finish the connection should have been overwhelming.”

“Speaking from experience?” I raised an eyebrow at her certainty while my stomach rolled. It had been absolutely overwhelming, an all-consuming need that had threatened to swallow me whole.

And he told me no.

“Did you complete the bond or not?”

“Is my sex life now part of your purview?”

Dr. Lyons squared her shoulders and stood her ground. I had to give her credit. The petite woman had pluck. “You know damn well that it is. Now answer the question.”

“Yes.” The one-word admission ripped open the wound that refused to close. I might as well have stood there bleeding out on the exam room’s pristine floors.

“So what’s the—”

Nothing in this world could get me to stand there while she finished that thought. I stalked towards the door, more than done with this conversation. She hadn’t said anything about my going back to that damn box, and I wasn’t about to stick around long enough to land myself there. Yet I stalled at the door. I glanced back at Dr. Lyons, with her mix of confusion and irritation plainly written on her face.

“For as long as I can remember, no one has ever told me they loved me.”

“But…”

“No one.” I dropped my gaze to the silver handle resting beneath my fingers. “I’ll be expecting those meditation exercises and agree that a backup of sedatives is wise. If there areany other treatments you think should be pursued, send them directly to me.” I pulled open the door and made my way to the main lobby. The moment I arrived, Elijah shot to his feet.

“What did she say? Can you come home?” He ran a shaking hand through his hair, which was already a disaster, no doubt from similar motions.

But there was that word again.Home.I didn’t have a home, though. Never really had. “She didn’t say I had to stay.” Elijah gaped at me as I walked past, stubbornly ignoring the impulse to reach out to him.

Elijah

I didn’t know it was possible for anything to be more awkward than the drive back to the recovery ward, but the drive to the cottage put that to shame. My skin crawled with unease as Josh’s anger continued to fill the cabin like a living thing. Every time he so much as twitched, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My grip tightened on the steering wheel as he resolutely stared out the window.

“Are you going to tell me what she said?”