Julien nods. “Ollie and Luke are staying in the guest bedroom at the end of the hall if you think that would work.”
“Perfect,” she says. Her attention moves back to me. “Go ahead and finish eating and head on up whenever you’re done.”
Easy for her to say. I only manage a couple more bites before I give up, nerves making my stomach feel overfull.
“Do you want me to go with you?” asks Luke.
My gaze darts toward his still pretty full plate, and I shake my head. There’s no point in pulling him away from his breakfast. Whatever the doctor is going to find, she’ll find whether Luke is there or not.
“I think I’ve got it,” I say, rising to my feet and pushing my chair in. “You still haven’t finished your breakfast yet. I’ll let you know what she says.”
Luke’s brows pull together and he gently takes hold of my arm. “I don’t care about the food. I care about supporting you.”
“Okay.” I shuffle my feet, glancing up at him from under my hair. “I guess I’d like to have you with me then.”
My mate pushes away from the table without another word and the two of us retreat upstairs, following the path back to the room at the end of the hall that we slept in last night.
Doctor Benton looks up as we enter, offering me a small smile. She pats a spot on the edge of the bed near the chair she’s sitting in. “Come sit down.” I follow her instruction and she takes my hands in hers, giving my fingers a quick squeeze. “I can tell you’re nervous, but you don’t need to be. I’m here to help however I can.” She releases my hands. “Julien filled me in on the basics, but why don’t you tell me any specific worries you might have about your health.”
I think for a moment. “Well, there’s the whole memory thing, but I don’t think that’s your area, right?”
“You’re right,” she says. “I’m a general practitioner, not a neurologist, but I can tell you the longer you go without getting your memories back, the less likely they are to come back.”
“Is there any way to tell what caused the memory loss?” asks Luke from where he’s hovering beside the bed.
“Not for sure, not with the equipment I have available to me,” she replies. “And, in my opinion, I don’t think that’s the most important thing anyway.”
“You don’t?” I ask, unable to hide my surprise.
“Nope,” she replies. “I’m not trying to downplay the amnesia issue. Yes, it is a problem, but there’s not really treatment for it except time. At this point, I think what’s most important is making sure you’re physically healthy, from there we can determine if there’s anything we need to worry about.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I say.
“I’m glad you agree.” She gives me a small smile as she pulls a stethoscope from the bag at her feet. “Do you mind removing your shirt? Or I can use this under it if you prefer.”
“No, that’s fine.” I quickly strip off Luke’s shirt, my gaze sliding to my mate as rests his hand on my bare shoulder in a gesture of support.
“This might be a little cold, I apologize.” She sets the stethoscope against the skin of my chest, and she’s right, it is kind of cold, but not unbearable and it quickly warms up. She listens for a few seconds, then moves the stethoscope to my back, instructing me to take a few deep breaths.
Her hand brushes across the back of my neck. “You have a small scar here, but you haven’t completed the mating bond…”
“That’s where I found the tracking chip,” says Luke, an angry edge to his voice.
“I see.” She frowns and leans closer, studying the area where the chip was. Her gaze darts to Luke. “Based on the placement and what I know about fated mate bonds, it’s possible the physical effects of the bond—that tingling sensation in the back of the neck—might have shorted the chip out eventually, but it’s good you removed it.”
I huff out a laugh. “The humans placed where they would on an animal. I guess they didn’t take into account the possibility of anything about being a shifter might affect it. Maybe that’s why it took them over a day to find me.”
“That’s quite possible,” replies Doctor Benton. She continues her examination, draping the stethoscope around her neck, then pulling out another instrument and using it to peer into my ears, eyes, and nose.
She nods to herself. “Everything seems normal so far. No murmurs or abnormal heart rhythms and your lungs sound fine. Would you please lay down?” I follow her instruction and she reaches across my body and places her hands on my stomach.She glances up to meet my eyes before continuing. “I’m going to be pressing into your abdomen. Let me know if there are any spots that are painful or uncomfortable.”
Luke’s phone lets out a loud noise, and Doctor Benton pauses as Luke pulls his phone from his pocket and glances at the screen. He frowns, brows drawing together.
“It’s Macy,” he says, a clear apology in his voice. “I need to call her back.”
“It’s okay,” I say, reaching up to grab one of his hands. “Do what you need to, just let me know what she says.”
My mate sends me a grateful smile, then nods in doctor’s direction before leaving the room to call his second back. Hopefully, Macy will have some good news, but something tells me that’s probably not the case.
