Page 48 of Highland Prince of Darkness

His face seemed to change as his mind clearly started to consider what kind of things he might have been saying while he was unconscious.

“What kind of things?” he asked with gritted teeth.

“Well, it sounded like ye were back out there in the world before ye met Bruce. But I cannae be sure. Ye was talking about... killing people, and yer life and—”

“That’s enough.”

May quickly closed her mouth at his cutting response. She bit her lip and looked down at her lap as she frowned. She was too tired to handle a situation like that, and she knew that if she were to let her anger through, it would consume her and she would say something that she would regret.

“I didnae mean to hear it, I swear. I was just…”

“Ye were what? Pretending to be a nurse when that is nae yer job?” Iain spoke in a harsh tone even from his sickbed.

May gasped at his words as she looked at him with wide eyes. She hadn’t expected him to be quite so cutting with her, and she couldn’t understand why he was always so angry with her. The injury made her feel as though they had gone five steps back with the progress in their relationship.

“I never said that I was yer nurse, that is why we have healers. But I wanted to be by yer side because I’m yer wife!”

“This is nay place for a wife, this is where I’ll get better,” Iain answered back, “I need a nurse, nae a wife when I’m sick.”

She tried to ignore the way that his words cut into her like small knives. However, it was proving impossible to swallow down the lump that was forming in her throat and pricking tears in her eyes.

“I thought that we were past these arguments.” May spoke in a small voice. “I thought that we were moving on. But nay, ye’re still the heartless monster that women tell their children about so that they willnae misbehave. Ye’re harsh and callous with how ye treat people, and I wish that I wasnae married to ye after all.”

May refused to let Iain say anything else that would upset her, instead, she pushed open the door and left him alone on his sickbed.

* * *

Iain could feel his heart pounding in his chest, it was making the sound travel up to his ears and his breathing had increased as he tried to calm down. He didn’t like sharing his past, not even with Bruce had he shared all of his stories, but he felt far too vulnerable at that moment. He didn’t want May seeing him like that, he felt as though he was far too open at that moment and that was why he sent her away. It was also the memories that had been brought up during his uneasy sleep, Iain had remembered the pain May had caused him and the way that she had left him. It was that thought that had brought back so much anger to him.

Her comments had hurt him, he couldn’t deny that, but Iain wanted nothing more than to be left alone. He was hoping that May had only said those things because she was tired and hurting, but he wasn’t so sure anymore.

He didn’t like the idea of her being able to read him in a way that May hadn’t been able to do since he had arrived back into her life. He liked that she wasn’t able to get too close to him, because it meant that he didn’t have to relive the memories that haunted his dreams like those that he’d gone through overnight.

It had all felt so real. Iain had thought for a moment that he really was back and chasing Athol. He had also dreamed of the times when he had killed for money, the times that had really stuck with him. Iain shuddered to even think about the people who had begged for their life that he had cut down, there were people that he wasn’t sure had even deserved it, but he had still viewed it as a better trade than selling people as Athol had done.

The memories were still so raw and fresh in his mind, and they were thoughts that had spent a long time building up.

“Ah, it’s good to see that ye’re awake,” Bruce spoke as he stepped into the room without knocking. Iain groaned and rolled his eyes as he looked up at his guardian. He still felt far too angry to be considered in his right mind.

“Aye,” Iain nodded briefly.

“And where is May? She’s been here all day and night and now that ye’re awake she’s gone?” Bruce glanced around with a frown.

“She was here when I awoke,” Iain nodded, and swallowed thickly. He already knew that how he had treated her was wrong, but he wasn’t about to admit that to his guardian, and so he stood by his actions. “I sent her away shortly afterward.”

“Is everything all right between the two of ye?” Bruce asked with narrowed eyes. His pale eyes were framed on top by wisps of thin white hair that made up his unkempt eyebrows.

“Aye, everything is fine. I just told her that I dinnae need my wife here, I only need a nurse.”

“And did that go down well?” Bruce asked with a startled chuckle. It was clear that he already knew the answer to his own question.

“I was nae thinking straight, but I was angry enough that I felt as though I meant the words I spoke to her.”

Iain could see that Bruce wanted to say something on the matter. He looked perplexed; his frown was only deepening and he was pacing about the room as though there was a statement that he wanted to get off of his chest.

“I ken that ye’re goin’ to say something about nae being so harsh towards her now that she’s my wife,” Iain admitted with a heavy sigh. He wanted to get whatever patronizing statement it was going to be out of the way.

“Ye dinnae ken what I’m going to say, I really want ye to listen to it because I’m nae sayin’ it for anyone else’s benefit but yers.”