Fran waved his apology away, as Robbie sighed.
“It went as well as expected. Dad and Bishop fought, Bishop lost, and not wanting another pack, Dad contacted the Council to send a council-appointed Alpha to take over the pack. And that idiot, Jacob Bishop, decided to kiss Finn to try and kickstart the mating bond again.”
James’s mouth dropped open. He stared at Robbie, thankfully missing Fran squirming in his seat. “Seriously?”
“Oh yeah, needless to say, it didn’t happen. I mean, what kind of idiot thinks that you can re-establish a mating bond?”
Not wanting to hear his mate called any more names, Fran stood up and said, “My break is over, I’ll see you two later.” And before either man could say anything, Fran was gone.
Robbie looked after him with a concerned look on his face. He turned to James. “Is Fran all right?”
James shook his head. “I don’t think so, but I have no idea what’s wrong.”
“I’ll grab some time with him later and find out,” Robbie assured his colleague.
Fran decidedthe best way to stop thinking about Jacob was to throw himself into work. He walked round the hospital, stopping by all the patients to see how they were doing and having a chat with them, while doing all his checks.
He remembered meeting Fintan for the first time. He had decided as soon as he saw the poor bruised, injured man that they would be friends. They had even had a shopping trip together, along with Ezzy, his cousin and Robbie's younger brother. They would need another trip soon as wolves from the Bishop pack trashed all of Fintan’s new clothes when they came looking for him.
He shook his head, what a waste, but Fran loved shopping, so it was no hardship to go again.
He walked into one of the patient rooms and saw that the old lady was awake. “Afternoon Rose, and how are you feeling today?” he said, smiling at her.
“Fran, it’s always so lovely to see you. You brighten my day, and not just because of your lovely blue hair.”
Fran smiled at her and sat himself down on the side of her bed before holding her hand. “That’s very nice of you to say so. You brighten my day as well.”
Rose was an elderly wolf, nearing the end of her life. She had never met her mate, but bonded with another wolf when she was younger and fell deeply in love with him. Since they never had any children, she had basically adopted the whole village as her children. Her husband died years ago and she had no other family. Fran made it his mission to visit every day and sit and chat with her. Even before she came into the hospital, Fran would visit with her, hear her stories, and just spend time with her.
Medically, there was nothing more they could do for Rose, it was just making her last days on this plane happy.
Rose smiled. “Such a lovely young man. But now, tell your auntie Rose what’s bothering you. You’re trying to show your usual happy self, but there’s sadness in your eyes. You can go and shut the door and tell me all about it, that way no one will hear us talking,” she said gently, laying her other hand on his arm.
Fran’s smile fell off his face and he sighed. “It would be nice to talk to someone who could offer me some insight. Hang on while I shut the door.” Fran got up, closed the door, and came back to sit beside Rose.
“Now, tell me what has you sad,” she said, gently settling her hand on his.
“I’m not sure how much you know about Fintan Fitzwilliam,” Fran began.
“Oh my dear, I know everything, no one can talk of anything else. I’m so glad he and our dear Robert are fated mates. I heard you were all going back to his home pack yesterday, but I’ve not heard how that went.”
“It went as well as can be expected. Uncle Berni ended up killing Alpha Bishop and Jacob Bishop decided he wanted Fintan as his mate after all and kissed Fintan in the hopes of re-establishing the mating bond.”
“Well, what a silly thing to try, once broken the mating bond can never be fixed,” Rose told him.
Fran nodded. “I know. Anyway, it was while we were there that I discovered my mate.”
Rose smiled and grabbed his hand. “But that’s wonderful news. Where is he? It is a he, isn’t it?”
Fran nodded. “Yeah, it’s a he, but I’ve not brought him back here.”
“Does he not want to leave? Oh dear. Are you thinking of moving to the Bishop pack? I’m not sure what your family will think about that.”
Fran shook his head. “No, I’m not planning on moving away from here, but I can’t have my mate either.”
Rose looked at him confused for a moment, then understanding showed on her face. “Oh my dear, I’m so sorry. It’s Jacob Bishop isn’t it? He’s your mate.”
Fran nodded, his eyes misting. “Now you know why I can never mate with him. I can’t have him come here and live where Fintan is. If I have to hazard a guess, I would say he was in love with Finn. I mean, he must be if he wanted to re-establish the mating link.”
