“How was he?” Francis asked, but Lindsay could see from the soft sympathy in his gaze that Francis already knew.
“I think”—Lindsay’s voice, already hoarse, broke on the words—“I think hehatesme.”
Francis did not argue with him, and for some reason, it was that more than anything that finally broke him. He sank into the chair next to Francis and buried his face in his hands. Hot tears pricked his eyes and clogged his throat.
“It is not an easy thing,” Francis said. “To have something done to you for your own good that you do not want. It may take him some time to forgive you.”
“I don’t think he will ever forgive me,” Lindsay whispered.
“Lindsay.” Francis’s tone was heavy with sympathy, but he gave no false reassurances. They both knew what Lindsay said was true.
After a pause, Francis said, “I have had a letter from Felix.” Felix was a wolf, and a particular friend of Francis’s, who lived in London. “He says Duncan has been seen in town and was talking of returning to Scotland imminently.” He met Lindsay’s gaze, saying seriously, “He will be here very soon, if he is not already. You must leave Edinburgh now.”
“What about Drew?” Lindsay said, his mind going straight to his mate. “He is not well enough to travel yet.”
Francis met his gaze squarely. “He wants to stay here.”
“You have spoken to him already?”
“I told him he should be with wolves for a while. Suggested both London and Paris and assured him we would see to his needs and comfort, as well as helping him adjust. But he was not willing to leave. He says his life is here. His work is here.”
“Drew’s workishis life,” Lindsay said bitterly. “It is all he cares about.”
Perhaps you should have thought about before you bit him.Francis didn’t say it, but Lindsay could read the thought on his face.
“He cannot be left alone, not now,” Lindsay said. “I will stay.”
“You cannot,” Francis said implacably. “And he will not be alone.Iwill stay with him.”
Jealousy rushed through Lindsay’s blood like a geyser. The wrongness of that, of him not being with Drew as he learned to be a wolf. Of someone else being there who was not him. It hurt him and made him want to snap and bite.
Francis’s gaze was soft with sympathy. “You saw how angry he is. He will not willingly consent to your presence. He will not go anywhere with you, unless you compel him. Even if he did, what would happen when Duncan found you? You would be putting Drew in peril.”
“What about when Duncan finds him withyou?” Lindsay retorted. “You are Duncan’s real obsession. Whatever you love, he hates and destroys.”
Francis said calmly, “Yes, but I do not love Drew. Oh, I think we will become friends, in time, and you can be sure I will take the best care of him that I can, but there will be nothing between us that will rouse Duncan’s passions. You are the one I worry about protecting. I can manage Drew alone, but not you too. Not with Drew like this.”
Like this. With Drew hating Lindsay, he meant. With Drew not wanting to be anywhere near him.
“I will see him through his first shifts,” Francis said, his voice low. “I will teach him how to control his wolf, as the moon cycle progresses. How to be safe, and undetected.”
Lindsay swallowed, hard. “His first shifts? How many? Two, three, ten? What do you think will be enough? When will you leave him?”
“I don’t know,” Francis said, calm as ever. “We will have to see how things go.”
“And if Marguerite calls you back to Paris?”
Francis shrugged. “Then I will try to persuade him to accompany me.”
“And if he refuses to go with you?”
Francis’s sigh was impatient. “If he refuses, that is up to him. He is his own person, Lindsay. A free man. Your bite did not make him your property. You must not try to control him.”
“I know that,” Lindsay cried. “But I also need to know he will be safe. Francis,please, you cannot expect me to—” his voice broke with emotion.
“What? Respect his wishes?” Francis’s gaze was sympathetic but his words were unyielding. “You have no choice in that, my friend. Unless you are going to be like Duncan MacCormaic and keep him in chains.”
Lindsay closed his eyes, squeezing them shut and shaking his head violently at the image Francis’s words had conjured up, as though to dislodge the sudden picture he had of Drew in his mind, pitiable and filthy in bondage. He felt Francis’s hand on his knee, calm and soothing, settling him.
