Sui Generis – 48

 

Lew ran a hand through his hair, staring off into the distance. "We were after a rogue. I'd convinced him I was on the same page he was—that it was time to show the world who the real top species was—and that I knew someone else who felt the same way. The idea was I would draw him to a place outside the city so the three of us could make plans. He was… interested. Both in the idea and in me personally. When we got to the house, Randulf wasn't there yet so I..." He smiled ruefully. "I kept the rogue busy."

"In your own incomparable way."

"Yeah. Randulf walked through the door at just the wrong time. Instead of taking things the way he should have, he attacked. The rogue shifted and launched an attack of his own. We're no slouches in our human form, but against an enraged werewolf who thought, quite rightly, that he'd been drawn into a trap… Well, he managed to do some real damage before Randulf could shift. We ended up killing the rogue, but Randulf's wounds were serious enough to warrant his ending up in our clinic."

"Werewolves have a clinic?" Mag asked in surprise.

"Well, we can't quite go to a normal hospital, now can we?"

"True, I guess."

"Anyway, Randulf blamed me for what happened. It wasn't my fault. I was just doing what I had to until he got there, but he didn't see it that way. We were already on the verge of separating. That was the final straw as far as he was concerned. He's hated me ever since."

Mag shook his head. "I don't think he hates you. He doesn't trust you. That's obvious. But hate? No."

Lew crossed his arms, staring at Mag. "On what do you base your opinion?"

"I was watching him during the meeting. He's full of anger, but… I don't know how to put this. I think he's angry because he still cares and he doesn't want to, so he won't admit it, even to himself. If he really hated you, he'd have walked the second he found out you were going to be part of the plan. And, he's willing to go along and be your backup when the time comes."

"That's part of his job."

"Nope. It's part of someone's job. He could have told Antton or Ulrik to do it. Or, as I said, he could have backed out in the first place and someone else would have been brought in. He doesn't want you to get hurt and it sounds as if Alanna could do a lot of damage to you, once she realizes what's going on."

"Or, when the time comes, he'll stand there, watch, and let her do her worst."

"No. He's too honorable."

Lew nodded. "He is that. I'm still not buying that he doesn't hate me, but…"

"You'd like to."

"Yeah, Mag, I would."

"Then the two of you had better work on repairing what got broken."

"It won't happen because he'll never let it."

Mag snorted. "I figured you for a lot of things, based on what little I saw today, but a coward wasn't one of them. So think about it." He turned away, then, saying, "Brand and I have to go home so he can get ready for tonight and I can study."

"All right." Lew smiled slightly. "Thanks for the pep talk. It won't do any good, I suspect, but thanks anyway."

*****

On the drive home, Mag told Brand about his conversation with Lew. When he finished, Brand smiled, patting his thigh.

"Trying to play matchmaker?"

"More like peacemaker, I think. That means I have to talk to Randulf too."

"Leave it alone. It won't do any good. Even if you tell him what you think, Randulf's not going to buy into it."

"Even if he knew how Lew feels?"

"Mag, you don't know how Lew feels. Not really. Sure he might have… implied he wants to try to work things out, but you saw them together this afternoon. They're like oil and water; Lew the playboy and Randulf the rigid, authoritarian figure."

"He's not, you know. Or at least he hasn't been with you. He did everything he could to teach you how to handle your new abilities and never once got angry or upset when he had to show you more than once."

Brand smiled slightly. "Or twice or four times."

"That too. The same holds true during the battle with Fedor and company. He did what needed to be done, but he never ordered anyone around in the process."

"Okay, but still…" Brand shook his head. "I don't think you stand a chance in hell of getting him to see that he really does care for Lew. He doesn't trust him—not on a personal level. And if Lew was telling the truth, Randulf went all 'alpha' on him in their relationship, which made things even worse. That won't change, because it's what Randulf is, by dint of age and what he can do."

"But if I could get them to let go of their anger long enough to just talk…"

"Lots of luck. Still, maybe, when all this is over…"

"I should try."

            "Yes, my peacemaker, you should try, because it will drive you crazy if you don't."