Page 76 of Master Wolf
The interruption had its desired effect. Duncan dropped his hand and moved away from the dressing table. He stepped closer to Drew, though he made sure he kept Lindsay behind him. He raked his gaze up and down Drew’s naked body.
“Very pretty,” he said, somehow directing the remark at Lindsay without looking at him. “I can see why you chose him. He’slovely. I would very much enjoy marking that skin.” He tapped his chin, considering. “In fact, I may just do that. There are ways of enslaving people other than biting them after all. Brute force can be effective.”
“Very true,” Lindsay replied hoarsely behind him. “But since it’s me you really want, let him go and I’ll come with th—youwillingly.”
“Lindsay—” Drew began, his voice thick with warning, but Duncan spoke over him.
“Oh no, we can’t have that!” he declared. His grin was wide and he was as handsome and dashing as a storybook pirate, all flashing white teeth and glittering eyes. Larger than life in every way. “Not when your pup has come all this way to rescue you.” He winked at Drew. “You have come to rescue him, haven’t you?”
“Yes,” Drew said, and he felt so calm suddenly, so certain about this. It was an oddly glorious feeling to believe absolutely in what he was about to do, even knowing he probably had no chance against Duncan MacCormaic. He realised then, with a bolt of gut-deep understanding, that the choice mattered more than the outcome. That was true freedom. “Yes,” he said again, more firmly. “I have.”
“A life is defined by the choices a person makes. If I can’t make my own choices, what is the purpose of any of it?”
“No,” Lindsay moaned. “Drew, please, go now. You are making this worse!”
Drew met his pleading gaze. He felt astonishingly calm. “How could this be worse than you letting him kill you?”
“You would have beenfree,” Lindsay cried. “After all of this, can I not at least have that?”
Guilt and sorrow pierced Drew. He had brought Lindsay to this. And for nothing.
“I would not have been free,” Drew said.
Lindsay blinked, seeming confused.
Drew gave a desperate, helpless laugh. “I’ve been a terrible fool, Lindsay. The truth is, I was yours before you ever bit me, from the very first. And I always would have been, bite or no bite.”
“Drew—”
“Jesus Christ, is this a fuckinglove declaration?” Duncan interrupted. He paced back to Lindsay and pointed down at his crouching body, his face twisted in a disgusted sneer as he met Drew’s gaze. “You lovethis? This cringingcur?” He shook his head, disbelieving. “Thisis how you treat a cur,” he spat, and drawing back his leg, delivered a powerfully vicious kick to Lindsay’s ribs. Lindsay fell to his side, gasping and clutching his sides.
Drew’s wolf surged so swiftly that he was sure he saw it leap forward. As though his human sight lingered long enough to see his beast-self materialise, mid-leap before him, his consciousness only catching up with the wolf in the instant that its paws landed on Duncan’s shoulders, bearing him down to the ground.
Duncan was swift to react. He was already taking his wolf form as he fell to the ground, his huge muscular body shifting into a giant iron-grey wolf that opened its mighty jaws and fastened its teeth onto Drew’s shoulder.
Drew yelped and twisted away, the awkward, hard landing helping him escape Duncan’s grip, while his own retreat allowed Duncan to regain his footing. Now the two wolves circled each other, wary and watching, waiting for an opening. Drew’s shoulder screamed but he ignored it, his attention on Duncan. He knew the bigger wolf would take advantage of the slightest lapse in his concentration and was all too aware of the distraction of Lindsay just a few feet away, his wheezing gasps of pain and the clumsy sounds of him trying to get to his feet.
Even with his gaze trained on Duncan, it was a shock when Duncan leapt at him, a solid mass of teeth and claws. Their bodies collided and Drew reacted instinctively, turning his head to sink his teeth into Duncan’s side, as the bigger wolf’s teeth raked his neck, failing to get a hold of him this time.
Drew tasted blood, coppery and rich on his tongue, and his beast grew excited, biting deeper, ripping into Duncan’s flesh and making him roar with pain and rage as he twisted in Drew’s grip. His triumph was short-lived though. With a powerful buck of his muscular body, Duncan unbalanced Drew, sending him tumbling to the ground. An instant later he was on him, pinning him to the ground and going for his throat with his slashing teeth.
“Get off him!” Lindsay yelled above them. Drew glanced up to see him holding his ebony cane in his hands like a broadsword. Weak as he was, he swung it high and sent it smashing against Duncan’s thick skull.
It was enough, at least, to daze him for a moment; enough to allow Drew to wriggle out from beneath him and right himself.
Duncan struggled to his feet too, but instead of facing Drew, he turned on Lindsay with an ugly snarl. Undaunted, Lindsay narrowed his eyes and brandished his cane, an unlikely hero in his crimson dressing gown. Jesus, Duncan could tear him limb from limb in half a minute.
Panic soaring, Drew ignored his growing exhaustion, braced himself, then leapt again, landing on Duncan’s back and bearing him to the ground, fastening his teeth into the ruff at the back of Duncan’s neck and tearing at the flesh there. Beneath him, he felt all of Duncan’s writhing, muscular power trying to buck him off and wondered how long he could hang on. How long till Duncan tossed him off and went for his throat again.
How much longer he could protect Lindsay.
Despair was beginning to take hold of him when a new scent reached him, miraculous and wonderful and so familiar.
Francis.
Oh God,Francis was here.
With Duncan’s flesh still fastened between his teeth, he let out a whimper.