Nine.
"I said no, Ginny."
Ginny stood in the way of the door, arms crossed as she glared up at Remus.
"I have a right to be involved," she shot back. "Ah! Don't you dare..." she warned as he stepped closer.
Remus was trying his hardest not to resort to using the power he had over her in this situation, but she was making it increasingly difficult.
"Ginny, this is a highly delicate matter," he explained carefully. "They are not inclined to snitch on our kind, regardless of the crimes they commit. I need to handle this alone."
Ginny shook her head. "No, you don't," she said. "I'm not stupid. I won't jeopardise this."
Remus ran a hand through his hair in agitation, throwing his head back to glare at the ceiling. Then he faced her again and took a step closer, arm extended to trap her between him and the door. "Move out of the -."
"Don't try that!" she snapped, stuffing her fingers in her ears so as not to hear him and humming loudly.
Remus couldn't help but grin at her immature behaviour, but he pulled her hands away and lowered his mouth to her ear. "You are staying here, girl," he growled. "When I return, I expect my dinner waiting for me."
Ginny shook her head defiantly, but her eyes were wide as though pleading with him and he knew she had submitted to him. "You don't trust me," she said sulkily.
"It is others I don't trust," he replied evenly, lifting a hand to stroke her hair out of her face. Although they had reached an unspoken agreement of friendly civility, both of them had found themselves reaching for the other, unable to resist contact. Neither of them said anything whenever this happened.
"But this woman is an old friend, isn't she?" Ginny asked, confused.
Remus nodded. "It is not her I'm concerned about."
"Well, I've got your scent all over me," she said bitterly. "No one is going to want to come near me, are they?"
Remus sighed heavily. "It is waning," he replied.
"Is it?" she asked, brow knitting together in bemusement.
"Yes," he replied gently. "Marking is not permanent. It only lasts until your next menstrual cycle," he explained.
"Oh," she said, and she bowed her head and moved away from the door. "I'll see you later then."
Remus stared at her back as she made to go into the kitchen, feeling awful and shameful and conflicted. "Wait," he called and she turned to face him. He gave a heavy sigh. "Come on then."
Ginny's face lit up almost immediately and she hurried over to him and flung her arms around him to hug him tight. He took the opportunity to draw in her scent with a deep breath and held her close about the waist, before releasing her so she could throw on her winter cloak and hat.
"You need to stay by my side at all times," he said sharply, a warning finger pointed at her. "You don't go anywhere unless I say."
Ginny nodded obediently and Remus groaned internally. He had to be more careful with how he worded things, he didn't want her to think he was abusing this power.
Remus took her hand and held it firm as they left the cottage, and he led her down the path through the snow-covered garden, their boots crunching underfoot. Then Remus stopped at the boundary wall and held a finger to his lips to make sure she didn't speak. He gazed around the length of the wall and the forest, closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. All he could smell was her scent, but he slipped his hand into his pocket and tightened his grip on his wand.
"Come," he muttered, tugging on her hand to cross the boundary of the wards. "Ready?" She nodded, and he clasped her hand tighter before turning on the spot and disapparating with a pop!
Where they appeared was vastly different to the place they had just left. There was no sign of a tree or a patch of grass at all, snow had also not fallen here but there were pools of ice dotted here and there in the alleyway they had appeared in and it was just as bitingly cold.
A loud, rattling sound drew in towards them and Remus looked up in time to see an overground train thunder above the alleyway, disturbing a bunch of pigeons that had been settling beneath the bridge.
"Where are we?" Ginny asked quietly, drawing closer to him as she clutched his arm with her other hand.
"Highams Park," he replied shortly.
Remus led her out of the alleyway and onto a quiet one-way street lined with cars and street lamps. A few of them had yellow notices plastered onto their windshields. At the end of the street, the road opened up into a t-junction and a curly-haired woman stood leaning against a lamppost, examining her fingernails with a bored air.
As they approached, she looked up at them and grinned playfully at Remus.
"Wow, you've barely changed," the woman said, her thin dark brows raised in surprise. "Except you've got greys now, of course." She laughed. "Happens to the best of us."
"Josie," Remus muttered, barely listening as he cast his gaze around the junction, but all he could see were a couple of cars waiting at the red traffic light.
"And who's this then?" she said with a lazy gesture at Ginny. "This your daughter?"
Remus gave Josie a sharp look. "No, she's -."
Josie burst out laughing and it echoed down the quiet street. "I'm taking the piss, Remus, she's covered in your stink," she said, wrinkling her nose. "She's green though. I can tell just by looking at her."
Ginny pursed her lips at this, but said nothing.
"I'm here to speak to Ada, not to have a chit-chat," Remus snapped. "Can we go?"
Josie rolled her eyes. "Fine. I think I preferred you when you were timid..." she muttered. She flicked her hair in his face and he gagged as he caught her pungent scent, a mixture of cigarettes and dirty hair.
They followed Josie down the street as it wound into a bend and she looked back at Ginny with a sly grin. "Any good is he?" she asked with a snort, gesturing to Remus.
"What?" Ginny asked, bemused.
Josie laughed and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. "We can smell it, you know," she said with a wink, speaking in a slow voice as if Ginny were stupid. "He's been a naughty boy with you, hasn't he? Likes 'em young, apparently..." She looked Ginny up and down as she put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it with a gold lighter.
"Josie, keep your mouth shut," Remus said in a threatening tone.
She took a drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke in his face. He gagged once more and coughed into his sleeve. Josie snorted with laughter again. "How old are you, little one?"
Ginny pursed her lips. "Nineteen."
Josie's heavily mascaraed eyes widened for a brief moment. "Christ, I didn't know you had it in you, Lupin," Josie said with another bubble of laughter.
Remus shot a low, warning growl at Josie, who raised her thin brows at him again, surprised, but she focused ahead once more. Eventually, she led them through a large metal gate into what looked like an abandoned builder's yard next to several railway arches that were boarded up.
"It hasn't changed much," Remus muttered.
"The inside has," Josie replied as she strode over to a door set into the boarding. She rapped on it four times. "Since Ada and Stefan took over, the place has got better."
The door swung open then and the overwhelming earthy scent of werewolves filled his nostrils. Josie beckoned them inside after stubbing out her cigarette and flicking it into the yard. Once inside, noise and bustle hit his senses straight away. It was like a small hamlet had been built underground, complete with identical brick houses, little manicured front gardens that would not have flourished without magic. Golden orbs of light hung in the air, casting a sunlight-like glow over the groups of people socialising on the green they'd stepped onto. Ginny stared around the place in surprised awe and laughed as a group of small children ran around them in circles, chanting and chasing each other.
"Oi! Get out of it!" Josie snapped, shooing them away.
A few stares lingered on them, but this was the only interaction they received as Josie led them up a cobbled path lined with stone walls and neatly cut hedgerows. Then she stopped outside a slightly larger house with a red door and bluebells growing on the front lawn.
"Here we are," Josie said, and she walked up the path and opened the door without knocking.
Two small children came tumbling out of the front door and fell at Remus's feet with an oof! He bent down to scoop them up and set them on their feet, but they stared up at him nervously and ran back into the house.
"Little blighters," Josie muttered. "Come."
They followed her into the house, which was covered in pictures of Ada and her family. Hidden amongst the family photos was evidence of her and Stefan's much wilder past, framed band t-shirts, stolen glasses from various pubs and inns, a set of teeth Remus vaguely remembered Ada stealing from some old hag who'd screamed at them long ago. He scoffed to himself at the memory.
"Ada!" Josie shouted up the narrow staircase. "Got Lupin here!"
A crash and a groan from upstairs issued down to them. Then they heard a woman shouting.
"Probably the twins," Josie said, rolling her eyes.
Ada appeared at the top of the staircase with the two little boys held by the scruffs of their necks. She carried them downstairs with practiced ease. "Josie, run these along to school for me, would you?" she said breathlessly as she set them down, but kept a firm grip on their collars.
Josie saluted her and grabbed the boy's hands, but Ada stopped her as her eyes fell on Ginny and gave Josie a meaningful look.
Josie nodded. "You like kids, yeah?" she asked Ginny. "You take this one." She picked one of the boys up and dumped him into Ginny's arms. The boy stared at Ginny, perplexed, not knowing how to react to a stranger.
"No, she's staying with me," Remus said firmly, moving to take the boy.
"You're in my house now, Remus," Ada said evenly as she stepped forward. "Josie will show her around. Give her a good taste of pack life whilst we have a chat."
Remus stared at her, but he knew he had no power over her. She was the alpha female here. "Fine," he muttered. "Stay with Josie," he said gently to Ginny, and he reached up to move her hair back again.
Ginny nodded once and turned to leave with Josie. Once the door was shut, Ada stared down at him from her position on the stairs and arched a brow at him.
"So, you did mark her then?" she asked, smirking. "After all your morals and human niceties, you still did it?" Ada laughed, though not unkindly.
"I'm not proud of it," he retorted.
"But you want to do it again, don't you?" she said, grinning. "Remus, this is natural. You won't be happy until you settle. Trust me."
Remus sighed heavily. "I can't, not with her."
Ada scoffed and walked past him into a living room filled with kids toys, which she shoved off one of the sofas for him to sit down. "You love her, so why not?"
"How -?"
"How do I know?" Ada asked. "Anyone can see it if they look hard enough and it was pretty damn obvious when you parted ways just now." She conjured up some tea with a flick of her wand and gestured for Remus to take a cup. "She's already beholden to you."
Remus nodded bitterly. "Yes, I see that." He took a sip of tea to try and hide the look of shame on his face, though he guessed Ada knew regardless.
"It isn't a bad thing, as long as you don't abuse it," she added with a smile. "Like I told you before, she's going to want you to be the dominant force. She wants you to show her you can protect her and your babies."
Remus took a sip of his tea and placed it down. "There won't be any babies," he muttered.
"There won't? How did you mark her then?" Ada asked pointedly.
"She's not pregnant," Remus said firmly and he sighed. "I didn't come her to discuss my love life with you -."
"I know why you came here," she said sharply. "I'm just trying to help you with this first. Give her what she craves, Remus. You'll be all the happier for it."
Remus clenched his jaw. Why did no one understand?
"The children are fine," Ada said as though knowing what Remus thinking. "My older three are at Hogwarts. Josie's got two there as well. They don't go through their first transformation until they're older and it is not as painful, it is probably nothing at all with the Wolfsbane Potion."
There wasn't much written in the way of werewolf children so this information was new to him, but it did not change one small fact. "Society is not suited for people like us," he said evenly.
"This," she gestured around generally, "is our society. We've created our own society."
Remus shook his head. "But you send your children to Hogwarts?"
Ada pursed her lips and placed her mug down onto a table covered in magazines. "They are entitled to a magical education. We aren't teachers."
"Look, you don't understand -."
"No, you don't understand," Ada shot back. "You were turned at such a young age, Remus, you've been influenced by your parents, by your schoolmates... I know you loved James, Sirius, and Lily, but they were not of our kind. They could never understand -."
"Can we move on?" he asked abruptly, not wanting to speak about things in the past.
Ada gave him an arch look and picked up her mug again. "Fine." She sipped on her tea, but he could tell she was annoyed by his stubbornness. "But I'm not giving names."
"Remus!" a loud, barking voice shouted happily, causing them to jump. They turned and saw Stefan coming towards them. "Ada said you'd be coming! Didn't think I'd catch you. Merlin's beard, man, you've barely changed. Well... except..." He gestured vaguely to Remus' hair. "How are you? You're looking well." He shook Remus' hand firmly and then gave Ada a kiss on her nose before sitting down.
"I've been better," Remus said with a smile, happy to see his friends again. Stefan had grown a belly since the eighties and his dark hair was thinning at the temples, but he still had the same jovial smile.
"Still living the life of a lone wolf?" Stefan asked, shaking his head and smiling.
Remus nodded.
"He isn't," Ada cut in as she handed Stefan his own cup of tea now. He muttered a thanks and drank it gratefully, but Remus saw his eyebrows rise up to his hairline. "He's got a pretty little redhead living with him, haven't you?"
"Yes," he said slowly, resisting the urge to smile as they both grinned at him. "But she's not -."
"And he's marked her," Ada said with a knowing look at Stefan, who's grin widened.
"Oh, you have, have you?" he asked with a bark of laughter. "It's about bloody time, Remus. Trying to live amongst humans isn't our way. Give her a few babies and you'll both be happy. Merlin, Ada here was begging me for a baby every day until I relented!"
"Oi!" Ada said, hitting Stefan on the shoulder and blushing crimson.
"Like I told Ada, there won't be any babies," Remus said, rolling his eyes.
Stefan raised his eyebrows again in surprise. "You could start your own pack, Remus," he said with a bemused look. "I know you never wanted to join one, but perhaps you'd suit the alpha position better."
"I said that to him back at the Gathering!" Ada said in exasperation.
"Look, she'll not be with me for long," he explained, trying to get the conversation back on track. "I'm only supposed to be guiding her, she's newly turned, and I'm friends with her parents."
Stefan gave a low whistling sound. "Don't think they'll be best pleased to find out you've been rolling in the hay with their daughter!"
"Yes, quite," Remus muttered, sighing heavily as he wanted to get the conversation back on track. "Listen, I need to talk to you about the Matlock pack."
Both their faces dropped immediately and they stared coldly at him. "You know we don't shop our own kind, Remus, Ada's already explained this to you."
Remus nodded. "Things have changed," he said shortly. "They attacked me on my land."
Ada and Stefan exchanged uncomfortable looks. They understood the gravity of it where Molly, Arthur, and the rest hadn't.
"They attacked you?" Ada whispered in disbelief.
"Ginny was bitten by their leader to force her into being his mate," Remus explained. "I don't know how she escaped that fate, but she ended up in my care. As Ada so delicately put it, I've since marked her, and the Matlock enforcers could smell it on her. They weren't best pleased."
"Why?" Stefan asked. "There's no claim there until the girl is marked."
Remus nodded. "I said as much but they do not operate under the same rules," he replied. "They claim ownership via the bite. They... beat me rather savagely for my slight on their boss."
Ada and Stefan were staring at him open-mouthed. "This isn't acceptable," Ada said, frowning and shaking her head. "To attack you on your land is already a grievance, but to think they have claim over Ginny because she was bitten... this isn't the way of things."
Stefan agreed with her. "This is a difficult situation, Remus," he admitted. "They might come back to try and take this girl once your scent has waned. You should mark her again. I've heard awful stories coming out of that pack for how they treat their women."
Remus ran an agitated hand through his hair. "I can't," he muttered, his voice strained. "I can't do that to her again."
"You speak as if she wasn't willing?" Stefan asked with a confused look.
Ada rolled her eyes. "She was willing, the girl is enamoured with him," she said in exasperation, gesturing to Remus. "Remus still clings to his human morals, perhaps you can make him see sense."
"What is the issue here? Marking her keeps her protected," Stefan said. "You can't let this friendship with her parents get in the way. You have to protect your woman, Remus, no matter the cost."
Ada nodded in agreement.
"She isn't my woman," he ground out.
"You marked her!" Stefan said incredulously. "She's also under your care. You need to mark her again otherwise they will be back."
Remus glared at him. "And when they realise I've done it again, I'll be the one to take the beating?"
Stefan nodded. "That's the way it works, you know that. And surely you've warded your land by now?"
Remus gave a curt nod. "Ministry-level wards."
Stefan blew out another whistling sound, obviously impressed. "You've got friends in high places," he said. "I heard you got an Order of Merlin as well?"
Remus nodded but said nothing. It had been a source of pride when Kingsley presented him with it, but it didn't change people's prejudices.
"I told everyone who would listen when your face appeared in the Prophet, I said that's our old mate from back in the day," Stefan said with a loud laugh. "Couldn't believe it, could we, Ada? A werewolf with an Order of Merlin."
Ada gave a curt nod this time. Evidently she didn't approve.
"Sorry, dear, I know how you feel about the Ministry," Stefan said, patting her back. "But its still a great achievement for Remus, ay!"
Remus felt rather touched by Stefan's pride, even after all these years of being apart. It made him suddenly realise that he needn't have been alone for so long, he hadn't needed to shut himself off after his friends had died. But he supposed it was too late now.
"Have you heard anything then? About where they are?" Remus asked.
Stefan looked at his wife, who pursed her lips. "It's different now, Ada," he said gently. "Remus has a right to challenge them. We can't help, mind... we can't be dragged into a pack war. Got too many children running about the place."
Remus nodded in understanding. He hadn't ever wanted them to start a pack war for him, he only wanted information.
"Remus won't be starting a pack war," Ada said with a sniff. "He'll get his Ministry friends involved."
"That's not for us to judge," Stefan said. "If that is how Remus wants to resolve this dispute, then fine. They crossed a line either way."
Ada folded her arms but said nothing more.
"We've heard rumblings of them being on the move," Stefan began, leaning forward in his seat. "Last we heard, they killed the Papplewick alpha and they were making their way towards Nottingham."
"There's a big pack there still?" Remus asked.
Stefan nodded. "They'll have no chance with the Sherwood lot, too big, too many enforcers," he said firmly.
"Why didn't they stay in Papplewick?" Remus asked, more to himself than to either Stefan or Ada. "It's good ground, surrounded by good forest and meat."
Stefan shrugged. "Perhaps they prefer the more urban way of life like us. But it is odd," he conceded. "We don't generally move around like that. No one wants to start a pack war not after You-Know-Who."
Remus stood up, thoughtful for a moment. "A meeting might need to happen," he said, musing as he gazed absentmindedly down at the photos on their mantlepiece. Stefan and Ada stared at him. "They are not behaving in the usual way," Remus explained, turning to face them again. "If they decide to attack the Sherwood pack, there's a real chance they could take it over. They're vicious. You and the other packs need to be prepared for what might happen."
Stefan scoffed, but looked at Ada with a worried expression.
"We've never called a meeting," Ada said quietly. "I wouldn't even know how to do it."
They sat in silence for a moment.
"The Gathering," Remus said. "Ask them to send out a request, I always get an invite so they must know how to contact others."
"Wait, are we really going to do this?" Ada asked, holding her hands up. "Outside of the Gathering, we could be open to attack from other packs."
"The meetings should be treated with the same distinction," Remus replied. "Otherwise there would be no point in them. A discussion needs to be had, don't you think?"
Stefan stood up and clapped Remus on the arm. "You are right," he said seriously, but then he grinned. "You'd make a good alpha, Remus. You could build a strong pack in your neck of the woods."
Remus shook his head, though Stefan's warning from earlier had resonated with him. Ginny wouldn't be protected at all without his scent, but then that would mean giving into his lust for her, it would mean another betrayal. For now, he was content with the wards around his land, but he imagined she would go mad cooped up within the bounds of the cottage before long and there was Christmas, New Year's, and Ron and Hermione's wedding to consider. He decided he'd think of a solution later, away from the expectant looks of his friends.
"Right, I'll get Marcus on that," Stefan said with finality.
Remus grinned. "Thank you, Stefan."
Stefan smiled back at him. "You'll stay for dinner, Remus? We've got wild boar, caught it myself all the way up in the Highlands. A real treat."
"Ah," he hesitated, but Ada and Stefan were grinning at him.
"Come on, we can talk about old times!"
Remus stared at them and sighed, relenting. "Yeah, of course. We'll stay."
"We?" asked Stefan.
"His little lady friend is here," Ada said with a wink. "She's with Josie."
"Merlin, you let her go alone with Josie, that woman is a menace!" Stefan said with a grin. "Come, I'll show you around the place. It's very different from the last time you were here... when was that?"
"Eighty-one," he said sheepishly.
Stefan gave a short gasp. "That long ago... blimey, feels like only yesterday."
Remus understood that well. It had felt like only yesterday that he was enjoying basking in the sun with his friends by the lake at Hogwarts, hardly a care in the world.
Stefan put an arm around his shoulder, bringing him back to the present with sharp clarity, and he led Remus out of the house. Various people were introduced to him, people who hadn't been part of the Hale End pack back in the eighties. As they walked further down towards the green near the entrance, they saw Josie and Ginny come out of a small building further down the path, chatting animatedly to Remus' great surprise.
Ginny beamed at him and rushed over to him to take his hand. "There's a school here," she said excitedly.
"There is," Stefan said with a laugh and he held his hand out to Ginny. "I'm Stefan Redwood, one of Remus' old friends and the alpha of this pack."
Ginny smiled at him and shook his hand. "How many children are here?" she asked curiously, and Remus could see she was impressed by pack life.
"Fifteen little ones," Stefan said with pride. "And we've got about seven off at Hogwarts. What with the new legislation and the Headmistress being favourable to us, we've been allowed to send them."
"That's good news," she replied. "I hope they're enjoying it there."
"Better there than here, stuck with us old gits!" laughed Stefan. "Come on, the grand tour then, Remus."
The rest of the afternoon was spent being shown around the underground hamlet. Though you'd never believe it was underground with the golden orbs floating overhead and the plant life that had grown abundantly with the obvious assistance of magic. There was a school for the young ones, a town hall for meetings, a small square with a cafe, and a small playground.
Stefan and Ada explained how they operated within the pack structure, from which Remus saw with a twinge of sadness that Ginny seemed particularly intrigued by it all. She asked lots of questions about how to join a pack, how their voting system worked, where did everyone sleep, what happened to the little kids on the full moon. He didn't blame her for her curiosity, it was only natural and he had already made it quite clear that he couldn't or wouldn't provide this kind of life for her.
Eventually, the golden orbs above began to dim and emit a silvery, moonlike sheen and they were being led towards the town hall in which they all sat for meals as a pack. It was a noisy, informal affair with children running about underfoot and shouting, people chattering here and there, laughing and drinking. He sat beside Ada and Stefan and, as promised, they spoke about their old escapades at length. Ginny was in animated conversation with a few other girls her age, one of whom Remus recognised as the one who'd grabbed Ginny by the hair back at the Gathering. But all of that seemed forgotten and he guessed they didn't consider her a threat now she'd been marked.
Full with food and drink, and unused to such lengthy social interaction, Remus was ready to go home, but Ginny seemed reluctant to leave.
"You're welcome back any time," Ada said kindly as they walked with them to the boarded up door.
Ginny beamed at this. "Thank you," she said, shaking her hand. "I'd like that."
"We've got a few single boys here who would probably love your company," Josie interjected with a sly grin.
Ginny scoffed, but said nothing. Instead she glanced up at Remus with a small smile.
"You have always been wicked, Josie," Stefan said with his characteristic bark of a laugh.
Josie grinned and then they all began to say their goodbyes, until finally they were back in the builders yard. It was dark out now and snow had begun to fall.
"Isn't it brilliant, there?" Ginny asked excitedly as he took her hand to lead her away where muggle eyes couldn't see them disappear.
Remus said nothing.
"Are you OK?" she asked brightly. "Did you get the information you wanted?"
"Yeah," he replied quietly.
Ginny tugged hard on his hand, forcing him to stop under a glowing yellow streetlamp. "What's wrong?"
Remus stared down at her, knowing he shouldn't feel angry at her for wanting to stay with the pack. "You want to stay with them, don't you?" he asked evenly.
Ginny stared up at him and reached for his hands, another moment of affection they would pretend to ignore. "It felt... nice," she said softly. Snow was falling in her red hair and he realised she looked incredibly beautiful in the glow of the light, eyes wide and snow falling on her.
Remus sighed and looked away from her for a brief moment. It hurt to look at her sometimes. "You don't have to stay with me," he finally said, forcing himself to say it. "You deserve to live a life like that."
"And you don't?"
Remus scoffed bitterly. "I told you, I missed my chance," he muttered.
"Why?" she whispered. "You're still young."
Remus laughed. "Ginny, I'm not young," he replied, and he couldn't help it. He lifted his hand to her cool cheek and stroked her there. "You are young and you deserve that life. You deserve someone young."
Ginny gazed up at him, biting her lower lip as she seemed to do whenever she was uncertain. She squeezed his hands gently. "I... I love you..." she whispered, her eyes never leaving his as she spoke her confession and moved closer to him.
They were silent for a moment as Remus let her words sink in, his heart beginning to thud a little louder, a warmth settling into his stomach at the knowledge she'd just bestowed on him. It was an odd sensation, strange and foreign, but it filled him with a desperate happiness and he couldn't help himself. He bent to kiss her gently, sweetly.
She gave that short, submissive whine against his mouth that made his body yearn for her, her hands leaving his to settle on his chest, her fingers curling into his jumper.
"Don't..." she whispered, parting from him, but she gave a little moan and kissed him again, unable to resist the pull. When he tried to deepen the kiss, she turned her face away again. "Don't..." she repeated quietly, her hands pushing against him now as he held her tight.
"Let me kiss you..." he murmured, turning her face up to his again, but she shook her head from his grasp.
"No," she said firmly. "If you won't be with me, then... then you shouldn't kiss me."
Remus stared down at her, wishing he could give into her, wishing he could tell her that he loved her too, desperately. But he was a coward, had always been a coward. All he could do was look down at her beautiful face in silence, knowing he would have to let her go.