The Betas: Rene' (Werewolves of Manhattan Book 8) Read online

  “The decision was made for me as soon as I laid eyes on René. I knew, deep in my soul, that we were meant to be together. Having known him only one night, I was willing to stay with a man whom I thought was bat shit crazy. I actually asked him to see Eugene Cote, a psychiatrist I knew in the Village.”

  Julien, Henri, and Edward tried hard to control their laughter, but couldn’t. Indignant, Frankie asked, “What’s your problem?”

  Julien said simply, “Dr. Cote is one of us.”

  Frankie smiled. After he had gotten over his surprise, he thought about it for a moment. “No wonder he’s so good. He’s had a long time to observe the human condition.”

  “Yes,” Julien replied. “Unlike some of us, he has never changed his profession. For the entire span of his years, even when he had to disappear, he studied psychiatry, psychology, and social work.”

  Frankie nodded. Eugene had helped him when he desperately needed help. He had more than one thing for which to thank the gods of the loup garou.

  His pulse racing and his palms sweating, Frankie stood at the back of the ballroom with Julien. As expected, Junior had not so politely declined to be best man. Julien and Henri escorted Dante and his mother up the aisle and gave them a place of honor in the second pew along with Junior who, Dante insisted, attend the wedding. They were waiting for an instrumental version of “A Thousand Years,” the original by Christina Perri, which Frankie thought was particularly apt considering that they had been together in all their previous lives, and would be in all of their lives to come.

  At the very last second before René’s cue, Junior came running down the aisle. He addressed Frankie, “I’m your best man.”

  “You didn’t feel that way yesterday,” Frank replied gruffly.

  “I’m your brother,” Junior snapped and surprised the hell out of Frankie by giving him a hug.

  Henri stepped aside. “It should be your brother and Edward. They’re family, and you’ve known Julien longer than you have known me.”

  Thinking of how Martin and Edward bared their souls to him just before the mating, Frankie agreed.

  The first strains of “A Thousand Years” began. René came out of The Alpha’s library, followed by Martin, The Alpha, and The Alpha Mate. René walked at a steady pace down the aisle in time to the music. He reached the front of the room where Judge Booker waited. Now, it was Frankie’s turn. He didn’t know how he made it to the front of the room. He remembered seeing his mother with a delicate, lace-trimmed handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes, and clutching her double strand of pearls. Dante stoically held her arm.

  He gazed up. His Mate’s eyes sparkled with love and support. Frankie hoped his eyes mirrored René’s. His wolf took both of his hands and kissed his knuckles. His stare traveled down to his finger, naked without his ruby mating ring.

  Judge Booker began to speak, and they turned to him.

  “We are here today to witness the marriage of René Théodore DuBois and Francis Xavier Ferone. Does anyone here have a prior mark on Mr. Ferone?” No one said a word. “Then let us begin.”

  “It is your duty, René, to be to Francis a considerate, tender, faithful, and loving husband, to support and cherish him in prosperity and trouble. To give him counsel and help him to bear his burdens with grace. To realize he suffers when you must be apart and to spend every moment you can together. To share your love with him in unalterable affection for this and all other lives by the grace of the gods. Do you so swear?”

  René squeezed his hand. “I do so swear,” he said in a firm voice.

  Judge Booker turned to Frankie.

  “Francis, it is your duty to be a considerate, tender, faithful, and loving husband. To help René shoulder the burden of a life not his own to direct. To trust in his love for you and what you have together, to take his worries and concerns as your own and to share his watch with him, never straying far from his side. To share your love with him in unalterable affection for this and all other lives by the grace of the gods. Do you so swear?”

  Frankie answered clearly. “I do so swear.” Overwhelmed with excitement, he felt like he should have shouted his answer for all of New York to hear.

  The judge asked, “Gentlemen the rings.” The beautiful rings had not come off their fingers since they purchased them at Mr. Blanc’s and had been given to their best men to hold until this point in the ceremony. Junior appeared panicked. Julien tapped him on the shoulder, handed him the ring, and he passed it to Frankie with relief. He and René switched rings so that he now held the emerald which sparkled in the sun.

  “You may exchange rings.” Judge Booker watched as they put the rings on each other’s fingers.

  “By the exchange of rings, you reaffirm your promises to support and love one another. By the power vested in me by our people, and by the State of New York, I pronounce you married.”

  René pulled Frankie into his arms and kissed him. Love for him poured off René and entered his body. After they kissed, Frankie opened his eyes and gazed down the aisle. The other Betas from all eight houses, in order of precedence from front to rear, formed an arch for them. As they walked through each pair, they were hugged, and that pair lined up behind them.

  Judge Booker intoned, “Behold your brothers, in this life and the next.”

  Frankie put up his hand, his cheeks were wet.

  While the ceremony concluded, Pierre and the waiters hired for the occasion began to serve the crowd expensive champagne for the toast, Charles Heidsieck Vintage Brut 1990. They served his mom and Dante first, then all the Alphas and Mates in order of precedence. Martin and Edward were served after the Alphas, then he and René, the Betas in order, with the housekeepers and factotums next, followed by the other loup garou guests, ending with Miss Beaumont and lastly Elena, the youngest loup garou. She was given sparkling cider.

  The Alpha lifted his glass. “To René and Frankie, may they have a loving, long, and fruitful union.”

  “Hear hear,” the crowd shouted. The servers began to pass canapés. René put his arm around Frankie.

  “Isn’t this where you came in?” Frankie laughed joyously.

  Frankie stood in the receiving line with The Alpha, Alpha Mate, Julien, Martin, Edward, René, him, Junior then his mother and Dante as the other Alphas, their Mates and households, came through. It was a good thing he had his unique memory, or he wouldn’t have been able to recall who went with who. The Mates were exactly as René described. He was able to reacquaint himself with Alpha Mates Bellaire, Giraud, and Daurensbourg and be introduced to Alpha Mates Sullivan, Thierry, Martin, and Davidoff. He could hardly believe that Alpha Mate Donal Berne Davidoff was the same man who was pictured in the photograph The Alpha had brought with him to Dante’s restaurant the day The Alpha had purchased him for Alpha Davidoff from Apuso. The loup garou took care of their own, and now he was one of them.

  His mother seemed to be fatigued after having stood in the receiving line. The Alpha had graciously offered her a chair, but she had refused and was now visibly flagging. She and Dante came over to René and him to say goodbye.

  “Darling, I’m so happy for you.” Brigit kissed his cheek. “I thought because you were gay, you’d never find happiness. You were thirty-three and had never even brought anyone home. Dante and I love René. We want to see both of you, soon, for dinner. It turns out that Gemma is an excellent cook. By the way, Carmen left me. Dante offered her a pension, and she decided to go live with her sister in Jersey.”

  René squeezed his hand, warning him to say nothing. He obliged.

  Dante stepped up. “A rather different ceremony. In your official capacity, tell Mr. La Marche I will see him on Monday. I will be bringing Mr. Salvaggi and Mr. Amato. Tell him I will expect pastry.” Dante sent them an almost feral smile.

  § § §

  René and Frankie’s House

  The Master Suite

  Four in the Afternoon

  After the wedding reception wound down, René and Frankie walked
down the street to their house hand-in-hand. They entered through the kitchen and found an appetizer plate of prosciutto, brie, and Italian salami, with grapes, figs, walnuts, a baguette, and honey. Frankie would have said it was too much food, only by now he knew better. This was a snack Annie left to hold them over until dinner at eight. They carried the tray, along with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Demi Sec, a sweet champagne, upstairs to the bedroom suite.

  Inside the room, both men removed their shoes. The tuxedo jackets and pants came next. They hung them and their pants on the valets that stood at the foot of the bed. Both men undressed down to their undershirts and briefs. Frankie tackled René, who fell onto the bed, and somehow ended up on top of his lover.

  “All that time, spent in The Alpha’s house, with all of our friends celebrating our wedding, all I could think of was getting you here alone so I could ravish you.” Frankie ran his hands down the hard planes of his wolf’s body. He chuckled, cupping René’s ass. “You sure are in great shape for a hundred and fifty-two-year-old man.”

  René maneuvered himself, so he landed on top of his Mate. He pushed himself up on both elbows as he lay on Frankie’s chest. His eyes glimmered with desire. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much I want you right now. Can we make love? Are you ready to take me?”

  “I’m ready, able, and very, very willing.” Frankie kissed René’s neck and put his own mark on his wolf. In response, René dragged his teeth over Frankie’s shoulder, and he shivered. René ran his tongue over the seam of Frankie’s mouth and pushed inside. He explored, his tongue probing Frankie’s soft palate. Frankie responded, entwining his own tongue around René’s.

  Frankie broke the kiss, gazing at his beautiful wolf. “I was no virgin when you first took me. I wasn’t a slut, but I was experienced. I even had a brief relationship in college. But I never felt for him, what I felt for you Sunday night when I got home. I wanted to die because you wouldn’t make love to me. When you told me the family didn’t make love until marriage, I thought you were blowing me off. Reading the book the next day, I thought you were making fun of me and my need for you. It was a desperate man who picked up the phone to call demanding a meeting.”

  “You weren’t the only one who was desperate. I didn’t think you would figure it out from reading Alpha Mate Colin’s book. I hadn’t counted on you being that smart. You’re so intelligent. I’m going to have to spend the next three hundred years running to keep up with you walking.” René shook his head.

  “Does my crazy memory bother you?” Frankie asked with trepidation. If René walked now, he would crumble.

  “No, my Mate, your memory makes you who you are, and I’m proud that you can be of assistance to The Alpha and the Council. You are highly placed, and that reflects well on me. My Mate is performing an important task for the Council.” René’s eyes shone with admiration.

  Frankie laughed so hard, he knocked René from his chest. “You said wolves were competitive, I didn’t realize how competitive, competitive was. My Mate is better than your Mate, come on!”

  René huffed. “I’ll have you know that you are smarter, more handsome and have a better personality than all of the other Mates I’ve met.”

  Frankie laughed. “I love you so much.” He pulled René back down into his arms, and they picked up where they’d left off.

  Frankie kissed his lover on the shoulder and alternated between pinching and laving his nubs. He turned René over on his side and kissed his way down to René’s cock. His wolf surprised him by putting his arms underneath Frankie’s and drawing him up to his mouth, kissing him voraciously. Frankie moaned.

  § § §

  René pressed kisses down Frankie’s side leaving small marks with blunted teeth. He snaked his arm under the cotton pillowcase and brought out the lube. The snick of the cap sounded under Frankie’s moans. Frankie responds so well to my touch.

  “I didn’t think I was very sexual until we were together. You make me feel.” Frankie bucked as René inserted the first finger.

  René began to stretch Frankie’s muscle. “How could you not be responsive in my arms? You were made for me and no one else. The others were just shadows.”

  He inserted the second finger and searched around.

  Frankie moaned. “You found it again. Gods, René, you have radar.”

  “I’ll always find a way to please you, Ma Vie. You are my everything. We have forever. I will find you every cycle.”

  “No more preparation, I want you now.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you—”

  “And I don’t want to wait any longer. Fuck me, René.”

  “Ma Vie, I will never fuck you. We will always make love.”

  René rolled Frankie over on his back and grabbed the pillow to stick under his hips. He lined himself up and pushed inside.

  “My cock feels like it’s encased by liquid silk. You’re so hot.” René established a push and pull rhythm that hit Frankie’s spot.

  “I can’t believe you hit it every time. That feels…oh my gods…baby, I can’t hold out much longer.”

  René put his mouth on Frankie’s mark and snapped his hips. His Mate groaned louder. René’s incisors lengthened, he felt his eyes burn red. He made one final thrust and bit down on his mark, his body shuddering with an explosive orgasm just as his Mate came. Frankie clutched him and screamed his name.

  They lay together basking in the afterglow, René running his fingers through Frankie’s black hair, playing with the curls. “Do you know what Ma Vie means? It means my life. That is what you are to me, my life.”

  Frankie raised his head and kissed René’s shoulder. “As you are mine.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The Alpha’s Library

  Monday Morning

  “I can’t believe I ate two stacks of pancakes, a cheese and bacon omelet, sausages and toast. If you didn’t tell me about my new metabolism, I’d be horrified.” Spring had finally arrived and the walk, although short, was pleasant.

  Frankie and René returned to The Alpha’s house by the same route they’d traveled early that morning. Their first venture out as a married couple was to their workout in The Alpha’s home gym. Martin and Edward joined them there, and the four of them worked out together. Edward was a good workout partner for Frankie, they were well matched.

  “I’m glad I have someone human to lift with me. Those two can lift an obscene amount of weight as casually as we would pick up a pencil and not break a sweat. At least with you, I stand a chance in the competition.”

  Edward chuckled. “What’s disgusting is that Martin and René are Betas. Can you imagine what The Alpha can lift?” He wiped the sweat from his face with a towel. “I’m for the showers. We shower here because Meg feeds us.”

  “As far as I know, Annie has breakfast waiting for us. I’ll see you later.” Frankie slapped Edward on the back and had headed home with René.

  Upon their return, Frankie could see why The Alpha needed him. The Alpha lived in a world populated by loup garou with only The Alpha Mate and Edward to give him the human perspective. Edward maintained his own office in the city to be accessible to the other Alphas and didn’t interact with The Alpha daily, and The Alpha Mate wasn’t a good example of a typical human. The Alpha needed a human around to remind him that they shared this world.

  René would be with him today, his first day of work. The Alpha Mate had no plans to go out. On Mondays, he didn’t have class or studio time, so René would be home for the meeting with Dante.

  Frankie arrived with René at The Alpha’s and Pierre directed them to the dining room. Frankie’s curiosity heightened because earlier, Martin had told him that The Alpha would meet him in the library. The Alpha abruptly came downstairs for breakfast instead of eating with The Alpha Mate in his suite as was his usual custom. Meg had to scramble to set a place and serve coffee. The Alpha asked Frankie, René, and Martin to sit down with him. Behind The Alpha’s back, Martin raised his brow. Frankie knew there
was trouble upstairs.

  The Alpha loudly cleared his throat. “We have to devise a strategy. However, first, we must define our goals. Frankie?”

  Frankie took a deep breath. “As I see it, we want Dante to let our men pose as his, take Prokhor and Mikhailov unawares, have them guarded in our car, while Dante takes care of Kuznetsov by offering him monetary compensation for his trouble.” He took a sip of his coffee.

  “That’s it, yes.” The Alpha rubbed his chin and began to eat his breakfast.

  “We’ll have to offer Dante monetary incentive because he may lose Kuznetsov as a business partner,” Frankie suggested. The Alpha leaned in closer, attentive.

  “When you paid to guard Richard, Dante named what he considered to be an impossible sum, as did Apuso when Alpha Davidoff wanted to free Donal. You paid without negotiation for both Donal and for Richard’s protection. Therefore, he knows you have money, lots of it, and he’s aware that it means nothing to you. He’s going to ask for something else. Something that will cost you more. Don’t think because he let me go that he’s suddenly gone soft. As usual, my mother asked, and he provided.” Frankie sipped his coffee.

  “Didn’t René tell me that he’s finally accepted the fact that some men are born gay?” The Alpha finished his first omelet and took the paper off a blueberry muffin, buttering it while Meg prepared the second.

  “Intellectually, now, he may get it, but emotionally, he’s still old-school Italian, having only left Little Italy to go to Brooklyn, so my mother could have her house.”

  René gasped.

  The Alpha said aloud what his René could not bring himself to ask. “Do you think he may ask for you back?” René’s face grew thunderous. He may be a Beta, but he was more than enough Alpha compared to a human to outwit Dante.

  “It’s a possibility. Although, maybe not, because Dante knows now I’m not above appealing to my mother, now that I’ve fulfilled my obligation to him. It was because he knew I was the type to always pay my debts that he trusted me to stay put in the first place. The only leverage he has over me now is Mom, and we both have an interest in keeping her safe and unaware of the true nature of Dante’s business dealings. As I’ve said before, he does love her.”