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

  Martin gave an enigmatic response, “If you think so, Alpha.”

  Armand frowned. Normally, Martin wasn’t reluctant to give advice because it was a necessary part of a Beta’s job. However, this concerned his brother and fellow Beta. He remained reticent so Armand commanded him to speak. “I need your opinion, so you will give it. I came to speak to you away from the others so you could talk to me freely without worrying about who you may offend.”

  Martin sighed. “I think René expects The Alpha Mate to be with you when he brings Frankie. He guards The Alpha Mate, and he knows how he will react in most situations, how your Mate thinks. René wouldn’t be able to watch over him if he didn’t. He will have prepared Frankie to face all of us.” Martin shifted his stance and rubbed his hands together. “Did you tell Alpha Mate that it’s different with Betas and their Mates?”

  “I tried. I told Sean Betas don’t mate with Omegas. I neglected to tell him why.”

  Martin seemed to consider what he was about to say, as he ran his hand through his hair. “A Beta always courts danger, especially a Hi-Beta protecting an Alpha or an Alpha Mate. Being the Beta to Council Alphas and their Mates poses the greatest danger to a Beta. Being the Betas to you and the Alpha Mate is the most dangerous job a Beta can do. Frankly, René courts more danger than I do. You can help me defend you. The Alpha Mate can’t help René. I think that’s why the Mates for those of us in this position have always been Hi-Betas. Edward functions well when I have to be absent and accepts the fact that I could be hurt and if I die, both of us do. From Frankie’s previous, rather dangerous life, I think he can accept that. I believe it’s also safe to say that Frankie can survive René’s frequent absences, where The Alpha Mate could not survive yours.”

  “As usual, you have analyzed the situation well. If you think that René has prepared Frankie, we will proceed as planned.” The doorbell rang. “That must be René and Frankie now.” Pierre opened the door.

  “Mr. Francis Ferone and Beta René DuBois, Alpha.”

  “I’ll see them in my study.” The Alpha strode into the room with Martin and sat in the oversized brown leather chair. As requested, Sean scanned the shelves in a dilatory fashion. As René and Frankie were ushered in by Pierre, Armand stood to shake hands. Sean waved.

  “So, you’re trying to decide whether to join us.” Armand intentionally sounded frosty. The idea of someone rejecting one of his Betas didn’t sit well with him. He liked to think he had the crème de la crème and expected others to recognize that immediately. Armand acted as imperious as a Roman Caesar. He directed Frankie to the matching chair opposite his, and then motioned René and Edward to the upholstered loveseat by the fireplace. As always, Martin stood at his shoulder.

  “I haven’t spoken to René yet, but I’ve already decided to join you, Alpha,” Frankie said quietly.

  René gave a small yip, and quickly covered his mouth.

  René’s wolf was very close to the surface because of the uncertainty of the state of his mating and the yip was in relief, so Armand let it go.

  Frankie continued, “Once René showed me his wolf, my path was inevitable. I’m only trying to find out what I’m getting myself into here. In my stepfather’s world, you won’t live very long if you don’t look at least three times before you leap. I’m looking around in midair.” He gave a wry smile.

  Armand adjusted his tone. “Welcome to the family. We need to straighten out your availability with Don Ferone, but otherwise, if he approves, you have a job here with René. As I explained to you in Alpha Giraud’s home, your salary is two hundred and fifty thousand a year plus you get an additional stipend from Garou for the same amount. You’ve met Martin and the Alpha Mate.” Sean perched on the arm of The Alpha’s chair. “You haven’t formally met your brother-in-law to be, Edward Kellerman. Edward serves as my personal attorney and also for the rest of the North American Council.”

  Edward stepped up and shook his hand. “René told me what you did for your stepfather’s investments. You’ll be managing The Alpha’s finances. Martin and I would consider it a huge favor if you managed ours, too.”

  “I’d be happy to do that,” Frankie answered Edward with an eyebrow cocked at René.

  “Ma Vie, you’ll be taking care of ours. I’m afraid I’m risk adverse and therefore don’t make the return I should be making. We’ll talk.”

  “Alpha, I need to know the ground rules. From the Jason Jones book, I know to call Mr. La Marche Alpha, and Mr. Quinn-La Marche, Alpha Mate. May I call Julien and Henri by their first names? They’re my friends.”

  Sean spoke up, “First, Jason Jones is Alpha Mate Colin Thierry.”

  “I figured as much,” Frankie mumbled.

  Sean giggled. “You’ll find that wolves have very sharp hearing. Your hearing will improve when you mate René, but it will never be as good as a wolf’s. Bear that in mind when you mumble.”

  Frankie blushed. “I’m sorry.”

  The Alpha Mate continued, “No worries, all the human Mates mumbled. They forget about our ears and still do. Although I suspect Julio does it on purpose.”

  “What do I call them, the other Alphas and Alpha Mates?” Frankie asked.

  “When you’re working, they’ll be Alpha plus their surname, like Alpha Bellaire and Alpha Giraud, when you’re on your own time, they can decide how they want to be addressed. The other Alphas will make that decision for themselves and so will their Mates. My husband is The Alpha and is always addressed as Alpha by a Beta, and in outside company as Mr. La Marche. To you, I have to be The Alpha Mate because I am that to René by custom. I’m Mr. Quinn-La Marche outside. By the way, you’re a very rich man. René has had over one hundred twenty-five years to accumulate wealth since he reached his majority at twenty-five.”

  Frankie shook his head. “I don’t want René’s money. I have my own put away.”

  “By loup garou law, as soon as he recognized you as his Mate, half of what he owns is yours and half of what you own is his.”

  “I only have five hundred thousand stashed away. I’m sure René has more than that, it wouldn’t be fair.”

  “It’s the law,” Edward stated flatly. “All of the human Mates objected. If they didn’t, the gods wouldn’t deem them worthy to be Mates.”

  Armand rose from his chair. “Let’s go into dinner. Frankie, you must be famished. I gather that René didn’t tell you why you have an increased appetite.”

  Armand chuckled as Frankie shot René a ‘we’re going to talk later’ glare. “No, Alpha, he didn’t.”

  Armand led them into the formal dining room. “You’re eating more because your metabolism is speeding up from René’s pheromones. You will be burning more calories now to prepare for the mating. After you take René’s seed, your eyesight will be keener as will your hearing and sense of smell. You’ll heal quicker, run faster, and use your brain differently so that you analyze situations in more depth and your brain is more agile. Your personal strengths will be magnified.”

  Armand motioned for them all to sit at the table and then signaled Meg and Pierre to serve.

  “What will I be taking care of here, if I may ask, Alpha?”

  “Investments, hiring, investigations, digitalizing our histories, anything that comes up. It is a diverse position…Pierre will train you. I’ve decided to divide the job in two and give the manservant, butler, and chauffeuring duties to Pierre, and the rest to you. Pierre has proved unable to manage it all anymore.” Armand’s voice grew grim and he pursed his lips. “As Martin is my right arm outside our home, you will be here in the office. Will you live with René?”

  “It hasn’t been discussed. However, since my condo is a studio and for sale, I would think that would be the case.” Frankie heaped mashed potatoes, fried pork chops, applesauce, and roasted Brussel sprouts with shallots on his plate.

  Armand noticed his embarrassment at eating out of turn and nodded to Sean who said, “Frankie, you may have noticed that everyone was served in or
der. You and René are served last because you are the last in the order of precedence. This is a custom left over from ancient times when there wasn’t enough food. The strongest in the pack had to survive to pass on their genes, so they ate first. Here, Martin is First Beta, so he and Edward eat first. When you are with other Betas, Martin will always eat first followed by René. Outside of Martin, you and René will outrank all other Betas and Beta Mates because Armand is The Alpha, the Alpha in charge of everyone.” Sean preened. “Your place in the pack is determined by the rank of your loup garou partner. That’s how, even though I’m an Omega, I go directly after Armand.”

  Martin smiled and said, “As far as how much you eat is concerned, don’t worry. Meg always makes enough to feed an army, and she knows all about the mating imperative. As she says, this is not my first rodeo. Until the mating, you’re going to want thirds and fourths of everything you see. Don’t worry, you won’t gain weight. It will burn up as soon as you eat it and all of us know how much you need to eat. Edward and I have been through that already, and I’ve seen it happen with all of the Alpha Mates. We need to talk about the mating ceremony.”

  Sean was about to embark on an encyclopedic description of mating a loup garou and Armand stopped him. “It’s different for Betas, baby.” He addressed Frankie, “We need to speak to Don Ferone first before any of this can take place. Our peace with your stepfather remains fragile. He resents us because we have a large force in the city that he doesn’t control. There is also the matter that all of the Garou hierarchy is gay, and in his world, as I’m sure you know, that isn’t acceptable.”

  Frankie grimaced. “Dante loves my mother and therefore grudgingly accepts my sexuality. He wanted me to take over the business for him so that my half brother isn’t tied to it and doesn’t run the risk of jail. I’m disposable,” he said with some bitterness. “However, he promised me that he would only take ten years and that period is up today. I’ve warned him that I intend to leave. I just don’t know if he’s taken me seriously.”

  Armand considered this, then gestured to Martin. “Set up a meeting with Don Ferone on Wednesday. We will compensate him for Frankie, whatever amount he believes he needs to be able to let Frankie go. In the meantime,” he turned to Frankie, “I want you to take tomorrow off. You will make an appointment with your mother and bring René to introduce him to your family. Before that, you will go to Mr. Blanc’s and get rings. Go all out. The rings will be one of my presents to you and René.”

  Frankie began to protest. Edward left his chair and came over, patting Frankie on the back. “It’s useless. The Alpha is a steamroller. Consider yourself macadam until you and René are married. You will also get new custom-made suits, English cut, not Italian, and custom-made shoes. The wedding reception will be here and witnessed by the Council. Because Martin and René are Betas to The Alpha, they are important in their own right and go before even Pack Alphas in precedence. Be glad you’re a Beta Mate and not an Alpha Mate or there would be further indignities.”

  Armand raised his eyebrow at Edward.

  “Alpha, you know what I say is true.”

  Armand chuckled. “I may be a tiny bit imperious.”

  Sean rolled his eyes. “You’re more imperious than the Queen of England. The only difference is you don’t use the royal we.” Armand laughed, reached over and tousled Sean’s hair.” His Mate stared at him until he stopped.

  Frankie rubbed his chin. “Getting my mother on my side is a good idea. Dante can generally refuse her nothing. If she asks him, I have a shot at leaving without a fight.”

  “Then it’s settled. You will move into René’s this week. I’ll send Pierre with the limousine to get some of your things tonight. We’ll have the wedding here the following Saturday. After the wedding, we’ll fly directly out to New Mexico for the mating. Our pack must view the mark the morning after you mate. The feast, after the displaying of the mark, will be prepared by the pack.”

  “You mean the bite mark?” Frankie asked.

  “Yes, the bite.” Edward smiled. “I’ll tell you about it when you come for dinner. I cook a mean Veal Parmesan.”

  Armand cleared his throat, annoyed at being interrupted. “By then René will be climbing the walls. You’ll find that once a loup garou meets their Mate, they mate very quickly. Their wolf demands it. Alphas Clavier and Daurensbourg had to wait weeks. Alpha Clavier because Ian was a Beta and he didn’t know how to approach him. Alpha Clavier is only seventy and didn’t have the life’s experience to know how to overwhelm Ian. Alpha Daurensbourg had to wait because Julio had been hurt by a former client. Once Julio recovered, it only took two nights, and Julio is also a Hi-Beta.”

  Frankie nodded. “That’s why it was so necessary to get Donal Davidoff out of Apuso’s clutches and Ian Clavier out of danger from my cousin, Sal. By the way, you did the world a favor by having Dante rid it of Sal. Sal would have remained a pox on Dante’s house. Many of my stepfather’s men can run his business when he retires, but Sal would have been trouble to the city and all its inhabitants. There would have been a mob war which would have hurt my mother and Dante Jr.”

  “You’ll call your mother now,” Armand stated blandly.

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  Frankie appeared as if he was about to salute. Armand thought he would make both an excellent secretary and Hi-Beta Mate. René will have to stay on his toes to keep up with that one. Too bad the Alpha Mates don’t socialize with the Beta Mates. Frankie and Julio would get along very well. Armand sighed. For every loup garou custom, there existed an imperative. Alpha Mates didn’t socialize with the Beta Mates because there would come a time when their Beta guard gave a command. If they were friends, the Alpha Mate involved would feel free to argue or ignore it to his peril. I need to explain this again to Sean.

  Chapter Six

  The Alpha’s Study

  The Alpha led The Alpha Mate, Martin, Edward, he and René to the library and pointed Frankie to the phone. Frankie put it on speaker so René and The Alpha would know which way the wind was blowing.

  “Hello.” His mother answered the phone on the sixth ring. Her arthritis didn’t permit her to walk quickly. The housekeeper should have picked up, but that woman didn’t take care of his mother as she should, and Mom would never complain to Dante. He could hear the pain in her voice. His mother took an injectable for her condition but some days it didn’t take care of the pain, and she refused to take opioids.

  “Hi, Mom.” Frankie realized his voice sounded cheerful. For the first time in years, he was happy. He grinned and blew René a kiss. His fiancé peered back at him in shock.

  “Frankie, what a surprise. I saw you yesterday. What’s wrong?”

  I really should get over to see her more often, especially if she’s this surprised that I called her two days in a row.

  “Nothing is wrong, Mom. As a matter of fact, everything is finally right. Recently, I met someone. I didn’t tell you about him yesterday because I wanted to see where it was going. I wasn’t sure he liked me as much as I liked him.”

  René rolled his eyes.

  “I shouldn’t have doubted him. He proposed earlier today. We’re getting married the week after next.” Frankie alternately opened and closed his fingers, trying to fight off his nervousness. He was on Armand’s landline. Armand refused to do shifter business over a cell phone and considered René and Frankie’s mating shifter business.

  “Congratulations. How lovely.” She sounds happy for me.

  “I’d like to bring him over to meet you.”

  Here’s where the rubber meets the road. René noticed, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it in support. Frankie shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

  “I’m sure Dante will want to meet him, too,” his mother said. “Bring him over for dinner tomorrow evening.”

  This is where I burst her bubble.

  Frankie took a deep breath before responding. “Ten years ago, Dante asked me not to flaunt my sexuality in front of
either him or his men. I have abided by his wishes for ten years. I won’t start disregarding his feelings now. I owe the man some respect for taking care of you and me when I couldn’t. Don’t worry about Dante’s reaction. René and I will pay for our own wedding. Of course, you’ll be invited, but mark my words, Dante will find an excuse not to come, and you’ll be attending alone. I’ll send a limousine for you. You may bring Carmen. She’ll enjoy the free food.”

  “Now, Frankie, Carmen has been here since I came here when you were twelve. She helped me raise you and Dante Jr.”

  His mother sounded indignant. This was an old argument. Considering that he wanted her help, he decided to drop the subject. “Can I bring René by tomorrow afternoon? That way Dante won’t be offended.” I can see the frown on her face in my mind.

  His mother grew quiet then quickly changed the subject. “Is that his name, René? Is he French?”

  “René Théodore DuBois. His father’s name was Théodore. His brother, Martin, shares his middle name Théodore, too. Their family has a custom. The middle name of a child is always his father’s first name. Yes, he is French. His parents were immigrants.”

  “Will they be at the wedding?”

  She’s interested. Maybe she’ll come if I send a car for her. He looked at René. His Mate mouthed, “They’re deceased.”

  “No, they are no longer with us, but his brother will be there with his husband.”

  “If his parents aren’t with him anymore, it’s good that he’ll still have family there. Of course, you’ll ask your brother to be best man…”

  She sounds hopeful. That’s a shame because Dante has filled Junior’s ears with poison. We’ve never even had the opportunity to become close.

  “No, Mom, you know my brother doesn’t approve of my lifestyle, so I can’t see him standing up for me at my wedding. I have a friend I want to ask, Julien Bellaire. If Julien can’t do it, I’ll ask my future brother-in-law, Edward Kellerman.”