by A. C. Katt
“You take care of all of them?” Frankie recalled the stories René had been telling him and counted eight Alphas.
“The only Council member I didn’t represent was La Farge, and I thought it strange at the time, but now it makes perfect sense. He had been preparing to move against The Alpha for years, and his legal affairs would have given him away. If he had been smart, he would have given me busy work, so I didn’t get suspicious, but he didn’t, so I did. I told Martin, and he told The Alpha.”
Martin put down the drinks. “When La Farge finally moved, we immediately knew who it was behind The Alpha Mate’s kidnapping. Unfortunately, The Alpha Mate had talked The Alpha into letting him leave the ranch without adequate security. The first time he went out with only René and me in the car, they got him.” Martin’s jaw tightened and his fist clenched. He acted as if it had happened yesterday. It was plain to Frankie that both brothers saw this as a glaring blot on their mutual reputation.
“Of course, we offered to resign, but The Alpha wouldn’t have it. He felt some responsibility because he let The Alpha Mate go out without enough security to begin with, after we warned him about La Farge.” He ran the back of his fingers over Edward’s cheek and sat down.
“Enough of this topic, Martin,” René protested. “It’s been two years, what’s done is done. Everything worked out fine. The Alpha has his Mate. Gods, every Alpha on the Council has found their Mate, and now I have mine. Maybe that’s a portent for the other Betas. Has anyone told Roland and André?” He had deftly changed the subject.
“I’m sure The Alpha told the Council and Alpha Clavier informed his Betas. We’ll see all the other Betas at the Council meeting on Friday. The Alpha asked the others to have their Enforcers watch the Mates during the meeting. The Mates will all be in one place. Fridays, they have lunch.” Martin used air quotes. “The Alphas will have to assign two Enforcers to each of them.” He laughed at Frankie’s furrowed brow.
“Why do all of you refer to lunch with air quotes?” Frankie’s curiosity finally got the better of him.
Martin grinned. “They use lunch as an excuse to plot. The week before last the Mates decided to spend Saturday at a counter demonstration that planned on shadowing an antigay rights march passing by Stonewall. It was likely to get rough, and it did, four were hospitalized. Thank the gods one of the Betas found out, and we stopped them before they all got out the door. With our luck, the lot of them would have been arrested and…”
“I would have been at the precinct bailing them out.” Edward grimaced.
“At best, we would have had to watch them as they performed some community service and we would have faced all the Alphas’ wrath for not knowing what they were planning and stopping them ahead of time. Or, gods forbid, if the worst happened, and one of them got hurt, they’d be picking pieces of each of the Mates’ Betas off the walls after the Alphas got done with us.” René chuckled. “They do keep life interesting.”
“I’m glad no one expects me to do lunch. I’m a little old for that kind of nonsense. If I believe in a cause, I’ll demonstrate, but only as part of a well-organized and disciplined group. I don’t want anyone around me to start throwing rocks and bottles and get myself caught up in the crossfire.” Frankie sipped his cognac.
“Now, why is it, you and Edward are so sensible, and they’re so…?” René threw up his hands.
“Because they’re Alpha Mates. Edward and Frankie are Beta Mates. We depend on them to be sensible because we deal with difficulties all day. For some reason or other, Alpha Mates are all temperamental, even those who mate with pack Alphas. Maybe it’s because Alphas are divas and demanding in their own right that the gods give them little divas at home as an object lesson.” Martin turned, furtively checking on The Alpha’s location. “It’s like every intense drama needs some comic relief.”
Frankie nodded at his philosophical statement.
“You’re probably right.” René reached for Frankie’s hand and kissed it. “I got no drama, exactly what I need.”
“So did I, the gods are good to us,” Martin concluded.
René and Frankie got up to walk to their seats, but the steward approached them.
“Beta René, The Alpha wishes to speak with you before you sit down with the Beta Mate.”
Frankie admired René’s ass as his soon-to-be lover ambled toward the front of the plane.
About fifteen minutes later, his wolf was back. He sat down next to Frankie and pulled him into his lap. “Let’s take a short nap, Ma Vie.” René kissed his face. “We’ll have a late night.”
“What did The Alpha want?”
René gave a short laugh. “To explain the birds and the bees.”
Chapter Fourteen
New Mexico
Sandoval Pack Lands
The Alpha’s Kitchen
The small jet landed on the Sandoval Pack’s airstrip, and three Navigators met them on the tarmac. Frankie’s first view of the ranch came at ten on a late April evening. The sky and the stars loomed closer at a six-thousand-foot altitude. Stars twinkled, and the mountains rose to the east as dark ghosts under the full moon.
Frankie and René found themselves in the first car. Martin sat up in in the front with the driver. The Alpha and The Alpha Mate sat in the second row of seats and René, Frankie, and Edward brought up the rear.
They exited the Navigator at the big house. Frankie stared in awe at the four wings coming out from a center hall.
René pointed toward the huge structure. “One of these wings holds The Alpha Mate’s pottery studio. The Alpha started building it the day after he met Alpha Mate. He paid to have it finished in twelve days. The second wing contains the kitchen and dining facilities. Meg and Pierre have a suite of rooms in that wing. The third wing is The Alpha’s family wing. It is double the width of the others and has their bedroom suite, a private dining area, a living area, four additional bedrooms, and The Alpha’s library and his study. Two of which are occupied by Elena and Miss Beaumont whom you will meet in the morning.”
“And the last wing?”
“The last wing houses the Pack Meeting Room and offices.”
The party broke up as they entered the courtyard. Frankie noticed Meg whisking Annie and Alphonse away to the kitchen wing.
René waited until the rest of the party gravitated toward the big house. He pulled Frankie aside. “At midnight we will make love and finally belong to each other, Ma Vie. Now I can kiss you the way I want to because, in a matter of hours, we will be together.” René drew Frankie into his arms. He traced the seam of Frankie’s lips with his tongue. Frankie’s mouth opened like a flower to his lover’s sun, and he became lost in the moment until his stomach growled. Frankie’s ears grew hot.
His wolf caressed his cheek. “Oh, Ma Vie, your stomach is telling me I must feed you. You haven’t been eating enough.”
“All I’ve been doing is stuffing my face. Is that going to stop after we mate?”
“Yes, after the mating, you will still eat more than you used to eat, but you won’t have to constantly fill your stomach. Right now, you’re gearing up your new metabolism for the mating.”
Frankie smiled. “Good, I can’t imagine trying to live being this hungry all the time.”
“I’m taking you to The Alpha’s kitchen wing so you can eat.” René walked him into the house.
“Where is our room?” Frankie looked around, absorbing the southwestern flavor of The Alpha’s villa.
“We have our own house between The Alpha and Dr. Artis. Martin’s house sits on the other side of The Alpha’s and Lillian, the Alpha Bitch, lives across the courtyard from Martin.”
As they entered the kitchen, Meg pointed to a chair and commanded, “Sit. I’m frying up the chimichanga Lillian made you. I’m feeding you because it’s already ten and you mate at midnight. Annie is opening up the house, putting fresh linens on the bed and stocking the refrigerator with canapés and some champagne from The Alpha’s own cellar, a Kr
ug, Ambonnay cuvée. Alphonse has to unpack your overnight bag. René, you go over to the house and direct Annie and Alphonse. When they finish, send them here. The Alpha said they are to stay in our wing tonight.”
“Ma Vie, eat your meal. I will see you at midnight.” René quickly kissed Frankie on the lips and hurried off to supervise whatever it was they were doing at the house.
Meg sat Frankie down at round pine table that had to be an antique. It was bleached out on the top from constant cleaning and bore the scars of long-term use. According to René, The Alpha lived here all his life, and the previous Alpha, Alpha La Marche’s great grandfather, lived in this house with his Mate until they reached the ripe old age of four hundred and forty-five. He was one of the original Alphas who brought the packs to the new world after the Burning Times in France. Frankie made a note to himself to ask The Alpha if he could read what he was sure was the fascinating history of the loup garou. René said they had pack records back to William the Conqueror and some incomplete records going back through the Dark Ages to the time before Christ.
Meg served him, and Frankie greedily ate the two large chimichangas on his plate. “What is this? It’s wonderful.”
“A chimichanga is a rolled tortilla stuffed with shredded beef, beans, and vegetables. The tortilla is deep fried in hot oil and covered with cheddar cheese. The red sauce is medium heat salsa.”
“These are great. I have to remember to thank… Lillian, is that right?”
“Yes, Lillian holds the position of Alpha Bitch. She is a great friend of René’s and likely to bear your children.” Just as Frankie was about to ask about Lillian, Martin and Edward showed up to beg a meal and each sat down with a plate full of tacos.
“After you finish Lillian’s offering, you can try Meg’s tacos.” Martin used serving spoons and salad tongs to pile shredded beef, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, onions, avocado, salsa, sour cream, and grated cheddar on the taco shell.
Frankie thought for a moment, squirmed in his seat, but decided to bite the bullet. “Eh…I’m embarrassed to ask, but how does the mating work?”
Martin barked a laugh, and Edward smothered a giggle.
Frankie sputtered, “I know the mechanics of making love, I’m not a virgin. What I don’t know is the mating and marriage ritual for a loup garou Beta. René asked The Alpha for a traditional mating ceremony, he asked me, and I agreed. I don’t know what I agreed to do.”
“I’m sorry for laughing. I can see why you didn’t ask René.” Martin seemed to consider his request. “It’s different for Betas than it is for Alphas and their Mates.”
“How so?” Frankie’s curiosity peaked.
“It is the one night when they aren’t on call. The Betas have clung to the old ways and enjoy the ceremony of the occasion.” Martin took a bite of his taco, and some of the insides came out on his fingers. He wiped his fingers on a dishtowel.
Frankie noted a rolled dishtowel at his own place. Embarrassed, he opened it up and put it on his lap. Edward laughed. “The mating imperative strikes again.”
Frankie, whose curiosity remained unsatisfied, ignored Edward and prodded again, “What do Alphas do?”
“All of the Council Alphas mate in their suites, then come down the next morning for the feast and to show the mark. The pack Alphas may or may not be old-fashioned, depending on the pack.” Martin gave Frankie a typically Gallic shrug.
“Why do the Betas stand on ceremony when the Alphas don’t?” Frankie persisted as Martin and Edward both made themselves another taco.
“Hi-Betas, especially the Hi-Betas who guard the First, are almost as important to the life of the packs as their Alphas. Therefore, it is just as important to the packs that our marks be genuine. Since the Betas don’t necessarily have quarters in the Alpha’s residence, there needs to be a means to ensure the integrity of the mark. Most Alphas would take their Beta’s word, but a Beta’s life is based on details so he likes the ceremony because if he has the ceremony, no one can ever question his Mate’s mark.” Martin chuckled, “And before you ask… Edward and I had the ceremony.”
“How do they verify the mark?” Frankie absently prepared himself a taco.
“After you finish your last meal before the mating, you will be escorted to the pack room by four Enforcers to be seen by The Alpha, The Alpha Mate, and five representatives of the pack, including the Alpha Bitch, her Mate, and pack physician,” Edward told him. “It’s highly choreographed.” Frankie blushed thinking of his earlier comments on The Alpha as dance director.
“How do they decide which two pack members see me before the mating?” Frankie prodded Martin for further information.
“They draw lots. It was done as soon as The Alpha notified the pack that my brother had a Mate.”
“What will they do?” Frankie, aware that the ritual was important to his Mate, wanted to get every detail correct.
“The Alpha and The Alpha Mate, after asking you four questions—”
“What questions?” Frankie panicked. He hadn’t had the time to study loup garou culture so he may not have the right answers.
“First they’ll ask you if you believe, as René does, that you’re his True Mate,” Edward told him.
“The answer to that is simple. As soon as I laid eyes on René, I wanted him forever. That scared me, but even when I thought René believed himself a werewolf, and I knew such a thing wasn’t possible.” Frankie laughed at himself. “I still took a cab over to his house to make sure he saw someone who could help him. I never thought about leaving him.”
“The second question is, have you ever been marked by another wolf?” Martin’s face was deadly serious.
Frankie took the question seriously and considered his answer. “I never knew the loup garou were real. I’m no virgin, but I can honestly say that I’ve never been bitten, even as a child by anyone. So that would be a no.”
“Then, The Alpha will ask if you are willing to join the pack and answer to him.” Martin took another bite and wiped his mouth with the towel.
“I was going to work for The Alpha. I’d answer to him at work. It doesn’t make any difference to me if I answer to The Alpha twenty-four seven, especially if it gives me René. The only exception that I would make is if The Alpha asks me to harm someone. I won’t do that. I wouldn’t do it for my stepfather, and I won’t do it for The Alpha.”
Martin cocked his head. “You are a good fit. We have two laws, the first is harm no human. The second is to tell no one of the existence of the loup garou. According to our laws, it would be impossible for The Alpha to ask you to harm another human unless he wants to bring the wrath of the gods on his head.”
“The fourth question is, are you willing to be marked by René and to be his for this cycle, as you have been for previous cycles and will be in future cycles from now to eternity.” Edward smiled and touched his mark.
“Yes.”
“After he finishes questioning you, The Alpha will examine the line of flesh between your neck and shoulder for a bite mark. After The Alpha and The Alpha Mate are finished, you are inspected by five representatives of the pack. If no mark is found, you will be escorted back to René’s home by the four Enforcers who brought you to the pack room.” Edward looked up into Martin’s eyes as he spoke. Martin and Edward entwined hands and smiled at each other.
“This is so that no one bites or kidnaps me before I get to René?” Light dawned in Frankie’s brain.
“Yes.” Martin grimaced. “If you read our histories, you will find that in the previous generation, Beta Mates were kidnapped routinely.”
“Why would another wolf capture a Beta Mate? I can understand why The Alpha Mate, but—”
“Betas guard The Alpha and are generally incorruptible. However, if someone takes their Mate…especially a human Mate… René will always be worried about your safety as I am about Edward’s. That’s why he’s happy you will be working for The Alpha. Less time around strangers.”
“After I
’ve answered the four questions and been examined by The Alpha, The Alpha Mate, and the five pack members, what happens next?”
Meg brought Martin a Coke. He sipped, then answered Frankie. “You will be taken from The Alpha’s house by the same four Enforcers that brought you before the Alpha. They will escort you to René. He will formally greet and receive you from the custody of the four Enforcers. Before you enter his home, he will ask you if the Enforcers guarded you well and if you come to him unbitten?”
“How could I be bitten by someone else on my way from The Alpha’s house two hundred feet away from ours?” Frankie narrowed his eyes.
“The pack didn’t always live in a compound, and the Alphas didn’t always live in the city. At one time the loup garou were all farmers, trappers, or fur traders in Canada and the Northern United States. The distance between The Alpha’s and his Beta’s homes was sometimes measured in miles not feet.”
“How could the Betas guard The Alpha and The Alpha Mate efficiently if they weren’t on the site?”
“They couldn’t. It was decided by the ruling Council in my parents’ generation that the Alphas on the Council would have to provide a living wage for his Betas so that they would be able to do their job. It used to be that a Beta had to earn a salary to support his family. There was no Garou Industries to support the packs. Garou didn’t start paying dividends until eighteen twenty and then it was a pittance. For The Alpha and my parents, it was different.”
“How?” Frankie finished another taco. Meg served some nachos, and he began to make inroads into the huge pile of meat, beans, chips, hot peppers, avocado, and sour cream with salsa.