by A. C. Katt
“Our parents didn’t stay on the farm. They sought an education and made wise investments. They, along with Armand’s, bought the row houses on Washington Square when they were built in eighteen thirty-two. They were in Paris at the time and bought the homes via an agent.”
“Where were you and René born?”
“At your house in Washington Square. It’s but one of the properties René and I own in Manhattan. René and I were born at home on February twenty-first, eighteen sixty-five. René and I are fraternal twins. The old Alpha decided that René and I were Betas to Armand’s Alpha when we were fifteen. After that, we all received a specific education and training for our jobs. Over the years, we have accumulated various other degrees besides our Beta education.”
“When was it decided that the Betas would live close to their Alpha?” Frankie got back to his original subject.
“This came after a pack wanted a Beta to get the death sentence because an unknown party killed their Alpha.” Martin sighed.
“That wasn’t fair.” Frankie raised his voice, afraid something like that could happen to René. It dawned on him how fair The Alpha had been about The Alpha Mate’s kidnapping. The Alpha could have had them executed. Instead, he took some of the blame.
“No, it wasn’t. That’s why the law was enacted by the Council.”
“I’m sorry. My brain is all over the place. Back to the mating. What comes after his greeting and his asking me if I’ve been ravished? When do we get to the good part?” Frankie grinned to belie the seriousness of the conversation.
“The two of you will be alone in the house. The Enforcers will stand guard for the night, two at the front door and two at the back, ensuring that no one enters or leaves the premises, save for the Beta and his Fated Mate. In the morning, the Enforcers will escort you and René back to the pack house where you will display René’s mark. The showing is followed by a feast catered by the pack under the direction of the Alpha Bitch.” Martin chuckled. “I’m sure the feast will be legendary. René and Lillian have been friends since they were kids.”
“How do I show the mark?”
“The Alpha will give you a boat necked T-shirt tonight. You will bring the shirt you want to wear to the party and Annie will hold it for you. The pack examines your mark in order of precedence. First, The Alpha and The Alpha Mate, then the First Beta, followed by the pack Betas, their Mates, and then the Alpha Bitch, her Mate and the pack members by age, the oldest first. Counting our group of fifteen, we have one hundred in the pack. They can, in this pack only, touch the mark with the tip of a finger.”
“Why did you say in this pack only?” Frankie quickly picked up from Martin’s tone that this touching of the mark was highly unusual.
“Because once we had a blind Alpha. The Alpha lost his sight in battle with a rogue loup garou who terrorized the human countryside. Despite his blinding, he continued to fight. When the battle was over, the pack refused to replace him. He still needed to be able to verify marks, so it became customary for the pack to touch marks. In every other pack in North America, it’s forbidden. The Alpha had fits when the pack touched Sean, but you can’t buck over eight hundred years of tradition.”
“I see.” Frankie swallowed hard. He wanted to make his wolf proud.
Martin patted Frankie’s shoulder. “You will do just fine.” He and Edward excused themselves and left the kitchen.
Meg brought Frankie eight lemon bars, and by the time he finished, the four Enforcers were at the kitchen door ready to take him to The Alpha. He took a deep breath, his stomach knotting. What if I’m not worthy of my Mate?
Chapter Fifteen
Alpha’s House
Pack Meeting Room
The Enforcers escorted Frankie into the Pack Meeting Room, two in front of him, two behind. Seven people gathered at the front of the room. The Enforcers stopped in front of The Alpha and The Alpha Mate. Didier, the Enforcer who’d sat in the front seat of the limousine when they went shopping, spoke.
“Alpha, Alpha Mate, I bring to you Beta Mate, Frank Ferone.” The Enforcers bowed from the waist to The Alpha and stepped aside to flank him and the Alpha Mate. Martin stood at The Alpha’s left shoulder.
The Alpha spoke to the room. “Before us is the man Beta René DuBois claims as his True Mate. I have four questions.” Everyone remained silent as The Alpha began.
“Frank Ferone, do you believe, as Beta René DuBois believes, that you are his True Mate?” The Alpha stared at Frankie, steely-eyed.
“Yes, Alpha, I do,” Frankie replied, irrevocably committing himself to René.
The Alpha continued, “Have you ever been willingly or unwillingly marked by another wolf?” The Alpha’s gaze focused on Frankie’s neck.
“No, Alpha, I have not,” Frankie answered in a steady voice.
The Alpha’s spine straightened. “Are you willing to join the pack and answer to me, your Alpha?” Given my previous affiliation, this question takes on an added significance.
Frankie looked The Alpha straight in the eye. “Yes, Alpha, I am.” He had not only pledged himself to a man, but he also pledged himself to a way of life.
“Are you willing to be marked by Beta René DuBois and to be his for this cycle as you have been for previous cycles and will be in future cycles, from now until eternity?”
“Yes, Alpha, I am.” He’d done it. He relaxed a bit. There was only one step left in the process before René could receive him at the door.
“Bare your shoulder to your Alpha.” The Alpha did a cursory inspection of his shoulder, followed by The Alpha Mate. The Alpha announced, “We see no mark.”
“Dr. Artis, please come up and examine the Beta Mate for a preexisting mark.”
Dr. Artis examined Frankie’s shoulder closely, taking the tip of his finger and running it over the line from his shoulder to his collarbone. “There is no mark and no evidence of a mark in the past that has been removed by any means,” the doctor intoned.
The Alpha called out again. “I call up Lillian Barre, the Alpha Bitch of the Sandoval Pack, and her Mate, Henri, to witness.”
Lillian smiled at Frankie, inspected his shoulder, followed in quick succession by her Mate and husband, Henri. After briefly consulting with Henri, Lillian spoke, “There is no mark and no evidence of one ever existing.”
Two more members of the pack came up and did an inspection, each touching his skin. The Alpha asked the question, “Is there evidence of a mark?”
“We find no evidence of a mark, Alpha.”
Lillian stepped up. “It is time for Beta Mate Ferone to be taken to his Beta.”
The Alpha turned to the table behind him and picked up a white shirt. “Wear this tomorrow as a symbol of your commitment to your Beta and your loyalty to me.” Martin walked from behind his Alpha and accepted the shirt from his Alpha’s hands and gave it to Frankie.
The two Enforcers stepped away from The Alpha and The Alpha Mate and marched up to Frankie and took their places, two at his front and two at his rear. They bowed to The Alpha, and Didier spoke again, “We will guard him well until we reach his Beta.” The party stepped out to the courtyard.
They marched the two hundred feet to René’s door. Frankie felt a little silly but remembered that this ceremony meant something to René. Didier knocked at the front door, and René answered, barefoot, wearing a white cotton robe.
“We bring you Beta Mate Frank Ferone.” Didier and his fellow Enforcers stepped aside.
René took Frankie’s hand. “Have they guarded you well? Do you remain unbitten?”
“Yes, baby, they guarded me well, and I have not been bitten.” Frankie turned to the Enforcers and bowed, adding his own little flourish. “Thank you for escorting me to my Mate in safety.”
Didier bowed. “Beta, Beta Mate.” The Enforcers turned and strode away from the house.
With a lustful grin, René pulled him inside the door. Still holding Frankie’s hand, René slowly walked to the back of the house toward wh
at Frankie assumed was the bedroom.
“Ma Vie, do you need to eat or would you like to take a shower?” Frankie could tell that René made this offer reluctantly, to be considerate of Frankie’s needs, even though his wolf had an eager gleam in his eyes. He wanted to pick Frankie up and take him to bed.
Frankie shook his head, his heart pounding. “No, I want you. Let’s go to bed.”
René led Frankie back to a beautiful room decorated in gold and greens. On the windows hung natural wood shutters in a golden pine that matched the bedroom furniture. A multicolored afghan with a colorful Native American print was draped over the bed. Frankie sat down on the green sheet and ran his hand over the bed coverings. The cotton felt soft to the touch. René put his hands on Frankie’s shoulders and pushed him down onto the mattress amid green, yellow, and burgundy pillows.
“Ma Vie, I’ve waited only two days for you, yet it feels like forever. Let me undress you. I want to belong to you and for you to belong to me.” René knelt on the bed before Frankie and removed his shoes and socks, kissing his instep. He stood next to him and unbuttoned his shirt, slipping it off Frankie’s shoulders, kissing each shoulder as it was bared. His Beta undid his belt, opened the closure at the top of his dress pants and unzipped the zipper. With Frankie’s assistance, René removed his pants before pulling Frankie to him.
His wolf worshiped Frankie with his lips, gliding them over Frankie’s mouth. The blissful sensations shot from his lips to his cock. Frankie opened his mouth for him. His wolf’s eyes turn slightly pink.
His wolf’s tongue explored the inside recesses of Frankie’s mouth. When Frankie met René’s tongue with his, his wolf pursed his lips and sucked Frankie’s tongue into his own mouth. Shivers rolled down Frankie’s spine. His erection throbbed. Their tongues dueled for dominance.
René broke away, eyes a slightly darker red. He ran his lips over the line of Frankie’s chiseled cheekbone and over to his ear. He lightly worried the earlobe with his teeth. René licked Frankie’s eyebrows and kissed his eyelids, making his way back down to Frankie’s open mouth.
Frankie turned and rubbed his face in René’s chest. The fuzz over his lover’s pecs was a novelty to Frankie as all the guys from the clubs waxed their chest hair away. Frankie found he liked the rough feel of the coarse hair beneath his face. He nuzzled and played in the whorls of fur. René trailed his mouth down to Frankie’s nubs. Delightful sensations rocked him, and Frankie arched his back. It really was different when you were making love.
René worried at his nubs, biting one while pinching the other. Frankie couldn’t believe his cock leaked so much precum from just making out. The well of his navel filled with the precum dripping from his cock and spilled over his hip down to the sheet. Wracked with shudders and building need, he didn’t know how long he could hold out.
René murmured, “You’re so beautiful, my Mate, so finely made. Your back calls to me, skin stretched over defined muscles that ripple when you move. I watch you and the grace of your movements, your innate strength. It all sings a siren’s song that I can’t resist. I love the way emotion plays over your face. I like that I can read what you’re thinking. I love everything about you, Mate. I’m grateful to the gods for making you mine.”
René slid his big hand down and palmed Frankie’s cock. Sweat beaded on Frankie’s upper lip.
“Oh God, I’m close. I want you inside me.”
“Easy, Ma Vie…we have all night.”
René’s feather light touches roamed over Frankie’s chest, and his cock was so hard, he thought it would break off. His wolf never let up.
“I adore the taste of you, my Mate. I want to lick every inch of your skin, but this piece, in particular, is mine.” He ran his tongue over Frankie’s collarbone and stopped in the middle, grabbing the fleshy part in his teeth. “Soon, I’m going to bite you right there and mark you as mine, forever,” his wolf growled, low and sensual.
Frankie took a calming breath. “I never knew I could love anyone the way I love you. You complete me.”
“You are mine, Frankie Ferone, and soon the world will know it. I will take you in the manner of the loup garou and on Saturday, in the manner of humans. I want to bind you to me in every way known to wolf or man. You are the other half of myself.” René caught Frankie’s mouth in his and deepened his possession. This time he didn’t stop to murmur words of love. This time he was lost in the throes of passion.
René moved his face down to the juncture between Frankie’s thighs and palmed his cock. His tongue followed the rim and down the sensitive underside of his balls. He took the balls in his mouth, one at a time and moved them, played with them, sucking first one then the other. René’s mouth kept moving around Frankie’s cock. Frankie could barely keep track of it. His cock and balls tingled with joy in anticipation of René’s tongue. It felt like it licked everywhere at once. He let out a loud groan.
René’s mouth swept down, and he swallowed Frankie’s cock. His agile tongue curled around its girth. His wolf continued to lick even as Frankie’s rod plunged down his throat.
§ § §
René came up for air. “I need to take you now. I’ll embarrass myself like a half-grown pup if I don’t.” His hand snaked under the pillow for the numbing lube. René turned Frankie over. He ran his tongue over his Mate’s high, tight and well-formed ass. The muscles on Frankie’s back rippled in anticipation. René opened the cap. It made a clicking sound. He put the lube on the night table. Frankie shook. René reached down and pulled Frankie’s cheeks apart. He bent over and licked the sides of his Mate’s ass. His lover cried out. René went still. Frankie, still panting, said, “I’m okay, don’t stop.”
His body quaking, his cock throbbing, René whispered, “I want you to come with me, can you wait?”
“I can wait, for you. I want us to come together with you inside me, biting my shoulder and knotting us together.”
René used his tongue to prepare his lover for his first finger. Frankie groaned, trembling, just as Martin had predicted. The wolf, happy that he pleased his Mate, poured some lube over his finger and smiled. The first finger slid in with a liberal application of lube. René carefully stretched the sphincter, moving around the circle of the muscle until he felt Frankie was ready for the second finger.
Frankie begged, “Soon, take me soon…”
“Not until you take four fingers.”
“I can’t wait that long.” His Mate moaned.
“Yes, you can and will,” René replied with steely determination. “I will not hurt you. Just because the numbing lube removes some of the burning sensation, doesn’t mean that I should take less time to prepare you. I am not bragging, but I am a big man. To penetrate you without proper preparation might lead to me tearing you, and then we would be unable to make love for weeks.”
“Okay,” Frankie grumbled, “but hurry.”
René chuckled. He removed the first finger and held out two fingers, on which he carefully poured lube. For good measure, he dribbled some extra lube down Frankie’s cheeks. Trembling with anticipation, again, he spread his Mate’s beautiful ass and did the slow work of stretching him to accept his cock. By the time René readied the fourth finger, Frankie had writhed all over the bed.
Thank the gods, his Frankie was ready. He turned his Mate over and stuck a pillow under his hips, canting his hole upwards in the direction of René cock. “This first time, I want to see your eyes when I penetrate you. I want you to see mine turn red with heat and my incisors lengthen as I prepare you for my bite and knot.”
“Please, baby…now.”
René lined his fat cock up with Frankie’s now gaping hole. He penetrated Frankie, his wolf shaft encircled by his lover’s heat. Frankie pushed up to meet him with only a slight wince.
“Are you all right?” René asked, concerned that he’d hurt his Mate.
“I’m fine, but I won’t be happy if you don’t move. I want you now.”
René obliged and began mov
ing in a smooth rhythm.
Frankie closed his eyes and moaned. “Right there, you hit my spot.”
René, pleased with himself that he found Frankie’s prostate on his first try, glowed. Soon he lost himself in the heavenly sensation. His incisors began to lengthen. He growled out to Frankie, “Are you ready?”
Frankie nodded, grabbing René and pulling him closer. “Now.”
René bit the site he had mentally mapped out as his lover shot cum over both their chests, and he filled Frankie. The blessed knot formed.
Frankie opened his eyes. “I’m feeling you grow inside me. When you bit me, it pinched, but I came so hard, it didn’t matter. Edward said it never pinches again.”
“What you feel now is my knot. It holds in my seed so it can be absorbed into your body. My seed will keep you healthy and immune from human disease. You will live as long as I do and be stronger and faster. All your senses will heighten. Your brain will work faster and be more agile. Your already formidable IQ will increase.” René kissed Frankie’s mark.
“What happens to you as a result of the mating?” His Frankie’s brain always ran at breakneck speed. How far would his brain develop? Frankie already ranked among the crazy-smart.
“I live out my full lifespan, and more importantly, I get you.” René maneuvered so that Frankie lay on his chest.
“What do you mean your full lifespan?” Frankie’s eyes narrowed.
That’s my Mate. He picks up on every nuance. “If I found you and for some reason you rejected me, and it happens. Sometimes Mates hate each other on sight, or a loup garou spends a few days with his human Mate and feels nothing but a sexual pull. In those cases, the loup garou cuts his losses, takes the two-hundred-and-fifty-year decrease in his lifespan and the Mates go their separate ways.” The knot went down, and René got up to run water in the basin he had earlier placed in the bath.
“Would my lifespan have been decreased?”
René wiped his chest and brought a fresh cloth and water to the bedroom to wash down Frankie.