Page 9 of Wolf's Whistle
“Everything is all cleaned up, Etienne. What time would you like dinner? I have filets.” A woman wearing an apron greeted them with her hands perched on her hips.
“Richard, this is Bianca, Etienne’s and my housekeeper. Her meals are legendary. Richard is hungry and so am I. Are the guys still upstairs?”
“Yes, they were waiting for you to have dinner.” Bianca chuckled. “I can hear Ian’s stomach rumbling from down here.”
“If it’s okay with you, Etienne and Julien, we’re going upstairs to see the others.”
“Go ahead, mon coeur.”
“Richard, why don’t you go with Julio and Etienne, and I will join Armand in the library. I gather the others are in the great room, Bianca?”
“You guessed right. Tell the Maa…boys that dinner will be served in an hour. Some of the ladies stayed to serve the guards.” Bianca began to take hunks of meat from the refrigerator.
Julio grabbed Richard by the hand. “Let’s go to the great room where you can meet my friends properly.”
§ § §
The Library
Wednesday Evening
Julio and Richard went to the great room, and Julien followed Etienne to the library. They opened the door and were immediately greeted by Armand. “Henri is in despair.”
“We found them all in order of precedence, Henri. I’m sure you’re next.” Armand tried to comfort him.
“I hope so, Alpha. I’m older than the rest of you, save Marc, by ten years.”
“Alexei found Donal almost as soon as he returned from Colorado. Since Julio was Donal’s friend, Etienne met Julio. Now Julio’s friend Richard is Julien’s Mate, and it all happened within a few months. I’m sure your Mate is near. Maybe when we get back to Manhattan.” Armand bade Etienne and Julien to sit.
“From your mouth to the gods’ ears, Alpha.” Henri bowed to the four corners.
Julien sat down in a large brown leather chair and Etienne on the matching sofa with Alexei. “It didn’t go that easy, Alpha. There was a Serbian roach trying to take my Mate away against his will. We arrived in time to prevent it. If we had let Richard go home alone to pack, we might never have found him again. My Enforcers took the Serb back to the crack he crawled out of and gathered up Richard’s things as quickly as possible. I believe it’s a good thing we’re leaving tomorrow because he’s going to search for Richard, and I don’t want Richard to get hurt like Julio did.”
“We could leave tonight after dinner. We’d only spend two and a half hours in flight. Everyone going back to Manhattan is here in the house. That would put the roach off the scent,” Armand suggested.
“Would you mind, Etienne? This is supposed to be your mating.” Julien got up to take a glass and poured himself a whiskey.
“I had my mating last night. I don’t mind if we get into the city late. The traffic from the airport will be less annoying. All we would have to do is file a revised flight plan. Alpha?”
“I say we have dinner and go home.” Armand sighed. “I miss Elena. Sean and I get little enough time to spend with her as it is. Damn Maurice for his challenge. Elena likes matings and weddings and because of that no-good wolf, she had to miss this one. I am truly pleased that the gods saw fit to eliminate him. I’m sorry that you had to do it, Etienne, but I’m glad it happened.”
Etienne nodded. “Let’s notify the household to pack up. We have room for Richard’s things in the cargo hold of the jet. Shall I have Gilbert call Martin?”
“Yes, also call down to Bianca and tell her not to make anything fancy. Steak and potatoes will be fine. We have food on the plane. Ring Blanche and have her hire a cleaning company to come in and straighten up tomorrow morning instead of Friday. I’ll go and tell the boys.” Armand stood up and left the library.
§ § §
Great Room
Wednesday Evening
“Richard, these are my good friends. We’ll see a lot of them in New York. Julien’s townhouse is just four and a half blocks from ours. Everyone here lives in Manhattan except for Ian and Rémy who are just over the bridge in Brooklyn. Sean, why don’t you start?”
They all stood to reintroduce themselves. “I’m Sean Quinn-La Marche. I’m a potter. I have a studio in our house on Washington Square and one in New Mexico on our land there. I take classes to get my doctorate in fine arts at NYU. Ian?”
“Ian Sullivan-Clavier, here. I own a house painting business and take classes at NYU for interior design.”
“I’m Colin Callahan-Thierry. I write gay shifter romances under the name of Jason Jones and I’m an associate professor at NYU.”
