Page 35 of Henri's Little One
“Who was La Farge? Why would he do that if all of the others failed?” Vitas drew his brows together. “You don’t sign your own death warrant.”
“La Farge was the Second. When the former First went to the gods, the gods gave Armand First over La Farge. He saw my gift as a ticket to his becoming First. He had me kidnapped and was going to fight Armand with the advantage of Armand’s distraction because he knew his Mate was in danger. La Farge planned to give me to a rogue Russian Beta in payment for his help with the kidnapping. The Beta intended to become the Russian First using my gift.”
“That’s plain dumb. A Beta cannot become First because he’s not an Alpha. I’ve heard of Alpha’s who refused the responsibility of an Alpha position and either went rogue or lived as pack, but never have I heard of pack rising to Beta or Beta to Alpha, never mind First Alpha.”
“Did you see La Farge in Russia?” Sean was curious; he had never found someone who could answer that question. He had asked Alexei, but Alexei was imprisoned when La Farge arrived in Moscow.
“We knew that something had happened when La Farge arrived as a proscribed Omega and was assigned to clean the toilets, but had no idea it was that dramatic,” Vitas had said, surprised at how little the Russian packs knew about their Alphas.
Sean continued, “Armand dispatched La Farge quickly even as he thought I had been kidnapped, but the gods stopped the kill.” Vitas’ jaw dropped open. The gods seemed to have forgotten the Russian packs existed. They never stopped a fight over there that he could remember.
Armand had both mental and physical strength and from what the other Mates told him, the rest of the council was almost at Armand’s level of strength and acuity. “So, there were no more challenges? I thought Julio told me that Etienne was challenged.”
Julio had joined the conversation at that point. “Some challenges are inevitable,” Julio explained. “Like the one Etienne faced with Maurice. Armand let it stand and had planned to jump in himself because Maurice was a cheat, and unbeknownst to the council had made several challenges in secret, all of which ended in kills. We were about to be mated, but Etienne wouldn’t mate me until he dispatched Maurice. I had my own plans. If I saw Maurice was cheating or even winning, I intended to use my throwing knife.”
“Wouldn’t that upset the Alpha?” Vitas was horrified that a full human thought he had the slightest chance against a loup garou Alpha. Vitas looked back at Henri who listened intently.
“I knew the knife wouldn’t have killed him even if I hit his heart but it would have slowed him down enough that Armand could step in. He’d have to change forms to avoid death. I am damn accurate with my knife. When Armand found out what I had planned to do, he admitted it was a good idea.”
“Armand let that challenge stand because the pack Alphas needed to be shown how strong the council really is. Etienne was sixth, and if Maurice couldn’t beat him, he hadn’t a chance against Armand and Rémy, or for that matter any of the others because the differences between them are negligible,” Colin added proudly.
“Except for Armand and Rémy, the only reason they are assigned numbers is that a job is associated with a particular place on the council.”
“Why Rémy?” Vitas asked because his curiosity level had blossomed since he became a Mate. Russian Alphas didn’t disclose their private life to Omegas, even ones with potential gifts.
“Because Rémy takes over for Armand when he has to disappear,” Kane told him. “That’s why Rémy is so much younger than the others. Besides, all the Alphas like their jobs. My Gabriel is Chief of Information and Technology. He is scary good with computers.” Kane ate half a donut.
“So, anyway, he gave his Etienne his permission to go forward. Etienne had hoped the gods would stop the fight before the kill. However, the gods read Maurice’s heart, and he wasn’t worthy to be a loup garou Alpha. They told him he would never again be an Alpha on the wheel.” Julio seemed a bit too satisfied with the result. He would have been an Alpha had he been born a loup garou.
“There have been no other challenges, besides La Farge and Maurice, for years. No one wants to face The Alpha in the pit, and now they have found that they prosper with peace.” Vitas could hear the pride in Sean’s voice.
Vitas said, “In Russia, there are always challenges. No one is content to be sixth, seventh or eighth if they could rise to a higher position of power.”
“As we said, all our Mates, including yours, like what they do for Garou Industries and developed feelings of camaraderie with their fellow council members. Strong bonds make a strong council, my Armand says, and he’s right.” Sean beamed.
From what Vitas observed in his very brief time among them, Sean told the truth. It was very different here than it was in Russia. Even in the icebox that was the Alaskan/Yukon territory, the packs were prosperous. In Siberia, the packs starved. The North American Council was filled with good loup garou.Let the gods keep it that way.
§ § §
Manhattan
Henri’s Townhouse
It was a nine-hour flight from Anchorage to New York. They landed in Newark at nine at night. This was the airport where his North American Journey had begun. They were served beef stew on the flight for dinner and red velvet cake for dessert. Despite eating more than his share on the plane, Vitas was hungry when they got to Henri’s townhouse. He was surprised at the size of the place. The Moscow apartment where he had lived with his parents was a postage stamp in comparison to this house. It was upwards of twelve thousand square feet or as Henri explained, approximately one thousand one hundred and fifteen square meters. Vitas couldn’t comprehend a residence that large.
“We have staff quarters downstairs off the catering kitchen where Aline and Bertrand have an apartment. The master suite is on the top floor. The next flight down is for the governess and the children. This house has too many rooms for me to tell you about tonight but we are very comfortable. The Betas, including Valery and Mikhail, all have their own suites with an area that serves as a sitting room and private baths. Now, I’m babbling.”
Vitas laughed.
“I want to impress you, but it’s late, and we’re both hungry. Let’s get some pancakes and bacon and seek our bed.” Henri yawned.
“I’m impressed, but hungry. Let’s get to the food. Can we also have some scrambled eggs? I love Aline’s scrambled eggs.”
“Little one, you can have anything you want. We’ll be married tomorrow in Judge Booker’s chambers. I called him from the airport while you were saying goodbye to the Mates. We can have a small reception at the house for just the Alphas, their Mates, and the Betas tomorrow evening. I’ll have it catered so that Aline and Bertrand can attend.” Henri grabbed Vitas around the shoulders and hugged him close to his chest. He whispered, “Little one, I’m so happy we found each other. I had almost given up.”
Chapter Nine
Manhattan
