Page 52 of The Betas: Rene
“It is your duty, René, to be to Francis a considerate, tender, faithful, and loving husband, to support and cherish him in prosperity and trouble. To give him counsel and help him to bear his burdens with grace. To realize he suffers when you must be apart and to spend every moment you can together. To share your love with him in unalterable affection for this and all other lives by the grace of the gods. Do you so swear?”
René squeezed his hand. “I do so swear,” he said in a firm voice.
Judge Booker turned to Frankie.
“Francis, it is your duty to be a considerate, tender, faithful, and loving husband. To help René shoulder the burden of a life not his own to direct. To trust in his love for you and what you have together, to take his worries and concerns as your own and to share his watch with him, never straying far from his side. To share your love with him in unalterable affection for this and all other lives by the grace of the gods. Do you so swear?”
Frankie answered clearly. “I do so swear.” Overwhelmed with excitement, he felt like he should have shouted his answer for all of New York to hear.
The judge asked, “Gentlemen the rings.” The beautiful rings had not come off their fingers since they purchased them at Mr. Blanc’s and had been given to their best men to hold until this point in the ceremony. Junior appeared panicked. Julien tapped him on the shoulder, handed him the ring, and he passed it to Frankie with relief. He and René switched rings so that he now held the emerald which sparkled in the sun.
“You may exchange rings.” Judge Booker watched as they put the rings on each other’s fingers.
“By the exchange of rings, you reaffirm your promises to support and love one another. By the power vested in me by our people, and by the State of New York, I pronounce you married.”
René pulled Frankie into his arms and kissed him. Love for him poured off René and entered his body. After they kissed, Frankie opened his eyes and gazed down the aisle. The other Betas from all eight houses, in order of precedence from front to rear, formed an arch for them. As they walked through each pair, they were hugged, and that pair lined up behind them.
Judge Booker intoned, “Behold your brothers, in this life and the next.”
Frankie put up his hand, his cheeks were wet.
While the ceremony concluded, Pierre and the waiters hired for the occasion began to serve the crowd expensive champagne for the toast, Charles Heidsieck Vintage Brut 1990. They served his mom and Dante first, then all the Alphas and Mates in order of precedence. Martin and Edward were served after the Alphas, then he and René, the Betas in order, with the housekeepers and factotums next, followed by the other loup garou guests, ending with Miss Beaumont and lastly Elena, the youngest loup garou. She was given sparkling cider.
The Alpha lifted his glass. “To René and Frankie, may they have a loving, long, and fruitful union.”
“Hear hear,” the crowd shouted. The servers began to pass canapés. René put his arm around Frankie.
“Isn’t this where you came in?” Frankie laughed joyously.
Frankie stood in the receiving line with The Alpha, Alpha Mate, Julien, Martin, Edward, René, him, Junior then his mother and Dante as the other Alphas, their Mates and households, came through. It was a good thing he had his unique memory, or he wouldn’t have been able to recall who went with who. The Mates were exactly as René described. He was able to reacquaint himself with Alpha Mates Bellaire, Giraud, and Daurensbourg and be introduced to Alpha Mates Sullivan, Thierry, Martin, and Davidoff. He could hardly believe that Alpha Mate Donal Berne Davidoff was the same man who was pictured in the photograph The Alpha had brought with him to Dante’s restaurant the day The Alpha had purchased him for Alpha Davidoff from Apuso. The loup garou took care of their own, and now he was one of them.
His mother seemed to be fatigued after having stood in the receiving line. The Alpha had graciously offered her a chair, but she had refused and was now visibly flagging. She and Dante came over to René and him to say goodbye.
“Darling, I’m so happy for you.” Brigit kissed his cheek. “I thought because you were gay, you’d never find happiness. You were thirty-three and had never even brought anyone home. Dante and I love René. We want to see both of you, soon, for dinner. It turns out that Gemma is an excellent cook. By the way, Carmen left me. Dante offered her a pension, and she decided to go live with her sister in Jersey.”
René squeezed his hand, warning him to say nothing. He obliged.
Dante stepped up. “A rather different ceremony. In your official capacity, tell Mr. La Marche I will see him on Monday. I will be bringing Mr. Salvaggi and Mr. Amato. Tell him I will expect pastry.” Dante sent them an almost feral smile.
§ § §
René and Frankie’s House
The Master Suite
Four in the Afternoon
After the wedding reception wound down, René and Frankie walked down the street to their house hand-in-hand. They entered through the kitchen and found an appetizer plate of prosciutto, brie, and Italian salami, with grapes, figs, walnuts, a baguette, and honey. Frankie would have said it was too much food, only by now he knew better. This was a snack Annie left to hold them over until dinner at eight. They carried the tray, along with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Demi Sec, a sweet champagne, upstairs to the bedroom suite.
Inside the room, both men removed their shoes. The tuxedo jackets and pants came next. They hung them and their pants on the valets that stood at the foot of the bed. Both men undressed down to their undershirts and briefs. Frankie tackled René, who fell onto the bed, and somehow ended up on top of his lover.
“All that time, spent in The Alpha’s house, with all of our friends celebrating our wedding, all I could think of was getting you here alone so I could ravish you.” Frankie ran his hands down the hard planes of his wolf’s body. He chuckled, cupping René’s ass. “You sure are in great shape for a hundred and fifty-two-year-old man.”
René maneuvered himself, so he landed on top of his Mate. He pushed himself up on both elbows as he lay on Frankie’s chest. His eyes glimmered with desire. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much I want you right now. Can we make love? Are you ready to take me?”
“I’m ready, able, and very, very willing.” Frankie kissed René’s neck and put his own mark on his wolf. In response, René dragged his teeth over Frankie’s shoulder, and he shivered. René ran his tongue over the seam of Frankie’s mouth and pushed inside. He explored, his tongue probing Frankie’s soft palate. Frankie responded, entwining his own tongue around René’s.
Frankie broke the kiss, gazing at his beautiful wolf. “I was no virgin when you first took me. I wasn’t a slut, but I was experienced. I even had a brief relationship in college. But I never felt for him, what I felt for you Sunday night when I got home. I wanted to die because you wouldn’t make love to me. When you told me the family didn’t make love until marriage, I thought you were blowing me off. Reading the book the next day, I thought you were making fun of me and my need for you. It was a desperate man who picked up the phone to call demanding a meeting.”
