Page 10 of The Betas: Rene
René sat. “You’re awake and aware. You just don’t want to believe what you see. But it’s all true. I repeat, I am a loup garou, and you are my Mate. Here, I’ll show you again.” He stood, ready to take off his robe.
Frankie put his hand on René’s arm and pulled him back to the sofa. “Okay, I believe you. However, I’m not sure how I feel being, what did you say—your Mate? We’re not even the same species.” A tick pulsed in Frankie’s jaw.
“The loup garou can have human, part-human, or full loup garou Mates. It has been that way since time immemorial. We live to be four hundred and fifty years of age and…”
Frankie frowned. “Does that mean you have more than one Mate? I don’t think I’m onboard with that. You’d be lining up my replacement before I’m dead.”
“Ma Vie, you’re making assumptions. Listen. By taking my seed, you live as long as I do. You will also never get any human diseases, and any disease you already have will be cured…” René was on a roll until Frankie’s face set in a hard expression.
“You’re taking for granted that I’m a bottom.”
“Aren’t you? Hi-Beta Mates usually are. The gods wouldn’t have picked you for me unless we were compatible.”
Frankie crossed his arms. “There has to be a downside to this. What are you’re not telling me?”
“The downside is that you only live as long as I do. If I die, you die within a year, and I’m a Beta who guards The Alpha Mate. Anyone who wants to hurt The Alpha goes after The Alpha Mate. All the members of the Board of Directors of Garou Industries are Alphas, but Mr. La Marche is The Alpha of all Alphas and therefore more of a target. Most things that kill a human, won’t kill a were. We can change, and the change will expel, say a bullet, but there are some injuries from which even a loup garou cannot recover, and other loup garou know what they are.”
“If you people are so strong, so fast, that bullets are not a deterrent, then why did you need Dante to help you against Stawski, and why did Julien call me directly to help Henri with the Mad Russian?”
René cocked his head. “Regis said you went up against one of the Russians. What happened?”
The light dawned. “He was horrifically strong. I almost didn’t stop him.”
“Yes, if Regis hadn’t come out, he could have taken you. You’re strong, but not as strong as a were. You could, maybe, take Sean or Vitas but an Enforcer, no. As for the Russian matter, Julien and Henri hoped that your men would be taken for loup garou and they were. By the time the Russians figured out that you weren’t loup garou, our own people arrived.” René put his arm around Frankie’s shoulder.
“Ma Vie, let me take you to The Alpha’s for supper. My brother-in-law will be there. He is the personal attorney for all the Alphas on the Council and their Mates. He is human. He can answer a lot of your questions that I can’t.”
“Council, before you said Board of Directors…” His Frankie was sharp and noticed every inconsistency.
“The North American Council and the Board of Directors for Garou Industries are one and the same.” René moved the subject away from minutia. “Do you think you can grow to love me? I wanted to take the time to court you, but I mistakenly told you about the book. It made the others receptive. You’re more worldly and experienced. The addition of the tether to the series gave you the tool you needed to solve the puzzle because you saw the tether connecting us together, yesterday. If I can ask, how big is your tether now?”
“Okay, it’s not a thread, it’s as thick as rope…”
René’s eyes lit up.
“However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want answers,” Frankie protested.
“Ma Vie, you’ll get your answers. Edward will help, and The Alpha Mate will probably tell you more than you ever wanted to know. In our world, The Alpha Mate is an Omega who, as I said, is a little over half loup garou. He’s easily led and is a bit of a chatterbox.”
Frankie asked with ice in his voice, “Are all Mates Omegas?”
“Hell no! There are eight Mates of the remaining seven. One, Julio is a Hi-Beta, Ian—a Beta, Colin—Pack, Two Human Omegas— Kane and Donal, plus Vitas, the newest Alpha Mate—a full loup garou Omega.”
“And I would be a…”
“In our world, you are a Hi-Beta, just like I am. In the human world, I would be a type A personality and an Alpha, as you are. I would probably be a CEO of a large corporation. However, in my world, the Alpha Males are super Alphas, and the one I work for is the biggest Alpha of them all.”
“If that’s the case, why did he need my men?”
“The first time it was because we didn’t have enough men and the problem was a human one. If one of your men accidently shot Stawski, they wouldn’t face a death penalty like ours would.”
“The second time?”
“The Russian situation had been festering for a while. The Alpha planned to take care of it as soon as we returned home from Julien and Richard’s wedding. However, Vitas showed up in Oregon just after the reception, putting everything in motion sooner than was ideal.”
“Obviously, The Alpha managed to solve the problem, Vitas is still here and not in Russia. I gather that the Russian wanted Vitas. That’s who we were charged with protecting.”
“Yes, Chernof claimed Vitas was his Mate. He wasn’t Chernof’s Mate, he was Henri’s. As loup garou, we know our Mates right away. You and I have been mated for many cycles. I recognized your scent. You smell like chocolate-covered caramels.” René smiled and brushed his knuckles over Frankie’s cheek and grasped Frankie’s hand, kissing his palm.
