Page 13 of The Betas: Rene
“I’d be happy to do that,” Frankie answered Edward with an eyebrow cocked at René.
“Ma Vie, you’ll be taking care of ours. I’m afraid I’m risk adverse and therefore don’t make the return I should be making. We’ll talk.”
“Alpha, I need to know the ground rules. From the Jason Jones book, I know to call Mr. La Marche Alpha, and Mr. Quinn-La Marche, Alpha Mate. May I call Julien and Henri by their first names? They’re my friends.”
Sean spoke up, “First, Jason Jones is Alpha Mate Colin Thierry.”
“I figured as much,” Frankie mumbled.
Sean giggled. “You’ll find that wolves have very sharp hearing. Your hearing will improve when you mate René, but it will never be as good as a wolf’s. Bear that in mind when you mumble.”
Frankie blushed. “I’m sorry.”
The Alpha Mate continued, “No worries, all the human Mates mumbled. They forget about our ears and still do. Although I suspect Julio does it on purpose.”
“What do I call them, the other Alphas and Alpha Mates?” Frankie asked.
“When you’re working, they’ll be Alpha plus their surname, like Alpha Bellaire and Alpha Giraud, when you’re on your own time, they can decide how they want to be addressed. The other Alphas will make that decision for themselves and so will their Mates. My husband is The Alpha and is always addressed as Alpha by a Beta, and in outside company as Mr. La Marche. To you, I have to be The Alpha Mate because I am that to René by custom. I’m Mr. Quinn-La Marche outside. By the way, you’re a very rich man. René has had over one hundred twenty-five years to accumulate wealth since he reached his majority at twenty-five.”
Frankie shook his head. “I don’t want René’s money. I have my own put away.”
“By loup garou law, as soon as he recognized you as his Mate, half of what he owns is yours and half of what you own is his.”
“I only have five hundred thousand stashed away. I’m sure René has more than that, it wouldn’t be fair.”
“It’s the law,” Edward stated flatly. “All of the human Mates objected. If they didn’t, the gods wouldn’t deem them worthy to be Mates.”
Armand rose from his chair. “Let’s go into dinner. Frankie, you must be famished. I gather that René didn’t tell you why you have an increased appetite.”
Armand chuckled as Frankie shot René a‘we’re going to talk later’glare.“No, Alpha, he didn’t.”
Armand led them into the formal dining room. “You’re eating more because your metabolism is speeding up from René’s pheromones. You will be burning more calories now to prepare for the mating. After you take René’s seed, your eyesight will be keener as will your hearing and sense of smell. You’ll heal quicker, run faster, and use your brain differently so that you analyze situations in more depth and your brain is more agile. Your personal strengths will be magnified.”
Armand motioned for them all to sit at the table and then signaled Meg and Pierre to serve.
“What will I be taking care of here, if I may ask, Alpha?”
“Investments, hiring, investigations, digitalizing our histories, anything that comes up. It is a diverse position…Pierre will train you. I’ve decided to divide the job in two and give the manservant, butler, and chauffeuring duties to Pierre, and the rest to you. Pierre has proved unable to manage it all anymore.” Armand’s voice grew grim and he pursed his lips. “As Martin is my right arm outside our home, you will be here in the office. Will you live with René?”
“It hasn’t been discussed. However, since my condo is a studio and for sale, I would think that would be the case.” Frankie heaped mashed potatoes, fried pork chops, applesauce, and roasted Brussel sprouts with shallots on his plate.
Armand noticed his embarrassment at eating out of turn and nodded to Sean who said, “Frankie, you may have noticed that everyone was served in order. You and René are served last because you are the last in the order of precedence. This is a custom left over from ancient times when there wasn’t enough food. The strongest in the pack had to survive to pass on their genes, so they ate first. Here, Martin is First Beta, so he and Edward eat first. When you are with other Betas, Martin will always eat first followed by René. Outside of Martin, you and René will outrank all other Betas and Beta Mates because Armand isThe Alpha,the Alpha in charge of everyone.” Sean preened. “Your place in the pack is determined by the rank of your loup garou partner. That’s how, even though I’m an Omega, I go directly after Armand.”
Martin smiled and said, “As far as how much you eat is concerned, don’t worry. Meg always makes enough to feed an army, and she knows all about the mating imperative. As she says,this is not my first rodeo.Until the mating, you’re going to want thirds and fourths of everything you see. Don’t worry, you won’t gain weight. It will burn up as soon as you eat it and all of us know how much you need to eat. Edward and I have been through that already, and I’ve seen it happen with all of the Alpha Mates. We need to talk about the mating ceremony.”
Sean was about to embark on an encyclopedic description of mating a loup garou and Armand stopped him. “It’s different for Betas, baby.” He addressed Frankie, “We need to speak to Don Ferone first before any of this can take place. Our peace with your stepfather remains fragile. He resents us because we have a large force in the city that he doesn’t control. There is also the matter that all of the Garou hierarchy is gay, and in his world, as I’m sure you know, that isn’t acceptable.”
Frankie grimaced. “Dante loves my mother and therefore grudgingly accepts my sexuality. He wanted me to take over the business for him so that my half brother isn’t tied to it and doesn’t run the risk of jail. I’m disposable,” he said with some bitterness. “However, he promised me that he would only take ten years and that period is up today. I’ve warned him that I intend to leave. I just don’t know if he’s taken me seriously.”
Armand considered this, then gestured to Martin. “Set up a meeting with Don Ferone on Wednesday. We will compensate him for Frankie, whatever amount he believes he needs to be able to let Frankie go. In the meantime,” he turned to Frankie, “I want you to take tomorrow off. You will make an appointment with your mother and bring René to introduce him to your family. Before that, you will go to Mr. Blanc’s and get rings. Go all out. The rings will be one of my presents to you and René.”
Frankie began to protest. Edward left his chair and came over, patting Frankie on the back. “It’s useless. The Alpha is a steamroller. Consider yourself macadam until you and René are married. You will also get new custom-made suits, English cut, not Italian, and custom-made shoes. The wedding reception will be here and witnessed by the Council. Because Martin and René are Betas to The Alpha, they are important in their own right and go before even Pack Alphas in precedence. Be glad you’re a Beta Mate and not an Alpha Mate or there would be further indignities.”
Armand raised his eyebrow at Edward.
“Alpha, you know what I say is true.”
Armand chuckled. “I may be a tiny bit imperious.”
