Page 34 of The Betas: Rene
Edward and Martin sat on the seat that curved behind Pierre. The Alpha sat close to Martin, next to the window, The Alpha Mate sat practically in The Alpha’s lap. Frankie was next to The Alpha Mate,and René sat behind Meg. He looked over at The Alpha. “I see we took the stretch limousine, Alpha.”
“Yes, Elena and Miss Beaumont will be joining us for the trip back.” The Alpha Mate answered for his husband, sounding merry despite their troubles with the Russians.
“Is that wise, Alpha, with the Russians about to arrive?” René narrowed his eyes.
Again, The Alpha Mate spoke for The Alpha. “With Frankie’s information, we should be able to take them at the airport, so I convinced Armand that Elena will be perfectly safe.”
Meg handed Sean a ham and cheese sandwich who then handed it to Frankie with a bag of chips and a bottle of ice tea. René’s Mate didn’t even bother protesting that he had just eaten; he hungrily dove into the food.
“Frankie hasn’t had the pleasure of meeting Elena yet. Elena is The Alpha and The Alpha Mate’s seven-year-old daughter.” René put his arm around Frankie’s shoulder.
Frankie glanced over to The Alpha Mate in mid-chew. He quickly closed his mouth, swallowed, then said, “I didn’t realize you and The Alpha were married long enough to have a seven-year-old.”
“Elena was an orphan and living with her aunt and uncle. Adele and Bernard ignored her and didn’t care for her properly. The Alpha Mate rescued her,” René said, proud of his charge.
Sean bristled. “René had to lend her his jacket so she could take a walk outside. All she had was a thin sweater even though they received a stipend for her and half of her deceased parents’ stipend for as long as she lived with them. The Alpha and I refused the extra money when we took her. Then we adopted her, so it was a moot point. Her own stipend now goes straight to a trust in her name at the bank. Her uncle spent it on the tables. Bernard was a gambler, and her aunt Adele had no backbone. It was Adele who lured me into the bathroom in the museum the day I was kidnapped.”
Frankie observed René discomfort and gently squeezed his knee. “So, Elena’s aunt and uncle were the cause of your problem. I wouldn’t want to believe that the child’s aunt would harm her either.” He attempted to provide comfort to his Mate.
“The loup garou are good as a people, but not all individuals live up to the standard of the species.” Sean sighed, then brightened. “But Elena is doing well now. Armand and I spoil her. Rather less now that Kane’s gotten on our case, but she still has more than she should.”
“Kane would be Alpha Maa…te?” Frankie hesitantly asked.
“Kane Brady mated Alpha Martin. Alpha Gabriel Martin holds the Fourth position on the Council. He is the Chief Technology Officer for Garou.”
Frankie sent to René,“Wasn’t Kane Brady the teacher at Cleveland who was raped by the basketball team?”
René silently nodded, and Frankie let it drop, figuring correctly that Sean would be very protective of his friend.
The Alpha Mate sighed. “I try to stop Armand’s excesses, but…”
“Baby, who was the one who bought her two new dolls in the American Girl line, Tenney, and Logan plus their accessories,” The Alpha chided. The Alpha Mate blushed.
Frankie decided to bail him out. “I can understand why you spoil her, Alpha Mate. Right after Dad died, Dante was the only friend of Dad’s who was helping us out. He tried to shower me with gifts to make up for the fact my father had died. Dante stopped after they got married because he knew he would get them back, perhaps as projectiles. I did not give him an easy time. Thinking back on it, I thought they both betrayed my father by marrying. I couldn’t blame my mother because I loved her so much, so I flung all my rage at Dante. Despite what he does for a living, he has always been good to me, even when I gave him fits.”
“This is a recent revelation?” The Alpha asked with a bit of silk in his voice.
“Very recent. I know how I feel about René after such a short time. I’m beginning to understand what Dante felt for Mom. Today, when Dante realized that I was born gay, rather than being gay because I chose to be, he apologized. Mom searched the internet and showed him the research. If only I hadn’t been so stubborn and showed him myself, maybe I could have persuaded him to go legit.” Frankie shook his head, “But those are fantasies best left alone. Dante is committed to his business, and I’m staunch in my position that I want no part of it.”
“At least you realized he cared for you,” The Alpha Mate commented. “My stepfather never liked me, but that’s a long story for another day. Perhaps when you come to lunch.”
§ § §
Frankie recognized the expression of dismay The Alpha directed toward his Mate. René had told him aboutlunch,and he knew, just as he knew The Alpha would tell his Mate when they got some privacy that Frankie had no place there. Having taken care of some of his stepfather’s security, Frankie knew that you couldn’t become pals with your bodyguard, because when the time came to listen to him, you’d argue. The men who guarded Dante didn’t play cards with him.
The Alpha smiled at him.
René used the Mate Link.“The Alpha is pleased you instinctively knew not to accept The Alpha Mate’s invitation. It’s not that they don’t like us or want to socialize with us, it’s because they can’t. If they did, especially The Alpha Mate who tends to try to cajole his friends, they wouldn’t listen when they had to pay attention.”
Frankie changed the subject. He turned to The Alpha. “Speaking of Dante, I don’t think you should count on his cooperation at the airport with Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov does a lot of business with Dante. He may not want to jeopardize that relationship.” The Alpha listened intently. Frankie continued, “He can be capricious. He had decided to be insulted that you canceled tomorrow’s meeting. When we told him you were taking me to meet thefamily,he relented and let it go.” Frankie stared at his hands. He would feel responsible if Don Ferone decided not to cooperate.
“Don’t worry, he’ll cooperate, I intend to make sure that he does.”
“How would you do that, Alpha?” Frankie asked with trepidation.
“To quote an apropos movie, byMaking him an offer he can’t refuse.”
The ride to LaGuardia felt like it was longer than the fifteen minutes it took to get there. Watching The Alpha and The Alpha Mate cuddling made Frankie wish that he and René had never left their bed this morning. The only compensation for this mad rush was that they were going to be able to make love tonight.
