Werewolves of Manhattan Box Set

Chapter 5

Chapter 5Sean needed time to think. While he was with Armand, he found himself agreeing to anything the man asked of him. How can I love and trust this man I’ve only known for one day? Yes, there is that word, love. I love him. If love means that my heart beats faster when he’s near me and that I crave his company, then yes, love is what I feel. I’ve agreed to marry a man about whom I know nothing except what he revealed. I’ve accepted things that are impossible to believe, even though I’ve seen them with my own eyes. It’s like living in a fairy tale.

Sean lay down on the bed trying to shake off his worry. Despite his huge breakfast, and his early lunch, he felt hungry. He heard Meg in the hall. She knocked. He got up from the bed and opened the door to find Meg carrying a tray.

“I have some Brunswick Stew and dumplings for you before you go out. Alpha’s orders.” Sean smiled.

“I just thought that I was hungry. You read my mind. I didn’t expect a meal. It’s only been a few hours since I ate breakfast and you gave me lunch already.” Meg set the tray down on a table with two chairs.

“What I gave you was a snack. The closer you come to shifting, the more calories you burn and once you shift your metabolism is changed forever.”

“You’re telling me that there are no fat loup-garou.”

“Shifters require a lot of calories. You will find the need to eat well and often. That’s why you’re constantly hungry. It’s also why you were so near to starvation after eating so little for so long. Eat this for now and we’ll have an early dinner.”

Armand came up the stairs and sat with him while he ate and shared the meal.

“Meg is the best cook. My mother cooked, but the Irish aren’t known for their gourmet cuisine.” Sean forked the last morsel of tender chicken into his mouth.

“Don’t say that to Meg. She’s Irish.”

“Thank you for keeping me from putting my foot into my mouth! I’ll take this tray down to the kitchen if you tell me where it is. I’m almost afraid to ask what’s for dinner.”

“Meg will come for the tray. You needn’t worry about her carrying it up the three flights of stairs. We have an elevator installed and she has a service cart. We will usually enjoy breakfast in our room.” Armand chuckled. “I only use the breakfast room when it is likely we will have early visitors.”

“Can you tell me more about what you do and where we’re going to live?” Sean felt compelled to know more about the loup-garou and Armand himself.

“As I told you, I am head of the North American Council of loup-garou and I run Garou Industries. We are a diversified company that makes products of all kinds. You will be interested to know we even have a porcelain division. We do extensive Research and Development, especially on things like green energy and products. Our fleet of cars are powered by an experimental battery. Right now, it is cost prohibitive to sell to consumers, but we are working on bringing the costs down so that we can sell them to the car companies at a reasonable cost.”

“That sounds like good business sense as well as care for the land.” Sean was thoughtful. “And what are your duties as head of the council?”

“We are the largest council of loup-garou in the world. The second biggest council is in Russia, followed by the Europeans. Although Pack Alphas run their own packs, all are answerable to the council and the council reports to me. The loup-garou do not have a democracy. The Alpha makes pack law and as long as it does not conflict with the dictates of the council or the good of the pack as a whole, the Alpha’s word stands.”

“What if the Alpha makes laws that are unfair or hurt the pack?” Sean asked, upset that there seemed to be no recourse to enduring a bad Alpha.

“The pack is set up so that the Alpha can be challenged. If no one is strong enough to overtake the Alpha, the pack can appeal to the council. A Pack Alpha will try to avoid an appeal to the council at all costs. If he loses the appeal, he loses his life.” Armand answered in a matter-of-fact manner.

“Woo, then the death penalty is dealt for any infraction that makes it to the council?”

“No, some things that go to the council are territorial disputes. The council also schedules council wide events that encourage the loup-garou to mix with other wolf packs and find their mates. We also oversee the council’s charitable contributions.”

“Do all of the loup-garou live this well?” Sean asked in amazement.

“No, some of us have personal wealth accrued over generations of investments made with the share of monies each wolf gets from the group. The group provides enough for a loup-garou to live an upper middle-class life among the humans, although most wolves don’t live far from their packs. Their individual industry provides extra funds. Just as with humans, we have lazy wolves, industrious wolves, we have our inventors, scientists, and artists. How much you have is in direct proportion to what you do for yourself, the pack, and council as a whole.”

“They must pay you quite a bit to ride herd on all of the wolves on the continent.” Sean gulped.

“My entire stipend is given to charity, to both our own and human organizations. We live in two worlds, baby, and must endeavor to pay our dues to each of them.”

“You’re saying that the loup-garou pay taxes to their governments as well as taxes to the loup-garou…”

“Our corporations make enough so that we give back to the packs. The amount of the stipend increases or decreases with every generation. We are codependent on the economy of the nation we inhabit. That is why loup-garou are involved in politics in our individual countries as well as in science, literature, and the arts. Because we don’t have to change into our lupine forms, some of us have become research scientists, politicians, and captains of industry in addition to running the businesses of the loup-garou. Since the aspect of our genome that makes us loup-garou is known only to us, our blood and physiology test as human. Some of us are even athletes although we do not encourage that as an occupation because we hold an unfair advantage.” Armand got up and kissed the top of Sean’s head.

“I can regale you with stories of our shared heritage all day, however, we have to go out and pick our wedding rings.” Armand smiled. “We have a jeweler here in New York who does customized designs for loup-garou mates.”

Armand pulled Sean up into his arms for a kiss. Armand’s mouth moved over Sean’s lips tasting them with his tongue. He nipped at the lower lip for Sean to open his mouth. Sean’s lips parted and Armand plundered his mouth with his tongue; diving into the recesses, licking behind his teeth, exploring the tender area under his lips.

When he left Sean’s mouth, Sean groaned. Armand then began to trace his lips over his face. He kissed each eyelid and the curve behind each ear. Sean shivered.

“If you keep that up, we’ll never get out of here to go to the jeweler’s. You are making me so hot.”

“Baby, wolves are very sensual creatures. It comes with being more tied to our animal origins than the humans. Most of us lead very active s*x lives before we mate.” Sean frowned at his soon-to-be mate.

“Does that mean I’m going to be in a constant state of jealously looking about and seeing your former lovers?” Sean pulled away from Armand’s arms.

“I have never had a lover until you. I’ve hooked up for s*x, but never had a long-term relationship. It wouldn’t be fair to a partner to let them believe that there was a chance I would grow to love them. I always knew that other than the casual f**k, I would never chance hurting another human or wolf because once I found my mate, all others would pale in comparison. There is no one who is as compatible to me as you are. There is no one I could ever love as much as I love you. I never gave anyone else a chance to claim my heart even in these last few dark years when I despaired thinking I would never find you.” Sean stepped back and looked into Armand’s eyes. “In all of the past one hundred twenty five years since my first change, I waited. I waited for you, baby. No one else could ever come close to the desire or the love I have for you.” Armand took Sean’s hand and placed it over his shaft. “Feel that, my love. It is all for you. My mating knot is something only you will receive as I will receive yours and yours alone. Do you understand? After that you will be forever mine.”

“Yes,” Sean said as he melted into his mate’s arms. Their bodies were pressed together from chest to hip. Sean began to grind against Armand’s groin groaning at the feelings of longing deep in his chest, the longing for completion.

“We need to stop,” Armand said. “You must take my mating bite and show it to the pack. I can’t take you yet and if we keep this up I’ll take you now, regardless. Let’s breathe a moment and then prepare to go to the jewelers. I’m going downstairs, I’ll call you when we’re about to leave.”

* * * *

Armand called Rene and Martin fifteen minutes before he wanted to leave. Rene would drive and Martin would ride shotgun. “Baby, come down. We’re ready to go.” Armand shouted up the stairs, then moved away from the stairs and looked out the window to see that the private security firm he hired had three cars: one to ride in front and one in back, one to the side. He knew the limousine was bulletproof. There were two armed guards at the door of the townhouse in addition to those stationed throughout the park. He wasn’t going for discretion. He wanted to make sure anyone who tried to attack knew that they would be met with brute force.

Sean ran down the stairs into Armand’s arms. Armand pulled a new down vest out of the entryway closet and wrapped it around his beloved. They were ready to go. A set of eight guards surrounded them as they walked down the steps of the townhouse. They made it to the car without incident.

“Was all of that necessary?” Sean asked, embarrassed to be at the center of so much attention.

“Your safety is as necessary to me as the air I breathe. Having found you at long last, I have to make absolutely sure that you are safe until we get to New Mexico.”

The jewelers sat on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 16th right across the street from Union Square Park. The loup-garou of the police department cordoned off the area so that Armand and Sean could get into the jewelers without fear. The jeweler, Mr. Blanc, met them at the door. “Alpha La Marche, it’s so wonderful to see you and for such a happy occasion. I’ve put together a selection of my best designs for your and the Alpha Mate’s approval.”

The jeweler pulled out a tray of rings. One set had a wolf’s head with emerald eyes. The matching ring was a wolf’s head with ruby eyes. Once Sean saw those two; he wanted no other.

“These remind me of the day we met. Your eyes turned crimson when Pierre suggested you leave me at the scene. You didn’t realize I saw but I remember.” Sean looked into Armand’s eyes.

The jeweler interrupted, “Alpha, I have more fitting jewelry in the second tray.” He attempted to push the first tray away and substitute the second. Armand starred the jeweler down. “The Alpha Mate has made his selection.”

“Do you like these?” Sean asked hesitantly.

“I love them, the emeralds are the exact color of your beautiful eyes.”

“Would you like them in platinum or gold?” Mr. Blanc asked Sean.

Sean turned to Armand. “You pick…”

“The gold, it reminds me of the color of your hair.” Armand picked up a lock of Sean’s hair and tenderly kissed it. He turned to the jeweler, “Have them sized and delivered tomorrow.”

The guards were waiting outside the store. Rene and Martin were in the store behind them. At Rene’s signal, the guards formed a living shield for Armand and Sean to exit. As the door opened Sean heard a high-powered pop Rene and Martin pushed them down onto the sidewalk, a bullet ricocheted off the granite of the jeweler’s façade.

In the ensuing chaos, a large man made a grab for Sean’s arm. He attempted to pull Sean into a waiting car when he was tackled by Detective Murphy. Shielding Sean with their bodies, the guards hustled Armand and Sean into the waiting limousine and drove with police sirens blaring back to the house on Washington Square.

Armand wouldn’t let go of Sean on the ride back to Washington Square. He was thoroughly panicked. Armand heard Sean tell him over and over that he was okay but it didn’t sink into his brain. He was reacting with his animal nature; sometime had tried to hurt his mate.

Detective Murphy followed them into the house. Meg ran over to Sean crying and checking him for injuries while Pierre and the detective spoke to their Alpha.

“Alpha, the sooner you get onto the plane and back to New Mexico, the better off you will be.” Detective Murphy said in almost a whisper. “Mr. Quinn is a target. Whether they know he is an Omega with Talent or are just aware that he witnessed the murder; either is enough to for Dimitri or for that fact, any other Alphas to strike. We need to petition the Russian Council for permission to terminate Petrovich without prejudice on neutral territory.”

“Martin, call a meeting of the council for tomorrow. I will attend with the Alpha Mate. We will bring this matter to their attention and force them to give it their immediate consideration. I’m going to calm my mate.”

* * * *

Armand crossed the great room to Sean who sat in one of the club chairs. “Baby, are you okay?” Armand knew he was shaking. Meg handed him a brandy snifter. He took a huge swallow. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you now that I’ve finally found you.”

“I regret nothing except Leroy’s death,” Sean said. “If I hadn’t seen the Russian with Leroy that night, I wouldn’t be with you now. The rest I can deal with so long as you don’t send me away.”

“As if I could. You’re my life now. f**k all of the rest of it. The only important thing is you.”

Armand turned to Martin. “Double the guards around the house, we only have to endure this for twelve more days. It’s important that we don’t back down in fear now that the invitations were delivered, it would be like baring my neck to the council. That would only bring more trouble in the end. Right now I maintain tight control over the council and the packs. Should I let that control slip, the consequences for the loup-garou would be momentous.”

Martin moved from one leg to the other nervously. “Alpha, twelve days is a long time to maintain this high a level of security.”

“It’s not as if I don’t see your point. We will try not to leave the house. See what politician owes us a favor and pull strings to get the marriage license without us having to go out.”

“Alpha, there are reporters lined up along the curb,” Pierre said as he looked through the curtains.

“Like vultures circling a carcass. Turn on the television and see what they are saying.” He went over to the full bar and refilled his brandy snifter.

Martin, Rene, and the rest of the household followed Armand into the media room. “Come sit with me, baby.” Armand tuned the remote to the local NBC affiliate.

“Today outside Blanc Jewelers on Fifth Avenue and 16th a shot was fired, aimed at the CEO and Board Chairman of Garou Industries, Armand La Marche. There have been rumors of an engagement and one source told NBC that the couple sought to buy wedding rings for their planned nuptials in twelve days. Garou is one of the largest companies on the Fortune 500 and is privately held. When our reporter interviewed the jeweler, he wouldn’t comment on Mr. La Marche’s visit. When asked, the spokesman for Garou Industries, Edward Keller, had no comment.”

“The news was bound to leak out, Alpha. With Meg placing calls for caterers and the engraved invitations, there had to be someone who would sell the story.” Pierre looked grim. “The attack and the news story makes us more vulnerable. Now we’ll have news crews clamoring outside the house.”

“Do you have any ideas on how to handle this situation?” Rene asked. “Security is going to be a nightmare until we get back to pack lands.”

“Yeah, the paparazzi will be all over this, leaving us no way to check out who exactly is outside the house,” Martin said.

Sean spoke up. “We can release a statement to the press telling them that I was a witness to a murder. Everyone seems to know that anyway. This way they won’t get offended that we ask them to keep away for my protection. That and the news of the wedding should keep them from prying any further into our business. We could even offer an interview to NBC. ‘Gay CEO marries partner’. Then this whole thing moves to the society pages. If I witnessed the murder of a homeless man, it becomes less interesting.”

“That’s an excellent idea, baby. Call Edward and get it done, Martin. Set it up for tomorrow.”

“The only problem I can foresee is my father. They’re bound to find out about him. He’s a drunk and a bigot. Anything he would say could be both derogatory and inflammatory.”

“Work into the press release that Mr. Quinn met Mr. La March after being thrown out of his house by a bigoted father. That way we get a jump on him.” Armand decided. “Everyone, let’s call it a day. Baby, let’s get something to eat. Everyone else go home to your families. The hired muscle plus pack enforcers are enough protection for us tonight.”

“Alpha, I suggest we close the metal shutters and bring down the window bars on all of the floors of the house. The guards will take the front and rear doors. Murphy will place were police sharpshooters on the roof,” Rene said.

“Pierre, make sure we double up on all of the guards. Unless they have an invasion force, they won’t get past security. As I see it, we are only vulnerable when the reporter shows up and on the day of the wedding. After that we take the jet to Albuquerque and we are immediately in pack territory.” Martin looked at Rene. “Have we covered all of our bases, Alpha?”

“I believe we have. Baby, let’s go to the dining room and see what Meg has for dinner. You can’t afford missed meals.”

The Betas and the Enforcers left the house; the Betas to go home and the Enforcers to check the perimeter.

“So, Meg, what’s for dinner?”

* * * *

Armand watched as Sean ate the prime rib roast Meg prepared. She served it with a tossed salad, broccoli cheese soup, horseradish sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans almandine. For dessert, a German chocolate cake stood on the sideboard. She really wanted to bulk Sean up. Meg was concerned about the coming change.

“You’d better clean your plate or Meg will be upset,” Armand said as he kissed the top of Sean’s head. “She wants you to amass the calories you’ll need for the change.”

“When will that be?” Sean asked.

“Soon after we mate, your twenty-fifth birthday is what day?”

“I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours.” Sean teased as he mopped up the au jus with a piece of French baguette.

“Mine is the fourteenth of December. I know yours is in three weeks but I don’t know the date.”

“I was born on Halloween, October thirty-first. When mom was alive I used to have a combination Halloween birthday party. Actually, I love Halloween.” Sean smiled.

“Do you like chocolate?” Armand went over to the sideboard and cut a huge piece of cake. “Unlike dogs, chocolate doesn’t make us sick.”

“Of course I like chocolate!” Sean sat up almost drooling over the slice of cake. “Aren’t you having any?”

“Of course! What’s your favorite type of cake?” Armand slid a second piece onto his own plate.

“Chocolate cake with white chocolate frosting and white and milk chocolate curls. We had that for a friend’s wedding, Tony in Boston. I was planning on going to live with him and Nina, his wife, if I could make enough money for a ticket on the bus.”

“Would you like them at our wedding?” Armand smiled at Sean pleased to be able to grant his lover a boon.

“Isn’t it short notice? I mean; Tony would drop everything and come but they don’t have that kind of money.” Sean sighed.

“I’ll send the jet. Call them and see if they’re free.”