Chapter 35
“We all see you now, little mouse.” Alexei leaned over and kissed him on the neck. Donal shivered.
“Yes, you will also need to get Donal’s social security card. Send Vasily with my Rene to go down to the Social Security Office with his birth certificate when we get it. I will have one of the loup garou who work at the New York office expedite getting him a new card. Do you know if your parents applied for one for you?” Armand ate a cream cake from the pile of French pastry that Katya brought to the table.
Donal cocked his head. “I think I had one when I came to New York. I know I had one in Albany, and I remember the number. I used to have a photographic memory.”
“That will come back when you take my seed, mouse.” Alexei finished his eggs.
“Since he knows the number it will make things easier. You only need to replace a lost card. After that we can get him a nondriver picture ID at motor vehicles. That only takes a day, but we have a Beta who works there and he will get it for us in an hour.” The social security card will take longer. Donal saw Armand smile. He thought Armand enjoyed the drama. “After that you have everything you need for the marriage license.”
“That means it’s going to take at least a week to straighten out Donal’s identity so you can get a Colorado marriage license.” Armand dabbed at his mouth with his napkin. “But in Colorado you can marry as soon as you obtain the license and it’s issued the day you apply. So you take one day to get the license in Denver, and you can get married on the ranch by one of the pack who is a justice of the peace in about one to two weeks’ time.”
“It’s the mating that’s important to the loup garou,” Sean observed. “The wedding and the reception are for the council.” Sean liked Katya’s cream cakes, Donal noted as Sean picked up his third of the morning.
“I think I’d like Etienne Daurensbourg to attend both the mating and the wedding. If it wasn’t for him bringing my plight to your attention, I wouldn’t be here now.” Alexei smiled at Armand and hugged Donal.
“There are only two other council members besides Etienne who have not, as yet, found a Mate. They will want to witness the mating because they hope your luck will rub off on them.” Armand put his cup up for more coffee. Boris served him.
Alexei laughed. “I never thought things would turn out so well in America.” His expression tightened and became serious. “Thank you, Armand, for conserving my funds, warehousing my household goods, but most of all for being my friend as well as my Alpha,” he added pushing his plate away.
Armand gave him a slight nod. “We were always friends, Alexei, even back in training with Etienne one hundred or more years ago. You should have had Vasily come to me immediately when the Russian First was slow to act. We would have negotiated a release right away. All they really wanted was money and to be rid of your influence and control over the nascent gay rights movement. If the Russian Alpha negotiated in good faith, you would have been out in a week. You still would have had to immigrate, but you wouldn’t have spent time in prison.”
“I know this, Armand, and it was my fault. I made no secret of the fact I didn’t like the way the Russian First ran the packs, keeping all the wealth from pack -owned properties for himself and the other members of the council and leaving the loup garou to eke out a meager living or starve. I especially disliked that he wasn’t fighting the government over the gay bashings. By not protesting, he put every Alpha and most of the Betas in harm’s way from the FSB and their cohorts. He probably told them to keep me so I would agree to emigrate as a political refugee and get out of his way.” Alexei’s expression turned reflective.
Armand slammed his coffee cup into the saucer. Donal watched the silver rattle against the plate. Armand’s face set in anger. “You knew, I suspected, but you knew. How much that must have tormented you. I would want to tear him limb from limb. If I had known this, I would have issued a challenge.”
Donal flinched. Armand’s rage for his friend was terrible to see.