Chapter 4
“Third floor to the right.”
Once they reached the master suite, Alexei took his Mate from Pierre and Grigory and placed him in the center of his bed. Boris quickly took down the bed curtains.
“I’m going to do a rapid detox with naltrexone. I will administer the naltrexone under anesthesia and it will look ugly for about three to six hours until the opiates leave his body. It is not as pain-free or safe as advertised. He will be bedridden for at least three days after the procedure and the procedure itself is very dangerous.”
“Is there another way?” Alexei frowned, anxious. He started to pace. The gods couldn’t mean for him to lose his Mate now that he finally found him. Am I being punished for my former arrogance?
“In this case, no, there isn’t another way to rid his body of the drugs. Soon he will be under the influence of the mating pheromones. He will need to eat almost constantly. He won’t eat with a heroin addiction. This way after the three days are up, Katya can feed him so he gains the weight he needs to be physically ready for the mating. He will have to see Dr. Coté to overcome the psychological addiction, or maybe Kane can help him with his gift. Kane’s gift is new; we don’t quite understand how it works yet.” Dr. Artis took the young man’s blood pressure.
“How do I find out who he is, where his people are?” Alexei asked, truly at a loss.
“Call The Alpha. Ask him to come. He will know what to do and who to call.”
His Betas and the Enforcers came to the door of the bedroom. Artis turned to Alexei. “Tell them to wait downstairs. Make sure all of your Enforcers are here at the house. The fact that he’s a prostitute might mean trouble with the Italians. The Alpha and the others will bring theirs with them,” Dr. Artis told him.
Grigory hesitated. His gaze went to Alexei as he waited for confirmation.
“Do as the doctor says. We are new here. We will need help to navigate the waters. Put the Enforcers in the great room. You and Vasily go and wait in the library.” Alexei turned his eyes to the bed once more effectively dismissing his Betas.
Alexei took his new phone out of his pocket. It was a low end. He was four years behind on Russian technology; for western technology, it might as well have been a decade. However, his Betas just finished teaching him how to use his new not-so-smart, smart phone with voice commands. He pushed a button on the screen.
“Call Armand.”
“Calling Armand La Marche,” the phone chirped back.
“La Marche residence, Rene DuBois speaking.”
“This is Alpha Davidoff I have urgent business with The Alpha.”
“I’ll see if he can be disturbed.” Alexei glanced up at the clock and cringed. It was only five forty-five. No wonder the Beta had to see if he was awake.
Alexei heard some rustling in the background. “Alpha Davidoff, how is your Mate?”
“He is about to undergo rapid detox, which Artis says is not safe but necessary in this case because of the pheromones.”
“I understand. What is it you need?”
“Alpha, Artis says you can tell me how to find out who he is. He is definitely a rent boy. In Russia, the street prostitutes are run in stables. He must belong to someone who will come looking for him when he doesn’t report back this morning. I need to negotiate for his release. I can have two hundred fifty thousand in cash and seven hundred fifty thousand in bearer bonds by eight this morning.”
“How old does he look?”
“Early twenties, I would say. It’s hard to tell. He’s emaciated.”
“He’s probably a liability to his handler, too old, and an addict to boot. I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, I’ll come over to you with the Mates and their Alphas. Sean’s Voice and Kane’s gift for healing mental trauma may be necessary to make this procedure a success.”
“Thank you, Alpha. Words are not enough—2rdquo; Alexei choked.
“I think your young man wanted to die or else he would have been on the street making money rather than in the park doing heroin. He must have been in despair to try and take his own life,” Armand said thoughtfully.
“He’s been badly beaten. It’s almost as if I were back in the gulag looking at a fellow inmate.” Alexei shivered.