“Not all night, Henri. I want you. I want to make slow and easy love to you without worrying about Chernof or what The Alpha or the Mates will think of me. Chernof is gone and mostly forgotten. The other Russians are in the gulag paying for their sins along with Anatoly and Maxim. I’m glad they received a lighter sentence because they tried to help. I would have given them a suspended sentence.”
“You are too soft, pet. Anatoly and Maxim knew what they did and could have stopped it by going to The Alpha or the European Council at any time. They did not. Finally, their consciences kicked in, but only after you were tortured for three months and after countless humans and part humans died hideous deaths.”
Vitas sighed and tears misted his eyes. “You’re right. I only considered what was done to me. I didn’t consider what happened to the others before me.”
“All of the Russian Council who knew what was happening and their Betas deserved death. It is to The Alpha’s credit that he didn’t order such carnage. But the Russian Alphas are away for life, and the gods have made them human. Anatoly and Maxim got forty years in a loup garou prison and will remain loup garou but are denied Mates for many turns of the wheel.”
“Doesn’t that punish their Mates, too?”
“The gods spoke through The Alpha Mate. Anatoly and Maxim would have found their Mates for the first time this turn. But their Mates are now destined for someone else, and they will have to wait many turns of the wheel until new souls are born to Mate again. This was a just sentence. They participated in an action that would have denied us each other. I would have been harsher than The Alpha. Thank the gods I didn’t have to pass judgment. Let’s speak of lighter things.”
“Is Rene coming tonight? Richard said Frankie is coming late, he has work for his stepfather tonight.”
“Yes, Rene will be here. Let’s slip away upstairs for a while. There is a four-poster bed I wish to inspect with you.”
“Inspect?”
“Inspect every inch…” Henri winked at him, desire lighting up his eyes.
