The Silver Guardian Bk. 02 Ch. 05

A short time later everyone moved into the formal dining room, beautifully appointed with large flying buttresses overhead and stained-glass windows portraying woodsy scenes and lit by floodlights from the outside. Several large crystal chandeliers also drew the eye above the very long table in the center of the room, that was filled with food and drink.

Adele led Dante and Lily to the end of the table and seated them on one long side to the immediate left of Alpha Camille, who commanded the head of the table. Adele seated herself on her sister's right, across from their Royal visitors. Astrid and Brynhild sat to Lily's left, while Hilde and Freydis sat to Adele's right. Once everyone was seated, servers began bustling about, serving everyone large quantities of food and drink. There was abundant seafood, lamb, beef, and all manner of side dishes, bread, cheeses and just about anything else imaginable... it was truly a feast of incredible proportions.

Dante reached for a fresh oyster on a half shell, which caught Camille's eye.

"Those are fresh from the territorial waters near here, and they are said to be very good for the libido, as well as being quite the delicacy," said Camille with a feral grin.

Lily overheard that, so she playfully reached over to add several more to Dante's plate as he laughed heartily.

"You knew from the beginning I would only get more and more demanding the further along my pregnancy advanced Dante, so I think this should help you to bear up under the heavy demands I'll be placing upon you tonight."

At that, Lily leaned over and gently bit Dante's earlobe before she not so covertly ran her tongue along his ear's rim, causing Dante to shiver. Camille and Adele grinned conspiratorially at Lily as the Hellhounds with only limited success, endeavored to maintain their professional decorum.

Adele observed, "If I had a mate like Dante, I would like to think that oysters would be a regular staple in his diet, and that he would rarely be seen outside of my bedroom, where he would likely be chained to my bed to satisfy my every whim."

Lily, along with the Hellhounds near her, all laughed loudly at that, which confused both Adele and Camille. Astrid decided to enlighten her to the glorious pitfalls that would surely await such an eventuality.

"Adele, while in theory that is your dream and every other woman's dream who might ever lay eyes upon our King, in reality you wouldn't survive it. We Hellhounds have been on the other side of enough walls to know that if you got your wish you'd soon be dead, although with a smile on your face larger than the Atlantic. Dante is such an impressive specimen that if you kept him chained to your bed and were then foolhardy enough to go anywhere near it, you'd be dead within a week. Though it would be one of the most pleasurable ways a woman could depart this plane, it is still not something I would recommend. A few weeks ago on the ranch of one of our allies, we were all witness to what must have been the most erotic song and dance routine performed by a male in history, and I am here to tell you that no woman but Queen Lily could long survive what the Silver King has to offer."

Dante, feeling like a prize bull put on display, was blushing bright crimson and giving a long sidelong look at his mate, silently pleading to be rescued. Lily caught this and smiled, patting his hand.

"It's all said in love Dante, and in the case of these other women, said in unrequited lust, hahahahaha."

Dante relaxed and smirked at the exchange.

"Fine, but for this you are going to be paying up later tonight... that I can promise you! You'd best be looking to your own Luna-given attributes if you wish to survive the night."

By this time the entire very long table had fallen silent to pay the repartee close attention as Lily leaned back and fanned herself with her hand dramatically.

"Oh, however will I endure this sick wolf's perverted attentions? May Luna have mercy on me."

Brynhild, feeling cheeky, piped up and raised her hand.

"My Queen, if it is too much for you, I will gladly step in and save you from such an horrific fate."

Lily and the entire table laughed loudly before she responded to Bryn.

"How kind of you Bryn, but to ensure peace in our kingdom, I think I shall just have to succumb myself to our King's dark desires."

Camille slyly opined, "Oh I think it will be a piece that you shall get tonight, but it will not be at all peaceful, but rather quite the commotion in our little kingdom of the Manor."

The rest of the dinner went very well, with everyone getting to know each other better, laughing and enjoying the company along with the bountiful feast and libations.

After dinner Camille and Adele escorted Lily and Dante and the Hellhounds to a parlor for a quieter end to the evening. Camille quite surprised Dante by leading him to a large cabinet humidor, and opening it, selected for herself a well-aged Montecristo No. 2 torpedo cigar from Havana and offering him anything he would like from her well stocked humidor. Dante's eyes lit up as he saw a box of four-year-old Cohiba Behike BHK 54 cigars and took one for himself. Adele had also wandered over and picked up a Romeo y Julieta Churchill, also from Havana. Since Canada had no Cuban embargo, the humidor was well stocked with Cuban cigars as well as many other pungent offerings from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Astrid and the Hellhounds were each offered a cigar and Astrid decided to partake, but the rest passed for the evening.

They all sat down in large overstuffed leather chairs positioned around a dark oak coffee table, where several beautiful ashtrays were positioned. Camille addressed Lily to ease any concerns she might have.

"We have a state-of-the-art air purification system in here, in addition to a downdraft system that will keep any second-hand smoke away from you without issue, so nothing can possibly discomfort you or harm the children in your womb. We would love your company this evening, but I was in the mood for a cigar after such a wonderful dinner, and it seems your mate has a taste for fine cigars as well."

Lily smiled graciously at Camille, "Yes you are correct, Dante greatly enjoys his cigars and was recently gifted with quite the humidor by our loyal Hellhounds, and has been stocking it, although I understand that is an ongoing process, and one he is still working on. Thank you for your concern on my behalf about the smoke. I'm glad to join you this evening, and also glad to know that you will all be able to enjoy this time, and in a way that doesn't place our children at risk."

Camille pulled out a small box and handed it to Dante, who took it and opened it up. Inside was a custom S.T. Dupont soft flame lighter made in solid gold with a carved wolf howling at the moon. It had inlaid Mother of Pearl set into it to depict the full moon.

"That is yours as a gift from one cigar lover to another, I had it custom made for just such an occasion as this, and I would be honored if you would accept it."

Dante gently ran his fingers over it and smiled, "Thank you so much Alpha Camille, I humbly accept, and will use it with pride and care. I'm greatly honored."

Camille smiled benignly and nodded her head. Dante had cut his cigar and was using his new lighter to toast the foot of it before finally lighting up and enjoying the tangy citrus, cream and cedar flavors of the fantastic cigar while the other smokers around him began to do the same with their own choice of cigars.

Camille relaxed, as did everyone else, with the smoke gently swirling around each smoker quickly being wafted away, leaving the room basically smoke free. Everyone just enjoyed the delicious and well aged tobacco for a time, and even those not smoking enjoyed the unobtrusive fragrances before Camille sat up and spoke to Dante and Lily, as well as the Hellhounds, since this next subject involved them as well.

"I hate to talk business, but this is a good time to do so, and I think there are a few issues we would do well to address together this evening."

Camille took a long draw on her cigar before blowing the smoke out of her nose and sighing.

"I think over the next several days we need to start running drills, and training together. I have no doubt that within the next forty-eight hours we will have the answers we are looking for, and I hope that you Dante, will agree to lead us in the assault that will be needed to excise this lesion from our race. To do so efficiently and with as little risk to ourselves as possible, we shall all need to be on the same page and able to act as one cohesive unit. Once we have the information we need, we can build a plan and hopefully execute it within a week at the most. We'll need to move quickly, to ensure that our information gathering isn't detected, and that our enemies won't have time to change their own plans whatever they are, before we can strike. It is critical that we do this quickly and with devastating force, do you agree?"

Dante took a deep pull on his cigar and the smoke filled his mouth before he started to blow it simultaneously out of his nose and mouth as he silently communicated with Lily and the Hellhounds.

"Absolutely, Camille. We recently performed a similar operation in Philadelphia with one of our allied Packs that proved very successful. I envision a similar operation here, though of course the execution will of course be unique to this specific operation. Training together as we prepare is a wise idea, and something we should begin tomorrow. There are things you and your Pack will need to know about how we fight, most particularly about a unique state I enter when I'm embroiled in combat, and precautions that you and yours will need to take so I won't harm you. We all look forward to partnering with you and your Pack."

Camille smiled, "Of course, we do as well."

They continued to discuss their upcoming plans, although for now needing to do so only in generalities while they waited for details to be uncovered. When they wrapped up, Camille addressed Dante and Lily.

"Even though we will train tomorrow, I have also secured tickets for tomorrow night to attend a live performance of Madama Butterfly at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, including tickets for your retinue as well. It should be a wonderful night, as well as a nice way to unwind after a day of physical exertion. I hope you will all enjoy it."

Lily smiled at that, "That sounds wonderful Camille, we haven't ever been to the opera, and it should be a great evening, thank you."

The evening wound down as the cigars burned down as well. When it was time to put their cigars down, Camille rang for one of her wolves, who went into a small storage room and came out with several small boxes before giving them to Dante.

Upon seeing what they were, Dante grinned broadly and looked at Camille. They were several boxes of Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and Partagas cigars.

"Thank you so much, Camille, I will be putting many of these away for quite some time to mature in my humidor when I return home. Thank you for such a generous gift, and I hope we can enjoy a few more evenings together like this one before we return home."

Camille smiled and nodded at Dante.

"You are very welcome Dante, I know you will enjoy them, and this is just a little help to stock your new humidor."

Everyone returned to their rooms and Dante and Lily stripped down and took a long and luxuriously hot shower together where Dante made good on his promise of giving pleasure to Lily, making love to her passionately in the hot jets of water and rising steam. By the end, Lily was exhausted but well sated, and Dante gently carried her to bed, where she passed out in her favorite spot on Dante for the night.

***

The next day was a busy one as immediately following breakfast, Dante, Lily and the Hellhounds joined Alpha Camille and Lead Beta Adele in a training area along with three dozen of their ablest Enforcers for practice.

The Alpha King and Queen first explained their unique fighting states and then demonstrated them.

After the amazing display of power Dante had exhibited and the amazing complementary capabilities Lily had shown, everyone felt very confident about the success of the upcoming fight.

Dante explained that with Lily being so heavily pregnant, she wouldn't be directly involved in the combat, but she would support them from a distance with her sniper's rifle, and would be near enough to the action that she could reach Dante quickly to bring him back from his War God state once the battle was over.

The day passed quickly and was very productive: they were already showing excellent coordination in their mutual efforts.

By late afternoon they had all wrapped up for the day, so all the principals had retired to their suites to get ready for an evening out on the town.

Dante was in a formal tuxedo with his hair pulled back, and was also wearing his bracelet and watch, while Lily was in a elegant and tasteful strapless long satin black dress with slits cut up the side to show off her legs and to accentuate her breasts and stomach swollen by her pregnancy. She also wore long satin black gloves that reached to her upper arms, along with her mating necklace and the bracelet Dante had given her. She completed her ensemble with strappy open-toed black heels. Her hair was down to frame her beautiful face and the smoky eye makeup she had chosen for the evening.

Dante took Lily's hand in his arm and led her to the front of the Manor where they met the four Hellhounds, who were all dressed beautifully in gowns of various cuts and colors, each of them looking exquisite. Dante and Lily told each of them how beautiful she looked.

Camille and Adele descended the stairs with four handsome men trailing them.

Lily noticed Astrid had closed her eyes and had taken a long and slow breath before her body went taut and her eyes flew open, blazing with fire. She was staring straight at one of the men.

Camille broke the moment that had remained unnoticed by everyone save Lily and Dante, who had caught the unexpected behavior of their lead bodyguard. Even the other Hellhounds seemed unaware.

"Ladies," Camille addressed the Hellhounds, "I wanted to arrange escorts for each of you this evening, so I have with me four wonderful wolves who have volunteered to join you for the evening. They wish to keep you company and show you a nice time during our excursion, so long as you are agreeable."

Dante and Lily had kept an eye on Astrid and noticed that her eyes had never that one man. The wolf in question was fairly tall, and built lean and strong like a gymnast, instead of a huge mountain of a man. He stood about six feet tall and had shoulder-length blond hair and ice blue eyes that returned Astrid's gaze with a huge smile adorning his face.

Camille introduced a man to each Hellhound until she got to Astrid, who was last. Before Camille could speak, the wolf gracefully stepped forward to lift Astrid's hand to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles before introducing himself.

"It is an honor and pleasure to meet such a lovely woman such as yourself Astrid, and to be allowed to escort you this evening. My name is William Bastien. I am Camille's cousin, and I look forward to a wonderful evening with you. Would you kindly allow me the honor of escorting you tonight and enjoying your company?"

Astrid's eyes were large, and she was momentarily speechless before Hilde gently nudged her and broke her out of her stupor.

"It is a pleasure to meet you William; it would be my pleasure to be escorted by you this evening, and I look forward to our night together."

Astrid had blushed and smiled at him, and William responded with a bright grin before taking her hand in his arm as everyone paired up and proceeded out the door to climb into the long limo waiting for them.

Dante and Lily had been communicating with each other through the bond.

What has gotten into our fearless Astrid tonight I wonder? Dante had sent to Lily.

Lily grinned at him before responding. I think our stoic chief bodyguard may be a bit smitten by her escort. Who knows, there may be even more to this story than meets the eye. Let's give her some space tonight, and we can catch up with her tomorrow and find out how her evening went. Except she said she was looking forward to a 'night' together with him. I wonder if that word choice was significant.

Dante gave a small nod, his eyes sparkling with humor at the situation.

***

Camille had reserved dinner for them at one of the finest restaurants in Montréal, Restaurant Toqué!, whose maître d'hôtel had immediately seated them in a private room and had quickly began serving drinks and pre-chosen appetizers to everyone. Camille had arranged for the party to enjoy the restaurant's famous seven course meal, the culinary experience of a lifetime.

The dinner was wonderful and wasn't rushed in the slightest, as everyone ate and drank and conversed throughout the leisurely meal. Dante and Lily, and by this point also Camille, noticed what special care William was bestowing upon Astrid, and how the two of them seemed lost in their own little world. Camille glanced at Dante and Lily and raised an eyebrow in question, at which Lily just smiled back at her and gave a small nod of her head. Camille smiled and returned to her dinner and other conversations.

When everyone was well satisfied that the dinner was concluded, Camille motioned the maître d' over so she could settle the payment, only to be declined. She spoke quietly to the man, who gave a small nod towards Dante and Lily, who then grinned at Camille. She smirked and shook her head at learning they had already taken care of that detail.

Everyone rose from their seats and headed out of the restaurant and to their waiting limo and on to the Performing Arts Centre. In the limo, Camille thanked them during the short drive over to the Centre.

The Performing Arts Centre was beautiful, and what is probably Puccini's most beloved opera had never been performed with such beauty and pathos. It was sung in its original Italian of course, so the supertitles displaying translations of the libretto into both French and English were invaluable to much of the audience, allowing them to experience the tragic story as well as the gorgeous late Romantic-era music. When the Geisha soprano Cio-Cio-San sang the heartbreaking Un bel dì vedremo at the heart of the opera, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

By the end of the performance the wolves couldn't help but notice how cozy William and Astrid were, she had wept openly in William's arms as Cio-Cio-San died, but they all tactfully kept their observations to themselves to let the couple remain in their own little world.

Everyone piled back into the limo and returned late that evening to the Manor where everyone returned to their rooms, though surprising absolutely no one, William and Astrid remained downstairs together.

Alone in their room, Dante and Lily spoke of the evening as they prepared for bed.

"That meal was just to die for wasn't it Dante? I've never been all that big on French cuisine, but that was simply fantastic! I wasn't sure if I would enjoy the opera or not since I've never been to one before, but I honestly had a lovely time and as you know, I cried as hard as Astrid did as that poor Geisha took her life. I wonder if opera and theater will end up being more of a regular thing for us as we grow into our birthrights as the Royalty of our kind. I'm trying not to draw too much of a parallel with other aristocracy, but I can't help but wonder, hehehe."