Chapter Two #2
He blinked. “You can do that?”
“I’m the Anax. I can do pretty much anything.” That wasn’t exactly true, but I hoped he would find it reassuring, at least.
It seemed like a pretty simple question. What’s your last name? Something even young children could answer. But Ren stared down at his plate, chewing his lower lip, and didn’t respond.
It took me a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to realize what the problem might be. Ren was probably the name he’d chosen for himself, not the one he’d been given at birth. Maybe he had also chosen a new last name when he embraced himself as a transgender man.
I could help with that, too. My friend Brianna, now mate of the City Pack Beta, had arrived in Boston with the first name Candace, a name that for her had held incredible pain and baggage due to abuse she’d suffered.
During the brief time she’d spent as one of the Boston North pack members under my rule as Alpha, she’d changed her name to one that didn’t hold those negative associations.
When she asked me to call her Brianna, I had declared it her true name, and whatever magic existed within and among werewolves had made it so.
I could do that for Ren, too, if he wanted. If he would let me.
If I could explain how it worked, which was never easy when it came to power and magic.
“Tell me the name you want to be called.” Lowering myself back to my chair so I wouldn’t unintentionally intimidate him, I spoke softly. “We can make that your name. I just need to know what it is.”
“You can…?” Shaking his head, he chuckled faintly.
“Yeah, you probably can. There’s a whole lot I don’t understand about this werewolf thing.
My last name is Torres. It was the last name of, I think, the first trans male character in a TV show.
It was a Canadian teen show that was on here in the U.S.
too, and I found it on streaming when I was like ten.
Seeing that character helped me understand who I really am.
His first name was Adam, and I didn’t want that name, but I chose his last name.
Ren’s after a some-number-of-great uncle who was allegedly a spy during World War Two.
His name was Rene.” He studied me, then laughed.
“Sorry. You didn’t need to know all that. ”
Torres. I stared at him, until he looked down in confusion.
As a newly-changed werewolf, only fifteen years old, I’d met Chal Torres, Alpha of City Pack in Boston.
Chal had advised me. Arranged for me, when I was still only seventeen, to challenge the Alpha of Boston North Pack when that Alpha’s senility made him a threat to his pack members.
And when I won that fight, Chal became my mentor and my chief supporter among all of the werewolf leaders in the country.
Not quite two years ago, Chal had died, ambushed by a human carrying a silver-loaded gun on hunt night during one of the regional gatherings.
Chal was my closest friend, and I still grieved him and hoped he would be proud of the leader I was becoming. Despite my shock at hearing his last name in this circumstance, knowing Chal as well as I had, I suspected he would be pleased to share that name with Ren.
I didn’t know what my facial expression was, but Ren looked worried.
I definitely didn’t want him thinking he’d done anything wrong by telling me so much.
I carefully composed my features into something I hoped would reassure him.
“I told you to tell me whatever you’re comfortable with. So you’re Ren Torres?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
I stood again. He flinched but relaxed when I stayed right in front of my chair.
For a brief moment, I paused, letting the words I needed come to me from wherever they came from.
Then I cleared my throat and said, “Ren Torres, self-named and so named. I declare that to be your true name, and I declare you a packless wolf under my direct rule unless or until such time as that placement is no longer appropriate for you.”
Power wrapped around us again, as it had when I gave him my word, but this felt different. This was a welcoming power, a current of acceptance and reshaping. Creating Ren as who he truly was.
His eyes widened, and he gasped. “Anax?”
“Call me Tobias.” The power came through me, not from me, and it was a little overwhelming even from my perspective.
I could only imagine how it felt to Ren.
I sat again. “You’ll stay here, if you want to, for the next couple of days.
There will be a lot of people arriving the day after tomorrow.
Did Enzo—the Alpha—tell you about the gathering? ”
He frowned. “No. What gathering?”
Great. Obviously he still had a lot to learn about being a werewolf. Maybe Kyle would help out, since he would have more free time than I would for the next few days.
“You know that arkhons are regional leaders, yes?” I said.
“Above alphas in the hierarchy, in charge of multiple packs.” Ren nodded, and I took a breath.
“Twice a year, each arkhon hosts a gathering of all the alphas in their region. So the alphas can kind of network with each other, and so any conflicts or issues can be smoothed over. Once a year, the Anax hosts all arkhons and all alphas in the country for a similar gathering.”
Until a few years earlier, the arkhons had met separately from the alphas.
Two years ago, for reasons he hadn’t explained, my predecessor, Hezekiah Wheelwright, had canceled the national gatherings entirely.
One year ago, he had summoned the arkhons and alphas at the same time.
I believed his senility had played a role in both decisions: He’d canceled the gatherings two years ago to hide his mental decline, and the previous year he had fallen too far into the depths to care.
This year, having seen that a gathering that included both arkhons and alphas could work and not having the bandwidth to sort out the logistics of hosting separate events, I’d opted to have a single gathering again. Which would mean several hundred werewolves descending on the hunt house property.
“Once they start arriving, I might need to find you a quieter place,” I said. “I have friends in the Boston packs. I used to be the Alpha of one of those packs. They always hunt here on full moon nights—Enzo explained full moon nights?” I hoped to hell he had.
To my relief, Ren nodded again. “When the moon is full, we have to shift whether we want to or not. And we hunt, but that doesn’t necessarily mean actual hunting. Some people—wolves—hunt for prey, and some just run.”
“That’s right. The gatherings always coincide with a full moon so that the last night before everyone goes home, we can all hunt together.
” I felt like I was info-dumping, but these were things Ren needed to know.
“The two Boston packs have hunted here together for decades. When I bought the property, I built a separate house for the members of those packs to use during the gathering, and you’re welcome to stay there.
I can arrange for you to hunt with them, too. ”
“I…” He touched his tongue to his upper lip. “I’m sorry, Anax. Tobias. It’s too much to decide right now. I don’t know them. I know there’ll be a lot of people here. I don’t have to stay.”
“No, you don’t, but you can.” I wasn’t sure what to say without sounding like I was commanding him.
“Ren, you’re under my direct rule, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to boss you around.
You have freedom. Choices. This is a place you can stay while you figure out next steps.
If you want to remain packless, you can live with me.
I have guards, household staff. We could find a place for you.
Or I can help you find a place to live that isn’t in a pack’s territory, and you can be on your own.
You don’t have to decide any of that right now, but I want you to know there are options. For the moment—”
Before I could finish my thought, Xavier hurried over to the window. “Anax, there are three wolves approaching from the southwest. I don’t recognize them.”
“No.” With a sharp inhale, Ren folded in on himself. “It’s them. I feel them.”
“Xavier, go out and greet our uninvited guests.” I stood again and held out a hand to Ren. “Come upstairs. I’ll put you in a room where they can’t get to you. You’re not a Connecticut Pack wolf. You’re one of mine, and you’re safe here.”
Looking unsure, Ren slowly extended his hand and let me help him to his feet. From outside, a loud growl filled the air. Ren shuddered and nearly fell back onto the sofa, but I steadied him with my hand under his elbow. “Let me bring you upstairs, and then I’ll take care of them.”
Trembling, Ren let me lead him out of the room and up the front staircase.
On the second floor, I led him into one of the smaller rooms, which had only one window that overlooked the front of the house.
Since the intruders were coming from the back, hopefully Ren wouldn’t see them if he decided to look out.
“Stay…” I stopped. “You don’t have to stay in here, Ren, but you’ll be safe here until Xavier or I come back to tell you they’re gone. All right?”
Hesitantly, he nodded. “Yes. Thank you. I mean it. You didn’t have to help me.”
“Yes, I did.” I tried to smile and failed miserably. “Wait here, if that’s okay. I’ll be back shortly.”
He sank onto the bed without answering. I left, closing the door behind me, and went back down to face those who dared invade the territory of the Anax.