Chapter Nine #2
“In addition to avoiding fights and conflict, I will not tolerate any hatred toward those you consider different.” This wasn’t part of the usual speech about neutral ground, and I had to slow my words while I figured out how to phrase what needed to be said.
“You all know that I am gay. My mate, soon to be my husband, is male. Some of you disapprove. Your approval isn’t necessary.
Keep your opinions to yourselves. Whether someone is homosexual, transgender, whatever, you will not express hatred or prejudice here.
Likewise, you will show no bigotry or hatred toward those of different skin colors, ethnicities, religions, or any other factor.
I will eject anyone who behaves counter to this declaration.
My gathering, my home, is a safe place for all werewolves, and it will remain so. ”
My voice rose, thick with emotion, and I forced myself to shut up for a few seconds so I could pull myself together.
I’d faced homophobic bullshit most of my life.
Being born in 1965, I’d lived through the time when casual hatred of gay people was just part of the culture.
Jed Howe had forbidden me to talk to anyone other than the pack healer and Harok about how I was changed, lest anyone think I was weaker than most because I’d been raped by a man.
Things were changing in the werewolf world, but even more slowly than in the human world because so many of us were products of earlier times when homosexuality was either swept under the rug or outright condemned.
Ren’s experience showed that even those who might accept, or at least ignore, homosexuality still carried hatred for others.
Transgender people. I didn’t know how many, if any, other trans werewolves existed, but if there were any, they probably kept themselves well hidden.
Nonbinary people. I didn’t know any nonbinary werewolves either, but I did know the human nonbinary veterinarian who worked for Silas Creighton as his concierge doctor.
I hadn’t witnessed hatred among werewolves toward those of different races or ethnicities, but that was only because I was white. Not seeing it for myself did not mean it wasn’t happening, and I wanted to ensure it didn’t happen here.
I couldn’t erase hatred. I couldn’t even force people to hide it in general. But in my home, during this gathering, I could damn well make sure that everyone was treated with respect. That everyone was safe.
“If anyone speaks to you with hatred based on who you are or who you love, come to me,” I said. “Homophobia. Transphobia. Racism. Any of it. I want to know, because it will not be permitted here. My tolerance does not extend to accepting intolerance.”
Several hundred pairs of eyes stared at me, or at least toward me. No one made a sound. At the back of the room, standing beside Mandeep, Ren nodded, looking grateful. I nodded back.
“If you accept that this is neutral ground, that there will be no conflict or hateful actions toward others, speak now,” I said.
The thunder of voices that responded made my ears ache, but it was exactly what I needed to hear.
Of course some of these wolves were prejudiced asswipes, but who they were outside of this gathering was something I could deal with at a later date.
Right now, my goal was to protect Kyle. Ren.
Mandeep. Even Zane, who was Native American.
Anyone who wasn’t white, straight, cisgender.
“Thank you,” I said when the noise died down.
“You are now all bound by your agreement. Any violations of this edict will be dealt with. I will now proceed with introducing the alphas. When the introductions are complete, we’ll break for lunch, and then this afternoon we’ll proceed with the closed meeting as previously announced. ”
I scanned the alphas, looking for the man I needed to start with.
As with the arkhons, these introductions would go, as much as possible, from north to south and east to west, but with somewhere around three hundred alphas to introduce even without the ones who’d taken off with Davis, I obviously wasn’t going to be exact with geography.
Still, the first one, at least, was easy enough. The northernmost pack in Maine, the easternmost state. “Jason Yeaton, Alpha of Aroostook Pack.”
Going through all of the packs took a ridiculous amount of time, particularly since each Alpha stood when I said his name and then I had to wait for him to sit before I could say the next one.
The crowd simply sat there, not speaking, until I said the name of the final Alpha, leader of one of the Hawaiian packs.
“Thank you all,” I said when that Alpha sat back down.
“We will take two hours for lunch. Again, if you have concerns or issues, speak to Mandeep or one of my guards, and they’ll pass it along to me.
If the concern is about prejudiced behavior, you may go to one of them or come directly to me.
” Which reminded me that I needed to check in with Enzo Pereira about his pack’s treatment of Ren.
“Enzo Pereira, Alpha of Connecticut Pack, please remain. Arkhons are dismissed. When all arkhons have left, alphas may leave, and then the rest of you.”
The arkhons stood and started filing out of the room. Zane gave me a questioning look, and I shook my head. Enzo was one of his wolves, but I didn’t see a need for Zane to delay his lunch to deal with this. I’ll fill you in later, old friend, I said. I’m following up on a pre-existing situation.
All right. Looking doubtful, he followed the rest of the arkhons out of the room.
When the alphas started leaving, Enzo came up onto the platform. “You wanted to speak to me, Anax?”
“Once the others are gone, yes.” Too many of them would overhear if I started talking to him before the room was empty. “I appreciate your patience, Alpha.”
“Of course.”
At the back of the room, Ren stared toward the podium.
Even from a distance, he looked like he was having trouble breathing.
I started to reassure him through the bond, but even though I’d spoken into his mind before, I wasn’t sure it would help him if he was already on the verge of panic.
Not wanting to freak him out, I reached out to Mandeep instead.
Take Ren upstairs. Tell him I’m just following up with the Connecticut Alpha, and there’s nothing to worry about.
I paused. Keep Ren with you, and stay away from anyone you recognize as being part of Connecticut Pack.
Yes, Anax. Mandeep turned to Ren and bent to say something close to Ren’s ear.
After a second or so, they joined the throng of attendees who were now trying to leave the room.
The departure of so many werewolves took a while, and I simply stayed at the podium, trying to monitor everyone for any signs of conflict or conspiracy.
Of course, watching everyone was impossible given how many of them there were, but it was part of my job to know what was going on.
Hezekiah had waited for people to come to him, and even then he’d often refused to deal with whatever issues they brought his way.
I refused to be like that. Naturally I didn’t know everything, but I tried to reach out to the arkhons regularly and the alphas as often as I could manage, and I had made my cell phone number available to every werewolf in the country.
Partly because Quinn, after seeing his packmates massacred, had had to search around the bodies to find his lover’s phone so he could call me.
Which begged a question that distracted me from the present, one I’d never considered until now.
How had Kinney, the Prairie Pack Beta who had also been Quinn’s lover, even had his phone?
According to Quinn, the six Prairie Pack members there that day, including the Alpha, were hunting.
They were in wolf form when they were attacked.
Wolves didn’t have pockets, yet Quinn had very definitely said he’d searched Kinney’s body for his phone.
There were some things I was probably better off not wondering about.
Giving my number to every werewolf in the country had backfired back in March when someone called to question my fitness as Anax.
I had never found out who. Truthfully, after being confronted by Jamie Pasquale on hunt night, I’d forgotten all about that phone call, even though I’d reached out to arkhons for their assistance in finding out who the caller had been. Yet another issue I’d neglected.
Hell, all the arkhons were here now, except Davis. Maybe I could follow up on that, too. Right now, though, it didn’t seem to matter as much. There would always be assholes and people questioning my fitness for the rank. I didn’t have to track them all down.
Finally the room was empty, and I turned to Enzo. “Thank you for waiting, Alpha. Have you had any success in finding out which of your pack members were responsible for the attack on Ren Torres?”
“I have, Anax.” He clenched his fists for a second.
“My Beta was among them, to my disgust. I ordered him into a consequence fight with the lowest-ranked member of the pack, the condition being that should that pack member get the upper hand through his own ability and not because Bertram gave up, Bertram would become lowest-ranked.”
“Wow,” I said before I could think. Consequence fights didn’t usually affect rank, though it was well within Enzo’s rights to make that the condition in this case. “Did he accept?”
“He did, and the fight occurred. Unfortunately, the lowest-ranked member did not gain the upper hand.” He shrugged.
“I’ve given my Peacekeeper permission to challenge Bertram once I return from this gathering.
I would truthfully prefer to eject Bertram from the pack entirely.
I have no room for anyone who would orchestrate a multi-person assault on someone solely because of who they are. ”