Chapter Six Xavier #4
“My wolf is a guy,” Ren blurted. He cleared his throat as Jamie, Garrett, and Felicia stared at him. “I’m trans. You know that. Apparently being a werewolf is gender-affirming. My body is the factory-issued model. My wolf’s body is male.”
“Wow, really?” Felicia sounded intrigued. “So when you shift, you’ll be a male wolf.”
I looked down at Ren, whose eyes were wide. “Um, yeah.” He sounded surprised. “And when I shift back to human, I’ll be this.” He gestured at himself. “Um, it caused problems. With the pack that had me after I was changed?”
His voice broke, and I took over the explanation. “They assaulted him. Apparently they were transphobic.”
“Oh, fuck.” Jamie glanced around. “Who were they?”
“They’re gone,” I said quickly. “Their Alpha kicked a couple of them out of the pack. One of them was here earlier, but the Anax sent him away.”
“No one’s going to do anything to you tonight, Ren,” Garrett said quietly. “We’re all right here. Actually, let’s move over where the two of you were talking just now. No one’s likely to see you shifting there, and we’ll keep to ourselves as a group once the hunt starts. All right?”
The relief on Ren’s face nearly made my eyes water. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“Of course.” Garrett smiled. “You’re the Anax’s wolf, yeah? Which makes you a Boston wolf by extension, because that’s where he was Alpha for longer than I’ve been around. So you’re one of us.”
“And we don’t let anyone mess with our people.” Jamie grinned. “Let’s get to our spot before someone else decides to shift there.”
Assembling everyone on the back lawn took a while, and the agitation and aggravation level of the crowd was high. Standing in our little corner of the yard, partly hidden by saplings, Ren was shaking again as he clutched my hand tightly.
The Anax moved to the top of the back steps and held up his hands, and instantly everyone was quiet.
“Tonight, we hunt together,” the Anax said.
“I am your Anax. Your arkhons and your alphas are also in charge. But we hunt together, none better than any other. You are reminded of the boundaries of this property, marked with red flags. Going beyond them risks being seen by a human, and if that happens, we cannot help you.
You will hunt in groups of at least three. Any game you bring down will be shared with members of your group; you need not share with anyone else. Arkhons and alphas, you are reminded that you are responsible for those you brought with you, but they owe you nothing. If they hunt separately from you,
they need not share their prey with you.”
He paused. No one made a sound. No one moved.
“We hunt on neutral ground,” he said. I hoped to hell everyone obeyed that part.
If there were fights, I would have to choose between protecting him and protecting Ren.
“If you have conflict with another, speak to your alpha. If your conflict is with your alpha, go to your region’s Arkhon. I am the last resort if you are unable to resolve the situation through any other means. There will be no fighting here.
The only deaths will be those of the prey animals you hunt.”
He scanned the crowd. Some began to whine or yelp; their shifts were already taking them regardless of whether permission had been given.
Pressed against my side, Ren shuddered violently. “Xavier, I can’t…It’s happening.”
“It’s okay. Take off your clothes so you can shift. It’s all right.” If he shifted without the Anax’s word, there might be consequences. Ones I would take for him. Surely the Anax wouldn’t expect a brand-new wolf to be able to control his shift, but if he did, I wouldn’t let Ren pay the price.
Thank gods, the Anax spoke. “Shift and await word from me before you run.”
With a wail that bordered on a scream, Ren yanked off his shirt and shorts and dropped to the ground. Worried, I started to kneel beside him, but Jamie got there first. “I’ve got him. You have to monitor things until everyone shifts, right?”
“Yeah.” My wolf ranted against letting any other man support my mate through his first shift, but I didn’t have much choice. I was the Anax’s guard, and I had to do my job. Once everyone else had shifted, I could take my wolf form and help Ren.
By the time everyone other than the Anax, arkhons, and alphas had shifted, Ren lay wheezing, a disturbing rattle punctuating each breath.
Some werewolves took longer to shift than others, of course, but Ren was still only partway to his wolf form, and he was clearly struggling.
Beside him, Jamie, Garrett, and Felicia sat, now in their wolf forms, looking concerned.
I needed to let my wolf take over. It was time. Past time, as far as the wolf was concerned. But I couldn’t. Not until I saw my mate through his shift. He needed me.
I quickly undressed and placed my clothes and Ren’s under a bush, where they wouldn’t be disturbed until we came back. Dropping to my knees, I reached out my hand to Ren. He whined and flinched back.
“It’s okay.” I kept my voice low, as I’d heard the Anax do when helping others through tough shifts. “Ren, it’s me. It’s Xavier. I’m right here, like I promised. You can do this. You…”
I trailed off. He had some language in wolf form, but too many words, especially when he was in the middle of shifting, would only agitate him.
“I’m right here,” I said again.
He whimpered, but his form seemed to be making progress toward the wolf shape we needed him to take. Jamie backed up. Garrett did as well, but Felicia moved closer and lowered her head so her nose nearly touched Ren.
For whatever reason, even though Ren had seemed uneasy when others were close to him, Felicia’s presence seemed to help.
His shifting accelerated a little. I stayed where I was, my hand held out to him but not making contact with him, and I kept speaking in the same low voice.
Mostly repeating that I was there, because I didn’t know what else to say.
Or, rather, I knew too many other things to say.
For Ren’s sake, it was better to keep it simple.
Finally, he lay in his thin, light-colored wolf form. Every atom of me felt pulled to him. Magnetic. Electric. This wolf belonged to me and with me, and if anyone tried to cause problems for him tonight, they would answer to me.