“Yes.” I hoped to hell it was different. I didn’t want to be anything like Hezekiah Wheelwright. That was what had kept me from integrating the Anax power for so long. “Beginning late this morning, our guests will start arriving. The arkhons—the regional leaders—have private planes, so most of them will fly directly here with any guests they’re bringing. The alphas and their guests who are coming from farther away will be flying commercial. I’m sending people to the nearby airports to pick up those who need rides. The alphas of the nearest packs will drive here with their guests. So it’s a little tough to predict when everyone will show up, but all of the guests will be here by tomorrow morning at the latest. That’s when our meetings start.”
“Meetings?” Dorney asked.
“Hard to explain and not necessary for your job.” I wasn’t inclined to give any more information than that. “For today and tonight, I just ask that you have food available. The dining room is set up for buffet-style eating, and that’s pretty much what we’ll be doing throughout the event. It’s too complicated to try to get five or six hundred werewolves to sit down for a meal together. Today and tonight, people will eat when they eat. Starting with breakfast tomorrow, there will be scheduled mealtimes. I ask that you keep the tables stocked with snacks throughout the day, since some of our guests need to eat more frequently than others. The day after tomorrow, once you have the buffet set for supper, the five of you will go to the guest house you’re staying in. You’ll be there until the following morning. It’s best that you plan to stay inside for that night.”
“Will we be in danger if we leave the house?” Solana asked.
I didn’t want to scare them, but I couldn’t lie. “You could be. None of my guests would intentionally harm any of you. Most will have better control, and it’s against our laws to attack a human while in wolf form. But on full moon night, intention doesn’t always have anything to do with it. The wolf side of us takes over. A lot of us were changed because we were in the wrong place at the wrong time on a full moon night. So please make sure you have whatever you need in the guest house. Turn on a movie or something. And no matter what you hear outside, don’t go out.”
“We won’t,” Chloe said firmly, looking at each of the others in turn. “That’s one of the requirements here. Follow directions, including not taking stupid chances on full moon night.”
I nodded. “Thank you. Back on the subject of food, you’ve noticed that there is a selection of vegan foods. Chloe will show you where those go in the buffet, and we have a sign to label them. My mate—my fiancé Kyle is vegan. Those foods are for him, since he won’t eat anything else. Most of the others will leave them alone, but just check occasionally to make sure there’s enough.”
“A vegan werewolf?” Olive said. “How does that work?”
“Pretty well for Kyle,” I said. “If you have any questions or concerns, talk to Chloe. She’ll come to me if need be. If you have a concernaboutChloe, you all met Mandeep when you had your interviews. Go to him. I’ll address issues as I’m able, but since this is my shindig, as Kyle puts it, I won’t be available very much. Are there any other questions?” I had a feeling there were, but I really wanted to just sit down and drink my coffee and set my brain for what lay ahead.
Fortunately, all of them mumbled some variation of “no.” I let out a relieved breath. “All right. A few of the guests might leave on full moon night once they’re able to shift back to human form. Most will leave the next morning, but breakfast will be necessary. Some guests will be staying for a couple of days longer, and a few will be arriving on Saturday afternoon. Kyle and I are getting married on Sunday, and Chloe will direct you on food for the wedding reception. After that, you’ll be free to go.” Once I did a final check-in to make sure none of them would go out into the world blabbing about werewolves.
“I’ll check in later today to make sure you have everything you need,” I continued. “Thank you all for being here and for the work you’re doing.” I paused. None of them said anything, just went back to their tasks.
I motioned for Chloe to follow me into the dining room. “Have you noticed any issues with Dorney?” I asked, keeping my voice down so the humans were less likely to hear.
She shook her head. “He’s a little bit of a jackass, to be frank, but mostly he’s been doing what he’s asked. Then again, other than his interview, I’ve really only been around him since last night when he got here, so I don’t know if this is his usual self.”
“Watch him for me, will you?” I hated bringing humans in on potential problems, but in this case, the problem was a human who was under the direct supervision of the one I was talking to. “Something felt off with those questions of his. Maybe it’s just stress and lack of caffeine on my part, but I’m concerned.”
“I saw it,” she said. “I’ll stick close.”
“Thanks.” I took the first sip of my blessedly still hot coffee. “I’m going to give Seth a heads-up too. If you see anything about Dorney that you think needs to be addressed, find one of the guards.”
“Got it.” She glanced over her shoulder. “We need this to go well.”
“Yes. We do.”
“I’ll stay on top of things.” She looked toward the kitchen again. “Which means I need to get back in there, if you’re all set, Anax?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Chloe rarely called me by title anymore, but I didn’t correct her. From now until Saturday when everyone except the invited wedding guests departed, I was the Anax, and I was going to have to get used to hearing it.
I had a brief period of silence, broken only by noises from the kitchen, which I greatly appreciated. Gradually, as the sun rose and the day truly started, Kyle, the guards, and our guests joined me in the dining room in time for Chloe to put breakfast on the table.
After that, the night guards went to their rooms and the day guards took up whatever roles Seth assigned them. Mandeep would be responsible for ensuring that all of the guests and their belongings were put in the proper places. Although it had taken forever, I’d spent time the previous week diagramming the bedrooms and assigning them in writing to make sure that any guests who had conflicts with one another were separated.
Over the next several hours, the ridiculously loud noise of plane engines occasionally filled the air as the rest of the arkhons arrived. For the most part, they would show up before the alphas, since the arkhons could come here directly and all of them wanted to appear dominant and in charge of the alphas under their rules. With Kyle by my side and Mandeep close behind us, I did the ceremonial greeting to every single one of them as they disembarked from their planes. Mandeep ferried some to the house by golf cart, along with everyone’s luggage since even the ones who didn’t mind walking were too important to carry their own bags.
By early afternoon, all twelve of the arkhons were on site along with their sparse handful of guests. Only four of the arkhons had mates. Four others, besides Zane, had chosen women from their territories to bring as companions, and a few had brought their guards and/or members of packs in their region just to keep them company. None of it was a problem; other than Zane surprising me with Lara, the arkhons had made their guest lists known to me at least a month earlier so my staff could plan accordingly.
All of them showed me the proper respect, but Davis Gray and Robert Greenlea, the Arkhon of the Midatlantic Region, gave me the impression that they were just performing deference. No surprise there, given Paul’s warning about Davis and the fact that Robert had never been one of my biggest fans, even when I was still just Alpha of Boston North and he barely knew me.
Davis was one of the last to arrive, with only Matt Hayakawa, Arkhon of the Hawaii Region, showing up after him. Once Mandeep had driven Matt away in the golf cart, I turned to Kyle. “Any insights?”
“Aside from the fact that you’re Anax-ing at me instead of being my mate?” He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “I know. You have to be the Anax right now, and you want me around because you value my input.”
“And because I love you.” Irritation tensed my muscles, and I took a deep breath. He wasn’t avoiding the question. He had a right to be irritated too; I was using him for his abilities to pick up things about others that I might miss.
And, if it came to it, his ability to tap into what he called a “universal well of werewolf knowledge.” Since the day he woke from his first change, he had somehow known things about werewolves and our world. Sometimes even things that those of us who had been werewolves for decades weren’t aware of. While I didn’t actually want to use Kyle as an info dispenser, during this gathering I might need him to be exactly that.
“Easy.” He squeezed my hand. “I know you love me. Even if you’re careful about showing it in front of some of these homophobic wank-masters. Davis being one ofthem. He looked completely disgusted when he got off the plane and saw me standing with you.”
