“Love is weakness,” I muttered. Something that had been drilled into my head for years. Some werewolves had mates. Some had partners. I knew at least two who had both, by full consent of all involved. At the lower ranks, however people felt about their mates or partners was acceptable. Those in the three highest ranks of a pack, and of course arkhons and the Anax, were discouraged from loving, or at least admitting they loved, anyone they were involved with. Love was weakness, and a high-ranked werewolf had to appear strong.
Worse, love could be used against you. As Hezekiah had tried to do by imprisoning Kyle the day we arrived at last year’s national gathering. He’d claimed it was punishment for Kyle ending the life of the human who tried to shoot me, but I’d known better. He couldn’t go against me directly, so he’d tried to get to me through my mate.
“You don’t believe that,” he said.
“Of course not.” I’d bought into the no-love hype for years, until I met Kyle. Even before he was changed, when he first moved into the building opposite mine in the small three-building complex Boston North Pack called home, something had drawn me to him. I’d fought it at first, not willing to risk my rank and the respect of my pack over a silly crush on a human man. Not to mention that being attracted to a man terrified me more than a little given the circumstances of my change. But gradually, I’d realized Kyle belonged in my life.
Of course, after he was changed and I recognized him as my mate, I gave up resisting being with him. He was mine. Whatever had brought us together, we belonged in each other’s life, and I didn’t want to fight it anymore.
“Some of the others don’t know better, though.” He glanced toward the house. “Maybe they’re just jealous that they never found their mates.”
“I’m sure that’s it,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
He snorted. “Anyway, yeah, Davis took yourside last year against Hezekiah because Hezekiah literally told him to kill one of the Pacific Region alphas. You weren’t who Davis wanted in this rank, but you were better than the senile old dude. He isn’t on your side now, and he isn’t the only one. But I don’t know much more than that.”
“Thank you.” I put my arm around him and pulled him closer. Right then, I just needed a moment to feel the comfort of his body against mine before I had to get back to being in charge of everything.
A little later that afternoon, friends started to show up. First came Kirk McCoy, Alpha of Boston North, who had served as my Beta for my entire run as that pack’s Alpha and had always insisted that he didn’t want to rise higher than the Beta rank.
When I took over as Arkhon of the Northeast Region, Kirk had automatically become Boston North Alpha. Knowing he would refuse the rank, and that his resistance to holding it might cause problems, I’d performed a few machinations to enable Zane to challenge him and Kirk to cede rather than fighting. That was how Zane had ended up as Boston North Alpha for a few months.
After I became Anax and reinstated Zane as Northeast Region Arkhon, we’d convinced Kirk that he didn’t have a choice anymore. He was Boston North Alpha as soon as I removed Zane from that rank, and I couldn’t keep performing hierarchical gymnastics to bump Kirk back to Beta. Fortunately, he’d settled in as Alpha and was every bit as competent as I’d known he would be.
He greeted Kyle and me with a smile and a back-clap man hug for each of us after we got the ceremonial words out of the way. “Ready for your first national gathering as the guy in charge, Tobias?” he asked.
“About as ready as you are for your first gathering as Alpha.” As far as I knew, this was the first gathering Kirk had attended at all. When alphas left their territories, their betas typically stayed behind to run the pack. “How are you feeling about it, old friend?”
He shrugged. “It is what it is. I won’t be the only first-time Alpha here, so at least I’ll have some company.”
“True enough.” Several other packs had new alphas since the previous year’s gathering, and that didn’t take into account any that I was unaware of. If a Beta wanted to challenge an Alpha, they were expected to get permission from their region’s Arkhon to issue the challenge. Most of the time, the Anax was contacted when a pack gained a new Alpha, but informing me wasn’t required. Some of those I knew about in addition to Kirk, I’d directly installed in the rank. “I’ll introduce you to the others as they arrive.”
“That’s a good idea,” Kyle said. “Maybe you can have a support group meeting for new alphas or something.”
Kirk laughed. “Sure, because werewolves are all about getting help and support. Isn’t the absence of willingness to do that one of the reasons things get so bunged up sometimes?”
“Absolutely.” I turned to the guests he’d brought, who I’d included in the ceremonial greeting even though the greeting was usually only given to the highest-ranked werewolf of a group. This was my old pack. Of course I was going to greet them, especially Suzannah. Kirk’s mate, pack healer, and one of my best friends. I yanked her into a bear hug and took a moment to breathe. Suzannah was one of the most soothing people I knew. It was a gift she had, which made her well-suited to being a healer. “Suz, I’m really glad you’re here.”
“I wish I was.” She quirked her lips. “Please tell me this event is going to be calm. Unlike the last several.”
“I’ll do my best.” She knew as well as I did that I couldn’t make any promises. I didn’t blame her for the plea, though. She’d been with me at the regional gathering at which Chal Torres was killed, and she’d accompanied Zane to the previous year’s national gathering. She definitely didn’t need any further upheaval, and I desperately hoped there wouldn’t be any.
After my meeting with Zane and Paul, though, I questioned how peaceful this gathering would be.
Kyle hugged Suzannah as well. “Once we get through all ofthis, we have the wedding. At least that’s something to look forward to.”
“It definitely is,” Suzannah said. “And it’s about time.”
“It isn’t like legal marriage is required for mates,” I pointed out.
“No, but it is about time.” Kyle touched the titanium band he wore on his left hand. “You proposed. All the catering arrangements and shit are made. Too late to back out.”
“I have no intentions of backing out.” I rolled my eyes, and he grinned.
I turned to the other pack member Kirk had brought as his guest. Jamie Pasquale was here at my request, part of my efforts to make amends for how I’d treated him when we first met on March’s full moon night.
“Jamie, thank you for agreeing to accompany Kirk and Suzannah.” I extended my hand, and he shook it. “I’m glad you’re here. You’ll be in the room next to Kirk and Suzannah’s with Garrett Saucier of City Pack, if you’ve no objection.” Garrett was a Justice of the Peace in addition to being a City Pack member; he would be officiating the wedding.
He nodded. “I appreciate the invitation, Anax. Garrett and I have spoken a few times on hunt nights. I don’t have an issue sharing a room with him.”
