Anax,he said again.
I gritted my teeth and took a slow breath. It wasn’t his fault if he didn’t know what I was saying. Some werewolves lost human language entirely when they were in wolf form. Ren at least had some words, though clearly not enough to grasp what I was trying to tell him.
“Shift back. Please.” I held up both hands. “No fear. You are safe.”
Again he whined and covered his eyes, but after a beat, his form shimmered. Slowly, much more slowly than I had shifted, the wolf in front of me reshaped himself into a human.
A human…woman?
No, that couldn’t be, and yet the human who eventually lay on their side in front of me had small breasts. Between his…her? I no longer knew what pronouns to use. Ren kept their legs tightly together, so I couldn’t see what lay between them.
“Hello,” I said softly as they looked up at me, eyes wide with sheer terror. Their injuries were even more noticeable now, large gashes on their belly, back, and legs as well as a deep puncture wound on the back of their left hand. “Ren. It’s all right. You’re safe, I promise you. I’m Tobias.” I’d said my name twice already, but I wanted to make sure Ren understood. “I’d like you to call me Tobias. Not Anax. You understand?”
“You’re…” Ren hitched in a breath. “They said I should be destroyed.”
“Who said?” I hesitated. I didn’t want to be offensive, but I had to understand who this person was. “Ren, your wolf form is male.”
“I’mmale.” Again Ren inhaled and flinched. “Fuck. Oh, Anax, I’m sorry.”
“For swearing? I suspect you’re in a lot of pain.” I studied him. “You’re…”
“Trans.” They spoke the word as if it was another curse. “I’m a transgender man.”
That made sense, though if anyone had asked before this, I wouldn’t have guessed that a transgender person’s wolf form would be their actual gender rather than matching their assigned sex at birth. It wasn’t as if there were a lot of transgender werewolves. “Got it. So he/him?”
He stared at me. “Yeah. Um, yes, Anax. He/him.”
“I think you didn’t hear me before,” I said in an even gentler tone. “I would like you to call me Tobias. That’s my name. I’m not speaking to you as your Anax right now. I’m speaking as someone who’s concerned. What happened to you, Ren?”
He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, then burst into tears. Helpless, because I didn’t dare to touch him without knowing what had been done to him, I just sat there.
Finally, my rational brain started to kick in. “Ren, listen to me. Can you hear me?”
He nodded and sniffled but didn’t sayanything.
I would take it. At least he was processing my words. “My guard Xavier is nearby. He is a good man and will not hurt you. I’m going to have him bring us both some clothes, and then we’ll go into my house. You’ll be safe in there. I can give you food and something to drink.” I would also contact Wilbur Gumendo, the concierge doctor I’d finally gotten around to hiring about a month earlier, to come assess Ren’s injuries, but I didn’t want to bring that up with Ren just yet. Getting him inside was the most important thing. It was a warm June day, but that didn’t mean I wanted to keep the guy lying out here on the ground.
“You…” Ren let out a sob. “You’ll help?”
“Of course.” I stood. “Is it okay if I have Xavier join us now?”
“I…” He looked down at himself. “He’s safe?”
“He won’t harm you. I give you my word as Anax of the United States.”
Something wrapped around us, a commitment that I now couldn’t break. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have staked such a simple promise to a stranger on my rank, but Ren wouldn’t have believed me otherwise.
His eyes widened again and he cleared his throat. “Anax?”
“Tobias,” I reminded him yet again. “Yes. You felt it. I can’t and won’t break my word. Can I contact Xavier?”
“Oh. Um, yes.” He curled in on himself. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I closed my eyes, not out of necessity but because Ren’s fear and discomfort was becoming increasingly difficult to witness and I needed a break.Xavier. I’m near the west corner of the property by the double pine. Bring two sets of clothing. I’m fine, but we have an injured wolf.
Yes, Anax.Xavier, characteristically, asked no questions. That was one of the things that made him a good guard.
Within minutes, he hurried to us. He stopped abruptly when he saw Ren, but again he said nothing, just held out the two shirts and two pairs of sweatpants he’d brought. The pants would be too big for Ren. They were loose on me, and Ren was smaller than I was. But they were something, at least.
