“A virtual haven for gay and trans and so forth werewolves,” Kyle said.
I stared at him as I felt my lips curving into a smile. “Fuck yes! For werewolves like us, though I wouldn’t be part of it.”
“Why?”
“It would be too intimidating for some of them to have the Anax involved. They wouldn’t feel like they could speak freely even if I told them otherwise.” I didn’t need a support group anyway. I had Kyle and my friends. I had people to talk to, even if they weren’t necessarily people like me. “But you could join.”
“The Anax’s mate might seem almost as intimidating as the Anax,” he pointed out. “They might be afraid I’d run back to you with info or something.”
“Maybe.” I tapped the table with one finger. “We can sort that out. But yeah. We know there are gay werewolves. Ren might not be the only trans one. We don’t know. But I do know, or at least strongly suspect, that there are a lot of werewolves hiding who they are and who they love out of fear of what their alphas or packmates might do to them.”
“A valid fear, given what happened to Ren.” Kyle scowled. “No one should have to go through shit like that, and no one should have to live in fear of being their true self.”
“Which is exactly the point.” I was starting to see myriad possibilities, and I loved them. This was something I could do that would truly benefit the werewolves I led, and the best part was that I wouldn’t have to be directly involved. It would be a gift to them, in a way. Something I created for them that they could use without reprisals and without having to twist themselves into subservient pretzels. “Shit. I wish I had paper to write this all down on.”
“Tobias.” Kyle chuckled. “You don’t have to plan it all right this second. I think there are a few more immediate things going on. Can I help? You have the afternoon meeting to deal with, but I don’t have anything to do during that time. Would it be all right with you if I started sketching out plans for a virtual…I don’t know. City with different neighborhoods? Something like that. A space for alphas in general and then one for just the newer alphas, separate ones for LGBTQ etcetera and other marginalized groups, maybe one for betas and one for peacekeepers, because those ranks get filled when a new alpha moves up, so maybe one each for all of them and then one each for the newer ones. Video ‘rooms’ and maybe text-based chat rooms too. And then I’ll see what else I come up with.”
“Yes.” The idea excited me. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? Like Kyle, I’d worked in tech, mostly self-employed. Even the oldest werewolves knew how to use things like video conferencing. We all used email and other aspects of technology. This virtual “city with neighborhoods” could have existed already, but no one had thought of it.
“Is it just going to be for U.S. werewolves?” Kyle took another bite of his pita and swallowed. “Do we want to open it internationally?”
“I need to think about that. Maybe at least to the Canadian werewolves.” Silas would love the idea, and maybe allowing Canadians to join would help continue repairing the relationship between the two countries. Silas and I had already done a lot of work to restore the countries’ connection, but there were still wolves on both sides of the border who had witnessed Hezekiah’s attempt to start a war and either doubted that there was no further threat or believed the war should have happened.
Kyle nodded. “I’ll shut myself in our room and start making some plans while you’re holding the afternoon meetings. Obviously I won’t put anything in motion without asking you.”
“Thanks.” I grinned. “Okay. Something good came out of this gathering, at least. Let’s finish eating, because I guarantee someone else is going to come looking for me any second now.”
I actually managed to finish most of my lunch, nodding at and greeting those who passed by and said hello, before anyone stopped for a conversation. Jason Yeaton surprised me by bringing two men to the table with him. “Anax, my apologies for interrupting your meal.”
“No worries, Alpha, and let’s keep this informal since it is lunchtime.” I stood and held out my hand to one of the other men. “I’m Tobias Rogan. Anax of the United States, but just callme Tobias for the moment.” I motioned to Kyle. “This is my mate, Kyle Slidell.”
Looking bemused, the man shook my hand. “Max Endicott. It’s an honor, Anax. Tobias. And Kyle.”
Everyone always stumbled over my name when I told them to use it instead of my title. It would have been funny if it didn’t make me so uncomfortable.
“It’s an honor to meet you too,” I said, which only made Max look more confused.
Kyle chuckled and quickly hid it with his napkin. “I’m glad to meet you.”
I turned to the other man, who shook my hand without hesitation. “Russ Kent. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“It’s good to meet you as well.” I gestured at the table. “Would you like to sit down?”
“Thank you, but not right now,” Jason said. “I’ve been telling these boys for nearly two years about the Alpha, then Arkhon, now Anax with a male mate. I brought them with me this trip specifically so they could meet you.”
“Ah.” Pretty sure I understood, I studied Max and Russ. “The two of you are together?”
Russ’s face lit up. “Not mates, but together, yes.” He took Max’s hand. “We met in Tosohatchee Pack down in Florida years ago. He ran away because we were too afraid of what would happen if anyone realized how we felt about each other. I left the pack because I didn’t want to be there without him and ended up in Aroostook.”
“I went to Colorado.” Max shrugged. “Didn’t work out there for a few reasons. So I ended up in Aroostook not knowing that was where Russ was. I thought he’d stayed in Florida.”
“Twenty-five years, we were apart,” Russ said. “And then we found each other again.”
My heart warmed. I was a fan of sappy love stories, especially when they were real. “That’s incredible. I’m happy that you found each other. And that your Alpha, it seems, supportsyou being together.”
“Love is love,” Jason said with his characteristic simplicity. “Don’t matter who all is involved as long as they’re of age and in agreement. Thank you for taking the time, Anax.”
“You have nothing to thank me for, old friend.” I beamed. “I’m very glad to know Max and Russ.” I glanced at Kyle, who, apparently knowing what I was thinking, nodded. “Listen, Max, Russ, before you leave to return to Aroostook territory, find me. I have something brewing I’d like to talk to the two of you about. I think you’d be able to help.”
