I paused, looking out over the crowd again. A few of them seemed a little surprised that I was admitting I’d needed help as I worked through becoming the Anax. That I was showing that I wasn’t a hundred percent strong and powerful.
I’d spent too much of my first year in the rank fucking up and fighting against myself. Now that I was steadier, now that I knew how I wanted to run the country, I would have to take a few stereotypes and dump them on their ears. Make people think differently about strength and weakness. Maybe get them to be more accepting of each other.
That would take one small step at a time, and this was one of the first steps. “If any Arkhon is willing to act as a mentor to either the Arkhon of the Southeast Region or the Arkhon of the Pacific Region, please see me before lunch. I would prefer that you be someone whose region is near that of the Arkhon you’re willing to mentor, but that isn’t strictly necessary. Similarly, if any Alpha of the Southeast Region is willing to act as mentor to Bert Coyne, and if any alphas of the Pacific Region are willing to mentor Arthur Cohen and Solomon McMaster, please see me. Going forward, I intend to assign a specific mentor to each new Arkhon and Alpha as needed. I believe this will help our country as a whole and will ease the transition for regions and packs that find themselves under new leadership.”
There were blank stares. Wide eyes. And then some nods, and finally applause.
Good. I stood there basking in the approval of the crowd.They liked the idea. Hopefully that meant they would like the other ideas.
It didn’t really matter if they liked anything. I was the Anax. I made the laws. But having them agree with my decisions helped.
As it turned out, they were in favor of the virtual support groups, too. I let Kyle announce those, mostly so I could pay close attention to the audience. Not so much the arkhons and alphas, though I would have been surprised if there weren’t at least one or two among them who were LGBTQ+, but the other hundreds of werewolves sitting in front of me. Some looked disgusted when what Kyle had apparently decided to call the “Virtual Haven Pack” was announced, which didn’t surprise me in the least. Most wore neutral expressions. But among the faces, I saw a few shocked or excited expressions. I didn’t know most of the people’s names, but I tried to memorize what they looked like so I could speak with them privately later. Maybe.
Max and Russ were among the neutral expressions, sitting about halfway back in the rows of seats, but even from a distance I saw Russ take Max’s hand and took that as a positive reaction to the announcement. I wanted to speak to the two of them, too. Maybe I could convince them to help moderate the “virtual haven,” along with Ren, Trey Damone, Jamie Pasquale, and maybe Xavier.
That could be decided later. “Thank you all,” I said when the reactions and the applause for Kyle, who blushed a little before he sat back down, settled. “If you wish to be part of the virtual group for arkhons or the one for alphas, see me before you leave tomorrow or send me an email. Werewolves go high tech.”
Kyle snorted, and the people around him gave him strange looks.
“If you wish to be part of Virtual Haven, you are welcome to speak to me,” I went on. “You may email or even call me if you aren’t comfortable coming to me in person. If you don’t feel safe doing any of the above, stay tuned. Once the group is up and running, the moderators will send out information on how to join without giving yourself away to anyone aside from other members of the group. I am an openly gay man, as is my mate,but we fully understand that some people are unable or unwilling to be open. We want Virtual Haven, in particular, to be a place with no obstacles for those who truly belong there.”
A hand went up among the alphas. “Serge Volensky, Alpha of Thunder Basin Pack, you may speak.”
A ruddy, brown-haired man stood in the second row. “Anax, will arkhons or alphas be informed of those in their regions or packs who have joined this Virtual Haven?”
I studied him for a second, trying to assess whether he was asking because he wanted LGBTQ+ werewolves to be outed to their higher-ups or because he wanted to be completely certain the virtual group would be safe for its members. Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, I replied, “No, Alpha, they will not. The group’s membership will be unknown even to me. Although I am part of the community we intend Virtual Haven to serve, because of my rank and role, I am choosing not to join it so that members may feel free to speak without intimidation or concern for consequences. Only the members of Virtual Haven will know who the members are, and joining the group will include a pledge of privacy and confidentiality.”
I paused, surveying the alphas. “If you suspect that a member of your pack is homosexual, transgender, or anything else other than straight and cisgender, and they do not tell you, I invite you to consider what sort of environment you have created in your pack that leads people not to trust you with truths about themselves.”
A couple of alphas opened their mouths, and those sitting beside them shushed them. That was actually good. The ones who tried to speak were probably among those who couldn’t be trusted if they knew one of their pack members wasn’t straight or cis. More weeds to keep an eye on. And the ones who shushed them might actually be allies. It remained to be seen.
“That’s all for meetings,” I said. “That is, unless we encounter problems or conflicts during tonight’s hunt, in which case we will meet briefly in the morning before people depart. From now until six p.m., you are free to wander the house and the grounds, with the same restrictions as previously. Beginning at five,supper will be available to those who prefer to eat before the hunt. At six, everyone is expected to be on the first floor of the house. I will give the word to proceed outside to shift; once we are outside, you will be under the direct responsibility of the leader you accompanied to this gathering. Some of this information will be repeated before we shift tonight.” Some of the wolves sitting in front of me wouldn’t remember a thing I was saying because they were already under the influence of the moon.
“I will be in my office, which is immediately to the left of the front door of the house,” I went on. “I will not be alone. My mate, Kyle Slidell, is likely to be with me. One or more of the arkhons might be. And of course my guards Mandeep and Xavier will be there.” I paused. “If you have need to speak to me in full privacy, I’m afraid that won’t be possible, but I will ask all except Mandeep to leave. The office is soundproofed.”
No one said anything, but some of the attendees were fidgeting, and one was pounding the arm of her chair with a fist. Time to wrap this up before the crowd mutinied purely because they couldn’t sit still any longer.
“You may go,” I said. “Arkhons first, then alphas, then the rest of you.”
Everyone got to their feet. The exit from the auditorium was surprisingly orderly, but it was obvious that everyone wanted to get the hell out of there.
I didn’t blame them. So did I. Except now I had to go to my office and deal with whatever needed to be dealt with.
Chapter Fourteen
I tooktime to get some food and another cup of coffee before heading into my office with Kyle and Xavier. I’d asked Mandeep to find Ren, Jamie, Max, and Russ and bring them to the office. If we were going to get that virtual pack up and running, we needed people to run it.
Xavier scowled as he stood beside my desk. “Anax, with respect, may I ask a question?”
“Yes, speak freely.” Since he was usually the quietest of my guards, I figured whatever was on his mind had to be important.
“Ren is very new to being a werewolf.” He clasped his hands in front of him. With one forefinger, he tapped the back of the other hand. I wasn’t sure he knew he was doing it. “He hasn’t found his footing yet. He shouldn’t have responsibility for others yet. It might be too much for him.”
“Xavier.” I was a little irked, but he was only saying this because he cared about Ren. “With equal respect to you, that’s a choice for Ren to make. If he doesn’t feel that he can fill the role of moderator for this group Kyle’s putting together, I certainly won’t force him. I want to make the opportunity available to him and hear what he thinks about his own ability to handle it.”
“Yes, Anax.”
“Your opinion is valued too.” I perched on the edge of thedesk closest to him. “Is he your mate, Xavier? Or simply someone to whom you feel attracted? Either way, your wish to protect him is understood and supported.”
