Page 19 of Virtually Guarded

After lunch, the Anax summoned only the arkhons and alphas back to the auditorium. The remaining guests, Ren included, would be free to wander the house and grounds. I hoped to be assigned to stay upstairs to monitor the guests, but Seth gave Davion that assignment instead and ordered me to the auditorium with him.

I couldn’t find Ren to let him know where I’d be. That bothered me more than I wanted to let on. If he needed me and couldn’t find me, he might correctly assume that I’d gone with the Anax, or he might believe I’d abandoned him. We had a bond, as mates, that would in theory allow me to speak directly into his mind and allow him to answer, but I didn’t want to use it. Not when he was still getting used to the rest of this life. I would just have to explain later why I’d vanished.

The meeting became heated quickly. Although all of the arkhons and alphas had pledged loyalty to the Anax, some were clearly on the side of the Pacific Region Arkhon and those who had followed him out of the gathering. One Alpha had the audacity to tell the Anax to his face that he was a failure. That led to more arguments and discussions of arkhons and alphas who had been ejected from their ranks or killed in the year since the Anax had taken over.

Somehow, the Anax faced all of it with a façade of calm, but standing near his podium, I felt his anger roiling beneath the surface. Only a few months earlier, such a display of disrespect would have had him fighting, threatening, destroying. But now he simply listened, holding back his temper and allowing even his opponents the chance to speak.

Which backfired massively on him when one of them, the Arkhon of the Southeast Region, stood and said, “Tobias Rogan, Anax of the United States, I challenge you for rank.”

The entire crowd held their breath. I started to move closer to the Anax, but in the aisle between the rows of alphas, Seth held up his hand. Wait.

Right. As the Anax’s guard, my job was to defend him, but I couldn’t defend him against a formally issued challenge for rank. The fight had to be his. Heart pounding, I waited to see what the Anax would do.

“Edward Cutler, Arkhon of the Southeast Region, I accept your challenge,” the Anax said slowly. “Where and when shall we fight?”

No! I wanted to shout, but I kept my mouth shut. A challenge, once issued, had to be answered. And once answered, if the challenge was accepted, the fight had to occur. We were at that stage. The Anax could have refused the challenge, but that would have appeared as weakness to everyone present. He’d done the only thing he could.

A lot went into arranging a challenge fight. Humans, if they believed in werewolves at all, might have assumed that we were wild, beastly, animalistic. That we fought and killed without caring. At one time in our history, the assumption had probably been true, but because of it, structure and ceremony had evolved. Rules. Laws. Ritual language, spoken with certain words in a very specific order. Humans in general couldn’t learn that we existed, and so centuries ago, werewolf rulers had begun constructing a framework for our world that would help keep us hidden.

Now, I tuned out most of the ceremonial exchange between the Anax and the Arkhon. It didn’t matter to me when and where they fought, or who would serve as the monitor of the fight. I would be present if allowed to be. If they chose to restrict who witnessed the fight, I would be inside waiting for word of the winner. We guards didn’t work for Tobias Rogan specifically; we worked for the Anax, whoever held the rank, which meant regardless of who won, we would still be the Anax’s guards.

Unless we chose to leave. Which I quite likely would. I couldn’t have said what it was about Edward Cutler that put my hackles up, but I wouldn’t be part of his rule if he should happen to defeat the Anax.

I kept my place until the Anax announced that only the other arkhons and the alphas of the Southeast Region would be present for the fight. Then he dismissed everyone, sending the other alphas to check in with their pack members and Edward and his alphas to prepare.

Once the room was otherwise empty, Seth and I hurried to the Anax. “Anax, are you sure this is wise?” The urgency in Seth’s tone surprised me. He rarely displayed any emotion.

“Wiser than refusing the challenge.” The Anax leaned against the podium. “Xavier, I need you with Kyle, please. He shouldn’t interfere. He knows better. But just in case.”

“Done, Anax.” I understood the responsibility he was assigning. Kyle had fought more than once to protect his mate. We couldn’t let him get involved in this fight. But if Tobias lost, Kyle would need support and assistance. “I’ll take him home if need be. I won’t be his guard anymore, but I’ll make sure he gets home.” If I had the choice. In the event that Edward won, I would have to do as he commanded, and it seemed unlikely that he would let me take care of Kyle.

I would do it anyway. Even if I faced consequences. But it would be easier if I didn’t have to. If Tobias won.

“Thank you.” He paused. “Go find him now, please. I’ve already told him what’s happening. I just want to make sure he’s staying safe.”

“Yes, Anax.” I ran back up the aisle.

I found Kyle upstairs in the front parlor with some of the Boston wolves. Ren was part of the group too. A small bright spot in the midst of the darkness.

“Where is he?” Kyle stood when I entered the room.

I assumed he meant the Anax. “Still in the auditorium. He sent me to wait with you.”

“To keep me from doing anything stupid, you mean.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to interfere. The challenge has been issued and accepted, and the fight must occur.” His voice took on a bitter note, and he scowled toward the window. “He has to win.”

“He will,” Ren said. All of us stared at him, and he blushed and looked down at the floor. “He’s strong, right? He wouldn’t have become Anax otherwise. He had to fight to get there. So he’ll fight this time.”

“Who challenged him?” asked Jamie Pasquale, a newer member of Boston North who had become friendly with the Anax. “Which Arkhon?”

“Southeast.” I didn’t want to speak the man’s name. He didn’t deserve that much respect. “From the reactions down there, I don’t think anyone expected it. No one seemed happy about it. The Anax has supporters.”

“Which doesn’t mean a damn thing if he… No.” Kyle inhaled through clenched teeth. “He has been through challenge fights before. He’s still here.”

“How can we help, Kyle?” Ren asked.

“You can’t.” He started toward the doorway. “I’m going up to Tobias’s and my room. I need…Just let me be, okay?”

“I have to go with you.” I didn’t want to crowd him, but I had my orders. “The Anax wanted me to—”