Page 7 of Virtually Guarded

I said nothing, but my heart went out to Ren. I knew how it felt to have nowhere to go.

He briefly bowed his head. “I was staying at the shelter because I lost my housing when I came out as trans. It’s only been about six months. I’ve been trying to find work, but there’s…there’s a lot of hate out there. It’s hard to find work when you aren’t who your paperwork says you are, you know?”

“I don’t know, but I believe you.” The Anax closed his eyes.

A ball of rage and grief rose in me. How could people hate so much? And Ren spoke so calmly about it. He was used to hatred. That was where my rage came from. Knowing he had been so mistreated that he’d grown used to it.

The Anax had to let him stay. That was all there was to it. Ren needed to be someplace where people would undo the shit he’d been through. Where I could try to undo it.

“Okay.” Ren smoothed one of his eyebrows. “Anyway, so I was walking in the woods, and I heard growling. I started to run, and that’s the last thing I remember until a couple of days ago. I woke up in this…cage, I guess? Pen? It was fenced in with a roof. There were four or five people there. Mostly guys, one woman. I was a wolf. I didn’t know how that happened, but I was a wolf, and one of the guys told me it was time to come back to human. I didn’t know what he meant, so he started talking me through the shift.”

“And that’s how they found out you’re trans,” the Anax said.

He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, the ones who were there…They weren’t the ones who brought me there, I don’t think? The Alpha said they weren’t. So they hadn’t seen me before in human form. I don’t know. Everything got confusing. But the ones who saw me shift back to human, to this…They didn’t take it well.”

“They attacked you because you’re trans?” The Anax’s voice rose.

Despite my rage at those who had harmed my mate for something he couldn’t change, I managed to stay quiet. Which wasn’t easy as Ren continued speaking.

“It isn’t as if it’s the first time.” With a sigh, he looked down at his plate. His sadness was so heavy my eyes watered, and I wanted to gather him into a hug that I was pretty sure he wouldn’t accept. “It wasn’t all of them. The Alpha was there, and he said to just leave me alone until I felt better. He explained about werewolves. Told me about alphas and arkhons and the Anax. That’s how I knew who you were. I kind of sensed it, I guess? But I knew the title because the Alpha told me. He had the others bring me some food and water, and he sat with me for a while, but then he had to go deal with something else. As soon as he left, two of the others…Well, you saw.”

“Yes.” With a grim expression, the Anax studied my mate. “Who was it, Ren? Do you know names? Their pack?”

“Names, no.” He shivered. “The Alpha introduced himself as Alpha of Connecticut Pack.”

“I know him.” Of course he did. He was in charge of every werewolf in the United States. I wasn’t familiar with that pack, but I made a mental note of its name. “I’ll find out who assaulted you, Ren, and they will face consequences. There’s no justification for this.”

“I just want to let it rest.” Leaning back a little, he closed his eyes. “What’s the point of doing anything to them? It won’t change how they think. It might even make it worse. They’ll be angry that they’re getting punished for attacking something they think shouldn’t exist.”

The Anax sighed. “I won’t argue with you. I’m so sorry, Ren. When someone wakes up after their first shift, the pack is supposed to take care of them. Teach them. Support them. Not…” He waved in a generic direction. “This.”

“One of them told me the Anax would say they were doing the right thing.” He opened his eyes again. “They were wrong?”

“They were lying,” the Anax agreed.

“I see that.” Ren picked up a piece of cheese and nibbled it. “The Alpha said I’m a member of Connecticut Pack. I don’t want to be.”

“You don’t have to be.” The Anax stood. “Ren, what’s your last name? I need to know so I can cut your ties with Connecticut Pack.”

He blinked. “You can do that?”

I was surprised as well, but not at the revelation that the Anax could cut Ren’s bond to the pack. Of course it made sense that the Anax had that power. After all, he had declared me and the other guards he’d hired packless, severing our bonds with the packs we’d belonged to. There was no reason he couldn’t do the same for Ren. I was only surprised that he’d offered.

“I’m the Anax,” the Anax said. “I can do pretty much anything.”

Ren stared down at his plate, chewing his lower lip. The silence became uncomfortable, and then I realized the problem. Ren was transgender. Trans people often changed their names, but the change wasn’t always legal. Maybe he wasn’t sure which name to say.

Fortunately, the Anax also seemed to understand. “Tell me the name you want to be called.” He sat again and spoke softly. “We can make that your name. I just need to know what it is.”

“You can…?” Shaking his head, Ren chuckled faintly. “Yeah, you probably can. There’s a whole lot I don’t understand about this werewolf thing. My last name is Torres. It was the last name of a trans male character in a Canadian teen show that was on here in the U.S. too. I found it on streaming when I was like ten. Seeing that character helped me understand who I really am. His first name was Adam. I didn’t want that name, but I chose his last name. Ren’s after a some-number-of-great uncle who was allegedly a spy during World War Two. His name was Rene.” He looked up at me, then laughed. “Sorry. You didn’t need to know all that.”

Grief floated across the Anax’s features when Ren spoke his last name. I’d heard about Chal Torres, the former Alpha of City Pack and one of the Anax’s mentors and close friends. Chal had been murdered not quite two years ago, the victim of a shooting orchestrated by a rogue wolf at the regional Alpha gathering. Hearing that surname from Ren had to affect the Anax.

He pulled himself together quickly, though. “I told you to tell me whatever you’re comfortable with. So you’re Ren Torres?” His voice caught slightly.

Ren didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy staring at his hands, fear emanating from him like a mist. I desperately wished I could reassure him, calm him, but all I could do was be there. He nodded. “Yeah.”

The Anax rose, and Ren flinched. Fortunately, the Anax didn’t move away from his chair. He cleared his throat. “Ren Torres, self-named and so named. I declare that your true name, and I declare you a packless wolf under my direct rule unless or until such time as that placement is no longer appropriate for you.”