They avoided Brock entirely.
“Good afternoon,” Noah said as he stepped up to a podium at the front of the room. “There’s only one item on the agenda for today, and I’d apologize for bringing you all out for this single thing, but it’s an extremely important one, so I won’t.” He paused for a few chuckles, and moved his gaze from one side of the auditorium to the other. “It’s come to my attention that my wolves are being turned away from—or kicked out of—packs, all because of who their mate is. In my… not-so-humble opinion, that’s just plain wrong.” He paused again, but only silence filled the room.
“I am proposing a change to wolf law.” He looked down at the paper in front of him, then back at the group. “Calator Riley wrote the official, legal-sounding language you’ve got in the handout, and I’m not about to try to read it all.” The wolves laughed.
“Over the course of our history, we’ve recognized when commonly-held ideals needed to change. It took us more than ten years after the United States woke up and passed laws to say that everyone, regardless of skin color, was equal. That… still has a ways to go, but the laws were made. We changed our national wolf laws—eventually—as well.” Again, he glanced around the room, his eyes landing on a few particular alphas, including one in the front row with a sign on the table in front of him saying he was from the Cedar Ridge Pack in East Texas. Noah had told Luis and Miguel he’d heard more than a few racist remarks from their alpha when he thought Noah wasn’t close enough to hear.
“It took us more than twenty more years until we had our first female alpha. I remember well the uproar over that, though women had long proven they were as fierce and capable as men. And even then, it required another amendment to our laws. Many alphas at the time had insisted females didn’t belong in a position of authority.” He shook his head. “But the amendment passed and now we have several female alphas across the country.” He nodded toward the back where a female alpha sat, and smiled.
“It would seem like this—the question of who a mate is—would have been obvious, and yet… here we are.” Noah turned now and held a hand toward Miguel and Luis. “Here today is a destined pair who fled their home pack because they knew they wouldn’t be welcome as mates.” Noah’s face dropped into a mild scowl. “Not only that, they were turned away from not one, not two, but three separate packs. And were forced to leave another pack. A couple of those incidents weren’t necessarily because of the attitudes of the alphas in question, rather those alphas were just thinking about their pack as a whole, which is what we do. The rest will be dealt with.” Here, he looked over toward Brock, then back to the audience in general. “But these poor young men went through something they should never have had to deal with.
“Now. It seems to me, this should be common sense. We’re all wolves. None of us are better than any others. I don’t care if your human skin is black or white, if you’re male or female. I also don’t care if your mate is the same gender as you or different, and I’m rather upset to find out some of you do care.” He cleared his throat. “Therefore, I am proposing we make it law. In plain language: no pack can force a wolf to leave because of their sexual orientation. No pack can turn a wolf—and his or her mate—away because of the gender of that mate. You can read Riley’s official language for yourself, if you like, but that’s basically it. Now, I open it up to discussion.”
Of course, Alpha Brock stood up.
“I recognize the Angeles pack alpha from LA,” Noah said, though he didn’t sound happy about it. A few wolves snickered.
“I am opposed to this change.” He nearly growled it.
“Now, there’s a surprise,” Noah muttered, getting outright laughter this time.
Alpha Brock scowled. “It’s not natural. It’s not right.”
Noah raised his eyebrows. “A mating not only sanctioned by, but set up by our patron goddess, Diana—the one who created the wolves—isn’t natural or right? I’m just going to assume you’re not saying our patron goddess is wrong. So… could you elaborate?”
The scowl on Brock’s face got deeper. “Who are you to tell us who we should allow into the packs, anyway?” he asked, since he obviously couldn’t answer the question.
Noah tilted his head. “Last time I checked, I’m Alpha Prime, elected by this fine group of wolves.” He waved a hand at the wolves.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be, if you’re gonna encourage fags.”
The tightening of Noah’s lips was so minute, Luis would have missed it if his eyes hadn’t been glued to the alpha prime’s face. “I’d appreciate it if you keep that kind of language out of our formal discussions.” When Brock didn’t say anything, only scowled deeper, Noah continued. “If you believe I shouldn’t be alpha prime, there are steps you can take. Would you like to call for a vote of no confidence? Be my guest.” Noah leaned on the podium and looked around the room when there were a few grumblings. “Well?” he asked Brock, then turned to the rest of the room. “Anyone? Maybe a second, as well?”
Silence greeted this, even the former mumblings ending. He looked back at Brock.
“Seems you’re alone in that one. Now, how about we discuss the unfair treatment of a portion of our wolf population. Anyone else have an argument against it?”
Another wolf stood up.
“I recognize the Tonto alpha from Phoenix.”
“I agree with Alpha Brock—about the law. I don’t agree with this and think this is not something you should be ordering us to do.”
“Well, see, I’m not ordering. You—all of you—will have the opportunity to vote. If the alphas choose not to implement it, then that’s fine. Of course, I can veto that and pass it anyway. But then again, maybe there’ll be two-thirds of you who don’t want it and can override me.”
The Tonto alpha sat, looking more than a little unhappy. Luis guessed the alpha didn’t think two thirds of the wolves would be against the law. He didn’t know if that was true or not, but Luis didn’t have time to guess further because a wolf on the right side of the auditorium stood. He twisted around to look.
“I recognize the Seminole alpha from Orlando.”
“We have not turned a wolf away ourselves, ever. And we never would. However, we have taken in more than one couple that has been turned away from their original pack because of their orientation. We are behind this one hundred percent.” He paused and swallowed, then took a deep breath before continuing. “Especially in light of the loss of a mated pair from our pack in the Pulse shooting. They’d been kicked out of their home pack—” He glanced across the auditorium toward where the Phoenix and LA alphas sat. “—and came to us. They might just be alive today if they hadn’t been kicked out. It’s time this changes.”
Everyone sat in complete silence for a long moment when the Seminole alpha took his seat again.
Luis could barely breathe. He’d watched the news reports. He’d read the articles, read and reread all forty-nine names, and hadn’t realized two of them had been wolves. Mated wolves. He struggled to keep calm, but despite his best efforts, his throat closed and tears slid down his face anyway. Miguel squeezed Luis’s hand and kissed his temple.
Another wolf stood.
“I recognize the alpha from Forbes pack in Pittsburgh,” Noah said.
“First, our condolences to the Seminole pack. If we can help, please let us know.”
This was followed by a number of “Hear! Hear!” calls around the room.
“Second, we’d like to offer sanctuary—though I hope it won’t be needed any longer—to any wolves that don’t feel welcome in their home pack. Including the young couple from Los Angeles.”
Luis sat up and turned around, his eyes wide in surprise. The wolf two rows behind him had thick auburn hair and looked a lot like the alpha prime’s wife. He must be the prime’s son.
He nodded and smiled at Luis, who returned both. The man next to the alpha waved and smiled.
His mate? His male mate?
Noise erupted on the oth
er side of the auditorium. Luis turned to see Alpha Brock scowling at them and several of the wolves around Brock glaring as well.
The alpha from Forbes continued. “Third, we, of course, support the change.” With that, he sat back down.
The Seminole alpha stood up again. “We also offer them a place. You are welcome here.”
“Thank you, Alphas.” Noah waited for a moment, looking over the room. “Anyone else have anything to say?”
Luis was trying hard to keep from outright crying, but it wasn’t easy. They had two homes, if they wanted. Three, if they counted Denver.
“Then I’d like to call a vote. Calator?”
Luis tuned out the official language Riley used to call the vote. He didn’t understand much of it, and he was a little preoccupied with the screens that turned on behind Noah. To the right, a list of alphas filled one screen with a space next to each for their vote and to the left, another showed the total numbers as the alphas put in their votes on the panels at their seats. Luis kept his eyes glued to the screen on the right. The numbers ticked over, and Luis could barely believe what he was seeing as the Yes column grew. When the votes totaled 200—the current number of alphas in the country—and 180 showed under the Yes column, Luis was stunned. He kept looking from the running total to the screen that listed the names of the alphas and how they voted. It thrilled him to find Alpha Nate’s and Alpha Mike’s names under Yes and that those votes had gone in almost immediately. He met each of their eyes, and they smiled at him.
He turned back to his mate. “Miguel, does that really say one hundred and eighty yeses?”
Miguel nodded, smile splitting his face. “Yes, yes it does.” He kissed Luis right there, full on the lips. “I told you I had a good feeling about Denver.”
Luis grinned. “Yes, yes you did.”
Miguel was still trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened. He’d seen the vote for himself, but it was still hard to believe. It turned out some four separate packs had offered him and Luis a place, including the Santa Fe pack.
“It’s the excuse I needed to tell the old fogies in my pack to get over it.” Alpha Nate chuckled. “I understand if you don’t want to. There’s not a lot around there, even if you go down to Albuquerque. And I can’t promise the old fogies won’t be asses. But I want you to know you are welcome.”
Miguel swallowed. “Thank you, Alpha Nate. We’re not sure yet. We’ll let you know?” He phrased it like a question. He didn’t really think he and Luis would go, but he didn’t want to hurt the alpha’s feelings, either.
“Of course. Take care, boys.” Nate patted them both on the shoulder.
“I’d like you to meet a couple of people,” Noah said, joining them.
Miguel turned around to see the Forbes alpha and the man who’d been sitting next to him with the alpha prime. His nervousness must have shown, because the two men in front of him smiled, helping him relax.
“This is my son, Tanner, the alpha of Forbes pack, and his mate—and husband—Finley.” Noah waved to each.
“It’s good to meet you,” Alpha Tanner said, holding his hand out.
Miguel shook it, a little surprised. “Miguel. This is… my mate, Luis.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Alpha Tanner said, shaking Luis’s hand.
“Thank you.”
After Finley shook their hands, Noah said, “I might be a bit biased, but I think you’d like Forbes. Lots of gay and bi wolves, including a lot of younger folks.”
After a little bit of discussion, Miguel and Luis had decided on Forbes. The alpha and his mate had been so welcoming, and with the announcement in the meeting, it’d been easy to accept. They’d both liked the sound of the “younger folks.” And knowing there would be other same-sex couples meant they didn’t have to feel alone. Luis had still voiced a bit of worry over their Mexican heritage, but Miguel said he didn’t think that would be a problem. He’d insisted nothing Alpha Tanner or his mate Finley had said made him think that was even a remote problem.
Now, the four of them—Tanner, Finley, Miguel, and Luis—were in a huge blue Outlander on the way from the Pittsburgh International Airport to the Forbes pack lands.
Miguel loved the area. Trees were everywhere. Mountains rose higher than he’d expected, especially in downtown, though they weren’t the steep peaks he’d seen out west. And Pittsburgh downright stole Miguel’s breath. Shortly after leaving the city behind, it turned foresty again almost immediately, with trees so thick, Miguel wondered if wolves could even pass through in some places. By the time they got to the alpha’s house, Miguel knew they’d made the right decision.
As they pulled up in front of the beautiful, rustic house, Miguel saw another car sat parked in the open spot.
“There are a couple of pack members we’d like you to meet,” Finley explained as they got out of the car.
Miguel didn’t say anything, but he took Luis’s hand and squeezed it as anxiety spiked over their bond. They’d still been a little afraid of fully claiming, but they had strengthened their bond as much as they could.
He couldn’t focus much on the house. Rustic furniture mixed with technology left an impression, but that was about all. What caught Miguel’s attention was the very Latino-looking man sitting on one of the couches, next to another very non-Latino man. And they were… cuddling was the only word Miguel could think of.
The two on the couch stood as the group came into the main room, and the Latino man smiled at them. “Buenas tardes. Me llamo Ben y esto es mi pareja y esposo.”
The other man held his hand out. “Mucho gusto. Me llamo Eric.”
Miguel blinked for a moment. They’re introducing themselves to us in Spanish! “Uh, lo siento! Me llamo Miguel y esto es mi pareja, Luis.”
“Mucho gusto,” Ben said and shook their hands, as Eric did.
“Oh, for the non-bilinguals in the house, we were introd—”
“Yeah yeah, shut up.” Tanner said, snorting.
Eric grinned. “We try to speak mostly English in front of the alpha, since he’s lame and can only speak one language.”
To Miguel’s surprise, the alpha flipped Eric off. He laughed.
“Don’t worry. Tanner’s been my best friend all my life. He’s used to it from me.”
“I’d worry about you if you didn’t,” Tanner said, snickering.
Eric flipped the alpha off this time. “Anyway… we try to speak English around others, but we wanted to greet you and introduce ourselves in Spanish.”
“Thank you,” Miguel said, smiling at the effort to make them welcome.
“You are more than welcome to stay with us,” Tanner said, drawing their attention. “We have an extra bedroom, but we thought you might find yourselves more comfortable with Ben and Eric. Ben understands your background way better than we do. And they have lots of space.”
“Stay?” Miguel asked. “We thought we would find jobs, then get an apartment.”
Tanner nodded. “You can do that. And we can help with the job thing. But—”
“We do have the space.” Eric finished for him. “Lots of it. And we thought it might be easier for you to focus on school and saving and whatever else if you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Thank you,” Luis said softly, near tears if the jumble of emotion coming across their bond told Miguel anything.
He squeezed Luis’s hand. “Yes, thank you.” He looked at Luis, who nodded. “We’d… we would appreciate that.”
“Excellent,” Tanner said, resting a hand on Miguel’s shoulder and squeezing, then tilted his head toward the back of the house.
The others turned away, walking toward what looked like the kitchen, obviously to give Miguel and Luis privacy, and Miguel turned to Luis.
“You didn’t give up hope,” Luis said.
Miguel shook his head. “I knew we’d find a place. I couldn’t give up.”
“I’m so glad. Thank you, cariño.” Luis leaned in, and Miguel wrapped both ar
ms around him. “Te amo, Miguel.”
“Te amo. Siempre.”
“Always.”
Hope (Forbes Mates Book 5) Page 4
