Louis didn’t know what had come over him. Henry had looked so alive while he was chasing rabbits and playing with Gabrielle and Giraud. Henry had yipped and howled along with the pack, communicating as effectively as he would have if he had been with them for years. Most of them responded, as well, welcoming him into their hunt. Pierre was the exception, but he wasn’t very responsive to anyone these days. The only one who was politely reserved was Daumier, and Louis would have to seek him out privately to reassure him. But in this moment, Louis reveled in the feel of Henry as he melted into his arms and their sudden kiss.

Louis felt Henry suck in a breath of surprise, but he didn’t pull away, which was a sign of encouragement to Louis. He didn’t want to push his luck. Louis pulled back and stroked his knuckles along Henry’s cheek, and Henry turned his face into his palm when Louis opened his hand, cupping his face.

“You are not an alpha,” Louis stated decisively. He expected Henry to argue with him, but he said nothing. In Louis’ opinion, this was as good a response. It confirmed his suspicions even if it didn’t tell him exactly what was going on with him. “I will take care of you, if you’ll let me,” Louis continued. Henry looked up into his eyes and opened his mouth, like he wanted to answer Louis, but the words didn’t come. He closed his mouth and looked away.

Louis took the sign and stepped back, giving him the space he needed. “I’ll let you rest. We’ll talk about this more later.” It wasn’t a question, but Louis still waited until Henry gave an almost imperceptible nod. Then Louis stepped back and allowed Henry to close the door. Louis leaned forward against it, pressing his forehead to the door and wishing Henry would let him in. He couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling he had to claim Henry in every way possible. Between the man and the beast within him, there was no way to tell which wanted more desperately to claim Henry as his own.

Louis sighed when he heard the light shuffling in the room and he sensed when Henry climbed into bed to get some much needed rest after his night out on the hunt, not to mention a week of being hunted. He turned away and strode down the hall to his own room, bypassing the bed when he entered, despite his fatigue. He sat at his computer playing around with some of his business tasks for a while. Louis kept it simple, returning emails and creating calendars for the coming months. He archived a few incident reports involving lost tourists and listened to his voice messages. Louis cooperated with local law enforcement and was typically the head of the search and rescue missions when hikers and tourists were reported lost or missing. Louis couldn’t take his mind off of the newest addition to the house. He knew he was gambling having Henry here, but there had to be some way he could secure a future for him here in Bangor.

Louis heard a knock on his bedroom door. Most of the house knew better than to disturb him in his room, so he nearly growled out in response. “Enter!”

Daumier stuck his head in the office and Louis sat back in his high backed leather chair folding his arms behind his head. Daumier rarely knocked, and even rarer did he approach so cautiously. He figured that he knew what Daumier had come to talk to him about, but he would let him be the one to bring it up.

“Louis.”

Louis smiled. No matter how much they might disagree about their house guest, Daumier was still his best friend. “Daumier, what can I do for you?”

“I wanted to talk to you about Henry.”

“Yes, I figured as much.”

“There was an email that went around. It appears the southern wolves are looking for their former Alpha, Henry Amiraut.”

“Is that so? I must have missed it. I get at least a hundred emails a day.”

“Uh-huh. Well, they are saying he is not what he seems to be. He deceived them by pretending to be an alpha, and pretending to be male.” Louis had to think about how to respond. Daumier said nothing more as he waited, and Louis finally spoke.

“Really? I can’t speak as to the nature of any man’s gender identity, because of course they know themselves best. I’ll never be one to judge that. I’ve faced my own adversity, as you well know. As for the deception, the southern wolves are known for their traditionalist views. I can understand a man not disclosing that facet of his life to them. But pretending to be Alpha? For that, I can barely blame them. He would have been torn apart.”

“Much like this Henry Dupuis who we pulled from the water? If I recall, he was pretty torn up.”

“Yes, the Quebec packs can be quite vicious.” Louis smiled as Daumier frowned. If Daumier was going to call him out, he needed to say the words.

“Louis, you are my best friend. Please do not insult my intelligence.”

“Ah, that is not my intention, my friend.”

“Is this Henry the same Henry that the Coastal Maine Wolves are hunting?”

Louis studied his friend carefully. “And if it is?”

“I would say we have a bit of trouble on our hands.”

“Yes, there would be trouble. But then you know how I feel about mistreated wolves.”

“And the leader of the pack who mistreated you? Have you not considered that?”

“Actually, I have. Neither one of us was on the border when that fight broke out. I didn’t order it. We don’t know for certain that Henry ordered it, either. It might just be that we have some hot-headed wolves on both sides who ended up in a quarrel, as so often happens.”

“Or it could be he set you up.”

“To what end?”

Daumier paused, thinking about this. “The territory issue, I suppose. Henry has proven that he will lie to those closest to him about who he really is. Perhaps it is his ambition to challenge you after you’ve taken him under your wing, and all he wants is to control the entire state.”

“Perhaps. But as I get to know him, I don’t think his ambitions run in that direction. There is something humble about Henry. I think Henry’s deception with the southern pack came out of necessity, otherwise he would have been honest about his true identity to begin with. There’s just something about him…” Louis let his arms drop and he rubbed his jaw. Daumier bit his lip, and Louis knew he had more to say about the subject.

“I, uh, I did a little digging when I got the email.” Daumier’s voice was soft, and he fell silent when Louis turned his still-yellowed eyes toward him.

“Even after I told you to let it be? That I would handle it?” Louis’ voice was equally as soft, but for a different reason. Daumier certainly pushed Louis’ orders sometimes, but he never outright defied them. That was Pierre’s territory.

“I was thinking about the safety and welfare of the pack, Louis.”

“Again, you are encroaching on my territory, Daumier. It is not like you.”

“Well, since I’ve dug myself in this far, I might as well tell you, as your friend, that when it comes to this man, I don’t think you are thinking clearly.”

Louis rose. He couldn’t help it. He could hear his pulse in his ears and he felt the rumble of the growl in his chest. Daumier held up his hands and remained seated.

“I’m not saying you can’t lead. You are Alpha. That is known. I merely think you are using that big heart of yours. It is what leads you to take in strays like Henry. It is a blessing and a curse.” Louis blinked and slowly sat back down. He could understand what Daumier was trying to tell him. Louis often took in strays, like Pierre, like Henry, because he felt for them so very much. He knew it was both a flaw and a quality of his character. Daumier wasn’t challenging that, he was merely speaking the truth of it.

“I do feel for mistreated wolves. Mistreated people too, if you recall.” Daumier had witnessed him step in on behalf of a group of humans before things had gotten out of hand between them and some campers one Fourth of July weekend. Louis aided both humans and wolves in his vocation, and refused to entertain discrimination in his duty to protect the people living in and visiting Maine.

“Do you want to know what I found or not?”

“You might as well tell me.” Louis sighed and leaned forward on the desk, balling his hands in a fist and resting his chin on them.

“Henry, born Henrietta Amiraut, was a member of the Portland Packs. She was a floater on the streets of Portland, bouncing from pack to pack. She then remained with one pack for several years on the outskirts of the city. This pack is comprised of the werewolves who were mostly immigrants to the city. Portland is known as a place where immigrants congregate. She challenged the Alpha after a couple of years in the pack and made a name for herself as one of the few female Alphas in the city. Then she conquered the inner neighborhood in the Old Port territory. They are more commonly known as The Old Port Werewolves. This gave her a distinctive advantage in the city, holding two territories and merging both packs into one.”

Daumier took a deep breath before continuing. “It also gave her a substantial monetary advantage as she gained the commerce of the majority of the tourism in Portland. Not only did she have a percentage of the income generated from the Old Port, she also had the revenue being brought in by the immigrants. The point is, Henrietta knew that the commerce from the Old Port was under werewolf control after a panel of werewolves formed the Old Port Association. She also gained the coveted bayside territory that came along with it. Henrietta could have conquered all of Portland at the rate she was going, but she didn’t. She left one night, mysteriously. From what the Portland Packs can conclude, she returned to her Amiraut family, but I have discovered that was a deception.”

“How so?” Louis was fascinated. Daumier seemed to be trying to dissuade Louis from helping Henry, but he was only cementing Louis’ belief that Henry was the kind of person who was worth fighting for. The amount of courage and determination it must have taken to go from the streets of Portland, to rise to the top of werewolf society, was almost inconceivable.

“The identity of Henry Amiraut was already set up, but it was not a name that was known before he began his practice as a specialist surgeon in the southern hospitals. He stuck mostly to the human hospitals, so that the werewolves wouldn’t discover him. There was confusion for a month or so, but then his reputation became well known within the medical community. From what I can deduce, Henry was taking classes for med school under his new identity, in addition to running the Portland Packs, before he left the city and ventured further south to take over the Coastal Maine pack.

“You can’t deny, Daumier, it was a pretty well thought out plan.”

“Yes, but the point is, during the confusion, Henry Amiraut appeared, and Henrietta was never seen or heard from again. Henry moved himself to the coast after a few months, once his reputation for his surgical skills became known amongst the humans and was solidified. Then he became one of the wealthiest men in all of southern Maine. He was welcomed with open arms and once again, Henrietta, or Henry rather, worked his way to the top and was named Alpha of the Coastal Maine Wolves.”

“It is a fascinating tale, is it not?” Louis sat back and smiled.

“Yes, it is truly a tale of wonder, but it still doesn’t solve the problem that the king’s kingdom has come crashing down around him, and now all those wolves she or he…”

“Henry identifies as a male, Daumier. Please respect that.”

“Yes, you’re right. But the point is, Henry has affected a lot of wolves, and not all of them are happy about being duped.”

“I still don’t see the problem with his story. I can understand working his way up to the top. Who doesn’t want a bigger piece of the pie, eh? I can understand how some would not like being kept out of the loop concerning his identity, but work and gender identity are two very different things. It was frankly none of those wolves’ business. Although it sounds like Henry was able to utilize his passion for helping people who identify with their inner selves in his work. I don’t see how anyone can judge Henry simply because he was assigned female at birth. That would be discrimination.”

“True, but it isn’t just about his sexual identity or vocation. It is about the pack life as well.”

“First off, it’s gender identity, not sexual identity. Those are two separate things. And although I don’t believe Henry is truly an alpha, he did lead his packs relatively well. The Portland Packs recovered from his departure. He seemed to have set them up well before he left. From what I understand, the two betas, Jake Garnier and Edward Lepape split the pack again, each taking half of the territory in Portland, and each taking half the profit from the tourist revenue. Neither pack suffers, so the problem is still the hatred and ignorance of the Coastal Maine Wolves.”

Daumier sighed and ran his hands through his dark curls. “I can understand how you spin this tale in such a positive way. You’ve always had a big heart.”

“I’m not spinning it, Daumier. I’m calling it exactly like it is. I just don’t think there is any good reason for the southern wolves to be able to get their claws into him any longer. Henry has had a difficult life as much as a cushioned one. Brings new meaning to the phrase, ‘root for the underdog.’”

Daumier smiled and let his own hands drop to his lap. “You don’t think he will try to conquer the north the way he did the southern packs, then? He could easily manipulate his way into the pack and challenge to get to the top, like I said.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“May I ask why? His track record leads me to believe otherwise.”

“Because of the reason he left Portland in the first place.”

Daumier looked surprised. “Why is that? How could you possibly know?”

“Well, it’s simple. Henry left Portland behind, as well as an identity that he was unable to associate with. Sure, he worked his way to the top of the Coastal Maine pack, but he already had a shoe in with that pack. His reputation preceded him, and the southern wolves are always in turmoil. They challenge one another over petty things like money and property. They are frivolous and vain, some of them. That is why they never have an Alpha for longer than a few years. Greed is their downfall. Around the time Henry Amiraut emerged in their society, the pack was once again being led by no one but the betas. That tenuous leadership wouldn’t last long. They needed a champion, someone who had conquered packs before. They needed someone to come in and take control. Who better than someone with ties to the notorious female conqueror of Portland? Henry passed himself off as Henrietta’s cousin. Henry slid into that position with relative ease. He was able to strip himself of his other identity--as Henrietta--and live in his own skin and learn to live in comfort and with acceptance. It wasn’t just the wolves who accepted him… he accepted himself. Henry finally had the money to find a doctor for the gender reassignment surgeries.”

“His aspirations were his downfall. That still doesn’t answer my question, though.”

“I’m getting there. Henry’s secret is out. That email outs him to all of Maine, not just his own pack. He can no longer hide his identity, and I think he will find, in time, that he doesn’t want to. That kind of a secret must have been eating away at his soul from the weight of it. But now he is free of its burden. Henry is not a stupid man. He created an emergency plan from the profits he made in Portland and in the medical industry, of that you can be sure.”

“Yes, his packages arrived. I put them outside his door.”

“Thank you. I don’t think Henry will go after his old pack, because he doesn’t need to. All he needs to do now is learn to accept the act of being accepted by our pack. We’re known for taking in wolves who are…different. With our protection, he can finally have what he has been searching for his entire life. A place to call home.”

“And if our pack doesn’t accept him? What if the other packs come after him here?”

“Ah my friend, that is where it gets a little tricky, but we have faced adversity before. I will figure out how to create peace from these broken pieces. You’ve seen me do it before.”

“And his Alpha status? He might challenge you based on that alone.”

“No, he won’t.”

“Why not?” Daumier was on the edge of his seat.

“Because Henry Amiraut is not an alpha.”

Daumier jerked in surprise. “No? What is he?”

“It took me a while to figure it out, but with all of the information you have given me, I now know for certain that he is... an omega.”