Page 101 of Feral Werewolves
“True,” said Noah, folding his arms over his chest. “This isn’t a crime against other wolves, baby, this is a crime against thevictims.”
Red gazed at the floor. “Look, Griff made it into thisthing. He took women away from the men here, and then he made these weird promises that they were all going to get mates someday, but that the way they were going to get them was to basically ruin everyone’s fun. No more free-for-all with the tithes at the gathering. No more free-for-all with the pool of women at the compound. No more taking the women of men who were ranked lower than you. Just less sex in general, basically. And he wondered why they were pissed off. So, when I said we’re getting rid of Griff, the first thing anyone said was, ‘We’re taking back the women.’ I couldn’t have argued against that. They wouldn’t have supported me otherwise. That was why they wanted to overthrow Griff.”
“I mean, we knew this,” said Paladin. “We all predicted this.”
“But if that’s not why you wanted to overthrow Griff,” I said, “then why?”
Red let out a noise. He gestured with his hands. Nothing came out of his mouth.
“Because,” said Paladin, “when Griff got a mate, it meant Griff was finally gone forever. I bet he stopped messing around with you, huh, Red?”
Red folded his arms over the back of his neck. “No, that’s not what it was about.”
“Shit,” said Griff.
“You were in love with Griff,” said Paladin.
“No,” said Red in a pained voice.
“Shit,” said Griff again. He got out of his chair and crossed the room to sit down next to Red. He touched the other man’s knee.
Red yanked his knee away. “No,” he said in a tight voice. “No, I didn’t feel that way, and I never made you feel—”
“Red, for fuck’s sake,” said Griff.
Red sighed. “It’s not like he’s saying.” He glared up at Paladin.
“I mean, I think it is,” said Paladin. “Griff and Red were friends who fucked sometimes, and we all know how that is out here, how that starts as one thing, how you tell yourselfit’s just because it’s convenient, just scratching an itch, and then you wonder, because it does create all these levels of intimacy. And especially in a place like this. If you two were the only real repeat sexual partners that you ever had and there was just a revolving door of women—”
“No, Red never was much interested in women,” said Griff.
“Right,” said Paladin. “So, Red has always been gay for you, and you always knew it, and youdidjust use him, because you never felt the same way. And the minute you got a mate, you cut him off and you expected himnotto be heartbroken? Are you a fucking idiot?”
“I was not heartbroken,” said Red. “Besides, I met Noah, and… I mean, there he was, and he was perfect.”
Noah scratched the back of his head. “But I’m not… I mean,amI perfect?”
“Yes,” said Red, pulling him back down onto his lap. “Yes.” He buried his face in Noah’s hair. “Yes, yes, yes.”
Griff shook his head. “I didn’t use him.”
“Once I fell for Noah, once I wasn’t blinded by whatever it was that I used to feel about you,” said Red, “I started seeing exactly how this relationship between us worked. Exactly how much of it was me giving and you taking. How much of it was about your gratification—”
“I let you fuck me,” said Griff. “So, how is that aboutmygratification?”
“Okay, yeah,” said Red. “Your precious, unpollutable asshole is supposed to purchase my undying loyalty, my fists, my support in any one of your endeavors, everything. And you never let me forget it either, how grateful I was supposed to fucking be—”
“If you felt that way,” said Griff, “why didn’t you say anything?”
Red just shook his head.
“You didn’t,” said Griff. “You just attacked Madge.” He pointed across the room at Madrigal, who was seated in a chair, looking bedraggled and tired. “And now, I guess I understand that was because you were jealous.”
Red looked up at him with a look of pure hatred.
“Okay,” said Paladin, stepping between them. “Enough.”
“So,” I said softly, “this was all a lover’s quarrel. That’s why this happened to me?”
