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The next morning, I awoke, early in the morning feeling much refreshed and energized, and at last I felt that my cat was finally content and relaxed. When I climbed down the stairs, dressed for the day I was surprised to find that Sergey was already up and had made some coffee and was working on breakfast. I grabbed a coffee and nodded to him indicating that I wanted to talk for a moment. "Sergey what is going on?

He looked a bit surprised before he looked down at his feet as he fidgeted trying to work up the nerve to tell me what was wrong. "Sir, not every pride member is a combat cat, some of us do other things. I am one such cat, but my father and mother are both Protectors and so is my older brother. To my parents, I am a blight on our family name and they wish I would disappear."

I growled softly, before I walked over and gave him a hug. "What about schooling? Surely you are an intelligent young man. You can prove your worth to the Pride through more than just the strength of your sword arm?"

"Sir when I stopped attending classes with the Protector Trainers my mom and dad stopped getting the mailed in school work for me. They said it was too much expense for somebody who'd spend the rest of his life serving meals and cleaning up after senior Pride members."

I growled as I hugged him tightly and closed my eyes. "Matriarch I'm with Sergey right now and he's told me that his parents have virtually disowned him."

"I wasn't aware of that Mark came her slightly startled response." I could sense a certain disappointment in Shanna, not directed at me but at those who'd abandoned Sergey to his fate.

"Sergey, how old are you?" I asked him gently as I got him to sit down.

He looked at the floor and the old, rather faded afghan rug. "I turned fifteen last month sir."

"Please Sergey I have a name, I would rather you use it, calling me sir all the time makes me feel, ancient."

"Mark, Olaf and I are going to come over to your house. This is an issue that needs to be sorted out sooner than later." I heard the Matriarch call out to me, and it didn't sound like she was a happy cat, though I suspected that her anger wasn't directed at me.

A short time later the front door opened and in walked both Shanna and Olaf. "Morning Matriarch, morning Guardian." Sergey called out and handing them each a hot cup of coffee before they sat down in the living room.

"Mark," Shanna began, "I am sure you are more than a little familiar with the last name Berekov."

I nodded grimly and I could feel my cat's simmering anger in the back of my mind. "Let's just say I have a rather bad impression of them on the whole."

Her mate nodded and continued for her, "Vladimir Berekov has three sons, one is an exile, who you have personal experience with, the second is a serious pain in our daughter's tail, and the third is standing here. Nobody will even consider having young Sergey working for them because of the trouble his family can cause them."

I nodded and looked at Sergey, who was getting a warm hug from the Matriarch. "Sir I don't know why but I don't think anybody should be judged by their last name."

Olaf's eyes widened slightly and he looked deep into my eyes, as if to gain some measure of understanding of me.

I returned the gaze coolly, trying to also gain a measure of the Guardian of Blackwater Pride.

"After a moment, he tilted his head back and laughed, "You boy, I like. You've got spirit and determination."

"Thank you, Guardian," I replied to him as Shanna stood up with Sergey at her side.

"Mark I've talked with Sergey and I think that you might be just the kind of person he needs in his life, he would like to stay here if that is okay with you."

I looked at the young cat who was still seated beside the Matriarch before I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Sergey I would be honoured to have you stay here with me, though you will find that I am not always going to do things how you are used to, but you are welcome to stay here."

He leapt up and I found myself engulfed in a hug by the young man. "Thank you, sir, you won't regret it."

I returned the hug and looked over at the Matriarch and noticed that she was smiling at me, her expression told me that she thought that this was a good thing.

"Mark you've only been here less than twenty-four hours and already you are starting to affect things. Sergey has been at loose ends as to what he can do since his parents left him at the Pride House two weeks ago,"

I bowed my head softly as I continued to hug the young man in my arms. After a few seconds, I realized that he was shaking in my arms and when I looked, that he was crying and I felt some tears in my own eyes. As I comforted him I quickly came to the realization that he was just a cub, what he desperately needed was a family. That was the moment when Katy came down the stairs and hugged my leg tightly.

"Papa!" She cried out wanting to be picked up.

What surprised me was Sergey, who bent over and picked her up. "Hi there, squirt," He said with a smile, though there were still tears on his cheek.

She reached out with a small hand and touched one gently. "You a sad kitty?"

He looked at me, and the look on his face told me that he didn't know how to handle what she was asking.

I smoothly reached over and took her from him and softly touched her cheek. "Katy his mommy and daddy don't like him because he isn't like them."

"Why Papa? He seems really nice, he smells like a nice kitty."

I gave a short laugh, "Katy not every person is like your mommy and daddy were, nor are they like me."

She cocked her head, trying to understand what I'd told her before she shrugged her shoulders and laid her head on my shoulder.

I smiled and then used my free arm to pull Sergey into a hug as well, "Sergey I may not be a conventional parent but I will do the best I can for you. The first thing that I am going to correct is the fact that they stopped bringing in lessons for you, I can't bear to think that a young cub like you not being properly educated.

"Thank you, Sir, I like the idea of learning, some of the lessons were boring but some of them were very interesting."

"That's good to hear, but you will still have to do the boring ones as well." I said nodding to my Pride leaders. "Now how about we all have breakfast, since you were working on that before I cam down the stairs."

"Yes of course," Sergey answered before returning to the kitchen to get back to making breakfast. The Pride Leaders sat side by side in one of the couches and Olaf gave a smile at me.

"You bring a positive energy to the Pride Mark, I can feel it in the Pride Bonds. We've struck a balance between the old guard of the pride, who are almost all over a century old, and the new wave, who as you might guess are all younger though there are a few exceptions."

"Now though you think I might tip that balance sir?" I asked. I didn't mind being a catalyst, as long as it was a positive thing.

He nodded and looked at his mate, "I know you don't know much about the history of our Pride but we are originally from the region around Port Arthur, after the Russo-Japanese war we moved closer to Vladivostok. We lived there until the Revolution, when our protections that we were granted by the government of the Czar were stripped away." I could see that he was recalling a dark time in history and I watched as his mate reached over and hugged him.

"This is hard for my mate Mark, that time in history was painful for us, we were lucky to escape, but the Pride suffered in that escape. It felt like we broke our oaths to our Pride since so many of them didn't survive to escape. When we settled here in 1920, our Pride was a shadow of what we'd been before the Revolution."

Olaf nodded, "In 1915 our Pride numbered just under four hundred cats, when the dust settled and we built our Pride House here, we had a quarter of that, the rest vanished into the shadow of the Soviet Union, including almost all of our family. We were lucky eighteen years ago, when we had Anna, otherwise I fear that Vladimir Berekov would have pushed us to relinquish control of the Pride to him and his... lackeys."

"I take it that you are still recovering even to this day?" I asked as gently as I could while Katy climbed into Olaf's lap and leaned back against his stomach.

For his part, Olaf smiled and gently embraced the pup, "Yes, our numbers are still weak to this day, we lost so many females in the trip over and those that survived were, by in large, older. That is why we don't have a healthy balance of cats of all ages. All of our older cats are all well over two centuries old, while our younger cats have come in the last seventy to eighty years."

"I take some of the younger cats have followed their conservative parents when it comes to adopting new ideas?" I asked as I smiled at Katy who was doing her level best to charm the socks off the Pride Leaders.

"Yes," Shanna admitted as she hugged Katy gently. "Families such as the Berekov's are influential on the Pride Council and they push to keep us observing the ancient traditions and customs of our kind, though in this modern age some of those no longer make any sense."

I nodded slowly, while I thought about what to do, I was in a Pride now, but this Pride wasn't completely unified behind its leadership. "From the hostility that Ivan and his cronies exhibited towards my friend Jack, and myself one thing they believe in is that a turned cat is less than a born cat?"

"Yes, and that wolves are lesser beings."

I growled at that statement, "I wouldn't be here if wolves, especially Jack and his patrol, hadn't been there to stop Mikel from killing me. Furthermore, I have contacts in several wolf packs and I can say that the contacts that I do have are, without exception, honourable individuals."

"Mark, we want you to use your contacts to help bring our Pride into the modern century. We can't continue to hide in the past." Olaf told me, "I will train you on how to be a better cat, and a stronger fighter, though from the feeling that you exude you already have achieved some measure of strength."

"I understand sir, but there is still much I have to learn and I am not yet strong enough to face that thing that made me."

He chuckled and stood before walking over and placing his hand on my shoulder, "Mark in time I can tell even without the ability to shift to Were I can easily see you defeating him."

"Thank you, sir." I said, standing to face him. He was about my height though I could see the centuries on his frame and eyes and that time had worn him down. "I hope that when the time comes you can assist your daughter as Honoured Elders."

"That is our desire Mark, though from what you told us last night, you will also be there to take my place."

I felt my cat purring in happiness at what Olaf had said but I knew that they didn't really look forwards to the idea that their daughter had a mate who was twice her age. "Sir, I don't know if we can avoid the bond next month when the moon rises."

"Yes, we are still trying to figure that part out, though unlike wolves we don't always gather in one place for a hunt or as they call it a howl, we can hear each other over a great distance and being together in one place generally results in a few fights."

I nodded, "Well that does make things a bit easier in that regards."

"Mark the issue is the day before the moon rises, that is when we hold our monthly Pride Council and I believe that not having you attend, not only as our newest adult member but also as an influential member of the Pride... would make your cat very displeased."

My cat quickly agreed with Shanna on that point, he'd take an request that he not attend as a grave insult. "Yes, my cat agrees on that point Shanna, in so much as he'd view it as a grave insult to our prestige and our influence."

"Breakfast is ready." I heard from door to the dining room and I laughed as it broke the mood, and stood up as Katy jumped from Shanna's lap and headed for the door.

"I think that pup is a bit hungry." I told my guests with a chuckle as a still slightly sleepy looking Jack came down the stairs. "Morning Jack, Sergey just finished making breakfast, so if you want something to eat I suggest that you get the lead out before it's all gone."

He turned to give me an evil eye and gave a soft growl. "If you eat all the food before I am there you'll have a bob-tail."

I growled back, though it was light and in no way conveyed any real meaning. "You'd have to beat me first pup." I told him with a chuckle, "Today I want you to take Katy and go pay a courtesy call to West Caledonia Pack."

Jack nodded before Olaf glanced over at me, "Mark how about you go with them, I have some investments with their financial manager and I could have you look them over."

"Sir as much as I'd like to claim that I am qualified, I'm little more than a talented amateur when it comes to most things. My education isn't what you'd call stellar as I wasn't a great student when I was a human."

"You will be rectifying that issue I hope?" Shanna asked me smoothly.

"Yes Matriarch, my cat feels that I need to make amends on that level and I need to have some level of competence in many fields."

Olaf nodded, "Regardless of whether you think you are qualified I would like you to look at his numbers, it will let us know what we can do to drag our Pride, kicking and screaming if it must be that way, into the modern era."

"I understand Guardian, I will also see if I can bring a copy, digital or otherwise with me so that you can see the numbers yourself."

"That would be a good thing Mark, if my computer could display them." Olaf mused with a shake of his head.

"I take it you machine is a bit out of date?" I asked him as I filled my plate with food and also made a smaller plate for Katy who was dodging around us adults happily.

"Just a bit Mark... It's an ancient Dell from before the turn of the Century." I groaned since I knew that in order to bring the Pride up to date I would have my work cut out for me. "That makes it more vital that I get into contact with one of my friends, he's an IT specialist, though he has much more than that on his plate now."

"Can he come out here? Is he Were qualified?"

"You could say that he is cleared on that issue, but he could never come out without a damned good reason."

"Why is that Mark? I mean we could try and make it worth his while."

I laughed roughly as I got Katy to sit at the table beside me. "The reason is because he has his own Pack to take care of. He is Adam and his Pack is Wild Valley, down south near the Alberta border."

Shanna nodded and nudged her mate, "But you can talk to him and see what you can arrange? I am sure that he has his own connections in terms of getting the needed equipment and people to start the process of upgrading to a modern system?"

"Yes, I can do that much Matriarch, though before I start spending money I need to be aware of what I have to work with, a rough budget." I told her as I sat down and began attacking my breakfast.

For half an hour, the only sound in the cozy dining room was the sound of six hungry Weres attacking their breakfast with gusto. It gave us all time to think and satisfy our inner cat, or in the case of Katy and Jack their wolves, need to consume food.

When we finished eating Olaf looked at me, "Can you come by the Pride House at nine, I'll get you your authorizations to act as an agent of the Pride then you can carry on. This afternoon, when you get back from your visit with the wolves I am going to see just how much those wolves have taught you."

"Looking forwards to it sir." I told him as he and Shanna put on their boots and jackets before leaving the house.

Sergey quickly, and efficiently began the process of cleaning up breakfast while Katy grabbed some toys from a tote in the living room and began turning the room into an obstacle course of toys. I went to the office annex and quickly typed out an email to Adam inquiring about network services and getting the Pride up to speed. I really wanted a chance to talk to him, probably over the phone, but until I had a rough idea of what I had to work with I didn't want to make any concrete plans.

A short while later I stepped out of my little corner of the house and almost tripped over a happily playing little pup, though my nose quickly informed me that I had work to do. Once that was dealt with and I had her dressed and ready for the day I told Jack to meet me in half an hour in front of the Pride House with the truck before I headed out the door to walk to the house.

The morning air was crisp and cold, and the snap of winter could easily be picked up in the chill, the only thing that was missing was snow, but I knew that in a few weeks that issue would be solved.

Within the hour, I found myself, once more behind the controls of my truck, though this time I had one more passenger as Sergey had almost insisted that he was going to come as well. "I want to see others Mark. My mom and dad hated other Weres, and humans, but I want to see them and learn about them."

"That's good to hear cub." I told him as I adjusted the stiff new collar around my neck. It was made of black leather with the image of a roaring tiger's head on it done in silver, on each side of the head were three silver stars though Olaf had been more than a little mysterious as to what they meant. In my right ear, which was still smarting from the needle, was a small earing which also had the same figure in it, also worked in silver. The collar also featured a stretch panel in the back for when I shifted so that it wouldn't choke me when my neck got larger.

When I got in both Sergey and Jack looked at the collar and both of them commented on the fact that it looked good on me, though I figured that Sergey knew what the insignia on the side meant but for the time being I was content to stay as I was, since Olaf had piled so much work on my shoulders at the same time I was prioritising. After my meeting with the finance geek over at West Caledonia I had to get back to the Pride and start to get to know my fellow cats.

I was happy that this time we didn't have to spend more than an hour in the vehicle before we pulled up to a security shack beside a rather pretty metal gate. The wolf that slouched out of the shack was looking a little bored but as soon as he saw me he reached into his shelter and hit a button causing the gate to lift up. "Go right on in sir, the Alpha is expecting you. Packhouse is up the road and to the left."

A couple of minutes later I drove up in front of a large low structure that looked a bit like a west cost Long House, though the carvings on the main poles were of wolves, though the style was definitely native. When I climbed out of the truck I was greeted by a man who reached six foot in height and almost epitomised the term, Viking. He had cool blue eyes and long blond hair that was caught up in thick braids.

I bowed my head slightly, "Alpha,"

He looked at me and smiled, "I've heard about your trip Mark, a lot of Alphas have been paying attention to you and your little family."

"Thank you, sir, it is finally good to be among cats like myself. It makes my cat feel so much more relaxed." I told him as I freed Katy from her seat. "My adopted daughter and especially my friend don't feel quite so at home among my kind. For Katy, it isn't quite a problem, but I fear that for Jack he doesn't deal with it so well."

"Ah yes, I can understand. The few times I've visited your Guardian and Matriarch my wolf has felt a bit on edge, I can only guess what it is like to be surrounded by cats all the time. No offense intended of course."

"I fully understand, only a few wolves are fully comfortable around us cats. I have the rare fortune to have an adopted daughter who is one of those few. Right now, she loves us were-cats, though I am not sure if that will stick around as she matures." I replied as Jack came around the truck and looked at the Alpha.

"Alpha Gustaf,"

"Hello young Jack." He stepped forwards and gently hugged Jack and I could see, even from where I was standing that Jack was relaxing in the Alpha's arms.

"Thank you, sir, I really do like my friend Mark, but I don't really feel comfortable with his Pride."

"That's understandable, you need to be able to live among wolves to really feel comfortable, perhaps it is time for you to return home."

"Alpha I feel somewhat responsible for my friend, though he's found his Pride now and is higher ranking than I will ever be, I still don't want to abandon him, at least not till this thing is finished. I was there when he was turned, and I want to be near when that... thing is finally served his long-awaited justice!"

Gustaf nodded with a smile, "But while you wait for that time to come you'd probably prefer to spend your time here at the Packhouse?"

"Yes Alpha," He responded before turning to me, and I smiled at Sergey who was already going to the back of the truck to open the back up.

I stepped forwards to hug Jack, "Both Sergey and I had an idea that this was going to happen, so we made sure your things were loaded into the truck Jack."

"You aren't disappointed Mark?"

"No Jack, in fact I would be far more disappointed if you didn't say anything and simple tried to keep on going at the Pride, against the wishes of your wolf." I told him with a smile. "We have to try and pay attention to our other side, otherwise what kind of were would we be?"

"Thank you, Mark," He replied back and hugged me once more before gently taking Katy from me. "Katy how about we go inside and see the other pups here?"

"Uh huh... pups like me!" She exclaimed wiggling in his arms till he let her down and she dashed inside as rapidly as her little legs could carry her.

"Now Mark I guess you have some business to attend to with Max eh? Just a warning, inside his office he is the boss, he knows his limits but inside that office he's in his element."

"I understand Alpha, I won't upset him, well at least I will try not to."

Half an hour later I walked out of the accountant's office with a clear understanding of where our pride sat, it wasn't as bad as I was lead to believe, but we weren't rich. The other thing I'd also come to realize was that although Max was an abrasive, harsh, and difficult wolf to get along with, he was also very, very good at what he did.

Once I got back to the Pride, minus Jack of course, I went to meet with the Matriarch regarding our options before I went out to do some training with the Guardian.

I staggered through the door to my house two hours later and groaned, which was enough to get Sergey to come to my side.

"Are you all right Mark?"

I nodded stiffly, "I have a lot to learn Sergey. Olaf has probably forgotten more about fighting with swords than a lot of people will ever learn." I groaned as I knelt down to remove my boots, my body felt like a single great big bruise. "I don't even think I managed to land a single hit on him, he's faster than I'd thought possible."

Sergey nodded as he helped me up the stairs to the bathroom where he'd drawn a steaming hot bath full of some kind of herbal solution. "This should help, I've been in this situation before myself, before I decided that I just didn't want to fight."

"Thanks Sergey, you're a good cub," I told him as I stripped down and slowly lowered my aching body into the steaming water. When I saw his eyes as I laid in the warm tub I could tell that he was tearing up a bit.

"Thank you, sir!" He stammered before dashing from the room.

I relaxed in the water and thought about how things were going. What today had shown me was that although I was strong in personality, I had much to learn in a lot of other aspects. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I was fit for a leadership role, it would just be a fair distance off. For now, I realized, I had to content myself with learning from the Guardian and his mate the Matriarch, if they believed I was worthy.

After my bath and a quiet dinner with just myself, Katy, and Sergey in the house I went to the office to check up on things there before heading to bed.

*****

Adam laughed when he saw the e-mail from Mark about the technology. He typed out a response.

I see you will have your work cut out for you! I had something similar to do here. I have attached the specs that I have made up to set up a secured WereNet. Along with it is a trusted supplier that you can contact for all supplies and gear. They can work with you on your budget to do the gear.

I am also including a copy of a presentation for some territory security, that we have done, with details on a contact to deal with it.

Below are the contacts within my pack you can do to get it all going. Get a few others to help. I have a bunch of pups that I have doing the basic work of setting everything up, with a couple adults supervising and supporting the systems. Have a Trainer, you're going to need it.

Alpha Adam

Wild Valley Pack

*****