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As we drove away from Wild Valley I felt much better than I had since my change. Not only did I have a good friend in Adam, but I knew that in the future he was an ally that I could trust at my back. I could also tell that whatever he'd said to Jack had made the young wolf feel better about himself.

Jack looked at me and smiled. "That Pack feels wonderful, I'd love to live in a place where they treat their wolves like Alpha Adam and Brook do. I mean it isn't home, but it would be nice to have a place like that as home."

"I know what you mean Jack, and yeah I know and understand what you mean. Now can you tell me what our next target is? I don't really want to stay stuck in the truck for too long. That Pack in near Kelowna looked good, and I want a good place to get some lunch and stretch our legs."

"Yeah looking it up," He replied working the controls on the device, "Yeah here it is, it is the Westbank Pack. Their Alpha is a Jerome and his mate is Paul... a cat."

"That sounds interesting." I said as I thought about it and then chuckled softly. "Now let's enjoy this drive and if you see anything interesting you can grab my camera and take a shot of it before we pass it."

"I can try, Adam taught me a lot about his hobby, though I am nowhere near the same league as him or you."

I gave a short laugh, "Adam is almost a professional at what he does with a camera, while I'm a definite amateur." Behind us I could feel how content Katy was for the moment as she played with tablet in a toughened case. "You doing okay back there, baby?"

"Yeth, Alpha Adam showed me new game!" She replied, speaking through her pacifier, though I could sense her concentration was on her game.

Five hours later we drove up to another gate and I smiled slightly as I leaned out of the truck and gave the guard wolf my details before he ushered us through towards the pack house. By this time, I knew that Katy could use a change and that all three of us were desiring to get out of the truck and stretch our legs. "Jack sometimes I wish your Alpha had given us something a bit more fuel efficient, this thing drinks gas like it's going out of style."

He laughed as he climbed from the vehicle, "Don't I know it Mark, but it suits you for some reason."

I nodded as I also climbed from the truck to meet the Alpha and his mate. "Hello Alpha, it is good to meet you," Though I was being polite to the Alpha I was more curious about his mate who stood beside him. The cat was a bit taller than his mate, and I could sense that he was also more than a little curious about me.

The Alpha nodded and laughed softly as he sensed our interest in each other. "Never met a were-cat before?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I mean, I know I am one but this is my first time encountering another one."

Paul nodded, "Well, I am Paul Light Feathers."

I was interested in his response but in that moment, I saw something that stunned me and I couldn't believe my eyes. Behind the Alphas I spotted a tall fair haired young man that I had known since he was a baby, though I hadn't seen him very often as he'd grown up.

"Alexander McEwan!" I shouted, to him and was gratified when the young man stopped and looked at me.

Both the Alphas looked at the young man in question and he seem to pull back a little, and retreat from his Alphas.

Paul turned and looked at me with an slightly surprised expression on his face, "You know him?"

I laughed with a smile, "Of course I know him! I've known him since he was six months old. He's my cousin's eldest child, though I wasn't aware that he was a wolf."

Paul gave a laugh and smiled. "He's born wolf, though his mother is human and she's aware of what we are."

"She lives in town, so that means he doesn't live here full-time." I stated as I walked up to the young man, finally sensing his wolf properly. "Alex it's been too long." I told him before he looked up at me.

"Cousin Mark," he replied hugging me warmly before patting me on the back. "You used to be shorter than me, but now it seems that you got a bit bigger."

"Yeah becoming a tiger definitely changed me, though I have to say that by and large, I am pleased with these changes." I told him before I turned back to Paul and grinned "Now I don't really want to stay too long, we just need to stretch our legs and get something to eat before we head north."

Jerome stood beside his mate and nodded, "I understand Mark, I know that you want to keep moving, the sooner you reach your own kind the better it will be for you and all of those involved. Leave us your keys and we will fill up your truck while you rest."

I nodded and handed them the keys, pointing to Jerome the ones that opened the canopy in the back before my cousin guided me inside, though I noted that his hand never strayed very far from the blade slung at his side. "I take it that you work with the Patrols to defend your pack Alex?"

"Yeah, that's what I feel best doing. I am not a small wolf and I feel that it is my place to protect those who need it." He told me as he guided me to the dining hall. "Even mom doesn't always understand me, but then again, she knows that I am different from her, she only comes up here infrequently since she isn't a member of the pack."

I nodded and collected some food for Katy and myself while watching Jack do the same thing before we all sat down to eat and enjoy our contact with fellow Were's.

Within two hours we were on the road once more, this time heading north, following a path of safe areas where I knew that there were packs that would help us stay safe. That evening we stayed at a Pack just outside Williams Lake and they were very accommodating, though my cat and I were starting to get tired of being on the road. I loved the fact that I was meeting and learning so much about Were's, but I needed time to process everything that was happening, and the driver's seat of a truck wasn't the best place to do that.

It was just before lunch the following day when I pulled up to yet another guard shack by a gate, this gate appeared to be just a rough wooden bar, though I knew there was more to it. The man who stepped from the shack was over six feet tall and he looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze before he softly stated, with a slight Russian accent, "You are expected sir, go on up to the Pride House, the Matriarch will meet you there."

"???????" I replied to him softly, before waiting for the bar to be swung out of the way. Inside I could feel my cat almost bouncing on his paws. The guard was a tiger and I could feel the fact that we were, at last, in a place where I would be welcome among my own kind. When we drove up in front of the Pride House I was impressed by the old wood and stone building, which showed many signs of imported Russian architecture mixed in with traditional western Canadian frontier architecture. Standing at the entrance was an imposing pair of people who looked to be in their mid to late sixties.

When I climbed from the vehicle the woman, who stood just a hair under six feet tall stepped forwards, and in thickly accented English said, "Welcome to Blackwater Pride Mark, we've been waiting for you since we heard from West Ridge Pack that you'd passed through their territory."

I bowed my head slightly, "Ma'am I can't tell you how good it feels to finally be among my own kind here, my cat also feels the same way about it too."

She gave a warm chuckle and stepped forwards giving me a warm hug and I could feel the strength of her cat. "Mark I am proud of the journey that you've made and the strength that you've displayed. I am only ashamed that Mikel has fallen so far as to break every single thing he was taught as a cub. There was a time when he would have fought to defend humans, but that was so long ago, back before the Reds came, when our people were still under the protection of the Czar."

I could only nod as she told me that before an adorable interruption looked up at her.

"Kitty lady?" Katy asked, though I could sense my little pup was a bit confused.

The Matriarch bent down and smiled gently picking the pup up, I had to contain a brief instinct to growl a warning before I reminded my cat that this was the Matriarch, the Pride Leader of Blackwater.

"She's an adorable pup, and judging by your reactions she's become yours."

"Yes Matriarch, she is. I am sad to say that Mikel was the responsible party in the deaths of her parents. I know that your contacts with the outside world aren't good, but he's recently been classified as a Class One Rogue, though my cat wants to take him down ourselves we know that we just aren't ready right now."

She nodded and gave Katy a gentle cuddle before handing her over to me. "Well my mate can help you learn what you need to know in order to beat that despicable waste of fur." She growled and I could sense that her cat was more than a little upset about what I'd told her about Mikel.

"We have a place that you can stay at, already prepared for you. Though the decor and furnishings are a bit dated. The last time anybody lived in that house was, about forty years ago, it was forfeited from him the day I exiled him and declared him rogue, though there are times I wish I could go back in time and kill him. We've kept it in decent shape and made sure it was clean and neat and recently updated a few of the necessities, now it is yours." She told me as she stepped back. "I'm sorry we aren't a rich Pride, we have resources, but haven't exploited them since we've tried to keep to ourselves for the past three decades, however my daughter has started to point out that we can't ignore the rest of the world forever and she is going to be the next Pride Matriarch, though she still needs time and training."

I nodded though in the back of my mind my cat was bouncing around and chuffing impatiently. "Our mate is here!" Was about all I could get from him and I hoped that she was a mature cat, but until I saw her I couldn't be sure of that.

From beside the Matriarch the Guardian stepped forwards and looked into my eyes. "Your words speak to your strength young cat and I can sense that you wouldn't be satisfied if you were on lone patrol or guarding a gatehouse."

I bowed my head to him, slightly, and replied. "I would like to assist you Guardian, my cat feels that is what we are best suited for, we are warriors and doing less wouldn't be the best use of our strength."

He laughed softly and smiled, "Good answer young man, but for that you will need training, and practice in all elements what a Pride Protector does."

"Yes sir." I answered as he gently gave Katy a pat on the head,

"She's an adorable child, I hope that she can fit in here."

"Only time will tell sir, I don't know how the other cubs will take it when a wolf joins their midst, though I am hoping that she can survive and thrive here."

He nodded, "That is right young cat, if what I sense of her is correct she will thrive here, her spirit is strong and resilient, and she has you to help her. I've met young cats that have less and have managed to achieve great things."

"Thank you, sir." I told him and smiled as Katy did her best to charm the old cat. "If somebody could guide me I'd like to park my vehicle and get settled, we've had a long trip and we could use the rest."

"Of course, after dinner could you come to our office and we can start to sort things out about your future."

I nodded in ascent as another cat came out of the Pride House and climbed onto a quad bike, "Follow me sir, we'll have you home in a jiffy." He said, without any trace of an accent. "Thank you" I told him before I started the truck and followed the bike to a good-sized house that appeared to be constructed, like the Pride House, of a mixture of local stone and wood. Beside the house was a relatively new looking garage with an open door, which I smoothly pulled the truck into.

The cat that had guided me to the house got off his bike and smiled, "I guess this is gonna be home for you and your cub."

I nodded, as I pulled Katy from her seat, though for the less than five-hundred-meter trip from the Pride House I'd not done up her harness. "I will have to take a look and see what I can do about it. I am not much into design and décor, if it does the job than why change it?" I declared as I stepped into the house.

While dated, the place exuded a homey feel, though I did notice that there weren't any personal relics that marked the house and anybody's home, though I knew that with time I would be able to change that.

"It is a nice enough house," The young cat commented. "Built before my time, but I do like it. Oh, before I mention it my name is Sergey... The Matriarch has assigned me to assist you in your transition to the Pride."

I turned to look the young man up and down and I had to admit he was a handsome and attractive young cat. "Thank you, Sergey, my name is Mark, and my cub is Katherine, though she goes by Katy and that," I indicated Jack, who was looking into the living area, "Is Jack."

Sergey nodded softly and walked over to introduce himself as I watched Katy walk around exploring the main floor. The main floor comprised, the living room, dining room, kitchen and an office annex as well as a half-bathroom and a staircase to both the basement and the upper floor. The upper floor had four bedrooms and a single shared bathroom, which given the age of the building, was to be expected. The basement was only partially finished with a laundry room and a pantry. What was surprising was that though the fixtures on the main floor were old, the power panel and washer and dryer were relatively new.

"How recently were these upgrades done?" I asked

"We had them installed within the last two months' sir, when we heard that Mikel," he made a spitting noise, "Had turned somebody the Matriarch had us upgrade the house in preparation. You'll find that this house is the only house, other than the Pride House, that has full network services."

"Why would she go that far?" I asked as I sat in the old overstuffed couch in the living area in front of the stone fireplace.

"Because what she's been wanting is more communications, with other Were groups, and the outside world." He told me, though I wasn't sure that he was telling me everything, though he probably didn't know everything since he was a low ranked cat.

"Well since we are here, let's get the truck unloaded and everything all set up."

Four hours later I walked towards the Pride House with Sergey, Jack, and Katy following me. Getting the truck unloaded and everything into place had taken far less time than I was used to, then again there were definite benefits to being a Were. When I'd set up my personal monster of a gaming PC I could almost sense Sergey drooling over it as he inspected it. "Good grief sir, this thing must have costed a fortune."

"Yes, it wasn't cheap, and it was a lot of work assembling it too." I replied as I got everything hooked up and put into place before firing it up and taking a few minutes to locate the connections I needed to use to ensure security. Once I had everything working I fired a pair of emails off to Adam and Oscar telling them that I'd arrived safely at Blackwater Pride.

"Now sir there are some people in the pride who don't like the idea of us welcoming a turned cat, and there are even those that say that if a cat can't speak proper Russian he shouldn't be allowed to join us."

I nodded and softly asked him about those few cats, though I didn't ask him in English, but instead used my cat's knowledge of Russian.

He looked shocked for a moment and then just as softly told me that I should refrain from speaking Russian for the time being, that it would keep those who could be classified as my enemies in the dark about my true capabilities.

I nodded as we entered the dining room and I was slightly surprised when my cat almost went into hysterics before I saw her... She was perhaps six feet tall, young, beautiful, with clear skin and bright blue eyes. Though she was tall I could also see that her slender muscular arms. Her legs, which were encased in a pair of comfortable looking blue jeans, were well muscled with barely an ounce of fat on them. She did have some on her body that gave her a wonderful figure that I found incredibly attractive.

"Sir..." I heard Sergey call before he managed to get me to follow him into a side-room. "Sir you were looking at Anna like you want her... badly."

"Who is she?" I growled out slowly.

"She's the Matriarch's daughter!" He said, and I could tell that he was a bit shaken by the experience.

I groaned and placed my face in my hands, "Damn! Just what I don't need now. My cat is going into hysterics in my head and from what I've read... but the daughter of the Matriarch... why couldn't have been somebody else?"

"I don't know sir but both the Matriarch and the Guardian are expecting you, though I do know that Anna is a bit young to go hunting for her mate."

"Sergey! Don't you understand? I am not too young, and now my cat is in hysterics cause beyond any shadow of doubt he knows that she's his mate."

His eyes widened and he gave a soft sigh shaking his head at the same time, "I can ask them to come to the house for you, though we need to eat and we don't have any food at the house yet." He stepped from the room and walked out for a few minutes before returning and taking my arm. "She left the room, I guess Ivan has made himself a pain to her again." He growled.

"Who's Ivan?" I asked, though I could sense my cat already didn't like this... this interloper.

"Ivan Vladislav Berekov, he's the bigoted, self centered, egotistical son of Vladimir Berekov." I could tell that he was rather upset about the older cat, but I didn't know why, "What is depressing is that he's one of the few cats that is young enough to be in any contention for the position of Guardian, after Olaf retires."

I closed my eyes and growled softly as I followed him into the dining room, where I grabbed a plate of food and sat down beside Jack, who was feeling a bit overwhelmed. "You okay Jack?" I asked him quietly.

"I don't know Mark, being surrounded by this many cats has my wolf on edge. It doesn't help that some of them aren't even hiding what they feel about wolves very well." I nodded and looked around the room, catching the hostile glares of more than a couple of cats and returning them with one of my own, though my return glare was less than pleasant. All but two of the cats who I caught glaring at Jack quickly stopped and lowered their head in submission. The two hold-outs continued to glare at me, though I could tell their cats weren't happy about it.

After Jack, Katy, Sergey, and I finished eating we headed up to the office of the Matriarch and her mate, the Guardian.

Olaf stood behind his mate, Shanna, and smiled. "I heard that you glared the stuffing out of some of our less... adaptable cats at dinner Mark."

"Well they were making Jack feel uncomfortable sir."

Shanna nodded in agreement, "Mark before you got here my daughter reported that she felt... a tingle earlier from her cat."

I looked at the Matriarch and nodded softly. "Ma'am I just got here. I don't want to upset, what is obviously a delicate situation for your family but, yes, earlier my cat almost when into hysterics because his mate is here."

Beside her Olaf placed his head in his hands and shook his head. "This isn't what we needed Mark, but we can tell you need to join us. For the time being we can ensure that you don't meet her again, though next month when the moon rises..."

"Yes Guardian," I replied softly with my head bowed before the Matriarch reached over and lifted my chin and softly asked me,

"Mark McEwan, do you wish to join Blackwater Pride?"

I knew from my reading, and from her tone of voice that this was important so I pulled my cat to the fore so that we could both answer. "Yes."

"Will you uphold and defend the Laws of the Pride?"

"Yes," We answered, having made ourselves familiar with them while we were still living with Forest Edge.

"Will you protect all of those who are weaker than you, even if it means giving your life so that they may live?"

"Yes," What I'd hated about not being able to go and face down Mikel was the fact that those that had defended me were weaker than I was.

"Will you guard the secrets of the Pride that are entrusted to you with your life?"

"Yes," I had been shown things on my trip up and knew that for some of those packs and prides they were considered secret. I would only tell of those things if I'd had leave from the Alpha or Pride Leader to talk of them.

"Will you obey those in the Pride who are senior to you to the best of your abilities if it is in the best interests of the Pride?"

"Yes," I knew that wolves did this differently, then again cats operated differently, though we often had similar goals.

"Will you help your Pridemates to the best of your abilities, when they request it?"

"Yes," I also knew that assisting a cat when he or she didn't ask for it wasn't always the best idea, though there were times when unsolicited assistance would be beneficial.

Shanna smiled and stood and indicated that I too should stand, "Then welcome to Blackwater Pride Mark, my you have a long and fruitful life here among us Tigers of the North." She said finally and touched her forehead to mine.

I growled slightly as it felt like my head was about to split open, though I could also hear the yowls of welcome from my fellow cats. I vaguely heard Shanna speak to Sergey in Russian before he took my arm and began guiding me back home to sleep off the skull splitting headache.