Hammers in the Shadows

Part Two: Hammers in the Night - Chapter Thirteen

The south wing contained the gym and above that the massive rookery, which was by far, way too large for the number of Ravens that we had, but from what Caspian told me, they loved it since it gave them all the space they could ever desire. The north wing had the dining hall, and kitchens on the main floor with workshops on the second and fourth floors while the crèche and teaching rooms were on the third floor. The west wing was almost completely residential with the Pride Library, computer lab, and rec rooms on the main floor while the rest of it was residential. The amount of space that we had was rather overkill since we could house almost five hundred cats in the house while our Pride only had two hundred and seventeen members. In the process of renovation, we'd actually reduced the overall capacity of the Pride House from almost seven hundred to it's current capacity by making the residential spaces larger and more comfortable for almost all of our Pride Members. The East wing was the smallest since a large chunk of it was devoted to the foyer, which was 10m tall and at the plaza was two stories tall while only being one story tall at the front door. The rest of the space in the wing was devoted to both guest suites as well as Pride Admin.

Below the main floors of the pride house were the sub-levels where we'd place the core of our network assets, and I was once more able to make calls to our allied Packs and Prides on a secure line. One of the first things we'd done when we'd arrived was to immediately ratify the Inter Pack/Pride Treaty that Adam had proposed only a few weeks earlier. However, as of yet we'd been unable to officially sign the final documents that made us part of the treaty, though we'd already leaned on the treaty heavily to ensure our survival.

Security's main office was in the first sub-level and it was one of the most modern elements of the Pride House. In the center of the main briefing room we'd placed one of the super-expensive holo-tables that had been given to us as a gift from Wild Valley Pack when they upgraded their set-up. It was a little used, but I was well aware that even a used one could set any group that bought one back by at least seven figures.

Along the walls of the main foyer Anna and I were still considering something like what we'd seen at Wild Valley, to show the unity of the Pride and the pride we took in what we were.

Probably the most controversial thing that Anna and I had done was to disband the ancient house system and replace it with a more modern and equitable system. Each rank of our Pride would elect four of their own number to represent their interests on the Pride Council. It allowed even the Juniors to have a voice on the Council, though their representatives were often quiet and didn't much like speaking up to air their opinions unless they were asked directly. They felt that it really wasn't their place to question the desires of those who were above them in the dominance structure.

Sergey was still adapting, himself, to the role that he'd been thrust into as one of the Juniors on the Council and I saw that in his eyes the first time he sat down in his new seat while his mate walked around the table setting out coffee, tea, and various edibles to the members of the Council, including her mate.

"Mark?" Anna asked, brining me back to the present, "As much as that irascible wolf drives me crazy I think we are going to miss him."

I gave a soft chuckle and turned from the window and walked over to my chair, "I do admit he does make me want to pull my hair out from time to time Anna. But, even you have to admit that he's got some serious talent and at some point, when he's ready, he will make an excellent Alpha."

Anna laughed easily as she took her seat and rolled her eyes looking at her computer. While she was used to the machine she wasn't as adept with it as I was, and for the most part, she left the computer stuff with me to deal with. "I know love, but we both knew that he was wanting to get back to Wild Valley, if only for a little while. Though I am sure that Adam and Brook will soon remind him why he delayed returning for so long."