Hammers in the Shadows

Part Two: Hammers in the Night - Chapter Sixteen

"Mark?" Anna said beside me, bringing me back to the present, "Looks like snow doesn't it?"

I glanced up at the sky and nodded, "Yes it does look that way, though it probably will be a bit on the wet side since it isn't really all that cold."

Anna laughed softly and smiled, "That's the Godddess' own truth, isn't it? It's going to make for some very wet cubs when they play outside in it." She replied as we headed back inside, with Tanya hugged in my arms. We'd tried to have a session with her and Beth but she'd refused and ended up crying in my arms needing a clean up.

I paused halfway down the foyer when I felt my cell vibrating in my belt case and after pulling it out and checking it I answered, "Verochka, it's nice to hear from you again." I said smiling as I began walking again.

"Pride Lord Mark," She replied, "I have the final roster of those that I'm sending your way." Her voice sounded almost sad as she said that.

"I can understand how hard this is for you Vera, loosing a cat is a hard thing." I told her, remembering how it was when Vlad and his people had left the Pride, though in this case it wouldn't be quite as horrible.

"How can you possibly understand? You've never had to release this many members of your Pride. These are the future of the Pride, almost all of them are the youths." She said, her voice brimming with the emotions that she was feeling.

"I've felt something similar when our brother broke his bonds Vera. At that time, I was only the Assistant Guardian and only just recently joined the Pride, but the feeling was there." I replied with a growl while I tried to forget how that terrible thing had felt. Each broken bond had torn through our heads like a bottomless black hole and I would never feel most of them in my mind ever again.

There was a slight pause at the other end before she finally came back, "I think I understand Mark, but all the same this isn't an easy thing for me to do. I know that I probably won't ever feel these minds in our Pride Bonds again, but I know that this is for the good of these people Mark." She said softly.

At that point we'd reached our office and I sat, with Tanya in my lap, and switched to the speaker on my desk so that Anna could join the conversation. "Matriarch Berekov I know this is hard, but do you have a roster for us to look at?" Anna asked smoothly as she sat down in her own chair.

"Yes, Matriarch McEwan I do, give me a few moments and it should be appearing in your secure email inbox." She paused briefly, "I also have one more favour to ask of you, my grandson Yevgeny is attending the Academy, which is as I understand it, relatively close to your own location."

I laughed recalling that there'd been some friction between myself and him. "Yes, that is correct Vera, though I can't say that we get along. His attitude in regards to me left something to be desired." I told her grimly.

"Regardless of that fact Mark, I would like him to spend his semester breaks at your Pride, rather than flying back here. I can understand if you would rather he not come to your Pride, but from what he's said the local Alphas have done some work to adjust his attitude." She replied, hearing my tone.

I gave a bit of a chuckle, "Adam is good at that, and so is Brook."

"You know them?" She asked, her voice showing a bit of surprise. "He did mention that he didn't want to piss either of them off again. He also said that when he was getting there he thought that the males were the dangerous ones. However, from what he said, it seems that wolves like to hide what we don't, that females are even worse."

At that Anna laughed, "Brook can be really vicious with that staff of her's if somebody violates the rules, or disrespects her or her mate." She told Vera as I laughed heartily.