There were four of us. We were lined in a row, staring straight ahead. A wolf commander, Miguel, was barking in front of us.

"In a short period of time you will become familiar with the four clans. You will learn each of their strengths and weaknesses. Our ties with the werecats is rocky, at best. Sometimes, we need to remind them of their status."

We stood in a grassy field on otherwise closed-to-the-public grounds. It was a training center. The perfect space for it. I'd always been curious about what was over here. Many times, I had almost snucken in. There were numerous rocks and boulders scattered about on the ground. The area was also sunken, dipping slightly beneath ground level. In order to get out, you had to climb out.

"Today," Miguel continued, "you will have the opportunity to deal with one of the werecats. A rogue who must be brought to trial. He has killed his own litter of kittens, and now he has been spotted on wereworld territory. We must stop him before he takes one of our own.

Please don't be a tiger, I thought. Tigers terrified me. They were four times my size, intelligent, strong, and fast. I felt my fur bristle as my commander continued to talk.

"Not too far in the future it will be your job to protect the alpha's two daughters, Lilliana and Cercilia, and you can not fail. There will be many threats, and no matter how big the threat, or where its coming from you can not fail. At all costs. This training will let us see whether or not you are someone who wins or fails. You may not make it through to the end."

I stiffened and nodded my head. I would find the rogue werecat. I would bring it to justice. Even though I am small, I will drag it in -tiger or not- and prove myself to the werewolves, and to my commander. I was going to work until I was the best.

"The werecat you are looking for is a lynx. One with thick, tangled brown fur. They scarcely take the form of a human, being the most primitive of the werecats, but if they do happen to do so, they have yellow eyes. Lynx hate water, but they're clever cats, and they may choose to hide by the water to throw you off. You must partner for this search as you are still training and this is real -and dangerous. Lynx are prone to become extremely violent when they realize their life is in danger. He was last seen in the South Woods by the sheep cove; probably feeding off our supply. Good luck."

Miguel turned away and clambered out of the pitted field. He walked away, not bothering to watch us team up and dash off into the woods with our vicious howls.