The shape-shifter world featured in the Eagles of Great Wing, the Tigers of Texas and the Wildcats, Inc books is the same one. It has evolved over the series, so be warned - if you hate
spoilers and you haven’t read any of them, please don’t read on!
The Shape-shifters
Shape-shifters have lived in the same world as humans, but they lived in different communities and rarely came together. Thus Great Wing, Goldclaw and Blackfur Vineries were purely shape-shifter communities, with a few humans sprinkled around. Shape-shifter males mate in pairs, and it takes two breed partners to make a baby. One shape-shifter alone can’t do it. Once they are mated to their breedmate, they can’t make children with anyone else. Shape-shifters have two forms. The dominant form is human, but the other form is animal and contributes to the make-up of the shifter.
Two things happened that stopped the world continuing as it was. First, shape-shifter women began to die out. They became so rare they were treated as precious treasures, and made to mate
and make children. Despite that, the shape-shifter races began to die out.
Then the Grid developed a solution that would enable human women to become breedmates. They wanted to make their own shape-shifters in laboratory conditions, specifically to experiment on
them. However, during a shape-shifter raid on an illegal lab in the first Tigers book, the solution got into the water supply. It spread worldwide. That meant human women could now become breedmates. In order for this to happen,
the communities had to be more open to each other. The Grid became more active and antagonistic, seeing this new development as shape-shifters “stealing” their women.
The Grid
The enemies of the shape-shifters have banded together in the organisation known as The Grid. Members have a tattoo somewhere on their bodies, of a tic-tac-toe grid, two parallel lines crossed
by two others at right angles.
The Grid’s aims are to demote the status of shape-shifters. They want to steal the shape-shifters’ gifts, notably their immunity from disease and their added strength. Although
the shape-shifters have done their own research, they came to the conclusion that it was their nature they did this, and not something that could be extracted and passed on.
The Grid had existed for some time before people knew about it. They hate shape-shifters and would prefer to have them legally defined as animals. That would mean that they could imprison
them in laboratories legally and experiment on them. It would also confirm their conviction that animals are lesser creatures to humans.
The Grid got a boost when Ronny Lanier, President and owner of the prestigious Lanier’s Bank provided the finance for them. He did it using a Ponzi scheme which led to the collapse
of the bank. This is when the Eagles of Great Wing become involved. Their investments are compromised, and the collapse nearly brings the community down.
The Grid also tries to develop its interests legally, by lobbying Congress. The political party denies all knowledge of the Grid’s illegal activities and nobody has found a link, but
most people know that there is one.
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