"That's great and all but it still doesn't tell us who is summoning this guy," Ruby rolled her eyes at Mali, she couldn't be annoyed at him though. There was so much information to share that Topher was probably missing bits out unintentionally, Ruby could sense it and could also sense the others irritation at having to continually ask questions.

"Uhm, well that's not something I can answer." Ruby understood, Topher's knowledge only went so far but they were still no closer to finding out who was behind it all.

"Aside from Dane being your half-brother and the alpha of one of the five packs around the swamp, who are the other packs and what can you tell us about them? You said that Dudley fathered more children with his second wife...wife? The other woman, there must be some significance to that why you mentioned it." Benedict finally spoke, Ruby was glad he touched on that subject. She was still trying to process things but also figured there had to be something more significant to the statement than what Topher had said.

"There are six packs around the swamp if you count Dane's," Ruby felt her eyebrows lift in question at Topher's statement, he hadn't included his own brothers pack in the total count?

Looking around the office, Ruby wondered if anyone was growing bored of the discussion. Being that this was their job she knew that none should be bored, though they weren't professional it was a passion of theirs to keep a neutral balance in the world.

"Can we hurry this along? I know this is all important information but if you just give us the bare bones of this whole thing then we could get going a lot faster than we are right now." There it was, Kenny was fidgeting. There was always one who couldn't sit for long though it seemed to be the same people time and again. What did Kenny need to do in such a hurry though?

"Okay, bare basics. Dudley fathered more children with the chief's daughter, four more to be exact. The woman knew what he was from the start, she didn't fear him though but revered him instead. Naively or stupidly she sacrificed one of her daughters to the beast during a full moon transition, Elizabeth was seven at the time and survived the attack...just. So not only was Liana Huxton a shifter but so was her younger sister Elizabeth. The thing is this, despite both being attacked they were raised with vastly different views of what their father was and those views were impressed upon all following generations. Liana Huxton grew up fearing her father, she wanted him dead properly. Not just slumbering but actually dead...she's passed that fear to her children and children's children forever. Elizabeth Huxton, on the other hand, was raised to worship the beast that was her father...the six packs immediately surrounding the swamp are directly descendant from either woman." Ruby was beginning to understand fully now, she understood why Dudley was summoned from time to time, why the secret ceremony hadn't been kept secret and the apparent division of packs around the swamp.

"Liana had squared off with Dudley several times before she realized he couldn't be killed in human or beast form so instead went to some of the surviving members of the chief's tribe and asked them for advice. One, the bitter wife of the magic-man told her how it could be done, but Liana did it wrong and instead of killing him she only put him to sleep. The widowed woman died before Liana could question her further so we only have some of the recipes to permanently reverse whatever magic was placed over Dudley." Ruby thought for a moment, take out the vengeful soul trying to resurrect Dudley and this all sounded like some sort of long-standing family feud.

It was ridiculous, no matter which way you spun it.

"So, on top of whoever is trying to resurrect Dudley, we have to deal with six feuding packs that have varying opinions on what to do with him? Keep him alive because he's a god or kills him off because he's a demon? How do we know it's not just one of them that's doing the killing?" This from Mali, who was still clearly frustrated by the speed at which information was being delivered.

"We know it's not a pack because Ruby has already been attacked, she was sent a warning. People have been trying to infiltrate any and all places that have had spells placed around them if it were just my spells placed around the areas they would have broken through. We're just lucky there's more than one warlock here, our magic is strong enough to keep them out. We also know that there are very few magic folk living out in this area, they've all been accounted for...and the fact that even I, as a seasoned time walker have been blocked from several time zones and places in and around this town. So whoever is trying to resurrect Dudley is powerful enough to do these things. We need to do something drastic otherwise this person is going to quietly continue to summon Dudley." Jonah had good points, knowing what the people needed to summon Dudley helped. They could use it to their advantage but Ruby was still not sure how they were going to keep an eye on every single person in the community.

"So what do you propose?" Topher asked curiously, Ruby felt the corner of her mouth lift in a smirk as she caught Jonah's eye.

"A meeting between all alpha's that have pack borders along the swamp. I know pack boundaries are huge, so we don't need to go further out from there. Even if the boundary is a small section, whoever has been affected by Dudley in the past needs to be there." Topher shrunk at the suggestion, any sign of being slightly happy at the progress they were making seemed to knock right out of him at the mere thought of sitting in the room with all the other Alphas.

"It should be interesting, alpha males don't tend to like working together. So long as one doesn't stray into another's territory unwelcome then they live in ignorant bliss," Ruby could feel the room prickle at the offhanded remark, Mali did have a point but he didn't need to voice it out loud. Topher's patience seemed to be thinning out again, Ruby took it as a sign that the meeting was coming to an end and stood abruptly from where she'd been sitting.

"Well then, that's what we'll do. Sorry, Topher but it needs to be done, with your sister running off somewhere and Jude being dead we're going to have to call this meeting...even if it exposes you to the others in a way you've never been exposed before. The sooner we get it organized the better, so a submission to the alpha king will need to be put through. I've already called him today, can someone else get in contact with Borin to organize it all?" Mali put his hand up as soon as she had asked the question, she knew he would. Mali liked working with Borin and he was good at it, she just wished he could get along with the alpha king.

"No offence but how is calling an alpha's meeting considered drastic? That'll barely be a blip on anyone's radar," Ruby smiled, it wasn't so much the meeting that was going to be drastic, it was what came of it that she hoped would get things moving in their favour.

"Just you wait and see Kenny, it'll do what we need it to do." Kenny just rolled her eyes as Ruby approached Topher at his desk.

"We're done here? I think we've got everything sorted, Mali will inform you and all the other alpha's when it's time for that meeting. We'll need to find neutral territory, Jonah can you and your team sort that out? Make sure to put really good spells around the place once you find it, preferably on the edge of the swamp somewhere." Jonah again nodded, Ruby hated leaving with so much to do but he now had a team of his own and never seemed to grumble at the tasks she put on him.

"Mali, try and get that meeting organized as soon as Jonah has found a spot, within the next two days. Kenny you can do a fly over and help Jonah out, Oliver and Ben the others are coming in today or tomorrow so I need you both on board to help settle them in. And on top of all that, keep the training up. See you at school tomorrow Topher." Ruby realized they couldn't keep up the school appearance if things were going to kick off. They needed an excuse for why they were no longer to attend school, it had been boring anyway and Ruby hadn't learned much more as it was.

"Uh, can I talk to you alone Elsie? Just for a sec?" Ruby looked up at Topher but realized her team was already out the door and it let all of Topher's pack members who had gathered a clear line of sight into his office.

There were a few eager members standing close to the door, none more so than Hollis.

"Sure," Ruby sat back down in the seat she had vacated moments ago, Topher motioned for someone to enter. Ruby figured it was Hollis, she also wondered if he had been insulted by being asked to wait outside with the rest of the pack members.

Hollis closed the office door behind him as he came and settled in the chair next to Ruby, she glanced at him quickly before turning her attention back to Topher. He seemed nonchalant, like his dismissal from the room had meant very little to him.

"Hollis, they know about Dudley now, we're going to need to tell the other pack members that a delegation of alpha's from the surrounding swamp packs will be arriving in or around our territory inside this week or even by the weekend. Elsie I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, I don't want you to hold it against me or my pack and would also like to ask that you continue to include my pack warriors in everything. Perhaps teaming some of your team with some of my warriors?" Topher suggested, Ruby realized then that she'd been assigning all tasks lately to her team and had completely left Topher and his pack out.

Feeling her face redden just a little bit, Ruby nodded.

"Sorry Topher, yes I'll do that. If I can have them...you know what? Can we make this the base of operations? Jonah has put enough defensive spells around it to be safe for at least a thousand years and it makes more sense, that way we can work and communicate better with each other." Ruby hadn't had an in-depth conversation with Topher about the attack that happened the night she stayed at his home, she hadn't even brought up the topic of overhearing Topher and Hollis talking about her and indeed had forgotten all about it until that point.

Sneaking a quick look at Hollis, Ruby was mortified to find him staring at her and quickly turned her attention back to Topher.

"Yeah, that's fine. It'll be an open door policy for you guys...but how will I know who is part of your team and who is a random warlock coming through?" That was half the reason Ruby had asked for Jonah, he was brilliant in his thinking and would already have thought of that question well ahead of time.

"Jonah will have that all sorted, don't worry. You'll get no random strangers passing through the front door. I should also let you know that our shifters are arriving tomorrow, so as soon as they're here I'll tell them to swing by here. Topher you and I can coordinate from here, Hollis you'll have to join the team on the ground..." Ruby ended her sentence abruptly when she got a growl from Hollis, it wasn't a nice little warning growl but rather a full-blown 'f*ck off' snarl that neither she or Topher had been expecting.

"Listen, Hollis, Topher has ceded temporary control to me. I'm not going to step on his toes and rearrange pack hierarchy. But I'm also not going to go to Topher and ask him to order you every time you decide I'm a b*tch or that you don't take orders from a woman. Okay? So either accept it graciously like your alpha has or I will challenge you and it won't be in human form either." Ruby assumed that Hollis would take the challenge, he was too prideful to step down from that sort of thing but Ruby also saw a hint of hesitation flash through his eyes as he moved his attention to Topher, where it stayed firmly.

"Hollis understands and so will the other warriors of the Caversham swamp pack." Ruby tried to keep from rolling her eyes, so Hollis' ego was stopping him from doing things.

It was so typical of shifter men.

"Okay Topher, you talk to your people. I'll go and debrief with mine and then we'll move our stuff over here, just...I hope you're ready for a bit of hectic in your otherwise neatly kept home." It wasn't an understatement. When things really kicked off on a mission often people left dirty dishes everywhere, they rarely ever remembered to wash their own clothing let alone was themselves. She just hoped that Topher's warm welcome wasn't worn thin and would need to remind everyone that they weren't in their own home anymore...and that Topher's pack weren't there to pick up after them.

"Don't worry Topher, I'll tell them your pack members are not here to clean up after them. We're here to work and work with you, not have your pack members wait on us hand and foot." Ruby stood from her chair after that and left the room, in their rush to get the ball rolling everyone had left Ruby behind.

She swore softly then resigned herself to a long walk home, it was too early in the afternoon to run even if she could get home faster. But Ruby couldn't risk humans seeing her run at the ridiculous speeds she could reach, sighing heavily she exited Topher's home and began following the footpath home.

"Hey! Want a ride?" Ruby turned in surprise when she heard Hollis call down the street to her.

She stopped, turned her head slightly to see Hollis walking after her quickly. Frowning slightly she wondered how he could go from absolutely closed off one moment to chasing her down the next, it just didn't make any sense to her whatsoever.

"No, it's okay. You're probably going to be busy soon and I like the walk." Though she spoke the truth Hollis didn't seem convinced and pulled his keys out.

"Come on, get in. I've gotta help you pack anyway...alpha's orders." Ruby grew frustrated. Two seconds ago he wouldn't even acknowledge her and now he was trying to force her into accepting his help...was Topher's hold over his beta that strong?

Sighing in annoyance, Ruby shrugged and climbed into Hollis' truck, which was in slightly better condition than Topher's.