"So, how many identities have you had? I've already figured out that you're Ruby and Elsie...but how many others and who are you really?" Ruby was surprised by the question, her bum had barely hit the sit and the door hadn't even closed properly on Hollis' truck before he started asking questions.

She wondered how long he'd known and how long he'd been waiting to ask the questions.

"Too many identities to count, most have been high school students or thereabouts. As for who am I really? I was born Lettice Holbrook, I remember having an older sister and maybe having a younger brother. I was bitten at the age of eight, I transformed not long after that. My mentor took me under her wing for several years until she was accused of being a witch by her sister, there was a witch hunt and the night that Clemence was killed I was sworn into the fold of protectors. I've been wandering the world ever since, posing as a teen or young adult since." Ruby hadn't uttered her name for some time, she always used to think that Lettice was such a pretty name but slowly over the years, especially recent years, she had begun to realize that it was such an outdated name.

"Wait, the same family as Loretta Holbrook? The same Holbrook as Dudley's in-laws?" Ruby shrugged, she didn't know for sure if they were the same Holbrook's as her brother and sister. That would need more investigating, but Loretta's father had come from the same area that she had grown up in so going on that assumption it would be safe to say that they belonged to the same family.

"So then, what do I call you? Boss, Lettice, Ruby or Elsie?" That was the million dollar question. Ruby wasn't Hollis' boss, not in a long shot. Lettice was more or less dead and buried and had been for several hundred years, Ruby was the school student which only left Elsie.

"Elsie is fine," Ruby replies before they lapsed into silence.

"Actually, I wanted to apologize for what I said the other day. Topher told me a little of your background and what I said really was uncalled for." Ruby never really apologized to those she worked with, but she also realized that she was being way too personal with this pack and its members.

"Yeah he told me and apology accepted, I've been a bit of an ass to you since you got here so I deserved it." Hollis shrugged and lapsed back into silence, Ruby wondered if he did that with every apology but decided not to ask as they were almost back at Ben's home.

When Hollis pulled up to the curbside, Ruby climbed out and motioned for Hollis to follow her inside. It appeared as if everyone were still out scouting and making contact with various people but there were several people milling around the front door, it didn't take Ruby long to recognize several of the faces.

"Your shifters are here?" Ruby jumped in surprise when she felt Hollis leaning close to her.

Leaning away from him she eyed him with a weird expression before turning back to the small group who had spotted her. "You should probably tell Topher his fated-mate is amongst the crowd."

Ruby turned fully to Hollis when he whispered that in her ear before motioning for Hollis to follow her through the crowd, "you guys wait out here, Hollis and I need to talk." Ruby said whilst not breaking her concentration.

When they securely in her office with the door closed she turned to Hollis with folded arms, "explain to me how you know who Topher's fated-mate is as I'm at a loss for words and information in my memory bank." Ruby could see the beginnings of a smug smirk forming on Hollis' face and hoped to hell it didn't turn into a full-blown smirk, she hated feeling like she knew less than the average toddler.

"Topher is my alpha, don't you think his fated-mate would evoke the same sorts of feelings in a pack member as Topher does? Besides, she smells mildly like him. Peaches and mint with a hint of summer breeze, you should have inherited the gift of smell from your beast, it has its advantages. But seriously, you need to tell Topher. I could but he'd come storming over here in a split second...or you could bring her by the pack house. He might react better to actually seeing her rather than smelling her on us." The smirk was gone, Ruby wondered if the quiver in Hollis' voice was fear or excitement. She supposed he had a point, to show good faith she'd also need to inform Catrice.

"I don't know that Catrice will be open to hearing that news though, she's been in deep mourning for the past fifty or so years. I'll introduce the both of you, you can give her a little warning. Great, this is all I need right now..damn feelings." Hollis snorted, Ruby glanced up at his face to see humour reflected there. Her annoyance buckled and against her current mood she felt the corner of her mouth turn up to match Hollis' and before too long both were laughing.

"Why the sudden mood change? You wouldn't even look at me in Topher's office and now we're sitting here, in my office giggling like school girls." Despite the accusation, the smile remained on both their faces, it felt good to laugh rather than glare at the man.

"Topher made me realize I was being an immature idiot, he apologized for pushing you on me...or what appeared to be that. I dunno, Topher's always been the happy kind of guy. The goofy guy who gets the room laughing, you'll have to forgive his hesitancy at wanting the other alphas around...they don't like or appreciate Topher the way his pack does. He is the rightful heir to the pack and won the challenge that Dane lay at his feet, after the fight, Topher offered Dane the spot as beta but Dane spat at it. It was a demotion he couldn't swallow, so Dane went back over the bridge to continue living as the alpha of a reduced Clearview river pack." Ruby nodded, she wondered why he'd been so hesitant but she could never have guessed it would be because of that. It made Ruby protective of Topher, she'd need to let everyone know that ground control would be needed during the meeting.

"So tell me about the rest of the alphas, packs and what to expect? Topher hasn't mentioned any of them and I feel like you're more comfortable talking about them than Topher is. Sit down if you want." Ruby motioned to the chair in front of her desk whilst she went and pulled her chair around from behind the desk, Hollis gave her an odd look but she shrugged it off.

"I don't like there being barriers between us," Ruby stated simply, though it caused a smirk to cross Hollis' face suddenly.

"Interesting choice of words. But I'll tell you about the packs and their leaders. We'll go clockwise around the swamp, Dane is next with the Clearview River pack, it's small and poor. Dane's mother and her mate were the alpha's of that pack, Mary's mate died during a battle...he and Topher's father had been best friends so things were a little heated between Mary and Brian for a while. Brian hadn't found his mate at that time, but he had when Dane was born and he wouldn't acknowledge Dane as his son." Ruby could see how that would impact a kid growing up, especially a kid from the wrong side of the bridge who had to watch his younger brother take everything. It actually reminded Ruby of Dudley and his brother, would it be the same for Topher and Dane?

"The next pack along is the McRury Peak pack, their peak is barely a molehill but they defend it with everything they've got. This pack is a little bit different, it's ruled by twins. Neither has found their mates so they rule together and have sworn to each other that they'll continue like that, it's sort of like a female and male alpha ruling together. Their names are Oisin and Oran Murray. Their pack has about two thousand members, Dane's has five hundred-ish." It wasn't uncommon for twins to run a pack together but Ruby hadn't seen one in quite a while so this would be entertaining, often twins liked playing tricks with strangers.

"Jane Jazlyn is next alpha for the Hollow Rock pack. Has about six thousand pack members and is the second biggest in the area, Topher's is the first. She's hard-headed, stubborn, opinionated and a bit of a b*tch if I'm being honest. She rules her pack with a strict hand, she'll be one of the harder alpha's to win over." Ruby took particular note of that, she'd need to put portfolios together of everyone to keep track of facts but they could work on that later when everyone was settled at Topher's home.

"Aaric Calbraith is beyond Jane's pack. His is Shallow Bay, it's a pretty popular part of the swamp. Shallow Bay has clear drinking water much of the year thanks to a spring, the pack is lucky to still hold that territory. They're the second smallest in the area with fifteen hundred members." Ruby thought it an odd thing to say but didn't question Hollis' any further, her questions would all be answered eventually.

"Frank Duford of the Duford Point pack, his pack territory sits between the ocean and swamp at the narrowest point of land between the swamp and ocean. He has two thousand pack members and is probably the oldest alpha in the lot. He's a little old school, tough but fair, tolerant but will let you know if you've overstepped boundaries. It is said that Frank and Brian were good friends until Dane was born, Frank didn't approve of Brian's treatment of his eldest son." Ruby nodded, she could understand that and it spoke of the kind of man Frank was.

"Noah Gavriel and his mate rule the Gable Forest pack, Gable forest is one of the larger runs of forest in the area and that is their territory. There's a mountain range in the territory that shelters the swamp from the ocean, it's a nice place. If you ever get the invite you should go and have a look, their pack is five thousand strong and they're probably some of the best alphas in the area. They're kind, understanding and caring, Alice also bakes an extremely good pie, so take advantage of that too if you get the chance." Ruby laughed at that, so the secret to winning Hollis over was the pie? She'd have to keep her eyes peeled for some of that famous pie though, she loved home baking as it reminded her of her childhood.

"And the last alpha besides Topher is Kethin Rovak, alpha of the Conleith Peak pack. He has the last of the ranges that run through Gable forest, Conleith peak is the highest in the mountain range. He's a little young and extremely stupid too, makes immature decisions. His pack numbers have been dropping rapidly over the years, he used to have nine thousand members but now has about five thousand. His previous pack members can be found throughout other packs around the swamps and even further beyond. They say he can be volatile, his sister was my mate...he was less than pleased when he found out and swore to bring the world down on my head when she died." Ruby smiled sadly, she could clearly hear the warning in his tone. Dealing with a young, hot-headed young guy was always going to be an issue but throw in a personal agenda as big as wanting revenge for his dead sister...that was a recipe for disaster.

"I hear what you're saying," Ruby's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, she yelled for whoever it was to come in.

"Sorry Ruby, hey we're ready to pack and shift the office over to Topher's place. Catrice and the others have been briefed, Camden isn't impressed with you fyi. Who keeps an elven prince waiting for ten minutes let alone an hour?" Ruby glanced down at her watch and swore when she saw that she and Hollis had been sitting in her office for an hour. She was equal parts amused and annoyed that Camden would be flaunting his 'princely' attitude around the house, she could imagine him commenting on everything wrong with the house he was expected to live in.

"Ugh thanks, Ben, come on Hollis. Might as well throw you in the deep end and meet the rest of the team, just so you know. Camden is a princely pratt. He'll critique the hell out of you with just a single look, ignore it though. He hasn't accepted that he's been dethroned for quite a while. Oh hi Camden, just telling our guest here what to expect from the princely pratt. You guys are just in time to help us, we're about to pack our office and shift it over to Topher's place. He's the alpha for this shifter pack, Catrice, Camden, Kit, Lynn, Miller, Livia and Flynn this is Hollis, the beta for this shifter pack. Everyone bar Camden are shifters, so you'll be heading over to introduce yourselves to Topher later." Everyone introduced themselves further before Camden could voice a retort to Ruby's insult, but it was an insult like all other insults.

Camden knew well what Ruby thought of him, Ruby was the only person that could call Camden anything other than his title. She'd had words with him many years ago, he'd stepped on her toes far too many times for her to remain silent.

"You have kept us waiting for over an hour Ruby, what kind of leadership does that reflect? I personally would not have kept anyone waiting that long, especially not a pr..." everyone who knew and had worked with Camden before groaned at the mention of a prince, which effectively cut him off. He stood there with his jaw clenched closed as others mocked him. Sometimes Ruby did feel sorry for the former prince of Leedan, it seemed he was destined to lose no matter which life path he picked and was now stuck with intolerant team members instead of masses of elven women fawning over him.

"My apologies your highness, won't you come in and make yourself at home? This was headquarters, from today it no longer will be. So after you get settled in you can report to Oliver and Ben and start helping them pack everything that we've collated so far and shipped it over to Topher's place. You can also go and introduce yourself to Topher while you're over there and cut the high and mighty bullsh*t, we're here to work not worship the ground you walk on." Any annoyance that had been showing on Camden's face was soon gone and replaced by a mask of indifference as he gave Ruby a polite nod before going further into the house.

"As for everyone else, the same applies. Settle in, pack the important stuff and head over to the pack house. Hollis is here so if you need to know where the pack house is ask him. Catrice, you and I need to talk now." Through the conversation with Hollis, Ruby had been thinking of how to best break the news to Catrice and there really was only one way.

She left Hollis with the others and took Catrice up to her room knowing full well that it wasn't soundproof, so whatever was said the other shifters would likely hear..and even worse they'd hear Catrice's reaction.