Serenity waited patiently in the entryway where Garnett had left her after her entrance into the manor again. After a few moments she heard the series of clicks that indicated they were on their way back to where she was. She then turned to see the massive black as night male joined by a reddish brown female. Jensen and Kaylee. Garnett was leading them.
"Ms. Serenity," Jensen spoke slowly, "I had not expected to see you here so soon after Kurse interrupted things..."
"I'm sorry for the interruption," Serenity said politely as Garnett turned and headed off toward a different room.
"It is no problem," Jensen told her, "From what Julie has told me, you told her that the Game keeps you rather busy with a lot of things."
Serenity nodded.
"Garnett told us you wanted to speak to us about something?" Kaylee then spoke.
"Actually with a member of your pack, named Marie," Serenity spoke, and then decided to play along with how reality was shifting, "a glass pup, like three of your daughters... but different."
"A glass pup like Alice, Abbey, and Samantha?" Kaylee wondered.
"Marie...?" Jensen wondered more on the name then anything else. Considering how much magic had been ingrained in Glendale, it wouldn't surprise him if other pups of the Pack, born to families that had chosen to live outside the manor had endured the same transformation that Alice, Abbey, and Samantha went through.
"Let me explain..." Serenity sighed heavily.
Serenity then explained the use of the turn that she had felt that had started the small pride of Leoman love dolls. She noticed a look of almost absolute horror go over both of their faces as she gave her explanation.
"... and as far as reality is concerned those souls had never existed, but this glass Marie said they had souls... according to reality, she had actually GIVEN them souls," Serenity finished, "It's left me highly confused, and I need to speak with her before I do anything else with them."
"If you come with us, we'll check the roster," Jensen spoke as he glanced to Kaylee, "no Lupman named Marie lives here at the manor... You're not referring to Marie Tyson are you? She is a friend of ours... although she is a full growl Leoman female."
"I'm sure," Serenity answered, "this was a glass pup."
Jensen and Kaylee then slowly nodded. Jensen then headed toward a different hallway while Kaylee offered Serenity her arm.
"I'm alright," Serenity told the Alpha Female Lupman.
+++++++++++
"So Rosa and Mal'akh went off hunting?" Lawrence asked Marie curiously, as Marie also came to the same point that Mal'akh had reached with Joy.
"For the moment more to look after the Pride and the humans that had been made younger," Marie explained, "through the spells that the witches had cast, with people suddenly becoming younger, defending being children, and losing their levels of maturity and intelligence as well, Rosa, partially immune because of Gaal's earlier experiments on her, and Mal'akh, largely immune because the witches confused her with one of the Witch Pride cubs... they largely went to make sure no one got hurt."
"They lost their maturity?" Betty wondered.
"Yes," Marie nodded, "and not as a real side effect. The witches in their fantasy world deliberately gave those they transformed the mentality of children."
"That would have hurt eventually if the spells didn't also turn the animals into their respective young," Maddex commented.
"And that was Rosa and Mal'akh's concern," Marie answered, "primarily Gold Deer as an inquisitive child might venture too close to a buck or a doe for their liking and would become injured. Rosa and Mal'akh figured they could keep them away."
"And while this was going on, Marie and the others were healing up?" Lawrence asked.
Marie nodded, but before she could continue with her story, she somehow sensed a great deal of confusion and thought about the game moving through the Manor. She soon recognized it as the woman she had met while dealing with the Leoman love dolls.
"She must have figured out what reality has done," Marie sighed silently, "and has come looking for me..."
Again stretching herself to her limits, she created an avatar of herself again and sent that avatar to where this Madame Serenity was in the manor.
++++++++++
Serenity followed Jensen and Kaylee into a larger room in one back edge of the manor, which served as Jensen's office for when he wasn't doing any in person inspection or handling of the business he owned/managed. There was a large ornate desk with a computer and at least two filing cabinets next to it. There were also several bookshelves in the room filled with either folders, business related manuals and books, law books, and one series that Serenity noticed in particular. "Big Bad Wolf Pack: Pack Roster 1800-1850".
"The pack has kept a roster of all the Lupmen in the pack for all managerial purposes," Jensen spoke, "some of it is to keep track of who is in the pack and some is to keep names straight so that no two Lupman have the same name."
"Adding a surname probably wouldn't hurt in that regard," Serenity offered off hand.
"We've never done that," Kaylee spoke firmly.
"Any way," Jensen then spoke, "as new wolves join the Pack, either through birth or from moving her and recognizing me as the Pack's Alpha, their name is added to the list."
"What if they don't accept you as the Alpha?"
"They are given the offer to challenge me," Jensen answered, "and the Pack will hold a wrestling match. If I win... my leadership of the Pack is accepted and the new wolf has the option of staying as a lower ranking Lupman or leaving. Most have usually staid with the Pack. If I lose the match, the new comer takes over the Pack and I step down."
"I take it this hasn't happened much?" Serenity asked.
"Newcomers have won from time to time," Jensen replied, "but they usually do not lead for long. As another Lupman who was a member of the pack before then challenges the new Alpha, or the previous Alpha trains to for a rematch... I have yet to lose a match."
"As Alpha Male," Kaylee reminded him, "Mister P gave you a couple of rather crushing defeats in these matches before we got married."
Serenity watched Jensen lick one of his fangs.
"It sounds like an awfully violent way of leadership," Serenity commented.
"It's better then it was in much earlier times," Jensen commented, "these challenges once lead to all out fights. Both the Alpha and the challenger were commonly seriously injured in these fights. I think one Alpha in the 1700s was even killed by a challenger. Now, the worst we'll face is a broken tooth or finger."
Serenity slowly nodded. Jensen continued.
"The list is rewritten when a new Alpha takes over," Jensen spoke, "so obviously, the present roster is the one that is the most up to date. If there is a Lupman in the Pack named Marie, it will be here."
Jensen then opened one of those books that was sitting on his desk.
"Now, let's see... Marie..."
"I am here," said Marie's avatar making them all jump.