"Where did Miss Martha go?" Jenny asked after a few moments as most of the pups had gathered around the television after breakfast.
"One of the Leomen in the Medical Wing wished to speak with her," Joy spoke from where she was watching, "So she has gone to speak with her. Do you need something?"
Jenny looked to her brothers and sister and then to the other pups that were present, along with Mary and Fox and Elise's daughters.
"Not really, but she's normally with all of us the most," Jenny spoke after a moment, "and... she isn't here..."
"She will probably be back," Joy answered, "there is no need to worry."
"How are Aunties Hope, Grace, and Isabelle? And Uncles Nick and Zack?" Marcy asked, listing her mother's sisters and their husbands.
"Can we say hi?" Kevin asked beside her.
"I suppose," Joy said slowly, "but you should wait until Martha returns. Beta Julie would be upset to wake up to find her medical ward torn up by rough-housing."
"We can watch them," Bart said slowly, "No problem."
Joy looked to the older reddish brown male, "I'm not sure that is a good idea without supervision..."
"I can do that, Joy," came Kaylee's voice as she entered the room, "Jensen is still catching up on paperwork that we missed thanks to Kurse... and I think he has some meetings today. So I'll be taking over the responsibilities of checking on the others."
"Of course, Alpha Kaylee," Joy nodded.
Kaylee then stepped around the gather pups and cubs, gently rubbing the heads of a couple of them as she passed. As she moved, she gathered up her children and began to lead them toward the medical wing. Bart and Jenny were quick to take their mother's hands while Marcy and Kevin followed close behind, after hugging Zelipe and let the other pups return to the program they were watching.
++++++++++++
In the mirrorverse Lawrence looked nervously between Cassandra and Lilly and Alice and her half sisters and then back to Marie-Eliza and her mother before sighing.
"So how were the witches hung?" Lawrence asked after a moment.
"By the neck," Eliza answered, "what other way is there?"
"Well, formally there are two methods of execution by hanging," Lawrence answered, "one is what they call the short-drop and the other is the long-drop. The aim of hanging is to snap the bones in the neck. But there has always been the problem of a prisoner surviving the initial fall and he or she ends up choking to death. And these problems were more present in the short-drop then in the long-drop, and ultimately lead to executioners to switch from the short-drop to the long-drop... though without a source, I can't say when that switch was made. But with Marie's second sight, I'd assume that Marie could have urged a long-drop execution if possible."
Cassandra and Lilly shuddered. Maddex caught in an instant.
"Abbey, take Cassandra and Lilly out of the mirrorverse," Maddex said firmly and quickly.
"What... NO!" both carnelian colored pups cried, "we'll be brave!"
"This is already troubling you... and your mother will probably be upset to hear that you've heard such a dark and violent story so far," Maddex answered, "I don't want you having nightmares."
"But..." Cassandra began, "we're so close to the end..."
"I will give the "G" version later," Maddex told them, "Please. Go with Abbey. Please. I don't want you having nightmares."
Cassandra and Lilly gave a whimper and stepped toward Abbey.
"Okay," they said slowly.
Abbey then led the two pups off to a mirror they could easily emerge from.
"Sorry," Lawrence said weakly, "I didn't mean to put you through all that."
"I should have sent them to their mother earlier," Maddex replied, "this story got way too violent and way too dark for them awhile ago. And to be honest, if I knew those details about how people were executed, I would have asked the same question."
Lawrence and Betty slowly nodded.
"So...?"
++++++++++++++
"You wished to speak with me?" Martha asked as she looked down to Mal'akh.
"Yes..." Mal'akh answered slowly, realizing that some of it was nostalgia. She picked up somethings from what Joy had told her that reminded her of the the members of the pack that she had interacted with.
Martha remained silent.
"I was speaking with Joy last night and I was trying to find out how she and her sister ended up mutating as they had..."
"That was my fault," Martha said slowly, "I admit it... though at the time..."
"Yes, I know," Mal'akh said quickly, "Joy explained that it was an accident. It largely made me curious..."
"My condition has been genetic," Martha explained, "thankfully since my husbands and sister-wives' mutation was a result of the absorption of magic, my daughters do not have the mutated genes that I do... though not that I haven't overheard them whispering from time to time about wanting to be like myself and my mates..."
"They want to be mutated?" Mal'akh gasped.
"I guess they feel like they are left out... unlike their parents," Martha sighed, "they do not fully understand genetics and the problems that the Game has brought on Glendale."
"Oh," Mal'akh said slowly, "I'm sorry..."
"It is not your fault," Martha answered, "and even if it was, as an Omega, it is not my place to "punish you" outside of an order from Alphas Jensen or Kaylee."
"You remind me a lot of a pair of Lupmen I knew in my time," Mal'akh commented, "a pair of silver twins. One was named Winifred... I'm sorry but I can not remember the name of the other twin..."
"I would hope that is a complement," Martha answered.
"It is nothing bad, I assure you," Mal'akh answered, "nothing bad."
Martha then nodded, as another group slowly made their way into the room.
"Good Morning, Kaylee," Fran said politely as she moved about with the day shift, double checking to make sure Julie's good luck totem was safe.
Kaylee hugged her sister-wife.
"Good morning again, Fran," Kaylee nodded, "Jensen will be busy with paperwork and a few meetings today. So, I will take the updates on the pack and the pride's status. Remember that we will likely need to keep Mother Glen informed on how her Pride is doing."
"And the pups?" Fran looked down to Bart, Jenny, Kevin, and Mary, who stood between their mother and their aunt, with Kevin petting one of Fran's thighs.
"Here to see their aunts and uncles," Kaylee nodded, "and will be on their BEST behavior."
"Yes, mom," the four pups answered like little soldiers.
And while their mother began to converse with Fran, Bart, Jenny, Kevin, and Marcy set about their mission to see what Martha was up to. They did pay their relatives by blood and law a brief hello and received a short pat on he head from each. Zack inquired about what Zelipe and Amy were up to. They told him that Zelipe was watching television with the other pups and Amy was "growing up", which left the charcoal black male puzzled, but Jensen and Kaylee's pups didn't know anything more then that.
Once they had finished their "cover" mission, they made their way to the silver furred mutant she wolf at the other end of the medical wing.
"Forgive me if this is rude, but do you know how your family line's mutation came about?" Mal'akh asked.
"What brings about such curiosity in an Omega?"
"Well... until I arrived here in this time, your pack had no mutant wolves," Mal'akh said slowly, "the only "mutant" I knew of was a lioness that served the witches named Twilight."
"I remind you of a Leoman lioness?" Martha asked.
"In some respects, the mutated form, the solid color eyes... though whether or not she had a third eye on each of her heads is a little fuzzy, but the solid color is definitely there. I think you even have her eye color," Mal'akh said slowly, "again, I'm sorry if this seems rude."
"It is alright," Martha commented, "I suppose nostalgia will do that. From what I've heard this is a whole new world for you."
Mal'akh nodded.
"What are you up to Miss Martha?" came a small voice from behind the silver Lupman making both Martha and Mal'akh look in that direction.
They turned to see that it was Bart, Jenny, Kevin, Marcy looking up at her and Mal'akh, and looking very curious.
"I thought I'd left you with the others," Martha answered.
"We wondered what you were up to," Marcy spoke, "that you might leave..."
"I would never leave," Martha told the pups, collecting the youngest girl in a hug and holding her up.
"And who are these four?" Mal'akh asked, noticing the males' resemblance to Francis, right down to the violet colored eyes. Only one was black.
"These are Alpha Jensen and Alpha Kaylee's pups," Martha spoke, "the oldest male is Bartholomew, but prefers Bart. The oldest female... and the only one of Alpha Jensen's children to have his fur color... is Jenny, the younger male is Kevin, and this is Marcy... and they should all be where I left them."
"It's alright," Mal'akh answered, "their faces jog a few memories that I have as well."
"Good memories?" Marcy asked from Martha's arms.
Not wanting to frighten a child with tales of the witches, Mal'akh nodded.
"Your brothers resemble a male pup that I knew back in my time," Mal'akh told Marcy.
"Isn't it now your time?" Marcy asked, not knowing that her wording had a different meaning then what she meant.
"Ms. Mal'akh is one of the Pride that the game had caught and Ms. Glen freed her," Martha explained.
"I'm sorry," Marcy said almost without thinking.
"It is good that she freed you then," Jenny stepped forward.
"Yes," Mal'akh answered, "I will owe Penny Glen quite a lot when I heal up."
"I can check with the Pack's rosters if you are looking for the fate of friends you might have had among the pack," Martha offered.
"Not right now," Mal'akh sighed, "some of this might have been nostalgia on my part. I didn't mean to take you away from your duties."