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“Nice of you to come,” Deaton acknowledges his sister's arrival looking pointedly at the clock on the wall in the surgery.
“You are not my only concern, dear brother, sometimes you’ll need to be patient,” Morrell counters, as they walk through to the vet’s office.
“Let’s get on with this then. We are sure of the advantages?” Deaton asks.
“Well I am, the current situation is unsustainable, we can’t continue this lurching from one crisis to the next.”
“I agree we need to take some kind of action to stabilise the situation, but is this the right choice?”
“I think it has to be.” Deaton frowns at the conviction in Morrell’s words and sighs.
“Then the decision is made,” he confirms.
...
“Scott cannot be a casualty in all of this.” Deaton insists.
“You are too invested in that boy.” Morrell chides.
“He’s a true Alpha… the first one in hundreds of years… I can’t abandon him now.”
“Then we’ll need to include him, which worries me… he is still very loyal to the Stilinski boy. We can’t trust him not to reveal our purpose”.
“I think we can manage his involvement though…” Deaton suggests, “Tell him nothing but influence his moves… and begin to plant the seeds of doubt about Stiles. No more than that for the moment.”
“Are you sure?” Morrell raises her eyebrows. “Couldn’t we perhaps strengthen his position? Encourage him to expand his pack? Access to more foot soldiers could be advantageous in the long run.”
“Yes, perhaps you’re right…” Deaton considers, “but we can’t allow him to bite anyone else... at least for now, there’s still that Calaveras woman to consider… but perhaps a couple of omegas…”
“Omegas are a definite possibility… if they’re a little desperate all the better, they’ll likely turn out very loyal.”
“Good, I think a little encouragement is all it should take, Scott has a soft heart. I’ll see what I can do.”
...
“And Derek?” Morrell moves them on to the next issue.
“Yes, Derek is a problem.” Deaton agrees.
“What about the other Hales? At least Peter is contained for now,” Morrell smirks.
“True, and Cora has no desire to come back and won’t, as long as we can keep any disturbing news from reaching her.”
“So Derek gets a reprieve for now… I would’ve liked to be rid of him but we’ll have to content ourselves with sidelining him, undermining him in Scott’s eyes… and Stiles’ if possible. What about Malia?”
“She’s a nuisance more than anything, but doesn’t hold a great deal of respect within the pack and I think we can easily distract her with the prospect of finding the Desert Wolf.”
...
“How has your own research been going, have we any hope of getting rid of that damn tree?”
“If you’re asking about the nemeton, then yes, there is some hope. There are a number of spells I’d like to try to start with, the difficulty is causing damage without triggering a retaliation.”
“We must move on this soon, results are expected.”
“I’m not sure of it’s strength right now or indeed, the extent of it’s capabilities… but I suppose we must try, show willing.”
Morrell nods.
Deaton checks a chart on his desk, “Can you join me tomorrow night? I think we could make a useful start, if the weather is favourable.”
“Yes that works for me.” Morrell gets up to go, “And if there’s nothing else…”
“I’ve yet to hear of the status of your contributions, Marin...” Deaton stalls her departure, “...however small.”
She doesn’t hide her disdain at his comment but does concede, “There is little to tell at the present but that will change as we progress. My positions at both the school and Eichen House make access easy and unremarkable. I should prove to be the perfect liaison.” And with that she is gone.