Disclaimer:
~Big thanks to Enemyoffun for making this universe to play in, and to all my beta readers for helping me hammer out some of the details in this chapter. Also, a big thanks to djkauf, who's edits are always awesome.
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy this chapter, somethings more are revealed. Please comment on this, I enjoy reading your comments and learning from them immensely.

Chapter 18

November 3, 2011

I ran, I just ran as fast as I could. Running on all fours wasn’t as unsettling as I thought it would be, and I didn’t even care at the moment. I just wanted to get away from that house and away from that, that person, who claimed to be my biological father. It just couldn’t be true, it couldn’t!

I howled as I ran; howled in anger and sadness. I heard some echoes of my howl, but no howl in return. If there were other Wolves around, they weren’t within earshot of me. To top it all off, I wasn’t even paying attention where I was going through the forest. I just kept running through it. The forest smelled nice, the way wildlife smelled in early November. It felt natural, and nice to be away from civilization for a while. I heard a few bird calls overhead, but nothing sounded like a raven. That gave me little relief, since I didn’t want to do anything with those Ravens right now.

Eventually, I slowed down to a walk and I padded along the forest floor. I could see that the sun was setting in the west. Had I really been out here that long? I think the adrenaline I built up from my rage at that, that person, was finally starting to wear off.

As I padded along the forest, I heard the trickling of water nearby. Had I run all the way back to the river again? If so, should I go downstream and back to town? A part of me wanted to just get away from all of that mess that I had run into up here after I had woken up. But, there was a piece of me that wanted to stay behind and make sure that I had all the information so that my brain could wrap around it.

My father was a spy, and spying on other Were clans of all things? Why would the Ravens want to gather so much information on the Weres all over the place? Did they have some piece of information that made the reconnaissance necessary? I growled and shook my head. I don’t think I wanted to think about anything like that right now. That was just too much for me to handle right now.

I padded along the trail that I seemed to have found and came across a small hidden grove. It had a small waterfall, which was the sound of water trickling that drew me here in the first place, and there were some small areas of grass that reminded me of lawns around town. I stretched out and lay down next to the small pool where the water collected before going down a second waterfall.

Through a gap in the foliage, I could see the town sprawled out before me. I wasn’t too far up, and couldn’t see the entire town, but I could make out some of the landmarks down there. I could make out the university and the lake, and I thought I could even see my apartment building down there.

I howled again, as I looked down, sad that the people down there who cared about me, didn’t even know that I was up in the woods. I felt so alone up here. I looked up, and saw the half moon, high in the sky. I don’t know what got into me, but I howled to the moon as well. Wolves do that all the time in nature, so why not a Werewolf?

After a bit, I just lay down next to the pond shore on the lawn, and started to feel myself drift off to sleep. I felt so tired; all that running must’ve worn me out. I heard a bird call overhead, but it wasn’t a Raven. I guess they were letting me stew in my emotions for a while, giving me some space.

I breathed deep and just tried to relax. For some reason, this grove really helped at doing just that. Maybe it was just the ambience of the two waterfalls, and how nice it was here. There didn’t seem to be anything else around here, so that was the logical conclusion.

I was on the verge of nodding off, when I heard a branch snap nearby. I bolted up, on alert to whomever it was nearby. I didn’t want them getting the jump on me, so I ran off to a little branch cave near the first waterfall. I wanted to see who I was up against, and if they were friendly or not. I sure hoped it wasn’t one of those goons chasing me from a few days ago. I was really not in the mood to deal with them right now, and was likely to tear them to pieces.

To my surprise, a young woman stepped into the grove. She looked familiar, somehow. Like I had seen her from somewhere before. Where had I seen her? I looked at her face, and saw a pair of sharp yellow eyes.

Yellow eyes? Wait a minute. That was that one girl, Iris! What was she doing up here? I got close to the ground, with my gaze still fixed on her. She headed over to the pond, and decided to take a seat there, near where I had been lying a few seconds ago.

I continued to look out to her, watching to see what she decided to do. For all I knew, she knew about this spot already and it was somewhere she wanted to go when she needed to get away from it all. I didn’t think she spotted me anyway.

“Are you going to come out of there or not?” she said out loud to the world.

‘Wait! Did she know I was here?’ I thought to myself.

“C’mon out, Wolf. We need to talk,” she continued.

I decided to pad out to her and act like a big dog. Maybe she would think that I was one, and leave me alone. I walked right up to her and sat down next to her. I looked at her like I wanted to be petted, to which she did not oblige.

“Really? You think I’m going to fall for the ‘Play dumb’ trick?”

I whimpered, trying to keep it up. She just shook her head, and looked at me like she was waiting for me to act my age and not like a misbehaving child.

I turned back into my human form, still sitting there on the lawn, and as I looked down, I was still in my Halloween costume. I really had to find a change of clothes somewhere. Hopefully, back in my own apartment; that way everyone who cares about me down there would stop worrying about me and get out of the hell that I was putting them through.

“How’d you know?” I asked.

“I followed you here from the Raven household.”

“Wait! You’re one of them! A Raven!” I exclaimed, getting to my feet and ready to make a run for it again. I did not want to talk with anyone from that family right now.

“Yes, and no,” she calmly replied. “If you calm down, I’ll explain it to you. Besides, you and I each have information that the other needs.”

“Fine,” I answered, with a note of skepticism.

I sat down next to her again, and immediately said, “Start talking.”

“First, the only thing the Ravens and I have in common is that we are both were birds. I’m a Hawk, not a Raven.”

“Hawk? Prove it.”

She smiled and transformed before my eyes. A few seconds later, sitting where she once was, was a hawk. I wasn’t sure what kind of hawk it was, but it definitely wasn’t a raven.

She promptly changed back and said, “There. Satisfied?”

I nodded, and added. “Continue with your tale.”

“I’ve been here, in Ravencrest, on a mission from the Forsaken.”

“Forsaken?”

“We are a group of Weres who are essentially spies. We are without a clan, so our little group is like our clan. But, more of that later. My mission was to determine and neutralize the threat to the Weres of Ravencrest.”

“Threat? What threat?”

“That’s part of what I’m here to determine. So far, I’ve only found a good number of henchmen, but none seem to know anything except for orders to capture, if not kill, someone called the Were Lorekeeper.”

“I’d guess that much,” I replied. “They’re also after the ring of the lorekeeper as well.”

“A ring?” she asked, confused.

“Whenever a group of goons would come upon me, they would always say to hand over the ring, and they’ll let me go. But, that won’t work anymore.”

“Interesting,” she replied, placing her finger to her mouth to think. “Why do you say it won’t work anymore?”

I held up my charm bracelet. “Because this is the ring.”

She grabbed my arm, and studied the bracelet. “So, they are after this piece of jewelry?”

“That’s what they keep telling me.”

“Hmm…,” she said, thinking again, “I wonder what’s so special about it.”

“Aside from being the identifier of the Were Lorekeeper, I don’t know.”

“Very interesting. Well, from what I know about various Were clans around the country, the position of a Lorekeeper is unique to Ravencrest. And Ravencrest alone.”

“Really?”

She nodded.
“Then this thing could have something to deal with something in town?”

I looked out at the town down below, wondering if there was more to this quiet upper New York town than meets the eye.

She asked me, “Do you have any idea who might know more about this bracelet?”

I sighed deeply, realizing that I probably did. “Other than the other members of the Were Council, probably the patriarch of the Raven clan.”

“Then, let’s go ask them.”

“Wait a minute. What us?”

“Like it or not, Miss Vance. You and I are going to have to work together on this one. They are after you, and I am probably the only person in town that can help you without hiding a knife behind their back.”

“What?” I replied, confused. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that everyone around this town has their own agenda they are trying to push. To the detriment of anyone who stands in their way.”

“Huh,” I stated. Now that I thought about it, it did seem that way with everyone surrounding the Were Council. Stiles wanted me for a power play, Locke wanted me nowhere near the Council, and the Coven wanted me in place to bring some stability from what I was told.

“What about you?” I asked. “What’s your angle?”

She smirked and humphed. “I already told you. I’m here to deal with those goons. And I’m very interested in working with you.”

“Why? What makes me so special? Why not work with Locke, or Stiles, or some other member of that damn council?”

“Simple. They’re all suspects. From what you have said, the goons have been targeting you. Specifically, the bracelet around your wrist. My conclusion: there is some hidden power in that bracelet that they seek to possess.”

I thought about it for a bit. Her logic did seem sound, sound enough to be Vulcan. I inwardly laughed at the comparison, as I realized that I hadn’t been exploring more of my own interests for quite some time now.

“Fine. I’ll work with you, but with complete communication between the two of us. When one of us has a development, then the other should know immediately.”

“Deal,” she said, extending her hand.

I was hesitant to shake her hand, but I ultimately did. I could use an ally, even though I didn’t really trust too many people in this town, with the exception of Alex.

“Now,” Iris said, getting to her feet. “Let’s head to the Raven house. They could have some information that could be beneficial in our continuing investigation.”

She motioned with her hand for me to lead the way.

“How fast can you fly?” I mischievously asked, with a roguish glint of my eye.

She smiled. “Oh, I’ll be able to keep up with you.”

------------------------------------

We returned just after sunset to the Davidson household, travelling in our animal forms. Iris commented that it would’ve been faster if we both had flown, but I was not ready to embrace the Raven side of me at the moment. We headed in through the back yard, almost at the exact spot where I had run off into the woods.

“I was wondering when you would return,” a deep voice commented, as soon as I stepped onto the back porch.

I turned and sitting in the bench was Grandfather.

“Were you waiting for me there all this time?”

“No. But, I figured you would be back, since you didn’t know how to get to town from here.”

‘Score one for the wise, old man,’ I thought.

He turned and got to his feet. He noticed Iris and commented, “And I see you met someone out in the forest. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?”

“Iris Malune,” she said, extending a hand of friendship.

Grandfather shook her hand and asked, “We don’t get many people up this way hiking. The terrain gets rough very quickly.”

“I like the outdoors,” she answered, quickly.

Grandfather had a look of skepticism on his face, but it passed just as soon as it appeared.

“Really?” he smiled, “Where have you hiked around here? The main forest trail? Around Lake Crawley? Or maybe something more adventurous, like Raven’s Peak and Dusk Grove?”

“Yes,” she replied, casually. “I’ve been to them all. You definitely have some great views of the town from the Peak and the Grove. Didn’t expect that from the grove, but it’s high enough up to provide such a brilliant view.”

Faster than what I would expect from a man his age, he grabbed her arm and quickly pulled her close. He rolled up her sleeve, while she struggled a bit in his grasp, revealing a tattoo. The tattoo on her left forearm depicted an image of the wings of a majestic bird around an eye inside of a triangle. The eye reminded me of the floating one on the back of the one dollar bill.

“I see. A Forsaken,” he commented, releasing her.

“Yes, I am,” she grumbled. She looked like she was hoping her ruse wouldn’t give her away.

“What business do you have here?”

“I’m on a mission, which deals with the Weres in this town. That’s all you need to know,” she answered defiantly.

“Hmm…,” he mumbled. “What makes you think that we need your assistance, Forsaken?”

“I wouldn’t have come if someone didn’t make the call, Raven.”

“I’m well aware of that,” he scolded her, as he would for a disobedient child.

“Then, who called, Raven?” she replied in a hostile tone.

“It certainly wasn’t me, Forsaken.”

“Timeout!” I interrupted.

They both looked at me funny, and I continued. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on here?”

“Someone called me in to deal with the Were threat to this town, specifically to you,” Iris started.

“Threat to her? What threat?” Grandfather replied.

Iris looked a little smug, as she fired off, “Ah, your information gathering seems to have let you down this time.”

“It’s been known to happen every so often,” he admitted, mumbling.

“Someone is after the ring of the Were Lorekeeper,” Iris continued.

“Why would someone be after that old thing?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but I’ve nearly been killed several times over for it,” I interjected, raising my voice a little.

“If I hadn’t picked off the goons that first threatened her that one night, she might not have be here now.”

“Wait?” I asked. “That was you that one night?” I thought back to that night, and remembered how those goons from the alleyway were killed with silver arrows.

“Yes, that was me. Although, I was after them and not you. But, it seems to have worked out for the best anyway.”

“Gee…, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

She turned back to Grandfather, “So, what is it that you’re not telling us, Raven?”

Grandfather looked like he was in between a rock and a hard place with the look on his face. He was fighting whether or not the secrets he was keeping was worth placing me in the crosshairs of these crazed people.

I decided to pressure that point. “This information could keep me alive! You don’t want to be responsible to the death of a grandchild, now do you?”

“Grandchild?” Iris asked, looking at me like there was something that I didn’t tell her.

“Long story,” I replied quickly, hoping that she wouldn’t press the issue.

Grandfather took a deep sigh, and answered, “Fine, I’ll tell you what I know about the ring. But, this information doesn’t leave the three of us. Clear?”

I nodded, while Iris said, “Crystal.”

“The ring is a part of a set, fashioned by Ravencrest himself. He gave one ring to the major Unseen factions in the town, and told them it was a symbol of their office for keeping their lore and secrets for future generations. I suspected that there was something else in play, as did a few other people, Witches mostly.”

“What did you suspect?” I asked.

“That they were three keys to one lock. Although, I have no clue if I’m right or not. Ravencrest tasked my family to assisting the Were Lorekeeper, whomever that may be, in their duties and to protect that piece of jewelry at all costs.”

Iris nodded as we absorbed the information.

I thought to myself, ‘So, there is an ulterior motive to keeping me alive. He wants to protect this bracelet around my wrist. Nice to know that he had my best interests at heart.’

“What else about this bracelet? Does it have any powers?” I asked him, keeping my frustration and anger in check.

“I don’t know all of them. But, there were a few that was shared between me and previous Lorekeepers. First, it serves as the key to the Were Archive.”

“Figured that one out. Too much like a dungeon for my tastes,” I retorted.

“Second,” he continued, choosing to ignore my quip, “it allows the wearer to assume the form of each of the clans of the town. They would be marked, but technically a member of the clan. That way, they can’t be biased toward any one clan. However, they wouldn’t be marked in anyway if their true form is one of the five.”

“Then why do I have two? Wolf and Raven?”

“Each parent is a different animal. If they can hybridize in nature, then they would have a hybrid form. Else, they get two forms,” he answered.

“Does this thing have any other powers?” I asked, looking at it.

“That’s all that I know,” he answered. “There could be more, probably written down in that archive.”

I filed that statement away for a later search of the archive. For all I knew, there could be something down there that could tell me more information about this bracelet. There were a ton of books down there, and I only had read a few.

“Well,” Iris started, breaking the silence that hung in the air for a few minutes. “I think we have something to go off of.”

“We?” Grandfather replied, getting to his feet. “Who’s this we?”

“Us,” I adamantly stated.

“No, it’s too dangerous for you. You’re the target,” he argued.

“I know. But, I want these guys gone. And, if I am to be the Lorekeeper for this crazy town, then maybe a show of strength will make those clans see the truth and quit their posturing.”

Grandfather chuckled. “Alright. But, you have to talk to your father.”

I blanched at that. “I’ll talk to him, when he talks to Mom. He’s got a lot of explaining to do.”

“Fair enough. Now, let’s go eat some dinner. We can drive you back to your apartment in the morning.”

“Fine. Although I am eager to change out of these clothes.”

Iris laughed at that. “How long have you been wearing them?”

“Too long. They really reek.”

We all laughed at that. “Forsaken, you are welcome at my table tonight. And if anything happens to my granddaughter while she is with you, you’ll have me to deal with. Got it?”

“Got it,” Iris coolly answered.

The three of us turned, and headed into the house, where I could smell something meaty and juicy being cooked up.