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. Please comment on this, I enjoy reading your comments and learning from them immensely.

Chapter 20

November 7, 2011
There had been no sign of any wolf being there once we managed to get across the lake to where he had been standing. I was sure that I had seen that wolf somewhere before, or at least, smelled him before. Cassie and Alex told me that they would keep an eye out for him, but I had a hunch that the wolf was cleverer than that.

It felt like he was stalking me, watching my movements, and when the time comes, pounce. I resolved that I wouldn't let him do that. The next time I saw or smelled him, I would be after him, and make him tell me why he was following me. I am extremely fed up with all these people watching me. It's like that they were all wondering when I'm going to pop or something. Enough was enough.

Today, the sun was shining through a few clouds in the sky. I was sitting with my books open in the quad area, trying to get some studying and catch up done. Being trapped up in the hills may have been a good way to get away from it all, but it was there and meaner when you finally come back. Alex was sitting across the picnic table from me, with her own set of books open. I asked her what had happened to the friends that had first introduced the two of us. She simply told me that they had a falling out of sorts and the two of them transferred to other schools.

“Really?” I asked. “What happened?”

“After you had disappeared, and I became obsessed with finding you, we ended up having a bad fight. They accused me of playing favorites and having an obsession over you, and paying very little attention to them. I told them to back off and that I would help any of my friends if they were in trouble. They fired back that we hung out very little ever since you rode into to town. And I told that they could get the hell out of here. That was the end of that.”

She quickly looked back down at her notebook, and I decided to let the matter drop. I didn't have many friends with I was still Michael, but I did want to keep them close. No matter what.
I looked around to see if anyone was watching me. Alex did comment on my newly-heightened paranoia, and I vehemently told her that I was tired of being watched by all these people. She backed off and refused to comment further on the matter.

“So, the Amazons were attacked not once, but twice by Greek heroes?” I asked Alex.

“Yeah, once by Theseus and once by Hercules. Although, I think the Amazons got a rough deal being the pawns of the gods in those cases.”

I smiled. “Still, they must've been courageous to try to take on those warrior women.”

“Oh, yeah. Up until the point where they're running for their lives.”

“Live to fight another day,” I murmured.

She nodded in agreement.

The wind picked up a bit, changing direction as well, and my nose suddenly caught the scent of something familiar. That Wolf! He was close by, I was sure of it. If the wind hadn't changed direction, I probably wouldn't have noticed him.

I looked around, trying to see where he decided to spy on me from. I still could smell him, so where was he?

“You okay?” Alex asked.

“Yeah. I just picked up the scent of that wolf again. Where's it coming from?”

Alex returned to focusing on her work and answered, “Why don't you follow your nose?”

I laughed sarcastically and then did a double-take. “You know, that's not a bad idea.”

I turned my head in the direction the scent was emanating from. Unfortunately, I could see nothing but a sea of college students at the various tables. Where was he hiding? Somewhere in plain sight?

“I'll be right back, Alex. I need to check something out.”

“Alright,” she said, paying little attention to me and more to the textbook.

I packed up everything up into my backpack and headed in the direction of the smell. Making sure to make a good show of me heading somewhere on campus so as to not arouse suspicion.

The scent seemed to be a bit weaker than when I had smelled it the other day. But, there was still enough of it for me to follow. The scent was musky and definitely male. It also was distinctively different than the other males in the area. Had a more piney scent to it, along with it being more dog-like than another human.

I continued my walk up the walkway, looking around casually, but keeping my direction toward where the scent was coming from. No one was really looking at me, they were paying more attention to whatever was in their notebooks or textbooks. As I looked ahead, I noticed that the crowd had thinned out considerably. There were only a few people sitting around here now. We were farther away from the University Center, and college students tended to stay close to food.

That's when I saw him. That Locke that I was introduced to at the Halloween party. The Wolf scent was stronger around him, and was coming off of him. He was packing up his backpack, trying not to look conspicuous. But, I had him, now that I knew who was stalking me.

After he gathered up his stuff, he quickly headed off in the direction of the parking lot. I picked up my pace, not wanting him to get away. Not when he was so close. I wanted answers, and I wanted them now.

He walked over to a green pickup truck and opened the passenger side door. Throwing his backpack into the cab; I did not want him to get away from me now. And I wasn't prepared to chase his truck all over town. I quickly jumped into a nearby bush thicket. There were a number of these around campus, giving the campus more of a wild feeling to it. I don't know why the gardening staff wanted them around, seeing as parents and donors would complain about campus security, but right now, they were like gold to me.

I set my backpack down in the bushes and quickly turned into my wolf form. I thanked inwardly that my clothes changed with me. Stripping out here was an option that I didn't even want to consider. I emerged from the thicket and quickly ran over to the truck, just as he was coming around to the driver's side.

I started growling the moment he turned the corner and saw me there. He jumped out of surprise more than shock. I growled and conveyed in my thoughts that I wanted to talk, now.

'Hold it right there, bucko. We need to talk. Now.'

I don't know if heard me, but he started looking around to see if there was anyone else nearby. I guess he didn't want to disturb the Norms. He turned to me and said, “Fine. Fine! Can we go somewhere else though? My cousin would have a fit if he knew what I was doing.”

'Your elder cousin?' I asked, playing.

“Yeah,” he replied smugly, “Tobias Locke, head of the council.”

I snickered, if a wolf could snicker. 'A fit?' I thought. 'You're right. That probably wouldn't do Tobias Locke justice.'

“What?” he asked, looking scared. “How do you...?”

'I just know, Wolf,' I answered, staring at him and menacing him with my teeth.

“Fine. Fine! But, can we please go somewhere more private to talk?”

I stopped growling and thought, 'Sure. Wait right here, I'll be back in a minute.'

I headed back to where my backpack was hiding and quickly thought over to him, 'And don't you even think about bailing on me!'

I heard him gulp, and I couldn't help but feel a little satisfaction. I wonder why he was acting scared. Maybe he was thinking of a woman scorned, or something like that. But, when I first ran into him, he acted like he was protecting some kind of territory, but didn't want to pick a fight.

I turned back into my human form, from the safety of the thicket, and slung my backpack over my shoulder. I pulled out my phone and texted Alex that I had found the Wolf and was confronting him right now.

When I got back to the truck, I saw him leaning against the driver's door, looking venomous. I guess he never thought he would get caught.

“C'mon, let's go,” he said sullenly, opening his truck door.

“Uh-uh,” I answered, shaking my head no. “Library, now.”

“What?” he replied, looking like I just had said the craziest thing in the world. “You can't be serious. We should go to the mansion.”

“No,” I interrupted. “The library, or I'll let your cousin know how you failed miserably at tailing me.”

He threw his hands up in defeat. “Fine,” he growled.

I led the way to the library and quickly found a secluded corner, reasonably close to the hidden passage to the archive. I inwardly smiled at that fact, it could prove useful having an escape route if need be. I took a seat facing the door, while the Wolf took the opposite from me.

“So, Justin,” I started, pausing for effect, “why have you been following me and on whose orders?”

“The Alpha's orders, of course,” he replied. “Ever since you first appeared, he told me to keep an eye on you, to make sure that you didn't rock the boat.”

“Well,” I replied, “as you can see, I'm not the only one who has been rocking the boat.”

Justin nodded.

“What else? Why is he so concerned about me rocking the boat of all people?”

“He doesn't want to give up the control he has on the council. I know that the Lorekeeper casts the deciding vote in the case of a tie, and that the Lockes are exerting more pressure on the McClintocks.”

“What kind of pressure?”

He shrugged. “I'm not sure. Probably financial. There's been some bad blood between the two clans, and he's slowly managed to acquire a great deal of their financial assets.”

That could be interesting. Could there be some way to gain leverage on the McClintocks with this new piece of information? I would have to think about that later.

“What else do you know?” I asked, pressing my attack for more information.

“About what?” he scoffed. “I'm not that high up on the pecking order.”

“High enough, it seems. Tell me anything you know, then,” I replied, frustrated.

“Only that the Alpha was exonerated of his accused murders and restored to the head of the council, shortly after Halloween.”

'Nothing new,' I thought. I quickly replied, “What else do you know? Everything, or I'll tell that Locke has a rat instead of a wolf in his pack.”

Justin scoffed at that, “Why would he believe you?”

“Because, I'm the one he fears coming into their rightful place. Who knows? He might start exiling members of the pack or something worse.”

I paused to let that sink in for a while. His facial expression changed from one of resistance to concern. I smiled inwardly, believing that I had managed to get a foothold. He raised his arm and rubbed the back of his neck, while looking down at the table. His nerves must've been starting to get to him.

“Fine,” he blurted out. “Tobias' brothers are like his closest advisors. They run the pack while Tobias is out of town. He doesn't have a Beta currently, unless that would be cousin Trevor. There was a big fiasco in the family involving that recently.”

“What kind of fiasco?” I asked, trying to press for information.

“I'm not sure. Just something having to do with my cousin Tracy,” he shrugged.

“What about her?”

“Beats me. Why don't you ask her yourself?”

“Tell me how I can get a hold of her, then,” I fiendishly smiled.

The more people I could get to talk, the better. I needed all the information I could get if I wanted Tobias Locke to do what I needed him to do.

“You could just go up to the front door and ask,” he replied, trying to be smart.

“Now why would I do that, when you could do that for me. Or better yet, call her and tell her you need to talk.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Cousin wants to talk? Maybe wanting to go for a run in the woods tonight to get away from her father?”

“Tobias is out-of-town, and like she'd need a reason to get away.” he blurted out.

I smiled. “Perfect. Tonight, at the lake near the Drakes. I'll be waiting.”

I grabbed my backpack and headed for the door. I went over and whispered in his ear, “Don't disappoint me, or Tobias will know of the rat he has.”

I smirked and laughed inwardly. Hopefully, this plan would work to get into some kind of relationship with Lockes. Otherwise, I could find myself worse off, or even dead.

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

I sat on the back porch of the Drake’s house with Alex that night. I wanted to get some of the catch-up work out of the way before heading off into the woods for my meeting. I told Alex and Cassie about how I pressured Justin into setting up the meet. Their reactions were mixed: Alex was happy that I was finally getting somewhere with the Lockes, Cassie, however, advised me to be more cautious. She told me that the Lockes were very devious and cunning about how they always tried to put themselves in the position of having the upper hand.

As I worked, with Alex sitting next to me and reading some old book, I sighed. I was almost done playing catch-up with all the work that I had missed. I logged on to my Black Board account, via my laptop, and uploaded the last of my homework to the professors.

None of them were particularly happy about me missing a few days. But, they assigned the work and I, gratefully, did the time for my unintentional crime. My mythology assignments were engaging, while the math and history assignments were just a slog that I had to get through. Alex helped me out quite a bit with the mythology course work. I think she enjoyed it, seeing me struggle through some of those myths.

After I hit the button and closed my laptop, I laid back in the chair and breathed a sigh of relief. Alex looked up and said, “Finished?”

“Oh, yeah. I'm never going to be away from my studies for very long if I can help it.”

She giggled at that comment. “Well, hopefully you can deal with your current problems quickly, so that you don't have to go through it again so quickly.”

“Me too,” I agreed.

I grabbed my soda, sipped it, and gazed out around the lake for any sign of the wolves. The wind was very calm tonight, with a cool breeze blowing every now and again. It made getting some kind of scent on them difficult.

I thought about turning into a wolf and patrolling the water's edge, but decided against it. I told them where to meet me at, I didn't need to go off somewhere and miss my own meeting.

“You're anxious to get on with the meeting, aren't you?” Alex observed.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Oh, yeah. You're practically emanating anxiety.”

I sarcastically smiled at her. She giggled at her joke, before replying, “Relax. They'll be here.”

“You're right,” I sighed, sitting back down in my chair. “I guess I'm just wound up about all of this.”

“You don't say...,” Alex sarcastically stated, turned back to her book.

“Oh, ha, ha, ha.”

Alex looked up again and smiled. I just shook my head, and tried to relax. I grabbed the bowl of barbeque potato chips and snacked on them, while drinking my soda.

I gazed out at the woods, searching for any sign of the Wolves showing up. Finally, my patience paid off. I saw the Wolf that I knew to be Justin emerge from the edge of the forest, looking out at the house.

“I'm off,” I told Alex, setting the food back on the table.

She looked out to where I was heading and called out, “We'll be there if you call out or don't call out after a couple of hours.”

I nodded, and quickly turned into my wolf form and ran over there.

Justin stood at the edge of the woods, along the lake shore, when I sauntered up to him and thought, “About time you showed up.”

“Sorry,” he replied, sounding like he'd been offended.

I looked around and could smell him clearly, but I couldn't see or smell anyone else.

I growled at Justin and said, “Where is she? We had a deal.”

He looked smug and replied, “Relax. She'll be here soon.”

“She had better,” I replied, flashing my claws.

He backed off a little bit, and I sighed deeply. I hoped that she would be here soon.

After we stood there for a bit, he started “So..., what are you studying at the university?”

“What?” I replied, surprised. I hadn't been expecting that.

“What's your major?” he practically blurted out.

“Math and history.”

“Double major, cool.”

“What's yours?”

“Architecture. I like to draw.”

“Nice. Don't hear many guys admitting to liking drawing.”

“Hey!”

I snickered from my playful tease.

He continued, “At least I can do something from my major. What are you going to do with math and history?”

“I'll figure it out. I just wanted to do something that I enjoyed.”

“And I like to draw,” he ended. If he could stick his tongue out me, and give me one of those online chat smile expressions he would have.

We stood by the lakeside for a while longer, waiting for Tracy to show up. I began to wonder what could be taking her so long, as I watched the heavens begin their nightly dance. Justin decided to stop talking to me, and stood a bit apart from me, while I rested on a rock. It seemed like he was embarrassed for admitting to me that he liked to draw.

A while later I heard some movement in the brush. Taking a deep whiff, I caught the scent of something coming closer to us. I stood up quickly and got ready to pounce, if needed. Justin also stood up and watched in the direction the noise came from.

Soon, a white wolf emerged from the brush and stood there, looking at us.
Justin thought, “About time you got here.”

She responded, “Seriously? You told me to be here at about this time.”

“What the...?” I thought.

Justin looked at the both of us, whined, and stepped back a bit. Looks like he wanted to get me alone for some reason. Maybe he was stalking me, and this assignment gave him a legitimate reason to keep an eye on me.

“You must be Mikaela, the new Wolf in town,” the white wolf said to me, looking over in my direction.

“Yes,” I replied, “you must be Tracy Locke.”

“Yep. My cousin told me that you wanted to talk?”

She growled at Justin again, while giving him a sharp look. I took that to mean, 'I'll deal with you later.' He whimpered and knelt down before her, before lying down on the ground.

“Yes,” I continued. “I want to talk about getting the job that I'm supposed to do, but your father keeps stonewalling me.”

She looked away when I mentioned her father. Was there something going on between them?

“I don't know if I would be the best person to speak to him about you.”

“Why not?”

“I have my reasons.”

I growled in frustration. She looked at me and continued, “But, I can try.”

“Anything you could do would be great. I'm tired of all the running around that I've been put through. First with Stiles and not even getting a chance to talk to your father.”

“We've been busy with other things.”

“I know. The alleged killing spree?”

She blinked at that, thinking that I wouldn't know about that, and replied, “Yeah..., that fiasco.”

“My father is currently out-of-town for a while,” she continued, “but, I'll give him a call and tell him about you.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“Justin,” she said, turning to the other wolf, “let's go.”

“Yes, Tracy,” he looked at me and then followed her into the bushes.

I turned and headed back to the Drakes happy that I was able to make some progress in talking with the Locke clan. Although, from what Tracy had said about her arrival time, made me think that Justin had a crush on me.

'Ugh!' I thought. 'I did not want to deal with that issue right now!'