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 21

November 8, 2011
That Tuesday, I couldn't seem to completely concentrate on my course work. Sure, I was able to get the notes written down, and was able to get through any of the quizzes that my professors decided to spring on us. But, there were too many thoughts nagging at me in the back of my head.

The main thought that was running around through my mind was all the chaos in the Were Council at the moment. The Stiles family was still in damage control mode. They had the funeral for Vernon Stiles and they were wondering what had happened to his son, Damien Cross. The local sheriff's department had put out a missing persons investigation, but that was about it. The other clans were probably conducting an internal investigation, but that was pure conjecture on my part. I tried getting in touch with the Cordays and the Harpers again, but they only thing I could do was leave voice mails.

The other thought on my mind was Justin. It felt like that he was crushing on me for some reason. Was I that attractive to him? Was it because I was an available Wolf ? Did he want to try to mate with me? Was this a ploy by the Alpha Locke to integrate me into his clan and have control of the Lorekeeper in that fashion? More importantly, did I have feelings for Justin?

I didn't think I had feelings for Justin. Okay, maybe a little. Okay, okay! Maybe I had a crush on him. But, was that all?

Those thoughts seem to linger in my mind as I walked back to my apartment after classes. Alex wanted to hang out some later on, and I told her that I would think about it. She seemed a little off after I had said that, like I had let her down or something. I told her that I would call her later if I wanted to hang out tonight. She nodded at that thought, and headed off in the direction of her house.

The cool breeze blew gently by as I continued my walk. What was going on around here? Why did I feel like some kind of pawn in someone's game? I grunted in frustration and took off back to my apartment as quick as my feet would carry me.

I rushed in to my room, threw my bag into a chair and just flopped onto the couch. I stared at the ceiling, trying to organize my thoughts. The machinations of the Were Council. My feelings for Justin. My feelings for Alex.

Whoa! Where did that thought come from? Did I have feelings for Alex still? I knew that I had some for her when I was still Mike. How do they still exist and are they more than just feelings that friends have for one another?

“Ugh!” I shouted, grabbing one of my couch's throw pillows and crushing it in my face.

After a few seconds, I threw it at my feet and groaned some more. Why did life have to throw all these curve balls at me?

I didn't know for how long I just continued to lie there on the couch and stare up at the ceiling. Off and on, while I stared, I could feel the tears flow freely. Damn these crazy emotions! I thought that I was getting used to them by now. Between my cries, time seemed to pass ever so slowly for me. It wasn't until my mom came in with some groceries that I was roused from my trance.

She deftly set the groceries down and sneakily sat down next to me, crouching on the floor next to me.

“Hey,” she spoke softly, “you wanna talk about it?”

I sniffled and said, “I'm just so confused by all of this!”

“All of what?” she answered, still speaking softly.

“The job that I'm supposed to do. Justin. Alex. Take your pick!” I quickly grabbed a nearby throw pillow and hid my face from my mom with it.

“Hey,” she continued softly, in a motherly tone. “It's okay, Mikaela. Tell me what about Justin and Alex. What about them are confusing you?”

“My feelings toward each of them?”

The look on my mom's face relaxed, and she replied, “Oh, is that all?”

“Mom!”

“Sorry,” she replied, putting her hands up defensively. “Who do you want to talk about first? Justin or Alex?”

“Justin.”

“Okay. Did something happen last night?”

“Yeah. He got me to the meeting with Tracy earlier than normal and asked me questions. It was kinda like he was flirting with me or something?”

“And how did that make you feel?”

I shrugged. “I don't know. A little disturbed? I guess. It made me feel, off, for some reason.”

“Why did you feel off?” my mother continued with her questioning.

“Not sure, maybe it was the playful teasing we gave each other while we were waiting for Tracy to show up?”

“Ah,” she replied, with clarity. “I think I get it now.”

“What, Mom? Please tell me.”

“Justin has a crush on you, and the playful teasing you did, could lead him to think that you were interested in him as well. Are you interested in him as a prospective mate?”

“What! No! Just no!” I defensively countered. I shuddered and added, “The thought of being with a guy.... Ugh!”

She giggled and answered, “Then don't let his feelings for you get to you so badly. Now, what about Alex?”

“Well...,” I started, “I like her as a friend, but lately, I think there might be more there.”

“Why?”

“Because of what she told me about her other friends and how she fell into a bad place when I went missing. It's like she cares about me a great deal as well.”

“Best friends tend to.”

“Are you saying she thinks of me as her best friend?”

“Aren't you?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“But...?” my mother prompted.

“What if it's more than that?”

“Then it is. No big deal. I just want you to be happy with whomever you want to be with. Okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed.

“Now that that's all taken care of, is there anything else that you want to talk about?”

“No, not right now anyway.”

“Good. Now, get to your homework.”

I giggled and replied, “Yes, ma'am.”

November 11, 2011
The rest of the week went by in a flash, it seemed. I saw Justin once or twice during the week. My feelings, while still uncertain about where I stood with him, were definitely not bugging me like they had been. I might want to see if I could be friends with him first, and then, if I really felt up to it, ask him out on a date. Just to see what it would be like, nothing more.

Alex and I hung out whenever we had a free moment during the breaks between our classes. She and I enjoyed studying together, and I often tried catching a glimpse of her without her knowing. She was very beautiful to look at, and I think I did have a crush on her. Maybe I would ask her out before I tried asking Justin out.
While Alex and I were studying for an upcoming exam next week at a picnic table in the university park, Justin walked over to the two of us. I wondered what he wanted.

“Don't look now,” Alex muttered to me, noticing Justin on his way here.

“I know, I see,” I answered her under my breath.

He walked right up to the table and asked, “May I join you ladies?”
Acting like a gentleman? That was an interesting move for him.

“Sure,” I replied.

“Thanks,” he answered, sitting down next to me.

“So,” Alex started, dropping her pencil and looking him straight in the eye with her arms crossed across her chest. “What's so important that it's interrupting our study time?”

“I have a message for Mikaela, not for you, Drake.”

Alex humphed, presumably hurt, and went back to her studying.
“Well, what is it?” I asked, with a bit of impatience in my voice. I really didn't like it when he took his time about everything.

“That stung,” he mockingly answered. “I thought we could spend some time together and talk about something of interest.”

I humphed, eager to get down to business. “Just get on with it already. I have a midterm to study for.”

“Fine,” he replied, his hopes dashed, after I struck down the conversation that he wanted to strike up with me. “Tracy says that her father won't be back for a few weeks. So, you'll have to try to talk to him then.”

I groaned at that. So much for trying to use the daughter to get to the Alpha. But, what about the Beta?

“Who's the Beta of the clan?” I asked.

“The Beta?”

“Yes, the Beta. You know, the person after the Alpha?” I sarcastically replied.

“Uhh...,” he answered trying to think of the answer. “I think it’s Carson or Trevor. Why do you ask?”

“Ask Tracy to see if she can set up a meeting between the three of us.”

“Since when did I become your errand boy?” he replied, with some bark to his reply. It seemed I was starting to get him angry. I think he looked a little cute when he was angry. Wait, did I just think that?

“Oh, that's so cute,” Alex interjected, inadvertently giving me a free moment to get my mind back on track.

Justin shot her a scathing look and she went back to her notebook.
“Since Tracy decided to have you relay a message. Now, go do it.”

“Fine,” he grumbled as he got up from the table.

“Alright,” Justin replied, looking annoyed that I outmaneuvered him, “I'll go talk to Tracy. I'll give you her answer as soon as I can.”

“Thanks. Now, if you would excuse us, we do have a midterm to study for.”

With that comment, he rose from his seat at our table and was on his way. I hoped that he would get back to me sooner, rather than later.

After he was well out of earshot, which is quite the distance for a Wolf, I turned to Alex and said, with a fiendish smile, “I'm trying to play intra-clan politics.”

“You better know what you're doing. I've heard of stories where a Were clan turns on each other. It can be very messy, bloody, and runs the risk of the normals finding out what's really going on.”

“I'll be careful. If Tobias Locke doesn't want to accept change, then he won't last much longer against any coming changes.”

“That sounded like a threat.”

“Not a threat,” I answered, turning back to my notebook, “Just an accurate statement of what might be on the horizon. Especially with the shakeup in the Stiles clan.”

Alex looked up at me from her notebook, with worry etched over her face. “You're playing with fire, Mikaela. And trust me when I say this,” she warned, “that playing around with fire can get you burned.”

“I'll be careful, Alex. It's time I started acting like a Wolf with these Wolves. Maybe that's the only way Tobias will concede to my reasonable demands.”

“Definitely playing with fire here,” she warned, before turning the page in her open textbook.

November 12, 2011
Justin got back to me that evening, and said that a meeting had been set up for tonight at Trevor Locke's house. He gave me the address and the meeting time. He still didn't look too happy being an intermediary between me and his clan.

As I walked along the street towards Trevor Locke's estate, where I would be meeting with him, Tracy, and Carson Locke tonight, I couldn't help but notice that he lived in the financially well-off area of town. While they were near some of the larger estates, such as the main Locke mansion and the Stiles mansion as well, Trevor's place wasn't exactly in that area. Instead, their estates had less land, but still some of the grandeur. Given that Trevor Locke was a history professor at the university, he looked like he was well off.

I walked up to his small estate and couldn't help but wonder if all the clans over here came from wealth. I couldn't help but feel impressed as I traveled up the front walkway, even though Trevor Locke wasn't the Alpha of the Locke clan. He even still managed to display an impressive amount of grandeur when it came to his home.

I knocked on the front door and heard a few footsteps coming in my direction. An attractive looking young man opened the door from me, I could only assume that this was Carson, the Beta of the Locke clan.

“Yes?” he asked.

“I'm here to talk with Trevor and Carson Locke,” I replied.

“And you are?” he further inquired.

“Mikaela Vance, you're expecting me. You're Carson, right?”

He nodded in reply and let me in to the house. I noticed that these Lockes displayed a good amount of wealth in their front hallway. Much like the other Were families that I had been too. Although these Lockes didn't have as much as the Harpers or the Stiles, they still liked their painting and trophies on the walls. The hallway led to some stairs and also split it off in other directions. Carson led me through to the first doorway on the right, into their living room. Their furniture and appliances in their living room, where Carson led me, was high end middle class.

“Please take a seat,” he offered, indicating the couch. “I'll be right back and get my father and cousin.”

“Cousin?” I asked.

“Yes, my younger cousin Tracy is here. I don't know why, but she is.”

I shrugged, trying to give the impression that I didn't know she would be here, which I didn't. I could smell her scent in the house, confirming Carson's statement that she was here. Inwardly, I thought of what Tracy was trying to do. Was she trying to grapple for position in the clan? Or was she here to act as her father's eyes and ears?

He went through the closed door of the living room, presumably into an adjacent dining room. I sat in the living room, looking around and waiting for the other Lockes to enter, so we could talk. Carson said nothing about what was keeping them.

I found it a little suspicious that they would make me wait, even though we had arranged a meeting. Were they trying to intimidate me? Or were they making me wait so that they would have the advantage?

My curiosity, getting the better of me, led me from my spot on the couch and over to the closed door that Carson went through. I leaned my ear against the door, trying to hear anything that might be on the other side, after brushing my hair away from my ear. Listening carefully, I could make out some hushed voices, as if they were coming from another room in the house close by.

I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, so I cracked the door to the next room open. I didn't see anyone in there, so I went inside. My guess that this was a dining room was correct, and I could see some fancy looking china in a cabinet. Across the room, the door that most likely led to the kitchen was closed. I went quietly over to it, and placed my ear against it, trying to hear what they were talking about. I smiled as I could now make out what they were saying.

“Tracy,” a deeper voice than Carson's whispered. My guess that this was her uncle, Trevor. “What were you thinking, talking to her?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” she replied.

“Oh, yes you do, young lady,” he scolded.

“Trace, just explain yourself already,” Carson added, sounding like he didn't really want to be doing this at all.

“She asked for help, I'm just trying to give it to her.”

“Against your father's wishes,” both of the men commented.

“What of it?”

“Tracy, you don't want to keep railing against him. Even if you are–,” Trevor warned.

I held my breath after he suddenly stopped.

“What's that smell?” he asked.

“Probably the other Wolf,” Carson commented. “I probably picked some of her scent up when I showed her in.”

“Alright,” Trevor replied. “Tracy, you are his only daughter. You don't need to be stirring things up, especially after recent events.”

I heard something that sounded like a scoff, like she didn't really care about her father's opinion of her rebellious attitude. I then heard, “Well, aren't you going to at least acknowledge her? Instead of letting her sit in your living room waiting for a conversation that may not happen?”

“Yes, we should be polite, and talk with her,” Trevor agreed.

“And I think we should hear what she has to say as well,” Carson added.

“What?” Trevor replied, surprised by his son's statement. He wasn't the only one, a moment ago I thought that he was against me, not wanting to go against the Alpha Locke.

“Well, what if Uncle Tobias is wrong about her? Shouldn't we entertain that possibility?”

“Well...,” his father started, “I can see your logic for that. Alright, let's hear her out. But, we will not oppose the wishes of the Alpha. Got it?”

There was some silence before I heard Trevor say, “Tracy?”

“I'll let you know after I hear her out.”

I smiled at that comment. It was nice to know that there was at least one more person in the Locke clan willing to at least talk to me.

“Alright, you two go in there and talk. I'll get us something to drink,” I heard Trevor say.

At those words, I bolted back towards the living room. Eavesdropping made be a good way to get information, but you don't want to be caught in the act. I only hoped that they didn't smell me in here when I left.

I made it back to the couch in time for Carson and Tracy walking in the living room through the front hallway. I don't think they suspected anything, since their faces didn't show any surprise in my presence on the couch.

“Nice to see you again, Mikaela,” Tracy greeted me, taking a seat next to me on the couch.

“Likewise, especially in this form.”

She smiled at that comment. “I can see why Justin would have a crush on you, now that I see what you look like.”

I blushed at that comment, and could feel some of the feelings I had for Justin stir inside of me. I inwardly tried to get them under control again. That distraction was the last thing I needed right now.

“I'm sorry we kept you waiting,” Trevor Locke politely said, walking into the living room, carrying a tray containing some glasses and a pitcher of water. He set it down on the coffee table and asked, “Would you like something to drink?”

“No thank you,” I replied.

“Well, it's here if you get thirsty.”

“Thank you,” I answered, “and thank you for agreeing to talk to me.”

Trevor and Carson curtly nodded. Trevor took his seat in the armchair, while Carson leaned against the wall, with his arms crossed. It looked like he was sizing me up or something like that. Probably trying to play his role of the clan's Beta.

“So,” Trevor started, breaking the momentary silence that existed between the four of us. “you're the new Lorekeeper. Or so I've been told.”

He glanced at Tracy when he said that.

“Yes,” I replied. “And I've been trying to get in touch with Tobias, who seems determined to block me from assuming my position on your Council.”

“Well, I'm sure you can understand why he's doing it.”

I smiled and replied, “He doesn't like the idea of another Wolf telling him what to do?”

Trevor blanched at that response, I didn't think he was expecting it. “More like he doesn't want an outsider coming in and upsetting the delicate balance that exists.”

“What balance?” I fired back. “The Stiles clan is in disarray after the death of their Alpha, and from what I'm told the Foxes are little more than a token member after what's happened to them over the years.”

Tracy's face paled when I mentioned the Stiles' problem. Like she knew something about what had happened to them. However, Carson spoke giving him my attention.
“You seem to be awfully well-informed for being so wet behind the ears of all the things going on in town.”

“I'm not as wet behind the ears as you might think,” I fired back.

“Still,” he pressed, “what gives you the right to come in and assume a position that has been vacant for a couple of decades? The Lorekeeper had no heir to pass the position to.”

“This!” I angrily replied, shoving the charm bracelet that dangled around my wrist to him, making sure that he saw the emerald.

He humphed and replied, “A charm bracelet? Everyone knows that the Lorekeeper's position is marked by a ring.”

Carson was definitely putting on a good show of being the Clan's Beta and trying to follow the orders of Tobias. I thought that he would be at least open to the idea of the Lorekeeper regaining its position on the Council. After all, he might need someone like me if something were to happen to Tobias. Trevor, meanwhile, came over and took a closer look at the bracelet. He turned my arm around so that he could get a better look.

“That's the Lorekeeper's jewel, Carson.”

“How can that be?” he fired back in disbelief. “We were told that the Lorekeeper has a ring and not a bracelet.”

“This used to be the ring!” I rebutted.

“I did hear a rumor about that,” Trevor agreed. “From a reliable source, I might add.”

Carson humphed from where he was standing, and went back to staring at me. Trevor sat back down in his chair and added, “Still, my brother is not one to give up power so easily.”

“I also heard something to that effect,” I commented.

“What's he so afraid of?” Tracy interjected. “Is he that power hungry or does he have that big an ego?”

“Watch your tongue, young lady!” Trevor snapped. He turned his attention back to me and replied, “Tobias has operated without a Lorekeeper to play a neutral party in Council politics for as long as he's been its Head. Our father was the last Head to operate with a Lorekeeper sitting on the Council. Tobias probably thinks that the Council is getting things done just fine without someone like you in the way.”

“Someone like me in the way? Really?” I could feel my anger rising at the arrogance of Tobias Locke.

“I'm sorry if that offends you,” Trevor diplomatically stated, “but, that's just the way it's been.”

“At least let me talk to the man for myself. He has to know that some of the other Heads aren't liking his dominance, and only put up with it to avoid bloodshed.”

“What's she talking about?” Carson asked.

“I'll explain later,” Trevor told him. Turning back to me he added, “That may be true, but if he let you in, that would erode some of the control that he now has. And he doesn't exactly like the idea of giving some of the other clans an inch.”

I sighed deeply and shook my head. “Then I guess that I might have to try another way to get him to acquiesce.”

“Good luck,” Trevor stated. “I don't think there is any way to override the Head of the Council's authority, once he's made up his mind about a decision.”

“We'll see about that.”

I got to my feet quickly and shook his hand. “Thank you for speaking to me, and please try to convince your brother to let me talk to him.”

“I'll try, but promise nothing,” Trevor replied, getting to his feet as well.

I headed for the door and could hear some footsteps behind me. “Mikaela, wait!”

I turned around and saw Tracy walking over to me. “I'll walk with you some of the way. I have to be getting back home anyway.”

I nodded and the two of us headed out into the night, after she had said her goodbyes to her uncle and cousin.

We walked quietly for a bit and once out of earshot, she said, “I'm sorry about the way they acted back there. I swear that my uncle and cousin would at least be open to your point-of-view, but all it seems that they want to do is play kiss up to my father.”

“It's alright. I'm used to it by now,” I answered, keeping an eye on where I was walking.

“They shouldn't block you, especially over something as stupid as trying to keep a hold on to their power over what goes on in this town.”

“People don't like giving up power very easily.”

“Yeah, that seems to be the case.”

“Well, hopefully things change,” I sighed, as we reached the intersection. Tracy leaned to the left, in the direction of the larger mansions, while I leaned toward my apartment and the rest of town in the opposite direction.

“Hopefully,” she agreed. “I have to get going. Maybe I'll swing by the comic shop sometime this week.”

“I'd like that,” I smiled.

The two of us parted company and headed for our respective residences.