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.
Author's Note: Time for the second chapter! Again, this may be a little rough around the edges, and I apologize. I'm still currently looking for a new editor.
Please feel free to comment on this, as I always enjoy reading your comments and learning from them immensely.

Chapter 2

December 17, 2011

I took a seat in the armchair, while my mother and grandmother began to get situated. My grandmother, of course, had taken off her coat and placed it in the closet. As she began to get comfortable on the couch, my mother had quickly made her way into the kitchen and busied herself making a cup of tea for everyone. My grandmother had a thing for tea, and I guess I had started to pick it up.

“Well,” my grandmother started, attempting to break the ice once more, “how have you been adjusting to all of this?”

'She had to lead off with that one, didn't she?' I thought to myself, and just shrugged that one off.

“It's been alright, I guess,” I answered. “The people back in Ravencrest have been very helpful.”

“So, I have heard,” she answered, waiting for me to continue.

“Adapting to me being a girl, that hasn't been too bad. Adapting to being a mixed Were, the Lorekeeper for a town’s set of Were clans, and finally meeting my real father? THAT has been the real challenge.”

My grandmother just laughed to herself at that reaction.

“What?” I quickly replied, “It hasn't been funny.”

“I'm not saying that it has been. It's just..., well, you're acting a lot more like your mother now.”

“Excuse me!” my mother's voice called out from the kitchen. You got to love having better hearing when you're taking a shot across your bow.

“Well, it's true though. You've managed to produce and raise a fine daughter. One, who one day, will become matriarch of our clan. But, let's not worry about that right now. That particular moment is in the far off future.”

I thought, 'Was my grandmother now trying going to groom me to be her successor? Did she have this plan all along and never started since I never manifested as a Were before I left for school?'

My mother returned with the tea on tray. She set it down on the coffee table and we each took a cup. None of us added anything to our green tea.

“No, we're here to talk about the past. In this case, it all started with me and your grandfather.”

“I guess I'm missing part of the story, too, then,” my mother chimed in.

“Yes, dear. And for your own good; if you knew what happened in some of the events surrounding Mikaela's birth...,” she said, letting it hang there for a moment. “But, I'll get to that.”

My mother crossed her arms and glared at her mother. She also had the expression on her face that read, “You'd better start explaining it, now.”

“It begins the night you were born, Mikaela,” my grandmother started. “On the way to the hospital, your grandfather and I ended up getting a flat tire on the way and had to pull over to the side of the road in the woods. While he was changing it, I kept an eye on our surroundings in case anything bad should happen to befall us.”

“Please,” my mother interrupted, “like anyone would want to harm you.”

“Don't be too sure about that, my dear,” my grandmother rebutted. Clearly, there were a lot of things that she wasn't telling us.

She continued, “Things began to happen just as your grandfather was in the middle of changing the tire out. We heard a sharp, high-pitched scream coming from the nearby forest. I told your grandfather to keep working on the car, as now there could be someone out there in need of our help, and we may need to make a quick getaway.

“I quickly turned into a wolf and raced into the forest, following the sounds of the screams until my nose was able to pick up the trail. I smelled two things: the first was of a man, the second was that of an old woman, with reddish-gray hair.”

“Picking on an old woman?” I asked. “That's just wrong on so many levels.”

My grandmother nodded and continued her tale. “Sadly, she had been hunted down by one of the Hunters. The Hunter had already managed to deal some damage. She didn't look too good: badly bruised and bleeding from multiple wounds. And, whew, the inflammatory and derogatory statements that he threw at her would be enough to make anybody's blood boil. They definitely made mine.

“Before the hunter was able to swoop down and behead her with the large ax he had brought, I leaped out of the brush where I had hid and began tearing that Hunter apart.

“I will give him credit for putting up a valiant fight; however, in the end he was no match for me.”

“Wow, Mom, not very modest there.”

“Well, it was true.”

All of us laughed at that comment and my grandmother continued.

“The woman turned to me, looking horrified at the wolf who had taken down a Hunter and now stared straight at her. I quickly turned back into my human form and ran over to her.”

“'Are you alright?' I asked.”

“'Yes, thank you, Wolf,' she answered me, 'If you hadn't come along when you did, it wouldn't have ended well for me.'”

“'Think nothing of it,' I answered. 'Would you like my husband and I to take you to a hospital? We're on our way there right now. Our granddaughter is being born tonight.'”

“'Yes, that would be most helpful. Whatever can I do for you in return?'”

“As I helped her to her feet and headed to the car, I simply answered, 'Don't worry about anything like that. I'm just glad that Hunter wasn't able to kill you.'”

“She smiled at me, and her brown eyes reflecting the full moon that was rising in the twilight sky. We made it back to the car, where my husband already had the engine running. We made it to the hospital in time for you to be born and for the woman to get some immediate medical attention.”

My mother interrupted her narrative again. “So, that's the big secret surrounding my daughter's birth? You got a flat and saved an old woman who managed to fall on the wrong side of the Hunters?”

“Not entirely, Diana, there is still more to tell.”

“Okay, because I'm pretty sure that the doctor's told me, 'It's a boy,' shortly after Mikaela was born, and that my father had died in the hospital that day from a heart attack.”

“Well, it was no simple heart attack that killed your father, Matthew, Diana.”

“What d'you mean?” she asked, bewildered.

I was really confused now as well. I do recall hearing a story about how grandfather's death and my birth fell on the same date. I always felt sad by that fact, and for a while felt guilty about indirectly causing my grandfather's death, until my grandmother reassured me that it was not my fault at all.

“What I mean is this,” Grandmother continued. “While Diana was giving birth, Matthew decided to be nice and check in on the woman we had rescued from the Hunter. What we didn't know was, that the Hunter who had tried to kill her was a mere rookie, out for his first kill.

“Apparently, his mentor decided that preying upon the weak would strengthen the Hunter’s resolve for his true first blood. He also wasn't present, but nearby, when I killed the rookie. I could only guess that he must've waited nearby in case anything went wrong and found the body.
“Anyway, your grandfather found the other Hunter standing outside of the woman's hospital room. They fought, and he nearly killed your grandfather.”

“But, wouldn't someone have noticed the two of them going at it?” I asked.

“They would've, but they fought in the stairwell, which is where I found him, lying near death. His last words to me were to protect the family and the woman, as well as find the Hunter responsible for his death to avenge him.”

Grandmother sniffled and became a little teary-eyed as she remembered the somber memory. Mom left her seat and went to grab some tissues for her mother.

“Thank you, Diana.”

After a moment of resetting herself, she continued the narrative. “I looked in on the woman, who was healing up nicely. She had made contact with a doctor who is also Unseen, to help her condition. The woman, whom I could only assume was a powerful witch, granted us a special bit of magic for our family. To protect our children from the wrath of those who would hunt them down until they came of age.”

“But,” my mother pointed out, “Wolves come of age at sixteen. Why did it take longer with Mikaela?”

“Ah, I had been wrestling with that question for a while. Why the extra two years?”

“That's something I would like to know, given that I turned in more ways than one after my eighteenth birthday.”

“Well, after your sixteenth birthday, and you didn't become your true self, I started my investigations. The first place I looked was into who your father was. That proved to be extremely difficult. However, through the use of DNA technology and my connections, I knew that a couple of the people whom I thought could pass as your father were readily eliminated.

“I then thought of that one guy you, Diana, had a serious relationship with, but he broke it off unexpectedly. He was now my main suspect.

“Unfortunately, he proved extremely difficult in tracking down.”

“Yeah,” I added, “from what he told me he had to perform various missions for the Raven clan back in Ravencrest.”

Grandmother nodded, “When I learned of your dual-Were parentage, as a Raven, and of the charm bracelet that you now possess, some of the other pieces began to fall into place. Being the Lorekeeper of the Weres for Ravencrest did somehow cause your gender change, when you had to make your escape from those thugs. Possibly working in tandem with that protection.

“As to why you didn't emerge sooner? I'm still working on that part. But, now you know what happened. How do you feel?”

I took a very deep breath and mulled everything that my grandmother had told me. Some of it made sense now. But, there still were many pieces missing.

“I think I can live with it,” I decided.

“Good!” my grandmother celebrated.

“So, what do I tell my former friends? How much am I filling them in on, considering that enough of the old me lingers to give them pause.”

“We can think of something,” Mom said. “Staying for dinner, Mom?”

“Why not? There is still much to discuss with Mikaela. Especially since I didn't get the chance to do this over two years ago.”

I rolled my eyes and thought, 'Great, more information overload ahead.'

However, before my grandmother could say anything more, we all heard some shouting coming from outside. It didn't make sense for my two friends from here to get into a shouting match. So, someone else must also have shown up. Were we the popular household today or something? Or for right now everything centered on me?

Mom and Grandmother went outside, while I found a good vantage point from the kitchen to see but not be seen. I immediately noticed the small parking lot we now had. The closest cars to the house were obviously Grandmother's and my friends' cars. I saw Grandmother's black Mercedes CL63 and John's 2000 silver Chevy Camaro, which I helped him rebuild after school some days. However, there now was a third vehicle parked in the driveway, looking like it wanted to get closer to the house than what was currently permitted. The lights and engines of that blue Dodge Ram were still running, and the driver stood toe-to-toe with John.

“You need to move your car, now!” the older man shouted, loud enough for our neighbors to hear. The houses in Rancho had some distance from one another in spots, and this was one of them. The nearest neighbor was about a quarter of a mile away or so.

“And where am I going to move it?” John fired back. “You and Mrs. Vance have me blocked in!”

“You have plenty of room to maneuver around our vehicles! Or are you just afraid to scratch the paint of this new Camaro?”

As they approached the arguers, I noticed John taking a more defensive posture. Taking another look at whom he was arguing with, I immediately recognized him as my stepfather, Jordan Williams. That definitely came as a surprise, as I thought that he had moved out. Did he leave something here, or did he want to try to make up with my mother?

“What is the meaning of all of this?” my mother exclaimed.

“Diana, dear,” my stepfather addressed her, trying to play the role of loving husband, “would you please tell these riffraff to move their car to I can park.”

“Riffraff!” John shouted, growing angrier.

“John! Cool it!” Marilyn told him.

“Why are you here, Jordan?” Diana asked, accusingly.

“I came by to pick up a few things, and see how you were doing, of course.”

“What did you forget now? Last time you were here, you told me that you had everything. These little visits are getting exceedingly annoying.”

“I just need to grab a few of my tools. If you're that eager for me to leave, this will only take a few minutes.”

“What tools?” Mom countered. “Those were the one of the first things you loaded up and took with you.”

“I can't find my power drill charger. So, I want to look for it.”

“It's not here, Jordan. I cleaned out any excess debris and junk you left behind after you cleared everything out.”

“You did what?!” he shouted.

“Currently, these two are my guests, and will be treated as such. You lost any privileges the moment you moved out.”

Jordan looked like he was going to shout and rant some more, but Mom cut him off.

“Look, I'll take another look around. If I find it, I'll mail it to you. Satisfied?” Mom replied diplomatically. She clearly didn't want to escalate this further.

He clenched his fists and lowered his arms in a huff.

“Fine. We'll do it your way,” he replied. “If I don't get it back soon, I guess I'll just come back and take a look around.”

“You do that,” my mother replied, in a tone laced with venom, taunting him.

Jordan got back into his truck, put in reverse, and left.

“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Grandmother spoke quietly, loud enough for us wolves to hear. “Whatever did you see in him?”

“Mom...,” my mother muttered under her breath.

Grandmother put her hand to her mouth and tried to suppress a laugh.

Mom turned to the other two and asked them to come inside; Grandmother nodded in agreement. I gulped. Guess it was time for me to tell my secret to my childhood friends.

I sighed deeply and heard them reenter the house. I glanced around the corner of the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room. My mother asked them to take a seat on the couch, while my grandmother took a seat in the armchair.

“Now,” Mom began, “where did we leave off?”

“You telling us to wait outside while you apparently had some big discussion with Mrs. Vance,” Marilyn answered. “As well as trying to tell us what happened to our longtime friend, Michael.”

“Ah, yes,” my mother answered.

“So? Where is my best friend for all those years?” John retorted, growing impatient from the sound of his voice. Clearly, some of his anger had yet to wear off.

“Yeah,” Marilyn added on. “There are quite a number of things I, err... we, want to talk to him about.”

From my vantage point, I could see my mother and grandmother quite clearly, and was obscured from my friends. Grandmother cast a look my way and nodded ever so slightly. I guess my grandmother just gave me her blessing as the matriarch of our clan to jump when needed.

She also tapped my mother on the shoulder, and told her, “Go for it.”

“Well,” my mother started, seemingly unsure of how to start this conversation.

She paused for a few moments, and made up her mind of how to come out and say it.

“How should I put this...?” Mom started, again. I rolled my eyes and waited for what she was about to say.

“Michael is doing alright,” she said, “and is indeed home from school.”

“Well, then where is he?” John asked, getting straight to the point.

“Uhm..., about that...,” Mom drifted again.

I groaned inwardly. I'm not sure who was more nervous about all of this at this point, me or her.

“You see,” Mom tried, “when Michael was away at college, strange things began to happen.”

“Strange? How so?” Marilyn queried, looking concerned.

“For some reason, a bunch of thugs wanted to get their hands him.”

“Is he alright?” Marilyn replied, sounding very concerned.

“He's fine, and I would say adjusting well to the events that followed.”

“Which was what?” John replied, sounding extremely annoyed. “Adjusting to what events? Where is he? Quit beating around the bush already and just tell us.”

“Calm down, young man,” Grandmother sternly told him.

I could hear him grunt; he sounded extremely irritable and impatient at the moment. I could understand, I was getting impatient with Mom, too.

“Well...,” Mom tried to continue, but I had enough. It was time to rip off the band-aid.

I emerged from my hiding place and declared, “I got turned into a girl and then I became a wolf, okay?”

I went over and stood next to the chair where Mom and Grandmother were at, folding my arms underneath my chest as I did so. I watched Marilyn and John's reactions with a minor degree of amusement. John was utterly speechless, his mouth hanging open. He also probably thought how hot I looked and tried to not let that interfere. Marilyn stuttered, trying to find the right words for the bombshell that had just been dropped.

“I'm Mikaela Vance now,” I added, “or if it makes you feel better, what's left of Michael.”

“Dude?” John asked.

“Michael?” Marilyn quickly followed.

“Yeah..., it's me.”