Disclaimer – I don't own the characters of the Twilight series.
Summary – When Quil imprinted, it changed things – forever.
.oOOo.
A/N – I have no idea why I'm writing this. I guess I just wanted to see how I would do.
Quil's POV, obviously…
Oh, and I might write a sequel, but it'll be later, like four years or so.
.oOOo.
Forever Changed
It had been a normal day. The pack and I had been messing around in the woods. I loved the freedom of being a wolf. It was just so amazing… The feeling that you could do anything, if you really wanted to.
We had all raced back to Sam and Emily's place. I don't know anyone who cooks better than Emily. I honestly don't know how she feeds us all – we could all easily eat over twenty hot dogs in one sitting. We had to give her more credit.
I saw the house come into view. It looked normal. I had no idea that in a few seconds, my life would be altered beyond repair. Not that I would want to repair it, but… still…
Emily came out, something – or someone – in her arms. At first, I didn't pay too much attention. Then, the little someone looked at me. I mean, she really looked at me. Her eyes locked with mine, and I felt the world flip upside down. Gravity shifted, I didn't need it to stay on the ground anymore. All I needed was her. Her… I needed her.
Without thinking, I went forward, taking the small girl from Emily's arms. She was startled. I didn't really notice.
"Quil – what –" she trailed off, seeing the look on my face. I could hardly concentrate on what she was saying. I wanted to hear my little girl say something. Anything.
"Hey," I said to her, looking directly into her eyes. "My name's Quil. What's yours?" I couldn't stop grinning.
"Hi," she said, and I felt my heart melt. She was so obviously an angel, sent to watch over me. "I'm… Claire."
Claire. Claire. That was a beautiful name. I loved it.
"Well, Claire –" I let the name rol around inside my mouth, liking the way it sounded. "How old are you?"
She held up two fingers. Two. My angel Claire was… two.
The reality of the situation really hit me, then, and I felt… kind of sick. What… had just… happened?
"Qu-Quil?" Little Claire stumbled over my name, and I felt even more horrible. What had I done?
"Yeah?" I asked, and I couldn't stop my voice from shaking. This was… not like what had happened with Sam or Jared…
"How…" Claire held up her hand, and began to smile. "How old are you, Quil?"
"I – I'm –" I couldn't speak. I had to put her down. Now. I was losing it. I didn't want to phase in front of her – Emily's face flashed briefly through my mind, and I rushed to bring her back to Emily.
Sam, Paul, Jared, Embry, Jacob and Emily were all staring, open mouthed. I knew what they were thinking – what had Quil done to little Claire?
"Quil," Sam said, and I immediately straightened. "Come with me. We need to figure out… what just happened."
I just nodded, handing Claire back to Emily. Something deep inside me didn't want to let the little girl go, but I had to. Just for now – I would be back.