Hey my little home slices, anyway here's the next chapter, it's the longest that I've written so you better enjoy it, and you know whats a great way to pay me back for it? REVIEWS! I lurve them! Anyway, thanks to all my loyal reviewers who have stayed with me throughout this whole process so far. ENJOY
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! ( except Jamie :D)
Jc55
Claire POV
The room seemed to grow deadly silent, as the news slowly leaked into everyone's minds, halting their brain functions.
"What?!" Embry yelled, slamming his fists down on the table, a long thing crack slicing through the thick wood. Sam shot daggers at him, while Embry looked over at Emily sheepishly.
"Sorry Emily." He said and folded his hands obediently behind his back. Emily sighed, and went to go get the wood glue.
"I couldn't get the bloodsuckers to tell me the entire story, but apparently, the parents of Jamie were distant relatives to the doctor, something like his great-great-great grand daughter's cousins once removed."
"What happened to the parents?" Brady inquired, looking fervently around the large circle that had formed to hear the story.
"I'm not sure, but they aren't alive any more, and unfortunately, neither is Jamie." Sam grimaced, his dislike for the 'un-dead' extremely prominent.
"What are we going to do about it?" Quil said tensely, his massive arm snaking around my waist automatically.
"They've said that this was Jamie's last week at school, by Friday, he'll be past the boundary and abiding by the treaty.
"Friday?!" Quil stormed, his arm tightening around my waste, I winced. He didn't notice.
"It was a fair deal -even for vampires- I've agreed to it." Sam said firmly, putting an end to the one sided fight Quil was creating.
"Do you realize how close that thing was to Claire?!" Quil raged, his fingers digging into the skin of my side. Pressing and pulling at the muscles and god knows what else that lay beneath my skin. I had to bite my lip to keep from yelping. None of the werewolves seemed to notice.
"I do Quil, that's why I've given you the rest of the week off of patrols to stay at the school while Claire's there. You can keep a close watch." Sam said, Quil's grip tightened, and unfortunately I couldn't help but hold back the small cry of pain. His grip immediately released me.
"Claire-bear what's wrong?" Quil panicked, lifting my chin so that he could look into my eyes, which felt damp.
"Nothing." I said quietly, and turned my attention back to Sam as he began the most part of the story the Cullen's at told him at the border.
Quil POV
I pulled Claire's chin up so that I could look into her deliciously brown eyes.
"Claire-bear what's wrong?" I said shrilly, turning her face ever so slightly to look for any signs of damage.
"Nothing." She all but whispered, and turned back to Sam, her eyes glistening ever so slightly. I didn't know what was wrong with my Claire, and I could feel the frustration starting to build in my chest at the fact that I couldn't fix what was troubling her if she wouldn't tell me.
"Claire, outside please." I grumbled, dragging her through the door, and onto the porch in front of the entire pack's curious, and bewildered eyes.
"What's wrong?" I said bluntly staring into her shining eyes.
"I already told you Quil, nothing's wrong. You're overreacting." She said with an irate voice, dismissing me with a flick of her hair. My brow furrowed.
"Why did you cry out then?" I pressed.
"I-uh- stubbed my foot on the table leg." She stuttered. I knew she was lying.
"You're lying."
"I'm not, now can we please go back inside?"
"Why won't you tell me?"
"Because Quil, you don't need to know absolutely everything that happens to me." She said quietly, the sharp tongue in her voice was clearly evident though. I faltered, taken aback by her mild anger. If this is what happened to me when she was mad, I couldn't imagine the wreck I would be if she was furious.
"Claire. I don't need to know everything about you. But I'll always be over protective of you, that's the way things go, that's just the way things go with an imprint." I said softly, taking a step forward, and reached my arms for her where she hesitantly obliged. I buried my face in her hair.
"Sorry Claire- bear." I whispered in her cute little ear. She sighed into my chest, and nodded her head, snaking her arms around my waist - the height that her head reached.
"Let's go back inside." She mumbled, and taking me hand she 'dragged' me into the house, her tiny figure swaying in front of me.
That night, I got Emily to call Claire's mother for the permission for Claire to stay at Sam's, my concern of the closeness of this vampire at her school tweaking a nerve in me. Luckily permission was granted, and as I sat in the kitchen chair I watched Claire's body rise and lower with the slow, deep breaths of sleep.
"Sam?" I said, looking up over my glass of water to catch the alpha's attention. He nodded for continuation.
"What happened to Jamie's parents?"
Sam sighed, and looked at me disdainfully.
"His family was into hunting first off, and the only place that they have enough time to go is just around here, especially on the edges of the cliffs. The Cullen's hunt in those woods, on their side of the border of course. Anyway, I guess Jamie and his parent's were on a routine hunting trip when a grizzly bear and two cubs got caught up in their path. The mom over reacted and chased the family to the edge of the cliffs where they could only stand their grounds." Sam said sadly. I nodded, not exactly eager to hear more, but curious indeed.
"The bear attacked all three, and pushed the parents over the cliff. Their bodies weren't found. Turns out the Cullen's were hunting that day, and the big one, you know Emmett? Or something like that, anyway he caught the scent of the bear, and then the scent of the humans, and went all crazed trying to get to Jamie. Bella and Edward pulled him away in time though, and that's when Carlisle chased off the bear, and picked up Jamie. They had the choice of whether to let him die, or turn him.
The picked the one choice." Sam finished, heaving a large sigh, and running a restless hand through his hair.
"That awful." I said quietly, Sam nodded, and slowly left the kitchen taking his glass with him.
I turned around and walked slowly into the living room where Claire lay asleep on the couch, her shirt riding slowly up her side, to show a sizeable portion of her flat stomach….. And her side.
I frowned, and bent closer, but they were unmistakeable. The exposed side of Claire's middle seemed to be bruised purple and blue, her russet skin looking extremely injured. My hands began to shake, at who would have done this, because whoever it was, I was going to hurt them, hurt them like they did Claire.
In the midst of my reverie Claire woke, flashing me a sleepy smile, which quickly disappeared at the expression on my face.
"Whas wrong Qwil?" She slurred, slowly sitting up and tugging her shirt over her side, wincing slightly as her fingers brushed the large array of bruises on her skin.
"Where did you get those bruises? Who gave those to you?" I said angrily, feeling my hands start to vibrate as her face darkened, unpleasant memories coming back to her.
"Don't do this now Quil." She sighed, laying her head back down on the edge of the couch.
"I will do this now. Now who gave those to you?" I insisted. She buried her face in her hands, and shook her head.
"Claire? Why won't you tell me?" I said helplessly, dropping down on to my knees to bring my head to the level of her covered face.
"Because Quil." She whispered, the trouble of blocking her tears was starting to show in her voice.
"Claire?" I whispered, stroking her face, while inside the turmoil that was growing was slowly starting to seep through to my emotions.
"Just tell me." I said softly.
"You don't want to know.
"Why wouldn't I want to know who hurt you?"
"Because it was you Quil!" She yelled, jumping off the couch and swatting away my hand. I gaped at her, and felt all shaking cease to drop in a dead ball weight in the pit of my stomach.
"w-what?" I stuttered.
"It was you Quil. Today at the table when you had your arm around my waste. That's why I made that noise." She said softly, taking a step towards me.
"But it's ok Quil; really, they'll be gone in a week. My skin just bruises easily that's all." She reassured, taking another step towards me.
I felt frozen, iced from the inside out. I had hurt my Claire? It was me?
"Quil?" She whispered, I took a step back, and looked her to her eyes sadly.
"I-I have to go." I choked, unable to stop the tears that not flowed down my cheeks in halted rivers.
"Quil, don't go!" She cried, racing after me, as I pounded the floor with my feet, flying through the front door frame, and exploding into my massive wolf form, the forest line only feet away.
"Quil, don't go." She choked, her beautiful voice floating delicately over the tree tops. I shook my massive wolf head in vain to try and block the horrible image of Claire's bruises from my mind. But they wouldn't leave, making my paws scrape, and scratch at the forest floor, golf ball sized tears streaming relentlessly from my massive eyes.