Chapter 11

OUR pack brother

Kori was woken up by something landing on her face. She opened her eyes to see light shining through red fabric. She lifted her hand and clutched the fabric, pulling it off her face as she propped herself up on one elbow, still lying on her stomach like she'd been while asleep. It was one of her red T-shirts.

She looked across her bedroom, seeing Seth searching through a pile of her clothes, tossing some of them behind him as he looked.

"Seth, what are you doing?" she groaned, dropping back so half of her face was buried in her pillow.

Seth looked over his shoulder at her. "Oh good, you're up. Come on, we gotta get going." he said, moving to her dresser to start looking through her top drawer, he knew the bottom one was off limits because that was her underwear drawer.

"Go where?" Kori asked, still exhausted from her patrol.

"Tonight's the bonfire. We've got to get going so we're not late."

Kori rolled over, pulling her pillow over her face. She mumbled into her pillow. "I'm not going. I'm too tired."

Suddenly the pillow was gone. She looked up. Seth was back to looking through her clothes pile on the floor, her pillow now on the floor across the room.

"Too bad," he answered over his shoulder, "it's our first council meeting. You've got to be there."

"What are you even looking for?" Kori asked, rolling onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow as she watched him.

"One of your sweatshirts. Even though we're wolves, you still might get cold. Hurry up. If we don't get going the others will probably eat all the food!"

Kori rolled her eyes. "Seth." he ignored her, continuing to look through her clothes. "Seth Clearwater." he looked over at her. She reached under her bed and pulled out one of her hoodies.

Seth blinked. "Why do you keep it under there?" he asked.

Kori shrugged. "I feel like it. Let's get going." she got out of bed and they hurried outside.

It had been a little over a week since Jake brought Bella around to Emily's place. Embry rarely ate with the pack at school anymore, usually eating with Liz, Diane, and Beth. A couple good things came from that. 1. Kori could eat without being glared at. And 2. Liz and her friends never got the chance to follow her into the bathroom.

Collin and Brady also phased back to human for the first time the day after Bella came to Emily's, however they weren't going back to school until the coming Monday. They also weren't allowed to go to the bonfire yet, they had to wait until the next one just to be safe. Sam didn't want to risk any slightly unstable wolves around the elders and imprints. Oh, and Bella. Kori wasn't too happy that Bella was coming. For crying out loud, she's an outsider and not even an imprint! She had no right to be there!

Kori pulled her sweatshirt on over her T-shirt, slipped on her tennis shoes, and hurried after Seth. They decided to walk to the beach, where the bonfire was.

When they neared the beach parking lot they saw Emily and Sam getting food out of the back of Sam's car.

"Hey Em. Need some help?" Kori asked as they stopped beside the car.

"That'd be great, thanks!" Emily smiled in relief. "Paul keeps offering to help, but I know I'd end up with half the food gone if I let him."

Seth and Kori laughed as Emily handed the last two boxes they had to her.

Seth eyed the two boxes. One was about the same width as Kori's shoulders, the one on top was a bit smaller.

"Here, I'll carry them." Seth offered, attempting to take them from her.

Kori held them away and glared lightly at him. "I can handle it, Seth. I'm not some wimpy little girl, you know."

Seth looked like he was going to argue, but instead snatched the boxes from her, only to take the smaller one on top and hand it back to her.

"There. You carry that one while I carry this one." he reasoned with a smile as he turned and lead the way to the beach.

Kori stood and watched him for a moment, slightly in shock of what just happened. She shook her head, a small smile coming on her face before she followed him.

After they placed the boxes on the table they sat on a log, Kori between Seth and Paul, who was keeping a hungry eye on the food. The next log over sat Embry, Leah, and Sue, who had taken over on the council after Harry passed away. Billy was sat in his wheelchair next to that log. The log on his other side seated Old Quil and Quil, his grandson. The next log over sat Jared and Kim with Emily on Sam's lap.

"Paul!" Emily suddenly snapped, making everyone look over.

Paul was leaned back on the log, reaching towards the food table.

"What?" he asked, like he hadn't just been caught trying to take food.

"Aw, come on, Em." Jared whined, "We're all hungry. Can we eat now?"

"No. Jake and Bella haven't come yet." Emily answered.

"But the food's getting cold, and the bugs will get it if we don't eat it soon." Kori pointed out, forcing her voice to sound like a whine. A couple members of the pack actually whimpered when she mentioned the bugs getting their food.

Emily grimaced for a moment as everyone watched her before she sighed. "Alright fine. As long as you save some for Jake and Bella!" she shouted the last part because several guys had jumped up to get the food. Sam kissed her cheek before helping her up and leading her over to the table.

After everyone finished eating they started just quietly talking among themselves, waiting for Jake and Bella to get there. Seth had to keep smacking Paul whenever he reached for more food.

"Jake!" Seth shouted happily, getting up and tugging Kori with him. Kori stuffed her hands in her sweatshirt pockets and followed him more slowly to the duo that had just arrived.

"It's about time you got here. Paul's been hogging the grub, but I saved you some burgers." Seth told him when they were standing face to face, Kori a little behind him.

"Good looking out, bro." Jake answered. He glanced at Bella. "Bella, this is Seth Clearwater, Leah's brother. One of the newest members of the pack." Seth shook Bella's hand.

"Newest, bestest, brightest-"

"And slowest." Jake interrupted Seth as he put him in a headlock. Kori and Bella laughed quietly as they watched the exchange. A loud whistle brought the tussle to an end. Seth pulled away.

"Come on. Your dad's about to start." he said as he hurried back to his seat, Kori following quickly after him. Jake and Bella sat together on the only empty log.

As Kori listened to her father tell the histories she didn't realize she'd scooted closer to Seth as he started talking about the first Cold One the tribe had encountered. When he got to the part where the Third Wife sacrificed herself Kori shivered. That part always got to her. Seth wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, probably thinking she was cold.

XXX

By the time the histories were over Seth noticed that Kori had fallen asleep, leaning on his shoulder. Bella, Emily, and Kim had fallen asleep, too. Seth pulled Kori closer to him with the arm that was around her to make sure she didn't fall. He looked around, seeing Billy talking with his mom and Old Quil.

"Hey Billy." Seth called, not wanting to be too loud in fear of waking Kori up. Billy paused his conversation and looked over. "I'm going to take Kori home, okay?"

Billy nodded with a small smile. "Okay, thank you Seth."

Seth nodded back before picking Kori up, careful not to wake her up. He carried her home bridal style, probably looking weird to anyone who saw him along the way, but it was pretty late.

When he made it to the Black's house he walked inside and to her bedroom, closing the door quietly with his foot. He placed her on the bed, but didn't pull the covers around her, knowing she'd be warm enough with the sweatshirt.

Seth looked down at her, watching her sleep for a few moments. Her short hair was sprawled out over her pillow beneath her head, a few strands flopping over her cheek and mouth. Her mouth was open slightly as she breathed. Her sweatshirt was still kind of baggy on her because Billy accidentally ordered the wrong size a few years back. It used to reach her knees when she wore it, now it actually fit her nearly perfectly, but it hid her figure and curves. Her arms were curled into her chest, one hand was barely peaking out of her sleeve, only showing her fingers as they rested on her pillow.

Seth bit his lip for a moment before he slid into the bed next to her, falling asleep almost instantly to the comforting sounds of her breathing and her calm heartbeat.

XXX

A few days later Kori was at Emily's after school, sitting on her living room floor, helping Emily's two year old niece color in an Ice Age coloring book. She was watching the two girls while Emily was cooking in the kitchen with Kim. Most of the pack was out either on patrol or doing something in their free time.

"What color would be good for this picture, Claire?" Kori asked happily as she pointed to a picture of Manny the mammoth. Claire looked at the picture before crawling over to her crayons.

"Pink!" she screeched as she grabbed a hot pink crayon and crawled back to the book. She used that color a lot, the crayon was nearly down to a stub.

Claire's four year old sister Sophie was watching Dora on the TV, shouting out occasionally whenever Dora asked a question.

The two girls were staying with Emily for the week while Emily's brother and his wife went on a week long trip for their anniversary.

The sound of laughter and deep voices told Kori that the pack was on its way back to Emily's. She briefly sniffed the air. Sam, Jared, Quil, Seth, and Embry. Kori immediately smiled when she recognized Seth's scent above the others.

The front door burst open as the pack members barreled in. Sam and Jared went into the kitchen to see their imprints while Quil and Embry sat on the couch. Seth sat on the floor, watching as Sophie watched Dora.

"So…who are they?" Quil asked curiously, pointing at the two little girls as Claire climbed to her feet.

"Dude, we talked about them while on patrol." Embry looked at him like he was stupid, which might be close to the truth.

"Oh yeah. Emily's nieces." Quil stated as he remembered.

Claire walked up to Quil with her pink Manny picture.

"I's colored dis! You have!" she said in her innocent toddler voice as she held the picture out to him.

Quil took it before looking at her face. He froze as he made eye contact with the little girl. Kori saw several emotions pass through his eyes. Confusion, joy, love, adoration. Kori's eyes widened.

"Did he just…?" Seth trailed off as Kori glanced at him.

"Oh man." Embry groaned as Claire broke the trance and climbed into Quil's lap, who instinctively helped lift her.

"Hey Emily. You may wanna come in here." Seth called, still watching as Claire took Quil's hand in her much smaller hands, watching Dora on the TV like nothing was different for her.

"What is it?" Emily asked as she paused just inside the doorway, Sam right behind her. She glanced at Seth, noticing that everyone was staring at the couch. When Emily followed their eyes she blinked before her eyes widened.

"No." she murmured, staring at Quil, who was watching Claire with a gentle, happy smile. "He didn't. Quil Ateara, you better not have done what I think you did." she nearly shouted, making Quil look in her direction, as if just noticing she was there. When he saw her panic flashed through his eyes. He stuttered, not knowing what to say.

Jared and Kim appeared in the doorway behind Emily and Sam, peaking over them to see what was happening.

Emily stormed forward, snatching Claire off Quil's lap and stepping back away from him. Claire started crying and screeching, reaching out for Quil. Kori couldn't help feeling a twinge of pity. Claire, even though she's merely two years old, felt the imprint pull. She just wanted to be with Quil.

Quil stood up the moment Claire was taken from him, stepping a couple steps away from the angry Emily. His pained and panicked eyes kept flashing between his screaming imprint and an angry Emily. He wanted to sooth his imprint, but he didn't dare cross an angry Emily.

Kori stood up, Seth standing just behind her.

"Um, hey Em? Can I say something?" Kori asked cautiously.

Emily's angry eyes flashed in her direction. "This doesn't concern you, Kori." her eyes flashed back to Quil, "She's just a little girl! She can't be dragged into this kind of life!"

Kori cleared her throat. "Okay, I'm just gonna talk. If I remember correctly, you once told me that Sam was the best thing to ever happen to you." Emily's eyes softened ever so slightly as she looked at Kori. "Is that true?" Kori urged, wanting to hear Emily say it out loud. Emily sighed before nodding firmly. Sam smiled slightly from behind her.

"And if I remember correctly from what Sam told me, a wolf will be anything their imprint needs. They don't need to be in any kind of a romantic relationship. All Quil cares about is Claire's happiness and wellbeing, right?"

Quil nodded vigorously, his eyes still switching from Emily to Claire.

"I don't know about you, Em, but if Claire was my niece, I would want that for her. Quil will always be there for her, to make her happy, to help her, to protect her. Wouldn't you want that for her?"

Emily bit her lip, but Kori could see her resolve slipping. Everyone in the room; Quil, Embry, Seth, Kori, Sam, Jared, and Kim; were all watching her, waiting to see what she would decide.

Finally, Emily sighed. She held Claire out towards Quil. A huge smile spread across Quil's face as he took his imprint in his arms. Claire stopped crying as she pressed her face to Quil's chest, curling her whole body into him. Both wolf and imprint seemed to sigh in content at the same time.

Quil sat back on the couch next to Embry with Claire on his lap. Emily and Sam went back into the kitchen. Kori watched Quil with a smile on her face before she felt eyes on her. She glanced toward the kitchen doorway to find Jared watching her. His face was gentle and his eyes were warm. Kori glanced around her before walking over to him.

"What?" she asked quietly.

Jared smiled, but it almost seemed sad. "Why'd you say all that? Why'd you even get involved when Emily was that pissed?"

Kori looked at the ground and thought for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know. I guess…I mean, it's true right? Everything I said?" she glanced up at Jared, who nodded in answer. "I guess I just…I didn't want Quil or Claire to suffer. I mean, being away from your imprint causes physical pain for both the wolf and the imprint. I didn't want either of them to be in pain. And, I know Quil would do anything for Claire, she'll never get hurt thanks to Quil. She deserves that."

Jared nodded thoughtfully for a moment before looking down at her and smiling.

"Thanks."

Kori furrowed her eyebrows at him. "For what?"

Jared smiled again. "For sticking up for my pack brother." he was about to turn back into the kitchen when he paused and looked back at her, "Our pack brother."

Kori looked at the ground as he walked into the kitchen, leaving her to think about what he said. For some reason, a warm feeling spread through her at his word choice. Our pack brother. It was a strange feeling she'd never really felt before. Like…acceptance.

Loud footsteps made her looked over her shoulder, just in time to see Embry storm out of the front door, slamming it behind him.

Kori met Quil's eyes. He grimaced and shrugged before turning his attention back to Claire.

Kori sighed and headed toward the front door.

"You need any help?" Seth asked gently.

Kori shook her head with a small smile before leaving the house.

Embry was sitting on the front porch steps. Kori took a deep breath before sitting on the steps next to him.

They were quiet for a few moments before Kori decided to talk.

"Why do I get the feeling your mad at me for defending Quil?" she asked seriously, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

Embry sighed harshly. He was quiet for a few moments, making Kori think about asking again. But he finally answered. "I'm not. I really am grateful you stuck up for him. I just don't get it."

"Get what?"

Embry looked over at her, his brown eyes burning with anger. "Why are you okay with his imprint and not mine?! He imprinted on a two year old. That nearly makes him a supernatural pedophile. I imprinted on a girl barely two years younger than me, someone in your grade. Why do you have a problem with my imprint, but then you're defending his?"

Kori swallowed and looked away. "I came out here because I wanted to make sure you were okay, not to talk about this." she said as she stood up and walked down the steps. A large, warm hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving. Kori gritted her teeth, feeling her eyes burn with unshed tears as she looked back at Embry. She hated that she was hurting him, but he'd be even more hurt if he knew the truth. His eyes bore into her, angry, but also pleading. Kori had to look away, or she'd give in.

"Embry, I'm sorry. I really am, but I just can't tell you." she finally said, her voice thick with emotion and cracking as she tried not to cry. She jerked her hand out of his grip and ran home as fast as she could.