Prompt 30: OH…IT'S ON!
Characters: Quil / Claire
Rating: M
Genre: Angst / Romance
Word Count: 1000
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Yes, there will be an imprint in this o/s. Oh, Hell, no, Claire will NOT be a toddler. Because that's just wrong – on so many levels.
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It had been almost a month since Emily's 17 year old niece, Claire Young, joined the Uley household following the tragic death of her parents in a collision with a drunk driver. And that summed up what the pack knew about her. None of them had even seen her, except for fleeting glimpses of her back as she fled the room every time one of them showed up at Sam's. If she left the house at all it was magically when none of them were around. At first it was easy to believe she was just too grief stricken to deal with meeting a lot of new people. But the more time passed the more suspicious the boys became, especially since neither Leah nor Seth had seen Claire, and they were family. What was most worrying were the flashes of concern Sam let slip. Emily was isolating Claire from him, as well, in the home they all shared and it rubbed him the wrong way on a number of levels. The Alpha's concern and irritation filtered down through the pack. Paul and the pups were volatile on a good day, but even Embry was getting prickly and Leah was turning being a bitch into an art form. Something had to give. Soon.
Fate, Karma, and the spirits of the Quileute ancestors decided it was past time to meddle one morning when Emily had to run to the store to get bread and meat for the pack's lunch. Claire was in the kitchen making fruit salad when the pack descended with no warning. Leah could hear the girl's heart racing as she hurriedly cleaned up, set the huge bowl of fruit in the fridge, and headed for the stairs.
Brady chuffed in frustration. "We don't have fleas, you know! Or are you just too good to hang with us?"
Claire froze for a minute, glancing back over her shoulder. "Do you ever do as you're told instead of what you want to?"
"All the time. What's your point?"
Claire continued to move towards the stairs, but Leah caught her arm and turned her around. Claire brushed her hair down and studied the floor until warm fingers gently tilted her head up, pushing her hair off her face. Leah hissed at the colorful bruise marring Claire's cheek. "I know Sam didn't do that."
"No! I'm just a klutz. I fell -"
"Bullshit! I've been hit enough to know you didn't get that bruise falling or running into anything. Did Emily do that? Why?"
"I hate eating alone in my room all the time. The house is always full of people and the only person I ever see is Aunt Emily. She's even talking about home schooling me this year. It's my senior year! I want to go to Prom and graduate with my class! When I asked her to let me meet some of you, she got so mad and she-"
Jared swore softly. "Fuck. Fifty bucks says Sam doesn't know anything about any of that."
Claire nodded. "I haven't seen Uncle Sam since the day they came to get me. He thinks I want to be alone."
Leah gave Claire a quick hug. "The bullshit stops now, Claire. Did Emily say why she wants you to stay away from us?"
"She told me about the wolves and imprinting and promised she'd keep me safe from you. She said all of you are dangerous and all you ever do is eat, fight and have sex and it was her job to make sure I was protected."
Embry was righteously indignant. "Are you fucking kidding me? She spilled her guts about everything? I mean, yeah, we do all those things, but none of us have ever hit a girl."
Paul smirked. "Or fucked one who wasn't eager and very willing."
Leah snapped at the boys. "Shut up! She told you about us? And imprinting? Shit she got the Grand Prize in the imprint lottery, why wouldn't she want you to be an imprint?"
"She said she didn't want me tied down here with no future. I guess she had plans for college in New York. She wanted to get out of Washington and never come back."
"Interesting. Boys, line up. Time to see if little Claire has a soul mate in the pack. I can tell you it's not me. Who's next?"
One by one the pack introduced themselves to Claire and hugged her, promising to care for and protect their newest sister. Sam was automatically eliminated from the potential imprint list, as was Jared. That just left Quil, who was due in from patrol any second.
"Honey! I'm home! What's for lunch?"
Leah called him over. "Quil Ateara, meet Claire Young."
"Really? About time. Hey, Cl-"
Leah crowed in delight at the look on Quil's face and high fived Paul. "Yes! That just happened! Suck it, Emily!"
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It was a good hour before Emily returned home, Sam close behind. The pack was gathered on the front porch looking unbearably pleased and slightly embarrassed. There was no mistaking the sounds from the bedroom upstairs. Emily tried to enter the house, but Leah blocked her path.
"What have you done, Leah?"
"I let nature take its course. That's the sound of a wolf claiming and marking his imprint. Claire will never be lonely again and I know he will take very good care of her. He'll make sure she gets to school every day and I'm sure he'll be proud to take her to Prom."
Leah smirked at Emily. "Oh, and have fun explaining to Quil how his mate got that bruise on her cheek."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Leah."
"Right. Maybe Sam will believe you." Leah pushed Emily out of her way. "Let's go to the diner, boys. I'm sure Em wants to be alone with Sam when she explains how she told Claire all the pack secrets and tried to keep her from finding her wolf."