Title: Gloaming
Author: Readingmama/Vampiremama
Beta: AcrossTheSkyInStars

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

Continuity: AU
Rating: M for sexual situations and violence.

A/N-Big smooches for my wonderful Beta, Tanya.

This is the last chapter, there will be two Epi's to follow.

I've had a few people ask what is up after Gloaming ends? Well I have two other stories in the works right now. One will be a short (5 chapter ish) story unlike anything I've read on fanfic. It will be an AU post breaking dawn and will be in Rosalie's POV. It will be dark and twisty.

The other is a B/E story that will be AH. That is all I'm telling you!

I hope you all will add me on Author Alert so you know when I start posting.

Chapter 34

QPOV

Three weeks after the fight and I still hurt with every breath I took. I couldn't ignore the fact that my foolish actions had led to my friend dying. The last year of my life had gutted me and left me a shell of the person I had once been.

The day after the fight, I had lain in bed, staring at the wall. I was too numb to cry, or feel anything really. With my heart full of regret, I had trudged towards the Cullen house, knowing if they came out to kill me that there was nothing I could do about it. I ordered my pack to stay in La Push; there was no need for more bloodshed. I wanted to apologize to my mother; I just hoped that she would forgive me. All I wanted was my family back together.

When I arrived at the house, I knew it was too quiet but I went up and rang the bell anyway. Of course, if they had actually been there, they would have heard me coming from a mile away, literally.

It was stupid to break into their home so I broke into the garage instead, all that was left was a silver Volvo in the giant building. They had left and there was no way for me to know where they would have gone. I sank to the ground and the tears poured out.

How would I ever see my mother again?

She was gone.

My body folded in on itself, leaving me in the fetal position on the vampire's garage floor. The stench of them was sickening and yet I tried to find comfort in it, knowing that it was now my mother's scent as well. I was racked with sobs as my world came crashing down. Both my parents had been stolen from me before their time, and both were because of me.

When I finally stood myself back up, my legs creaked with the stiffness. Leaving the garage, the sun had gone down, telling me that I had been in there for hours. I called directory assistance to get the number of the hospital before having them connect me.

"Forks Community Hospital, how may I direct your call?" a nasally voice answered.

"Dr. Cullen, please," I responded, my voice sounding raspy.

"Uhm, Dr. Cullen no longer works here, can I transfer you to someone else?"

"No, thanks," I said, hanging up.

No one seemed to question the fact that the town's most prominent doctor just up and left overnight without any notice. The rumor was that he was headhunted by a hospital on the east coast. I wondered where they really went and how he would get a job without a reference, but then again, he probably could forge whatever he needed.

Charlie found it weird that the Cullen's left the same time as mom but he dropped it when I told him the east coast rumor. The last thing I needed was Charlie following his gut and getting in the middle of this mess.

Rebecca had heard from mom once in the three weeks after the fight, I wasn't home so I didn't get to talk to her and it felt like a missed opportunity. When she didn't call again in the next month, I went crazy. Rebecca told me that they were headed to a remote area and wouldn't have service but that didn't ease my worries that my mother wanted nothing to do with me after the mess I created.

"Baby, what's the matter?" Claire's soft voice swept over me. I rolled over and took her in my arms. Her lips called out to me and I pressed mine against hers, enjoying the feel of her viperbites digging into my skin. I took one in my mouth and gently tugged on it before peppering her lips in kisses. She groaned but pushed me away. "Oh no you don't, Quil Black, you tell me what's wrong."

"Sorry, I wasn't avoiding, honestly. I just got a bit distracted," I said with a devious smile. She pressed her mouth into a sharp line and I sighed. "I just don't know how I can stay here. It hurts to look around and see the mess I've made. I just feel like I need a fresh start."

"You want to leave?" she asked warily.

"Don't you want to get out of here, Claire? Explore the world a bit?"

"You want me to come with you?"

I looked into her eyes and whispered with conviction, "Of course."

A smile spread on her face and she closed the gap this time, kissing me with passion. I slid my hand down her hip and across her back. I held her as we kissed, enjoying the innocence of our love. Her lips were red and puffy when I finally pulled back and I could feel an indent on my bottom lip from her piercings.

"But don't you have to stay here and lead?" she inquired softly.

"I have a plan for that as well."

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Three shocked faces stared back at me from the living room at the Uley's house. I sat on the recliner as John, Christopher, and Bobby jumped up from their various positions on the couch and floor. I didn't look down; I wasn't ashamed of my decision.

"Can you even do that?" Bobby asked angrily.

"Of course I can," I responded.

"But then what happens to us?" John's voice quivered.

"You will have a new alpha," I stated.

"Who?" Christopher's voice was strong and he met my eyes. I looked back at him and gave him a nod.

John was actually the next in line if you went by our lineage but I knew that he had no desire to lead. Although only a year younger than I, he was still much too green to take charge. I could hear him take a sigh of relief when I alluded that it would be Christopher.

"So, you're leaving forever?" Christopher asked.

"I don't know. I just know I can't be here right now."

"We understand," Christopher replied, surprising me by coming up and giving me a hug. The other two followed, pulling me into embraces and slapping me on the back.

"I'll miss you man," John said before he pulled away.

"Don't get all soft on me, I'll be in touch," I replied rubbing the top of his head before pushing it away.

We spent the rest of the evening playing video games and eating junk food. No one mentioned my impending departure again and I was thankful for that. When I left John's house, it was close to one in the morning. I didn't want to call Claire so I decided to walk, or run, as the case was. I stripped down in the woods out back, quickly changing into my wolf form. I picked up my clothes between my teeth and I trotted off before hearing another loud pop. I waited for the sound of my brother's voice in my head but nothing came. I was no longer part of their pack, I was truly alone. - : (

The idea of giving up the alpha status was easy; it was losing the pack that was hard. I ran faster through the forest, my four paws thumping lightly against the ground. I reached Claire's in a matter of minutes. She was waiting for me on her bed. Her makeup was off and her hair was tied in short pig-tails near her ears, if it wasn't for the metal in her face, she would have looked closer to fifteen than twenty.

She looked at me with such love in her eyes as I strode the three steps it took to get to her bed and crawled right up to her. She placed her hands on each of my cheeks and gave me a sad smile.

"How did it go?"

"Okay," I replied, hoping to not talk about it anymore that night.

She kissed my lips chastely and then slid her body down underneath mine. She looked up at me from underneath her lashes and smiled. "So do you want to celebrate our new found freedom?" She punctuated this sentence by putting the tip of her forefinger into her mouth.

"Yes, please," I responded and lowered my body down on hers.

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Six Months Later

"Quil, that is so fucking hot!" Claire purred as she watched the needle prink my shoulder again and again. Hers was already bandage as she insisted since it was her gift that she got to go first.

The large, bald man finished his work before telling me the aftercare that I would need. I knew that I would be healed before I got home so I only paid attention so that I could help with Claire's if she needed me.

It was her twentieth birthday and I wanted to get her something that she would love. She had been working in the tattoo parlor pretty much since we had moved to Chinook, Montana, but we had not been able to budget one in for her. I had taken three weeks worth of extra shifts down at the construction site so that I could pull off this surprise for her. We stayed close enough to Forks so that Charlie and Rebecca could come visit but far enough that we weren't reminded of the past everywhere we looked.

I paid Bruce and took Claire's hand. I could tell that we both wanted to take the bandages off and display the matching tattoos that we had just received. The wolf that was at the centre of each tattoo was stark white, and the stylized circle that encompassed it symbolized our union, unbreakable, forever.

I led her back to our apartment, it was small and the hot water rarely worked, but that only gave us incentive to shower together since I had enough heat to keep her warm while she bathed. The walls were paper thin and we would sometimes hear banging on the wall, alerting us to that fact that our lovemaking wasn't always as private as we would have liked, but it was home.

Wherever Claire was, was home.

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Seven Years Later

We hadn't been back to Forks but it was time. Rebecca would be turning eighteen in a few days and Claire and I were hoping to surprise her. After all this time, I still hadn't talked to my mom. We had moved twice since we left Forks and were now just outside of Eugene in Oregon.

I know that when Rebecca finally had the chance to go and be with mom, she refused. Her and John had started dating and she could no more leave him than he her. I knew that would have devastated my mother, but it wasn't as if she could make Rebecca. The Cullens were no longer allowed in Forks, even if they were going by the name Masen now.

We pulled our VW rabbit into Grandpa Charlie's driveway. He was waiting for us on the porch and a large smile lit up his face as we got out of the car. With the use of a cane, he still struggled to get out of his seat, but once he was up, he seemed steady on his legs.

"Look at you two," he spoke, his voice jovial. "Quil, you haven't changed a bit. But Claire, you look even lovelier than last time."

Claire had changed her look a lot since the last time Charlie had seen her. Gone was the jet black hair, now it was brown filled with warm highlights, her viperbites were still there but her makeup was much more neutral.

"Thanks dad," she said giving him a hug.

I smiled at the moment, Claire had no problem calling Charlie 'dad' and had done so since our nuptials over a year earlier. We hadn't had the money to have a real wedding but a couple of friends and a courthouse was all we really needed. Our wedding bands were a gift from Lars, the owner of the tattoo parlor where Claire now worked. We each had an intricate circle that resembled the one on our wolf tattoos, around our left ring finger. When I transformed for the first time after we got the bands done, I noticed that the coloring stayed around the base of my left paw, my other tattoo didn't transfer to my new form so I had no idea why my wedding band did but I was thrilled about it.

The house in La Push had been sold four years back and the money was split in two. Half of it went into a trust for Rebecca while the other half was put into savings for me and Claire. We were hoping to save a bit more so that we could use it as a down payment for a house, but that plan was moving slowly.

Charlie took us up to the small bedroom on the second floor, the one that used to be my mom's. I felt the familiar regret run through me as I glanced over the pictures that she had left on the mirror, the worn copy of Wuthering Heights on the nightstand, and a pair of shoes at the closet door.

Claire came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. Her lips placed a kiss in the centre of my back and I sighed at the comfort she provided. My rock.

I put our bags under the window before we headed back downstairs to visit with Grandpa Charlie. We reminisced about my childhood and Grandpa Billy, who had passed away the previous year from lung cancer. We had desperately wanted to come for the funeral but it was in the middle of construction season and there was no way I could take time off and still have a job when I came back.

I assumed that Rebecca was staying at John's, I didn't like it but I knew that he would take care of her. It wasn't like there was a lot of extra room at Charlie's anyway.

We went to bed early that night, tired from the trip. I was a bit nervous about the next day. I had talked to my old pack on the phone in the beginning but as is life, the calls became less and less frequent. It had been six months since I had heard from any of the guys.

I woke up the next morning with Claire's tight body pressed against mine. Her proximity, the only thing needed to stir a reaction in my nether regions. I rocked my hips towards her, enjoying the friction it caused. Her ass returned the pressure, causing me to groan.

Claire always slept in the buff, I provided too much heat for her to wear anything in the nights and that was a side effect that was all right by me. I freed myself from my boxers and lifted her leg; she arched her back, allowing me access to where I so desperately wanted.

Every time I entered Claire was as beautiful and special as the first time. She always felt like heaven to me and this time was no exception. Her arm reached around and she placed her hand on the back of my head. I buried my head into the crook of her neck to growl as I didn't want Charlie to hear. She snickered, knowing that I was holding it in, and that made me a little vengeful. I rocked into her with greater speed. I pressed my flat palm against her abdomen and applied a little pressure, causing her to feel even fuller.

She took her hand off my head and ran it down her chest, ghosting over my hand and stopping lower. She let out the softest curse before clamping down around me. When her shaking had stopped, I pulled out and rolled her over, sliding myself between her legs. I reentered her with a skill that had taken me longer than I care to admit to master, but Claire had always been very patient with me.

I pulsed in her, enjoying the loving moment, but then both of Claire's hands reached down to squeeze my ass, sending me over the edge. I rolled over, sliding off my wife's slick body. She stretched and made a sound not unlike the purring of a kitten.

"I'm gonna shower," she said.

I watched her stand up and walk naked towards her suitcase. I admired the view as she bent down and pulled out her clothes for the day. She turned around and caught me staring.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm just picturing what you are going to look like when you start showing."

"Fat," she replied, making a face.

"Beautiful," I countered. I was thrilled when we found out that she was expecting our first child and knew that she would be stunning carrying our young.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied rolling her eyes, "but so help me, this better not be a litter. One non-hairy little baby is all I can handle."

I laughed and threw a pillow at her. She dodged it and wrapped a towel around her body.

"I love you," I said.

"You too, sweet boy, you too."

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Christopher and Bobby looked no different from the day that I left, I hadn't changed either but it was weird just the same. Christopher had his arm slung around a beautiful Quileute woman. She was average height with long, dark hair. Her dark skin was flawless and her almond shaped eyes gave her an exotic look. I had left Claire at Charlie's, but with the way that Christopher looked at this woman, I knew that things would have been okay. He was obviously in love.

Bobby greeted me with a huge smile and wrapped his arms around me.

"Hey man," I said, returning the hug.

I gave Christopher a similar greeting although he kept one hand in his lady's. "It's good to see you," he said smiling.

"You too."

"I'd like you to meet Tiffany, my imprint," Christopher said, gesturing to the lovely woman next to him. She shot him a look that I didn't understand but I shrugged it off.

I raised my eyes but then let out a laugh. "Congratulations, and it's nice to meet you, Tiffany." She gave me a genuine smile and shook my hand firmly. I liked her already.

"So what do you say we do a bit of hunting while you're here?" Bobby asked excitedly.

I hadn't really done much on my own since leaving the pack. I still transformed and patrolled but I hadn't so much as taken a deer down after leaving. The idea of going running with my boys seemed like a good one.

"Uhm, sure," I said and threw an apologetic glance at Tiffany.

"Oh no, I'm coming too," she said firmly.

Before I knew it, the guys were running through the bushes throwing their clothes off and Tiffany was joining them. I adverted my eyes as she hopped, taking off her pants.

"If you look at my girl, Quil, I'm going to bite you!" Christopher called out from up ahead.

It wasn't until the light brown wolf stood in front of me that I believed that Tiffany was a wolf. I had never heard of a female wolf before but there she was, standing in front of me.

I missed being able to talk to them all while we were in wolf form, but we soon realized that Christopher and I could talk and he could relay for the rest. Apparently, Tiffany had transformed about a year after I left and then they imprinted on each other. Christopher said he hadn't mentioned her before because he was still harboring hurt feelings over my taking Claire. He knew that I wouldn't take her from him but sometimes rational thought is absent in love.

We didn't find any vampires to hunt that day but we did all enjoy a nice meal of venison. We wrestled and played in our wolf forms, enjoying the friendship that we had neglected. It wasn't until we were headed back that I asked Christopher.

Where is John?

He's gone.

Gone where?

Christopher didn't answer me; I didn't know what to think. When we arrived back at Christopher's place and we were all dressed, I asked again. "Where is John? And Rebecca?"

"They left," Christopher said with sad eyes.

"Where did they go?" I inquired hastily.

"To find your mom."

E/N- Thank you all for reading. Reviewers will get teased.