Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. of Twilight are the property of Stephenie Meyer. I am in no way associated with Stephenie Meyer, any creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.
Some descriptions of characters that previously existed have been altered to fit the vision of this story. If you are interested in viewing the character reference photos, please view my Pinterest Board (/clairebear_04/like-breathing-but-harder/).
Chapter 18: Quil
I'm sure if Jake hadn't stormed into my house, I would have slept through the rest of the day.
After I discovered Claire had left I tried to call her over and over again, only to be sent to voicemail. Finally, after my twelfth attempt, I gave up. If she wanted to talk to me, she would have. Clearly, as she noted, she needed some time.
I gave in to my body's demands and slumped onto my bed to sleep. As soon as my head hit the pillow, my brain shut off in a comatose state; until Jake swung my bedroom door open with a loud bang.
"Quil!"
The combination of the door and his voice jolted me awake as I sprung up from the bed.
"What!? What's going on?!" My muscles were still worn out from the night before, but they were ready with adrenaline.
"He's inside our border. Now's our chance," Jake quickly explained. "Get up, let's go get this son of a bitch."
I couldn't feel my paws grip the ground as we darted through the trees. I wasn't the fastest in the pack by a long slide, but now I was fueled by rage; Claire's face plastered in my mind when she was pulled out of the crash, from the night she ran out of our house, screaming.
We're gonna get him, Quil, Jake reassured me as he raced ahead of me. He was there both times; these were his memories too.
I wanted to believe him. I had to make that happen for Claire, my soulmate, my everything.
How do we know it's him? He's tricked us before, I questioned as we raced toward the northern border.
Embry and one of Sam's members saw him cross over heading this way, Jake explained.
Are they tracking him now? We had to be getting close. I began to put my nose low to the ground, awaiting any trace of scent.
Suddenly, a small wolf slid out of the brush as they tried to turn abruptly, ramming into Jake and me.
Son of a— I gnashed my teeth, snarling at the small wolf that threw me off my path.
It was the damn wolf that tried to attack us in front of Sam. He snarled back at me briefly before racing out into the trees in the direction we were heading.
Shit, Sam has got to put that kid on the bench, I grumbled. Jake huffed in agreement as we took off after him.
We broke through the treeline to a clearing of knee-high grass. In the middle of it was the most confounding sight; a circle of wolves, some of our pack interlaced with Sam's. All were barking, snarling, and gnashing their teeth around a man in the middle.
We got him, Quil! Seth exclaimed as we cautiously took in the scene.
Sam was supervising the group, snarling if any of his wolves got too close. Jake acknowledged him as we neared the circle.
Quil, Jake demanded my attention. Sam wants to know if you want to be the one to do it.
I looked between the two and nodded silently. Sam and Jake both instructed our packs to stand down enough for me to enter the circle.
Every time I pictured this moment, I imagined being blinded by rage, unable to control myself as I tore him apart piece by piece. But that wasn't what I felt now. I was completely lucid, clear of what was happening. The man that has tormented my imprint and killed her mother, threatening my only reason for existence.
I've seen feral vampires moments before their death. There was something about this one that was different. Threatened vampires were ready to fight to the death, hunched over and hissing as they readied to defend themselves. Instead, he was standing upright, a long, leather trench coat draping down his back. He looked around at the different wolves that pinned him in as if he was studying faces. His back faced me until I moved into the circle when he turned to look at who stepped up to the plate.
His red eyes gave away that he was, in fact, a vampire, but he didn't look like one of the Cullen's. His skin was a deep tan, his hair was jet black and his hulking figure would have even rivaled Jake in human form. If I didn't know any better I would have assumed he was someone's father from the res.
He smiled, eyeing me as I walked closer. "You must be the one sleeping with Claire."
A loud snarl ripped through my throat as I barred my teeth. I hated hearing her name come out of his mouth.
He tucked his hands into his coat pockets. "I've looked forward to meeting you; to look you in the eyes and see who I'm up against."
What are you waiting for, Quil? Seth pestered.
Jake barked at him. Enough, Seth!
I narrowed my eyes at him, my lip curling with each growl.
"She'd be safer with me, happier. She would have a better life with me than she ever would here with you."
Maybe Quil doesn't have the guts for it, Leah taunted to my right.
At this I whipped my head in her direction and roared, gnashing my teeth. SHUT UP, LEAH!
"You were there that day, weren't you?" his voice interjected, his eyes darted back and forth between Leah and me. My head snapped back to him. "I saw you and your pal there, he's the one that pulled her out of the backseat, right?" I watched his gaze shift up to Jake who emitted a low growl behind me. Our memories flooded the pack's minds of the wreck; Claire screaming, her wails echoing against the trees.
"That day did not go how I thought it would," he shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "I guess I didn't know my own strength back then," he grinned, sickly.
My upper lip curled again as I growled, the thoughts flashing in my mind. I heard a few whimpers around the circle, our pack wincing as they re-lived one of the worst days of my life.
"And, that one," he tilted his chin to nod to Sam. "He's the one that took her from me, isn't he?"
This time, Sam growled defensively.
"But he's not the one I'm worried about," he turned his attention back to me. "Oh, no, I'm not worried about him anymore. She grew up and out of his reach, he's not a threat to me now— but you, oh, you will be my biggest obstacle yet."
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, my ears falling back as an unsettling feeling swept over me.
"Do you think I want to kill her?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking. "I'd love nothing more than the opposite, actually."
Something didn't feel right. I was within feet of him, I could practically lean forward and touch him. Jake, something's wrong, I warned, sniffing the air and looking around the circle at the eyes staring at us.
What do you mean? Jake replied.
"No, I'll keep her safe, she'll live a long and happy life with me. A very, very, very long life with me," he emphasized, his red eyes locked on mine as he sneered.
I can't smell him, I announced.
His devious grin spread across his face into a smile. A growl rose out of my chest as I lunged at him, wrapping my jaws around his head. My body flew through the air and landed in front of Embry on the other side of the circle, nothing between my teeth. Embry's eyes were wide as stared at me, trying to make sense as to what happened.
What the—?!
What just happened!?
Where is he!?
Did he just—?
My head erupted in voices as I looked around the center of the circle, he was gone.
Where did he go!? I exploded, turning around to look in all directions. There's no way he could have ran off fast enough to dodge me and the rest of the packs around us. But no matter where I looked, there wasn't a trace of him to be found.
"What the fuck was that!?" I clenched my jaw, staring at Jake and Sam.
Both were puzzled beyond explanation. They had dismissed their packs in different directions to try to track him down but we were all doubtful that it would lead to anything.
Jake shook his head. "I've never seen anything like that, have you?" He raised his eyes to Sam who shook his head as well.
"No. I haven't," Sam was quiet, clearly bothered.
"I had him, he was right in front of me," I muttered, pacing back and forth, trying to understand what happened. "He didn't just run off."
"No, I don't think he did either," Jake concurred. "I think it's time we consult the Cullen's on this. They'll be concerned that someone is invading this area and drawing this kind of attention. They might know something that can help us."
Sam nodded silently.
"He's going to turn her, Sam," Jake reiterated my report. "That's what he wants her for."
"But why?" I butted in. "Why Claire? Why did he kill her Mom?" I folded my arms over my chest.
No one had an answer.
Sam departed the field first. It was one of the only times that I had ever seen him so troubled. Jake and I hung back, deliberating on what to do next.
"Let me come with you to the Cullen's," I glanced at him. "Claire won't be back until tomorrow. I can't be there alone just tormenting myself, waiting for something else to happen."
His lips pressed into a line and he nodded, understanding the feeling. "We'll take my truck," he replied.
Neither one of us spoke on the ride over to the Cullen's. I felt deflated, my gut twisted in knots as I replayed the event over and over again in my head. I let her down, I failed her. I couldn't sit still, as if my muscles refused to relax. I checked my phone for what felt like the millionth time, waiting for a message from Claire. But every time I was let down with an empty inbox.
It had been years since I saw the Cullens. After the packs split and Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, everything died down between us. They traveled a lot, from what I heard, at least from Ness.
Jake called ahead, informing Carlisle that we were on our way.
"How much do they know about this?" I asked as the road wound through the tall pine trees.
"They know all about the accident, back when it happened I had to tell them since he killed a human," Jake explained. "Since he's been coming back, they know that we have found traces of him; but unless Ness told them more, we've tried to handle it as a pack."
It never failed to astound me, the size of their house, as it came into view. Jake parked his truck in the gravel driveway, hopping out casually as if this place was home. The burning smell of vampire coated the insides of my nostrils as soon as I opened my door.
Carlisle was at the door to greet us, opening it and shaking hands with Jacob. "It's good to see you," Carlisle welcomed us in, guiding us to the living room area of their house. "Though, I wish it were under better circumstances."
There were two more of them, gathered in the living room. The taller one, Emmett, I think, and the blonde-haired one named Jasper were both waiting for us.
"He's made an official threat," Jake stated. "He told Quil that he plans to turn Claire."
"You talked with him?" Jasper's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
I looked over to Jake for guidance. We typically let him handle all communications between Cullens and our pack. He nodded permission for me to speak. "Our packs tracked him down deep in our territory this afternoon. When Jake and I got there he was trapped, and when I got closer he told me that he wants Claire, unharmed, so that he can turn her."
Both Emmett and Jasper looked to Carlisle, each of their faces growing darker with concern.
"How did he get away?" Carlisle asked.
My jaw clenched again. I shook my head, "We don't know. He was there one second and then the next—"
"When Quil attacked him he disappeared," Jake explained. "Just, vanished."
"I couldn't smell him," I recalled. "I was just as close to him as I am to you, and didn't smell anything but wolf."
Carlisle pondered this for a moment, bringing his hand up to his mouth as he thought it over. "I have never seen it myself, but I have heard of some vampires possessing the power of projection."
"What does that mean?" Jake urged.
"It's a similar ability to Bella's, she can project a cloak of protection around anyone she chooses," Carlisle explained. "In this same way, he must be able to project a version of himself that isn't actually there."
"What, like a hologram?" I scoffed.
"Well, yes, in a way," Carlisle nodded. "That would explain why you couldn't smell him, and why he vanished."
My stomach plummeted. "Would he need to be close to project?"
He shrugged, "It's hard to say. Bella has to be able to see the person she is projecting on but in this case," he sighed. "It's impossible to say."
"He could be anywhere," my head whipped over to Jake.
"It's ok," he tried to reassure me. "Ness is with her in Seattle."
My heart was pounding out of my chest, my stomach sick with worry. My imprint was far out of my protection, and he was out there on the hunt for her. I trusted that Ness would do anything to keep Claire safe, but we were learning more and more about this hunter; realizing how deadly of a threat he really was.