Chapter 5

Claire's laughter filled the room.

"Yeah, okay, Quil, and I'm a glittery unicorn. What is it really?"

He blinked at her owlishly. Maybe this was the perfect escape from this conversation; surely he could think of something quickly enough to make it seem like it was something completely ordinary he was speaking to Jacob about. Did he really want to lie to Claire though? Could he lie to Claire even if he wanted to?

He thought not.

"Claire I'm serious. You're going to have to trust me."

She was still laughing, and any other time the sound would have warmed him from head to toe. However, right now there was some mix of frustration and chagrin running through him. He ran a hand through his hand impatiently, desperately trying to think of a way to make her understand. How do you tell a perfectly normal 23 year old woman that werewolves, creatures that are supposed to be nothing more than myths you heard in campfire stories when you were young, are real?

Quil circled his fingers completely around Claire's upper arms and carefully pulled her into a sitting position again, trying not to jostle her car-battered body. He looked into her eyes with the most earnest, intense gaze he had ever given anyone in his life. As she met his gaze, he saw her eyes change from amusement, to confusion, to suspicion, to horror.

"Why would you say something like that to me, Quil? What the hell are you talking about?" She sounded a bit hysterical, and he noted that her hands were balled into fists.

"Claire, honey, remember those stories my father used to tell everyone at the big gatherings about our ancestors? About how the Quileutes are descended from wolves and how we used to shift shapes from human to wolf to protect our tribe and our people? It turns out those stories were all true."

The color had completely drained from Claire's face and she looked like she was going into a bit of shock. Quil was seriously kicking himself and wishing that he had taken the lying route even if it was uncomfortable for a while. Why did he think this was a good time to have this conversation after she had almost gotten into a major car accident last night? Two bouts of serious shock this close together couldn't be good for a person.

"So you're telling me that you, Quil Ateara, morph into some kind of half-man half-wolf thing? Is this like a when-the-full-moon-turns-you-crave-human-blood thing? Is Van Helsing after you?" She was hyperventilating, and he recognized that she was making jokes in a feeble attempt to cover up how upset she really was.

He stroked a hand down her hair, "No, Claire. Let me explain."

"No, Quil, don't explain please. When exactly were you planning on telling me about this? I can't imagine you just realized you were a werewolf when you woke up this morning, so you must have known about this for a while, and I'm guessing a lot longer than I'd even like to admit to myself right now. And here I was thinking that we had a completely open friendship with no secrets. I guess I completely missed the mark on that one, didn't I? What else are you keeping from me? Do you ireally/i have a wife and kids? Are they waiting for you to get home and make eggs for them?" She hadn't taken a breath since she had begun her rant, and she was now shaking and fighting tears.

He winced, "I wanted to tell you, but it was just never the right time. This isn't exactly the easiest thing to explain to someone, and for a while I wasn't even allowed to tell you."

"Allowed? Is there some kind of werewolf rule book that you have to follow or something? What rite of passage are you taking right now?" She let out a choked sob, "I don't know if I want any part in this, Quil. I love you, but I don't understand what is going on here."

She reached up to put her hands to her face, but only got her arms to move halfway before her face contorted with pain. "Stupid car. Stupid La Push. Why did I even come back here? I should have just stayed in stupid Los Angeles." She was crying in earnest now, full racking sobs shaking her small body and making her look like more of a child than Quil had seen her in years. It was breaking his heart.

He reached over and pulled her carefully into his lap, rocking her slightly. "Shh, honey. I'm so sorry. We'll figure this all out, okay?"

She buried her face in his chest and said in muffled tones, "Are you the only one? The only...God..werewolf?"

There was a long pause and Quil thought, Well, you've gotten this far.

"No, there's Sam, Jacob, Embry, Paul, Seth, Leah, Brady, and Collin."

The sobbing stopped, and he could feel her holding her breath. After a moment, he looked down at her and saw her squeezing her eyes shut. "You must be kidding me. That's half of La Push right there. And Sam? Why didn't anyone think this was an important enough thing to tell me? I can't believe Emily didn't tell me."

Quil leaned back a bit to look at her and brush his hand over her hair again, a gesture that was becoming one of his favorite things to do. He could already see it becoming a habit. "Claire, there's something else. There's a reason why they wanted to wait for me to tell you."

"Great, because all of this isn't enough to absorb."

He grimaced and pressed his thumbs to his eyes. He would be crushed if she rejected him now. She had the choice, but he certainly didn't. "I can wait if you want. I would understand. This was a bad time to tell you everything in the first place."

She turned her face up to him, and even tear streaked and swollen, she took his breath away. "No, Quil, better to rip the band-aid off. What is it?"

"Well, there was another part of the myth that no one paid much attention to because it seemed pretty unimportant and unlikely. It was this thing called imprinting. The idea was that the moment a man who was also a werewolf saw the woman who was his soul mate, he would be completely bound to her for life. He'd have no choice but to be absolutely devoted to her for the rest of his life. The woman has the choice to go her own way, but he would still be only hers forever." Quil brushed a stray tear away from Claire's cheek. "No one even thought about it until Sam imprinted on Emily. And then..."

Quil paused and there was a deafening silence in the room for a few moments. Claire frowned, baffled, but then, realization dawned. She bolted upright, her wounds completely forgotten.

"No way. You imprinted on me? That is what you're trying to tell me, isn't it? Otherwise you wouldn't be giving me your super-serious meaningful Quil look." He was braced for more anger, but he slumped in relief when the bright grin spread across her face, "So your heart is lost to me forever, huh? Well, that's quite the predicament you're in, Ateara. When did this all happen?"

His lips pursed together, and he looked down at his hands, evading the question, knowing there would be another explosion.

She grabbed him by the chin, bringing his gaze back up to hers, "Quil, how long have you known?"

"Uh, since you were two years old."

She blinked at him, "What? I realize we're on a reservation but I still don't think that's legal."

He snorted, "Yeah, well, I'm quite the criminal." He shook his head, "No, Claire, imprinting changes to fit however the soul mates need each other. When you were two, you needed me as a big brother. When you were a teenager, you needed me as a best friend. Before you left for California, I had started allowing myself to at least acknowledge these feelings for you, but I promised myself I would never act on them until we were both adults," Quil took her by the hand and squeezed gently, "But I can't take them back. I really am lost for you in every way I could be."

She brought the hand that wasn't clasped in his up to her forehead, and he noted it was shaking a bit. "Wow. I mean...wow." She shook her head, "This is a lot to take in."

"I know. I understand if you need some space. I'll give you as much as you need." Even if it kills me.

"No, Quil, I don't want space. You tell me you love me like no one else ever has or ever will and you think I want space? I'll admit this is kind of overwhelming, but how could I possibly turn my back on that?" She laughed incredulously, "I always knew there was something. I thought it was just a crush, though, not fated love. I'll take it though."

She grinned at him, "We'll address the werewolf thing later, if you don't mind. I'd like to focus on this right now."

She slowly turned her body off of his lap so she could rise on her knees and bring her face level to his. "I loved you before you told me about this imprinting insanity, Quil. You should know that." With that, she brought her lips slowly to his, testing. She gripped his shoulders to hold herself steady and he circled his hands around her waist to stabilize her.

He thought he might die right then from a mix of love and overwhelming desire. Claire hadn't rejected him, and now she was assaulting him with kisses that were sure to cause him to lose his mind. He pulled her closer, not using any of the force he had the night before, now completely conscious of the soreness her body was wrought with. Murmuring, "Claire," against her lips, he lowered them both to the bed.

Quil braced himself above her, taking all of the strain off of her body. He nuzzled against her face and said, "Claire, I love you more than I could ever even put into words." Tangling one hand in her silky black hair, he lowered his mouth to hers again and nipped at her lower lip. The feel of his body against hers was like a dream, and her taste was glorious against his tongue; something reminiscent of spiced vanilla. She sighed and ran her hands up under his shirt, tracing her fingertips over the strong muscles of his back. His whole body shuddered with the contact, and he growled, "You're going to kill me, woman."

He felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head when he heard the front door of Claire's house open and her parents shouted, "Hello! Clairebear? Are you home?"

His eyes snapped open, a look of sheer terror in them. Claire giggled softly, trying to muffle the sound in his shoulder, "We better finish that house soon. Do you know how to sneak out of a window?"

He leaned down to plant another mind numbing kiss on her lips before darting to the window, grinning once before hopping gracefully over the sill.

He heard her shout, "Yeah, mom, I'm in here!"

When eight o'clock rolled around, the glow still hadn't worn off of Quil. He wasn't sure it ever would, but he knew it would be gone anytime soon. He was already preparing himself for the mental beating he was going to be getting from his brothers tonight.

Having left his house somewhat early, he walked at a leisurely pace to the edge of the forest where he removed his ragged sweats and bound them to his calf. He did this almost reflexively, having done it so many times, he didn't even think about the movements anymore. He phased easily and broke into a run, heading to the cliff top where he and his brothers were meeting tonight. However, it wasn't long after setting out that he almost ran smack into Jacob, who had stopped dead in the middle of the path to the cliff.

What the hell, Jake?

He was met with silence.

Quil's stomach churned uneasily and he felt the hair on his back rise a bit.

Jake, brother, what's the deal?

He paced up softly and nudged Jake gently in the side of his neck. What bothered Quil more than Jake's lethargy was the fact that he didn't hear anything in his head. Not one word. Jake turned his head and Quil saw an eerie, blank gaze there.

SAM. Where the hell is everyone? What is going on out here tonight it's like the Twilight Zone!

He had never been more relieved to hear Leah's voice in his entire life. It sounded muffled, as if she was speaking from behind a closed door.

Leah, where are you? I'll meet you.

Quil? I'm at the cliff where we were all supposed to be, but I'm the only one here. Where are you?

I'm in the woods with Jake...but he's apparently not feeling himself. I'll be right there.

Quil bolted as fast as he could up to the cliff top, thankful that someone had answered him, and praying that by the time he got there Leah was still herself. When he got there, she was pacing a track in the familiar stone ledge.

Hey, maybe we should phase back. I don't know what's going on, but it seems to happen when we're in our wolf form, I guess.

I don't know, Quil, what if the rest of them are trying to contact us...

Yeah, but what if we lose each other too?

She stared at him for a moment, her deep brown eyes meeting his in serious contemplation. After a moment, he watched her phase back and pull the clothes on from around her ankle. He followed suit. They were completely beyond modesty and self-consciousness in the pack after twenty five years. He looked up to see that she appeared just as worried as he did.

"You couldn't get Jake to respond at all?" Her voice wavered. She and Jake had begun an unexpected relationship after Bella had left with Edward. Quil supposed it made sense; they had so much in common, having both been jilted by their lovers. It was strange at first, but it made them both a bit less tortured, and that was worth a lot.

He shook his head, "I called to him a few times and also physically nudged him, and no response. He didn't even look like was mentally present."

Leah continued her pacing, her palm across her forehead in a clearly worried stance. "Can we just walk down there to him? Maybe we can snap him out of it from our human forms?" She turned her eyes up to him, trying to put on a brave face, but mostly failing. "Please, Quil, I can't just stand here and do nothing."

Quil thought about how he had felt the night before when he pulled Claire out of her mother's car on that dark street, cradling her down that street to her house while she groaned in pain. He grimaced at the memory and nodded, "Yeah, sure. Let's go."

They ran down the mountain at a pace which would put Olympic runners to shame, but still wasn't nearly as fast as how they could run in their wolf form. He could feel the nerves emanating off of Leah, and couldn't blame her. He was worried about Jake himself; he had been Quil's best friend since childhood and that hadn't changed all the way into manhood. Not to mention the rest of the pack. Why hadn't they answered either? It seemed something was seriously wrong.

When they reached Jacob, he was sitting naked on the forest floor with his head in his hands, phased back into his human form. Leah ran over to him and put her arm around his shoulders.

"Jacob what happened to you? Quil said he couldn't get you to respond to him, and I didn't hear you at all. I didn't hear anyone." Leah was almost crying now, but Jake still hadn't lifted his head. Quil frowned and walked slowly over to the crouched couple.

"Jake, man, you all right?" Quil spoke very quietly, as if approaching a very skittish animal. Jacob didn't seem to be shying away from either of them, but Quil sensed that something wasn't quite right. "You kind of scared me a bit ago."

Jacob twitched, the first movement he made since they had found him, and said something that they couldn't hear into his hands.

Leah leaned closer, "What? I couldn't hear you, Jake. What did you say?"

Jake lifted his head, his face twisted with pain and another emotion Quil couldn't identify.

"I'm losing control."

Leah and Quil managed to get Jacob dressed and back to the house he and Leah shared. They put him straight to bed where he fell asleep in a matter of seconds. Quil and Leah moved out to the small kitchen to sit at the table and try and figure out what to do next.

Leah put her head down on her crossed arms, "What the hell, Quil. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. I don't even know where to begin to take care of this."

Quil shook his head, "I'm going to try to call Sam." Taking the cell phone out of his pocket, he flipped it open and dialed Sam's memorized number. It rang a few times before he heard the pack leader's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Quil. You found Jake?" Sam's voice was rife with tension and worry, but Quil was just glad that he had answered.

"Yeah, man, he was a zombie in the middle of the forest. Any particular reason you ditched us on the cliff top?"

Sam paused, "Yeah, Embry was a zombie too, as you've so gracefully called it."

"No problem. Any idea what's going on? The suspense is killing us." Quil picked up a pen that was lying on the table and tapped it against the well worn wood in a nervous tick.

"Not yet, I'll let you know, though. Tell Leah to stay with Jake and call me if anything happens. You should go be with Claire. Ask her to stay with you and do the same. I know you told her, so ask her to try and understand one more thing. She will."

Quil rubbed an overwhelmed hand over his forehead, "Yeah, alright. Keep me updated."

He flipped the phone shut and looked up at Leah, finding her staring at him with a look of intense frustration.

"Hey, don't kill the messenger. I'm going to go find Claire." Quil placed her hand over Leah's on the table, "Call me if you need me, okay? You know I'll be here in a minute."

"Yeah, if you're not a zombie too."

Quil had nothing to say to that, so he just stood up and set out for Claire's house.

Quil made it to Claire's house in record time, and padded quietly around the yard to her window. Peering through the glass, he saw that she had already gone to sleep. He frowned and shook his head. Of course she did, idiot, it's 1 am.

He considered just going home, but he didn't want to disobey Sam. Not to mention, he was a little scared he would turn into a zombie all alone. With that thought in his head, he lifted the window slowly from its closed position.

He climbed into the room as quietly as he could, not wanting to startle her. She stirred a bit, and he closed the distance between the wall and her bed in two easy strides. He knelt down beside her head and pressed a warm hand against her forehead.

"Claire, baby, I need you to wake up," he whispered in her ear.

She sighed and moaned a little, "This better be good, Ateara. Or you better at least be bringing me sex better than what we were just having in my dream."

He chucked quietly, even as a wave of desire punched into him. That would have to wait for a different time though. "I'm sorry to say I don't have sex for you, but it is important. Will you come back to my apartment and sleep with me tonight?"

Her eyes fluttered open and met his sleepily, "I'm listening."

"There's something weird going on with the pack—Er...the other guys who you just found out are also werewolves. Sam wanted to know if you would stay with me and call him if anything weird happens." He held his breath, hoping it wasn't too soon to ask for this kind of favor.

He could see her eyebrow lift even in the dim light of the room, "Weird besides you being a mythical beast?" She shook her head slightly, "Wait, Sam asked you if I could come and sleep with you? That's not something I thought I'd ever hear." She snorted softly, but propped up on her elbow, "Of course I will, especially since I'm worried now. You can explain on the way."

**Author's Note: Oh my gosh everyone! Your response to Chapter 4 was AMAZING. Thank you SO MUCH! I was so inspired to write Chapter 5 because you guys were so wonderful with your comments and your fav story and author adds. It's that kind of support that makes me keep writing. You guys are the best readers a girl could ever ask for! Love, Katie