The Twilight Series belongs to S. Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing with the characters.

Prologue: Dependent (noun) a person who relies on another, especially a family member, for financial support

I'd felt it – the gut-wrenching, soul-tearing agony as she took her last breath. I tried and failed to take a breath, attempting to fill my lungs with much-needed oxygen. It was impossible.

The wolf inside me howled. Demanding to be released. There was nothing here for us. Nothing left to live for. We'd roam the lands like Taha Aki had after his imprint had died. Never finding the peace we longed for.

I stood abruptly, gauging my routes of escape.

My brothers seemed to know my plans before I could put a step forward. Hot hands grabbed my limbs, holding me in place. The wolf's ire increased at their restraint. None of them could understand our pain – the torment which burned through every fiber of our being.

I growled at them – we bared our teeth, pulling our lips back and threatening to destroy each and every one of them. I didn't care that they'd been my brothers for nearly two decades of my life – they wouldn't stop us. The need we had to flee this place and its stench of death and illness.

I saw through lackluster eyes as a young man stood before me. He seemed so familiar, yet I couldn't place him. Who he was or why he was here. His voice took on a tenor that I recognized to be an order.

I rolled my eyes at this child's assumption. Did he not realize that it was impossible to order a wolf whose mind was focused on his imprint? He could tell me to calm down, sit in the chair, to stay here all day – it wouldn't matter.

Claire was gone.

I had nothing to live for anymore. The very reason for my existence had been taken from me and I had no one to blame but myself. It had been my seed that had caused her belly to grow with our child. Somehow, instinctively I knew that fact was the reason why her body was growing colder and the rosy bloom of her cheeks was fading.

It was my fault.

I struggled against the tight band of hands that were firmly wrapped around my biceps. Why couldn't they let me go? I didn't want to be here. I couldn't stand the oppressive atmosphere. The heaviness of grief and loss that lingered in the air and threatened to push me to the floor, leaving me to sob like a small child.

I didn't notice the two people who strode toward me with purpose. One was partially wrapped in a white hospital blanket while the other pushed a green metal canister. Later, I'd realize that it was an oxygen tank.

"Quil, sit down," a female voice commanded.

I recognized the voice, but yet at the same time I didn't. I paused in my efforts to resist my brothers – only for a moment – the clarity, which I had passed.

"Sit down now!" The voice louder and more insistent, capturing my attention. A small cry followed the words. One that had my ears perking up as my wolf and I paused, trying to determine the cause of the peculiar sound.

On auto-pilot, I took a step back and sat in the chair I'd abandoned what felt like an eternity ago. My gaze fixed on the woman before me; recognition dawning. Kim and next to her was Embry.

Her next words confused me. I didn't understand the purpose behind her request. "Shirt off."

I barely heard the protests of my brothers. My eyes glued to her and the small bundle she clutched to her chest. The place where that curious sound had come from – the wolf and I knew that it didn't come from her and if not from her, then what or who?

"Quil – that wasn't a request," she stated, reminding me that I'd been sitting there frozen, staring at her.

I grasped the bottom of my tee-shirt and pulled it over my head. The request was so strange, yet unconsciously I knew that she wouldn't ask me to do something without reason. We'd been so much to each other all those years ago – best friends, confidants, and lovers. Our relationship had started from nothing without any magic, but yet it had grown to be something that I hadn't even experienced with the woman – the girl who'd been chosen for me by Fate.

I waited patiently for her next move. The white blanket which shrouded her upper body was removed, revealing a reddened, wrinkled mass of flesh. Dark, downy hair covered the top of it and the middle was swaddled in white.

She moved the small creature – I couldn't think of another way to describe it – downward and laid it on my chest. It felt warm and soft against me. My heart thundered as I breathed in its familiar scent. She didn't remove her hands until she'd had it positioned to her liking. The blanket that Embry had taken from her was wrapped around me and then she spoke.

Her voice soft with a hint of despondency as she explained in words I'd understand. "This is Jonathan. I can't begin to understand what you're feeling, but I think Claire would want you here for him. He needs you."

"Jonathan?" I asked. The name unfamiliar and foreign to me.

"Yes, that's what she told me his name was."

"Oh, we hadn't talked about it…" My voice trailed off as I looked at the creature in my arms. What I now realized wasn't a creature at all, but my son. Our son – Claire's and mine. A perfect melding of us. Kim was right, he needed me – just like Claire had needed me for a reason I still wasn't sure of.

The wolf settled with Jonathan's nearness. This tiny human being was dependent on me for everything. He'd already lost his mother – he couldn't lose me too.