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Chapter Two - Chocolate (9)

2 Years Later

Claire toyed with the chocolate between her fingertips. There was no reason not to savor the moment. Already she could almost taste the sweet, sweet cocoa that would soothe the angry fire on her tongue. Sugar was her one, her only weakness and there was no question of not accepting the offerings of Embry and Quil. She had known them for yonks; Quil wouldn't cheat her out of candy. But as she finally lowered her first piece towards her mouth, there was snicker. A seed of doubt was planted.

"What?" She tried to read the now smooth faces of the two bulky men cramped onto her plaid couch. If it had been a poker tournament with something more serious at stake, their efforts to remain emotionless may have been successful. However, the current situation caused a quick twitch of a smile break through Quil's mask for a fraction of instant. Claire saw it.

He was getting better at reading Claire's emotions -it was compulsory if he wanted to keep her happy - but even a fool could have seen the playful suspicion in Claire's slitted eyes. "Nothing"

Nothing, huh? Like the sassy, mature nine year she knew she was, Claire leant back onto the armchair cushions and put her free hand casually to work in her hair. It was a habit. She mulled over the flicker of eagerness there had been in Embry when they had given her box and the mischievous smirk that had graced Quil's firm lips earlier. They were up to something. She could just feel it. And…it involved the chocolate. What had they done? She had been surprised when Quil had pulled his first prank on her. It was been a few weeks ago but it still played on her trust. It was odd. Almost as if now, he had suddenly transformed from being this big over-protective uncle (one of many she had collected) to a teasing, silly, trickster. Just like her; he was just like the boys she was making friends with at school. Maybe one of them had stolen Quil's body?

"Come on." Embry urged, leaning so far forward the couch cushion began to tilt like it was a sinking ship. "Just eat it."

Quil knew Embry had said exactly the wrong thing. He was single-handedly downing the plan. Claire tensed. The chocolate slowly moved away from the soft, pink target. Darn it! Embry and his big mouth. He had to get her back, to get revenge in this near-silent law of pranks. Only, Claire was too suspicious. He had trained her too well against the deceptions of men (for her safety of course - no other reasons). Quil had noticed the way she had started to so fervently watch everything as if noting each movement and storing it for a later date. He had to try and reassure her. Pranking is a helpful aid in development of character. Look how well he, Jake and Embry turned out.

"There's nothing wrong with it. I swear on Sam's head." He said it with such solemn sincerity; Claire really did want to believe. When she was littler, she could always trust him to tell it to her straight. Even now when they were talking about adult stuff she couldn't hear, he would always let her know later or make it up to her by telling her one of his secrets instead. That's what big-kid best friends did. But the body-snatching thing changed everything. Swearing on Uncle Sam really wasn't that bigger promise anyway. Embry disagreed.

"Don't let him hear you say that." He said. His rumbling tone was muffled by the chocolate lining his mouth. Claire scrunched her nose as slimy chunks torpedoed out but tried not to notice, Quil didn't and she would rather be like Quil than her mom. Why did Embry have his own box anyway? Why not just eat from the one they got her? She sat her own piece of chocolate onto the coffee table. Her fingers were getting sticky. They all were always wolfing down food. Half the time nobody knew where it had come from. They were stray dogs up for anything.

"Oh go howl at the moon Embry."

"Yeah Embry shut your face." Claire's dimples cracked into giggles as both Quil and Embry's mouths dropped open at the same moment. She knew she shouldn't have said it. Everyone's reactions were always so funny though.

Quil was the first to regain bodily control. An odd feeling rippled through him. Claire couldn't have come up with that on her own. The fact someone would say that around or maybe even to his sweet little angel bugged him more than eggs without bacon. "Where did you learn that from?"

Claire shook her head. There was no way she would rat out Marco, not even to Quil. She pulled out the only thing she could. "You don't talk to me about your job, I won't talk to you about mine."

"Claire you don't have a job." Claire glared at Embry for doubting her way of thinking. She did to work from 9 till 3 with a playground lunch break of course. It wasn't like their job, they disappeared all the time. She never knew when someone different would be picking her up from school or babysitting her for the day. It got so confusing. At least school was constant. At least they knew what she was doing at school. There were no report cards on the fridge telling her how well Quil was doing at whatever he did.

"Quil?" Could she get them to talk? He usually gave her what she wanted. Had that disappeared with the old ways of Quil? Claire tried to let pure sweetness flow into her voice. It couldn't hurt to have her 'innocence' working for her favor.

"Yeah?"

"Is there something bad with what you do at work?" She knew it didn't get spoken about. An unspoken rule about what must remain unspoken.

"What makes you say that Clairy?" Quil knew he looked shocked. He had been expecting this but with Claire everything was coming just too soon. She was only nine. He wasn't questioning Quileute ways at nine. She was so determined. It was written all over her rounded face. It almost hurt him that she was assuming there was something wrong with the pack. In a way, changing into wolves was against nature but not bad, never bad. Claire didn't speak; she just looked at him with beautiful, pleading brown eyes.

Quil knew he couldn't lie to her like all those other times. "Embry can I talk to you in the kitchen for a moment?"

Claire balanced herself on the very tip of her toes and began to edge ever so slightly forward along the wall. She could hear their murmurings but it still didn't sound anything like English. She brushed over the creaky floorboard to lean closer but the words were still gobble-de-gob with no pattern she recognized.

She moved just that teeny bit closer. The hum of voices stopped and there were light footsteps. Claire prepared for discovery but no one was walking back toward the lounge. Glancing back over at the table with the chocolates, she scolded herself for wasting time with them. She might have gotten a good listen-in if she hadn't. A flicker of movement drew her attention to the window. What was Embry doing in the backyard?

Why was he taking his shoes and shirt off?

Why was he shaking?

What was…Oh My Gosh.

"QUIL!" Claire couldn't contain her urge to have him rush her in to his arms. There was a place where everything was always okay. With him around, people didn't need to worry about others turning into a big monster of fur!

Quil took one look at his angel's line of sight and groaned. It was all over and not in the right way. "Claire. I need you to stay calm" He tried to keep his voice soothing but how could he be expected to stop panic like this.

"Embry. Just. Exploded. By. My. Swing set!"

"Claire please calm down. It's okay."

"He. Galloped. Away"

"Clairy, I really need you to understand. Me, Embry and the others, we're different."

"Someone call the police! Call Animal control!"

"Claire! Listen to me. He's just a shape shifter. We're just wolf shape shifters." He grasped her shoulders firmly but flinched at the uncontrollable trembling that racked them. She was terrified by what they were. What he was scared her. The thought burned at his insides causing immeasurable pain. Her fright was irreversibly branded into his memory.

Salty tears pooled in Claire's big brown eyes and she failed to stifle a heartbreaking sob. "Are you gonna eat me Mister Wolf?"

"What?" Frowned Quil. Eat her?

"Like Little Red Riding Hood. You're pretending to be Quil but you must have already eaten him like grandma was." She collapsed out of his grasp, giving up all will to stand. Her complete hysteria made her limbs feel like the shot-puts from gym had been attached to the end.

Quil bundled his imprint into his arms, gently rocking her and 'hushing' like she was a little lost boat and he was the ocean. It took her seconds to realize she would never be able to struggle out of his hold and gave in. He cradled Claire until her sobs drowned into little whimpers and then the occasional sniffs.

"I could never hurt you Claire. You're my stars and my moon." He said softly.

Claire took a deep breath, on the verge of calm again. She looked up into Quil's eyes for a few moments and nodded contemplating at what she saw there. Apparently he passed the test. "You have to be Quil. Big bad wolves aren't that nice."

He laughed. "Wolves can be nice. I am and Embry is."

"Not really." She scrunched her tiny nose up, remembering all the times Embry had teased her. Last week her kept picking on her freckles – until, of course, he had been confronted with the 'angry Quil face'. No one teases Claire except Quil. Claire watched Quil's face now. He seemed as though he was having a debate with himself. One moment he looked completely confident then the next his brow would furrow. She sighed wishing he would just explain things proper and stop the crazy ideas that were buzzing around her brain. Men.

"S'pose you're right. Embry did give you the chocolate he dropped on the ground." He said finally. It wasn't the right time to explain things. Perhaps later when Sam and Emily could help him out. Embry had gone to ask them but Quil guessed the surprise of the conversation would be gone now. That was his Claire, too aware and mischievous for her own good.

Claire realized her explanation wasn't going to come but he would tell her sometime; he had to. She could trust Quil if no one else. She wiped away the last embarrassing tear and asked the question she already knew the answer to. Better to be safe than sorry though. "Are you sure you're not going to eat me?"

"Positive - I already ate" Quil grinned sheepishly as Claire let herself giggle. Her smile was only a small triumph but it felt like the biggest victory he would ever achieve. All his victories would depend on her. He allowed himself a slight celebration at the ease which she had accepted things without the usual Claire questions and he picked up his chocolates. "Although I might have room for one of these."

Claire broke out into a wild grin when Quil chewed slowly savoring the taste, not just of the chocolate but of that delicious feeling of her happiness. Just as he was about to swallow she took a sly step away from him.

"It's okay about my chocolate, Quil," She trailed off and Quil found himself pausing as well, wondering how she could accept their deception so easily. That was until she finished her sentence. "I switched the boxes."

Quil gagged out the large hunk of chocolate he had just cheekily put into his mouth. Quil - None, Claire - Four. She may not have her explanation but she was the Queen of Pranks.