Enigmatical

By wired2damoon

Chapter 22: Caged And Concerned

A/N: I'm sorry for the lateness in my updating, my friend got hit by a car and I've been on edge and worrying like crazy about her. She's alright, thank God, so now I'm using this time to write and distract myself until I can see her.

Hope you like this chapter, let's just say this is where things get a little weird. Don't ask me what I was thinking when I came up with this particular plot, because I really couldn't tell you. Let me know if you like it.

DEDICATED TO: ButterfliesxAndxHurricanes whom I think can me the biggest review I've ever received, thank you again. ~wired2damoon~x

- Claire's POV -

Ever since a young age, I've always wondered why I'm not quite like the rest of the girls that surrounded me. I never had many friends, but even the ones I did have, always commented on my…ahem… "uniqueness" and "originality."

Bullshit.

I'm a fuckin' freak (as my kind sister would always put it) and damn proud of it!

Well, that is, I was proud of it, up until this very moment.

"Wow…you are a strange one, didn't even batch an eyelash…Lukas will have great fun with you," the female vampire, Cassandra cooed, tilting her head to the side, her crimson eyes boring into me for a moment, before she walked away from me, over towards a large cabinet at the end of the room.

I merely gaped at her, my mouth hung open - with no intention of replying, hardly daring to breathe I was so freaked out. Just what the hell is going on?!? What is with Courtney being in cahoots with vampires? Why is that Cassandra woman calling her Rachel? And who the fuck is Lukas!?!

Many questions flowed through my mind as I sat there, motionless on the wooden chair, my legs free of bonds, my hands still in cuffs but my blindfold well removed. I now knew why Courtney had been so lenient with my securities, why the hell would she bother her ass binding me to something when there's a frickin' blood-sucking vampire in the room?

"Rachel…" a soft, melodic voice called from somewhere in the house.

Suddenly, it was if all the oxygen had evaporated from the entire room. My eyes widened, my breathing becoming shallow. That voice…that beautiful, sensational, elegant voice…It was the most pleasurable thing I've ever heard in my entire life. The sound of it - better than any symphony, the way it echoed throughout the house…it made my heart flutter vigorously in my chest.

My eyes closed automatically as I heard someone step into the room and was hit by the most sumptuous smell I've ever encountered, my mouth was practically watering. I bit my lip and waited for whomever it was that sounded and smelled so fantastic to enter.

"Rachel, love, there you are…" the angelic voice continued, getting a little louder and I felt someone stand behind me.

"Hello Lukas," Courtney (or I suppose I better start thinking of her as Rachel now, seen as her vampire friends are so insistent that that's actually her name…) replied, sounding a little indifferent - almost stiff and uncomfortable. That made me open my eyes and stare at her. How the hell could she possibly be so curt with this person with the amazing personal qualities?

But it seemed, my opening my eyes, may have been a mistake (or a great pleasure - depends on how I look at it) as I now seemed to have drawn the attention to said wonderful person. "And I see you've brought someone for me, how nice of you," the dreamy voice replied, and I could feel the owner draw nearer to me, edging around the chair.

I tried desperately to focus on something else, anything else, but all my mind seemed capable of doing was practically worshipping the voice and smell that were enveloping me. In my almost drunken haze, I could feel that there was something wrong, something amiss, as surely, I shouldn't be feeling like this. Why the hell was I so captivated by a voice, a smell? Why was my head swirling with lustful thoughts of whom said voice and smell could belong to? What the hell is happening to me?

But before I could think another coherent thought, through my heavy-lidded eyes, I saw a figure walk around me, only to stop dead in front of me. Almost subconsciously, I slowly raised my eyes from the floor and carefully let them travel up the body.

Starting at the feet, my eyes drank in the feet, legs and abdomen slowly, attentively, admiring the crisp, clean clothes, before gently easing up to the chest (which I couldn't help but notice was firm and quite muscular - even evident when the shirt was entirely buttoned up), and tracing the extremely pale skin of the neck, before finally, eventually, resting on the face.

This is where I audibly gasped. Oh dear God. It was the most beautiful face I have ever seen in my entire life!

Wait…what am I thinking? No its not! It can't be! The most beautiful face I've ever seen in my entire life is Qui-

-Whatever this magnificent creature's name is! With his honey golden hair, his prefect, unscathed, pale complexion, his strong jaw and cheekbones, his…blood-red eyes…

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!? I CAN'T BE CRUSHING ON A FRICKIN' VAMPIRE!

When I was having this internal battle with myself, it was if the dashing not-quite-man on front of me knew exactly what I was thinking. Humm…maybe he has Edward's gift?

"Well hello there, and what might your name be?" he asked suddenly, looking straight down at me and flashing me a wide grin. Up until now, I'd been nearly calm in this utterly terrifying situation, but now, now as saw him smile at me like…that…I felt a shiver run up and down my spine. I don't know if I was having a momentary lapse of judgement before, but now I definitely was not thinking how unbelievably beautiful this man was, no, now I was thinking about how unbelievably creepy he was…

This is not good.

"I-Claire, my name is Claire," I replied nervously, trying desperately not to look into his face, somehow I could sense, that if I did glance in his direction, my thoughts would suddenly turn all weird and loving again.

"Claire, such a beautiful name, I'm very pleased to meet you. My name is Lukas," he responded politely, (I could hear that he had a slight accent - English or Australian maybe) holding out a pale hand for me to shake.

I stared at it intently. What the hell is up with this? Since when do vampires play nice with their food? Is this some sick joke they're all playing before they devour me?

Against my better judgement, (you know, to co-operate and all) I shook hand.

As soon as my flesh touched his, I felt like my whole body was on fire. Even with its severe coldness, his touch ignited a raging fire within me and I my head was spinning once again - filled with thoughts of lust and desperation.

I shook my head vigorously and withdrew my hand from his reluctantly. Automatically, I felt another pull towards him and my head jerked up on its own accord and my eyes focused on his.

"Humm…you're a strong one…" he murmured quietly almost to himself as I struggled to stop looking at him. It was insanely difficult, it was like I was in some sort of trance. Those fiery, crimson eyes were burning a whole into mine and no matter how hard I tried I was unable to look away. It was like watching a burning house, I was absolutely horrified by what I saw and yet completely glued to the spot, powerless to look away.

Then it stuck me. This must be his gift. I was told that some vampires have special gifts, Edward with his ability to read minds, Alice who can see the future, Bella with her shield and amazing self-control, Jasper who can manipulate people's feelings and Nessie who can show people what she's thinking by simply touching them.

So this…whatever this is…must be Lukas' gift. And I was not going to let it push me around!

Biting my lip, I turned my head to the side with a sudden jerk and the spell that I was under, broke. I took a few shallow breaths, trying to block out the lustful and sickening sweet image concerning this young-looking vampire out of my head. My god, this is crazy! He's like a hypnotist or something.

My reluctance to look at him seemed to amuse him greatly. "Ha! I like you! You really are a strong one! And I was trying my damnest too. Rachel, take this remarkable girl here into the next room and make sure she's comfortable, she's definitely passed the first test. What a keeper!" he exclaimed excitedly, his voice growing slightly higher.

My brow furrowed deeply as his words sank in. Passed the first test? What the hell does that mean?

"Come on, get up," Rachel said softly but sternly, clutching my elbow and pulling me to my feet. I wanted nothing better than to wrench myself from her grip but I knew it would be rather a foolish thing to do when there were two very strong, very human-blood-drinking vampires in the vicinity.

"I will see you later Claire," Lukas called as Rachel (its still weird calling her that) led me out of the room. I cringed as I heard that he sounded slightly agog. That certainly didn't make me feel any better. I jerked my head back around to face forwards, shaking off the now familiar feeling that I get before I start being "hypnotised" or whatever by the strange vampire.

I winced softly as Rachel pushed me towards a large pair of oak doors at the end of the hallway. Roughly, she pushed them open and shoved me through, holding me at arm's length.

I shut my eyes as pain began throbbing up my arm as she clutched me exceedingly tight. "Get in!" she hissed suddenly and I realised that we stopped walking.

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and glanced about myself.

I gasped as I took in the scene.

"W-What…" I murmured softly, my eyes practically bulging out of my sockets.

Rachel laughed evilly, throwing her head back, but I was too transfixed in what I was seeing to notice.

There, a mere three feet from me, were lines and lines of iron cages about six feet by six feet and barely five feet high.

But that isn't what was bothering me. What was bothering me, was what was in the many cages.

Girls. In every cage, there was one, teenage, terrified-looking girl.

Oh my god, I think I'm going to pass out…

- Quil's POV -

"Quil! Quil put me down!" Claire giggled heartily I lifted her up and swung her around. I shook my head, smiling cheekily at her, before putting her up on my shoulders. I could practically feel her beam even more so brightly as she now had a full view of the beach.

"Quil! Quil I can see the WHOLE beach from here!" the six year old yelled loudly, proudly as we began to jog lightly against the sea shore.

*

"You're such a prude Ateara," fourteen year old Claire laughed as my cheeks flushed a fresh crimson. "Shut up," I mumbled in reply, looking away from her. This only succeeded in making her laugh even harder so I turned back and scowled at her. She was practically choking with giggles now and that only made me frown deeper. Note to self - don't ever watch old re-runs of sitcoms with Claire ever again, no matter how much she begs.

I don't think I'll ever get over seeing Eric Mabius' bare ass plastered all over the TV screen.

*

"Higher! I want to go higher!" Claire screeched as I pushed her on the swings in the playground. I laughed and shook my head, "Claire, if you go any higher you'll be flying over the bars."

She laughed louder, "I want to fly Quil!"

Ah…the silly demands of a four year old.

*

"You're my best friend Quil, you know that right?" the sixteen year old sniffed, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her head in my chest.

I nodded minutely, stroking her back as I felt her begin to cry again.

"I-I dunno what I'd d-do with-without you…" she stammered, pulling me closer.

"I don't know what'd I do without you either Claire-bear…shhh… I'm here, I'm here, it's okay…"

*

I shook my desperately trying to block out all the memories that came flooding back to me as I stood, motionless, in the Cullen's living room. I could feel Edward's eyes on me but I continued to stare at the floor, ignoring that he could hear and see every one of my thoughts.

Alice gasped suddenly and my head snapped up in anticipation. Briefly, I saw Edward looking at me with sympathy etched all over his face whilst Jasper frowned deeply at me. Ignoring them, I quickly turned my attention back to Alice and saw that she was indeed having another vision. I held my breath, desperately waiting for her to come out of it and give us something, anything…

The look on her face when it was over however, made my heart sink and worry eat at my insides…

"I-Claire's…there's something strange going on in that house…" she mumbled confusedly, "I could see…girls, lots of them, human teenage girls, locked up in small cages in what looks like some sort of banquet hall…"

Silence met her words and a number of scenarios were running through my brain. Claire wasn't the only girl that was captured by Rachel and brought to vampires? There were many girls, but why? Why would vampires need just teenage girls? Surely the aren't that picky with their food are they?

Edward's eyebrows rose at my thought. "Some vampires can have preferences Quil, just like humans, but it is a little odd…usually any human blood is enough to quench their thirst…"

Alice nodded her head in agreement as I winced slightly, "yes, Edward's right…but-but I don't think that's what's going on here…" she mumbled, trailing off again obviously deep in thought.

All of us waited with bated breath as Alice went back through her vision in her mind. I have to say, I was getting a little impatient, especially as I saw Edward's expressions change as he looked at Alice's vision in her mind. They went from unease, to downright shocked, to digested.

What the hell is going on?!? Their silent conversation is killing me!

Edward threw me an apologetic look before Alice turned towards me.

"Quil, when I tell you this, I beg you, please try and control yourself and don't do anything rash…"

Okay, I so didn't like where this was headed.

I frowned at her, folding my arms stubbornly, "Alice just tell me what the hell is going on! This is Claire we're talking about, my Claire, I need her back!" my voice was growing louder and more desperate every syllable I spoke.

I felt a number of hands on my back and shoulders, reassuring me, restraining me, I'm not really sure. I was grateful anyway.

"Okay…if you're sure…" she trailed off, looking away from me, before taking a deep, unnecessary breath, "from what I can gather from the vision, Claire will find out that the reason she was brought there, why all the girls were brought there, was not to be sources of food like she originally thought. No, there's a specific reason why they are all teenage girls of various shapes, sizes, styles and ethnicities…they're all there to be…possibly, a future mate for one of the vampires…"

My mouth involuntarily dropped open but I hadn't enough time to take a breath before Alice was speaking again, "it seems that there are four vampires altogether, which Claire will meet soon enough, they won't harm her though. The one who is desiring a mate will make sure of that. His name is Lukas and is originally from London. He is over a century old but is physically around eighteen. He has quite an unusual gift too - the ability to completely captivate anyone around him. My guess is that he was quite the charmer as a human…but it seems he has grown tired of looking for a mate amongst his own kind and has ventured out towards human girls who he can personally turn…"

She paused for a moment, shifting in her seat as if she were uncomfortable before continuing in a hushed tone, "if I were to guess, I'd say the tale of Edward and Bella may have reached his ears…so that's why Claire was taken, Rachel was instructed to reach a certain quota and I suppose she must have had a personal vendetta when it comes to Claire. She hand picks the girls herself - from all over. I don't know the reasons why she would help these vampires and in turn why they seek her help, as of yet, but I'm sure I'll suss it out somehow. She will divulge all this information to Claire soon enough…"

I peered at the pixie-like vampire for a moment before speaking slowly - no louder than a whisper, "so you're saying Claire was kidnapped so she could be…what? Interviewed by a vampire who - if he thinks she's good enough will turn her into one of you and make her his mate?"

Alice nodded lightly and I could now understand the look of disgust on her and Edward's face a moment ago. I caught the grave expression she now wore…she had already seen my next question but her gaze almost dared me to still ask it out loud.

"And what happens to her if he decides she's not good enough? What if she isn't the girl that's chosen? What happens to her and all the other girls?"

There was just one beat of silence as I saw everyone exchange unnerved glances. I guess that answers my question…

Before I knew it, the minuscule resolve within me snapped and I had turned, punched the wall to smithereens - leaving bits of plaster and rubble crumbled at my feet, before storming out the front door and into the night, ignoring the calls which wafted after me.

I was done standing around talking about it. Done! There was just no way I was going to let some pack of filthy, human-killing leeches devour my girl, (or any other innocent girl) or turn her into one of them so she could be a….mate to some sick, twisted, pathetic bastard who couldn't get a girl his own species.

No. Fucking. Way.

-Nessie's POV-

I jumped, gripping Erin's hand, utterly startled as Quil lashed out and punched the wall with such unbelievable force that it crumbled to the floor. For one, split second, no one dared move of even take a breath and within that same second, Quil had vanished, bolted straight out the front door without as much as a backwards glance.

Embry and my Dad called out to him but Jake mumbled quietly to just let him go. My dad sat back down, telling us that his thoughts were all over the place but from what he could gather, he was only planning on going home.

I glanced around myself then and noticed that everyone was beginning to morph into 'action mode.' Such a dramatic outburst from the person who's entire world is Claire, provoked everyone to snap out of it and start making plans.

Now, as I am her best friend, I desperately wanted to be in on those plans, but I knew, with one look from my father, that that was never going to happen. Damn him and his mind-reading!

"Nessie, why don't you take Erin upstairs and show her your art-studio?" he spoke suddenly and as if I had his power I could tell what he was thinking. Erin must be totally freaking out right about now. I really have to talk to her…

"Uh…sure…c'mon Erin, let's go upstairs," I mumbled softly, gently pulling Erin off the seat and leading her out of the room and up the stairs in complete silence. I could feel both Jake's and Embry's gazes burning into our backs but I hastily ignored them, keeping my focus straight ahead.

When we reached the room that - in fairness, could not be classified as an art studio, more like a storage room for all my canvases (I couldn't fit them in the cottage anymore) I turned to face Erin. She was extremely pale, almost to vampire-degree, and looked as if she'd seen a ghost, or you know…just come to terms that she'd already met the love of her life who happened to be a werewolf and hung around with a bunch of vampires every once in a while.

"Erin, I just-I wanna say that I'm so sorry about all this. It must be such a shock for you…taking all of this in. I mean, you've been so great, first with seeing Embry in wolf-form and accepting it so calmly and then finding out about me and…what me and my family are…I-I just don't know how you do it. If I were you I'd have run for hills long ago…"

Erin took a moment in which she just stared at me, before replying in a voice barely above a whisper, "oh believe me Nessie, I feel like runnin' away and never comin' back whenever I think about…all this. I mean, I'm a 'gotta-see-it-to-believe-it' kinda girl and when I saw…when I saw Embry…I was terrified. But not for the reason you might think. I was terrified not because he frightened me, I could never be scared of him…but because I just HAD to accept that all this was real.

"All this…fantasy crap that you read about, vampires and werewolves and stuff, all that, was actually reality. I didn't know what to do! And when Claire explained to me about you, how you…ya know, drink animal blood and how you're different to actual vampires and all the stuff wit' your Mam and Dad, even though I was only told the bare essentials, I won't lie, I was completely over-whelmed! I mean, Jesus, your parents look young enough to be your brother and sister for Christ's sake!

"And as for Embry, well, I mean, I know he's not as young as he looks and apparently this…imprint-werewolf thing is pretty serious and I'm like, kinda his…life and yeah, that freaks the shit outta me because I'm still so young and not all that committed to anythin' never mind one guy, because ya know I've been hurt before and have always had this opinion that all men are bastards no matter what age they are.

And now wit' Claire goin' and gettin' kidnapped by bad vampires and some crazy-ass psycho Barbie, well, yeah I can say that running for the hills looks pretty damn good to me right now. But I won't go…"

She trailed off then, walking through the door that I'd just opened and stood in the middle of my art-studio. I just gaped at her, trying to process all her rambling (man that girl sure does talk fast- maybe its an Irish thing?) before following her into the room.

"Why?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Why what?" she mumbled, turning to face me.

"Why don't you run for the hills?"

She frowned then, obviously thinking through her reply.

"Because…" she started slowly, "because even with all this madness and so-called "mythical" creatures suddenly existing and with scary-ass crap happening left, right and center, I hav'ta admit, all the people I've met since I've gotten here have never once made me feel like an outsider. This may be new and freaky as hell Nessie, but not once have I ever felt uncomfortable or a weirdo around you or anyone else for that matter. And believe me, that's a first."

I couldn't help but laugh a little at her reason. "Oh Erin don't you worry, with the company we all keep, you'll never be the freak. In fact, you'll probably be one of the only normal ones…and that's saying something."

She flashed me a grin and without even thinking about it, I stepped forward and enveloped her into a hug. I could feel her respond instantly.

I think maybe, just maybe, this is the start to a wonderful friendship…

I just wish Claire was here to celebrate this with us…

- Quil's POV -

I stormed through the apartment, blindly gathering my various belongings and shoving them into a duffel bag. I'd had enough! There was no way that I was just going to sit in the Cullens and wait for Alice to another fucking vision so I can have an idea where Claire is. No freakin' way! I'll find her myself and without any stupid premonitions too.

I mean, how the fuck are they all so calm about this? Claire, my Claire, is being held captive by a psycho Barbie and four human-blood-drinking vampires! One of which may want to turn her into a leech and make her his fucking mate!

Ugh! God! It's enough to make my stomach turn, heart ache and blood boil all at the same time! I have to get out of here!!

I flung myself around the apartment, gathering supplies and in my haze I barely registered that I wasn't alone until it was too late.

"You're not leaving Quil," a voice spoke suddenly, and I stiffened immediately, my back still turned.

"And why the hell not Jake?" I spat back, leaning back down to zip up my bag and get the hell outta here.

"I understand how you're feeling, really I do, but I can't let you leave Quil. We need to think this through, we need to have a plan! Alice had another vision while you were gone, one of the vampires has a gift that can make things untraceable. There is no way that you will be able to find that house! That's how they've been getting away with this in the first place! Its like Bella's shield in a way, no one can get in or out without this guy's say, but its like, no one can see the location he's protecting either. Alice could only estimate that it was sixty miles away but she doesn't really know, her vision could have been blocked off by this guy. You have no idea what to do Quil and I'm not risking your safety, not when we can be absolutely sure-"

"-DAMMIT JAKE! STOP PSYCHO-ANALYSING ME! FOR FUCK'S SAKE DON'T YOU REALISE THAT I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT MY SAFETY? ALL I CARE ABOUT IS CLAIRE! THAT'S ALL! I DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF I GET HURT IN THE PROCESS AS LONG AS I GET HER BACK THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS SO PLEASE, IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HELP ME, JUST GET THE HELL OUTTA MY WAY!" I exploded, not caring that he was my alpha or my friend, all I kept seeing over and over in my mind was Claire. The way she looked the last time I saw her…I had to get her back.

I was desperately trying to control my temper, I really didn't want to phase now, not until I was ready, but I was beginning to see red and my frustration at Jake was building.

I whirled around and went to shove passed him to he blocked my way. Gritting my teeth, I glared up at him, taking a deep breath to try and calm down, "Jake, please…move…"

Jake returned my glare and folded his arms, "no Quil. I'm not risking you getting hurt. Alice says that they won't hurt her, not yet, we have time-"

"DAMMIT JAKE MOVE!!" I roared, shoving him away with all my might.

He stumbled back, obviously in shock at what I just did, but I was so far gone at this point I don't think it even registered the dangerous waters I was now threading in.

"Quil…I really didn't want to do this…" Jake spoke softly, biting his lip. "Please know that I'm only doing it for your own good, I only want to keep you safe, I can't risk you going out on your own, anything could happen."

I tried shoving passed him again as he talked but he just pushed me back.

"JAKE STOP! JUST LET ME GO! I HAVE TO-"

"QUIL, I ORDER YOU TO STAY HERE!" Jake yelled, cutting me off.

I stared at him for a second before I felt that familiar feeling in my gut, the one that screamed 'Alpha - obey' before letting out a thunderous roar and kicking the kitchen counter, hearing it collapse as I whirled around and punched the bookshelf, kicked over the coffee table and smashed the TV.

When I was finished completely destroying the living room, all that could be heard was my gasping breath and Chino The Parrot's frantic squawking. Then, as Jake's eyes caught mine, I crumbled and collapsed onto the floor erupting into angry, frustrated sobs, not even caring how pathetic it must of looked.

Jake just stared down at me, his face tortured with guilt. "I'm sorry Quil, I'm so sorry…"

Yeah…so was I…

A/N: Well, there you have it. I don't know why, but this chapter has been so far, the hardest (and took the longest) to write…and I'm still not happy with it. Oh well, maybe I'm just my own toughest critic. Please review and tell me what you thought, it would make my day. ~wired2damoon~