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Chapter 7: Flirtation

2015: Claire 12-years-old

Quil's POV

"Aura said she wants it on the beach so Alice is planning on making first beach a wedding haven for the day," Seth said, grinning as he turned to look at us all. He took a bite out of the muffin he was holding and happily munched away.

"I still can't believe you're getting married," Brady shook his head. "And to Aurora."

Seth didn't even look offended, he just shrugged proudly.

Collin looked like he was going to scold Brady, but then decided against it and leaned back against the counter. "It is pretty unbelievable, mate."

I felt the same way, only not because of the same reason Collin and Brady thought. I thought it was unbelievable because Seth was, well, Seth. I still saw him as a happy-go-lucky little shit that looked up to Jake like he was some type of God. I'd grown up with him, I'd been there when he started elementary, middle school and high school. I'd been there to comfort him when his dad died, when he got upset that Leah was leaving for Seattle, when he freaked out because his mom was exclusively dating Charlie Swan. Now, at 23 years old, he was getting married to one of the most beautiful women I knew.

Seth and Aurora were getting married in some lavish ceremony on the first beach of La Push. Having met just over a year ago and being engaged for four months of those, it was what my mother called a 'whirlwind' romance. It had taken only four months for the ceremony to be set to not only Seth and Aurora's tastes, but to the extravagant taste of Alice Cullen. Jake, James, Embry and I had been dragged around Seattle for three hours (it was torture) trying to find the perfect groomsmen and groom suits. Alice grumbled the whole time about if we weren't stupid dogs then she would have been able to see us properly, but then we finally found them in a small store at the edge of a long, long street. They were simple black suits with a white button-up, green ties and leather shoes that cost more than my car.

"Are you excited for the bachelor party?" Emily asked, coming into the kitchen with her two-year-old son on her hip.

"Definitely," Sean smirked, reaching over Justin to high-five Timmy.

"I just hope nothing is set on fire," Seth laughed. "Or someone ends up in hospital."

"That was once," muttered Declan .

We were soon shooed out of the kitchen so Emily could start cooking dinner. Jake took Nathan from her hip and settled him on his knee around the dining table. A now four-year-old Tyrone was playing with monster trunks near the fireplace but jumped onto Seth's knee as soon as he could.

My knee bobbed up and down impatiently as I waited for Claire to arrive. She was being driven down by Sam for the weekend so she could serve as flower girl at the wedding and was really excited, though I didn't know why. Claire had been to her fair share of weddings over the years (the pack needed to calm down in my opinion), though I was glad she loved each one.

She was twelve, almost thirteen, now and growing so fast it was scary. She didn't need help swimming anymore, she could go shopping on her own with friends, she was allowed to go to the cinema on her own. I still thought she was far too young to be allowed out without adult supervision, but her parents were completely fine with it so I had no say. Emily also said it was about time she was trusted with more responsibility, I disagreed. The first couple of times she went out I followed her through the trees (I felt more like a stalker than ever), then after a while I saw that she was actually okay and not going to get hurt, I left her. It worried me sick whenever she was out of sight, but through the imprint pull I knew she was fine.

The door opened half an hour later and Sam walked through with a bag on his arm. He nodded at us and then went into the kitchen.

"Quil," Claire beamed, appearing in the doorway. She ran over and into my arms, hugging my neck tight. "Hey guys," she greeted once we broke apart.

"Hey, Claire-bear," Seth smiled easily. He had become even happier (I thought that was impossible but he achieved it) since he imprinted on Aurora. "Are you excited about being flower girl?"

"Yes!" she chirped, clapping her hands together joyfully. "My dress is so pretty. And Alice said that she was planning a really good party."

Claire had gone wedding shopping with the bridal party a month ago to get her dress. I had made Nessie and Aura promise to keep their eyes on her while they tripped to Seattle. They had stayed overnight in a fancy hotel, had facials, massages, manicures, pedicures—you name it, they got it. Rosalie and Alice treated them all and Claire had come back so happy, I began to actually like the Cullen's. Claire hadn't stopped talking about them for a month and anything she loved, I loved, making the Cullen's near the top of my good list.

She plonked herself onto my knee and made fishy faces at Nathan and he giggled brightly. She put into the conversation when asked and whispered to me when she wanted to tell me something. I kept on eye on her all the time to make sure she was safe. Claire could be clumsy and always had a new scratch, bruise or bump when I saw her on the weekends. She never told me about them over the phone (she said she knew I would freak out), yet with each bump I still felt as horrible as I did the first time. I was made to protect her, even silly things like falling over at the park or tripping on the stairs.

Around three the rest of the pack, their children and imprints came around. After kissing Seth, Aurora scooped Claire onto her back and ran around the house with Renesmee laughing hysterically from the sofa. The girls were having their bachelorette party tonight as well. They were going for a fancy meal and drink in Port Angeles, where Leah was meeting them, and then partying in the clubs. Emily, Kim, who was pregnant again, Rachel, Audrey, Ethan's imprint and wife who already had a daughter with Ethan, who Declan had imprinted on, and was pregnant again, and Maggie, who had a daughter, Isla, were all just going for the meal and coming home. Well, that was the plan, but I had a feeling Rachel, Emily and Maggie were going to get roped into going clubbing. Claire was coming home with Kim and staying at her house for the night if Emily did go clubbing. Sam, Jared, Embry, Ethan, Paul and Ivan were all going home early, too, while the rest of us had the idea to stay out until late morning (I honestly couldn't see that happening) and then crashing in the hotel room we had hired for the night.

We hung out until later afternoon and then the girls decided to go to Port Angeles. Aurora looked far away from disconnecting her lips from Seth's and they had a hard job for them.

"Will I see you before the wedding?" Claire questioned as Renesmee began to violently pull on Aurora's arms.

"Yeah, I'll come and see you before you get ready," I answered.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She jumped up to hug me and I squeezed her. We hadn't seen each other for two weeks, her parents had taken her to Seattle last weekend, and we were splitting up again. I could tell she missed me as much as I missed her. We had just stopped hugging when Nessie finally yanked Aurora away from Seth and they rushed out the door after grabbing Claire's hand. She waved wildly at me as she was pulled down the front yard.

Embry learned over. "You know, I'm technically Claire's Uncle."

My eyes widened in horror at the statement. God, he was right. I shook my head as I thought back to the day the DNA test arrived on Sam's door step.

Sam, Embry and Jake were already sat on the sofas when I got to Sam's house. I had been down Makah watching over Claire when Jake had phased to tell me to get my ass over to the Uley place, the results were back.

Gulping, I sat beside Jake and we shared a nervous smile. Even though I had meant what I said to Embry about not disrespecting my dad, the thought of my dad cheated on my mom made me queasy.

"Okay, shall we?" Sam asked, breaking the tense silence.

We nodded, he picked up the envelope that meant so much, it was ridiculous.

My mouth dried as Sam unfolded the letter and scanned the contents.

A smile slowly stretched onto his lips. Looking down at Embry, he patted him on the back. "Welcome to the family, brother."

Embry smiled in relief and reached his fist over to Jake and I. Snorting, I bumped it with mine after Jake.

I felt the tension leave my shoulders knowing I wouldn't have to lie to my mom about Embry's dad. Word had spread around the rez about the impending DNA test and everyone was on edge, especially my family and the Black family, minus Billy who knew for a fact that he wasn't Embry's father. However, Jake and Rachel still had doubts, though I could imagine Jake was feeling guilty about that now.

Embry and Sam hugged quickly. Jake and I left a second later, leaving the brothers to work everything out as a family.

I sighed, poor Claire.

The guys stayed for another hour, we weren't going for a meal, and then the dad's of the group had to drop their kids off at babysitters. Seth got changed at the apartment and then went to get the car from the garage. When he pulled up outside he had picked up James, Aurora's brother, so Embry, Jake and I climbed into the back. We were driving down in four separate cars and the groom's party was in the same car as Seth. We joked around and sang stupid songs on the way to Port Angeles and finally pulled up outside the bar we were meeting at.

We took up a big table at the back and ordered in some beers. It took a lot for wolves to get drunk thanks to our high body temperatures. We burned off the alcohol before we even had time to enjoy the taste. However, we knew from Jake's almost-crushed-to-death experience that if he consumed something in high amounts it could work on us. There was always a member of the pack at the bar ordering another round. By around nine (and twenty beers later), I was getting a little buzz. Brady ordered in some vodka shots that I downed graciously, along with most of the other guys.

An hour later we were ready to hit the clubs. I couldn't imagine what we looked like to outsiders. A group of massive, thick-built men walking around like we were in a gang. They probably thought we were selling drugs or something. Like I thought, when we entered the first club many people turned to stare at us, some in disgust, some in envy and some in interest, the latter being mostly girls.

Seth ordered another round of triple vodka shots. I kept them on repeat until I felt my brain and eyesight become a little fuzzy. Collin laughed like a little girl and ran onto the dance floor, waving his arms around like a lunatic. Brady followed, stumbling slightly. A group of girls dressed like fairies flocked to them like moths to a flame. Seth and Jake pulled me onto the dance floor and I let the alcohol take over. The music in the club was making my eardrums pound and all the energy in the club was flowing through me.

"I—I'b had waaaayyy to—too much," Jake slurred, resting his head on my shoulder as I ordered another round of vodka's. "N-Ness gunna kill me."

Jake looked about ready to pass out so I dragged him over to where Sean and Timmy were sat. Jared, Paul and Ivan had all gone home around half an hour ago, Sean informed me when I asked. Timmy got Jake a water to sober him up and I took a look around the club. Embry and Seth were in the middle of the dance floor doing a disjointed chicken dance, Brady and Collin had ran into some guys from their college and were playing beer pong down the back, Justin and Ethan were doing the robot and were whacking people in the face, Aiden was practically having sex with a girl against the wall, James was making out with some girl near the bar, and Declan was drunkenly grinding up the dancing pole on the podium.

Obviously, we were a cool bunch.

Jake sobered up enough to have three more shots and then we went back onto the dance floor. I noticed a girl giving me the eye about two yards away. Through fuzzy eyes, I noticed she was tall and curvy with curly light brown hair. When she caught my eye, she winked coyly and motioned for me to join her.

"What's your name?" she screamed over the music, leaning up to rest her hand on my bicep.

"Q-Quil," I replied sloppily.

She grinned flirtatiously. "Hot name," she smirked. "I'm Marina."

Because of my clouded mind, I didn't mind when she started to rub herself against me. I started to think about how long it had been since I had been with someone like this and my inner horniness scowled at me. I had been fifteen the last time I had even kissed a girl, and at the age of 25 I was still a virgin. I had had a girlfriend before I phased and we had done stuff but we didn't go all of the way. Then I became a wolf and I had to break up with her, weeks later I imprinted on Claire and said girlfriend hadn't passed my mind since.

Oh, God, Claire.

I wondered what she was doing. Was she having fun, was she happy, was there anything wrong? Of course I knew there wasn't because of the imprint connection, but I still worried. What if the connection wasn't strong enough to feel everything?

Marina's hand started to travel down from my shoulders and headed downwards. When her fingers trailed across the hem of my jeans, my stomach churned. She reached up and crashed her lips to mine. Instead of feeling turned on or lucky, I felt quite repulsed. She tasted...off. It was like slightly out of date milk, it didn't taste disgusting, but there was definitely something funky about it. When the feeling got too much, I pushed her away and rushed back over to Jake.

For some reason, I felt like I had betrayed Claire.

Deep down I knew I hadn't. Claire and I weren't even close to being like that yet and, to be honest, I didn't know if we ever would, but kissing Marina still made me feel guilty. I knew Claire wouldn't like me kissing her, which would make her sad, which would hurt me because not only would she be upset, I would have been the person to cause it.

I stumbled over to the sofa near where the guys were sat and laid down, putting my hands over my face and sighing heavily. I was never going to understand this imprinting thing. I was never going to understand being a wolf. I was never going to understand fate.

I sat around the table for the rest of the night wallowing. Around midnight I felt myself sobering up and a headache began to form. Embry announced he wanted to go home so I offered to go with him. Embry fell asleep in the cab on the way to the hotel room we had ordered for the night for anyone who needed to use it. I dumped him on the bed with a snoring Declan and curled up onto the sofa. As I started to drift off, Claire's laughing face popped into my mind and guilt washed over me again.

I fell asleep soon after, already dreading the hangover that I was going to have tomorrow.

Thoughts?

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-Laylax