claudia | embry call

eleven : canada

"How's your face doin?" Claudia sat back against her bedroom wall, the phone balanced between her face and shoulder.

"Hurts like a bitch, good thing Embry's aim is shit." Claudia snorted at Quil's words. "How much did the warden give you?" She snorted again.

"Two weeks, what do you got?"

"A month." He groaned. "My mom's about ready to kill me and it's only been a day. However, I'm not grounded because it was self defense."

"Me either." She moved her arms up as Embry moved back on top of her, his head resting against her stomach and his arms snaking around her waist. Her fingers began to gently rake through his hair. "But, I am stuck with babysitting duty for the whole two weeks."

"Shut up." Embry mumbled into her shirt, and she flicked his head.

"Lame." Quil groaned. "That's probably worse."

"Yeah, probably." She nodded, looking down at Embry. "I can see if I could swing the weekend, though."

"Cool." Quil sucked in a breath. "Well, I guess I'll just go play video games until you're released, then." She laughed.

"Parole boards tough over here, Quil, don't get your hopes up." He laughed too. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Alright, later C." The line went dead, and Claudia dropped the phone on her bed.

"Do you have to be so needy while I'm on the phone?" She asked as she picked her book back up. "I thought we agreed Quil wasn't gonna know about us till he phased?"

"We did." He nodded, his arms tightening around her. "But I'm tired and I missed you today." She rolled her eyes, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"You're such a baby." She snorted, cracking open her book and resting her hands on his back.

"I'm your baby." She laughed.

"I thought you said the wolf was supposed to take care of the imprint, not the other way around." They fell into a comfortable silence, and after a few minutes she could hear, and feel, Embry's light snoring. He'd been out all night with the boys, patrolling for the rouge vampire named Victoria. She'd come onto their land a few times, but they hadn't been able to catch her. According to Bella Swan, who'd been dating one of the Cullen's-also vampires-Victoria's mate James had been killed by the Cullen's the previous spring so Victoria was out to kill Bella. Revenge, mate for mate, though the Cullen's left months ago and Bella hadn't heard from them since.

It was a peaceful three hours in Claudia's room. Embry slept away while she read, listening to the quiet music from her radio and watching the waves lap at the rocks and sand out her window. But, of course, the peace couldn't last forever. The loud howl of one of the boys pierced the early afternoon air, causing Embry to jolt awake.

"What's going on?" He asked groggily.

"One of the boys wants you, I think." She said. Just as she finished, another howl sounded.

"Paul." He grumbled, detaching himself from Claudia and standing up. "What does he want now?"

"Go see." She put her book down and scooted to the edge of her bed. "I kinda wanted to get some baking into today anyway, I'll make you something for when you get back."

"You're the best." He smiled, pulling her up and against his chest. "I'll come back when I can."

"Just go." She pushed him away lightly as Paul howled again. "Seriously, someone's gonna notice if he keeps doing that."

"I'll be back!" Embry called as he hurried out of her room. She plopped down on her bed after she heard the front door shut, sighing. One day in, and a werewolf soulmate was a lot harder to deal with than she'd expected.

————————

It was nearing midnight when Claudia heard Embry's familiar howl. Though she was half asleep, she pulled herself out of bed and made her way downstairs. By the time she'd pulled the front door open, Embry was waiting on the porch.

"Where have you been?" She asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

"We found Victoria's scent on our patrol." He mumbled into her hair. "Followed her all the way up to the border."

"Canada?" She pushed him back a little, seeing just how tired he looked in the dim porch light. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home sleeping?"

"I missed you." He frowned. "Can't I sleep here?" Her heart beat increased tenfold.

"Sure." She managed to say. He slipped inside and she shut the door again, trying to be quiet. Embry was already on his way upstairs so she hurried to follow him, watching as he plopped down onto her bed as she entered her bedroom. Embry was rubbing his eyes as she shut her door before moving over to sit next to him. "What happened?"

"Paul and I were just doing our usual route." He explained, his hands dropping to his lap. "Nothing exciting, right? And then Paul thought he saw something, so we go to check it out..." A frown set in on his face, and he took her hands. "She was stalking a few hikers, some human tourists. Apparently she was so focused that she didn't realize how close we were, so we were able to freak her out. Course, she takes off so we start following. Sam had just phased to check on us and he saw what we were doing so he called everyone else and we started chasing. Nearly got her a couple times, too. We got her all the way up to the border before Sam decided that we'd stop. No one was left at home and she was still heading North, so we circled back.

"Paul and I still had to finish our patrol when we got back a few hours ago, just to make sure no others got through, you know?" He yawned. "No big deal. No one even touched her."

"God that sounds like so much work." She said. Just thinking about that distance made her tired. "But you're all alright, that's what counts." He was too tired to disagree. She could tell he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, so she stood up and pushed her blankets out of the way. "Lay down, before you pass out and face plant on my floor." He let out a tired chuckle, complying. She pulled her curtains closed, knowing it'd be easier for him to sleep. She quickly crawled over him, but it was just a few seconds after she'd pulled her blankets back up that Embry's arms had wrapped around her. His chest pressed against her side, and his head rested on her shoulder.

"Night Claudia." Embry's lips brushed against her skin, making goosebumps flare up all over her body. "I love you." Her breath caught in her throat as he placed a soft kiss to her collarbones, before settling back against her.