claudia | embry call

thirteen : chocolate

"Are you okay, Claudia?" Claudia jumped lightly when Quil put his hand on her arm, and she realized how worried he looked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She shook her head, her eyes averting back to the book in her lap, though she couldn't read. Embry, Paul and Jared had found a new trail from Victoria and took off, Sam and Jake followed them. Emily'd called around nine to tell her, but now it was nearly noon and they still weren't back. Claudia did what Embry wanted her to when they were hunting Victoria, stay inside and wait for him to come back. If there was a chance she was on the reservation, the safest place for her was her house-and she didn't argue.

"I can tell it's not nothing." Quil frowned. "Come on, just tell me." He coaxed. Claudia sighed, but before she could say anything her bedroom door opened. She looked up, her eyes meeting with the tear filled ones of her mom.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Claudia shoved the book off her lap and stood up.

"Harry..." Her mom breathed, her hand tight on the doorframe. "He had a heart attack..."

"What?" Claudia gasped.

"I'm going to the hospital, just...stay here, okay? Wait for Collin to get home at least before you leave." Claudia nodded, and the door shut softly.

"Poor Harry." Quil frowned as Claudia plopped back onto her bed. "Poor Sue."

"Yeah." Claudia nodded. "God, this is gonna kill my mom, and Billy."

"Well we don't know how bad it is, right?" Quil scooted closer. "Maybe it was just a minor one, maybe he'll be fine."

"Yeah." She nodded, taking Quil's outstretched hand. "Yeah, maybe he'll be fine."

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Quil had taken to staring out the window while Claudia stared at the pages of her book, still not reading. Then, she heard the front door shut.

"Mom!" She moved quickly out of the room, Quil right behind her. They ran downstairs and into the living room, freezing when they got to the doorway. "Embry." Claudia breathed. Forgetting about Quil, she rushed over into his open arms. "Are you hurt, are the boys?"

"No, we're fine." Embry pulled back a little, one of his hands cupping her face. "I have to get to the hospital, Sam wants us there, but I had to see you first."

"What happened? Did you...?" She trailed off.

"No, she got away." He huffed. "Jumped into the water, so we had to double back. But we don't think she'll come up any time soon."

"Good, good." Claudia sucked in a breath. "But if she's in the water, does that mean she could-"

"I'm gonna figure that okay?" He said quickly. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."

"What the fuck?" They turned, Claudia's eyes widened.

"Quil, I-" She started.

"What the fuck?" She'd almost never heard him sound so angry.

"Let me explain." She took a few steps away from Embry, but he grabbed her arm.

"Claudia stop." Embry's voice was forceful as he pushed her behind him. "Quil, you need to go outside."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Quil shouted. Claudia leaned around Embry to look at Quil and realized how much he was shaking. "Claudia, you fucking lied to me! You said that-"

"Quil!" Embry took a few steps forward. "Just trust me, you need to get outside." Claudia barely realized, but Quil began charging at Embry. Embry grabbed him, and started pulling him outside. "Claudia, stay back!" He yelled behind him. Claudia froze on the porch, watching as Embry released Quil and took a few steps back. Quil's body shook violently as he fell his hands and knees. If Claudia had blinked, she would've missed what happened next. A loud cracking noise, followed by ripping, and then a large, chocolate colored wolf stood where Quil once was. It snarled and snapped at Embry. "Stay here!" Embry shouted before he transformed as well. Embry's wolf form was slightly bigger than Quil's, a little taller and a little wider, but Quil somehow looked more menacing. Maybe it was because he was still snapping and growling towards Embry, his large teeth fully on show.

Claudia stayed frozen in her spot as Embry wrestled Quil back into the woods, away from her house. After a few minutes she finally moved, shaking herself out of her daze. Scattered around the base of the stairs were the boys shredded clothes, so she hurried to pick them up and throw them away. She sat down on the stairs, looking out for any sign of movement in the woods with worry.

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"It's not that bad." Claudia perked up at the sound of Embry's voice. A small smile came to her face when she heard Quil's laugh. Finally, the pair emerged from the trees where they'd come from.

"Quil, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you." Claudia said as she rushed down the stairs towards them.

"Don't worry about it." He waved his hand. "Dumbass over here explained it all." He punched Embry's arm, just to have Embry punch him back. They both laughed, easing whatever tension was still left in Claudia's mind.

"Well I have to get to the hospital." Embry sighed. "Sam would've heard our howls, I hope he didn't leave."

"Well come back soon." Claudia frowned. "I missed you." Embry chuckled.

"I missed you too. But I promise I'll be back tonight."

"Ugh, I think I liked it better when you two hated each other." Quil groaned, and Embry hit him. "Leave before I throw up."

"Love you." Embry mumbled as he pulled Claudia into a hug.

"Love you too." She couldn't but snicker at the gagging noise Quil made as he wandered back towards the house. "See you tonight." Embry nodded as they pulled away, and he jogged back into the trees. "So, how do you like being a wolf?" Claudia asked as she caught up with Quil on the stairs.

"It's cool." He smiled. "I'm happy to have all my friends back, too. Embry said Jake's gonna freak."

"Yeah, probably will." She nodded, pushing the front door open again.

"Hey, do you have any of Embry's sweatshirts still?" He asked. "I don't think your mom would understand why I'm suddenly shirtless."