I never doubted Quil would find me, it was just a matter of when. Seeing him come crashing through that door gave me both a thrill and a scare. Then I could feel his warm breath on my hands while he was gnawing off the bindings. It felt so good to ride on his back down the slope. I could feel his powerful muscles working but carrying me didn’t seem difficult for him at all. He was warm, his fur was soft, and I’d never been so happy to see him. I did have to make him stop once, though. I hadn’t had a chance to pee in a very long time and I was about to burst.

 

After we got a ways down the slope we came to a clump of trees and I saw Quil’s shorts and a tee-shirt on the ground, so I slid off his back. I looked away when he phased. Watching him phase always made me feel a little weird – especially when it’s man-to-wolf. It starts with their head doing a sort of elongation thing. Pretty freaky. I confess, though, when I saw out of the corner of my eye that he was human again and bending over to pick up his shorts, I took a peek at his butt. It was every bit as cute and sexy as I expected.

 

After Quil held me and kissed me, he walked me until I caught sight of Mom’s car – and the two deputies who had clearly looked through it and taken finger prints. There were three squad cars, too. Quil didn’t wait for Sheriff Swan to see us before yelling, “I found her!”

 

The sheriff looked up at us and smiled. Once we got all the way down to the car he started in with the questions.

 

“Where were you? What happened?”

 

“Some creepy guy bashed me on the head and brought me here. He had me tied to a chair up there in an old cabin.” Quil moved behind me to look at my wound.

 

“That looks bad. I need to get you to a doctor.”

 

“So, this guy,” the sheriff began, suddenly looking uncomfortable, “did he … hurt you in any … other way?”

 

“No – just the bump on my head.”

 

“So, he hit you on the head, drove you here in your mom’s car, and took you to this cabin where he tied you up?”

 

“I guess. I was unconscious until early this morning.”

 

“Do you think he’s still around?”

 

“I don’t know. He left me alone in the cabin a couple of hours ago.”

 

“Did you know who he was – had you ever seen him before?”

 

“I didn’t know him, but he said he was Joseph’s uncle.”

 

The sheriff’s face brightened at the promise of a clue.

 

“So, he lives around here?”

 

“Joseph said he was just visiting. He also said the guy was weird, and he wasn’t kidding.”

 

“Who’s Joseph?”

 

“He delivers our beverages at the store.”

 

“Do you know where he lives?”

 

“No. Somewhere in Forks, I think.”

 

“What’s the name of the company he works for?”

 

I knew this, and it was swimming somewhere in my head, but just out of my reach. I pictured the truck Joseph brought our deliveries in, but still came up blank on the name painted on the side.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m sure I know it, but I just can’t remember.”

 

“It’s okay. I’ll ask Howard,” Sheriff Swan said.

 

By this time Sam and Paul had gotten back and I saw Sam give Quil a subtle shake of his head. They hadn’t found the vampire.

 

Sheriff Swan nodded to them. “Any of you guys see anything unusual in the woods?”

 

Quil, Sam, and Paul all shook their heads.

 

The sheriff turned to Sam. “Could you take my two deputies up to this cabin where you found Claire?”

 

“Of course.”

 

The sheriff hollered to his deputies, “you guys finished with the car?”

 

“Yeah,” one of them replied.

 

“Sam’s going to take you to a second scene that I need you to process.”

 

The sheriff turned back to me and Quil. “You can take the car. Get that head wound checked out. Then, Claire, I need you to come by the station to give me a full statement.”

 

I nodded.

 

“It may take me a while to track down Joseph, so I probably won’t be back to the station until this afternoon. So, take your time. Get something to eat if you want. Just be sure to stop by today. Best to get the statement when it’s still fresh in your mind.”

 

With that, Sheriff Swan got into one of the patrol cars and left. Sam and the two deputies had already taken off, so that left Paul, who was hanging out by Sam’s truck.

 

Quil looked at me. “Give me just a second, okay?”

 

“Sure.” Quil and Paul had a quick conversation, then Quil walked me to Mom’s car, opened the passenger door for me and helped me in. Fortunately, my purse was still there – albeit dumped on the floor – and the keys were in the ignition. My phone was blinking like it had a million messages.

 

“Oh my gosh! Mom!”

 

Quil got in beside me while I called Mom. She answered immediately, like she’d been waiting desperately for a call.

 

“Hi Mom.”

 

“Claire! Oh, thank God! Are you alright?”

 

“I’m okay Mom.”

 

“What happened? Where are you?”

 

“I’m with Quil. We’re in your car.”

 

“Where?”

 

I looked at him. “Where are we?”

 

He signaled for me to give him the phone. “Hi Martha. We’re just off of I-101, a few miles east of Forks.”

 

“You found her, didn’t you? Thank you! I knew you would.”

 

“Listen, Claire got a pretty big bump on the back of her head, so I’m going to take her to see a doctor in Forks. Then she has to give a statement at the sheriff’s office, so we won’t be back for a while. But I promise you she’s okay and she’s safe.” Then he glanced at me. “I won’t take my eyes off her.”

 

“Thank you Quil! Let me talk to Claire again.”

 

Quil handed back the phone and started the car.

 

“So how did you end up out there?”

 

“Some creepy guy knocked me out and brought me here.”

 

“Was it…” she paused and then lowered her voice, “the vampire?”

 

I didn’t want to admit that to Mom because she was clearly already upset, but I wasn’t about to lie. “Yeah, I think so.” Then I had to assure Mom I was indeed okay. That I hadn’t been raped, bitten, or lost any of my blood. We were back on the highway before I’d convinced her that I would definitely pick up the phone if she called me. Then I hung up. Quil took my hand in his and sighed.

 

“Listen, after I see a doctor, can we get something to eat? I’m starving.”

 

“Anything you want,” he said with a smile.

 

 

The ride to Forks didn’t take very long, and Quil had me tell him every detail I could think of about the last twelve hours. Of course, I was unconscious for at least half of it. He wanted to know what I remembered at the ball field – which wasn’t a whole lot, and it was blurry. Then what happened once I woke up in the cabin – which also wasn’t much. I tried to remember everything that the vampire had said but I was really tired. I figured I should try to stay awake as long as possible, though.

 

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait very long at the clinic to see a doctor. The nurse cleaned up the back of my head and the doctor shined his light in my eyes and had me show him I could walk a straight line.

 

“You have a pretty bad concussion,” he told us after the exam. “Being unconscious for as long as you were is somewhat concerning. I’m tempted to keep you overnight for observation.”

 

I’m sure my facial expression to that bit of news wasn’t positive. “But, I can let you go home if someone is going to be there with you at all times, and will follow a few simple instructions.”

 

“I’ll be with her. So will her family,” volunteered Quil.

 

“Okay,” the doctor agreed, then he looked at me. “You’re going to be very tired – but stay awake for a couple of hours.” He shifted his gaze to Quil. “Make sure someone is around to check in on her every hour or so after she goes to bed. And wake her every three to four hours and get her to stand up and walk around for a bit before she goes back to sleep. Just for tonight.”

 

“Is she going to be okay?” Quil sounded worried.

 

“I think she’ll be fine. My cell number is on my card, and I want you to call me if at any point you can’t get her to wake up or she’s too out of it to walk.” Quil nodded. Then the doctor looked at me. “You’ll need to take it easy for the next couple of weeks. Get lots of rest. Don’t do anything very physically demanding and come see me again if you have any of the symptoms I mentioned before.”

 

I promised I would – not that I had to. I knew that between Quil and my mom, I’d get lots of attention and care – no one would let me lift a finger, let alone do anything strenuous.

 

 

We stopped at one of our favorite greasy spoon places next. It’s not the healthiest fare, but we were both in the mood for some comfort food. We each ordered enormous breakfast plates.

 

Then it was my turn to ask him what his last twelve hours had been like. He told me about the overnight drills and how my mom called him just as he was about to go to bed. He told me about talking to her and Karl – and Conroy and Conroy’s mom. About the pack’s attempts to find me and what happened after the sheriff had found Mom’s car.

 

“And you know pretty much what happened from there.”

 

I nodded. Then I remembered the conversation with Paul.

 

“What did you and Paul talk about?”

 

“Sam and Paul tracked the vampire to a tree not far from the cabin, but he was long gone. They’re almost impossible to track when they travel up in the tree canopy.” He was quiet for a moment. “You said before that you thought he was looking for the pack. What made you think that?”

 

“Just stuff he said.” The whole thing was starting to become clearer in my mind and I remembered a few details I hadn’t told Quil earlier. “Once I found out that he was Joseph’s uncle, I asked if he was looking for some kind of revenge. But he said he was after something ‘much bigger.’ Then he mentioned hearing rumors about werewolves. He even referred to your friends as a ‘pack.’ Come to think of it, he also mentioned that some of the guys in the tribe had weightlifter’s bodies and he cracked a joke about there being a good gym nearby. It didn’t occur to me at the time, but now I’m wondering if he was trying to trick me into saying something about the guys in the pack.”

 

“Could be.” Quil sounded thoughtful. “Did he tell you he was a vampire?”

 

“No.”

 

“Did you let him know that you knew he was a vampire?”

 

“No.”

 

“Good.”

 

“The oddest thing was that just before he left, he told me that I’d be pretty easy to find because he’d left the car so close to the highway. And he said he’d come back for me if you didn’t find me.”

 

Quil looked past me, out the café window, suddenly deep in thought, but he didn’t let me in on whatever it was, and I wasn’t about to ask.

 

“Isn’t it kind of weird that this guy visits his human family?” I asked when Quil’s attention returned to the café.

 

“Maybe they’re vampires too.”

 

“I’m pretty sure Joseph is human.” Quil raised an eyebrow at me, but I just continued. “I know Bella is still in touch with her dad, but I thought most vampires stayed away from anyone they knew before they were turned.”

 

“That’s my understanding, too,” Quil said. “Who knows why this one was here for a visit. He can’t have been a vampire for too terribly long – probably no more than a decade or two. People tend to notice when someone stops aging.”

 

I nodded. “Look, I don’t have any experience with vampires,” I said. “Except for Nessie. I mean, I hardly even know any of the Cullens. But there was definitely something weird about this guy. Annoying, actually. He was very sure of himself. Proud in a condescending way. Like he’s looking to score points with … I don’t know … whoever the vampire higher-ups are.”

 

“The Volturi,” Quil said, the look in his eyes suddenly serious.

 

“Wow. I didn’t even know they had higher-ups.”

 

“The Volturi pretend to be vampire royalty and act like they’re needed to uphold the laws of their kind. But the truth is, they’re just a bunch of bullies,” Quil said with a look of complete contempt. “They’re headquartered in Italy, I think. You know they were here once.”

 

“Really?”

 

“They came for Nessie because they thought she was an immortal.” I must have given him a blank look. “An immortal is someone who was turned as a child. The child vampires had no self-control and had to be destroyed. As a result, it’s illegal under vampire code to create one, which is what they accused the Cullens of doing.”

 

“But Nessie’s half human,” I objected.

 

“Yes and, fortunately, the Cullens were able to convince them of that. We almost had to fight them, though.”

 

“The pack?” I was kind of incredulous at that bit of info.

 

“Yeah. We faced them down in a clearing, along with the Cullens and a bunch of bloodsucking friends they’d rounded up to help them. I’m sure it’s best it didn’t come to a fight, but at the time we all wanted to rip their smug little heads off.”

 

“Wow.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. “I never knew you almost fought actual vampires.”

 

“Oh, I have fought actual vampires,” he said, although the memory clearly didn’t give him any pleasure.

“I’ve never heard about that. When?”

 

“It was a long time ago. You were probably still in diapers. Bella was still human. And Jacob was still in love with her.” Quil smiled at that piece of the memory. “A nasty trio of vampires had come around – that’s when some of us first started to phase.”

 

“It wasn’t the Cullens that did it?”

 

“No. The tribe had had a treaty with them for, I don’t know, probably a hundred years, so they weren’t a threat.”

 

“Yeah, because white people are so good at keeping their word about treaties,” I said pointedly.

 

“Well, Carlisle was. Anyway, one of the guys in this trio saw Bella with the Cullens and something about her, or their relationship with her, or something caught his interest. He decided to hunt her down. Eventually Emmet and Jasper killed him. Then the woman – she had been his mate – decided she needed to avenge his death, so she started creating an army of vampires with the idea of attacking the Cullens and killing Bella. We joined them in the fight.”

 

“Why? I mean, your job is to protect the tribe, not some white chick stupid enough to hang around with vampires.” I really didn’t think Bella was stupid but hooking up with Edward had been one crazy thing to do.

 

“Our job is to protect the tribe – and there were a bunch of bloodsuckers headed this way. They weren’t after us, but we didn’t know if the Cullens could kill them all. If not, there’d be vampires running around that we’d have to deal with. It made sense for us to join forces and take them on all at once. Besides, having a pack of werewolves gave the Cullens the element of surprise. You should have seen all those brand-new vampire faces when we rushed them.”

 

“Did you get them all?”

 

“Every single one.”

 

That reminded me of something I’d always kind of wondered about. “How do you kill a vampire? I mean, it’s not like they’re even alive. But they’re not really dead either.”

 

Quil gave me a serious look. “Do you really want to know? It’s not pretty.” I nodded. “The best way is to rip their heads off.” I’m sure I made a face at that.

 

“So, when you said you wanted to rip the Volturis’ smug little heads off you meant that literally?” Quil nodded. “So does decapitation do it, or are they like monsters in movies who can still manage to chase you even when they’re partly dismembered or something.”

 

“You watch some weird movies.”

 

“Karl watches some weird movies,” I protested. “Sometimes I just keep him company.” Quil laughed at that.

 

“I don’t know how the vampires get themselves back together without their heads, but the only way to make sure they stay dead is to burn the pieces.”

 

“Eww. That’s really gross.”

 

“Sorry. We let the Cullens take care of that last bit.”

 

“Was anyone in the pack … hurt?”

 

“Jacob was hurt pretty bad, but Carlisle patched him up. Actually, it was good to have a doctor around that we didn’t have to explain all the injuries to – he had several broken bones.”

 

The whole story was such a revelation. I’d never heard Quil talk this way. It made his werewolf gig so much more exciting than I’d ever imagined. Sexy, almost. Having grown up with the whole werewolf thing, I’d half decided that the guys just phased into big dogs so they could run around and have fun. But it was every bit as serious as I’d been told. It made me look at Quil in a whole new way. He wasn’t just keeping the traditions of the tribe alive; he was a true defender. I realized that I was lucky to be with Quil not just because he was a great guy and was crazy in love with me, but also because he had some amazing real-world experience. Power. Courage.

 

“Is that a look of new-found admiration I see?” he asked playfully. I just nodded. And I was pretty sure I was blushing.

 

 

Sheriff Swan didn’t return to the station until we’d been there for a while, so we had to wait before I could give my statement. I repeated most everything I’d said before, and gave him as detailed a description of Gary as I could – minus the little factoid of him being a vampire.

 

“Right. Grey hair, goatee,” Charlie said as he wrote on a pad of paper. “Eye color?” I glanced at Quil. He gave me a slight nod.

 

“It was pretty dark in there, but they looked red to me.”

 

“Bloodshot eyes,” the sheriff said while he wrote it down. “Good. I think that does it.”

 

“So do I talk to a sketch artist now?”

 

Sheriff Swan laughed. “Not in a little town like Forks. We don’t have those kinds of resources. Oh, I almost forgot, though – I did get a picture of the guy from Joseph.”

 

He fished it out from a manilla folder and showed it to us.

 

“Yep, that’s him,” I said. Seeing him in a photo with Joseph – smiling like he actually gave a crap about his nephew – made me shiver again.

 

It must have showed because the sheriff said “sorry” as he took the photo back. “I know that can be retraumatizing, but it’s really important to get confirmation on a suspect.”

 

“It’s okay,” I replied.

 

 

We were finally free to go, and I had to admit I was ready to get some sleep. We still had a ways to drive before we were home, though, so I was really glad Quil was behind the wheel instead of me.

 

Mom actually screamed when we pulled up – which didn’t help my headache any. Then she hugged me like I was a rag doll. Then she hugged Quil and thanked him profusely. Then she hugged me again. Finally, she seemed to remember that Dad was standing behind her waiting for his turn to see me. Even Karl was there. More hugs before I was finally allowed into the house.

 

I headed straight for the couch. Quil sat down next to me, put his arm around me and I curled up at his side.

 

Of course, everyone had tons of questions, but Mom wanted Karl to go to his room before I told my story.

 

“Why?” he asked. “I want to hear about the vampire, too.”

 

We all looked at him in surprise. He gave us an are-you-kidding-me look. “What, you think I don’t know why this guy” – he gestured at Quil – “can turn into a huge wolf? I’m not stupid.”

 

Mom really had no choice then but to let Karl stay as I told my story yet again. This rehashing was starting to get pretty old – and I knew I’d have to recount the whole awful thing again. My friends would want details.

 

I wrapped it all up with a report on my visit to the clinic. “The doctor says I have a bad concussion, but aside from that, I’m okay.”

 

“Well, you’re lucky you didn’t get really hurt – or killed,” Mom said. I wasn’t sure I could agree that there was any sort of luck associated with being kidnapped by a vampire, but I didn’t argue.

 

Finally, Mom seemed to decide that I’d had enough of the questioning and went to the kitchen to start dinner. Dad mumbled something about calling his work to let them know he’d be back in tomorrow and left the room. Karl was engrossed in some game on his tablet, so Quil and I were effectively alone. I sighed and closed my eyes. I wanted to sleep right where I was, with Quil beside me. He had other ideas.

 

“We should get you to bed. You need to rest, and I think you’ve been awake long enough.”

 

“Okay,” I managed through a yawn. “Are you going home?”

 

“I don’t want to, but I’m tired too.”

 

“I don’t want you to go either.”

 

I struggled to get up off the couch, but it made me a little dizzy. Quil got up and steadied me. We went to the kitchen.

 

“I’m exhausted so I’m going to bed,” I announced. Then I looked at Quil. “Will you tell Mom what the doctor told you about waking me up and stuff?”

 

He nodded.

 

“And, Mom? Can Quil sleep on the couch?”

 

“Of course.” She looked at Quil and smiled. “Quil, you have always been welcome here. You’re part of this family. And now we owe you so much. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.”

 

“Thanks,” he said with a smile. “I’m just going to help Claire get up the stairs to her room and I’ll be right back down.”

 

 

Quil insisted on carrying me up the stairs and, after my dizzy spell from getting off the couch, I wasn’t about to object. Besides, it was really nice to have him holding me. Once I was in my room I really wanted to get out of my clothes, and I had no problem with Quil seeing me naked – since he already had – but I felt weird getting undressed in front of my boyfriend when my whole family was home. I decided to just grab a sleep tee-shirt from my dresser and sit down on the bed. Quil knelt down in from of me.

 

“I want you to know I’m not angry,” he said very solemnly. “But, Claire, what were you doing going to the car alone?”

 

“It’s still kind of fuzzy, but I guess I must not have felt like I was alone. There were tons of other people there and the car wasn’t parked that far away.”

 

“But it was hidden behind trees.”

 

“I know, I guess I didn’t think of that. I’m so sorry I put you through this, Quil. I promise I’ll never take a stupid chance like that again.”

 

“No, you won’t,” he said matter-of-factly. Then he added with a smile, “I’m not going to let you out of my sight ever again.”

 

That made me smile. “What are you going to do when school starts? You’d look pretty silly sitting in on my classes. Although, you would make a good study partner.”

 

“School. Hmmm,” he gave it some thought. “How would you feel about dropping out?”

 

I knew he was joking but I punched him in the arm anyway. “Nice try,” I said. “But I won’t get into law school without a high school diploma.”

 

He smiled. “I guess I’ll just have to hang around outside the school,” he ventured. “Until I get arrested for loitering or stalking or something. But for now, I’m going to commandeer your parents’ couch. Let me know me if you need anything.” He gave me a kiss on the forehead and left, leaving the door ajar. I changed into my sleep tee-shirt and fell into bed. I was asleep almost immediately.

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Read Chapter 9