FIREHEART | Quil Ateara

In The Embers

"You didn't eat much breakfast." He comments.

"Got full." Is all I say. He let's out a sigh, moving around till he sees what I'm working on. It was a photo of a tree frog, my editing making it look like you could hold it in your hands.

"Em said she would put you a muffin up, just in case you get hungry." The urge to call him out for his bad small talk was eating at me.

"Thanks Mr. Montana." I say snidely. He let's out a sigh, before forcing me up and scooted over like some sack of flour. I glare over at him.

"Claire, she's an old friend from when I was a kid. I used to crush on her, she came back I guess thinking I still would be." I don't react, trying my best to stay unaffected as he told me exactly what I wanted to hear.

"Who?" I asked innocently peering over at him. His face holds humor at my obviousness. Before I know it my sides are being attacked and all I try my best to not slide the computer off the bed as I try and fight back against him. My laughter bellowing out of me as he doesn't stop, even as my sides start to ache. He finally stops, hovering above me as he pins both my arms down.

I can't help the heat creeping up my neck as our breathe mingles. He leans down to my ear, close enough that I feel his lips touch. "Come on, it's time Claire."

He rises up from me, I frown at the disappearing heat but watch as he reaches out his hand for me. I hesitate, what was this about? Then finally making the decision I'd find out when I took the rough hand into mine. I followed him out the door, passing through to the kitchen table I lean down to whisper into Em's ear.

"Hey Quil wants to go on a walk, is that fine?" I ask in a gentle tone. She leans her head back to me, looking not at me but Quil.

"Be safe." She said just as gentle, and Quil immediately nods at her respectfully. I wave at the rest of the table, not getting many back as they are just looking at Quil who is avoiding all of their gazes, his focused on the door. I make sure to grab his arm walking out, for my own sake as the girl, Taylor, watches with a quizzing gaze.

Jacob's POV:

"I hope he knows what he's doing." Effie says low enough for only the one's with wolf hearing to understand. I look at her in understanding, agreeing with my girl.

"He does, it's time." I say gruffly. Colin let's out a snort looking over at Brady.

"10 bucks she'll be pissed as hell when she finds out she won't be a wolf." I don't find it as funny as everyone else does, she wouldn't understand what us wolves went through on a daily. She might get some aspect of it from Quil, but Claire Young would never be a wolf and that was a good thing for all of us.

Claire's POV:

I followed Quil out into the woods, we were walking for 10 minutes already and no sign of stopping, my feet getting annoyed.

"Quil you got something on your back!" I yell and as he reaches to see what it was, I tackle him and he's quick to catch my thighs with his giant hands before I fell back down. He let's out a laugh at my antic. I lean down to his ears, warm as ever in this cold air.

"So what did 'it's time' mean? Sounded really really creepy." I comment, earning a snicker from him he stops and drops me in the middle of some clearing. I nodded looking around, 'looked like a good place to be murdered' I made the mental note. He turns around towards me, any sign of jokes leaving his face.

"I have no clue how to go about this Claire. How to not scare the hell out of you is what I'm going to try and achieve. So will you promise me you won't freak out on me?" I squint my eyes at him, sizing him up at his statement.