Claire finally gave up waiting and got out of the car, slinging her bag over her shoulder and making her way to the clinic door, opening it carefully as to not set off the bells too loudly. The front desk was unoccupied, the wooden gate wide open. She walked back into the operation area to see Scott, Stiles, Malia and some guy she didn't know crowded around on operating table-Tracy on top.
"What's going on? Tracy?" Claire asked, stepping obliviously over the line of mountain ash and gaining their attention.
"Claire, you can't be here." Scott warned, attempting to block her view. Tracy was on her stomach, shirt lifted up to reveal her back.
"Oh my god." She whispered, hand flying to her mouth in attempt to hold back vomit as the girl's spine shifted visibly under her skin, turning the attention back to Tracy. The four of them watched the vet prod at her back as her spine moved, all of them shifting closer. Claire let out a shriek as her back ripped open, spraying black liquid all over them, her spine looking more like a tail as it slithered around.
Before they could react, the tail whipped out, hitting Stiles across the chest and sending him to the floor, Deaton following thereafter.
"Claire!" Scott's arms wrapped around her thin frame to pull her away as the tail cut Malia, sending her into a table. She gasped as a sharp pain ran across her cheek when Tracy turned, slicing Scott and Claire across the face as well. They all watched in shock as she ran out of the room, cutting through the line of mountain ash with ease. Claire felt a numbness spreading through her as she and Scott fell to the ground, his arms still locked around her tightly.
"Wasn't a werewolf." Stiles gasped, breathing heavily.
"Kanima." Scott breathed, the brunette looking at him in confusion.
"What's a Kanima?" She gasped, her breathing shaky as she realized her limbs were frozen. "Scott, why can't I move?"
"Hey Deaton, how the hell did she get through the mountain ash?" Stiles asked, his cheek pressed to the floor.
"I don't know. It's a barrier no supernatural creature should be able to cross." Deaton said, confusion lacing his words.
"Scott did it."
"Once. But it almost killed me." Scott grunted, watching as the girl in his arms grew more paranoid.
"We should have killed her." Malia growled.
"Okay well, she's probably on her way to kill someone else." Stiles stated, Claire's eyes widening at his words.
"Listen. Everyone, we need to concentrate." Deaton ordered. "Scott and Malia, you two would probably be able to move long before Stiles, Claire, and I can but you need to focus."
"Focus on what?" The werecoyote asked.
"Healing." Scott answered, listening to Claire's heart pound against her chest.
"That's right." The vet grunted from across the room.
"I don't know how to tell my body to heal!" Malia hissed, growing more frantic.
"Malia calm down it's okay." Stiles tried to calm his girlfriend, not really getting anywhere.
"I can't calm down." She spat. "I can't move!"
"It won't last long. We'll be okay. Doc, how do we focus?" Scott asked, gasping slightly.
"Think of a body part. Your hands, your feet, even just the tips of your fingers. Imagine them moving. See it in your mind, and your body will follow."
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Claire pleaded, her stomach twisting in knots.
"Claire." Deaton began, a calm tone to his voice. "You have seen a lot of unexplainable stuff tonight, and will most likely see much worse. You must keep your mind open, because whether you like it or not, you are now part of this world."
"What world?" She gasped, squeezing her eyes shut. The alpha could hear her wheezing, along with her accelerated heartbeat.
"The supernatural." He replied, her eyes snapping open.
"Claire. I know it sounds crazy, but Deaton is telling the truth." Scott whispered in her ear, trying to comfort her. "You need to calm down. I can hear your lungs and you do not want to have an asthma attack when you're paralyzed."
"I look exactly like her." She choked out, Scott's eyes falling in realization. "I'm practically a carbon copy."
"I know." He kept his voice hush, only Malia and Claire hearing his words. "And we'll figure it out, okay? You just have to trust me. Do you trust me?"
Claire was silent for a moment, her breathing regulating to a normal pace. For some reason, deep in her gut, she knew Scott's words were true, causing her to utter three words. "I trust you."
"Okay. I'm pretty sure I just felt my right leg move." Stiles spoke up, grunting from his spot on the tile."Yep definitely felt it. Like a twinge, spasm, somethin."
"I'm gonna have to disagree." Deaton denied in an annoyed tone. "And I think I hold an informed opinion."
"Malia." It was Claire who spoke, her eyes trained on the werecoyote's twitching fingers.
"I don't think she cut me that deep." Malia announced, moving her hand even more.
"Keep going." Deaton ordered. "Keep moving." Her leg moved stiffly, her arms following suit.
"What's happening I can't see. What's happening?" Stiles croaked, blinking wildly. "Malia? Malia wait for us."
"There's no time." She grunted, pushing herself up with the table.
"No, she's not a werewolf." He argued, his voice drenched in worry.
"But she has a scent." Malia brought herself to a standing position, taking wobbly steps over Claire and Scott. "I can find her."
"Malia." The alpha gulped, her eyes meeting his. "Save her."
● ● ●
Claire had just started getting feeling back in her toes when Theo arrived, a worried expression on his face as he pried Scott's arms from around her.
"Come on." Theo lifted her up and leaned her against the table, following the same actions with Scott.
"How did you find us?" He asked, grunting as he moved his fingers.
"You work here. I heard about Tracy." He lifted Stiles and put him against the table in the same fashion. "I've been looking for you."
"We lost her." Claire groaned, rolling her neck as the numbness slowly started leaving her.
"And Malia." Stiles added, watching the omega warily.
"I can help." He helped Deaton up, looking Scott hopefully.
"This is Theo?" The vet's tone was uneasy, looking between Scott and Stiles as they shared a look.
"Let me help. It doesn't have to mean I'm part of the pack, like you've accepted me or anything like that." Theo stated. "It just means I can help catch this girl."
Claire watched as he pleaded his case, not being able to help the odd feeling she got when spoke. He seemed kind of sketchy, and it was obvious Stiles had the same idea.
"Scott. I can help you." Theo repeated, almost begging the alpha.
"Fine. But we have to go now." He sighed, nodding towards the exit. Claire picked up her bag that had fallen sometime during her interaction with Tracy and slung it over her shoulder, following the three boys out. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm going with you guys." She replied, crossing her arms.
"No, you're staying here. Deaton can drive you home if you want." Scott shook his head, not budging.
"You're kidding, right?" She scoffed, looking at him incredulously. "I just watched a girl from my stats class grow a tail and paralyze me. I'm not just gonna go home and watch Netflix."
By now Stiles had stopped to watch the altercation, recognizing the look in his eyes. It was the look he got when protecting Allison. "It's not safe."
"Look Scott, I don't know why I look like her, or why I'm here, of all places." Claire started, staring up at him. "But what I do know, is that I want to help. So please, just let me help."
"I can't let you get hurt." Scott watched as she clenched her jaw in annoyance, shaking her head.
"I can take care of myself." The words slipped out of her mouth comfortably, like she was meant to say them, startling the two boys. In minutes, she had gone from paralyzed and terrified, to confident and stubborn. "So suck it up, because you're stuck with me."
And with that she shoved past him, walking out of the clinic, shoulders back and head high.
________________________
Not really edited.
So Claire has decided she's not going to stand by and watch all of this happen, as you can see she can't really mind her own business.. She really just wants to help Scott and his pack, try and get them to really accept her, even if it means she has to take no for an answer.
It will show as the story progresses, but because of her parents both being in the medial feild, she has sort of a help everyone complex, much like Scott.
Anyways, vote, comment, and let me know what you think of Claire so far.
Xx