Early Imprint [Book 3] ✔️

27 • Bad News

QUIL'S POV

I wasn't sure how long I laid on the ground in crippling pain. I heard my pack brothers calling to me, begging me to get up. I could barely focus, and I had a very strong urge to throw up.

"Quil! What's going on with Claire?" Sam asked urgently.

"She's hurt...hurt bad. Our connection...it's weak. I can hardly feel it." I muttered.

Didn't they know what I was going through? Then I realized that the pack only knew that I was hurting because of Claire. I let them feel the full effect of what I was going through, and I heard Seth and Collin whimper on the ground next to me.

My mind whirled with only one thought...I had to get to Claire. I felt Sam phase to human form. I tried to concentrate and force myself to get up, but I couldn't move. I wasn't sure how long I laid there almost comatose, before I felt Sam phase back.

"A friend of my mom's has a private plane. I'm going to take Emily to Quillayute Airport and she'll meet you in California. Sue is calling the apartment complex and local hospitals right now to see if she can locate Claire. Em will probably get to California before you do, so she'll have some clothes for you in case you don't have anything. I need to work with Nate on phasing back to human form. I can't leave just yet. Quil, are you listening?"

Sam's angry voice shook me out of my trance. I muttered, "Yeah."

"Claire needs you. You need to get going."

I slowly got to my feet. I thought momentarily that I would go insane from the pain. I focused my thoughts on Claire. I needed to get to Claire. I slowly put one paw in front of the other. Soon I was running faster than I had ever gone before.

"Collin, why don't you head back to La Push? Brady and Azra will probably need help patrolling." Seth suggested. "I'm going with Quil."

"You don't have to," I told him as I concentrated on where I was running.

"Claire's my cousin. I need to be there for her...and you." Seth replied.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't even feel anything. All I could do was chant over and over again, "Gotta get to Claire."

We finally reached the state of Washington after an hour. Collin broke off to head to La Push. Seth and I continued to travel south. Sam kept phasing in and out, keeping us updated. Nate still wasn't able to phase back to human form. We could hear them talking, trying to work through it as Seth and I ran. After another 45 minutes we reached Oregon.

Half way across the state, Sam told us, "They found her Quil. She's being taken to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank."

"What happened? Is she okay?" I asked, adrenaline making me run even faster than before. Seth could barely keep up. I already knew that Claire was alive...I could still feel our connection, but it was so weak that it terrified me.

"I don't have any other information." Sam replied. "If I do, I'll let you know."

Two hours and fifty four pain-filled minutes later, we reached the San Fernando Valley area. The sun had just started to set, so we still had to be careful to stay hidden from people's views. When we were no longer able to walk in wolf form, we decided to phase.

"I'll call Emily and let her know that your almost there," Sam said. I knew he felt relief that we were not only there, but he had just gotten Nate to successfully phase a couple of times.

Seth and I quickly shifted back to our human forms. I untied my shorts from my legs with shaking hands and pulled them on. Seth followed suit. I raced through the streets, following the connection I felt to Claire. We soon reached the hospital entrance. Emily was waiting outside with a suitcase. As soon as she saw me and Seth, she set the case on a bench that was near the entrance and opened it, pulling out a couple of t-shirts and some shoes.