Claws (Rewritten)

One

Caleb

The day had finally arrived. If I thought that helping Markus and Chloe move into this house would be easier than the flat, I was dead wrong.

The day started out with me driving three hours to Chloe's house. She needed help moving all her things and her car wasn't big enough, so I assured her that I'd come over to help out. Since I'd left early in the morning, before the sun had even risen, I got to her house at around nine.

She rushed out of her house to greet me. "Thank you so much!" She exclaimed, her eyes alight with excitement.

I couldn't help but smile at her, and then I was pulled into a tight hug that I gladly returned. "No worries. With any luck we'll get back before Markus wakes up," I laughed as she showed me into the house.

"We could go half way round the world and back again, and Markus would still be asleep when we got back," Chloe continued as her father walked down the stairs.

"You must be Caleb," He smiled when he reached us. I shook his hand and nodded politely. "Thanks for coming over. You'll have to prepare yourself - she's taking the whole house with her," He added lightly, making Chloe roll her eyes.

"I couldn't fit everything in my room last year. I had to cut down to the bare essentials, but we have a whole house this year, and you can bet I'm bringing everything," She explained.

The three of us somehow managed to fit everything into the two cars, and I waited outside as Chloe said goodbye to her father. He was heading in to work soon, which was why he couldn't use his car to help her move.

"Got everything?" I asked innocently when she closed the front door behind her and headed towards me.

She laughed lightly, a sound I'd missed over the summer. "I think so." With that, she opened her car door. "Last one there buys dinner?" She suggested, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"You're on."

Once we got back, and I begrudgingly agreed to get us dinner, Chloe, Lyn and I set about unpacking the cars and bringing everything inside.

"This is so exciting!" Adelyn exclaimed, her voice brimming with joy at the idea of our little group being together again. It had been too long since we'd all lived together.

In all fairness, it had been a while since I'd stayed in one place for so long. It was nice to not worry about moving, but the abrupt change to my routine was quite the shock.

I think Adelyn and Markus were also content with knowing exactly where I was, too. The past hundred years, I'd been nothing but a ghost, constantly moving and never staying still. It was good to be home.

Speaking of Markus, the idea of going over to the pack house to help him bring his things over was something I wasn't looking forward to. If I knew him as well as I thought I did, then he wouldn't be packed at all. I'd spend the rest of the day, and week, helping him.

Or doing all the work while he watched on. That sounded more accurate.

Adelyn decided to stay with Chloe and help her unpack, so I headed through the forest towards the pack house, letting my mind wander.

Not that I didn't trust Markus to pack up and drive to the house by himself, but he tended to get easily distracted. He'd make a five minute trip last an hour, without so much as a thought.

I'd walked the route from the house to the pack's territory and back again many times over the summer, mainly because Markus believed that Kaden would be more willing to let him leave if I was with him. I'd committed the path to memory, and so it was no surprise that I got there within minutes even despite my wandering thoughts.