Title: Gloaming
Author: Readingmama/Vampiremama
Beta: AcrossTheSkyInStars

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

Continuity: AU
Rating: M for sexual situations and violence.

Thank you to Tanya who is an awesome beta and she's all mine…and a few others.

I have been off the plane for 4 hours and you guys are getting a chapter. This is how much I love you all!

Please see bottom for important A/N

Chapter 20

QPOV

I burst out of the house; the air was crisp but I wouldn't have felt the bite even if I didn't run a few degrees higher than the normal person. I barely remember shifting back into wolf form after leaving the house but I do remember looking back and not recognizing my home. Gone was the sweet comfort that I usually had looking at the small house, instead it looked cold, foreign. The familiarity now lost in the horror of the evening. A large growl ripped through my body.

Quil?

John's voice was hesitant in my head. Rhett's presence was also there but he stayed quiet. I answered back in my Alpha voice so as to not have any misunderstandings.

Change back, gather everyone, and tell them to go to the meeting hall.

Unable to disobey me, I felt them quickly leave my consciousness. I knew I had a small amount of time before they would have everyone gathered. I needed that time to myself to think. I hadn't thought things could get any worse after mauling my mother, but how wrong I was.

The feel of the transformation had always been smooth, nothing in my way. I knew immediately that this was not the case; my father's body a flimsy obstacle in the way of nature. He could have no sooner escaped from a tornado than tried to stop my lightening quick transformation.

The smell of his blood hit my nose instantly and I knew that it was a worse injury than it had been with my mother. I looked down and his body laid bleeding and gurgling below me. It took me several minutes to calm down enough to change back.

"Dad?" I cried out, dropping to his side.

It was too late, he was gone. I didn't even get a moment to say how sorry I was or to tell him I loved him one more time. I couldn't even remember the last time I had given him a hug. I cried for a few minutes and then the fury set in.

The words my father had said on the phone: "Are you cheating on me?"

Those words ate at me. He had sounded so lost, so broken. How could she do that to him? How could she choose that bloodsucker over her loving husband? How could her choices lead to his death?

I knew that it was my fault but I refused to bear it alone. She knew what seeing him would do to me and she had promised. She broke her promise, and in turn, broke our home. When I'd seen her come into the house, I knew I had to get out. Just the sight of her made me angry and I didn't want a repeat of the tragedy that had already occurred.

My paws dug into the ground as I ran. The dirt sifting between my claws gave me something to distract myself with, unfortunately it didn't last long. I needed to hunt.

I prayed that I would find a vampire; something in me needed to get out. I had to vent with my body and not with my emotions. Lifting my muzzle up in the air, I sniffed. I wanted that icy sting in my nose; I wanted to take my anger out on someone else.

The wind in the trees sounded like laughing as I ran. The very earth was mocking my pain. Resolved to the fact that I would not find what I needed, I turned my attention to another prey.

The deer were not far from me and I could smell their woodsy aroma. I put my head down low, my shoulders pointed up to the sky. I picked out the largest one, and without any hesitation, I sprinted towards the herd.

A deer is much easier to catch than a vampire, and even simpler to kill, but the feeling was there. As I tore through the flesh of the animal, I released my grief. Instinct taking over, I fed from the beast, its meat sustaining me. It wasn't something I ever thought I would do and I had an errant thought, hoping that I wouldn't get sick from it later. I hoped my transformed body would be enough to digest the raw meat.

Once the animal was no longer of use to me, I stepped away. The feeling of guilt and remorse returned quickly by the immense anger I had at myself and my mother. I had no idea how to channel it and there were many things that needed my attention right away.

The question was; what to do? We would need to come up with a story to provide everyone with. It was going to be hard to sell a wild animal in the house when we had already used that for mom's injuries. Grandpa Billy would know what to do.

This couldn't keep happening. I couldn't have myself in the situation to hurt the ones I love again. I needed to surround myself with the people who understood my situation and it was becoming clear that my mother was not one of those.

If she wanted to side with the Cullens, she needed to do it outside of La Push. I still loved my mother but she was proving herself a liability. Things would have to change.

I found myself at the council building before I intended on heading there. My body took me without my knowing, just one more thing I seemed to have lost control of. I shifted back into my human form, noticing that I was without clothes. I walked towards the door, not caring. I was numb.

Grandpa Billy stepped out of the shadows and met me with a small knapsack. His sad eyes met mine and I wondered just how much he knew. I gave him a small nod and pulled out the cut-off shorts he had provided for me. There was no shirt but there was a pair of sneakers and I slipped them on to my bare feet.

He looked like he wanted to say something to me, but I couldn't handle that conversation right now, I had work to do. I walked past him and into the building; I heard him sigh before he followed me in.

My pack was lined up, in human form, on one side, and the rest of the tribal members on the other. The empty spot of my father's was glaring at me. I looked away, unable to make eye contact with anyone.

"I have called you here to discuss a very important issue," I started.

"Shouldn't we wait for Jake?" someone asked.

"He won't be coming," I said with an air of finality. "As some of you know, Bella Black has been meeting with a certain member of the Cullen clan." I'd hoped by using her name it would help quell some of the raging emotions I had inside me. It didn't work. "I think we need to make sure that those who hold our secrets are keeping them safe."

"Wait a minute," Billy replied, "your mother is a good woman."

"My father is dead." A collective gasp resonated through the air. "I will not go into details but it is partly because of me and partly due to her choices."

"Quil," Grandpa started but I cut him off.

"Am I or am I not the tribal leader?"

"Of course," he responded stoically.

"Well then I think it is time that we secure our allegiances. The people that hold our secret hold our safety. We need to know whether we can count them with us or against us." I wouldn't let my mother put me in this position again. It was time to make her choose.

The room was silent as they pondered what I had said. I took a brief glance towards Grandpa Billy and he had his face hung low. The dimly lit room provided shadows that made it hard to gage his expression but his body language was that of a man grieving.

"What are you suggesting?" Christopher asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah man, I don't get it," Rhett said. "What happened to your dad?"

I took a moment to compose myself before answering. There could be no weakness in my speech. I needed them to understand that what I was doing was for the best of the tribe and the pack.

I explained to them the occurrences of the night, even the part where I heard my father ask my mother if she was cheating on him. Several faces went from shock, to anger or disbelief. I immediately dismissed the meeting, not wanting any questions to come at me yet.

The elder council members left quickly and the wolves converged outside. I noticed Bobby and John having a heated argument with lowered voices and I headed over to see what it was about.

"Jake Black was a good man, he didn't deserve that," Bobby spouted. I tried not to flinch at his words.

"Well I think there has to be a mistake because Mrs. Black would never cheat on him. She is a good woman," John snapped back.

Before I could get too close, I noticed that Bobby was shaking. In a split second, it went from two boys arguing in front of me to two wolves ripping at each other.

I promptly shifted so that I could continue to eavesdrop even though it was painful.

It's the Cullens that are to blame, not Bella.

Bella is part of the problem, John.

They threw their bodies into each others, snarling and biting at exposed flesh. I watched them for a moment before I put an end to it, using my Alpha voice.

Stop. John is right, the Cullens are to blame and I think we need to have another look at our treaty. Our bodies want to kill them and innocent people are getting in the way because we decided to play nice. But my mom is also to blame; she put herself and her family at risk by associating with them.

A war may be coming and we are going to need to know whose side she is on.

I sent everyone home. Tonight was not the night to patrol; with emotions running high, I couldn't take the chance of anyone going off half cocked and starting the war. It may have been coming but that didn't mean that we should go into things unwisely. We were animals but that didn't mean that we couldn't strategize like people.

I headed home, unsure of what I was going to find. I was sure that my mom had called an ambulance by now and maybe even Charlie. I felt bad for leaving her with the clean up but the feeling quickly passed. She was every bit as responsible. I was the child; I shouldn't have to pick up the pieces of our broken life.

Sure enough, all that greeted me when I entered my house was the blood stain left from my father's body. I walked around the mess on the floor and headed up the stairs. I lay down on my bed, unable to sleep but needing the rest. When I closed my eyes, the images of my father's death would flicker through my mind's eye and I would open them again. Sleep never did come to me that night, and when the sun peeked through my window, I groaned.

I picked out some new clothes, the ones I had worn the night before were shredded when I stepped in to break up the fight. My closet was thinning out quickly and I wondered when I would be able to get some new things. I was back to wearing clothes that didn't quite fit right since my last growth spurt.

The phone rang before I could quite decide on what I should do. My body was tired but it still moved fluently, as it had ever since I first transformed.

"Hello," I answered.

"Quil, it's Charlie. Your mom asked me to call you and let you know that they've taken your dad to the hospital morgue for now." He was using his official police voice but I could hear it waver at the end.

"Okay, thanks," I replied hanging up the phone. I couldn't take the pity that was sure to come if I continued the call.

I cursed to myself when I realized that I had no way to get to the hospital. I called up Christopher, hoping that he could 'borrow' his mother's car again. I was in luck and he showed up fifteen minutes later to drive me.

The ride to the hospital was quiet. Christopher always seemed to know when to leave people alone and this was one of those times. Pulling up to the large building, I shook my head. It hadn't been that long ago that I pulled up here because of me hurting my mom. Now, I was here, and somewhere in the building was my father's dead body. Christopher offered to wait in the car while I went in.

She was sitting there in the waiting room, undoubtedly watching out for me. When she looked up and saw me, there was a fear in her eyes that I had only seen briefly when I had stormed out of the house the previous night. It made me angry, but it seemed a lot did that to me these days. I didn't want her to fear me but at the same time I had an agenda and maybe it was for the best she did.

The hospital was a mix of smells, and knowing that the eldest Cullen worked there, I expected to smell vampire. What I didn't expect was for Edward to walk out from a door and head straight for my mother. She glanced at him and then back at me. It was only then he looked over and regarded me with what looked like pity. A growl rumbled in my chest.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I nearly screamed. The attention of the few who waited in the room was on me now.

"Let's just stay calm," the bloodsucker said in a patronizing tone.

"You need to choose," I said, ignoring him and speaking to my mother. "This has got to stop."

"I don't understand why this upsets you Quil," she said pleading.

I felt my heart harden. She was defending him, again. I made my choice. "If you choose to keep seeing him, you are not welcome back in La Push. So mother, are you for us or against us?"

My eyes burned as I stared her down, every second she didn't answer infuriated me. How could this even be a consideration? She looked back at Edward who gave her a reassuring look and held out his hand. In desperation, I held out my hand, pleading her to choose me.

To choose her family.

She slipped her hand into his, a tear running down her cheek before she disappeared.

I was empty; the Cullens had taken away everything from me. This meant war.

E/N- Thank you to everyone reviewing. As always, reviewers get teased. Sorry if you didn't get one last chapter, I replied to everyone I could before I left for Maui but couldn't reply once I was there.

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