Wolf Boy

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!

Part Forty-Two

Jacob couldn't get over his shock as he stared at Lily. He watched as she cast a nervous glance in Riley's direction before presenting herself to Jacob like a debutante at a ball. "It's nice to meet you." She said, holding out her hand toward Jacob as if he was a complete stranger. "Any friend of Riley's is a friend of mine." Her nose wrinkled slightly in distaste, the sheen on her marbled tan skin shimmering a little as she glanced over her shoulder at Riley again.

"You'll just have to get used to the smell, Lil." Riley said sardonically.

Lily's crimson eyes tightened as she looked at Riley as if he had made an unforgivable faux pas. "Forgive him." She whispered to Jacob in a baby voice. "He doesn't mean to be so crude. I'm sure once you've had a bath that appalling dog smell will wash right away."

She was crazy! Totally loopy!

Jacob stared at Lily's lovely face in disbelief. He could see the madness in her eyes as she gazed up at him with a childlike innocence that was horrifying. He gave Lily a wide birth and confronted Riley with an angry scowl. "What were you thinking changing her? She was getting the help she needed in that hospital- "

"I wasn't the one who changed her." Riley interjected harshly. "I'm a newborn. I wouldn't have the restraint not to drink her dry, even with this new diet I'm on."

"Victoria changed her?" Jacob gasped in disbelief. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Riley snapped in exasperation. "You killed Trent so she decided to use the only sibling that was left. She hoped to manipulate Lily's hatred towards you like she did Trent's. What Victoria didn't factor in was Lily's madness and that her memories would be wiped when she changed. Lily doesn't remember anything-who she is, or who you are. The only thing she had left was her feelings for me. She didn't know who I was but she knew that she loved me."

"So, you…?"

"Are now her babysitter." Riley cut in again before Jacob could finish his sentence. He looked at Lily, who was kneeling on the ground now, plucking random weeds and winding them around her slim fingers, humming a lullaby to herself. "Victoria dumped her on me after she figured out how useless Lily was to her. She demanded I keep an eye on her while she worked out what to do next." His voice turned bitter. "Lily may be crazy but she's company for me…gives me something to focus on."

Jacob didn't know what to think. It was all so insane. Knowing that Lily was in the psychiatric facility getting the medical help she so desperately needed had given him some comfort. Now that small comfort had been cruelly snatched away as it was glaringly obvious that Lily was going to suffer the same fate as her brother. There was no way she would survive, not in the mental state she was in, even with Riley looking after her. How long would it be before he tired of her? Or Victoria manipulated her into doing something dangerous.

Jacob's heart ached with suppressed guilt as he watched Lily brush the weeds off her fingers and leap to her feet like the most graceful ballet dancer. She smiled coyly at Riley and took his hand. "Isn't he handsome?" She simpered, glancing over her shoulder at Jacob. "Am I not the luckiest girl in the world to find someone so devoted?"

There was a flicker of impatience in Riley's eyes as he forced himself to submit to her affectionate advances. "Calm down, Lily." He warned her brusquely.

Lily pouted, her reddened eyes turning bleak. "Don't you love me anymore?" She whispered like a child who'd had its favourite toy taken away. "Don't fuss at me, Riley, please?"

Jacob's brain stuttered for a moment as he tried to get his thoughts to catch up with what he was seeing. He felt a mixture of horrified fascination as he watched Lily fawn over Riley while he continually brushed her off with a passive tolerance built up over a lifetime of patience. He wondered if this was an all too familiar scenario for Riley, whether this had been the way she behaved when they had been a couple in the distant past, before Trent had poisoned her mind with his vicious lies.

"You can't carry on like this indefinitely." Jacob finally spoke as his gaze travelled to Lily. She was pressed into Riley's side, humming to herself, seemingly oblivious to everything going on around her again.

"I know that! But what am I supposed to do with her?" Riley's harsh tone cracked on the last word, showcasing his despair underneath. "Have you ever known what it's like to love someone and hate them all at the same time?"

Jacob fleetingly thought of his mother. At one time he was so angry with Sarah because of what she'd done that he thought he hated her, but he didn't, not really. He loved her-despite the tragic circumstances of her passing-he had learned to forgive her for the poor choices she'd made. It had been tough, but if he wanted to move on with his life, he had to let the past go. He didn't want to be like Billy, forever mourning for a wife he adored, but holding onto the guilt that wasn't his to bear.

"I feel for you." Jacob said huskily as he finally responded to Riley's question. "You have suffered more than anyone."

"I want this to be over, Jacob Black." Riley answered darkly. "I may have unlimited energy reserves but I'm so tired. I'm tired of it all." He let out a resigned sigh as he looked down at the shiny cap of Lily's bobbed hair.

Sensing his eyes on her, she cast her eyes to his, her mouth twisting into an adoring smile. "Isn't he handsome?" She said proudly as her gaze slid to Jacob. Her lips puckered in confusion as she failed to recognise him. "And you are?" She said in a babyish voice as she stepped away from Riley and introduced herself to Jacob all over again.

Bella breathed in and out but the air wouldn't enter her lungs. Starved for air, her heart raced at a tremendous speed, and her lungs shallowly rose and fell in time. She stood folded in Jacob's comforting embrace for what felt like an eternity but was actually only five minutes. Jacob's news about Lily had shattered her last vestiges of control. Security was nothing but a distant memory, each new layer adding an element of risk that threatened to drown them all. Each second submerged in fear made a permanent mark on her heart, while her vivid imagination made her fears intensify until she struggled to breathe at all.

"Bells, enough!" Charlie's harsh reprimand had both Jacob and Billy staring at the police chief in disbelief. "You can't keep letting your fears overwhelm you like this."

"Chief…." Billy interjected carefully. "She's in shock."

"No, he's right." Bella gasped as she pulled herself out from the security of Jacob's arms. "I…I ca…can't keep falling apart whenever there's bad news."

"That's my girl." Charlie said with a proud smile.

Jacob gave the police chief an annoyed glance as he placed a hand either side of Bella's face. "Are you alright now?" He asked in concern.

"I'm okay." Bella nodded, gulping in huge lungsful of air. The shock was wearing off now and she found she could focus again.

Even though Bella's panic attack had been defused, Jacob found he was still annoyed at the way her father had dealt with the situation. He had showed little compassion and patience while he had tried to calm Bella down. It was unlike Charlie. He had talked down to Bella like she was one of his deputies falling apart on the job. He glared at the police chief, expressing his irritation with his eyes.

"Don't glare at me like that, Jake." Charlie said brusquely, placing his hands on his hips.

"You could show a little empathy." Jacob muttered.

"Jake!" Billy's eyebrows shot up in surprise at his son's comment. "Don't talk to Charlie like that."

"I'll stop when he shows that he can be a bit more understanding. He's new to all this. He has no idea what Bells has been through…" Jacob snapped at Billy.

"And whose fault is that?" Charlie snapped right back at Jacob. "I know my daughter's been through hell and back." His voice softened as he turned to look in her direction. "But I also know she can be strong, if only she'd let herself believe it." He smiled, getting an answering smile from Bella.

Jacob threw his hands up in the air and sank down on Connie's sofa, shaking his head angrily.

Bella hurried to sit beside him and took one of his hands and clasped it between her own. "Thank you for always looking after me." She said to him gently. He turned his head and gazed deep into her beautiful brown eyes. He loved her so much it hurt. Did this deep love cause him to treat her with kid gloves all the time? Was he making things worse by trying to shield her from everything? He just didn't know.

"I just want to keep you safe." He said huskily, drawing her back toward his chest.

"And you do." Bella replied earnestly. "But you can't protect me from everything…. even bad news. I can cope, Jake. I have to."

"I just don't know what to do anymore." Jacob admitted his deepest fear. "I feel out of my depth. Just when I thought we were getting somewhere…. this happens!"

"Oh, Jake!" Bella reached up and pulled his head down to hers so she could kiss him.

"You're not alone, son." Billy rolled his chair forward so he was facing Jacob. "We're all in this together. We'll find a solution."

"But what, Dad? Tell me what this solution is?" Jacob felt his frustrations building up again.

"It's obvious." Charlie said from the corner of the room.

"What?" Jacob stood up, pulling Bella with him as he faced the police chief.

"Instead of waiting around for her to make her next move, you take the fight to Victoria." Charlie's expression was stern as he locked eyes with Jacob. "Get Riley to set up a meeting with her in a place of your choice. When she turns up, you'll be the ones waiting for her. Then you flush her out, and then kill her."

A/N-thanks for reading!