Molly by Lil Dicky is the chapter song
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"Charlie, you need to sleep." Ray, Charlie's deputy, stated with no small amount of pity.
He resisted a snort as he sent out a last email request to the police chief of Port Angeles as well as to the state police. If Ray's own daughter was missing, he knew that the man would be far more uncontrollable than he himself was being. Bella had gone missing after visiting Harry with him at the hospital, and nearly forty hours had passed.
Since then, Forks had been turned over with a fine-toothed comb. Although Bella was technically an adult, nothing stopped Charlie's men from keeping an eye out while on duty or actively looking off. It had transformed from a state of concern to panic at this point.
Jake, who Charlie had believed Bella had been staying with until the Harry situation died down, had adamantly sworn that she hadn't returned after leaving for the hospital.
A slight hesitation. He needed to call and let Renee know what was going on. He'd been hoping to find her before causing the same fears to arise in his ex-wife. She was a gentle person whom Bella had been taking care of for years. When stressed, the woman forgot to eat and function. Bella would have a difficult time forgiving him if this ended up being some fluke or whim to run away.
Charlie picked up the phone with a sigh. He was just beginning to dial when the cell phone in his pocket rang. Retrieving it, the caller id seemed to be a mirror of his inner turmoil.
"Renee?" It was difficult to keep his voice steady.
"Hi Charlie," A breathy, nervous voice affirmed his question, "IminForksatthehouse."
His ex-wife spoke so quickly that only Charlie, a man who would never forget her quirks even after all of the years that had passed between them, would understand. "What?" She couldn't be here.
He hadn't seen her in about twelve years, ever since Bella had been grown enough to board a plane on her own. If it weren't for his wedding pictures and Bella's uncanny resemblance, he would've forgotten what caused the horrible ache in his chest every day.
"I'm at the house." She sounded as broken as he felt.
"On my way." Charlie numbly abandoned his desk and walked out of the station. His men did their best to look respectfully away.
The drive home was a blur. He did his best to keep on the road, and not to look at the porch when he made it to the driveway. She was probably standing on it, and he didn't trust himself to look away.
The house that she had abandoned alongside him was neglected. The paint was chipping at the ripe age of eighteen since they'd gone cheap with everything at the beginning of their marriage. It embarrassed him now that he had never moved.
She had certainly never lingered as he had.
He shakily walked, like a man on death row, to the front porch. She had picked the house for its large porch. The chair swing that she had fallen in love with had been one he had created as a gift for her when Bella was born.
"Hi Charlie." She sat on that swing like he knew she would. She stared at her hands, which were covered in tattoos that he had never seen before.
Charlie stared and couldn't stop. She still looked as young as the day she left. Yet different. Swirling, intricate tattoos decorated slender, tan arms. Chocolate hair, identical to Bella's, cascaded down her back. Gorgeous, vibrant blue eyes finally looked into his and only then did recognition run through his veins. She was still Renee.
She looked unbearably stressed. "I'm sorry to have come here."
Charlie snapped back to reality. "Bella-"
"Is missing, but safe." Renee interrupted. She caught his relieved eyes steadily. "I have a lot to tell you. An apology comes first, however."
Charlie sagged downward into the chair beside Renee. "What could you possibly have to do that for?" Long ago, she had called and talked to him for hours about their relationship. The ups, the downs, and the guilt she felt for the divorce. It had helped Charlie just enough to function, and had been all the apology that he could accept.
A heavy sigh. "I lied to you from the very minute we first met. I'm not what you think I am."
"What?" A young waitress, sweet and kind, paraded to life in his memories. How could that be a lie?
A bitter smile twisted Renee's smooth features. "Well, to start, I'm much older than you."
"A year older isn't that much older." Charlie replied.
"How about five-hundred years older?"
Stress thrummed through his head for a second before possible explanations ran through as to why Renee was saying these impossible things. He'd been a police officer a long time and knew people broke in the kind of circumstances that they were currently in. Namely, Bella was missing.
"I didn't want to have to do this." She sighed dramatically. She got off the swing and faced Charlie with great confidence. Her tattoos began to move rhythmically before his very eyes. A second later, a tiny sliver of metal showed through Renee's palm. It grew enormously long until he realized a large sword was in her hand.
"What the hell?" He yelled as he jumped up in shock.
Renee sat back down and the sword was absorbed back within her skin. "Don't be scared, please. Let me explain so we can get our daughter and everyone else back home."
Charlie controlled his breathing carefully, the key emphasis on Bella grounding him. "You haven't aged since the day we met. You could be Bella's older sister."
She winced at the anger and betrayal in his voice. "I'm not human, but I promise keeping this all a secret from you was never my decision."
Just like that, Charlie's anger and disbelief dissipated. "It doesn't matter anymore." He told her in a hard flat voice. "You and I have been over for a long time now. What's this mean for Bella? What are you and what does this mean for my baby girl?"
Renee looked hurt yet somewhat proud of his words. And just like that, she told him everything. The reason why she left all those years ago with Bella in toll, who she was to her people and how old she was, and Bella's secret life when she wasn't with Charlie. He listened quietly, like the rational and caring man he was, and personally vowed to make everything easier for Bella. No eighteen year girl should have to endure the pain that Bella had.
"She's strong, Charlie. Strong enough to give a full-blood fae a fight if she had to. At the moment, my mother is after both of my children. I'm afraid she succeeded with Drayer." Renee finished sadly.
Drayer? "You mean your brother?" He recalled the guy's attendance at their wedding. He'd looked just like Renee, similar to the way Bella... oh.
"He is from a relationship I had centuries ago. He was captured a couple of days ago while looking for Bella."
Charlie steeled himself and drew an accepting breath from deep within. He stood jauntily up from the swing. "Well, let's get going then."
Renee blinked at him in confusion. "What?"
"Time to find Bella and then get your boy. So where should we go first to do that?"
She let loose a startled laugh at the man she still loved deep inside her bones. She now knew that the man had moved on far more than she ever had. "LaPush would be a great start."
••••••••••••••••••••••
"Make it stop!" Éponine screamed in agony as she clutched at Nate helplessly. It had begun an hour ago, although she had been sweating profusely and had looked paranoid for the past day. Nate knew Drayer could no longer hide the pain from his mate any longer.
Evie started crying in the corner at this knowledge while the young werewolf who hadn't left her side comforted her.
"Evie, focus on getting that spell right so Anna can knock her out." Nate couldn't help the cold admonishment that escaped him. The poor girl's grip was drawing blood on his arms. Which was difficult for anyone to inflict on a fae, let alone this small female.
"You think this is easy!" The sobbing teen screamed. "Whichever bitch is doing this to Dray is going to pay." With that, a flash of blue pervaded the room and Evie collapsed unconscious into Seth's arms.
"Anna." Nate held out Éponine to his wife.
Anna brushed her fingers lightly against the girl's temples and then Éponine stilled from her endless writhing. Her olive complexion recovered from its ghost white tension and she began to snore. Nate allowed his restraining arms to loosen finally. He shook his head in exasperation.
"What a complete cluster fuck." He could hear the wolves outside howling at the strange light that Evie had caused. Only their youngest, Seth, seemed unaffected.
A car was pulling into the alpha's home. Seth glanced out of the window. "Chief Swan is here with some chick." He sounded subdued despite being forewarned of Evie's physical state following soul magic. He had just met her, and now he couldn't talk to her all he wanted. It wasn't fair when he was so excited.
"Must be Aunt Renee." Anna muttered, looking as drained as Nate felt. Healing Harry and now soothing Éponine had pushed her to the upper bonds of her abilities. Healers could literally kill themselves in the aftermath of a battle, their compassion making them the ultimate martyrs.
Anna and Nate hadn't seen Charlie Swan since the wedding all those years ago. Despite the disapproval surrounding Renee Crosse's union, her family had supported her. They'd been utterly delighted in Bella's birth. Nate could still remember how happy everyone had been, particularly because the half-fae was the first child born in about a century within the family. That Evie had been born two years later had only sweetened the memory.
The door opened and Renee entered with an authority that had Nate's spine instinctually straighten. He'd been trained under the General. No matter the amount of time elapsed, he would always have that reaction ingrained. She looked younger than she had in a long time with Charlie walking behind her.
"Do you have Drayer's position yet? Bella's boy told me that Medora is in Washington?" She was straight to the point.
"Evie's looking as we speak." He indicated to the girl in Seth's arms. "We just got Drayer's girl out of the trance she was in."
Renee's eyes assessed Éponine softly. As a soul mate to her son, she was already family.
"What about Bella and her boy?" Nate dared ask.
Seth chuckled. "Do you mean Paul? He has a name, you know."
Renee assessed the situation between her niece and the strange boy holding her unconscious body quickly. "Are all the kids pairing up all at once?" She asked incredulously before shaking her head to refocus. "Bella and... Paul seem to be running from Medora's people. If I had to guess, they are heading towards Washington now. Paul seems to be having some premonitions as to where Drayer is."
"A werewolf with a sixth sense?" Anna asked dryly.
"Werewolves?" Charlie repeated slowly. He glared at the ceiling and began muttering to himself. He was about done with all of the surprises today.
•••••••••••••••••••
Paul's POV
I sneezed right when Bella began to stir in my arms.
"Bless you." She murmured while cuddling in closer, probably still half-asleep.
My heart melted before it became frozen when I saw a similar ghost lounging across the forest floor. Watching us with his envious eyes.
"I hope you heard me before." He drawled slowly, "Drayer is being kept around the outskirts of Olympia. Renee and the others know now, but only you guys will be close enough to save his life. She's getting bored with him." He watched me in challenge, daring me to say anything with a grim, deathly smile on his lips.
"Don't you dare disappoint her." He disappeared on those words.
It took a few seconds before I regained use of my limbs. Bella's scars suddenly caught my eye in a way they hadn't before. She couldn't afford to lose any more people in her life.
We had to get moving to save him. Only keeping Bella safe would have to be the last thing on my mind if I truly did what was best for her.
•••••••••••••••
What'd you guys think?
I really wanted that moment with Charlie and Renee