Charlie Swan was not a man inclined towards big shows of emotions. They were something he kept close to his heart, if he felt them at all. He could count the times on one one hand when he had overly shown emotions. He had cried tears of sadness as he lost his parents, tears of joy had met the birth of his beloved daughter, and a crippling anger joined when the mother of his child left him and moved across the country down to Arizona.
As he awoke on a relatively dry say, he did not know he would be adding one more incident to that inclusive list. He had slept fitfully, waiting hour upon hour for Bella to return. He knew she had gone for a walk with her young beau. She had yet to return though, and although she spent less time with him than he liked, she had always told him if she wasn't going to be back for the night. She had heard nothing. He realised she'd probably just forgotten but he was a father, and the ever present worry was ingrained with him.
As soon as he awoke that morning he went down to the phone to check that Bella hadn't left any messages on the answerphone. When it became obvious she hadn't his worry cranked up a little more. He pulled out the phone book and flicked through it until he came to the Cullen residence. It was the most obvious place for her to have gone, so it was the first place for him to try. There was no answer. Even more worryingly there was only a dial tone of a disconnected number. Like the Cullen's were no longer in residence.
Well then maybe she had gone to another friend? Maybe that Lauren girl, or Angela? Alice and Edward weren't the only ones his daughter associated with. He tried Angela first, she was the nicer of the pair he knew, and definitely the one Bella would be more likely to associate with easily and willingly. Surprisingly it was the girl who picked up the house phone and not her mother or father. She answered with a confused hello.
"Sorry, for the early morning call, Bella didn't happen to have spent the night with you did she?" Charlie wasn't a particularly religious man but he was tempted to start praying.
"No, she went for a walk with Edward. I think his family has left and he was telling her goodbye or something?" So it was connected with that Edward boy. Charlie thanked the teenager before hanging up the phone.
Bella wouldn't have left with Edward would she? She'd definitely consider it, she loved the boy, that much he knew despite how much he himself hated the controlling prick. But before he gave her up as a runaway he would ask some of the Quileute boys to check the close forests for her. Maybe she had just gotten a little lost on her walk. That was more like something Bella would do.
Even though the worry still beat at his heart, he went upstairs to get dressed for the day. He had a job to do. He could get the boys on the search once he got to the station. And it was exactly what he did. He called Billy, knowing his old friend had authority over on the reservation. He told him of his worries and the man was quick to say he would send someone out to look for the missing girl.
And so whilst a man sat worried at his desk, glad for no jobs coming in due to his inattention, there was a force sent into the forest. Not willingly though.
Sam Uley had been tempted to refuse when his elder had come to him asking for their help. They were being sent out to go looking for the leech lover. He had no idea if she knew what they were but it was bad enough without her knowing. Of course, whilst he was a powerful wolf, Billy Black was an elder and by reservation rules he was bound to obey.
Find the girl. A part of him hoped that the vampire was still with her. An excuse to kill the disgusting leech. And if it was in self-defence, because he was sucking from his pretty little girlfriend well then his family couldn't do anything to stop him could he.
As he went out the door, he sent one final glare at Billy before going off to find the rest of the pack. He was only glad that the Black offspring hadn't shifted yet. He'd have taken it personally being friends with the leech lover and all that. Sam couldn't wait until he could put a stop to that friendship, poisonous as it was.
First though he had to find the girl.
He and his pack bounded through the forest, sniffing at the ground for the scent of the girl. And finally they found it. Deep in the forest, surrounded by the scent of other vampires. More than one scent, slightly overshadowed by the scent of foreign blood signifying the creatures as human drinkers.
Do you smell that? Foreign vampires. Definitely not Cullen's. The initial question had come from Jared
It's starting to fade. Whoever they were are gone. Let's see if we can find the remains of the Swan girl. The reply had come from Sam. He was the Alpha for a reason. The scents intermingled too much for there to be any hope for the Swan girl. The few signs of the Cullen were a good few hours older than the nomad's so she had had no protection.
The search was now fruitless, but Chief Swan would need evidence. And so they traipsed on until they came upon a clearing. A blood drenched clearing. And there at the centre a shredded blue… thing. It was too shredded to be a t-shirt.
There's so much blood, I didn't think they'd be so messy in their feeding. The comment had come from the youngest pack member. But the observation made Sam look around. Pieces clicking in his head. The only thing he was missing was the why. This is the first time he had scented these particular scent so the Swan girl couldn't know the scent. So what had possessed the Swan girl to fake her own death and leave with nomads that she couldn't have known.
Because this is a set up. The leech-lover left with the foreigners. We take the t-shirt. We tell her father it looks like an animal attack. She won't be coming back here. If she does it won't be a fake death this time. Sam's voice was hard, even through the mind link. The disgust played in his mind, poisoned his companion's mind with it ferocity.
He bent to pick up the t-shirt between gritted teeth before they all bound swiftly back to the reservation. Once on the outskirts they shifted back to their human forms with varying levels of seamlessness. Still gripping the t-shirt Sam growled out a dismissal to his pack whilst marching up towards the Black house.
Irritated fists pounded relentless on the wooden door until a confused looking Jacob Black opened the door. A little displeasure flashed on the boy's face as he saw who was behind it.
"What do you need, Uley?" His voice was stiff, but a part of him was wary. The anger was rolling off the other young adult in waves, his physique mixed with his demeanour gave him a dangerous presence that screamed 'back off'.
"I need to talk to Elder Black." At those words Jacob stepped back. His father was only 'Elder Black' when it regarded business. He left out to his car leaving the angry man and his father alone to talk. He knew he'd just be dismissed anyway.
"Samuel, do you have news?" Said man did not verbally reply, he flung the blood crusted shirt onto the coffee table in front of his Elder. The man wheeled forwards slightly. He fingered the cloth, saw the undercurrent of colour. A sadness entered his eyes. "I see. I will tell Charlie. Was it her leech who did it?"
A snort escaped the wolf shifter.
"Oh no, he'd already gone, left her to perish in the woods. Foreign nomads, and she left with them. There was enough blood and that scrap to explain it as an animal attack. Very well orchestrated." Bitterness entered his voice. If there was one thing he hated more than the regular vampire, it was those that willingly became those vile blood-sucking creatures. Once he had said his piece, Sam Uley left without dismissal, leaving Billy Black with a bloodied shirt, a great task ahead of him, and his own thoughts.
This was something Billy needed to do in person. This wasn't news he could tell over the phone. He'd have to tell his Jake as well. He only hoped the news didn't accelerate his change, Jake was too hot headed to cope with it yet, but he could see the signs, he had seen it in all the new wolves.
He called to Jake, asking him to prep the truck as he needed to visit Charlie. Jake was more than happy to, he liked the chief, having being round the man so much as a child that he was like an uncle. He noticed that his father was quieter than normal but thought nothing of it, assuming it was just Reservation business that he was rarely privy to. He helped his father into the truck before driving along the familiar roads to the police station.
Once again, when they arrived, Jake helped Billy back into his chair before allowing his father his freedom and following behind the man as he made his way up to the police desk. The lady at the desk greeted them familiarly, having worked there for a number of years so being used to the two men. She led them straight through to Charlie after knocking on the man's door and letting him know who was on the other side.
Billy couldn't bare to look up at his oldest friend as he wheeled in. And whilst Charlie wasn't overly emotional he was observant. Where he had stood to greet Billy and Jake, hand half out to shake hands, he sank heavily back into his chair. Seconds later his hand followed his body.
The dread that had followed him all day flared like a fire that had just caught gasoline. But he shouldn't give up yet. Maybe Billy had had his own bad news? But then why wasn't Bella with them?
"Billy?" Charlie cursed himself for his voice cracking, he dare not look at Jake, didn't want to see if the young boy was catching on. If he knew anything at all that was going on. Finally the wheelchair bound man looked up, a sorrow and sympathy dancing in his dark eyes, before he pulled out the shredded t-shirt.
"Sam and some of the others found this in the clearing east of your place. And blood, lot's of it." He signed heavily, "I'm sorry Charlie."
Charlie just sat numb at first. He was the police chief, he knew what these things separately meant. Missing person, shredded garments, blood in surrounding area. It all pointed to animal mauling. But his brain didn't connect it with his little girl. With his Bells. He just stared at the bloodied cloth, waiting for it to fix it self, fill itself with a body, and the smiling face of his daughter.
But it didn't the only thing that happened was a sob from across from him. Jacob had sank into a chair next to his father, the elder carding a hand through his son's hair as he grieved.
And finally, finally it hit him. Like a truck hit's a stationary car, swift and hard, sending him rolling, crushing him into a small ball that couldn't function. A sob left his lips, a sob that quickly escalated into a scream, that descended into a choked cry as he let the tiniest bit of the grief he was feeling out. He grasped at the shreds of the clothes still remaining, holding it to his face, looking for some kind of scent but finding nothing.
He couldn't understand how he had been there just yesterday, happy and excited, talking about school and Edward and her fears and hope. Then just hours later she was gone, and she wouldn't return. He wished she had run off with Edward now. At least there would have been hope then. He had no idea how he would go back to their house, a house that finally become hoe with the presence of his daughter, how he would cope with the emptiness. Her stuff still splattered around as if she would come back and tidy it up, or move it.
And he dreaded telling Renee. He could barely accept it himself.