Disclaimer

All characters and the world depicted in this story belong to Stephanie Meyer. I only own my plot.

Changing Future part II

"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."

Joe Klaas, The Twelve Steps to Happiness

Chapter VIII

And So It Begins

Despite Renee's strong objections to sending Bella to the Black house, Charlie was convinced that staying at La Push was in his daughter's best interests after an extensive talk with Billy and Old Quil.

When his ex-wife heard his decision, she made such a scene that the enraged police chief almost slapped the emotional woman with handcuffs simply to get her to stop screaming like a maniac.

"No, Charlie! Bella is too young to be living under the same roof with a sixteen-year-old boy! It's completely irresponsible. Have you seen the size of him?!" she shouted, frantically pacing around the living room, gesticulating wildly. "Do you even think about the consequences? Our daughter should be with us, with her parents! Not in a stranger's house!"

"First of all, Jacob is not just any boy! This 'boy,' as you so dismissively described him, is like a son to me! He took care of his disabled father and the house while his sisters ran away from home, leaving everything to a 12-year-old! He is way more responsible than you!" Charlie couldn't contain the anger and frustration in his voice. Renee had crossed the line. "Besides, you saw, as did I, how Bella reacted to seeing him in the hospital. He's the only one she somehow remembers! Not you, not me, just him!"

"What are you implying now, Charlie, huh? That I won't be able to take care of my own child?" she laughed bitterly. "Jacob, or whatever his name is... He's still a teenager. What guarantee do you have that he won't try to take advantage of her?" Renee questioned confidently.

Charlie was flabbergasted by what he just heard.

Right after their divorce, they both had quite conservative views on their daughter's future relationships, but Charlie trusted Jake implicitly. He also believed that Billy being there would discourage them from trying anything untoward.

It wasn't like the young Indian was throwing himself at his daughter early on either - on the contrary, he helped her get back together when nothing else seemed to work.

It's amazing how supportive he has always been for her. Charlie always joked over a beer with his best friend that their kids would end up together eventually.

Jacob and Bella were like two magnets, always attracting each other. It terrified and pleased him at the same time, because he couldn't fathom the strange chemistry between them. It was as if there was an invisible bond between the two.

Unfortunately for him, Renee saw it only as a problem and no benefit for herself, which constantly fueled fervent quarrels between them.

He was fed up with her incessant complaints and her eternal pretensions about everything.

"Jacob is a responsible kid. And you only see him as a teenager who he has long ceased to be. Your daughter is happy for the first time in her life, and you, as always, can't accept it. What the fuck is wrong with you, woman?"

"This isn't about me! It's about our daughter's well-being! I was the one who took care of her all this time while you lived a bachelor life with your friends on the reservation! I bet Billy Black is over the moon that his son could get closer to the daughter of the chief of police himself!" She yelled, reaching the peak of her anger.

Charlie had never seen her like this.

"I REMIND YOU that it was you who left me, taking Bella with you while I was at work! Without even leaving a word of explanation behind! I've let you ruin her life for so long. Enough is enough. And I'll pick Bella up from the hospital myself. Don't try any tricks. I will find out about it." Threatened Charlie, ending the conversation, then left, slamming the door right in her face.

Jacob was over the moon when he heard the good news.

Sue, who after the death of her husband Harry, became very close to his father, stayed in their house practically non-stop, taking care of the little red house as if it were her own. So Jacob had more time to deal with Bella and pack matters.

According to tradition, the fact of the pack's existence should be preserved, and no one outside the council and the wolves and their imprints had the right to know about it. However, due to the gravity of the situation, Charlie was allowed into the secret.

It was not a pleasant experience for him.

As soon as he found out who the Cullens were and what they had exposed his daughter to, he went berserk. Within a few seconds, his face changed color several times, from purple to red.

Only the fact that Bella couldn't remember anything anymore seemed to calm him down. When he heard about imprinting, he was very disgusted that she was attached to another creature straight from fairy tales and legends, but seeing Bella happy and so in tune with the boy he considered family made him understand that she was safe with him.

"Bella doesn't remember anything, Charlie," Billy said calmly, sitting in his wheelchair across from his old friend. "I warned her many times that the Cullens were dangerous, but she wouldn't listen to me," he sighed deeply. "I even bribed Jacob, giving him 20 bucks to show up at last year's prom and stalk her while Cullen wasn't around. Despite my intervention, as you can see, your daughter preferred to continue dating the bloodsucker, putting everyone around her at risk," he explained.

"So the accident in Phoenix is their doing?" Charlie raised an eyebrow curiously, sipping his beer. "I knew something was wrong with it," he slammed his fist on the table.

"Easy, Charlie," Jacob interjected. "Phoenix is indirectly the work of the Cullens, but also others of their kind."

"What are you talking about, kid?"

"Before the accident, Bella told me everything about her relationship with the vampires. Apparently, at that baseball game Edward Cullen took her to, the nomads showed up - the ones who aren't like the Cullens. They just prefer human blood. There were three of them - Laurent, who we killed in the clearing, Victoria, who we killed when she tried to break through our border, and James, the hunter who was killed by the Cullens in Phoenix," the young werewolf explained briefly.

"So you're trying to tell me that this Jack... James was hunting my daughter?" Charlie couldn't believe that someone would want to hurt such an innocent person as his beloved daughter.

"Some leeches have special gifts when transformed. This one had the gift of tracking. And because Bella has special blood, her scent attracts vampires like no other human could. Vampires call such people singers because their blood sings to them."

Billy didn't hide anything from him, because he knew that sooner or later, Charlie would have to face the facts.

"Charlie, I'm not going to force you to believe us. You can see for yourself. You can spend the night with us, and tomorrow we will prove everything to you."

His friend was silent for a moment, then nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay, I'll stay the night."

Bella's stuff got moved over to Jacob's place before she even got out of the hospital, just to make sure she'd feel alright when she got there. Despite the mixed feelings the whole pack had towards Bella - the fragile girl who had let them down big time after that whole thing with Alice Cullen - everyone pitched in to help with the move.

Even Paul, who wasn't exactly her biggest fan, got stuck in with the packing, all under the watchful eyes of Leah and Sam. If he said anything out of line about Bella or the pack leader, he'd get a punch in the face and maybe even a broken nose.

So, a kinda pissed off Paul just got on with it and kept his mouth shut. Leah, the young she-wolf, wasn't too thrilled about working with her ex and former Alpha, who was even more annoying than usual.

"What's up, Uley?" she snapped at him. "Your mom never taught you it's rude to stare?"

"You always gotta be so bitter?" Sam tried to keep his cool.

He couldn't help but look at her, and he was annoyed with himself that she caught him.

Her beauty, which was even more noticeable after her transformation, was hard to ignore. Because who wouldn't look at her? She was tall, strong, but still had those feminine curves.

"You always gotta be such a jerk?" she shot back, a hint of arrogance in her voice. "Emily not enough for you anymore? Are you out looking for other girls?"

"Don't you dare talk about her like that. You have no idea what it's like for her, knowing how much you hate her." Sam was fuming, feeling that strong connection he had with Emily.

"Oh, I'm about to burst into tears... Poor Emily. Always the victim." Leah mocked. "Not my fault she goes after what's not hers. Everyone knows if it wasn't for the imprinting thing, you wouldn't even give her a second glance."

"So, it still bugs you that I didn't imprint on you?" Sam asked, hands in his pockets, watching the guys move stuff from the Swan house to his truck.

"In your dreams, Uley," she replied, dismissing him. "Don't flatter yourself. There are others way more worth my time than you."

She glanced at Paul, who was hauling another box to the truck, pretending he hadn't heard a word so he wouldn't wind Sam up even more.

"Don't you dare get involved with him," Sam warned, grabbing her wrist. "He's..."

"Why?" Leah interrupted. "What, the big bad wolf will come and get me?" she laughed, yanking her hand free and rubbing her wrist. "We can do what we want. It's none of your business, Uley. You ditched me without any explanation, so you have no right to tell me what I can or can't do. Get over yourself, loser!"

"Hey, hey... chill out," Embry called out, stepping between them, trying to defuse the situation before they ended up killing each other and putting the whole pack in danger. "Everything's loaded up, boss," he said, looking at Leah, who was glaring at her ex like she wanted to rip his head off. "Can we hit the road?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Leah replied. "I'll see you at the rez."

And with that, she bolted through the trees, out of sight of the two guys.

The night passed quite peacefully.

Charlie spent most of it trying to wrap his head around what he had learned. Billy, Jacob, and Sue took turns explaining the intricacies of the supernatural world to him, answering all his questions.

When he woke up in the morning, he was determined to see the proof with his own eyes.

Jacob and Billy led him deep into the forest, where they were joined by the rest of the pack - Paul, Jared, Embry, and Quil. The boys had all been able to phase since last year when they found out that Bella's bloodsucking boyfriend had moved back to Forks with his family.

The werewolves wanted to maintain peace between their tribes and the Cullens, as agreed in the treaty signed by Ephraim Black, Quil Ateara, and Levi Uley.

They didn't want to start a war with the bloodsuckers because that could lead to a massacre, and their tribes were already on the verge of extinction. Still, when they found out that one of them was dating a human, they couldn't just sit idly by.

Jacob and Paul, already half-naked, stood at a small distance from the others, with only their boxers on.

"Are you ready?" Jacob asked Paul, who nodded.

He looked at Charlie, who was watching them curiously, with a disbelieving smile on his lips.

"Well, Charlie, believe it or not, but you're about to see something that you've never seen before," Jacob said, smirking at his friend's father.

Without another word, he and Paul turned into wolves right before Charlie's eyes, and the old man took a step back in surprise.

"Holy shit!" he muttered, rubbing his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he just saw.

Jacob wagged his tail at the sight, amused by the man's reaction.

He and Paul, still in their wolf forms, approached Charlie, who hesitantly stretched out his hand and touched Jacob's fur. The warmth of the wolf and the softness of its fur convinced him that it was not an illusion, and he really saw what he saw.

Then the boys changed back into humans, putting on their clothes.

"You can say that I have made peace with the fact that there are supernatural creatures in this world," Charlie admitted, looking at them with a smile. "But I still have a lot of questions."

The pack and Billy spent the entire day explaining everything to Charlie. They even showed him the places where they trained and hunted. They had to be prepared in case other vampires, who didn't follow the same diet as the Cullens, showed up.

To say that Charlie was amazed was an understatement. He never expected that the myths about vampires and werewolves would turn out to be true.

But there was something that still worried him.

"What if something happens to my daughter?" he asked when they got back to the house.

"Charlie, Bella is my imprint. It's my job to protect her. I will do everything in my power to keep her safe," Jacob assured him.

"Plus, we're all here for her. If any vampires show up, we'll deal with them," Paul added.

"I trust you," Charlie said, looking at them seriously. "I know you'll take care of her."

"Thank you, Charlie," Jacob said, touched by the man's trust.

The next day, they all went to the hospital to pick up Bella. Charlie had already called her and told her about the move to La Push, and she was more than happy with the decision. He didn't tell her about the supernatural stuff, though. They decided it was better to break it to her slowly.

When they arrived at the hospital, Bella was already waiting for them at the entrance. She looked much better than the last time Jacob saw her, and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.

"Hey," she said shyly as they approached.

"Hey," Jacob replied, smiling at her.

"Are you ready to go?" Charlie asked.

"Yes," Bella nodded, looking at her father. "I can't wait to leave this place."

Charlie smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked to the car.

Jacob and Bella sat in the back seat, while Charlie drove. They chatted and laughed the entire way to La Push, and for the first time in a long time, everything felt right.

Bella was going home. And so was Jacob.