The White Feather
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.
A/N-thank you for the kind reviews and for following this story! This is not going to be an easy journey for our favourite characters, so I understand if you want to leave the story hereā¦
Chapter One
Sarah Black's body was so mangled they were forced to nail her coffin shut. The day of her funeral was dark, bleak. The mourners had to huddle together against the heavy rain and biting wind. There was one notable absentee at her funeral, and that was her husband, Billy Black.
Billy mopped his son's fevered brow. Jacob's small body was caked in sweat. "It's going to be alright, my boy." Billy promised him over and over, even if he didn't believe it himself. "This will go away."
"You can't promise him that." Old Quil emerged from the shadows. He had been standing in the corner of the room, observing. He eased his old body into the chair next to Jacob's small bed. He felt weary, as if a heavy weight was resting on his shoulders and he couldn't shake it off. He removed his baseball cap and placed it on his lap. "He could change Billy. You have to be prepared for it." He said gruffly.
"He is three years old." Billy snapped at the elder. "It's impossible. It should be me. Me!" His hand curled into a fist as he tried to contain his emotions for his distressed son's sake.
"You should be at the funeral." Old Quil murmured sympathetically. "I said I would stay with him."
"NO." Billy snapped again. "Sarah would want me here, protecting our boy." He looked at his son again. Jacob was curled up onto his side in a ball of misery. "Why him, Quil? Why not me or Harry or fucking Joshua Uley? Why my son?"
"I don't know for sure." Old Quil said in despair. "I can only presume it is because he came into direct contact with the cold ones. His protective instinct kicked in. He was trying to keep the young girl safe."
"Haven't you got that backwards?" Billy Black's head whipped around as he stared at the old man.
The moment he had found Jacob and Bella would be burned into his memory forever. It had been Bella who had been shielding his son from his silent torment. Sarah's body had been found lying not too far away. Only a row of shrubbery was between the children and what was left of her.
"Bella Swan is a very brave young girl." Old Quil conceded.
"She looked after my boy. I'll forever be grateful for that." Billy's eyes glistened as he leaned over Jacob and gently mopped his forehead again. "We have to stop this, Quil. There has to be a way." He turned back to the elder in despair. "Let it be me. Let me have the burden."
Old Quil sighed heavily as he twisted his baseball cap around and around in his hands. "I wish it was you, too. This is heart breaking, Billy. I can only assume you are too old now, or maybe it's your ill health. Harry isn't fit either and as for Joshua he spends most days in a drunken haze." His expression turned grave. "And my son is no longer with us." He bowed his head in grief.
"I'm sorry." Billy apologised as he remembered the boating accident that had taken the elder's son from him just after Quil junior was born.
The old man took in a quavering breath. "You have nothing to apologise for." He raised his head and looked at Billy's ravaged face. Sarah's death had aged him overnight. "We cannot help the fallen, Billy. All we can do is concentrate on the living." He put a steadying hand on his shoulder as Billy gave into his despair and began to cry silently by his son's bedside.
Charlie wasn't prepared to find his ex-wife pacing impatiently back and forth on his front porch. It was the last thing he needed after attending Sarah's funeral. Bella was being looked after by some kindly women on the res, along with some of the other children who were deemed too young to attend. His little girl had been through enough as it was. She was deeply traumatised by everything. Young Jacob was catatonic. Harry had told him quietly that Billy hadn't been able to leave his son's side. Harry had brought the twins with him so they could say goodbye to their beloved mother. Rachel and Rebecca would be staying at the Clearwater's for the foreseeable future until Jacob was on the mend.
"I can't believe this." Renee was fuming. "I have been waiting out here in the cold for nearly two hours."
"Like I give a fuck." Charlie barked at her. His hands shook as he fumbled with his door key. "You know where I've been today."
"You should have stayed with Bella." Renee retorted angrily. "Not palmed her off on a bunch of strange women she doesn't know." She put her hands on her hips and glared scathingly at Charlie. "I knew something bad would happen if I let Bella stay with you in this godforsaken place. At the first opportunity you dump her on Sarah Black to go into work, and as a result she nearly got attacked by some rabid animal. She was lucky she escaped with her life, unlike that poor woman."
"Shut your filthy mouth, Ren." Charlie was close to losing his temper. He was in no mood to appease his bitter ex-wife. "What are you even doing here?" He growled. "You weren't supposed to come until the end of the week."
"I've come to take my baby home to somewhere she feels safe." Renee said furiously. She jabbed a finger at Charlie's chest. "This is the last time you get to see Bella. I have filed a charge of neglect against you. Police chief or not, you are not fit to look after my precious baby."
Charlie had never hit a woman in his life. But he wanted to hit Renee now. Bile rose in his throat as he turned away from her and took his anger and frustration out on the door instead. He pounded his fists into it, over and over, until his knuckles were bloody. He welcomed the pain, because it meant he was still feeling something, anything. Renee had retreated to the edge of the porch in shock. She stared at him wordlessly as he turned around and faced her, his chest heaving with every breath he took.
"You won't get her, Ren. Bella will stay with me. Do you understand that? And this time I'll make damn sure you don't win. Even if it means dredging up every piece of your murky past that you've tried to keep hidden. I will not let you take my daughter away from me. Not again." Charlie managed to open the battered door and he slipped inside, slamming it shut after him.
"Daddy." Jacob whispered. "I wan' mommy."
Billy was barely holding it together. He had hardly slept for days and it was beginning to take its toll. Old Quil and Harry had begged him to have a rest. They promised to keep a watchful eye on Jacob, but Billy refused to leave his son's side. It wasn't like he could sleep anyway. Finding Sarah's broken body would haunt his nightmares forever.
"Daddy." Jacob said again. His tan skin was coated in perspiration as the fever continued to burn inside him. He was so scared and didn't understand what was happening. "I wan' mommy."
"I know, son." Billy tried to keep his voice steady. He took Jacob's small hand in his and held it tightly. "Mommy can't be with us right now, Jake. She's with the angels. Remember what I told you?"
Jacob nodded. His dark eyes filled with tears. In his other hand he was still clutching the white feather that his angel had given to him when she told him his mommy had said goodbye. "Where is Bella Angel?" He asked instead.
Billy looked at son in confusion for a moment as he tried to decipher what Jacob meant. Was he calling Bella an angel? Or was he talking about Sarah? The poor kid must be so confused and overwhelmed. Billy had no idea how to answer him. "Mommy is with the angels and Bella is with her daddy."
"I wan' Bella Angel. I wanna see." Jacob's eyes were bright with fever. "Daddy, I wanna see."
So, he was calling little Bella an angel. Maybe in his bewildered state he was confusing the two. And why wouldn't he? Bella must seem like one to him. She had been his comforter through one of the most traumatic times of his young life. Billy wanted to grant his son his one wish. But he couldn't risk having Bella anywhere near Jacob while he was so ill. None of them knew what the outcome was going to be. For now he would have to remain isolated.
"Bella can't see you right now, Jake." Billy stroked his son's long hair away from his face. It was slick with sweat, just like his body. "But once you feel better I promise you'll see her." He bit down on his lower lip, hoping that this was true. He would speak to Charlie about bringing the two children back together. Maybe it would help them both heal. He had to hold onto his faith that his little boy wouldn't transform into the wolf. This was just a reaction to the cold one's attack on his mother that was all. He would get better. He had to because Billy couldn't imagine what his life would become otherwise.
Bella sat quietly in front of the flat screen. She was curled up in Charlie's recliner watching a cartoon. Or pretending to anyway. Charlie couldn't be sure. His daughter had been mute since he had picked her up from the res. It had taken him a while to calm down after his confrontation with Renee. He was so full of pain and anger. It built up into a ball of frustration and his ex-wife had been the catalyst. He had meant what he had said to her. He was going to fight for custody again. He didn't care how much it cost. He had missed too much of his daughters life already. She was five years old and so precious to him. Renee's accusations of neglect had touched a raw nerve. He had left Bella with the one woman he trusted the most -Sarah. No one could have predicted that a wild animal would get into the house and cause such devastation. Charlie was determined to find the rogue creature responsible and blow them to kingdom come.
"Are you hungry, kiddo?" He asked gently as he hunkered down next to his daughter.
Bella turned to look at him with her wide eyes. She looked so tiny and vulnerable. The recliner was practically swallowing her up. Charlie lifted her up and transferred her to his lap. Bella nestled against him and hid behind her long curtain of hair. "I'm not hungry."
"Okay." Charlie sighed. Bella had been referred to a counsellor, but he wasn't sure that she would open up to a stranger. "You know you can speak to me about anything, Bells." He assured her. "No matter what it is, I'll listen."
Bella sucked on her lower lip before peering up at him anxiously. "Jake not well." She said so quietly that Charlie had to strain his ears to hear her.
"He's just grieving for his mom, kiddo."
Bella shook her mane of brunette hair. It shimmered in the faint light coming from the flat screen. "Jake go wolf, daddy. It's too late now."
A/N-thanks for reading!
