The Heat of You
by Wizardtho
A/N: If you needed to skip part of last chapter because of trigger warnings, you may need to do the same here for Billy's POV. It's not nearly as detailed, but you hear Charlie's thoughts on his initial reading of the first few pages of the journal (recap of Bella's nightmare in last chapter). Please proceed with caution.
Chapter 04:
Billy POV:
I watched as my best friend came back out to the living room from Paul’s room, only to drop down into the chair with a determined look on his face. Charlie Swan had never been one to back out of anything he set his mind to, and apparently, he had set his mind on reading that blasted journal. With a deep breath, he opened the cover.
Sue, ever the mother, busied herself in the kitchen, knowing the wolves and imprints wanted to be close. I was sure they would trickle in and out over the next several hours when not patrolling to check on both Bella and Paul. Emily had arrived already, and seeing Sue start pulling things from the pantry, she went right to the refrigerator to help.
Charlie grunted, pulling my attention back to him, and I noticed that some of the color had drained from his face. His posture was rigid, and his breathing was a bit erratic. He swallowed hard, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then went right back to reading.
To be honest, I was afraid to read the damn thing myself. I knew I would eventually need to, to be able to help Bella heal from those monsters, but the thought of what they might have put her through made my stomach turn.
By the time I could smell the wonderful scent of food throughout the living room 40 minutes later, Charlie was looking significantly paler, his hand shaking as he wiped his mouth with the back of it. Then suddenly, he dropped the journal to the floor while holding his hand to his mouth.
I barely got to call out, “Hall. Second door on the right,” before Charlie was gone and I heard the door slam shut. I looked to Sam, who shook his head. Whatever Charlie read was bad enough to make him sick, yet I had always known him to have a steel stomach.
I turned quickly at the sound of the front door opening, to see Jake coming back with Jared’s imprint, Kim. She rushed to Emily, hugging her tightly before asking to be filled in.
It was once Jake checked to make sure I was okay that Charlie nearly staggered back out into the living room. His eyes were full of tears as he fisted his hands in his hair, and his voice was a choked whisper, “They… they found out through that little shit’s contact at school, how that lure thing worked differently between them because of something called a singer connection. Apparently, she was his. They tried out small things at school, and when that worked, he took her to their house to meet them all officially. That was the first time they… experimented… with their different gifts and what she could withstand.”
A tear fell from Charlie’s eye as he angrily shook his head. He roughly swiped at the tear before saying heatedly, “They manipulated her emotions, filling her with fear and panic and terror, then told her to make it off the property on foot once she was under that prick’s fog… lure… whatever that shit was. They chased her, taunted her, guided her to run into dead animals they had slaughtered, and then pushed her fear further. Only when that fucking doctor was sure she was close to her heart giving out did they stop. The worst part is that lure shit… when he brought her out of it -called her Love and told her the game was over- she didn’t remember a fucking thing… like none of it even happened! I taught her to defend herself, but fuck! How was she supposed to fight that?”
I shook my head sadly, my heart breaking for both Charlie and Bella, then said, “She wasn’t, Charlie. There was no way she could have on her own.”
He let out a hysterical laugh, “Of course, she wasn’t. That was the whole point, wasn't it?! The whole experiment was to see how far they could draw her in -play their twisted little games- before the little prick either got bored and drained her, or finally gave in to that singer thing and drained her. Either way, those assholes planned to kill my daughter from the second they started that experiment! I’m sure it only got worse the more she went to that house.”
Emily gasped as she ducked her head into Sam’s chest, which Charlie noticed. He took several deep breaths with his eyes closed, then said in a steely calm voice before opening them, “I want proof those fuckers are dead when this is over. I promised I wouldn’t go myself… and I won’t, no matter how much it’s killing me to stand here right now.”
His eyes opened and met Sam’s, who nodded seriously, “You have my word, Charlie. They won’t live once we find them. We have to make sure Bella’s going to make it before any of us can go hunting them. When we’re sure we can spare a couple of the wolves around the rez, and Bella is back to having a sound mind and body, the hunt will be on.”
Charlie ran his hands through his hair, then said sadly, “That… Bells healing from this… is going to take a while. Just from the first few pages of that journal, I know Bells has endured literally months of torture from those assholes. That fear experiment took place the first time she ever went to their house. It’s going to take a lot of time and patience on everyone’s part, to help her through this.”
I nodded, reminding my best friend, “That is what we are here for, Charlie. All of us.”
Sue came over, rubbed Charlie’s back a bit, then said, “I know after reading that evil thing, you may not be ready to eat quite yet. Paul will need to keep up his energy, and knowing him, he won’t leave Bella while she’s in danger. Why don’t you take this plate for Paul and go check on them?”
Charlie looked amazed as he stared at the piled-high plate, then asked, “He’ll eat all this?”
I chuckled, “The wolves may be spirit warriors, but they are also endless pits, Charlie. Paul could probably eat 3 plates of that size, then still want something sweet in about an hour or so.”
Charlie shook his head, then took the plate and silverware Sue handed him toward the master bedroom.
Paul POV:
The door to the bedroom opened slowly before Charlie poked his head in. I opened my eyes and waved him in, then saw he had food with him.
“Oh, thank the ancestors. I hope that’s for me.”
Charlie sat down in the chair while nodding, then placed the food on the bed next to me. “Yeah, Sue said you’d need your energy. You’ll really eat all that?”
I chuckled softly as I took the fork and dug into the breakfast skillet the girls must have made, “Yeah. I’ll probably eat double of this. Shifting and patrolling use a lot of resources.”
He nodded, “Makes sense, I guess. Are all of you black like Sam?”
I shook my head, swallowed what was in my mouth, then explained, “Nope. I’m dark silver, Jake is a rusty color, Jared is dark brown, and Embry is light gray with black spots. We aren’t all the same size, either. You’ll get the hang of it quickly, once you see us all in our wolf forms. Charlie, I heard what you said, after reading some of the journal… and you’re right. It’ll probably take months, if not more for her to process and heal from this shit. She’ll need you just as much as she needs me. I hope you know that I expect to see you a lot. By that, I mean that I know you love your daughter, and you’ll want to be close to support her. She’ll need that connection with you, and I would never dream of keeping the two of you apart.”
I shook my head, then explained, “I think she’s starting to remember… the things you said she didn’t… the things they did to her. She’ll mumble things every once in a while. The good thing is that she’s been steadily getting warmer, and she’s fighting. I don’t know how to explain it, but I sense it. Something happened, and she’s fighting now. Here. Feel her arm.”
Charlie slid his hand underneath the blanket, then he scowled a bit, “She’s still pretty cool.”
I nodded but explained, “She felt like ice when I first pulled her to me, Charlie. This is so much better than what she was earlier. She’s still got a ways to go, but I can also smell less of a concentration of venom in her system.”
Charlie let out a breath, made sure the blanket was wrapped snugly over Bella’s arm again, then nodded, “Eat, kid. You won’t do her any good if you don’t have the energy to do what’s needed to protect her.”
My shock at his statement must have been clear on my face. Charlie cleared his throat, then said, “I’m only going to say this once, then I’m never going to bring it up again unless I’m forced to. You aren’t your father, kid. You have done a lot to make sure of that, from what I’m told. You do still have a temper, though. As long as that temper doesn’t make itself known against my Bells, you and I are good. It’ll still take me a bit to get used to this, but I can handle it as long as I know you’ll protect her, even from yourself if need be.”
I could feel my wolf pushing forward as I let what he was really saying settle. I’m sure he could see my wolf in my eyes as I promised, “You have my word, Sir.”
Charlie nodded, then stood. After leaving a kiss on Bella’s temple, he offered while walking toward the door, “I’ll be back in 15 minutes to get that plate refilled.”
Billy POV:
I watched as my best friend came back out to the living room from Paul’s room, only to drop down into the chair with a determined look on his face. Charlie Swan had never been one to back out of anything he set his mind to, and apparently, he had set his mind on reading that blasted journal. With a deep breath, he opened the cover.
Sue, ever the mother, busied herself in the kitchen, knowing the wolves and imprints wanted to be close. I was sure they would trickle in and out over the next several hours when not patrolling to check on both Bella and Paul. Emily had arrived already, and seeing Sue start pulling things from the pantry, she went right to the refrigerator to help.
Charlie grunted, pulling my attention back to him, and I noticed that some of the color had drained from his face. His posture was rigid, and his breathing was a bit erratic. He swallowed hard, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then went right back to reading.
To be honest, I was afraid to read the damn thing myself. I knew I would eventually need to, to be able to help Bella heal from those monsters, but the thought of what they might have put her through made my stomach turn.
By the time I could smell the wonderful scent of food throughout the living room 40 minutes later, Charlie was looking significantly paler, his hand shaking as he wiped his mouth with the back of it. Then suddenly, he dropped the journal to the floor while holding his hand to his mouth.
I barely got to call out, “Hall. Second door on the right,” before Charlie was gone and I heard the door slam shut. I looked to Sam, who shook his head. Whatever Charlie read was bad enough to make him sick, yet I had always known him to have a steel stomach.
I turned quickly at the sound of the front door opening, to see Jake coming back with Jared’s imprint, Kim. She rushed to Emily, hugging her tightly before asking to be filled in.
It was once Jake checked to make sure I was okay that Charlie nearly staggered back out into the living room. His eyes were full of tears as he fisted his hands in his hair, and his voice was a choked whisper, “They… they found out through that little shit’s contact at school, how that lure thing worked differently between them because of something called a singer connection. Apparently, she was his. They tried out small things at school, and when that worked, he took her to their house to meet them all officially. That was the first time they… experimented… with their different gifts and what she could withstand.”
A tear fell from Charlie’s eye as he angrily shook his head. He roughly swiped at the tear before saying heatedly, “They manipulated her emotions, filling her with fear and panic and terror, then told her to make it off the property on foot once she was under that prick’s fog… lure… whatever that shit was. They chased her, taunted her, guided her to run into dead animals they had slaughtered, and then pushed her fear further. Only when that fucking doctor was sure she was close to her heart giving out did they stop. The worst part is that lure shit… when he brought her out of it -called her Love and told her the game was over- she didn’t remember a fucking thing… like none of it even happened! I taught her to defend herself, but fuck! How was she supposed to fight that?”
I shook my head sadly, my heart breaking for both Charlie and Bella, then said, “She wasn’t, Charlie. There was no way she could have on her own.”
He let out a hysterical laugh, “Of course, she wasn’t. That was the whole point, wasn't it?! The whole experiment was to see how far they could draw her in -play their twisted little games- before the little prick either got bored and drained her, or finally gave in to that singer thing and drained her. Either way, those assholes planned to kill my daughter from the second they started that experiment! I’m sure it only got worse the more she went to that house.”
Emily gasped as she ducked her head into Sam’s chest, which Charlie noticed. He took several deep breaths with his eyes closed, then said in a steely calm voice before opening them, “I want proof those fuckers are dead when this is over. I promised I wouldn’t go myself… and I won’t, no matter how much it’s killing me to stand here right now.”
His eyes opened and met Sam’s, who nodded seriously, “You have my word, Charlie. They won’t live once we find them. We have to make sure Bella’s going to make it before any of us can go hunting them. When we’re sure we can spare a couple of the wolves around the rez, and Bella is back to having a sound mind and body, the hunt will be on.”
Charlie ran his hands through his hair, then said sadly, “That… Bells healing from this… is going to take a while. Just from the first few pages of that journal, I know Bells has endured literally months of torture from those assholes. That fear experiment took place the first time she ever went to their house. It’s going to take a lot of time and patience on everyone’s part, to help her through this.”
I nodded, reminding my best friend, “That is what we are here for, Charlie. All of us.”
Sue came over, rubbed Charlie’s back a bit, then said, “I know after reading that evil thing, you may not be ready to eat quite yet. Paul will need to keep up his energy, and knowing him, he won’t leave Bella while she’s in danger. Why don’t you take this plate for Paul and go check on them?”
Charlie looked amazed as he stared at the piled-high plate, then asked, “He’ll eat all this?”
I chuckled, “The wolves may be spirit warriors, but they are also endless pits, Charlie. Paul could probably eat 3 plates of that size, then still want something sweet in about an hour or so.”
Charlie shook his head, then took the plate and silverware Sue handed him toward the master bedroom.
Paul POV:
The door to the bedroom opened slowly before Charlie poked his head in. I opened my eyes and waved him in, then saw he had food with him.
“Oh, thank the ancestors. I hope that’s for me.”
Charlie sat down in the chair while nodding, then placed the food on the bed next to me. “Yeah, Sue said you’d need your energy. You’ll really eat all that?”
I chuckled softly as I took the fork and dug into the breakfast skillet the girls must have made, “Yeah. I’ll probably eat double of this. Shifting and patrolling use a lot of resources.”
He nodded, “Makes sense, I guess. Are all of you black like Sam?”
I shook my head, swallowed what was in my mouth, then explained, “Nope. I’m dark silver, Jake is a rusty color, Jared is dark brown, and Embry is light gray with black spots. We aren’t all the same size, either. You’ll get the hang of it quickly, once you see us all in our wolf forms. Charlie, I heard what you said, after reading some of the journal… and you’re right. It’ll probably take months, if not more for her to process and heal from this shit. She’ll need you just as much as she needs me. I hope you know that I expect to see you a lot. By that, I mean that I know you love your daughter, and you’ll want to be close to support her. She’ll need that connection with you, and I would never dream of keeping the two of you apart.”
I shook my head, then explained, “I think she’s starting to remember… the things you said she didn’t… the things they did to her. She’ll mumble things every once in a while. The good thing is that she’s been steadily getting warmer, and she’s fighting. I don’t know how to explain it, but I sense it. Something happened, and she’s fighting now. Here. Feel her arm.”
Charlie slid his hand underneath the blanket, then he scowled a bit, “She’s still pretty cool.”
I nodded but explained, “She felt like ice when I first pulled her to me, Charlie. This is so much better than what she was earlier. She’s still got a ways to go, but I can also smell less of a concentration of venom in her system.”
Charlie let out a breath, made sure the blanket was wrapped snugly over Bella’s arm again, then nodded, “Eat, kid. You won’t do her any good if you don’t have the energy to do what’s needed to protect her.”
My shock at his statement must have been clear on my face. Charlie cleared his throat, then said, “I’m only going to say this once, then I’m never going to bring it up again unless I’m forced to. You aren’t your father, kid. You have done a lot to make sure of that, from what I’m told. You do still have a temper, though. As long as that temper doesn’t make itself known against my Bells, you and I are good. It’ll still take me a bit to get used to this, but I can handle it as long as I know you’ll protect her, even from yourself if need be.”
I could feel my wolf pushing forward as I let what he was really saying settle. I’m sure he could see my wolf in my eyes as I promised, “You have my word, Sir.”
Charlie nodded, then stood. After leaving a kiss on Bella’s temple, he offered while walking toward the door, “I’ll be back in 15 minutes to get that plate refilled.”