THE WHITE SUN AT MIDNIGHT | J.BLACK

[4]

After several more weeks, Paige had grown to be so uncomfortable she could barely get out of bed. And whenever she would pull up enough strength to go to school, she would need to clutch onto Bella for support. She kept debating if she should call someone from her tribe to ask if this was normal. She knew what she was becoming. Her father had warned her that if it were to happen to her, then she'd know. She knew she was transforming into a shape-shifter. A werewolf. Just like her father.

But did she know if this was healthy or not? Of course not. She didn't know anything. Google didn't know anything. She had tried to make Google understand and help her, but she couldn't make a website read her mind.

Only when Bella mentioned one day that Jacob had snuck into her room one night and begged her to remember a story he once told her about his tribe legends did Paige finally have an idea. She asked Bella for Jacob's address, and on a Saturday afternoon, she drove over there in her car.

Charlie had told Paige that he was best friends with Jacob's dad, Billy, so it wouldn't be that weird if she stopped by to ask Jacob a few questions. Would it?

When she got there, she rushed up to the front door and knocked several times. Five minutes later, the door opened, and a man in a wheelchair sat there.

"Hello, can I help you?" He asked politely.

"Hi, um . . . . I'm Paige Claymore. I'm looking for Jacob, Jacob Black," the man shot Paige a confused look once she asked for Jacob. "I uh . . . . I just moved in with Charlie and Bella Swan like a month ago. I'm Bella's half-sister." At Paige's words, Billy perked up.

"Oh, of course, Charlie told me about you. You're here to see Jacob?" Billy repeated.

"Yes, or any member of the Quileute tribe, please," Paige said urgently. Billy froze.

"Uh, may I ask why?" Billy cautioned.

"I just need to talk to one of them. I'm going through some weird changes, and I thought maybe they might know something about it," said Paige as she started fiddling with her fingers.

"Oh, well, I'm the chief of the tribe council, so I can probably become great use to what you want to be answered," the Black shrugged, and Paige smiled.

"Thank you . . . ." she trailed off, gesturing to him to say his name.

"Billy, Billy Black. I'm Jacob's father." He held out his hand for her to shake, which she did hesitantly. "Come in," he said, and Paige slowly made her way into the small house. She sat down on the couch, letting out a sigh of relief she didn't even know she had. Billy wheeled up next to her and rested his arms on the sides of his wheelchair.

"Okay, so what do you mean by "weird changes"?" Billy questioned, and Paige took a deep breath.

"Well, I feel absolutely fine, minus the fact that I'm very sore and can barely get out of bed each day. But Bella says that my skin feels like it's on fire. It's really hot. Like, hotter than a fever," Paige replied, and Billy furrowed his eyebrows. "And I've been having a lot of . . . . dog-related dreams. Well, not a dog. More like — "

"A wolf," Billy muttered, and Paige looked at him.

"So you do know what I'm talking about? Oh, thank god, I thought I was going insane," Paige exclaimed and ran a hand through her short blonde hair.

"What other symptoms do you have?" Billy continued his interrogation.

Paige thought for a bit before saying, "occasionally I hear something crack inside my body. Like a bone or something. One time Bella heard one of my bones breaking and started freaking out. Anyways, I also have been a little more short-tempered lately. I get mad really easily when before I was usually easy-going, or at least I think I was." Billy kept nodding slowly, and when Paige stopped, he sighed.

"Who are your parents?" He asked randomly, making Paige shoot him a puzzled look.

"Uh, Renée Dwyer and Chayton Claymore —" she answered.

"Claymore? Chayton Claymore?" Billy cut her off, and she nodded. A long pause, then the question Paige had prayed he wouldn't ask was said, "is your father a shape-shifter?"

Paige's whole body tensed, but after a while, she gave it a rest and nodded stiffly. Billy sighed again. "Paige, based on your symptoms and the fact that you have werewolf genes in your blood. I'm pretty certain you're in the midst of transforming," he cut straight to the point, and Paige bit her lip.

She knew he was right even before she came to the Black household. But she just didn't want to admit it. Her father had always complained about the pain of being a shape-shifter. How hard the transformation is. How stupid imprinting is and how he believed it's not real love. The list could go on and on, but all Paige could process was what she would tell Bella and Charlie. And if she would tell them.

~:*:~