Billy Black

"Can you believe my dad paid me twenty bucks to come to your prom?"
 * -Jacob Black on his father

Billy Black is the human father of Jacob Black, Rachel Black, and Rebecca Black. He resides in La Push Washington. Billy is in a wheelchair due to diabetes. His wife died in a car accident when Rachel, Rebecca, and Jacob were little. He is Charlie Swan's best friend.

Billy's grandfather was Ephraim Black, a former elder of the Quileute tribe. He inherited Ephraim's place on the tribal council and knows the tales of the origins of the Quileutes. Because there were no vampires around at the time, he did not become a werewolf.

Twilight
Billy sells his old pickup truck to Charlie so that he can give it to Bella. When Billy first sees Bella with Edward, he tells her to be careful, but refrains from saying more in Charlie's presence. Charlie and Billy have had disagreements over the Cullens in the past, and seem to agree to disagree. After Bella meets the Cullen family officially, Billy stops by on the pretense of dropping off fish for Charlie. When he gets a moment alone with Bella, he tries to talk her out of her relationship with Edward. Billy tells her that the Cullen family has an "unpleasant" reputation on the reservation. Bella counters that the Cullens have done nothing to deserve that reputation, as they have never set foot on the reservation. Her knowledge on the subject takes him off guard, and Bella says that she may be more informed than Billy himself is. He agrees this is possible, but is concerned for Charlie. Bella says that it is her business whether or not it is Charlie's business to know about the Cullens.

Billy agrees to this, and is then forced to change the subject when Jacob enters the room. According to Jacob, Billy reacted "over the top" after Bella became injured in Phoenix, since he assumed that Edward had something to do with Bella's injuries. At the end of the story, when Bella is at prom, Billy pays Jacob $20 to go talk to her. He also promises to give Jacob the master cylinder he needs to finish his car. Jacob tells Bella that Billy wants her to "please" break up with Edward. He also asks Jacob to tell her that "we'll be watching." Bella, knowing that Billy means well, tells him thanks.

New Moon
Sam Uley and two other friends (Jared and Paul) help to search the woods for Bella after Edward leaves her. Later in the book, Billy encourages Bella's friendship with Jacob by inviting Charlie over for games and family functions. After Jacob transformation into a wolf, Billy constantly lies to Bella on Jacob's whereabouts and supposed sickness in order to protect the tribe's secret. After Bella realizes that Jacob is a werewolf, Billy is once again polite to Bella and aids the wolves in protecting Charlie by inviting him over to his house while Victoria is around.

Eclipse
In this book Billy has a larger part, as Bella, desperately needing an escape, comes to his house more and more often to visit his son, Jacob Black. Bella also discovers that Billy is the chief of the Quileute tribe. While learning the tribe's oral history, she sees a certain majesty and power in him that she had never seen before. During the confrontation with the new-born vampire army, Billy keeps Charlie safe by orchestrating a fishing trip. Charlie comments to Bella in retrospect that Billy was very worried and distracted during the trip, which showed Billy's concern for Jacob and the rest of the pack during the battle.

Breaking Dawn
Billy Black attends Bella and Edward's wedding, and appears to have gotten over his attempts to warn Bella against being with Edward. He even seems fairly content to be there, despite the wedding being, in his opinion "the worst thing that could happen to his son's best friend" as Bella puts it. He also appears during Jacob's part of the book at his house, where he tries to talk Jacob out of attacking the Cullens. After that, he doesn't appear in the story. Although, in the general narrative Bella mentions him when talking about Charlie, even citing that Billy's and Charlie's friendship is less than what it once was. Even though it is not mentioned, this alienation may be due to Charlie's increased closeness to Sue Clearwater.

Behind the Scenes
There has been some speculation that Billy is really Ephraim Black. Stephenie Meyer, however, has said that this is not true, and that Billy really is Ephraim's grandson.