EDIT: There have been some changes to this chapter because of the changes of pairings. I hope you'll like the changes, and please do review!
Pairings: Jasper/Hilda. Alice/Ethan. Luna/Neville.
Warnings: AU. OC characters. Some character bashing.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and Twilight or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me
Chapter Three: Meeting the La Push Pack
Sam Uley was pretty unnerved by the long silence as he led the dark haired girl—the Nightshades' agent—towards Billy Black's house. Everyone was confused and slightly wary of the fact that a Nightshades' agent—the organization that acts as the police force of the Dark World—is present here right now when no one—not even the tribe elders who have been wolves themselves during their teens have ever seen one before.
The Alpha had sent the rest of his pack back home, with all of them still confused with the events for the past hour, telling them all to gather at Emily's house first thing the next morning. Especially since Sam had a hunch that whatever the Nightshades' agent is here for, it is bound to be of something of importance if it brought someone from that organization all the way down here.
Like with the rest of the Dark World, Sam and the rest of his pack brothers were filled in about the workings of the Dark World as well as all their laws and regulations—not just the pack's own laws—when they have just phased. The first thing that the tribe elders have filled them all in on was Nightshades, and what they actually represented to the Dark World, and what they actually do.
To the humans of the surface world, Nightshades is a mysterious organization similar to the FBI or even the CIA that only tackles tricky and strange cases. To the Dark World, they are rather similar to the police force that keeps their world and the inhabitants a secret, and that the inhabitants of the Dark World don't go about making a show of themselves. They also hunt down the outlaws and 'takes care' of any humans that unfortunately stumbles upon the secret of their existence.
Sam had felt rather queasy to the stomach when he had heard that bit, as he is pretty sure he knew just what sad fate had befallen upon the poor soul who had stumbled upon their secret. And while it might be cruel and probably harsh, Sam knew that they have good reasons for doing so. The same reason why the tribe leaders were rather adamant that they do not go about telling their families about their secret unless they're one of the tribe elders. After all, how do you explain to your parents or your family that you're a wolf?
Nightshades had very strict laws about that, Billy Black had told them at that time, and they are not one to show any mercy. Nightshades have few laws, but they enforced them with great ferocity. If you ever committed a crime, and a Nightshades' agent showed up, you are better off just surrendering to them. And if it's an agent from the STAR Division, a member of their elite squad, drop on all fours and beg for mercy. You might just survive if they happened to be feeling particularly merciful that day.
Finally, Sam led the way down a long winding path that leads to a red house that looked particularly warm and inviting, with the porch lights turned on, hence giving them some visibility at least. A worn looking motorcycle was parked just outside it, and there was something that looks like a garage just next to the house.
"Here it is." Sam told the girl with him before knocking on the door.
There were several moments of silence before the door swung opened, revealing a man in a wheelchair behind it. He looked surprised to see them both.
"Sam? And uh…" The man eyed Hilda suspiciously. "Who is this?"
"Billy Black?" Hilda questioned, and Billy nodded slowly. She then flashed her Nightshades' identification pass at the man whose eyes widened and he looked ready to pass out. "I'm Hilda Evans. Nightshades. STAR Division." She placed the pass back into her pocket, shifting the sling of her duffel bag over her shoulder. "We need to talk."
XXXXXX
Billy Black called for a pack meeting early the next morning at Emily's house, as it is about the only place in the reservation that can hold the entire pack. And then again, as Sam had already told them all to assemble at the house before he'd dismissed them from patrol the previous night, they were all there bright and early.
Seriously, this is turning out to be a real crappy month for the La Push pack.
First, the Cullen vampires have returned to Forks just when he thought that they are rid of them for good. Not exactly high on Sam's to-like list, or any other member of the pack or even the tribe leaders for the matter, their estimation of the Cullen coven had taken an even more severe plunge when the youngest Cullen boy had left Charlie Swan's daughter heartbroken and lost out in the middle of the woods, and she could easily have developed pneumonia on that terribly cold night if Sam hadn't found her upon Billy's request.
As a result of those vampires' return, Jacob is alternating between so down in the dumps that even Leah who isn't exactly Jacob's greatest fan had tried to cheer him up a little, and being so pissed off on some days that Sam was reminded greatly of Emily and her mood swings when she is on one of those days.
Hence why Jacob had been signing up for more patrols than what he is usually assigned to take his mind off anything with the word Cullen in it. Emby and Quil usually went with Jacob whenever he went on his patrols, despite the fact that it usually ended up in all of them being really tired the next day in school, and ended up sleeping through their classes.
"Right." Billy cleared his throat nervously, glancing around the room at the pack members who were all staring at him. Everyone knew that this meeting had something to do with the Nightshades' agent whom they have ran into in the middle of the woods last night. "As all of you probably already knew, a Nightshades' agent had paid us a visit last night." He paused for a moment. "She's one of the top ranked agents of the organization. She's STAR Division."
Embry almost choked on the coffee that he is currently drinking to wake himself up properly. Suffice to say that Embry Call isn't exactly what one would call a morning person.
"W-What is one doing here?" Sullen Leah who usually never showed much expression on her face after her phasing apart from a scowl or a glare paled considerably. "T-This isn't about us, is it?"
Leah's worry and fright is understandable. After all, while the pack and even the tribe elders knew about Nightshades and all, not even they have actually seen someone from that organization before. Let alone an agent from the STAR Division, even a normal Nightshades' agent would never show themselves. Their name isn't just for show. Never has there been any event when a STAR agent had shown themselves unless it is in the direst of situations. And if they did, probably, no one had managed to leave alive to speak of it.
"Well, we talked a little last night." Billy sighed, glancing at Sam. "Pleasant girl, though a little secretive. For someone from Nightshades, it's understandable. She told me what she's here for, and that she'll probably be around La Push and Forks for some time until she's finished her mission."
"But don't all Nightshades agents work in pairs?" Seth furrowed his brow, recalling that bit of information that he knew from his mother.
"Yes. But she said that her partner is coming later on. He's currently tending to another emergency in another country." Sam added.
"She's here for the situation in Seattle." Billy told the pack, and they exchanged looks amongst themselves.
The situation up at Seattle has them all concerned for some time now, and more than a few of them have even wondered if it has something to do with a vampire or two. And if it even got Nightshades concerned enough that they would ignore all their usual protocol and call in the Italy vampire royals, and instead, send one of their own down…
"The Seattle situation has Nightshades concerned for some time now, and they've sent a pair of STAR agents to handle this – the girl that you saw, and her partner who will be coming later on." Billy told them. "The fact that they're here just shows just how serious that Nightshades is taking the killings."
"Well, I know a little about them from the news through the grapevine." Sam frowned. Even the La Push pack who generally keep to themselves are bound to hear of rumours and gossip amongst the people of the Dark World. Whether they like it or not, shape shifters like themselves are classified as part of the Dark World, and thus, are bound to hear of the occasional rumours and news that goes through the underground. "As a rule, Nightshades never showed themselves. They generally handle any situation that needs them from the shadows. The fact that one showed themselves when they generally never does shows just how serious it is."
Billy nodded. "And furthermore, it is someone from the STAR Division." He added. "They're Nightshades' top killers for a reason. They rarely show themselves as it is. Nightshades only send them out during a crisis or even during times of war. They're the eyes and arms of Nightshades. There is rarely anything going on in the world that they don't know of. Their information network puts even Scotland Yard to shame. But despite their reputation, Nightshades have honour." He added, seeing the uneasy looks on the faces around him. "They aren't unreasonable and they are no tyrant. They don't act unless they have concrete proof and the understanding of a situation. Thus, you don't have to worry. They'll probably be hanging around La Push for some time though." He added.
"Question here, Sam." Jared raised his hand like he's in class, and Sam frowned but nodded. "Can I tell Kim about this? At the very least, I have to give her a good enough reason why she couldn't go to Seattle if the situation up there is serious enough to send someone from Nightshades here."
Sam frowned slightly. Normally, they never tell their imprints of the problems or the dangers surrounding them, seeing it as their duty to protect them. But in this case, it might actually be safer for them if they tell them why and to also tell them to avoid Seattle for a while.
Billy on the other hand sighed inwardly.
He still remembered the drama that went down when Sam and Quil have both imprinted on their own imprints. The entire reservation was full of gossip for months. Especially since Sam had imprinted on Emily even when he is still dating Leah. To the people of the reservation who didn't know of the pack and all that, Sam had came across as a callous and two-timing bastard who tossed away a devoted and nice girl like Leah who would walk across fire for him.
And the fact that Leah had changed drastically from a nice and sweet girl to the sharp-tongued and scowling her at present only caused Sam's reputation to slide even more, especially when Emily actually started dating Sam. Quil's case is a little different with Claire, but a little disturbing, even to the tribe leaders.
Billy is starting to wonder if it runs in the pack or something, to have all this drama go down whenever one of them imprinted. Jared is the only exception, as he actually imprinted on his seatmate at school who already had this huge crush on him for well over a year.
"Well, it might be best," said Billy with a frown. "Having them know about the dangers might actually help us out a bit."
"Dad, I've been wondering something." Jacob spoke up, and Billy nodded to his son. "Is it dangerous? For us, I mean, that someone from Nightshades is here."
"No, son, I'm afraid that you're mistaken about them. They're not dangerous to those who didn't break the law." Billy explained hastily. The last thing that he needs is to have the pack think of Hilda Evans as an enemy. "They are not our enemy here!"
"But well, it is true that Nightshades had never truly been fond of us for various reasons." Sam added, exchanging looks with Billy.
When Sam had became Alpha, Billy and the other tribe elders have told him as much.
It is after all true that Nightshades had never been really fond of the La Push pack for various reasons. And from what Billy Black knew from his father, that organization had never truly been really happy that the La Push pack hates vampires just for being vampires. Discrimination and hating someone for something that they couldn't help and is in their nature had been something that Nightshades had spoken out against ever since their inception. It is one of the reasons behind their existence after all.
It is one of the reasons why they don't go about killing werewolves just for turning people and for eating people in wolf form; and why they don't go about hunting vampires just for feeding on humans. In Nightshades' point of view, it is in their nature – something they couldn't help. Unless they go about making a show of themselves, Nightshades generally tends to leave them alone.
"And those leeches up in Forks?" Paul frowned. "Do they know? That a Nightshades' agent is here?"
"Yes, they do. That agent, Hilda Evans, she actually visited them before coming to La Push." Billy told them.
"I did wonder why she smell a little like leech last night." Leah scowled.
"Watch your tone around her, Leah." Sam warned, and Leah's scowl only deepened further. Sam however, ignored her. If his brief experience with the agent last night is of any indication, then she won't take any nonsense from anyone.
"They probably already know of the danger in Seattle anyway." Jacob scowled. "You know, they have that little fortune teller with them."
His pack brothers looked at Jacob in concern, seeing the deep scowl on his face and his obvious unhappiness over the mention of the Cullen coven. Billy sighed, seeing his son go back to square one, mood-wise, whenever it comes to talk about the Cullens and Bella.
Oh sure, Billy knew that it isn't really Bella's fault. She is a nice enough girl, and a good friend to his son who didn't have many female friends. In fact, Billy only knew of Bella as Jacob's only female friend unless you count Leah Clearwater as a 'friend'. The fact that Bella is dating a vampire set aside, Billy sometimes wished that Bella could just grow a backbone. Like her emotional state when the Cullens have first moved… If Jacob hadn't helped her, Billy is pretty sure that Charlie would probably have woken up one day to find his daughter dead in her bed.
Must be Renee's influence no doubt, with her habit of shackling up with any man that is good to her, and her inability to survive without leaning on someone. Suffice to say, Billy Black had never truly liked Renee, even when he was a teenager. He had kept his mouth shut during his high school days when his best friend, Charlie Swan had introduced Renee to him and Quil Ateara. And when Charlie had announced that he'd be marrying Renee straight out of high school and before he had gone to the Police Academy, he had his doubts, but he had kept quiet, and had even been best man at Charlie's wedding.
Then a couple of years later when Charlie had told him quietly that Renee and he will be getting a divorce, he didn't even have the heart to tell his best friend 'I told you so' when Charlie had told him that Bella will be going with her mother. That had almost killed Charlie, Billy knew, losing his daughter even after he'd lost his wife to another man.
Bella had made things quite clear to Jacob though, that Edward is the one that she's in love with, and will be the one that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, even if she has to become a vampire. Billy really didn't know what to think about that. The rest of the tribe leaders, and even Sam have agreed that whether Bella become a vampire or not, that is her choice, and her affairs with the Cullen boy is out of their hands.
But part of Billy wanted to stop Bella from becoming a blood-drinking creature. And what about Charlie? If Bella is ever turned, they would have to fake her death. Can Charlie even take it? Can he take his daughter's 'death'?
"There's just…something about that girl though." Jared said with a frown, recalling just how strange that she had smelt. "I don't know enough about Nightshades to form an opinion about them. But that girl… She's not human, is she?"
"No, I don't think she is. At least, I think that she might be half-human." Billy said slowly, and the pack stared blankly at the older man. "She's most probably a dhampir – part-human and part-vampire. Probably one of the last ones."
"A dhampir? But they're the stuff of legends!" Sam gaped, recalling what he'd read in the tribe's archives.
"Precisely." Billy nodded. "Dhampirs are often hunted down for their abilities, and also because they're sometimes known as 'cursed children'. After all these years, there are very few of them left, and whatever survivors there are have all gone into hiding. Even I've only heard stories about them. That's one of the reasons why Nightshades tends to take in all half-humans in their custody. It is to protect them." The pack all looked extremely interested in this. After all, they have never met a dhampir before, let alone a Nightshades' agent. "They form a closely knit community – Nightshades. They rarely bond with anyone outside it, and on the rare occasions when they do, the outsider was tested first before being allowed in. They take care of their own. The people of Nightshades have enough problems of their own, and they are in danger in more ways than one. That's why they say that angering someone from Nightshades is something that you won't live to regret. It will be signing your own death warrant if you do so."
"But what happens if an outsider is the mate to someone belonging to Nightshades?" Embry asked with interest. "For example, let's say… One of us?"
Quil looked at Embry sympathetically. He knew how Embry had felt, seeing one after the other in the pack imprinting, and he hadn't even found his yet. Sure, Jake hadn't either, but because of all his problems lately, Quil fervently hoped that he wouldn't imprint just yet.
Sam felt his lips quirking when he heard this question, imagining the agent from last night being the imprint to someone like Jacob or Paul or even Embry. Fireworks will fly, as he can't see the girl accepting it.
More than anyone, Sam knew what would happen if an imprint tries to ignore or deny the bond that they shared with a La Push wolf. It will not only hurt the wolf but also the imprint. Sometimes not just emotionally, but also physically. In Emily's case, it actually did both until the bond grew too strong for her to ignore, and thus, she has to accept it. Fortunately for both of them however, it actually worked out in the end, though Sam knew that Emily is sad at having her relationship with Leah greatly affected as a result.
Billy shrugged. "I have no idea," he admitted. "Even I've never heard of an outsider being allowed into their circle before. But if they did, it is probably kept secret. That organization has more secrets than a cheese has holes." He snorted. "That girl – Hilda Evans is a dhampir. She's probably one of the last. They're slowly all dying out. And much like most of the Dark World, they have the gift of eternal life. It's part of who they are."
Jacob nodded slowly in understanding. In the Dark World, particularly those with special abilities, mated pairs often shared gifts with each other. The La Push pack is the one sole exception. He had often wondered what would happen if any wolf who had phased would have eternal life like the vampires.
Jacob's face then almost fell at the mere thought of seeing Bella ageing and then dying from old age, whilst he lived on forever, and he shivered. No thank you. Let the vampires have their eternal life. He'll rather stay human, thank you very much.
However, he now had an idea why Bella is so averse to the idea of her aging, and why she wanted to be a vampire so badly to be with Edward. After all, how easy can it be to watch as the love of your life age and dies before you do?
Oh good grief, did he just empathize with Edward Cullen of all people? The world must be ending.
"And according to the ancient legends of the Libishomen which I'm sure must be true, a dhampir's true mate shared the same gift – the same gift of eternal life, even if the mate is a human. But I hadn't heard of any dhampir who had actually claimed a mate before, as most of them actually died before they have even reached maturity." Billy explained. "They're the one species that are more hunted down than any other."
There was silence as the pack tried to comprehend what Billy had just told them.
"Is that all, Billy?" Sam asked at last, and the man nodded. He then turned towards his pack. "All right. That's all for today. Just remember to gather back tonight for those on patrol."
There were murmurs of agreements before the pack then slowly filed out of the room, with Jacob wheeling his father out of the room. Sam then sighed, looking out of the window.
He had a feeling that he's going to have more headaches than ever with a Nightshades' agent here, particularly if the look on Leah's face is of any indication when she'd heard that the agent that had came here is part-vampire.
Oh dear.
XXXXXX
"So no new information then?" Ethan Nightray asked, sounding almost as if he's frowning on the other end of the line.
"Nope. I talked with both Carlisle Cullen and Billy Black. And I've even gone down to Seattle myself to check out the situation. Neither one of them knew anything new that I don't already know. And the air in Seattle is almost suffocating. Everyone's terrified, and they don't know what's going on." Hilda told her partner, balancing her phone in between her cheek and her shoulder even as she examined her bike. "And I'm a little worried, frankly." She admitted. "I wasn't sure before, but now, I can be certain. There's a whole load more than just one or two vampires up at Seattle. Something like the situation there can only be done by a vampire newborn army. The only question here is who is creating them, and what for? And if it has anything to do with Inferno, then it can't be anything good."
"Well, anything to do with them always spells trouble." Ethan grumbled. "I'm having a little trouble here myself, but I might be done with the mission a little sooner than expected." Without waiting for Hilda to respond, he continued on. "I ran into a lone Alpha werewolf last night. Pleasant guy. And we talked a little. He was a little concerned about the numerous pack fights in Wales, and he agreed to help. After all, if the fights gets any worse, the livelihood of the werewolves would be greatly affected as a result."
"A lone Alpha, huh?" Hilda mused. Lone Alpha werewolves were rare, but not unheard of. Unlike most normal werewolves, Alpha males were at least two to three times the size of normal werewolves in wolf form, and they don't even need a full moon in order to change. "Just be careful though. I don't have anything against them, but you know how unpredictable they are the closer it gets to the full moon, even in human form. And you're a vampire. Werewolves and vampires have never really gotten along."
"I'll be careful." Ethan promised. "You too though. Be careful." He emphasized. "Also, it seems like someone on the God Squad really had it in for us or the world at large."
Hilda raised a brow at that. "What makes you say that?" she asked, leaning against the side of her bike. Hardly any vehicles takes this road that leads to the reservation, especially since the La Push reservation is as secluded as it could be.
"Shali and Lexis from Intelligence got in contact with me a few hours ago." Ethan sounded concerned. "They almost died at their mission at Turkey. And from Lexis' investigations whilst Shali was recuperating, it seems like it's someone up above. And by the looks of things, they're interfering again."
Hilda almost groaned. She always groaned whenever the topic about those 'up above' came up. There are several reasons why no one at Nightshades talked about angels and the one above them. More than half of the agents at Nightshades are still traumatized about what they've actually gone through fifty years ago when the angels have apparently decided that they need to start an apocalypse now, and almost ended the entire world when the brief war between Heaven and Hell started.
"…Oh boy…" Hilda groaned.
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Ethan muttered. "Anyway, if things go well on my side, I should be in America in about a week tops. Neville got in contact with me as well. They've just finished up at Cebu and are currently on their way to Ireland. If they finish up fast, they'll head to America to assist us. Something about this situation at Seattle is making everyone nervous. Some of the guys at Intelligence have offered to handle some of the less risky missions that Neville and Luna were actually assigned to just so that they could help us at America. They'll be going in teams of five though, so they might just be able to manage STAR missions. If it's really Inferno up to their nonsense again at America, we could really do with Neville and Luna's help."
Hilda was silent for several moments. "…Yeah," she sighed. "It's going to be another long month or two. Or if we're lucky, half-a-year even. This is going to be troublesome." She murmured.
"It's Inferno that we're talking about here. Isn't it supposed to be troublesome right from the beginning?" Ethan muttered sarcastically. He was silent for several moments before he spoke once more. "…Is there trouble on your end? You sound a little different."
Hilda resisted the urge to wince. Only Ethan could tell that there's something wrong with her just by her voice alone. "Not really," she said before she sighed. "I'm just tired, I guess." She paused. "I met Jasper."
"How is he?" Ethan asked with interest, recalling that honey-blonde vampire when he had first gone down South with Hilda all those years ago.
"Still the same." Hilda said with a small smile. She then sighed. "Honestly though, I'm not sure how long I can keep this up. I'm really tired." She admitted, rubbing her eyes.
"We've been on the go for nearly a decade without any breaks in between. I don't blame you. I'm pretty tired myself, and I'm a vampire. I'm more durable than you are." Ethan noted. "I'm getting a break from work for both of us for a few months at least from Xatis once this is over. We both deserve it."
Hilda said nothing. She then raised a brow as she saw a silver convertible Ferrari approaching her direction. "I have to go, Ethan," she told him. "I'll call later."
"Okay. Stay safe, Hils." Click.
Hilda hung up her cellphone before slipping it into her pocket. She then raised a brow as the car came to a stop near her, and the windscreen wind down only to reveal a grinning Jasper Hale sitting in the driver's seat.
"What on earth are you doing here?" Hilda was amused. "Don't you have school?" She asked almost sarcastically.
Honestly, just what is the sense in making vampires attend a fucking human school? She is surprised that none of them had lost control yet and drained the humans all dry. Good control or not, this is risking temptation in itself.
"I skipped for a day." Jasper grinned. The empath felt almost happy and light like he hadn't for years…ever since he had last seen Hilda, that is. He had always looked forward to any letters that she had written. Due to her job, Hilda couldn't always write to him, but he always looked forward to any letter that she could write.
Hilda raised a brow. "Any reason why?"
"Come on, do I need a reason to hang out with you?" Jasper almost groaned.
"I guess not." Hilda mused.
"Jokes aside, you look tired." Jasper noted, noting just how tired that Hilda looks, and she is almost slumping on her feet. Even for a dhampir, even they do need sleep. Just not as much as humans does. "And it's probably none of my business, but I overheard a little of your conversation from earlier. Is there anything that we could do to help?"
Hilda was silent for several moments. "Even if there is, I wouldn't ask you or the La Push pack. It isn't something that you should be concerned about. It is Nightshades' problem." She then fell silent for a few moments. "Besides, this isn't something that you should have a hand in," she added, turning to look at him in the eye, and Jasper is almost taken aback for a moment at having his face reflected in the pools of her silver eyes so much like the moon. "You wouldn't understand anyway."
Hilda had really unusual coloured eyes and her hair is so dark that it is almost midnight blue. He wonders for a moment if it is just a dhampir thing, or if it is something that Hilda had inherited from her parents.
"Try me."
Hilda sighed. "You men are always so stubborn, not knowing when to give up," she murmured beneath her breath, and Jasper grinned. Now, this is the Hilda that he knows. "There's someone or several 'someones' that we have been searching for. And when I say 'we', I mean all of Nightshades. We think that whatever is going on up at Seattle, they might have their paws in this." She told Jasper. "Because from past experience, for the past century, whenever someone tries to create trouble of a massive scale like the one up at Seattle, most of the time, it has their name written all over it."
"I see…" Jasper murmured. If it's something as major as this, there isn't really much that he could do to help except look into his contacts. "I'll look into my contacts and see if there isn't any new information that I could get. But if you really need assistance, you just have to ask." He told Hilda.
"Yeah, I'll do that." Hilda said with a small smile. "By the way." She gestured towards her bike and the car that Jasper is currently driving. "Want to race back to Forks?" She had an almost impish grin on her face. "I feel like racing."
Jasper grinned. "You're on."