Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This story is the sequel of Our Dawn 5. For the ones who don't know anything about Our Dawn Series, you can always read Our Dawn 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and Our Dawn Series Specials but if you don't want to bother I have a resume on my profile page. As it would be expected this is a next generation story and as such, it's focused on Jake and Leah's children.

A/Note 2: A huge thank you for everyone who reviewed Our Dawn Series so far.

A/Note 3: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

Alpha

Book I – The Third

Isaac Black

11. Expectations

It was only thanks to Uncle Seth that I was spared the embarrassment of talking to my father butt naked. Uncle Seth was the kind of guy who always played safe (the only times he didn't play safe he got three kids at least that was what he used to say as a joke. Aunt Gwen didn't find it funny though). Needless to say that he had an extra pair of shorts and I was able to meet my father with my dignity intact.

Just like Harry had told me, Dad was happy to know that I was a wolf instead of a werewolf. He even hugged me which left me pretty much speechless. In the last three years that I'd spent in College Dad only hugged me when I went home for the holidays or when it was my birthday.

Uncle Seth patted me in the back and welcomed me to the pack. Opposite of what Jay and I had thought in the beginning, the pack wasn't a group of Satan worshipers, or a gang of drug dealers. The pack was a real pack. Shapeshifters. Wolves. Protectors.

And then before I could even breathe a word the inquiry started.

"Why did you run?" My father asked. "We were worried. Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Why did you leave like that?"

"You were making arrangements with Edward to take me away. I didn't know what to think or do."

"It would be temporary, Isaac. You'd stay with them just until we learned more about what you… what we thought you were."

"That doesn't change the fact that you were going to hand me over to vampires. Our mortal enemies..."

"They're our friends." He interjected.

"They stink to high heavens."

"Sometimes they do…" Dad conceded. "But they have been our friends for years. You'd be safe with Edward and Bella."

"Jake… I can't feel Sarah's scent anywhere near. I don't think she's here." Uncle Seth said.

"What happened to Sarah?" I inquired feeling suddenly worried. My sister was supposed to be at home.

"She's missing since this morning. Do you have any idea where your sister is?" Dad asked. "Because if you are this is the right moment to tell us."

Sarah was missing? She was at Uncle Seth's house when I went to say goodbye. Why would she leave La Push? Was she trying to find me as well or…

Jay. He was definitely the answer. Jay had taken her. He knew about the werewolves and I remember him saying he feared for my sister because he taught our family was involved in some sort of cult.

"We have two girls missing and a nomad in our lands." Uncle Seth stated. "We're worried. If you know anything, tell us."

"A nomad?" I arched my eyebrows. A nomad is someone with no settled home, someone who moves from place to place but somehow I had the feeling they weren't talking about those people.

"A vampire." He explained.

"Like the Cullens?"

"No exactly. The Cullens have a home, they stay in certain towns from time to time and they are vegetarians which means they feed on animals. A nomad vampire usually feeds on human blood." Uncle Seth replied. "These two girls disappeared without a trace and…"

"Sarah didn't disappear." I cut him off. "She… she probably went to Austin." With Jay Morris. I left that part out for now. If I told Dad that Sarah was with her boyfriend, he'd go into a killing spree for sure.

"Austin?" Dad wasn't pleased. "Why?"

"I think she's helping someone." Under the circumstances, that was the best answer I could give Dad without telling him Sarah's secret but I had to speak to Jay as soon as possible.

"Seth, can you warn Embry and Paul? I want my daughter back as soon as possible."

So that was the reason why only Harry and Will had come to Brinnon. Uncle Paul and Uncle Embry were trying to find my sister.

"Sure." Uncle Seth turned back so he could phase behind a couple of trees. "By the way, I'm going after Will so I'll catch up with you later."

My father nodded and then Uncle Seth phased.

"What's going on with Will?" I asked. I thought he would be back from the car soon.

"Your brother is going through a rough time. He's on his way home."

"Why didn't he wait for us?"

"He wanted to be alone." Dad said. "Don't worry about him now your uncle will make sure he'll be fine."

"William doesn't want me in the pack, does he?" That was the only explanation I could find for his behaviour tonight.

"We'll sort things out when we get home. Where's Harry?"

I took Dad to the motel where we joined Harry. Sophia was still unconscious and I guess that was a good thing because in that moment I wouldn't be able to tell her what the hell was going on. It was still hard for me to believe that I was a shapeshifter like my parents and my brothers.

When we walked inside the bedroom, Dad looked from me to Sophia, who was lying down on the bed, several times before speaking.

"Who is she?" He finally questioned.

"A friend. We met when I was leaving La Push."

"A friend?" He looked at me suspiciously. "I sure hope you've been wise enough to use protection." He commented.

Harry burst out laughing and I was frozen in my spot, thanking all the deities in the world that Sophia hadn't listened to what my father had just said.

"Dad… we're just friends… Honest." I muttered. "Shut up Harry!" I turned to my brother who was clutching his stomach.

"You should've seen your face Isaac. It was hilarious." He mocked me.

"I'm sorry son, but I'm too young to be a granddad and you're too young to be a father."

"Actually… you were only one year older than Isaac when William and I were born." Harry recalled and Dad glared at him.

"Don't push me Harrison or your mother will know a couple of things that happened two years ago with a certain girl from Forks…" Dad grinned. "Now go wake up the man at the reception and check your brother out. We're leaving."

"Fine." Harry scowled.

"What about Sophia?" I asked before my brother could leave. "We can't leave her behind."

"You want to take her with us?" Dad inquired.

"She… might have seen us… I mean our wolves… She was in the woods when we phased back." I explained.

"She saw you phasing back?" Dad turned to Harry and he shrugged.

"I think she blacked out when she saw Isaac naked… which is absolutely understandable since he's not very impressive, but I guess it's possible that she saw us returning to our human forms too." He grinned and I fought the urge to show him the middle finger.

"Well that complicates things a bit." Dad announced. "What about her family? Does she have anyone waiting for her?"

Her mother was in Seattle expecting us tomorrow but there was still time for us to call and tell her what happened.

"No. There's no one." I finally said.

"In that case, she's coming with us." Dad decided.

Once again, Sophia and I ended up following a different way from the one we were supposed to. The plan to reach Seattle was now just a memory for we were going back to square one: La Push. That was the place we had first met.

The ride back home wasas awkward as I imagined it would be. Harry decided to return in his wolf form because he wanted to join Uncle Seth and William so he left me and Dad all alone, confined in his new car, with a sleeping Sophia in the back seat.

"You're awfully quiet. What's wrong?" Dad asked after twenty minutes driving in silence.

What did he want me to say? I had so many questions to ask him that I honestly didn't know where to start.

"I just found out I'm a wolf." I answered.

"Fair enough." He conceded. "It's crazy… I know. I was sixteen when it happened to me."

"You lied to me for years." I didn't mean it to sound like an accusation but I couldn't help myself. Being lied to for ten years had gotten me on defensive mode.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I don't think you'll ever understand the things I did until you actually have children of your own."

"Try me."

Our eyes met. I had never realized we had matching eyes until now. Maybe Sarah was right when she said that I looked a lot like Dad. That comment used to make me angry beyond belief, but now I didn't feel so angry. I was actually... happy.

"When you can't protect the ones you love… when you fail to do the one thing you couldn't fail to do… it's horrible. I failed you so many times Isaac… and I can't take it back."

"You blame yourself…" I muttered. Harry was right. Dad blamed himself for that night ten years ago.

Maybe I should tell him that I don't blame him for what happened.

"Even before you were born… I've failed you. When your mother was pregnant with you, I let her be taken by a freaking vampire. His name was Joham and he injected her with vampire's venom and I wasn't there to protect you. And then… that night…"

"I know." I cut him off. "I know about that night."

"Bella told us that you stopped taking your medication and you remembered everything but you only know what half of it."

"I remember everything and whatever you say, it wasn't your fault."

Dad looked at me surprised.

"I should've never left you and your siblings at home with Maddie. You could've all died."

"But we didn't. Will saved me and you saved Sarah."

"It wasn't William's responsibility to save you. It was mine. He got hurt and so did you."

"We can spend hours debating this and we won't reach any conclusion. You tried your best… as far as I'm concerned I'm glad you saved Sarah, I'm glad I was the one attacked by that werewolf and not her."

In that moment I realized Dad was crying but I pretended not to notice. It was the first time I was seeing him cry, except for the day JJ was born. That day he cried a lot. It was only a couple years later I realized that my mother and younger brother could've died during labour. That explained Dad's tears.

"Do you know I was the first person to hold you when you were born?" He asked suddenly. I was taken aback by the sudden change of subject.

"Let's not get into the sentimental talk right now, okay?" I asked. It was still early for me to kiss and make up with Dad. I wanted to talk to both of my parents properly before telling them they were forgiven.

"Why not? I feel like I've been a crappy dad to you." He admitted.

"I wouldn't call you crappy, more like… absent."

"Okay… no sentimental speech." He agreed and I sighed. "Maybe it's time for that other talk… you know about a boy and a girl…" He eyed Sophia through the mirror and I felt myself blush.

"I know what happens when a boy and a girl sleep together since I was seven. I have a high I.Q., remember?"

Please not the sex talk. Please. I begged as Dad contemplated what to say next.

"Right… I guess I'll have to save that talk for JJ."

We exchanged a look and then we laughed for a while. It was strange but I didn't remember laughing with Dad for years.

"There are more like us, right?" I asked when we stopped laughing.

"I'm sure you can name them all." Dad said with a smile. "You just need to think."

"There are us, the twins, Mum and Uncle Seth." He nodded. "Uncle Embry and Uncle Paul." Of those I was certain.

"Yes."

I had heard the pack had thirteen members and he had mentioned Sam Uley and Denis Nawat too.

"Sam... Denis…" I kept going. Quil had to be one too. He fit the profile. "Quil…" There were only three left.

Jared Cameron was Sam's best friend and he too fit the profile, as well as Brady Fuller and Collin Littlesea. They were constantly present in all of the bonfires and other parties my parents used to organize and they had the same physical characteristics than the other wolves I had named: broad shoulders, tall, strong and they looked a lot younger than they really were.

"Jared, Brady and Collin?" I guessed.

"Yes. You're actually good at this, no wonder you figured things out on your own."

"There's another pack, right? The Heiltsuks?" I asked curiously.

"Yes. Lance is the alpha."

"Alpha? Like in a wild pack?"

"Exactly."

"You're the alpha of our pack." I realized. And it made sense. Dad was influent in the tribal council and everyone listened to him.

"I'm the alpha, yes… but I'm not sure you're in the pack just yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Even though you phased into a wolf and I'm really happy that you did… You're still different from the rest of us for more than one reason."

"I don't understand."

"When you phased we should've been able to tell. We should've been able to listen to your thoughts through the mind link that we all share."

"And you didn't?" I was surprised.

"No, we didn't. We saw you through Will's eyes and thoughts but we couldn't hear you."

"But Will heard me."

"Not at first."

"So I don't belong to the pack?"

"I honestly don't know yet. But I believe will figure it out soon. Once we get home and once your sister comes back, we'll make a bonfire and we'll sort everything out."

"How was it? For the twins?" I asked. Dad kept saying I was different so I wanted to know how different I was from my twin brothers.

"Hard." He said shortly. "Harry phased when he was ten. He was the youngest wolf ever. It was his instinct of survival that activated his transformation. He was too young to understand what was going on but he possessed an amazing control over his actions despite his age. William was the opposite."

"Why?"

"He phased when he was fourteen and he was a lot more defying than Harry. It was harder for him to adapt himself to the pack's hierarchy and it was harder for him to control his emotions and his shapeshifting abilities."

"And how am I different from them?"

"Well… besides the fact that we couldn't listen to your thoughts… you phased and didn't panic. You were in control of your emotions and you even fought your brother brilliantly. You controlled your wolf, not the other way around. No wolf has ever done that on the very first time he phased. Harry was frightened to death and froze. Your mother had to coach him so he could phase back. As for Will, first he was scared, then he was euphoric and finally he got so angry he ended up punching a tree after he was able to phase back to human. I also have a feeling that you can close your mind to the rest of the pack and overcome my commands if you try hard enough."

"So… you're what? Our Supreme Leader? You order, we obey… that sort of thing?"

"No, of course not. A pack needs an alpha, a capable leader to organize patrols, conduct vampire hunting and call the main shots, and that's what I am. In all of these years as alpha, I don't think I issued more than four alpha commands… Well, except with the twins but they didn't give me an option. There's also a beta, my second in command to help me take care of things. Right now that's your Uncle Seth. A long time ago it was Sam. There was even a time I had two betas, one was your mother. By then I didn't know she was bound to have a different status in the pack."

"Mum's a woman… She's the alpha female." I realized and Dad just nodded. "Is she the only one?"

"For a while she was. Well… she still is but now we know there can be more women who can turn into wolves. Your mother was the first one though. One of a kind… In the beginning we thought there was something wrong with her, after all there were only boys in the pack, but after a few years we understood why she had phased. Then we learned that Gwen was also a wolf. The second female wolf ever to exist but she had to quit being a wolf so she could… marry your Uncle. It wasn't an easy decision and we don't know if she can still phase or not but she doesn't do it ever since Junior and Lilly were born."

"And there's Sarah… Will she become one of us too?"

"We don't know. I hope not. Girls have better chances of not phasing than boys."

"And JJ?"

"He has the gene, so he'll probably phase in a few years."

"The gene?"

"Yes. Carlisle's been studying us… I'm sure he can tell you everything you want to know about the gene once we get home."

"Am I grounded?" I asked.

"That depends on your mother so we'll have to wait until she gets home herself."

"Where is she?"

"She went to meet her friend Callie Colburn. She's going to bring her so we can talk."

Colburn was Sophia's mother's maiden name. So my mother was meeting Calleigh in Seattle instead of us. I guess I didn't have to worry about calling her anymore.

"She's the woman who called me." I stated. I wanted to see what Dad knew about Sophia's mother.

"I know. Alice managed to pull out the last calls from the cell phone you ditched in Port Angeles."

"Who are the Cullens? A family of CIA vampire agents?" I was surprised.

"That would certainly please Emmett." Dad laughed. "They're not CIA agents, they just have really nice skills."

"I've heard they have powers too."

"Carlisle will tell you all about that."

Even knowing the Cullens were vegetarians and had some sort of a treaty with our pack, it didn't mean I was thrilled about going to see Carlisle to have some answers. The smell was just too nasty.

"Do you ever get used to the smell?"

He laughed once again.

"Your mother asked me the same once." He said amused. "Anyways, you'll have to get used to it Isaac because…"

"Because they're our friends. Yes, I know." I finished for him.

"Yes, and because you'll have to keep our treaty once you're the alpha."

That one caught me off guard. How could I become the alpha if I had just turned into a wolf a few hours ago? Was he testing me?

"Isn't that right reserved only to your oldest son?"

"It should be but as the alpha I can decide otherwise." He stated.

"Why would you choose me instead of Harry?"

Harry was forty three minutes older than William, so he was Dad's first born and the rightful successor of our father's position.

"As my child you have equal rights to your brothers and I will choose the fittest for the job. It happens that so far you have the advantage."

I had an advantage over the twins? What the hell was he talking about? They were not only older, but they had also more experience as wolves and they had more talent to fight and lead than I would ever have in my life.

"I don't think you should pick me. I'm too young, I know nothing about this life yet, I never fought a vampire, I've never patrolled, I can't even communicate with all of you through the mind link… Harry or William would be better leaders than me."

"Maybe they would, but they won't." He said firmly. "I will personally train you to become the next alpha and this is not up to discussion."

As if I needed one more reason for my brothers to hate me. Especially Will. I didn't understand why he was always so angry with me. Even now he had refused to acknowledge me in the pack although I wasn't an official member yet.

"Dad?"

"What?"

"Thanks for coming for me. I really never thought you would."

Dad diverted his eyes from the road to look at me but he remained silent. When we reached La Push the morning sun was trying to push through the grey clouds, unsuccessfully. At the reservation everything was calm and peaceful. Nothing had changed since my short absence.

"I have things to do now so I'm going to leave you and the girl at home. Wait for your mother or your Uncle alright?"

"Where are you going?"

"I have a patrol to resume with Collin and Brady because I need to be sure that nomad is contained, I need to consult with the Cullens, I have to go and check with Granddad Billy what happened during the Council's meeting, I have to contact Embry and Paul and see if they found your sister, and I need to speak to Will and Harry asap."

"I see… Being an alpha is hard work." I said.

"Being a father is a lot harder." He commented stopping the car in front of our house. Somehow I didn't doubt that.

Five minutes later I was left on my porch with a girl in my arms before an empty house. Mum was somewhere in Seattle or she was coming home with Calleigh Felton; Dad had just vanished into the woods; Harry and Will were MIA, Sarah was probably in Austin with Jay and JJ was staying with Aunt Gwen.

My youngest brother was only a year older than Uncle Seth's twin children Seth Junior and Lilly. The three of them were best friends. They even used to call themselves the three musketeers. JJ was the leader, Athos; Junior was Porthos and Lilly was Aramis. Because she was younger, Susie Leigh was often the fourth wheel, which meant she played D'Artagnan occasionally. Thinking about it I realized that my brother JJ was probably a better person to be a leader than me. I didn't understand why Dad wanted me to assume that position when he had two older sons.

Placing Sophia on my bed, I decided I should take a shower and put on some clothes since wearing Uncle Seth's shorts was hardly appropriate to meet Sophia's mother later. Despite of what people used to say, the hot water did not wash away my problems or doubts but it did help me to relax. When I left the bathtub, I stood in front of the mirror for a few minutes contemplating my reflection. Physically I was still the same person but for some reason I felt different. The person reflected in that mirror was not the same that had left La Push almost two days ago.

After getting properly dressed I tried to contact Jay and Sarah only to discover that Jay's phone was off and Sarah had left her cell phone in her bedroom. Therefore there wasn't a way for me to warn them about Uncle Embry and Uncle Paul being after them. They were on their own.

Then I went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I was starving since my last meal had been a cheeseburger, some fries and a coke several hours ago. I had never cooked before but somehow I managed not to burn the house down, which was quite an achievement.

I was just pouring the coffee when Sophia joined me. She seemed nervous to be in a place she didn't know but she didn't show fear. I wasn't prepared to deal with her questions. Quite frankly I didn't even know if I'd be able to explain what had happened to me last night.

"The wolves didn't eat you." She said sitting down at the table across from me. "I was afraid they would."

"I told you I could handle it."

"So… how did we get here?"

"By car." I wanted to keep the answers simple but Sophia was no fool so she pressed on.

"I'm asking where we are Isaac." She rolled her eyes and poured some coffee into her cup. I offered her a toast with peanut butter that she took eagerly.

"We're at my house."

She was quiet for a while.

"How the hell did we get here? That's miles away from Brinnon."

"My Dad found us." I simply said.

"My memories of last night are a bit vague. I remember you leaving the room, I remember the howls stopped after that, and I remember going after you… and then… everything is a blur. So I don't remember seeing your father."

The Spirits were good to me. Sophia didn't recall seeing me naked or seeing Harry and I phasing back into our human forms. That was a relief because it meant that I could still pretend I was a normal person.

"I found you lying in the forest and I took you back to the motel. A few minutes later my Dad showed up and he convinced me to come back home."

"And you brought me too?"

"I couldn't leave you there, could I? What would you do?"

"I'd figure out a way to meet my mother in Seattle."

"Well, there's no need for that anymore. She's coming here."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yes. My mother went to get her."

"So they do know each other?"

"Apparently."

"And what are we supposed to do now?"

I shrugged. Dad had told me to wait, so I guess that's what we should do. When we were almost finishing our breakfast I felt someone's presence approaching. He came through the kitchen back door and I saw a grin forming when he came closer.

"Good morning." Will greeted. "We have a guest. Shouldn't you introduce us little brother?"

I frowned. The twins loved the attention of girls and girls loved to give their attention to them.

"Sophia, this is my brother William." I said unhappily. There was no way Sophia would be immune to William's charm. How could she ignore a 6'2'' tall and muscular guy with a charming smile and little clothing?

"It's nice to meet you Sophia. You can call me Will." He smiled sweetly at her. "Do you know that you're the first girl that Isaac has brought home?"

"Will, she's only a friend." I warned him.

"Don't be so shy, Isaac. There's no problem with that." He said mockingly. "But don't you think it's a bit early? I mean Mum and Dad don't even know you're dating and you're bringing your girlfriend here already?"

Sophia and I blushed.

"Stop being a jerk." I growled. "Have you met Dad?" I tried to change the subject.

Will laughed slightly.

"Nope. Why?"

"He said he wants to talk to you."

My brother clenched his fists.

"Yeah, I'm sure he does." He spat. "Anyway, I'm going to pack and then I'm out of here."

"You're leaving?" I was surprised.

"Yeah."

"Why? What about Sarah's birthday?"

"Old Quil's funeral is over and Sarah will be grounded once she comes back… besides Dad has you now so I guess all is well."

"William!" I got up suddenly and gripped my brother's wrist before he could follow upstairs.

"Let go of me, now!" He snarled. He had never sounded so angry.

"What's wrong with you? What's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem." He pushed me so hard I hit the wall and Sophia got up from the table immediately. I guess she could also feel the tension between us.

"That's a lie! You do have a problem with me. I just don't know what it is."

I had always suspected Will had some grudge against me since the night I was attacked by that werewolf. Now that I knew a few more details of what had really happened, I figured his anger was the result of being hurt that night while protecting me.

"Stop pretending to be so benevolent and caring Isaac! Stop pretending that you don't hate me too!" Will was now shaking violently. "You remember what happened, don't you?"

"Yes. So what?" I tried to remain calm.

"So I know you hate me for what I did to you ten years ago!" He spat.

I watched his angry face and asked myself what had William done ten years ago?

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Merry Christmas everyone!