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
Harrison Black
19. Sister Alert
Claire was her children, Quil and Amber in the porch of old Quil's house. Two-year old Amber was half asleep in her mother's arms while five-year old Quil was playing with his toys.
"Hey Claire." I greeted. Quil got up when he saw me approaching and brought me a toy so I could play with him. Though he was already five years old, Kyu, as he was nicknamed by his younger sister, hadn't started talking yet. Initially everyone thought he was a mute but after a few tests, Uncle Seth had concluded there was nothing wrong with the young boy's vocal folds. He simply didn't talk because he didn't want to.
Claire and Quil tried to encourage him to speak but their efforts hadn't met success yet. The situation was particularly hard for Claire because she blamed herself for her child's condition. During pregnancy Claire had suffered a minor accident while working. Claire was one of the best Marine Biologists in the state of Washington. Her thesis had been praised by many professional Biologists and when she finally graduated she was offered an internship in a Marine Biology Research Institution. She'd been working for them ever since.
When she was three months pregnant with Kyu, she was told by the doctors she should abandon the scientific diving program she had funded along with three of her colleagues. On her last diving expedition when she was collecting samples with a group of scientists and volunteers, Claire had some problems on her oxygen supply device. She was unconscious when she surfaced and she had to be assisted immediately by a medical team.
Despite the doctors' opinions about Kyu being a normal child, she thought that incident could be the cause of his talking problem.
"Hi Harry." She smiled. "Honey, if you want Harry to play with you, you need to ask him." She told her son. "Come on Kyu… just ask him if he wants to play with you."
"He'll talk when he's ready." I told her. "Children don't develop all in the same way. If the doctors say he's normal, you just have to be patient."
Claire sighed in resignation.
"Quil shares your opinion but Kyu is going to school soon and I'm worried about him. How will other kids adapt to him? If he can't communicate with teachers and classmates, he'll become isolated."
"Don't worry too much. He's a smart kid, he'll be alright." I ruffled Kyu's hair and Claire nodded.
"Did you come for the meeting?" She asked me.
"I wasn't summoned. I was just hoping the meeting was over by now so I could have a word with my parents."
"Over by now? They've just started twenty minutes ago and I'm telling you this is going to be the longest and most boring meeting ever."
"Why?"
"Hal White decided to invoke all the reasons why his family should take a place in the Tribal Council."
"How many reasons can he actually invoke?"
"More than you can imagine. Hal is a manipulative man, he'll find a way to turn the table in his favour."
The Whites weren't very friendly but I didn't see any harm in allowing Hal to participate more in the tribe's decisions and law making. Even if our families didn't see eye-to-eye, he would never pose a threat since all the other members would always go against him.
"Why are the Whites so bad?" I asked. Claire stared at me and blinked a few times. "Just because other people hate them, doesn't mean I have to hate them too." I added.
"They're bad news Harry. All of them." She explained and I could see Quil's opinion behind those words. Claire was clearly influenced by her husband's opinion on the White family. "You know the story about Melody and Desmond, don't you?"
"Yes. But that happened a long time ago, and you can't judge a whole family for something that one of its members did."
"I know but generation after generation, the Whites have always been bad news. Quil told me that their ancestor Finnigan White who was a founder of the Quileute tribe was a respected man however, after him, all of the White men have been smugglers, thieves, dealers, gamblers, rapists and even murderers."
"Which one is Hal then?"
Claire shrugged. There were no evidences about Hal being a law offender. He had his whine business but as far as we knew, he played by the books and everything was legal.
"An idiot?" She finally suggested.
"That's not a crime." I laughed. She smiled too.
"I know but he's an idiot if he thinks he can win a place on the Council. Although I think that Quil should take his grandfather's place, I believe they'll give the position to Sam."
It made sense. Sam had earned his place in the Council a long time ago. Some people used to say that the Uleys should've never been excluded from the decision-making assembly of our tribe. They were the second most important family in La Push after the Blacks plus Sam had been the first wolf in more than seven decades.
"If they don't want Hal in the Council why are they listening to his speech?" I wondered out loud.
"Because if they don't, Hal will accuse them of discrimination or something like that. And your father can't expect people to accept him as their leader one day if he doesn't listen to everyone's point of view."
Claire was right. If my father wanted to be a good leader, he would have to listen to everyone's opinions regardless of his own points of view. A few minutes ago I had contemplated interrupting the assembly because I needed to summon the pack for an emergency meeting, but I now I had just realized that what was being discussed inside old Quil's house was important too. I would have to wait a few more hours.
"I wanted to talk to Dad but I better return later." I said, ruffling Kyu's hair again as he played with his toys. "I'll see you in Sarah's party."
"Sure." Claire waved. Her attention quickly diverged to the girl in her arms who had just wake up and began crying. "I know you want Daddy, Amber… but it's not my fault he has to attend this stupid meeting. Now be a good girl and sleep some more."
Poor Claire. Ever since Amber was born she'd been telling my mother she hadn't got a single night of good sleep. Apparently Amber was a lot more demanding than her older brother.
Thinking about brothers. Maybe I should try to find Will. I thought following down the path that led to our house. What if he is with Rhea again?
It happened he wasn't. Actually, I found him on our porch with a brooding expression that resembled my father when mother would scold him.
"Hey." He greeted when he noticed me.
"Hey. Are you leaving?" I asked.
"I was thinking about trying to find you."
We were thinking the same thing. As usual.
"Have you been at the Cullen's? Because I went to the mansion during patrol and there was no one there."
"Alice bought a new house near the Makah Reservation. That's where they are now."
"Really? It's what? Her fourth new house in two years?"
"Fifth. She got a new apartment in New York, remember?"
"Right. It's nice to be rich."
A heavy silence fell between us. He was probably upset because I hadn't supported him that morning against Dad. And I was still upset about his escapade to see Rhea.
"So… Why didn't you call me when you decided to go after the Volturi alone? What were you trying to do Harry? Be a hero? Take the credits for yourself?"
"No. And I didn't go after the Volturi." I explained calmly. "I went back because I couldn't hear anyone and I got worried about the rest of the pack. I wasn't trying to impress anyone or take any credits."
"Still… you could've called me."
"You were busy." I didn't mean to sound so jealous but in that moment I wasn't able to hold myself.
"I would've helped you Harry."
"Are you sure about that?"
He sighed heavily and glared at me.
"Nothing happened between me and Rhea."
Except for the fact that you slept with her eight years ago. I was tempted to say.
"Dad can be an asshole sometimes…"He kept going. "He was getting on my nerves and that's why I said those things." William sounded apologetic and I relaxed a bit.
I shared my brother's opinion is many things. Because we were twin brothers we thought alike but now I was wondering that Dad could be right as well. At least about imprinting. If William imprinted after starting a steady relationship with Rhea, she would be devastated. Which meant William should keep his distance from her and so should I.
"Why are you doing this Will?" I asked.
"Doing what?"
"Why are you messing with her again? She's clearly over you. Not to mention that she's engaged now."
"She doesn't love him."
"How do you know?"
William's eyes met the floor and I knew he was hiding something from me.
"Spit it out!"
"I kissed her. She kissed me back." He confessed. "Then she hit me and told me it would never happen again, but I felt it and she felt it too. We are… connected somehow."
"You have a past." I conceded. "And that's all. You rejected Rhea when she came to our house and told you she was in love with you. You said and I quote 'Who can love a girl like you? You're too skinny, too short, too whiney, too nosey… I'm glad I don't remember what happened between us… but I'm sure it was no big deal. Now leave and don't talk to me ever again.' Do you remember that Will? Do you remember the way she left crying?"
William was silent. I could remember that morning perfectly. I had been the one to open the door to a frightened and clearly nervous Rhea the morning after our graduation party at First Beach. I remember wondering why she was all covered in sand and her hair and clothes were all messed up. I remember feeling the faint scent of blood in her and I remember watching my brother coming down the stairs, facing her, telling her to leave and closing the door on her face without even asking if she was alright. He knew what he had done, and knew about her feelings but he still chose to ignore her and pretend he had amnesia.
"It was her first time. You know that, don't you?"
Will finally looked at me. We stared at each other for a while. I saw myself in his eyes. William was my reflection and I was his. But if it had been me that morning, I would've told Rhea how I really felt, I would've held her and I would've acted properly.
"What are you talking about?" He finally asked.
"Stop pretending you don't remember what happened between you two. Stop pretending you were too drunk that night. You defiled her and then you rejected her as if she was a piece of trash. And now you're suddenly interested in her?"
"You don't know anything about us!" My brother hissed. I could feel his anger rising, just like mine.
"Are you going to tell me she seduced you?" I mocked.
"No." He admitted. "She didn't seduce me… I… we…"
"I know what happened. You don't need to explain anything. I saw you two walking down the beach together. I heard you arguing and I heard when you told her she looked beautiful under the moonlight. I felt her scent on you when you arrived in the morning. You hid your thoughts from Dad and the pack quite well. I really don't know how you managed to do it but I'm your twin brother. I would've known anyways."
"But you never… asked me anything. Why?"
"I assumed you didn't want me to know so I wouldn't accidently tell your secret to the pack." Actually I never asked him anything because I didn't want to know the details of the night he had slept with the girl I was in love with. "But it looks like I'm also good at hiding things."
"I never wanted to reject her." He confessed. "I liked her… not in the beginning because she made me look like an idiot but with time, I started to really like her."
I knew that too. I probably knew my brother better than I knew myself. I knew he was only afraid to admit his feelings because our friends would probably make fun of him forever.
"I was confused, conflicted… the wolf inside me was restless… I didn't sleep for nights after that. I wanted to go and talk to her and tell her I had feelings for her too. When I decided to do something about it she had already left La Push and I decided to leave it that way. It was really weird when she left, you know? I felt almost empty but I forced myself to forget about her and I actually thought I was over her until old Quil's funeral." He said. "I want her back Harry and my wolf wants her too."
"It's too late now. She's engaged. She's going to get married in two months."
"I'll stop it." He assured me.
"Stop messing with the poor girl, Will. She's not a toy you can play with. Last time you were lucky. This time who knows what will happen if you get envolved with her again."
"What do you mean? Do you think I would hurt her? Like Sam did to Emily?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Good. Because I have a lot more control over my actions than Sam ever did."
"I meant that no one got emotionally hurt. I meant that there were no major consequences after what happened between you…"
"Do you know something I don't Harry?" I guess I knew William as much as he knew me. I hesitated a few seconds before realizing that it wouldn't make any harm telling him what I knew about the time of his little adventure eight years ago.
"You really hurt her, you know?"
William nodded.
"She spent three days locked inside her bedroom after that night. And then on the fourth day I met her by coincidence in the drug store down the main street. She bought a pregnancy test."
I felt Will holding his breath.
"What?" He finally said.
"I said she bought a pregnancy test. I never saw the results."
"Are you saying she was pregnant with my child?"
"Think about it, Will. Do you think she'd be here preparing her wedding if she had your baby eight years ago?"
William looked at me intently.
"Probably not." He admitted.
"Besides, I'm positive that if she were pregnant, the Whites would let us know. It would be the perfect opportunity to win a place in the Council right after forcing you two to get married." I said. "Look, the best thing to do now is to let her go. Besides you can… we can imprint one of these days and then what? What will you tell her? That you don't love her anymore?"
"Out of twenty-six wolves from our pack only seven have imprinted. And Justin and Josh didn't even marry their imprints."
"Because Julia and Jaelle are still underage. As far as we know, the imprint bond is unbreakable."
Justin and Josh had both imprinted on Jared's twin daughters when the girls were born. Just like Quil, they remained protective over the girls until quite recently. Despite their bond, they got married and had children. Justin fathered a girl, Maxine, who was six years old while Josh was the father of Aileen and Aimee, who were eight and four years old. Both had stopped phasing almost nine years ago but they insisted that the bond was still there, just not as strong as before.
"We've been wolves for ten years now. We should have imprinted by now, don't you think?"
I shrugged. The imprinting world was complicated and out of any logic.
"Just promise me you'll leave her alone." I asked my brother. "She suffered enough and it seems to me she's happy with her fiancé. Why would you risk hurting her again? There are plenty of other girls… besides, Mum and Dad wouldn't like you to be dating a White."
William chewed his lower lip and then nodded.
"I'll keep my distance for now. But I have to speak to her one more time, soon." He said.
"Will…" I warned him. "First, please don't provoke Dad. And second, things are going to get pretty hectic real soon so please think twice before throwing yourself into an emotional drama, okay?"
"Hectic? What are you talking about?"
Carlisle and the others had sent me ahead to La Push before our meeting tonight to warn the pack about Alice's latest vision. Since my parents were having a meeting, I figured I could at least talk to my brother about it.
"The Volturi will return in the summer." I told William.
"But they just left." He pointed out.
"I know but Alice had vision and she's certain they'll be here again. She saw Aro summoning his best men to come."
"Why the hell don't they just move here permanently?" William enquired rolling his eyes. "Are we going to face them in an epic battle?"
"I don't know. All I know is that they're not after us. They're after the girl I saved last night."
"The one who almost turned?"
I nodded.
"What do they want from her?"
I had asked the very same question to Alice and she was unable to provide the answer. Her visions were limited to Aro summoning his henchmen and ordering them to capture the girl who had been attacked by Gustaf.
"I don't know."
"So what happens now? Are we going to be her babysitter until they come?"
Not us. Me.
By announcing that I was Season's boyfriend, Alice had cornered me and now I suddenly had a girlfriend from whom I knew nothing about. Because she didn't remember a lot of things due to the attack, Season believed we were a couple. Fortunately she had also blacked out a few minutes after Alice's announcement saving me from giving her some answers.
"So Alice appointed you her boyfriend so you can protect her when the Volturi arrive?" William asked when I finished telling him what had happened.
"Yes."
William laughed and I frowned.
"What's so funny?"
"Alice's a damn genius." He kept laughing. "She realized you need to get laid… that's why she has appointed you the girl's boyfriend."
I knew my brother was just trying to mess with me.
"Since you broke up with Alexis and your relationship with Rhea has reached a dead end, you can change places with me." I suggested. William noticed the sarcasm in my voice.
"Is she cute?" He asked, slightly interested.
"No." I lied. "She's fat, has greasy hair and wears braces." I lied.
"In that case, I'll leave the job up to you. As a protector it's your mission to be this girl's boyfriend and protect her from any harm." He mocked. "I'm so proud of you Harry."
"Oh, I'm sure you are."
"Come on, it's not that bad. Even if she's as ugly as you say she is. You still saved her, didn't you?"
"I saved her because it was the right thing to do. I don't regret that Will, but to do what Alice wants me to do… I feel it's wrong. I'm going to lie to that girl all the time. What if she suddenly remembers the truth? What if she finds out I'm lying to her? What will I tell?"
"The truth?" He suggested.
"They said it's too dangerous to tell her the truth."
"Look, if you're not comfortable with this, you should tell the Cullens and the pack, and someone will take your place."
With a wolf protecting her, Season had better chances of escaping the Volturi but I didn't feel I was up to that. Of course I wanted to protect and help her but was I really up to cheat and lie? It would feel like I was taking advantage of her. What if Rhea suddenly noticed me while I pretended to be Season's boyfriend? What if Season wanted us to act like a couple?
"I'm going to have a shower. I took a double patrol since Uncle Seth was called to the Council meeting." My brother's words brought me back to reality.
When William was about to go inside, Isaac arrived in our parents' car.
"Weren't you supposed to bring Sarah with you?" William asked as Isaac approached us.
"Is the meeting over?" Isaac asked joining us on the porch.
"Nope. And it might take a while." I said.
"Great." He didn't look pleased. "I need to talk to Mum as soon as possible."
"So do I… so you better get in the line."
"You don't understand."
"What?"
"Sarah… She's not in Forks. She told Grandma she was coming home but she never came, and she's not answering her phone."
Will and I exchanged a look, suddenly alert.
"Did you notice anything unusual during patrol?" I asked William.
"No. Do you think the Volturi are still here?"
Although it was possible, it was highly doubtful. Alec and the others had what they wanted so there was no reason to stay.
"Let's warn the pack." I suggested. I wasn't going to risk my sister's life. The Council would have to resume their meeting later.
"Wait…" Isaac asked me. "Don't call off the meeting. I think we can find her. Just the three of us."
"How?" Will enquired.
"I think she's with Jay." William and I waited for him to continue. "Denis and Jason arrived from the Makah reservation an hour ago and Jay… he wasn't there. He's gone too."
"Do you think they went to see Jay's mother again?" William asked. "Why would she do that? It's her birthday today. Is she trying to break some grounding record or something?"
"They didn't go to Austin."
I immediately understood what Isaac meant about Sarah being with Jay. My sister was dating Jay Morris and that meant that now Jay Morris was a dead man walking.
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