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

24. The Good Samaritan

Pull yourself together, you idiot. I told myself for the third time in the last minute. My eyes followed to the table where Rhea was sitting down silently watching me. I turned to the stove immediately not wanting to meet her grey eyes because I knew the moment we locked our gaze I would blush.

My mother had dismissed me to the kitchen so she could have a private talk with Vanessa and Verena. She had asked me to prepare some tea to our guests and Rhea offered to help me.

"You didn't have to come and help me. I know how to prepare a tea." I said making Rhea smile.

"I know… It's just that… your mother and my aunt never really saw eye to eye, did they? They'll be arguing soon and I rather be here."

Indeed I was expecting my mother and Vanessa to start arguing any minute now considering the fact they were talking about the newly created Small Council which had been the solution the Tribal Council had found to appease Hal and Rhonda White. So according to mum now there was a Small Council formed by her, Quil and Hal, and a High Council formed by Grandma Sue, Sam, Grandpa Billy and dad. Unfortunately Vanessa didn't seem too happy with Hal's new position and she was telling my mother a piece of her mind.

Actually things between mum and Vanessa White had never been easy. Mum expected Vanessa to be friendlier after her marriage to Craig Sidwell but whatever had happened between them in the past didn't allow it, so Vanessa was as hostile towards my mother as ever.

"That's a euphemism." I mentioned. This time Rhea laughed.

"I'm getting married." She suddenly blurted. She was aware that I knew the news already but it was obvious she wanted to talk about it.

"So I've heard." I said trying to sound neutral. "Is he from La Push?"

"No." She shook her head. "He's from Seattle. We met in an English class in community college. His parents are real estate agents and they're really nice. They were curious when they learned I used to live in an Indian Reservation. They're coming to La Push in a week with Art to visit."

"So your fiancé is not around?"

"He was but he left today. His job keeps him very busy. He works with cars."

I turned to her then. William worked with cars as well. Was it a coincidence that Rhea was marrying a guy who worked with cars?

"He sells cars actually." She elaborated. "He opened his own business last year. It's profitable but he doesn't have much free time."

"That's nice. About his job, I mean." I wanted to ask why she was telling me this but I didn't have the courage. She was probably just making small talk.

"Next week, Art is coming with a couple of friends and his parents and… he said he would like to meet my friends." I waited for her to continue. "The thing is… I don't have many friends here. I was wondering if you could pretend to be my friend for just a few days. I don't want Art to think I don't have a social life in the Reservation."

"I don't have to pretend." I said. "I wanted to be your friend when we were in high school but you always pushed me away."

"I know and I'm sorry about that Harry." She seemed sincere. "It was difficult for me to…"

To be friends with the twin brother of the guy you liked. I finished her sentence mentally. I guess it would be a bit awkward.

"I understand."

"You always did, didn't you?"

"Did what?"

"Understood me."

"I guess…" I shrugged, trying to pretend that the subject wasn't affecting me at all.

"I really shouldn't have pushed you away."

"What do you need exactly from me?" I asked.

"It's no big deal actually. Art will plan a night out with both my friends and his. We'll have a good time, talk a little and that's it."

"Why not tell him the truth? I mean if he really loves you he won't mind about you not having many friends."

"I know he wouldn't mind but he would want to know why and then I'd have to tell him…" She paused to choose her next words. "And I really don't want to go there."

I understood then that what Rhea was worried about was that Art found out about her past with William. About how he initially bullied her and how he tried to humiliate her every time he had the chance. And then there was the possibility that Art could find out about the night Will and Rhea had spent together.

But there was something I couldn't quite understand. Why me? Why was she asking me above all people, to pretend to be one of her friends? If she wanted to hide the fact that she had once been in love with my twin brother, she should just stay away from me and my family, right?

"Why me, Rhea? Why are you asking me this? There are other people our age in La Push."

"Because you've always been nice to me. You always tried to help."

"You're still in love with him, aren't you?" I asked her. She knew I was talking about William.

Rhea looked at me completely dumbfounded and for an instance I saw the realization of my words hitting her full force. She opened her mouth to reply but we were suddenly interrupted by the screaming voices in the living room.

"Shit!" I cursed when I joined my mum and our guests. She was trembling from head to toe and was grabbing the table with such force that it was starting to open some cracks already. "Mum… take it easy." I tried to soothe her.

"Repeat what you said again and I'll kill you!" She threw at Vanessa, who was also standing up.

Verena was holding back her sister, her apologetic gaze locked with my mother's. But mum was way past the apologies' phase right now. She was on the brink of phasing.

"Are you going to deny?" Vanessa shot back. "You have no morals whatsoever, Clearwater."

"Morals? You're actually talking about morals when you've started all of the rumors about me ever since I'm with Jacob?"

"This has nothing to do with Jacob! It's about the Council that you're trying to control and manipulate! Your mother, your father-in-law, your husband and your ex-lover rule the High Council while you and your buddy Quil Ateara rule the Small Council. How fair is that to my family?"

"You want to talk about fairness, Vanessa?" Mum enquired aggressively. "How about we talk about the day you spread the rumors about Harry and Will not being Jacob's? Or how about the day you went to Emily and told her I was still having sex with Sam? Or that time you suggested I was sleeping with Paul Lahote because you saw us together? Was that fair to me and my family?"

"It's not my fault you're a…"

"If you insult my mother in front of me I'll make you regret it." I announced. Vanessa turned to me, her eyes were shinning with fury. Then she tried to push her sister away from her. She was not done yet. "I'm sad that you know so little about your dear mother, William."

"I'm Harry. And I know my mother well enough, unlike you."

Mum was breathing in and out slowly in order to calm down but if Vanessa kept talking that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

"You didn't tell your children about how you started to hang out with almost all of the guys in La Push when Sam dumped you, did you? And how you'd go with them to the forest and came back all sweaty and dirty? Or how you probably didn't know who the twins' father really was until after they were born?"

I growled lightly when she said that while my mother kept shaking. Her muscles were moving under her skin, her body was demanding her to let the wolf go free. She knew she had to keep it inside so she barred her teeth and stood there holding on to the table.

"Aunt Vanessa!" Rhea scolded even though I couldn't tell if she was trying to warn her aunt to shut up or if she was actually taken aback about Vanessa's personal attack on my mother.

"Vanessa, shut up and let's go." Verena spoke. I think it was the first time I was hearing her voice since she had come to our house. Out of the three women, she was the one who looked more frightened.

"If people knew what I know about her, no one would want her in the first place. She gives a bad reputation to all Native-American women. She shouldn't be allowed to live in the Reservation."

"Vanessa…" Verena begged. "Stop this nonsense."

"Mum, look at me!" I called, placing my hands on my mother's shoulders and turning her to face me. She had to calm down or she would phase and possibly destroy our living room, not to mention that she would reveal our secret to the Whites. "Don't mind what she's saying. She's just trying to upset you even more. You need to calm down right now."

"I don't understand why manipulative women like her always manage to have what they want. They can fool everyone. In my opinion Sam Uley was the only person who actually saw you for what you really are! That's why he left you for your cousin!"

I felt my mother's breathing turn into small growls and I wondered if I should call Isaac who was upstairs with Sarah to help me restrain mum, but then I heard the front door open and I sighed in relief.

"Actually Sam left her because he was a douche." My father said walking inside the living room towards my mother, dressed in only a pair of cargo shorts and tennis shoes. He had a superficial wound on his left shoulder and his body seemed covered in dust but apart from that he seemed okay. "And I'm quite grateful he chose Emily over Leah."

I watched as he pushed me slightly off to the side and cupped my mother's face in his large hands. She had her eyes closed as soon as he touched her and then he wrapped her in his arms. Burying her face in his naked chest, she stayed completely still. It was as if dad was her safety band or something.

"I've always said this woman would be the death of me." He muttered and I simply smiled. "I'm right here, Leah. Just stay with me, okay?" Mum was finally breathing normally and her tremors were slowly subsiding.

"I almost lost it." Mum said in a low voice, her eyes still closed.

"I'm here now." He whispered back at her and then he kissed her slowly. Mum wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.

Standing next to me, Rhea blushed while Vanessa and Verena diverted her eyes quickly from my parents.

Verena's grip on her sister's wrists loosened and Vanessa was able to free herself with one last pull. She was about to speak when my father interfered.

"Harry will you escort our guests out?" Dad asked me pulling back from mum. "It's time they leave."

"Sure." I said immediately.

"Is she alright?" Verena asked my father when she passed them by. "I thought she was going to have a seizure or something."

"She's fine. She's just a bit stressed out, that's all."

"I'm sorry." Verena apologized. She looked intently at her sister, encouraging her to do the same but Vanessa was not buying it. She knew she had lost the argument but she wanted to leave with her pride intact. And that meant no apologies.

"If the High Council won't accept another member of my family in the Small Council along with my father, we'll have no choice but to invoke the old laws. Both councils will be dismissed and we'll have a poll." She grinned. "If you don't want to risk that, you better decide wisely on my proposal."

"I'll talk to you personally in a couple of days, Vanessa." Dad stated. His arms were still locked protectively around mum.

Vanessa took one last glance over my parents embracing in the living room and I noticed there was more than anger in her eyes, there was also jealously.

That's when I realized the real reason for all the animosity between our families: Vanessa had loved my father. That's why she hated my mother and that's why she was always making rumors about her.

"Can we talk later?" Rhea asked me following her mother and aunt while they were leaving our house.

"Sure." I didn't see any reason not to help Rhea, after all I had always wanted to be her friend.

"I really appreciate your help." She gave me a small smile and left. Verena apologized for her sister once more before going down the steps of our porch, while Vanessa kept walking without looking back. They were out of sight in a few seconds, hid behind the other houses of the neighborhood.

When I walked inside, mum was back to normal.

"You need to start ignoring Vanessa, Leah. You almost phased." Dad warned.

"She makes me angry beyond belief."

"Yeah, I noticed that but it has to stop, especially now that Hal joined the Small Council. Now promise you will remain calm when Vanessa's around."

Mum bit her lower lip.

"So, what happened to you?" She asked touching the wound on my father's shoulder. He rolled his eyes knowing she was not going to promise what he had just asked.

"Jay's stronger than he looks." He replied. "But he learned his place and he won't bother Sarah anymore."

"You didn't hurt him much, did you?"

"No. He's perfectly fine. He's going to spend a few hours sleeping though."

"Where did you leave him?"

"With my dad. Jason will pick him up later."

"We better take care of that." Mum said pulling dad upstairs with her.

"It's already healing."

"Are you sure?" Mum placed the palm of her hand over dad's chest suggestively which made him grin widely.

"I guess it's better to do first aid, just to be sure." They were about to reach the top of the staircase when dad turned around and glanced at me. He took his hand to his pocket and threw me the car keys. "We still have a few hours before the Cullens arrive, so you better go find your brother and make yourself useful."

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked holding the car keys.

"Take our car to the auto shop. Jerry's car is already there too so you can start fixing them tonight."

"Are you serious?"

"You bet I'm serious, Harry." Dad smiled and went inside the bathroom with my mother. "And don't use my tools." He yelled from upstairs.

"Great… just great…" I complained leaving through the back door into the woods to find my brother.

I liked cars a lot but I liked to drive them more then to fix them. Dad had taught us to do his work at the auto shop but we never really shared his enthusiasm about broken cars. We liked to do the test drives after the cars were fixed and to help assembling car parts but the rest was boring. Mum used to say that dad was a healer. Someone who loved fixing broken people or, in this case, broken cars. I guess we were not quite like him in that aspect.

A few minutes later I found Will lying down on the forest floor near the place where we used to play baseball with the Cullens. Initially I thought he was asleep but he was gazing at the sky above.

"You didn't cause much damage this time." I said sitting down next to him and observing the surrounding area. No broken trees were in sight.

"You should see the northern border. Sam's going to be on my case for vandalizing the area."

"How will he know it was you?"

"Quil was on patrol. He knows it was me, and he'll tell Sam." He sighed. "I probably overreacted."

"You have to pull yourself together Will." I warned him. "You don't have a crisis in over a year. Let's keep it that way."

"Easier said than done."

"What got you so riled up?"

He didn't reply immediately. He closed his eyes instead and took a deep breath first. He reminded me of mum when she was trying to control herself.

"I saw her with her fiancé. They were saying goodbye. She kissed him."

Of course it had to be about Rhea.

Jealousy could be a huge catalyst for a breakdown. And if Will snapped, I didn't know if I could control him. On the few times I had failed to do that, Will had almost caused as many damages as an F3 tornado. If a kiss had made him react like that, I was afraid to know what her wedding day would cause William to do.

"You better accept the fact that she's going to marry this guy." I said calmly.

I guess I have to call Jasper to be present at Rhea's wedding. If Will really snaps I won't be able to control him on my own. I thought.

"She can still change her mind."

"Will…" I really didn't like the way he was talking because it seemed he still had some hope of winning her over. And the saying says the higher you climb the greater the fall. Great expectations would mean great disappointments and that could lead to a very angry William. We both needed to accept that Rhea was moving on. "We've received the invitation today." I decided to tell him this not to hurt him but to prepare him.

Will looked at me intently, measuring my words carefully. Then he sat down and slammed his fist into the floor.

"I can always kill him." He muttered aggressively.

"Come on… Just let it go."

"Let it go? Have you any idea what this feels like?"

I do. I love her too. I didn't say that out loud but every time I thought about Rhea's wedding, I felt my heart tightening. The only difference between me and Will was that, if Rhea actually did change her mind and didn't marry this guy, Will would probably have a chance to win her back. As for me I would still be the loser and I would have to watch them being happy from afar.

"She told me she loved me back then, Harry. She said she dreamed about me almost every night since we slept together, she even admitted she feels something about me after eight years apart…" William paused. "She can't marry this douche! She's mine!"

"She's not yours! You never dated her and you never told her your feelings! You were more interested in making her miserable just because she beat you in a basketball match! Grow up, Will!"

"You don't understand!"

If we keep going like this, we'll argue again and things might get ugly. I thought trying to moderate myself in order to appease Will.

"Yes, I do. You loved her in the past." I began calmly. "She was your first… and you regret not having told her that you liked her when you had the chance. But it's been eight freaking years William, and you really need to let her go."

Fortunately William calmed down.

"I would… if I could." He said almost in a whisper. "She has haunted me for eight years, Harry. And I'm talking about the real deal. I dream with her, I hear her voice, I call her name in my sleep." He paused when he saw me raising my eyebrows. "One of my ex-girlfriends told me." He explained. "That's why I can't have a normal relationship. The human part of me is willing to date other girls, the wolf not so much. And now that I've seen her again, I finally realized it's with her I need to be with. My wolf wants this, he wants her. When she's near me, he feels relaxed and happy. When we kissed last night it was like time had stopped. There were just the two of us in the world. I've never felt so at ease."

Could Will have imprinted on Rhea and no one had noticed? Not even him?

"Do you think you imprinted on her?" I finally asked.

"I don't think so. They say an imprint happens on the first time you meet a person after you become a wolf. I met Rhea many times after becoming a wolf and I never felt the change of gravity and the steel strings that the others talk about. Besides we've been away from each other for eight years, if she were my imprint I don't think I could be away from her that long without having some sort of breakdown. You know what happened when Jared went to the Academy to have his training and Kim was in college, don't you?"

"Yes." Although we were too young to remember that, Jared used to think about it sometimes so we all knew about the way they both had experienced withdrawal symptoms for months until they were able to be together again. The same had happened to Uncle Embry when Aunt Rebecca tried to refuse the imprint bond. Mum and dad said he had spent months in agony because she went back to her first husband in Hawaii.

"I don't feel any physical pain like Jared felt. It's something else. It's like a buzz in my head telling me something is wrong. Even when I'm with other girls, there's a constant distress that doesn't disappear no matter what I do."

"Maybe you should talk about this with mum or dad."

"Sure, sure. Mum would have a fit if she knew I slept with a White and dad… he's always lecturing me about girls, sex and the imprint stuff. I can't talk to him about this."

"Uncle Seth maybe?"

William shrugged.

"Maybe…" He considered my last suggestion. "Do you think I should tell her about what I feel?"

"You should wait." I advised him.

"If I wait more, I'll be completely out of my mind."

"Okay… in that case, let me talk to her first." I suggested. "To see what's going on with her and then we'll think of something."

"Would you do that?"

"I'm your brother. Of course, I'd do that."

"Thanks. I really appreciate your help."

I turned my face away. Rhea had told me those same words not so long ago.

I knew how Rhea felt about my brother. I knew she still loved him because I had asked her earlier and she hadn't answered the question, she had hesitated and her heartbeats had increased. I was almost one hundred per cent sure that if her fiancé disappeared from the face of the Earth and William asked her out, she'd say yes without a second thought.

However, and even though I had feelings for her too, I couldn't just refuse to help my brother. So now I had volunteered to help both Rhea and Will for completely opposite reasons but at least now I wouldn't have to lie to my brother about spending time with Rhea.

What a moron. I criticized myself. I really need to stop playing the Good Samaritan.

"You'll have to pay me back though." I said getting up.

"Sure. What can I do for you?"

"Well… Dad wants us to fix the cars, so… You'll take Jerry's."

"Seriously? But it was Isaac's fault! He smashed the cars, not us."

"Isaac was driving, but it wasn't exactly his fault. He was following our orders."

"Your orders." Will pointed out.

"You owe me, William."

"Fine…" He finally agreed. "I'll take Jerry's."

"Come on." I called him. "I'll race you back to the auto shop."

We both took off running and reached dad's auto shop at the same time.

"Your leg is getting better." I stated. This time I didn't have to give him a head start.

"It was about time. It's been ten years."

The wolf gene ensured us a quick recovery whenever we got injured but unlike what everyone thought initially, there were injuries that could leave marks and could take more time to heal than normal. Apparently an injury caused by a werewolf could leave incapacitating sequels in a wolf. Fortunately Will had only suffered a minor injury in his leg: a broken knee and shredded muscles. The healing process was not hard to endure but it had taken more time to heal plus with time he noticed his leg wasn't the same after the attack. Carlisle had prescribed him vitamins and physiotherapy for a full recovery and now, finally, the results were showing.

"The shop should be closed, right?" William asked as we stood in front of the door which was open. The lights were also on.

At that time of the day we were not supposed to have company. It was way past closing time.

"It's Isaac." We both said after sniffing the air.

"And Sarah." Will added.

Our car was parked outside which meant he had brought it over.

"That's weird." I commented. "They were in her room when I left home. And Sarah's grounded until further notice."

Apparently they had just arrived too because we found them placing six pizzas on the table in the room next to the office. It was a small division with two couches, a TV set, a table, six chairs, a small fridge, a microwave and a few cupboards with all sorts of material, from dishes to canned food, from old cd's to cell phone's old batteries, from a pack of cigars to a couple of whisky bottles.

Dad employed now five people, all wolves or ex-wolves: Jason, Rick, Collin, Ethan and Denis, and an apprentice, Daniel (as a favor to Uncle Paul). Quil and Uncle Embry were his partners. During lunch time, after work or when they had to pull extra hours to be able to meet the clients' deadlines, they would gather in the common room where they shared their meals and could relax a couple of minutes watching a football or baseball match or listening to some music.

"Hey guys." Isaac greeted.

"What happened? What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I've heard that you'd be here fixing the cars and I decided to come and give you a hand since I was responsible for the accident."

Isaac knew nothing about fixing cars, so I kept looking at him suspiciously.

"And we decided to bring you dinner." Sarah added happily.

"How did you get inside?" I questioned.

"There's a spare key at home."

"Isn't she supposed to be in her room?" Will asked in a whisper.

"Yes, but I'm sure no one will notice."

"What do you mean?" Will asked curiously. I was quite sure that our parents were going to notice Sarah wasn't home.

"Let's just say that mum and dad are busy right now."

It didn't take long for us to fully understand the meaning of our brother's words so we burst out laughing. Isaac blushed heavily and Sarah just looked at us suspiciously. Then she shrugged and kept on preparing the table for the four of us, not paying attention to our conversation anymore.

"You caught mum and dad having se…"

"Please Will, don't mention it!" Isaac begged making William laugh even more. "I'm traumatized for life. This super hearing power is not that awesome."

"What did you hear anyways?" Will asked between chuckles.

"Them… kissing and their clothes being shred. And I'm pretty much sure that when I grabbed Sarah and dragged her to the car they were way past second base."

"That's all?" Will sounded a bit disappointed. "That's nothing compared to what we went through."

"It was gross." Isaac shuddered.

"You're lucky." I muttered.

"Yep, really lucky. And you didn't even have a glimpse of dad's mind after they sleep together. Dad's a master hiding his thoughts from us. Particularly the ones that involve mum, and we sure are thankful for that, but sometimes he slips. The first time he slipped, we were not able to phase for three weeks straight with embarrassment." Will told him.

"It's bad enough to share the thoughts of other wolves when they're thinking about their girlfriends or wives, but when it's our parents… it's traumatizing." I agreed.

"Hey guys! You better come to the table, or I'm going to eat this on my own." Sarah called.

"I really need to find a place to myself." Isaac decided dragging his feet behind us as we joined our sister for dinner.

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