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 III – The Challenger

William Black

33. DNA Results

My head was hurting, my throat was dry, my eyes were heavy and my patience was running thin. I had experienced a lot of shitty hangovers over the years but this one was the worst. This was my payback for drinking five bottles of Emmett's whiskey collection last night.

I need coffee and a few more hours of sleep. I thought.

"You basically told my daughter to go after Tom Harding!" Captain Mitchell roared. "She got attacked because of you!"

Fuck. Here we go again. That was the third time Captain Mitchell was repeating those words. Sergeant Anderson had been successful convincing his superior that Harry hadn't attacked Tom Harding or his men, and that he had nothing to do with Officer Mallory Mitchell's attack, but the stupid man wanted someone to blame for his daughter's reckless actions.

"No, I didn't! I told her he was responsible for the robbery. I never told her to go to his junkyard alone!" Harry countered. "She should've warned Sergeant Anderson or some other police officer."

"Harrison and his brother saved Mal's life, sir." Sergeant Anderson put in for us. The guy was almost as fed up with Captain Fart's attitude as I was. Only I was about to change that.

"Tell me the truth boy or I swear I'll lock you up for good!"

"How many times will my brother have to tell you the same fucking story?" I growled. Harry held my arm to make sure I wasn't going to do anything rash. Both Sergeant Anderson and Captain Mitchell were too stunned to react to my question. "You should be thanking us for saving your nosy daughter's ass!"

"I deserve some respect, you imbecile!"

I rolled my eyes.

"No, you don't! You've been accusing my brother of things he didn't do ever since we arrived. We saved your daughter! Just be fucking happy and move on. Go to investigate, I mean that's what you're paid for, right?"

Captain Mitchell glared in a way that told me that if he could've used his gun, he would've shoot me dead right there.

"William." Harry whispered. "Shut up or we'll both end up in jail."

"At least I'd stop listening to this old fart." I said. "It's not our fault that your daughter couldn't see her attacker. But let me give you some advice: instead of accusing innocent people you should focus on Tom Harding. I've heard he's been giving you headaches since… forever."

"Captain Mitchell? I need to use my office." A female voice came from the outside. Captain Mitchell was using Doctor Sonya Brandt's office to have a private conversation with us. He had insisted that Edward and Rosalie, much to Sergeant Anderson's dismay, stayed outside. I guess he just didn't want the interference of Harry's lawyers. Not that it made any difference. Edward and Rose had listened to everything.

"Am I going back to jail or can we go?" Harry asked politely.

"You can go." He spat. "Tell your bloodsucking lawyers I want to have a word with them."

I almost laughed with his choice of words to describe Edward and Rose. If only he knew.

Sergeant Anderson smiled brightly when we opened the door and told Rosalie and Edward to go inside. They didn't take more than three minutes though and once we were all released we left the Olympic Medical Center.

"They've got nothing on Tom." Edward said while we were driving back to Alice's mansion. "They can't even issue a warrant to search his property."

"Why not? Officer Mitchell was attacked outside his junkyard." I said.

"Exactly… It was outside his property. Mallory didn't hear or see her attacker and the truck in the bottom of that ravine was a dead end too. Tom's off the hook." Rosalie said.

"For now…" I pointed out. "Alice found out a lot of stuff about him, didn't she?"

"Yes, but without proof, her research is useless." Edward explained. "We need to prove he's a criminal. Maybe you should tell the police about the threats he made to Season and her family." Edward told Harry.

"I don't want to expose her family like that. They don't want anyone to know."

"Edward's right." I agreed. "He's been robbing and threatening them for years, right? That's a crime."

"I don't think Season will agree with that."

"Why not?" I insisted.

It was obvious that Harry didn't want to talk about the subject but Edward advised him to share it with us.

"This is not just about Tom demanding that Season and Hannah pay him a higher rent each month." Harry finally explained. "He's doing this because he's obsessed with Season."

I could understand why any guy liked Harry's girlfriend. The girl was beautiful and exquisite but I had never heard of a guy who tried to win a girl over by charging her more money for the rent. If he wanted to have a chance to conquer her heart, he should do something to please her.

"He tried to do that." Edward said. He obviously knew the whole story already. To be able to read minds could be quite useful. "In the beginning but Season turned him down."

"And now he wants revenge for the humiliation she put him through." Harry added. "He wants her to beg and go to him on her knees."

"Just because she turned him down?" I was surprised. So far I had never been rejected by a girl so I didn't really understand what it felt like but I wouldn't seek revenge from someone just because I'd been rejected. That was stupid.

"What if she apologises to him?" I suggested.

"He doesn't want an apology. He wants a lot more than that."

"Like what?"

"Like what most men want from young girls, Will." My brother grumbled irritably. "But I won't let him touch her."

"What are you going to do?" I asked. I think I kind of hoped he'd say he was going to murder Tom.

"I'm going to move in."

"Oh…" I could barely hide my disappointment. "Yeah… I know… next week, right?"

"No, today."

"Today?"

"Tom's out there and when he finds out his plan to frame me failed, he might try something."

"So… You're staying with her or with Ella's grandparents?"

"I'll stay in the woods if I have to." He said firmly.

"She'd let you stay over at her house if you ask her." Edward put in. "After all your date was a success."

"You Blacks never cease to surprise me." Rosalie added. "Against all odds, your father managed to win the heart of La Push's bitter harpy, and you… you managed to seduce a girl with a date inside a prison cell."

"It wasn't a date!" Harry argued but I saw how he blushed slightly. "We just had dinner together. And before you ask… she was the one who brought the pizza over. It wasn't my idea."

It was frustrating to know that my brother's fake relationship with Season was slowly progressing while my attempts to reconquer Rhea were crumbling down.

"Don't be so modest, Harry." Edward laughed. "It was a date. And a very memorable one."

Harry blushed again.

"So, you got laid last night or what?"

"Shut up!" He ordered. "You're such an idiot."

"I'm just curious." I grinned.

"We ate pizza, we talked for a while, and she went home." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I might have kissed her…" He matched my grin then.

"I'd kiss her too." I admitted playfully. "Actually I'd do a lot more with her."

"We were inside a prison cell, Will."

"So what? Mum and dad did it on a…"

"Okay, that's enough boys." Edward raised his voice. "As much as I find entertaining to read your minds and learn about your love lives, I'm not really interested in learning the places your parents had sex. I already know too much for my liking."

"Gross!" Rosalie made a face and we all laughed.

Alice was in a very foul mood when we arrived. She had stayed behind trying to find a way to incriminate Tom Harding in Officer Mitchell's attack but it was obvious she hadn't succeeded.

"I officially hate Tom Harding." She ranted when we walked inside the living room. "I can prove that the President of the United States smoked weed when he was in college but I can't prove this son of a bitch is related responsible for Mallory Mitchell's attack."

"It's fine Alice, Captain Mitchell believes in Harry's innocence regarding his daughter's attack. Sergeant Anderson also presented the evidence we collected that proves that Harry couldn't have attacked Tom, so… he's not going back to jail." Rosalie informed.

"Your mother will enjoy knowing that you won't have a criminal record. She called a few minutes ago. You have to go home." Bella said.

"Did something happen?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so. She only wants you both home."

"I have to go anyways, I need to get my stuff." Harry announced. I guess his mind was set about moving to the Makah Reservation. That too was making me anxious.

"When you get home tell Jacob and Leah that I have Quinn Gladstone's DNA test results." Carlisle announced.

"Really? So… was I right?" Harry asked. "I've made a bet with Emmett."

I glanced over at Emmett who was bent over his iPad on the couch, probably trying to find some auction websites to replace the whiskey bottles I had ruined last night.

I felt guilty again, so I walked over to him and sat down, leaving a considerable amount of space between us. Then I waited in silence because I didn't know what to say and I didn't want to upset him even more.

"Come on Carlisle…" Harry insisted. "Just tell us who won."

"Well, the kid's an Uley, that's for sure." Carlisle informed. "He's not Joshua's son."

That didn't surprise me. If he was still alive, Joshua Uley should be almost in his seventies which meant that he was about fifty when Quinn was born. I doubted Joshua would risk jail-time by getting pregnant a minor, because around that time, according to my mother, Paige Gladstone was still a high school student.

That left us three candidates: Sam, Embry and Josh.

I wouldn't bet on Sam Uley either. The guy was a damn prick and he could be a major asshole when he wanted, but Emily was his life ever since he imprinted on her many years ago. And unlike his father, Sam was a faithful husband. We all knew that he had once loved my mother and that he had spent years clinging to their memories together, but according to the pack, he had never thought about cheating on his imprint. So, as much as I would like to tell Ella myself that her father had a bastard son that was pretty much impossible.

Uncle Embry and Josh Spears were a different story though.

Both had family living in the Makah Reservation. Uncle Embry had moved to La Push when he was just a child, Josh had moved in when he was twenty, right after he became a wolf and joined the pack.

Josh didn't go there often because he wasn't close to his mother's stepbrother. They actually hated each other's guts. As for Uncle Embry, his mother had moved back to the Makah Reservation two years after David was born to take care of her sick great-aunt and he had visited her frequently ever since. Sometimes Aunt Rebecca, Dave and Dee went along, other times he travelled alone.

"It can't be Uncle Embry." Harry said. "He wouldn't do that to Aunt Rebecca. She's his imprint."

"Josh has an imprint too." Emmett retorted.

"Yeah, but Julia's only sixteen years old. And Josh married Cristine which proves that his imprint bond isn't that strong."

"Still, Embry has been having a few problems with his wife for a quite a while."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked curiously.

Emmett grinned and exchanged a look with Edward.

He would know, of course. Edward knew almost everything about us.

"Perks of a mind reader." He whispered.

"Josh is Quinn's father." Carlisle finally announced. Emmett groaned and Harry cheered victoriously.

"Three hundred dollars." Harry smiled.

Emmett mumbled something imperceptible as he reached for his wallet. After paying Harry the three hundred dollars, the other Cullens and my brother kept discussing Quinn's DNA test results so I decided that it was time to apologise to Emmett again. Maybe now he'd listen.

"I'll be back to racing in a month or two… I'll save some money to pay you back the whiskey bottles." I offered.

"I can afford the bottles, William. Money isn't the problem." He stated.

"So you're going to be mad at me forever?"

He shrugged.

"I made a mistake and I'm sorry." I added.

"I know you are." He grinned mischievously. "I just want to punish you some more."

That was Emmett's way to tell me I was forgiven.

"I guess that's fair enough." I grinned back.

"Be aware of my vengeance, Will." He warned me. "I'll make you pay."

I didn't doubt him.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Rosalie and Edward said I'm not going to have a criminal record because any of Tom's complaints were proved. Besides I have an alibi and I helped the Captain's daughter." Harry said.

Mum and dad were listening carefully, interrupting Harry once in a while to ask a few questions, especially when he mentioned Season's problems with Tom Harding.

"You really think he can hurt her?" Mum asked. "He probably had many opportunities to get Season before this and he never tried anything…"

"Because he managed to drive all of her friends and boyfriends away. He hurt the last one badly enough. The guy had to be hospitalized." Harry explained. "But I'm not like the last one and he knows that. So he might try to hurt Season just to get to me." He grinned.

"Okay, you can go to the Makah Reservation today, but I want you here for the Council's official meeting this evening." Dad said.

"It's a deal." Harry nodded. "Mum… Have you spoken to Ella or her grandparents?"

"I'll have a word with Emily so she can warn her daughter that you're moving in today."

"Do I have permission to talk to Quinn?" Harry asked.

"No. Not yet." Dad replied. "Let us talk to Josh first."

It was obvious that our parents were relieved to know that Uncle Embry wasn't Quinn's father, but when Harry passed on Carlisle's message about the identity of the boy's biological father, they kept their worried expressions and exchanged a suspicious look.

"I can talk to him, if you want to. I'm an expert now. I was the one who told Jason he was Jay's father, remember? Only back then, we all thought you were his real dad." I watched my father's reaction. It was always so easy to annoy him.

My father glared at me but I was used to his glares by now, plus mum's were a hundred time more efficient than his.

"Very funny, Will. I love your sense of humour." Dad commented sarcastically. Teasing him was one of my favourite hobbies. "Since you want to talk so much, why don't we have a little conversation while Harry packs his stuff and your mother takes JJ to school?"

I frowned. I didn't want to talk. I knew what dad was going to tell me and I didn't want to hear it.

"I've got things to do." I tried to bail out, unsuccessfully.

"No, you don't. Now, come with me."

Since arguing wouldn't make a difference, I left the house with him, while my mum and Harry remained inside.

"Where are we going?" I asked when dad started walking towards the forest. "You do know that you could simply lecture me inside, right? It'd be easier for everyone. And I guess by now everyone knows about me and Rhea so…"

I was expecting to hear my parents' lecture ever since I'd set a foot inside our home. But I always thought they'd do it together. The prospect of having them lecturing me separately was really frustrating because that way I'd have to hear the whole thing not once but twice.

"Shut up Will." He groaned impatiently. "Just do what you're told for once."

I recognised the path we were taking after a while. We were going to the autoshop.

Maybe he was planning on a punishment to complement the lecture.

"Why is the autoshop closed?" I asked curiously when we arrived.

"Embry and Quil are patrolling right now, Jason's watching over Jay, Rick and Ethan went to Hoodsport to close a deal and Denis and Danny have the day off."

"So it's just you and me?"

"Yep. That's a first, isn't it?"

It was. Usually Harry was with me but it looked like that was going to change soon. I had always tried to make sure I didn't depend on my brother but now that he wasn't here, now that he was taking care of his own problems that didn't involve me, I was feeling left out. And the worst part was that my wolf was also being affected by this situation.

"You didn't finish Jerry's car the other night, so I thought we could do it today."

I rolled my eyes. I was definitely being punished. Dad knew I hated to fix cars.

"Why don't you just say what you have to say so we can get over with it?"

"Get inside and shut up, William."

"Fine." I said dragging my feet.

Jerry's car was where we had left it two nights ago. It needed a bit of paint here and there, a few more fixings, but the majority of the work was done. Dad took some material out of a closet and handed me a screwdriver.

"Replace the broken lamp on the back, please." He said.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, Will. I'm talking seriously." He said with a deep sigh. "When will you stop this attitude?"

I grinned. I liked to see him all riled up.

"When pigs fly?" I mocked.

"You need to grow up, Will."

"Sure, sure…"

Replacing a broken lamp in a car is not that complicated but I made sure to take my time so dad wouldn't ask me to do something else. I had done my share fixing that stupid car. It was Isaac's fault that the car was in such condition, plus Jerry shouldn't have lent his precious vehicle to Jay so he could run away with my sister in the first place.

"There's a battery cable under that bench. Can you bring it over?" Dad asked when he noticed I was finished with the lamp.

"Are we really here to fix Jerry's fucking car?"

"Language." Dad said.

I turned my back on him to get the cable.

"And yes, we're here to fix Jerry's car. I promised I'd fix it as soon as possible, and I don't break my promises. Plus the kid needs the car to drive to work."

"Well, he should find a new job. One closer to home. He's poorly paid in that shop and his boss is an ass."

"I think Chuck is an okay guy."

"I wasn't talking about Chuck Yates. I was talking about Newton's Olympic Outfitters' big boss, Mr. Newton… the one you say is a pansy."

Mike Newton was the owner of Newton's Olympic Outfitters, he was a couple of years older than dad and they knew each other ever since they were teenagers. They didn't like each other much (dad called him Mick just to annoy him) but on the rare occasions they met, they were able to have a civil conversation.

Mr. Newton was sort of retired right now. Since he had made a fortune with the expansion of his once small shop, he figured he didn't need to work anymore. The store was in his daughter and her husband's hands and he was living in a huge house outside Forks with his wife Jessica and their dogs (they had a dog breeding business going on).

However, once in a while, he would visit his own shop to see if his son-in-law and his daughter were taking good care of his fortune. On one of those visits he ordered Chuck to lower some of his employees' paychecks while others were given a raise. The ones who were to receive less by the end of the month were all Quileutes, Jerry was amongst them.

Jessica Stanley Newton was even worse. People said she had become bitter and even bitchier after coming home from Hollywood at the age of 32. She had pursued an acting career without success and upon seeing her ex-boyfriend's achievements, she destroyed the relationship he had with his fiancée, and married him months later.

Jessica was vain, petty and conceited, and hated practically everyone in Forks and La Push. Proving the rumors were true about her bitchiness, she had named her dogs Edward and Bella for her hate for the Cullens was legendary. And she wasn't our biggest fan either.

"Oh… yeah… He's an idiot, but he's harmless." Dad laughed. "Anyways, Jerry needs his car and that's enough. But since we have time… we can talk. I'd really like to hear what you have to say."

"And if I have nothing to say?"

"I think you do." He told me casually.

"I don't want to talk about anything. Especially not with you so you can jump to the lecture, okay?"

"First I'm not going to lecture you, and second I'm actually the only person you can talk about what happened between you and that White girl."

That sure took me by surprise.

"You see I'm the only other wolf in the pack to have ever claimed a mate. I know how it feels because I felt the same when I claimed your mother."

"Please let's not talk about that. It's disturbing and it gives me nightmares."

"Sure. I'm don't want to talk about it either. It's your time to talk."

"No, it's not. Whatever happened, happened and I I don't need you or mum telling me how stupid or how irresponsible I was because I…"

"There was nothing you could do." Dad cut me off. "Once your wolf took over, you were no longer in charge."

He was right about that. I did feel all of my control slipping away that night. My wolf only allowed me to regain control near the end but by then Rhea already carried my mark.

"You marked her and the bond that you created is going to last forever. A wolf mates for life." Dad added. "The question is: do you want to be with her? And I'm not asking this to the wolf inside of you, because the wolf claimed and marked her, so he obviously wants this girl, I'm asking you, William. Do you want her?"

Interesting question. I thought. I had hurt Rhea in the past so more importantly, would she want me?

"Since when do you care about my love life?" I faced dad. "Every time I dated a girl you were always bugging me about imprinting and telling me to focus on other things other than girls. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Well, it's obvious you won't imprint. Your wolf chose a mate eight years ago. She's the one for him. I just want to know if your feelings match your wolf's."

"And if they don't?"

"Then I'll leave it up to your mum."

"What do you mean?"

"She doesn't like Rhea much… she thinks it would be better to keep you two apart."

"We're already apart, Einstein. Rhea hates my guts and she's going to marry another."

"She's your mate, William. She might marry him, but their marriage won't last because she'll never be truly his."

That was music to my ears but still the odds were not in my favour. All of my encounters with Rhea had been inconstant to say the least. One moment she was hugging me, the other she was calling me a bastard. One moment she was begging me to meet her, the other she was sending me away. One moment she was kissing me, the other she was slamming a door on my face.

"I think I like her…" I confessed.

"Good, in that case, you need to grow up and start acting like a real man."

"So, you're not going to tell me to leave her alone, like mum did?"

"No."

"Why not? She's a White, after all."

"I don't share your mother's passionate hate for the Whites." He said. "I don't like them much either but I tolerate them enough. And now that you claimed Rhea, I don't see any reason to keep the hostilities up."

"But now Hal is part of the Council." With Rhea's grandfather in the Council, things could get really messy for the pack. Hal White could find out about us and that was one of the reasons mum didn't want me to be with Rhea.

"The small Council." Dad corrected. "And it doesn't matter. We can deal with him easily."

"So I can keep on seeing her?"

"If you want to. You just need to sort everything out properly."

"How?" I hadn't planned on asking that question out loud.

"If there's something I know about women, is that they hate liars. So my advice to you is to tell her the truth about how you feel. It worked with your mother, so it will probably work with Rhea too."

I had no idea how to do that without telling her the whole truth.

"I'm going to tell her everything." I decided. I knew it was forbidden but she was my mate after all. I couldn't keep her out for much longer.

"Yeah, I guess you should tell her."

"What?" Was I hearing correctly? Was dad really agreeing with me? "Shouldn't you be trying to talk me out of this? I mean the Council doesn't allow us to tell…"

"I think we can open up an exception. And since you want to be with her I think it has to be you."

"What do you mean?"

"You have to be the one to tell her the truth. Because if she learns it from someone else, she'll never trust you, Will."

I guess he was right.

"And since you're going to be talking to her soon I want you to investigate something."

"Investigate?"

"Collin found dead animals in the forest. Apparently there's a vegetarian vampire around. Someone we don't know. We think that this vampire is watching someone and the nearest house to the place where he's been staying is Verena and Rhea's place. I want you to try to figure out what could a vegetarian vampire want from Rhea and her mother."

"Are you saying there's a vampire after Rhea?"

"We don't know. It's hard to tell because we haven't found him yet. But I ordered double patrols around their house to be safe."

"Are you sure the vampire is vegetarian?"

"Yes. It explains the animals and the scent Collin picked up. It's similar to the Cullen's scent."

"I'm going there right now."

"Wait!" Dad held my arm before I could go.

"I'm not going to stay here fixing Jerry's stupid car!" I argued. If Rhea was in danger I should be there with her to help.

"I know…" He said. "I only want you to promise not to engage in a battle with this vampire all by yourself. If you find him, call for backups."

"Do you think I'm not capable of beating a vegetarian vampire on my own?"

"That's not it. I know you can beat him but we need to know why he's actually here. Got it?"

I nodded. I didn't agree with it but I understood. Dad wanted to find out what was going on so we couldn't kill the vampire just yet.

"Okay, I won't fight with him." Unless provoked. I thought for myself.

"Good."

"Can I go now?"

"Yes. But first just answer this… was it so bad?"

"What?"

"To listen to my advices." He smirked.

"Don't push it dad. Don't push it."

He started to laugh in my face.

"Laugh all you want. We'll see if you laugh when you tell mum that one day she'll have Rhea White for her daughter-in-law."

Dad stopped laughing and glared at me.

"Why me? Why don't you tell her?"

"Because out of the two of us, you're the one who can probably get away with all of your body intact. After all there are a few parts of you that mum still needs, right?"

Before dad could even argue with that, his phone started ringing.

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