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
40. Payback
"Are you insane?" Harry asked me as I stormed into our house knocking down a chair on my way to the living room. He followed me quickly picking up the chair and preventing another one to fall down.
"No! I'm not insane! I'm furious!" I growled.
"Calm down or you'll end up destroying the house."
"I don't give a fuck!"
Okay, to say that I was furious was a euphemism. I was more than furious. I thought things were finally calming down when Harry was released from jail that evening. I thought we could celebrate with some food and booze and then I could finally start drawing a plan to convince Rhea we should stay together. But things didn't exactly go as planned.
We had kept our end of the deal and Bill Bull kept his so as soon as he spoke to his younger brother on the phone who told him he was again a free man, Bill turned himself in and confessed everything. However it took the police one hour to take Bill's full confession and write it down and another hour to ask for a warrant to search Bill and Tom's houses. Then because it was already way past the judge's working hours, the stupid idiot decided he was going to issue the warrant only in the next morning so the police would only be able to do the searches the next day.
However he did order my brother's instant release. The Cullens wanted us to go to Alice's house to commemorate the event but we decided to follow dad's orders this time so we went back to La Push. Harry was ordered to stay put until the police took Tom into custody which would hopefully happen in the next morning. Then I told Harry everything that had happened since the last time we had met: my fight with Sam, my fight with EJ and finally my trip to Idaho to get Bill with Isaac, Jay and Danny.
It was way past dinner time when Harry and I went to the Vacant House to help with the repairs. Harry didn't really have to go with me but he insisted. EJ was there too. After our confrontation my cousin was even more hostile towards me than before.
Uncle Paul forced us to interact and during a brief period of time we even had something close to a civil conversation. But we ended up arguing again. Uncle Paul and Harry had to interfere to avoid collateral damages. During the argument EJ mention something about the pack not trusting me enough to allow me to take part in their recent activities.
I learned then that the pack, minus Harry, had been planning things behind my back. Things that included my mate. Things that could affect my private life. And that was unnerving to say the least.
I forced Uncle Paul to tell me the truth. Apparently in the afternoon Alice had a vision about Rhea and the leech that had been lurking around her house. I should have suspected something was wrong when I noticed Alice wasn't in Port Angeles. And now I also knew why dad hadn't lectured me about leaving La Push when I was supposed to be helping him in the auto shop.
My absence made everything easier for the pack. Somehow they managed to get Rhea alone in her house, then my father ordered the wolves to stay away from the perimeter a little bit longer than usual. That gave the leech a short window of time to make its move. And he did.
"She could've died! The leech could've bit her!"
"The leech is vegetarian and our parents would never accept this plan if it wasn't one hundred per cent safe for Rhea."
"Don't count on it, Harry! Mum would rather have Rhea dead than as her daughter-in-law!"
Harry looked intensively at me not knowing if what I had just said could actually be true. However we both knew the hatred she felt for the Whites.
"The whole pack was there to make sure she wouldn't be hurt. And they had Alice and Bella too. Besides… nothing really happened. The leech escaped again."
That was another thing that was bothering me. On top of everything the pack had done, planning this without me, using my mate to lure their prey, they had dared to fail to catch a damn vegetarian vampire. That was pretty humiliating for a pack of great warriors to say the least.
"Yeah, don't tell me about it. They put Rhea in danger for nothing!"
"It wasn't for nothing. At least now we know the leech is actually after Rhea and not her mother or her fiancé."
"And that makes me feel a lot more relaxed." I said sarcastically.
"Take it easy. We don't know all the facts yet. Just let mum and dad return home first, okay?"
"They played me for a fool!"
"You should go and have some sleep. Just relax. You can't afford to do anything rush."
"What about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Shouldn't you try to have some rest too?"
"I'm not that tired. I was in a cell for more than twenty-four hours."
"You want to go see her." It wasn't a question. I knew for a fact that Harry wanted to go and see his girlfriend in the Makah Reservation. And this was his best chance since most people were finally sleeping and mum and dad were still out.
I had noticed the text messages my brother kept exchanging with his girlfriend while we were at the Vacant House. I had to admit that I was a bit jealous but I also knew he needed to make sure Season was alright the same way I needed to know that Rhea was safe.
"You can go see her. I'll be fine." I told him. "I'll cover for you if mum and dad arrive."
Right now our parents were with the rest of the pack at the Cullens' property probably arguing about what to do after tonight's fiasco. Dad would also want to rearrange patrols.
"I don't want you to cover for me. I just want you to stay put and don't get yourself into more trouble." Harry said sounding a little worried.
"Says the guy who was arrested twice already."
We both smirked.
"Are you afraid to be overthrown?" He joked. "I don't want to destroy your reputation…"
"You wish! I've got years on you." I laughed. "Now, go. I promise I'll be civil with mum and dad."
I knew they'd still take an hour or two to return besides rescheduling patrols took time and dad was probably going to make the first shift.
"Behave, okay?" He said turning around to leave.
"I always do." I said watching him open the front door. The next minute I felt him phasing in the tree line and disappear. No one was on patrol right now which meant he would be able to reach his destiny without anyone knowing.
"What's up with you and the White girl?" Sarah asked joining me in the living room a few minutes after Harry's departure. Strangely I had not sensed her approach.
"Eavesdropping again Sarah?"
"You were shouting. The whole reservation heard you."
"Shouldn't you be in your bedroom? Aren't you grounded?"
"Where's Isaac?" She asked ignoring my rebuff. "Why are mum and dad still out?"
"What mum and dad do with their spare time isn't something you want to know. Trust me. Now go upstairs, it's late."
"I'm trying to find Vader. Have you seen him?"
"Vader?" I questioned. "Oh… the damn squirrel?" I recalled. "I didn't see him. He probably left."
"Yeah… I guess I should get used to it, right?"
Upon hearing my sister I turned to look at her. She looked quite miserable for a seventeen-year old girl. She should be thinking about having fun with her friends, or even making plans to go to college, but not Sarah. She was still trying to understand why Jay had suddenly lost his interest in her when only a few days ago they had ran away together to get married.
"Sarah… maybe you should try to have some sleep." I said quietly.
"Sure… I mean I can't do anything else, can I?"
Her red eyes indicated she had been crying. For hours, maybe. Not only she had lost the guy she loved – or thought she loved (she was only a teenager, after all) -, she was also completely in the dark about what was going on with Isaac.
Sarah was young but she wasn't stupid. She knew something was going on. Especially with Isaac. His physical appearance was finally starting to change. He used to be just a little taller than Sarah who was 5'5'' and now he was probably 5'9''. He was eating a lot more too and gaining muscle.
"Are you okay?" I asked feeling a little sorry for her. This was not all her fault.
"I don't know what it is to be okay anymore." She admitted, her lip quivering.
I didn't know what to say, so I pulled her into a hug. A few seconds passed.
"Are you really Will?" She asked unsure, since I was doing something really unlike me. I was not the hugging type. I was straight forward and sometimes even a little rough on other people.
I laughed at her comment and let her go.
"Yes, I'm really Will."
"Why am I always left behind? Why are you all lying and hiding things from me? Is there something wrong with me? Everyone keeps abandoning me… Mum and dad are always busy and they never tell me what's going on. You and Harry have your own private and secret lives going on. And Isaac… he used to talk to me about everything and now he hardly speaks to me." She let off putting on a miserable expression. "And Jay doesn't even answer my text messages." She added.
I realised then how truly unfair this whole situation was to Sarah and how much Isaac was right when he told me that she would never forgive us unless she knew the whole truth. And this was the perfect opportunity to help her to understand what was going on. It was also the perfect opportunity to teach my parents a lesson.
They had conspired against me. They had executed a plan without my knowledge. A plan that involved putting Rhea in danger and now it was payback time.
"Grab a coat and come with me." I told Sarah. I was going to show her what I was. Then she'd understand and she would stop thinking that there was something wrong with her and with some luck she would give our parents a very hard time.
I grinned at that possibility. It would serve them right.
"Where are we going Will?" My sister asked when I pulled her along with me to our backyard after she put her coat on. "We shouldn't leave JJ all alone."
"It's late and he's sleeping. Besides, we won't go far." I said while taking a pair of shorts from the line where mum used to put our clothes to dry.
Then we entered the woods. We had walked twenty steps when suddenly Sarah stopped behind me.
"What's going on?" She demanded. "Where are we going?"
"Don't you want to know the truth?"
"Yes."
"I'm going to show you exactly what you need to know."
"Show me?" She was a little confused.
"Do you trust me?"
She hesitated for a half a second.
"Yes. You're my brother. Of course I trust you."
"Good. Now let's keep going and watch your steps." I held her hand and we followed a steep path until we reached a small clearing bathed by the moonlight. We were close to home, I could hear JJ's light breathing and it had enough space for me to phase without putting her in danger.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?"
"Nothing yet, but I must warn you that what you're about to see is going to change your life forever."
"Will…" She warned. "You're making me nervous."
"Do you remember the old stories we were told when we were kids? Granddad used to tell us about the old Quileute legends."
"Yeah. It had warrior wolves and magic, right?"
"Yes. And now you're going to see one of those warriors. In flesh."
Sarah looked at me questioningly.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Back up." I warned her. "Go over to that tree, please."
"Why?"
"Just go."
She sighed but followed my order.
"What now?" Sarah asked impatiently.
"Try not to scream." I smirked and then I felt the usual tremors rippling through my spine and my muscles starting to stretch. "Remember that I'll never hurt you, okay?" I told her before shredding my clothes and emerging in front of my sister as a giant wolf.
Sarah didn't make a noise. She just stood there with her eyes wide open and a rapid heartbeat. I could only imagine what it was like for her to watch her older brother turn from human to animal.
"Holy mother of…"
And those were my sister's last words for the next thirty-seven minutes.
xxxxxxxxxx
"I'm sorry Harry but I really didn't know what to do." I apologised when my brother walked in the kitchen, a frown present in his features.
"You're insane! You know that, don't you?" He asked passing me by and stopping in front of our sister who was still sitting down. She hadn't moved since she'd seen me morphing. I had to phase back and drag her back to the house.
"Why didn't you listen to me Will?" My brother asked exasperated. "I can't believe you told her the truth!"
"I had to. She was miserable, Harry. She thinks it's her fault that everyone's leaving her." I tried to explain my actions. "I had to do something. It's not fair to her."
"It wasn't your decision to make. It was mum and dad's and they're going to flip."
"Let them flip…" I said in a whisper.
"You did this to get even, didn't you?" Harry questioned.
"Maybe…" I shrugged.
My brother was right. I had done that to get even but apparently things weren't working out as I had planned. Sarah seemed to be in some sort of a catatonic state which had made me panic. Since I didn't know what to do with her, I was forced to call Harry.
He was quite upset when he picked up my phone call, but when I told him what I had done, he came back home.
"You're an idiot! I can't believe I had to get back here to solve your mess."
"Why? Were you busy with your girlfriend? Did I ruin your chances to get laid? " I asked him acidly. "And you haven't solved anything yet. Sarah's still not moving or talking."
Harry frowned and ignored my comment focusing his attention on Sarah instead.
"Hey, sis… Are you feeling alright?" He asked her. "If you need to talk, I'm right here. You can ask whatever you want."
She didn't react.
Harry sighed.
"What did you tell her exactly?"
"I didn't tell her anything. I just phased."
Harry kneeled down in front of Sarah to level their faces. Then he held her face between his hands forcing her to look at him.
"Hey! Sarah! Are you feeling alright? Can you tell us what's wrong?"
She remained unresponsive.
"Maybe we should call Uncle Seth. I mean, he'll know what to do with her, right?" I suggested.
"Maybe… but I think Uncle Seth is on patrol right now."
"Damn." I cursed. "What about some weed? I think I still have a stash somewhere. From that time we took it from EJ and his friends."
"You want to drug our sister?"
"I wouldn't put it that way. Weed has therapeutic effects, you know? It would be more like helping her to relax and go to sleep."
"You're such an idiot." Harry mumbled and got up.
"At least I'm thinking about a solution. You're just staring at her."
"We have to call mum and dad."
"No way! I'm not going to stay here and listen to another lecture."
"It was your fault! You decided to tell her the truth!"
"They made me do it!"
"So what? You're going to bail out on her and make me explain what's going on?"
"I'm sure you're more than capable of handling this without me."
"You mean, taking the blames for you."
"Come on Harry. Stop being such a drama queen. I just need your help."
"That's all I've been doing since we came home to old Quil's funeral!"
"Really? Last time I remember, I was the one who got Bill Bull to confess being hired by Tom to kill you."
"Rose and Edward had everything covered."
"So you're saying you didn't need my help?"
"No. I'm saying…" He sighed heavily. "I'm saying you shouldn't act before thinking things through, William. You could have avoided all of this if you thought about the consequences. If you had done that I wouldn't be here trying to reach out to our catatonic sister."
"So that's why you're upset with me!" I finally understood. "You're upset because I interrupted your date and you had to come home."
"It wasn't a date!" He retorted quickly.
"Really? So why did you take so long to answer the phone? And why were you so hesitant about coming back?"
"Because Season is alone and unprotected. Because Tom might try something to hurt her or her family."
"Right." I spat. "You're a lousy liar. Just admit it… you wanted to have your way with her tonight and you got angry because I ruined your plans!"
Harry was a bit embarrassed and he even blushed but he recovered within seconds.
"You don't know what you're talking about! Maybe you're confusing me with you. I mean sleeping with girls and then dump them seems to be your department, not mine."
"That was a low one, Harry."
"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings!" He mocked.
We were now face to face. It was like watching myself in the mirror. I wanted to hit him and make him apologise and I knew he wanted to do the same thing. However we were quite aware that Sarah was there. She looked like a zombie and probably wouldn't even notice if we destroyed the house, but we couldn't afford to lose control.
When our mother arrived about ten minutes later, there was still some tension between us, but we had decided to stop arguing for Sarah's sake. We had tried everything to get a reaction from her, but all our efforts failed.
She didn't want to eat or drink, she didn't speak to us and barely moved. She did turn her head to look at mum when she came inside.
"What's going on?" Mum asked. "Is everything okay?"
A heavy silence fell upon us. Things were going to get complicated after this. At least for me.
"Sarah knows." Harry started.
I guess there was no use to beat around the bushes. My parents would find out anyways.
"Knows what?" Mum questioned.
"Everything!" Sarah said getting up violently and making the chair fall down on the floor. "What you really are. How could you lie to me like that?"
Mum understood quickly what was going on. The initial shock was suddenly replaced by an apologetic expression.
"We were protecting you Sarah." Mum said stepping forward in my sister's direction.
"Protecting? I've been living a lie! My parents and older brothers are werewolves!"
"That's not exactly true. We're shape-shifters." Harry explained. We don't need the full moon to phase and we don't turn into irrational monsters. We protect our tribe from… danger."
"I know it's hard to understand. That's why I wanted to prepare you first." Mum stated.
"Jay's a werewolf too, isn't he?" Sarah questioned. "That's why you don't want us together."
"You need to understand Sarah." Mum said holding Sarah's hands in hers. "This is not a secret you can share with other people."
"I'm not other people! I'm your daughter!" She screeched and removed her hands quickly. "You know what's funny? It had to be the most irresponsible and selfish member of our family to tell me the truth."
"Thanks for your consideration Sarah." I faked being hurt by her words.
"Your brother shouldn't have done that. It wasn't his job to tell you."
"No, it was yours." I stated firmly. "Years ago. But you didn't, you preferred to hide this from Sarah… and the others. That's why EJ and Danny are having so much trouble entering the pack. If you had told them, they would've been prepared."
"You know why we kept our secret. After Melissa and Holly, we couldn't take more chances. Besides we're talking about children." Our mother tried to explain.
I admit that things with Melissa and Holly had gone terribly wrong. Brady and Shane would have to live with their guilty consciences for the rest of their lives, but there were other cases that had not ended tragically. Madeleine and Dawn for example.
Madeleine didn't like it at first. She made it clear that she wasn't our biggest fan by forbidding Brady to patrol on certain occasions. Those occasions turned more frequently after Elijah was born. I remember she once said that no son of hers would ever be less important than the pack. She didn't like to know that there were vampires and werewolves but she ended up accepting reality.
Dawn was bit more problematic and required a bit of more perseverance. Collin only told her the truth when they got married. She almost flipped and when four years later Dawn found out she was pregnant she wanted to have an abortion because she feared the baby would turn into a wolf inside of her. Mum managed to convince her that all the babies that were born from fathers with the wolf gene had been born healthy and completely normal. Fortunately Kieran was born on the due date and with everything in its rightful place.
"I'm not a child anymore!" Sarah piped in. "And I deserved the truth."
"If you'd only let me explain." Mum pleaded.
"Your explanations won't make any difference. I don't want to hear anything else." Sarah said. "I'm going to spend the night with Grandad Billy and don't you dare forbidding me to go."
The second Sarah left mum decided to go after her but Harry prevented it.
"You'll make it worse. She's not going to listen to you right now. Maybe tomorrow or the day after she'll calm down." He said. "Give her some time to cool off."
Mum turned at me then.
"Go with her!" She ordered. "Now!"
"What? Why?" I asked. I knew why she was ordering me to follow Sarah but I wanted to see her more upset.
"You did this, you idiot!" She growled. "Now you have to fix it! I don't care how… just fix it!" She stated. By the angry look on her face I knew I wouldn't win that battle. "And you better be prepared to face your father in the morning!" She warned me.
Fuck… I really hate karma. I thought bitterly walking into the night. But at least I got my payback.
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