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
48. Red Circle
With Lexie out of danger all of my thoughts were concentrated on getting Rhea back. Isaac had found her on the footage from Missoula International Airport in Montana. Apparently she had boarded flight 945 to Montreal, Canada. But opposite of what we all expected, she was with a woman instead of a man.
To add up to the mystery, the footage didn't show us the woman's face. We could only see her back and her skin colour since she was wearing a sleeveless blouse. She was tall, athletic and her skin was darker than ours. In her right wrist she had a tattoo of an inscription in the form of a red circle. It read 'Deus exercitus, pugnators sanguinem et lex divinus.'
Fortunately Jasper recognised the inscription. It was Latin and it was the motto of an ancient organisation called the Circulum Ruber or Red Circle which was formed by mercenary vampires. Everyone thought they had disappeared after the end of the Cold War.
The Red Circle dated back to the Middle Ages. It had first appeared in Bavaria, an area located in the German southeast. Formed by three brothers who had fought the Slavs in Duke Tassilo's army in the eastern Alps in order to colonise those lands. A few years after the real colonisation began, the three brothers were turned by a nomad vampire and, unable to remain in the Bavarian Army, they formed a society of mercenaries receiving payment and lands in return of their services that included mostly assassinations, kidnaps and plunders.
Soon the society grew in numbers and they spread across the globe. Since the late 17th century, they specialized in espionage, theft and assassination. Ever since the end of the Cold War in 1989, there were no records of this organisation which led the Volturi to announce their disappearance in the early nineties.
But they were wrong. The Red Circle still had active members and one of them had just taken Rhea to Canada.
"I'm sorry Will, but you're not going anywhere." Dad told me while he watched me packing. He was an idiot if he thought he could stop me.
"You allowed Harry to go with his girlfriend, why can't I go get mine?"
"For one… she's not your girlfriend. She's engaged to another guy and he accused you of being involved in her disappearance."
"Now that Lex is back, all charges against me are going to be dropped."
"I wouldn't be so sure."
"The police has nothing on me. They can't link me to Rhea's desappearance."
"Her fiancé is suspicious about you. He will try to frame you no matter what."
"Let him try."
"You should do what Alice suggested. Have something to eat and have some sleep. You've been working on Rhea's case for too long. You need to rest."
"I need to go and get her back!" I insisted.
"And what's your plan exactly?" Dad asked crossing his arms over his chest. "You've heard Alice. Rhea might have been to Montreal but there's no chance that she's still there. It's been hours."
"I have to go there and see for myself. Maybe I can pick up her scent or something."
"Wait a few more hours. Alice will have more information about that secret society that took her by then."
"You know I can't wait!" That word did not exist in my vocabulary.
"You'll have to wait, Will." My mother said joining us in my bedroom.
"Why?"
"Because there's someone at the door for you." She announced.
I was puzzled when I found Josiah under our porch in that raining day at half past seven in the morning. We had barely spoken last night.
I had returned Lexie to her father safe and sound and when he saw his daughter Josiah was unable to speak. He just held her in his arms and cried. A lot.
I took that chance to leave quietly. They deserved some privacy and I wanted to keep analysing the footage with Isaac at the Cullens.
"I'm sorry I didn't thank you last night but I never thought you would actually find her." He said when I joined him. "I was in shock."
"It's okay. I don't need you to thank me."
"You didn't have to leave like that."
"I wanted to give you privacy. You're her father and you were reakky worried about her."
"Thank you for saving Lex." He said shaking my hand.
I didn't feel like the hero everyone thought I was. I hadn't saved her at all. On the contrary, she had been kidnapped because of me. Lexie was lucky that the Romanians had kept her alive to negotiate with us, otherwise she would have been used as a meal and her body left in Maine along with twenty-three other bodies.
"You don't need to do this Josiah."
"But I want to." He stated. "In the beginning, when Lex told me she was dating you, I thought you were using my daughter to get favours from me and the rest of the team but I was wrong. You're a decent kid, Will. And I want you to have this." Josiah gave me a bronze pocket watch with a chain. "Open it."
I did what he asked and saw a small diamond ring inside the watch.
"That watch belonged to my grandfather. It was his treasure, the only valuable object he possessed and he brought it from Korea to give it to me when he learned I was getting married." He explained. "As for the ring… it belonged to my grandmother and I want you to give it to Lex when you propose to her."
I was speechless after that. Josiah was giving me permission to date and marry his daughter. The irony of it was that I didn't want to.
How am I supposed to get out of this mess? I wondered nervously.
"You have my blessing to date my baby girl and marry her. Just make sure you make her happy. That's all I ask."
Josiah smiled and patted me in the back. I was still pretty much numb so my only reaction was to nod.
"Are you alright?" Josiah asked when he noticed my lack of response.
"Sure… I mean… I really don't know if I can accept this…" I tried to make him see his gesture was a bit too much. "After all this is the last memory you have of your grandparents and maybe you should be the one to give it to Lex when…"
"Nonsense. You earned it, you saved my girl. I'll be glad to have you as my son-in-law."
This is not good. I thought almost in panic. I can't marry Lex but if I turn this down, Josiah will know I don't want this relationship to continue and he'll definitely shoot me.
"Okay… I accept it but I think it's too soon..." I said.
"Of course. I don't expect you to marry my daughter and start a family with her tomorrow." Josiah smiled. "You have time. Now that she's back you can plan things. I always wanted her to have a degree and then I would like to watch her getting married and having kids. But there's still plenty of time."
"Kids?" I blurted. Josiah had jumped from marriage to kids and I just wanted to dig up a hole and hide there.
"I want two. A boy and girl. But for now I'm just glad I have my baby girl back." He smiled. "I'm going back to Forks now. I want to be there when Lexie wakes up. We'll come over for lunch."
"Lunch?"
No. No. No. I don't have time for this. I complained silently. I couldn't spend the whole afternoon with Lex and Josiah.
"Is there any inconvenient?"
"No, no… it's fine." I lied. "I'll tell my mother you're having lunch with us."
"Good. I'll see you later."
When Josiah entered his car, I went back inside. Mum and dad were waiting for me on the top of the stairs. I didn't mention a word and went straight to my bedroom. They followed me.
"What are you doing?" Dad asked.
"I'm going to have some sleep. Like you suggested."
"What about him?" Mum asked referring to Josiah.
"You heard him… He'll be here for lunch with Lexie."
"Are you sure this is okay?" She pressed.
"I'm not sure of anything, anymore." I closed my eyes. "I just want to have some sleep."
Actually I wanted to disappear from the face of the Earth. So many things had happened in so little time that I was feeling dizzy and Josiah's visit had just been the last drop.
Lex had been taken by vampires and could've died.
Rhea had been taken by vampires and was still missing.
Lex thought we were still together.
Rhea thought I was probably playing games with her.
Josiah wanted me to marry Lex.
Art blamed me for Rhea's desappearance and wanted the police to arrest me.
And Harry was gone. My brother was gone and I didn't know if he was coming back.
xxxxxxxxxx
I woke up about three hours later. I was having a nightmare about a stupid squirrel sleeping on my chest, snuggling and wagging his fluffy tail on my face. I opened my eyes adjusting my vision to the sudden clarity that was coming from the window. It wasn't raining anymore.
And then I felt it. Something moved on my chest and instinctively I looked down and watched as a small squirrel stretched and looked at me with his almond-shaped eyes.
"SARAH!" I bellowed. The damn squirrel ran away to hide under my pillow.
Isaac was inside my room the next instant.
"What's going on?" He wondered.
"Sarah's fucking squirrel is under my pillow!" I growled. "Get it out!"
"It's just Vader." My brother said grabbing the small squirrel and petting him. "Sarah has been looking for him for days."
"What the hell is he doing in my bedroom?"
"I told you, he likes you." Isaac grinned.
"You're not funny."
"Don't be so touchy, Will. It's just a squirrel."
"Tell Sarah to keep Vader away from me or I'll cook him." It was an empty threat and Isaac knew it but he nodded all the same.
"Fine…" He said going to the door and taking Vader with him. "By the way, Alice wants to talk to you. I was coming to wake you up to give you her message."
"Is it about Rhea?"
"Probably."
I got my hopes high again. Maybe Alice had found Rhea. Maybe she already had a plan to get her back.
I took a quick shower and was out of the door the next instant. I found Alice at the Cullens with Jasper by her side on the couch. All the other Cullens were gone. I could feel their presence in the area so I knew they were probably out in the forest, hunting.
"I'm glad you took my advice." Alice said when she saw me. "You looked like shit."
"Yeah… so what did you find out?"
"I'm afraid it's not good news." She confessed. "Rhea is not in Montreal anymore."
I was expecting that already. Whoever had taken Rhea would never stay in Montreal for too long. They would want to take her to a place as far as possible from here so we couldn't find her.
"Where is she then?"
"I don't know." Alice admitted. "Jean-Pierre hacked Montreal Airport security system and I managed to recognise Rhea boarding another flight with the same woman but this time they didn't take a commercial flight. The airplane had no registration number and it doesn't belong to any airline company in the world."
"I thought all airplanes had to have clearance to land and to fly from public airports."
"And they do but this one managed to do it under the radars. Someone paid a lot of money to hide their tracks."
"So, we lost her." I whispered with disappointment.
"Sort of." Alice stated. "We won't find her if we keep searching for this mysterious airplane but there are other ways."
"Such as?"
"We found out more about the Red Circle." Jasper informed. "My friend Peter knows a member of the organisation and we found out the name of the woman who took Rhea. Her name is Eva. The problem is that all the female mercenaries of the European branch of the Red Circle use the name Eva. They use the same name to hide their identities."
"How do they tell them apart?" I asked.
"By numbers." Jasper replied. "We're waiting for Peter's friend to contact us with more details about this Eva in particular. And then…" Jasper exchanged a look with Alice.
"Then what?" I insisted.
"Then we'll hire another mercenary to find Rhea and bring her back to us." Alice said confidently.
I thought that Alice's plan was a good plan but it had flaws. They were depending on a stranger to make their next move and everyone knows you can't trust a leech. Especially a mercenary.
Jasper had told me he trusted Peter unconditionally and apparently Peter and his mate Charlotte had been in La Push once, to fight alongside the Cullens and the pack the first time the Volturi had brought an army to kill everyone.
But I was suspicious about Peter's friend and the information he would give us. It would be good to know who we were dealing with. Unfortunately the North American branch of the Red Circle was as secretive as its European sister.
Through Peter we learned that there were five different branches of this society in the world: one in Europe - the oldest of all branches -, one in the Middle East, one in Asia, one in South America and one in North America.
Every branch had a council that was responsible for creating specific rules. They had headquarters but no one knew where. Peter's friend was called John, just like all the other male members of the North American branch. For women they used the name Jane.
In Europe they used the names Eva and Adam. In the Middle East women were called Fatima and men were called Mohammed. In Asia they used Aisha and Kumar and in South America Maria and Jesus.
I didn't care about ancient secret societies, all I wanted was to find Rhea. We had a lot to talk about. I had questions that needed answers and there were things I wanted her to know so she could understand more about what I was and what was happening. I was pretty sure she was freaking right now.
Deciding that I needed to be alone for a while I left the room and sat down on the porch's steps.
Unfortunately I wasn't alone for long.
"There are no records about Rhea ever being pregnant." Edward stated joining me. He was the fastest of his coven therefore he was always the first to return after a hunt.
He had also been listening to my inner conversation and he knew all about the questions I wanted Rhea to answer. Specifically the ones about her possible pregnancy eight years ago.
"Your mother told us everything so we could investigate." He added. "But Rhea never went to the doctors so there are no records about a pregnancy, a miscarriage or an abortion."
"So Art was lying." I concluded.
"Maybe." He agreed. "That's something that even Rhea may not know for sure."
"She was right…" I confessed. "And her fiancé was right too. I don't know her that much. I know we like each other, I know my wolf is crazy about her and I know I would do anything to protect her against any kind of danger but I don't know what music she likes to hear or what her favourite food is."
"You have time to learn all about that, Will."
"What if she doesn't want me when she returns? What if she chooses him instead?"
"I think that's not an option." Edward said.
"Because my wolf claimed her!" I growled unhappily.
Claiming Rhea had been something I'd done on instinct. And the consequences of it were far worse than what I thought. Initially I thought that claiming her was a good thing because it assured me she was mine. But coming to think of it, claiming was an imposition as unfair as the imprint.
We were both bound to each other not out of free will but because of a claim, a force that impelled us to be together no matter how little we knew each other.
"Is the claim always driven by lust?"
"It's mostly driven by lust, yes." Edward replied. "But not always."
"Was it like this for my parents?"
"Yes and no."
"What does that mean?"
"Your parents aren't a good example. They did everything backwards. Leah got pregnant before her first heat cycle, they started dating and got married after having kids…"
"I know that but dad claimed mum, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did."
"Was it like me and Rhea?"
"No. Your father didn't claim her until Jack came along and threatened to claim her instead. When Jacob took your mother as his mate, she was already his alpha female."
So I had messed up. I shouldn't have claimed Rhea that night.
"When your wolf comes out, there's nothing you can do." Edward said reading my thoughts.
"Dad managed to wait to claim mum for years. I should've done the same."
"You were young, William. Don't beat yourself up for that."
"I basically fucked up Rhea's life and if she really was pregnant…" I sighed. "That will make me a fucking asshole."
"You're only human. Make sure you remember that."
I nodded but wasn't convinced if that could be used as a justification for what I had done in the past.
"Have you tried to speak to Harry?"
"Not yet." That was one more problem for me at the moment. Without Harry I felt lost. "Dad asked Collin to phase and try to contact him but Collin said he couldn't hear anything so… I guess he can't turn into his wolf form."
"There are very small chances the Romanians will allow him to phase. And even if they do, if they took Harry and Season to Europe, no one will be able to hear his thoughts. The ocean between the two continents breaks that connection." Edward explained. "However I've been thinking and I believe you can reach out you brother another way."
"How?"
"Have you ever heard of meditation?"
"Yes, why?"
"You and Harry have a connection that goes way beyond your pack mind-link. You're twin brothers and twins are said to have a special bond that overcomes space between them. If you concentrate enough through meditation, I'm sure you'll be able to reach him. Can you try?"
"Sure. But you know I'm not Yoda, right?"
"Just try whenever you're ready."
"I will." I promised.
Meditation would have to wait though because in that moment Jay sent me a text message saying that Art Brenner had just entered the Fanny's Coffee Shop with Lex.
After my brief confrontation with Art, dad had selected Jay to follow Art's every move while he was staying in La Push. Rhea's fiancé was ordered to be under close surveillance.
"Fuck this!" I spat not caring about controlling my language. Edward wasn't my father and besides he could read my mind so he knew what I was thinking.
"Are you going?"
"I have to. Who the fuck knows what that idiot is telling Lex…"
"If you want my advice… don't go. You'll end up doing something stupid."
"Who me?" I joked. "I'm a fucking saint, Edward but thanks for your concern."
"I'm serious, Will. Don't get into trouble."
"I'll be fine. If it makes you feel less nervous, I'll take someone with me."
"Who? Harry's not around, remember?"
"I know that. I'll just ask Jay to come."
Of course Jay couldn't compare to my brother but I guess I'd have to start socialising with other wolves apart from Harry.
Edward nodded. We heard the voices of Bella and Emmett still distant but they were coming closer now.
"Be careful." Edward told me and went inside.
"Sure, sure." I said waving. "See you later."
I found Jay across the Fanny's Coffee Shop, an establishment next to the Forks Police Station. He was leaning against a lamp post and looked quite tired.
"Hey… so how long have they been in there?" I asked.
"About six minutes." He said. "Art said he was your friend."
"What is she doing here anyways?"
"I don't know. She showed up like fifteen minutes ago with her father. He went to the Police Station when Art was leaving the station. He invited her for a coffee."
Josiah was probably called in to sign some paper work. As for Art, he was probably trying to pressure the officers to take Rhea's case seriously. The police wouldn't do anything though. Caleb had successfully managed to spread the story about Rhea's argument with her mother and so all the officers were quite sure that Rhea was just taking some time off to clear her head and think about her upcoming wedding.
"Alright, let's go send him a message." I grinned.
"Do I really have to go?" Jay asked me.
"Yes. Why? Have you got anything better to do?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. I need to have some sleep."
"What did you do last night?"
"I had a training session with Mr. Cameron."
I had to supress a laugh when he called Jared Mr. Cameron but then again, Jay didn't know all the members of our pack like I did so he still treated everyone in a formal way.
Uncle Embry was the person responsible for the youngsters' trainings but since he had travelled with the Cullens to Maine and was now recovering, someone had to replace him. Jared was a good choice.
"I have another session in about four hours."
"Jared's cool. He'll forgive you if you turn up late. Now come on."
"But I..."
"Look." I cut Jay off. "I know you want to have some sleep. I don't want to be here either but this motherfucker is messing with my girlfriend and I can't have him putting things in her head. I wish Harry was here with me, but he chose to go with Season instead so… you're all I have right now. I need you to come with me, alright?"
"What for? You don't need shit from me, Will. You don't even like me. I ran away with your sister and…"
"That's in the past and I'm pretty sure it won't happen again." I cut him off again. He had imprinted on Ella so he would never get near my sister again. "I need you to be there because you'll be the only one able to stop me if I lose control in there."
"Lose control?"
"As you might know Art and I don't get along so… if I lose my shit, just make sure I don't phase and kill him."
I took a deep breath and walked inside the coffee shop followed closely by Jay. I took that opportunity because Lex was in the toilet and Art was sipping his coffee completely unaware that I was going to appear, since he was sitting backwards to the door.
The first thing he saw was Jay, occupying the seat next to him. Then I sat down on Lex's seat, across from Art and I put on my best smile.
"Good morning." I greeted politely. He put his cup of coffee on the table and tried not to look nervous but I was picking up his rapid heartbeat. "What's wrong, cat ate your tongue?"
"No." He said recovering from the shock of my sudden appearance.
"Good. Because I came here to talk."
"Talk about what?" He asked.
"How about we talk about you hitting on my girlfriend when you're already engaged?"
"I'm not… hitting on anyone."
"That's not what it looks like." I said calmly. "You're in a coffee shop having breakfast with my girlfriend… let's face it Art, this sounds a lot like a date to me."
"It's not a date!"
"If it's not a date, what are you doing here with my girlfriend?"
"It's none of your business!"
"My girlfriend, my business." I smiled confidently.
"We were just talking." He finally said. "Talking is not illegal."
"About what exactly?"
"Stuff…"
"Right… Jay, let's take Art for a walk, shall we?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"We can do this two ways: either you're coming with us willingly or you're coming with us by force. The first option would be better for you since the second one includes your humiliation before all of the other costumers in this room and probably a visit to the ER. But you're free to choose, of course."
Art glared at me. If looks could kill I'd be a dead man. Then, slowly he took a few dollar bills from his wallet and put it on the table.
"That's more like it." I commented.
I wanted nothing more than to take Art into a dark alley and beat the crap out of that stupid asshole until he accepted to go back to where he came from but I knew that would get me into more trouble so I took him to a public place instead.
Forks Community Park was full of children at that hour. Several women were sitting down on benches watching their offspring play in the park. A couple was making out behind the bushes and there were two men jogging.
I led us to a solitary bench away from the most crowded area of the park. The fact that we were in a public place surrounded by people seemed to make Art relax a bit.
"Sit down." I ordered him.
"I don't..."
I pushed him down forcefully and he didn't get up.
"You're going to listen to me, Brenner and listen well. I don't want you around Lex. If I see you talking to her again, I'll kill you."
"It's a free country. I can talk to whoever I want." He opposed.
"You can talk to whoever you want, except for Lex." He didn't say a word after that. "You want to know what happened between me and your fiancée, fine… We had a thing going on when we were teenagers. Somehow we got involved…"
"You knocked her up." He interrupted me.
"I'm not sure about that but if I did, she never told me."
"That doesn't justifies what you did to her."
"I'm not finding excuses and I don't owe explanations to anyone. Rhea and I went on separate ways as soon as high school was over and we rarely met after that. A few weeks ago we saw each other again after eight years. She told me she was getting married and I received an invitation for the wedding. We spoke a few times and we reached an agreement about trying to be friends. Then she told me she was getting tired of her mother trying to convince her to invite her moron of a father to her wedding and that's it. I never heard of her again."
"I don't believe you." He said when I finished.
Part of the story was true. Except for the end but I couldn't tell him the whole truth or we would end up fighting again. Which would end up badly at least for him.
"That's your problem then. I've told you the truth. My past with Rhea is done. I'm with Lex now and Rhea's your fiancée."
"If that's true, why did she keep painting you all these years? Why did she lie when I asked her about who the person on her drawings was? Why is she gone?"
"Are you jealous because we had a past? Because she used me as a model to her drawings?" He glared at me again and I laughed. "Grow up, man. What are you, twelve?"
"Where is she? I know you know."
"I have no idea where she is and you're wasting your time with me. If you want to get her back, find her yourself. That's what I did when Lex disappeared and it worked. I'm sure you know Rhea enough to remember all of her favourite places."
Art looked at me dumbfounded as he wasn't expecting me to help him.
"You think she's going to come back and go on with our wedding?"
"Sure. As long as her father stays away from her." I said. "Of course that it would be immensely romantic if you found her and brought her back, don't you think?"
Art finally nodded.
"I think I know a place where she could've gone to."
"That's the spirit." I had to pretend I was actually happy for him. "You should go there right now."
He was silent for a while, deciding if he should focus on finding Rhea or if he should keep pestering me about her desappearance even after I told him Rhea and I were done.
"I will." He finally said getting up. "I guess I should give it a try. For Rhea.
"I agree."
"Thanks…"
"Anytime." We shook hands. It was the first friendly gesture we had made towards each other.
"If she's not there. I'll be back." Art promised.
"Whatever. I'm sure you'll find her and you'll live happily ever after."
Art eyed Jay to make sure he would let him go peacefully and when he realised Jay wasn't interested in keeping him there any longer, he left hurriedly through the park.
"That was actually pretty cool on your part." Jay told me. "Where do you think he's going?"
"I don't know and I don't care. I only hope the motherfucker stays far away from here. I have too many problems right now without him pestering us."
"You're such a nice person, William." Jay said with a hint of irony.
"Thank you, Jay. I sure am." I smirked and we both went home.
Thanks for the reviews: Guest(s), CentaurPrincess, brankel1, MelkiSihou, Island Mama, Weave the Magic, Kary G, almondbutter, rocklesson86, TheSlytherinQueenbee, nikkie owens, nene82743, Deadman'sGun, bonzgirl, Jazzmatazz30, sia-gomo01, FangsandDaggers, Sagal Farah, chemistrykim, Daughter of the earth, Gizmo60, Evangella Akriti, Sarah Blackwater, lory77, Beauty Eclipsed, tcpg02.
I'd also like to thank all the followers of this story and all the readers who added it to their favourites list. Thank you.
A/Note: So, we're back to William's POV. More mysteries will come. I still don't know where this story is going but I'm quite positive that I will finish it even if it takes 100 chapters. ; )
Karisan