Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, not me.
Author/Note 1: This story is the sequel to 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 to 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
Interlude
Sarah Black
59. Bold Move - part 1
I was going to get grounded for this. Opposite their opinion, my parents never had much success disciplining me or my brothers, but they did apply punishments every time we crossed the line and as far as could remember, missing school and an important exam would get me grounded for a couple of decades.
But I didn't give a damn anymore. A month ago I wanted to go to the University and complete my education. A month ago I had dreams of a perfect future with Jay by my side. Things were going to be great for us and then when I least expected, everything changed.
Now all I wanted was to fix things and get Jay back. Will had told me about the pack and the imprint and since then I had started to think of a way to be with my ex-boyfriend slash ex-husband again because I knew he still had feelings for me.
Apparently, Jay belonged to my cousin Ella ever since the moment he imprinted on her. My mother had explained to me that they were destined to be together but William had told me that after imprinting the wolf becomes what the imprinted needs and Ella didn't need a boyfriend right now.
If I wanted to be with Jay I had to act fast because Ella's feelings towards him could change at any moment. Since no one knew a way of breaking the imprint bond, I had come up with the only possible plan to reunite with Jay: I had to become a wolf myself. There was just one problem with my plan. I had no idea what to do to become a wolf.
Hence I was going to ask the only other female wolf beside my mother what to do.
Rhea was sitting down on the porch of the Vacant House for the moment. She had a cup of tea in one hand and a book on her lap. She seemed to be completely absorbed by her reading but she lifted her head when she felt me approaching.
"Hi." I greeted.
"Hi. Will's not here. I think he's still at home." She said resuming her reading.
"Yeah, I know. I wanted to talk to you instead."
Rhea diverted her eyes from the yellow pages of her book and looked directly at me.
"You want to talk to me? About what?"
For a second it seemed that Rhea was scared of what I could tell her.
"I want to know how I can turn into a wolf."
Rhea blinked once and then twice.
"I have no idea." She confessed.
"But you turned."
"And I still have no clue why. I mean technically... I know why but in reality..."
"I don't understand."
"The wolf gene is hereditary. It passes on from father or mother to son or daughter. Your grandfather told me that until very recently everyone thought women couldn't pass the gene and girls couldn't inherit it. They were wrong, of course, otherwise, your mother, your Aunt Gwen and I would've never phased in the first place."
"I probably have the gene as well, right?"
"Both your parents have it, so I guess you have it too."
I smiled at that.
"Why did you phase?" I asked Rhea, who suddenly blushed.
"No one has given me an actual reason. They only say that my gene was activated because I was kidnapped by a vampire." Even though I had the feeling that Rhea was hiding something from me, I nodded because Isaac had told me the same.
The proximity of enemies was the reason why the wolf gene was activated but Isaac's case was different. Apparently, my brother was special. When he had phased for the first time, he hadn't been exposed to vampires for a long period of time like everyone else, and he could control his wolf better than many older wolves of dad's pack.
"Why do want to be a wolf so bad?" Rhea asked me.
"Because I don't want my brothers to have all the fun." I lied.
"Right. You have to do better than that." She said getting up. "William told me about Jay Morris and Ella Uley."
I diverted my eyes to the floor so that Rhea couldn't see the pain I felt whenever the imprint between Jay and Ella was mentioned.
"There's still time," I whispered.
"Time for what?"
"To make him come back to me." I lifted my eyes from the floor and faced her directly.
"And you think that you becoming a wolf will make Jay leave Ella?"
"They're not together yet." I retorted.
"William said imprinting is a very strong bond and that it's impossible to break."
"William doesn't have a master degree in imprinting, does he?"
"I guess not."
"Are you going to help me or not?"
"It depends."
"On what?"
"I'll help you if you help me."
xxxxxxxxxx
Rhea and I were standing near the Cullen mansion, covered by the bushes and trees. She had explained to me what she wanted me to do and I had accepted.
She had been investigating the history of the White family and she was convinced that no other member of her family had ever possessed the wolf gene which meant that she had inherited it from another family.
"Your grandfather told me the three families who always had the gene were the Blacks, the Atearas, and the Uleys which means I'm possibly related to one of them."
"I still don't get it why this is so important to you."
"It's important to me because... I might be related to you."
"You'll be related to me soon enough. You're Will's alpha female. When you get married we'll be sisters-in-law."
"I don't know if things will come to that and I certainly can't marry a man with whom I shared my blood with."
"Your father is from another reservation. If you're related to the Blacks then you're a very distant relative of ours."
"Maybe... but I still want to be sure."
Rhea handed me her toothbrush and pushed me out of the bushes.
"I'll wait here. I don't think I can control myself near vampires yet, even knowing they're vegetarian."
"Okay. Suit yourself."
I sighed deeply and walked to the porch. The Cullens had a huge mansion that I used to visit when I was a child. Back in those days, I remember they had a playground for us in the backyard but apart from that I had little memories of the house.
Now I could observe attentively all of the details of their fancy home. For a house that hadn't been in use in the last few years, it was very good condition. The plants on the porch were green and healthy, there were no signs of dust or marks that could indicate that the house had been empty for a long period of time since prior to old Quil's funeral the Cullens were living in Montana in a place called Thompson Falls.
I didn't have to knock because as soon as I reached the door Esme Cullen opened it for me and invited me to enter. She was wearing a honey-coloured dress just a little below the knee and black high-hill shoes.
I wasn't afraid of them. They were good vampires. Isaac had been spending a lot of time with doctor Cullen and I had heard about a treaty celebrated between the Cullens and the pack.
"I want to apologize on behalf of Carlisle and myself," Esme said before I could say anything about my presence there.
"Apologise? What for?"
"For hiding the truth from you and not being the godparents you deserved."
"Oh... it's fine. I... understand why you had to do it."
When I was a kid I had always loved the expensive birthday and Christmas gifts I got from Esme and Carlisle Cullen. I knew they were my godparents but once they started to see us less and less over the years, I never asked about their absence.
"Did something happen?" She inquired.
"No. Nothing happened... I just... I wanted to speak to Carlisle if he's available."
"He's upstairs in his office."
"Okay... thanks." I walked to the stairs.
"Do your parents know you're here?"
"Actually, no and I'd like to keep it that way. Is that possible?"
"Of course, honey. Shouldn't we invite your friend to come inside?"
"My friend?"
"William's girlfriend. She came with you, didn't she?"
"Oh... Rhea... Yes, she did. She's still new in this whole wolf-thing so she thought it would be better to wait for me outside."
"I understand. I'm going to cook something for you to take and share with her." She smiled. "It's the third door on the left."
I nodded and went up the stairs. I knocked and opened the door even before Carlisle told me to enter. Vampires had super-hearing powers so he probably knew I was coming to meet him.
"Sarah. Hi. How are you?" He greeted me politely.
"I've been fine, thank you."
"I want you to know that..."
"Esme already apologized." I cut him off.
Doctor Cullen was tall and quite handsome. He had a soothing voice and a calm expression. His blonde hair was perfectly combed and we wore the cleanest clothes I had ever seen someone wear.
"Why is Rhea waiting outside?"
"She's a wolf and you're... Cold Ones. She didn't want to lose control."
"She would never pose a threat to us. Even if it's just me and Esme in the house."
"I've heard you're immensely strong despite your... fragile look."
"Fragile look? You should tell that to Emmett, he's going to feel very hurt." Carlisle laughed and pointed to a chair. I sat down placing Rhea's toothbrush on his desk. "What do you have there for me?"
"Rhea asked me to ask you to run a DNA test."
"Why?"
"She wants to know if she's related to Will."
"Well, there's a very good chance that they are related. Your community is a small one and people get married between the same families for generations. Your parents are blood-related too but they're distant relatives so there's no problem there."
"I already told her that but she needs confirmation."
"Are you in a hurry?"
"No."
"Good. I can run the test right now. It will take a few minutes for the results to come out."
I nodded.
Carlisle moved with grace to the other side of the room.
"So, how's school?" He asked.
"Fine. I'm not a genius like Isaac but I'm good." I lied. Fortunately, Carlisle didn't have Edward Cullen's powers. Isaac had told me that Edward could read minds.
"Shouldn't you be in class right now?" He turned around to look at me.
"No... I only have classes in the afternoon." I lied again.
"Good. It's okay to keep quiet about your visit but if you're skipping classes, I would have to tell your parents."
"I'm not skipping classes."
"Good to know."
"Um... Carlisle, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Is it true that Quileutes phase because of the Cold Ones?"
"I believe that is correct." He placed something inside an experiment tube in a round machine and came back to his desk. "You see, whenever La Push is in danger, there must be a pack to protect it."
"That's why dad and the others phased, right?"
"Yes. They phased because we came to live here more than twenty years ago. We weren't supposed to stay here for so long but then Edward met Bella and things got complicated."
"If I came to live with you, would I phase?"
"That's an interesting question to which I don't have an answer."
"But you said that my dad's pack was formed because of your presence here."
"Yes. Eight boys phased to protect La Push from seven of us. Actually, they were seven boys and one girl." I knew he was referring to my mother. For many years she'd been the only Quileute girl to have ever phased. "I believe that the number of wolves always match the number of vampires in the area."
"But there was more... Jay's father was a wolf too, wasn't he?"
"Yes. After your father's pack was forged... I mean Sam's pack, two more boys phased. Victoria was a nomad vampire who wanted revenge for the death of her vampire lover. She created an army. There was no time for the pack to grow more but thankfully, they were defeated. After that, the pack, now with your father leading, grew again. More wolves phased to face an army of Volturi vampires. Back then there were twenty-one wolves who stopped phasing as soon as the enemy was gone."
"If there are boys phasing right now that means an enemy is coming, right?"
"It's possible."
"And if an enemy is coming that means the pack will need more protectors and I can phase."
"Like I said, it's possible but..."
"But?"
"There are more boys who have the gene. Jeremiah Cameron for example or David Call."
Carlisle was saying that if more protectors were needed then Jerry, David and all the other boys who carried the gene had more chances of phasing than I did because I was a girl. It wasn't fair.
"My mother phased!"
"Your mother phased because she was meant to be the alpha's companion."
"What about Rhea?"
"She's William's mate. He's an alpha too and he claimed her eight years ago."
"You're telling me I won't get a chance to phase?"
"I'm telling you that there's no reason for you to phase. At least not now."
"Why not?" I got up.
"A believe a woman only phases when the alpha male needs a companion. It happened with your father's pack and it happened with William. There's no need for more alpha females. In time, your parents will resume their old lives as humans and William and Rhea will step up as the new alpha pair."
"But... why can't I phase?"
"Because you're not just any female wolf, Sarah." He smiled at me. "You're an alpha female. If you phase everything will change forever."
xxxxxxxxxx
Carlisle's last words were still ringing in my head. If Doctor Cullen's theories were correct if more girls phased it would be to join Harry or Isaac as their alpha females and I would never be the alpha female of one of my brothers. There was no need for more girls to phase because there were plenty of boys with the gene to enlarge the packs.
I was disappointed but most of all I was angry. Why would Jeremiah or David have more chances of turning into a wolf than me? I was the daughter of the current alpha pair. Why did boys have more privileges than girls?
"You were right," I told Rhea when I rejoined her in the forest. I gave her a paper that Doctor Cullen had printed for her and a small container with chocolate cookies that Esme had kindly given me. "You did inherit the wolf gene from another family."
Rhea looked at me. Her eyes reflected fear and curiosity at the same time.
"The bad news is that someone from your family cheated, the good news is that you can keep sleeping with my brother because according to the test you're related to..."
"The Atearas." Rhea read before I could finish the sentence. "My DNA has similar sequences with Quil Ateara's DNA."
"Yes."
"So, I'm what? His niece? His cousin? His sister?"
"That's impossible to establish with a DNA test. Maybe you can learn more if you talk to your mother or your grandfather."
"I'm not going to talk to my mom again."
"Why not?"
"She's... disappointed about me canceling the wedding with Art."
"Just tell her you don't love him."
"I already did. She thinks I'm being an idiot for trusting your brother."
"My brother might be an idiot sometimes and he certainly doesn't win points for his good reputation but when he's committed, he doesn't back away. And he's clearly in love with you... that might help your case as well."
Rhea blushed.
"Did the vampire help you too?"
I frowned.
"Not really," I admitted. "He told me a bunch of crap so I could really use your help."
"I'm not sure I can help you, Sarah."
"Please... I helped you."
"I have a couple of hours tonight." She said. "Come over to the Vacant House and I'll see what I can do."
I nodded and we headed back to La Push. On our way, we were surprised to find Levi Uley wandering around in the forest. He was wearing his uniform and he was carrying a gun. He seemed surprised to see us too.
"What are you doing alone in here?" He asked.
Levi was a junior officer in the Forest Guard. He worked with his father Sam and with Uncle Paul who were both forest rangers. He was also Jay's co-worker even though they didn't use to be paired together during patrols. Actually, no one in the Forest Guard liked to be paired with Levi except for Sam for obvious reasons.
"We're not alone," I answered. "We're with each other."
"This is not the best place for taking a walk and discuss boyfriends." He said smugly. "Go home. It's not safe here."
"Or what?" I challenged.
"Or I'll tell your father."
I put my tongue out and he laughed slightly.
"Is that the best you can go?"
"Why are you here if it's not safe?" I demanded.
"I'm a forest guard." He pointed to his badge.
"You're a junior forest guard," I recalled.
"I'm doing my job. I've found a dead deer not far from this location so I'm searching down the perimeter to make sure it's not a grizzly bear or mountain lion."
It was a vampire. I thought immediately. Esme and Carlisle were at home but the others weren't. They were probably hunting.
"Now, thanks to you, I'll have to stop the searches." He added.
"Why?"
"Because I need to take you home."
"We can go on our own," Rhea said. "It's just a few more yards."
"If something happens to you, my dad will kill me." He grabbed my arm and pull me gently with him. Rhea followed us in silence until we reached his patrol car.
The next thing I knew I was being grounded.
"Missing school? This is your final year, Sarah! Why are you acting like this?" Mom half-yelled at me when Levi left our house after dropping me there.
"It was only a few hours mom. I only missed the morning classes."
"Isaac just lost his chance to have a career as a professor at the University. Your older brothers never even set foot in one, which pains me very much... and you're missing school deliberately? Why? Just give me a good reason."
"Rhea needed my help. She went to speak to her mother and didn't know what to do."
Mom stared at me for a few moments. I didn't know if it was a wolf thing or not but mom usually knew when we were lying. It was a bold move on my part but I was hoping she would believe my story.
"Did she tell her the truth about the pack?"
I smiled on the inside, knowing that for now, I was off the hook.
"No. She realized Verena wasn't ready yet."
"She'll never be ready for that. But at least the girl has common sense." Mom commented. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"Rhea asked me to go to the Cullens," I confessed. "She searched information about the Whites and discovered that apparently, no one in the White family phased. She concluded that she didn't get the wolf gene from the Whites but from another family."
"And what did she need the Cullens for?"
"To run a DNA test."
"She shouldn't have gone there. She's only a pup and..."
"She didn't go. I did. She waited for me outside their house."
"Did Carlisle perform the test?"
"Yes."
"And?" Mom pressed.
"She got the gene from the Ateara family."
"I see..." Mom took her phone and dialed a number. "Hey, it's me. We need to talk about the Whites. Can I come over? Okay, I'll see you in five minutes."
Mom looked at me intently when she hung up the call.
"Go get your things. I'm taking you to school." I dragged my feet to the stairs. "And Sarah? If I know that you've missed classes one more time, I assure you that you will not set foot out of this house for a very long time! Are we clear?"
I nodded.
I'm going to make Levi Uley pay for this one day. I thought darkly while going up the stairs.
xxxxxxxxxx
Going to school was immensely boring these days. Long gone was the memory about my plans of going to the Arizona University where Isaac was a student. Jay was supposed to quit his job and come with me. We would have been happy if we had followed that plan. Now everything was a mess.
I had tried to meet Rhea last night but I was caught leaving the house. Mom had grounded me.
"Are you listening to me, Sarah?" My teacher Mariah Biggs asked me.
"Yes, Mrs. Biggs. Two essays on the Cold War to present on Friday."
She nodded.
"You can leave now and behave."
Everyone left the room in a hurry. My friends Lindsey and Dora didn't wait for me. I guess I wasn't a very good company ever since Jay and I had broken up so I was surprised when Nelly Melrose came to meet me right outside the classroom.
"Your brother's outside asking for you." She informed.
I didn't even bother asking which brother. I knew it was William. He was in charge of escorting me home. Isaac and the rest of the new wolves were too busy training even though I had no idea why because the Cullens were not going to stay for much longer now that they had a new residence on the outskirts of New Meadow, Idaho.
"Thanks," I whispered.
"Wait! Sarah!" Nelly called after me.
"What?"
"We're friends, right?"
"We know each other," I said. Nelly had never been a close friend.
"Is your brother seeing anyone?" She asked bluntly.
My jaw dropped.
"William?"
"Yes, William."
"You're interested in William?" I blurted in shock.
"Can you get me a date with him?"
"What?"
"If you get me a date with your brother I'll make sure you don't wander around alone anymore. I'll be your best friend in school even if Lindsey and Dora say you and your family are a nutcase."
"William is eight years older than you."
"I like them with experience."
"Forget it, Nelly, my brother will never date you."
"I can get you the key to Jay's house. His grandparents are out this week. He'll be home alone."
"Who told you about Jay?" I faced her directly.
"It's sad when you realize that your friends were never really your friends, isn't it?"
Lindsey and Dora were the only ones who knew I was seeing Jay.
"I'm free on Friday night. Make sure William's too." She smiled and waved at me as she left.
She was an idiot if she thought my brother would even consider going out with her. But I was even more of an idiot because I was going to get what she wanted only to have a chance to see Jay alone again.
"What are you doing on Friday night?"
William looked at me puzzled as we walked home side by side.
"I don't know. Why?"
"Do you want to win some money?"
"What do you have in mind?"
To lie and fabricate stories was starting to grow on me. I told William that there was a friend of mine from school that was offering money to whoever took her to the cliffs on Friday night. He accepted.
When we got home mom and dad were leaving. There was a council meeting later in the night. They recommended William to stay at home and put an eye on me but just like I suspected he had no intention to keep his promise.
"I promised Rhea we would have dinner together. I'm trying to make up to her for all the shit I did to her in the past. If I cancel dinner, she'll be pissed. So I just need you to stay put and behave, okay?" He begged. "JJ's upstairs doing his homework and there's lasagna in the microwave. I'll be home before mom and dad."
"What about Isaac?"
"He's staying at granddad's tonight with his pack."
"Why?"
"They need to work on their bonding...especially now that Quinn finally accepted Isaac as his alpha."
"It's not easy to bond with EJ." I pointed out.
"Yeah, he's the main problem right now."
"Is Jay... alright?"
"Sarah... please don't start."
"It's just a question. I haven't seen Jay in so long... I just want to know if he's okay."
"He's fine. He's getting stronger and faster each day. He'll be a good protector."
I nodded. "Thanks."
"Make sure JJ goes to bed early."
"Yes, Mister alpha."
"Don't call me that!"
"Fine," I said rolling my eyes. "Go have your date and don't worry about me. I'll be here when you get back. Actually, I think I'll be here for the rest of my life."
"Drama queen." He whispered opening the front door.
"I heard that!" I yelled from the living room.
"I know you did." He laughed.
A minute later I heard my brother's car leaving and I sighed. I turned on the TV and watched a few shows. By the time JJ came downstairs to have dinner it was almost seven pm. It was already dark outside and it had just started to rain. When I was closing the windows I felt a presence. It was like I was being watched from afar but I couldn't see anyone or any movement.
Hours later I took JJ to his bedroom so he could change and have some sleep.
"Do you think Harry will be here for my birthday?" He asked me jumping to his bed after putting his pajamas.
"He promised he would, didn't he?"
JJ nodded.
"It's just that this will be the first time in three years that I'll have all of you here for my birthday." He stated excitedly.
"Three years? Really?"
"Yeah... last year Isaac couldn't come. The year before Will and Harry were in a race so they missed it. The year before that one Isaac and Will had a fight and they left two days before my birthday, "
"Well, this year we'll be here. All of us. I promise." I tucked him in and I turned off the lights. Then I grabbed a coat and a flashlight and I left the house. In the backyard everything was quiet, even the dogs. But I knew I wasn't alone.
"You can come out! I know you're there!"
I was hoping to see Jay there but it wasn't him who stepped forward from the nearby bushes. It was a girl. She seemed to be around my age. She was wearing black jeans and a purple hoodie. I had never seen her before.
"Can I come in or are we going to talk here in the rain?" She asked playfully.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Dana and you are everything I was hoping you would be."
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I'd also like to thank all the followers of this story and all the readers who added it to their favorites list. Thank you.
A/Note: I know that the ones still reading this story are probably wondering what took me so long to post this chapter. I'm afraid I don't really have an excuse but things happened this past two months. Things that didn't allow me to focus on this story because reality is too ugly and the pain is too much. I've lost a friend in June, he was a good person and he was battling cancer for two years. He was a fighter and we thought he was getting better. He wasn't. He was young... too young and his death left his parents, sister, and girlfriend distraught.
Also in June I was shocked to see in the news that part of my counry was being severly affected by forest fires. More than sixty people died in a road, trying to escape their small villages. The firemen were trying their best. One of those firemen also died from injuries. He was also a friend of mine, my aunt's nephew. He left a 10-year old son. And then I've heard about Chester from LP. He had such a great voice. He too left this world too early.
So I didn't write for a long time because I wasn't in the best of places in my head. Now two months later I'm starting to cope with all the pain. It will be a long journey, especially after losing my aunt and uncle two years ago, I ask you to be patient and promise that no matter what I will finish this story.
Take care and thank you for waiting,
Karisan