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
61. Bold Move - part 3
We took William's new car because it was the fastest and because I knew where he kept the keys. I was supposed to be the one driving but Levi grabbed the keys from my hands and said he wasn't going anywhere in the middle of the night with a teenage girl driving.
"Chauvinistic pig." I spat while taking the passenger seat.
"You're getting better at throwing insults, Spitfire. Keep it coming." Levi mocked me.
"I hate you."
"You're not my favorite person in the world either."
I rolled my eyes and we drove away. Hopefully, our families would only realize we were missing in the morning.
"Where are we going?" He asked.
"Go left at the next stop and then right on the next one." I read the directions on the GPS. "With some luck, we'll reach the coast only a few minutes after they do."
"You saw them leaving into the forest, didn't you?" He inquired me. His tone was serious now.
"Yes."
"Dad does that all the time in La Push. He leaves in the middle of the night. I don't know where he goes or what he does. I once asked mom about it and she said everything was okay, she said it was work but I don't believe her." Levi took his eyes off the road to look at me for a second. "Do you know what's going on?"
"Sort of," I replied. I had no idea how to tell Levi the truth about the wolf gene and the existence of vampires. If I told him the truth right now, he would probably turn back and call a mental institution.
"And..." He pressed.
"I don't know how to tell you," I confessed. "That's why I'm taking you there, so you can see for yourself."
"How did you find out?"
"William told me," I said. "Just remember to keep an open mind."
"It can't be worse than what I already imagined."
"What did you imagine?"
"Human trafficking?"
"Really? You think our parents are trafficking people?"
Levi shrugged.
"They're not?"
"No! Of course not!"
"Is it related to drugs? I mean EJ's been hanging around with them and... well, we all know he's a junkie."
"No!" I cut him off. "EJ likes to get high sometimes and he's a total jackass but this has nothing to do with drugs."
"Okay... so it's a surprise." He commented. "Guess what? I love surprises. Like knowing that for no apparent reason my sister is coming back home after living practically ten years away from us or like watching Isaac turn into some sort of superman when weeks ago he was a scrawny nerd in college. Not to mention Jay Morris who suddenly stopped talking to his best friend and missed work for two weeks."
"You'll understand when we get there."
"I can't wait."
I detected some sarcasm in his voice but decided to let it slip.
We didn't reach dad and the others on time but we did find the deserted small harbor where we decided to take a boat otherwise our journey would've been in vain. It took Levi ten minutes to get one of the boats to start. I was getting impatient but I guess that stealing a boat was different from stealing a car.
"Whiskey Cove is that way." I pointed east. "If you see any movement ahead, turn off the engine immediately," I told him.
"Yes, Captain!" He mocked me.
During the boat trip, I was suddenly assaulted by doubts. What if we got lost at sea? We had flashlights but the dark waters could hide dangers that we were unfit to deal with. As far as I could remember Levi wasn't a sailor and I could barely swim.
What if we got to Denny Island but no one was there? They could go to another place or we could just arrive after everyone left. Then I'd have to deal with a very frustrated Levi since we'd have stolen a boat for nothing.
What if we got there and found the bodies of our families and friends?
"Are you okay Sarah?" Levi asked me pulling me out of my horrific thoughts.
"What?"
"Are you cold?"
"I'm fine." I lied.
Levi took off his jacket and gave it to me. Only then I realized I was trembling. I should've dressed more properly but I was in such a hurry that I had forgotten about the cold temperature at night.
"What about you?"
"I'm not cold."
"Are you sure? Temperatures must be pretty low."
"I'm fine."
"Thanks."
In that moment I couldn't shut out a thought about my contradicting feelings about Sam's son. I didn't hate him like I had told him earlier, but we weren't friends or anything like it. However, sometimes, Levi was a nice guy.
"Cut the engine!" I ordered and Levi obeyed immediately pulling out the oars to help us get to the shore. I pointed up to a hill ahead as we were entering the small bay that led us to a non-used beach. "They're here," I added. There was a boat there. A large white vessel with bluish sails, big enough for twenty-three people.
"Now what?" Levi asked when we finally reached the shore.
"Now we go up that hill. We just need to follow those lights."
Easier said than done. The hill was very steep and we couldn't turn on the flashlights or we would get caught. We kept tripping over tree roots and our own feet. Levi had to turn back at least three times to find me because in the dark we kept splitting up. To prevent us to split up again, he held my hand tightly.
"Don't let go." He said. And we went the rest of the way together.
We stopped when we heard voices. We couldn't exactly understand what everyone was saying, but I could definitely recognize my father's voice.
"Whatever you do, don't make any noise or they'll hear us. They have superhearing powers." I whispered so low that I almost doubted Levi could hear me.
"I won't breathe a word." He kind of chuckled. Then we sat down on the floor, hidden by a huge tree and we waited.
I dozed off pretty fast and dreamed about wolves, vampires, and someone holding me and snoring on my neck. I realized rather quickly that the last part of my dream was actually real. Levi and I were still hiding behind the tree. He was sleeping, one of his arms was around me and the other was bent under his head. I could feel his light breath on my neck.
The air was pretty humid and there was a mist covering the area preventing us from seeing our family and friends. I could hear their voices but I couldn't see them.
Levi woke up when I started moving. He let me go when he realized we were too close to each other.
"I can't see them." He muttered. "I can't see anything with this mist."
"Neither can I."
"What time is it?" He asked me.
"Ten past five," I replied consulting my cell phone. The sun would be in the sky pretty soon and with some luck, that cold mist would disappear.
"What are they waiting for?"
Not what, who. I thought. And then, as if someone or something had just read my mind, we heard footsteps behind us. Soft footsteps which became louder with every passing second.
They were coming. I had been so worried about hiding from dad and the others that I had totally forgotten about hiding from the enemy.
"Lie down, and don't move!" I ordered. We were in trouble. For real. Our only chance was to stay quiet and hope that the vampires didn't realize we were there.
I closed my eyes and when I opened them again all of the vampires were gone. I let the air slowly out of my lungs and noticed that Levi was doing the same.
"We have to get closer or we won't see what's going on." He said. The Volturi arrival had spiked Levi's interest so he grabbed my hand and pulled me forward with him. When we were close enough, he stopped and forced me to get down.
"Who are they?"
Italian vampires. I wanted to say. "William told me they're called Volturi."
"Aro, Caius..." I saw Doctor Cullen greeting the Italian vamps. Isaac had already told me that Carlisle Cullen had once belonged to that coven.
"We have to stop meeting like this Carlisle." A vampire with black hair spoke. "Alice saw us coming, didn't she?"
Behind Carlisle, Alice nodded.
"Do you know why we're here?"
"We do, Aro," Alice started walking forward. Jasper followed her.
"If you do, tell me where's the bitch who took my power!" Another vampire growled. He was definitely not Italian. I couldn't see his face since he had his back to us but I could tell he wasn't happy.
"First of all, you messed up!" Dad spoke. He was taller than any of the vampires. Mom was by his side. "You attacked that girl and left her in the middle of the road to turn! We could've gone to war because of you!"
"The attack happened outside your territory, dog!"
"Gustaf messed up." A female vampire said silencing dad and the angry vampire. "And we failed to realize what was happening. When we reached Gustaf, the girl was already lost. We're sorry for her but we can't take the blame for something that he decided to do on his own."
"Who and what is she?" The vampire named Aro asked.
"She's still human and I'm sure you know what she is. After all, you saw it in Gustaf's memories, didn't you?" Doctor Cullen asked.
"An eraser?"
"Yes," Doctor Cullen confirmed.
"It's been more than a thousand years since I last met an eraser. They are rare and dangerous."
"We didn't realize she had a power until quite recently." Edward Cullen came forward. "We had no reason to believe she was an eraser since we all spoke and even touched her and nothing happened."
"Yet Gustaf lost his power," Aro recalled. "Many other vampires can lose their powers as well if she remains alive. She's a danger to all of my coven and that's why I want her dead. Hand the girl over to me and we'll be gone."
"Like I said, she's still human, Aro. I'm sure you can still remember that our goal is to protect human life." Dad said.
"If you don't give her to us, we'll find her. I've tasted her blood. I can find her no matter how far she is." Gustaf announced with a cruel laugh. "I will have my power back! With or without your cooperation."
"Carlisle, Edward... we know how important it is to you to keep the peace between our kind and the Quileutes. We also know that you are quite devoted to the protection of humans but I ask you now, as your friend and the leader of the most powerful coven in the world, give us the girl and I promise you we'll let you resume your lives peacefully. If not... this day will remain in history as the day you all perished."
I didn't have to be a genius to know that the Italian vamp had just made a war declaration. It was all up to the answer the Cullens and dad would give him. However, I knew they would not be able to comply with Aro's request because Season was not with us.
"If you came to battle with us where are your best warriors?" Uncle Paul asked.
"Oh... Jane and Alec are just fetching something for me." Aro replied in a cold but amused tone.
I realized then that I could only count twelve Italian vampires ahead. They were supposed to be fourteen. There were two missing.
"Why don't you join us?" I heard someone whisper behind me as I felt two icy hands grab me from behind. I tried to kick the bastard that was grabbing me but he was too strong and too fast. He carried me as if I weighed nothing.
Levi was also being dragged away from our hiding place by a blonde and petite girl who appeared to be my age.
They were the two missing vampires, of course. Levi and I ended up kneeling in front of the Volturi, facing our friends and our parents. I didn't want to look up and see the disappointing look on my father's face so I kept my eyes on the grass under my knees. The vampire who had captured me placed a firm hand on my right shoulder to keep me from moving.
On my left, Levi was cursing and struggling to get up. Tired of his resilience, the vampire girl kicked the back of Levi's right knee and he hurled in pain on the ground.
That's when I heard the commotion amongst the wolves and I finally met my father's eyes. They didn't show disappointment or even anger. All I could see was fear.
"This one is yours, isn't she?" The vampire holding me asked. "She's such a beautiful young girl."
"If you dare to hurt my daughter, I will kill you." Dad simply said.
"I feel offended, Mr. Black. It was just an innocent compliment. You have a beautiful, brave and very stupid daughter."
"For crying out loud, Alec. Stop denigrating yourself! She's not that pretty!" The vampire girl hissed. She sounded jealous. "And you," she spat at Levi. "Stop squirming! It's not even broken. Though that can be arranged. Do you want me to break it?"
I saw Will, Isaac, and Jay stepping forward but before they could do anything, Sam phased into a giant dark wolf and growled menacingly. Levi was in shock after seeing his father morph into a wolf right in front of his eyes. I instantly regretted getting him involved in this.
"If I were you, I would think very carefully about your answer," Aro said. Now that I could have a clear look at the Volturi's leader, I could notice his big red eyes and his pale and skinny face. The Volturi were nothing like the Cullens.
"You're not playing fair," Edward noted.
"Do you want these two back or not?"
A tense silence fell between the two sides until, suddenly, a member of the Volturi fell on her knees. The sounds that came out of her mouth were inconceivable. In the next instant, she was circled by all of her friends, except for Alec and the sadistic vampire who was now stepping on Levi.
"Priya! What is it? What's happening?" Aro asked her.
"It's Marcus... he's fading away." The vampire answered in a weak voice and a strong accent which reminded me of the Indian man who owned a perfume shop in Port Angeles.
"Fading away? How's that possible?" Alec inquired.
"And the wives... They're... gone."
Aro forced Priya up and cupped her face. She looked like an average eighteen-year-old girl only her red eyes gave her away.
"Are you sure about this?" He pressed.
"I don't feel them anymore. Something happened."
"And Scarlett?"
Priya nodded her head negatively. "I can't be sure, Aro. I'm sorry."
"Caius? What do you think we should do?"
"We have to go back." The vampire named Caius said. "Athenodora needs me. I can feel it."
"Jane, Alec..." Aro called. I felt the pressure in my shoulder disappear as Alec joined his friends.
"Can we kill the dogs?" Jane asked.
"No, dear. Not yet. We have unfinished business to work out with them later." Aro replied. "This meeting will be resumed once we know what happened in Volterra."
Jane pulled Levi up from the ground.
"You're lucky, pup. If it was my decision, I'd kill you right here, right now."
"Jane..." Alec called her. "Come on... we need to go."
"Aro?" Alice left the Cullens and faced the Volturi alone. "We don't know where the girl is. However, we think you should know about this." She raised her hand to the Italian vampire. He studied the petite Cullen for a second and then he took her hand.
I don't know what happened but when he finally let her go, he looked more determined than ever.
"If they find out that we helped you, they'll kill Harry and the girl," Alice said.
"You did the right thing, dear Alice. Don't worry about it anymore. We'll make sure they pay for what they did."
"Aro? What did you see?" The vampire named Caius asked.
"The Romanian coven is trying to take us down again," Aro informed. All of the other Volturi were puzzled. "They're back and they're getting stronger. They have the eraser and one of the pups."
"You lied to us all of this time!" Jane pushed Alice backward. Jasper was by his wife side instantly. "You should've told us, you traitors!"
"We were trying to protect Harrison," Alice explained.
"She's saying the truth. I saw it in her memories." Aro said. "They said they'd kill the pup and the girl if they spoke to us."
"Where is she?" Gustaf charged again. "Where the hell is she? I want my power back!"
"Oh shut it, you useless idiot!" Aro exchanged a look with Jane and the next moment, Gustaf's head was rolling on the floor. "As an eraser, she can't give you your power back, and now that we know the Romanians have her, we don't need you anymore. We'll find her ourselves." He continued turning to the pack. "You can burn his body or do as you're pleased. He's useless to us now."
I saw Jane dismembering the rest of Gustaf's body without showing any emotion. I know I screamed at some point though I don't recall hearing myself screaming. She looked amused when it was over, especially when she looked at me. She grinned mischievously and walked towards me.
And that's when all hell broke loose.
I felt warm when I woke up. I sat down and watched a fire burning only a few feet away from me. I was still wearing Levi's jacket.
Levi. I recalled. He had phased when Jane was approaching me. He had attacked her fiercely. I remember seeing her on the ground and I remember seeing Alec throwing himself at Levi to save Jane. The Cullens protected me while the wolves and the Italian vamps fought.
"Hey there, you're finally awake." I've heard a voice behind me. I turned to see Bella Cullen smiling. "You truly are your mother's daughter."
"Where's Levi? And everyone else?" My heart sunk when I realized that I could have caused casualties on our side.
"Everyone's fine," Bella told me. "Minor injuries and a few scraps."
"Where's everyone?"
"Sam left with Levi. The boy was on edge and needed guidance... The others are down at the beach having some breakfast. We left you here by the fire to keep you warm. Are you hungry?"
"It's my fault," I whispered.
"You played a crucial part in today's events but it wasn't your fault. Jane loves to terrorize everyone around her but today she found a worthy opponent." Bella grinned. "It served her right."
"Is she dead?"
"Oh no, no... Unfortunately, it will take a lot more to kill Jane. She's one of the most powerful vampires in the world. Now, come on, let's join the others. You must be starving."
xxxxxxxxxx
No one lectured me about my actions during the weekend. No one blamed me for what had happened. Collin and Jared had been hurt. Their bones had to be rebroken in order to heal properly. Quinn, EJ, and Danny had suffered the wrath of the sadistic blonde vampire named Jane. Fortunately, none of them had been physically hurt because Jane's power was psychic. I wish Levi had killed her.
I guess everyone thought that being captured by the enemy, watching a vampire being killed in front of me and Levi phasing and starting a fierce battle, had been enough punishment for me. However, I was forbidden to contact directly with the new wolves without supervision. Apparently, everyone thought I was a bad influence on them.
Levi, on the other hand, was facing a punishment worse than mine. I had tried to reason with Sam and I had told him that it was my fault that his son had gone to Whiskey Cove, but he didn't care. Levi was on house arrest with limited access to his phone and computer. Sam was also taking him on night patrols to force Levi's wolf to choose an alpha.
In my opinion, it would serve them a lot better if they just asked Levi who he wanted to follow. Sam wanted him under my father's leadership but there were two more alphas available.
"Sarah! I know you're in there! Open the door, now!"
Nelly Melrose had been on my case ever since yesterday. We had classes together so it was a bit hard to avoid her. My only option so far was hiding in the bathroom but this time Nelly wasn't budging.
"You're going to miss classes, Nelly. Leave me the hell alone."
"If I miss classes, so will you!"
"Go away!"
"You tricked me, you bitch! I gave you the keys!"
"And my brother took you out on Friday night like I said he would."
"He thought I wanted to jump from the cliffs! It was supposed to be a date."
"That depends on your perspective."
Nelly's date had been a failure. In order to convince William to go out with Nelly I had never mentioned the word 'date', so he was convinced that he was going to take a girl to the cliffs so she could jump and prove that she was a badass, and in return, he would get paid. However, things didn't go exactly as he planned.
William returned without his payment and Nelly didn't have the date she had in mind.
"He told me he has a girlfriend."
"And what do you want me to do about it?"
"Who is she?"
"I don't know. Probably some girl he met while he was in Seattle."
"I want to know who she is. If you do that for me, I'll temporarily forgive you for what you did."
"Get a life, Nelly! William will never be your boyfriend."
"Yes, he will." She said confidently. "As soon as I deal with his bitch of a girlfriend, he'll be mine. If I don't have her identity until tomorrow, your parents will know what you've been doing with Jay Morris. I'll see you in classes."
Psychopath. How could I get rid of this girl? She was like a freaking maniac. Obsessing over my brother wouldn't take her anywhere now that William and Rhea were dating.
"Are you still there?" A familiar voice asked from the other side of the door.
"What's up with you and Nelly Melrose?" A second person asked.
I left the cubicle where I had been hiding for the past fifteen minutes. Julia and Jaelle Cameron were both waiting for me.
"Nothing much..."
"Come on, Sarah. We saw her leaving, she was laughing like a maniac." Julia said.
"She wants to have a date with William."
"What?" The twins asked in unison.
"She really is crazy." Jaelle pointed out.
"I've got to go..." I announced. "But I was wondering if you could do me a favor."
Julia and Jaelle exchanged a worried look. I was one year ahead of them but we had always been good friends.
"Can you please pick up JJ after school and take him to my granddad's house? I really have to do something important."
Despite their initial refusal, Julia and Jaelle accepted to help me so when I finally finished my afternoon classes I left in a hurry towards the Uley's house. It started to rain when I arrived. Emily opened the door and gave me a sympathetic smile.
"You shouldn't be here, honey." She said.
"I know, but I wanted to give Levi his jacket and..." I put on my saddest look. "I wanted to apologize personally. I mean it's not fair that he's grounded when it should be me..."
"Well... Sam's not here yet and I guess five minutes won't hurt." She winked at me and moved to the side to let me in.
Levi's bedroom was nothing like I had imagined. He was said to be tidy and organized but his room wasn't clean and perfect as I was expecting. It wasn't too messy either but one thing did catch my eye. There were several posters on the wall of aircraft: military airplanes, commercial jets, rescue aircraft. On his desk, there were metal parts of what it seemed to be the motor of an airplane. He liked to build things and study aircraft. That was something I had never known about Levi until now.
"What do you want, Sarah?" Levi was lying on his bed, his back turned to me.
"How do you know it's me?"
"I recognized your scent."
"My scent?"
"Wolf superpowers." He said turning around to face me.
"Oh... right... I've brought your jacket back." I said.
"I guess I won't need it anymore." He simply shrugged. "Our body temperature is higher than normal."
"Levi... I'm so sorry about what happened. I really am. I should've never forced you to go with me. You could've died because of me and now you're a wolf and..."
"It wasn't your fault." He interrupted me. "So if you're feeling guilty, don't."
"But I got you grounded."
"I'm grounded because I attacked that blonde bitch that was going to hurt you. I'm ground because when the other wolves tried to stop me, I attacked her brother too, and a couple of more vampires. And I'm grounded because I could've hurt you when I phased. You were right next to me." He sighed. "I don't regret having attacked those leeches, but your father's right. I could've killed you."
"I'm fine. I don't even have a scratch." I informed. "I told Sam I was the one to blame but he ignored me."
"It's all right. You've brought my jacket back and you apologized. It's all cool."
Maybe for him, it was. But not for me.
"It was supposed to be me phasing, not you," I confessed. Levi looked intently at me. "I thought that being close to the enemy would perhaps activate the gene, but I never thought it would activate yours instead of mine."
"You want to become a wolf?" He asked astonished.
"Yes."
"Why?" He inquired. "Oh... right... Jay Morris." He realized when I didn't reply. "You should go now... it's getting late and my father will be here any minute."
"Can you please not hate me for what happened?"
"I've always dreamed about becoming a giant wolf, you know?" He said with a hint of sarcasm. "Go home, Sarah. I'll be fine."
It was obvious that he didn't enjoy being a wolf warrior. After all, from now on, his life was going to change considerably. I wanted to offer him some comfort but I didn't know what to do to make things better for him.
"I'm so sorry, Levi."
"Do you really want to be a wolf so you can be with Jay?" He asked me when I walked towards the door.
"Yes," I replied sincerely. "Have you ever loved a girl so much that you would do anything to be with her?"
"Yes." He copied my answer. "Yes, I did."
"And?"
"And she didn't love me back." He whispered. "Go home and try to stay out of trouble."
I didn't know what else to do. I had apologized and I had been honest with Levi. Now it was up to him to find forgiveness in his heart.
So I went home.
William and Rhea were there. This was the first time Rhea White had been officially invited to dine at our place. William was trying hard to officialize his relationship with Rhea. They were taking baby steps ever since Rhea had accepted to be his girlfriend. Mom was not Rhea's biggest fan yet but the invitation had been her idea. William was happy that mom was making an effort to get to know Rhea more but I knew mom would not make things easy for her.
"Weren't you supposed to get JJ from school?" William asked me as soon as I got inside.
I just gave him a 'don't-piss-me-off' look and headed towards the stairs.
"Can you at least explain why I ran into Julia and Jaelle while they were taking JJ over to granddad's?"
I sighed. I wasn't going to get away with this.
"Everyone in this family is acting like a freaking Nazi these days," I complained.
"Well, we wouldn't have to act like that if you did what you were told to do."
"I'm not in the mood for this shit, Will." I raised my voice. "If you want to know where I was, just ask!"
"Fine! Where were you?"
"I went to see Levi because I feel guilty about what happened this weekend and I went to return his jacket, all right?"
"No, it's not all right! What part about you not being allowed to be with the new wolves you didn't understand?"
"It took me five minutes, Will. Five freaking minutes! It's not like I went there to convince him to start a freaking mutiny!"
"Just try not to go against everything that mom and dad tell you."
"Why? Wasn't that what you always did?"
William growled a little.
"I need a drink. I'm getting a beer, do you want one?" He asked Rhea.
"Sure."
William got up from the couch and went to the kitchen. Rhea threw me a sympathetic look and a heavy silence fell between us. When William came back, the phone rang.
"Sarah Black speaking." I picked it up.
"Just the person I wanted to speak to."
I recognized Dana's voice immediately. I wanted to scream at her and tell her she was a liar. I wanted her to take the responsibility for everything that had happened to Levi. I wanted to slap her in the face and make her admit that she had lied to me all along.
"What do you want now?"
"I'm just calling to tell you that even though you think I'm a liar, you're going to get what you want pretty soon. The next week will be crucial, so you have to pay attention and focus."
"I hope you're not joking with me."
"This is no joke, Sarah. Things are about to change." She hesitated for a few seconds before speaking again. "Oh, I almost forgot. Please tell Rhea White that she shouldn't have that beer."
"What?"
"Tell her that it's bad for the baby."
And then the line went dead.
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