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 II – The Protector
Interlude
Season Marsh
74. Wake Me Up - part 2
"Wake up, girl! We're here."
I opened my eyes and wished that I was dreaming. I wanted to be back at home, with Harry and our families. I wanted to feel safe and protected. I wanted to know if Ryan and Norah were alive but instead, I was inside an SUV with two vampires somewhere in Val Rosandra National Park.
Now everything was making sense. After landing almost an hour ago, our captor had left us inside the small aircraft to take care of some businesses. During that time I had tried to convince Sarah to escape on her own. She refused and told me that if something happened to me, she would never be able to look at her brother again.
However, we both knew that if one of us didn't escape, we would both be vampires very soon. Even though vampires didn't seem that bad (I had seen plenty of horror movies and these vampires had nothing to do with the ones depicted in the films), I wanted to remain human.
The plan I had in mind was quite simple: I would distract Yordan so Sarah could run. She was a brave a fearless girl so I had no doubts that she would make it. But that was before we learned we were in a carrier ship on the coast of Trieste.
I reformulated the plan thinking that it would be better to ask for help. After all, we were on a ship with men from the Army. However, soon enough we realized the ship's crew consisted of five vampires, loyal to the Romanians. There was no military.
Why did the Romanians need a carrier? We had no clue. But we knew we were trapped in there like birds in a cage.
After a while, Yordan took us to the bridge of the ship. He told us he was taking us to Val Rosandra where the other Romanians, including the two original Elders, Vlad and Stefan, were waiting.
Today was the day of Aro's trial. Aro was the leader of the rival coven, and the Romanians wanted me there to use me as a weapon if Aro and his men decided to attack. What they probably didn't know was that Aro was not coming. Actually, according to what Harry had told me, Aro didn't even know about the trial.
As we reached the port of Trieste, Sarah and I were taken to different cars. She went with two vampires we had never met and I went with Yordan. In the meantime, I must have dozed off. I hadn't slept much in the last 24 hours, so even though I didn't want to fall asleep in a car with a vampire, I ended up falling from exhaustion.
Now we were approaching the place where dozens of vampires were gathering.
"Where's the other SUV?" I asked rubbing my eyes. "They were right behind us."
"They can't go to where we're going."
"Why not?"
"Because Vlad and Stefan would probably order me to kill Sarah and I don't want to do that."
I couldn't understand this vampire at all. He was definitely working with the Romanians, he was following the orders of the Elders but at the same time, he was trying to protect Sarah. She had told me that Yordan seemed to be infatuated with her but I had my doubts.
"You don't love Sarah for real, do you?"
Yordan smiled at me and I realized immediately that I was right. He had no feelings for Harry's sister.
"Sarah is my passport to a new beginning. A promising one at last. So... in some way, I kind of like her."
"I don't understand," I commented, trying to make him talk. "If the plan was to bring me to your Elders, your job is done. Just let Sarah go home. She has done nothing to you and she's not a threat to your coven."
"You know what she is, don't you?" He asked me and I just nodded. He was talking about the wolf gene that Sarah had inherited from her parents just like her older brothers.
"She's not a wolf yet. And if you let her go, she probably won't phase."
"Oh, but I want her to phase. Actually, I need her to phase."
"Why?"
"She'll be very useful to me when she phases." He grinned. "Let's just say that I'll be the only vampire in the world to keep a giant wolf as a pet. A pet who has a lot of potentials."
"So you think that keeping Sarah with you will give you status?"
"I'm certain of it." He said. "And when that happens, I won't be just a damn pawn in this coven. I'll be a leader and rule side by side with Vlad, Stefan, and Amelia. I'll be respected and treated like a lord."
If Yordan was telling me the truth, he probably wasn't planning on turning Sarah into a vampire which was good. It gave her more chances to be found by her family and return home unharmed. My case was a lot different.
I should've never married Harry. I jinxed everything. Whenever I thought I could be happy, something bad would happen.
"They're going to turn me into a vampire, aren't they?"
"I'm afraid that's the plan but... I'm not so sure anymore."
"Do you think they'll change their minds?" I asked with hope.
"They might. I mean if they want to have Kat and Ivan back in the coven, they'll have to have some leverage. You won't be of any use if you're a vampire. You won't be important to your boyfriend if you're like us. Kat and Ivan want you to remain human until they capture your dog." Yordan explained. "Plus... you came with a bonus."
"Sarah? I thought you were going to keep her."
"I'm not talking about Sarah, darling. I'm talking about what you're carrying with you."
"Carrying with me? What are you talking about?"
"I bet you're about three weeks along." He said placing his cold hand in my stomach. "Your scent is changing already... Vlad and Stefan are cold and ruthless vampires but they do have moral integrity so I don't believe they'll change you... for now."
Yordan passed me a long robe and kept talking but I didn't hear him. My brain was still processing what he had just told me. Was he suggesting that I was pregnant? I wanted to laugh. This vampire had to be delusional. He was probably saying that so I wouldn't freak out since I was about to be delivered to the Elders of a vampire coven, whose plan was to change me and use me against another coven of powerful vampires.
He was making that up to distract me.
I couldn't be pregnant because I had taken my shot like I was supposed to.
"Nice try." I crossed my arms over my chest defensively. "If you're trying to confuse me, your plan is failing."
"Humans are so fucking ignorant..." He mumbled. "Put the robe on and let's go." Yordan left the car and waited for me outside.
It seemed like I had been in that forest a lifetime ago but it had only been twenty days since I had left. And those twenty days had been the best days of my life. The vampires wouldn't care if I had just gotten married four days ago, they didn't give a rat's ass about me or Harry or how much my family would hurt if I disappeared.
They only cared about their plans. They wanted to use me and then turn me into one of them.
"Remain calm and everything will be all right," Yordan said right before we walked into a clearing. At first sight, it looked like I had just arrived at a bonfire, without the fire. Several groups were scattered all around the clearing. A small stage had been placed in the center. I counted fourteen vampires there. Some were richly dressed, others looked like they had just left home in a hurry.
Seven were wearing black and blue robes. One of them approached us. It was a blonde woman with a scar on her right cheek. Her eyes were bright red.
"Is this the girl?" She asked Yordan in English but with a heavy European accent.
"She is."
"I don't understand why Vlad and Stefan didn't allow me to go with you. She would be one of us already if I had been there."
"Any news on Berg and Sven?" Yordan ignored her last comment.
"The last time I checked they were going south to Lyon to mislead Kat and Ivan."
"Did it work?"
"What do you think?" She grinned.
"Where are Vlad and Stefan?"
"They'll be here soon." The woman said. "Give her to me. She must be prepared."
"I'm sorry, Maike but I'm keeping her with me until Vlad and Stefan arrive."
The vampire named Maike looked upset. She glared at Yordan and then left with her robe flying behind her.
"She's thirsty for power. We all are. Especially now."
I had no idea what he meant by that. Sensing my ignorance, Yordan approached me and pointed to the seven vampires dressed in the robes. Maike was one of them.
"Do you know those vampires?" I asked.
He nodded.
"They're guards. They are the strongest vampires after the Elders. Their status amongst the coven grants them certain privileges and when there's an open spot among the Elders, usually they choose a guard to occupy that position."
I still didn't get it.
"Your boyfriend killed two Elders," Yordan explained. "When Valerya died, Maike should've been appointed an Elder in her place."
"But she's not an Elder," I stated.
"No, she's not. They elected Marissa instead. Who's not even a guard." He grimaced. I guess he didn't approve the choice either. "We follow a strict hierarchy. There are the Elders at the top of the pyramid, then the Guards, and finally the other members. When an Elder dies or is expelled, a Guard usually takes her or his place."
"And there's still one place left." He finished.
I finally understood. That was what Yordan wanted, a place amongst the Elders.
"Whoever delivers you to Vlad and Stefan might not get the position right away but he or she will have the Elder's eternal gratitude." He added.
"And that person will be you."
Yordan nodded. "If Marissa can be an Elder, so can I. Maike will have to wait for her turn."
"How many more vampires will come here today?" I asked when I noticed that four more vampires had just joined the others.
"The more, the better. We've summoned vampires from the five continents. They will witness something amazing."
I had my doubts. If Aro didn't come, the show would be very poor.
"Vlad and Stefan will be arriving here soon and I need to ask you a favor," Yordan said coming even closer. "Whatever you do, don't mention Sarah. She'll be doomed if you do that."
"She'll be doomed if I don't too. Because you won't let her go."
"If Vlad and Stefan know about her they'll either kill her, turn her, or hand her over to Kat and Ivan. If she stays with me, she'll be safe."
"Safe? How?"
"I've told you I don't want to turn her into a vampire."
"You want her to phase into a wolf. But why? Why is she so important? Why do you need her to phase so badly?"
What was Yordan planning to do with Sarah?
"Do you know what set humans and shapeshifters apart from vampires?"
I nodded negatively. I knew very little about the supernatural world. Actually, I didn't even know if this was all real.
"Our incapacity to reproduce." He explained. "We can create more vampires, of course, but it's different. This happens because our body is... dead. Except for the brain, nothing else works properly. We still feel the need to have sex because that's something our brain controls, but we can't conceive."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's said that when a baby is born, he or she inherits the best qualities of the parents. Shapeshifters also have alpha pairs to produce a stronger lineage. So, can you imagine how strong a hybrid would be?"
"A what?"
"A baby half-human, half-vampire for example."
"But that's not possible, is it? You just said vampires can't conceive."
"A vampire only becomes a full vampire when the transformation is over, which can last hours, days or even weeks. During that time a man's body is still completely functional, opposite what happens with women."
"So if a human girl and a vampire have sex before his transformation is complete, she can get pregnant?"
"Yes. But it has only happened a couple of times and it didn't end very well." Yordan said. "You see, a human girl can get pregnant but that doesn't mean she can take that pregnancy full term. A shapeshifter is a whole different story though."
I could hardly believe what I had just heard.
"Now you know why I want Sarah to phase so badly." He added. "Can you imagine a half-shifter, half-vampire baby? He'll be a lot stronger than a regular vampire or a regular shapeshifter."
"Are you planning on... forcing Sarah to..."
"Forcing? Who spoke about forcing? After she phases, I'll just ask her to lend her body, more specifically her eggs so we can create the most powerful hybrid ever."
"You're insane!"
"Years ago a vampire named Joham who also despised the Volturi, tried to create hybrids to face them in battle. His plan failed because he centered his research and his tests in human pregnant girls." Yordan said. "He tried to inject vampire venom in the fetus during different stages of a pregnancy, but the child and the mother died every time. A human girl can't carry a half-dead child inside her womb. And when he was about to give up, he ran into her."
"Her?"
"Leah Clearwater. Sarah's mother. The first female shifter ever and the alpha female of the pack. Since she was already pregnant with her mate's child, Joham tried the same method and injected his own venom on the baby and... they both lived."
"Are you saying that Sarah's a hybrid?"
"No. The she-wolf wasn't pregnant with Sarah back then. She was pregnant with her third child. I'm actually surprised they haven't noticed the kid is a lot stronger and faster than any other shapeshifter."
"He's a wolf, not a hybrid. I'm sure of it."
"Yes, he's a wolf. He was conceived by two wolves. But the venom Joham injected him with gave him many other abilities. He's not a full hybrid, but he's the closest thing. What I want from Sarah is the real deal though. A pure hybrid, conceived in vitro, implanted in her and then we'll see what happens." He said cheerfully. "But I do believe that if I succeed, I'll be the most powerful vampire on the planet."
This vampire was nuts.
For next ten minutes, I watched as more and more vampires arrived. I lost count when I reached forty-two. All packed in that clearing, it looked like a party was about to start.
Yordan never left my side. He would growl every time a vampire stared at me as he passed us by and then an imperial silence fell upon the place. All vampires turned and observed as two men entered the clearing, one after the other.
"They're here." Yordan smiled.
The Elders occupied the small stage and inspected the surroundings. The guards lined up behind them. Oddly enough they didn't seem to be waiting for the enemy.
"I'm glad you all decided to show up." One of the Elders said in English. His voice was deeper than I had anticipated. He was blond, his hair was cut really short and his eyes were small and red like a ruby.
"Why were we summoned here, Vlad? Don't you know it's forbidden to have these meetings?"
"Of course I do, Marg. So why don't you let me finish so we can all leave?" The vampire Elder said without losing his composure. "When were you last summoned by Aro?"
"Years ago." Someone said from the crowd.
"And why were you all summoned?" Vlad insisted but no one answered. "Let me remind you then. All of you were summoned to watch a fellow vampire being convicted and eliminated. And Joham's only fault was that he knew too much and he thought differently from Aro and his lackeys."
"Joham joined werewolves and tried to take down the Volturi. He died because he did the same thing you tried to do, only you two were lucky because Aro let you live." Another vampire said. "I guess you still haven't learned."
"Yes, Joham made a mistake." Vlad didn't falter. "But he was used by Aro and then he was discarded like garbage."
"There are rules, Vlad." The vampire named Marg said. She was at the front with a man with red hair.
"Rules made by who?"
"The Volturi." She replied.
"When Aro summoned you to Volterra to watch Joham turn to ash, he was sending everyone a message."
"Do you think we don't know that?" Marg's companion asked. "We live by their rules. It's for the best."
"For the best?" The other Elder stepped forward. "For the best of who? Are you sure?"
The audience was silent for a couple of seconds.
"There's nothing we can do." A man dressed in an orange suit said. "You should know that by now."
"They're not invincible." Vlad grinned. "We gave Aro an ultimatum. He was supposed to come here today but like a coward, he decided to hide behind the walls of Volterra."
In an instant, the silent and gloomy mood was replaced by surprise and fear.
"The Volturi are coming here?" Many voices asked worriedly. Harry had told me that even though the Volturi were not the enemy, they were for vampires and shapeshifters what the North Korean leader was to the Western world: a tyrant.
"No, he's not coming!" The Elder named Stefan growled from the stage. "Do you know why? Because he's afraid! Because finally, we have something that frightens him to the core!"
"Hear us out, friends! Aro's reign is coming to an end!" Vlad stated. "His coven is going to be destroyed not by us, but by them. Because they are all liars and cheaters. Because they make rules but then, they break them for their own pleasure. Twenty days ago we confronted Aro about the death of his sister. The sister that he killed for no reason except to achieve more power within the coven. Do you really want to be ruled by someone like this?"
Many vampires said "no", others remained in silence.
"If you think we're going to fight for you against the Volturi, you're sadly mistaken."
"I'm not asking you to fight for us, Toby. I've got a coven to back me up now. You see, Stefan and I haven't been fooling around all these years. When Joham was eliminated and Aro managed to keep Scarlett, we did think that it was over for us. Without that vampire-child we had nothing but then, we found her."
"Actually she found us," Stefan recalled. "And we made plans."
"Who are you talking about?"
"Amelia," Vlad announced. It was the vampire that I had seen twenty days ago. She was the one who knew the truth about the death of Aro's sister. "She found us and with her, we've rebuilt our coven. We have twelve leaders and twenty-nine members, twelve of which are well-trained guards."
"These numbers are still low but we are going to be more in the near future." Stefan made his way through the crowd and then he was standing right in front of me.
"My Lord." Yordan greeted him. "I've brought her, just like you asked."
"You did well, Yordan. You did very well."
All the vampires were now looking at me and I started trembling.
"Don't be afraid, dear." Stefan held my hand and pulled me with him to the small stage. "This human is going to help us getting rid of the shackles we're living with since the Volturi seized the power."
"A human?" Marg asked surprised.
"She's not just any human. She's an eraser."
"And what does she erase?" More voices asked.
"Special abilities." That silenced the crowd again. "So... who wants to give it a try?" Stefan laughed loudly.
Three vampires volunteered but only one accepted to show his special gift. He was like a magnet. Every metal item would fly to him whenever he focused. The other two stated that their powers were too embarrassing to show in public. Stefan didn't press them. He allowed the three of them to walk forward and then he ordered me to touch their hands one at a time.
I was scared and on the verge of having a panic attack. I had never had a panic attack but I had helped my cousin every time she had one in the past. After finding out that her husband, Joe, was having an affair with her best friend, Hannah had been in a very bad place and she had suffered from constant panic attacks.
"What's wrong with her?" I heard Vlad ask Yordan when I stumbled back and he had to grab me.
"Well, she doesn't eat in a while,"
The vampires I had just touched were celebrating. Apparently, they no longer had their special abilities and they were quite happy about it.
"She's the real deal." One of them said and there were cheers amongst the crowd.
"We want you all to know that soon, Aro and his coven will be vulnerable. His lies will cause their imminent fall and then, we will recover what was once ours! Alec and Jane will not scare us, nor Afton or Chelsea. When that day comes, we will summon you all not to witness the Volturi's destruction, but to witness our mercy because we will allow them to join us and the ones who renounce our invitation will be free to go. Now, go my friends. Return to your homes, your countries and prepare for the future. A new one... better than everything you have ever imagined."
Slowly, during what it seemed like an eternity, the crowd dispersed.
"I absolutely loved your speech, Vlad," Stefan said in a mocking tone.
"Next time, you try to do better."
"Sir, Janus just called. He said Kat and Ivan are on their way," One of the guards said. "Berg and Sven are dead."
"Where are Andrei and Amelia?" Stefan asked. "They were supposed to take care of Kat and Ivan!"
"They've had a small set back." A voice reached us from the middle of the trees. The seven guards surrounded Vlad and Stefan immediately. Yordan remained out of the circle with me.
"Well, well... Prince Charming came looking for you." Yordan said with amusement and that was when I saw him.
Harry was walking barefoot, dressed only with dirty cut-offs. He had a cut above his left eyebrow and his right leg was dripping blood. He was holding two things in his hands. I felt nauseous when I realized what he was holding: two heads with red eyes.
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