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 I – The Third

Isaac Black

93. Different wolves, different methods

According to Odessa Clearview, Conductors were difficult to locate and identify. Vessels and Sealers usually showed signs of abilities and would have to learn how to use their gifts to become more powerful but a Conductor didn't have to show any ability. So he or she could be right under our nose and we wouldn't know.

I was lying down on my bed. The room I occupied in the Vacant House was smaller than my room at home but that wasn't bothering me. The problem was that it was located next to EJ's and my cousin was a loud neighbor. I knew he did it on purpose but I hadn't complained because I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"Isaac? Can we talk?" My mom put her head inside my bedroom and I sat down.

"Sure."

"What was that all about?" She asked entering.

"What?"

"What did Odessa do that she doesn't want Sarah to know about?"

I was expecting this conversation already. I knew mom would want every piece of information to use against Odessa.

"She's convinced she's made Jay imprint on Ella."

"How do you know that?"

"Ever since Sarah moved to the Makah Res, I've been going there a lot and I've been talking to Dana."

"And Dana told you that?"

"Yes. I've been trying to understand this phenomenon that allows Odessa to use Dana's body. I've realized that Odessa can learn about what's going on here in our world even when she's not in control of Dana's body. And I also know that sometimes something blocks that ability. I just haven't figured out what."

"And how could she have made Jay imprint on Ella?"

"Dana said she has spells… things like that. She was the Makah's spiritual leader before she died so… anything is possible."

"I don't believe she made Jay imprint on Ella. It's a wolf thing. She has nothing to do with that." Mom said.

I shrugged. It did sound unlikely given the fact that Odessa had no connection with the Quileute spiritual world whatsoever.

"But the fact that she believes that she did is an advantage to us." I pointed out.

"Indeed." My mother smiled at me. "I wasn't sure that you were ready to lead a pack but now… I can see why your father wanted you to take his place instead of one of the twins."

"I still lack a lot of things," I said feeling a bit embarrassed but proud at the same time.

"I'm not sure if we should keep this from your sister. If we told her about this maybe she would come back home, finish high school, and be normal again…"

"Sarah doesn't want to be normal again, mom. She wants to…"

"I know what she wants." Mom cut me off. "She wants Jay to fight the imprint and marry her but that's not going to happen. It happened to me too and I know how it hurts. I abandoned your father because I thought that I wouldn't survive if it happened a second time."

"She needs time, mom. She's trying to let Jay go." I said and it was true. My sister was trying to forget Jay but it would take time. "Her wolf feels that she has to stay there with Dana and Sophia. She doesn't know why but she feels that she's needed there."

"Yeah, right… She's just stubborn." Mom said sadly. "I used to be just like her."

"I think you have to give her some credit."

"Maybe we're missing something."

"What do you mean?"

"Odessa's hiding something from us. I mean I know she wants the Makah people to be protected like the Quileute. For that, she needs a pack and she believes Sarah's the only way to give her what she wants, but… Does she think Sarah's going to go along with her plans just like that? I mean she has probably realized that Sarah's stubborn and that she's not going to just chose a Makah boy tomorrow and marry him and have a baby. Besides, one wolf won't be enough to protect the whole Reservation."

"I see your point but I'm sure we'll find out whatever she's hiding."

At that moment we heard dad barging inside EJ's room and the next thing we knew, there was a TV set flying out of the window. Downstairs in the living room, Jay, Quinn, and Danny cheered.

"I better go stop your father from murdering EJ. I'm sure Rachel and Paul wouldn't appreciate it."

Mom said goodnight and left. A huge commotion ensued. EJ was accusing my father of tyranny and my father was screaming at EJ that he should have turned the volume of the TV down as he had asked him.

Mom was trying to be diplomatic but it was hard with dad and EJ screaming insults at each other.

"Jacob, you need to calm down!" I heard mom say for the second time.

"You better start behaving properly boy because I'm not in the mood to deal with insolent jerks, even if they're family," Dad said before leaving EJ's room.

"Go and clean that up, EJ," Mom ordered. "And try to respect the other people who live in this house."

"I never said I wanted to live here and I didn't do anything. Uncle Jake can clean it up in the morning." That was EJ's final decision and then there was silence.

Finally.

xxxxxxxxxx

I looked at the four wolves in front of me. We were currently at the back of the Vacant House while mom and dad were at the Cullens to arrange a meeting between us and Jasper's friends Charlotte and Peter. I was trying to teach my packmates how to enter the mind of a wolf outside our pack. If the twins, Sarah and I could do it, so could they. But while we could do it effortlessly, they needed training.

'I can't hear anything. Just you and the guys.' Danny complained.

'You're not trying hard enough.' I said projecting in their minds how I channeled the thoughts of other wolves. Jared and Quil were on patrol right now and I could see and hear through their eyes and ears. They didn't even realize I was in their thoughts.

'I still think it's confusing, Isaac.' Quinn said. 'I mean sometimes I can barely understand what you guys are thinking.'

I knew Quinn and Danny were having trouble keeping up with the rest of us. It took them twice the time to tune their thoughts with ours when we were all together and they always complained about it.

'You can't expect them all to be like you.' I heard Quil saying. He finally realized I was there.

'I don't expect that… but they need to be ready and I can't count on a wolf that can't read his packmates' thoughts.'

Jared agreed.

'Maybe you need a different approach.' Quil suggested.

Maybe Quil was right. I had been showing them how I did it, but maybe I should focus more on how they should do it individually. Quil was right, we were all different wolves after all.

'Different wolves, different methods.' It was worth to try.

'There you go.' Quil thought pleased that I had understood the message.

'Thanks.'

'You're welcome, kid.'

If I wanted to succeed in this task I would have to train each of my friends individually so I asked Quinn, Danny, and Jay to wait in human form. EJ was the strongest of my packmates and I would have made him my beta if he had a better temper. If he succeeded, the others would succeed too.

'You're going to start with me, oh fearless alpha?' EJ asked mockingly.

'Yes, I'm starting with you.'

'You're a lousy alpha, you know? You didn't back me up last night when your father walked into my room and destroyed my television and now you want to teach me tricks! I don't need this shit!'

'You were asking for it, EJ. You can't be constantly annoying other people and my dad did ask you to turn the volume down three times.'

'Protecting mommy and daddy. How sweet of you.'

'EJ, I need you to focus on this. You can complain about how spoiled I am later.'

'You're not just a spoiled brat, Isaac. You're an asshole and a coward. You let your parents pick up your fights, you constantly need their approval, and you hate giving us orders. I don't think you're fit to lead us.'

'Do you think you are?'

'Maybe.'

EJ was angry at the world. Usually, he was the reason why Quinn, Jay, and Danny had trouble focusing so first I had to work with him and understand why he was acting like this.

'You want to fight, right? Against the bloodsuckers?'

'You know I do.'

'Why?'

'Because that's what we do.'

'I don't think that's why.' He was being evasive. 'You don't care about the wellbeing of our community. Apart from your family, the only bond you created in La Push was with criminals who don't trust you anymore. Now that you have a purpose and you've found your place in a pack, you're constantly fighting it. I need to know why. I think you need to know too.'

'You need to mind your business.'

'You're my business. Your wolf chose me as his alpha, remember?'

'My wolf is not me!'

'You're wrong. He is you. You are part human and part wolf. You have to accept it, EJ.'

My cousin was the most unstable wolf of all packs combined. He was even worse than William and that was saying something. Sometimes he was all cool and accepted his tasks, other times he refused to do whatever I asked him to do. There was also constant bickering between him and every wolf inside and outside our pack. This behavior was not consistent with the behavior of a spirit warrior. No wolf had ever acted like this before.

According to my parents and Carlisle, there had been difficult moments in the lives of all pack members before us. Uncle Paul was said to be the most unstable wolf at that time, but only because he had a short fuse and it was harder for him to control his temper. After a few months, Uncle Paul had managed to reach a balance between his human part and his wolf spirit.

All the other wolves had accepted their fate as La Push's protectors, giving in to their wolf instinct whenever they were confronted with the presence of vampires. My parents had admitted that they never wanted to be shapeshifters but despite their initial denial and anger, they too had been able to adapt to their new lives after a while.

Things were different for the members of the White pack. They were alone and didn't know anything about vampires and shapeshifters and yet they had also managed to sort things out after meeting dad and the rest of the pack.

But somehow we were different, a different generation who was not prepared to deal with the supernatural. A generation that was not so willing to make sacrifices, who wanted answers more than responsibilities.

I could relate to my cousin in some aspects. I had felt overwhelmed, angry, and scared when I learned the truth. In the beginning, I thought I was having a nightmare but soon I realized that the legends were true and I would have to accept what I was.

EJ was not there yet. He was still angry that everyone had lied to him. He was still trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life when a new one landed on his lap. And the problem was that this new life was not of his liking.

'You don't want to be here.' I started. 'I get that but you agreed about doing the trials. You said you want to fight and if you want to fight, you need to learn how to enter the minds of other wolves.'

'What for? I can listen to your thoughts and the thoughts of those three idiots over there! I don't need to listen to anyone else's thoughts.'

'Haven't you been listening? These vamps are not like the others. Some of you don't even know how to fight a vampire properly.'

'I can manage just fine.'

'You can't worry only about you! There are other people involved. Friends, family, innocent people. You need to put your shit together, EJ. If you have a problem, just let me know. If you don't want to be here and protect La Push, just say it and leave!'

'I'm not going to leave! I'm not going to lose to them!'

So this was about my brothers. Harry and Will had been friends with EJ for almost fifteen years. The moment William phased when he was fifteen, the twins were forced to hide the truth from their closest friends and EJ felt rejected. He swore he would never talk to them again and he probably wouldn't if he hadn't phased.

'I'm not going to lose to them!' He repeated. 'I have the gene too… ever since I was born. They didn't have to lie to me, they could've told me. Even if I didn't morph into a damn wolf back then, I would've kept their secret. We could've remained friends.'

'They were following orders from our parents.'

'We were like brothers!'

It was true. EJ and the twins were always together. I guess that the twins' detachment had weighted on EJ more than we thought.

'I hate them!' He growled. 'And I hate our family!'

Even though my cousin was thinking those things I could feel he didn't mean it. He was so full of anger that he just had to say those words. I think he was trying to convince himself that he hated us.

'I've felt angry for a long time too, EJ.' I told him. 'My father didn't treat me like he treated the twins, Sarah, or even JJ. He was kind and caring with my sister and little brother, and he had a special bond with the twins. And I was jealous because when he was with me he was different.'

'Forget it, Isaac. You're not going to achieve anything by telling me your sad life story.'

'In that case, you don't give any other option. You're not going with us, EJ. I can't rely on someone who's only worried about himself and his ego. Our mission is to protect our people and our packmates. I can't take you to battle if you refuse to help a packmate just because you want to prove you're better than my brothers.'

I felt my cousin's anger rising and then he launch himself at me. He was a big wolf, our age difference dictated that he was bigger than me because he was twenty-four and I was eighteen but I was faster because I was lighter than him.

Jay, Quinn, and Danny walked towards us ready to phase and separate us but I growled at them. I didn't want to stop EJ. I wanted him to take this out of his system.

'You can't do that!' He yelled at me.

I dodged the rapid blows my cousin threw at me, knowing that eventually, our bodies would make contact with each other. He was trying to bite one of my legs with no success.

I saw Danny leaving in a hurry and I knew that soon my father's pack would be there so I had to make this quick.

I had seen EJ fighting with William a while ago and I knew how he fought. His technique was unpolished, raw, and laced with nothing but anger.

'Don't forget that you started this, EJ.' I said before crashing into him.

'I'm not going to stand by and watch you fight while I'm left behind!' He thought as he tried to stand. The impact hadn't been that strong but he was now limping. 'I'm done being left behind!'

'I can't take a wolf that won't protect his pack brothers, EJ. If you're not committed, I can't trust you.'

'And do you think the others are committed? Have you been in their heads lately?' EJ started circling me, trying to find the best angle to attack me. He was going to try and force me into the ground so he could lounge at my neck.

'I have.'

'Then you know that Danny is shitless scared about this war! He doesn't want to be here! He had a plan before this wolf mojo ruined his life.'

I knew what EJ was talking about. Danny did have a plan. He wanted to save some money and go to College. He wanted to be an architect. He had been working in my father's shop for a year now, but he wanted to leave La Push next year to enroll in classes.

'Quinn is a mess too, you know? He just found out his mother lied to him about his real father and now he's stuck in a place that isn't his home with people he never knew.' EJ continued. 'And I'm not going to mention what's going on inside Jay's mind because it involves your little sister! But one thing I know for sure… none of them want to fight deadly vampires and stay in this God-forsaken reservation forever.'

'I understand what they feel because I felt the same.' I admitted. 'I had plans too. I didn't know about the legends, I was lied to and I felt cheated when I learned the truth but this is bigger than us, EJ. This is our fate and we have to accept it because the alternative sucks. So unless you want to commit yourself one hundred percent in this, I'm not wasting my time with you anymore.'

Finally, EJ realized I wasn't playing around. I wanted all of them ready for the battle but I was not going to take someone who wasn't completely devoted to the mission. It didn't matter if he was stronger than the others.

'I want you and your wolf to be on the same page. I want you to stop being so damn proud and embrace this mission. This is not a competition.'

'Fine. I'll do what you want… if you can beat me.'

'In that case, you should protect your left flank better.'

It was my turn to attack and when I did, it was meant to end that quarrel but EJ somehow predicted which way I was going to hit and blocked the blow in the last second. I had to retreat to avoid his mandibles.

A light rain began to fall. From the corner of my eye, I saw Quinn and Jay following us from a safe distance.

I had never been one to brag but I knew what I was capable of. I knew that at the moment only two other wolves could compete with me. One was my father for obvious reasons. He was the strongest wolf of all packs and it would take a while for someone to be able to overpower him. Then there was Uncle Seth. He wasn't dad's beta for nothing.

However, I didn't feel comfortable showing everyone what I could do. That would probably cause tension between the older wolves and the members of my pack. The last thing I needed was a group of wolves thinking that I was a conceited brat.

So I waited for my cousin to regain his balance and I allowed him to attack one more time. He slammed his body against mine, throwing me against a tree. I felt a slight pain on my left side but I knew nothing was broken. EJ came at me again and tried to corner me there but when he was towering me I lied down with my belly up, I flexed my back legs and hit him hard. He flew back and landed on an old well, smashing the rocks that were circling the entrance of the hole for protection.

I heard two of his ribs breaking and a small wincing sound. I had never meant to hurt him.

'Fuck! That hurt!' My cousin growled. 'I'll get you for this!'

Maybe he would have but as he got up, the ground where he stood gave in and I watched EJ disappear into the well. A huge splash told me that he had hit the water and then there was silence.

'Shit.'

EJ almost drowned. When he fell into the well he hit his head on the brick wall and passed out momentarily. When he hit the water, fifty-something meters down he returned to his human form which was a good thing because it allowed me to jump into the well and bring him back to the surface.

"He'll be fine once he wakes up." Uncle Seth said. Danny had managed to call him. "You should go, Isaac. Your father is waiting for you at the border."

"I'm staying here until EJ wakes up."

"He's not in danger."

"I know. But he already thinks I'm unfit to be his alpha. I can't let him think I'm also unfit to be his friend."

"Peter and Charlotte are waiting for you and your pack."

"Can you tell them to wait? Please?"

Uncle Seth sighed before nodding.

xxxxxxxxxx

We were told to remain in human form. Peter and Charlotte knew we had shapeshifting abilities but they weren't familiar with our animal forms and preferred to meet us as humans.

"Is everything alright?" Dad asked me as EJ and I took our places besides the rest of my pack.

"Yes." I nodded. "Everything's fine."

EJ and I had seemed to have found an understanding. At least for now.

I didn't know what made him open up to me after almost drowning inside that well but he was now ready to put his pride aside. Before we left the Vacant House he even promised he'd behave.

I took a good look at the two vampires who were standing on the other side of the stream of water running between our lands and the Cullen's estate.

The man was slim and not very tall, his hair was dark brown and his eyes were red. The woman was petite and had short brown hair. She looked like a doll. They had matching clothes and matching bracelets and it was hard to read their emotions.

"These are Peter and Charlotte." My father introduced us. "They'll be training you for the next couple of days. If you don't feel comfortable with them just let me know." His eyes went to my pack.

Quinn and Jay were holding their breaths. Peter and Charlotte's scent was different from the Cullen's mainly due to their human-blood diet. Danny was trembling slightly. None of them seemed very enthusiastic about training with the Cullen's friends. But we all knew it was necessary.

"Watch Danny," I whispered to EJ who looked at his younger brother and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy, baby brother. They're not dangerous." He told Danny who nodded. "But if they step out of line, I'll show them a lesson."

Charlotte and Peter ignored EJ's words.

"They'll push you to the limit," Jasper announced. "Both Charlotte and Peter served in Maria's army with me. We trained newborns to become lethal warriors. We don't know if the Romanians will come or if they have an army of newborns but we might assume that we'll have to face them sooner or later."

"After today's practice, we'll make sure you understand what you're dealing with," Peter said confidently. "Charlotte will take care of you first. Don't be fooled by her innocent look, she's a very demanding teacher." He smiled at his partner and she returned the smile. Then they kissed.

"Are you ready pups?" She asked us letting her partner go. "Now boys, let's see who the big bad wolf is."

Dad accompanied us during the first hour of training. Charlotte was everything that her husband had said and more. She was brutal. Within the first twenty-five minutes she had inflicted us several cuts and multiple fractures and none of us had managed to touch one string of her hair.

She was fast, strong and a master in strategy. First, she faced us one by one, and then she made us work in pairs. I had been spared that round because dad told me I should stay back and watch my companions fight. As a leader, I was supposed to know everything about my pack mates.

"Danny is still frightened." My father stated. "He can't focus on the task ahead. Why?"

I had been inside Danny's head earlier so I knew what was bothering my cousin.

"He knows he's the weakest link but he doesn't know what to do to change that," I replied.

The omega wolf. That's what Danny called himself.

"There are no omegas in our packs. You have to talk to him about that."

Wolf packs had a hierarchy. The top was occupied by an alpha male or an alpha pair. On rare occasions, a pack could be led by an alpha female but that would turn her pack more susceptible to an outside attack because females were usually not as strong as males. The alpha male was usually assisted by a second-in-command, the second strongest wolf of the pack, a wolf that could replace the alpha in times of need. That was the beta wolf. In large packs, it was also common the existence of a gamma wolf whose job was to care and teach the younger wolves taking that burden off of the beta's shoulders. The bottom of this hierarchy was occupied by the omega wolf. He was the weaker member of the pack, and in the wild, he's also the last to feed and he usually suffered abuse from other wolves.

But we were different from wolf packs. We were shapeshifters and there were no omegas in our packs. Danny however felt like he was the underdog of the pack and his self-esteem was low.

"I will." I guaranteed. I just had to find a way to convince my pack mates that it was okay to be afraid while teaching them to overcome their fears.

"We all have flaws. Alphas are not perfect, especially when they are parents." He said. And I knew he was telling me that he too had weaknesses. "But you… you might be different, you just need to figure things out for yourself."

Jasper was right. Charlotte took us to the limit. Ten hours later we were allowed to rest. We were so tired that we didn't even go home and ended up sleeping in the forest. And for the first time, we all felt it as tiredness overcame us: we were one pack, a unit. We were five parts of a whole.

And we slept side by side until the morning came.

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Karisan.