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
96. Missing Best Man
Cameron Saint-Clair was an average twenty-year-old girl. She lived in Forks since she was three years old and was trying to qualify for the US Ski and Snowboard team. She had spent the last four months training in Asia and Europe and was now home for her birthday. So when she called David telling him that she and her friends were going to celebrate her twentieth birthday in a bar in Port Angeles, he decided he had to go there too.
David sneaked out of his house and went to Port Angeles even though he was feeling sick. He probably wasn't worried because he only felt a minor headache. About an hour after he met Cameron he had asked her to go with him to a pharmacy so he could get some medication for what he thought was a common flu.
He felt like he was throwing up when they were almost there and entered an alley and then, before he could throw up he watched his legs and arms becoming larger and stronger and he turned into a wolf. Cameron passed out. David thought she was dead and freaked out, and the rest was history.
Well, sort of.
When we managed to take David and Cameron out of that alley in Port Angeles and put them inside the car, I ordered EJ and Quinn to drive them back to La Push and I thought that this problem was over. In the meanwhile, the rest of us would phase and head home to warn the other pack about what had happened.
It was a simple plan. Or so I thought. Any plan involving my cousin was not simple. I would have to learn from my mistakes.
EJ and Quinn only showed up two hours later carrying David and Cameron who had been heavily sedated during the ride home.
Long story short: EJ got hungry and thirsty and since he found some money inside David's car he decided to pull over and buy some food and drinks. While they were shopping in a small store, Cameron woke up and panicked.
EJ and Quinn had to go back to the car but she became more hysterical and EJ used the tranquilizer gun. Unfortunately, he missed the first shot and hit David instead. He shot a second time and hit Cameron on her neck but he forgot to readjust the dosage so we had to take the girl to Uncle Seth. Fortunately, the dosage wasn't lethal for a human.
Since she would sleep for at least five hours, we took her to Uncle Embry's house. We had no idea where she lived and it would be weird if she woke up in the Vacant House surrounded by people she had never seen before. She didn't know David's parents either but she had spoken to and met Denise a few times, hence she wouldn't be so scared. Now we only had to think about a plausible lie to tell her once she woke up.
The third trial had been canceled until further notice. Sam, Jared, and Quil were taking care of Jerry and David until the pack decided what to do. The Council wanted the boys to join Theo and August in Campbell so they could train under my brother's leadership. Uncle Embry and Jared disagreed.
They wanted to follow their sons closely and both thought that David and Jerry would be great additions to one of La Push's packs. Plus we would need them. According to the latest news from Alice we would need every wolf.
I left the Vacant House early in the morning. I still had an hour before my shift but I wanted to check the perimeter on my own before joining Denis and Josh. Something had happened last night. My parents had left together at around four in the morning and they didn't return. That meant trouble.
I was halfway to our southern border when she appeared from behind a huge tree. The tree wasn't so huge but near her everything was enormous.
"Can you change forms, please?" Scarlett asked politely.
I went behind the bushes to phase back and put some clothes on. Then I met her. She was leaning against the tree with her hands in her pockets. She wore a navy blue skirt and a dark blouse with blue buttons.
"Why are you here?" I asked. "Some of my friends aren't used to you or Marcus being around. They can attack you unintentionally."
"I wanted to talk to you." She replied. "And I'm not afraid of your friends. I have battle training and powers."
I rolled my eyes. She was too smug for my liking. Maybe EJ was right and I was a bit jealous of her.
"Why do you want to talk to me?"
"To apologize."
I was a bit confused about her words. Why would she apologize?
"I should apologize to your friends too. The ones who phased yesterday. Carlisle told me that my arrival must have triggered their transformation."
"They had symptoms ever since Marcus arrived so it wasn't just you."
"I still feel guilty." She confessed.
"Don't. It's no use. You can't change the past, can you?"
She nodded negatively.
"Are there more? With symptoms?"
"Not that we know of." Which was a relief. We would have problems hiding our secret if more kids kept on turning into wolves. Cameron was going to be told that she had had her drink spiked with some hallucinogenic drug and she would probably believe that story since the alternative was to accept that she had seen her boyfriend transforming into a giant wolf.
Julia and Jaelle were a totally different story. It had been impossible to lie to them. Mom had asked them to stay quiet about what happened and they had reluctantly agreed.
"Tell me something, Isaac... Have you ever fought a vampire?" Scarlett asked me.
"Yes," I replied. I was surprised by that question.
"How many have you killed?"
"A few." I lied. I hadn't killed that many. Only one actually but I didn't want her to think I was a failure. "Why are you asking me that?"
"I've seen your brother fighting. We fought together in Italy. He was... quite amazing for a wolf. If you and your friends can't fight like that, you..." She hesitated but I knew what she was trying to tell me.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I cut her off.
"You're going to war." She blurted. "It's still a secret... but I think you should know and I think you and your pack shouldn't fight. You're not ready."
"Really? You came here to tell me that we're not ready to go to battle? That we should hide while the rest of my family fight? Is that it?"
She had some nerve. She was here for a day. She didn't even see us fighting and she had already assumed we weren't as good as Harry.
"You don't know anything about me or my pack. We can handle this, don't worry."
"I doubt that." She said flatly. "You don't control your pack like your father controls his. I'm not doubting your leading skills, I'm just stating that your pack is not ready to engage in a battle of this dimension. Your older cousin is a ticking bomb, your younger cousin is smart and loyal but he lacks confidence and training. The other two... they're just average... and the ones who phased yesterday, they won't be ready on time so I don't think you should consider participating in this war."
"Well, thank you for your concern but it's not your problem," I told her flatly. "Now why are you so sure that we're going to war?"
"The Romanians' allies know that Vlad and Stefan don't have Season. She was the only reason they accepted to fight for their cause. Everyone fears Jane and Alec, no one will ever go against them. With Season though... vampires were eager to watch Jane and Alec defeated, maybe even dead... for good."
"And now they think the Romanians will lose the war because they don't have Season's powers." I realized. "But that's a good thing, isn't it? If they abandon the Romanians, maybe the Romanians stop what they're planning too and stay put."
"No... that will never happen. Maria and the other vampires who started to prepare for war against the Volturi are disappointed. They invested a lot of time and effort in preparing armies and making plans. They don't want to give up without a fight but they do need insurance that the Romanians will take out the advantage that the Volturi always had."
"Vampires with abilities."
"Yes." She nodded. "And now they summoned the Forum."
"What's that?"
"It's a meeting where vampires call upon the right to interview their allies and ask them to come forward with the truth when they sense they're being lied to. Maria convinced Pauley Linch, another ally of the Romanians from Europe, to summon the Forum. All parties involved agreed to meet seven days from now."
"So Stefan and Vlad will be interrogated by their allies about Season. That means either they lie and tell them that everything is fine, or they tell the truth and risk being abandoned by their allies."
"In theory, yes. Those would be their only options. But there is a third one."
"Coming here to get Season... again." I didn't need Scarlett to tell me that I was right. I knew it before I even mentioned it.
The Romanians were coming and we were going to war.
xxxxxxxxxx
"It was that vampire. The one who told me that we had a third option if we didn't want to choose a side between the Volturi and the Romanians. I'm positive. He told Maria and the others that the Romanians don't have Season on their side anymore." Mom said.
She was probably right. That vampire's name was Janus and despite being a member of the Romanian Coven, he had clearly an agenda of his own. Alice hadn't been able to see him in her visions which could mean that he had deserted the Coven as Marcus had done.
"That doesn't make any difference, Leah," Dad mentioned. "We don't know where he is and he wouldn't be able to help us either."
"How long do we have?" Harrison asked. He had just arrived from Campbell Island after being summoned to an emergency meeting with the alphas of all packs, so it was basically a family gathering.
"Six days, maybe seven."
"Let me get this straight... In five days those motherfuckers from Romania will come here to demand us to hand Season over to them again... knowing full well that she doesn't have the power-erasing ability, is that it?" William resumed everything.
Dad nodded. But it was worse than that.
Seeing Season with Vlad and Stefan wouldn't be enough for the Romanians' allies. They would want another demonstration of Season's power. A power that she had seemed to have lost after learning she was pregnant.
"I'm not letting anyone lay a finger on Season," Harry stated. "She's carrying my child, and even if she wasn't, I wouldn't allow such a thing."
No one doubted that. In the past, we had given the Romanians what they wanted because we didn't have a choice. Now we had at least a small advantage.
"We know they're coming. We can prepare for their arrival and this time, no one is getting anywhere with those vamps." Mom stated firmly.
"We need a plan. A good plan." I said and everyone nodded. Then a deafening silence fell upon us for a long time.
The first suggestions were William's and they were basically plans with no planning at all. William had never been an organized person so it didn't actually surprise me. Then because anyone was agreeing with him, Will sulked and sat down on the couch.
"If anyone has a better idea, I'm all ears." He said crossing his arms over his chest. My parents sighed. I knew they probably had a plan forming in their heads but either they weren't too sure about it or they wanted to allow us to shine.
"We need to speak to the Cullens, and probably their two guests too." I finally said.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Because any plan we might come up with won't suffice without their participation. Plus we need Alice's power to know basic things like how many vampires will come here, and who's going to arrive first."
"Okay, fine. Let's go talk to them." William said getting up.
"Wait," I called after him.
"What now?"
"Don't you have to be somewhere?"
William rolled his eyes. He had an appointment with Rhea's family. They wanted to have a final word with William before the big day.
"I'm so not going." My brother said.
"William! Don't start! It will be worse if you don't go." Mom told him.
"I doubt that." He said in a whisper.
xxxxxxxxxx
William was right for once. His meeting with the Whites didn't go so well. My brother was a hothead but most of the time he was harmless. Except when he had four in-laws-to-be lecturing him about being a good husband and a good father. While the women focused on his erratic behavior and his constant absence, Hal decided to push William's buttons and accused him of being a lazy young man who would never be good enough for Rhea.
To my brother's credit, he did manage to remain calm enough not to burst into his wolf form inside the White's living room, but now Hal was going to attend his granddaughter's wedding with a broken jaw. Fortunately, Harry was able to prevent him to suffer life-threatening injuries.
"My suit is alright, mom!" He huffed while our mother was fixing his tie. We were all getting ready for the wedding.
"Oh, you look so handsome!" Grandma Sue said walking inside the huge tent. "Alice thought about everything, didn't she? That suit looks great on you, Will."
"Thanks, Grandma. Is Harry here yet?"
"No, not yet. But he'll be here. Don't worry." She smiled at him.
William was nervous. Having Harry by his side would calm him down a little but not fully. He was getting married today. His wedding had been rescheduled for a few months earlier than expected so he still hadn't a house to live in. Plus instead of a family event, this had turned out to be the biggest wedding La Push had ever seen.
"How many guests are there?" He asked me again.
"A few hundred."
"We shouldn't be doing this." Will finally stated. "Not before the whole Reservation, I don't know half of these people! I should've never agreed with this."
"It's going to be okay. You're practically married already. You marked her so this is just a formality."
William huffed again and then we all heard a car. Dad had arrived with the priest. He was a small, fat, and bald man but he had cheerful eyes and a warm smile.
"You sure have good genes, Mr. Black." He was telling my father while walking into his place. "I look like a midget compared to you!"
Dad laughed.
Then more people started to arrive. There were hundreds of chairs with ribbons, laces, and flowers under the blue sky. It was a cold November day but miraculously it wasn't raining.
I left the tent and watched as people were instructed to go to their seats by my Aunts Rebecca and Rachel. Our seats were on the first row, alongside the Whites. Rhea's family was already there. Although the relationship between our families was stressful and complicated, they couldn't hide their enthusiasm about being a part of something like this.
Hal was now not only a member of the Small Council but also the patriarch of the family who would soon be our in-laws. And once Rhea's baby was born he would have a family member in common with us which had always been Rhonda's dream.
The members of the White pack were there too, with their families and so were Calleigh, Jesse, Caden, and Valentine. I wondered then what would've been like if I had gone to live with the Feltons when I was supposed to. Probably Sophia and I were a couple now and instead of living miles apart, we would live under the same roof.
"It's hard, isn't it? When you want something that you can't have?"
I turned around and saw Dana Hansen. It was Dana's body but I was speaking with her great-grandmother Odessa. Unlike every other guest, she was wearing a tribal outfit instead of a wedding gown.
"Your people are forgetting their traditions and costumes. They've become blind by all the wealth and glamor of these bloodsucking monsters. Jacob should've never allowed the Cullens to stay for so long."
"They're not that bad and you didn't have to come."
"Of course I did! There's a bloodsucker trying to find the Conductor... I need to be here when that happens."
"You could let Dana take your place though."
"Dana is fine where she is right now. You people think I'm a monster because I live in the body of my great-granddaughter but this is not so different from what happens to you. You also live in communion with a wolf spirit, don't you?"
"It's different."
Odessa glared at me.
"So... you want to talk about Miss Felton, right?"
"No. I want to talk to Miss Felton."
"I don't think she wants to talk to you. Despite what your sister may have been telling you, Sophia wants to have a normal life which is not compatible with a boyfriend who can morph into a wolf and spends most of his time with a group of stinking vampires."
"In that case, I want to hear her say that in my face."
"Be my guest, young Black. You've been warned." She grinned and let me pass.
Sophia and I were in a complicated situation. We had both agreed that we liked each other and we had made plans to start a relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend but things had changed since then.
She was now trying to cope with the fact that she had inherited a supernatural gift from her mother. A gift that in Odessa's opinion should be made dormant again and that was what Sophia was being instructed to do by the old lady who lived inside Dana's body.
I approached Sophia quietly. She was hugging her sister Valentine when she finally noticed me.
"Hi, Isaac." Valentine greeted with a warm smile.
"Hi, kid."
Next to Valentine, her brother Caden frowned. He was not very fond of me.
"Do you want me to send him away?" I heard him whispering in Sophia's ear.
"No, it's fine. I'll handle this."
Sophia approached me and we walked to the sideline, away from where the guests were sitting.
"What do you want Isaac? We agreed I needed time."
"I know. You must be confused and a bit angry but it's going to be okay because I really want things between us to work and if you want the same, then I'm willing to break the rules and tell you everything you need to know. About me, about us, about everything that's going on. But I can only do that if there's still hope for us."
Sophia looked down and I took a second to look at her. She was amazing in a green and golden dress. It looked like she was wearing a velvet corset. The lower part of the dress was ruffled and slightly above her knees.
"You look great by the way..." I added as a compliment.
"I want things to be like before." She said finally bringing herself to look me in the eyes. "When we met things were easy and normal... I got to know you and I liked you but I can tell that the person I knew back then wasn't the real you."
"You're not the same person either, Sophia."
"Because of you." She blurted and I was suddenly taken aback.
"Dana told me that there's a chance that my... gift..." She put some emphasis on the word 'gift'. "... was activated because of you, because I was with you."
It wasn't Dana who had told her that it was Odessa. Sophia was not aware of that though. She didn't know that Dana's body was sometimes taken by Odessa Clearview. She had told me that I was going to be sorry for what I've done when I forced her to help us. Now I knew why.
"I don't know if it's true." Sophia continued. "But I know that I want to go back to have a normal life and you... you probably don't."
"I do! I just can't right now but..."
"I would like us to be together, Isaac but I'm not sure I want to wait while you decide if you want to leave everything behind to be with me. I don't even know if I want to know what's going on, to begin with."
"Meet me after the wedding so we can talk, okay?"
She nodded and joined her family. Calleigh and her husband waved at me and then I took my seat beside my younger brother.
"How long will this take?" He asked me.
"Bored already?"
"A little."
"You can play with the rest of the kids as soon as it's over," I told him. And I would finally be able to talk to Sophia again. I was looking forward to it. I was going to break the rules and tell her the truth about wolves, vampires, and this war. I needed her to understand what was going on so she could give me a chance to prove that I wanted to be with her.
JJ rolled his eyes just like Will had done earlier.
"You didn't answer my question." He whined and focused his attention on the cellphone he was holding. He was watching a video of some kids doing tricks with skateboards.
There was absolute silence when the vampires arrived. They tried to be discreet but failed. Rosalie was wearing a black and white dress that made her look like a top-model. Bella and Esme had chosen dresses of the same color but with a different cut. Bella had opted for a crimson long dress with long sleeves and open in the back. Esme had put on a crimson dress with a high neckline and no sleeves. Alice was wearing a beige minidress with high black boots and a leather jacket. Marcus and Scarlett were amongst them also wearing expensive outfits. It was impossible to be discreet dressing like that.
People knew they had been the ones organizing and paying for this wedding so they all glanced at them while they were taking their places under the canopy installed on the last row. I could hear a few gossips here and there but then someone else caught everyone's attention.
She was amazing in a silver satin strapless dress above her knee and her hair in an exquisite ponytail. I felt the commotion amongst the other wolves. Dad glared at Alice who murmured an apology. In her attempt to make everything perfect, Alice had given my sister a dress that was too bold and daring for that occasion.
Behind me, Jay moved uncomfortably in his seat following Sarah with his eyes while Ella was sitting next to him. This was the first time Ella and Jay were seen together in public. Traditionally she should be with the Uleys that were two rows away, but Ella had chosen to come and sit next to Jay instead.
Fortunately, EJ and Danny were not there yet, and David and Jerry were staying at Sam's since they were still not ready to appear in public.
Quinn and the younger wolves Harry was training were all captivated by Sarah's sudden appearance but she only locked eyes with one person.
"Uley," Sarah whispered stopping in front of Levi, ignoring Sam and Emily.
"Black," He replied and kept on staring at her figure.
My father stepped forward. Uncle Embry and Uncle Seth stopped him from interfering not because they wanted to see what was going on but with fear of what my dad could do to Levi.
The longer they stared at each other the more agitated all wolves turned. So I went there and softly pushed Sarah back towards me. From the corner of my eye, I saw dad relaxing as he watched me take over.
"I thought you were going to stop with the little games," I told her.
My words had the desired effect. My sister looked at me breaking the eye contact with Levi, who took a step back and looked away from us without uttering a word.
"Your seat is next to mine." I dragged my sister with me up to the front row.
"I'm not playing games." She spat.
"I'm not an idiot, Sarah. You walked in here, saw Jay sitting next to Ella, and decided to make him jealous by speaking to Levi." I shook my head disapprovingly.
Sarah was about to argue with me again when the music started and Rhea left her tent on the other side of the huge property Alice had rented to accommodate all the wedding guests. Her white dress fitted her perfectly. It was a surprise seeing her holding her estranged father's arm. Everyone knew she didn't have a good relationship with him but apparently, she was trying to forgive him and put the past behind.
"Where the fuck is Harrison?" I heard William ask to no one in particular. His eyes never left Rhea who was approaching us with her father. "I can't get married without Harry here! He's my best man!"
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Karisan.