Protectors

By Aqua279

"Chapter One"

Third Person

Jacob

Jacob sighed, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his…fur. Once he neared the town of La Push, he stopped, watching a group of ten year olds who seemed to be playing a game of dodge ball. Only…the majority of the group was advancing on one small kid. And, now that Jacob looked, he realized that they were holding basket balls. Quickly letting the ice slid down his spine, Jacob was human and putting his shorts on. He ran out just as the bigger kids threw the balls.

The basket balls bounced off his bared chest harmlessly, banging o the ground. Seeming too shocked to move, the kids only gaped at him.

"That's not very nice." He said, emotionless. Distantly, he heard Embry growl from the woods. 'Just stay calm, Em. We're the protectors, right? I'm protecting.' He thought, though knowing Embry wouldn't hear. The children shook, scared.

"Apologize."

"Sorry!" They all said at once, backing up slowly. Jacob let them run, then turned to the child behind him. "Are you okay?" Okay, so he wasn't good with little kids, sue him.

"Mhmmm…" The boy squeaked, frozen with either shock or fear…or both…

"Where do you live?" "M…eep…" The child squeaked again, falling backwards. His eyes rolled closed. Oh jeeze.

Jacob took the boy to the only place he could think to go. Sam and Emily's house. Emily was home alone, watching from the door. "Jake, who's hurt?" She demanded, seeing a body in his hands. "No one. I need your help." He called in a deadened voice. He held the boy. "Do you know where he lives?"

"Yes- I'll drive him home."

XXXXXX Quil XXXXXX Quil XXXXXX Quil XXXXXX Quil XXXXXX Quil XXXXXX Quil XXXXX

Quil sat stock still, watching the darkening clouds. So, if no more vampires were coming, did it mean that they wouldn't be were wolves any more? No, there are more vampires, just not here…He grumbled, squeezing his fist closed on a rock until it turned to a powder. By the road a man was having an argument with a woman.

"Let me go!" The woman yelled, sounding distressed. Quil listened harder.

"No, b!!tch, just get in the dam car!" The mans voice growled. "Let go, you as hole!" He got up and ran to them.

"Is there a problem??" He asked loudly, flexing his arms. The woman was crying, with a black eye and looked to be only fifteen or sixteen. The man had his fist pulled back.

"Are you a police officer?" Quil caught the small, feeble mans hand in his much larger one."I suggest you leave. And don't ever show your face here again." He suggested, squeezing the bony hand just a little. Then he let go, waiting for the man to go. "Scat!" He growled, baring his teeth. The guy stumbled backwards and hurriedly tripped into his old car. When he was gone, Quil turned to the girl."Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm…I'm fine." The girl said defiantly, sticking her chin out. "You don't look fine," he said, seeing her hand bleed, busted lip, and black eye.

"But I sad that I am. Don't you guys ever understand anything?" She whined, more tears spilling down her face. Quils eyes widened.

"NO! That's not what I meant! I just meant that my friend can drive you to the hospital! I-"

"Sure, whatever." The girl walked away, leaving a gild bracelet on the ground. Jamie was engraved in it. Quil shook his head. Well, he tried. He was a protector, after all.

XXXXXX EMBRY XXXXXX EMBRY XXXXXX EMBRY XXXXXX EMBRY XXXXXX EMBRY X

Embry grinned, walking through the soggy forest barefoot. Okay, so running like a wolf was nothing to killing a cold, undead vampire with your own two…jaws, but it was satisfying. Especially when you morph back to human and all your muscles relax at once and you get that lethargic, self accomplished feeling. Yeah, Sam's going to be pissed that he is so far from La Push, but something was drawing him to the city. So here he is. No biggie- everyone told him to NEVER ignore tugging feelings like this. Not when it felt like an arrow was lodged in your chest and tugging you towards its archer. So.

People stared. Of course; he had no shoes, and no shirt, and he is particularly large compared to these mortals. Something about some of their innocence to the real world was jealous-making. Even if they were blind to his world, some of them were blind to their own world. They'd been shielded all their lives. But some of them knew things they never wanted to know- you could see it in their faces. You can see the pain, the suffering, and the turmoil in their eyes. Embry gasped, stopping dead in the middle of a sea of people.

They all seemed to blur together and disappear, leaving only one girl. She was leaning on a wall. Her hair was blond, eyes green, and skin paled. One emerald green eye was blackened, one bottom, perfect, rose bud lip was busted, one gentle looking hand bleeding. In the eyes, the beautiful eyes Embry could see it all. She'd seen and felt pain, seen and felt suffering, had been turmoil. She'd seen too much, felt too much, had been through too much. Someone was speaking to her, and she grimaced, face twisting yet still sparkling.

"Leave me alone." Her voice paralyzed him again. Then Embry was beside her, growling at the man harassing her.

"She said leave. So get." He snarled, wolfish sounds leaving his chest and throat. The girl looked up at him, eyes wide with curiosity. The man backed down, slinking into the shadows. "Are you alright?" He asked gently, body still shielding the girl.

"I'm-I'm fine. Th-thank you." She stammered, blinking once, slowly.

"I'm Embry." He muttered, ignoring stares of curiosity and slight worry. "I'm Jamie…" She didn't even give a quizzical look at his name.

"Jamie, would you like me to take you somewhere to get your hand checked?" She laughed quietly, sarcastically.

"Lemme guess: you're a friend of big and scary, right? You might even be brothers." She turned to walk away, but Embry caught her small hand gently. She was only what, five three?

"Please, I just…want to help. You don't have to even look in my direction after this." He breathed, easily seeing Jamie's breath catch.

"Uhm…fine. But I might take you up on that offer." She whispered.

The doctor- at the hospital, of course- said that her hand had been gashed deeply by a knife. Embry watched as Jamie's lip and hand got treated, then watched the doctor sweep her bangs back in a too gently way to take care of a cut on her forehead. Embry growled slightly, the need to protect her exceedingly strong. Jamie was blushing immensely under his deep and heart felt gaze. He couldn't help it. This was imprint. This is something you can't ignore. Sometimes it's good and bad, like a twin headed sword- like Sam and Emily- and sometimes it's strange, like a two headed turtle- like Jared and Kim- and other times it's like a gruesome, gut twisting horror film, like something you couldn't look away from- like Jacob and Bella. Sometimes it's unexpected and a little frowned upon but not labeled like Clair and Quils. Embry hoped this one was special and unrecognizable.

XXXXXX SAM XXXXXX SAM XXXXXX SAM XXXXXX SAM XXXXXX SAM XXXXXX SAM X

'How do I always get in these situations?" Sam thought as he put his shorts on. He'd been running through the woods and saw a truck, pulled over with a flat tire. Okay fine and dandy except that Sam sensed a storm coming and his conscience was telling him to go help the guy. 'Why not? I'm supposed to set an example for the others as a "protector". I'm sure this is NOT what they had in mind when we were called the protectors, but…' That means even things like this. He thought to himself, walking with ease towards the man.

"Hey, you need some help?!" Same called, bounding up. He had a spare tire, but no jack. "Uh, do you happen to know where a gas station is? Or do you have a jack?" The man looked up and jumped, obviously startled by the large appearance of him. "Uh…I…uhh…."

"Yeah, there's a gas station up the road. I can change your tire for you, if you'd like." The man smiled slightly. "Okay, you try to change the tire, and I'll go get gas." Sam nodded and waited until the man was out of site to gently set the truck on its side.

By the time the man got back with the gas can, the car was finished and on all four wheels. The man whistled.

"Thanks a lot! I would pay you , but I spent all my money on gas." The man grimaced.

"Don't worry about it- I wouldn't ask for money." Though he could use it. It started raining, pouring by the buckets. "Oooh crap. Do you need a ride?""No, thank you." Sam said blankly, heading towards the woods with a secret, wry grin. He was a wolf again in no time.

'Helping people, Sam?' Paul teased.

'We are the protectors, no? Well…Jacob you seem to have the gist of it. Quil, you too. Has anyone heard from Embry?' 'Not for a while…' Quil replied, an image of a gold chain inscribed with Jamie in his head.

XXXXXX PAUL XXXXXX PAUL XXXXXX PAUL XXXXXX PAUL XXXXXX PAUL XXXXXX

Okay, so he has a temper. Big deal. That doesn't mean he's going to sit by and watch a dog whine in pain after it got hit by a car that just drove away. Growling, Paul went out into the road and picked up the hurt golden retriever. "Hush, girl. It's okay." A car came by slowly, splashing water. The rain was cold; a woman peaked out the window, then jumped out of the car."You son of a b-crap. Vix." She said, coming towards him. Paul's arms tightened around the dog. "What happened? Did YOU hit her?"

"What? No! I didn't. Some jerk did, I was just helping!" the woman relaxed a bit.

"Uh…Okay. Can you hold her in my car? I need to get her to my house immediately. I'm a vet." She explained with a quick smile. "Please get in. if you help me, I can give you a ride home. We just moved here." Paul nodded. "Uhm.." "The front, please. Kaylee is sleeping in the back.' He nodded again and easily got into the SUV. He curiously turned his head to face the child in the back. His breath caught. 'Damn it…' She looked about five years old, with super curly red hair, in ringlets, no freckles. She had a sweet face, and Paul couldn't believe it. Joy. He just imprinted on a five year old. "Uhm…I'm Jes." "Paul," he muttered, distracted by the fact that he was recognizing the road they were on. It almost looked like- he gasped. They- Jes and Kaylee- were moving in right next door to his house. "Okay, just walk right in and wipe your feet. The kitchen, if you don't mind. It's to the left and-"

"Straight, I know. My fathers friend used to live here." Paul said, walking towards the door, which he held open for Jes; who was carrying Kaylee. He wiped his feet and carefully moved through the cluster of boxes. "Vix" whined as he set her down.

"I know, I know. Shhh." Paul said, petting her head gently. The dog stopped moving, calming slightly. Her leg was bent in an odd angle. "Alright, I've got my bag- I'm going to need you to hold her down." Jes was all business now, holding a clichéd black bag. "Her leg is broken and I bet a few ribs, too," Paul said, recognizing the injuries so close to Jacob's. The woman nodded and sat down on her knees. "Vix, play dead." She said. The dogs tail wagged slightly and then went limp. Jes pushed a needle into her skin, making the dog whimper. Within fifteen minutes, Paul and Jes had Vix all wrapped up, laying on the cough- out cold.

"What did you give her?" Jes smiled at him."Well, I gave her demurral. It's a human medication but it keeps her sleeping without hurting her." Paul nodded, then stood up.

"I don't mean to be rude-" yeah right "- but where's her father?" He asked, eyes on the ceiling. "He should be here soon. Why?" "Just wondering if he was born here." "Yes, so was his whole family. He tells Kaylee bed time stories of the legends here. Sometimes her grandfather seems to believe them…so does her dad…" Jes said, shaking her head. 'That should make this easier.' Paul thought without humor.

"Oh, yeah. Most older guys from here believe in all the legends." He forced a laugh, unsure of what to do or say. 'Oh, hey, I'm a were wolf. Yeah, I know. And- get this- twenty minutes ago, I imprinted on your five year old. I won't age. So I'll be like her older brother, then a good friend, then like a BF.' so casual. His arms were shaking and he found himself panting.

"Uh…I've got to go. Thanks for the ride." Paul mumbled. "Oh, and if you guys ever need a baby-sitter…" He trailed off, waiting for Jes to nod with a confused smile before taking off. He landed in the mud about four miles away before letting the heat fly down his back. Now, this is easier.

'Paul, where are you going?' Quil asked. 'Whoa-did you-"

'Shut it! I'm about eight miles from you.' Paul remarked, digging his claws deeper into the mud.

'Does anyone know where Embry is? --Paul? Is that girl…?'

'Aww- she's cute!' Seth said quietly.

'Quiet!' Paul growled loudly, suddenly protective of the five year old he'd seen only once.

'Calm down, Paul. Seth, I'd be careful- he's going to be very protective for a while. We might not meet Kaylee for a while, right Sam?' asked Jared, joining them.

'Right, because she's so young.' Sam replied. 'Hopefully her dad is a friend.' Paul started growling loudly again, snarling and spitting, too.

'Just be quiet, please. I don't know what to do with this.' He sighed. He distinctly heard Quil think 'he does know the word please…' but ignored it. 'I just wanted to be alone. I'll be at my house.' With that he changed direction.

XXXXXX AN XXXXXX AN XXXXXX AN XXXXXX AN XXXXXX AN XXXXXX AN XXXXXX

I hope you guys liked that. I realize that I didn't do Leah, but she's next. And so is everyone that I forgot. What like one person besides her? Then I'll do everyone else again. Until I see fit to end the story. I am hopelessly boring when it comes to leaving romance out of stories, so obviously who ever hasn't imprinted, will and everyone who has will be very happy. I will not however make it rated m though. So there p