Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer and I do not own the rights to the Twilight Saga, Life and Death, or any of the accouterments in the series.

AN: This starts right after the bonfire where Beau heard the pack's legends. In this version of events, Beau never runs from Jules, so he never finds out that the cheek kiss he saw between Edythe and Magnus meant nothing. As this is a one-shot, there will be a lot of jumps, sort of like An Alternate Route or A January Wedding, previously.

Forever Protector

The legends stayed with me after we left the bonfire up on the cliff and walked along the beach.

"Is all of that why you believe I was meant to be your imprint?" I asked slowly, mostly unwillingly, but needing to know the answer, no matter what.

Jules didn't answer me immediately, kicking a rock with her feet as we continued in a walk. Finally, she shrugged and said, "Maybe, I don't know, Beau. I can't really begin to explain it. All I know is that you're important to me... and that I love you. And I know hearing those words makes you uncomfortable, but I can't really deny them."

I sighed. "Jules, you know I should leave, don't you? It's wrong for me to stay. Our feelings are different, and eventually, others are going to get old enough to shift. If me – my kind – truly cause it... Well, staying here is the last thing I should do."

"I disagree."

I arched an eyebrow at her, I'd never heard her give a different theory for why they turned.

"Not about you being the cause of us shifting, but you leaving because of it. The world's changing, Beau. I can feel it. There's what, over twenty newborn vampires in Seattle? We still don't know what they're being made for... I think our tribe needs to change with the changes of the world, which means we're going to continue to need protectors. You cause us to turn, so you need to be here."

"Is that even fair on the next generation? They potentially have a chance at a normal life."

"It's about the same as asking if love is fair or war... or any number of other subjects." She shrugged again. "Stay, Beau. You have nowhere else to really go anymore, and you will do well here."

"I already promised to stay for the night."

"I know, but I want you to stay permanently."

I closed my eyes momentarily. "I can't promise forever, Jules, and there may come a day when you don't want this half-relationship that we seem to be stuck in. Let's just take it one day at a time."

"I doubt that'll happen, Beau."

"You don't know that."

"Maybe not, but I truly believe it."

There was a deafening silence between us for several minutes.

"I'll walk you home," Julie said after a minute.

…

"Are you sure you want to get involved with this?" I looked down at the map in front of me, frowning.

It had been almost three weeks since I'd made my decision to stay, and though I was no closer to being certain that I'd made the right choice, I was resolved that I'd made the only one available to me.

"If we don't get involved, who will? It's beyond what any humans could possibly handle, and your Cullens risk exposure if they get involved, don't they?"

Sam's words were a pointed and barbed reminder of what I had given up by staying with the wolves, but she didn't know the details of what I'd seen between the redhead and Edythe. She didn't – couldn't – understand what I'd found out.

Then again, as only little more than a newborn, how much did I really know about being a vampire?

Except for my short amount of time with the Romanians, everything I'd ever learned had been from the Cullens or their cousins. The only thing I'd learned from my brief experience with the Volturi had been vengeance.

I'd certainly never been told by anyone that mate bonds truly were as fickle as human love, but there was no other logical explanation for what I'd seen.

"Yes," I finally answered. "These newborn vampires, and whoever is creating them, obviously care nothing about the rules, but trying to kill them in Seattle is going to risk huge exposure for any of us involved. I'm pretty sure none of you want stories of giant wolves invading the city making the news, and frankly, sparkly blurs are even worse."

"Could they be taught?" Julie asked.

"To be normal vampires that keep a low profile, then maybe with time and enough mature vampires to teach them, of which we have neither the time nor enough vampires. However, if you're talking about teaching them to adhere to a vegetarian diet..." I shook my head. "It's unlikely, if any of them had such an inclination to fight against their nature, then they've probably already fled."

"So what are we supposed to do? That death toll is only going up." Sam crossed her arms over her chest.

I sighed. "We'll have to go in with the cover of night, and maybe clouds as well. The only option as far as the newborns are concerned is to kill them all."

It would mean more blood on my hands.

"You don't have to come, Beau, just help us figure out a solid plan," Julie said softly.

"I'm staying to be a protector. Having me sitting on the sidelines while you take on everything hardly works for that purpose."

"Yes, but it's not like we're protecting the tribe by doing this."

Sam snorted derisively.

I ignored her. "I didn't think your protecting limited to the mile-wide tribe."

Jules rolled her eyes. "Fine, smart-ass, you can come."

"Good, then as I was saying, we'll have to rely on nighttime to do this. Since the newborns weren't in the train yard, about the only reasonable place I can imagine them staying in is a warehouse. Anywhere else would be too conspicuous."

"Then, we have our plan." Sam turned and walked away.

…

I shoved Lee out of the way when one of the newborns tried to attack him, turning my attention toward the newborn almost immediately.

"Why are you fighting with these beasts." In spite of the words, there was no real question in the female's shrill snarl.

"You couldn't possibly understand," I replied anyway before launching forward and slamming my fist into the woman's chest, for her to fall backward.

Lee was waiting, biting down and tearing the head off as I turned away.

We'd gotten to the warehouse early in the evening, early enough that we'd arrived just as two had been leaving to go hunt. As Sam and Jules had torn apart the tall vampire, I'd interrogated the mousy male. He'd been short – only a few inches taller than Archie – with dark hair and couldn't have possibly been much older than fifteen.

The interrogation had revealed that they'd been the first two to leave as the sun had only just gone down, and neither was considered valuable by their leader, who had told them they'd burn to ash if they were caught by it.

I knew Jules had heard what the boy had said and was sure it would be talked about later, but there'd been no time to talk about it then. I'd headed into the warehouse as Paula had dealt with the mousy newborn.

And we'd now been fighting for several minutes.

I looked around the warehouse, even though their numbers when we'd gotten here had been more than double ours, they were almost all down. But none of the twenty-four in this warehouse had been over three or four months old to this life. None of them was their creator.

None of them had been prepared for this kind of fight.

My eyes caught on someone hiding against the wall, and I darted over.

Her eyes widened then she narrowed them slightly. "I'm not here."

I arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, right."

She raised her hands in the air. "Look, I'm not fighting with the others. I just want to leave when all this is over. Go elsewhere."

I knew I should get it over with, but I found it more than a little weird that none of the wolves had taken care of her. "What are you doing to keep everyone away?"

"Don't know. I'm just able to."

"And why aren't you fighting?"

I noticed out of the corner of my eye as Jules looked my way, her eyes glancing over the vampire against the wall without managing to lock on.

The tall female put her hands down back at her sides, shrugging slightly. "Why should I?"

I shook my head. "You're different."

"So are you. Your eyes aren't right."

"It's because I drink animal blood."

"That's an option?"

I nodded. "There's more like me in Alaska." I wasn't sure why I told her that, as I didn't even know her name, but if anyone could teach her and control her, I had to believe it would be the incubus brothers. As for why I didn't mention the Cullens outside of Forks... I couldn't be sure if it was because of my own experience or if I was trying to protect them.

Suddenly the howls of Sam, Paula, and Jaelyn – echoed by Brandy outside – rent the air. Cursing under my breath, I spun around and raced outdoors.

It took me all of a millisecond to notice everything, from the blood seeping from an obvious bite mark near Colette's throat to Brandy poised to strike the vampire only a few feet away. It took infinitely longer for me to realize that the vampire was Allen.

I moved, landing on Allen and reached to rip his head off, but Colette shifted.

"Don't hurt him!" The young naked girl shouted.

I wished I could give her my jacket, but didn't dare move from my perch on Allen – my once friend. In spite of the fact that I'd spent the last few months with the wolves, and seen them shift plenty of times, I still wasn't comfortable with the nudity.

"You shouldn't be exerting yourself, we don't know how long it takes for the venom to –" I cut myself off from finishing the sentence.

"There's no pain, not like the legends said there was supposed to be. I'm assuming it's because... He's my imprint, Beau."

Just then, Allen threw me off of him and sped off.

…

"I still don't get how it's possible that my baby cousin imprinted on a vampire," Julie grumbled.

It had been three weeks since the fight – a fight that had left too many questions and nowhere near enough answers. I'd chased after Allen, but he'd been faster than me, and the fear of getting caught had stopped me.

By the time I'd made it back to the warehouse, the strange female vampire that no one else had noticed was gone. Then, after it was all over and we were back in La Push, I was still no closer to figuring out who'd created all the newborns.

I sighed. "I don't know, but I guess it answers the question of if I was meant to be yours. How is Colette?"

"She's still hardly eating. Hardly sleeping too."

"I'll try talking to her then, see if maybe I can get through to her in some way. Anyway, I need to go talk to the Cullens in person. I owe it to them to explain my decision in person."

"You owe them nothing." Jules' scowl was pronounced. "They were the ones that screwed you over."

"Yes, I do. They gave up a lot for what they thought of me to be to Edythe. The fact that it turned out to be untrue is unimportant. Don't worry, I'll be back."

I got up from where I was sitting in the sand next to her and sped off.

The run through the forest was one I'd made many times before, back when the Cullens had abandoned me. However, I couldn't help but wonder if this would be my last time making the trip.

Edythe met me outside of the house, her voice solemn. "Archie's told me your future is solidly black – that nothing I can say or do, as far as he can see, will change that."

"They need me here, and it turns out that when I put my mind into being a protector with them that I'm quite good at it. Besides, we both know your family doesn't need me."

"That's not true. I need you. I'll always need you."

I smiled, wondering if she heard the rough edge in her voice, which read as untrue to me. "Maybe some part of you still needs the human boy you started to fall for before I was turned, but I think it's past time we both accept that I'm not him. I've changed in a lot more ways than just going from having a beating heart to not."

"When you left, you promised you'd someday come back, Beau."

"I did." I walked away from her, looking out into the forest. "It wasn't a lie. I had every intention of coming back to you. But I think we both know why I can't. When we were with the Denalis, you and Taavi were a thousand times more comfortable – more natural – together than you and I ever were. Honestly, there was more familiarity with you and Ivan, and you and Kirill, than ever with me. And most recently, I saw you briefly with a redhead here."

"I've known all of the Denalis for more than seventy years, Beau. Of course, there's a familiarity with them. Even Magnus, I've known for more than sixty."

It put a name with the man I'd seen. I ignored the implication that I was acting insecure and foolish. I knew what I'd seen, and I'd had plenty of time to think it over.

"I want you to be happy, Edythe, and I don't think I'm ever going to be what gives that to you."

"You're wrong!"

It would be beyond easy to believe her, but I could see the dangerous loop it would lead to. I knew now, no matter how much I loved her, she clearly didn't feel the same. "I've got to get back to La Push."

"Beau... if you change your mind, please come back to me."

In spite of myself, I muttered, "Who knows, maybe someday."

Then I ran away.

…

"There's still time to follow them, you know."

It had been almost four months since my conversation with Edythe, and the Cullens had finally moved. I'd gotten a text advising me that I could go back to using the house if I wanted. I wasn't going to. I had a perfectly serviceable home on the outskirts of La Push.

Okay, so it wouldn't exactly be usable if I was human. But I wasn't human.

"And miss our parents getting married?"

Jules snorted. "Honestly, I can't believe it's going to happen."

"Weren't you the one who originally told me my dad was planning on asking your mom? I distinctly remember you breaking into Charlie's car just to show me the ring."

"Hey! The car was unlocked. There was no breaking involved... Besides, just because I said he was going to ask her, didn't mean I wanted her to say yes. My mom's not allowed to give me a new dad." She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted visibly.

I smiled slightly. "You don't have to distract me, I'm fine. I knew they had to leave eventually, but I made my choice."

"Okay, since I can't distract you with my sudden bout of immaturity, let's go patrol."

…

Months had turned into years on the outskirts of La Push. Bonnie had ended up moving to Forks as Charlie had decided to continue to be chief of police, and to remain so, he had to continue to reside in Forks.

And though he'd found out about me – the end result had been bitter. He and I had talked a few times, but he'd ultimately decided that he'd rather not have me in his life. At the end of the day, he didn't trust the idea of vampires.

When Bonnie had ended up pregnant at almost fifty, I'd decided to back off, and in the four years since the little sister to both Julie and me had been born, I'd only seen her a few times as I'd watched from the trees.

"Are you sure sending Colette away to look for Allen was a good idea?" Julie asked, walking over to me.

"She'll never be happy here, at least not as long as her imprint is out there. Maybe she'll come back with him, if or when she ever finds him."

"And maybe he'll kill her."

"You could have superseded my decision, Jules. You're the alpha. But you sent her to me. You knew I'd do what you couldn't. Don't even try and deny it."

Sam had stopped shifting almost three years prior, and after she'd stopped turning, the two packs had merged into one. There was no real definition of how I fit in with the pack – perhaps as some sort of unincorporated delta. In truth, Lee was Jules' beta, and Embrianna was her third, or delta.

Still, I was often used in a leadership capacity.

"I know, I know. I'm just annoyed that so many of us originals have left, now."

I grinned. Even though there were still eleven pack members, of the ten that I'd gone to Seattle with – or the originals, as Jules had taken to calling them – only four were left. Sam, Jaelyn, Paula, Sarah, and Brandy had all stopped shifting, and now Colette had taken off.

"What's the chance of her ever even finding him?"

"Well, your kind knows when something happens to your imprints, so she knows he's still out there somewhere. And, call me crazy, but I'd guess if she tried hard enough and relied on her instincts to guide her, she'll probably aim right for him. We both saw how much natural instincts helped Quilla with Clay before he got old enough to fully express himself."

"Speaking of Quilla, if I had to take a guess, she'll be the next."

"That's still a decade away, at least. Clay's only nine. I'd actually place a larger bet on Kendrick than Quilla."

Jules grunted. "I was talking about the originals."

"Well, Lee might quit before Quilla. Though I freely admit that I think Embrianna is more of a forever wolf than even you."

She gasped in mock horror before shoving at my shoulder. "Take that back!"

…

By the time another decade had passed, I'd been there to see births, imprints, changes, and deaths. And I'd been there as the random nomad had passed through – been there to protect the tribe... to protect Forks.

I'd been there when Victor made a reappearance and helped in defeating him.

Still, it was the deaths of those I knew that hit the hardest. Among those who had died was my father, which was caused by sudden liver failure. It had been almost impossible for both Julie and me to accept.

Harder still – at least for some – had been the car accident that had taken Keirnan's life suddenly and sent Brandy into premature labor.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Brandy? You have a daughter that needs you."

"I already spoke with Julie, and she's agreed to make sure Leila will be looked after. She'll be better cared for than I'd ever be capable of doing. I lost my imprint, Beau. He's gone, and I don't know how I can possibly survive any longer without him. I gave Leila the time she needed to guarantee she'd survive, but that's all I had to give."

"I don't feel right doing what you're asking of me, Brandy."

"You're the only person that can, and you know it. It would destroy Julie if I asked it of her. It's bad enough that I had to go to her to ask her to take care of Leila."

She was right. I couldn't imagine Jules ever being able to do what Brandy wanted, but it wasn't something I'd signed on for either. I was supposed to be a protector...

"Very well," I finally agreed.

…

The longer I lived on the edge of La Push, the louder the constant pull in the back of my mind reminding me of everything I'd lost became, all because of my own stubbornness, but I continually pushed it aside. It was anything but easy. However, after thirty years in La Push with Embrianna and Jules, it was my norm.

They were the only two wolves from the original pack of ten still shifting in La Push. The last hold out other than them had been Leland, and he'd changed to his wolf form and run off into the forest almost two years prior.

Not that there weren't other shifters because there were. Samantha's oldest two daughters, along with Paula's daughter, Jaelyn's twin boys, and Leila were only the ones who'd changed within the last five years. And among pack members who'd been around for longer was Andrea – the baby half-sister I shared with Jules.

It seemed that as long as a threat was in the area, shifters continued to turn... and with me living in the little cabin on the outskirts of La Push as the first line of defense, there was always a threat in the area. Me.

I smelled Jules before she wrapped her arms around my waist and put her chin on my shoulder, checking to see what I was looking at.

"How's Leila?" I murmured.

"She's a fifteen-year-old brand new shifter. So she's volatile and angry... and feeling betrayed. She hates both of us, and I can't blame her."

I sighed, but I couldn't really disagree with that assessment. "So, she knows everything then?"

"Yeah, every bitter detail. It's not like I could even try to keep it from her any longer. Not now that she's a wolf."

"She understands I'm to blame, right? Not you?"

"How do you get that? I knew what Brandy was going to ask of you. I could have ordered her not to. I could have ordered her to continue to live and raise her daughter. I didn't."

"And I could have told her no."

Jules sighed. "We both made a choice when it came to Brandy. But I'm the alpha, Beau. I'm the chief. The buck stops with me."

"The question is, was it the right choice?"

"I don't know how to answer that. I really don't."

…

"You need to talk to her." Embrianna dropped onto the ground beside me.

"About what?" I grumbled angrily.

"You know what. She has a real chance at happiness, a chance to stop shifting and settle down. After being alpha for seventy years, she deserves it. She deserves a chance to get married, have children, and grow old..." Embrianna paused before letting out a heavy breath. "And you know she's never going to do it if you stay here."

"And what about you?"

"Me? Pffft. I'm going to keep shifting forever, or until the sun explodes, anyway."

"You really want nothing else from your life?" I knew I was avoiding the topic she'd brought up, but I couldn't help it.

"I've always said the only way I'd stop shifting is if I imprinted. My position hasn't really changed. So maybe someday that'll happen, but it's also entirely possible that my imprint has already died. But you, my friend, are stalling."

"I promised to stay as a protector, Embrianna."

"You didn't say you'd stay forever. In fact, I know from Jules' recollection that not only did you not ever make such a promise, but you specifically said that if she ever decided she wanted something else, then it would be time for you to leave."

"Those weren't the exact words."

"No, but that was the gist of it, and ultimately what you meant. Time to put your money where your mouth is, Beau. Let her be happy."

"I know, but I have no idea what I'm going to do when I leave here."

"You could always seek out the Cullens. Edythe told you that there'd always be a spot for you with their family."

"I don't know where they are, and even if I did... I've spent seventy years being a part of life. Vampires, any vampire, even the Cullens – maybe especially the Cullens – are stuck in a constant stasis. They do the same things over and over again, and they can't possibly understand the real value of mortality, of humanity. I can't go back to that world. It's... lost to me."

"Then what will you do?"

"I'll figure it out after I talk to Jules." I stood up.

"You're doing the right thing. Just don't let her talk you into staying."

I smiled wryly.

…

In spite of myself, I put off talking to Jules about the fact that I was leaving for a solid week.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to put it off forever.

"I think you should take Sahale up on his offer, Jules," I said softly as we ran through the woods, patrolling together again.

Jules stopped in her tracks. "What did you say?"

I turned to look at her directly. "I've heard that Sahale wants to stop shifting and would like you to join him. I know you like him, Jules. It's time you live for yourself. Let someone else take up the reins as alpha."

"What? Why would I do that?"

I gently grabbed her shoulders. "Jules... don't. I love you for being willing to remain immortal for me, but I know you care for him. Love him even. There's no guarantee you'll ever find someone else."

"But –"

I cut her off. "But nothing. You know what you need to do, and it isn't continuing to shift. Take the happiness offered to you and grab it by the horns."

"And what will you do?"

"I'm a protector. I'll always be a protector. So I figured I'd head to the Passamaquoddy First Nations on the edge of Maine. That's where Colette said she ran across the other Native American shifters when she was searching for Allen."

"The thunderbirds, yes. What if they don't accept you, or decide to kill you?"

"Then I'll be dead, and that's alright. If there's only one thing I've learned in the seventy years I've helped you and the pack protect the tribe, it's the value of mortality."

She looked down. "Why do things have to change at all?"

"Because you've finally found something worth truly living for."

…

When I reached the tribe on the tip of Maine, I was welcomed in by a shifter I never thought I'd see again, her incubus imprint, and their three hybrid children.

I became a protector there in the same way I'd once been in La Push.

AN: Quick note, in this story, Sahale is the grandson of Sam and Elliott. I didn't specify his relationship to former wolves. There are a couple of reveals in this story. At least one of which – who someone imprints on – will eventually play a part in the regular saga. While another piece, the existence of Andrea (Bonnie and Charlie's daughter) may never come to pass (it's actually still up in the air, but I'm leaning towards no).