AN: I know it's been way too long since I last posted. Work has been absolutely nuts the last six months or so and it doesn't show much of a sign of slowing down in the new year. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get the next chapter up about six to eight weeks from now, so middle to end of February 2021 but I'm not gonna make any promises. Next chapter will be the last one before the newborns invade Forks… I promise this time for sure.

Chapter 21

Last Pull

"Just what is going on here?" I asked as Julie tried to pull me into the small house that more resembled a shack than a house, even my dad's old one let alone the mansion that the Cullens owned.

"Come on," she prodded to my resisting. While Julie was a great deal stronger than a regular human would have been, her strength was nowhere near that of a vampire. "Let's just watch TV or something normal for a little bit. Bonnie'll be back in a little bit anyway."

"Someone else just shift?" I asked wondering why if Bonnie did know I was probably going to come over that she would leave.

"Well…" Julie said and I could tell she knew wanted to say more but for some reason she couldn't or wouldn't as she started spouting off incomplete words and gibberish.

"So that's it, isn't it?" While she didn't move any of her body, her eyes told me that this was the case. Maybe Bonnie would tell me who it was, maybe not. If the wolves were like newborn vampires, whoever it was would be nowhere near the fight in a few short hours. "Anyone I know?"

Again, she stood still, rigid as a board. "Can we talk about something else?" She asked.

"Sure, what you want to talk about?"

"Anything really." Then a small smile crossed her face. "How 'bout I show you my progress on my car?"

"The Rabbit, right?" I remembered from my hazy human memories.

"Yep," she answered popping the "p" as she grabbed my hand and tried to pull again. It didn't take us very long to get to the building that served as Julie's garage. I was surprised to see Emma there. Did she plan this?'

"Hey leech," Emma said as we entered.

"Hey dog," I answered back to the sound of chuckling laughs from both Emma and Julie.

"What, this turn into Leeches 'R Us all of a sudden?" Emma countered back. Then she turned her glance right at Julie, "You're never gonna get that stank outta here."

"Yeah, probably," Julie answered. "Why don't you go catch some zzz's for a while. It's probably gonna be a long night."

"Probably. From what I know of bloodsuckers, they tend not to ever be on time."

"Later Em," I said as she left.

"So, what was that about?" I asked as soon as the smell of Emma had made me sure that she was far enough away to not be able to hear whatever it was we were gonna talk about.

"Short answer?" she asked as her glance was so different than I had seen from her in a long time. Seriously, it looked like she was still majorly crushing on me.

I shrugged. "That would probably be a good idea since Ive gotta be getting back soon. I mean, were supposed to be ready to go in," I looked at my watch, not that I needed to. I knew how long we had. "We've only got like five hours and you could probably use a nap too."

In response, she yawned. I could tell it had been a while, maybe even a couple days since she seriously snoozed last. "I'm not tired," she tried to say but the last word was interrupted by another yawn. "Okay, okay. Maybe just a little, but this can't wait any longer."

"Then go ahead and just spit it out Jules and then get a nap."

She gave me a 'you asked for it' look and just blurt it out. "I want you to leave the mind reader and be my boyfriend."

I had been prepared for just about anything; anything but this. "Jules, I don't think that'll work any more. I mean, were just too different now. You're a werewolf, and I'm a vampire."

"So?" She countered. "We can make it work. Somehow."

There were so many ways I could play this. The fact that according to Quileutte legend, vampire venom was lethal to them, not a gateway to immortality like it was for humans, to the simple aspect that to me, she smelled like roadkill and I'm sure that I didn't smell that nice to her either. "I think we should just be friends, Jules," I tried to let her down as easy as possible, which didn't seem to work.

"Well then, if I can't have you, then I might as well just go out in a blaze of glory."

Ok, this stunned the heck out of me. "Jules, I don't want you to take any stupid chances. It's bad enough that the Cullens are risking their lives for me but for you to be involved in it any more than you have to, I simply couldn't live with myself if anything like that happened to you."

She smiled. Did she think that she was winning this argument?

"Well then," her voice was way to sly now. She was scheming something, but what? "If you don't want me to take extra chances, then what can I get for it in return?"

"Anything!" I almost shrieked.

"Like you leaving your bloodsucker?"

"Anything but that," I answered back now extremely irritated. "Be serious, Jules."

"Oh I am. Serious as a heart attack."

"Jules," I started but this was to get way too personal so I tried to just locked myself down into my statuesque phase.

I'm not really sure how long I stood there perfectly still but eventually Julie pulled me out of my trance by waving her hand in front of my face.

"Hello," she said while waving her hand, "Earth to Beau. You in there? Does becoming a bloodsucker fry your brain?"

I growled, more out of irritation than anything else.

"Well, that got your attention," she said laughing. Julie was too easy around me and I still didn't really understand it. She should hate me; she should loathe me now. From what the Cullens had said about the Quileutte wolves, they hated vampires. But in Jules and her friends, I never felt hated; misunderstood yes, but not hated.

"They're all gone right?" I asked her just above a whisper. In truth, I didn't want anyone else to know this, especially Edythe.

"Yep," she said in her usually way, emphasizing the 'P'. "Ain't none of the gals within two miles of here."

"Good," I said, hoping that no one else would hear the truth I was about to tell.

"Why?" She asked nervously.

"Jules," again speaking just loud enough so that she would hear and hopefully she wouldn't spill the beans to anyone later, "you're my best friend." Best human-ish friend anyway. "And what you want, don't get me wrong, I kinda want it too. But with everything that's happened, I don't think that its even possible. I mean, should I accidentally lose control in La Push-"

She cut me off, "You won't!" Just louder than was necessary. "You're still Beau; the Beau I remember from when you used to come here every summer with Charlie. Kind, gentle; just a little more stinky and not as squishy. I don't know what else to say."

I looked down at the ground. She saw right through what I was trying to say via a slight threat. Edythe was right. I was still a horrible liar. I'd have to work on that if I was really going to be a part of the Cullens, since lying was such a necessary part of their lives. We had to keep those we associated with safely in the dark about the world that existed all around them. People had to be completely oblivious to how many threats there were to them lurking in the shadows.

"Come on," she asked again. "Just tell me why you really don't want to give us a chance?"

That when I decided to do quite possibly the absolute dumbest thing I could; tell her the truth and not hold anything back. "Ok," I sighed defeated, "Jules there's a large part of me that wishes it was still possible." She wanted to cut me off but I threw my palm over her mouth to stop her. "Let me finish," I said as I pulled my hand away and she nodded. "Ok, I wish that was still possible. And there's a large part of me that wants it bad. Almost more than anything or anyone else but that ship has sailed. In a world that wasn't crazy, with no magic and no monsters it could have been possible. The two of us- well when I was still human could have been a great item. But Jules, I know who I can't live without. When I was trapped in that hotel room in Phoenix with Archie," I didn't want to admit that Jessamine had been with us since she still didn't trust the control of Jess, "it was only her that I had to be with. That I couldn't stop from worrying about. And so, you see. It's her that has my heart, even if it is stone now."

She looked crushed. I didn't want to do this right now. The timing was just awful but, in the end, there's never a good time to break someone's heart. "That all?" She asked

I smiled but it was a compassionate smile. "No. There's something you really need to know. On our first real date, when she really showed me exactly what she was and what she could do to me, she tried to scare me off. She wanted me to know what I was risking to be with her, even if just temporarily. That every minute I spent with her, not just my humanity but even my entire life was at risk. The example she used to describe her attraction to me at first was as the most tempting narcotic in the world that promised to sate her thirst in a way nothing had in her entire existence. But I was in too deep. There was nothing I wouldn't have been willing to risk to be with her as long as she'd have me."

"You're really stupid Beau," she countered, her tone almost cutting.

I smiled because she was kind of right. "Yeah, I know. But in a way, everything worked out almost the best way it could have."

"What about the way you had to leave Charlie?"

This cut really deep; deeper than even her claws and teeth could have when she was a wolf. I needed to admit it to her. Julie had to see just how human a vampire could really be. "That's really the only part of it that I hated. At some point, I know that had we chosen this- me being changed at some point in the future- that I would have had to find a way to have a have a final goodbye with Charlie at some point; better than the way that things played out anyway. You guys have been super cool with me and the way everything played out. I'm not sure why that it, but thanks Jules."

She stuttered and I knew that she hadn't expected this. "Huh?"

"I know that you guys should have started a war with the Cullens after they changed me. But what we explained the night of my funeral to Bonnie was that when Edythe bit me, it was only to speed up me being changed. Another vampire bit me first and Edythe tried to suck the venom back out but she couldn't do it. Archie saw it. I only had two futures left, which were probably the only futures I really had once I realized how much I loved her; either be a vampire one day or die young."

She smiled and I wasn't sure exactly why. "You know what they say? Only the good die young."

"Then I guess I'm not good."

She laughed. "You're kinda dead now, so…"

I joined her in laughing. "Yeah, I guess."

"Don't worry bout it, Beau. Bonnie told me all of it after my first time. And none of us really hold any of this against you. I mean it really wasn't your fault."

I didn't want to admit that in at least one way, it was my fault. I didn't have to go off and meet that tracker after she had set up what, at least in hindsight, could only be a completely ruse. Archie would have seen the tracker meet my mom. After all, he was keeping a close watch on Joss. He would have seen that.

"And don't worry about if Charlie is somehow a bloodsucker too. I'll watch for him"

"Thanks." We sat there for I really don't know how long, just lounging on her couch before she finally dosed off. I decided to leave her a note on the small table out there explaining how much I appreciated everything she had done to help us and hoped that after all this was over, there was some way we could stay friends. That ball would be completely in her court. If she still wanted to be friends, then I was cool with it. If not, then that'd be okay as well.

I ran back to the Cullens house. Everyone had returned and I heard Jess deep in strategizing. I pictured it, her playing a game like Risk or something else, if only in her mind. She would surely be a natural at those.

"Geez you really stink!" Eleanor crowed as soon as I opened the door.

"Nice to see you too El," I said smiling as I closed the door behind me. I took an inventory of the scents to find everyone. Royal I could hear in the garage. I heard the sound of a bed creaking and groaning, which would have to be Carine and Earnest. And coming around the corner I saw Edythe sitting at the piano and could only wonder what she had been up to. Luckily, she didn't make me wait long.

As soon as my eyes hit her, her fingers began flowing gently on the keys. The melody was completely unfamiliar but I recognized a couple of the pieces that were being combined to make this piece. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was the most telling part but sandwiched in was a Tchaikovsky concerto in addition for a couple others. I wondered why Ode to Joy would be a fitting piece to play at this moment when in only a couple of hours, a couple dozen newborn bloodthirsty monsters would be trying to kill almost everyone that I still cared about. There could only be one possible reason; Archie had seen something that had given her great hope about the way things would go tonight.

I sat next to her and Edythe's head came to rest on my shoulder but her hands never stopped playing. I had no way to know exactly how long she continued, but when her hands stopped, mine took over playing a simple, one-handed version of The Wedding March. I was finally ready. It didn't matter any more if it was tonight or six weeks from now, on our targeted date.

As I finished, Edythe's smile was absolutely dazzling. But our moment was interrupted by Archie again. "Patience Beau," he all but crooned. "After all, the best things come to those who wait."

Edythe just shook her head but he was right. After all, since we had eternity open before us, a matter of a couple of weeks was a small time to wait, all things considered.

"Mind your own business," Edythe answered after a couple moments.

"It's cool," I replied as I pulled her in even closer to me. "So how long we got?"

"We should probably be getting to the clearing in about an hour. So, if you don't want to completely stink, I'd recommend a shower."

I ran up to the bathroom and locked the door. She was right. After all, we didn't want the newborns splitting up until they reached the blood trail. That was key. We needed half to find us and half to find the wolves; that was the plan.

I finished my shower and looked at the clock. I had about twenty minutes left. Had I really been in there for more than a half hour? Oh well. I dressed and headed back downstairs. Knowing that there was the chance that I'd need to fight, it made sense to wear things that I wouldn't really care if they got destroyed or not. A plain pair of jeans and generic t-shirt made the most sense and I didn't even really look all that long on any of them, putting almost no thought into it. Perhaps I should have but since I really wasn't going to be fighting unless it all went to hell; it didn't seem like it really mattered.

"Yuck," Eleanor shouted as I returned to the large living room where everyone had now gathered, "you still smell like one of them."

I tilted my head slightly. Did she think that I couldn't still smell it? I knew I stunk but she didn't have to bring it up. I could have countered back as her and Royal smelled as if they had just gotten it on within the last few minutes but at this point, I didn't think that would go over really well, at least with Royal. Roy and I had, at the very least, come to some form of an understanding over the last couple of days if it wasn't an actual friendship.

"Yeah, I know," I said trying to just play it off.

"You two weren't getting' it on, were ya?" Eleanor chided again.

"No!" I snapped a little too aggressively. As much as I like El, she could get really annoying some times. This had gone far beyond annoying and I was starting to get pissed. But I had to calm myself. There was a possibility that this was some sort of test to see what it would take to lose my cool. If I really wanted to be in the meadow with everyone, I had to keep myself under control. A thousand things passed thru my head of things I could say but, in the end, I fought all of them back. I just left it alone, not wanting to give Eleanor any more of a rise than she already had gotten.

"You should talk about getting busy," Archie answered, almost as if he was reading my mind of the things I kind of would have wanted to say.

"If it isn't our own little voyeur," El almost joked again but I had grown to know her well enough to know she had very little shame when it came to her and Royal's… let's just call them encounters and experiments. "Ya get a good show?"

"Not exactly what I would call a good show," Archie almost laughed back. I couldn't really be sure if he actually saw what they had done or was just trying to make it so I wouldn't have to be the one who tried to make Eleanor actually show some shame. "It's a good thing I can't ever fall asleep because that little… ahem display would give me nightmares for months."

"Hmm," Eleanor started but was quickly cut off.

"Enough El!" Ernest ordered. We were all past uncomfortable with this. Sure, we all knew when each other was being intimate- just one of the drawbacks to having vampire hearing, not to mention both Archie's and Edythe's abilities- we never tried to hold it over any one.

Archie surprising glanced at me and then looked at Edythe, a crooked little smile crossing his face before it was mirrored by Edythe.

"What?" Eleanor asked, more like demanded.

"Should I tell them?" Archie asked to Edythe, who only response was a nod. "They're gonna put Roy and you to shame."

"Huh?" Eleanor asked but I wondered the same thing. Just what was Archie talking about.

"You'll find out soon enough Beau," Archie said, now focusing right on me. "For now, we really need to be getting to the spot. The newborns have already reached the Sound. They'll be here in," Archie closed his eyes for only a few seconds, but it felt like a year had past, "sixty-four minutes. Beau, you might want to quickly let the wolves know that."

"How?" I asked.

Archie shrugged. "Your future just went dark again. So, I'm guessing you're gonna run to their spot and then come to the meadow."

"Ok," I replied. Whatever I was going to say, it had to be quick if I had only an hour. But first I tried calling Bonnie. I figured if any of the wolves were still on the Rez, then that would be the quickest way, but then the smell of wolf came into scent again. "Oh yeah," I said realizing it. Sarah was going to be in our clearing. She could relay the message.

In any case, it was time to get ready for whatever was coming but I wouldn't have to go anywhere to relay the message. Someone was coming here. I could smell it.