The Rise of Lydia Rowe ↠ Jasper Hale (ON HOLD)

[2.23] gwen learns the truth (about some things)

LYDIA WOKE THE NEXT MORNING to her phone ringing on her nightstand. She opened her eyes instantly, the sound breaking through the light sleep she'd gotten the night before. As she'd found out from Adam, phoenixes only needed a fraction of the amount of sleep most humans needed, which was at times a blessing and other times—like now—a curse. 

She checked the caller ID before answering. "Hello?" 

"Did you know?" Gwen's voice on the other line was a mixture of urgent and frantic. 

Lydia blinked, still a little foggy from sleep. "Know what?" 

"About Leah," Gwen said. "And the rest of... Embry, Seth, all their friends. Did you know that they're..." 

"Shape-shifters?" Lydia asked quietly, aware that her mothers were downstairs in the kitchen from the quiet clatter of pans being shifted around in the cabinets. 

"You did know," Gwen murmured. "Of course you did. I shouldn't be surprised." 

"Leah told you?" Lydia asked. "About... everything?" 

"You mean about the whole imprinting thing?" Gwen questioned. "Yeah, she told me. And I... kind of freaked out." 

Lydia winced. "How bad did you freak out?" 

"I... might have immediately made up an excuse to go home and ran to my car," Gwen admitted quietly, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "But I mean, come on—that's a huge bomb to drop on a girl! Hey, just thought you should know, I'm basically a werewolf and we're soulmates! Yay!" 

"I know," Lydia said softly. 

"What if she hates me?" Gwen asked. "For reacting like that? Oh God, she hates me." 

"She doesn't hate you, Gwen," Lydia assured her. "Look, give me fifteen minutes and we can go to Emily's and see her, okay?" 

Gwen was quiet for a moment. "Okay," she said quietly. "That—yeah, that'll work. Okay. I'll—I'll see you in fifteen."

After hanging up, Lydia got out of bed and went to her bathroom, making herself presentable. After slipping on a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt, she grabbed her phone and headed downstairs. She met her mothers in the kitchen as she went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. "Hey, I'm gonna go pick up Gwen and head over the La Push, if that's okay?" 

"Yeah, of course," Tracy told her. "Have fun, baby." 

"Tell Gwen we said hi!" Johanna called after her as she made her way to the front door. 

Lydia called out her goodbyes as she grabbed her car keys and headed out of the door. She was just getting into her car when her phone rang again, and this time a different name flashed across her screen. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey." Jasper's voice was just as melodic over the phone. "Are you doing anything today?" 

Lydia put her phone on speaker as she pulled out of her driveway. "I'm actually heading over to Gwen's. We're going to go over to La Push for a little bit."

"La Push?" She could hear his concerned tone clear as day. "I didn't realize you had... friends over there." 

"I know about the pack," she told him, figuring it was better to come right out with it. "And they won't hurt me—not that they really can, anyway. At least, not permanently." 

There was a moment of silent static. "I'm still not sure... Lydia, you can't know that for certain. The shape-shifters aren't exactly known for their self-control—not that I have much room to talk, but—"