chapter┊ ✦. :: twenty five
♡ ﹙quileute﹚ ❋  ˚  ݂ ꛒ

The days passed calmly. Lydia attended her doctor's appointments and browsed clothes online with Alice. But everyone knew it was the calm before the storm, and that worried Lydia more than anyone else. Sometimes she just wanted to ask Carlisle to leave town and start a life together, just the two of them. But she felt it was too selfish of her, so she kept her thoughts to herself as best she could.

They still had no trace of the stranger or Victoria, which was even more worrying, but everyone was trying. Although it was difficult to do so many things at once, being vampires didn't make the burden any lighter.

That Saturday, half of the Cullens would go hunting while the other half searched for clues about Victoria or the stranger. So Bella would spend the afternoon with the wolves. It would be the first time Lydia accompanied them, and although Carlisle didn't say it out loud, he was glad his girlfriend wouldn't be alone while she was away from home. At least he was certain that she would be safe with the wolves. Or so he forced himself to think; after all, they had no reason to harm her.

Lydia bundled up warmly and got into Edward's car, who drove for a few minutes and stopped by the roadside next to another car.

"Bella, don't see Lydia as your chaperone. We also have to protect her in case the nomad who entered your house knows about her. Understand?" Edward said calmly, as if he were talking to a child. It almost seemed like he was.

Bella hadn't actually thought about it. Being the only one who had been in constant danger and on the brink of death, she hadn't imagined that Lydia could also be in some kind of danger. It sounded horrible, but she had only thought about herself.

"I understand," she spoke, nodding and trying to smile, but it was more of a grimace. As much as she understood it, she didn't really like the idea of having Lydia around.

The three got out of the car and walked towards the shirtless man waiting for them. Lydia couldn't imagine how he could stand the cold without a shirt; she was freezing even with all those layers of clothing. Still, she gave him a big smile as she waited for Bella and Edward to finish talking.

"Doesn't he have any shirts?" Edward asked, annoyed. Lydia wanted to laugh at the small scene of jealousy, but she restrained herself.

Instead, she approached the dark-haired man who was looking at her with a furrowed brow.

"Hi, I'm Lydia," she introduced herself. "You must be Jacob. I've heard a lot about you."

The boy smiled when he noticed she was very friendly and pleasant. He felt comfortable with her right away.

"The one and only," he extended his hand. "And I think so. I heard there were new doctors at the hospital. You're Dr. Cullen's girlfriend, right?"

"Yes, that's me," she chuckled.

They both smiled, and Lydia raised her hand to shake his. And then everything was so strange. Jacob stared at her with wide eyes, feeling like his head was about to explode at any moment. He had never experienced a sensation like that before, but suddenly it was as if he had an intense need to care for and protect Lydia. It wasn't an imprinting; it was something completely different that he couldn't express in words.

He would have to talk to Sam about that.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked with a tone of concern.

They let go of each other's hands, and Jacob nodded with a toothy smile.

"Yes, sorry," he furrowed his brow, "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so. It's the first time I've come to this part of town."

He nodded.

"I see. I hope you like it; I promise to give you a great tour."

"Very kind of you, Jacob."

Bella approached with some discomfort, but Jacob didn't think twice when he enveloped her in his arms to annoy Edward. Once again, Lydia stifled her laughter.

Finally, after a brief chat about what they would do during the day, they got into the car and headed to the reservation. It was true that Lydia had never been to this place before, neither as a child nor now. She vaguely remembered that her mother had forbidden it, both to her and her sister, and although many children went there to have fun, they never did. Her mother didn't give a reason; it was just a resounding no, and they never asked why.

The journey was very peaceful, with Jacob occasionally glancing at Lydia through the rearview mirror to engage in small talk, but it didn't take them more than ten minutes to arrive. Bella was the first to get out of the car, followed by Lydia. She looked around with wonder; it wasn't anything really spectacular, but it was completely new and she loved it.

"That's Sam's house," Jacob explained, although Bella already knew. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the guys."

Although no one saw it, Bella frowned at the sudden attention Jacob gave Lydia, almost completely forgetting about her. Were they jealous? Of Lydia? Definitely not... or were they?

The three entered the house, where everyone was very loud and greeted Jacob and Bella with great excitement. Bella felt better with the attention she received, even though she seemed uncomfortable.

"He's Sam," the named one stopped in front of them. Lydia felt intimidated by the tall, muscular man. To tell the truth, she was a little scared, but she stood firm.

"You must be Lydia, Jacob said you'd come."

"The one and only," she smiled. "Nice to meet you, Sam. And thank you for taking care of Bella and me."

"Don't mention it. Our job is to protect mortals," he smiled slightly.

Lydia extended her hand, and Jacob looked expectantly at Sam, almost as if he were urging him to shake the girl's hand. And so he did. Sam took Lydia's hand, but a strange sensation invaded his entire body. He had experienced imprinting before, and this was completely different. But at the same time, it was somewhat similar. It didn't even make sense in his head, but it was strange.

Like Jacob, he had that feeling of wanting to protect Lydia from any possible harm. He couldn't explain it; it was just a sensation that compelled him to do so. He looked at her with a furrowed brow, but quickly changed his expression and smiled at her.

"I'll introduce you to the others," they both walked just a few steps and stopped in front of the other guys. "They're Quill, Paul, Embry, Jared... the newest ones, Leah and Seth. And my fiancée, Emily. Guys, this is Lydia," he pointed to each one as he said their names.

"Pleasure to meet you," the girl smiled kindly at them. She still didn't understand why they wore so little clothing.

"Come on, come shake her hand. Don't be rude."

Everyone looked at Sam strangely. They weren't used to doing that unless it was a more formal greeting, but no one objected, and each one approached to greet Lydia. And each one of them experienced the same thing as Sam and Jacob.

They looked at each other without saying anything, but conveying that they had all experienced the same thing. And they all agreed that the only word to describe that sensation was "strange." Surely no one would be able to explain it in words, but it certainly wasn't necessary.

"Lydia, would you like to prepare some cookies?" Emily offered when no one said anything.

"Oh, of course. With my pregnancy, I can't stop eating all the time."

Everyone turned to look at her with wide eyes, filled with panic, almost unable to believe the words they had heard. "Did she say pregnancy?" Fortunately, Emily lightened the mood.

"Are you pregnant?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes. I'm almost five months along. Can't you tell?"

Both girls chuckled.

"To be honest, I hadn't noticed, maybe because of all the clothes you're wearing."

"Maybe. Although my belly hasn't grown much yet."

"Lydia," Bella called out and turned to look at her. "I'm going for a ride with Jacob. Are you okay here?"

"Of course, go and have fun."

The guys couldn't return to their conversation even though they tried, as they were more interested in the conversation between the two girls.

"Sorry to ask, Lydia. Are you pregnant with a vampire?"

Lydia smiled. They were werewolves; she was sure she could tell them anything without them looking at her as if she had lost her mind.

"It's strange, isn't it?" she took a bite of her cookie, "but yes. I got pregnant by Carlisle and everything is very normal. I think it's because I have angel blood running through my veins. I've had a couple of ultrasounds and the baby is in perfect condition, we've even heard its heartbeat," she explained very matter-of-factly, but the others seemed confused. They looked at her as if she were crazy.

"Angel blood?" Sam asked with genuine curiosity, crossing his arms.

Lydia turned to look at him, though she didn't stop eating her cookie. Perhaps she had said a bit too much, but there was no way to take it back now.

"Yes," she frowned, "actually, I wanted to know if you guys know anything about it. Well... my mother explained some things to me and gave me a book, but there's a page that talks about shapeshifters, however... it's incomplete. There's a torn page and I didn't learn much more about it."

Sam now had much more curiosity, but it was as if something had suddenly clicked in his head and everything made a lot of sense.

"Give me a second."

He ran off to another room but didn't take long to return with a book.

"Was your book similar to this one?"

Lydia took it and opened it to a random page, gently running her fingers over the pages.

"Actually, yes. The font looks a bit different but it's identical. The drawings, the words... everything."

Sam nodded and looked at Lydia, searching for a page. When he found it, he approached her.

"Is this what was missing?" he asked.

She didn't respond because her attention was solely on the written words. She began to read quietly, and everyone present listened attentively.

"The Quileute approached a human tribe very close to their location, asking for help in a time of great need when the cold ones massacred their people. This tribe welcomed them with open arms and helped them in every way possible. They vowed to help them when they needed it, but when that time came, the shapeshifters did not come to their aid and many of the humans they swore to protect died. They were then cursed by the witch who transformed those humans, forced to protect with their own lives all the descendants of the humans with angel blood, also known as Nephilim. They cannot break this chain until they have saved lives equivalent to those they let die. Nobody knows the exact number, and it probably never will be settled because the shapeshifters will only recognize the Nephilim once both species come into contact. The Nephilim, feeling betrayed and having to seek help from others, decided to curse the shapeshifters but at the same time, they hid from them..."

"This doesn't even make sense," Lydia murmured, more to herself.

Sam actually understood it. For him, it made sense. Their ancestors didn't protect the Nephilim when they needed them the most, and now they had to. Maybe it was more complicated than that, but that was the gist of it. He still didn't understand why the Quileute hadn't come to their aid.

"Lydia?"

She looked at Sam and was surprised to see him kneeling just like the other guys. She felt a bit of secondhand embarrassment.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" she spoke with panic.

"We will protect you with our lives. You and your baby, no matter what. We will give our lives for you."

She blushed, feeling even more embarrassed than before. She wanted the ground to swallow her.

"It's really not necessary. Please, stand up."

They did as she asked.

"If you ever need anything or are in trouble, please don't hesitate to ask for our help."

"I'll keep that in mind," she murmured nervously.

Gradually, the atmosphere became more peaceful and enjoyable. Lydia had a good time with the guys, and they with her. Not only because of their newfound obligation, but Lydia was genuinely nice and very funny. They even gave her ideas for her baby's name.

Moreover, Lydia greatly enjoyed Emily's food, who was thrilled to demonstrate her culinary skills to someone other than the usual guys.

Jacob would find out about all this later when he returned with Bella. And Bella would feel a bitter taste in her mouth. How was it that Lydia suddenly had more importance than her? Well, it wasn't a competition, but Bella's mind worked in a way that no one understood. And in her head, she was the only one who should have the spotlight.

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