Chapter Nine
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight but I do own my OC and her family.
Summary: Gwen has spent all her life being hidden away. Her whole existence has been shrouded in the supernatural community. This was all Gwen had known but her life is shaken up when she moved to the inconspicuous rainy Forks and meets the Cullen's.
Enjoy the story!
TWILIGHT
Two days later
Gwen stood with Alice outside the school as they waited for the warning bell to go off. Alice twirled around and showed off the new outfit she had bought, a bright smile on her face as she explained what she liked about the outfit. Jasper stood by Alice's side, as he looked at her lovingly, but his shoulders held tension. This was something Gwen noticed and assumed it was due to the fact they were surrounded by quite a lot of humans. Emmett and Rosalie stood nearby, with his arm around her shoulder and Edward was stood on Gwen's other side as he scanned the crowd, as he did every morning, and listened in for anything worth noting.
"She's watching us again," Rosalie hissed under her breath, but loud enough that even Gwen could hear her.
Gwen stealthily turned her head and looked, she could and spotted Bella, who stood on the opposite side of the parking lot with her friends. Lauren and Jessica appeared to be talking up a storm, giggling with one another and Bella stood on the outside, not seeming to be interested in their conversation. Mike and Tyler were pushing each other around, acting like immature boys, and Ben stood at the side with Angela as they whispered lowly to one another. However, Bella was much too busy staring at the Cullen's – and Gwen by extension.
"Did she buy your story?" Jasper asked as he looked down at the Witch.
Gwen's lips thinned, "No, I don't think she did."
"We should just get rid of her," Rosalie muttered lowly, as she glared venomously at Bella.
"We can't, babe," Emmett said as he held his wife closer to him. He understood Rosalie's unhappiness with the mortal human. He knew how much Rosalie hated leaving a place early after she got settled and he'd hate for them to have to move again. Even he had warmed to Forks and didn't want to leave either.
Bella, feeling the heated gaze on her, noticed Rosalie's glare and turned red. She moved her head so fast that Gwen thought she would give herself whiplash.
"I still can't read her mind," Edward admitted with a frown. Ever since he'd realised, he could not read her mind – it was complete silence – he had tried often to see if there were any cracks in this silence. However, nothing changed at all, he could not access her thoughts. It vexed him immensely and caused him much frustration.
"Maybe she doesn't have a brain?" Emmett commented with a thoughtful expression.
Rosalie smiled lovingly at her husband and shook her head.
"Can you feel her emotions?" Gwen asked Jasper, as she looked at him. "And Alice, have you had any visions of her?" She wondered whether Bella was immune to all the powers or just Edward's power.
Jasper frowned as he focused on the human girl for a moment. It only took a few seconds before he cringed and nodded his head, "I can feel how she feels. She is feeling majorly embarrassed," Her emotions were very concentrated and it made him want to retreat very quickly. While he was used to teenage angst, her emotions were too much for even him.
Alice pondered this for a moment, "I haven't had many visions of her, but she has been in them before," Bella had been in the vision of the car crash, but she had not been the main focus of the vision, Gwen and Edward had. However, she was still present in those visions. Alice made a mental note to try and concentrate on Bella more to test this out.
Gwen nodded her head.
"Would your magic affect her?" Edward asked the Witch, curious to know.
Gwen thought about it and decided to do a small spell as she did not know the answer to this. It had to be one that was not obvious to draw attention to herself or too flashy. She muttered a small incantation under her breath as she tried to read Bella's thoughts only to stop when she came across some resistance. This made her pause for a moment as she considered her next steps. She tried to push it further but felt like she was pressed against a wall.
"She's gifted," Gwen said, and this caused all the Cullen's to look at her.
"What?" Rosalie questioned unhappily.
"Even with my magic, I can't read her mind," Gwen explained to the confused Vampires. She could see this information had caused a calculating look to appear in Rosalie and Jasper's eyes. "My guess is she has some form of shield around her mind, and that is why Edward and I can't access her thoughts," It explained why Bella was not immune to Jasper or Alice's powers, but her mind was protected.
"Is she gifted by Scarlett?" Edward asked out of curiosity.
Edward and Gwen shared a look with one another, they were the only ones that knew the truth about Scarlett. Gwen shook her head, "No, I would be able to tell. Scarlett's magic leaves a distinctive signature behind for people to identify, so other magical creatures know to stay away."
"It's rare for humans to be gifted," Jasper mused with a thoughtful expression.
"There is nothing exceptional about her. It just makes her more of a nuisance," Rosalie rolled her eyes.
"It also means her mind can't be altered with magic either," Gwen pointed out with a frown. This meant that an offensive position might be needed after all, and she could see that Rosalie and Jasper had also come to that conclusion as well.
"Our best bet is to ignore her and make sure not to do anything to make her suspicious," Edward said seriously, as he could hear the thought of his siblings. They had dealt with curious humans before, Bella was not the first person to become fixated on them, it happened quite often. But none of the humans had been as observant or gifted and that made things tricky, but it just meant they needed to be more careful of their actions. The last thing any of them wanted to do was disappoint Esme or Carlisle. However, what helped is that someone else was able to cover for them – a Witch.
"That may not be easy," Jasper muttered lowly, as he looked to his brother, "She is fixated on you, Edward," He could feel the human's infatuation with his brother and it was only growing every day. Usually, this would not stick out to him. He was used to the infatuation that people felt towards his family, as well as lust and jealousy. Every now and again, he could feel fear from people and also curiosity. However, Bella's emotions were more potent and it made him pause and not so quick to dismiss her.
"Could you make her dislike him instead?" Gwen asked the empath.
Jasper shook his head, "She'd notice something wasn't right. My power would only work if I was around her as well, once she's out of my reach, her real emotions would come back," He could see the Witch's reasoning, and if his power worked long-term, he would have done it, but unfortunately, it would have raised more questions.
Gwen hummed in response.
"We just do what we always do when humans become too invested." Rosalie said as she flipped her hair behind her shoulders, "We ignore them,"
With that said, everyone headed to their classes.
On the way to her class, Gwen was commandeered by Caitlin, who jumped at the Witch with a massive smile. Gwen flinched back when she felt Caitlin jump at her, but she quickly composed herself and looked at the goth girl with a fondly exasperated look. She could see as Edward watched this interaction, and Gwen motioned for him to go ahead, she would see him in English. He nodded his head and left the two girls behind.
"Tell me everything," Caitlin begged with wide pleading eyes.
Gwen rolled her eyes and laughed, "It was good. Alice is a massive shopaholic. I wasn't able to keep up with her or Rosalie," She could still feel the ache of her feet, despite consuming multiple healing potions.
Caitlin whined, "I wish I could have gone,"
"Well maybe if you didn't try and summon a demon, you could have," Gwen pointed out with a small grin. Mentally, she commended herself for not sharing the true way to summon a demon.
"I was so close!" Caitlin huffed as she crossed her arms, "But then my parents barged in and interrupted. I was so close to completing the setup,"
Gwen said nothing at this and had to stop herself from laughing. It had been her who rang Caitlin that night, but she hadn't answered, she had insisted to Caitlin's parents that she needed to speak to the goth girl, feigning needing help with some homework. That was how Caitlin's parents had caught her.
"They even took all my candles, and Ouija board," Caitlin continued to whine as they made their way to class.
"Well, maybe it's a sign," Gwen said as she shrugged her shoulders. She silently hoped that her friend would stop this pursuit of summoning a demon, the thought made her nervous. Gwen had summoned a demon herself before – only once – and it had been terrible. She'd been bored one day when her Nana was out and decided she had nothing better to do than test her limits on whether she could contain a demon. She found out her answer, she could barely contain it, but it was not worth the clean-up. Gwen had to explain the scorch marks on the floor to her Nana, who did not take what she did very well. At all.
"Yeah, a sign that I will try again," Caitlin declared confidently, a wicked smile on her face.
Gwen shook her head and mentally sighed. She would have to keep an eye on her friend.
The rest of the morning passed by fairly quickly, and before Gwen knew it, it was lunchtime. Caitlin was in the library, trying to find more information about summoning demons, and this was something Gwen decided to pass on. Before the Witch could decide where she sat, Alice had appeared and dragged her to come and sit with the family, with Emmett trailing behind them with an excited smile.
The moment Gwen sat with the Cullen family, she could feel the eyes on her again. Gwen looked around the room and many eyes darted away from her. However, it was Bella who did not look away straight away.
"Hey, Sabrina, are we still able to come to your house?" Emmett questioned with an excited look on his face. He had asked several times whether he could see this haunted out, but Gwen had said she needed to check with her Nan and Tilly first.
Jasper also looked over, curious.
Gwen nodded her head and smiled, "Yeah, it's all good. Tilly is okay with it and so is Nana," Bethany had not looked phased by this question and had an amused glint in her eyes. It was not Bethany's response that worried her, but Tilly's response. As soon as the Cullen family had been mentioned, Tilly had locked down the house and it had taken a lot of reassurance that they were not there to take her away or harm her. When Edward's name had been mentioned, Tilly had not reacted well and the temperature was so icy cold that Gwen had started to shiver.
"Even me?" Edward questioned, with an arched brow.
Gwen made a face, "Okay, maybe not you… she still hasn't forgiven you," She'd had to promise Tilly that Edward would not come to the house without permission. It was only then that Tilly relaxed and returned the temperature of the house back to normal.
Emmett laughed at the face Edward pulled and pointed at him.
Rosalie huffed and rolled her eyes, but there was a softness to her eyes that was directed at her husband.
Alice was about to say something, but she stopped and so did everyone on the table except for Gwen. The Witch blinked slowly as she watched the Vampires, Rosalie and Jasper were frowning, Alice and Edward looked worried and Emmett looked contemplative. Gwen turned her head and saw that Tyler and Mike were raving about something, the only words that could be made out were La Push and they were dancing around.
"I don't have a good feeling about this," Alice muttered lowly.
"What just happened?" Gwen asked curiously. She could not fully hear what had been said, but she assumed it had something to do with Bella.
"They're going to La Push," Edward answered the Witch.
Gwen nodded slowly as she took this in, "That's where the Shapeshifters are," She remembered her Nana had warned her about them when they first moved to Forks. Gwen had never been to La Push and had never been interested either.
Emmett nodded his head, "Yeah, but they're not as cool as us," He started to posture and flex his muscles which made Gwen laugh at the faces he was making.
"I can't see Bella's future," Alice said, the worried expression coming back full force. She'd never had this issue before and she cursed the human for causing so many issues already. Her powers had never not worked, she had always been able to see everything, especially when she tapped into certain people. The only exception so far had been Gwen, but there was a reason behind it that she now understood. However, when she tried to see how the La Push trip would go, she saw nothing. It was like Bella disappeared.
"What is the issue?" Gwen asked, confused as to what has caused such unrest in the Coven.
"We know we can keep our secret," Jasper started.
"But there is no guarantee with those mutts," Rosalie spat, as she finished what Jasper started to say. "Especially if she mentions our name,"
"As part of the treaty, we're not allowed on Quileute soil," Edward explained further to the Witch when he saw the confused expression. While he knew she was aware of the Shapeshifters in La Push, he did not know if she was aware of their treaty.
"Edward," Jasper warned the younger Vampire.
"She already knows they exist," Alice pointed out to her husband.
Jasper frowned but soon nodded his head. Rosalie also looked unhappy, but did not challenge this, and instead turned her head away.
With no one to object, Edward continued, "We made a treaty with the Quileute tribe in 1936. We could not injure any humans, either by hunting them for food or by transforming them into Vampires, as the Quileute's viewed this transformation as equal to murder, and the Vampires were never to trespass on Quileute land. Carlisle agreed to these terms and proposed adding the concept of mutual secrecy: The Quileute's would not be able to tell anyone of our true nature, and we cannot reveal theirs,"
Gwen hummed as she took in this information, she had followed everything so far, "Where is the boundary?"
Emmett answered this, "The Quileute territory covered all of the reservation, plus some of the land that had traditionally belonged to the Hohs and the Makahs. In some places, the boundary line followed the main road, now Highway 101, but in others, it followed the old tribal lines,"
"They also can't come into our land as well," Alice added in.
"There are some neutral areas, the town of Forks, along with a few other surrounding towns, and the highway," Jasper explained as he wanted the Witch to understand everything. There would be no point in giving half the information.
Gwen hummed in response and understood what had caused such worry. Bella was inquisitive, and there was a high possibility she would mention the Cullen family. "My Nana said there is only one Shifter at the moment,"
"For now, but there will be more," Edward shared with a frown. There were not many creatures that could injure a Vampire, but Shifters were one of them as their teeth could pierce their hard skin.
"And you guys are blind the moment she steps into La Push," Gwen pointed out.
"Unfortunately," Alice muttered as she leaned into Jasper, who wrapped his arm around her.
"But if they are bound by this secrecy as well, surely they wouldn't share it?" Gwen questioned with a frown.
"All it takes is one idiot," Rosalie shared with a frown, "Most of them assume that it is just a legend and we're referred to as Cold Ones."
"Maybe Carlisle needs to speak with them, call a meeting," Edward suggested as he thought about the matter. The best thing would be for the La Push people to be given a warning so their guards were up. However, there was no guarantee that this would be received very well, as they did not have the best relationship with one another.
Alice whipped out her phone, "I'll let him know," She quickly typed a message to Carlisle and knew he would read the message when he had an opportunity, as he would be working today.
"I could always go," Gwen offered.
The Coven of Vampires turned to look at her, and Gwen flushed under their gazes, but she steeled her nerves. She had not expected such a reaction, Emmett stared at her proudly, Jasper and Rosalie were the most contemplative, Alice's eyes were wide in realisation and Edward's expression was brooding.
"I mean, it makes sense if I go." Gwen continued on, "The Shifters don't know about me, I am not included in the Treaty. I am a grey area. I can keep an eye on things," She could understand why Rosalie and Jasper were unsure about bringing her into this, as they worried this would break the treaty. However, Gwen was already aware of the Shapeshifters in La Push so they were not breaking any rules, she was a wild card.
"Not a bad idea," Jasper said, impressed. He could see the massive advantage that would give the Coven. They would have ears in the Quileute, something they'd never had before. It could provide them with the advantage and the edge needed if things started to go south.
"It will be dangerous, especially if they find out you're associating with us," Edward warned the Witch. He had to fight his immediate response which was to shoot down this idea, but he knew that this would not be taken well.
"I can handle it," Gwen said as she looked the mind-reader in the eyes.
Edward nodded his head but did not break the wordless staring match between them.
TWILIGHT
Later that same day
It was towards the end of the day and Edward stood by his Volvo. He waited for the rest of his siblings to get out of school so they could head home. Carlisle had responded to Alice and they would be having a family meeting later that day so he was waiting for the rest of his siblings. As he waited, he noticed a familiar scent. Edward turned his head and watched as Gwen and Caitlin walked over to her car. They were laughing with one another, joking about random things that seemed mundane to him. But Edward was interested and wanted to know more. Gwen looked over at him and waved, a smile on her face.
Gwen had a nice smile.
At the thought, Edward visibly jerked back, as though he'd been slapped. He could not understand where that thought came from.
He didn't understand what happened.
Edward remembered when he first met Gwen over a year ago, he'd not been interested in the slightest. She hadn't piqued his interest; her scent was muted and she seemed to blend in too easily in a crowd. It was only when Alice started to hang around the Witch that he began to examine her more and that is when he realised, he could not read her mind. The fact he hadn't noticed this at all baffled him because surely, he would have picked up on this before now. This had caused him to doubt himself and his abilities, something that had not failed him in the over one hundred years he had been a Vampire. Even as a human, he had always been good at reading people, but with Gwen, he drew a blank.
When it was revealed that she was a Witch and she had known their secret the entire time, he panicked. It made him think about all his actions and whether he or his family had accidentally broken the treaty at any point. He did not trust the Witch and thought that she had ulterior motives for revealing her secret but she'd done nothing to let on that she had any bad intentions. Edward had been disappointed by this because he wanted things to go south to prove to his family that he was right.
He found Gwen opinionated, bull-headed and stubborn.
Naïve as well.
But there was also something that drew him to her. Edward wondered what her scent would be without those scent blockers on her. The more he learned about her, the more he was interested. He had not expected her to challenge him.
She was daring, fearless and confident.
She was a mystery that he wanted to know more about.
When she told him, he was not a monster, Edward felt something in his shift. The guilt he'd held on his shoulders for many years seemed to lighten. He would remind himself of her words every day, and it seemed to help. He had felt lighter than he had in years and his family had noticed a change in his moods. Jasper was the first to notice, next was Carlisle and then everyone else. They were all surprised and it made Edward realise he had not acted the best and he wanted to change that.
While he did not trust Gwen in the beginning, he now considered them starting a friendship with one another, one that he would cherish.
Like Rosalie, she would call him out when he needed it, but her words hit differently.
Edward snapped out of his musing when a different scent hit him, and his body froze. It was Bella, there was no mistaking her sweet, tempting blood. It was like his own personal heroine and hell. He did not want to give into his instinct and drain her dry and instead forced himself to remain calm. He refused to give in to temptation.
He would not ruin what his family had built in Forks.
Edward turned his head and saw Bella standing near him, a shy expression on her face. The red flush on her face did not help his urge to drink from her, but he tried his hardest. He had got used to her scent, somewhat, but when he was caught off guard, she put him on edge.
However, there was no urgent call or message from Alice so he assumed it all worked out. Alice only ever intervened if something were to go south, and none of his brothers had been sent to restrain him, so he took it as a good sign.
He could handle this.
"Edward," Bella said, her voice small and low.
"Oh, hello Bella," Edward said as he tried to act nonchalant. He acted as though he did not want to drain her of all her blood until she died. He tried to act human by putting his pockets in his jacket as though it was cold and to hide his pale hands. It also distracted him in wanting to grab her and run off with her so he could drain her dry.
"I wanted to chat, do you have a minute?" Bella asked, her large doe eyes staring right at him. They were pleading for him to say yes, silently begging him to speak to her.
His immediate answer was to refuse her. He did not want to speak with her. Edward wanted to get as far away from her as possible, but there was no genuine reason for him to make a getaway. Instead, he smiled and nodded his head, "Of course, is there anything I can help with?" The smile he used was dazzling, and he knew what he was doing.
Bella's eyes glazed over for a moment before she wetted her lips and spoke up, "My friends and I are going to La Push, and I was wondering if you wanted to go as well?" Her eyes immediately fell to the ground and the flush on her face burned brighter in embarrassment.
This question genuinely shocked him as he stared at the human in shock, he had not expected this, "Thank you for the invite, but La Push is not my scene," Edward said, wording his answer carefully. He did not want to give her any more reason to suspect something was wrong. He also questioned her motives behind this question and it made him feel suspicious, did she already know something?
Visibly disappointment flashed in her eyes, "Oh,"
"But thank you for the invite," Edward added politely.
Bella nodded her head, flushed in mortification. Edward's mouth flooded with venom and he had to swallow hard. Her blood enticed him too much and he made a mental note he would need to leave soon.
"I never got to thank you, for helping to save me and Gwen from Tyler's car," Bella said as she looked to the ground, her breath hitched.
"It was just lucky I was so close," Edward said as he tried his best to be as modest as he could. However, mentally he cursed Bella for bringing this up. He looked around discreetly, wondering where his siblings were so they could get him out of this situation.
Bella made an unhappy face, one that quickly disappeared, but Edward had seen it. "Yeah… I don't remember you being so close to us," While her voice seemed pleasant, there was a cynical tone silently veiled.
"I was on the way over. I needed to speak to Gwen about some homework in English," Edward said, the lie passed through his lips with practised ease.
"You moved so quickly… almost unnaturally quick," Bella added, her eyes narrowed but her gaze remained on the floor as if she did not want to look at him.
"It must have been adrenaline, I acted without thinking," Edward was thankful that Bella did not possess the same gift as Gwen, otherwise things would have been too messy. Edward knew that if he even tried to lie to Gwen, she would have called him out on this straight away. Before the Witch, he had thought himself a convincing liar, and he planned to use his lying skills as much as possible while he could.
Bella let out a frustrated sigh, "You have an excuse for everything,"
"Because it's the truth," Edward lied.
"I don't believe you. I know you're hiding something," Bella argued back, her brown eyes lifted from the floor in a show of defiance.
Edward frowned and feigned a confused expression, "Look, Bella, I don't understand what you're saying. Have I done something to make you dislike me for something?"
Bella fumbled for a moment as there was a flash of shame in her eyes.
"But also, even if I did have something to hide, what right would you have to know this?" Edward added as he shook his head.
Before Bella could say anything, she was interrupted when Rosalie stepped up to both of them, a venomous expression on her face. She stared down at Bella, her gold eyes darkened ever so slightly, clear disgust on her face.
"Is she bothering you, Edward?" Rosalie asked, her voice like silk.
"She was thanking me for saving her and Gwen," Edward said, but he knew his sister had heard everything, and could hear his sister's thoughts. Rosalie fumed that Bella dared to approach him and question him. This was not a side he saw often of Rosalie, the protective older sister. While he was older than her in Vampire years, Rosalie was turned when she was eighteen years old and she had always acted like an older sister to him.
Bella whimpered under Rosalie's withering gaze and she nodded her head in agreement.
"Well, now that you've done that, you can leave. We want to go home," Rosalie's gaze was purely predatory, signalling for the human to run far away.
Without another word, Bella left, jogging away to her monster of a truck. Edward and Rosalie remained silent as they watched as the human drove off in her truck. It was only when she drove away that they started to speak.
"You did well," Rosalie commented as she looked at her perfectly manicured nails.
"Oh?" Edward had a cheeky grin on his face, "That's a high compliment from you."
"Don't get used to it," Rosalie rolled her eyes and walked over to her red car.
Edward chuckled, though he felt warm when he could hear his sister's thoughts. It wasn't often that Rosalie was proud of him, and he knew he had handled the situation the best he could. However, he and Rosalie agreed, and Bella was starting to become an issue. Edward was taken aback when his sister expressed any gratitude for Gwen spying for them in La Push, especially after this incident.
TWILIGHT
A few days later
It was now Saturday, and the sun was out in Forks, a rare phenomenon. It was slightly warmer than usual and Gwen understood why plans were made to go to La Push, where there was a beach. Gwen did not want to go but knew it would be important for her to go and make sure Bella stayed out of trouble – as much as she could. The Cullen's had not been in school on Friday due to the unexpected sun, and Gwen knew that this had made Bella more suspicious. The Witch was aware that the sun did not burn Vampires like in fiction, but rather the sun reflected off their skin and made it appear like diamonds. It was very beautiful, though Emmett had admitted he felt emasculated by it and hated it the most.
Caitlin came with Gwen, and she'd not been hard to convince to come. The moment it was mentioned, the goth girl had jumped at the chance. When they arrived, Gwen parked her car and instantly recognised that Mike's car was not too far away.
"I can't believe you managed to convince my parents to let me come with you," Caitlin said with an excited smile. It had been ages since she'd last been to La Push and she'd jumped at the chance to get out of her house.
"You must have been driving them up the wall," Gwen said with a grin. Caitlin's parents believed Gwen to be a good influence on her daughter and had allowed her to go to La Push, as long as she was back by six o'clock in the evening – at the latest. Gwen had promised Caitlin's parents she'd be back before that. Gwen idly wondered if they would have the same thought if they knew she was a Witch.
"I was," Caitlin agreed easily, with a devious smirk.
Both girls made their way out of the car, with beach bags in hand. Caitlin wanted to collect some shells for some bracelets she was making, and Gwen was happy to come along. They walked along the beach, with Caitlin squealing happily when she saw a pretty shell and she grabbed them without hesitation. Gwen watched this fondly, as she silently summoned some shells to make the goth girl happy without her noticing.
The entire time, Gwen kept her eyes peeled for Bella and her other human friends. She had looked around and wondered where they were. However, it did not take long to find them. There was a group of them ahead, with some Quileute boys. There was a man who stood slightly further away from the other Quileute's, he was imposing, with his large stature, and muscles. There was a tattoo on his upper arm that was bold against his skin. There was an intense look in his eyes as he watched.
Gwen instantly knew he was a Shifter. His aura gave it away, and she could tell he was the Alpha of the pack as well.
"Oh, they're cute," Caitlin said as she looked at some of the Quileute's.
"Meh," Gwen shrugged her shoulders, not fully impressed.
Caitlin sent her a bewildered look.
At that moment, the boy beside the imposing man turned and looked at Gwen, he was tall with some muscle on him as well. There was a similar tattoo on his arm like the Alpha, and this made Gwen realise he was another Shifter. This made her frown. Bethany was under the impression there was only one Shifter, but there seemed to be another one. However, this one looked angry and his intense eyes filled with rage that put the Witch on edge.
She had a bad feeling about him.
He continued to stare at her and did not look away. The big man followed his gaze and stared at Gwen, his gaze narrowed.
Gwen looked away, pretending that she did not notice them.
Gwen wanted to get closer to Bella and her group of friends, but she needed it to look natural. She and Bella were not friends. She and Jessica were not friends. She and Lauren were certainly not friends. Lauren tried to get her to join the volleyball team after she'd seen her in the gym, but the Witch had bluntly turned her down. Gwen also despised the pea-brained boys – who had asked her out relentlessly when she first joined because she was the shiny new toy. The only decent people in that group were Angela and Ben – who appeared to have a crush on one another. Jessica and Lauren also despised Caitlin and treated her horribly, so she did not want to expose her friend to such treatment because she worried about what she'd do in retaliation.
Discreetly, Gwen used magic and listened in on their conversation instead. She heard Jessica and Lauren laugh obnoxiously, and Mike and Tyler fooled around like the teenage boy they were. This drivel made the Witch bored and she was half tempted to tune out when the conversation caught her attention.
"She's just embarrassed that Edward Cullen turned her down," Jessica's voice was sickly sweet and mocking.
This caught Gwen's attention.
"I just wanted to be nice," Bella muttered, but thanks to her magic, Gwen was able to hear this response clearly.
"The Cullen family do not come here," The intense man said, who Gwen learned was called Sam when someone muttered his name. She also learned that the person next to him, the angry boy was called Paul.
"How come?" Bella questioned without hesitation.
Gwen watched this from afar, but even she could see the powerful look in Sam's eyes when he answered, "They just don't," Sam stated with authority that no one questioned them.
The conversation died for a while so Gwen tuned out.
She and Caitlin continued to walk alongside the beach. Even Caitlin stayed far away from the popular crowd and was conscious when they got too close. Gwen would act as a shield, and stood in the way. Luckily, the group of teenagers seemed to focus on themselves to focus on her and Caitlin – something that Gwen was grateful for.
However, it was when Bella and another boy – Jacob – ended up walking off alone that caught her attention.
Gwen could see the infatuation in the boy's eyes, and there was a certain energy around him. He was a potential Shifter. So were the other boys with him as well (Embry, Quil and Jared) and Gwen made a mental note of this. They didn't appear to have shifted yet, and there was no tattoo present on their arms – yet. However, Gwen knew it was only a matter of time.
"What was that all about, that the Cullen's don't come around here?" Bella asked Jacob when they were alone. They walked up and down the beach. Bella seemed unaware of the gaze on her, far too focused on Jacob and getting answers.
Jacob looked uncomfortable, "You caught that? I'm not meant to say,"
Gwen's form tensed when she heard this.
"Hey, I can keep a secret," Bella asked, trying to feign indifference, but Gwen could tell she was far too eager to be normal.
Jacob laughed, but nervously, "Really, it's just some old scary story."
"Well, I want to know," Bella pressed as she fluttered her eyes at him.
Gwen mentally cursed Bella and the boy.
"Well apparently, Quileutes are meant to be descendants of w-" Jacob did not get a chance to finish his sentence, as he tripped over something and fell flat to the sand with a small cry in shock. Bella let out a surprised gasp and ended up tripping over herself and she landed on her arm awkwardly.
Gwen smirked at her handiwork. She had used her magic to make them trip up and disrupt the conversation.
"Are you okay?" Jacob jumped up and helped Bella up, concern on his face.
"Y-yeah, just shocked," Bella blinked slowly in surprise. She looked down at the sand and did not notice anything sticking out that could make her trip. She knew she was clumsy, but Jacob had also tripped over. It felt as though someone had pushed her.
Bella looked around and noticed that her friends were too far away, but she also noticed Gwen and her goth friend further away.
There was no way they could have done anything from that distance…
Could she?
Bella looked back to Jacob, "What were to saying? About being descendants of what?" She asked, wanting to get back to what they were talking about.
"I don't think it's a good idea," Jacob shook his head.
Bella frowned, unhappy. She tried to press him on this, but Jacob would not budge and they ended up walking back to the friend group.
Gwen smirked in victory.
A disaster had been avoided, but she would need to tell the Cullen's about this. Jacob appeared the weakest link and he would need to be put in his place. This made Gwen worried that Bella would try something again, she'd done it once before and Gwen could not always guarantee that she would be there to intervene. Mentally, she debated about putting a spell on Jacob to make sure he did not talk about it.
"Hey, I'm going to put this in the car, can I have your keys?" Caitlin asked as she stood up, a bucket of shells in hand.
"Yeah, just try not to get too much sand in my car," Gwen said as she handed her keys over. The last thing she needed in her car was sand that would never leave.
Caitlin saluted the Witch before she ran off, a bucket of shells secured. Gwen watched her go with a smile on her face.
However, now the Witch was alone.
But she wasn't for long.
She felt a figure approach her, and Gwen turned her head at the approaching figure. It was Paul, and this surprised her. She wondered why he had walked over to her, and her guard was immediately up.
He stopped in front of her and stared at her, his dark eyes roaming her figure with no hint of embarrassment.
"You need something?" Gwen questioned him with an arched brow.
"What are you doing here?" Paul questioned back, his tone rough but young. He couldn't have been older than sixteen years old, but he tried to act older.
"Enjoying the beach," Gwen answered him blandly.
Paul's eyes narrowed, "Is that it?"
"What's it to you?" Gwen demanded as she placed a hand on her hip, and his eyes followed her every movement.
"You don't smell right," Paul said bluntly.
This bluntness almost took her off guard, and she knew he wasn't lying. He truly thought she didn't smell right. Gwen knew it was because of the herbs she had tucked away in her underwear and his enhanced senses. "Then don't stand so close,"
Paul's face flushed in anger, and his eyes darkened.
Gwen met his eyes in a challenging manner, and this seemed to set him off more. His shoulders trembled ever so slightly and his fists clenched. Gwen mentally wondered whether he was close to Shifting and knew it would be dangerous to get too close. From what she'd read, energy could explode from them and this could be deadly to people too close. However, Gwen refused to back down, as any steps back would have been seen as a retreat.
Before either of them could say or do anything, Caitlin came running back with a smile, but this soon dropped when she sensed the air around them.
"Is everything okay?" Caitlin asked, almost nervous.
"Yes, he was just leaving," Gwen said, her eyes never leaving the Shifter in front of her. She raised a challenging brow – would he do something in front of a human? She suspected he knew she was not completely human and that is why he approached her. But Caitlin completely reeked of human, despite her goth attire.
With one last glare, Paul stormed off back to Sam. Gwen watched as he whispered something in Sam's eyes. Sam's eyes landed on Gwen, and Gwen sent him a challenging look back. Sam's nostrils flared but he soon snapped something at Paul, who flinched back.
"That's so weird," Caitlin muttered lowly as she watched this.
Gwen nodded her head, "Never be alone with any of them. I get a bad vibe," She hoped her friend would listen to her. She would hate for Caitlin to be involved in supernatural drama. Having a Witch for a friend was already bad enough and Gwen tried her hardest to keep her away from this.
"You don't need to tell me twice," Caitlin agreed easily, as she sent an uneasy look towards the Shifters.
With her mission accomplished, and Caitlin had her fill of shells, Gwen dropped her friend back home. Caitlin's parents had been lovely and tried to invite her in for dinner, but the Witch politely backed out, stating her Nana was expecting her back. She then drove back to Tilly and visibly relaxed when she was back in the house.
"I'm home," Gwen patted the side of the doorway, as it swung open the moment, she parked her car.
Tilly's floorboards hummed in happiness and the floorboards moved Gwen into the kitchen. Gwen laughed and she made herself a drink of tea, she needed it after the long day she'd had.
Going into her room, Gwen sat down on the bed and grabbed her phone. The moment she did, the phone rang and she noticed it was Alice. There were a few missed calls from Alice and other numbers from the Cullen family, and this made her blink slowly. She hadn't noticed her phone ringing at all.
She answered Alice's call, "Hello?"
"Gwen! I was so worried! You disappeared in my visions!" Alice's voice was filled with concern and she spoke so fast that Gwen nearly missed what she said.
"Is she okay?" Emmett shouted on the other line.
"That's what I am checking!" Alice yelled back at him in frustration, but this seemed to cause an argument between them.
"Gwen?" Edward's voice now came onto the phone. He had taken the phone while Emmett and Alice argued with one another. Jasper was trying to calm the situation down, but he was laughing too much to be any true help.
"I'm fine, I just got back from La Push," Gwen answered him as she slowly sipped her hot drink. It relaxed her straight away.
"I'll put you on speaker," Edward said as he pressed the button. While everyone could hear Gwen, she would not be able to hear everyone else.
"Thank you," Gwen said.
"Gwen! How are you?" Esme said, her familiar voice came through.
"I'm fine Esme, thank you for asking," Gwen smiled, feeling that rush of affection for the maternal figure of the Coven.
"You're not injured are you, Gwen?" Carlisle asked, his calm voice soothing.
Gwen shook her head, though she knew they couldn't see her, but she couldn't stop herself, "No, I am completely unharmed."
"I'm glad to hear," Carlisle said, clear relief in his voice.
"What happened?" Came the direct response from Rosalie.
Gwen nearly snorted at how direct she was, but she expected nothing less from the Vampire. "It was mentioned that Bella asked Edward to come. It was Sam who commented that the Cullen's don't come here. Bella ended up asking Jacob, who I am certain has feelings for her, and he nearly told her about the legends. However, before he could, I stopped them by tripping them up with my magic. I worry that Bella may try again with Jacob though,"
There was high-speed whispering on the other end, and Gwen could not keep up with it. Instead of trying though, she just sipped her tea and waited for someone to speak at a normal pace so she could understand.
"Jacob Black?" Carlisle questioned. He had kept up to date with all Quileute children, so he could be aware of who they were dealing with when they came back.
"Yes," Gwen answered, she vaguely remembered as Bella introduced him to her group of friends.
"He's Billy Black's son. He is an elder of the Quileute tribe." Carlisle shared.
Gwen hummed, "Well he was about to spill the beans, all Bella had to do was flutter her eyes at him,"
Rosalie hissed angrily on the other line, "Those damn mutts,"
"Also, from what I could see and sense, there is more than one Shifter," Gwen added as she took another sip of her tea.
"How many?" Emmett immediately asked in excitement. He would love to fight against the Shifters but was always told he couldn't.
"I can confirm two, Sam and Paul. I sensed at least four others that have the potential of becoming a Shifter," Gwen explained to them.
Emmett cheered in excitement, and there was a sound of a slap with Emmett screaming out in pain.
"Did anything else happen?" Jasper asked.
For a moment, Gwen considered not telling them this part, but decided to, "Paul came over and confronted me. He was asking me why I was there, and when I challenged him, he seemed to get angry."
"You need to be careful, Gwen, he could have shifted near you," Carlisle warned in a fatherly tone.
"I was fine, he backed off when Caitlin came back. I think he knows something isn't fully right with me. He said I smelled funny," Gwen added in.
Rosalie made an offended noise, "They have a cheek, they smell like dogs!"
Alice laughed loudly and agreed with her sister. This comment also made Gwen laugh as well, and she assumed that is what they smelt like to the Vampires.
"Thank you for going, Gwen, we appreciate it," Esme said kindly.
"No problems, I am glad I could help," Gwen answered her truthfully.
Alice grumbled on the other end, "I don't understand why my gift doesn't work,"
"I mentioned that to my Nana. She thinks it's because of the Shifters, they may interfere with your visions. My Nana can still see them in hers," Gwen answered. After school on Monday, she had asked her Nana who told her a working theory. They did not know this for certain, but her Nana had been pretty confident in this.
Alice hummed in thought but didn't say anything else on the matter.
The phone call soon ended after that, and Gwen finished her tea. However, about ten minutes after the phone call ended, she got a text from Alice.
Keep your phone on you, we may need you tomorrow – Alice.