CHAPTER 1: IN WHICH WE MEET OUR CHARACTERS
Bella screamed. She wasn't sure that it was the best thing to do under the circumstances, but it was all she could do. The beast lurking in the shadows growled back at her. Of all the ways to go, getting mauled by a bear was one she did not expect, given her recent forays into the dangerous world of vampires and werewolves. As she backed into a tree, she wished that she hadn't broken things off with Edward earlier that night. If she hadn't he might be with her instead of sulking by himself.
"Edward! Someone, anyone! HELP!" Bella screamed.
The ravenous beast slowly advanced, a mad glint in its eyes the only sign that belied its true hunger. Bella debated running, but realized that there was nothing she could do. This was it. This was the end. As she gave in to her dark realizations Bella became aware of a distant rumbling of the earth. Both Bella and the bear paused as the shaking grew closer and closer.
Bella watched as a dark form suddenly burst forth from the earth and almost seemed to envelope the bear. She sat in awe as the newly risen titan wrestled with an almost imperceptible grace with the hairy beast. The two forms fought for control of the fight, each gaining and losing ground, one fighting for life and death, and the other reveling in the glory of the sport. Bella only cried out once, when the bear managed to brace itself against a tree and made to bite at the throat of the other combatant.
"Look out!" Bella cried, a useless comment in the throes of battle.
Her muscular savior sighed. Suddenly there was a horrendous crashing noise and part of the tree along with a large section of the bear's leg were just missing. As the tree finally came to rest Bella looked up to see the dark figure silently standing over the bear, ensuring that the once noble beast received the death it deserved. Once its work was done, the massive figure turned to approach Bella.
Her mind was racing. Nothing that she knew of, no werewolf, no vampire, could have performed the feats that she just witnessed. The still moonlight glinted off teeth as her savior approached her in silence. Surely it couldn't be a hybrid, she thought. There's no way a half-vampire half-werewolf would be allowed to live. It was the only explanation she could come up with, though. The figure finally stepped into a patch of moonlight and revealed himself to the stunned Bella.
He stood no taller than an average human. Muscles rippled underneath his pale grey skin, resplendent with the occasional dark purple stripe. His glistening maw stood out the most, filled with row upon row of jagged teeth still dripping blood. A dark fin protruded from his back. His eyes were set far back in his head, above a monstrous snout. He was wearing leather gloves, dark jeans and what appeared to be some form of roller blades.
Bella stood in awe of the glorious being in front of her. He seemed to possess almost incalculable strength, yet his muscular figure was not grotesque. His eyes looked into hers, and she got lost in the sheer humanity omnipresent in those glittering orbs. He smiled, somehow, with that fearsome mouth of his.
"Hi there. My name's Streex. What's yours?", he asked in a deep, gentle voice, nothing like the garbled elocutions she expected.
"Bella. My name's Bella."