(January 17th)
"Well, here we go..." Harald grumbled as he climbed down his Harley Davidson while looking at the building in front of him.
He had left his wooden house pretty early to be sure to find the place at South Spartan Avenue. After all, the only times he actually left his domicile was to either take a trip in the forest or to buy some stuffs in the nearest supermarket. He didn't even went out to visit the place.
Harald, like his parents (and his ancestors), was not very fond of cities where lived too many people. In fact, he was starting to already hate his new school : the area had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-eight students ! Even his old school wasn't as crowded !
Right now, he wanted nothing more than to go back home and stay with Aiyanna but he couldn't. Education was important… even if it WAS really annoying from time to time. Harald never liked schools… mostly because of the people but not of the lessons themselves.
Beside his mother had enrolled him there so, in her honor, he would go there. Leaving the house in the guard of Aiyanna…
Well scratch that.. the blond bear was hibernating and he won't see her until spring…
Leaving the house in the guard of his runes of protection, he left to head to school. However, it had took him a hour to find it as he didn't know its exact location.
It was mostly his fault for going out really often but hey, he thankfully had a strong memory so it wasn't a total waste. To make things better, he got to use his Harley Davidson for the second time ! The first was to test it and it was 2 months ago.
He had asked his way at least two times before finding the high school. He had parked his motorcycle at his arrival and since then had been staring at the place, his hairs flying in the wind.
Taking a deep breath, the dark brown haired young man was about to enter this new place when he saw something in the corner of his eyes. Turning his head, he saw a young woman his age who was also looking at the school with hesitation.
The young woman seemed to have a very pale complexion with long, straight, dark brown hair, a widow's peak, beautiful chocolate brown eyes and a heart-shaped face along with a wide forehead.
Speaking of her eyes, they were large and widely spaced. Her nose was thin and her cheekbones were prominent while her lips seemed too full for her slim jawline. Her eyebrows were darker than her hair and were straighter than they are arched.
He didn't know why but something inside him made him want to go there and unconsciously he did. As he stepped closer, the dark grown haired young man couldn't help but feeling more and more attracted by this unknown girl.
She was even more beautiful up close!
Now that he was closer, he could tell that she was rather petite compared to him : she looked to be roughly around 5 feet 4 tall in height !
However, he quickly broke his 'trance' to focus on the main reason of his approach. Clearing his throat to catch her attention, Harald watched as she quickly turned her head to stare at him with those unique eyes of hers.
But the second their eyes met, something unexpected happened : he felt like his soul was mixing with the girl in front of him as a sense of protectiveness passed through him. He didn't know what was going on as he had never felt something like this before : he had just met this girl and yet, he felt drawn to her.
He will have to ask his mother later in the day.
Realizing that he had been staring, Harald shook his head to regain his composure but when he was about to speak, he saw that the girl looked to be in some sort of trance, her eyes staring at him… or through him.
Trying to break the awkward moment, the dark brown haired young man cleared his throat again which seemed to do the trick as herself shook her head to regain her senses.
"Excuse me to bother you but I noticed that you looked a bit lost there… Maybe I can help ?" he inquired her respectfully and with a soft smile on his face.
"Hmmm..." the unknown girl said back intelligently.
Seeing that she looked a bit nervous, Harald gave her a soft smile which had the effect of reddening her face deeply.
"Harald Anderson at your service milady..." the young man said with a small reverence.
The girl blushed a bit more at the action but he ignored it to ask her with some curiosity "and you fair lady ?"
"B-Bella Swan..." the young woman responded back with a less visible blush on her face.
"A pleasure to meet you Miss Swan..." Harald greeted her nicely and she smiled back at him, acting less shy now.
"The pleasure is mine Mr. Anderson !"
"Please just call me Harald… Mr. Anderson makes me feel old..." The dark brown haired young man inquired her with a tiny smile
"Only if you call me Bella..." Bella inquired him back with a gentle smile.
"Deal !" he replied with a chuckle before asking
"Am I to assume that you are also a new student here ?"
"Yes… you ?"
"I am…" Harald responded with a sigh
"Oh… I had hope you were already a student..." Bella said in a soft disappointed tone.
"But I'm not… At least we will have something in common don't you think ?" Harald asked her with a smirk.
Bella smirked back at him but nodded her head in agreement.
"Maybe we should go now… Classes will start soon !" the young woman said to her companion before rushing forward… but not without grabbing him by the arm to drag him with her !
Surprised by the action, Harald couldn't retain a small chuckle of amusement from escaping his throat as he let himself be carried away by someone much smaller than himself.
However, he was still wondering why he acted like this toward this girl…
00/(Time Skip)/00
Harald and Bella, as they finished their first few classes, discovered pretty quickly that they were the centers of attention.
As new students, transferred ones at that, the two of them were getting a lot of attention from the local students of the school. Each time they passed somewhere, whispers would follow them. Harald, thanks to his good hearing, could literally hear the comments of them such as those ones :
"Look at this guy ! He is so hot !"
"Those muscles ~"
"The chick is absolutely beautiful !"
"Damn the dude looks intimidating !"
Earlier, at the gym, Bella had accidentally hit someone with a volleyball. She had apologized and the guy, whose name was Mike, had tried to talk back to her but had quickly run away under Harald's gaze. Another young woman, a blond, had tried to flirt with him but after a dangerous glare, she left him alone.
There are been no more incidents after that.
Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts , the dark brown haired young man made his way through the cafeteria toward one of the table which was strangely empty of people. Seating on the bench, Harald pulled out his lunch-box and a thermos.
Why did he bring his own food you may wonder ? Easy because school cafeterias are NOT known for their cuisines !
Beside him, sat Bella Swan who hadn't stopped being near him… even in class. To his surprise, he had felt annoyed by her… proximity like he should and once again, wondered what was wrong with himself today.
Ignoring the looks they were getting from the people, Harald opened his lunch-box to enjoy the food he prepared before coming to school.
The smell instantly caught Bella's attention as she turned her head to look at him.
"What is it ? It smells really good..." the young woman said to him curiously.
" Thank you ! I made this myself… Do you want some ?" Harald asked her with a raise-brow
She had yet to touch the food he offered because her chocolate brown eyes looked at his blue-green eyes "You still didn't answer the question~"
Now she was mischievous !
"Indeed I didn't…" He chuckled in amusement before answering her question
"Its Trouts with garlic lemon butter herb sauce ..."
Bella was now really curious and slowly cut a piece of his trouts before eating it just as slowly. Her eyes widened a bit as a smile grew on her face.
"This is delicious !" she complimented him as her brown eyes, once again, locked on his blue-green ones.
"I'm glad you liked it sakna..." Harald replied back to her with a smile before enjoying his meal.
"Sakna ? What does this mean ?" Bella asked him with a frown, not understanding the language he used.
"Oh I'm sorry Bella… Slip of the tongue… and to answer you : it mean 'miss' in the tongue of my people..." the dark brown haired young man answered her when he realized what he said.
"Your people ?" Bella asked him curiously.
"Long story…" Harald replied with a shrug while internally cursing himself for almost spilling the existence of Werebears.
"You will not tell me more am I right ?" the young woman asked him with narrowed eyes.
"No~" he replied back with a playful grin.
Pouting at him, she decided to go back on his food and he chuckled a bit in amusement before doing the same.
But then he tensed when a strange smell reached his nose and he turned his head toward another table where a group of people had gathered there.
They looked normal but their scent was NOT.
There were five of them in total.
The first one was a petite girl with black pixie-cut hair
The second was a lean but muscular guy with honey blond hair.
The third one was a guy who had the same size that Harald (6 feet 5) and looked burly and very muscular. He also had slightly curly, dark brown hair that almost looks black in color. He looked to be the tallest of the five.
The four person was a gorgeous woman with a figure similar to a model. Standing at 5 feet 9, she had long wavy blond hair that fell halfway down to the middle of her back. She was simply stunning… but not enough to be compared to Bella in his opinion.
The last one was also a guy… and if he was honest, Harald would say that the guy was more good looking than him. His facial features were perfect with angular high cheekbones, a strong jawline, perfect eyebrows, a straight nose and full lips. His untidy hair had an unusual bronze shade. He was standing at 6 feet 2.
While they looked different from each other, all of them shared the exact same feature : their eyes. They were all golden in color ! Another thing they all shared were their pale skins…
Harald's mind froze at he realized what they were : VAMPIRES !
A small growl slowly rose from his throat but then he frowned in confusion : aren't Vampires supposed to have RED eyes ? Thinking for a moment, he shrugged as he finally made a decision : he would just ask his mother later.
He was about to focus back on his meal when he noticed something : one of the male vampires had his eyes on Bella ! Seeing this, his instinct went almost berserk but he managed to keep his cool to avoid creating troubles on his very first day.
However, that didn't stopped him from sending a dangerous glare toward the vampire whose eyes looked away from the young woman to stare at him with narrowed eyes. Quickly glancing at Bella to be sure she wasn't looking, the dark brown haired young man made gesture signifying ' I got my eyes on you'.
The Vampire's golden eyes narrowed at him but after an harsh glare from Harald, he looked away. Huffing silently in satisfaction, the young man went back to his meal.
A small silence followed until Bella broke it "You're not very talkative are you ?"
"Not really… I'm usually left alone so…" Harald replied with a shrug
"Why that ?" Bella asked him with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"Sort of habit… and maybe because I like being alone..." the dark brown haired young man responded in a soft tone while looking at her sideway.
"So am I bothering you ?" Bella asked him with a hint of hurt in her voice.
Hearing this, Harald froze before looking at her in alarm
"No no no no of course not ! You are most welcome here !"
A smile appeared on her heart-shaped face and he couldn't help but smiling back. He still didn't understand why he was so drawn to this girl… but it wasn't so bad. Realizing they had been staring at one another's eyes, he coughed in his fist, blushing a bit as he said those words
"Well… let just finish our stuff before going to the next class !"
"Of course ! Biology right ?" Bella asked him with a blush of her own.
The two soon went back to their meal and once they finished, the two went together to their next class. However, on the way there, Harald froze when he saw the same vampire than before but then narrowed his eyes as he kept walking
Passing inches away from the guy, he had to retain himself from throwing up at the vampire's scent but he managed to say with clenched teeth
"Don't try anything vampire or I will end you !"
The guy in question seemed shocked by those words but Harald didn't stayed to see more as he entered the classroom alongside Bella. Speaking of the young woman, she had noticed the vampire and while she found him pretty good looking, she couldn't help but seeing Harald as a better guy.
As she sat behind him, Bella couldn't help but thinking about their earlier meeting and the strange sensation she felt when their eyes connected. A blush slowly formed on her face as she remembered this strange need to being near him.
Bella had never felt so drawn toward someone and while she found it strange, she didn't mind as Harald seemed to be a good guy… albeit a bit lonely. He admitted it after all so she promised to herself to be there for him.
And she will keep this promise !
Back to Harald, unaware of what Bella was thinking, she was glaring sideway at the Vampire guy (who unfortunately was sitting next to him) whose eyes were narrowed at him back defiantly. A few seconds later, the dark brown haired young man felt like someone was trying to enter his head and instantly close his mind.
"Thank you Einar for those lessons !" he thought to himself as he watched in satisfaction the vampire being confused by something.
A few years ago, Astrid had taught her son about Vampires and their abilities : some could read mind, others could cause pain to others without moving… and Einar taught him how to oppose those type of attacks. Over the years, he developed a strong barrier around his mind to protect it thanks to the meditation.
At it seemed that they were strong enough to repel that damn leech !
Grunting in satisfaction, Harald's attention went back on the front where the teacher was starting the lesson. However, he didn't saw Bella's questioning face looking at his back and was unaware that she had seen the entire thing.
00/(Time Skip)/00
"Classes today were… interesting..." Harald commented as he and Bella both appeared in the parking.
The two of them hadn't be seen without the other present… or at least close by. Harald's muscles had intimidated some of the boys who seemed to be interested by Bella. He couldn't blame them but for some reason, he felt a bit protective of her. He cannot wait to go home and call his mother for some informations.
Apart of that nothing spectacular happened so far… if you didn't count the hateful glares he received from the guy he menaced earlier. He learned that they were the Cullens and the adoptive children of the doctor Carlisle Cullen and his wife Esme.
He quickly learned who was who so he wouldn't get confused : the petite pixie-like girl was Alice Cullen, the lean but muscular guy with honey blond hair was Jasper Hale, the tall muscular guy with curly brown hair was Emmet Cullen, the gorgeous blond was Rosalie Hale and finally the one who hadn't stopped glaring at him was Edward Cullen.
From what he managed to gather, the Cullens had moved here from Alaska a few years ago.
Harald was horrified by the presence of those 'Bloodsuckers' around so many humans but for some reasons, they didn't seemed to mind being around food. In fact, they had acted like normal people for the entire day !
He will DEFINITELY call his mother to at least warn her about this !
Back to present, the two 'friends' stopped not too far from their vehicles. Bella smiled up at him and he smiled back
"See you tomorrow huh sakna Swan ?" the dark brown haired young man inquired to her with a grin.
"Again with your 'miss' Mister Anderson ?~" Bella retorted back with a grin and she giggled when he started groaning in annoyance at the use of the word 'mister'.
"So this is your vehicle ?" Harald asked her with curiosity when his blue-green eyes landed on the 50s-60s faded red/orange truck. After close investigation, he quickly recognized it as a 1963 Chevy StepSide C-10 pickup ! A beauty !
"Yeah… A gift from my dad..." Bella responded with a chuckle.
"He sure know how to choose things..." the dark brown haired guy commented as he eyed one again the pickup.
"Is that a motorcycle ?" Bella asked him back as she pointed at his own vehicle with a finger.
"Aye ! But not just a motorcycle : a Harley Davidson !" Harald replied back with a proud look on his face.
"A gift from your parents or you brought it yourself ?" Bella asked him with an amused raise-brow.
Boys with their toys.
"Aye ! From my Móðir… I never met my dad..." Harald replied back with a sad tone.
"Sorry about your father..." Bella whispered to him while giving him an apologetic look.
"Its fine…" he whispered back with a shrug while being touched by her care.
After a moment of silence, the young woman was the one to speak as she opened her mouth to say
"Can I give you my number ?"
Blinking at the sudden request, he stared at her with surprise wondering how to response. A little voice in his head was SCREAMING at him to say 'yes' and seeing the look in her eyes… he sighed.
"Sure..." Harald responded with a little blush as he rubbed the back of his head with embarrassment.
A small squeal escaped her mouth but she quickly stopped to pull out her phone. They exchanged their numbers so they could stay in contact before they both climbed on their own engines. After on e last wave of goodbye, they drove away to their respective home.
At the same time, a group of people were having a heated discussion. They were all in a large, graceful house, rectangular and well-proportioned, painted a faded white. The southern wall of this house was almost entirely made of glass, with a view of the Calawah river.
The people in question were none other than the Cullen Family : Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmet, Edward… and their adoptive parents Carlisle and Esme Cullen. Edward was the one to start as he told his family what had happened today.
The new students…
The fact he couldn't read their minds…
The muscular guy who BLOCKED his attempt to see his thoughts…
The same guy who somehow KNEW what he was and MENACED him !
Alice had commented once that the guy's name was pretty exotic and charming but was mostly ignored as they listened to Edward's report.
When he finished, they all staid silent as their mind processed what they just heard.
"What are we gonna do ?" Alice asked softly as she looked at everyone present.
"We must keep an eye on him !" Jasper said with a serious expression on his face.
Rosalie, her, had a different idea in mind "I saw the guy and he is kinda attractive~"
Emmett stared at her in fake-betrayal which caused some of them to laugh with humor at the couple's antics. It was no secret that Rosalie loved to tease her husband from time to time.
"Edward are you sure there isn't more about this 'Harald Anderson' ?" Esme asked him with some concern along with curiosity.
The most handsome Vampire of the group went deep in thought for a second before answering
"His smell… his smell was strange..."
"What about it ?" Rosalie asked him with a raise-brow.
"When I smelt it, something inside me was telling me to run away from him…" Edward explained to them with a bit of confusion on his face.
"It was also similar to those mutts… but stronger and when I looked into his eyes… It was as if I was looking at an apex predator..." he added after another second of thoughts.
Carlisle, who had listening calmly to the whole thing, suddenly tensed on his chair… an action noticed by everyone.
"Carlisle ?" Esme called out in concern to her husband.
If a vampire could pale, the Head of the Cullen Family would be as pale as a ghost !
"The scent… was it like that of a bear?" Carlisle asked his son with an alarmed look on his face.
Emmett tensed at the word 'bear' and Rosalie instantly went to comfort him. Before being turned into a vampire, he had been attacked by a bear and it left some sequels. Rosalie was the one who saved him before carrying him to Carlisle .
"Now that you mention it… Yes it was… stronger but yes it was similar… Why do yo-" Edward answered with confusion before pausing when Carlisle went back on his feet with a look of panic on his face.
"DAMN IT !" he cursed loudly which caused everyone around him to look at him with surprise and shock.
Carlisle Cullen never cursed ! And when he does (which was really rare), his curses are old and archaic.
"One of them had to be here of all place !" Carlisle literally hissed with panic as he paced around the room.
"CARLISLE !" Esme called out loudly which had the effect to catch his attention AND stopping him in his track.
"Calm down…" his wife inquired him in a gentle tone and he did just that.
Once he was a bit more relaxed, Carlisle looked back at his children before saying "I'm sorry you had to see that..."
They all nodded their heads, accepting the apology but still curious of WHY he acted like this.
"Can you now tell us what was that all about ?" Edward asked him with narrowed eyes.
Carlisle looked at the rest of his family who all looked back at him waiting for an explanation. With a sigh and a quick look at the soft smile of Esme, the head of the family faced them again to answer/
"Have you all ever heard of Werebears ?" he asked them with a serious expression on his face.
They all blinked in confusion, staring at one another with frowns on their faces.
"Werebears ?" Alice asked him with a voice filled with curiosity as her eyes seemed to shine in interest.
"What are Werebears Carlisle ?" Esme, his wife, asked him with equal curiosity.
"Werebears are people who can turn into massive bears… They are a lot stronger than the Wolves but more dangerous… No one knows where they come from but many centuries ago, when our kind started to come to America, they had to face them…" Carlisle explained in a serious tone before pausing in his story.
Emmett looked fearful at the mention of bears but himself was curious of this new kind. Rosalie had her eyes narrowed while Jasper looked fully interested just like Alice. Esme herself seemed mesmerized by the tale but didn't ask any questions.
"Who won ?" Edward asked his adoptive father with a hint of interest in his voice.
"At first, it was us Vampires because we were faster… but then it all changed… In the end, we lost many of our kind in this battle…To be sure that no other Vampires lost its life, we made a peace treaty with them…" Carlisle answered to his son while shivering a bit from the inside.
He wasn't a part of this battle but he had heard from elder vampires how destructive if had been for their kind.
" Why are telling us about them ?" Jasper asked him with a frown.
Alice and Rosalie, thought the same… before their eyes widened when they realized it
"Are you thinking-" the former began to ask in a soft tone but was interrupted by her father.
"Yes… this Harald Anderson is possibly a Werebear !" Carlisle replied with a sharp nod.
A shocked silence followed as they looked at one another.
"What are we gonna do about him ?" Emmett finally asked a moment of dead silence.
They all turned their heads to look at Carlisle.
"Nothing for now… And Edward ? You said he was with a girl..."
"Yes… They seemed pretty close… I tried to read her mind but I couldn't…" The handsome vampire responded to his adoptive father with a pensive look.
"He seemed to be really protective of her..." Alice said from her seat before adding
"Each time a boy tried to approach her, he would scare them with a glare… It was kinda cute… "
Carlisle groaned audibly, but not because of Alice's words, but about something else.
"Alright… Children try to not provoke him… I do not want to deal with a furious Werebear even a young one !" he ordered them with a stern expression on his face and they quickly nodded.
"What about the girl ?" Jasper asked from his seat.
"If she is close to the young man then I suggest we leave them BOTH be… As I said, I DO NOT want to deal with an enraged Werebear !" Carlisle responded after a few seconds of thoughts.
They all nodded one again and where about to leave when Rosalie asked loudly
"What about the Wolves ? Aren't you afraid that he would ally with them ?"
"Not really… the Shifters and the Werebears are rivals from what I heard and they dislike each other deeply..." Carlisle responded with a shrug.
They all nodded their heads, silently promising to not create a conflict with this new Creature. However, Edward had different thoughts as images of Bella passed through his mind again and again.
00/(Elsewhere)/00
"Hello Mom..." Harald said warmly with a phone against his ear
He had returned from school a moment ago and after parking the motorcycle in the garage, the young man went to the phone to call Astrid. Aiyanna was sleeping soundly upstairs and thanks to the tunes he installed in her room, she couldn't hear him so he could speak as loudly as he could !
"My baby boy ! How was your first day ?!" Astrid's delighted greeting responded through the device.
"Interesting so far but, by the Great Bear, this school is crowded !"the dark brown haired young man said to his mother who giggled a bit in amusement
"Of course it is ! It is not Montana you know !"
"Yeah… Mom I have some things to tell you..." Harald said with a hint of nervousness.
"What things ?" she asked him with some concern clear in her tone.
"There are Vampires here in Forks..." he revealed to her in a dark tone.
A growl was heard from the device
"Are you sure ? How many of them ?" her tone was filled with sternness and slight disgust
"Affirmative ! Pale skins, smells like death… and apparently sevens of them… but Mom aren't vampires supposed to have red eyes ?" Harald inquired her gently.
Astrid who was growling deeply stopped at his question.
"Yes why ?"
"Because they all had golden eyes..." he answered bluntly.
"I never heard of a Vampire with gold eyes… I will contact my Uncle Einar… Maybe he will know..."
Harald nodded his head : Einar was really old and was a shaman so he tend to travel a lot. Maybe he encountered strange things during one of his trips ? But then his mind went back to another topic.
"There is more Mom..."
"What ?" she asked him with concern and worry clear in her tone.
"I met a girl today… I went to help her but then when he looked at one another in the eyes… I felt like my whole world was becoming brighter and fuller !" Harald explained to his mother who staid silent for a moment.
"Mom ?" he called out in concern at the lack of answers.
But then he hissed in pain when a loud squeal of happiness escaped the phone.
"I can believe it… You found your one !"
"My one ?" he asked her dumbly and his a frown of confusion.
"Oh… I forgot to teach you that didn't I ?" she asked softy in a sheepish tone.
"Maybe… but why I have a feeling that it was a bit intentional ?" Harald inquired with a knowing tone
"I do not know what you are talking about dear my dear son… In short, you have found your soul-mate !" Astrid casually replied through the phone and his eyes widened at those words.
"What ?! How ?! Why ?!" he asked rapidly in disbelief
"I don't know… It just happen… Me and Leif were soul-mates so I know what it is like~"
"What should I do ?"
"What is the girl's name ?"
"Bella Swan..."
"Beautiful name… Well, the best action is to reveal it to her in due time… Try to get to know her first before revealing it though..."
"I will..." Harald responded with a tone filled with determination.
"Good… Because the next time I see you, I hope to meet her as well !"
Her next words caused him to gap in shock
"What ?! WHY ?!"
"My… To visit my future step-daughter of course !" Astrid responded cheerfully.
He stared blankly at the phone in his hands
"Aren't you a bit to excite about this ?"
"Of course ! I still need to… 'speak' with her after all~"
Gulping slightly at the devilish tone she just used, he then cleared his throat to say
"Very well… I will try to tell her… but I can't make any promises..."
"Atta boy… Now tell me how was classes ?" Astrid inquired him with interest.
For the next few minutes, Harald spoke with his mom, unaware that people were talking about him… or thinking about him.
(To be continue…)