Title: "Bloodlines of Fire and Fog"
Chapter One: Return to the Shadows
Forks, Washington. A place where the rain never seemed to stop, where secrets hung as thick as the mist rolling off the pines.
Bella Swan—though that name felt more like a borrowed coat than a birthright—pressed her forehead against the rain-speckled window of Charlie's... no, Charles's cruiser. It still felt strange, thinking of him not as the flannel-wearing, awkward sheriff, but as Charles Balcoin. A name whispered like a curse in Chance Harbor.
Her entire life had been a lie, wrapped in carefully crafted half-truths. Bella had always known something inside her felt... off. Not broken, not wrong—just different. But nothing could have prepared her for the truth she uncovered back in Chance Harbor: John Blackwell wasn't just a name in a Book of Shadows. He was her uncle. And Faye Chamberlain? The rebellious, snarky witch with a temper to match her power? Her cousin.
And now, Faye sat in the back seat of the cruiser, scowling at the dreary forest around them.
"This place is like a Midnight Texas episode," she muttered, arms crossed tightly. "Why are we here again?"
Bella didn't answer right away. She glanced at her reflection in the glass, remembering the fire that had erupted in the Circle after her Balcoin blood had started to awaken—Cassie's eyes full of suspicion, Diana's distance, and the way Adam looked at her like she was a ticking time bomb.
"I needed to get out," Bella said quietly. "And you did too. We both know it."
Faye didn't argue. She just leaned back and sighed dramatically.
Charles—Dad—had offered a safe haven. Or at least, as safe as anything could be when your bloodline traced back to the most dangerous line of witches in history. He'd been living in Forks under the name Charlie Swan for years, hiding in plain sight, watching over Bella from a distance while pretending to be just a normal guy. Only now did she know why her dreams had always been filled with fire and fog.
As they pulled up to the familiar two-story house surrounded by ancient evergreens, Bella felt it in her bones: the magic here was different. Quieter, but older. Wilder. Something ancient stirred beneath this town's surface, and even Faye seemed to notice. She stepped out of the car slowly, her confident smirk faltering just a little.
"What is this place?" she asked.
Before Bella could answer, the wind shifted. A blur of movement caught her eye at the edge of the trees—too fast to be a deer. A pale flash. A watching presence.
"Forks," Bella whispered, "isn't as normal as it looks."
And from the shadows, golden eyes watched them closely. A new witch had arrived in Forks—and the Cullens had definitely noticed.