The Cullens didn't attend school the next day. Not a single one of them.
Bella felt a quiet stir of concern. She had barely spoken to Edward the night before, and he had been on edge in a way she couldn't quite understand. She hadn't heard whatever it was that Ash had said to send them into such a frenzied state, but she could feel the undercurrent of tension. It was palpable. Still, she didn't want to impose—she wasn't sure whether showing up at the Cullen's home uninvited would be the best way to approach things.
So instead, she did the next logical thing—she approached Ash after school.
"Hey, want to hang out?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
Ash grinned, entirely too relaxed for someone who had apparently traumatized a family of vampires into fleeing town. "Sure. Want me to drive us on my bike?"
Bella, immediately imagining Charlie's reaction to her riding a motorcycle, turned pale. "Uh, no. You can put it in my truck bed."
A moment of silence passed.
"...Do you have a ramp?" Ash asked.
Bella blinked. "A ramp?"
"Yeah, you know, to get the bike into the truck. This thing weighs, like, 400 pounds. Unless you're secretly a bodybuilder, I don't think we're lifting it in."
Another moment of silence.
"Okay, fine," Bella sighed. "New plan. How about La Push? We don't have to swim or anything, but it might be nice to just hang out there."
"Sounds good to me," Ash agreed easily.
And with that, they parted ways, Bella leading the drive toward the reservation, completely unaware of what was happening back at the Cullens' house.
-----
Meanwhile absolute chaos
The Cullen family was preparing to leave. It was a process they had mastered over the years, one that had become second nature to them. Decades—nearly a century—of moving around had prepared them for these situations, but this felt different. It wasn't a typical "people have noticed us not aging" type of move. No, this was something much more urgent. Something had shaken them to their core, and Carlisle was still not explaining why.
"You need to tell us," Rosalie insisted as she descended the stairs, her arms loaded with an impossibly large pile of clothes and accessories. "I'm not leaving until you explain what's going on."
"Forks is no longer safe," Carlisle repeated for the umpteenth time. His voice was steady, but there was an unmistakable edge to it. "We need to leave quickly. Quietly."
"Is this about James?" Emmett asked, brow furrowing. "I thought his coven no longer posed a threat to us."
Carlisle shook his head, his expression darkening. "No, it's not about James."
Jasper spoke up, his voice cutting through the silence with his usual precision. "It's about the new student, isn't it? Ash Nightsun. There's something about him that's unsettling. What is it?"
The silence that followed was thick with tension. Carlisle let out a long, weary sigh. "That's not the important part right now. Please, just focus on packing. We don't have much time."
Esme appeared, bringing with her another two suitcases full of things. She smiled at the family, but there was an undeniable urgency in her eyes. "Listen to Carlisle, please. We need to move quickly if we're going to be done by tomorrow morning."
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's happening," Edward declared, crossing his arms over his chest. His mind was clearly preoccupied, not with the packing, but with thoughts of Bella—how he would ever explain all this to her. "We've built a good life here, Carlisle. Why should we give it all up just because you've found your...singer?"
If they had been human, there would have been a collective gasp at Edward's words. But instead, a stillness settled over the room, a heavy silence that spoke volumes.
Carlisle's voice was calm, but firm. "That boy is not my singer."
Edward looked unconvinced. "But that's not the whole truth, is it?"
The oldest vampire sighed, his demeanor softening slightly. "I think Ash Nightsun is what you might call a universal singer."
"A universal singer? What does that even mean?" Alice asked, her voice filled with intrigue. "I've never heard of such a thing before. How fascinating."
"Think of it like a universal donor," Carlisle explained, his tone grave. "A universal singer has blood that smells and tastes like it would to any vampire—a one-size-fits-all kind of prey. But... a singer is rare, and they're usually different for each vampire."
Carlisle paused, his expression darkening. "I first learned of these creatures in Italy, from another vampire. No one knows what their blood actually tastes like."
"Why not?" Alice asked, her curiosity piqued.
Carlisle's eyes grew distant as he spoke. "No one's ever lived to tell the tale."
A quiet murmur of disbelief rippled through the room. The idea of such a creature, something that could lure even the most powerful of vampires to their doom, left a heavy sense of dread in the air.
"Tell us what Ash really is," Edward pressed, his voice laced with a mix of fear and frustration. "I'll figure it out on my own if I have to. At least speak the words aloud, and be honest with us."
Carlisle hesitated, then finally gave in to the mounting pressure. He ran a hand through his hair, his features momentarily softening in resignation. "Humans have always stumbled upon our existence. Some of them have learned our secrets, and while most were killed by other supernatural beings—wolves, vampires, or others—some lived, living the rest of their mortal lives in fear."
He paused again, letting the weight of his words sink in. "This created an environment where vampires believed we were the top of the food chain. The best predators nature had ever designed."
A strange unease spread through the room. They knew they were predators, the most dangerous creatures on Earth. But if there was something stronger, something more terrifying—what did that mean for them?
"Humans," Carlisle continued, his voice low and dangerous, "humans are the top of the food chain. They have the numbers. They have technology. They have the world."
There was a strange bitterness to his words, one that hinted at a deeper, more unsettling truth.
"They don't need to change the way we do, though. They evolve in generations. They're not supposed to. Yet... they do."
A chill swept over the room. The Cullens, who had never felt true fear before, suddenly felt the weight of it pressing down on them.
Carlisle met their eyes, his voice unwavering. "Ash Nightsun, and others like him, could do the same to us."
Rosalie scoffed, a dismissive laugh escaping her lips. "Hunters or not, we could take them out in an instant."
But Carlisle's gaze hardened. "Have you noticed anything strange about that boy?" His voice was laced with growing concern. "Hunters are bloodlines. Generations of evolution, creating the perfect killers. Humans aren't meant to change so quickly. Yet they do. Their blood—Ash's blood—it's a weapon."
The room fell into a deafening silence.
Carlisle's voice dropped to a whisper. "Ash is unlike any human we've ever encountered. His blood, his strength, his charm—all of it is designed to draw us in. And when we're at our weakest... that's when they strike."
The Cullens understood then. Ash wasn't just another human. He was a threat—a dangerous, predatory force in their midst.
Carlisle continued, each word weighed down with the grim certainty of what was to come. "Ash is immune to fear, immune to psychological attacks, and—most chillingly—immune to both werewolf infection and vampire venom. His kind is unstoppable."
The room was eerily silent as the gravity of Carlisle's words sunk in.
"He's telling the truth," Edward finally spoke, his voice heavy with the realization of the impending danger. "I can feel it too. The threat is real."
"Edward, you mentioned that Ash said something in Latin that night," Alice added, her mind working furiously. "What did it mean?"
"It was an official mark," Carlisle explained. "He's marked us. Our coven. And he'll stop at nothing to destroy us."
Suddenly, Edward's attention snapped back to Bella. He hadn't contacted her since the night before. She had to be safe. Ash had been clinging to her, and he had let that happen. He had been a fool. He couldn't afford to make another mistake.
"I need to find Bella," Edward announced, his voice tinged with desperation. Without waiting for a response, he bolted from the room, his movements quick and sure.
The rest of the family watched him leave, knowing that whatever happened next, their world was no longer as safe as it once had been.
And for the first time in a long time, they all felt the oppressive weight of true danger.
------
Hello my lovely readers there!!
Ah, let's dive into some fantasy, shall we? Now, I've got to say, I'm lowkey tired of the idea that humans are always just the weakest link. Like, seriously, we've driven woolly mammoths to extinction! That's not something you just forget.
I mean, they were giant creatures, yet we managed to bring them down, and people act like humans can't hold their own. It's almost like no one remembers the sheer determination and ingenuity that got us here. So, vampires? Yeah, they're super strong, but don't forget we've been around long enough to make a few impressive mistakes, and we've learned from those too.
Now, speaking of invincibility—no, Ash isn't some untouchable deus ex machina. That would be way too easy. Like, imagine if he just floated around, effortlessly dodging every attack. Nah, that's not how it works. If a vampire really wanted to, they could just stick their hand through his chest, and ba-done.
But that's not the point of the hunters. The whole idea is that they're the one human group who does have a fighting chance. And it's not because they're all just randomly built different—no, it's more like nature had a funny idea of what it means to survive. Some people are just born with the "don't mess with me" gene.
And let's talk about the hunters for a second. Honestly, it always bugged me that in the Twilight universe, there weren't any vampire hunters. I mean, come on, there should have at least been one rogue human group out there trying to take down the vampires. That's just basic world-building 101. Like, where are all the people who are sick of vampires ruling the night and think, "Hey, let's go ruin their immortality party!" I couldn't just let that slide, so naturally, I had to create my own—because why not?
I always felt that the hunters should be a little more... selective, you know? Like they don't just go after any random vampire. Nah, they've got specialized weapons, secret training, and the genetic talent for it. Kind of like how some people are born with weirdly strong immune systems or can eat entire pizzas without getting a stomach ache—yeah, the hunters are like that, but for taking down supernatural creatures. They're made for it. And yes, before you ask, there's definitely some "genetic flow" happening in their bloodlines. Not everyone is cut out for this life, but some people? Well, they just have that extra kick.🔥
Anyway, that's enough rambling from me. Hope you're all having a nice day—or night, depending on the time zone you're in. I'm sure some of you are just waiting for me to stop talking, but hey, I had some important thoughts to share, alright?❤️❤️