CHAPTER 5
The rainy morning in Forks had an unusual feeling this time. Today people were talking about something that shouldn't be happening.
The Cullen house was too quiet, even for a group of vampires. It wasn't the normal silence they usually had—calm, elegant, almost comfortable. This one was heavy, tense, like everyone was waiting for someone else to speak first.
But nobody did.
Nobody wanted to put into words what they all already knew.
Alice was the first one to move. Just one step, a small turn of her head. The air tensed with that simple gesture.
"This isn't normal," she whispered, not exactly worried, but definitely confused.
Rosalie let out a frustrated breath, crossing her arms as she stared out the large window, like she expected to find an answer outside.
"Stop overthinking it," she muttered with contained irritation. "He's just a human. Just that. We shouldn't…"
Her voice faltered—something Rosalie Hale never allowed to happen.
Rosalie Hale didn't doubt.
Rosalie Hale didn't lose words.
Emmett glanced at her, leaning against the wall, without his usual carefree smile.
"We shouldn't feel anything," he finished with a heavy sigh. "I know, Rose. But we do. And that's the weird part."
Edward remained still, but his silence was the one that screamed the most. He didn't dare stand up. He didn't dare walk to the door. He didn't even dare look at his family. They all could sense it, even if no one mentioned it:
Logan was interfering with his mind.
Not like Bella, whose silence was natural and mysterious.
This was different.
Logan was too loud inside, too chaotic… too alive.
From the farthest corner, Jasper frowned as if an invisible pressure grew around him.
"I can feel it even from here," he admitted quietly. "Confusion. Attraction. Irritation. Something mixed. It makes no sense. A human doesn't… shouldn't affect so many vampires at the same time."
Esme sat down slowly, like she was afraid of breaking the fragile balance in the room.
"It's not just attraction," she said softly. "It's like he… pushes us to react. To notice him. Even when we want to ignore it."
Carlisle watched all of them with his hands clasped, his calm real but very controlled. He looked like the only one somewhat composed, but his golden eyes showed a different shine—curiosity mixed with concern.
"In more than three hundred years," Carlisle began, firm, "I've never seen anything like this. A human creating tension, attraction and uneasiness in several vampires at once… that doesn't happen. It's not natural."
---
Forks High School
Rain hammered Forks as students ran for cover. Logan walked with a small umbrella and saw Eric walking Bella to the entrance, trying hard to keep a conversation going.
"The prom committee is kind of a girl thing, but I have to cover it for the school paper," Eric explained. "So I wanted to ask you… can you lend me your playlist?"
Bella was about to answer when Mike popped up behind her.
"Arizona! Don't you like the rain?" he said, shaking his cap over Bella's head.
Logan watched, amused. Mike still looked like the group's shiny new toy.
"So funny," Bella muttered ironically.
When she entered class with Logan, she froze when she saw Edward. And even more when he smiled at her.
Bella glanced at Logan for a second, then walked away to her seat. As she passed Edward, the two of them exchanged a brief look.
"Well, I guess she left me for another guy. That's not cool," Logan whispered to himself with a small smile.
But he noticed something: Edward's eyes were golden again. One problem less. He had even considered the possibility that Edward had something to do with the guard's death, because the first time Logan saw him, his eyes were pitch black. That color only meant danger.
During class, Logan barely listened. His mind was still irritated since morning. He had tried to track those unknown vampires; the scent said there was more than one, but they knew how to hide extremely well.
That was what bothered him the most.
---
After class, Logan left quickly. Outside, he found Bella heading to her truck, carrying a golden onion.
"Seriously? You won that?" Logan asked, mocking her. "You're really proud of winning an onion, huh?"
"At least someone was paying attention in class," Bella said, showing off her prize.
"To win that, I prefer to win nothing," Logan laughed. "Can you take me home today?"
"With how badly you treated me lately, I should make you ride in the back," Bella joked.
---
On the other side of the parking lot, Edward stood with his siblings by the Volvo. They discreetly watched Logan and Bella. Their conversation from the morning still lingered: Logan was not normal, and the effect he had on them kept every Cullen on alert.
As Edward got into the car, a sharp screech echoed.
Logan turned too: a van was sliding on the ice, coming directly at them.
Time seemed to stop for Logan. His senses exploded, and he reacted only by instinct: he covered Bella and stopped the van with one hand.
His body filled with adrenaline.
Time froze for him.
His hands hardened, heat burned under his skin…
And as he stopped the van, he released a primal scream.
Students froze in shock at what they had just witnessed.
Edward, who had been seconds away from intervening, forced himself to stop.
He couldn't use his powers in front of so many people.
And Logan's overwhelming presence was destabilizing him.
He and his siblings shared one silent look… and left the area immediately, before their self-control failed.
As impossible as it seemed, Logan had stopped the van. Bella was safe.
But his hand was destroyed, covered in blood and deep wounds.
Bella screamed when she saw the blood, grabbing him, trying to support him as students gathered around, calling for an ambulance.
"Are you guys okay? Are you hurt?" Mike shouted—then went pale, almost fainting when he saw Logan's arm.
Bella pushed through the crowd and helped Logan into the truck as best as she could.
She would take him herself to get help.
To be continued…