Once the girls started warming up to Bella, the boys followed right behind—one by one, trying to look helpful without looking desperate.
Nobody here was stupid. Sure, a pretty girl attracts attention, but getting ostracized by your entire social circle because you fawned over the wrong person? Social death. And in a tiny town like this, social death was basically actual death.
In other words, they valued their group standing far more than personal desires.
When social dynamics clashed with personal feelings, personal feelings always lost.
For the sake of the "big picture," Professor Charles could turn against his best friend Magneto. And for the same "greater good," Storm could go head-to-head with her own husband, the Black Panther. Even their romantic feelings bowed to the collective.
That kind of "thunder in winter, snow in summer" romance? Only happens between vampires and humans. Humans and humans? Forget it.
Still, the boys' attempts at flirting gave Bella another wave of psychic energy to harvest.
Sincere ones were forgiven—future allies. Anyone who tried something shady got written down separately. That list would go to Jacob later. Then all he had to do was pick a dark alley and release the wolves.
Call the cops? Sure—her dad was the sheriff.
Try private retaliation? Wow, you're harassing Native Americans now? Ever heard of the Tribal Protection Act?
At first, no one noticed anything strange. But the more time people spent around Bella, the more her psychic field began to nudge their emotions—subtle, harmless influences. The girls who hung out with her the most found themselves thinking warm, friendly thoughts.
"She's a great friend."
"Bella's so pretty."
Things like that. A soft, invisible push—not mind-control, just a gentle tilt. As long as it didn't violate anyone's core interests, the effect improved relationships effortlessly.
Pretty, generous, charming—and her dad was the town's only sheriff.
In just two days, Bella had completely cracked open Forks High's social circle.
Once she settled into her "tiny-tyrant of Forks High" role, Bella started selecting clubs. Refusing all clubs wasn't an option.
Somehow a school of only 300 students had more than ten clubs. She picked carefully and ended up joining:
the Volleyball Club
the Internet & Future Tech Club
the Rock Climbing Club
the Native American Cultural Study Group
and the Opera Club
Sports. Technology. Arts.
A full spread.
The Opera Club immediately cast her as Snow White in this year's production—because she was pale, beautiful, and "kind-hearted," like someone who had stepped straight out of a storybook. Supposedly.
…
Vampires were an evil species—so the myths said. Both Eastern and Western religious texts described them in detail. Their origins were debated endlessly. Their weaknesses? A whole library's worth.
Humans had 108 methods to kill them. Vampires, blessed with long lives and vast resources, weren't stupid—they kept upgrading, adapting, and evolving.
As modern science exploded—genetics, biology, materials engineering, chemistry—vampires benefitted too.
A small fraction even studied mutant physiology, modifying their own genes and creating a warped version of the X-gene. They were still vampires, but in some ways they were… mutant-adjacent.
They still couldn't tolerate direct sunlight for long. Their strength, speed, and stamina dipped during the day. Their minds dulled. But during cloudy or rainy weather, they were indistinguishable from humans.
And Forks—with its year-round clouds and endless rain—was basically a vampire resort paradise.
Because Bella arrived a month late, she didn't meet the vampires in biology class. But in a school this small—barely 300 people—it was impossible to avoid them forever.
On her third day of history class, she finally saw the "vegetarian" vampires—three members of the Cullen coven.
Emmett Cullen, built like a heavyweight lifter, all muscle and bulk.
Alice Cullen, delicate features, cropped black hair, eyes like a mischievous cat.
And Edward Cullen—tall, slender, pale, with dark, brooding eyes and a stiff expression plastered onto his face.
Bella had no intention of getting tangled with them. The Cullen family was peaceful, well-behaved, practically harmless. She wasn't here to pick fights. She'd be in Forks for half a year, then off to college. This place was nothing more than her tutorial village.
She flipped through a manuscript she'd borrowed from the library—written by a missionary two centuries ago, describing the Indigenous tribes that once lived here.
She read slowly. The pages were packed with slang, shorthand, and obscure religious references. God didn't know her, and she didn't know God. Biblical metaphors were basically useless to her. She kept jotting down unfamiliar words to look up online later.
Hmm?
A strange sensation prickled at the back of her neck.
She turned around—right into two pairs of widened eyes.
Edward Cullen's copper-red hair and stiff posture.
Alice Cullen's dark bob and sharp gaze.
Emmett noticed last. Only when Bella turned back to her book did he realize something had happened. He glanced at the others, alarm flashing across his face.
"I can't hear her mind," Edward whispered.
"She's… a fog to me," Alice added, unsettled.
The two exchanged a look—part confusion, part fear.
Like shepherds realizing there was a wolf hiding among their sheep.
Emmett was the simple one. "Is she… targeting us—"
Alice grabbed his arm. "She might hear you."
Bella turned back at just the right moment and gave them a bright, sunny smile.
Translation: Yeah, I can hear you.
For the next two days, she didn't avoid the vampires—but she didn't approach them either. She focused on reading old texts.
Her English improved rapidly. Aside from heavy religious jargon, she could understand everything she read now.
But the real harvest was knowledge.
Her mindscape provided the energy—pure psychic power.
But how to use it?
How to shape it?
She had to learn that herself.
Right now, she was essentially a mage with plenty of mana…
…but almost no spells.