The final bell rang through the halls of Forks High with all the excitement of a dying wind chime. For most, it signaled the end of monotony freedom until tomorrow. For Kane Hanma, it was little more than a shift in environment. School was tolerable. Predictable. Even the stares from certain golden-eyed classmates had grown routine.
He moved through the thinning crowd in the hallway with ease. People parted without realizing it, stepping aside as though guided by instinct. Kane didn't speak to anyone. No goodbyes. No small talk. Just the sound of his boots against tile and the quiet creak of the main door as he stepped into the gray afternoon.
The sky was the same as it had been every day since he arrived in Forks cloudy, oppressive, as if the heavens themselves were always watching but never reacting. Kane didn't mind. The lack of sunlight suited him.
He took the long way out of the parking lot, cutting around the side of the building where the forest pressed close. It was quieter there, removed from the idle chatter of students starting their engines and shouting across the pavement. His hands were in his jacket pockets, shoulders relaxed. But his senses were sharp.
He heard her coming before she even crossed the tree line. Not because she was loud quite the opposite. Her steps were light, almost ghostlike. But Kane wasn't ordinary. And she wasn't human.
"I figured it'd be you," he said, stopping near a patch of moss-covered trees. His voice was calm, tinged with amusement. "Could've sent Alice. She's got better people skills."
Edith Cullen stepped out from the shadows like she'd been carved from the mist itself. Pale, statuesque, her amber eyes fixed on him with an intensity that could bore through concrete. She didn't smile. Didn't greet him. Just stood there, hands in the pockets of her sleek black jacket, like a detective interrogating a suspect who hadn't committed a crime yet.
"You're not ordinary," she said after a beat.
Kane didn't turn around immediately. He stared ahead for a moment, watching the clouds move, then shifted to face her. His expression didn't change, but something in his eyes sparkled humor, maybe. Or warning.
"Neither are you," he replied.
Edith's gaze remained locked on his. No emotion, no hint of fear or fascination. Just that cold, analytical stillness he'd noticed before. She wasn't trying to intimidate him. She didn't need to. She was just…observing. Calculating.
"I've lived long enough to see strange things," she said. "Creatures that hide behind charm. Monsters wrapped in flesh. But I've never seen someone like you."
"I'm one of a kind," Kane said, his voice low, grounded. "Trust me. Even the monsters would agree."
There was a pause, quiet and sharp like the edge of a blade. Edith took a slow step forward. Not threatening. Not casual. Just deliberate.
"You don't smell like anything," she said. "No blood. No heartbeat. No scent we can trace. And yet, you're not dead."
Kane arched a brow. "Disappointed?"
"I'm curious," she corrected. "And cautious."
"You're not afraid?"
Edith's lips curved not a smile, more like the ghost of one. "I've faced worse things than fear."
"So have I," Kane said. His eyes met hers directly, unwavering. "But the difference is, I won."
That stopped her, just for a second. Her eyes narrowed, not with suspicion but with thought. Like something had clicked into place.
"What are you?"
It was the question he kept hearing. The one they all circled around like moths to flame. Kane inhaled slowly through his nose, then exhaled, his breath fogging slightly in the chill.
"I'm not something you can label," he said. "Not a vampire. Not a shifter. Not human. Just…me."
"That's not good enough," Edith said.
"It wasn't meant to be."
Her eyes flicked across his face, scanning, weighing. She was looking for something weakness, tells, cracks in the armor. Kane gave her nothing. His body was relaxed, but it was the stillness of a lion basking in the sun coiled muscle hidden beneath a calm exterior.
"Alice said you feel…different," she murmured. "Not just physically. Your presence distorts things. Like you're an anomaly in the system."
"She's not wrong."
"And Rosalie hates that."
"I noticed."
"Emily's neutral. Jasmine's skeptical. Esme's…watching."
Kane smirked. "And you?"
Edith hesitated, the first sign of uncertainty slipping through her mask. Just a breath of it.
"I don't trust you," she said. "But I don't distrust you either. You're an unknown. And we don't like unknowns."
"Guess you'll have to get used to me."
Edith stepped closer again, now within arm's reach. Her golden eyes bore into his with that same unreadable focus.
"You're going to change things," she said. "Whether you mean to or not."
Kane looked down at her not because he had to, but because he could. His presence loomed, not from height, but from weight. From pressure. He smiled, slow and confident.
"I already have."
For a moment, neither of them moved. The woods around them were quiet, muffled by the overcast sky and damp moss. Then, without another word, Edith turned and walked away. Her figure slipped back into the trees like a shadow swallowed by mist.
Kane watched her go, his smirk fading into something more thoughtful.
He could feel the pieces shifting. Whatever balance the Cullens had built here it wouldn't last. Not with him in the picture. And especially not once they saw what he could really do.
This wasn't a warning.
It was a preview.