"I'm as cold as ice, but in the right hands, I'll melt."
~
Royal Hale did not trust anyone. He had learned that even those with the best of intentions can do evil deeds. He had barricaded his heart, creating a barrier of ice around it, not allowin...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Royal found it increasingly difficult not to snap. Now that Edward had mysteriously disappeared, the cesspool of scum at Forks High School couldn't stop talking about the missing Cullen. He was especially troubled by the wandering eyes of her.
Isabella Swan.
The next day she had walked into the cafeteria and immediately her brown eyes searched for Royal's brother. What she found was an empty seat and frigid eyes staring back at her. Royal was a strange character to her. Unlike his siblings, he was shorter and smaller. He had muscles, but he was lean. Nothing like his other brothers who were more built. He was beautiful. He reminded her of a renaissance painting, not to be touched only admired at a distance.
There was a level of hurt in his golden eyes that Bella couldn't discard. He was a wounded soul, fragile and small. He tried to extend this facade of strength but if one looked close enough they could see the cracks in his exterior. The Cullen's were obviously protective of their youngest. At lunch he sat directly in the middle while the others made a sort of barrier with their bodies. He was also between someone.
People had started to ask Bella what she could have possibly done to anger the beast that was Royal Hale. She had no clue. She had never even said a single word to the boy. Whatever it was had to have something to do with Edward and their encounter in their biology class. Not that she understood what she ever did to Edward Cullen either. She wasn't popular with either of the two Cullen's.
Royal's piercing gaze seemed permanently glued to the mousy new girl. The resentment he felt for such a pathetic, weak little creature was eating him up from the inside. Hearing her name sent shiver of rage through him, and anger bristling.
"Rory, please calm down." Jasper whispered, his face tense, hands clenched. He could feel the intensity of Royal's anger burning through him with great ferocity. Even his other siblings could sense it. In an attempt to lessen the tension he sent a wave of calmness through Royal. The sudden coolness down his spine made the boy lean back in his seat, his eyes becoming half lidded. This time he did not protest and let the feeling overwhelm his senses.
~
Starring up at the sky, the cold hard ground of the forest pushing up against his, Royal let the sounds of the forest overwhelm his senses. He could hear the skittering of squirrels across the trees, the fluttering of birds wings and their gentle chirps, the thud of of an animals paws a few miles away.
When the loud blaring of records throughout his room could no longer feed into his distraction, Royal escaped into the forest to find peace. Being around his family was stressful, especially with one of their own away. It had only been a few days but it felt like an eternity as everyone tired to avoid the topic all together, but in an ironic twist, ignoring the problem made it even bigger and harder to deny.
Huffing, Royal stands from his forest bed and begins to sprint. Faster than sound itself he ran throughout the dense timberland. It was beautiful. Forks had it's attractions. There weren't very many, but the scenery was one to admire. He sprinted gracefully through the green wonderland, the wind nipping around his alluring body, sculpted by the gods.
The sounds overwhelmed him, the life of the kingdom around him putting the life back into his lifeless being. He moved with the forest, as if he was a part of the elemental make up of the earth.
Royal comes to a sudden halt, the sudden lack of motion almost jolting him. His amber eyes stare wide at the ground where that invisible border was drawn so many years ago. Lately, he finds himself drawn to those forbidden lands, but he doesn't know why his long lost soul yearns for such a torture. A painful death would surely await him over those lines, but no matter how long he tried to avoid the imaginary perimeter, his still heart found its way back.
Something waits for him over those lines.
A faint growl brings his attention to the present. A pitch black wolf reveals himself from the foliage, his deadly canines barred. This wasn't the first time Royal had pushed his limits, and Rory could tell the shifter was losing his patience with him. Rory was an interesting leach to them. He eluded their natural instinct to kill, and that made him dangerous. Any hesitation could lead to dangerous consequences.
The black beast growled, his roar rumbling the earth beneath them and sent shivers throughout Royal's body. Turning his back, Royal darts away, leaving the wolf staring after him. Royal knew he was cutting it close. He needed to stop or else there would be danger for him and his family, but he couldn't stop and that terrified him. Something over the border was calling out to him, and no matter how long he tried, Royal couldn't ignore its call.
~
Friday came and Edward had yet to return. Isabella Swan still stole occasional glances over to the Cullen's lunch table, her eyes scanning for the missing boy. The girl thought she was inconspicuous, but any moron could have picked up on where her mind wondered. Luckily for the Cullen's, Forks High School was full of morons.
Royal's blood still boiled when he caught glimpses of her mousy brown hair and chocolate eyes. He couldn't stand to listen to their conversations, the way Jessica Stanley droned on and on while Angela politely listened, and Bella barely managed to act responsive. The boys of the school were infatuated with Bella, something Royal felt glad of. Maybe if she found a human boy to obsess over his family would be spared, but luck was rarely on his side.
Alice had said she had seen Edward and that girl together, even that she would eventually be one of them. Rosalie's response was expected. She disagreed with Edward involving himself with her, and endangering her humanity. Even though she had turned Royal, if it would have been her choice she would have chosen to end his suffering. In a way she did, and Royal would always be grateful to her as his creator, but she couldn't help but feel regret she had cursed him to bare the same fate as her.
Royal had good intuition about people. When he looked at Bella he saw a foolish ignorance. Attractive to misfortune, Bella probably found herself in many unfortunate situations, much like the one she was unintentionally causing for the Olympic Coven. Not entirely the girls fault, but Royal found humans such as her to come with heavy risks.
Royal had issues of his own brewing and he hoped that for Edward to fix his mess after his return. Something was looming over the Coven and this was only the beginning.
A SHORTER CHAPTER, BUT LET NEW KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK. I'LL BE GOING THROUGH THE EVENTS OF TWILIGHT FASTER TO GET TO ROYAL'S IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENTS.
