General - POV
During the rest of lunch, Samael and Alice kept stealing small glances at each other across the cafeteria. Every time he looked in her direction, there was a good chance she was already looking back.
Then the bell rang.
The loud sound broke the moment like someone snapping a thread. Chairs moved, trays were picked up, and the entire cafeteria suddenly turned into a stream of students heading for the exits.
Samael stood up with Peter, but if he was honest with himself, he felt a strong desire to stay exactly where he was. Or better yet, to walk straight across the room and stand next to Alice. Just being a few meters away from her already felt strangely comfortable.
Still, he forced himself to leave.
He wasn't some animal with no self-control.
Also, the reason for his behaviour was obvious to him.
For anyone who knew about it, the explanation was simple.
Imprinting.
The moment he saw Alice, something inside him had clicked into place.
There was no confusion about it.
He had imprinted on her.
Before coming to Forks, he had actually wondered about this possibility. The wolf shifters had something like that. A supernatural bond that tied them to one person.
Since he was… different from them in many ways, he had asked himself a simple question.
Would he have something like that too?
At the time, he had secretly hoped the answer would be no.
The idea of imprinting on someone he didn't like, or being forced into a connection he never chose, sounded terrible. The thought of losing that freedom had always bothered him a little.
But this outcome?
This outcome was completely different.
No.
It was perfect.
The girl he already liked was single, and she also happened to be the one he had imprinted on. Considering that he had planned to find a partner eventually anyway, the situation actually felt almost ideal.
With those thoughts in mind, he walked out of the cafeteria beside Peter.
But he barely noticed the rest of the students around them.
Jessica's reaction didn't matter to him. The fact that Mike looked slightly disappointed after Samael had declined his invitation to join the basketball team didn't matter either.
Samael's thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
Alice.
More specifically, the future.
He was thinking about how these relationships would alter future events and what role he would have to play in all of it. He would have to change his plans.
Yet one thing was certain in every version of his thoughts.
There was no future where Alice was not part of it.
Surprisingly, he didn't feel even the smallest hesitation about that.
Imprinting was not a joke.
That was exactly why he had been wary of it before.
But if it was her…
There was nothing to worry about, nothing to doubt.
And her reaction made things even simpler.
The way she had looked at him. The way she laughed. The fact that she had waved first, and even winked at him.
None of that had felt forced.
It had been genuine and warm.
All of it made one thing very clear to him.
It seemed like the attraction wasn't one-sided.
How?
For him, the answer was obvious. He had imprinted on her the moment he saw her.
But Alice?
How could she react so naturally to someone she had never met before?
Then again… she could see the future.
That explained quite a lot.
If she had already seen possible futures where they interacted, where they grew close, then his presence wouldn't feel strange to her at all.
Of course, her ability wasn't perfect. As far as he knew, her visions had limitations. They were based on people's decisions, and if someone changed their mind, the future she saw could change with it.
There were also blind spots.
She couldn't see the wolf shifters clearly, especially when they were in human form. That alone raised many intriguing questions.
Would the same thing apply to him?
After all, he had more than one form.
If someone made an important decision while in human form, would Alice still see it? Or would his nature create gaps in her visions the same way the wolves did?
Questions.
Many questions.
But none of them felt urgent right now.
He could always ask her later.
Eventually, Peter turned toward another hallway, waving casually before disappearing into the crowd of students heading to their classes.
Samael continued walking alone toward his next class.
And as he moved through the hallway, he remembered why he had arrived late to lunch in the first place.
Flashback
Spanish class had just ended when Samael stepped into the hallway, adjusting the strap of his bag as he made his way toward the cafeteria. Students spilled out of classrooms around him, voices blending into the usual chaotic noise of Forks High as lockers slammed and footsteps echoed along the corridor.
He was halfway down the hall when raised voices reached him.
At first, he ignored them. Forks High wasn't exactly a quiet place. Most of the time, it was just teenagers being loud.
But then he caught a familiar voice buried in the noise.
Peter.
Samael slowed.
His steps lost their casual rhythm as his attention sharpened. The voices were coming from the boys' restroom near the corner of the hallway.
For a brief moment, he stood there, listening.
And what he heard was enough.
He pushed the door open.
A moment ago
Three boys stood near the sinks, forming a loose semicircle. Peter faced them, his backpack hanging off one shoulder as if he had been trying to leave and had been blocked.
"You think befriending that blond giant suddenly makes you cool now, huh, Peter?" Tom said.
Peter rolled his eyes. "What do you want from me, Tom? Can you just leave me alone?" His voice didn't sound frightened or desperate. If anything, he sounded irritated, as though this whole situation was more of an inconvenience than a real threat.
One of the other boys stepped forward.
"You better shut your mouth, loser, or we will-"
"And what are you gonna do?"
Samael's voice cut through the room. It wasn't loud, but something about it made all three boys turn immediately.
Peter's eyes widened slightly when he saw him. Then, reacting fast, he shoved Tom lightly and shifted toward Samael.
"Samael, cool, you're here," Peter said quickly, forcing a grin. "Let's go eat. We don't want you to miss your first meal in this madhouse, do we?"
Tom scoffed. "Oh look, the bodyguard showed up."
He reached to grab Peter's shoulder, intending to pull him back.
His hand never made it that far.
Samael caught it mid-motion.
Tom tried to yank free. The effort showed in the tightening of his jaw and the sudden stiffness in his posture, but the grip on his wrist didn't loosen even slightly.
Samael stepped closer, easily towering over him. Peter hovered nearby, muttering a suggestion to just leave it alone, but Samael didn't look away from Tom.
He leaned in just enough for his voice to stay low.
"I don't know what your issue with Peter is," he said evenly,"But if I see something like that again, you'll regret being born."
The room fell silent.
For a moment, it felt as if the air itself had thickened, and every movement slowed.
All three boys drained of colour, their bravado collapsing in an instant. There was a fear in them they couldn't quite name, a raw, instinctive terror, as if a dangerous predator were silently studying them. Tom's pulse throbbed visibly at his neck, and a sharp, humiliating scent filled the space, betraying how his body had reacted before his pride could catch up.
Samael released his wrist.
Tom stumbled backwards, losing his balance and hitting the sinks behind him.
Samael gave the three of them one last look, calm and unreadable, before turning and walking out without another word.
Inside the restroom, the boys remained frozen for several long seconds, as if sudden movement might somehow bring him back.
Out in the hallway, Peter exhaled.
"Dude," he said, half laughing, half shaken, "thank you… but you know you scared me too, right?"
"Perhaps. But they won't bother you again," Samael replied calmly.
"Comforting. Slightly concerning. Mostly comforting."
They kept walking.
After a moment Peter glanced sideways at him. "You're not even going to ask why they were messing with me?"
"No."
Peter stared. "No?"
"I'm not a hero," Samael said evenly. "The reason is irrelevant. I liked our conversation earlier. That's sufficient motivation."
Peter blinked twice. "That is… the strangest compliment I've ever received."
"I don't allow people I choose to associate with to be harassed," Samael added.
Peter pointed at him. "See, when you say it like that, it sounds like I've been recruited into something. Do I get a membership card? A jacket? A secret handshake?"
"No."
"Shame. I'd look good in a jacket."
They turned down the final hallway toward the cafeteria.
"You know what's going to happen now?" Peter continued. "Rumours. 'New transfer student threatens local idiots.' You're going to be called the blond mafia boss. Or criminal head. Or Forks' very own supervillain."
Samael glanced at him. "That sounds exaggerated."
Peter grinned. "Fine. Supreme Overlord of Forks High, then. Has a nice ring to it."
"I'll consider it."
Peter laughed, the tension fully gone now. "You're terrifyingly calm about everything. Is that like a hobby? Do you practice in the mirror? 'Today I will intimidate with minimal facial movement.'"
Samael glanced at him. "You talk a lot."
"It's a gift."
They reached the cafeteria doors.
End of the flashback
Samael POV
By the time I finished recalling the situation, I had already arrived near my next class.
Even so, I didn't regret spending those extra minutes dealing with the situation in the restroom. Missing whatever had happened in the cafeteria before I arrived didn't bother me in the slightest.
Peter seemed like a decent person, someone I could easily see becoming a friend in the future. More importantly, there had been something about the situation itself that didn't sit well with me. Even without knowing the full story, my instincts told me he wasn't the kind of person who deserved to be cornered and bullied like that.
That alone had been reason enough.
With that thought settled, the rest of the school day passed far quicker than I had expected.
Chemistry came first, followed by Biology, and then English.
None of the classes required much effort. The material was simple, which left me with very little to actually focus on, so my mind kept drifting elsewhere while the teachers explained their lessons. More often than not, those wandering thoughts returned to the same subject - the cheerful pixie I had met earlier in the cafeteria. As a result, the hours passed quietly and without anything particularly memorable happening during any of them.
Tough, one of those classes was shared with Edythe. She sat at a table across the room, and aside from a few brief glances in each other's direction, we barely interacted during the lesson, and the class continued the same as it would have if we had been strangers.
What did stand out, however, was the attention.
Throughout nearly every period, several girls attempted to catch my eye. Some glanced in my direction again and again while pretending to focus on their notes, while others whispered quietly to their friends while clearly talking about me. A few were less subtle about it, smiling whenever our gazes briefly met or sending looks that carried intentions that were not particularly difficult to understand.
If this had happened before today, my reaction would have been exactly the same.
I ignored it.
Even before imprinting on Alice, I hadn't been much interested in taking advantage of that kind of attention, so there was no reason to start now. That didn't mean I was rude with them, however. Whenever someone spoke to me, I answered politely, and when a girl hinted about parties or asked whether I wanted to hang out sometime, I declined in a way that didn't embarrass them.
At least for now.
Technically, I wasn't dating anyone yet. Once that changed, however, I doubted I would continue being this careful about it.
Eventually, I arrived at my next class.
Art.
As I approached the classroom door, a familiar scent reached me.
Sweet, but different from the scent of other vampires.
The sweetness that surrounded most vampires always felt strange to me. It was too strong, almost artificial, like a drink overloaded with sugar.
This scent was completely different.
It felt natural, soft and warm, like honey.
Instead of pushing me away, it pulled me closer.
Alice.
A small smile formed on my face as I straightened slightly before stepping into the classroom.
[Small explanation]
[In the first chapters, I did explain it, but it felt like it needed to be done again. Since transmigration, he has changed; it happened due to his new nature. The change wasn't dramatic. But if someone thinks that becoming a mix of lion and eagle will do nothing to your character, you are delusional. In the wild, animals constantly rely on their instincts and senses. But they do it blindly; in Samael's case, it's like a sixth sense that helps him.
About his 'aura farming,' guys, he has a mix between lion and eagle, the kings of land and sky. Therefore, he acts more regally. Although I agree that in some paragraphs I could overdo it, I am still learning, okay.
Then there's the change in his character when he arrived in Forks. A lot was happening during the time skip. I stated that he assimilated more with his beast part. You cannot assume he made no progress in self-understanding in six months. He gained both positives and negatives from it. Now he has the extra form (Teen Wolf-like), but he also has his self-anger issue (it will be easily solved)
About ignoring Jessica's flirt and sensing danger: guys, danger can take different forms. Obviously, Alice cannot do any physical harm to him; that is why he dismissed the feeling. It was like the comical situation when a giant of a man is afraid of his wife's reaction.]