Bella's POV

Jacob was astounded by the Cullen property, but not enough to calm back down from his rant towards Billy. He paced the ground just beyond the grand entrance, kicking little stones away from him. While he steamed, Rosalie and Emmett ran out to hunt, and Jasper angrily stood beside the main door, growling under his breath. Alice talked to him quietly at vampire speed, trying to assure him that all he had to do was accept Jacob as more than just a mutt. I snorted; there was more to it than that. Jasper didn't just need to accept Jacob, he needed to trust the whole pack. And that wouldn't happen, it seemed, until the pack trusted them. And me, it seemed. I guessed that now I was the enemy – at least to Sam, Paul, and Billy.

I wasn't so sure about Quil and Embry, who for all I knew were just kids trying to adjust to their new lifestyle as enormous wolves. They were now under the same blanket punishment as their bull-headed brothers, and to an extent I was sorry for it. I knew that those they loved wouldn't be able to touch them without them experiencing some nasty pain, and that also meant that those people would be hurting emotionally from the knowledge that they could never touch their loved ones without consequence. I slapped my hand on my head, groaning. I then looked up at Jasper, who of course was staring me down angrily. As soon as I did, I felt like the energy was sucked out of me. I staggered, fighting a massive wave of fatigue. Edward, who had been beside me the entire time, caught me before I collapsed.

"Jasper, stop it!" he yelled at his pseudo-brother.

"She deserves it!" The slight drawl of his Texan accent came through. "She cursed me like she cursed those damn dogs! I didn't do anything to them!"

"Yeah, sure you just judge them before knowing them! That's NOTHING!" I said sarcastically. "But you know, dickwad, I was going to ease the pain away! That's why I looked at you!"

The heavy, lethargic weight lifted, as Jasper stood there, pensive. I stood up, with Edward's help, and managed to slowly walk over to Jasper and Alice. Alice gave me a little hiss, and I quickly stared her down before taking Jasper's hands. He flinched, but then looked confused. I closed my eyes and focused on our hands, feeling the pulsing of my blood and the low hum of energy in Jasper. "I revoke the curse I gave to Jasper Whitlock, for he will learn in time to trust the Quileute wolves, and I will see to this personally. Let him touch and be touched by those around him, without pain." I let go and stepped away.

Jasper was hesitant, but went to caress Alice's face. The relief that flooded over him was instantaneous, and I was overwhelmed with lust. I grunted and shuffled my feet. Edward came to me and hugged me from behind, his arms wrapping around my waist. Carlisle and Esme ducked inside, probably taking advantage of the empty house. Jacob laid down and huffed, seeming slightly uncomfortable but otherwise calm.

"Alright, now, you guys can do the hanky-panky, I should have known the tension was too much. You aren't the only empath anymore, Jasper." I started to walk off, but someone grabbed my hand. I turned, and the Southerner kissed my hand, giving me a very empathetic look, no pun intended.

"I'm glad you removed the curse, Bella, but, only because of how we felt? Why?"

"I don't need to feel horny every time I'm around you guys. Plain and simple." I huffed. "I ain't gonna make ya'll hurt just because I feel vamps and wolves should get along. Whatever, Its not like it's gonna happen. I'm gonna go and remove it from the wolves, too." I tried to take off again, but Jasper held me. Edward had stepped aside, but placed a hand on my shoulder. Jake had gotten up and trotted over to me, his understanding showing through his lupine muzzle. Alice looked like she was gonna cry, but I didn't pry into her mind to figure out why.

"Bella, wait. Maybe you are right in wanting us to get along. I may think what you did to the pack was harsh, but maybe they will become more open to other views once they realize the consequences of their stubbornness. If you want to relieve the pain, maybe do so as they accept us. That way the majority will sway the minority. I see a bit of myself in you – the tough teaching. Speaking of which, I think it's time for some training. Whad'ya say, ma'am?"

I stood up a bit straighter – the prospect of training could really get things off my mind. "Sure! Whad'ya have in mind?"

"Seeing as how you have proven that you have some decent strength and an incredible amount of endurance, as well as very responsive reflexes, I want to test them all again against the raw power of a werewolf. Jacob," Jasper asked, turning to the curious wolf, "Would you be up to start training with Bella? I've had her practice her skills with me, since she tends to have a bit of a temper problem."

I laughed nervously and twiddled my hands. "Only a little."

Jasper shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Sure, Bella. Either way, I'd love to see what a wolf can do, since you're probably the first I've come across. And, as I'm sure you're aware of by now, your kind seem to have the same anger issues. Perhaps you can also gain more control over your ability to transform, and master your emotions."

Jacob looked down, then at the tree line, seeming to think. After a minute or two, he nodded, sending his thoughts my way. Sounds fun. Just, don't go breaking me, ok Bella?

I nodded. Sure, Jake.

"Great! Let's go back to the field, we'll have more room there. Alice, you want to join us?"

Alice nodded, not too terribly excited but neither upset nor angry. She seemed lost for words. But she tagged along as we raced through the forest. Edward and Jacob ran beside me, while Jasper and his mate ran ahead. I transformed to Wild form, and coached Jacob in basic running, since he still wasn't comfortable in his wolf form. I encouraged him to follow the pattern of my footfalls, and he soon got the rhythm of it.

"My, Bella, you've become quite the teacher yourself," Jasper threw back to me casually. "Maybe you should train him today."

"But I don't wanna teach! I'm not good at it!"

"Tsk, Bella, come on! You've learned a lot from me! Could you not pass that wisdom on to Jacob?"

"No. I'm still learning. How could I teach someone what I know when I myself don't know enough?"

"You may not know enough to teach him as a master would teach a student, but you know enough to teach him as one student would help another." Jasper paused. "Well, maybe you can teach another day. Here we are!"

We burst through the tree line into the familiar field, where I had trained multiple times, and I had defeated a vampire single handedly. I could still smell the spot where my acidic saliva and the remains of the marble skinned creature had burned into the ground, singing away the grass. Even now, that spot couldn't grow anything. Jasper strode over to the center of the field, and the rest of us followed. Alice and Edward sat a ways away from our spot on the usual boulder, which they had taken time to work at until it resembled a Stone Age couch. Jacob and I stood side by side, he on all fours, I on my hind legs. Jasper faced us and started to coach Jacob in the way of controlling his emotions. I was able to help, testing him by annoying the absolute fuck out of him until he snapped. That's when things got interesting.

"Bella watch it!" Jasper yelled, launching out of the way as Jacob rounded on him, then turned to me and launched his whole body at me.

"Come on, big boy, let's see what you – GAAH!" Jacob's full weight as a wolf was quite a bit, and even though Paul wasn't a lightweight, he was still puny in comparison. Jacob managed, through the confusion, to get his teeth in my scruff. I yowled, and twisted my neck until he lost his grip. I then tried to knock him to the ground with a hard swipe of my paw, but that didn't work, as my paw glanced off his face as if I were a little rubber ball. He held his ground and jumped up at my unprotected neck. I swiped with my left paw, pushing him aside as well as pushing me away from him. He and I began to circle each other, watching for a movement that was out of place. I estimated that, if I were quick enough, I could push his legs out from under him and gain the upper hand, maybe use my bulk to keep him down. I made a decision to fake right and run pas him on the left. When he lunged right, I was able to hook my arm under his right back leg and toss it and his hind quarters up in the air. He lost his balance and fell like a fallen tree on his left side, the air whooshing out of his muzzle.

"GAIN CONTROL!" Jasper yelled, whether at me or Jake was unclear. I spread myself out and wrapped my arms around his massive chest, and began to do the same with my back legs, but he thrashed about worse than a Pokemon without moves. I had to make a decision – let go and try to run him ragged, or keep hold and squish him into submission. My decision was made when Jacob managed to get his jaw underneath one of my arms and sink his teeth deep into my forearm.

I yowled, which turned into a furious growl. I curled my back and used my back legs to batter Jake, but he just bit harder. I started to lose the feeling in my paw, and I hit him harder. Something slacked, and I was able to pull away. I staggered back, feeling a little lighter.

"BELLA, YOUR ARM!"

I looked at Edward, who was wide eyed and furious. I looked down at my arm to find a bloody stump. Jacob had the rest of it, and was collecting my blood in his muzzle and fur.

"Hey! Gimme back my arm, dog!" I swiped at him, and he growled. I hissed.

Jasper risked it, putting his hand on Jacob's shoulder and calming him down. Jacob flinched toward Jasper momentarily, but then stared, wide-eyed. He immediately dropped my arm, jumped back, and his howl sounded like a disgusted scream. He retched on the grass in front of him.

Edward was at my side immediately and held my stump in his hands. Alice had her phone out and was speaking at vampire speed with Carlisle. "The mutt tore her arm off, Carlisle, can you get here fast enough to save it?"

"On my way, make sure her healing doesn't start up too fast." Click. Alice came over and I let her gently scrape at the open skin to keep the platelets from forming too fast.

"Jacob, this is why you need to control yourself! Your blind rage can hurt someone, even Bella!" Jasper scolded him some more, but I wasn't paying attention too much. Yeah, it hurt, having a stump, but there was something odd about this. I thought, for a second, I could still feel the other part of my arm. I looked at it, still on the ground, and thought good and hard about sticking out my middle finger. A few seconds later, I felt and saw my arm respond at the same time. The fingers closed, my middle finger stuck out, and I was shocked.

"Holy crap my arm is a goddamned zombie arm!" I pointed with my other paw, and everyone looked at it with wide eyes. That's when Carlisle and Esme showed up.

"Let me see," Carlisle grabbed my arm nonchalantly, and I had a silly idea. I concentrated again, and my hand grabbed onto his arm. He flinched a little but he didn't jump a whole lot. So I mustered the strength to tap out Morse code on his arm, Hey, Carlisle, give me my arm back! He looked at it, then me. "Bella… are you… tapping Morse code on my arm?"

I smiled and nodded. Esme was by my side now, and looked up at me with astonishment and a bit of pride. Edward touched the separated arm once Carlisle brought it closer, and I could feel his touch, as well as Carlisle grasping my arm. Jasper and Jake came closer, Jake looking at me and my arm with such a sorry expression I chuckled. I'm so sorry, Bells, I didn't realize-

"Jake, don't worry, I think my body is more boss than we originally thought – Seems like I still have control! But how…?" I was now tapping out the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody on Edward's hand, and he smiled a little.

"I have never seen a body part respond to electrical impulses other than when attached to a battery – this is quite new to me. I wouldn't have a clue." Carlisle said, turning my arm this way and that. "But just to be safe, let's reattach the arm to you, and if you ever are separated from a body part again, because I feel that this won't be the only time you lose one, you can continue to experiment. I don't want your arm to die."

I nodded, and Carlisle proceeded to scrape the growth off of my severed arm, while Alice lightly scraped my stump, and when the both of them were primed, Carlisle touched the severed piece to the main part. I could feel my flesh begin to heal, but the bone was taking too long – the muscle might seal it up and I'd have a dead arm anyway. "Edward, can you spit on the bone? I don't think it's working properly."

"Of course, love." He bowed his head over me and pulled a large wad of venom-spit out of his glands, and spit it on his fingers, then carefully massaged the ends of the bone. When Alice and Carlisle wiggled the bone together, the marrow and outer coating quickly started to fuse, and the muscle soon followed. I could now properly move my paw and fingers without concentrating. The skin fused last, and though it was smoother than newborn skin, my fur wasn't growing in normally – it grew way past my current level, and now I had a strange patch of overly long fur.

"Tsk, what the hell? Now I look like I groomed everything EXCEPT this spot. Like, really?"

"Hey, what if, when we get back, I cut it for you? Actually," Alice inspected me from head to toe quickly, and put her hand on her chin. "Could I groom your fur altogether? Don't get me wrong, the wild look is… ok, but, you could look so much better with a proper level of grooming."

"Alice, don't criticize her grooming, she's done a fine job. She doesn't need to look any better, really." Esme scolded, hugging my side.

I laughed, making a mruck mruck mruck sound. "You know, Esme, I'll let her – I've never really put much thought into my grooming, and I'd rather have someone who seems to be a professional fashion EVERYTHING do my grooming for once."

Alice clapped. "Yay, thank you Bella!" She hugged me from the front. We all laughed, except for Jake, who had wandered off a little, whining. I walked over on my hind legs and squatted down to his level. The others quietly talked about what they thought I should be groomed like.

"What, you still feel bad, bud?"

Bella, I RIPPED YOUR ARM OFF, how the hell can you just shake it off like that?

"I just can, Jake, it's not like you gouged my intestines out. Sure, maybe Edward was pissed, a little, but I've calmed him down a little bit since I met him – you should have seen him before, he wasn't chill AT All. And yeah, it hurt, but think of it this way – you beat me. I lost an arm fighting you, despite you having never fought before, and because I've been training with Jasper, that means that I need to figure out how a naturally skilled wolf fights, versus some dumbass that is too prideful to use strategy or technique that he more than likely learned with the pack, since hey, he has a pack. We have Jasper though, so we got that going. I might have been salty before, being beat by you, but I have to keep in mind that I don't know everything. I'll always be learning. And that goes for you too, Jake. We will learn together."

He nodded. Thank you.

I nodded back. "Now, you're pretty messy, all that blood and dirt on you. Lemme clean that up for you." I jumped on top of him and pinned him down, grooming him with giant, swift licks. He whined in a surprised and complaining manner.

Hey, no, stop it, Bells, I can take a shower! Ugh, STAWP IT! He batted at me with his paws, and the Cullens chuckled. I let him up, and we continued to spar. I was beginning to notice more and more of his patterns, but just as I thought I had learned all I could, Jasper, with a little help from Alice, would teach him something new and he'd get the upper hand again. In time, though, as the sun set, and the full moon rose over the trees, we were evenly matched. Sweat rolled out from under our fur and made us looked like we had just come out of a steam bath.

"Alright, guys, enough for today. You to need to rest, eat, and shower." Jasper said, and we simultaneously dropped to the ground.

"The shower part ESPECIALLY!" Alice grunted playfully, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

I shook my head. "Yeah, you would say that, Miss I-hate-any-dirt-or-barely-used-clothes." I padded to her and shook myself off, sweat droplets flying out everywhere. Alice squealed so high pitched that I swear dogs in the nearest houses (a long ways off) were howling.

"Ew, gross! Stop that, this is worth more than your dad's house!"

I laughed. "Shouldn't be wearing clothes that expensive out in places like this. In fact, you just shouldn't have clothes that expensive to begin with. They might get ruined."

She flipped me off and started running back toward the house. Jasper followed her. Edward, Jacob and I followed them. We all laughed and joked around for the duration of our run, but at a certain point I saw Edward was looking at me with meaning behind his gaze.

I called out to the others, "Alice, Esme, talk with Rosalie and the boys, take Jake with you, I'm going to talk to Edward. We'll join up in a bit." I sharply turned and Edward skillfully jumped onto my back, letting me carry him a good distance before slowing down to a walk.

"So, sweetie, what is it that's bothering you?" I asked him.

"I was a bit worried, what with your arm coming off and all. Are you sure it's working properly? We set it right?"

"Yes, silly, it's working just fine. Look –" I flexed each digit and made several ASL alphabetic signs with it. " – No problem! You still worry, even after the incidents with James and my mother?"

"It's my right to worry, love. Just because you're stronger than most of us doesn't mean you can't be hurt. Jacob proved that just now." Edward ran his fingers lovingly through my mane.

I scoffed. "That pup has a lot to learn, and I was caught off guard – he got lucky."

Edward laughed. "I don't suppose Jacob or even Jasper will be giving Emmett all the details of that fight, right?"

I spun around and shot toward the big house. "No way is that mutt gonna make me look weak to that overgrown child!" Edward laughed even harder as he clung to my fur. We rocketed past the trees and I landed square in the middle of the open front yard. Sure enough, on the porch, Emmett was laughing his ass off while the girls, Jasper, Carlisle, and Jacob (in human form, wearing just his shorts) all wielded grooming supplies, smiling and chuckling along.

"Kitty Cat, you got your ass whooped by a dog?! Come on, man, I can't take you seriously now!" He laughed harder. "What, did you just sit there and hiss?!"

I growled deep in my chest, and spoke with a mad southern drawl that I could not control. "Boy, you betta stop that shit right now, or else imma have to whoop yours!" Edward pet my head, but I shook my ears in annoyance.

Emmett shook his head. "Tsk tsk tsk, Bella, you can't be real. There ain't way you can make me!" He jumped off the porch and strode over to stick his nose in my face. "What 'chu got, Kitten?"

Edward, go on and stand on the porch, this is gonna get ugly.

He slipped off my back and calmly walked over to stand beside Carlisle. I slowly rose up to my full height and puffed out my fur, barring my teeth and whipping my tail back and forth. Emmett shifted a little, but put on a brave face. We stared into each other's eyes for ten minutes straight before I intentionally flinched forward. Emmett stumbled back, but just as quickly stood back up, although his face was level with my chest. With lightning speed, I stepped on his chest and pressed his head into the ground. Emmett struggled but I pinned him down with both of my arms and grabbed his neck with my teeth; he stilled. I tightened my grip on his neck and picked him up into the air. He grabbed my head but otherwise didn't struggle. I jerked him around for a second, then tossed him away.

Hissing, I spat, "I am stronger! You are the inferior! Don't forget that!"

He held his hands up. "Ok, ok, Kitty Cat, you got me! Boy, you sure are scary when you wanna be."

I snorted in agreement. I stared at Jacob. "You got lucky, pup."

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I got lucky. But I'll get better. And we'll be evenly matched!"

I nodded slowly. "Sure. So, boys and girls, I see all of you are prepped and ready to groom. Alice, how do you want me?"

She jumped down off the porch and ran right up to me; the others walked at human pace up to me as she explained, "You need to stay standing straight on all fours. I discussed all the details with everyone and they know what to do. Edward, you have to disappear for a while, go hunting or something, it's a surprise."

"Alice, what – "

"No no no, you go. Shoo!"

Edward threw me a look of apology and ran north. I stood straight, and after Alice gave the signal, everyone got to work. Brushing was first, and with the vampires working at their speed, the excess fur was collected in less than 20 minutes. Jacob was assigned my face because he was slower and gentler. The pile of fluff and debris was as big as Edward's car, most of it being shed undercoat. Then, the cutting began. Snips and chunks of fur were being taken off of me, and as I quietly stood, I could feel myself becoming lighter. Alice always checked everyone's progress, and once she was satisfied, she personally worked on my "hair" piece, trimming and combing until she hmm'd with happiness. They all stepped back, and Alice sent a text message to Edward before she and Jasper dashed up into the house. Everyone else looked away from me, probably to throw Edward off. I could hear his rapid footsteps as he raced through the undergrowth, and my heart beat erratically with the anticipation and anxiousness of his thoughts on me.

Alice and Jasper brought down a big ass mirror from who knows where, and set it in front of me, facing away. I tiger-moaned in annoyance.

"Oh hush, Bella, you look fabulous. Alright Edward, come out and look!"

I heard Edward step slowly through the foliage, and his shoes tread through the soft dirt. He stopped a few feet from the mirror, and I could hear the soft tap of his fingers on the glass. The pixie and the Southerner moved the huge wall out of the way, and I puffed my chest out and stood proudly. When his face was revealed, his golden eyes widened in awe. His lips parted ever so slightly, and his baby soft huff of amazement tickled my ear fur. I stepped toward him proudly but slowly, to keep my fur from getting too messy. Edward reached out his hand and met my large nose. He used both hands to gently pet and caress me, from my head to my shoulders, down every leg, and along my tail. When he came back around, he hugged my neck and didn't let go. I purred so loudly that Carlisle commented that he could feel it from where he stood.

"Alright, you two, let's reveal it to Bella now." Jasper turned the mirror around, and now I could see just how beautiful Alice and the others had made me.

My hair was swept over to my right, my hair fur running down into an impressive mane that had been combed into perfection. The fur then was cut shorter as it flowed down my back and shoulders, and the longest fur on my arms and legs were located at my elbows and ankles, with a dress of fur on every paw. My tail had been shaped so the end was super fluffy and the top was nice and sleek. I was so well put together I looked like a cross between a stripe-less tiger and a white lion. My purr rumbled through the ground, and I smiled with satisfaction.

"Alice, you did an amazing job! From now on, you are my fur stylist! As long as you stay modest, I'll be more than happy to be your model." I turned to see her jumping with glee. I pounced and grabbed her in my arms, standing to my full height and swinging her back and forth.

"Don't break my mate, Bella," Jasper warned. "You've lost an arm already, don't go losing another limb."

I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him. I set Alice down and turned to go shift back in the trees, but Edward rubbed my shoulder and looked at me with black, hungry eyes. I lowered my eye lids and rumbled in agreement, turning it into a growl. I let him on my back again, and together we stalked off into the trees.