Bella POV

With a large yawn and stretch to match, I slowly opened my eyes. The light was dim and grey outside my window, I could hear the light rain against the glass.

"Morning, Love" Edward whispered into my neck.

I jumped back slightly, surprised, and a bit bothered by his cold touch.

"You're back early" I stated more than asking.

"Yes, I was worried about you so I hunted closer to home." He answered regardless.

I nodded and sat up, subtly shifting so my body wasn't so close to the cold radiating off his body.

"You shouldn't worry about me, the pack is helping cover patrols when your family goes hunting."

He noticed my not so subtle move away from him and moved to stand up with an apologetic smile. I was glad he didn't look more into the gesture. 'Should he look more into the gesture? What is he to me now? Does Leah change things? Do I want Leah to change things? Does it matter if I do want her to be something more? DID I want her to be something more?'

"What are you thinking about?" Edward asked, thick, with curiosity, interrupting my inner ramblings. "You look like you're trying to figure out a cure for world hunger."

"I'm just thinking about you" I managed, not really lying. I could feel my cheeks burning aggressively.

He smiled and sat on the edge of my bed, careful not to touch me in any way. "And what thoughts have you blushing like that?" He pressed with an amused smile now on his face.

"I have to get ready for school or we'll be late." I managed to get out with a weak smile.

"Alright, I'll be back soon." He stood and inclined his head slightly before taking his leave out my window.

I stood slowly with a relieved sigh, grabbing my towel on the way to the bathroom. In the bathroom, I turned on the shower and moved over to the sink, while I waited for the water to heat up. My hands gripped either edge of the sink and I hung my head between my arms, letting it swing limply. 'What am I doing? Why was the supernatural attracted to me? Maybe life would have been easier if I had just dated Mike Newton'. I shuddered a bit at the thought, more disturbed by the thought that he was a man than the thought of Mike himself. My head shot up and I was suddenly looking at myself in the mirror, my eyes wide in shock. I took a few shaky breaths to try to center myself again. 'Chill out this doesn't mean anything.' My eyes began to relax and return to normal along with my breathing. 'Maybe I'm a little gay…I guess I kind of knew that already, I never really dated anyone before Edward. Maybe I want Leah...' Before I could take that thought any further, knowing it would only end in pain and rejection, I undressed and hopped in the shower. The warm water felt amazing and I stood under the faucet, closing my eyes, just letting the water flow over my body. 'Would Leah be this warm? Is she as warm as Jake? Would I ever know how warm she felt?' My breathing hitched for a second as I was reminded of the rejection I had felt last night. 'No, I'll never know how warm she is, she doesn't want anything to do with me. I'll just forget her and move on with my life.' Glimpses of my little grey wolf flashed across my mind's eye and my heart begged me to reach out and touch her. I opened my eyes quickly and let the water run into them, focusing on the slight pain that caused to pull me away from my thoughts. As I continued to get ready for school I forced myself to think about Edward.

I slowly ate my breakfast and kept my thoughts on Edward, with a bit of a struggle. My mind started to break Edward down in a scientific way. 'He was 120 years old and had never dated or been interested in anyone else?' My mind huffed at that not quite believing it. 'Is this what he told other girls he was interested in? Why go through the whole charade? Why let me age and die? What did he get out of this?' I shook my head, not liking these questions I was only now asking myself. When I walked outside I knew Edward would be there waiting for me but I still jumped at the sight of him, guilty I guess. Concern or maybe pity crossed his face momentarily and then he was smiling kindly at me as he opened the passenger door. I climbed into his Volvo, he was suddenly on the driver side, both doors were closed. As soon as I buckled my seatbelt we were speeding towards school. He knows I hate when he speeds, I usually push it off but today I wasn't in the mood.

"Edward…"

"Yes, Love"

"Slow down"

He chuckled and looked over at me. Suddenly the car started slowing down, he must have seen I was serious.

"Bella, are you alright?" Concern evident in his voice.

"Keep your eyes on the road." I pleaded, looking to the road and back to him a bit panicked.

He looked like he wanted to tease me or say something but decided against it. The rest of the drive was silent but it was far from comfortable, I could almost taste the tension between the two of us. Torn between a need to fill the silence just to cut the awkwardness and the satisfaction of not having to talk to him or lie about my thoughts this morning. Once we got to school he parked and came to open my door, but he had to move at a normal speed in public. I beat him to the door and was half out of the car by the time he got to me, the corner of his mouth pulled down slightly. My body seemed to operate on autopilot once I was in class.

"That's a really good drawing." Jessica commented, half-heartedly.

I looked up, startled by her voice. What period was I in now? Time had passed without my realizing.

"Geez Bella, you don't have to wig out. All I said is that it's good." Jessica huffed and turned back to her binder doodling little hearts on the cover.

I looked down at my own binder, I had it open to an empty page-well mostly empty. In the middle of the page was a sketch of Leah's wolf's face, looking right at me. I quickly closed my binder, a bit too agressivly, slamming it loudly. A few heads turned to look at me and I quickly dipped my head, hiding behind my hair as it fell forward onto my face. My cheeks were blazing and I could feel tears building in the corners of my eyes. I closed my eyes tight, fighting the tears, hating how easily my emotions presented themselves. The teacher walked in and classes continued on as normal, thankfully. Lunch and the rest of the day were a blur of nerves and confusion. The wolves would be meeting with the Cullens to train tonight. That meant Leah would be there...right?

When Edward pulled in behind Charlie's cruiser he turned to me as the engine died.

"Bella, are you alright?" His voice strained with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I managed a small smile directed at him.

"Don't worry about tonight, no one will get hurt." He reassured, assuming my fear was from the upcoming training session. I took this, not wanting to face the truth of my frayed emotions, and nodded once. He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it.

"I'll be back soon, Love. Don't worry."

I nodded again and he was suddenly opening my door. Once inside I tinkered around in the kitchen, fixing dinner, keeping basic conversation with Charlie. When dinner was finished I took my time cleaning up, knowing Edward would be upstairs waiting for me. After I was sure every surface in the kitchen could show a reflection I didn't really have a choice but to turn in for the night. I said goodnight to Charlie as I went upstairs. Edward sat in my chair, smiling kindly at me, I half-heartedly returned the smile. I stayed in my clothes but laid in bed.

"You don't have to come tonight." He tried for probably the fifth time.

"I told you I want to go." I sighed slightly agitated.

"Very well, at least try and sleep for a bit?"

I huffed and closed my eyes, feeling my blankets cover me a split second later. I couldn't sleep, a mix of Leah and her wolf swam through my mind. What seemed like an eternity later Edward gently kissed my forehead. My eyes shot open.

"Is it time?" I sat up.

He nodded and then we were running through the forest, I was on his back. I closed my eyes tight and grit my teeth, I hated running like this and wished he would give me more warning. We stopped abruptly and I peeked one eye open, seeing that we were in a clearing. I climbed off Edward's back and he interlaced his fingers in mine, leading us to his family. A few seconds later the wolves slowly came out of the forest, cautiously. My eyes automatically found the small grey wolf and my heart skipped a beat. Edward squeezed my hand gently and I looked up at him, he was smiling reassuringly.

"It'll be okay, no one is going to get hurt."

He gave my hand another light squeeze before heading off to "translate". The Cullens began their demonstrations and I watched the grey wolf, pulling my eyes away periodically to hopefully make my staring less obvious. She was tense and her eyes were intently focused on the demonstration in front of her. Her tension and focus seemed to be the most intense of all the wolves. I could see some of her muscles under the fur, firm and flexed like she was so tense all her muscles were flexed. It almost looked like her eyes were so concentrated on the fighting that she wasn't actually taking in what she was seeing. Jake's large russet coloured wolf came padding over and I looked up at him, thankful for just his familiarity. He stood close and I leaned into him, still watching my grey wolf watch the mock fights. I sighed and mindlessly ran my hand through Jake's fur, he sighed contently. That's when the grey wolf's head suddenly turned to look directly at me. Her eyes filled with longing and desperation, she took one step towards Jake and I. That's when I heard a vicious growl, suddenly Edward was between my grey wolf and I. He was crouched, ready to pounce, Jake wasn't at my side anymore, he was stalking closer to Edward's back. The grey wolf crouched down into her own pounce, exposing her teeth with a loud snarl. The rest of the pack followed her lead, causing the Cullen's to react similarly.

"Maybe that's enough training for one night" Carlisle suggested, trying to relieve the tension.

Sam's dark wolf nodded once and started backing towards the woods, the rest of the pack in sync with him, all but one. Leah. She stood her ground, ready to pounce at any second. Sam let out a low growl. Leah's wolf gave Edward one last growl and then looked past him at me. Her eyes filled with something I couldn't put a word to. It was like her eyes were a window into a beautiful future with her. Endless happiness, unmeasurable love, pure freedom. Not the hatred I had learned to expect. Edward growled aggressively and Leah looked back at him before turning and disappearing into the woods with her pack.

Carlisle moved to Edward's side, where Edward hadn't moved. Edward's eyes were still trained on the forest where the wolves had disappeared.

"Edward, what has gotten into you?" Carlisle questioned.

"Leah has imprinted on Bella," Edward said, seeming to compose himself more every second.

All eyes were on me, I blushed under the attention and squirmed a little.