Sam and Emily had offered Bella their spare room to stay the night but she wanted to be home. It was probably more of an imposition having Sam drive her home than staying there, but there's nothing quite likes your own bed after a stressful day. The car ride was silent, everything that had needed to be said was said earlier and now there was no place left to go except their thoughts. Bella would go back there tomorrow for more information on the pack, she'd have asked her questions earlier but she decided she wanted to form her thoughts clearly before broaching such a large subject.

Bella alternated from watching Sam as he drove and the green scenery blur by. She was trying to figure out what was different about him now that she knew his secret; he after all had known hers all along so she wasn't the different one. She noticed that sometimes his eyes flashed gold; it wasn't the gold that the Cullen's eyes had been. There was a distinct difference and she could almost put her finger on it. Depth, it was the depth in that gold like he was going somewhere else or was someone else for just a moment, the Cullen's eyes had been shallow like a reflection of what they wanted you to see. He also seemed bigger not that he wasn't huge before, but now she really noticed it like the heat it was impossible not to notice.

How is it she had been so blind to what was right in front of her? She had guessed that Edward had been a vampire so why hadn't she guessed that there was something different about Sam. The more she thought about all this the more she realized that Paul had been right. She was a self-centered bitch, and that was the worst kind of bitch to be. If she could have been a funny bitch or a snarky bitch that would have been fine with her but this! This was the worst. She was the worst.

"Bella," Sam words pulled her out of her thoughts. "When does Charlie get back?" it was a simple question, one she should have known the answer to. But she didn't.

"Um I don't know." She hung her head in shame, yet another classic example of her being a horrible person.

"I'll have someone pick you up tomorrow if I can't ok and then we can talk some more." Sam was way too good to her, way too good in general. She wondered if that was a virtue or a fault.

As Sam left the emptiness came back, not that it wasn't there before, but now it was almost overwhelming. It's difficult to explain being empty, she was alive and she knew it but it was like there was this void in her and every seconded she could feel herself slipping further into this emotionless state. Bella was not completely lost though. Not yet.

It was late, roughly 10 o' clock but Bella was far from tired. Too much had happened that day, she would have cleaned but the place was already spotless and the laundry done. She couldn't go anywhere without her truck and Charlie was too cheap for high-speed internet or non sport channels so she was really at a loss for what to do. She could almost hear her grandmother whispering in her ear "Only boring people get bored darling."

Fuck it; it was time to brave the Internet connection she thought for nothing else except something to do. Going up to her room she booted up her old computer; she needed something to hold on to, to help her feel again. She didn't think love would be the answer after all it was the illusion of love that had gotten her into this mess in the first place. She could look at school stuff but she didn't have any desire to go to school right now, especially with Emily inviting her to join her small baking company. And to be honest all Bella would really want to study would be English and it's not like you could get a job with an English degree, besides if she spent all the money she would have spent on university on books she would have a library that rivaled the one in Beauty and the Beast. The computer finally turned on after a couple minutes, with the money she had saved she thought she should look at getting a better computer, maybe a laptop she could bring places. Contrary to the Cullen's belief she didn't need fancy things and she wanted to earn her things not have it given to her because that way she would take care of it better. You can't take care of things that come to you too easily because you haven't earned them.

Take care of something; she could hear Paul calling her self-centered and selfish. It made her angry, she had to show him, show everyone that she could be selfless again. That could be a good start.

Don't a lot of people when they go through breakups get cats? If only she didn't hate cats. But a pet that wasn't a cat would probably work. She couldn't get a bird or a fish; those could bring up Jared and Embry's ridiculous argument again. Dog's are cute, big dogs though not little yappy ones with way too much energy.

She was pretty sure Charlie liked Dogs. He used to bring by the police dogs when she was little and visiting from her mom's house. Bella smiled at the fond memory. It didn't make her happy but it helped her remember what happy could feel like.

What kind of dog should she get; she pulled up Google and typed in Large Dog Breeds.

Great Dane was out, that was way too big.

German shepherd was put in the maybes, but would it be too cliché for the police chief to have a German shepherd?

Huskies were super cute too. Those were totally a maybe.

Golden retrievers were way too cliché.

Ew Poodles.

German shepherd or Husky? Perhaps she should sleep on it. There were breeders for both in the area who had puppies' available.

Well she had made a step in the right direction, having a dog was something that would a. take time b. give her something to cling to c. maybe make her feel something and d. make her less self centered. Bella shut off her computer after writing down the breeder's addresses and grabbed a random book from her bookshelf.

It was Mansfield Park. The title brought a quote to mind that made Bella drop the book like it was on fire. Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure. Bella hoped that Jane Austen was wrong on this matter.

Bella woke up early the next morning and threw on a brown long sleeved sweater that had thumbholes over her leggings and white tank top; it was comfy and completely hid her vampire bites. Then she grabbed a pen and some paper from her desk and brought it downstairs to the kitchen, sitting at the table with some orange juice and an apple she made her list of things to do today.

First: Get her dog. A German Shepherd she had decided because frankly it was a cliché for a reason and Charlie really did love those dogs. She called the breeder that Charlie had used for work and they put a hold on a few for her.

Second: Talk to Emily about actually being a part of her baking and make it look like she was happy and excited to be a part of it. Because she did want to be happy and excited about it and if she couldn't feel it she could want to feel it.

Third: Ask her werewolf questions.

Fourth: Provided the werewolf questions went well then answer more vampire questions.

Bella really liked lists; they helped her not lose days. Having a plan made it so she stopped dwelling on the past. Lists also helped keep her head a little more organized. She needed to decide what to ask, she had had so many questions yesterday but the only one she could think of right now was why? Why were they Werewolves? She was sure there was a reason beyond that that was just the nature of things.

She knew doing research online wouldn't help; it hadn't with the vampire assumptions. She supposed maybe it had to do with the Quileute's in which case she could go ask Jake but that seemed like a bad idea. She hadn't spoken to Jake since the last 'family dinner' Charlie and her had had with the Blacks and Clearwater's and even then she had avoided him. He tried far too hard to make her happy, to fix her, he thought he was the fucking sun and that she should be drawn to him. But what he didn't realize was that living in Forks she had gotten used to not having a sun, she certainly didn't need one now. No she could without his puppy dog crush on her, she was going to get her own puppy, one that she chose and that she would take care of and that was hers. And Charlie's because she lived in his house and well fair was fair.

Bella heard a car pull up to her house, slipping on some flip-flops she stepped outside to see Emily in Sam's truck. Bella smiled, she was glad the other girl had been the one to come and not one of the boys. She now had an opportunity to talk to Emily without the oppressive presence of the pack.

"Bella, how are you doing today?" Emily smiled at her looking genuinely happy to see her. Bella wasn't used to that look anymore.

"I'm doing good Emily, how are you?" Bella did what she hoped was a good imitation of the other girls smile.

"Great! Sam let me use his truck for a change which was nice of him, provided that I bring you home with me." She lightly laughed at her own comment, her face lighting up and Bella couldn't help but marvel at her beauty again. Emily was so open and free, had no shame or shyness what so ever about her scars.

Emily caught Bella's stare but said nothing of it. That was one of the things Bella really liked about Emily, she didn't press you, and she understood that if you wanted to tell her something you would. It was a rare and wonderful quality. "So what are we doing today?" Bella asked.

"Well I was going to get some grocery's for an order I received this morning. Bella I've got to ask, were you serious about wanting to help with my baking? Because I don't mean to press you but I would really love the help." She looked over at Bella earnestly, and Bella reminded herself that now would be the time to be happy. So she smiled.

"I was hoping you'd mention that Em!" She said with all the excitement she could muster. "I really want to be a part of it, I stopped working at the Newton's shop and not only could use the job, but it would be nice to have a friend again."

At her words Emily's face broke out into another radiant smile, "That's fantastic, we can expand into Forks too. Charlie could help get the word out and we will be busy." Bella could see the gears turning over in Emily's mind.

"Um, Emily I have a quick stop I'd like to make before going to your house if you don't mind." Bella remembered she had to pick up her dog today.

"Of course, where are we off too?"

"Well you see I've decided to get a dog so I was going to go pick one up from the Silverstone breeders an hour from here. I called earlier this morning and they said they would give me my pick of the litter because Charlie has used them before for the K9 unit." As she spoke of her new dog one of her real smiles flashed on her face momentarily and Emily couldn't refuse her request.

"That's awesome! We'll go to Silverstone after the grocery store, you can probably pick up a collar, leash, and dog toys, and of course you'll need treats to train him- are you getting a boy? Oh I have a dog treat recipe that's popular. Bella you having a puppy is going to be so much fun!"

Everything was working out, she had a job and had a friend and was getting her dog. Today was such a change from yesterday that she almost forgot about the whole werewolf thing. Almost. She was going to bring up Emily's scars in hopes of getting more answers but they were having too much fun thinking about names. There is a period of time from when you are 10 until you have kids where you don't get to really think about naming things too seriously. Now they could and it brought out the little girls in them both.

"You should get a girl and you should name her Aurora, not only was she the best Disney princess it also is a really pretty nature thing!" Emily had been trying to convince Bella as they stood in the pet aisle looking at collars to get a girl dog. Bella wanted to get a blue collar, cause she wanted a boy for some unknown reason but completely legitimate reason.

"But I want a boy dog Emily and I'm not getting him a pink collar. Or plaid." She was trying to hold her ground, and kind of failing. In the end though Emily conceded saying it was Bella's dog not hers. Which was true. They got a black harness for while he was a puppy and a blue collar, the harness would work well for now and not hurt the little guy. Emily had commented that black worked great if it was a boy or girl and Bella just rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

They had been shocked by the dog food prices and Bella almost grabbed a bag that was 70 dollars cause it looked the healthiest, but Emily said they could probably make healthier dog food themselves and save a ton of cash so that's what they were going to do. They also got the stuff for the cupcakes and cake they needed to bake for their customer's baby shower; but with the excitement of the puppy the baking had been put on the back burner.

Bella had offered to pay for the gas to go the SilverStone but Emily refused saying that they wrote off gas as a business expense for Sam's company and that it took away from their taxes payments. Bella knew nothing about finances but Emily had sounded so confidant in explaining it to Bella that she didn't feel right questioning it.

The ride there had been filled with more amiable 'get to know you' chatting. Apparently Emily was a Clearwater on her mother's side and Leah had introduced Sam and her. Leah was a year and a half younger than Bella, who was three years younger than Emily, who was two years younger than Sam. Leah had always had a crush on Sam growing up, looking up to him as young girls do, because he had been around the Clearwater's house more than his own. Leah felt he was her live in boyfriend when it all actuality Sam had been escaping his abusive father. It was the same kind of puppy dog crush that Jake had on her and Leah had apparently gotten really upset when Sam and Emily got together.

Leah had thought she was introducing her favorite cousin to her own future husband, she was completely blindsided when Sam had asked Emily out, and devastated when Emily had said yes. Bella had heard this story before, but from Leah's point of view. Now Leah is a nice enough girl, but she's 16 and at that age you fall too hard and too fast. So she felt that Emily had stolen Sam from her. Even though Bella was only like a year older than her, she felt that she got along better with Emily. Bella wasn't sure why but she thought that she could attribute her maturity not to basically raising her own mother but having been ensconced in the Cullen's mannerisms for so long. It changed her out look on life, and really opened her eyes.

They arrived at SilverStone, the breeder came out to the gate to help the girls get in. They went into a beautiful acreage, the sun was hidden but the rain had stayed away so that was a small victory. "Bella it's great to see you today, how's that old man of yours doing?" Anthony Coleman the breeder asked. It was always so awkward talking to friends of your parents that you didn't really know.

"He's great, up in Canada getting their fish with Billy and Harry. This is going to be a bit of a surprise for him if you don't mind keeping the secret. Oh this is my friend and ride Emily" Bella hoped that Anthony would be willing to keep the secret.

"A grand surprise for the old geezer!" He laughed in his slightly Scottish accent. "Follow me ladies and I'll take you to the pups." He lead them past the fenced off area where the adult dogs were relaxing on this semi half decent day towards a different fenced off area where you could hear the yips of playing puppies.

"They sound like Embry and Jared" Emily whispered in her ear and they both shared a small laugh.

Inside the little fenced area were the most adorable black and brown puppies, all floppy ears and big eyes that jumped around their feet. There were three girls Anthony said and four boys for her to choose from. Bella couldn't decide, looking at all of them she noticed a separate small puppy pen. Walking over she saw a grey puppy that kind of looked like the others; she wondered why this little guy wasn't playing with the rest of them.

"Found this poor little fellow in the woods yesterday evening," Anthony stepped up beside her. "Crying beside his mother who had been shot by a poacher, a beautiful lass. I scared away the poacher but it had been too late to save her. He's been heartbroken being away from her, won't take to any of the German mums and won't socialize with the other rascals either."

Bella felt her heart break for this wolf. "Is he a Grey Wolf?"

"Sure is Bells, I contacted the animal control and asked if there were any packs spotted in the area that he may belong too, but he and his mum have been the first ones spotted in months." Antony looked just as sad as Bella felt; and Bella realized something, this wolf puppy made her feel something. She stepped into the pen, looking at Anthony for a confirmation nod that this was okay. She sad down on the opposite side of the pen from the little wolf and made eye contact with him, he didn't make a sound, only looked at her as she looked at him.

They sat like that awhile in their staring contest; Bella heard Emily approach and Anthony explain to her about the pup. The little guy had started to do an army crawl to Bella growling the whole time as if to see if he could scare her off. He didn't. She smiled and held out a hand for him to smell, he nipped at it and then gave it a brief lick before shocking everyone and jumping on her lap. Bella hugged him laughing, her real laugh, she felt for this dog and that was enough for her to ask Anthony "How much do you want for him?"

"Bella wolves aren't pets you know this, but I haven't seen him that happy before. Tell you what let my call the authorities and see what needs to be done to allow this, I refuse to have any creature die on me of a broken heart." He turned towards the large house to grab a phone.

"Bella are you sure?" Emily tentatively asked.

"Emily look at him, how could I leave him if I'm the only one he will respond to?" And he the only thing she could respond to. They were made for each other. She now knew what it meant to have your soul connected to something.

"Your right, of course. It would be cruel to take you away from him, you know the pack is going to have a field day with this right?" The girls shared another smile knowing that this wolf may have lost its mother but will have gained a pack. Well a pack of idiots but a pack nonetheless.

Anthony came back saying that Bella had the go ahead to take the pup home provided that she got him tagged, and well taken care of, and did not neuter him as he was part of an endangered species. She knew that the only reason they were allowing her to do this was because of whom her father was but she didn't care. She had her own wolf, and his name was Ryker.

"Why Ryker? Anthony asked and he gave her a ton of paper work and explained what she needed to do to have him registered as a domestic wolf.

"It means strong power in Danish and he is going to be a powerful little pup winning the hearts of all my friends on the reservation." She smiled at Ryker who was napping in her lap his blue collar going nicely with his classic Grey Wolf colouring. The collar was way too big on his six-week-old body but it looked adorable in a kind of comical way. It would fit him properly soon enough.

"That's good you are bringing him down there, those people have a strong respect for the wolves. Can't think of a better place really, just let the council know you are bringing him down there okay? This is a wild creature Bella please do remember that and please do keep in touch."

Hey people who read these!

She got a puppy! And before I get yelled at for her getting a wolf being totally cliché let me tell you something. Grey Wolves are my favorite animal so I don't care. And now for some Wolf reminders they are endangered and do have rescue centers all over the world so if you do happen across one that is injured or a lone puppy call animal rescue and a vet. They are not pets and the only reason Bella can take him is A. because this is fiction and B. because she is bringing it home to other wolves. But please note WOLVES ARE NOT PETS. No matter how much we wish they were.

Also thank you for all the love guys seriously feeling happy about how this is going :D

I won't see you and you won't see me but I look forward to reading your thoughts!

Ty