And So The Lamb Became the Wolf

4. Pet, is it?

"I'm so excited!" Alice clapped her hands and spun around.

"Dude, for what?" Bella groaned while pulling on a short sleeve t-shirt.

"Dude?" Alice gasped. "Dude!? What happened to you after I left?" Alice mumbled in a voice she thought Bella couldn't hear, "Dude. She says dude like I'm a surfer on some godforsaken beach."

"Alice," Bella clicked her tongue. "I didn't mean anything by it, I promise."

Bella absentmindedly rubbed her bicep, touching the scars Paul's teeth had left. It seemed that wolf healing didn't apply to the scars that caused turning. Sam had been confused about this. Apparently, Quileute lore didn't include all the details she needed. "Bella, what is that?" Alice moved to Bella a bit too fast, causing Bella's instincts to kick in. She trembled a bit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, it's just..." Alice moved her cold fingers over Bella's scars. "What happened?"

Bella pulled her sleeve down a bit. It didn't cover the scars enough, and Bella gave up. "Bit by an animal."

Alice looked at Bella. She couldn't seem to decide if Bella was lying or not. "Do you want to tell me what you're hiding?"

Bella paused. I'm not hiding anything, was on the tip of her tongue. Instead Bella said, "No."

"No?"

"No." Alice pouted. It felt like she had never left. Bella felt guilty. "Not yet?"

Alice scrunched her face up. "Better. Not great, but better. Anyways, I'm excited to watch you trip over your own feet!"

"What?"

"You asked what I was excited about!" Alice giggled, and Bella grumbled. They left the locker room and walked slowly down the hall to the gym.

The double doors burst open. "Hell's Bells!" Emmett roared. Bella jumped. "Hello." He calmly said.

"Em, you're a dick. Did you always have this many nicknames for me?"

"I did not, but I had a whole year to come up with more."

"That's what you did for a year? You thought of nicknames?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "What was I supposed to do?" He shrugged, grinning. "You see, we left the family pet in Forks."

"You!" Bella jumped for him, her wolf blood running hot. She tried to tackle the behemoth. Emmett wrapped his arms around her, putting her in a headlock.

"Say it Bella!" He said, as he led her into the gym, only allowing her to see the floor.

"Say what?" She struggled against his iron grip.

"Say you're our pet!"

"You've got to be joking!" Bella yelled. She could hear other students giggling nervously. They seemed to want to laugh at Bella, but were afraid of how to react to the Cullens.

"I never joke, not ever." The smile in Emmett's voice was unmistakable. Alice laughed at both of them. Bella saw her feet dance by.

"Alice, you're not going to help me?"

"Just say it, Bella. He'll let you go."

"Are you two done?" A serious voice asked. Coach Clapp was obviously not amused.

Emmett held on to Bella, but at least let her stand up. "Yes sir, my sincerest apologies." Emmett smiled a blinding smile. Coach Clapp faltered. He turned away and dropped his clipboard.

Emmett dragged Bella to the bleachers where the rest of the class was sitting. "Say it, Bella."

"I won't."