*Annabelle's POV*

I sighed as I closed the door behind me. "I'm home." I spoke into the empty hallway.

I had started doing that recently. Welcome myself home. All my life I had been surrounded by people. I lived in a family of four. My parents and twin-sister, and when I went out of state for college I lived in dorms with a roommate. But now that I got my own apartment, I lived alone.

It was lonely, of course. I was an extrovert at heart. I loved being around people all the time. It was one of the reasons I became a teacher. So I could have had human connections every single day. Even on my day off or in the weekends, I tried to hang out with friends as often as I could. Of course, all my college friends had gone off on their own as well. Which only left two of my best friends: Robin and Fred. Fred was short for Frederique, but none of us really knew how to pronounce that, so Fred or Freddy it is.

Her parents were French, thought they moved to Maine before Fred was born, and Fred could speak French fluently. Robin was an American like me. She came from Texas, which was quite a difference from me, who came from the state of Oregon. We now lived in Maine, and I was honestly glad both Fred and Robin decided to get jobs here as well.

I made my way to the kitchen and placed my bag on the counter. What to eat tonight? I looked over to the pizza box in the trash can. Dammit, why did I order food yesterday? I don't feel like cooking.

I ended up making spaghetti. A simple and quick meal. I ate it on the couch in front of my TV. Eating at the dining table made me sad, since I had no one to talk to, so instead I tried to trick myself into having conversations with the TV.

After hours of sitting in front of the TV something in my pocket vibrated. My eyes lit up as I received a call. I gladly picked up, "Hey"

"Heey girl! How was work today?" My sisters voice came from the other side of the phone.

I smiled, "Good, I gave them a pop quiz on the States topography. I think all of them failed."

Isabelle laughed, "You're so mean."

Yes, my parents thought it was funny to name me Annabelle and my sister Isabelle. It didn't help that we looked exactly alike too, being twins. The both of us had long blonde hair and green eyes. Most people in school just called both of us Belle because they didn't know which one of us was which.

"It's not my fault the kids don't remember their States. They're like 16 Isa, every American 16 year old should know the States of America by heart." I countered.

Isa groaned, "Anna, I don't know the States by heart."

"And it breaks my heart every time!" I exclaimed and placed a hand on my heart, even though I knew Isa couldn't see me.

"Calm it teach. We all have our strengths and weaknesses." Isa defended.

I smiled, "Indeed. How are you doing? All that math stuff you do all day freaks me out!"

Isa laughed, "That 'math stuff' is called being a financial analyst. And it's going well. I would say more but I bet you wouldn't understand it."

I scrunched up my nose, "Whatever, nerd."

"You're the one going to school every day for the rest of your life." Isa shot back.

I chuckled, "Man, I miss you sis."

"You getting lonely out there?" Isa asked me.

I hummed a reply, "I don't know. I speak to so many people every day and have friends here but being alone in my apartment somehow feels suffocating." I explained myself, glad my sister was here to listen. We always had a tight bond, and we told each other everything.

Isa was silent for a while before she gasped, "I know what you should do!"

"What?"

"Get a pet!" she basically shouted into the phone.

"Isa pets are expensive and require a lot of effort."

Isa didn't waste any time countering, "They also give you a friend you can rely on. Someone who's waiting for you when you get home!"

I sighed, "Which is a problem, I'm at work all day and I have a busy social life, how in the world am I supposed to take care of a puppy or something? I don't have the time!"

"Come on girl! You make time. I know you spend a lot of time in the teacher's lounge just hoping people will talk to you. You could go home instead and spend time with your pet! And you don't have to get a puppy or kitten. You can get a low maintenance animal. Like a hamster! Or just get an older dog. The shelter has plenty of dogs who are used to being home alone and they are trained!" Isa spoke.

I paused, she did have a point. I looked around the empty apartment. Maybe a pet would spruce things up a bit. "You know what? I'll think about it for a while. You do make good arguments."

Isa squealed, "Oh I'm so visiting to meet your pet once you have it!"

I chuckled, "I said I'll think about it. Nothing is set in stone."

"Sure sure. Just make sure to keep me updated." Isa responded and I could hear the smirk on her face.

"I will," I looked at the clock and noticed it was already 10. My alarm was set at 6 tomorrow morning, "Hey, I have to go to bed. Early day tomorrow."

"Ok! We should call again soon alright?" Isa spoke.

I smiled, "Of course! Goodnight sis!"

"Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the..."

"Squirrels bite." I finished with a chuckle.

I was a weird kid. Most people were afraid of monsters under the bed. But I once saw a squirrel attack a guy in the park and after that I became terrified of them. I was so scared they would attack me at night, my sister would have to sleep next to me for months before I calmed down.

After Isa hung up I got ready for bed, the idea of getting a pet still on my mind. I guess I'd have to do some research later this week. I looked around the room just before I turned off my lights. Imagining a dog or cat on my bed cuddling up next to me before I fell asleep. It was a nice thought. With it, I turned off my lights and laid down in bed. Sleep came soon afterwards.

---

Not a week later I stood in front of a pet shop. It was Tuesday, my day off, and I had decided today was the day I would adopt a pet. I thought about it all week and did plenty of research. My friends were going wild when I asked them for my opinion. Robin came from a farm where they had plenty of animals so she was super excited. Fred had a cat herself and told me it helped her with loneliness too, even though she was more introvert and could handle being alone more often.

I even asked my students for their opinion, and they went wild with ideas and names. One kid told me to get a pet spider, which I quickly turned down. Spiders weren't my thing, if one showed up in my apartment I usually called Robin over to kill it for me, while I hid somewhere until she would arrive.

I had decided to get a dog. I was more of a dog person than a cat person, and I felt like a dog could really become a friend. Hamsters and those kind of animals felt less like a friend than a dog would be. I stood in front of an animal shelter that sold mostly older dogs they rescued. I didn't want a puppy, as cute as they were. And figured I could give a rescued dog a new life.

A bell rung as I entered the shelter, and a boy came in running, "Hello! Welcome to The Angel Paw Animal Shelter. How can I help you?" he spoke. The boy looked to be around 17.

"I'm looking for a dog to adopt." I spoke.

"Awesome! We have plenty of those wishing for a new and happy home. If you would follow me." The boy spoke and took me to the dogs.

As soon as the door opened the sound of barking filled my ears. It was loud and gave me a headache but it also made me excited for my new friend. We looked at plenty of dogs, some big some small. I didn't really mind what kind of dog I would get. I suppose with my apartment a small dog would be ideal. But big dogs have always been my favorite as a kid, since they gave me a sense of safety. There was a big field of grass behind my apartment, a sort of community space for the people living there. So I could take it out there. I also lived in a fairly safe neighborhood, so I wasn't afraid to take it on walks either.

Eventually we passed a cage were the dog wasn't barking excitedly up and down. Instead, it was hidden in the corner of the cage, and it seemed like it was sleeping. I crouched down in front of the cage.

"What is up with this one?"

The boy gave me a sad smile, "That one is a special case. He's usually like that, just laying in the corner. We caught him just outside the woods, we're honestly not sure what breed it is. Looks like a wolf more than a dog but the dog catcher insisted on bringing it here. He's usually aggressive towards people and other dogs and doesn't like to eat dog food. We think he might be spoiled, since he will only eat actual meat."

I hummed in reply, "I wonder what happened to him before he got caught."

The boy shrugged, "No one knows. Like I said, he's either sleeping or acting really aggressively. We're afraid we'll have to put him down sometime soon, because of his behavior."

"That's so sad." I muttered as I slowly extended my hand in the cage.

"Be careful! You wouldn't be the first one he bites." The boy warned me. I retracted my hand.

The dog however, seemed to suddenly wake up. His head shot to me and it almost felt like it was staring at me. He seemed to shoot from his trance and stood up and walked over, sitting down in front of me.

"Huh? That never happens." The boy mumbled.

I looked at the dog, I hadn't realized just how big he was. I was crouched down and sitting down he was as slightly bigger than my posture. I was around 5ft7, so I wasn't short, but this dog looked to be around 5ft or so and it definitely looked wolf like. It was mostly black with a silver glow, but what stood out to me was his beautiful blue eyes. The dog was magnificent, and I wondered how a dog this beautiful ever ended up here.

It was calmly staring at me, as if he was trying to tell me something. I slowly reached out again, and he placed his head against my hand. His fur was incredibly soft, and I carefully pet him.

"Wow. Are you a dog whisperer? He's usually growling and barking at everything he sees!"

The wolf's head turned to the boy and as if he heard him, he gave him a growl.

"See? You must be special!" the boy chuckled, clearly used to this behavior.

I smiled at the dog, who was now looking at me again. "I'll take him." I spoke without really thinking about it.

"Really?"

"Yeah. If he's nice to me it would be rude to turn him down and let you guys put him down later." I explained my reasons.

"I suppose so. But I mean he isn't just aggressive, he's massive and like I said, he doesn't eat normal dog food. Buying him meat will be expensive." The boy told me.

I shook my head, "I'll figure it out. I'll take him."

The boy nodded, "Ok! Well then, let's go take care of the paperwork."

I smiled and stood up, making the dog in front of me whimper. "It's ok boy, I'll be back soon." I told him before walking off.

"So, what do we know about the dog?" I asked the boy when we were back at the front desk and the boy was grabbing the dog's paperwork.

"Not much, the fact that he is a boy, that he doesn't eat dog food and that he has an aggressive and lazy nature." The boy explained as he handed me some papers to fill in.

I hummed in reply as I started filling out my name and information. When I was done filling out the boy gave me another paper with the dog's information while he went out to collect the dog from his cage.

As I was pondering on what to name him, I heard the boy curse and suddenly the door opened and I was tackled by the dog, who started licking my face. I started laughing as the tongue tickled and I tried to push him off me. "S-stop boy! You're heavy!" I tried to say between my giggles.

The boy came running out with a worried look on his face. "Thank God, I thought he'd attack."

The dog got off me and growled at the boy. I stood up as well and gave the dog a pat on the head, "No, I think he's happy to be out of the cage." I told him with a smile.

After that I continued filling out the form, this time also holding onto the leash of the dog to make sure he wouldn't escape.

"Do we know the dog's age?" I asked the boy.

He shrugged in response, "Nope. We're guessing not too old. Around 4 or 5 years old. But we're not sure."

The dog snorted beside me, making both the boy and I look at it with questioning glances.

"Uh... anyway. What are you gonna name him?" The boy asked.

I sighed, "I'm not sure. I'm never good at names and a lot of good names are already associated with students."

"You're a teacher?" The kid asked.

I smiled and nodded, "Yeah," I turned to the dog, "what do you want to be called boy?" The boy gave me a short bark. "Yeah that doesn't really help."

"We used to call him Hunter here in the shelter. Not sure where it came from but he looks like a hunter, so hence the name." The boy suggested.

The dog snorted, but didn't give a growl, "I guess I'll go with that then." I told him and wrote it down on the paper.

After I filled everything in I gave him the paper and he gave me some papers with the dog's information and stuff. "Ok then that will be 125 dollar."

I sighed as I got out my wallet. The dog next to me snorted again, as if he disagreed on the price. I smiled at him, "I know how you're feeling buddy." I told him as I handed over the money.

After him talking a bit more about the dog and adoption process I was finally good to go. So with the dog in hand, I stepped out of the shelter. The dog stretched as he stepped in the sun. It must have been a while since he was out of that cage. The paper said he came in around a month ago. The dog looked at me and I smiled at him, "Ready boy?"

I was surprised to see him give me a half-nod. As if he understood what I had said perfectly.

I shook it off and started walking. Let the loneliness be gone and my new life begin!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey hey!

Thanks for reading this first chapter! Hope you liked it!

See you next time luvs!