A/N Thank you to my beta, Acrosstheskyinstars and my prereader Chartwilightmom. I love you both.

There will likely be no update next week and I will not have time to reply with teasers from this chapter as I am leaving for vacation tomorrow, so I will put a teaser up on the forum on Twilighted http:/www . twilighted . ?f=44&t=15919&p=1232217#p1232217

Thanks for all your support, enjoy.

Chapter 14

Bella took a deep breath and studied the objects before her. Her lip curled down on one side as she took the opposite side in between her teeth. Finally she chose and held up the object. Edward cocked his head to the side and licked his lips, which Bella had begun to learn was the sign of him thinking really hard. He furrowed his brows, and then they shot up.

"Rawwwk," he said, and then his eyes looked to Bella to see if he was correct.

"Yes, rock," she said excitedly and picked up the next item.

Edward studied this one for considerably less time before he answered, "Tree."

Bella's face fell and Edward's followed hers. "Berry," she said, popping one of the sweet fruits in her mouth.

They had been working on language for most of the morning. Bella thought teaching him words that went with his surroundings first might be easier than teaching him words like 'toaster', when he'd never seen one. Overall she had been very impressed with his ability to learn what she was trying to get across to him, but she could tell he was starting to burn out, and she was getting hungry.

"Food," Bella said to Edward, and he recognized the word right away. "Bella, stay."

Before she had a chance to respond, Edward had leapt off into the woods, hunting their lunch. Bella decided if Edward was going to be the hunter, then she would be the gatherer. She looked over the many floras and faunas around her, searching for something edible. She had been quite good when she was younger at identifying the plants, but as her eyes passed over the area around her, she knew she was a bit rusty. Making a mental note to get herself a book on the subject, Bella realized just how much she was considering staying in the woods. And since she was still keeping her mind open to all the options, she started making a mental list of things she could do to make life easier for her and Edward in the long run.

A familiar looking plant caught her eye and she reached down to inspect it. The violets were something she was sure about, so she picked a couple of the flowers and then kept looking. She found an abundance of clovers, and mixing them together, she had made herself a salad, she just needed a bowl. Then she remembered something. Jumping up, she went back into the cave and looked for what she had left Edward. The female wolf, Leah, was resting and looked annoyed at Bella's intrusion, but she didn't bother much, just huffing and laying her head back down to continue her sleep.

Not finding the pot there, she headed back outside the cave; she searched all around the area until she found a small section with a well-worn ground. The pot and knife she left Edward were sitting there but something else was as well. Bella tossed her handful of wildlife salad into the pot and then bent to pick up the item. She hadn't known it was even missing or when he'd retrieved it, but there it was. She had gotten the hoodie from her dad on her last birthday before he died; how had she not even known it was missing?

There was no anger in her over Edward having confiscated her shirt, instead she found herself smiling, wondering how he had snuck the top.

"Bella?" Edward's voice called out, and she revealed herself from her spot.

Edward looked at her, and then down to her hand holding the shirt. Bella expected him to show some sort of remorse, but he just smiled at her and held up the dead squirrels proudly and exclaimed, "Food."

He ate the salad but Edward made a face at the taste, which Bella couldn't fault him for because she was having a hard time eating squirrel herself. She had cooked one of them for herself but Edward wanted his raw. She felt a little nauseous as he tore through the flesh with his teeth but it was the blood running down his chin that did her in.

"Just let me cook it a little," she begged until he relented.

Not wanting to overdo it, she kept it rare, but it was enough for her to be able to watch him eat and not lose her own appetite. Bella thought about what other things she could teach him that existed in his own world. The possibilities were endless, which also meant the task seemed daunting. Even in the wilderness where there was not much to learn, language wise, Bella found herself overwhelmed at the task ahead. Beyond his world, back in the city, there were millions of new words to learn, and along with each of those words were things so foreign to Edward she didn't even know how to begin to explain them. If Edward had been living eighty years ago, his switch from wild to civilized would have been a lot easier, but how do you explain, to someone who has never seen a book, about the internet?

The more she thought of it, the more she wondered if Edward would ever have a normal life. And if he couldn't be normal in the city, was it better for him to be normal in the woods? Where did that leave Bella, she wondered. There was no denying she was happier there in the woods with Edward than she had been in the city, but in the long run how could she manage? While she wasn't spoiled, there were certain things she wouldn't be comfortable living without for extended periods of time; such things as soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, and tampons, just to name a few.

After lunch, Bella followed Edward to the water and she watched as he bent over and drank straight from the source. Bella felt herself flush at the sight of his muscles, tight and strong. She felt herself throb for him and the unpleasant ache that reminded her of the pleasant encounter the previous day. Bella had always been able to keep herself in check when it came to her hormones, but her thoughts about how their time may be fleeting, and the fact that he was the most attractive man she had ever come across, was making it difficult.

With the combination of the hot sun and her torrid fantasies playing in her head, Bella looked at the water as a welcome friend. While Edward lapped at the cool liquid, Bella quickly undressed and waded into the water. Her eyes darted back and forth to him until she was covered by the river. Pushing her hands though the water, Bella felt better as the chill cooled her ache. She dropped her head back, letting her hair dip down.

Edward was stealthy on land; he could sneak up on anything. In the water, however, he became something akin to a bull in a china shop. He sloshed through the water, and Bella pulled her head up when she heard him. She felt nervous at his approach, very aware he was naked, and even more aware that she was naked, too. Her nonchalant smile and stance wouldn't have fooled anyone else but Edward. He returned her smile and splashed a bit of water at her. Bella's mouth opened wide in shock before she laughed, swatting the water back his way. Edward gave one more push of water at her, before she grabbed his arm.

"Oh no you don't," she said, laughing and throwing her whole body onto Edward's arm so he couldn't move it.

Edward wrapped his other arm around Bella's waist and pulled her to his chest. The playful mood changed and they were suddenly locked together, their chests rising and falling together as their lips found one another's. Bella placed her palms on Edward's chest and he placed his on her arms. Lost in her thoughts and deciding just how far she was going to let this go, Bella didn't even hear the low howl coming through the distance. Edward heard the call of his pack and pushed away from Bella immediately, racing for the shore.

Another low howl came on the wind as Bella followed Edward to land. She moved faster than him in the water, her years of swimming lessons paying off. She caught up to him just as he exited the water, but before she could speak, he was gone in a flash. Bella ran after him, the howling now a chorus of wolves. Bella felt her heart drop; she knew in an instant something was wrong. Her feet stung as they landed on twigs and rocks, and she stumbled when a large branch sliced into her foot.

"Shit," she cried out as she fell to the ground.

Edward was too far ahead to hear her go down, and she watched him disappear into the woods. She looked down at her foot, the blood coming out in pumping spurts. The sight made her woozy and she mumbled to herself, "Band-Aids are going on the list."

The wolves howled again and Bella pulled herself off the ground and limped towards the sound. She was sweating again, but this time she had no clothes on to stick to her. Her body was damp and dripping from the lake water but she ignored the discomfort, knowing something was wrong with the wolves.

As Bella hobbled along in the woods, her injured foot moving as fast as it could, she wondered what she would find when she arrived at the wolves. Edward must have known what the cries meant, the way he took off in such a hurry. Her heel ached from putting all her weight on it but still she journeyed on, caring more about what may have befallen one of the wolves than herself.

As the worst of the worst overtook her brain, Bella imagined sweet Jake lying injured somewhere and no veterinarian to help him. What if he'd been attacked…

What if he'd been shot?

Bella picked up her pace, crying out when her foot came in contact with anything sharp. Bella stopped for a second when she realized she was no longer following anything. The howling had stopped and she was very aware she had no idea where she was. Naked and bleeding, she had allowed her emotions to overtake any survival instinct.

"Edward," she yelled out, hoping she had gotten close enough for him to hear. She was answered with a yipping.

The sounds were different from the previous howls, almost like they were calling out. She hurried off again, the barks keeping her motivated. As she neared them, she called out again, and this time was greeted with Edward's voice calling back.

Edward ran out to find Bella, speeding up when he saw her injured. He grabbed her arm, flinging it around him and picking her up in a piggy-back style before Bella had a moment to protest. It was a short walk to the rest of the wolves but Bella was admittedly glad to be off her feet.

When Edward set her down, she found the wolves in a somber mood. Samson, who she had taken to calling Sam for short, was bent over Leah while the rest huddled around. Edward stayed back as Bella took a few steps closer, noticing that Sam was licking Leah's leg. The wound was fresh but even as Bella looked at it, she was sure the female wolf would survive.

Sighing, she backed up and sat down on a nearby felled tree. She pulled her foot up on her lap and took a look at her own damage. It wasn't long before Edward was seated next to her, whimpering as she picked debris out of her cut. Jake, hearing Edward, turned and padded his way over to Bella as well. He leaned in and licked her foot, causing Bella to flinch.

"Jake, no," Bella said, wincing, but Edward took her hand and nodded his head.

This was what they did, they took care of each other, and this was how wolves took care of their injured. Bella looked at Edward, wanting to explain that his licking wouldn't help her, but she was lost in the concern in his eyes. Jake licked her foot again and Bella hissed. Edward leaned in and met her lips with his; his own tongue swept out and tasted her lips, attempting to keep her mind off the discomfort Jake was causing.

When both the pack's females had been taken care of, they all returned to their cave. Leah and Bella exchanged looks with each other as they limped back, Bella being supported by Edward and Leah by Sam. Bella wondered if this would be the start of a new camaraderie, but when Leah bumped into Bella and sent her flying when she had gotten a bit too close, Bella decided not to hold her breath.

That night the pack cuddled close together, limbs, tails, and heads everywhere, and in the middle were Bella and Edward, naked and warm. Bella wondered if she had ever felt so accepted and loved by a group of people than she did by these wolves.