BOILING POINT

BELLA

I was thoroughly annoyed.

First, the Healers had grilled me within an inch of my life about how I'd treated Edward and managed it only with herbs - it was on the tip of my tongue to say 'the herbalist tomes are in your library, guys' - and had quite literally breathed on my neck as I'd shown them how to prepare the ointments in their stillroom. And then proceeded to question why I wasn't using this herb or that, what was my reasoning, what side effects had I seen, were there contraindications.

Then there was Edward, who was behaving himself, but who was always there. Lingering in the periphery of my vision, a constant presence, grating against my nerves. I was dosing too much on the suppressant and the numbing preparation to cope.

And I had no place to let off steam. Ordinarily, I'd be upto my elbows in herbs, but Carmen hadn't been kidding when she'd said they didn't have much to do with herbs here. There was the glasshouse, no garden, the barest basics in the stillroom. I had no outlet and believe me, the steam was building.

I'd wandered the markets, explored Volterra, spent hours in the library and the garden. All to no avail.

If this was Carmen's idea of a break from stress, she had another think coming.

I gritted my teeth as I stormed around the gazebo, running my fingers through my hair. I really needed my herb garden. As I paced, I happened to glance outside and caught sight of the two Guard I'd seen on my first day, heading towards the house, talking to each other, it was probably the Guard change.

A sort of madness came upon me then. I could see the woods right there, calling to me.

Bugger this, I thought, and ducked out of the gazebo, sprinting towards the woods and hoping no-one in the house was watching.

The cool darkness of the woods was like a balm on my frayed nerves. As I walked among the whispering trees, I felt myself calm. I breathed in, scenting the trees, the wild herbs in the area.

I don't know how long I walked or how far. When I felt ready to return, I began to retrace my steps slowly. I was never afraid of losing myself in a forest - the scents were a map for me, I could never mistake my path. I was also not afraid of animals - usually they recognised Clan and kept a distance, but the odd wildling that had gone mad or been wounded never harmed me. Perhaps they could scent that I was a child of the forest, just as they were.

I had been abandoned in a forest after all.

I was lost in my thoughts when I heard it, the crack of a branch behind me, and then smelled the blood a second before I came upon her.

A huge black feral wolf, lying on her side panting, three deep gouges in her flank and one leg bent in an awful position.

So if that's her, then that must be her mate behind me, I thought, carefully and slowly turning. Sure enough, there he was, slightly smaller but still imposing, hackles raised and growling, his eyes fixed on me.

Slowly I sank to my knees facing him, bowing my head in submission and very slowly holding my hand out to him. There was a pause as he stopped growling. And then I heard him pad forward and felt his muzzle sniff my hand. I stayed in position, not moving, as he circled me sniffing as he went, nudging me with his huge muzzle. When he was back in front of me, I waited a good few minutes before I looked up at him. He growled softly once and got closer, close enough for his breath to ruffle my hair. I waited. He nudged my face with his snout once, twice and then stepped around me towards his mate.

I turned slowly and knelt beside him, next to her. Without touching her, I knew it was serious. That leg was bent at an impossible angle and she was bleeding heavily. The scent of her was thick in the air, the predators would be gathering soon.

I made my decision and got to my feet.

All the herbs I needed were mere minutes away. I gathered them, headed back and got to work. I'd done this often enough in the forest at home, with bears, wolves and other wildlings so I knew what I was doing. I treated the wounds, tearing the hem of my robe to bind them and packing them with herbs. I gave her some berries to manage the pain while I set her leg, using twigs and more of my robe for the splint, layering herbs as I went. I moved her away from where I'd found her, cleaning what I could of the blood.

The poor thing came to somewhere along the way and looked at me with beautiful clear eyes. I stroked her head gently. I gave her some water from the canteen I carried, pouring more into a makeshift cup and then getting to my feet. I had done what I could for her, I didn't know if it would be enough.

The male wolf regarded me steadily as I backed away slowly.

I didn't realise it was so late as I emerged from the woods. Twilight had fallen and the light was dimming. I slid into the shadows and managed to avoid the two Guard and made my way back to the house, slipping through a side door. It was almost time for dinner, I needed to get to my chambers to change my robes.

I thought I'd gotten away with it.

I was scrubbing the blood and mud from my hands in my private bathroom when I inhaled their scent. I glanced in the mirror and caught sight of Edward and Healer Tia, watching me silently. I froze.

"What happened, Bella?" Edward asked softly, but his face was hard and I didn't like the look in his eyes.

I swallowed.

"Healer Isabella, is that your blood?" Healer Tia's eyes were fixed on my bloody robes. I didn't answer for a moment, my eyes locked with Edward's. I shook my head slowly, still looking at him. He exhaled.

"Whose blood is it, Isabella?" He asked, his voice low.

"It's..I...look, don't overreact." I said, mainly for him. Wrong choice of words, it seemed to set something off in him. His eyes flared, lips tightening.

"'Overreact'." He ground out. "You sneak into this house, robes torn and covered in mud and blood, upto your elbows in the same, with the scent of animals on you. And you say 'overreact'."

"It's not what you think." I said.

"It's exactly what I think." He spat out taking a step towards me. Instinctively, I backed away and wished I hadn't, because it seemed to trigger him even more.

"Don't." He clenched his fists.

"Edward, leave." Tia said sharply. He didn't seem to hear her, taking another step towards me. I stayed where I was this time, my own frustration rising in me. Who the fuck did he think he was, aggressing on me, demanding answers as if I owed him? Fuck him, I thought angrily, I was so done with him getting under my skin.

He must have seen the anger in me because his eyes darkened and he was positively radiating his aggression now, standing only inches away from me. Come on then, I thought, let's see what you've got.

That's when Tia got between us, inserting her body in front of mine and pushing Edward back, back, back away from me.

"Leave NOW." She told him, her voice steady and calm.

"Edward, come with us." Jasper and Emmett came out of nowhere, panting as if they'd run hard. They came to his side, each putting a hand on his arms. He resisted for a moment, his emerald green eyes fixed on me. I'm not backing down, so fuck you, I thought, looking right back at him. Tia turned and blocked me.

"Jasper, Emmett, go." She said quietly as she forced me to look at her. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, moving back and away from her.

There was silence for a moment.

"I'll let them know you won't be at dinner. Clean up. I'll be by later."

The door closed behind her.

I exhaled long and slow and then headed for the bathroom.

OOOOOOOOOO

A long soak and fresh robes later, I felt better although there was still a tight tension in my stomach.

What in hell had I been thinking? Clan, once triggered, were dangerous to confront, I knew that. I had waved a red fucking bedsheet at an enraged bull.

And what the hell had happened to me? I never lost my temper, never, I was calm, not easy to anger. I was the one diffusing volatile situations, not the one creating them.

I wasn't sure what had happened, to him or to me. I only knew that, somehow, Clan instinct had been triggered in both of us and we'd narrowly avoided an explosive incident.

There was a tap at the door and then it opened and Tia came in bearing a tray with food and drink.

"Feeling better?"

I didn't answer her, taking the tray and putting it on the side table.

"Why were you covered in blood and mud?" She asked quietly, sitting next to me.

"It was nothing." I said equally quietly.

"Then you can tell me." She said firmly.

"There was an injured animal in the woods. I gave it some aid. That's all." I left out the part that it was a wolf.

"What injuries did it have?" She asked calmly, clinically.

"Deep tissue wounds to its left flank and a broken right leg."

"Severe bleeding then?"

"Yes, she would have bled out."

"You treated her with...?"

"Drax and linkweed herb packs for the wound tracts and a splint with layered packs of linkweed, drax and solseed."

She nodded slowly and was quiet for a moment.

"It was a wolf, wasn't it?" Her eyes were on me.

"Why would you think that?"

"Our woods have feral wolves, it's why they're off bounds and we run a patrol, there have been a few incidents. Then your reticence to speak about it - well, it would be different if you'd been treating a rabbit. And of course the scent of wolf on you." She said drily. I looked down.

"Did she hurt you?" I shook my head.

"And what about her mate?" I looked at her startled.

"I could smell the scent of a male animal on you, Isabella."

"Damn." I cursed under my breath.

"So. You met two mated ferals in our woods, Healed one and faced off with the other. Is that about right?"

"I didn't 'face off'-" I began

"So he just stood by and let you approach his wounded mate?" She arched an eyebrow at me and I fell silent.

"I have to report it, Isabella. I'm sorry, I wish I didn't. But you were seen coming out of the woods by the two Guard on patrol. They notified Clanholding immediately. So you were also seen entering the house through the side door, with your robes in that state. The Guard panicked and told his superiors as well as calling for the Healer on duty, me, thinking you'd been hurt. They'll be waiting for an update."

I swallowed. This was the last thing I needed.

"It's not that big a deal." I said in a low voice. "I made a mistake, it won't happen again."

"No, it won't. You're on curfew for the rest of your stay. But it is a big deal. Ferals nearly killed a male Guard last year and mauled a few foolhardy Clan males who went in there on a dare. You put yourself in danger. We take that seriously here."

"How seriously?" I asked. "Please tell me it stops with the Guard."

"Well I would, except Edward happened. Sorry, Isabella." She got up. "It'll be fine, they'll probably issue you a stern warning, along with the curfew. It won't even be public, I reckon, they wouldn't want others to go into the woods wanting to tame or heal ferals, just because you did." She smiled at me reassuringly. "Eat. Rest. You've had an intense evening." She closed the door quietly behind her.

I picked at the food as I thought over what she'd said. I had no quarrel with any of it, I could see their point of view in all fairness, now that I was calmer. The curfew was fine, the warning was fine. I just dreaded the eyes on me, as I knew they would be.

I had set the tray to one side when the door opened and I looked up, expecting to see Tia again.

Edward closed the door with a click.

There was a sort of contained tightness about him, as if he was holding onto the reins with effort. That hardness was still in his eyes and a nerve jumped in his clenched jaw.

"Wolves?" He said in a low voice.

I shrugged, attempting a casualness I wasn't feeling.

"You could have been seriously hurt."

"I wasn't."

"You were lucky."

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes just in time. It wasn't luck, I thought, they've never harmed me. But I knew better than to say it aloud. By the sudden flash in his eyes, it looked like he had a pretty good idea of what I was thinking.

"What in hell made you think that was a good idea? They're wild animals." He demanded.

"I have plenty of experience with those." I said looking pointedly at him. He inhaled sharply.

"Watch your mouth, Healer." His voice was dangerously quiet. I pressed my lips together to stop myself from saying something that would escalate things.

"You're not to go out there again." His eyes bore into me. "I want your word."

I laughed in disbelief.

"That sounded suspiciously like an order."

"Don't push me." He said tightly.

"Don't push you? Fuck you, Edward." I glared at him. "Where the hell do you get off acting as if you own me?"

His eyes darkened to almost black and for a moment I thought I'd pushed too much.

"I have the right to be worried about the people I care about." He bit out. I laughed dismissively.

"We met two weeks ago, you don't even know me and you 'care' about me?"

"You know, I'm getting really tired of you denying this." His voice was back to that dangerous quietness.

"Denying what? I never denied I was out there-" I began exasperatedly.

"Denying what's between us." He said eyes locked on mine. "Don't pretend you don't see it."

"We're not mates." I said evenly, feeling my stomach lurch at my own rejection again, "So stop behaving like we are."

"We're not mates, but we are something. I care about you. And we've established I want you." His eyes never wavered from mine.

"I never pegged you as someone who'd be ruled by his di-desires." I said sarcastically. I jumped as he slammed his fist on the sidetable, his eyes burning with anger. Before I could move, he had backed me against the bed and had one hand curved around the nape of my neck.

"Fuck you, Isabella. Deny this."

And he fastened his lips on mine.