Isabella knew he was following her. Well, Edward was pretty sure that she knew. She had an image in her head of him behind her. It wasn't entirely accurate. A fast runner, he had gotten closer than she imagined.

Go back, Edward.

Did she really not know him at all?

Apparently she did, because she only let out a frustrated sigh as he caught up. Her long hair flowed behind her, and he wanted to reach out so that it slid over his fingers. More than that – excited by the chase, and still turned on by the way she'd brought her hands up to his neck when he'd kissed her in the water, he wanted to pounce and roll her to the ground. He might have tried it if his senses weren't warning him to turn his attention to the intruder. Edward was only now able to catch his scent, but his mind had been clear since the river. He thought of himself as a tracker; he wasn't relying on scent or sound, but instead he had a fix on Isabella's mind. Some tenuous thread connected them, and he was focusing only on that as it led him closer.

Isabella darted left. Don't get close to me, Edward. Don't let him know that you read minds, and don't argue with me in front of him.

"Don't tell me to back off," he hissed. "Do you know who's here?"

I recognize his scent.

"Who is it?"

She slowed her run. The vampire ahead smelled like a sweet and earthy red wine.

You're too close, Isabella thought. Stay away from me.

He had an immediate reaction to her thought that bordered on the violent, but he willed himself to believe that she had a good reason for 'speaking' to him like that. The reason was directly ahead, now coming to a halt as they met him in a clearing between trees near the cabin. He was tall, with thin features, and he was wearing a grey robe that was long enough to brush the tops of his now muddy black shoes.

"Demetri," Isabella said.

He inclined his head in a sort of clipped bow but made no move to come closer. His gaze flicked to Edward for just a moment, and immediately he thought newborn. The word seemed to sum Edward up and disregard him.

Stuck-up bastard, how could he tell? It wasn't like Edward was tattooed with a big N on his forehead.

"Come to the cabin. We'll talk there," Isabella said. "I assume you have a message for me?" She sounded so calm, but her thoughts were frenetic as they made their way home. She wondered if he'd come about Enkidu. She hoped that he had, but a part of her didn't want to hear what he had to say. Contradictory thoughts were nothing new to Edward; he just wasn't used to it from Isabella. He noticed that her hand was shaking, and he had the sudden urge to reach out and take it in his own. She probably would've clocked him one, so he didn't.

"Thank you for seeing me," Demetri said. He was polite almost to the point of prissy, glancing around the empty cabin, wondering how on earth she could stand to live out here.

"I assume Aro sent you?" Isabella asked.

"I came at Caius' direction, but as you know, nothing we do comes to pass without Aro having knowledge of it."

Caius, Aro – names Edward had heard from Carlisle, but the only thing he knew about the Volturi was that they would come down on him like a hammer if he went wild enough to use his strength or speed in front of a human and let them live. So far it hadn't been an issue, since he wasn't allowed near humans, and if he had been, he would've sucked them dry. Still, the Volturi had power. They were conceivably a threat to Isabella. Without thinking, he took a step closer to her.

Demetri cocked his head to the side but didn't say anything.

Step away, Edward. Listen for once. You look too comfortable with me, and he will notice.

He wavered for a moment, but after promising himself that he would get the full story from her later, he moved back and made a point of looking like she scared him. It wasn't hard to go a little wild eyed and twitchy; he just thought of how long it had been since he felt like he was in control of his own life.

Newborns, Demetri thought, but then his mind turned to the purpose of this visit. He wanted to offer his message, get her reply, and be on his way. Whatever vibe Isabella gave off was getting to him. Demetri couldn't help thinking that she could destroy him, and it wasn't a thought he was used to having. Only with his masters, and he knew how to stay in their good graces. With Isabella, he felt at a loss. He wondered what motivated her, what would please her.

Good luck with that, Edward thought. Damned if I know.

"Perhaps we should discuss the details in private," Demetri said.

Edward wouldn't go without a fight, and Isabella knew it. "I don't trust him on his own," she said. "He stays." The dismissive words she used to cover the truth made him flex his hand to keep from making a fist.

"As you wish," Demetri said. "Caius would like to request your assistance with maintaining the peace in India, in Karnataka." He noticed Isabella's blank expression. "You may know it by an older name – Banavasi."

She nodded. "What's the problem?"

Demetri decided to come straight out with the truth. "Werewolves."

"I've seen them before." Edward was pleased that he had something to offer. "Native Americans who –"

"Not shifters," Demetri said. "Werewolves."

"What's the difference?"

Demetri rolled his eyes, but Isabella turned to him. "They're much stronger. They only turn into wolves with the moon, and once they change they're like wild animals."

"You're serious," Edward said. "Like An American Werewolf in London?"

Isabella, of course, had no idea what he was talking about, and Demetri ignored him.

"Now you see why Caius was the one to send me here. Since he was nearly killed by one, he takes it seriously."

"Of course," Isabella said. "But why does he need me?"

"I can't track them. Someone is shielding them."

Isabella put a hand out to the wall to steady herself, and Edward caught the image in her mind of a rough looking man with black hair and a cape similar to the one Demetri was wearing, but darker. "You think Enkidu is involved?" she asked.

"We managed to catch a female who was on her own. Caius interrogated her himself. She told him that there were a dozen of them traveling together."

"They don't do that."

"She said there was a vampire that led them, and that they felt drawn to him."

No, Isabella thought.

"Now you see why we've come to you for help. There have been attacks all around what is now the Anshi National Park. Most are mangled corpses, but some are only being bitten, and we suspect they're joining the ranks. If you're willing to assist us, I've had these prepared." He pulled out a folder to show her a map and other documents including what looked like an entry visa to India in her name. He handed them over. "If we could get a photograph, I'll arrange the passport as well," he said.

Isabella looked over the papers before setting them on the piano bench. "I can't help you," she said.

"Surely you see the need, and you understand why it's you who must go."

"Must go?" She took a few steps toward him. "It's not up to you to tell me anything." She seemed to grow taller. Her pale facing was stern and shining with a fierce determination that made Demetri back up until he hit the wall.

Holy mother of God, even Edward felt Isabella's influence then. The room practically buzzed with menace, and he had no idea why she was so upset. This time, the step he took away from her was completely unintentional, and he felt guilty and maybe a little embarrassed about it as soon as he knew what he'd done, but who could be near her when she was lit up like that?

Demetri, who had already been having a hard time just handling a reasonably calm Isabella, slid left toward the door, ready to bolt. "I apologize," he said. "I meant no disrespect." He was balancing his desire to flee with his fear of returning without more information for his master. "Is there some reason you would like me to give to Caius?" he managed to ask.

"Tell him that I'm responsible for a newborn, and he can't be left on his own." She sighed, and the tension in the room deflated enough that Demetri was able to lift his head to look at her. "Tell him he can send word if the situation gets worse." She walked to the piano and tore a corner off of the map she'd been given, and then used a stubby pencil from the kitchen drawer to write her cell phone number. "I'll check messages about once a week," she said. "If you need to reach me, use that. He will not send another guard here. Make sure he understands that."

Edward actually enjoyed the nervous mess that was Demitri's mind as he tried to understand why she wouldn't just drop Edward off with someone else. Anyone could look after him, but handling Enkidu required her help specifically. Still, Demetri wasn't about to voice his opinion. He had a healthy sense of self preservation, so he murmured his understanding of her instructions and fled backwards out the door.

Isabella sat down on the bench, and for a long time neither of them said anything. Eventually her shoulders relaxed and her hands were still in her lap.

"What did he do to upset you so much?" Edward asked.

"He didn't do anything. It's just better to make the Volturi think they're on thin ice, so they'll leave me alone. They're like the Romanians before them. Always someone who wants to make the rules. Besides, if Enkidu really is in India, I can find him on my own eventually. I'm not going to be a Volturi bulky unless I have to."

"A bulky?"

"You know, an enforcer of the law, like the police. Do you not use that word anymore?"

"Never heard of it." Now that she wasn't making him crazy, he took a seat next to her on the bench. "How do you manage to speak without sounding outdated anyway?" he asked.

"Battery powered radio."

"I've never heard you listen to one."

"I only need to catch up every decade or so." She nudged him with her elbow. "And I don't need it at all now, do I? Not with you here."

They sat for a while. Isabella tried to feel her weight against the bench and the breath moving in and out of her lungs, doing nothing more than bringing in Edward's scent. To her, he smelled like cardamom and sandalwood, and Edward had had no idea until then that she wanted to breathe him in. He didn't really give a rat's ass about the Volturi or about werewolves on the other side of the earth; he just wanted to kiss her again, to erase the tension from the thin line of her lips pressed tight together, so that she opened to him and thought of nothing else.

But she kept seeing Enkidu in her mind.

"Do you want to go after him?" he asked. It was a stupid question; he wasn't even close to being ok with her leaving.

"Don't worry. I've got my hands full here."

He wondered why it didn't occur to her to that anyone could keep an eye on him. But then, given the fiasco with Esme, maybe it was too much to expect of most.

"Why do they think this guy they're looking for is the one who changed you?" he asked.

She wondered how he knew Enkidu had bitten her, and then she realize Bat must've told him. "Enkidu is immune to trackers. He's immune to a lot of things. It's like there's no one there. And he can share that immunity," she said. "The Volturi also know that predatory animals gravitate to him. It's not actually a talent; it's a fairly common trait among those who became vampires before man domesticated the first wolves. Since werewolves are normally our enemies, it would have to be one of the old ones for them to follow."

"Why do animals avoid you then?"

She sucked in a breath and stood up. "For one thing, I'm not nearly that old, and for another… they seem to pick up on the same thing about me that bothers our kind."

"The thing that makes everyone nervous around you."

She nodded.

"That's why you didn't want Demetri to see that I can be close to you."

She looked uncomfortable. "The Volturi don't need to know that you seem to be… somehow less affected by me than most."

'Less affected' was not how Edward would have described it.

"If they believed there was any chance that you could help them control me," she said, "they'd take advantage of it, probably in a way that was more dangerous for you than for me. As far as I'm concerned, the less they know the better."

This time it was Edward's turn to have his mouth hang open. "Did you seriously just answer all my questions?"

"What do you mean?"

"Miss I-don't-talk-about-anything-personal. You just answered me." He reached to pull her down beside him on the bench, but she slipped away from him.

"I talk," she said, but her eyes were wide, as though he'd startled her.

"No, you don't. I must have softened you up at the river."

"Aren't you sure of yourself."

He certainly wanted her to think he was. They stared at one another for a long moment.

"I am not soft," she whispered. "I can't be."

She moved to the far wall and asked him to play something for her. He wanted to believe he had the power to relax her, but she kept thinking of Enkidu. If not for the way he was scowling in every image in her mind, Edward would have been jealous. He put it out of his head long enough to play through much of the sheet music he had, and then they set off in the dark to collect the forgotten laundry.

For more on werewolves in Twilight and the Volturi's attempt to wipe them out, visit the Twilight Saga Wiki http: /twilightsaga . wikia . com/wiki/Children_of_the_Moon

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