Bree POV

Rosalie and Esme arrived half an hour after we got back, letting us know that Alice was taking Bella home. Surprisingly, Rosalie rushed towards me, much the same as Alice was inclined to do, and enveloped me in a hug. I stiffened momentarily at the unexpected contact. Fred emitted a low hiss, and she turned to glare at him before cradling my face in her hands. It definitely wasn't the greeting I anticipated from her, and why was Fred hissing at her, when he had just watched Jasper drag me through the woods without a word?

"Are you ok? Did they attack you?" Rosalie enquired urgently. "Why was she on her own?" The last question was directed at Jasper.

He let out and exaggerated sigh before he answered. "She's fine, no one attacked anyone, and Bree just went to the cottage to get her book."

"They were at the cottage!" she shrieked. "How dare they? They know they're not supposed to come onto our land. Carlisle's been too lenient with them. That idiot Bella insists on hanging around with already broke the treaty. Carlisle should..."

Esme halted her rant by placing a hand on her arm. "Rosalie, calm down, no harm has been done."

"This time, maybe. Those dogs need to stay away from our property, and Carlisle should insist on it. Instead, he bends over backwards to accommodate them; letting that Sam tell him what he can and can't do." Esme's efforts only had a temporary effect, and Rosalie was back in full rant mode. Why didn't Jasper do something? He must have some sort of emotional tranquilizer up his sleeve he could use on her.

While an angry Rosalie was terrifying, I was pleased it wasn't directed at me. I assumed the idiot she referred to was Jacob. Emmett had told me how hacked off Edward was that Bella's best friend was a werewolf. What did he do to break the treaty? Why were we all trying to live by this treaty if it had already been broken? I felt so confused and dejected. I'd listened to Carlisle and Jasper, I tried to control myself and behave the way they wanted, but I'd still managed to screw up. Why did they even want me here? I just seemed to be a nuisance; I couldn't even take a walk without everything being blown out of proportion.

"They weren't at the cottage." Jasper finally managed to get a word in. "Bree went for a walk instead of getting her book." He gave me a pointed look. "Seth was on patrol, and they ran into each other."

"He better not have had his filthy paws anywhere near her," Rosalie growled.

"They were just talking when we got there."

"Talking, what would they have to talk about?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"Nothing in particular, just talking." I got my chance to have my say at last.

"Bree, dear." She stroked my cheek then placed an arm around my shoulder. "Those dogs are volatile creatures; it's not safe to be around them. You really don't understand how dangerous they are." How did she know what I did or didn't understand? Seth had told me he'd destroyed Riley. But he didn't attack me when we first met, and he didn't attack me today. According to Jasper, I was also dangerous and volatile. That didn't mean I was a bad person. Maybe Seth wasn't a bad person either.

My relief that Rosalie wasn't mad at me turned into annoyance. "Why is everyone overreacting? We just talked." I growled before shrugging her arm off and stomping out of the back door.

"Bree!" Jasper and Rosalie called out simultaneously.

"I'm not going anywhere," I snapped. "I'm just going to sit outside." I sat on the top step of the porch, trying to get my head around what had just happened. What was with Rosalie? She was really nice to me, and it felt good to have someone care enough to actually worry about you. But her reaction seemed still seemed to be a bit over the top.

After a few moments, Fred came out. He hesitated for a moment and then came to sit next to me. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm just a bit fed up. They're all over reacting."

"Not really," he said, pulling me into his side. "You could have been hurt, or worse."

"So?"

He pulled away from me a little so he could look at me. His eyebrows were raised. I wasn't sure if it was the word or my sharp tone that surprised him.

"Sorry." My defiance evaporated, and I was back to just feeling fed up. "I just feel like I'm causing problems for everyone."

"You're not causing me any problems."

"Apart from dragging you off to hunt every couple of days and making you hang around in a house full of weirdos." I leaned in and whispered the last word.

"Well there is that," he acknowledged with a grin. "But on the up side, I enjoy hunting with you. And more importantly, Carlisle does have an extensive collection of research books and journals."

I mock punched him in the ribs, and he faked clutching his side and leaning forward as if I had really hurt him. I lowered my voice further, so that only he could hear. "I can't figure Rosalie out. When Jasper said she was hysterical, I expected her to be mad at me, but she's not. She's absolutely livid about the wolves though."

He took a moment to respond, as though he was searching for the right words. "I think Rosalie cares for you a great deal, she feels very responsible for you." He kept his voice equally low.

"Why? I know we were created because of them, but why should she feel more responsible than the others?" My voice was barely above a whisper now.

"I don't think it's anything to do with why we were created." His answer wasn't much help.

"What are you not telling me?" I asked. "We're not supposed to keep things from each other, remember."

‘We'll talk when we hunt,' he mouthed as Emmett and Edward came into view. They had either had a very quick hunt, or Alice's phone had been in action again.

"Where's the fire?" Emmett called as he flew past us and though the door with Edward in his wake. Fred and I looked at each other and both mouthed ‘Alice' before following them into the house.

Emmett had Rosalie in his arms and had lifted her off the floor. "Put me down Emmett." She pushed out of his hold, surprising him and me. Their usual greeting following any separation had us gagging or fleeing from the room.

"Bree was accosted by one of those dogs earlier," she explained.

"What!" Emmett roared balling his fists. Oh great, was anyone not going to overreact?

"Don't exaggerate Rose," Esme chided. "Bree went for a walk and bumped into Seth, that's all."

"Did he attack you?" Emmett asked, concern taking over his anger.

"No, of course he didn't," I responded, rolling my eyes.

"He didn't go anywhere near her," Edward added. For once, I was happy he could read my mind and see what really happened.

"Well it's lucky for him that he didn't. It's been a few weeks since I had a good scrap. The muscles could do with a good work out," Emmett joked, flexing his biceps in front of Rosalie's face.

She slapped his arm away. "Will you take this seriously Em? Bree could have been hurt."

"Yeah," he admitted with a light sigh, before his voice perked up. "But she looks fine to me," he concluded, reaching out to ruffle my hair. I wasn't expecting it so I didn't manage to dodge out of the way in time.

We all heard the sound of Carlisle's Mercedes winding its way along the drive. The engine had barely cut out before he came through the door and looked around the room.

"Alice has taken Bella home," Edward informed him, and he visibly relaxed, apparently relieved that everyone was accounted for.

"What happened? Is anyone hurt?" he asked as he made his way over to Esme.

"Aargh not you as well!" I all but screamed at him.

Silence descended on the room as they all looked at me with stunned faces. Carlisle's eyebrows were raised, but the corner of his lip twitched slightly.

"I take it from your outburst, that you are not hurt in any way," Carlisle addressed me, his eyebrows still raised.

"No," I mumbled, embarrassed and thankful I could no longer blush.

"Do I need to make a house call on the reservation?" he asked no one in particular.

"No, nothing happened. Bree and Seth ran into each other and talked for a bit. When Jasper got there, he and Sam had a few words; that's all," Edward informed him.

"Were you on your own?" He tried to disguise it, but I could tell he was surprised that I was unaccompanied.

"Yes, I told Jasper I was going to the cottage to get my book, and I just went for a walk," I explained quickly. I hadn't seen Carlisle punish his coven in any way, but I didn't think anyone should be blamed for what I did.

"Bree, I'm sure you are aware by now that you can't just take off on your own like that." He gestured towards the living room, and we all went in and sat down. I pulled Fred towards the smaller couch, Rosalie followed and they sat either side of me.

"I made an agreement with Sam that if you and Fred were covered by the treaty, one of us would be with you at all times." Carlisle had just started to speak, when Rosalie butted in.

"Why do you even bother to negotiate anything with them? You don't have to..."

"Rosalie." Carlisle didn't let her finish. "I made the original treaty. How and with whom I negotiate it with is my concern." He didn't shout, but the authority in his voice was evident.

"I'm sorry I didn't make this clear to both of you." His attention was back on me and Fred. "I was hoping we could be subtle and not make you feel as though you were under surveillance all of the time. If you had come across a hiker, it would have been almost impossible for you to resist, and the fallout would have been catastrophic for us."

Alice arrived as Carlisle was speaking, and I threw her a menacing glare.  "Sorry," she mouthed as she hopped onto Jasper's lap.

Carlisle gave Alice a smile of acknowledgement before he continued. "It was fortunate for you that it was Seth you ran into. He is young and was probably a little unsure what to do. Another one of the pack may have felt threatened and attacked you."

"Well, I still think you should have another word with Sam. His puppy only ran into Bree because they were on our land," Rosalie insisted. She had no intention of letting it go.

"I don't think that's necessary right now. I suspected they would extend their patrols and none of them made any attempt to attack her," Carlisle answered.

Rosalie huffed, folded her arms and slumped against the back of the couch. Would she finally let this drop?

"Have you done any research on them?" Fred asked.

"I've not had an opportunity until recently." Carlisle had a glint in his eye as he turned to Fred.

"What gave you the opportunity?"

"Well, you did inadvertently." Fred's brow creased in confusion before Carlisle clarified. "I treated Jacob when he was injured in the fight and managed to take a blood sample."

"Really, have you tested it yet?" It was the most enthusiasm I'd seen from Fred for anything. "Are there lupine enzymes or antigen present?"

"Well, I haven't completed a full set of tests yet, but I did find something interesting with the chromosomes. I'll show you what I have done so far," Carlisle said, rising to go up to his study. Fred got up and followed him, practically vibrating with excitement at the information Carlisle shared with him as they made their way upstairs.

Relieved that the discussion was over and that Carlisle hadn't punished me, I got up and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Rosalie and Jasper both asked. This simultaneous speaking was getting freaky. Had they forgotten they weren't really twins?

"I still don't have my book; I'm going back to the cottage," I stated, not breaking my stride.

"I'll come with you dear, I want to measure..." Esme started, reaching my side before I opened the door.

"Esme, the cat's out of the bag. You don't have to find excuses to follow me anymore," I pointed out.

"I know dear, but I really do want to measure up for my garden plans."

"Oh," was all I could come up with, accompanied by a mental wince. I hoped she didn't think I was too rude. My mouth still seemed to be ahead of my brain.

"I'll come with you." Edward came to join us at the door.

I tried to cover up my stunned expression, but if I looked anything like Rosalie at that moment I had failed. It wasn't that Edward was unfriendly or unwelcoming, but he spent so much time with Bella and when he was home he was with Alice or Emmett and Jasper. I could only recall one time he actually came to the cottage, and that was to help Jasper and Emmett clear some more of the path and surrounding area.

The short run was completed in silence, and when we arrived I retrieved my book from the bookcase, while Esme went straight to the small walled area at the rear.

"Bree, could I have a word?" Edward asked taking one of the armchairs.

He'd obviously heard my mental groan. "Don't worry, I'm not going to have a go at you," he said raising his hands. "Consider the subject of your earlier walkabout well and truly dropped."

He seemed nervous or unsure of himself at least. What could he possibly want to talk about that would have him in that state? At least he wasn't carrying Bella's scent on him. I might actually be able to focus on what he needed to say. A smile tugged the corner of his mouth. "I know it makes you uncomfortable, but I love her scent, and I find it comforting when I'm not with her. You may find you become desensitized to it after a while."

He may have had a point there. It still triggered an itch in my throat, but it no longer made me lose control the way it had that first day. But what would be the point of becoming desensitized, we never met.

"Bella would like to meet you," he said suddenly.