The next day, Madelyn woke up alone. The Cullens were out hunting and Bella was still at the Swan's house. The battle was coming closer and tomorrow night, the Swan's sisters were going to sleep up the mountain. The girl shapeshifter thought it might bring them closer if they spent more time together. She knew Bella thought about what she told her, so maybe she would change her behavior towards her older sister.
Madelyn also had a bad feeling about the battle against the newborns' army, but she tried to ignore it. After wasting time in bed, the Swan wolf sat up and immediately, she felt sick. Her head was spinning slightly, but she ignored it and got up. Walking downstairs slowly, she almost fell down, but caught herself on the wall.
"What's happening to me?..." Madelyn mumbled, rubbing her head softly. Finally getting to the kitchen, she plopped down on a chair and gripped her head between her hands. Staying still for a few seconds and breathing deeply, she tried to eat some fruits, but couldn't. She felt slightly nauseous and didn't understand how it was possible as wolves' shapeshifters didn't get sick. Madelyn shook her head to keep the worrying thoughts away. She had to focus on the battle and on Bella for now and she would worry about her health later. The Swan wolf walked outside and shifted, not without difficulty. Getting to La Push, she met Jared's wolf form.
"Maddy? Maybe you should take a break?" Jared was worried about his little sister as he listened to her thoughts through their link. Wolves didn't get sick and the fact that she didn't feel like eating anything was alarming too. The dark brown wolf rubbed his head against Madelyn's side, whining.
"Don't worry about me, I am fine. We should patrol now," The wolf girl was already far away from him when Jared thought.
"I understand you want to keep everyone safe, but you have to think about yourself too!" Jared scolded his sister, which she ignored. She had to do this. She had to keep Bella safe, at least for her father. She couldn't let him down. And she wouldn't forgive herself if anyone got hurt.
♡
After her patrol, Madelyn didn't feel better than before. The entire pack was worried as they watched their sister eating only a few bites of Emily's meal. The Swan girl was coming back from the reservation when she noticed Alice and Rosalie leaving the Swan's house, with Charlie in tow and Bella grumbling in the background.
"You are welcomed here anytime girls. Hi, Mads," Charlie smiled at his oldest. Madelyn smiled back and waved at him while he walked back into the house with Bella.
"Bella's alibi and yours for the battle are all arranged," Alice chirped, smiling brightly.
"Really?" Madelyn chuckled, but it sounded fake to Rosalie. The blonde beauty was eyeing her best friend, analyzing her nervous form, as if she was trying to hide something from them.
"I told your father that our whole family's going camping this weekend. So, we are going to have a sleep-over at our house and Bella is coming too. But actually, you and Nate are going to be alone tonight. I'll keep Bella away from our house and the rest are going to hunt to be ready for the battle."
"That's perfect. I can't wait for all of this to be over," Madelyn rushed out, rubbing her temple as she felt her headache coming back. After saying their goodbye, both vampires walked to Alice's yellow car, the blonde one still analyzing her best friend while the seer did her best to act normally, hiding the vision she had.
Madelyn walked inside the house and went to the kitchen to grab some water. The girl pressed a hand on her stomach absentmindedly while Charlie observed his daughter, suspicious.
"Mads, do you feel good?" The man inquired. Madelyn sighed and grabbed an apple before going to sit down in front of her father at the kitchen table.
"I don't really know. I woke up feeling weird. But it's probably nothing," She took a bite of her green apple.
"Um," Charlie observed her some more. "Are you being, um, safe?" He rubbed his neck awkwardly. Madelyn stopped her movement, her hand in the air as she was going to take another bite.
"What?" Her eyes widened.
"You know. With, um, Nate. Are you guys... taking precautions?" The Swan man gulped.
"Dad!" Madelyn buried her head in her hands, trying to keep herself from blushing.
"I'm just asking!" Charlie held his hands up in surrender.
"Yes, we are being safe, dad. Of course," Madelyn lied through her teeth. They didn't take precautions during intercourses as there was no chance she would get pregnant. It was impossible. Her eyes widened more as she put the green fruit down, unable to eat more as her thoughts were all over the place.
"Good," The cop nodded firmly.
♡
The night finally came and Nathaniel and his mate were huddled up together on his bed. Alice had taken Bella somewhere and everyone else were hunting. The pack were spending the night and the next day at the pack's house with the imprints. The mates were just happy to spend some time alone before stressing out about the battle. In her imprint's arms, Madelyn felt all the worry she had disappeared. What she didn't know was that Jared talked to Nathaniel about the girl's mood. The Cameron boy found that important and he knew that if someone could make his baby sister talk, it was her fiancé.
"Mon amour? [My love?]" Madelyn hummed, listening to her lover. "I got an interesting call from Jared today," Nathaniel pressed small kisses on the girl's head while she groaned. She knew what her brother told him.
"I told him not to worry, and you shouldn't worry too. I feel better than before, I'm sure it was nothing," Madelyn leaned up from Nathaniel's chest so she could see his face. She pushed a stray of his long hair behind his hear and kissed his lips lovingly.
"I don't want you to fight, darling," The teacher mumbled, a few minutes later, earning a sigh from his mate. Before she could get away from him, Nathaniel pressed a hand on her back to keep her close. "Please. I don't want you to fight knowing you felt sick, which is not normal. Carlisle can check on you after the battle, but I want you to stay here -," Madelyn cut him off.
"You can't expect me to stay here while you guys are fighting. I have to keep Bella safe," Madelyn got up from the bed and paced in front of him. Nathaniel followed her lead and cupped her cheeks between his hands, making the girl stop talking.
"What about you? Don't you care about your own safety at all?" He rubbed his thumbs affectionately under her eyes.
"I do. I'll be safe, I promise. I'm sure the pack and you guys are going to protect me, even if I don't really want to," Nathaniel chuckled at that. It was most likely true, he had already warned the rest of the Cullens and Jared talked to the pack. The teacher wanted everyone to be aware of Madelyn's sickness.
"Right you are, mon amour [my love]," Nathaniel pressed a soft kiss on his beloved's lips. Sitting back down, he brought Madelyn on his lap so she was straddling him. The kiss shared between them was slowly getting heated and if Nathaniel needed to breath, he would be panting right now. The vampire put his hands under Madelyn's thighs and turned around so she was laying on her back, the black haired man on top of her. Madelyn pulled on his hair slightly, trailing her kisses on her fiancé's neck and only then, the said man stopped.
"Nate?" He pressed a finger on the shapeshifter's lips, making her listen attentively to the sounds around them. The room was silent and Nathaniel could distinct his mate's heartbeat, and another.
Realisation hit him like a truck. Shakily, he let his hand fell down from her cheek to her stomach, which he carefully caressed, staring at it in wonder. Madelyn raised an eyebrow at his act before she heard it too. She hastily sat up and stared at her imprint's hand, petrified. She had thought about the conversation she had with her dad, but she thought nothing of it as it was impossible.
"We have to get Carlisle," Nathaniel whispered, amazed with the faint sound of the heartbeat. Before he could speed away to get his coven brother, Madelyn stopped him.
"After the battle. Please," The vampire couldn't believe his eyes. She was probably carrying his child and she still wanted to fight?
"There is no way I'm going to let you fight an army of newborns with the possibility that you are with my child," Nathaniel shook his head firmly. Madelyn sighed in defeat, knowing there was nothing that could changed his mind.
"Fine. If I don't fight, I want to be with Bella up the mountains," When Nathaniel almost protested, she continued. "Edward will be there, and Seth too. I'll never be alone. Please, I want to deal with the army so we can focus on us after," Madelyn looked down and played with Nathaniel's fingers. The Cold man sighed.
"I know I can't force you to step out of the battle, and I know you wouldn't do it anyway. I just want you to be extra careful. I don't want you to get hurt, either of you," Nathaniel glanced at his beloved's stomach again. "If that's the case," He added.
"Thank you," Madelyn pressed her lips on his in a loving kiss. "And if I need you, Edward will be able to get you. Everything will be fine," Both of the mates were ecstatic at the possibility of having a family together, but they calmed down as they didn't want to set their hopes up.
♡
The next day, Edward and Bella were walking around the forest to let the human girl's scent lingered around the field. While Bella was letting her blood dropped on the trees, she was trying to flirt with Edward, who ignored her, thinking about his mate and making sure the blood singer's actions were useful. After marking a lot of trees around the clearing with Bella's blood, they joined Madelyn, who was waiting in the middle of the field.
"Why isn't Jacob here? I thought he wanted to replace you?" Bella whined and crossed her arms, glancing at Edward to see if he got any reaction at her mentioning another man.
"Jacob didn't want to replace me, he offered it if I didn't want to do it anymore," And since the whole wolf pack was on her case as they knew she felt sick, she almost had to fight to do this.
"Whatever. Why is there nobody yet?" Bella looked around the field before her eyes fell back onto her sister's form.
"The pack is spending time together, they will be here early tomorrow," Madelyn grabbed a bag and took a bandage she had for Bella's finger. "Here, put that on your wound," She handed it to her sister, who stared at it before shaking her head.
"It's fine, it will stop bleeding by itself," Edward rolled his eyes with a pained look on his face. Madelyn noticed it and sighed, tired of Bella's attitude.
"Edward is not used to your scent anymore, put it on," Bella glared at the girl before her when she mentioned the vampire and her were not a couple anymore. She still ignored the bandage Madelyn had for her and turned towards her ex-boyfriend.
"If it bothers you so much, maybe you should turn me. You would be done with my scent that way. And we will both be happy," Bella tried to grab the bronze haired vampire's hand and press a kiss on his cheek, but he quickly moved behind Madelyn, who almost laughed at the horrified look on his face. The vampire glanced up at the sky and turned towards his uncle's fiancée.
"I'm going to set up the camp while you get there," Edward smiled at the shapeshifter and speeded away. When he was away, Madelyn sighed in relief. She had trouble keeping her secret, a secret, especially from a mind reader. The heartbeat was not loud enough so supernatural beings couldn't hear it if it wasn't completely silent. As a storm was coming, the wind and other small sounds covered it up. Bella eyed her older sister, taking note of her nervous form.
"What happened to you?" The human girl wondered. Madelyn was slightly startled at the question.
"Nothing?" The shapeshifter walked to Bella and picked her up, ready to bring her to the mountain. She felt uneasy at the fact that Bella's body was rubbing on her stomach, but she thought of something else as they were slowly getting closer to Edward, where he could hear Madelyn's mind again.
"You look nervous. Because of the battle?" Bella wondered, but Madelyn shook her head.
"No, not because of the battle. I am fine," Bella gulped and looked away.
"How many people did you tell that lie?" The wolf Swan looked down at the human, surprised. Since when her younger sister cared about her enough to ask her how she felt? Madelyn stayed silent for a minute.
"A lot, actually," That was true. She told everyone she was fine. With everything. The battle, the sudden sickness, and now the maybe child she was carrying. In fact, she was terrified. She had a bad feeling about the battle, like her instinct were telling her that someone would get hurt. She didn't want to fight as there was a possibility her unborn child could get hurt, if it was really possible after all. But she knew she had to fight for Bella's safety, she felt like it was her duty to protect her little sister. And she was scared about the baby. Of course she wanted a child with Nathaniel, but this had never been seen. What if they didn't take a good care of them? The baby could be in danger because of their lack of knowledge about the situation. And what would the pack think?
"Do you, um, want to talk about it?" Bella hesitated. Madelyn shot her a grateful look. She had unknowingly cut off her rambling and worrying thoughts.
"Nah, we could talk about something else, maybe?" And for the first time in a few years, the Swan's sisters were talking without being at each other's head.
♡
An hour later, the girls got to the camp, where Edward was waiting for them.
"Everything's ready. You should get some sleep, we have a long day tomorrow," Madelyn nodded and guided Bella inside the tent. Cuddled up together, Madelyn kept her little sister warm for the night as she slept, too, the thought of the battle the next morning in her mind.
♡
I hope you liked this week's chapter, thank you for reading!