Getting back to the house after their family time in the forest, Madelyn and Nathaniel were surprised to see the pack and the Cullens sitting together, most of them talking while Alice and Seth played chess. The pixie-like vampire was more than happy to play with someone she couldn't predict his every move. The teacher cleared his throat.
"Irina was in the forest," Nathaniel spoke, making everyone look at him in question. The pack knew who she was as they heard about the scene the woman caused at their sister's wedding. Carlisle frowned. It was unusual for the Denali to come to Forks unannounced. "She ran before we could talk to her."
"That's odd, she wouldn't have come here only to leave when she saw you guys. Did something happen?" Esme wondered.
"I'll call Tanya," Carlisle got up and came back only a few minutes later. "She convinced Irina to come reconcile with us."
"I don't understand why she would leave only after seeing us," Madelyn stated, staring at her hands while she was fiddling with the flower crown Aiden gave her a few minutes before. Before anyone could add something, Alice's gasp startled them. Edward's eyes widened as he watched the vision with her.
"Irina decided to go to the Volturi soon. They will come for us," Edward shared a worried look with Luca, who was frowning.
"What did she see for her to make that decision?" Rosalie frowned as well, sitting besides Madelyn.
"We were just walking back to the house, she probably saw me shifting and Nate and Aiden were running around," The Cullen wolf listed.
"Immortal children," Luca whispered, now understanding. Edward nodded along, sharing a look with the people aware of their existence. As the pack were confused, the Cullens explained what immortal children were, what they could cause and what happened to the Denali coven. It was kind of normal for Irina to react that way considering what happened to her mother.
After spending the rest of the evening together, the pack left to the reservation.
"Come on baby, let's get you to sleep," Madelyn said, picking Aiden up as he was nodding off and walking upstairs. Nathaniel followed closely behind them. When Aiden was securely in bed, Madelyn sat on the edge of it, Nathaniel crouching down in front of her.
"We'll never be at peace," The shapeshifter bitterly stated as her imprint grabbed her hands, stroking them with his thumbs.
"Luca can testify you were pregnant and that our child is not an immortal one. Nothing more will happened, alright?" Nathaniel reassured her, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead.
"I'm just scared. Again," She laughed a little, finding herself ridiculous. "I want Aiden to have a good life, and a long one. We don't know when he will stop growing up, and we don't even know if the Volturi will be alright with him, or even me and the pack as one of the rulers hate us," She spoke quickly.
"Hey, hey," Nathaniel cupped his beloved's face. "We are looking for answers for his growing pace, and Edward founded something the other day. There are tribes in Brazil that might know something. We'll figure everything out. I will let nothing happen to you and our son, that is a promise," He kissed his wife deeply to seal his words. Feeling a little better about everything, Madelyn smiled softly at her husband and got up, wrapping her arms around him.
"I love you Nate. I don't know what I'll do without you," Madelyn buried her face in Nathaniel's chest. The vampire hugged her tightly, leaning his head on hers.
"I would be nothing without you, mon amour [my love]," The teacher whispered against her hair. Madelyn joined Aiden on their bed, making the child move unconsciously closer to her. Kissing the top of his head, she drifted off to sleep while Nathaniel spooned her, providing her the cold she needed to sleep well.
♡
The next morning, Madelyn and Aiden woke up alone as everyone else went to hunt. When the woman gave her son his breakfast, a knock on the door surprised her. It was Sam, with a letter in his hand.
"Alice asked me to give you that. She and Jasper crossed our lands to the ocean last night," The Alpha spoke, handing Madelyn the letter.
"Why would they leave without telling us?" She wondered, a little hurt that one of her best friends left just like this. Especially in a pressing moment like the one they were going to face. She opened the note, reading quickly.
Gather as many witnesses as you can before the snow sticks to the ground. That's when they'll come.
Frowning, she thanked Sam, who left quickly after.
"Why would we need witnesses? Isn't Luca enough for them to understand Aiden isn't an immortal child?" Madelyn spoke to the Cullens when they all came back, minus Alice and Jasper of course. Luca shook his head.
"The Volturi act quickly when a situation like this happen. Maybe I wouldn't even have time to testify. They will want to deal with him as soon as possible. If we are a lot, they might take longer. And even if the kings trust me a lot, my only word might not be enough as immortal children are one of the best crimes a vampire could do," Luca explained, making it more clear for the Cullens. Each of the couple decided which of their friends they were going to talk to, to witness for Aiden, and with that everyone left on their way.
Madelyn, Nathaniel and Aiden's stop was Denali. They brought Leah with them for extra protection as immortal children was a touchy subject for the Denali coven.
After a long car ride to Alaska, Nathaniel stopped the car in front of their cousins' house.
"I'll go talk to them, stay here," Nathaniel shared a soft kiss with Madelyn, making Aiden press his hands to his eyes while Leah laughed.
"Nate? Is everything alright? Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" Carmen wondered as she walked out of the house, Eleazar, Kate and Tanya following behind her.
"Is it Irina? Have you heard from her?" Kate asked, worried about her sister.
"Not exactly," Nathaniel rubbed the back of his neck.
"Why is your bride waiting in the car?" Eleazar frowned.
"Yeah, her and Leah. Why aren't they coming out?" Kate asked, happy to see the wonderful women she met at the wedding.
"We are in danger, I need your help," The teacher pleaded.
"What's happened?" Carmen wondered.
"It's a particular situation, but I need you to be open minded, can you do that? Please," Nathaniel glanced at the coven in front of him, his plead earning a nod from the leader.
"Of course," Tanya solemnly said. The dark-haired vampire turned his head to share a look with Madelyn, still in the car. With a deep sigh, he made a motion for the trio inside the car to get out. When the Denali coven's members caught Aiden's sight, they automatically were outraged.
"The Volturi will come for all of us..." Kate bit her lips, as seeing the child brought back bad memories.
"You get that thing out of here!" Tanya screamed, upset too.
"He is not what you think he is," Nathaniel tried to explain, but he got cut off by Tanya.
"This is a crime!" She tried to attack Nathaniel, but he pushed her back harshly. Madelyn started shaking, protectively standing in front of Aiden, who was hiding behind Leah. The couple didn't want to fight with their cousins.
"He has blood in his veins, you can feel his warmth. He smells like me, like a wolf!" Madelyn quickly explained when Kate hesitated to fight them like Tanya. Carmen pressed a hand on Tanya's shoulder, to keep her from fighting their visitors.
"I can feel it," She mumbled, staring at the child in awe, who was peeking up from Leah's back, looking curiously at the Denali coven.
"I'm his biological father, Madelyn is his mother," Nathaniel continued.
"That's impossible," Kate whispered, shaking her head.
"It's true. I gave birth to him," Madelyn walked to her husband, taking his hand in his while Leah walked closer too with Aiden, feeling like the threat wasn't as important as before.
"I've never heard of such a thing," Eleazar stroke his chin in thought.
"We can prove it to you, if you let him," Nathaniel wrapped an arm around his son, who curled into his side, still shy about the inquisitive eyes which were staring at him. Even though Kate and Carmen seemed calm down, Eleazar and Tanya was obviously still skeptical about it. He pressed on. "Tanya, you owe us this much. We're all under a death sentence because Irina didn't let us explain," The blonde woman sighed. Aiden tugged on his father's sleeve and when he got a nod in response, the hybrid walked closer to the Denali coven's leader.
"He's just going to show you his birth," Madelyn reassured Tanya, who crouched down in front of Aiden, so it was easier to maintain eye contact. After a few seconds, the golden mist inside her eyes stopped.
"It's true, he was not bitten," Tanya shared a small smile with the child.
"How can we trust your child?" Eleazar murmured, as he knew what the hybrid's gift was. Even though his question was well-founded, Nathaniel still shot him a glare.
"My son wouldn't play tricks in a time like this," He sent his cousin a cold look, who nodded a little. After a few seconds of silence, Kate speeded towards Madelyn and Leah, taking their hands in hers.
"Come help me pack girls, we have much to talk about," Nathaniel chuckled lowly at that, picking Aiden up as they walked inside the house to help the Denali.
♡
Carlisle and Esme were visiting the Egyptian coven a few days later. Amun, the leader, didn't want to deal with anything that involved the Volturi.
"Amun, please," Carlisle pleaded.
"I can't help you, Carlisle," The Egyptian sighed.
"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't urgent," He pressed on.
"You must go," Amum started before getting interrupt by a water wall.
"I'd like to hear about it. I never get to meet any of Amun's friends. He likes to keep me hidden," Benjamin joked, even if it was true. With his elements' controlling gift, he let the water wall he created fall back down and walked closer to the doctor and his wife.
♡
Rosalie and Emmett were looking for one of Carlisle's greatest friends when they heard someone singing in an alley.
"Shut up! I hated the first British invasion. I hate the second one even more," The couple shared a look as they recognized Garrett's voice. Walking into the alley, they noticed Garrett holding the guy up by his throat.
"Even the Beatles? Really, Garrett?" Emmett asked the nomad with a playful smirk.
"Old habits die hard," He grinned back, still holding the man as he panted.
"Carlisle needs you," Rosalie stated, sending a disgusted look to Garrett's meal. With that, the patriot let go of the guy's throat, who tried to crawl away from the three vampires.
"Sounds interesting," Garrett sent a small glare to the man when he asked for help loudly. "But first, I better finish my meal."
"Help me! Help!" The man cried out as Garrett attacked him, drinking his blood and ending his life.
♡
Back in Forks, vampires from the entire world were joining the Cullens. Madelyn, Nathaniel and Aiden were back with the Denali. The Egyptian coven arrived soon and Benjamin was glad he insisted on going to Forks. The little hybrid was truly a wonder. Later on, two women joined them.
"Mon amour [my love], those are Senna and Zafrina, from the Amazon," Nathaniel introduced them to his wife, who smiled at them.
"Thank you so much for coming," Madelyn shared a hug with the women, who hugged back. Zafrina was quick to join Aiden and Benjamin, as she heard the young hybrid's gift was somewhat similar to hers.
Carlisle had also convinced their Irish friends to join them, and Rosalie had sent Peter and Charlotte, Jasper's friends. There were a lot of vampires around the house and the wolf pack was more and more on edge.
"The covens agreed on hunting out of the area," Nathaniel spoke with Sam, who nodded. The pack wasn't there a lot as more young wolves were shifting, since the vampires' number rose.
A few days later, Esme and Carlisle were finally back with their last witness.
"How many came?" The blond doctor asked.
"Eighteen, it quit surprising," Nathaniel looked around the backyard, where some of their friends were talking as others were away, hunting.
"And Alice and Jasper?" Esme asked, still worried about them. Madelyn shook her head.
"We have no news," She smiled sadly, leaning against Nathaniel's chest, who rubbed her side and kissed the top of her head.
"Well, we'll all be on Aro's list now. Centuries on the run, that's what you brought me. Some friend, Carlisle," Nathaniel recognized Alistair's voice.
"Alistair, come meet everyone," Carlisle suggested.
"I already told you, if it comes to a fight, I won't stand against the Volturi," He ignored him, crossing his arms in front of his chest, eyeing Aiden from the corner of his eyes. Madelyn tensed as he mentioned fighting against the Volturi. She set her sight on Aiden's form who was laughing and experimenting his gift with Zafrina. Speaking of Aiden, as they were waiting for the witnesses, he hadn't stopped growing, now standing as a teenager.
Sending his mother's look on him, he glanced behind his shoulder and smiled reassuringly at her. After saying a few words to his new friends, he ran towards Madelyn.
"What's wrong Mama?" He hugged her waist tightly, now being tall enough to lean his head on her shoulder.
"Everything's fine," Madelyn smiled, wrapping one of her arm around her son and pressing a kiss on his head. But Aiden wasn't stupid, he knew what was going on and the fears his mother had. He felt bad that everything was his fault. He caused his parents a lot of stress and now they had many of the Cullen's friends that might fight for him.
However, Aiden promised himself it wouldn't come to a fight. He knew he had to prove the Volturi he wasn't dangerous. Even if he could do some real damages if he wanted. But the hybrid was ready to use his gift for it, even if it involved a little bit of mischief, and a sugarcoated reality.
♡
I can feel the story is coming to an end, I feel like I'm gonna cry.
I hope you liked today's chapter, thank you so much for reading as usual!
Have a nice day :)