Sorry for the long delay. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 20: Ready

Bella POV

"Look for him! Now!" I yelled.

"We got it," Dimitri and Ritz said, running out of the house. I could feel myself slowly running out of breath.

"Bella! Please, just sit down! Someone get her water!" he shouted. He helped me onto the couch and rubbed my back. "You are in no condition to fight."

"I have to!" I demanded.

Handing me a glad of water, he pleaded, "Bella, please."

"She has to fight, Flame," Zephy said.

"She has to," Nixie agreed, using a soft voice.

"They're here," Angel announce as he looked behind the curtain.

"Let's go," Flame sighed, holding out his hand.

"Thank you," I smiled.

We made our way to the backyard and met up with the others. The wolves were ready to fight while Damien and Jenny had fearful faces.

"Where are the others?" Jenny asked worriedly.

"Xen and Terra are on their way," Nixie assured.

"Dimitri and Ritz are out looking for Nyte," Angel added sadly.

"What's wrong with Nyte?" Jenny nearly shrieked.

"He's in danger. We need to find him as soon as possible," I whispered. Tears made their way into her eyes and she buried herself against Damien's chest. I could see his ever growing worry for all of his children but he tried to remain as calm as he could for us.

"He'll be okay," he soothed Jenny.

"Who's going to be okay?" I heard Xen's unmistakable voice ask. When no one answered, her eyes wildly searched the group. "Where's Dimitri, Ritz, and…" Her eyes grew heavy and dark. "Where's Nyte? Tell me where Nyte is!" she demanded.

I sent her the warnings the earth had given me. "No…" she whispered. "No!"

"They're trying to find him, Xen," I said.

"It's my fault! If I wasn't so angry at him… if I hadn't left him…" she sobbed and then suddenly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Terra asked quickly with worry.

"The last thing I said to him was that I hated him," she answered with realization and soon enough, tears began to run down her face. Xen never cried. Zephy took her into her arms and let her cry there.

"The best way we can help him is to get ready for this fight, for this war. We're gonna need everyone, including you, Xenon," Damien said softly.

This allowed Xen to stop crying. And just like that, she lifted her head up with a vicious expression on her face. "Okay, let's do this," she said, determined, wiping the remnants of her tears.

Swiftly, everyone got to work. Damien and Jenny practiced with the wolves while the other Environs practiced their elements. Nixie was terribly focused on her waterworks, Zephy kept summoning the winds, Terra was working with the earth, and Xen continuously lit up the sky with thunder. Angel, however, had his eyes closed in concentration, trying to pick up any thoughts he may hear from Dimitri, Ritz, or Nyte.

Flame and I were currently dancing around each other, waiting for an attack on the other side.

"I'm waiting," I said impatiently.

"I can't attack you, babe. It's just… I can't," he gave up, defeated, rising from his crouched posture. I had to think of something quickly. Geez, why does he have to be so over protective like –

Edward!

"Don't be such an Edward!" I yelled at his retreating frame. This caused him to stop mid-step and slowly turn to me with fire in his eyes. Literally. "You heard me! I'm not some fragile, little doll that you have to protect all the time. I can take care of myself. You're just like Edward," I spat at him, although it took everything in me to act as such.

"I am nothing like that bloodsucker," he growled, now back in his crouching position.

I smirked. Gotcha. "Prove it."

He pounced on me and I moved out of the way just in time. Because I couldn't fight him either like he couldn't fight me, I tried imagining him to be Edward. Huh, who knew Edward could suddenly become so useful.

Flame was able to pin me to the ground but I didn't give up. I kicked him on the chest as hard as I could and he went flying to the nearest tree. He got back up on his two feet and stalked me. We were once again back to dancing around each other.

"You're weak like him too," I smirked. I snickered when he attacked me with pure rage in his beautiful, yet dangerous face.

I was able to side-step just in time and grabbed one of his arms to slam him to the ground. With his stomach on the ground, I straddled his back and had his head in a locked position.

"Gotcha," I whispered in his ear, taking a swipe at his earlobe.

I squeaked when he flipped us around so suddenly, him now having the upperhand.

"Gotcha," he repeated with a grin before placing an intense kiss on my lips. I brought my hands up to entwine my fingers in his soft, jet black hair. I heard wolf whistles erupting from the wolves and the family.

Nixie was grinning at me. "That was quite a show you two put up," she teased.

"Anger, love, and sexual tension," Angel added with a grin.

Flame laughed and helped me up. "That was great, babe. You're a natural fighter," he smiled, pecking me on the lips once again.

I looked up at him but saw an underlining emotion in his eyes. I held his hand and looked up at him with apology. "You know I didn't mean anything that I said, right? I just said them to get you to fight me," I told him.

"I know," he nodded but I felt something off.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Noticing the change in the mood, the others diverted their attention to their original work.

Flame sighed – which he seems to be doing a lot lately – and cupped my face in his hands. "I don't want you to fight. Not like this. Not while you're pregnant. I can hardly stand the thought of you possibly getting hurt," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"How about I make you a promise?" I asked. He made no motion to answer. "I promise to not let anything happen to me or the babies. I'll take care of myself," I promised.

"You can't be sure of that," he contradicted with a hard gaze.

"The least you and I can do is believe that I can. I need you to trust me on this, honey," I said softly.

"But you have to let me watch over you," he demanded.

"Are you crazy? That would mean that you won't be able to take care of yourself!" I shot at him.

"You're worth more than ten of my life, Bella. The only way I'll let you fight is if I can take care of you too. Take it or leave it," he said, allowing me no room for debate.

"You're one crazy motherfucker. You know that?" I asked with a hint of a smile on my lips.

"You wouldn't love me as much if I wasn't," he grinned.

I intertwined our fingers together and smiled up at him through my lashes.

"So, do I pass my training?" I joked.

He laughed and kissed me on the forehead. "Absolutely," he replied.

"What's next?" I asked.

"We're gonna test your Shielding abilities," Damien answered.

3rd POV

"Where the hell can he possibly be?" Dimitri asked under his breath.

"We all knew that Nyte was gonna be in some deep shit at some point in his life. It's been overdue," Ritz commented, but even he couldn't erase the worry he had for his brother.

Dimitri and Ritz continued to run through the large expanse of woods in search of Nyte. Dimitri tried over and over again to see if he could find any trace of Nyte from the Earth, but something was blocking him. He was afraid that the Shield's powers were able to protect every single person in the Volturi and Victoria's army.

"Still got nothing?" Ritz asked worriedly. Dimitri sorrowfully shook his head.

"Where the fuck are you, Nyte?"

"FUCK!" a thunderous yet familiar voice rang through their ears.

"Nyte," both Dimitri and Ritz sighed in relief until they met eyes. "NYTE!" they yelled, anxiety running through their very bones. They sped through the trees, following Nyte's voice, but when they finally reached its origin, they stopped dead in their tracks.

The red-haired bloodsucker, along with five other vampires, had Nyte's head in a locked position under her arm. Nyte was deathly pale and was gasping for air.

"Nyte," Ritz whispered.

"Oh, lookie, there's more of them," Victoria said with fake enthusiasm and a sneer.

"Look, bitch. Let him go or we'll –"

"Or you'll what?" she asked, feigning innocence. She tilted her head to the side to mock them. "You can't do anything to me, Elemental," she grinned evilly, "Your powers don't work on me or my companions. Right now, you're worth nothing but a human." She laughed harshly into the night.

Dimitri was ready to pounce on her but Ritz pulled him back. "She'll kill us," he angrily whispered in his ear.

"Aw, you babies are scared. Ha!" Victoria's companions laughed along her side.

Dimitri tried to summon his Element but he just couldn't. The sight of Nyte was ready to make him take his chances.

"You won't… get away… with this," Nyte managed to gasp out.

She 'tisked Nyte and pretended to scold him as if he was a little child. "Just for that, I'll kill you three, then Bella, then your precious, little Xenon," she said, her face contorting into a face of pure evil.

The mere notion of Xenon's death was enough to get Nyte's blood to boil. Just as he was about to spit on her face, she threw him into the hands of another vampire. He hissed at her retreating figure.

"So, boys. You wanna do this the easy way, or the hard way?" Victoria asked while cracking her knuckles.

Nyte felt a tingling sensation on the tips of his fingers. He wiggled his fingers and clenched them into a fist once he saw what Victoria was about to do. Victoria grabbed Dimitri and Ritz and handed them off to two more others. She gave Nyte a twisted smirk while cracking her knuckles.

"I don't want to get myself… dirty," she said darkly. Nyte continued to struggle against his vampire's grip and the sensation on his fingertips continued to get stronger. "Ready, boys?" The two vampires nodded, grinning evilly.

Nyte clenched his eyes shut and somehow grabbed a hold of his captor's wrist. Suddenly, two loud shrieks emitted themselves in the woods.

Meanwhile… In the Environ Household

"How's it going, babe?" Flame asked, running Bella's shoulders.

"I'm getting there," she muttered.

"That's what you've been saying for the last hour," Angel muttered under his breath. Everyone gave him pointed looks, causing him to sulk his shoulders.

"Hey, she's trying," Terra said softly. After what happened with Xen and Nyte, Terra didn't want the same to happen to her and Angel.

"Look," Angel sighed, "I know that most of the time, I could give less of a shit about Nyte, but he's still my brother, our brother, no matter how stupid he may be."

Xen couldn't help but smile, even through the tragic moment. "That's about the nicest thing you've ever said about Nyte," she smiled. Angel just shrugged.

"Tell him I said that and I'll make your lives miserable," he suddenly hissed. Everyone just laughed it off.

"Progress report," Damien said to Bella.

Bella let out a grunt of frustration. "I don't get it. It's like I'm so close to latching on to him. I'm right there, but something keeps pushing me off. Ugh!" Bella groaned, her face scrunching into a grimace.

"Easy, there," Flame soothed. Bella calmed down some but her nerves were still wracking. Meanwhile, Nixie was concentration on a puddle when an idea hit her,

"I have an idea," she immediately said. Everyone turned towards her with hopeful eyes. "You said that the wolves are part Shields, right?" she asked Bella, who nodded in return. "Maybe… just maybe, if there are enough of them out there, you could transmit your Shield through them," Nixie explained.

Damien's lips slowly curled upwards. "Kind of like electrical wiring," he commented with a grin.

"Exactly," Nix beamed.

Bella finally caught on and she herself grinned. "You're brilliant, Nix!" she praised. "Sam, how many wolves can you spare?"

Sam's eyes widened. "Spare? I am not going to just hand my wolves to those bloodsuckers on a freaking silver platter!" he shouted, obviously appalled.

"Sam! Calm down! That is not what she meant," Jenny scolded with a motherly tone. Sam looked down and whimpered, like a true dog being scolded.

"They're not going to be fighting," Zephy tried to explain.

"We just need enough of them there to cover the distance that Bella can't," Terra added. She glanced at Bella, who was nodding eagerly. "How many?" Jacob asked.

"At least four," Bella answered. Jake nodded.

"Sam… Paul, Leah, Embry, and I got this. We'll be careful. I promise," Jake pleaded with Sam.

Sam sighed and said, "Go."

"Wait!" Bella shouted after them. She closed her eyes and was able to locate the strong presence of a Shield without as much hassle. "I need you to head north. Distance yourself about a mile apart," Bella ordered. Just as they were about to leave, Bella called out, "Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she said, smiling. Jacob smiled back at her before disappearing into the woods.

"You sure that there was nothing between the two of you?" Flame asked with raging jealousy in his voice.

"Stop being so insecure, Flame," Nix snorted.

"Yeah, just 'cuz he's hotter than you," Terra smirked. Flame's frown deepened. Bella herself couldn't contain her giggles. The Pack laughed along with her.

"I'm carrying you're children, aren't I?"

"Fair enough," he grumbled, wrapping a possessive arm around Bella's waist.

Bella nuzzled into the crook of his neck, saying, "I love you."

Before Flame could respond, Sam shifted back to his human form and declared that Jake and the others were ready. Bella nodded and glanced at every member of her family. They each gave her nods.

"Let's do this."

Two more chapters and the epilogues left! :'(

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