The Swan Sister

The Great Feeling of Guilt

Silence was all that could be heard in the room. No one made a single sound and the only thing that could be heard was the frequent beating of my heart or the shaky intake of breath.

Usually I would have sat on my phone and just scrolled through social media but I didn't. If I used my phone too much, it would die and I was waiting for a call from Edward or one of the others to update us on what was happening.

The three of us sat in the hotel for a couple more hours before my phone rang. Alice didn't look over but Jasper did, so I'm guessing she had had a vision of this happening.

I picked up the phone and sighed in relief when I saw Edward's name shining on the screen.

"Edward, is everyone okay?" I asked straight away.

"Yeah. Everyone's fine. Everyone alright with you?" Edward countered.

"We're alright," I assured him, giving Alice and Jasper a small smile when they looked over at me. "How's it going with the rogue vamps?"

"That's actually what I needed to talk to you about. I'm coming to get you. We lost the tracker and the woman is still in the area. Rosalie and Esme are protecting your father."

Hearing this made me feel guilty that once again they were putting themselves in even more danger for me.

"This is all my fault. I should have been more careful. Make sure Rose and Esme are safe though. I can't even imagine what I'd do if one of them, or any of you in fact, got hurt," I told him.

"Will do," He replied. Even from here I could sense his smirk.

But the fact that I could hear his smirk was really starting to bug me. How was he acting so calm about all of this?

"Edward...this is serious. It's all my fault! If I'd just listened to you then none of you would be putting yourself at risk like this, once again," I retorted.

"Stop saying that. We all knew the risks of this when it happened. You're part of the family now so you had better get used to this because we will always protect you no matter the cost. That's what a family is supposed to do, Mads, they help each other and would risk everything they have for them," Edward replied calmly.

"I understand that but this? This is too much. It's too extreme. That theory works with simpler things like going to a recital or helping each other with an ex or a breakup. Not fighting for your life against a rogue vamp who has serious anger issues. You could get hurt and I'd still blame myself," I countered.

"Please don't. Don't blame yourself for a single thing. And as for your theory, you had better get used to us doing this. Because we are extreme and will help wether the problem is simple or insane like this," Edward said. "I'll be there in a couple hours and we can talk more. We'll go somewhere. Just you and I and the others will stay here to hunt. And I promise you, Maddie, I'll do whatever it takes to make you safe again," Edward continued, and I could feel the tears in my eyes starting to well up.

"Stay safe," I whispered back to him.

"For you, anything," he replied.

With that, he hung up the phone and I just sat there.

"Maddie, we should probably go and check out of the room," Alice suggested, getting up from the sofa. "You coming?"

I nodded and joined her and Jasper in heading out the door. Jasper made Alice and I wait in the corridor so he could do a quick search of the lobby before we entered to make sure it was safe.

Once Jasper had finished and we had his permission to leave, we stood at the reception desk and waited for someone to come and serve us. Alice tapped the bell every minute or so but no one had come out yet.

After a couple of minutes, I began to feel slightly nauseous and clammy. The tapping of the bell ringing in my ear was starting to give me a bit of a headache.

"I'm just gonna stand by that door for a minute," I told Jasper and Alice, pointing over at the closest door. Noticing their worried looks, I squeezed their hands and gave them a small smile. "Don't worry, I won't go anywhere."

Hesitantly, they agreed and I made my way over to the door. Despite this, I could still feel their eyes watching me every step of the way.

I took a single step out the door and instantly felt better as the cool evening air embraced me. I leant up against the wall and shut my eyes for a second.

"You know, most people sleep in beds," a familiar, rough voice said from just ahead of me.

I opened my eyes and immediately began to panic when I saw who it was.

He stood slightly in the shadows and away from the glass door so Alice and Jasper couldn't see him.

His blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail and resting on his back. It looked slightly messy as I'm guessing he hadn't stopped running. He wore a brown faux leather jacket and black jeans. His face was contorted into a nasty smirk as he slowly took a step forward.

He was ready to kill.

He was a predator and I was the defenceless prey.

James has found me.