THERE WERE WORRIES ABOUT ME BEING OUTSIDE. I fully understand that, and I don't go anywhere near the gardens for that reason. They used to be open to the public way back when the secret could be kept without isolation.

Guards have to be around whenever I'm out and about, but most have been clear that they'd rather be outside. As long as I'm nowhere near those beautiful gardens, there's no security risk.

I could always see those pretty flowers from my office window.

"How much longer does this shift last?" I asked. This system only works if I'm inside during shift change. "Don't want this to become a pain."

Who am I kidding, this will always be a massive pain, but at least I won't go crazy being cooped up inside. I also have Renata as my personal bodyguard full time. The castle is objectively the best place to be in terms of safety. That is, unless you're guarding the doors to the garden.

"Two hours left," Renata reminded me after looking down at her watch.

Great, enough time for me to finish reading my vampire related emails. So many newer Covens sent their questions that way. Many of their questions had obvious answers, but I suppose there is no reason to not be thorough. Just like my guards have to ask questions, Coven Masters do too.

Honestly, I'm lucky that most if not all questions are easy to answer. I'm not in the best position to consult with anyone. Now that both Aro and Caius are out of the country, it's important that I stay put and wait.

Not that this was a very easy task. Most of the work in our home is less than ideal. Even if creating schedules for the guard is difficult, at least it isn't boring. If I can't relax because of the war, I'd like to be put to work. Which is the whole reason why I've put all of my effort into doing all of the extra work that usually gets put to the wayside.

Actually, I think that's what I've been doing the whole time I've been here. The books, the computers, the files, they were all a mess when I got here. I was the one to bring them back and get everything back in order. Now whenever we have to call people and ask them for something, we can just look and see if we have the information already! Now's to make sure that it doesn't get screwed up again. Files do that, they move because nobody put them back and they get angry. Filing correspondence is the next course of action, except I can't read most people's handwriting. You'd think a vampire's handwriting would be better, but it's not, so Marcus is handling the physical letters we've gotten in the past decade.

Speaking of correspondence, that's one of the main reasons why I have to stay.

Considering the letter Marcus had gotten, it was pertinent that one of us stay in the castle at all times in case the letter was actually an attempt to come to the castle under false pretenses. Who knows when that pair could be showing up. Even if they are coming, how they know of a vampire/human pregnancy between two people whose relationship was only recently exposed is beyond me. Or, one of Carlisle's allies do not like their relationship.

Let's be fair, she can't be pregnant. Maybe she heard that Andrei wanted to have a child with me and had a scare.

I mean, come on, they've been together for a while. How could she only be pregnant now?

I've assumed since I became a vampire that Andrei was just full of shit. We tried for a long time to have a baby and it never happened. Chrissy and I both got tested and we were perfectly fertile until we had our hysterectomies. Vampires can't get humans pregnant, that's just the way things worked. In his infinite narcissism, Andrei was fooled into believing that he could have a child with us and become a man.

That was his whole deal. His grand plan was to become a father. Too bad he became a vampire and snuffed out his chances of doing what he always wanted. That was for the best. Andrei was the last person who should be raising a child.

On that note, if Bella is somehow pregnant, I can't imagine why she would want to have the child. If she were a different person, sure, but she's... not maternal. She didn't feel like she'd even want to have a child in the first place. She always came off as childish and madly in love with Edward. Not even just love, but pure infatuation. That was the basis of their relationship. What would a child do to that dynamic? Would Bella be able to put that child above her love for Edward? Could she consider doing what was best for her child if it was against what Edward wanted?

I honestly don't want to believe she's pregnant. What that would do to the universe, the idea of getting a human woman pregnant, it would mean that I only narrowly dodged a bullet. The idea haunted me like nothing else. Before I'd been trapped by him, I'd considered having children of my own. Now I realize that it just isn't in the cards. I'd rather be a motherly figure for Jane and Alec. Far less emotional labor and the two of them are well behaved. Aro did a good job raising them.

Would Bella be a good mother? I don't like her, but if she has a child, that child would be partly in the vampire community and would therefore be obliged to follow the laws. Could Bella follow the rules if it meant keeping her child safe or would she kick and scream through that?

Frankly, Edward didn't give off a fatherly vibe either. I doubt that he could give up his hatred for Aro to save his life, maybe even his child's. I think that he would not teach his child the best ideas about us and while I would usually not care, indoctrinating a child feels worse than just complaining to your family. Those ideas are hard to get out and what happens if that child later needs assistance and doesn't want to ask for it just because they've been told to hate the Volturi?

This all comes down to if they're willing to allow their child into vampire society, which they may refuse outright.

I had never even thought a hybrid could exist. That wasn't a concept that existed in my mind at all. Humans and vampires have had... relationships before, though, according to Aro and Marcus. Aro himself said he slept with Sulpicia before she became a vampire. No pregnancy. Marcus says he's never even heard whispers of a hybrid child anywhere in the world, so if they exist, they're a mystery. The whole idea around vampires is that they're immortal, perfect corpses. Human corpses can't have babies, so vampires can't.

This whole thing feels wrong.

Yet now we have a couple saying that this is the truth, that they know this is happening. Allegedly they have some serious proof or else they wouldn't be writing a handwritten letter. If it were mere speculation, it would be in a message. I didn't recognize the handwriting, but then again, I haven't seen most vampire's handwriting. It wasn't any of the Coven Masters who sent in their RSVP's in the mail. It wasn't Esme or Carlisle. Rose sent me a text saying that Alice has been 'watching her', whatever that means.

The lack of me knowing who it could be is half the reason why I wonder if it's even real. Surely people know that at least Marcus or I are at the castle at all times and that Aro and Caius are out. There is a clear opening to get into the castle due to the Gardens. Lord knows that's how Andrei got in the first time.

And the second time.

It all makes me uneasy.

"Do you think Bella's really pregnant?" Wren asked from a lawn chair. "What will happen to the baby?"

"Can't you check?" I asked. She was only going to be here for one more shift before she'd be joining Caius in Stockholm for some spy mission. "Unless she isn't showing yet. Can you hear what's happening over there?"

"I can hear," Wren responded with as she put on her sunglasses. Seems like the shimmering was too much for her. "I don't like to hear though. Feels icky. I haven't seen Bella before. I don't really know how any of this works yet."

I sighed, looking down at my phone once more. Clearly I had some more work to do, my inbox filled with over a hundred emails from all over the globe. Half of them right now were the questions about where to send their logs. To the address listed in the original email! Have people lost the ability to read?

If we just had some more progress, I would feel like I was doing something more important. We have all of the territory, we have all of the people. So what the fuck else do we need? Khadne was with Caius already, presumably out searching with groups all over the globe. Nobody wants to be caught dead with him without her. It was slow, with the only notices being "what is this?" and "is this a new vampire?" Half of the time, no, it's not a new vampire. The other half it's legit one of their team members that they didn't know was on their team...

Wren would have to leave the safety of Italy to join that search. Jasper was already gone since he'd led a war in his life and Caius needed his input. The only reason she wasn't there was because Jasper insisted she needed more time to heal from the attack and to learn how to use her powers in a better, safer environment. Clearly, she's still not great with it, but that's to be expected after only a month or so of it existing.

Before I could give a silly remark to Wren, the large bell that hung at the doors of the garden rung.

Shit. Someone was here.

"All's fine!" A guard shouted.

God, if they ring that thing on accident one more time-

"River," Renata whispered in my ear, "people are here to see you."

Shit. I put away my phone immediately and stood up. Since nobody was rushing me away, clearly it wasn't a bad person. Perhaps those people in the letters were finally here-

"River!"

I was fully embraced in a hug faster than I could react.

"Rosalie Cullen what the fuck are you..." I stopped and put the pieces together, "...Why didn't you just say it was you?"

"Alice kept on having visions of someone writing a letter but couldn't pinpoint who it was based on my handwriting. I never write in cursive, so she hasn't seen it," Rosalie explained, "and I really didn't want to get anyone else involved. We have to stay out of whatever Alice and Edward and Bella are planning. It's too much for us finally and we have to leave the ranks."

Right, her ability to see the future. Why she didn't see Rose herself is unknown, perhaps her gift isn't as specific as she wanted. Never mind, it worked in Rose's favor, that's all that matters.

"Are you here to stay?" I asked as Rose finally let me go. "Wren is leaving later. If you want to become temporary guard, you will likely be on the coasts so we can secure Europe and Northern Africa."

The more land they can secure, the safer the humans inside the area. Aro has ties in every government, but especially throughout Europe and Northern Africa. Getting those people secure and not targets of Andrei, who could be making anyone into his personal slave, is a main priority beyond having him captured.

"Either is fine for us, River," Emmett came up behind after waving off a guard. "We just needed a way out of there."

"So what you said wasn't true? She's not pregnant?" I waved him off with a laugh. "I mean, come on, a pregnancy is so wild that I can't believe you conjured that up as an excuse to leave. Working with Andrei makes sense, I don't doubt that part."

Rose gave a laugh and then paused.

"River, we weren't joking," Emmett said with a surprised look on his face. "Bella is pregnant with Edward's baby. Fully pregnant and hiding it from Carlisle and Esme by living in another place. We came by to bring Bella some baked goods as a way to try and get her to lay off of us for a while and overheard what you heard in the file."

That thing was so garbled. Marcus insisted it said pregnant but Caius and I didn't think it said that at all.

"You're pulling my leg right now," I insisted. "Then how did I not get pregnant? I was fully fertile before my hysterectomy!"

"Luck?" Emmett pointed out, "God?"

"Luck and God can't explain why two fertile women weren't getting pregnant when it's possible," I shook my head.

"Come on, River," Rose put her hand on my shoulder and laughed. "This is so funny."

"It's really not. How safe can a hybrid pregnancy be? Bella could be in serious danger and you think it's funny?"

"That's not what's funny," Rose insisted and gave a short sigh. "You're baby free because Andrei can't have kids."

Oh God.