BPOV
Alice ran home while Edward and I went back to the car and drove to the Cullen's. I was nervous, but fairly sure that the whole family would be pleased with our announcement, if a little shocked. Edward and I couldn't stop smiling though at the thought of our baby girls.
We didn't even try and contain our matching smiles as we entered the house. The whole family had already gathered downstairs, and appeared to be waiting for us. Esme rushed up to hug us. "Welcome home," she said softly as she smiled a fully welcomed smile at us.
"Thank you Esme," we hugged her back.
Then Jasper jumped in. "Will someone please tell me what has both of you so incredibly ecstatic, Alice happier than a trip to the mall, and Rosalie more hopeful than I've ever felt before?" Emmett, Carlisle and Esme turned to look at him curiously before observing the rest of us suspiciously.
Edward and I beamed and I looked up at him, silently urging him to be the one to tell them. He put him arm around my waist and squeezed as he looked at them. "Bella and I have decided that after graduation we will have some children," he announced proudly.
Jasper and Emmett froze and looked at us incredulously. Esme and Carlisle looked confused, yet hopeful, and I had no doubt their minds were running over just how that would be possible. Rosalie jumped up off the couch and hugged us. "I'm so happy for you both. I'm going to be an auntie!"
"Wait a second." Carlisle interrupted. "How exactly are you planning to conceive?" His eyes were alight with curiosity.
"Well, believe it or not Carlisle, it is possible for a human female to conceive half-vampire children with a vampire male," I explained. Carlisle's expression changed immediately to intrigue at the possibility. But before he could open his mouth to ask more questions Esme hugged us again. She looked like she would be crying if she could.
"I can't believe I'm going to be a grandma," her tone was awed. "This is wonderful."
We sat down with them after that and explained just how it was going to work, with Edward stressing how dangerous it was going to be for me. Thankfully though, after Alice's visions he was at least a little less worried, since we now knew that the most likely outcome would be me surviving and giving birth to the twins before being turned.
When we casually mentioned that Alice had had a vision of us having twins the entire family burst with happiness. I gave them the books as well, which they all took turns speed reading, and when we explained our plans Emmett was the first to volunteer his services. "Woohoo, I'll catch you some grizzlies Bells, trust me, they taste way better than deer." The others also all promised to hunt more often and build up a bank of blood for me to drink while I was pregnant and for the twins when they were born. Carlisle was also enthusiastic to help, and fascinated by the medical aspects of it. The others were also more than eager, and I realised that by the time our wedding came around we were all going to be very impatient for the babies to arrive.
Esme, Alice and Rosalie were already planning tons of baby shopping expeditions, since the babies would grow fast and we would need lots of clothes for them. Emmett was already wondering whether he could get any child friendly video games for the twins to play, and Jasper had claimed the right to teach his baby nieces how to read. I knew my family would be wonderful at helping Edward and I raise our daughters.
Alice also showed the rest of the family the pictures she had made of our baby girls. They all awed over the pictures, and I could tell that they were already falling in love with them. Emmett was a little dismayed at first that he wasn't going to get a nephew to play football and baseball with, but we a assured him that if they wanted to learn he could teach his little nieces instead.
Emmett and Jasper snickered and I looked at them suspiciously as Edward groaned and buried his head in his hands. "What?"
"Can you imagine how hard it's going to be for Edward when you two daughters grow up? He's going to have to listen to the thoughts of tons of red blooded teenage males lusting not only after his wife, but his daughters as well," Emmett and Jasper chocked out as they laughed.
I glared. "In case you've forgotten, I have a shield that can block Edward so that he won't hear their thoughts," I pointed out defensively as I rubbed Edward's knee soothingly.
They shrugged and seemed a little disappointed as Edward calmed down slightly. I decided that it was time to call Volterra and let them know in case Aro had any additional information for me, since he had seen the thoughts of the vampire who had sired the hybrids, and the hybrids themselves.
Aro was ecstatic when I announced what Edward and I were planning, although he admitted that he wasn't surprised. "I noticed when you last visited that you had stolen those books, so my brothers and I were expecting this call, although I imagine that Edward did not take it well" he observed.
"No," I admitted, 'But he's come around now, and Alice had already seen that we will have twin girls."
"Daughters! How wonderful Bella!" he exclaimed, and in the background come noises of excitement from the others. "You shall have to visit with them once they are born- we would love to meet them. In fact we may even come out of Volterra ourselves and visit you ourselves if you take too long, after all, your children will be Volturri princesses as well," he pointed out.
I smiled, "Well you know you're all welcome to visit," I pointed out.
We continued catching up, and he promised that if he thought of anything that he hadn't added to the books he would let us know.
I eventually went home later that evening. Charlie seemed pleased that I had had a good visit and that I was back, and I had admittedly missed him more than I had realised. Despite the fact that we were both quiet people, we got along extremely well with our companionable silence.
Edward appeared shortly after I went to bed for the night. I immediately knew something was wrong when he froze next to the window, eyes wide and nostrils flaring. "What's wrong?" I asked concerned.
"A vampire's been in your room." I stopped short and looked around critically. When I had arrived home, I had just chucked my bags into my room and went back downstairs to cook dinner for Charlie. Now that I really looked I noticed immediately that my pillow was gone.
I looked around some more, and the clothes basket that I had left my favourite shirt in to be washed was also gone. "My pillow and some of my clothes are missing," I muttered, frowning, "Why would a vampire have been here?" My first thought had been that it had been Emmett in my room setting up some kind of practical joke while I was away, but I knew Edward wouldn't have reacted this badly if it had been a member of his family in my room.
"I don't know," he frowned, and came towards me, pulling me into his arms as if he was afraid that at any moment the vampire would come back and snatch me from him. He loosened one arm to pull out his phone and call the others. I remained quiet, my mind utterly confused as I tried to come up with a possible reason that a vampire would enter my room, steal my pillow and clothes, and then leave again without snacking on my father- although I was immensely thankful they hadn't.
Soon enough Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle appeared outside my window, all of them looking worried. Carlisle stayed with me while the guys ran off to track the scent. We spent the next couple of hours talking about my pregnancy plans and refining them while we anxiously waited to find out if the guys could find the elusive vampire, or at least some clues as to why they'd been here.
I jumped to my feet as I felt them enter the range of my shield. They all crowded into my room, Edward immediately encasing me in his arms and burying his face in my hair. I could tell from their still frustrated and worried expressions that they hadn't had much luck. "Find anything?" Carlisle asked.
Jasper shook his head. "Nothing. The trail ended just outside of Forks- must have gotten into a car, and there's no way of telling which direction he went in."
I sighed. It seemed that I would be requiring a visit from my guards after all. I disengaged myself from Edward and picked up my phone from my bedside table before sitting down on the bed. Edward joined me as I speed dialled Volterra. They were surprised to hear from me so soon. "Bella! Twice in one day! Do you have more good news for us? Perhaps an early pregnancy?" Aro asked hopefully. For a three thousand year old vampire he could be incredibly impatient.
"Sorry Aro, but I'm not calling with any good news. When I got home tonight we found that a strange vampire had been in my room and they've stolen my pillow and some of my clothes."
Immediately Demetri was at the phone. "Things with your scent?" he sounded worried, and Edward immediately stiffened beside me.
"Yes, why?"
"The only reason a vampire would have to steal your scent would be so that they can send other vampires to you," he explained. Edward then told him how far they'd been able to track the vampire and explained that it was no one he, or any of the others, recognised.
"Well Bella, Felix and I will be there in a few days, have Edward find something in your room with this vampire's scent on it and put it in a sealed bag for me. We'll find out who wants to steal from our princess," Demetri rarely got annoyed, but he took his job as my guard seriously and he wasn't about to let anything hurt me.
When I hung up Edward walked around the room before picking up one of my scarves and putting it in a bag. I frowned, apparently the vampire had stopped to snoop through all of my things if he had touched my scarves. I shuddered at the thought. Creepy.
I turned towards my bed, but I really didn't feel like sleeping on a bed that had had a strange vampire all over it, and I was down one pillow. I huffed in frustration. Luckily though, my own personal psychic sister pooped through the window with her impeccable timing. She was bearing new sheets, a comforter and new pillows. I sighed in relief. "Alice you're a lifesaver."
She winked at me, "I know." She left with the guys and after Edward and I made the bed with my new linens I lay down, trying to calm my mind so that I could sleep. Edward's grip on me was tighter that night, and I could tell that he wouldn't be letting me go anywhere without him until this strange vampire was found.
School was incredibly boring now, since Edward and I already knew everything and were both waiting impatiently for graduation so that we could get married and start our family. We had finally begun to go further with our practising, and so far we had both received only intense pleasure- Edward had never hurt me.
True to their word, two days after finding out that a strange vampire had been in my room we got back to the Cullens after school to find Demetri and Felix ensconced on the couch versing Emmett at Crysis.
They jumped up and hugged me as I walked in the door, before immediately settling their posture into their stern guardian poses.
Demetri got right down to business. While he could be almost as fun loving as Emmett when he relaxed, but he was first and foremost my guard, and he was every inch my solemn protector. Likewise, Felix looked almost menacing, and both of them were now scanning the surroundings periodically for any signs of a threat.
EPOV
I was furious and worried. Having a vampire get into Bella's room was a nightmare. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if the vampire had still been there when Bella had come home- would they have been able to resist the lure of her sweet blood? Admittedly Bella was pretty good at defending herself from surprise attacks thanks to Emmett and her guards, but that didn't mean there wasn't a large risk that she would have been hurt before she could get her shield up.
I was angry at myself for having left Bella in that position- I should have checked to make sure that she was perfectly safe before I had let her go home to Charlie. Admittedly, it was likely that if there had been a vampire in the house I would have been able to hear their thoughts when I dropped her off, but there was always the off chance that a vampire would possess Bella's silent mind- my gift was no guarantee that no one was there.
Jasper and I set off with Felix and Demetri, leaving Bella safe and protected by my family. When we left she had already taken Felix's controller and was proceeding to beat Emmett at his favourite game. We took them to her house to start off, and I handed Demetri the sealed bag that had the scarf with the strange vampire's scent on it. He immediately turned, already focussed and took off quickly following the trail my brothers and I had taken a few days ago when our attempt to track him had failed.
Through reading Demetri's mind I could see that tracking a scent wasn't his usual method. Generally he sensed the tenor of a person's mind and tracked them through that. The exception of course was Bella. Over the last decade he had managed to hone his scent tracking skills immensely since he couldn't track Bella through her mind. When we stopped at the highway where my brothers and I had lost the scent Demetri only paused for a second before continuing- running in the trees close to the road.
I realised that he had changed tack. He was now tracking a tiny scent of Bella from the stolen clothing and pillows. He was so honed to her scent by now that it was easier than looking for the slight scent of a strange vampire. We followed him all the way to an abandoned car in the outskirts of Seattle. The car strongly held the scent of the strange vampire, as well as the slight scent of my beautiful Bella. From there tracking the scent was easier; even Jasper and I could follow it.
Suddenly Demetri varied off course, slowing as he entered an industrial district. He'd caught the tenor of a mind that matched the scent. The strange vampire was close.
I reached out with my ability, searching for the mind as I followed fast on Demetri's tail. As we entered an area of warehouses, most of which looked empty, I finally heard a new voice in my mind. It was a vampire. I raced past Demetri, using my extra speed to take off after this vampire. As I ran my rage quickly built. When I was close I caught his scent. It was the same scent that had been all over Bella's room, and my anger spiked.
At the back of my mind I vaguely noticed the others racing after me, but I was faster. I raced after the vampire. He barely had time to turn around when he heard me coming before I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground, thunder resonating around us from my impact. The road we were on cracked as he slammed headfirst into it. His mind was filled with confusion and an instinctive need to fight back. He threw us both back up, flipping over and trying to pin me with his superior strength, but I was faster. I was out from under him and before he could turn I kicked out at him hard, sending him face first into the road. I flipped him to face me and grabbed his throat again, holding him down. As his strong newborn arms came up to rid his throat of my hand I quickly grabbed one and ripped it off, growling menacingly. I threw it behind me and slammed his other arm into the ground. I was absolutely furious that he dared to come anywhere near my mate, and my vampire instincts were furious.
He thrashed around, but with his arm and throat held he couldn't move as I continued to snarl at him. "How dare you threaten my mate!" His thrashing slowed at my words as his mind analysed them. He smelt Bella's scent on me and it clicked. He pictured her room as he walked around it before stealing the things with her scent on them. My growling got louder as Jasper and Demetri arrived.
This vampire took one look at Demetri's blood red eyes and his fear was amplified. Jasper pushed even more fear onto him until he was immobilised with it. "Why were you in my mate's room?" I demanded, bringing his focus back to me. His mind immediately ran to thoughts of a very familiar flame-haired vampire ordering him to go and collect some of Bella's scent. I roared in anger as I saw her face. "Victoria." Behind me Jasper and Demetri stiffened. It was a confirmation of what we had already guessed.
"Where is she?" I demanded. This vampire, who I had now identified as Riley, was terrified and confused. He had no idea that I could read his mind, and Victoria had told him that the 'golden eyes' were weak. That was why he had been much more frightened by Demetri. However, after my vicious attack he was petrified of all of us. "I don't know," he pleaded, "Victoria only comes once a day for a report on how her army is doing and then leaves, she never tells me anything, and the others have never seen her." From his mind I could see that Victoria had manipulated him. He believed and trusted her absolutely, and without Jasper's talent he would never have confessed even this much. His mind though showed the information he was withholding. Victoria had told him some of the plan. In a few days time Riley was to lead the army towards the Olympic peaks and give them Bella's possessions. He was to tell them that there would be weak gold-eyed vampires guarding her, and whoever got to her first could have her.
I growled as I saw their conversation play out in his thoughts. I picked him up and threw him away. He landed with a crash down the street, digging a hole into the road. A tiny part of my mind was thankful that this area was abandoned, and I couldn't hear the thoughts of anyone except Riley, Felix, Jasper and Demetri. "Tell Victoria we will be waiting, and we'll tear her and her army apart," I snarled. "She'll kill you and your precious mate," he sneered, before glaring at me, picking up his arm and running off into the darkness. I was pleased that his thoughts were only of getting to Victoria and warning her of his run-in with us.
I turned to the others. "Let's go." I turned and ran, eager to get back to Bella. I had a sudden urge to have her in my arms and make absolutely certain she was safe. As we ran back I told the others what I had seen in his mind. They were furious about the threat on Bella and the family. Jasper's mind immediately tuned to battle strategies.
My fury did not abate until we were back in the house again and Bella was in my arms, as I hugged her to me. She hugged me back, "Hey, it's alright, I'm right here and nobody could ever take me away from you," she whispered. I calmed quickly as I breathed in her scent. Once a torment, her scent was now a reassurance that she was alive. We quickly told them all we knew, and then Alice told us of the vision she had had just before we came back. Victoria had finally decided. Her army would be coming on the weekend. Alice could already see us fighting in the large clearing we normally used for baseball. Felix, Demetri and Emmett were eager for the fight. Bella was too. Her eyes were sparkling with anticipation and I sighed, resigned to the fact that, as much as I wanted to protect her, I couldn't deny her her fun.