The shrill ring of a cell phone woke me up with a start, and I was dimly aware of Aro cursing in Italian as he answered the phone. "What do you want, brother?"

I propped myself up on Aro's chest to see my clock, whose bright red numbers told me it was just after two in the morning. I yawned and rested my head back against Aro's chest, feeling it rumble as he spoke.

"Who is it?" I asked blearily.

"It's just Marcus. Go back to sleep, mia cara," Aro murmured, lightly rubbing my arm.

"Tell him I said hello," I said, still too close to sleep to remember Marcus could easily hear me still, even over the phone.

Aro chuckled. "He heard."

"Everything okay?" No one from Volterra ever called this late (or early, as it was), as they were all very mindful of the time difference.

"Fine. You need your rest, sleep now," he urged again.

"Alright," I grumbled. It would have been easy, but I was awake now and wanted to hear what I could of the conversation. Aro, hearing my thoughts, sighed at placed the phone on speaker.

"Go on, Marcus. Rowan is too curious to sleep now," Aro said, though there was a slightly amused smile on his face and I could hear Marcus chuckle at my insistence on the other end.

"Hello, my heart. Sorry for waking you," Marcus said warmly on the other end.

"Hi Marcus," I said, noticing that I still sounded quite groggy. "It's okay. I wasn't tired anyway."

There was a far-off bark of laughter on the other end, which I attributed to Caius. Marcus chuckled. "I'm sure you were wide awake. As I was telling Aro, the guard we sent out was finally able to find the Russian coven, even without Demetri's skills. They are very remote."

"Has the rest of the guard been sent to take care of the issue?" Aro asked.

"Yes, they're on their way now and should arrive within a couple hours. This should all be resolved within the next few days," Marcus said.

"Good," Aro said with a nod, looking pleased.

"Unfortunately, it means you're needed here earlier than expected," Marcus said. "Preferably by tonight."

He let out a long breath. "Very well. I'll leave in the morning."

"Sorry," Marcus apologized. This meant that Aro was leaving a day early - Thursday, rather than Friday - and I felt myself deflate at the thought.

"It can't be helped," Aro said with another equally displeased sigh. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that's everything. We'll see you soon," Marcus said, before addressing me. "Get some rest now, Rowan. We miss you."

"Very much," Caius added, who had snatched the phone away from Marcus if the background noise was any indication. "We'll see you soon."

"Graduation," I agreed. Aro had informed me several days ago that with all three of them leaving Volterra in June for my graduation, they would be unable to visit again until then. It was important that they still hold a full court to keep appearances not only for order's sake but also for my own safety.

"And we're already preparing for your stay," Caius said. "We want you to like Volterra."

"I'm sure I will," I reassured him, my attempt to stifle a yawn not going unnoticed by Aro.

"You can always talk to them tomorrow, bellissima," Aro said. "For now, please try and rest. It's late."

"Early," I said with a teasing smile. "But you're right. I'll call you both tomorrow."

"Whenever you have time," Marcus said, apparently having regained ownership of the phone. "Sleep well."

"Thanks. Night guys," I said, settling myself back down onto Aro's chest. He wrapped his free arm around my torso, the other hand still holding the phone.

"Goodnight," Marcus and Caius said in unison, and Aro ended the call before they could say anything more.

"Goodnight, Aro," I murmured, already growing drowsy again.

"Sleep well," he said, shifting slightly to ensure that I was comfortable. I merely hummed in response, and in minutes I dropped back off into a blissful, dreamless sleep.

"Do you really have to go?" I asked, my voice slightly muffled as my face was currently pressed into Aro's shoulder. I would admit that I sounded rather like a petulant child but I couldn't bring myself to care.

"I'm sorry, mia cara," he said, his fingers tugging soothingly through my hair. "But it's only a little over a month before you'll see us all again."

I let out a groan. "That's forever away."

"It's not. Though it will certainly feel like it," Aro said, chuckling slightly. "I'll call you when I arrive back in Volterra."

"Alright," I said with a sigh, finally releasing him from my embrace. He could have disentangled himself easily at any point, but I knew he didn't mind the prolonged contact. "Don't do anything dumb because I'm not around- and don't give me that face, Marcus told me how bad of moods you and Caius were in back at Volterra."

"Like he's any more innocent," Aro grumbled, but he kissed the crown of my head and promised to try regardless. "I really do have to go now, bellissima. I'll be back before you know it."

I checked my watch. "And I have to get to school. Emmett's dropping me off."

"Then we both have places to be. If you ever need anything, the guard is always around, you just have to call for them," he advised even as I nudged him towards the door. I knew full well that Aro would probably stay and lecture about safety practices all day, partly because he worried but mostly because he tended to be rather... long-winded, for lack of a better word.

"I'll see you later, Aro. Miss you already." I waved as Felix drove off, the burly guard being the one that drove the kings to and from the private airstrip they Volturi employed on their visits to Forks.

"Cheer up, Ro-bear," Emmett said as I clamored into the passenger seat of his Jeep. "They'll be back before you know it."

"I know. Is it weird that I'm accustomed to their presence already?" I asked, doing a quick check through my backpack to ensure I had packed all my homework.

"Not at all. I'm impressed, most mated pairs- erm, individuals?- can't stand to be apart so soon after meeting. Though I guess it's different for humans. Maybe not quite so intense," Emmett said as he peeled out of the garage, the Jeep's engine roaring.

"At least I have my sleepover with Bella this weekend to take my mind off things," I said, injecting as much cheeriness into my voice as I could muster.

"There you go," Emmett said, shooting a smile my direction. "Plus, finals are soon, aren't they? You do still have to worry about graduating high school."

I groaned. "Ugh, don't remind me."

"It's not so bad. I'm sure Edward or Alice or Jasper would be happy to help you study," he said. "And I'm sure Bella could always use a study partner."

"Man, I hate it when you have a point," I grumbled.

He laughed and ruffled my hair. "Yeah, well, I've been around a little longer than you, kiddo."

"I'll take your word for it then, old man," I retorted with a grin.

"Hey, you take that back!"

"Never!" I laughed, swinging myself out of the Jeep as he slowed it to a stop. "Are you picking me up or do I have to catch a ride?"

"You called me an old man, so..." Emmett trailed off with a shrug, though the smirk on his face said he wasn't actually upset.

"C'mon, Emmett. Edward can be such a bore to ride with, all he listens to is classical music," I whined.

"I resent that remark!" Edward said, from where he leaned against the hood of his Volvo.

"You resemble that remark," I corrected, waving at Bella as she approached.

"Well Bella likes my music taste, and that's all that matters," he said stubbornly.

Both Emmett and I snorted. "Whatever you say, Ed. Why don't you ask Bella?"

"Ask Bella what?" she asked me as she tucked herself under Edward's arm.

"Whether Edward's music taste makes him an old man," Emmett said, leaning out the window to grin lazily at her. "Hey, Bella."

"Hey Emmett," she greeted. "And I think I'll abstain from answering that."

I snickered at Edward's affronted look. "I think you answered by choosing not to answer. Good luck talking your way out of that one, Bells."

"Get to class, kids," Emmett said. "I gotta run, but I'll be back to pick you up, don't you worry Ro-bear. I won't subject you to Edward's music tastes."

"Thanks, Em. You're the best!" I said, high fiving him before walking off with Bella and Edward.

"Jasper and Alice went in already," Edward said, explaining the absence of our siblings.

"Oh," Bella said, before fixing her curious gaze on me. "Where's Aro? Doesn't he always come with you?"

I sighed. "He had to leave early - some sort of situation with a Russian coven."

"Oh, I didn't know. Sorry," she said, giving me a sympathetic look.

"It happens," I said with a shrug. "Are we still on for this weekend?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Great. Sorry, Edward, but I'm stealing your girlfriend for a few days," I said casually.

He chuckled. "I'll never forgive you."

"You'll get over it."

"You gotta let me come, Rowan!" Alice said, appearing abruptly by my side with Jasper in tow behind her.

I grinned at her. "Sorry, Alice, but this is an exclusive party. Humans only, I'm afraid."

"You're no fun," she pouted.

"Oh, stop, it's not like we don't live together. Besides, it's our last hoorah before Bella joins you guys and I'm the only one of us all who still has to pee," I said with a grin. Everyone laughed at this, besides Edward. "C'mon, Ed, lighten up."

"Don't joke about her humanity," he retorted.

"If this was about humanity, Ed, then you'd have just as much of an issue with my changing as Bella's," I said, crossing my arms.

He scowled at this. "I know you want to wait a while longer. Besides, you have to be changed, you don't have much of a choice. Bella still does."

"What about the Volturi?"

"You could convince them-"

I rolled my eyes at him. "That's not how it works, and you know it."

Alice thankfully chose this moment to change the subject, clearly sensing that a fight was becoming inevitable. "We'll have to go shopping next weekend, then! We need to get you both graduation outfits, and outfits for my party!"

Bella groaned, but I welcomed the distraction. "That sounds great, Alice."

"Awesome!" she beamed, bouncing on her toes as the warning bell rang. "Well, that's our cue. See you later!"

We waved, and Edward, Bella, and I made our way to English.

-:-

"Edward says you've been moping," Bella said on Friday night, leaned against her bed with a pillow hugged to her chest.

"I have not!" I protested. Upon seeing her look, I said, "Okay, maybe a little. But he's also still peeved that I made a good point about your humanity on Thursday. I love my brother, but he can be an idiot sometimes."

"I don't understand why he doesn't want me to be like them," Bella admitted, hugging the pillow a little tighter.

I sighed. "That's not the problem. He loves you, you're mates, of course he wants you with him forever. But he also has this convoluted view of what changing into a vampire does to your soul. Personally, I think that it does absolutely nothing, but we've always had opposing opinions on that count."

"Why do you disagree?"

"Well, from what I've observed vampirism is essentially a primarily physical change, other than having a stronger mental capacity. So why would that affect something as metaphysical as a soul?" I asked.

Bella looked thoughtful. "That's actually a very good point."

"Yeah, don't tell Edward I've been giving you ideas," I said with a grin.

"My lips are sealed," she said, laughing. "So how are you doing? Really?"

"I'm hanging in there," I told her. "It's kinda like when Edward left you, like there's something missing. But it's not like I haven't been talking to them, you know? They're just currently thousands of miles away. And my family has been doing their best to keep me busy. It's only for a couple weeks, but it's worse now since I've bonded with all three of the kings. I do not envy whoever is on the receiving end of their wrath right now."

We both grimaced, and Bella patted my arm consolingly. "Like you said, it's only a couple of weeks. Is it true they're coming for graduation?"

"Yeah, they insisted. Oh, and your wedding. Sorry."

Bella shrugged. "I guess I should have expected that. What about the party?"

"I may divert them, considering some of your wolfish friends are supposed to stop by," I said. "I don't much want to go anyway, to be honest."

"Yeah, same here," Bella sighed. "Edward mentioned that Caius doubled your security after Victoria attacked. Who all is guarding you, exactly? He wouldn't tell me."

"Probably in some weird way to try and protect you," I said, rolling my eyes. "To answer your questions, it's just their four Elite Guard, as far as I know. Unless they decided to send more, but I would think that they would have given me a heads up."

"The Elite Guard is..."

"Jane, Alec, Demetri, and Felix," I answered. Bella paled considerably. "Relax, they won't bother you, that's not why they're here. They follow me everywhere. Sometimes I see them, most times not. I've only talked to them twice since they arrived."

"What're they like?" Bella asked curiously.

I shrugged. "It's hard to say, really. I only know them by their reputations, and I don't exactly want to judge them by that alone. That's not exactly fair."

"I guess I can understand that," she conceded. "So where are they now?"

"You look at me like I know. They probably have the house surrounded, making sure no threats slip through. If you want I can stick my head out your window and ask."

"That's not necessary," she said hastily, and I grinned.

"If you're sure."

"I am." Bella changed the subject. "What are you going to do about college?"

"I don't know," I said with a sigh, mussing a hand through my hair. "I mean, I barely had plans before I met my mates but now..."

"Weren't you accepted into John Hopkins University?"

I gave a modest shrug, but a smile toyed on my lips. "Yeah. I was planning on doing a concentration in oncology eventually."

"You shouldn't quit that just because you found your mates. I mean, maybe I'm not the best one to say that considering how much I rely on Edward but... I think you should do what makes you happy," She said.

"Yeah, you're probably right. There has to be some sort of compromise, though. They're not going to be particularly happy if I suggest staying in the States for another four years at minimum. And honestly, I don't want to be apart from them for that long."

"You could go to an Italian college," Bella suggested.

It was something I had been considering. "Maybe I will."

"It's at least worth looking into. That way you wouldn't be so far away. Well, far away from them, anyway," she said, looking a little saddened.

"You'll be adjusting to becoming a newborn, Bells. I won't be able to see you for a couple years after you've turned anyway. It works out," I pointed out.

"When do you want to be changed?" Bella asked, looking curious. "We've been friends for a while and you've never even mentioned it."

"I'm not sure. Originally the plan was I would travel the world a bit, or maybe graduate with my bachelor's degree, and Carlisle would change me then. So around twenty-two. But now that I'm mated to the literal vampire kings, I don't know if that'll change. It all depends on whether they're cool with breaking their own law for a bit or not."

"It should be your choice," Bella said. "They don't direct your life."

I raised my eyebrows. "Bella, the Volturi uphold vampire law. If other vampires found out that Aro, Caius, and Marcus had found their mate and knowingly left her human even though she's aware of the supernatural, they'd be in violation of their own law. So yes, while I should have a choice, I also have to think about the big picture."

"I never thought of it that way." There were several beats of silence. "You'll make a pretty good queen."

I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped me at the thought. Something about my name being synonymous with queen just didn't align in my mind. "Please never call me queen again."

"If you say so," Bella said, a smirk forming on her face. "Queen."

I threw a pillow at her head.

Edited 4/16/2021