Allie supposed that was true. Every baby seemed a miracle to those around them, but that wasn’t what she was talking about, so explained, “Yes, but it was different for Stella. You have to understand she thought she was dead. That she had died in that room and risen a vampire. By that reasoning, she couldn’t have become pregnant after the turn, but must have been pregnant when she was killed and turned. Yet her baby still lived and grew inside her dead body.”

“A baby would not have survived inside the mother during a turn,” Lucian said into the brief silence that followed.

“No, it would not have,” Magnus agreed. “Stella probably got pregnant in the first days or weeks after the worst of the turn finished.” Glancing to Allie, he explained, “Immortal females need to take in a lot of blood to prevent losing a pregnancy, and new turns need a lot of blood for the first while after they are turned. From what you said, it sounds as if Stella’s sire was ensuring she and her husband had a lot of blood after the turn. That would have allowed a fetus to grow without the nanos attacking it.”

Nanos again, Allie thought, but didn’t ask what those were. Lucian would just grump that she could ask her questions later.

“But Stella would have had to continue to consume copious amounts of blood throughout the pregnancy to ensure she kept the baby and carried it to term,” Sam pointed out now.

“Her sire told her that when he told her she was pregnant,” Allie said. “He apparently was the one who realized it first and revealed to Stella that she was with child. She had no idea until then. In fact, she didn’t really believe him when he first said it.”

“I am guessing he wanted to terminate the pregnancy and that is why she fled?” Magnus suggested.

“No. He was delighted and hoping for a boy he could mentor,” Allie said grimly, as horrified at the thought as Stella had been. Mouth tightening, she added, “Apparently, a girl baby would have been undesirable and, according to him, ‘best torn apart by the group before it could take more than a breath.’ I gather he considered females quite useless. Stella said there were very few women among the group. A handful, all members of couples that were taken. Never women who were found on their own. They were used to feed the group and never turned.”

“So, she was afraid he would kill the baby if it was a girl,” Magnus said, looking angry at the thought.

“Yes. But she was also terrified of his mentoring the baby if it was a boy. That he’d turn it into a monster like he was. She didn’t want that.”

“That would have scared me silly too,” Tricia admitted.