Disclaimer - All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.
Chapter Two: So Am I
Edward sat at his desk, reading over the documents that his next client had sent him. It wasn't anything too serious or complicated and he was sure that their meeting would be finished within half an hour. It would leave him plenty of time to get ready and then pick Bella up for their date.
A thrill of excitement flew through him. He was looking forward to being able to do something 'normal' for a change.
There was a quiet knock at his door moments before Nessie tentatively appeared. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No, just preparing," Edward told her, pointing to the paperwork on his desk.
Nessie nodded. "Good. I'm just heading out." She had another shift at Black's tonight.
"Alright. If you need anything, just ring me."
Nessie simply smiled at his overprotectiveness before leaving the room. He listened as she picked up her bag and then walked down the front steps. Moments later, he heard her feet pounding on the ground as she ran towards the bar.
Edward finished reading the document and then turned his attention to his computer. He wanted to look for potential cars for Nessie. It would be a nice gift for her. Nothing too expensive, just something to get her about. She didn't mind running but as her maker, it was his job to look after her and he was taking it seriously. Carlisle had done more for him then he could ever repay, so he was returning it in the form of good karma to Nessie.
Before he knew it, his doorbell had rung.
Edward stood and walked towards the door, stopping when the scent of his client burned his nose.
He had assumed his client was human.
After a few seconds, Edward composed himself and answered the door.
"Hello, Mr Cole," Edward greeted, taking the man in. He had light blue eyes with blondish-reddish hair that he had styled. His hair was swept upwards from his face, high over his forehead, the strands falling at the back of his head. He was wearing a shirt, jeans, and dress shoes.
"Mr Masen, I presume?" When Edward nodded, he smiled. "Great!"
"Come in." Edward shut the door behind him and led Mr Cole into his office.
He sat down in the chair behind his desk and debated whether or not to say something. In the end, he decided not to. Why did it matter? The world was changing, old prejudices didn't matter.
They went through the figures and at the end of the session, Mr Cole seemed very happy with what they had talked through.
Edward discreetly checked the time as he walked him out and was pleased to find they had finished ten minutes earlier than anticipated. He was looking forward to his date with Bella. He hoped that she would stay the night. The thought of her in his bed made his jeans tighten and he quickly had to change the direction of his thoughts.
"Thank you so much, Edward," Mr Cole said. He held out his hand and Edward shook it.
"You're very welcome, Zane." Edward gave him a genuine smile.
When Edward looked back on what happened next, he would describe it as watching a movie in slow motion.
Zane's grip tightened on his hand and then he yanked Edward forward, reaching into the pocket of his jeans with his free hand and producing a thin silver blade.
Edward had no time to react as Zane stabbed the knife into his midsection and dragged the blade upwards, his skin splitting with ease. The silver burned his flesh and left him in agony. His skin felt like it was on fire.
He roared in pain and his fangs sliced through his gums. He growled and clamped down on Zane's hand, hearing the bones groan under the force.
Zane didn't seem to notice the pain, his eyes wide. He thrust the blade in deeper, the hilt of the blade touching his shirt, the blade now fully inside him. Zane gave Edward a harsh kick to his knees, making the vampire buckle and drop to the floor, the silver moving inside of him causing more pain.
The blade was removed from his stomach and Zane walked around Edward, coming to stand behind him. He lay the blade horizontal against his throat and pulled it back, choking him.
Edward gasped as the silver bit into his skin once more, the cold metal feeling unnaturally hot against his skin.
Zane leaned down. "You should never trust a werewolf."
From the corner of his eyes, Edward watched as three more men came from the forest, their naked bodies of no concern as they stood in front of him.
One of them licked his lips, his eyes on Edward's stomach.
"Can we have a taste?" he asked, his eyes glazed.
Edward got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He'd heard the rumours but didn't think they were true. They seemed too absurd, too outlandish.
Zane jerked Edward's head back more. "I think a little bite can't hurt." He opened his mouth and sunk his teeth into Edward, drinking the red liquid that gushed from the wound.
Edward shrieked in pain as blunt teeth tore at his skin, ripping into the flesh as if it were warm butter. He tried to bring his arms up to throw the man off him, but they were pinned down at his sides, more blunt teeth clamping down on his skin before greedy mouths sucked at the blood that leaked from the wounds.
Edward felt himself growing weaker as he tried to fight them off. He felt his vision begin to blur and his body weaken.
As he went slack, the werewolves took him to the floor, their mouths sucking furiously.
Edward gasped and then his body felt heavy, like he had been held down with weights. His head started to swim and he began to feel tingly.
Zane stopped sucking for the briefest of moments. "Sleep tight, fanger," he whispered, his mouth going back to his neck and sucking again.
As Edward's vision faded to black and his mind went dark, he wondered what Bella would have worn to the restaurant.
Bella stood in front of the mirror and applied chapstick to her lips. She wasn't a huge lipstick wearer and she found that lip gloss could be too sticky.
She quickly checked herself in the mirror as she rubbed her lips together. She didn't look too bad, if she said so herself. She was wearing a blue dress that fell to her knees and hugged her waist. She'd paired it with a black cardigan and black pumps. Nothing too fancy.
Bella checked her watch and excitement ran through her body. There was only a few more minutes until Edward would be there. She was looking forward to spending the night with him. Rose and Nessie were both working tonight so she would have Edward all to herself.
She busied herself in the kitchen, doing a little bit of tidying and putting a load of washing on.
When she looked at the clock, she frowned. It was five past and Edward still wasn't there. Throughout their entire relationship, he'd never been late once. She checked her phone; nothing.
She shrugged it off and went into the living room, plumping cushions and straightening the rug on the floor.
More and more time went on and her anxiety levels grew.
When it hit twenty-past, Bella picked her phone up from the table and dialled Edward's number. She listened to the tone until his voicemail came on. She sighed and hung up, searching through her contacts for the next person she was going to try.
Thankfully, Nessie picked up after a few rings and in the background, Bella could hear the familiar sounds of the bar.
"Hey, Bella," she greeted, her voice happy.
"Hey, Nessie. Have you heard from Edward?"
"Uh, nope. Not since I left for work… why? Aren't you with him?"
"No—he hasn't turned up yet."
"Oh." Bella felt like she could hear Nessie frown through the phone. "Let me go and check on him. If there's a problem, I'll ring you."
"Thanks, Nessie." Nessie could get there quicker and Bella didn't want Edward to feel that she was checking up on him.
"Bella, don't worry. He probably got into the numbers with the client."
"Yeah, thanks, Nessie."
Bella hung up the phone and settled herself down on the couch. She couldn't help the nerves that were starting to bubble in her stomach.
Nessie tucked her phone back in her pocket and pulled on the strings of her apron until it came off. "Thanks, Jake," she told him. He'd heard the conversation and nodded when she'd offered to go check on Edward, letting her know that it was alright. "He's probably just got caught up in his client."
"No worries, Ness." He gave her a blinding smile and she sucked in a breath. "See you when you get back." Jake was a great boss and they'd cultivated a close friendship over the past few weeks. They'd bonded over their love of the outdoors and action movies.
Nessie walked out of the bar so as not to scare the customers with her speed, but the second she was out the door, she hightailed it out of there and towards the house.
She loved running as a vampire. She loved feeling the wind whipping against her skin and blowing her hair behind her. She loved her ability to see everything: the specks of dust floating through the air, the moonlight glinting off the water, the bugs on the trees. Everything had changed since her transformation and she now saw the world in a whole new light. She breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the forest as her feet pounded on the ground.
When the scent of Edward's blood hit her nose, panic rose in her throat and she skidded to a stop on the porch. There was a pool of blood in the middle of the wood, just outside the front door.
"Edward?" Nessie called, trying to stifle the fear she felt running through her body. An unfamiliar foul scent tickled the insides of her nose, burning it. She wrinkled her nose and opened the front door.
She followed the scent through to his office but nobody was there. Both scents were stale, indicating they were old.
She took her phone out of her pocket and searched through her contacts.
She pressed her phone to her ear and waited. "Carlisle? I think something's wrong. Edward isn't here and there's blood and an unfamiliar scent—"
"Nessie, calm down. Where are you?" He was composed and collected. It helped soothe her slightly.
"I'm at the house." She pressed her hand to her forehead.
"Alright. I'll be there in a minute. Are you all alone?"
Nessie nodded before realising he couldn't see her. "Yeah, the scents are old."
"Okay. Just wait there."
Nessie hung up the phone and bit her lip. She wasn't sure what to do. She debated calling Bella but didn't want to worry her just yet. She didn't want to tell anyone else either. For all she knew, Edward was absolutely fine and there was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
When Carlisle arrived minutes later and his face scrunched up, his brows coming together and a frown pulling at his mouth, Nessie quickly lost hope that everything was going to be alright.
Carlisle looked around and stood over the pool of blood. He cursed and was on the phone in seconds, his fingers flying over the screen before he put it to his ear.
"Emmett, I need you and Jasper at Edward's house right now. There are werewolves in the area." He put the phone down.
"Werewolves?" Nessie asked. "But Jake —"
"Is a shapeshifter," Carlisle explained hurriedly. "Big difference. Werewolves lose their human minds when they shift, Jake retains his. Werewolves have to shift during a full moon and Jake's shifts are completely voluntarily. They are completely different creatures. The biggest difference is werewolves are a hundred times more volatile than a shapeshifter."
His words didn't help.
"We need everyone here, now. Go and get Bella and come straight back. I'll ring Jake and Esme."
Nessie swallowed and nodded. There were questions she desperately wanted to ask but she didn't think now was the time.
As she was about to run off, Carlisle grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
"If anyone approaches you who smells like this," he gestured around them, "don't try and fight them. Scream as loud as you can and I'll come running."
A shudder passed through her entire body as he released her, his entire face set, his mouth a hard line and his eyes serious.
"Carlisle, I'm worried," she told him.
He fixed his troubled blue eyes on her. "So am I."
Thank you to Edwardsmate4ever and Twi-Girl83 for their work as my betas.
Ooohh… Carlisle's worried. That can't be good.
See you next time.