By the end of the work day, this company has been completely redesigned. Mozi had reapers in and out of Edward's office all day, giving them new positions, clarifying a new set of rules and establishing a new hierarchy.
The overseer, which used to be Esme's job, was given to Edward. Which was a huge relief to the both of us. This would mean he would no longer be reaping souls. His new position allowed him to work as much or as little as he pleased. His role would be to make sure this company worked smoothly, by sorting out disagreements, training new reapers and doing whatever he can to combat the growing number of devourers popping up.
Inside of two department heads, which was Emmett and Edward in the past, now there are four. Jacob, Alice, Jasper and Katlyn. This was completely opposing Edward's wishes. He still hated Jasper and didn't trust him at all. It was the only thing he objected to. But Mozi wouldn't hear it. This was his decision. And unless Jasper quit, the position would be permanently given to Jasper. Of course, Alice was thrilled with her promotion and even happier that Esme would no longer be in the picture. This was giving her everything she wanted. But she wasn't happy with working so closely with Jasper. They had a twisted history. A lot of on-again, off-again relationships. They married at one point, but divorced after the twins were born. Since then, they have been seeing each other casually, up until Jasper began his affair with Tanya. Needless to say, this was going to be an awkward arrangement.
Under the new department heads, there would be twelve reaper teams for each. Double the amount as before. And of course, there would be a book-keeper to take care of the reaping list for each team. Unfortunately, since Edward was no longer a department head, I would be taking over the reaping lists for Jacob. Thankfully, I was allowed to keep Hecktor as my assistant and I could remain in my office. I wasn't sure who the other book-keepers are, but I'm sure things would run smoothly, even though the amount of work has doubled.
This would be quite an adjustment, but if it meant we would no longer be in danger with 'the grim', it would be acceptable. One less thing we had to worry about. But something told me, Aro wouldn't stop his mission to ruin Esme's life.
Work today had been stressful, so once we made it back to the apartment, I decided to get into the bath and try to sort through my rollercoaster of emotions.
The water was nice and warm, it soothed some of my aches and pains. Edward lit a few sweet smelling candles for me and dimmed the lights in the bathroom, then gave me some privacy. He mentioned getting some work done in the meantime. Katlyn was out, starting on her reaping list. Now that she was no longer our personal guard, I had the feeling that she wouldn't be around as often as she had been.
For a moment, I let my body sink deep into the tub, just to my chin and let my eyes close. My hands slid down to my stomach. It was still flat, it felt completely normal. But there was a baby here, growing inside me. It was hard to wrap my head around. I thought I would feel differently being pregnant, but so far, other than the nausea and the tiredness, I felt like myself. I wonder when that will change. I hope there isn't something wrong.
In the next room, I could hear Ana's medical machines beeping. It wasn't the usual noise. It was startlingly loud.
Without thinking, I quickly got up from the tub, slinging a towel around me before running towards her room. I trailed a path of water as I went, opening the door to her room in a panic.
Ana was sitting at the bottom of her bed, on the floor. Her head hung limply as I approached her.
"Ana, are you alright?" I moved to her side, taking note of her medical set-up. The strange beeping came from the machine that showed her vital signs. There was no pulse. No signs of oxygen saturation.
No.
"Edward!" I called out loudly as I pulled Ana to a lying position on the ground. Quickly I began performing CPR.
Edward appeared in a cloud of mist, his eyes searching the room in high alert and in fear. But as he took in the scene, he moved to my side, gently moving me out of the way to take over the CPR. A look of sadness now touched his features.
"She isn't on the list tonight." He muttered quietly. His hands placed over top of each other and centered right over Ana's heart. He pounded down deeply and at a steady rate. He directed me to give her breaths between his chest compressions.
This can't be happening. Not now. She is too young. She's getting her surgery at the end of this week. She is supposed to live a long happy life now. This can't be happening.
It was going on for about three minutes, before Ana began to respond to our efforts. We were able to stop chest compressions and breaths, but she wouldn't open her eyes. She wouldn't move. There was still something wrong here.
"We need to get her to a hospital. Now." I said stumbling to my feet. Edward took my arm, stopping me.
"No, this isn't something a human doctor can treat. This is the result of a curse."
"What? What do you mean? Who would curse her?"
"I don't know, but if I didn't use my abilities, while doing chest compressions, she wouldn't have pulled through. I can sense it. There is a small marking behind her left ear." He replied with a frown on his face.
I moved to turn Ana's head slightly. There was a small mark, right where Edward had mentioned. It was very small. Smaller than a pea. But highly intricate.
"W-what do you do? How can we help her?"
"We need to find the person responsible for this. And end their life. It's the only way to break this curse."
I swallowed hard, watching over Ana. It appeared that she was sleeping. Or possibly, in a coma. Edward placed Ana back into her bed and reapplied all of her medical gear. Her vitals were stable.
We searched her room, looking for any clue that may have been left behind. But there was nothing to take note of. There was nothing disturbed. Right before we were about to give up, I went to open her closet, that's when I found it.
Right on the floor of the closet, was a beautiful ring. I picked it up to inspect it closer. It was a ruby. Silver band. Set with two smaller rubies at each side of a larger one in the center.
"What did you find?" Edward moved to my side.
I held the ring out to him. "I've never seen this ring before. I don't think this belongs to Ana."
Edward's eyes narrowed as he looked at the ring. He instantly was seething. "That's Tanya's wedding band."
The words sent ice through my veins. My hands trembled for a moment as I tried pushing back my open anger. Jealousy nipped at my chest. Tears came to my eyes, but I held them back. I couldn't control my emotions when Tanya was brought up. And now having the symbol of Tanya and Edward's love for each other in my hand, made the envy much worse.
"Does this mean Tanya was here? Do you think she is involved in this curse?" I grumbled, letting the ring drop from my hand and into Edward's. I didn't even want to look at the thing.
"It's possible. We need to get into contact with Jasper. Maybe he will have some information about this. Until then, I need to hire a new guard. I thought maybe it would be alright to not have Katlyn around, but apparently that's not the case. This happened while Ana was alone and unprotected. Whoever did this, has been planning this for a while."
Why would anyone target Ana? Was it to hurt me? Who hated me so much, as to try killing my sister? The first person to come to mind was Alice. But that couldn't be true. She hated me, but she wasn't the kind of person to do this. Then there was Emmett. He didn't hate me, in fact, he felt possessive of me. And at the moment, his mindset wasn't right. He had betrayed his family and joined the enemy. Did that mean he would follow out any orders he had against the Boswell company? If someone, like Aro, ordered him to kill Ana, would he? Or was I thinking too far into this? It had to be Tanya. Her ring was here, left behind for anyone to find it. She had been here. And was sending a message.
Edward lifted me off my feet, cradling me to his chest as he guided us back to our room. He helped me dry off and get dressed for bed. But I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
I felt nauseous and my head was pounding. It didn't feel safe being here. But I forced myself into bed. I sat up, leaning against the pillows, watching the small flat screen on the wall across from the bed. It hung directly over the dresser. Images flashed across the screen, but I didn't bother paying attention to it. I faintly knew it was a news channel, but I couldn't focus.
Edward was showering in our ensuite bathroom. He had called Katlyn and Jacob to come over once they finished their reaping lists. They would be bringing over some takeout food, since neither Edward or myself was in the mood to cook. He wanted to have a little meeting with the two of them to fill them in on Ana's condition and hear their recommendations for a new guard. They would be bringing Jasper along. Which made me a little nervous.
Edward wanted me to stay in the bedroom, while they had their meeting. He didn't want me to be anywhere near Jasper. He didn't trust him. And as much as I wanted to respect Edward's wishes, I planned on finding an excuse to leave the room and hopefully get a glance of the man that Edward hated more than anyone else.
I tried, but failed to recall the details of my painting of Jasper and Tanya. I've painted the photos of so many people, so many couples. None of them really stood out. They just appeared happy. Passionate. But the finer details weren't clear anymore. I had a feeling that Tanya was beautiful, perhaps not now that she is under Esme's curse. As for Jasper, I'm just not sure.
As Edward stepped back into the room, only in his robe, I felt my eyes wandering up and down his body. I silently admired his physique as he towel dried his hair. His expression was hard to read. He was distracted. His emotions were shifting rapidly, between worry and annoyance.
"Come here please," I muttered softly.
He paused, meeting my gaze for a second, before doing as I said. He moved to the bed, crawling partially onto me, allowing his head to lay in my lap. His legs dangled off the end of the bed. His arms wrapped around me.
I softly ran my hands through his hair. "Are you alright?"
"I will be. Once this is figured out."
"It feels like there is always something happening. I wish there was more time… for us to slow down… and be together. Just the two of us."
"The three of us," Edward corrected softly, letting his hand move up to rest on my stomach. A tender smile came to his face. I could feel the happiness wash over him. It brought a smile to my face. "You're right. So much has happened, it's overwhelming. But I promise, we will have a lot more time to spend together now that I'm the overseer."
"That's great to hear, but what about Esme?"
"Mozi has assigned her to Alice's team. He thought it was a fitting punishment. Who is receiving this particular punishment, I'm not so sure." He chuckled.
I'm sure that was going to be hell for both of them. But maybe some good will come out of this. They will have to work in close proximity from now on. They can't ignore each other. They will have to speak with each other daily. Maybe they can bridge the gap. And finally start understanding each other a little better. It was wishful thinking. But it was my hope for them, nonetheless.
Edward's actions began to get suggestive as his fingers trailed up my night gown, grazing over my panties. As if flipping a switch, my body responded, dampening the fabric in seconds.
A smirk appeared on his face as a single finger hooked and slid my underwear down my legs. I trembled in anticipation, sucking in each breath as I waited for any form of contact.
Edward buried his face between my legs, his hot breath and the feeling of his tongue exploring me, causing my head to start spinning. His tongue darted in and out, hot, wet and passionate. At times, he moved to allow his tongue to flicker against my clit. My toes curled in response. I rocked my hips against his face. Needing more friction, a harder touch. His hands squeezed my thighs tightly, but not enough to hurt me. His motions began more hungered and desperate.
My head fell back in euphoria. My heart was racing loudly, I could feel it vibrating in my ears. My hands tangled into his bronze tresses. The pleasure left me breathless. I wanted him.
"Edward," All I had to do was say his name, he already knew what I wanted. The mattress shifted slightly under me, as he took his mouth away and positioned himself fully on top of me. Without warning, his hips came crashing down against me, pushing himself completely inside me.
The force caused the both of us to outwardly moan. Thus began the frantic clashing of flesh. Sweat. Passion. And the sense of relief. Our bodies were bound in both mind, body and soul. It was as if we became one singular entity. Tangled together in mind-shattering pleasure. I didn't want it to end.
But when it did, it was spectacular. The both of us laid there, panting and sweaty. Edward rolled us, so I was laying on top of him. He had us bundled together under the sheets. I listened intently to his soft breaths and strange thudding of his heart. As good as I felt at that moment, I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. Ana had essentially died and was brought back. Her condition was critical. Should I really be enjoying myself, having sex with Edward, acting like everything was okay? It wasn't. I must be the most selfish sister on the face of the Earth. Ana was counting on me, now, more than ever. She was in some kind of coma. She had been cursed. I needed to devote every second to saving her from this. She never asked to be brought into the supernatural world.
Edward must have sensed my distress. He leaned in, planting a kiss to the top of my head. "What has you upset, love?"
"I just… I should be worrying about Ana right now. She should be the priority. Not my sex life. I feel… guilty…"
He paused for a moment, allowing my words to sink in. "You shouldn't feel that way. I understand you're worried about your sister. And we'll figure all of this out. But in the meantime, there are other things that are important." He stopped, to give me a soft smile. "Ana's condition is stable. I'll make sure she is under surveillance at all times. All we can do for her now, is find the person responsible for placing that curse on her."
Edward was right. He usually was. But it didn't lessen my guilt. From now on, I'd make an attempt to not let myself get too swept away. I needed to focus on what was important. As much as I wanted to strengthen my relationship with Edward and spend all my time creating this bond with him, I had to help him solve this. After I know Ana is truly safe, then I can finally just focus on Edward.
Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm working on the next chapter as you read this A/N. I expect to have the next one finished by 04/02/24.