Tessa’s POVI stared at Anna blankly, not expecting such a question from her. I must admit that I really liked it here. Despite the blood of slaves and the hostile vampires and humans that kept watching me, I felt oddly safe being around them.The Elders made me feel very welcome and very safe, especially Anna. But I hadn’t thought about staying here forever. I mean, I suppose the point of me being here was to see if I could handle this type of lifestyle and I think I’m handling it well. But I’m not sure how I would be able to live amongst them and not be immortal.Would Joseph make me a blood slave? Is that something I would want?Or would he make me into a vampire? I could die if he did that and I’m also not sure if that’s something I would want.But every day I’m with Joseph, I fall for him a little bit more. I wanted to be with him for as long as I could, and I didn’t want to lose him after this semester. The end of the semester was approaching quickly. It was already spring, and
Tessa’s POV“Drink from me…” I said again in a raspy whisper.Joseph’s entire demeanor changed in an instant. He froze and I felt his hesitation. My heart was pounding at a rapid speed against my chest, and I wanted more than anything for him to be satisfied. I wanted him to feed from me. I wanted him to turn me into one of those blood slaves so I could be bound to him and become immortal, that way I could be with him for the rest of eternity.But when he pulled away and looked at me with uncertainty in his eyes, I felt my heart nearly shattering. I suddenly felt cold, and I could feel his withdrawal.“This had gone too far,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “I can’t drink from you.”“Why not?” I pleaded to him, hearing and hating the desperation in my own voice. “I want you to…”I reached out to run my fingers down the side of his face, but he backed away from me, standing to his feet and leaving me alone on the bed. A small whimper escaped my lips and I had to bite my bottom lip to keep
Tessa’s POVThe watering can fell to the ground and water oozed out into the soil around me. I heard the screams get fainter, but it alarmed the birds that lurked in the trees, and I watched as they flew off in the direction of the wind.My heart sank deep into my stomach as panic consumed me.The screams grew fainter, and they turned into a light sob. The world around me began to grow dreary.I met the eyes of Anna who stood nearby, and she was also staring at the sky with sorrow written all over her face. Her brows were creased, and her lips formed a thin line. The others were also mimicking her face just before looking at one another with disheartened looks.“What’s going on?” I asked as I walked toward them.“A bond was broken…” Anna said in a tone so quiet I had to strain to hear her.“What?” I gasped. “Like a blood slave bond?”She nodded her head once.“Yes,” she answered. “I need to go to her. She shouldn’t be alone.”“I’ll go with you,” I said quickly. I was trying hard not t
Tessa’s POVSNAP!With one quick motion, Bernard snapped Fae’s neck right in front of everybody and her entire body went limp against him just before falling back to the bed.I couldn’t help the scream that escaped my lips as I watched the events unfold in front of me. I thought I was going to pass out.He just killed her.Fae is dead….“Probably shouldn’t have done that in front of Tessa,” Connor muttered. “Joseph is going to be furious.”“Joseph will get over it,” Bernard said, taking a step away from Fae’s bed.“Yeah, but she’s not looking so good.”I couldn’t even form the words to speak. I was paralyzed in my place and completely shocked.What the hell just happened?“Tessa, sweetheart. How about you sit down,” Anna said, taking a gentle hold of my arm. I pulled out of her hold and stumbled away from her.“Y…you killed her,” I managed to sputter.“It’s just the process of turning someone into a vampire,” Anna said calmly. “Please, sit down.”“She’s dead! What if it doesn’t work?
Joseph’s POVAnother trail had gone cold.These new vampires were getting trickier to catch. My abilities allow me to find them once they are first awoken, but if they escape from the school, or travel far from their awakening spot, the only thing I have to go on is scent and clues that are left behind.I’ve been searching the perimeter for a little over 12 hours. I’ve been catching his scent periodically, but the trail keeps going cold.We’ve been weaving in the nearby human city, but his scent doesn’t even come close to that area.“Could he possibly be hiding under the ground?” One of the school guards had asked.“It’s possible,” I said in return. “But finding the entrance might be hard if we aren’t looking in the right spots.”“Then we will start our search for hidden passageways,” he said, looking at the others who had gathered around to help in our search.“Search the caves as well. They could have hidden passageways there,” I announced to others.They all nodded in agreement and
Tessa’s POVWhen I came through, my entire body ached as if it had just been put through hell and back. My eyelids were heavy, but I managed to open them. My surroundings were dark and smelled musky. It was incredibly hard to breathe.My only thought was, “I wish Joseph was here to help me.”But I knew hope was lost.I dug my nails into the dirt ground, attempting to lift myself and see the rest of my surroundings, but my body felt weak, and my face fell back into the dirt. I cried out in pain, trying to muffle my screams as the ache intensified.My neck, where he had cut, and then bitten me, was throbbing. I wanted to reach up to touch the spot that hurt, but I found it even more difficult to move my arms.He must have given me something to keep me from moving.I was feeling so tired. I just wanted to sleep. But I kept myself awake. I wasn’t going to fall back to sleep. Not now. Not while I was in his possession.Ryan.Wherever I was, I knew he was around here somewhere.“Looks like
Tessa’s POVThe dark…I liked the dark. Nothing happened when I was left in the dark. It was peaceful and I felt no pain. I felt as if I was serene. It was comfortable and I was left alone most of the time. Time didn’t exist to me in the dark.It was only me and my thoughts that kept me company.But as always, the dark didn’t last long.I was soon woken but the sharp sensation of this new vampire’s fangs as he once again drank from me. I was dizzy and I wondered how much more blood I had left in me for him. I knew soon I would probably end up dying. Ryan would be angry with him for drinking every ounce of blood from my body.I was surprised that Ryan hadn’t bothered to visit me since I was here. I wondered if he went back to the village and pretended as if everything was okay. I wondered if he was helping them in their search for me like a good little villager.I wondered if there was a search for me.There was no use in struggling against this new vampire; if I did, he would beat me.
Tessa’s POVI was woken once again by the sharp pain of the new vampire’s fangs against the back of my neck. it was feeding time, and I was the only thing on his menu.I wondered how long I had been here. Hours? Days? Weeks?Was I missing school right now? Was Ruby worried about me?I was fading in and out of consciousness without the use of his drugs now. Darkness was becoming my home. After a while, the pain was no longer an issue for me. My body had gone numb. It almost felt like I was floating into oblivion.He was still speaking words to me as he drank from me, but I couldn’t hear him. His words were muffled and irrelevant.There was still no sign of Ryan though. I remember this new vampire saying something about Ryan fetching a moonstone pendant because he needs it to turn me into a blood slave without the help of the elders.The destination of this pendant must have been far away because he still hasn’t returned. But I knew he’d be back before the full moon.If this new vampire
Tessa’s POV10 years later!“You got called here too?” Ruby asked as I walked up the steps of the middle school. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, letting it fall around my shoulders.“Are you really surprised?” I asked her, rolling my eyes.She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and held me close to her.“Just take a deep breath. Maybe it’s not too bad this time,” she said, trying to appear soothing.I gave her a pointed look.“Please, when is it ever not that bad?”“Well, they aren’t vampires yet. So, it could be worse,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and chuckling.“I can only imagine the trouble they will get into once they are vampires,” I muttered.Ruby only laughed harder as we walked into the school. We went down the hallway and towards the principal's office, but a familiar voi
Tessa’s POV“Breathe, Tessa. Just breathe!” Ruby said as she held onto my hand tightly.I’m glad she’s a vampire and strong because if she was a typical human, I would have broken her hand by now. Pain shot through my lower abdomen and into my spine, crippling me in agony. I screamed out in pain, my entire body quivering.“You are doing great,” the doctor said, looking at my vitals. “That was a big contraction. It won’t be much longer until it’s time for you to push.”“Where the hell is Joseph?” I asked through my teeth.I knew he was working when I went into labor but that was several hours ago. I thought he would be here by now.“He texted Carter a bit ago and said he was almost here,” Ruby assured me. She placed a cool cloth on my forehead, and I sighed in relief. The pain in my body started to simmer down for a moment, but I knew th
Tessa’s POVA month after the big battle 4 years ago, Amelia called me and told me that they had taken Ruby to the most elite healers in California where Amelia is originally from. Carter hadn’t left her side since they took her there. They were able to get her heart beating once again, but she remained in critical condition for a little over a year.Nobody, including me, was allowed to see her. The only ones allowed near her were Carter, her true love, and Amelia, her mother. However, Amelia tried to keep me updated as frequently as possible but for a long while, it didn’t seem like Ruby would ever wake up.But 18 months later, she finally woke. It was a long road to recovery though. Even though she was healing and awake, both Carter and Amelia thought it would be best if she remained in California and stayed isolated until she was 100 percent ready to return. Apparently, she suffered some serious PTSD, along with minor memory
Tessa’s POV4 years later. “This had got to be the longest engagement in the history of engagements,” Hannah said as she continued to fuss over my hair for the last several hours. “I’m so happy it’s finally coming to an end.”I smiled at her through the vanity mirror, feeling a lightness in my chest that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Not since my daughter, Amaya, was born.“I know,” I told her honestly, biting my lower lip, making Amy huff with dismay as she grabbed more lipstick to fix my makeup that I unknowingly ruined. “With everything that went down 4 years ago, marrying Joseph just didn’t seem right. I really wanted to get my life back in order. I wanted to succeed in my career, Joseph needed to adjust to his new role as Overseer, and plus, I didn’t want to get married pregnant.”This made both girls pause what they were doing and lo
Tessa’s POVMost of the coven stayed with me in my father’s home. Esme went out to help the police look for Penny.There was no way I was going to leave my father alone if Penny was still out there and planning on killing him. My father and I talked a lot about everything that had happened, and he apologized countless times even though I told him it wasn’t necessary.None of this was his fault and I hated that he was blaming himself.He set up sleeping bags, and air mattresses and pulled out the couch for everyone to sleep on. He has one guest bedroom that Laura and Austin occupied. Joseph and I were going to sleep in my childhood room, but I really didn’t want to leave my father and plus, I had missed him throughout these years.Even though he was in my life these past few years, with Penny around, we didn’t really have a great relationship. Now I understood why; because Penny had her claws dug deep i
Tessa’s POVThe Moon Goddess had completely taken over my body and spoke to everyone through me. She warned them what would happen if anything were to happen to me or my baby. Now it was up to them to decide if they wanted to continue hunting me to gain the powers of the Heavenly Heart, or if they were going to trust the Moon Goddess with her decision.Seeing the horror on everybody’s faces, I knew the choice they would make. It was the obvious choice; I had seen what they had seen, and they would be stupid to chance it. Their lives and the state of this earth were in their hands.Silence consumed us as everyone processed what they had just seen. Only the yelling of Carter brought me back to the present moment. I turned to look at him and I could see the straight-up horror on his face as he screamed for Ruby.I turned to see Ruby lying on the ground, her body completely still and it was clear she wasn’t breathing. But mo
Tessa’s POVEsme, Patty, Cole, Claira, and Bennet worked on putting a shield around the circle while the rest of us gathered around while Ruby stood in the center. Everybody looked equally nervous except Ruby who looked confident.I could hear the battle ongoing around us and my heart was breaking for the lives that have been lost. I glanced at my father’s house, hoping and praying that he was still inside and that he was safe.I glanced over my shoulder and through the fighting I saw Joseph kneeling on the ground beside Benard who had blood pouring out of his neck. My heart shattered in an instant. My entire concentration and faith had been broken as I felt sick from the sight before me.Bernard… no… He couldn’t be… My thoughts went back to Anna’s vision a while back about Bernard dying during a battle.Was this the battle he was meant to die in?
Tessa’s POV“We’ve enchanted the house!” Esme said as she rushed towards me. “Nobody besides your blood can get in. Including any of us.”“What about Joseph?” I asked, shouting through the chaos. “We weren’t able to exclude him either,” Esme told me. She grabbed onto my arms and gave them a gentle squeeze. “You need to go inside and protect yourself. They are here because they want your heart.”I looked around at the ongoing fight. My stomach twisted. People were dying and I couldn’t help but feel responsible. I needed to fix this, not hide like a coward.“We need to find Ruby,” I told her firmly.“We are on the lookout for her, but so far we haven’t been able to see her or Eevee,” Esme said, looking around with a frown on her face.“Have you checked everywhere?”“We c
Third Person POV (Ruby)At some point, Ruby had fallen asleep. Though, she knew right away that it wasn’t a normal sleep. It was a vision.This one felt a different thought. She was surrounded by my dark smoke, though it didn’t feel like smoke, it only looked like it. She couldn’t exactly see what was happening, but she could hear the sounds of death and destruction around her. Innocent people screaming and crying for mercy. The sounds of supernatural’s fighting and killing one another.There was so much darkness and despair, that Ruby felt a sense of dread weighing on her chest. Her breathing hitched when some of the smoke cleared, and she saw blood soaking the grass around her feet. Puddles of blood were everywhere. The sky was hazy and unrecognizable.Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at all the bodies that occupied the earth. This was too much for her to handle; why did she have to be cursed with seeing