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
Joseph’s POV“Oh, my goddess!” Anna cried as we ran through the doors of the infirmary. “Is she—”“No!” I barked at her as I placed Tessa’s body on the bed. “She’s not dead.”Dr. Cornelia ran toward the bed with his equipment. Tessa remained unmoving; she was barely breathing. She stopped breathing when we were in the hideout, but she started to breathe lightly again once we returned to the village. I could still hear her heartbeat faintly, so she was alive.“I’m going to need time to work on her. I need everyone to get out,” Dr. Cornelia ordered us.“I’m not going anywhere,” I hissed.“I need to focus on saving her life and I can’t do that when you are here, Elder,” he said, glaring at me.When I refused to move, I felt Anna’s hand on my arm.“Joseph—”When I ripped my arm away from her touch, her words fell short.“Eldest!” Dr. Cornelia shouted, looking at Bernard who was already on his way to me.I knew there was no use fighting Bernard. He grabbed my arm and held me in his grasp;
Joseph’s POVTessa was cleaned by the time I returned to her room. I just got off the phone with Connor and he was on his way back with Ruby.Dr. Cornelia had finished washing the blood off Tessa’s body and bandaging her wounds. She was stable with many tubes attached to her frail body. She looked so peaceful like she was just sleeping.It’s been a few hours since Connor had left and now, I sat here waiting for the moment he returned so her life could be saved.The heart monitor began to beep like crazy; I jumped to my feet in alarm.Dr. Cornelia ran toward us with a panicked look on his face.“She’s crashing!” He told one of the nurses.I stumbled backward as they worked on her. They ordered me to leave the room, but I could hardly hear them. My main focus was on Tessa and how well she was.“Let’s go,” I heard the soft tone of Bernard as he grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the doorway.I wanted to stay with her and help; I wanted to be with her. But I knew I wouldn’t do any good.
Joseph’s POVI lay awake on the couch of Bernard’s house, staring up at the ceiling. It’s been a couple of hours since Bernard and Anna went to bed, and they allowed me to crash on the couch for the day. Once the sun started to go down, I went right back to the infirmary so I could be by Tessa’s side. I hated that I couldn’t be with her when she needed me the most.I thought about her days in that hideout, being tortured and fed by that slimy vampire. She must have been so scared; she probably thought she was going to die.I knew the only person I could truly blame for this was himself.Was she ever going to forgive me for this?I jumped when my phone started to ring beside me. When I looked at the caller ID I sat up quickly.It was Connor.“Connor,” I greeted, trying to keep my voice stable. “Did you get her?”“Yeah, I got her,” Connor said, but he sounded a little annoyed as he spoke. “She’s pretty but loud.”“What??” I heard Ruby’s voice in the background. “Did you just call me lou
Tessa’s POVI was becoming aware of the darkness surrounding me. I wasn’t afraid of it; my body welcomed it with open arms. That is if I could feel my arms. I couldn’t really feel or see my body; it was like I was bodiless.I floated in this darkness; I was completely weightless. I felt no pain; only warmth and what seemed like love.Surrounding me was a warm blanket of love and it made my heartbeat quicken.I wasn’t sure how long I had been like this; I wasn’t sure if I was still in that underground tunnel, or if I was somewhere different. My memory was a bit foggy, but I remembered how much pain I had once felt. I was dizzy from that vampire drinking my blood and he had beaten me to a point where I couldn’t move my body.He had pumped me with so many drugs, that I lost the concept of day and night. But my heart continued to beat rapidly in my chest and at that moment, I knew I wasn’t dead.Then, I started to hear the murmurs that surrounded me. They sounded so distant that I had to
Tessa’s POVThis time when I slipped back into the darkness, I knew it was a temporary one. I had my best friend lying beside me; she curled up in the bed Dr. Cornelia brought for her and pushed against mine; she got as close to me as possible, and I could feel her warmth and love radiating from beside me.Whatever Dr. Cornelia gave me, numbed all the pain I once felt and made me feel like I was floating again. It also made my eyelids incredibly heavy. I didn’t want to fall asleep; I wanted my voice back. I wanted to talk to Ruby, but I couldn’t. I just wanted to sleep.It was a dreamless sleep; I was used to being alone in the dark. I once found it peaceful here, but now I just found it aggravating. I wanted to be with my friends; I wanted to be with Joseph. But instead, I was stuck here.Dr. Cornelia said that I was mentally, physically, and soulfully exhausted and that was why I couldn’t move or speak. It was like I was here, but I wasn’t here. He told me once I allowed my body pro
Joseph’s POVIt felt good to finally allow myself time to rest. But I was woken early in the evening by the sound of hard knocking on my door. I groaned as I got myself out of bed and left my room. Tessa was back in the hospital with Connor watching over her, so I knew she was safe.She was also doing a lot better when I left her; I was relieved that she was going to be okay. I made a decision that as soon as she was on her feet again, I would take her far away from this village and bring her home. I never wanted her to return here again; not after what had happened with Ryan.That loud knocking continued, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. When I opened the door, I saw a very anxious Bernard standing before me with a couple of warriors on either side of him.I furrowed my brows together, confused.“What’s going on?” I asked, staring between all of them.“Ryan is back,” Bernard seethed. “He had the nerve to return to the village. I sense him going to his home.”I clenched my fists
Tessa’s POV“So, you knew Joseph was a vampire this entire time?” Ruby asked, peering over at me with an alarmed and yet curious look.My face warmed as she continued to stare daggers at me, and I found myself lowering my head before answering.“Yes,” I finally said after a short pause. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I promised him I wouldn’t say anything…”“This entire time we’ve had a vampire as a professor…” she breathed; it wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway. “And it’s safe to be around him?”I couldn’t help but smile at my best friend; it was nice to have someone to talk to about this now.“There’s a lot of stereotypes when it comes to vampires,” I told her. “Like they don’t need blood to survive. Joseph doesn’t drink blood like that.”She rose her brows.“If that’s the case then what happened to you? How’d you get hurt? They said you suffered from severe blood loss.”I met her eyes and bit onto my bottom lip almost nervously as she assessed my face and every bruise tha