Tessa’s POV “Oh, God, Tessa. Tell me what happened,” Ruby said gently as she wrapped her arms around me and held me close. We were both curled up on the couch and I couldn’t seem to stop crying. It was the gross kind of crying too; I was snotting all over the place and I felt bad for getting some on the clothes Ruby was wearing, which were still my clothes. But still, she was wearing them. By the time I got home, it was already dark. I went for a long walk after I spoke to Joseph and the next thing I knew; the sun was completely down. When I got home, Carter was on his way out. He left even quicker when he saw that I was crying. Telling from the plates and empty cups on the table, I could tell that Ruby made dinner for the two of them to share. I was glad for them both, but my heart was too heavy, and I felt like it shattered into a million pieces to really take notice of how Ruby was glowing and smiling when she was around Carter. But that smile faded when she saw me sobbi
Tessa’s POV“Remind me again why you are making me go with you?” Ruby asked as we arrived at her apartment early the next morning.“Because I need a friend with me,” I told her with a shrug. “And you are kind of the only friend I have.”“But a farm?” She whined.I sat on her bed and watched as she rummaged through her drawers and closet to find clothes to pack in her suitcase.
Joseph’s POVI sent an email to the entire class letting them know that the class would be canceled this evening. With two of my students absent, I didn’t want anyone to fall behind.Not to mention I wasn’t really feeling up to class.Since my conversation with Tessa yesterday, my heart hasn’t really been in the right place. I wasn’t sure what to say to her, but I certainly didn’t think anything I did say would make her feel any better.
Tessa’s POV“Oh, my God! Ruby, wake up,” I said, shaking her until Ruby’s eyes finally opened.My heart was racing rapidly against my chest and my entire body trembled violently. I still clutched my phone in my hand. It’s been about an hour since I sent that text message to Joseph and my entire world felt like it was crumbling down around me.I couldn’t believe I sent that text message to him.“What happened?” She asked
Tessa’s POV“You’ve gotten so much bigger since last year!!”“Penny,” I said, plastering a smile as the blonde bimbo ran from the front porch and across the dirt road to tackle me in a hug.I stood frozen as she reached me and wrapped her arms around me. If possible, it looked like she had gotten even younger. Her curly blond hair bounced around her narrow and bright features. She wore way too much makeup, and her clothing was way too tight.
Tessa’s POV“Wait… Ivy is a horse?!” Ruby gawked as she stared up at the large blonde stallion, while desperately trying to wipe the saliva off her face.I couldn’t help but laugh at her expression as I ran my hands down her long and lean body. I had Ivy since I was 16 years old. She was a birthday gift and the best one I had ever gotten.Of course, we had a bunch of other horses. But Ivy was mine and I was hers. I slept in this stable beside Ivy more than I slept in my own bed.
Tessa’s POVMy heart slammed into my stomach at the mention of Joseph’s name.“Oh, uh… just a friend,” I said quickly as I grabbed my phone from my father.I was glad he didn’t tie the connection of Joseph being Joseph Evergreen.He narrowed his eyes at me, but he didn’t say anything as I scurried up the stairs with Ruby following closely behind me.
Tessa’s POVI stared at my father with a deep frown, not sure what to think about what he just said. My mind was still wrapping around it.Did this mean he wasn’t going to Mom’s grave?That was the whole point of me being here.I couldn’t help but be disappointed.My father sighed and placed his hands on my shoulders, giving me his most sincere look.“I’m sorry, Kiddo,” he breathed, shaking his head in defeat. “If I finish early then we can go. But I guess the flood is really bad.”“Why can’t she call an actual plumber?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.I hadn’t meant to sound mean, but since when did my father fix plumping? He already did everything else around this town. It just didn’t seem fair that Mrs. Davis was making him fix the plumbing in her store.“She did,” he answered. “They are scheduled to come out in a couple of hours.”I sighed.I guess my father had to go and I wasn’t going with him to see my mother’s grave. My heart ached, but it was just another disappointment to
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