Tessa’s POVMy hands were shaking as I took my journal out of my bag and turned to face Dean Miller. He stared at me with raised brows and then his gaze shifted to the journal.I glanced at Joseph who gave me an encouraging nod.“When I first started my blog a couple of years ago, I didn’t get much engagement on it,” I began, stepping forward and closer to Dean Miller’s desk. “I got a few followers within these years, but not many. It wasn’t until I met Joseph that I started to pick up more engagement.”Dean Miller’s brows rose so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline. He started to tap his fingers on his knee as he leaned back in his seat.It looked like he was parting his lips to speak, but I quickly spoke again, stopping him from saying anything.“Between his mentoring, class, and overall advice, I was able to write posts that not only relate to people in my age group but also speak to their hearts,” I said, taking a deep breath before placing my journal on his desk.His e
Tessa’s POVI stared at the now fully bloomed and ALIVE flower with my mouth agape.How was it possible?It was just wilted seconds ago and now it looked fully bloomed with each petal bright pink and gorgeous. It looked more alive than any flower that I had ever seen in my entire life.My heart was pounding against my ribcage and my entire body began to tremble as I stood to my feet. I looked around to see if anyone was watching, but the streets were empty. I was alone. Nobody was going to believe me when I told them this.I dug my teeth into my bottom lip, chewing on it until I tasted the metallic of my blood.What did this mean?I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned my back on the flower. I had to get out of here; I had to get back to my apartment.On that note, I began to run. I ran fast and with all my strength like an invisible monster was chasing me.By the time I was in the closed compacity of my apartment, I let out a deep breath and leaned against the closed front door
Tessa’s POV“You’re going away?” Ruby asked on the other end of the phone, her voice sounding sad.“Only for a few days,” I told her. “Maybe most of this week. But I’ll be back before you know it.”She sighed.“I was hoping we could do some shopping,” she said softly. “Graduation is in a couple of weeks and assuming we are both graduating, we need the perfect outfit.”“We are going to be wearing graduation robes,” I reminded her, a bit of humor in my voice.As I spoke to Ruby, I was packing my suitcase. It was the morning after Joseph suggested we go to the mountains. With my newfound title of witch, he thinks there might be some vampires, or prophets, who could help me understand things.It’s not like my father was any help; he won’t even tell me where I can find my mother’s old coven. I was completely on my own and it was exhausting to think about. Thankfully, Joseph didn’t make me feel as if I was alone and I was beyond grateful to him for that.“I meant for the after-party,” she t
Tessa’s POVI would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about seeing Anna and Bernard. With everything that happened since I last saw them, I wasn’t really sure where I stood with them.Joseph slept like a log for the rest of the day, but I couldn’t bring myself to get any sleep. Maybe it was the fact that the sun was awake, so naturally I was too. Or maybe it was because I was nervous about my finals and still wondering if I passed. My mind has just been so clouded.Or maybe it was because I went from being an average mortal girl to a witch overnight.It was a lot to take in all at once.“I might not be able to get into your head… but you can certainly get into mine,” Joseph murmured from beside me, startling me.I looked at him and saw that his eyes were now open, and he was peering up at me.“What?” I asked him, genuinely confused by his statement.“I can feel your worry as if it’s my own,” he said, sitting up and leaning his back against the backboard.“I’m sorry,” I whispered, st
Tessa’s POVMy entire world stopped moving around me as I stared at a very serious-faced Anna. She was watching me as I allowed her words to process in my mind.“How old are you currently?” She finally asked after what felt like an eternity of silence.I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat.“23,” I answered.She nodded, thoughtfully.“So, you still have a couple of years before it gets to that point,” she said, cocking her head to the side. “Don’t worry too much about it. You still have time.”“So, you’re saying if I don’t learn to control my powers by the time I am 25. My powers will control me?” I asked, needing that clarification.She nodded, her dark hair moving along with her features.“Did your mother have a coven?” Anna asked.I thought about it for a moment; my father said that the war between witches and vampires had to do with my mother’s coven and what they were hiding. More specifically, what my mother was hiding. But he wouldn’t actually tell me who or where her c
Joseph’s POV“It will be nice to have you return to the mountains full-time,” Bernard said as we walked back toward the Vamp House.I spent most of the morning going over the dos and don'ts with the new additions to our tribe. They didn’t like my lecture, but they weren’t stupid enough to argue with me. They knew if they continued to act the way they did, I wasn’t opposed to punishing them.I could even send them back to the academy for another 4 years if I thought they needed it.They were quick to agree with everything I said after I threatened them with that.Bernard’s words slammed into me like a weight; I hadn’t really talked to him about my plans after I was done being a professor. I planned to return to the mountains and continue my duties as a retriever and vampire trainer. But that was before Tessa came into my life.Now everything felt different.“About that—” I tried to say, but my words were cut short when Bernard’s body tensed, and his hand shot up to silence me.I narrow
Tessa’s POVExcitement and nerves slammed into my chest at Ruby’s words.With trembling hands, I went to the school website and logged into my account. There was an email on the account that read: Final Grades. Everything in my entire body was screaming at me and I was terrified to open the email.What if I didn’t graduate? “Tess, you still there?” Ruby asked on the other end.I put my phone back to my cheek.“Yeah, can I call you back?” I asked her.“Of course,” she said gleefully. “I wanted to call Carter anyway,” she added with a chuckle.I furrowed my brows together, making a mental note to talk to Carter about his intentions with my best friend. I know he’s around here somewhere.“You two are getting pretty serious, huh?” I found myself asking.“I’m honestly not too sure what we are doing,” she breathed. I could hear a hint of sadness in her tone, and it tugged at my heart. “He’s very secretive. Has he always been like that?”“It’s just who he is,” I told her. “It takes a lot fo
Tessa’s POVIt didn’t take us long to get downtown. Carter parked the car on the side of the road, and we walked side-by-side until we reached a small shop on the strip. The windows were tinted so it was impossible to see inside the store, but the door was purple with pretty flowers growing in the grass near the front windows.There was a sparkling and lit-up sign that read: Esmeralda’s Glitter.It was strange because it was about midnight and most shops in the area were closed, except for this one. At least according to the blinking open sign that sat on the window.Carter didn’t look happy about having to be here, but he didn’t dwell on it for long. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door open and making his way inside. I was fast following him, trying to stay as close as I could.I wasn’t sure what to expect; I never met another witch before. Or at least I don’t think I did.The bell on the door chimed as Carter opened it.Once we stepped inside, I shut the door beh