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
Tessa’s POVThe look Joseph gave me was answer enough.I stepped away from him as he narrowed his eyes at me. There was a mix of annoyance and dread that crossed his face, and it made my stomach clench.“Look… Tess—” he began to say, but I turned away from him, feeling the regret fill my chest.“Just forget I said anything,” I murmured as I walked toward the fire.“No, I’m not going to forget about this,” Joseph argued from behind me. “We should talk…”“We can save it for later,” I told him. “For now, we should enjoy the party.”I tried to offer him a smile, but I knew he could read the hurt on my face. I saw the struggle lingering in his eyes and I knew there was a ton he wanted to say. But he sighed and then nodded, walking with me to the large bonfire that burned in the center of the beach.There were a bunch of other vampires around the fire, talking with one another and sharing some laughs.I noticed, across the way, Carter standing with his arms folded across his chest and his e
Tessa’s POVMy heart broke from his words. I stared at him with a gaping mouth, unsure of what to say and what to do.He looked troubled as he stared at the ground; a darkness I didn’t recognize clouded his vision and it gave me a chill down my spine.I pressed my lips together until they formed a thin line; I wasn’t confident I could keep my emotions in check. I had to get out of there before I lost it.Without another word, I grabbed my clothes off the sink and stormed out of the bathroom, leaving Joseph to stand alone with his thoughts.As soon as I was in the bedroom, I dropped the towel on the floor and started to put on my pajamas. I hadn’t realized Joseph had come into the room until his warmth clouded over me.I shook him away from me, not wanting to feel him right now because I knew as soon as he touched me, the anger would fade away and I would be puddy in his hands once again.“Tessa, come on,” he said, sighing. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”“Then how exactly did y
Tessa’s POVBy the time night came around, my nerves were in my throat. It’s not that I didn’t want to go out and celebrate with Ruby. A girl’s night has been long overdue. However, she wanted to go to some new club tonight and I’m not much of a club person.I wanted to ask if Joseph could come along with us, but I decided against it. Joseph was ancient in theory, and he was extremely successful in both lifetimes he lived. There was no way he’d want to go to a club with 23-year-olds. The thought almost made me laugh.He was incredibly sweet since we returned to the city early this morning though. He helped me bring my things back to my apartment and he even helped me unpack everything. While I took a shower, he made breakfast, and we ate in my bed together.We spent most of the day snuggling in bed and getting a little bit of sleep considering we’ve been driving all night.I woke up to Ruby calling me and telling me she was going to be here in 30 minutes to come get me and I shot righ
Tessa’s POVI knew I was really drunk, but it sounded like my best friend just told me that Carter confessed to her about being a vampire.I couldn’t have heard her correctly; Carter couldn’t have been that stupid.As I stared at her figure, which was starting to double as the tequila weighed in my mind, I started to think about my last interaction with Carter. It was on the beach during the bonfire the other night. He seemed a little off and I could tell right away.
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