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.
Joseph’s POVTessa had already been gone for a couple of hours and I wasn’t really sure what more to do in her apartment. I’ve already cleaned every inch of it and even went as far as doing her laundry. She would probably kill me for going through her laundry basket, but I needed to preoccupy my time so I would stop thinking about all the dangers Tessa could be in.I had to trust her and trust that she could handle herself. Besides, Ruby was with her, and I know Ruby would never let anything happen to her.I wanted to be here when
Tessa’s POV“Remind me again why you dragged me here?” Ruby asked, her messy bun flopping over one side of her face and her eyes drooping from exhaustion.It was early and getting Ruby to wake up and join me in the school’s auditorium to help the committee prepare for graduation was like pulling out teeth. I knew she wasn’t going to want to do this, but as soon as Dean Miller called and asked for this factor, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to say no.“Because you are my best friend and I really didn’
Tessa’s POVWord spread fast about the after party and I hadn’t even told Joseph what I had done. Only Ruby knew that I was planning on throwing an after-party of the year at Joseph’s villa. Theoretically, it was the best place to have a party.There was plenty of room, it was a gorgeous area with plenty of things to do and amazing views. I just hoped he wouldn’t be too upset with me when I told him the news.I told Margot and Kenzi the address and showed them some pictures of Joseph’s house. Of course, I didn’t t
Tessa’s POVMy heart had officially stopped beating when my father told me that he and Penny were going to be here in the morning. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was just past 1 am. They were driving overnight, and they were going to be here in about 5 or so hours if I’m hearing him correctly.“What do you mean you’ll be here in the morning?” I asked, finally finding my voice after what felt like an eternity of awkward silence.“We're in the car and heading there right now,” he explained, and I heard
Tessa’s POV “Do they know you and Joseph are still together?” Ruby asked when we were finally alone in her car. I was surprised by her question because it came out of nowhere. I sighed, but then I shook my head. “I’m not really sure how to tell them something like that,” I admitted. Honestly, it was good timing for them to be here. Joseph went back to the mountains for the next couple of days so that he could yell at Carter in person for telling Ruby that he was a vampire. Despite Ruby not believing him initially, it scared Joseph when she drunkenly joked about it. He ended up mind-manipulating her into thinking it was all a joke. He left for the mountains the next evening and he’s not scheduled to return until Thursday morning. My heart hurt knowing he was so far away from me, and I missed him terribly. But I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t really had the time to sit here and miss him. Once we got to the school, we hurried into the auditorium where Kenzi and M
Tessa’s POVRuby came with me back to my apartment; by the time we returned, it was mid-afternoon, and my dad and Penny were curled up on the couch together speaking in hushed whispers. They stopped when the front door shut, and Ruby and I stood before them.“Are you guys hungry? We could go into the city for dinner,” I said, walking toward my bedroom so I could change. I felt disgusting and was desperate for a shower.“That sounds great,” Penny answered for them both. “Will you be joining us for dinner, Ruby?” I heard her asking as I disappeared into my room.I didn’t hear Ruby’s answer, but I would make her come with us anyway. I needed my friend with me. I wasn’t ready to be left alone with them just yet especially considering everything I knew about myself and my mother. The fact that my father kept this secret from me and even went as far as trying to get rid of my powers before even telling me about them, didn’t sit right with me.I wasn’t sure if I could truly trust him.I grab
Joseph’s POV“Sorry, Elder. I didn’t mean to do that,” Jack, one of the warriors, said as we both stared down at my crushed cell phone.I spent most of the day training the new warriors while Carter did some patrolling at the North borders after we had a recent invasion. Jack was my sparring partner and when my phone fell to the ground, he attacked it with a sword.“I got a little carried away,” Jack said, gritting his teeth nervously.I rolled my eyes and picked up the remains of my phone. Now I wouldn’t be able to talk to Tessa and I wasn’t due to leave the mountains until tomorrow night. I hadn’t spoken to Tessa all day yesterday and I was planning on calling her later.But now that was out of the question. She was probably already worried.“I’ll buy you a new one,” Jack continued when I didn’t say anything.“Don’t worry about it,” I said, my tone dry as I placed a hand on his shoulder. It took everything I had not to lose my shit on this kid. “Just be more wary next time. You did
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