Tessa’s POV“Movers will be arriving tonight to grab our things, so we should probably head back early this morning,” Joseph said a few minutes after I had woken.The sun was still down, but I knew that it was early in the morning because he was fully awake and almost dressed. He was freshly out of the shower and completely shirtless. But he was wearing a pair of jeans that left no mystery of what lay underneath. My mouth watered at the sight of him and all I wanted was to pull him back into bed and have my sweet way with him.Beads of water dripped from his broad chest, making me want to lick it off him and my cheeks flushed at the very thought. Joseph corked an eyebrow and I saw a small smile on his lips as he walked closer to me.“Get dressed,” he said again, his tone softening until it was basically playful. “I mean it. I want to get there before they do, and we have a long drive ahead of us.”I sighed and fell back onto the bed. But I knew he was right; we had a lot to do. We alr
Tessa’s POV“What do you know about witch doctors?” I asked Joseph when he came over with the movers a few hours later.He looked at me strangely, his brows furrowed together and worry lines creasing the corner of his eyes.“Why do you ask?”“Because I called Esme earlier to ask if she’d still train me. She wants to get to the bottom of my abilities, and she said her friend Roofus would be able to help. He’s a witch doctor,” I explained. “I was wondering if we can trust him.”“Witch doctors are healers and researchers,” he explained. “They use magic to heal, and they are very knowledgeable beings. But because they use extensive magic, they could also be very dangerous. Sometimes they dabble in dark magic. They aren’t ones to be messed with, but they could also be good allies. If Esme trusts this guy, I don’t see why we can’t.”I nodded, but I still felt worried.“She said she wants to know all about my abilities and what I can do. Roofus would be able to tell us exactly what we want t
Tessa’s POVI wore a black knee-high skirt and a pink blouse; my hair was tied back in a low ponytail, and I put a little bit of makeup on to highlight my features. My clothes fit my body perfectly, showing off my every curve and a little bit of my legs. I wore black heels that made me an inch taller. I had to say; I looked pretty good for my first day at work.Joseph whistled his approval when I walked out of the bedroom to model my first day of work outfit for him.“You look amazing, Tessa,” he breathed as he took me in.I smiled and twirled for him to fully see the outfit.“I hope it’s appropriate for my first day,” I said, unable to hide the nervousness from my voice.He wrapped me in his arms and peppered light kisses along my jaw.“It’s perfect,” he said, approvingly.I swatted him away, but I chuckled.“You are going to ruin my makeup,” I scolded; there was no malice in my tone and he smiled in response.“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to work? I have some time befo
Joseph’s POVIt was strange returning to the academy after a year of being away. But once I got back, it was like nothing had changed. I was greeted by some of the elders who ran the school, and they were pleased with my return.“Your office is exactly how you left it,” one of the Elders that I had worked closely with, Robert, had said as I walked through the school with him by my side.I nodded in response.“Should I assume that I’ll be resuming my usual course?” I asked once we neared my office located at the back of the school.“Yes; there’s a new string of students that will be taking your course,” Robert informed me. “It might be the worst of them. We had them in isolation for a long time because they proved to be dangerous toward other students.” I paused to look at him.“Dangerous how?”“There were some issues with assault and other forms of violence,” he explained. “They wanted to get their hands on blood, and they didn’t care if it was human or vampire. They just wanted it.
Tessa’s POVI stared at the portfolio with my mouth hanging open. They wanted me to investigate, interview, and write about Joseph? I couldn’t just turn down this assignment because it would make me look bad and I certainly wasn’t going to get fired on my first day.I couldn’t just come right out and tell them that I was actually engaged to Joseph Evergreen. I wasn’t prepared to answer all the questions they’d asked me. There wasn’t much for me to do other than to agree to work on this assignment.The portfolio contained some of Joseph’s work and some of the stuff that Megan already knew about him, which wasn’t much. I already knew that Joseph was a very private person and he worked hard to keep his identity private over the years. I understood why though; if humans got too close to knowing Joseph, they would eventually find out his secret and I couldn’t let that happen.They also wanted a picture of him.My heart was racing in my chest as I went through the portfolio.I had no idea w
Third Person POVFrom the moment Ruby set foot on this campus, she felt out of place. She felt as if others were watching her and waiting for her to snap at any moment. Like it was normal for new vampires to lose their minds, and maybe it was. But ever since she first woke and nearly killed Tessa, then had her first sip of blood, she hasn’t felt compelled to lose herself to the bloodlust again.She had to admit, she was incredibly nervous when Joseph dropped her off at this strange place. She didn’t want to part ways with those who had become her friends. She certainly didn’t want to part ways with Carter. Leaving his side was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, and she didn’t even fully understand that feeling.She could still feel the ghost of his arms wrapped around her, making her feel safe and loved. She was so in love with him and that terrified her. He had hurt her once before and nothing was stopping him from doing it again, but somewhere deep in her heart she still truste
Joseph’s POVAfter I hung up with Tessa, I went straight to the dormitory in Ruby’s section of the school and as soon as I got to her wing, Erika greeted me with tears in her eyes. She had her arms wrapped around her body like she was struggling to keep herself together and I could tell she’s been crying heavily and probably for a while.“What’s going on?” I asked as soon as I stepped into the room.Erika sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. I had known Erika for a long time; she had worked at this school as dorm advisor and mentor for many decades and students looked up to her as a parental figure.She was wise beyond her years, even though looked as if she was in her early 40s. In reality, she was actually a few centuries old.“She tried to warn me…” Erika whimpered. “And I didn’t listen to her.”“What are you talking about?” I asked.“Ruby. She had a dream before it happened. I told her it was just her anxiety and that nothing bad was going to happen. She told me
Tessa’s POVI really didn’t want Morgana to help me with this assignment for obvious reasons, but she seemed adamant about it. It’s not like I could fake the assignment to appease her; I was going to have to eventually ask for Joseph’s help in pulling this off. But I couldn’t do that with Morgana hanging around me constantly.She told me she knew where Joseph lived, and I wasn’t sure if that was the truth or not. We had just moved here a few days ago; how could she possibly know the location of the house already? It wasn’t even directly in the city; it was right outside the city.But she was overly excited about this revelation. After she dropped that bomb on me, she quickly hurried out of my office. I wasn’t really sure where she was going, but I was relieved after a few minutes alone. I just needed to think about my next steps and what to do.I stared at the portfolio as if I expected to find the answers written somewhere, but I didn’t. It was just basic information about Joseph; li