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
Tessa’s POVEsmeralda got out of the car and started to walk toward me. I, discreetly as possible, shook my head and waved my hands behind Morgana’s back, trying to get Esme to stop walking toward me as she knew me.She frowned when she saw my gestures and then she looked at Morgana with a questioning look.“Hi there,” Esme said to her and then her eyes flickered to me. “Everything okay?”Morgana stared at her as if she had just killed her firstborn baby; she folded her arms across her chest and glared at her.“And who wants to know?” Morgana nearly spats. She was reminding me a lot about Ashley, and I shuddered; I guess they weren’t so different after all.Esme stared at her for a moment before looking at me, clearly confused.“I’m a friend,” Esme said, but there was uncertainty in her voice as she said those words. I felt awful because I knew how confused she was, but I couldn’t exactly explain to her in front of Morgana that I didn’t want her to know I was living in this house with
Tessa’s POVI let out a scream of terror without really meaning to. My whole body was paralyzed as Lucias drove at a speed that shouldn’t have been possible in the city. He hit a few things along the way, and I feared some of those things were people. He didn’t seem to care about anyone’s life, not even mine.As the car cut a corner, I jerked and hit my head hard against the window. I felt the blood before I saw it. It was all over the window and panic started to consume me. The more the car jerked around and grew faster, the more my wrists dug into the cuffs. I knew they were going to be bruised and scratched as well.The car seemed to be getting faster and then it felt like it was airborne. I let out a yelp of panic as the car thudded back to the ground, letting out a terrifying crashing sound. I heard the cracking of my wrist before felt the searing pain.I cried out for him to slow down, but it was he wasn’t listening to a word I was saying. I wasn’t sure how this was even possibl
Tessa’s POVMy arm was broken, but now it’s not. I could actually move it. I thought for sure I was going to die. Everything inside of my body was crushed to pieces when that car crashed to the ground. I shouldn’t be alive at all, but for some reason, I was able to sit up and move.Joseph kept his arms around me, and I could hear some crying and screaming in the background from those who had witnessed everything. My heart was hammering in my chest as my body trembled against Joseph’s. I could tell from how heavily he was breathing that he was wound up as well; he was holding me tightly so I also knew he was unwilling to let me go.“I can cast a spell to make everyone forget and then get this all cleaned up,” Esme assured us. “Get her home. I’m calling the witch doctor right now and he will meet you there.”“Are you sure he will have time to meet us today?” Joseph asked.Esme grinned and shrugged.“He will do anything for me,” she said confidently.I looked up at Joseph and gave her a
Tessa’s POV“Sorry, I’m late,” Esme said as she rushed into the living room. “I hope I didn’t miss anything. I was just cleaning up the neighboring town and making sure nobody remembered anything.”“You are right on time,” Emmet said, giving her an affectionate smile. I didn’t miss the fact that Esme was blushing from his words. I raised my brows at her and her eyes widened at my expression. I wanted to ask her questions about her relationship with the witch doctor, but I knew now was not a good time.“So, what were we talking about?” Esme asked, clearing her throat and getting the attention off herself.I bit back a grin, but then the memory of what we were discussing slammed into my mind and I felt the weight of it pushing me into the couch.“We were talking about the Heavenly Light,” Emmet informed her. “I’ve only ever heard of the Heavenly Light and never the Heavenly Heart. I was just trying to figure out why that was.”“Easy,” Esme said simply. “Alison didn’t want anyone to rem